A synthesis of regional climate change simulations-A Scandinavian perspective

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 28; no. 6; pp. 1003 - 1006
• Main Authors: Christensen, J. H., Räisänen, J., Iversen, T., Bjøge, D., Christensen, O. B., Rummukainen, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Blackwell Publishing Ltd 15.03.2001; American Geophysical Union
• Subjects: Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Meteorology; Scandinavia; Europe; Uncertainty; Atmospheric temperature; General circulation models; Scale reduction; Numerical simulation; Climate models; Atmospheric precipitation; Climate modification; Ocean atmosphere interaction
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/2000GL012196

Four downscaling experiments of regional climate change for the Nordic countries have been conducted with three different regional climate models (RCMs). A short synthesis of the outcome of the suite of experiments is presented as an ensemble, reflecting the different driving atmosphere‐ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) conditions, RCM model resolution and domain size, and choice of emission scenarios. This allows the sources of uncertainties in the projections to be assessed. At the same time analysis of the climate change signal for temperature and precipitation over the period 1990–2050 reveals strong similarities. In particular, all experiments in the suite simulate changes in the precipitation distribution towards a higher frequency of heavy precipitation.