Work

The effect of horizontal resolution on simulation of very extreme US precipitation events in a global atmosphere model

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: We investigate the ability of a global atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) to reproduce observed 20 year return values of the annual maximum daily precipitation totals over the continental United States as a function of horizontal resolution. We find that at the high resolutions enabled by contemporary supercomputers, the AGCM can produce values of comparable magnitude to high quality observations. However, at the resolutions typical of the coupled general circulation models used in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the precipitation return values are severely underestimated.

Source: Climate Dynamics

DOI: 10.1007/s00382-009-0656-y

Authors: Michael F. Wehner, Richard L. Smith, G. Bala, Phillip Duffy

Institutions: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, Climate Central

Language: English

Topic: Climate variability and models

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,790