Evaluation of CMIP6 model performance and extreme precipitation prediction in the Awash basin

Extreme rainfall and its accompanying hydrological extremes are happening more frequently as a result of global warming's alteration of regional and local weather patterns. This poses a serious risk to ecosystem, environment and the community livelihoods. The Awash basin in Ethiopia is especial...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chala Hailu Sime, Wakjira Takala Dibaba
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-11-01
Series:Heliyon
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023087868
_version_ 1797429811779469312
author Chala Hailu Sime
Wakjira Takala Dibaba
author_facet Chala Hailu Sime
Wakjira Takala Dibaba
author_sort Chala Hailu Sime
collection DOAJ
description Extreme rainfall and its accompanying hydrological extremes are happening more frequently as a result of global warming's alteration of regional and local weather patterns. This poses a serious risk to ecosystem, environment and the community livelihoods. The Awash basin in Ethiopia is especially vulnerable to these events, posing significant threats to the region. There are, however, limited information's available that could be used to characterize the condition of extreme precipitation in the basin. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the performance of CMIP6 models in simulating extreme precipitation in the Awash basin. Additionally, the study calculated extreme precipitation using best-fit probability distribution functions (PDFs) for the period from 1985 to 2014. The Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with station data (CHIRPS) were used to evaluate the global climate models. Simulated data were interpolated using bilinear techniques. Four statistical indices (percentage of bias, root mean square error, mean absolute error, and Pearson correlation) assessed GCM performance in simulating precipitation extremes. Graphical approaches, numerical methods, and empirical distribution functions were employed to evaluate the performance of various probability distribution functions (PDFs). The study identified MIROC6, CESM2-WACCM, and Ensemble as well-performing models with PBIAS and RMSE of 6.6 %, −10.2 %, −17.2 %, and 11.5, 10, 9.7 respectively, while MPI-ESM1-2-HR and EC-Earth3 struggled with extreme rainfall simulation. The generalized extreme values distribution was found to be a good fit for extreme rainfall estimation. GFDL-ESM4 and BCC-CSM2-MR models estimated the highest extreme rainfall of 90 mm/day and 80 mm/day, respectively, however these models overestimated the return period. Conversely, MRI-ESM2-0, NorESM2-MM, ACCESS ESM1-5, and CMCC-ESM2 models underestimated the return periods. Spatially, GFDL-ESM4 and ACCESS-ESM1-5 models exhibited uniform peak rainfall values over a large area. Overall, the study suggests that employing the generalized extreme value distribution could effectively inform risk assessment and management of extreme events in the Awash basin.
first_indexed 2024-03-09T09:18:33Z
format Article
id doaj.art-2180eb63157742e78088491191dac70c
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2405-8440
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-09T09:18:33Z
publishDate 2023-11-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Heliyon
spelling doaj.art-2180eb63157742e78088491191dac70c2023-12-02T07:02:52ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402023-11-01911e21578Evaluation of CMIP6 model performance and extreme precipitation prediction in the Awash basinChala Hailu Sime0Wakjira Takala Dibaba1Corresponding author.; Department of Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering, Jimma University, Jimma, 378, EthiopiaDepartment of Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering, Jimma University, Jimma, 378, EthiopiaExtreme rainfall and its accompanying hydrological extremes are happening more frequently as a result of global warming's alteration of regional and local weather patterns. This poses a serious risk to ecosystem, environment and the community livelihoods. The Awash basin in Ethiopia is especially vulnerable to these events, posing significant threats to the region. There are, however, limited information's available that could be used to characterize the condition of extreme precipitation in the basin. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the performance of CMIP6 models in simulating extreme precipitation in the Awash basin. Additionally, the study calculated extreme precipitation using best-fit probability distribution functions (PDFs) for the period from 1985 to 2014. The Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with station data (CHIRPS) were used to evaluate the global climate models. Simulated data were interpolated using bilinear techniques. Four statistical indices (percentage of bias, root mean square error, mean absolute error, and Pearson correlation) assessed GCM performance in simulating precipitation extremes. Graphical approaches, numerical methods, and empirical distribution functions were employed to evaluate the performance of various probability distribution functions (PDFs). The study identified MIROC6, CESM2-WACCM, and Ensemble as well-performing models with PBIAS and RMSE of 6.6 %, −10.2 %, −17.2 %, and 11.5, 10, 9.7 respectively, while MPI-ESM1-2-HR and EC-Earth3 struggled with extreme rainfall simulation. The generalized extreme values distribution was found to be a good fit for extreme rainfall estimation. GFDL-ESM4 and BCC-CSM2-MR models estimated the highest extreme rainfall of 90 mm/day and 80 mm/day, respectively, however these models overestimated the return period. Conversely, MRI-ESM2-0, NorESM2-MM, ACCESS ESM1-5, and CMCC-ESM2 models underestimated the return periods. Spatially, GFDL-ESM4 and ACCESS-ESM1-5 models exhibited uniform peak rainfall values over a large area. Overall, the study suggests that employing the generalized extreme value distribution could effectively inform risk assessment and management of extreme events in the Awash basin.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023087868Awash basinBest fitCMIP6Extreme precipitationGeneral extreme value
spellingShingle Chala Hailu Sime
Wakjira Takala Dibaba
Evaluation of CMIP6 model performance and extreme precipitation prediction in the Awash basin
Heliyon
Awash basin
Best fit
CMIP6
Extreme precipitation
General extreme value
title Evaluation of CMIP6 model performance and extreme precipitation prediction in the Awash basin
title_full Evaluation of CMIP6 model performance and extreme precipitation prediction in the Awash basin
title_fullStr Evaluation of CMIP6 model performance and extreme precipitation prediction in the Awash basin
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of CMIP6 model performance and extreme precipitation prediction in the Awash basin
title_short Evaluation of CMIP6 model performance and extreme precipitation prediction in the Awash basin
title_sort evaluation of cmip6 model performance and extreme precipitation prediction in the awash basin
topic Awash basin
Best fit
CMIP6
Extreme precipitation
General extreme value
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023087868
work_keys_str_mv AT chalahailusime evaluationofcmip6modelperformanceandextremeprecipitationpredictionintheawashbasin
AT wakjiratakaladibaba evaluationofcmip6modelperformanceandextremeprecipitationpredictionintheawashbasin