Streamflow response of Belgian catchments to IPCC climate change scenarios

The IRMB (Integrated Runoff Model—F. Bultot) daily step conceptual model has been applied to eight Belgian catchments with areas ranging from 100 to 1200 km². These catchments are characterized by various infiltration rates and ground water storage capacities. The outputs of six GCMs (General Circulation Model) distributed by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and an earlier scenario have been used to perturb time series of hydrometeorological input data relevant to simulate the water cycle. This paper focuses on the impacts on streamflow and its surface and underground components, as well as on the occurrence of flood days and low flow days. Impacts are shown to be catchment and scenario dependent. Due to the scenario diversity, streamflow impacts are found to be either positive or negative. The trends are common to scenarios with the same patterns or to catchments with similar characteristics. For all but two scenarios, all the catchments present an increase of flood frequency. Nevertheless, for all the scenarios, catchments with prevailing surface flow are undergoing an increase in flood frequency during winter months.     

长江上游大中型水库碳排放量估算与分析：以IPCC国家温室气体清单指南为基础

双碳”背景下,我国能源结构面临持续转型发展。作为清洁可再生能源,水电开发是近年来长江上游水资源开发利用的重点工作。然而,筑坝蓄水将在一定程度上改变区域碳排放情况。评估水库碳排放量是客观、科学认识水电清洁能源属性的基础,是国家温室气体清单的一个重要组成部分。基于IPCC国家温室气体清单指南层级1(Tier 1)的方法,以长江上游24个中、大型水库为案例,探讨长江上游典型水库生命周期内的碳排放量,并通过蒙特卡洛模拟对估算结果进行不确定性分析及模型参数的敏感性分析。结果显示,24个水库的生命周期碳排放量分布在0.0342～140.59 Tg CO_2eq的区间内,总排放量达到264.05 Tg CO_2eq(其中,CO₂排放量占9.12%,CH₄排放量占90.88%),单位发电量的碳排放均值为3.30 g CO_2eq/(kW·h)(0.01～17.64 g CO_2eq/(kW·h)),最小、最大值分别出现在锦屏二级水库和彭水水库。此外,敏感性分析发现,在模型涉及的参...     

从哥本哈根气候变化大会看气候变化谈判的焦点问题及IPCC第五次评估报告的可能作用

从哥本哈根气候变化大会的谈判焦点可以预期,后续国际气候变化谈判的重点将是谈判的基础案文、发达国家在《京都议定书》第二承诺期进一步的量化减排承诺以及长期目标的表述等问题。IPCC第五次评估报告将对以往报告已阐述的科学问题和基本结论加以巩固并提供更有说服力的证据和论据,更加侧重区域问题,增加适应和减缓经济学成本、气候变化与可持续发展等内容的分析。关于气候变化检测和归因、气候变化影响和关键脆弱性、大气温室气体浓度稳定水平、适应的选择及其成本效益、减缓措施的选择和社会经济成本、责任分担机制及公平性等问题的评估结论,将对谈判进程的推进发挥重要作用。     

IPCC第五次评估报告对跨区域影响的新认识

IPCC第五次评估报告（AR5）第二工作组（WGII）报告认为,气候变化对世界上大部分区域的自然和人类系统的影响将进一步加剧,其对非洲最大的影响预计发生在半干旱的环境,增加现有的水资源可利用量和农业系统的压力;气候变化已导致北欧地区的谷物产量增加而南欧地区的产量降低,未来的变化将增加欧洲的灌溉需求;在亚洲的许多地区,气候变化将导致农业生产率下降;气候、大气CO₂和海洋酸化的进一步变化预计将对大洋洲的水资源、海岸生态系统、基础设施、健康、农业和生物多样性产生实质性的影响;在北美,许多带来风险的气候压迫力的频率和强度将在未来几十年增加;中美洲和南美洲许多国家的持续高水平贫困导致了对气候变率和变化的高脆弱性;在北极,气候变化与非气候相关驱动在确定的物理、生物和社会经济风险上交互作用,变化率可能超过了社会系统适应的速率;在气候和非气候因素的影响下,小岛屿具有高度的脆弱性,同时,气候变暖将增加海洋生态系统的风险。     

IPCC AR6 WGI报告的背景、 架构和方法

IPCC第六次评估报告(AR6)第一工作组报告(简称报告)中提供了对气候系统和气候变化的最新物理解释,整合了来自古气候和仪器观测的多项证据、过程理解以及全球和区域的气候模拟,记录了气候科学的最新进展.报告旨在提供有关过去气候如何变化的事实,揭示人类活动在这些变化中所起的作用,并根据不同社会经济路径的排放情景对未来气候进...     

Synthesizing a policy-relevant perspective from the three IPCC “Worlds”—A comparison of topics and frames in the SPMs of the Fifth Assessment Report

The paper investigates topics, emphases, frames and absences in the Summary for Policymakers parts of the three Working Group reports in the IPCC 5th Assessment Report and the Summary for Policymakers of the Synthesis Report. It explores similarities and differences by using various tools of lexical and discourse analysis, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. The main results are these: First, each Working Group’s Summary reflects not only the Working Group’s distinctive mandate but also a distinctive intellectual framing. Second, although there are some significant differences in the emphases given to different themes from the Working Groups, the Synthesis Summary covers the main topics of the three other Summaries, and constitutes a relatively integrated summary of the complete Assessment Report. Third, we find though that the Synthesis Summary centrally follows up the risk framing and language which are prominent in Working Group II but semi-absent in the other Working Groups, as part of constructing a policy-relevant statement from the three distinctive reports. In addition, the Synthesis Summary makes use of linguistic devices which contribute to ‘amplify’ the strength of statements, as part of transferring messages effectively from the scientific context to a policy-maker audience. Fourth, we find that the style and tone of the IPCC Summaries conduce also to important absences and imbalances in emphasis: main victims of climate change (particular groups of vulnerable people) remain virtually invisible in the Summaries, unlike the impacts in nature and ecological systems or the aggregate economic impacts, and correspondingly the challenges, options and opportunities for action remain relatively underdeveloped in the analysis.     

IPCC AR6报告关于气候变化影响和风险主要结论的解读

文中对IPCC第六次评估报告第二工作组报告关于观测和预估的气候变化影响与风险方面的主要结论进行了解读。报告表明,气候变化已经对自然和人类系统造成了广泛的不利影响,尤其是气候变化下的复合风险和极端事件呈现日益加剧和频繁的趋势。目前,不同地区和部门的关键风险已多达127种,且随着气候变暖以及生态社会脆弱性的加剧,将对人类和生态系统造成更加普遍和不可逆的影响。相对第五次评估报告,本报告进一步扩展了风险的内涵,归纳了8个代表性关键风险,更加全面地评估了5个“关注理由”的风险水平,评估结果有利于加深对于气候变化影响的认识和及时制定行动对策。     

Projected Changes in Surface Air Temperature and Surface Wind in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Abstract

The impacts of climate change on surface air temperature (SAT) and winds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL) are investigated by performing simulations from 1970 to 2099 with the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM), driven by a five-member ensemble. Three members are from Canadian Global Climate Model (CGCM3) simulations following scenario A1B from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); one member is from the Community Climate System Model, version 3 (CCSM3) simulation, also following the A1B scenario; and one member is from the CCSM4 (version 4) simulation following the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP8.5) scenario. Compared with North America Regional Reanalysis (NARR) data, it is shown that CRCM can reproduce the observed SAT spatial patterns; for example, both CRCM simulations and NARR data show a warm SAT tongue along the eastern Gulf; CRCM simulations also capture the dominant northwesterly winds in January and the southwesterly winds in July. In terms of future climate scenarios, the spatial patterns of SAT show plausible seasonal variations. In January, the warming is 3°–3.5°C in the northern Gulf and 2.5°–3°C near Cabot Strait during 2040–2069, whereas the warming is more uniform during 2070–2099, with SAT increases of 4°–5°C. In summer, the warming gradually decreases from the western side of the GSL to the eastern side because of the different heat capacities between land and water. Moreover, the January winds increase by 0.2–0.4?m?s^?1 during 2040–2069, related to weakening stability in the atmospheric planetary boundary layer. However, during 2070–2099, the winds decrease by 0.2–0.4?m?s^?1 over the western Gulf, reflecting the northeastward shift in northwest Atlantic storm tracks. In July, enhanced baroclinicity along the east coast of North America dominates the wind changes, with increases of 0.2–0.4?m?s^?1. On average, the variance for the SAT changes is about 10% of the SAT increase, and the variance for projected wind changes is the same magnitude as the projected changes, suggesting uncertainty in the latter.     

IPCC第五次评估报告第一工作组主要结论对《联合国气候变化框架公约》进程的影响分析

IPCC评估报告对国际气候变化谈判进程有重要影响,目前正在陆续发布的第五次评估报告已明确作为气候变化新协议谈判的重要信息来源,对讨论2020年后应对气候变化国际合作机制的影响不容忽视。最先发布的第一工作组评估报告基于新的科学观测事实、更为完善的归因分析和气候系统模式模拟结果,进一步确认了气候变暖的事实,发现了人类活动与全球温升之间因果关系的新证据,以及温室气体累积排放与温升响应之间的定量联系。本文通过分析其中一些关键结论可能的政策含义,探讨了这些关键结论对目前国际气候变化谈判进程和新协议等相关问题的可能影响,探讨了科学信息在气候变化决策过程中的作用,以及如何更为科学地理解和利用这些重要结论。     

Some Opinions on Rock-Weathering-Related Carbon Sinks from the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report

Many recent researches show that rock-weathering-related carbon sink, especially carbonate-weathering-related carbon sink, actively takes part in the modern global carbon cycle, which might greatly contribute to balancing global carbon budget. Some new opinions on flux, time scale and effect of rock-weathering-related carbon sink were released in IPCC fifth Assessment Report (AR5). The flux of global rock-weathering-related carbon sink is about 0.4 Pg C/a in AR5 report, which accounts for about 1/2~1/3 of unbalanced global carbon budget. New time scale of global rock-weathering-related carbon sink was released. Time scale of silicate-weathering-related carbon sink is 10⁴~ 10⁶ year, while carbonate-weathering-related carbon sink (karst processes) is 10³~10⁴ year. A highlight is that rock-weathering-related carbon sink is listed as one of four carbon dioxide removal methods in AR5 report, whose time scale is 10²~ 10³ year. Although AR5 report released these new opinions, it is still thought that the rate of global rock-weathering-related carbon sink is currently too small to offset the rate at which fossil fuel CO₂ is being emitted. According to many researches in the field of rock weathering science in the past decades, this review discussed the shortage in carbon flux, time scale and effect of rock-weathering-related carbon sink in AR5 report. Many recent researches indicated that the carbon sink originated from carbonate rock weathering was a fast and sensitive geochemical process, which showed multiple time scales (diel, seasonal, annual or storm event). A new model based on H₂O carbonate-CO₂-aquatic phototroph interaction was established, which coupled geological, land surface water, and submerged phototroph carbon cycle process. The global carbon sink from carbonate rock weathering in new model is 0.477 Pg C/a,which accounts for about 39%~59% of unbalanced global carbon budget. Some key scientific issues on rate, stability, controlling mechanisms and scaling of rock-weathering-related carbon sink should be vitally concerned in the future, which could greatly contribute to balancing the global carbon budget.