Evaluation of precipitation across the contiguous United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico in multi-decadal convection-permitting simulations
Abstract
Abstract This study is an early effort to generate a multi-decadal convection-permitting regional climate dataset that covers nearly the entire North American continent. We assessed a 20 year dynamically downscaled regional climate simulation at a 4 km spatial resolution with explicit convection across the contiguous United States (CONUS), Alaska, and Puerto Rico. Specifically, we evaluated the model’s performance in representing mean, 95th percentile, and extreme precipitation across regions. Our findings indicate that when compared with ERA5 reanalysis, the forcing data, convection-permitting simulation improves representations of seasonal, 95th percentile, and extreme precipitation over a large portion of the CONUS, Alaska, and Puerto Rico, particularly in areas where precipitation is heaviest. The simulation adds value over its forcing data (ERA5) in up to 53% of all grid cells in the CONUS, 68.8% in Alaska, and 84.0% in Puerto Rico. It is important to note that, however, despite improvements, model errors in Puerto Rico remain large. Similar improvements are observed in extreme indices, including consecutive dry days, maximum 5 days precipitation, and extreme precipitation. Analysis of the diurnal cycle of mean hourly precipitation suggests that representations of convective processes—including onset, dissipation, suppression, downstream propagation, and local circulation—improved overall.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 2281086
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Scientific Reports
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Scientific Reports Journal Volume: 14 Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2045-2322
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
Citation Formats
Akinsanola, Akintomide Afolayan, Jung, Chunyong, Wang, Jiali, and Kotamarthi, Veerabhadra Rao. Evaluation of precipitation across the contiguous United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico in multi-decadal convection-permitting simulations. United Kingdom: N. p., 2024.
Web. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-51714-3.
Akinsanola, Akintomide Afolayan, Jung, Chunyong, Wang, Jiali, & Kotamarthi, Veerabhadra Rao. Evaluation of precipitation across the contiguous United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico in multi-decadal convection-permitting simulations. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-51714-3
Akinsanola, Akintomide Afolayan, Jung, Chunyong, Wang, Jiali, and Kotamarthi, Veerabhadra Rao. Fri .
"Evaluation of precipitation across the contiguous United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico in multi-decadal convection-permitting simulations". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-51714-3.
@article{osti_2281086,
title = {Evaluation of precipitation across the contiguous United States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico in multi-decadal convection-permitting simulations},
author = {Akinsanola, Akintomide Afolayan and Jung, Chunyong and Wang, Jiali and Kotamarthi, Veerabhadra Rao},
abstractNote = {Abstract This study is an early effort to generate a multi-decadal convection-permitting regional climate dataset that covers nearly the entire North American continent. We assessed a 20 year dynamically downscaled regional climate simulation at a 4 km spatial resolution with explicit convection across the contiguous United States (CONUS), Alaska, and Puerto Rico. Specifically, we evaluated the model’s performance in representing mean, 95th percentile, and extreme precipitation across regions. Our findings indicate that when compared with ERA5 reanalysis, the forcing data, convection-permitting simulation improves representations of seasonal, 95th percentile, and extreme precipitation over a large portion of the CONUS, Alaska, and Puerto Rico, particularly in areas where precipitation is heaviest. The simulation adds value over its forcing data (ERA5) in up to 53% of all grid cells in the CONUS, 68.8% in Alaska, and 84.0% in Puerto Rico. It is important to note that, however, despite improvements, model errors in Puerto Rico remain large. Similar improvements are observed in extreme indices, including consecutive dry days, maximum 5 days precipitation, and extreme precipitation. Analysis of the diurnal cycle of mean hourly precipitation suggests that representations of convective processes—including onset, dissipation, suppression, downstream propagation, and local circulation—improved overall.},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-024-51714-3},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
number = 1,
volume = 14,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {Fri Jan 12 00:00:00 EST 2024},
month = {Fri Jan 12 00:00:00 EST 2024}
}
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