DOI: 10.5063/aa/dpennington.162.2
title: IPCC Climate Change Data: ECHAM4 A2a Model: 2050 Precipitation

description: The ECHAM climate model has been developed from the ECMWF atmospheric model (therefore the first part of its name: EC) and a comprehensive parameterisation package developed at Hamburg therefore the abbreviation HAM) which allows the model to be used for climate simulations. The model is a spectral transform model with 19 atmospheric layers and the results used here derive from experiments performed with spatial resolution T42 (which approximates to about 2.8 degrees longitude/latitude resolution). The model has also been used at resolutions in the range T21 to T106. ECHAM4 is the current generation in the line of ECHAM models (Roeckner, et al., 1992). A summary of developments regarding model physics in ECHAM4 and a description of the simulated climate obtained with the uncoupled ECHAM4 model is given in Roeckner et al. (1996). The initial sea surface temperature and sea-ice data is the COLA/CAC AMIP SST and sea-ice data set. The mean terrain heights are computed from high resolution US Navy data set. The fraction of grid area covered by vegetation based on the Wilson and Henderson-Sellers (1985) data set. The ocean albedo is a function of solar zenith angle and the land albedo from the satellite data of Geleyn and Preuss (1983). A diurnal cycle and gravity wave-drag is included. The time-step of the model is 24 minutes, except for radiation which uses two hours. The ocean model is an updated version of the isopycnal model (OPYC3) developed by Josef Oberhuber (Oberhuber, 1993) at the Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany. The name OPYC is derived from Ocean and isoPYCnal co-ordinates. The concept to use isopycnals as the vertical co-ordinate system for an OGCM is based on the observation that the interior ocean behaves as a rather conservative fluid. Even over long distances the origin of water masses can be traced back by considering the distribution of active or passive tracers. Treating the ocean as a conservative fluid fails in areas of significant turbulence activity such as the surface boundary layer. A surface mixed-layer is therefore coupled to the interior ocean in order to represent near-surface vertical mixing and to improve the response time-scales to atmospheric forcing which is controlled by the mixed-layer thickness. Since the model is designed for studies on large scales, a sea ice model with rheology is included and serves the purpose of de-coupling the ocean from extreme high-latitude winter conditions and promotes a realistic treatment of the salinity forcing due to melting or freezing sea ice. The experiments from which results are used here are the 1000-year unforced control simulation using the coupled ECHAM4/OPYC3 model and then two climate change simulations. The greenhouse gas only forced experiment (referred to as GGa1) used historical greenhouse gas forcing from 1860 to 1990 followed by a 1 per cent annum increase in radiative forcing from 1990 to 2099. The greenhouse gas and sulphate aerosol forced experiment (referred to as GSa1) used the GGa1 forcing, plus the negative forcing due to sulphate aerosols. This was represented by means of an increase in clear-sky surface albedo proportional to the local sulphate loading. The indirect effects of aerosols were not simulated. For 1860 to 1990 the historic sulphate aerosol forcing estimate was used and for 1990 to 2049 the aerosol forcing estimated for the IS92a emissions scenario. The GSa1 experiment did not extend beyond 2049. Fuller details of the ECHAM4/OPYC3 coupled model can be found at the DDC Yellow Pages. Several papers describe results using this version of the model - see Bacher et al. (1998), Oberhuber et al. (1998), Zhang et al. (1998). The climate sensitivity of ECHAM4 is about 2.6 degrees C.The A2 world consolidates into a series of roughly continental economic regions, emphasizing local cultural roots. In some regions, increased religious participation leads many to reject a materialist path and to focus attentionon contributing to the local community. Elsewhere, the trend is towards ncreased investment in education and science and growth in economic productivity. Social and political structures diversify with some regions moving towards stronger welfare systems and reduced income inequality, while others move towards "lean" government. Environmental concerns are relatively weak, although some attention is paid to bringing local pollution under control and maintaining local environmental amenities.Like B1, the B2 world is one of increased concern for environmental and social sustainability, but the character of this world differs substantially. Education and welfare programs are widely pursued leading to reductions in mortality and, to a lesser extent, fertility. The population reaches about 10 billion people by 2100, consistent with both the United Nations and IIASA median projections. Income per capita grows at an intermediary rate to reach about US$12,000 by 2050. By 2100 the global economy might expand to reach some US$250 trillion. International income differences decrease, although not as rapidly as in scenarios of higher global convergence (A1, B1). Local inequity is reduced considerably through the development of stronger community support networks. Generally high educational levels promote both development and environmental protection. Indeed, environmental protection is one of the few remaining truly international priorities. However, strategies to address global environmental challenges are less successful than in B1, as governments have difficulty designing and implementing agreements that combine environmental protection with mutual economic benefits. The B2 storyline presents a particularly favorable climate for community initiative and social innovation, especially in view of high educational levels. Technological frontiers are pushed less than in A1 and B1 and innovations are also regionally more heterogeneous. Globally, investment in R and D continues its current declining trend, and mechanisms for international diffusion of technology and know-how remain weaker than in scenarios A1 and B1 (but higher than in scenario A2). Some regions with rapid economic development and limited natural resources place particular emphasis on technology development and bilateral co-operation. Technical change is therefore uneven. The energy intensity of GDP declines at about one percent per year, in line with the average historical experience of the last two centuries. Land-use management becomes better integrated at the local level in the B2 world. Urban and transport infrastructure is a particular focus of community innovation, contributing to a low level of car dependence and less urban sprawl. An emphasis on food self-reliance contributes to a shift in dietary patterns towards local products, with reduced meat consumption in countries with high population densities. Energy systems differ from region to region, depending on the availability of natural resources. The need to use energy and other resources more efficiently spurs the development of less carbon-intensive technology in some regions. Environment policy cooperation at the regional level leads to success in the management of some transboundary environmental problems, such as acidification due to SO2, especially to sustain regional self-reliance in agricultural production. Regional cooperation also results in lower emissions of NOx and VOCs, reducing the incidence of elevated tropospheric ozone levels. Although globally the energy system remains predominantly hydrocarbon-based to 2100, there is a gradual transition away from the current share of fossil resources in world energy supply, with a corresponding reduction in carbon intensity.