Modelling of Global Chemistry for Climate (GCC)


The GCC project will develop a capability for modelling the global chemical climate of the atmosphere based on fundamental physical principles. Such a capability is an essential element in Canada's ability to respond to the challenges presented by the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. On the one hand, we need to be able to predict the impact of future emission/uptake scenarios for greenhouse gases (GHGs) and their precursors. At the same time, we need to monitor changes in the atmosphere through measurement systems and the synthesis of diverse and inhomogeneous measurements into a self-consistent data set. The unifying tool for both climate prediction and the synthesis of climate measurements is a global climate model.

The project will provide an important enhancement of the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) coupled climate system prediction model, by providing a fully interactive representation of the global chemical climate of the neutral atmosphere. This will enable the MSC to pursue its goal of developing a comprehensive climate system model that incorporates representations of important biogeochemical cycles by coupling this enhanced atmospheric model to land-surface, biogenic emission/uptake and ocean models. During the project, climate sensitivity experiments will be performed which address such questions as the recovery of the stratospheric ozone layer and changes in the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere.

The project will also contribute to the development of a new chemical climate data assimilation facility for the MSC, in partnership with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), which is capable of representing the entire neutral atmosphere (to about 100 km altitude). At present, there is no such capability. This facility will allow the interpretation and synthesis of measurements as well as the optimal design of new measurement systems, and will be used in support of Canadian instruments focused on global chemistry and climate. This will benefit the CSA both by maximizing the return from its instruments, and by improving the quality of Canadian proposals for foreign missions thereby enhancing their likelihood of selection.

The project takes full advantage of the natural (and complementary) strengths of the government and university research sectors, and offers an outstanding opportunity within Canada for the training of highly qualified personnel at the leading edge of important environmental modelling technologies. It builds on the established heritage of the highly successful Canadian Middle Atmosphere Modelling (MAM) project (1993-2000), which was led by the senior members of the present Investigator team, and uses the Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM) which was developed by that project.

The GCC project is funded for five years beginning January 1, 2001, and is supported by an NSERC Strategic Project grant, by the Meteorological Service of Canada through its Climate Research Network (administered by the Canadian Institute for Climate Studies), by the Canadian Space Agency, and by the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences.

  • GCC Project Personnel
  • MAM and GCC Publications
  • GCC Conference Presentations
  • MAM and GCC Reports to Funding Agencies
  • MAM and GCC Workshop Programmes
  • GCC Summer School, August 2003
  • GCC Summer School, May 2004
  • GCC Summer School, May 2005