where is our swwa climate headed?
DESCRIPTION
Where is Our SWWA Climate Headed?. Bryson C. Bates Director, CSIRO CLIMATE. Talk Outline. Background GHG emissions Time scale and context Planning for climate change Scenarios Global climate models (GCMs) Climate change scenarios for SWWA Concluding remarks. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Where is Our SWWA Climate
Headed?
Bryson C. BatesDirector, CSIRO CLIMATE
Talk Outline
• Background
• GHG emissions
• Time scale and context
• Planning for climate change
• Scenarios
• Global climate models (GCMs)
• Climate change scenarios for SWWA
• Concluding remarks
Indian O cean C limate Initiative
Informed A daptation
GHG Emissions CO2 concentrations have grown from 280 ppm in
1750 to 375 ppm in 2003
Half of CO2 emitted by human activities absorbed by oceans & biosphere, leaving half in atmosphere where it has a lifetime of 50 to 100 years
Impossible to stabilise GHG concentrations at current level
Stabilization at 450 ppm requires reductions of 40% by 2050 & 60% by 2090, limiting global warming to 1.2 to 2.3 ºC by 2100
Regardless of reductions in GHG emissions, some climate change is inevitable
Time Scale & Context
Super-greenhouse conditions have existed before – well before advent of humans
Estimates of arrival time for next ice age vary from 100s to 20,000 years
Population: 5M@35,000BC; 1.2B@1850; 2.5B @1950; 5.3B@1990; 6.3B@2000; 10B by 2050?
In 200 years, world's urban population has grown from 2% to nearly 50%
Megacities: 4@1975, 19@2000, 23@2015?
Infrastructure designed on assumption of a stationary climate
Planning for Climate Change
Rather than extrapolating observed trends, we use computer models of climate system driven by scenarios of GHG & aerosol emissions, & ozone depletion
Future GHG emissions will depend on demographic, economic, technological, & political factors that are likely to evolve discontinuously in coming decades
Reliable prediction of Australia’s climate over next few decades is impossible
Better not to select one future & hope it comes to pass, nor to find the most probable future & adapt to it
Scenarios
Series of events that could lead from the present to plausible but not assured future situations
Exemplify what might happen with/without actions to reduce GHG emissions
Provide baseline against which need for, and effectiveness of, adaptation measures & emission reductions can be measured
Not the same as predictions or forecasts! Usually consider at most 6 to 7 scenarios (e.g.
likely, pessimistic, optimistic) Acknowledge presence of uncertainty
IPCC SRES Scenarios
A2 – population growth to 15 billion by 2100; rather slow economic and technological development
B2 – population growth to 10.4 billion by 2100; more rapidly evolving economy and more emphasis on environmental protection
There are also 5 IPCC CO2 stabilisation scenarios (450-1000 ppm)
Global Warming Scenarios
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
1980 2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100
Year
Tem
pera
ture
ch
ang
e (o
C) SRES high
SRES lowIPCC 450 ppm lowIPCC 450 ppm highIPCC 550 ppm lowIPCC 550 ppm high
1.21.41.5
2.3
2.9
5.8
50% of uncertainty due to GCMs; 50% to emission scenarios
Global Climate Models
Main components: atmosphere, land surface, biosphere, oceans, and polar ice
Simulate water & energy fluxes at 30-minute time steps over 3-D computational grid
A Perspective on GCMs Current GCMs do good job at simulating
most of essential climate-forming processes in atmosphere & oceans, & behaviour of total climate system at global scale
Best GCMs not yet sophisticated enough to capture all of the processes that influence climate at regional scales
We have several well-tested technologies for inferring climatic information at local & regional scales from GCM simulations
IPCC SRES Scenarios
Scenarios used: A2, A1B & B1
Mean Temp: 9 GCMs
SRES 550 ppm 450 ppmMay to October
November to April
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Temperature Change (oC)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Temperature Change (oC)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Temperature Change (oC)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Temperature Change (oC)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Temperature Change (oC)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Temperature Change (oC)
2030
2070
Precipitation: 9 GCMs
-80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80
Rainfall Change (%)
-80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80
Rainfall Change (%)
-80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80
Rainfall Change (%)
-80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80
Rainfall Change (%)
-80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80
Rainfall Change (%)
-80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80
Rainfall Change (%)
SRES 550 ppm 450 ppmMay to October
November to April
2030
2070
Potential Evaporation: 7 GCMs
SRES 550 ppm 450 ppmMay to October
November to April
2030
2070
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Evaporation Change (%)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Evaporation Change (%)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Evaporation Change (%)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Evaporation Change (%)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Evaporation Change (%)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Evaporation Change (%)
Some Weather Types
1016
1000
1012
1008
1016
1004
1012
Typ
e 5
Typ
e 3
.2 .4 1.8.6
.2 .4 .6 1.8
H H
L
1016
1016
1012
1020
1012
H
L
Indian O cean C limate Initiative
Informed A daptation
Probabilities 1958 - 2003
YearYear
Pro
bab
ility
Pro
bab
ility
0.4
00.
10.
20.
3
0.2
0.3
1958 19581968 19681978 19781988 19881998 1998
Type 3: Wet West & Central Type 5: Dry Everywhere
Indian O cean C limate Initiative
Informed A daptation
Coupled GCM Runs
CSIRO Mk 3 AGCM: T63 (1.875o x 1.875o approx); 18 vertical levels
OGCM: 1.875o longitude x 0.9375o latitude; 31 vertical levels
Transient run (380 years): observed GHG forcing 1871-present; A2 SRES scenario to 2100; stable GHG 2100-2250
Control run (323 years): 330 ppm equivalent CO2 for 1871-2193; no other historical forcing
Margaret River
Current rainfall decrease, as recorded by
speleothem P, is well-outside
range of natural rainfall variability of last 200 years
Indian O cean C limate Initiative
Informed A daptation
A New Way of Thinking!
Climate is non-stationary: changed rapidly in the past; changing now; & will change in the future
Future climate will exhibit wet and dry periods due to natural variability – this variability will be superimposed upon continued warming & changes in mean rainfall
We cannot wait for full scientific certainty: it may never come, or it may be too late!
We must take a balance of evidence approach for the time being (just like medical science)
A New Way of Thinking!
Mitigation & adaptation are necessary & complementary
Developing policies & plans that are robust across a range of plausible futures will improve environmental, food & water security
Planning for the future can lead to beneficial outcomes in the present
We need to find fair & cost-effective measures to minimise adverse impacts & maximise benefits (must consider communities, not just economics)
13-17 November 2005, Melbourne
www.greenhouse2005.com
AwarenessAwareness
AdaptationAdaptation
AbatementAbatement
ActionAction
The End