Regional climate models add value to global model data a review and selected examples

Abstract

MRegional atmospheric models are tools used to achieve highresolution climate data from coarsely resolved global models. Regional models show higher detail for mountain ranges or coastal zones, more numerous and differing vegetation and soil characteristics, and a description of smaller-scale atmospheric processes, which lead to the formation of mesoscale weather phenomena. These RCM characteristics are believed to produce model output that is closer to reality than the more coarsely resolved global model data, both for reanalyses for hindcast studies, and for global scenario simulations.