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What We Did
Airborne particulate matter, or aerosols, influence Earth’s climate by absorbing and scattering sunlight, and by seeding cloud formation. Aerosols and clouds represent one of the largest uncertainties in modelling present-day climate. We improved the representation of aerosols in the New Zealand Earth System Model using data gathered from recent voyages on the Southern Ocean. We focussed on the Southern Ocean as it plays a key role in determining New Zealand’s climate and extreme weather events, yet is poorly represented in most modern-day climate models.
Who Was Involved
The research was funded by the Deep South National Science Challenge, and carried out in collaboration with researchers at NIWA, the UK Met Office, Bodeker Scientific and the University of Otago.
Why It Matters
Climate models are the best available tools to understand the impacts of climate change. By using state-of-the-art observations to constrain New Zealand’s own climate model (the New Zealand Earth System Model) we increase our confidence in climate change projections for New Zealand.
Learn More
The sensitivity of Southern Ocean aerosols and cloud microphysics to sea spray and sulfate aerosol production in the HadGEM3-GA7.1 chemistry-climate model, L.E. Revell, S. Kremser, S. Hartery, M. Harvey, J. Mulcahy, J. Williams, O. Morgenstern, A. McDonald, V. Varma, L. Bird and A. Schuddeboom, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2019.
Revell, L. E., N. E. Wotherspoon, O. J. Jones, Y. A. Bhatti, J. H. T. Williams, S. L. Mackie and J. P. Mulcahy (2021). "Atmosphere-Ocean Feedback From Wind-Driven Sea Spray Aerosol Production." Geophysical Research Letters 48(7): e2020GL091900.
