The CliMoTran project has successfully achieved all of its main research objectives, which include coupling an ice-sheet to the Bern3D model and simulating glacial-interglacial cycles, testing hypotheses responsible for the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, investigating the interplay between different mechanisms and their sensitivities, and reconciling a transient model simulation of the past 1.5 million years with paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic reconstructions. Specifically, the effect of internal ice sheet parameters has been explored in shaping the evolution of continental ice volume during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition. These objectives contribute to the overarching goal of CliMoTran, which is to provide Earth scientists with a powerful tool to investigate past and future climate and advance the understanding of the relevant driving processes of climate change. The findings have been disseminated in a wide range of international scientific conferences and workshops as well as communicated to the general public through a number of outreach activities.
The specific training objectives of the CliMoTran project were also achieved, which aimed to enhance the researcher’s skills and knowledge in climate science and Earth system modeling. These objectives included gaining expertise in high-performance computing/programming, training in climate modeling at multiple levels of complexity, understanding, modifying, and interpreting model experiments of the Bern3D Earth System Model of intermediate complexity, and learning to evaluate ice-core and geochemical reconstructions of past climate/ocean parameters and set them in context to model experiments. These achievements have prepared the researcher for a future career in academia.
The project also successfully achieved its results on communication and dissemination, project management, and publication of results. A significant effort was placed on open access publishing.
