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This catalogue entry provides daily and monthly global climate projections on single levels data from a large number of experiments, models , members and time periods computed in the framework of fifth sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). The term "single levels" is used to express that the variables are computed at one vertical level which can be surface (or a level close to the surface) or a dedicated pressure level in the atmosphere. Multiple vertical levels are excluded from this catalogue entry.CMIP6).

CMIP6 data are going to be CMIP5 data are used extensively in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Reports (the latest one is IPCC AR5, which was published in 2014)6th Assessment Report. The use of these data is mostly aimed at:

  • addressing outstanding scientific questions that arose as part of the IPCC reporting process;
  • improving the understanding of the climate system;
  • providing estimates of future climate change and related uncertainties;
  • providing input data for the adaptation to the climate change;
  • examining climate predictability and exploring the ability of models to predict climate on decadal time scales;
  • evaluating how realistic the different models are in simulating the recent past.

The term "experiments" refers to the three main categories of CMIP5 simulations:

  • Historical experiments which cover the period where modern climate observations exist. These experiments show how the GCMs performs for the past climate and can be used as a reference period for comparison with scenario runs for the future. The period covered is typically 1850-2005.

...

  • Climate projection experiments

...

  • following the combined pathways of Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) and Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP). The SSP scenarios provide different pathways of the future climate forcing. The period covered is typically 2006-2100, some extended RCP experimental data is available from 2100-2300.

In CMIP5, the same experiments were run using different GCMs. In addition, for each model, the same experiment was repeatedly done using slightly different conditions (like initial conditions or different physical parameterisations for instance) producing in that way an ensemble of experiments closely related. Note that CMIP5 GCM data can be also used as lateral boundary conditions for Regional Climate Models (RCMs). RCMs are also available in the CDS (see CORDEX datasets)this catalogue entry the users will be able to select vertical levels for the 3-dimensional variables and spatial and temporal subsetting of all the available data. This is a new feature of the global climate projection dataset, which relies on compute processes run simultaneously in the ESGF nodes, where the data are originally located.

The data are produced by the participating institutes of the CMIP5 project. The latest CMIP GCM experiments will form the CMIP6 dataset, which will be published in the CDS in a later stage.CMIP6 project. 


DATA DESCRIPTION
Data typeGridded
Horizontal coverageGlobal
Horizontal resolutionFrom 0.125° x 0.125° to 5° x 5° depending on the model
Vertical resolutionVariables are provided either in one single level
which may differ among variables.
(2-dimensional fields) or in pressure levels (3-dimensional fields)
Temporal coverage1850-2300 (shorter for some experiments)
Temporal resolution
Month
Daily and Monthly
File formatNetCDF


MAIN VARIABLES
NameUnitsDescription
10m u component of windm s-1Magnitude of the eastward component of the two-dimensional horizontal air velocity near the surface.
Near-Surface Air Temperature

 K

Temperature of the air near the surface.
Daily Maximum Near-Surface Air Temperature

 K

Daily maximum near-surface air temperature.
Daily Minimum Near-Surface Air Temperature

 K

Daily minimum near-surface air temperature.
Daily Maximum Near-Surface Wind Speed
10m v component of wind
m s-1
Magnitude of the northward component of the two-dimensional horizontal air velocity near the surface.10m wind_speedm s-1Magnitude of the two-dimensional horizontal air velocity near thesurface.2m temperatureKTemperature of the air near the surface.Eastward turbulent surface stressN s m-2Eastward component of the horizontal drag exerted by the atmosphere on the surface through turbulent processes.Evaporationkg m-2 s-1Evaporation rate. It includes conversion to vapor phase from both the liquid and solid phase, i.e., includes sublimation.Maximum 2m temperature in the last 24 hoursKDaily maximum near-surface air temperature.Mean precipitation fluxkg m-2 s-1Amount of water per unit area and time.Mean sea level pressurePaTime average of the air pressure at sea level.Minimum 2m temperature in the last 24 hoursKDaily minimum near-surface air temperature.
Daily maximum 10m wind speed
Surface TemperatureKTemperature at the interface (not the bulk temperature of the medium above or below) between air and sea for open-sea regions.
Sea Level PressurePaTime average of the air pressure at sea level.
Surface Air PressurePaPressure of air at the lower boundary of the atmosphere
Eastward Near-Surface Windm s-1Magnitude of the eastward component of the two-dimensional horizontal air velocity near the surface.
Northward Near-Surface Windm s-1Magnitude of the northward component of the two-dimensional horizontal air velocity near the surface.
Near-Surface Wind Speedm s-1Magnitude of the two-dimensional horizontal air velocity near the surface.
Near-Surface Relative Humidity
Near surface relative humidity
%Amount of moisture in the air near the surface divided by the maximum amount of moisture that could exist in the air at a specific temperature and location.
Near
surface specific humidityRunoff
-Surface Specific HumidityDimensionlessAmount of moisture in the air near the surface divided by amount of air plus moist at that location.
Northward turbulent surface stressN s m-2Northward component of the horizontal drag exerted by the atmosphere on the surface through turbulent processes.Sea ice fractionDimensionlessArea of the sea surface occupied by sea ice.Sea ice plus snow amount
Precipitationkg m-2 s-1Amount of water per unit area
of surface and subsurface liquid water which drains from land.
and time.
Snowfall Flux
kg m-2 s-1Mass
per unit area of sea ice plus snow
of water in the
ocean portion of the grid cell averaged over the entire ocean portion, including the ice-free fraction. Reported as 0.0 in regions free of sea ice.
form of snow precipitating per unit area.
Evaporation Including Sublimation and Transpirationkg m-2 s-1Evaporation rate. It includes conversion to vapour phase from both the liquid and solid phase, i.e., includes sublimation.
Atmosphere Water Vapor Content kg m-2Vertically integrated water vapor amount through the atmospheric column.
Surface Downward Eastward Wind StressPaEastward component of the horizontal drag exerted by the atmosphere on the surface through turbulent processes.
Surface Downward Northward Wind StressPaNorthward component of the horizontal drag exerted by the atmosphere on the surface through turbulent processes.
Surface Upward Latent Heat Flux
Sea ice surface temperatureKTemperature that exists at the interface of tea sea-ice and the overlying medium which may be air or snow.Sea ice thicknessmVertical extent of ocean sea ice.Sea surface height above geoidmVertical distance between the actual sea surface and a surface of constant geopotential with which mean sea level would coincide if the ocean were at rest.Sea surface temperatureKTemperature of sea water near the surface.Skin temperatureKTemperature at the interface (not the bulk temperature of the medium above or below) between air and sea for open-sea regions.Snow depth over sea iceKMean thickness of snow in the ocean portion of the grid cell (averaging over the entire ocean portion, including the snow-free ocean fraction). Reported as 0.0 in regions free of snow-covered sea ice.Snowfallkg m-2 s-1Mass of water in the form of snow precipitating per unit area.Soil moisture contentkg m-2Vertical sum per unit area from the surface down to the bottom of the soil model of water in all phases contained in soil.Surface latent heat flux
W m-2Flux per unit area of heat between the surface and the air on account of evaporation including sublimation. Positive when directed upward (negative downward).
Surface
pressurePaPressure of air at the lower boundary of the atmopshereSurface sensible heat flux
Upward Sensible Heat FluxW m-2Flux per unit area of heat between the surface and the air by motion of air only. Positive when directed upward (negative downward).
Surface
snow amount
Downwelling Longwave RadiationW
kg
m-2
Snow amount
Radiation inciding on the
ground, excluding that on the plant or vegetation canopy,
surface from the above per unit area.
Surface
solar radiation downwardsSurface thermal radiation downwardsW m-2Radiation inciding on the surface from the above
Upwelling Longwave RadiationW m-2
Radiative shortwave flux of energy downward at the surface.
Longwave radiation from the surface per unit area.
Surface
upwelling longwave radiation
Downwelling Shortwave RadiationW m-2
Longwave radiation from
Radiative shortwave flux of energy downward at the surface
per unit area
.
Surface
upwelling shortwave radiation
Upwelling Shortwave RadiationW m-2Shortwave radiation from the surface per unit area.
TOA
incident solar radiation
Incident Shortwave RadiationW m-2Incident solar radiation at the top of atmosphere
TOA
outgoing clear-sky longwave radiation
Outgoing Shortwave RadiationW m-2
Longwave
Shortwave radiation from the top of the atmosphere to space per unit area
assuming clear-sky conditions
.
TOA Outgoing Longwave Radiation
TOA outgoing clear-sky shortwave radiation
W m-2
Shortwave
Longwave radiation from the top of the atmosphere to space per unit area
assuming clear-sky conditions
.
TOA Outgoing Shortwave Flux Assuming Clear Sky
TOA outgoing longwave radiation
W m-2
Longwave
Shortwave radiation from the top of the atmosphere to space per unit area assuming clear-sky conditions.
TOA
outgoing shortwave radiation
Outgoing Longwave Flux Assuming Clear SkyW m-2
Shortwave
Longwave radiation from the top of the atmosphere to space per unit area assuming clear-sky conditions.
Total
cloud cover
Cloud Cover PercentageDimensionlessTotal refers to the whole atmosphere column, as seen from the surface or the top of the atmosphere. Cloud cover refers to fraction of horizontal area occupied by clouds.
Air TemperatureKTemperature of the air.
Eastward Windm s-1Magnitude of the eastward component of the two-dimensional horizontal air velocity.
Northward Windm s-1Magnitude of the northward component of the two-dimensional horizontal air velocity.
Relative Humidity%Amount of moisture in the air divided by the maximum amount of moisture that could exist in the air at a specific temperature and location.
Specific HumidityDimensionlessAmount of moisture in the air divided by amount of air plus moisture at that location.
Geopotential HeightmGravitational potential energy per unit mass normalised by the standard gravity at mean sea level at the same latitude. It is also used as vertical coordinate referenced to Earth's mean sea level since its value is proportional to the elevation above the mean sea level.
Surface Snow Amountkg m-2Snow amount on the ground, excluding that on the plant or vegetation canopy, per unit area.
Snow DepthmMean thickness of snow.
Total Runoffkg m-2 s-1Amount per unit area of surface and subsurface liquid water which drains from land.
Surface Runoff Fluxkg m-2 s-1The total surface runoff leaving the land portion of the grid cell divided by the land area in the grid cell (report as "missing" or 0.0 where the land fraction is 0.).
Moisture in Upper Portion of Soil Columnkg m-2Vertical sum per unit area from the surface down to the bottom of the soil model of water in all phases contained in soil.
Sea-Ice Area Percentage (Ocean Grid)%Area of the sea surface occupied by sea ice.
Sea Ice ThicknessmVertical extent of ocean sea ice.
Sea-Ice Mass per Areakg m-2Mass per unit area of sea ice plus snow in the ocean portion of the grid cell averaged over the entire ocean portion, including the ice-free fraction. Reported as 0.0 in regions free of sea ice.
Surface Temperature of Sea IceKTemperature that exists at the interface of tea sea-ice and the overlying medium which may be air or snow.
Sea Surface TemperatureKTemperature of sea water near the surface.
Sea Surface SalinityPSUSalt concentration close to the ocean's surface. 
Sea Surface Height Above GeoidmVertical distance between the actual sea surface and a surface of constant geopotential with which mean sea level would coincide if the ocean were at rest.
Grid-Cell Area for Ocean Variablesm-2The area of the grid cell in the ocean. The data is time-independent.
Sea Area Percentage%The percentage of sea surface in a grid cell. The data is time-independent.
Grid-Cell Area for Atmospheric Grid Variablesm-2The area of the grid cell in the atmosphere. The data is time-independent.
Capacity of Soil to Store Water (Field Capacity)kg m-2The total water holding capacity of all the soil in the grid cell divided by the land area of the grid cell.
Percentage of the Grid Cell Occupied by Land (Including Lakes)%The percentage of land or lake surface in a grid cell. The data is time-independent.
Land Ice Area Percentage%Fraction of grid cell occupied by "permanent" ice (e.g. glaciers). The data is time-independent.
Surface AltitudemThe height above the geoid (being 0.0 over the sea). The data is time-independent.