North Pacific Marine Science Organization

PICES Press Vol. 22, No. 2

FUTURE OSM Session on “Regional climate modeling in the North Pacific”
by Enrique Curchitser and Chan Joo Jang
Dr. Miller presented results from a coupled ocean–
atmosphere regional model of the Kuroshio Extension
region, which is characterized by energetic oceanic eddies
and fronts. He explored mechanisms for air–sea couplingof high-resolution components and highlighted theimportant role of the ocean in forcing the atmosphere on
regional scales.

A one-day session exploring regional climate modeling inthe North Pacific was convened on April 15, 2014, at theFUTURE Open Science Meeting (on the Big Island ofHawaii) to report progress made towards the goals ofFUTURE science program.
The session was anopportunity for members of the PICES Working Group onRegional Climate Modeling (WG 29) to summarize theiractivities and develop links to other FUTURE efforts.

Dr. Mochizuki discussed the role of internal model variability
to future projections using global models, in particular forthe coming decades. He concluded that accurate initial andboundary conditions are essential for developing reliable
decadal-scale climate projections.

The topic of regional climate models has generated interestin the PICES community since it recognizes the need toboth explore the implications of the global IPCC-classmodels for PICES member countries and assess state-ofthe-science techniques for downscaling global models.
Regional downscaling—effectively running models withhigher spatial resolution in target areas—of global models
is a means of representing climate on time and space scales
more appropriate for socio-economic and coastal oceanstudies. WG 29 has been focusing on ocean processes andthe implications to marine ecosystems.

Other abstracts in the session considered diverse topics andapproaches: Downscaled projections of future climate inthe California Current (Dr. Francisco Werner); the role ofmodel resolution on the air–sea CO2 exchange (Dr. JeromeFiechter et al.); regional biogeochemical downscaling incoastal British Columbia (Dr. Angelica Peña et al.);ensemble regional predictions in the Bering Sea (Dr. Albert
Hermann et al.); Dynamical downscaling of global models
in the western Pacific (Dr. Chan Joo Jang); the role of awave mixing parameterization in improving projections(Dr. Fangli Qiao) and a look at a global 1/10° model.

The session was co-convened by Drs. Enrique Curchitser(Rutgers University, USA) and Chan Joo Chang (KIOST,Korea) and had three invited speakers, Drs. MichaelForeman (Institute of Ocean Sciences, Canada), ArthurMiller (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA) andTakashi Mochizuki (JAMSTEC, Japan) and a total of 11
contributed papers. In the first invited presentation, given
at the plenary session, Dr. Foreman described new techniques
for downscaling climate projections for coastal, coupledphysical–biological studies. The technique relies on bias
correction of winds from global-scale future projections
based on seasonal historical patterns. He demonstrated an
application of this technique to the coast of British
Columbia where both wind magnitude and direction are
crucial to determining the patterns of coastal circulation.

Dr. Fangli Qiao (First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic
Administration, China) comparing mixed layer depths of two different
oceans with and without wave effects.

Overall, the presentations can be categorized into threemain topics: 1) additional value (e.g., addressing known
biases, coastal currents, etc.) derived from regional climatemodels, 2) regional projections of future climate and3) applications of regional downscaling to ecosystem studies.
The main topic during the open discussion period focusedon the question of what resolution is desirable in regional
studies. The participants noted that the answer may depend

Co-Convenor, Dr. Chan Joo Jang (KIOST, Korea), introducing the list ofpresentations for the theme session.

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PICES Press Vol. 22, No. 2

North Pacific Marine Science Organizationon the region and dynamics of interest. Furthermore, it
may be necessary to adjust model resolution after an initialexploratory investigation.
Another topic during thediscussion was on the need and future of ensemble
modeling in regional settings and the unique challenges
that could emerge. Of note was the conversation on the

expected number of ensemble members and the need for
multi-model ensembles. Finally the participants discussed
the topic of bias propagation from global to regional models
and from physics to biogeochemistry. The discussion
focused on ways to identify and quantify model biases inthe different model components.

Dr. Enrique Curchitser (enrique@esm.rutgers.edu) is an Associate Professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences and theInstitute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University, USA. His main research interests are at the intersection of climate andecosystems. His current projects range from downscaled coupled bio-physical modeling in the California Current and Bering Sea, theimpact of climate change on coral bleaching in the Coral Triangle and on the role of the Gulf Stream in the climate and social systems ofthe northeast U.S. He is a member of the PICES Physical Oceanography and Climate Committee, Working Group 27 on ClimateVariability and Change in the North Pacific and co-chairs Working Group 29 on Regional Climate Models.
Dr. Jang Joo Chan (cjjang@kiost.ac) has been a Principal Research Scientist in the Ocean Circulation and Climate Research Divisionof the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology since 2011. His research interests include analysis and modeling of climatechange in the North Pacific Ocean, focusing on Korean waters, circulation–ecosystem couple modeling, and turbulence modeling. He isa member of the PICES Physical Oceanography and Climate Committee, Working Group 27 on Climate Variability and Change in theNorth Pacific and co-chairs Working Group 29 on Regional Climate Models.

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