ESSL LAR

Samuel Levis

 

Project Scientist
TIIMES - CGD
BGS

 

Contact Information:
PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000
Office: ML - 202D
Telephone: 303-497-1627
Email: slevis@ucar.edu
Home Page | Group Webpage

Samuel Levis
 

Project Summary:

 

Levis, Bonan, and Lawrence showed with the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) that a simulation with higher(lower) albedo at 1xCO2 due to more(less) snow cover is more(less) sensitive to increased CO2.

As a corollary, we showed with output from 15 CMIP3 models that the wide variation in snow-albedo feedbacks and climate sensitivities among the models correlates well with their variations in continental middle to high latitude present-day springtime albedo. (Published in GRL)

In a related project, Cook, Bonan, and Levis showed that climate sensitivity to different snow fraction parameterizations is emphasized by the presence of dynamic vegetation in a model (Climate Dynamics in press).

 

Future Plans:

(a) Land use intercomparison project with N. de Noblet’s group (LSCE, France). Simulations in progress.

(b) Prognostic canopy air space to be included in future version of CLM. Technote in prep.

(c) Crop irrigation to be included in future version of CLM. Sacks et al. manuscript in prep.

(d) CN-DGVM coupling in CLM: First steps promising. To be included in future version of CLM with new capabilities, such as shrub pfts, coexistence in gridcell of crops and dynamic natural vegetation.

 

Presentations:

  • From diagnostic to prognostic canopy airspace, Boulder USA, March 2007
  • Present day snow albedo a predictor of simulated climate sensitivity?, Boulder USA, February 2007
 

TIIMES External Collaborators:

Nik Buening, University of Colorado
Ben Cook, University of Virginia
Bob Gallimore, University of Wisconsin
Forrest Hoffman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Mariah Kvalevag, University of Oslo
Mike Notaro, University of Wisconsin
Bill Sacks, University of Wisconsin
Reto Stockli, Colorado State University
 

Publications:

Cook, B. I., G. B. Bonan, S. Levis, H. E. Epstein, 2007: Rapid vegetation responses and feedbacks amplify climate model response to snow cover changes. Clim. Dyn., doi: 10.1007/s00382-007-0296-z. (In Press)

Levis, S., G. B. Bonan, P. J. Lawrence, 2007: Present-day springtime high-latitude surface albedo as a predictor of simulated climate sensitivity. Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L17703, doi: 10.1029/2007GL030775.

Wang, Y., M. Notaro, Z. Liu, R. Gallimore, S. Levis, J. E. Kutzbach, 2007: Detecting vegetation-precipitation feedbacks in mid-Holocene North Africa from two climate models. Clim. Past Discuss., 3, 961-975.

Mahowald, N. M., D. R. Muhs, S. Levis, P. J. Rasch, M. Yoshioka, C. S. Zender, C. Luo, 2006: Change in atmospheric mineral aerosols in response to climate: Last glacial period, preindustrial, modern, and doubled carbon dioxide climates. J. Geophys. Res., 111, D10202, doi: 10.1029/2005JD006653.