Stretched-grid Model Intercomparison Project: decadal regional climate simulations with enhanced variable and uniform-resolution GCMs
- University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Variable-resolution GCMs using a global stretched-grid (SG) with enhanced resolution over the region(s) of interest is an established approach to regional climate modeling providing an efficient means for regional down-scaling to mesoscales. This approach has been used since the earlymid 90s by the French, U.S., Canadian, Australian and other climate modeling groups along with, or as an alternative to, the current widely-used nested-grid approach. Stretched-grid GCMs are used for continuous climate simulations as usual GCMs, with the only difference that variable-resolution grids are used instead of more traditional uniform grids. The important advantages of variable-resolution stretched-grid GCMs are that they do not require any lateral boundary conditions or forcing and are free of the associated undesirable computational problems. As a result, stretched-grid GCMs provide self-consistent interactions between global and regional scales while a high quality of global circulation is preserved, as in uniform-grid GCMs. The international SGMIP-2 (Stretched-Grid Model Intercomparison Project, phase-2) includes 25-year (1979–2003) climate simulations using enhanced variable and uniformresolution GCMs developed at major centers in Australia, Canada, France, and the U.S. The SGMIP-2 multi-model regional ensembles compare well with reanalysis and observations, in terms of spatial and temporal diagnostics. Regional biases are mostly limited to about half (or less) of typical observational or reanalysis errors while a high quality of global circulation is preserved.
- Research Organization:
- University of Maryland, College Park, MD
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG02-01ER63197
- OSTI ID:
- 953759
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-CCPP-SGMIP2-MAP-2008; 0007185
- Journal Information:
- Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics, Journal Name: Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics Journal Issue: 1-4 Vol. 100; ISSN 0177-7971
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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