Updated ISIMIP2b protocol released


Posted on Aug. 8, 2019

Dear ISIMIP community,

We have just released an updated version of the ISIMIP2b protocol.
The most important changes are (for a documentation of all changes, please refer to the changelog on our website):

  • All sectors: Exp. IX deleted
    The optional sensitivity run based on the improved bias-correction method of ISIMIP3 has been removed from the protocol. Due to the large effort to process the GCM data with the new bias-correction methodology (for all GCMs and all time periods), we will make these data available only upon request to modellers who want to analyze the sensitivity of their own models. 
  • Water: Variables ptotuse and ptotww added
    The variables Total water demand (=potential water withdrawal) (ptotww) and Total potential water consumption (ptotuse) have been added.
  • Lakes: Thermal stratification and Lake ice cover reported in new binary variables
    The thermal stratification and lake ice cover will be reported in the binary variables strat and ice, resp., for a given grid cell. The variables stratstart, stratend and stratdur were removed. 
  • Lakes: Variables icestart, iceend and icedur removed
    The variables icestart, iceend, and icedur have been deleted. Since there are already the daily variables lakeicefrac and icethick, there is no need to add another variable, because the start, end, and duration of ice cover can be derived from those daily variables. 
  • Lakes: Depth resolution
    For depth-varying variables, data should be provided either as fully-resolved vertical profiles, or, if that is not possible, as a mean of the epilimnion or mixed layer (“mean epi”), and mean of the hypolimnion (“mean hypo”).
  • Biomes: New variables added
    In the biomes sector, the variables Total carbon mass in Soil Poll (soilc) and Carbon loss due to peat burning (somcfire) have been added. Values for evaporation from canopy (interception), water evaporation from soil and transpiration should be provided at pft-level if the model allows it. 
  • Permafrost: New variables added
    In the permafrost sector, the variables Total carbon mass in Soil Poll (soilc) and Carbon loss due to peat burning (somcfire) have been added.
  • Fisheries and marine ecosystems: New experiments added
    The sector-specific experiments Ia-Ic and VIIIa have been added. 
  • Terrestrial biodiversity: Species-richness variables added
    The variables Amphibian species richness (amphibiansr), Terrestrial bird species richness (birdsr), and Terrestrial mammal species richness (mammalsr) have been added to the protocol

Best wishes from Potsdam,
Felix on behalf of the ISIMIP team