Project Information

Project Timeline: October 2014. This project has been completed.
Principal Investigators: Phil Mote, Oregon State University; and John Abatzoglou, University of Idaho
Implements Science Theme: 1: Develop climate projections and
determine appropriate projections to use for resource
management

Key Points

• Applied existing models and data to make models relevant for local scales in the Southeast using the downscaling process
• Used downscaling methods for a wide range of climate variables instead of only temperature and precipitation 
• Made data publicly available for use by a wide range of users, including resource managers and policy makers

Overview

Global climate models (GCMs) give future climate projections at very large scales. It’s important to predict future changes in variables like precipitation and temperature. But, using GCMs isn’t very accurate for regional and local scales, which need more specific data. Scientists use a process called “downscaling,” which makes data from GCMs usable for local scales.

We downscaled output from GCMs used for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report 5 (AR5). We made several publically available datasets at smaller scales. They include variables like daily temperature, precipitation, surface winds, humidity, and solar radiation. All of these variables can be used for specific management decisions. Two projects, one at a 4km resolution, and the other at 6km, are now completed. The maps cover the entire continental United States. 

We also studied how well GCMs show the historical climate of the Southeast. This can help users decide the best climate projections from the large set available. This guidance on GCMs helps to give information for developing ways to adapt to climate change.