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On the role of resolution and topography in the simulation of East Asia precipitation

Theoretical and Applied Climatology volume 86, pages 173–185 (2006)Cite this article

Summary

In this paper, we investigate the role that horizontal resolution plays in the simulation of East Asia precipitation. Two sets of numerical experiments are performed using the Regional Climate Model (RegCM2) nested in one-way mode within the CSIRO global coupled atmosphere-ocean model. In the first set we use the actual RegCM2 topography at the selected model resolutions, which are 45, 60, 90, 120, 180, 240 and 360 km. In the second set of the experiments, the same coarse CSIRO model topography is used in all simulations using the different resolutions of the first set. The results demonstrate that the simulation of East Asian precipitation improves as the horizontal resolution is increased. Moreover, it is shown that the simulations using a higher resolution along with the coarse CSIRO topography perform better than the simulations using a coarser model resolution with corresponding model topography. This suggests that over East Asia adequate spatial resolution to resolve the physical and dynamical processes is more important than topography. Lastly, the results indicate that model resolutions of 60 km or higher are needed to accurately simulate the distribution of precipitation over China and East Asia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Laboratory of Climate Study of China Meteorological Administration, National Climate Center, Beijing, China

    Xuejie Gao, Ying Xu & Zongci Zhao

  2. The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy

    J. S. Pal & F. Giorgi

Authors
  1. Xuejie Gao
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  2. Ying Xu
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  3. Zongci Zhao
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  4. J. S. Pal
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  5. F. Giorgi
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Gao, X., Xu, Y., Zhao, Z. et al. On the role of resolution and topography in the simulation of East Asia precipitation. Theor. Appl. Climatol. 86, 173–185 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-005-0214-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-005-0214-4

Keywords

  • Regional Climate Model
  • East Asia Monsoon
  • Rain Belt
  • Biosphere Atmosphere Transfer Scheme
  • Convergence Center