DOI: 10.5063/aa/dpennington.73.4
title: IPCC Climate Change Data: CSIRO A1a Model: 2050 Precipitation

description: The CSIRO Atmospheric Research Mark 2b climate model (Hirst et al., 1996, 1999) has recently been used for a number of more sophisticated climate change simulations. These start from 1880 to avoid the "cold start problem". This version of the CSIRO model includes the Gent-McWilliams mixing scheme in the ocean and shows greatly reduced climate drift relative to earlier versions (e.g. Dix and Hunt, 1998). The drift in global mean surface temperature in the new control run is about -0.02 degrees C/century. Note that the model uses flux correction. The model atmosphere has 9 levels in the vertical and horizontal resolution of spectral R21 (approximately 5.6 by 3.2 degrees). The ocean model has the same horizontal resolution with 21 levels. The equilibrium sensitivity to doubled CO2 of a mixed layer ocean version of the model is 4.3 degrees. This is at the high end of the range of model sensitivities (e.g. IPCC 1995, Table 6.3). In the basic greenhouse gas experiment the model combines the effect of all radiatively active trace gases into an "equivalent" CO2 concentration. Observed concentrations are used from 1880 to 1990 and the IS92a projections into the future. This gives close to a 1%/year compounding increase of equivalent CO2. Another model experiment includes the negative radiative forcing from atmospheric sulphate aerosol. The direct aerosol forcing is included via a perturbation of the surface albedo, similarly to the Hadley Centre experiments described by Mitchell et al (1995) and Mitchell and Johns (1997) . The sulphate concentrations are the same as used in the Hadley Centre experiments. However the chosen aerosol optical properties are different, giving a present day forcing due to anthropogenic sulphate of about -0.4 W/m^2. This can be compared to the 1880-1990 greenhouse gas forcing of about 2 W/m^2. The magnitude of the 20th century warming in the model including aerosol matches the observed reasonably well. However there are a number of forcings missing from the model, including solar variability, sulphate indirect effect and the effect of soot. The climate sensitivity of CSIRO-Mk2 is about 4.3 degrees C (Watterson et al.,1997).From the IPCC website: The A1 Family storyline is a case of rapid and successful economic development, in which regional averages of income per capita converge - current distinctions between poor and rich countries eventually dissolve. In this scenario family, demographic and economic trends are closely linked, as affluence is correlated with long life and small families (low mortality and low fertility). Global population grows to some nine billion by 2050 and declines to about seven billion by 2100. Average age increases, with the needs of retired people met mainly through their accumulated savings in private pension systems. The global economy expands at an average annual rate of about three percent to 2100. This is approximately the same as average global growth since 1850, although the conditions that lead to a global economic in productivity and per capita incomes are unparalleled in history. Income per capita reaches about US$21,000 by 2050. While the high average level of income per capita contributes to a great improvement in the overall health and social conditions of the majority of people, this world is not without its problems. In particular, many communities could face some of the problems of social exclusion encountered by the wealthiest countries in the 20th century and in many places income growth could come with increased pressure on the global commons. Energy and mineral resources are abundant in this scenario family because of rapid technical progress, which both reduce the resources need to produce a given level of output and increases the economically recoverable reserves. Final energy intensity (energy use per unit of GDP) decreases at an average annual rate of 1.3 percent. With the rapid increase in income, dietary patterns shift initially significantly towards increased consumption of meat and dairy products, but may decrease subsequently with increasing emphasis on health of an aging society. High incomes also translate into high car ownership, sprawling suburbanization and dense transport networks, nationally and internationally. Land prices increase faster than income per capita. These factors along with high wages result in a considerable intensification of agriculture. Three scenario groups are considered in A1 scenario family reflecting the uncertainty in development of energy sources and conversion technologies in this rapidly changing world. Near-term investment decisions may introduce long-term irreversibilities into the market, with lock-in to one technological configuration or another. The A1B scenario group is based on a balanced mix of energy sources and has an intermediate level of CO2 emissions, but depending on the energy sources developed, emissions in the variants cover a very wide range. In the fossil-fuel intensive scenario group A1FI, emissions approach those of the A2 scenarios; conversely in scenario group A1T with low labor productivity or of rapid progress in "post-fossil" energy technologies, emissions are intermediate between those of B1 and B2. These scenario variants have been introduced into the A1 storyline because of its "high growth with high tech" nature, where differences in alternative technology developments translate into large differences in future GHG emission levels Ecological resilience is assumed to be high in this storyline. Environmental amenities are viewed in a utilitarian way, based on their influence on the formal economy. The concept of environmental quality might change in this storyline from "conservation" of nature to active "management" - and marketing - of natural and environmental services. Data are available for the following periods: 1961-1990, 2010-2039; 2040-2069; and 2090-2099 Mean monthly and change fields.