Lead Chief Investigator

Franklin P Mills Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University

Project Title

Initial tests of coupled chemistry-aerosol-climate simulations with the Australian version of the UK Unified Model

Brief Description for General Publications

This project will use the new Australian Community Climate and Earth-System Simulator (ACCESS) to examine climate scenarios that focus on the interactions among atmospheric chemistry, aerosols, and atmospheric dynamics. These couplings are believed to influence the Southern Hemisphere westerly jet and Indo-Pacific circulation patterns, both of which affect Australia’s climate, but the detailed mechanisms are uncertain. Coupled chemistry-aerosol-climate model simulations, thus, are potentially important for developing climate projections for major portions of Australia. The proposed calculations will explore and test the capabilities of the newly integrated chemistry and aerosol module for ACCESS and provide results that can be compared to other models and establish baselines for the use of ACCESS by the Australian climate science community.