The Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2) prescribes the optical effects of stratospheric volcanic sulfate. In order to simulate volcanic eruptions with varied source characteristics and initial conditions, we modified E3SMv2 to include a prognostic volcanic stratospheric aerosol capability. Stratospheric volcanic eruptions are treated as emissions of sulfur dioxide from which the model forms and evolves stratospheric sulfate aerosol. The modified CLDERA (Climate Impact: Determining Etiology thRough pAthways)-E3SMv2 enables the simulation of stratospheric aerosol injection inexpensively relative to whole-atmosphere or chemistry-climate models. CLDERA-E3SMv2 has simplified chemistry relative to those models (e.g. prescribed oxidants), but simulates the observed Mt. Pinatubo aerosol burden well. Because the prognostic implementation is expected to affect the simulated climate, including not just stratospheric but also tropospheric aerosols, we performed a CLDERA-E3SMv2 pre-industrial control and historical simulation, presented here. Comparisons are made to observations and simulations by E3SMv2 and the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM).

SAND2022-11705 A

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.