The NUI Galway-based Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC) has contributed to a significant new report on climate change.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has published its landmark AR6 report, the organisation’s sixth assessment report on researcher’s understanding of the Earth’s climate and how it is changing.
The report features ICHEC’s global climate simulations, which uses computers to complete projections of what the global climate will look like in the future.
The simulations are carried out using the EC-Earth model, developed by a European consortium which includes ICHEC. The model uses existing data to predict the future state of the global climate.
The projection data produced by the simulations allows researchers and scientists to better understand the physical state of the climate and determine the impact of climate change on the environment and global society.
“Using over 1,500 terabytes of data and millions of lines of code, the EC-Earth model’s simulation has provided a very real look at exactly what our planet will look like in the not too distant future.
ICHEC’s YouTube channel features a number of visualisations of the impact climate change has had in the past and will continue to have in the future from the 20th century all the way up to projections as far as the year 2100.
The videos show the effects of rising global temperatures, increased levels of precipitation and increasing September sea ice fraction.
Using over 1,500 terabytes of data and millions of lines of code, the EC-Earth model’s simulation has provided a very real look at exactly what our planet will look like in the not too distant future.
The inclusion of these simulations in the IPCC’s report places Ireland among the leaders on global climate change research.
The report states that humanity’s actions are directly leading to rapidly changing conditions in the environment, stating that “it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.”
“Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred,” the report continues.
ICHEC’s simulations comprised Ireland’s contribution to an international Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). This project allows scientists across the globe to share climate models with each other and compare simulations
Carried out in collaboration with Met Éireann and funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Met Éireann and the Marine Institute, ICHEC’s work has secured Ireland’s position for future ground-breaking global climate studies.
“This research ensures Ireland remains at the forefront of global climate change research and continues its involvement with future Coupled Model Intercomparison Projects and IPCC reports,” said ICHEC Director Professor JC Desplat.
Our climate projections, combined with those of the international community, will inform global climate policy over the coming years. Requirements for participation in CMIP include an internationally respected model, access to a powerful supercomputer and substantial data storage resources. ICHEC currently meets these criteria in its ability to participate in projects of this scale.”
More information on ICHEC is available via the organisation’s website, ichec.ie.
