Evaluating the Land and Ocean Components of the Global Carbon Cycle in the CMIP5 Earth System Models

Abstract The authors assess the ability of 18 Earth system models to simulate the land and ocean carbon cycle for the present climate. These models will be used in the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) for climate projections, and such evaluation allows identification of the strengths and weaknesses of individual coupled carbon–climate models as well as identification of systematic biases of the models. Results show that models correctly reproduce the main climatic variables controlling the spatial and temporal characteristics of the carbon cycle. The seasonal evolution of the variables under examination is well captured. However, weaknesses appear when…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy
• DF
  Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK Government

  Award: GA01101
• EC
  European Commission

  Awards: 238366, 282672
• MO
  Met Office

  Award: GA01101