What Makes UKESM Unique?

UKESM captures the complex interactions and feedbacks between the physical climate system, the carbon cycle, atmospheric composition, aerosols and ice sheets. This integrated approach enables us to explore critical questions about the future of our planet:

• Carbon Budgets for Climate Targets: Using the CO₂ emission-driven version of UKESM, we estimate how much carbon can still be emitted to keep global warming below key thresholds such as 5°C or 2°C.
• Exploring Overshoot Scenarios: We assess futures where warming temporarily exceeds targets before returning to them, evaluating the risks and reversibility of abrupt Earth system changes – information urgently needed by policymakers.
• Physical and Biogeochemical Changes: UKESM enables analysis of shifts in rainfall, temperature, and storms, alongside changes in marine ecosystems, forests, and atmospheric gases – all within one interacting model.
• Climate solutions: Our model is used to help determine the efficacy of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) techniques and their impact on cooling the planet.
• Impacts: Models are used to assess the impact of climate change on land and marine ecosystems, which provides insights into the adaptation measures that could be required in the future.
• Climate interventions: UKESM is being used to explore studies such as solar radiation management and the potential alkalinisation of the ocean in a simulated environment to assess what the impact might be at global and at regional levels eg. in the Arctic, on monsoon paths and precipitation changes.