Delaware Climate Projections Portal

Delaware Climate Projections Models

The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP), now in phase 5 is an international effort that started in 1995 to help climate model developers and analysts understand the differences between the models and the mechanisms that drive the difference between models. The most recent portion of this project is termed phase 5 or CMIP5. Although the CMIP5 archive contains simulations from more than 40 models, a much smaller subset archive daily temperature and precipitation for both the RCP 8.5 and 4.5 scenarios and even fewer of these models represent updated version of models already available for CMIP3 archive. This resulted in a subset of 9 GCMs. In addition, the GCMs used in this study were chosen based on several criteria: the model must be a well-established and evaluated in peer-reviewed literature, the model must include a greater part of the IPCC range of uncertainty in climate sensitivity to changes in atmospheric gases, the model must have continuous daily time series of temperature and precipitation archived for the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 8.5 (high-emission) and 4.5 (low-emission) scenarios.

The lower scenarios represent a future in which people shift to clean energy sources in the coming decades further reducing emissions from human activities.

The higher scenarios represent a future in which people continue to depend heavily on fossil fuels and emission of heat-trapped gases continue to grow.

In this study, researchers used global climate model simulations archived by the Program for Climate Model Intercomparison and Diagnosis (PCMDI) and from the archives of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the U.K. Meteorological Office.

A more detailed description of the models used in this project can be found in the Delaware Climate Change Impact Assessment Appendix.

A list of the models used in this study can be found below with additional information and links to the originating/responsible center. While a vast majority of researchers will only need data from this portal, the web authors wish to note that CMIP 5data is now available through the Earth System Grid - Center for Enabling Technoligiesdata holdings. This requires an account.

  • CCSM4

    CCSM4 is the 4.0 version of the Community Climate System Model (CCSM). it is a global coupled climate model for stimulating the earth's climate system. It is composed of four separate models simulating the earth's atmosphere, ocean, land surface and sea-ice.

  • CNRM-CM5

    CNRM-CM5 is an Earth System Model (ESM) designed by the Centre National de Recherches Meteorologiques (CSRM) department of the Meteo France organization to run climate simulations. It consists of several existing models designed independently and coupled throughout the OASIS software. The CNRM-CM5 is the CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) version of the ESM. The existing models include: Atmosphere (ARPEGE); Ocean (NEMO); Sea-ice (GELATO); Land Surface (SURFEX); Runoff (TRIP).

  • CSIRO-MK3.6.0

    CSIRO Mark 3.6 ( MK3.6.0) is the most recent version of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the first Australian climate system model made generally available. It is a comprehensive model that represents the four major components of the climate system (atmosphere, land surface, oceans, and sea-ice).

  • HADGEM2-CC

    The HADGEM2-CC is a specific Carbon Cycle configuration of the HADGEM2 (Hadley Centre Global Environment Model version 2) for the CMIP5 project. It is a coupled atmosphere-ocean Earth System Model that can be vertically extended into the atmosphere and includes components representing the troposphere, land surface and hydrology, aerosols, oceans and sea-ice, terrestrial carbon cycle, and ocean biogeochemistry. This model tends to under-estimate observed maximum temperature trends.

  • inmcm4

    This model is the Institute of Numerical Mathematics Climate Model Version 4 (INMCM4) coupled atmospheric-ocean general circulation model from Moscow, Russia. This model consists of two main models; the atmospheric model and the oceanic general circulation model. Used to project the climate's sensitivity to increase in CO2.This model tends to under-estimate observed maximum temperature trends.

  • IPSL-CM5A-LR

    The IPSL CM5 is the latest version of the IPSL (Institut Pierre Simon Laplace) Earth System Model. In addition to the physical atmosphere-land-ocean-sea ice model it also includes a representation of the carbon cycle, the stratospheric chemistry and the tropospheric chemistry with aerosols. This model tends to overestimate observed maximum temperature trends.

  • MIROC5

    The Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate version 5 (MIROC5) is the latest version of the coupled general circulation model developed at the Center for Climate System Research (CCSR) at the University of Tokyo, Japan. This coupled model is comprised of 4 individual models; an atmospheric model, oceanic and sea-ice model, land surface model, and a coupling model.

  • MPI ESM LR,MR

    The MPI-ESM couples the atmosphere, ocean and land surface through the exchange of energy, momentum, water and important trace gases such as carbon dioxide.

  • MRI CGCM3

    The coupled climate model MRI_CGCM3 was developed and used in the Meteorological Research Institute of Japan Meteorological Agency. This model consists of an atmospheric general circulation model, an ocean general circulation model, and a global aerosol model.

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