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AN ASSESSMENT OF SIMULATIONS OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY OVER AUSTRALIA WITH A LIMITED AREA MODEL
Author(s) -
WALSH KEVIN,
MCGREGOR JOHN
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
international journal of climatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.58
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-0088
pISSN - 0899-8418
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0088(199702)17:2<201::aid-joc118>3.0.co;2-#
Subject(s) - climatology , climate model , environmental science , downscaling , general circulation model , climate change , meteorology , geography , precipitation , geology , oceanography
Simulations with a general circulation model (GCM) and a limited area model (LAM) are presented for two contrasting years of observed rainfall over Australia, 1982 and 1988. The LAM is forced at its lateral boundaries by the GCM simulation. Both models were forced with the observed sea‐surface temperatures of those years, and five realizations of each model were performed in order to reduce the effects of internal variability. The resulting simulations are compared with observed rainfall for both years. Both models simulate differences in the mean rainfall over Australia between the two years that are similar to observed differences. Although the LAM has larger positive inherent biases than the GCM, it has smaller r.m.s. errors. The LAM simulated a much better pattern of rainfall than did the GCM, and has a greater ability to simulate observed regional anomalies of precipitation. Nevertheless, neither model adequately simulates the observed detailed pattern of rainfall anomalies over the continent for the respective years. The climatology of the LAM needs to be improved before it can be used to make inferences about regional interannual variability in a changed climate. © 1997 by the Royal Meteorological Society.