Regional Climate Research

Abstract

The Workshop on Regional Climate Research: Needs and Opportunities was held 2?4 April 2001 at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado. The workshop was cosponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy with the goals to 1) assess current approaches used in downscaling; 2) inform program managers of the status of regional climate research; and 3) define a future path for regional climate research. The workshop was organized into five sessions with presentations and discussion to address issues related to the regional climate problem, global climate modeling, statistical and dynamical downscaling, data and model diagnostics and validation, and downscaling applications. Sixty-eight invited participants attended the workshop from the U.S. and international research community. This report summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop and highlights the recommendations derived from the meeting. Important general recommendations include the following: 1) coordinated end-to-end prediction using integrated or linked global models, downscaling techniques, and process models should be developed to test the whole approach of impact assessment; 2) seasonal prediction experiments, especially in the context of applications of seasonal forecasts, should be encouraged as a useful framework for assessing added value of downscaling; and 3) all downscaling techniques, discussed at the workshop and shown to be valid, should be nurtured with continued research.