Biases in the diurnal temperature range in Central Europe in an ensemble of regional climate models and their possible causes

0380526 - ÚFA 2013 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Kyselý, Jan - Plavcová, Eva
Biases in the diurnal temperature range in Central Europe in an ensemble of regional climate models and their possible causes.
Climate Dynamics. Roč. 39, č. 6 (2012), s. 1275-1286. ISSN 0930-7575. E-ISSN 1432-0894
R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP209/10/2265
EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 505539 - ENSEMBLES
Institutional support: RVO:68378289
Keywords : Regional climate models * ENSEMBLES * Diurnal temperature range * Atmospheric circulation * Cloud cover * Central Europe
Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology
Impact factor: 4.231, year: 2012
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00382-011-1200-4

The study examines how regional climate models (RCMs) reproduce the diurnal temperature range (DTR) in their control simulations over Central Europe. We evaluate 30-year runs driven by perfect boundary conditions (the ERA40 reanalysis, 1961–1990) and a global climate model (ECHAM5) of an ensemble of RCMs with 25-km resolution from the ENSEMBLES project. The RCMs’ performance is compared against the dataset gridded from a high-density stations network. We find that all RCMs underestimate DTR in all seasons, notwithstanding whether driven by ERA40 or ECHAM5. Underestimation is largest in summer and smallest in winter in most RCMs. The relationship of the models’ errors to indices of atmospheric circulation and cloud cover is discussed to reveal possible causes of the biases. Errors in simulating heat and moisture fluxes between land surface and atmosphere probably contribute to the biases in DTR as well.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0211212