Simulation of Past 6000-Year Climate by Using the Earth System Model of Intermediate Complexity LOVECLIM

Abstract

This study introduces the overall characteristics of LOVECLIM version 1.3, the earth system model of intermediate complexity (EMIC), including the installation and operation processes by conducting two kinds of past climate simulation. First climate simulation is the equilibrium experiment during the mid-Holocene (6,000 BP), when orbital parameters were different compared to those at present. The overall accuracy of simulated global atmospheric fields by LOVECLIM is relatively lower than that in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) and Paleoclimate modelling Intercomparison Project phase 3 (PMIP3) simulations. However, surface temperature over the globe, the 800 hPa meridional wind over the mid-latitude coastal region, and the 200 hPa zonal wind from LOVECLIM show similar spatial distribution to those multi-model mean of CMIP5/PMIP3 climate models. Second one is the transient climate experiment from mid-Holocene to present. LOVECLIM well captures the major differences in surface temperature between preindustrial and mid-Holocene simulations by CMIP5/PMIP3 multi-model mean, even though it was performed with short integration time (i.e., about four days in a single CPU environment). In this way, although the earth system model of intermediate complexity has a limit due to its relatively low accuracy, it can be a very useful tool in the specific research area such as paleoclimate.