Statistical downscaling of regional climate model output to achieve projections of precipitation extremes

In this work we perform a statistical downscaling by applying a CDF transformation function to local-level daily precipitation extremes (from NCDC station data) and corresponding NARCCAP regional climate model (RCM) output to derive local-scale projections. These high-resolution projections are esse...

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Main Authors: Eric M. Laflamme, Ernst Linder, Yibin Pan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2016-06-01
Series:Weather and Climate Extremes
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221209471530058X
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author Eric M. Laflamme
Ernst Linder
Yibin Pan
author_facet Eric M. Laflamme
Ernst Linder
Yibin Pan
author_sort Eric M. Laflamme
collection DOAJ
description In this work we perform a statistical downscaling by applying a CDF transformation function to local-level daily precipitation extremes (from NCDC station data) and corresponding NARCCAP regional climate model (RCM) output to derive local-scale projections. These high-resolution projections are essential in assessing the impacts of projected climate change. The downscaling method is performed on 58 locations throughout New England, and from the projected distribution of extreme precipitation local-level 25-year return levels are calculated. To obtain uncertainty estimates for return levels, three procedures are employed: a parametric bootstrapping with mean corrected confidence intervals, a non-parametric bootstrapping with BCa (bias corrected and acceleration) intervals, and a Bayesian model. In all cases, results are presented via distributions of differences in return levels between predicted and historical periods. Results from the three procedures show very few New England locations with significant increases in 25-year return levels from the historical to projected periods. This may indicate that projected trends in New England precipitation tend to be statistically less significant than suggested by many studies. For all three procedures, downscaled results are highly dependent on RCM and GCM model choice.
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spelling doaj.art-66777b3503124c2ba40483fbe57bc9992022-12-21T19:49:12ZengElsevierWeather and Climate Extremes2212-09472016-06-0112C152310.1016/j.wace.2015.12.001Statistical downscaling of regional climate model output to achieve projections of precipitation extremesEric M. Laflamme0Ernst Linder1Yibin Pan2Department of Mathematics Plymouth State University, MSC 29, 17 High Street Plymouth, NH 03264, United StatesDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics University of New Hampshire, W383 Kingsbury Hall, 33 Academic Way Durham, NH 03824, United StatesDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics University of New Hampshire, W383 Kingsbury Hall, 33 Academic Way Durham, NH 03824, United StatesIn this work we perform a statistical downscaling by applying a CDF transformation function to local-level daily precipitation extremes (from NCDC station data) and corresponding NARCCAP regional climate model (RCM) output to derive local-scale projections. These high-resolution projections are essential in assessing the impacts of projected climate change. The downscaling method is performed on 58 locations throughout New England, and from the projected distribution of extreme precipitation local-level 25-year return levels are calculated. To obtain uncertainty estimates for return levels, three procedures are employed: a parametric bootstrapping with mean corrected confidence intervals, a non-parametric bootstrapping with BCa (bias corrected and acceleration) intervals, and a Bayesian model. In all cases, results are presented via distributions of differences in return levels between predicted and historical periods. Results from the three procedures show very few New England locations with significant increases in 25-year return levels from the historical to projected periods. This may indicate that projected trends in New England precipitation tend to be statistically less significant than suggested by many studies. For all three procedures, downscaled results are highly dependent on RCM and GCM model choice.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221209471530058XStatistical downscalingGeneralized Pareto distributionRegional climate modelsBootstrappingBayesian analysisUncertainty quantification
spellingShingle Eric M. Laflamme
Ernst Linder
Yibin Pan
Statistical downscaling of regional climate model output to achieve projections of precipitation extremes
Weather and Climate Extremes
Statistical downscaling
Generalized Pareto distribution
Regional climate models
Bootstrapping
Bayesian analysis
Uncertainty quantification
title Statistical downscaling of regional climate model output to achieve projections of precipitation extremes
title_full Statistical downscaling of regional climate model output to achieve projections of precipitation extremes
title_fullStr Statistical downscaling of regional climate model output to achieve projections of precipitation extremes
title_full_unstemmed Statistical downscaling of regional climate model output to achieve projections of precipitation extremes
title_short Statistical downscaling of regional climate model output to achieve projections of precipitation extremes
title_sort statistical downscaling of regional climate model output to achieve projections of precipitation extremes
topic Statistical downscaling
Generalized Pareto distribution
Regional climate models
Bootstrapping
Bayesian analysis
Uncertainty quantification
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221209471530058X
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