The CMIP5 Ocean Heat Storage and Temperature

Abstract

A change in ocean heat storage is one of the major contributors to a change in global mean surface temperature under a climate change. For understanding and simulating a climate change, global climate models participating Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) have been widely used in research and became an essential tool for such purposes. Yet the analyses using the fifth phase of CMIP (CMIP5) model outputs have been usually confined to sea surface temperature or used sea surface heat fluxes to calculate the ocean’s heat uptake under global warming. The purpose of this study is to analyze the temporally varying, three-dimensional global structure of ocean temperature and heat storage simulated by the models and to provide a synthetic report on the CMIP5 ocean simulations with respect to ocean heat storage change. We expect the analysis results can also provide guidance and direction for future development and improvement of global ocean models.rcomparison Project (CMIP) have been widely used in research and became an essential tool for such purposes. Yet the analyses using the fifth phase of CMIP (CMIP5) model outputs have been usually confined to sea surface temperature or used sea surface heat fluxes to calculate the ocean’s heat uptake under global warming. The purpose of this study is to analyze the temporally varying, three-dimensional global structure of ocean temperature and heat storage simulated by the models and to provide a synthetic report on the CMIP5 ocean simulations with respect to ocean heat storage change. We expect the analysis results can also provide guidance and direction for future development and improvement of global ocean models.