The distributions of frozen ground and active layer thickness (ALT) during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and pre-industrial periods in China were investigated using Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) model experiments. Compared to the pre-industrial period, the LGM climate was similar to 5 degrees C colder and featured significantly higher freezing indices on the Tibetan Plateau and in Northeast China. Frozen ground expanded widely in the LGM. The extents of permafrost and seasonally frozen ground in China were 4.11 x 10(6) km(2) and 4.97 x 10(6) km(2), respectively, which are 2.42 x 10(6) km(2) larger and 1.45 x 10(6) km(2) smaller, respectively, than the pre-industrial levels. Moreover, the colder climate and longer duration also resulted in LGM ALT values that were 13 m less than the pre-industrial values in the permafrost areas common to both periods. Altitudinal permafrost was present mainly on the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent mountains in West China between 28 degrees N and 41 degrees 30'N and covered an area of similar to 2.63 x 10(6) km(2). Latitudinal permafrost was present mainly in Northeast China and occupied an area of 1.48 x 10(6) km(2). The southern limit of latitudinal permafrost was located similar to 10 degrees of latitude farther south during the LGM than during the pre-industrial period. The LGM simulation results agree reasonably well with previous reconstructions, with the exception of an underestimation in the permafrost extent. Although relatively high-level disagreement exists between the models in terms of the exact locations of the southern limits, the ensemble average is still able to represent the large-scale spatial pattern of frozen ground remarkably well. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Distribution of frozen ground and active layer thickness in the Northern Hemisphere during the mid-Holocene (MH) and differences with respect to the preindustrial (PI) were investigated here using the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models. Two typical diagnostic methods, respectively, based on soil temperature (T-s based; a direct method) and air temperature (T-a based; an indirect method) were employed to classify categories and extents of frozen ground. In relation to orbitally induced changes in climate and in turn freezing and thawing indices, the MH permafrost extent was 20.5% (1.8%) smaller than the PI, whereas seasonally frozen ground increased by 9.2% (0.8%) in the Northern Hemisphere according to the T-s-based (T-a-based) method. Active layer thickness became larger, but by 1.0m in most of permafrost areas during the MH. Intermodel disagreement remains within areas of permafrost boundary by both the T-s-based and T-a-based results, with the former demonstrating less agreement among the CMIP5 models because of larger variation in land model abilities to represent permafrost processes. However, both the methods were able to reproduce the MH relatively degenerated permafrost and increased active layer thickness (although with smaller magnitudes) as observed in data reconstruction. Disparity between simulation and reconstruction was mainly found in the seasonally frozen ground regions at low to middle latitudes, where the reconstruction suggested a reduction of seasonally frozen ground extent to the north, whereas the simulation demonstrated a slightly expansion to the south for the MH compared to the PI.

Large uncertainty in the direct radiative forcing of black carbon (BC) exists, with published estimates ranging from 0.25 to 0.9 W m(-2). A significant source of this uncertainty relates to the vertical distribution of BC, particularly relative to cloud layers. We first compare the vertical distribution of BC in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models to aircraft measurements and find that models tend to overestimate upper tropospheric/lower stratospheric (UT/LS) BC, particularly over the central Pacific from Hiaper Pole-to-Pole Observations Flight 1 (HIPPO1). However, CMIP5 generally underestimates Arctic BC from the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites campaign, implying a geographically dependent bias. Factors controlling the vertical distribution of BC in CMIP5 models, such as wet and dry deposition, precipitation, and convective mass flux (MC), are subsequently investigated. We also perform a series of sensitivity experiments with the Community Atmosphere Model version 5, including prescribed meteorology, enhanced vertical resolution, and altered convective wet scavenging efficiency and deep convection. We find that convective mass flux has opposing effects on the amount of black carbon in the atmosphere. More MC is associated with more convective precipitation, enhanced wet removal, and less BC below 500 hPa. However, more MC, particularly above 500 hPa, yield more BC aloft due to enhanced convective lofting. These relationshipsparticularly MC versus BC below 500 hPa-are generally stronger in the tropics. Compared to the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, most CMIP5 models overestimate MC, with all models overestimating MC above 500 hPa. Our results suggest that excessive convective transport is one of the reasons for CMIP5 overestimation of UT/LS BC.