European daily precipitation according to EURO-CORDEX regional climate models (RCMs) and high-resolution global climate models (GCMs) from the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP)
<p>In this study, we evaluate a set of high-resolution (25–50 km horizontal grid spacing) global climate models (GCMs) from the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP), developed as part of the EU-funded PRIMAVERA (Process-based climate simulation: Advances in hig...
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Copernicus Publications
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Geoscientific Model Development |
| Online Access: | https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/13/5485/2020/gmd-13-5485-2020.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818162889061564416 |
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| author | M.-E. Demory S. Berthou J. Fernández S. L. Sørland R. Brogli M. J. Roberts U. Beyerle J. Seddon R. Haarsma C. Schär E. Buonomo O. B. Christensen J. M. Ciarlo ̀ J. M. Ciarlo ̀ R. Fealy G. Nikulin D. Peano D. Putrasahan C. D. Roberts R. Senan C. Steger C. Teichmann R. Vautard |
| author_facet | M.-E. Demory S. Berthou J. Fernández S. L. Sørland R. Brogli M. J. Roberts U. Beyerle J. Seddon R. Haarsma C. Schär E. Buonomo O. B. Christensen J. M. Ciarlo ̀ J. M. Ciarlo ̀ R. Fealy G. Nikulin D. Peano D. Putrasahan C. D. Roberts R. Senan C. Steger C. Teichmann R. Vautard |
| author_sort | M.-E. Demory |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>In this study, we evaluate a set of high-resolution (25–50 km
horizontal grid spacing) global climate models (GCMs) from the
High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP), developed as
part of the EU-funded PRIMAVERA (Process-based climate simulation: Advances in high resolution modelling and European climate risk assessment) project, and from the EURO-CORDEX (Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment) regional
climate models (RCMs) (12–50 km horizontal grid spacing) over a European
domain. It is the first time that an assessment of regional climate
information using ensembles of both GCMs and RCMs at similar horizontal
resolutions has been possible. The focus of the evaluation is on the
distribution of daily precipitation at a 50 km scale under current climate
conditions. Both the GCM and RCM ensembles are evaluated against
high-quality gridded observations in terms of spatial resolution and station
density. We show that both ensembles outperform GCMs from the 5th Coupled
Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), which cannot capture the
regional-scale precipitation distribution properly because of their coarse
resolutions. PRIMAVERA GCMs generally simulate precipitation distributions
within the range of EURO-CORDEX RCMs. Both ensembles perform better in
summer and autumn in most European regions but<span id="page5486"/> tend to overestimate
precipitation in winter and spring. PRIMAVERA shows improvements in the
latter by reducing moderate-precipitation rate biases over central and
western Europe. The spatial distribution of mean precipitation is also
improved in PRIMAVERA. Finally, heavy precipitation simulated by PRIMAVERA
agrees better with observations in most regions and seasons, while CORDEX
overestimates precipitation extremes. However, uncertainty exists in the
observations due to a potential undercatch error, especially during heavy-precipitation events.</p>
<p>The analyses also confirm previous findings that, although the spatial
representation of precipitation is improved, the effect of increasing
resolution from 50 to 12 km horizontal grid spacing in EURO-CORDEX daily
precipitation distributions is, in comparison, small in most regions and
seasons outside mountainous regions and coastal regions. Our results show
that both high-resolution GCMs and CORDEX RCMs provide adequate information
to end users at a 50 km scale.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T16:40:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-03f76f62326d46c3a2718dcf826031e1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1991-959X 1991-9603 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T16:40:50Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geoscientific Model Development |
| spelling | doaj.art-03f76f62326d46c3a2718dcf826031e12022-12-22T00:58:20ZengCopernicus PublicationsGeoscientific Model Development1991-959X1991-96032020-11-01135485550610.5194/gmd-13-5485-2020European daily precipitation according to EURO-CORDEX regional climate models (RCMs) and high-resolution global climate models (GCMs) from the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP)M.-E. Demory0S. Berthou1J. Fernández2S. L. Sørland3R. Brogli4M. J. Roberts5U. Beyerle6J. Seddon7R. Haarsma8C. Schär9E. Buonomo10O. B. Christensen11J. M. Ciarlo ̀12J. M. Ciarlo ̀13R. Fealy14G. Nikulin15D. Peano16D. Putrasahan17C. D. Roberts18R. Senan19C. Steger20C. Teichmann21R. Vautard22Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandMet Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, EX1 3PB, United KingdomMeteorology Group, Dept. Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Cantabria, 39005 Santander, SpainInstitute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandInstitute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandMet Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, EX1 3PB, United KingdomInstitute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandMet Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, EX1 3PB, United KingdomRoyal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), 3731 GA De Bilt, the NetherlandsInstitute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandMet Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, EX1 3PB, United KingdomDanish Meteorological Institute (DMI), 2100 Copenhagen, DenmarkThe Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), 34135 Trieste, ItalyNational Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS), 34010 Sgonico, ItalyIrish Climate Analysis and Research Units (ICARUS)/Department of Geography, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, IrelandSwedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), 60176 Norrköping, SwedenFondazione Centro euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), CSP, 40127 Bologna, ItalyMax-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie (MPI), 20146 Hamburg, GermanyEuropean Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF), Reading, RG2 9AX, United KingdomEuropean Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF), Reading, RG2 9AX, United KingdomDeutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), 63067 Offenbach, GermanyClimate Service Center Germany (GERICS), Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, 20095 Hamburg, GermanyInstitut Pierre-Simon Laplace, Paris, France<p>In this study, we evaluate a set of high-resolution (25–50 km horizontal grid spacing) global climate models (GCMs) from the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP), developed as part of the EU-funded PRIMAVERA (Process-based climate simulation: Advances in high resolution modelling and European climate risk assessment) project, and from the EURO-CORDEX (Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment) regional climate models (RCMs) (12–50 km horizontal grid spacing) over a European domain. It is the first time that an assessment of regional climate information using ensembles of both GCMs and RCMs at similar horizontal resolutions has been possible. The focus of the evaluation is on the distribution of daily precipitation at a 50 km scale under current climate conditions. Both the GCM and RCM ensembles are evaluated against high-quality gridded observations in terms of spatial resolution and station density. We show that both ensembles outperform GCMs from the 5th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), which cannot capture the regional-scale precipitation distribution properly because of their coarse resolutions. PRIMAVERA GCMs generally simulate precipitation distributions within the range of EURO-CORDEX RCMs. Both ensembles perform better in summer and autumn in most European regions but<span id="page5486"/> tend to overestimate precipitation in winter and spring. PRIMAVERA shows improvements in the latter by reducing moderate-precipitation rate biases over central and western Europe. The spatial distribution of mean precipitation is also improved in PRIMAVERA. Finally, heavy precipitation simulated by PRIMAVERA agrees better with observations in most regions and seasons, while CORDEX overestimates precipitation extremes. However, uncertainty exists in the observations due to a potential undercatch error, especially during heavy-precipitation events.</p> <p>The analyses also confirm previous findings that, although the spatial representation of precipitation is improved, the effect of increasing resolution from 50 to 12 km horizontal grid spacing in EURO-CORDEX daily precipitation distributions is, in comparison, small in most regions and seasons outside mountainous regions and coastal regions. Our results show that both high-resolution GCMs and CORDEX RCMs provide adequate information to end users at a 50 km scale.</p>https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/13/5485/2020/gmd-13-5485-2020.pdf |
| spellingShingle | M.-E. Demory S. Berthou J. Fernández S. L. Sørland R. Brogli M. J. Roberts U. Beyerle J. Seddon R. Haarsma C. Schär E. Buonomo O. B. Christensen J. M. Ciarlo ̀ J. M. Ciarlo ̀ R. Fealy G. Nikulin D. Peano D. Putrasahan C. D. Roberts R. Senan C. Steger C. Teichmann R. Vautard European daily precipitation according to EURO-CORDEX regional climate models (RCMs) and high-resolution global climate models (GCMs) from the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP) Geoscientific Model Development |
| title | European daily precipitation according to EURO-CORDEX regional climate models (RCMs) and high-resolution global climate models (GCMs) from the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP) |
| title_full | European daily precipitation according to EURO-CORDEX regional climate models (RCMs) and high-resolution global climate models (GCMs) from the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP) |
| title_fullStr | European daily precipitation according to EURO-CORDEX regional climate models (RCMs) and high-resolution global climate models (GCMs) from the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP) |
| title_full_unstemmed | European daily precipitation according to EURO-CORDEX regional climate models (RCMs) and high-resolution global climate models (GCMs) from the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP) |
| title_short | European daily precipitation according to EURO-CORDEX regional climate models (RCMs) and high-resolution global climate models (GCMs) from the High-Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP) |
| title_sort | european daily precipitation according to euro cordex regional climate models rcms and high resolution global climate models gcms from the high resolution model intercomparison project highresmip |
| url | https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/13/5485/2020/gmd-13-5485-2020.pdf |
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