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Nested regional simulation of climate change over the Alps for the scenario of a doubled greenhouse forcing

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Summary

Simulated temperature and precipitation changes over western Europe for a scenario of doubled atmospheric concentrations of CO2 are presented. The simulations are performed using a Limited Area Model LAM (RegCM2) nested into a General Circulation Model (ECHAM3). Both model components are operated at very high spatial resolutions — approximately 120 km for the GCM and 20 km for the LAM; the LAM domain encompasses a region of 1100 × 1100 km squared. Climatologies for five January and five July periods have been simulated. Average surface (2 m) temperatures are found to increase by 1.4 K in winter (January) and 3.9 K in summer (July); this latter figure is, however, largely dependent on a positive bias in the summer temperature fields of the driving GCM. Average precipitation changes are generally small in absolute values, but exhibit considerable spatial variability. Large precipitation amounts are seen to be shifted towards higher elevations with a corresponding reduction in the ‘upwind’ areas. The results are discussed taking into account the ‘predictive skill’ of the modelling system, which is derived from comparing the simulated present day temperature and precipitation fields to the corresponding climatological information. A method is introduced to assess the reliability of climate scenario predictions — such as those discussed here — on the basis of this predictive skill.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, GIETH, Zürich, Switzerland

    M. W. Rotach, M. Wild, P. Tschuck, A. Ohmura & M. Beniston

  2. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, CO, USA

    M. R. Marinucci

Authors
  1. M. W. Rotach
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  2. M. R. Marinucci
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  3. M. Wild
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  4. P. Tschuck
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  5. A. Ohmura
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  6. M. Beniston
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Rotach, M.W., Marinucci, M.R., Wild, M. et al. Nested regional simulation of climate change over the Alps for the scenario of a doubled greenhouse forcing. Theor Appl Climatol 57, 209–227 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00863614

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