NSF NCAR GDEX Dataset d103294

NA-CORDEX-CMIP6

d103294

Abstract:

The NA-CORDEX-CMIP6 dataset contains output from high-resolution regional climate model (RCM) simulations over North America for use in impacts, decision-making, and climate science. These simulations downscale global simulations from the CMIP6 archive to 12 km spatial resolution for 150 years (1950-2100) under two future scenarios, SSP 2-4.5 and SSP 3-7.0. Five GCMs are downscaled: CESM2, EC-Earth-Veg, MPI-ESM1-2-HR, NorESM2-MM, and ACCESS-ESM-1-5.

In addition to a suite of impacts-relevant variables, the dataset contains variables for hydrology, solar energy, and wind energy; AFWA diagnostics for severe weather; thermal indices; and tropospheric variables on synoptic levels, all at sub-daily, daily, and monthly frequencies.

Detail: NA-CORDEX is the North American contribution to the international CORDEX (COordinated Regional Downscaling EXperiment) program, which is sponsored by WCRP (the World Climate Research Program), to provide coordinated regional climate downscaling for improved regional climate change adaptation and impact assessment. NA-CORDEX-CMIP6 advances the resolution of the NA-CORDEX archive from 25-50 km CMIP5-era simulations to 12 km downscaling of CMIP6-era GCMs. Historical simulations span 1953-2014 (beginning in 1953 to allow adequate land-surface spin-up), and future simulations run 2015-2099. An evaluation run driven by the ERA5 reanalysis running 1980-2023 is also available.

Model configuration: Simulations use the WRF regional atmospheric model over a 708 by 674 gridpoint domain with 38 vertical levels and a 50 hPa model top. Greenhouse gases and aerosols are prescribed according to SSP2-4.5 and SSP3-7.0. The land surface model is Noah-MP, using four vertical soil levels and USGS land-use categorization. The configuration also includes a single-level urban canopy model and a 1-dimensional lake model. Full configuration details and the software suite used for post-processing are available at https://github.com/NCAR/NA-CORDEX-CMIP6.

Diagnostics and derived indices: Most extreme-weather diagnostics are computed online during the WRF simulations using the built-in AFWA diagnostics package. Additional heat indices (UTCI and WBGT) were calculated during post-processing using the Python package "thermofeel". For wind-energy applications, zonal and meridional wind components are provided at 50, 100, and 150 m above ground level. Variables are supplied at hourly frequency where possible, and 6-hourly otherwise.

Temporal Range:

1953-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2100-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Entire dataset) Period details by dataset product Period details by dataset product 2015-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2100-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 178 - 6hr) 2015-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2100-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 179 - 1hr) 2015-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2100-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 180 - day) 2015-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2100-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 182 - mon) 1953-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2015-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 348 - 6hr) 1953-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2015-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 349 - 1hr) 1953-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2015-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 350 - day) 1953-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2015-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 352 - mon) 1980-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2024-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 5 - 6hr) 2015-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2100-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 518 - 6hr) 2015-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2100-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 519 - 1hr) 2015-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2100-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 520 - day) 2015-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2100-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 522 - mon) 1980-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2024-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 6 - 1hr) 1980-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2024-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 7 - day) 1991-01-01 00:00 +0000 to 2001-01-01 00:00 +0000 (Group 9 - mon)

Variables:

24 Hour Maximum Temperature	24 Hour Minimum Temperature	Air Temperature	Boundary Layer Winds
Cloud Fraction	Convective Available Potential Energy (Cape)	Downwelling Longwave Radiation	Downwelling Shortwave Radiation
Evaporation	Freezing Rain	Geopotential Height	Heat Index
Latent Heat Flux	Precipitation Rate	Relative Humidity	Runoff
Sea Level Pressure	Sensible Heat Flux	Snow Melt	Snow Melt
Snow Water Equivalent	Soil Moisture/Water Content	Specific Humidity	Surface Pressure
Total Precipitable Water	U/V Wind Components	U/V Wind Components	Upper Air Temperature
Upwelling Longwave Radiation	Wind Chill Index	Wind Speed

Vertical Levels:

See the detailed metadata for level information.

Data Types:

Grid

Spatial Coverage:

Longitude Range: Westernmost=178.647E Easternmost=13.07W
Latitude Range: Southernmost=5.908N Northernmost=78.067N Detailed coverage information Detailed coverage information 12km x 12km (at 46N) oriented 263E (687x653 Lambert Conformal starting at 5.908N, 232.143E)

Data Contributors:

UWYO/CEPS

College of Engineering and Physical Science, University of Wyoming

| UCAR/NCAR

National Center for Atmospheric Research, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

| UAZ/ATMOS

Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona

Related Resources:

Full configuration details and the software suite used for post-processing

Total Volume:

39.29 TB (Entire dataset) Volume details by dataset product Volume details by dataset product Group 1 - ERA5: 10.5 TB Group 2 - MPI-ESM1-2-HR: 28.79 TB

Data Formats:

netCDF4

More Details:

View a more detailed summary of the data, including specific date ranges and locations by parameter

Metadata Record:

Data License:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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