IPCC AR6 Q&A

In our group, we have contributed to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), primarily to working group 1 (WG1), Chapter 9, on Sea-Level Change (2021), and the IPCC AR6 Synthesis report (2023).

Q: Where can I find the IPCC AR6 WG1 report?

A: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/, with sea-level change primarily in Chapter 9.6, and the sea level projections in Section 9.6.3.

Q: Where can I find the IPCC AR6 Synthesis report?

A: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/, with the main statements on sea-level change in A.2.1, B.1.4 and B3, and in Figure SPM.4 and Long Report Figures 3.4 and 4.3. 

(LR figure 3.4, click for larger version)

Q: Can I view and use the IPCC AR6 sea level projections?

A: Yes, please do! The projections are presented in the interactive atlas of IPCC AR6: https://interactive-atlas.ipcc.ch/. In addition, an online tool with much more options has been developed in collaboration with NASA, which is publicly available though https://sealevel.nasa.gov/data_tools/17. The complete projections data set is downloadable through Zenodo: https://zenodo.org/record/6382554#.YvZJK_HP3ao. If you use the data, please acknowledge our work by citing the appropriate publications. 

Q: What if I want to use my own VLM estimates with the IPCC sea level projections?

A: There is a set of projections available which does not include the VLM component: https://zenodo.org/records/5967269. Here, you can add in your own VLM estimate.

Q: Will the sea-level projection framework FACTS become publicly available?

A: Yes. A GMD paper is currently in review and there is a Github with the code: https://github.com/radical-collaboration/facts/. Note that, while the intention is to make a user-friendly version of FACTS, the current version is still under development. Therefore, if you intend to set up and run FACTS and run into problems, do let us know via the github page. 

Q: What is the reference for Chapter 9?

A: Fox-Kemper, B., H.T. Hewitt, C. Xiao, G. Aðalgeirsdóttir, S.S. Drijfhout, T.L. Edwards, N.R. Golledge, M. Hemer, R.E. Kopp, G. Krinner, A. Mix, D. Notz, S. Nowicki, I.S. Nurhati, L. Ruiz, J.-B. Sallée, A.B.A. Slangen, and Y. Yu, 2021: Ocean, Cryosphere and Sea Level Change. In Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 1211–1362, doi:10.1017/9781009157896.011.