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Published on: March 31, 2023
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Increasing boreal fires reduce future global warming and sea ice loss
Edward Blanchard-Wrigglesworth1, Patricia DeRepentigny2, Dargan M W Frierson1
1Department of Atmospheric and Climate Science, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1640.
Summary
Biomass burning emissions (BBEs) in the boreal region significantly impact climate. Realistic BBEs in climate models reduce global warming and Arctic warming, affecting sea ice and precipitation patterns.
Area of Science:
- Climate Science
- Atmospheric Chemistry
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Biomass burning emissions (BBEs) influence climate through aerosols affecting radiation and clouds.
- Boreal BBEs have increased significantly and are projected to rise with warming.
- Current climate models (CMIP) lack active fire components, using prescribed BBEs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of realistic boreal BBEs on climate trends.
- To assess the influence of unrealistic BBE scenarios in CMIP6 simulations.
- To understand aerosol-climate interactions and boreal emission trends.
Main Methods:
- Ran sensitivity experiments using ramped-up boreal emissions based on observed trends.
- Compared results with standard Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) simulations.
- Analyzed changes in global and Arctic warming, sea ice, and precipitation patterns.
Main Results:
- Increasing boreal BBEs reduced global warming by 12% and Arctic warming by 38%.
- This increase in BBEs mitigated sea ice loss.
- Tropical precipitation shifted southward due to altered hemispheric temperature responses.
Conclusions:
- Realistic boreal BBEs are crucial for accurate climate model simulations.
- Improved understanding of boreal emission trends and aerosol-climate interactions is needed.
- Inaccurate BBE scenarios in CMIP6 significantly impact simulated climate trends.
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