Coupling Wave Models and Climate Models in Germany
Monday, January 1, 2007
From February until the end of July 2008,Dr Alex Babanin will travel to Germany to work with German climate modellers of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in a joint project titled - Coupling wave models and climate models. It consists of three independent sets of tests, which together will provide a basis for the new area of the wave-climate coupled research.
During months 1-2, a set of general tests will be conducted in order to prove that the climate models can see large-scale alterations of the wind/wave properties. This will then be used to forecast wave climate, and in turn the measured or simulated wave climate can be used to validate the climate models.
In months 3-4 a subsequent set of artificial tests will be carried out. This will confirm the importance of accounting for the wave climate in modelling the general weather climate, as not accounting properly for the waves will lead to different scenarios of the general climate development. The change of the wind fields and thus of the wave climate (mentioned as the target for the months 1-2) in turn causes a change of the sea drag presently not accommodated in climate models.
During months 5-6, the principles of a coupled wave-climate modelling methodology will be developed. Wave properties, suitable for validation of the climate models, will be formulated and tested. Outcome requirements for the climate models, suitable for implementing in wave models in order to forecast long-term changes of the wave climate, will be outlined.
It is expected that results of the pilot program will be published in refereed journals and will serve for further research grant applications and will stimulate further collaborations of Swinburne internationally.
Additionally, during this stay in Europe, Alex Babanin will attend the WISE-2008 meeting, the most authoritative annual conference on wave modelling, in Helsinki. Also, he is planning to conduct one- or two-week visits to the University of Torino (Italy) and the French Naval Oceanographic Centre.
Papers and seminars will be presented in PIK and other European Institutes and at the WISE meeting.