A CANADIAN CONTRIBUTION TO THE PALEOCLIMATE MODEL INTERCOMPARISON PROJECT (PMIP)

PMIP (Paleoclimate Model Intercomparison Project) is designed to compa re and improve the ability of General Circulation Models (GCMs) to sim ulate a wide range of climatic conditions including known features of past climatic states that are significantly different from present con ditions. One of the first simulations of past climate conducted under this project targets the 6000 yr BP period for the following reasons: 1) deglaciation was complete and the last remnants of the Laurentide I ce Sheet had essentially disappeared by this time, 2) sea surface temp eratures approached modern values, 3) the orbital insolation regime wa s the only major boundary condition significantly different from prese nt, and 4) a number of study sites can already be used to provide prel iminary paleoenvironmental reconstructions for this period. Contributi ons from the Canadian scientific community towards this experiment are presented, following a brief overview of Canadian modern environmenta l conditions which places the regional contributions into a broader pe rspective.