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    Original Research Papers

    A comparison of simulation results from two terrestrial carbon cycle models using three climate data sets

    Authors:

    Akihiko Ito ,

    Ecosystem Change Research Program, Frontier Research Center for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 3173-25 Showa-machi, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-0001; Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, JP
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    Takahiro Sasai

    Geologic Remote Sensing research group, Institute of Geology and Geoinformation, Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Central 7 1-1-1, Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8567, JP
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    Abstract

    This study addressed how different climate data sets influence simulations of the global terrestrial carbon cycle. For the period 1982–2001, we compared the results of simulations based on three climate data sets (NCEP/NCAR, NCEP/DOE AMIP-II and ERA40) employed in meteorological, ecological and biogeochemical studies and two different models (BEAMS and Sim-CYCLE). The models differed in their parameterizations of photosynthetic and phenological processes but used the same surface climate (e.g. shortwave radiation, temperature and precipitation), vegetation, soil and topography data. The three data sets give different climatic conditions, especially for shortwave radiation, in terms of long-term means, linear trends and interannual variability. Consequently, the simulation results for global net primary productivity varied by 16%–43% only from differences in the climate data sets, especially in these regions where the shortwave radiation data differed markedly: differences in the climate data set can strongly influence simulation results. The differences among the climate data set and between the two models resulted in slightly different spatial distribution and interannual variability in the net ecosystem carbon budget. To minimize uncertainty, we should pay attention to the specific climate data used. We recommend developing an accurate standard climate data set for simulation studies.

    How to Cite: Ito, A. and Sasai, T., 2006. A comparison of simulation results from two terrestrial carbon cycle models using three climate data sets. Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, 58(5), pp.513–522. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0889.2006.00208.x
      Published on 01 Jan 2006
    Peer Reviewed
     CC BY 4.0
     Accepted on 19 Jun 2006            Submitted on 29 Nov 2005

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