The climate subsystem in IMAGE updated to MAGICC 6.0

The simple climate model MAGICC is part of the Atmosphere-Ocean System (AOS) within the IMAGE model ("Integrated Model to Assess the Global Environment") of PBL. The MAGICC model was used extensively in the Third and Fourth Assessment Reports of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) for running a range of greenhouse gas concentration scenarios. Since publication of these reports, the MAGICC model has been updated to improve its emulation of results from Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models (AOGCMs). The series of improvements to the MAGICC model have been implemented in IMAGE-AOS, to bring IMAGE 2.5 up-to-date with the most recent developments in climate modelling. This report presents details about the improvements and the re-calibration of the model, it shows the model results and discusses the similarities and differences with the previous IMAGE versions and the new MAGICC 6.0 version.

The single most important advantage of the new IMAGE model is that, in combination with MAGICC 6.0, the model can reproduce the time-dependent response of AOGCMs for various scenarios, by adjusting the values of a limited number of parameters. This makes the IMAGE model better suited to provide plausible projections of future climate-change feedbacks and impacts.