Atmosphere-Ocean Model Simulations: 1950-2099

Each simulated month, the Model produces an output "D" file that contain numerous unscaled climate diagnostics. Subsequent programs read these D files and produce scaled climate variables. A 120-year control simulation (C023) of the 1995 version of the Atmosphere-Ocean Model was published in the Canadian journal "Atmosphere-Ocean".

It and a companion 80-year experiment (C024) with compounded annual 1% CO2 increases were contributed to CMIP (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) and to IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) for their "Second Scientific Assessment of Climate Change". For the 1999 version of the Atmosphere-Ocean Model, six 150-year simulations were run: C089 and C092 are control simulations with constant 1950 atmospheric composition; C090 and C093 use observed greenhouse gases from 1950 to 1990 and compounded annual .5% CO2 increases from 1991 to 2099; C091 and C094 use the varying greenhouse gases plus tropospheric sulfate aerosol changes.

Annual .5% CO2 increases after 1990 were chosen because they match the current radiative forcing caused by all greenhouse gases [Hansen et al., 1998, "Climate forcings in the Industrial era"].