Climate models
GCM data was obtained from the historical (1950-2005) and future RCP4.5/RCP8.5 (2006-2100) daily outputs of available CMIP5 models. Though over 40 models participated in CMIP5, only 20 of these models had daily outputs for all of the variables we are interested in for this downscaling project (i.e. minimum/maximum temperature, precipitation, wind, humidity, solar radiation).
MOdels used
| Model Name | Model Country | Model Agency | Atmosphere Resolution(Lon x Lat) | Ensemble Used |
| bcc-csm1-1 | China | Beijing Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration | 2.8 deg x 2.8 deg | r1i1p1 |
| bcc-csm1-1-m | China | Beijing Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration | 1.12 deg x 1.12 deg | r1i1p1 |
| BNU-ESM | China | College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, China | 2.8 deg x 2.8 deg | r1i1p1 |
| CanESM2 | Canada | Canadian Centre for Climate Modeling and Analysis | 2.8 deg x 2.8 deg | r1i1p1 |
| CCSM4 | USA | National Center of Atmospheric Research, USA | 1.25 deg x 0.94 deg | r6i1p1 |
| CNRM-CM5 | France | National Centre of Meteorological Research, France | 1.4 deg x 1.4 deg | r1i1p1 |
| CSIRO-Mk3-6-0 | Australia | Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization/Queensland Climate Change Centre of Excellence, Australia | 1.8 deg x 1.8 deg | r1i1p1 |
| GFDL-ESM2M | USA | NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, USA | 2.5 deg x 2.0 deg | r1i1p1 |
| GFDL-ESM2G | USA | NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, USA | 2.5 deg x 2.0 deg | r1i1p1 |
| HadGEM2-ES | United Kingdom | Met Office Hadley Center, UK | 1.88 deg x 1.25 deg | r1i1p1 |
| HadGEM2-CC | United Kingdom | Met Office Hadley Center, UK | 1.88 deg x 1.25 deg | r1i1p1 |
| inmcm4 | Russia | Institute for Numerical Mathematics, Russia | 2.0 deg x 1.5 deg | r1i1p1 |
| IPSL-CM5A-LR | France | Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, France | 3.75 deg x 1.8 deg | r1i1p1 |
| IPSL-CM5A-MR | France | Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, France | 2.5 deg x 1.25 deg | r1i1p1 |
| IPSL-CM5B-LR | France | Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, France | 2.75 deg x 1.8 deg | r1i1p1 |
| MIROC5 | Japan | Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute (The University of Tokyo), National Institute for Environmental Studies,and Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology | 1.4 deg x 1.4 deg | r1i1p1 |
| MIROC-ESM | Japan | Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute (The University of Tokyo), and National Institute for Environmental Studies | 2.8 deg x 2.8 deg | r1i1p1 |
| MIROC-ESM-CHEM | Japan | Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute (The University of Tokyo), and National Institute for Environmental Studies | 2.8 deg x 2.8 deg | r1i1p1 |
| MRI-CGCM3 | Japan | Meteorological Research Institute, Japan | 1.1 deg x 1.1 deg | r1i1p1 |
| NorESM1-M | Norway | Norwegian Climate Center, Norway | 2.5 deg x 1.9 deg | r1i1p1 |
Only one ensemble run was downscaled for each model, even if some of the models had multiple ensemble runs. We used ensemble r1i1p1 for all the models except CCSM4 for which we used r6i1p1 due to the availability of output for this ensemble member.
Model specific information
Model specific information
- As HadGEM2-ES/CC are both 360-day models, but 365-day outputs are needed for most impact analyses, we interpolated these to 365-day before downscaling them to create the models HadGEM2-ES365 and HadGEM2-CC365.
- For CCSM4, the wind components were taken from the lowest pressure level data available.
- CCSM4 and NorESM1-M did not have relative humidity available at daily timescales. Therefore the MACA data does not have relative humidity (i.e. rhsmin/rhsmax) for either of these models.
- bcc-csm1-1 did not have daily data available for 12/31/2099 for the RCP8.5 scenario only. Therefore the MACA does not have data(i.e all missing values) for this day for any of the variables for RCP8.5.
climate experiments
The newest generation of climate models coordinated by the Coupled Model Inter-Comparison Project 5 (CMIP5) provides researchers and decision makers with the most up-to-date view of future climatic changes. Over 40 different modeling groups around the globe are participating in CMIP5. A suite of coordinated experiments was conducted to facilitate an intermodel comparison. This process involves each modeling group performing the same experiment on their model by using the same external forcings (i.e., increasing greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions).
Among the most widely used experiments in the CMIP5 are the long-term experiments predicated on projected changes in radiative forcing (additional energy trapped by the Earth-Atmosphere system, measured in W/m2, quantified relative to 1850s climate) by way of increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. Somewhat analogous to the previous generation of CMIP3 climate models forced by a variety of emission scenarios, the new CMIP5 experiments include several different future trajectories based on human actions called Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). Unlike previous emission scenarios that prescribed different rates of emissions as the basis for understanding atmospheric concentrations and future climate, the philosophy of the RCPs is to establish a range of changes in radiative forcing from which possible consequences (e.g., changes in emissions, land-use) can be derived.
For the MACA downscaling, we considered GCM outputs from the historical experiment for the years 1950-2005 and GCM outputs from the 2 future experiments RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 for 2006-2100. RCP4.5, refers to the experiment where an additional 4.5 W/m2 is trapped in the earth-atmosphere system by 2100 compared to preindustrial conditions, which is a future scenario of moderate climate action. RCP8.5, refers to the experiment where an additional 8.5 W/m2 is trapped by 2100, a future with no climate action and high emissions.
Among the most widely used experiments in the CMIP5 are the long-term experiments predicated on projected changes in radiative forcing (additional energy trapped by the Earth-Atmosphere system, measured in W/m2, quantified relative to 1850s climate) by way of increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. Somewhat analogous to the previous generation of CMIP3 climate models forced by a variety of emission scenarios, the new CMIP5 experiments include several different future trajectories based on human actions called Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). Unlike previous emission scenarios that prescribed different rates of emissions as the basis for understanding atmospheric concentrations and future climate, the philosophy of the RCPs is to establish a range of changes in radiative forcing from which possible consequences (e.g., changes in emissions, land-use) can be derived.
For the MACA downscaling, we considered GCM outputs from the historical experiment for the years 1950-2005 and GCM outputs from the 2 future experiments RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 for 2006-2100. RCP4.5, refers to the experiment where an additional 4.5 W/m2 is trapped in the earth-atmosphere system by 2100 compared to preindustrial conditions, which is a future scenario of moderate climate action. RCP8.5, refers to the experiment where an additional 8.5 W/m2 is trapped by 2100, a future with no climate action and high emissions.