Developing and Comparing High-resolution Climate Change Projections for Downstream Climate Impact Analyses and Models to Better Support Climate Adaptation
Project Overview:
Researchers supported by this Southeast CASC project aim to improve local and regional climate change projections by comparing different methods of downscaling (refining) coarse resolution Global Climate Model data. Project outcomes will provide adaptation decision-makers with higher-resolution information about extreme weather events like extreme rainfall and drought, especially for the U.S. Caribbean, where downscaled climate projections are scarce and local conditions strongly affect drying patterns.
Project Summary:
Current Global Climate Models (GCMs) provide climate change projections for various future greenhouse gas emission scenarios, but their coarse spatial resolutions (typically 100-km or more) limits their ability to capture smaller-scale processes and associated impacts. This limitation poses challenges for understanding the impacts of climate extremes, like rainfall and drought, on the natural and built environment and for making adaptation decisions at regional and local levels. In the U.S. Caribbean, local processes play a major role in the magnitude and specific locations of drying patterns, where a scarcity of downscaled climate projections further complicates efforts to make informed adaptation decisions.
To address these challenges, this project team will compare several downscaling methods used on GCM data to improve how climate extremes, such as intense rainfall and drought, are represented. The approach will include a comparison of downscaling techniques in combination with models of hurricanes and rainfall, and an exploration of hybrid and bias correction methods. The project will address how different methods capture extreme events, identify limitations of current climate change data for adaptation, and examine how land-atmosphere interactions affect drying in the U.S. Caribbean. Collaborating with partners, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the scientists will produce high-resolution climate change predictions (at scales of 12 kilometers or finer) for the Contiguous U.S. and the U.S. Caribbean.
By providing access to improved, high-resolution climate projections and adaptation planning tools, this project will enable decision-makers, local planners, and stakeholders to proactively address and mitigate the risks posed by extreme weather and climate events. Comparing downscaling methods and development new approaches will further improve regional climate modeling, supporting communities facing the impacts of climate change.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 69ce7f67b66b01fb5928230f)
Project Overview:
Researchers supported by this Southeast CASC project aim to improve local and regional climate change projections by comparing different methods of downscaling (refining) coarse resolution Global Climate Model data. Project outcomes will provide adaptation decision-makers with higher-resolution information about extreme weather events like extreme rainfall and drought, especially for the U.S. Caribbean, where downscaled climate projections are scarce and local conditions strongly affect drying patterns.
Project Summary:
Current Global Climate Models (GCMs) provide climate change projections for various future greenhouse gas emission scenarios, but their coarse spatial resolutions (typically 100-km or more) limits their ability to capture smaller-scale processes and associated impacts. This limitation poses challenges for understanding the impacts of climate extremes, like rainfall and drought, on the natural and built environment and for making adaptation decisions at regional and local levels. In the U.S. Caribbean, local processes play a major role in the magnitude and specific locations of drying patterns, where a scarcity of downscaled climate projections further complicates efforts to make informed adaptation decisions.
To address these challenges, this project team will compare several downscaling methods used on GCM data to improve how climate extremes, such as intense rainfall and drought, are represented. The approach will include a comparison of downscaling techniques in combination with models of hurricanes and rainfall, and an exploration of hybrid and bias correction methods. The project will address how different methods capture extreme events, identify limitations of current climate change data for adaptation, and examine how land-atmosphere interactions affect drying in the U.S. Caribbean. Collaborating with partners, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the scientists will produce high-resolution climate change predictions (at scales of 12 kilometers or finer) for the Contiguous U.S. and the U.S. Caribbean.
By providing access to improved, high-resolution climate projections and adaptation planning tools, this project will enable decision-makers, local planners, and stakeholders to proactively address and mitigate the risks posed by extreme weather and climate events. Comparing downscaling methods and development new approaches will further improve regional climate modeling, supporting communities facing the impacts of climate change.
- Source: USGS Sciencebase (id: 69ce7f67b66b01fb5928230f)