NASA VEMAP Project

Description

The Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) is an ongoing multiinstitutional, international effort addressing the response of biogeography and biogeochemistry to environmental variability in climate and other drivers in both space and time domains. The objectives of VEMAP are the intercomparison of biogeochemistry models and vegetationtype distribution models (biogeography models) and determination of their sensitivity to changing climate, elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, and other sources of altered forcing. The VEMAP data set includes three georeferencing and three cell area variables. Data Citation: This data set should be cited as follows: Kittel, T. G. F., N. A. Rosenbloom, T. H. Painter, D. S. Schimel, H. H. Fisher, A. Grimsdell, VEMAP Participants, C. Daly, and E. R. Hunt, Jr. 2002. VEMAP Phase I Database, revised. Available on-line from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

vemap-1_VEMAP1_CDROM_566

The VEMAP 1: Model Input Database CD-ROM ISO image contains long-term data that were used as input in comparing models during Phase 1 of the Vegetation Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project. Compiled and model-generated data sets of long-term mean climate, soils, vegetation, and climate change scenarios for the conterminous United States. Dates of the data sets range between 1895 and 1996. The data are gridded at 0.5 degree latitude by 0.5 degree longitude.

vemap-1_results_731

The Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) was a multi-institutional, international effort addressing the response of biogeography and biogeochemistry to environmental variability in climate and other drivers in both space and time domains. The objectives of VEMAP are the intercomparison of biogeochemistry models and vegetation type distribution models (biogeography models) and determination of their sensitivity to changing climate, elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, and other sources of altered forcing.Selected variable output results from the VEMAP Phase I modeling exercise are now available for several combinations of biogeochemistry and biogeography models and climate change scenarios through the ORNL DAAC. For a description of the models and climate scenarios employed in the VEMAP 1 project and a discussion of the results please refer to the following publication: VEMAP Members. 1995. Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project: Comparing biogeography and biogeochemistry models in a continental-scale study of terrestrial ecosystem responses to climate change and CO2 doubling. Global Biogeochem. Cycles 9:407-437.

vemap-1_scenario_223

The Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) is an ongoing multiinstitutional, international effort addressing the response of biogeography and biogeochemistry to environmental variability in climate and other drivers in both space and time domains. The objectives of VEMAP are the intercomparison of biogeochemistry models and vegetation type distribution models (biogeography models) and determination of their sensitivity to changing climate, elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, and other sources of altered forcing. Climate scenarios from eight climate change experiments are included in the data set. Seven of these experiments are from atmospheric general circulation model (GCM) 1xCO2 and 2xCO2 equilibrium runs. These GCMs were implemented with a simple "mixed-layer" ocean representation that includes ocean heat storage and vertical exchange of heat and moisture with the atmosphere, but omits or specifies (rather than calculates) horizontal ocean heat transport. The eighth scenario is from a limited-area nested regional climate model (RegCM) experiment for the U.S. which was supported by the Model Evaluation Consortium for Climate Assessment (MECCA). The CCC and GFDL R30 runs are among the high resolution GCM experiments reported in IPCC (1990). Changes in monthly mean temperature and relative humidity were represented as differences (2xCO2 climate value - 1xCO2 climate value) and those for monthly precipitation, solar radiation, vapor pressure, and horizontal wind speed as change ratios (2xCO2 climate value/1xCO2 climate value). GCM grid point change values were derived from archives at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR; Jenne 1992) and spatially interpolated to the 0.5 degree VEMAP grid. Wind speed changes are for the lowest model level. For GISS runs, we calculated winds from vector components and then determined the change ratio. Values from the 60-km RegCM grid were reprojected to the 0.5 degree grid. Vapor pressure (and relative humidity) were not available for the CCC run; relative humidity changes were not determined for the RegCM experiment. A key issue in the generation of altered climates based on climate model output is the strong possibility of physical inconsistencies in the new climates. Change ratios from the NCAR archive have an imposed upper limit of 5.0, providing some constraint on these changes. An exception is that the GISS wind speed change ratios do not have this limit imposed (most GISS wind speed change ratios were less than 5). For a discussion of the utility and limitations of using climate model experiment outputs for exploring ecological sensitivity to climate change, see Sulzman et al. (1995). The 8 climate model experiments are: CCC - Canadian Climate Centre (Boer, McFarlane, and Lazare 1992) GISS - Goddard Institute for Space Studies (Hansen et al. 1984) GFDL - Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. Three experiments: (1) GFDL R15: R15 (4.5 degree by 7.5 degree grid) runs without Q- flux corrections (Manabe and Wetherald, 1987). (2) GFDL R15 Q-flux: R15 resolution (4.5 degree by 7.5 degree grid) runs with Q-flux corrections (Manabe and Wetherald 1990, Wetherald and Manabe 1990). (3) GFDL R30: R30 (2.22 degree by 3.75 degree grid) run with Q-flux corrections (Manabe and Wetherald 1990, Wetherald and Manabe 1990). OSU - Oregon State University (Schlesinger and Zhao 1989) UKMO - United Kingdom Meteorological Office (Wilson and Mitchell 1987) RegCM (MM4) - National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) nested regional climate model (climate version of the Pennsylvania State University/NCAR mesoscale model MM4; Giorgi, Brodeur and Bates 1994). Conterminous U.S. simulations were on a 60-km interval grid and were driven by 1x and 2xCO2 equilibrium GCM runs (Thompson and Pollard 1995a, 1995b). 1x and 2xCO2 RegCM runs were each 3 years in length. Climate changes were based on averages for these runs. A complete users guide to the VEMAP Phase I database which includes more information about this data set can be found at ftp://daac.ornl.gov/data/vemap-1/comp/Phase_1_User_Guide.pdf. ORNL DAAC maintains additional information associated with the VEMAP Project. Data Citation: This data set should be cited as follows: Kittel, T. G. F., N. A. Rosenbloom, T. H. Painter, D. S. Schimel, H. H. Fisher, A. Grimsdell, VEMAP Participants, C. Daly, and E. R. Hunt, Jr. 2002. VEMAP Phase I Database, revised. Available on-line from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

vemap-2_results_annual_766

The Vegetation-Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) was a large, collaborative, multi-institutional, international effort whose goal was to evaluate the sensitivity of terrestrial ecosystem and vegetation processes to altered climate forcing and elevated atmospheric CO2. Phase 1 of the VEMAP project developed historical (1895-1993) data sets of observed climate, soils, and vegetation compatible with the requirements of ecosystem models and vegetation distribution models. See the VEMAP Phase 1 User's Guide for more information. Phase 2 developed historical (1895-1993) gridded data sets of climate (temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, humidity, and wind speed) and projected (1994-2100) gridded annual and monthly climate data sets using output from two climate system models (CCCma (Canadian Centre for Climate Modeling and Analysis) and Hadley Centre models). See the VEMAP Phase 2 User's Guide for additional background information.Two Phase 2 model experiments were run. First, a set of selected biogeochemical models and coupled biogeochemical-biogeographical models were run from 1895 to 1993 to compare model responses to the historical time series and current ecosystem biogeochemistry. Second, these same models were run on the projected 1994 to 2100 data to compare their ecological responses to transient scenarios of climate and atmospheric CO2 change. Model runs were performed for daily, monthly, and annual gridded data sets. The output of the annual model runs in VEMAP grid format are contained in this data set.The models investigated included five biogeochemical cycling models, which simulate plant production and nutrient cycles, but rely on a static land-cover type, and two dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) that combine biogeochemical cycling processes with dynamic biogeographical processes including succession and fire simulation.Biogeochemical Cycling ModelsBiome-BGC (BioGeochemical Cycles)CenturyCentury rxveg GTEC (Global Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Model)TEM (Terrestrial Ecosystem Model)Dynamic Global Vegetation ModelsLPJ (Lund-Potsdam-Jena MC1 (MC 5 modified Century)VEMAP 2 model intercomparison results have been published by Schimel et al.(2000), Bachelet et al. (2003) and Gordon and Famiglietti (2004). Related Data SetsAvailable on-line [http://www.daac.ornl.gov] from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive CenterVEMAP 2: U.S. ANNUAL CLIMATE, 1895-1993 VEMAP 2: U.S. MONTHLY CLIMATE, 1895-1993, VERSION 2 VEMAP 2: U.S. DAILY CLIMATE, 1895-1993 VEMAP 2: U.S. ANNUAL CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS VEMAP 2: U.S. MONTHLY CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS, VERSION 2 VEMAP 2: U.S. DAILY CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS VEMAP 2: Annual Ecosystem Model Responses to U.S. Climate Change, 1994-2100

vemap-1_VEMAP_Alaska_1344

This data set provides the results of the development of The Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) Phase 2 transient climate change scenarios for the state of Alaska, USA. The data include gridded monthly historical and future estimates of maximum and minimum temperature, solar radiation, vapor pressure, irradiance, relative humidity and potential evapotranspiration at 0.5-degree spatial resolution. Historical data are for the period 1922-1996; future estimates cover the period 1997-2100.

vemap-2_TSCENARIO_annual_570

The Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) Phase 2 has developed a number of transient climate change scenarios based on coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) transient climate experiments. The purpose of these scenarios is to reflect time-dependent changes in surface climate from AOGCMs in terms of both (1) long-term trends and (2) changes in multiyear (3-5 yr) to decadal variability patterns, such as El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Development of the data set is reported in Kittel et al. (1997). Scenarios have been derived from transient greenhouse gas experiments with sulfate aerosols from the Canadian Climate Center (CCC) and the Hadley Centre (HADCM2; Mitchell et al. 1995, Johns et al. 1997) accessed via the Climate Impacts LINK Project, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia. Scenarios were developed for the following variables: total incident solar radiation, minimum and maximum temperature, vapor pressure, precipitation, relative humidity and mean monthly irradiance for the time periods January 1994 to approximately 2100. These data and the VEMAP 1 data (Kittel et al. 1995) were used to drive models in VEMAP Phase 2, the objectives of which are to compare time-dependent ecological responses of biogeochemical and coupled biogeochemical-biogeographical models to historical and projected transient forcings across the conterminous U.S. This data set of annual climate change scenarios was designed to be concatenated with the /VEMAP/vemap.html">VEMAP 2: U.S. Annual Climate, 1895-1993 data set to create a single climate series from 1895 - ~2100. This data set is being made available for the U.S. National Assessment. Users are requested to confer with the NCAR VEMAP Data Group to ensure that the intended application of the data set is constistent with the generation and limiations of the data. For more information, refer to the VEMAP homepage. Data Citation The data set should be cited as follows: Kittel, T. G. F., N. A. Rosenbloom, C. Kaufman, J. A. Royle, C. Daly, H. H. Fisher, W. P. Gibson, S. Aulenbach, D. N. Yates, R. McKeown, D. S. Schimel, and VEMAP 2 Participants. 2001. VEMAP 2: U. S. Annual Climate Change Scenarios. Available on-line from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

vemap-2_TCLIMATE_annual_571

The Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) Phase 2 has developed a data set of ~100-year gridded annual, monthly, and daily time series of climate for the conterminous United States that includes realistic interannual variability. This data set has been used to compare time-dependent ecological responses of biogeochemical and coupled biogeochemical-biogeographical models to historical time series and projected scenarios of climate, atmospheric CO2, and N-deposition. Development of the data set is reported in Kittel et al. (1997). As in the VEMAP 1 database, the historical data set has (1) annual, daily, and monthly versions; (2) physical consistency among variables on a daily basis; (3) consistency between climate and topography; and (4) needed input variables for VEMAP2 models (minimum and maximum temperature, precipitation, vapor pressure, and solar radiation) (Kittel et al. 1995). This historical annual climate data set was designed to be concatenated with the /VEMAP/vemap.html">VEMAP 2: U.S. Annual Climate Change Scenarios data set to create a single climate series from 1895 - ~2100. Users are requested to confer with the NCAR VEMAP Data Group to ensure that the intended application of the data set is consistent with the generation and limitations of the data. Data Citation The data set should be cited as follows: Kittel, T. G. F., N. A. Rosenbloom, C. Kaufman, J. A. Royle, C. Daly, H. H. Fisher, W. P. Gibson, S. Aulenbach, D. N. Yates, R. McKeown, D. S. Schimel, and VEMAP 2 Participants. 2001. VEMAP 2: U. S. Annual Climate, 1895-1993. Available on line from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

vemap-2_TSCENARIO_daily_618

The Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) Phase 2 has developed a number of transient climate change scenarios based on coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) transient climate experiments. The purpose of these scenarios is to reflect time-dependent changes in surface climate from AOGCMs in terms of both (1) long-term trends and (2) changes in multiyear (3-5 yr) to decadal variability patterns, such as El Nino/Southern Oscillation(ENSO). Development of the data set is reported in Kittel et al. (1997). Scenarios have been derived from transient greenhouse gas experiments with sulfate aerosols from the Canadian Climate Center (CCC) and the Hadley Centre (HADCM2; Mitchell et al. 1995, Johns et al. 1997) accessed via the Climate Impacts LINK Project, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia. Scenarios were developed for the following variables: total incident solar radiation, minimum and maximum temperature, vapor pressure, precipitation, relative humidity and mean daily irradiance for the time periods January 1994 to approximately 2100. These data and the VEMAP 1 data (Kittel et al. 1995) were used to drive models in VEMAP Phase 2, the objectives of which are to compare time-dependent ecological responses of biogeochemical and coupled biogeochemical-biogeographical models to historical and projected transient forcings across the conterminous U.S. This data set of daily climate change scenarios was designed to be concatenated with the /VEMAP/vemap.html">VEMAP 2: U.S. Daily Climate, 1895-1993, Version 2 data set to create a single climate series from 1895 - ~2100. This data set is being made available for the U.S. National Assessment. Users are requested to confer with the NCAR VEMAP Data Group to ensure that the intended application of the data set is consistent with the generation and limitations of the data. For more information, refer to the VEMAP homepage. Data Citation The data set should be cited as follows: Kittel, T. G. F., N. A. Rosenbloom, C. Kaufman, J. A. Royle, C. Daly, H. H. Fisher, W. P. Gibson, S. Aulenbach, R. McKeown, D. S. Schimel, and VEMAP 2 Participants. 2000. VEMAP 2: U. S. Daily Climate Change Scenarios. Available on-line from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

vemap-2_TCLIMATE_daily_620

The Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) Phase 2 has developed a data set of ~100-year gridded monthly and daily time series of climate for the conterminous United States that includes realistic interannual variability. This data set has been used to compare time-dependent ecological responses of biogeochemical and coupled biogeochemical-biogeographical modesl to historical time series and projected scenarios of climate, atmospheric CO2, and N-Deposition, and N-Deposition

vemap-2_TCLIMATE_monthly_568

The Vegetation/Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis Project (VEMAP) Phase 2 has developed a data set of ~100-year gridded monthly and daily time series of climate for the conterminous United States that includes realistic interannual variability. This data set has been used to compare time-dependent ecological responses of biogeochemical and coupled biogeochemical-biogeographical models to historical time series and projected scenarios of climate, atmospheric CO2, and N-deposition. Development of the data set is reported in Kittel et al. (1997). As in the VEMAP 1 database, the historical data set has (1) daily and monthly versions; (2) physical consistency among variables on a daily basis; (3) consistency between climate and topography; and (4) needed input variables for VEMAP2 models (minimum and maximum temperature, precipitation, vapor pressure, and solar radiation) (Kittel et al. 1995). This historical monthly climate data set was designed to be concatenated with the /VEMAP/vemap.html">VEMAP 2: U.S. Monthly Climate Change Scenarios, Version 2 data set to create a single climate series from 1895 - ~2100. Users are requested to confer with the NCAR VEMAP Data Group to ensure that the intended application of the data set is consistent with the generation and limitations of the data. Data Citation The data set should be cited as follows: Kittel, T. G. F., N. A. Rosenbloom, C. Kaufman, J. A. Royle, C. Daly, H. H. Fisher, W. P. Gibson, S. Aulenbach, D. N. Yates, R. McKeown, D. S. Schimel, and VEMAP 2 Participants. 2000. VEMAP 2: U. S. Monthly Climate, 1895-1993, Version 2. Available on-line from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

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