The TIPMIP Team continues to grow! This month, we were delighted to welcome a new experienced modeler to our group: Goran Georgievski, who has joined us as sectoral liaison and domain lead for the Permafrost Domain.
Before joining PIK, Goran was a project scientist in the Climate-Biosphere Interactions group (led by Victor Brovkin) at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M). Over the past decade, he has contributed to several research projects, including ESA-CCI Land cover, SODEEP, 4C, and MOMENT, and has participated in active Modelling Intercomparison Projects (MIPs). Most recently, the Adaptive Emission Reduction Approach (AERA-MIP) and Warming Permafrost (WrPMIP) projects have uniquely positioned him to formulate, conduct and lead the permafrost domain within the TIPMIP framework.
Here are some highlights from Goran’s previous work. As one of the key climate users of the ESA-CCI Land Cover map, he played a central role in advancing the development of land cover maps for climate research, converting satellite-derived vegetation data into JSBACH plant functional types. In collaboration with Stefan Hagemann, they secured funding for the Study Of the Development of Extreme Events over Permafrost areas (SODEEP) project. Within the framework of this project, Goran developed an algorithm to detect extreme climate patterns relevant to permafrost degradation. During the 4C (Climate Carbon interactions in Current Century) project, he implemented the Adaptive Emission Reduction Approach (AERA) algorithm into the MPI-ESM and contributed simulations for AERA-MIP. Additionally, he led a study exploring how thawing permafrost could release extra carbon, reducing the amount of fossil fuel emissions we can produce while still keeping global warming below certain limits.
In the context of the MOMENT (Methane in Permafrost) project, wetland methane emissions of JSBACH were calibrated using inverse atmospheric modelling. Complementing this, JSBACH has been adjusted, specifically tuning the aerodynamic resistance parameterization and soil heat conductivity, which allowed to conduct simulations mimicking open-top chamber and snow fence field experiments, specific to the Warming Permafrost Model Intercomparison Project (WrPMIP) experimental protocol. A similar type of experiments is currently under consideration for the Tier 2 set of experiments in the TIPMIP permafrost domain. These experiments aim to prescribe a synthetic forcing to induce permafrost degradation and, eventually, tipping. Additional details can be found in this interview.
Prior to this, Goran worked as a postdoctoral researcher at BTU Cottbus–Senftenberg, focusing on the evaluation and development of the regional climate model (COSMO-CLM). In this role, he was maintaining the model evaluation tool and participating in setting up and running CORDEX simulations, as well as high-resolution seasonal simulations in regions with complex topography (the Alps). During his Ph.D. project, he investigated the regional impact of the Late Quaternary Eurasian ice-sheet retreat and glacio-eustatic sea level changes in the Black Sea catchment area. He earned his degree as an engineer of physics, specializing in meteorology and physical oceanography at the University of Zagreb (Croatia).