Climate change projections of the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP)

• DOI: 10.1007/s10584-013-0831-3
• Publication Date: 2013-07-27T01:34:41Z
• Authors: L. O. Mearns; S. Sain; L. R. Leung; M. S. Bukovsky; S. McGinnis; S. Biner; D. Caya; R. W. Arritt; W. Gutowski; E. Takle; M. Snyder; R. G. Jones; A. M. B. Nunes; S. Tucker; D. Herzmann; L. McDaniel; L. Sloan
• Keywords: Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment; Atmospheric Science; Global and Planetary Change; 550; Agronomy and Crop Sciences; 13. Climate action; Climate; 551; 01 natural sciences; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

We investigate major results of the NARCCAP multiple regional climate model (RCM) experiments driven by global models (GCMs) regarding change for seasonal temperature and precipitation over North America. focus on two questions: How do RCM simulated changes differ from those parent GCMs thus affect our perception America, how important are relative contributions RCMs to uncertainty (variance explained) different seasons variables? The tend produce stronger precipitation: larger increases in northern part domain winter greater decreases across a swath central summer, compared four driving as well full set CMIP3 GCM results. pose some possible process-level mechanisms difference intensity change, particularly summer. Detailed studies will be necessary establish credibility these explain more variance summer temperature. same is true patterns. Thus, we recommend that future RCM-GCM this region include balanced number RCMs.