In July 2004, following the restructuring of the Japan Agency for Marine Earth Science and Technology, the "Frontier Research System for Global Change" became the "Frontier Research Center for Global Change." In this edition, we would like to explain our research plans as a new research center.
Taroh Matsuno
Director-General, Frontier Research Center for Global Change
As one of the Independent Administrative Institutions established under Japanese government reform, Japan Agency for
Marine-Earth Science and Technology, the former Japan Marine Science and Technology Center is expected to have publicness, transparency, and independence for its activities. Therefore, the new JAMSTEC is requested to serve the citizens and society by conducting basic research development on marine and earth science and technology, and by facilitating the information disclosure and utilization of its research outputs. Under this reform, the new JAMTEC has re-structured its organization having research development as its core activity. As a result, four research centers namely, 1) Institute of Observational Research for Global Change (IORGC), 2) Frontier Research Center for Global Change (FRCGC), 3) Institute for Research on Earth Evolution (IFREE), and 4) Extremobiosphere Research Center were established. In addition, to facilitate technology development, three centers 1) Marine Technology Center (MARITEC), 2) Center for Deep Earth Exploration (CDEX), and 3) Earth Simulator Center (ESC) were established.
Among four research centers listed above, the FRCGC aims at prediction of global environmental change by both natural and anthropogenic causes such as climate variation and global warming. From now on, the FRCGC will carry out our research activities based on the new mid-term five years plan and have periodical assessment of overall activities both on research themes and management system. Having a clear vision to realize our goal, we will carry over our mission of the Frontier Research System for Global Change to the Frontier Research Center for Global Change, which is "Toward the Prediction of Global Change." Moreover, by conducting external evaluation, we will confirm our research targets and make contribution by providing clear output useful for the society. The FRCGC consists of six research programs: four of which conducts disciplinary researches on climate variations, hydrological cycle, atmospheric composition, and ecosystem change; then, by promoting interprogram/ cross-cutting activities and integrating each process research and sub-models, two research programs carry out research activities on global warming and integrated earth system modeling. Furthermore, in addition to the future global environmental change prediction, studies on natural climate variations on seasonal to decadal time scales are also main activities of FRCGC. As a new research center, Frontier Research Center for Global Change will make progress towards realizing our goal of "prediction of global change."

 

The goal of the Frontier Research Center for Global Change is to predict global change by making relevant models. Global change includes both natural and anthropogenic changes. Since modeling differs according to its utilization and purpose, four models fitted to various purposes are being developed, and they are outlined below.
High-Resolution Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Land Model for predicting global warming and associated climate change
   
In collaboration with the Center for Climate System Research at the University of Tokyo (CCSR), and the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), we have been developing a high-resolution coupled oceanatmosphere- land model since FY1999. Since 2002, we have accelerated the development of this model with the aim of contributing to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. We have decided on a resolution of 120 km for the atmosphere and 20 km for the ocean (the highest-resolution for any coupled model in the world). Using the model that had been developed by the end of 2003, we started experiments to reproduce the climate in the 20th Century, and global warming experiments based on the IPCC scenarios.
Integrated Global Environment (Earth System) Model for simulating global environmental change
   
We are developing an integrated global environmental model that combines individual subsystems/models that have been constructed in different research programs and at collaborating Japanese institutions. In FY2002, we started developing this model as the secondary objective of the "Kyosei Project/Japan Model mission", and have just completed developing and coupling terrestrial and oceanic carbon cycle models. In addition, a model that deals with the interaction of atmosphere and climate change has been completed; this model incorporates chemical reactions within a climate model. At present, we are proceeding with the development of models that incorporate feedback from the carbon cycle and climate change, and we are planning to complete global warming experiments by early 2005 as our top priority with respect to contributing to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.
Middle/High-Resolution Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean- Land Model to elucidate and predict the mechanism of climate variation
   
As the first model, described above, was designed primarily for global warming experiments in FY2004, it is not always suitable, for studying general, natural climate variation. In collaboration with groups of institutions, we plan to develop models, which appears to be the best available at present, and to use them for various research projects into climate change. In FY2003, we set a research target and are now at the specific planning stage. In FY2004, we will start developing the model.
Super-High-Resolution/Next-Generation Atmosphere Model and Ocean Model that can only run on the Earth Simulator
   
We have been developing a new system of super-highresolution models since 1999 to create a cutting-edge atmosphere-ocean model to be run only on the "Earth Simulator". Prototypes of these atmosphere and ocean models will be developed in FY2004. The atmosphere model uses a new grid, structured by icosahedrons, and is based on a non-hydrostatic equation. In FY2004, a "global cloud resolving model", which incorporates water vapor and cloud microphysical process/radiative processes, will be completed. The completion of this model is expected to have a big influence on atmosphere modeling. The ocean model uses a cubic grid. By using new generalized coordinates (without local rectangularity), with a quasi-uniform grid over the globe instead of the locally orthogonal coordinate system, a numeric calculation scheme with high computing efficiency has been under development since FY2002. In FY2003, a shallow water model was completed, and now a three-dimensional "ocean model" is being developed. In FY2004, the model will be completed. This model is expected to be a nextgeneration model, able to integrate the global circulation for 1,000 years within about one month, using an eddyresolving model with a 10-km mesh, which will be ideal for ocean modeling research.
*The Kyosei Project is the short name for the MEXT Project, for the Sustainable Coexistence of Humans, Nature, and the Earth.
Frontier Newsletter/No.26
FRSGC Index		 << BACK / TOP / NEXT >>