Abstract
Methods are proposed to estimate the monthly relative humidity and wet bulb temperature based on observations from a dynamical downscaling coupled general circulation model with a regional climate model (RCM) for a quantitative assessment of climate change impacts. The water vapor pressure estimation model developed was a regression model with a monthly saturated water vapor pressure that used minimum air temperature as a variable. The monthly minimum air temperature correction model for RCM bias was developed by stepwise multiple regression analysis using the difference in monthly minimum air temperatures between observations and RCM output as a dependent variable and geographic factors as independent variables. The wet bulb temperature was estimated using the estimated water vapor pressure, air temperature, and atmospheric pressure at ground level both corrected for RCM bias. Root mean square errors of the data decreased considerably in August.
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Acknowledgments
I am grateful for the valuable comments and discussions on this study with Dr. Kimura F. and Dr. S. A. Adachi, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. I also acknowledge members of the Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, for instructions on the PGW method. MRI-CGCM2 data were downloaded from the PCMDI. Data from the AMeDAS meteorological stations and data from five meteorological observatories were provided by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Information Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), Japan. The software for multiple regression analysis, SAS, was provided by the Computer Center for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research, MAFF, Japan. The 250-m resolution digital elevation model was published by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan.
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Ueyama, H. Estimation methods for monthly humidity from dynamical downscaling data for quantitative assessments of climate change impacts. Theor Appl Climatol 109, 15–26 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-011-0558-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-011-0558-x