Detailed validation of EURO-CORDEX and Med-CORDEX regional climate model ensembles over the Carpathian Region

Abstract

⎯ Present study evaluates the ability of the ERA-Interim-driven regional climate model (RCM) simulations conducted in the framework of the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) in describing precipitation and temperature climatic conditions over the Carpathian Region. In total, nine RCM simulations were assessed from EURO-CORDEX and Med-CORDEX (at 0.44° and 0.11° nominal resolutions) against the CARPATCLIM high resolution gridded observational database. Present work focuses on the mean, minimum, and maximum near-surface air temperature and precipitation. The study shows the performance of the members of RCM ensembles in representing the basic spatiotemporal patterns of the climate over the Carpathian Region for the period of 1989–2008. Different metrics covering from daily to monthly and from seasonal to annual time scales are analyzed over the region of interest: spatial patterns of seasonal mean temperature and precipitation, annual cycle of precipitation, monthly mean temperature bias, as well as climate indices, including CDD (consecutive dry days), R95, FD (frost days, when Tmin<0 °C), and SU (summer days, when Tmax>25 °C). The results confirm the distinct capabilities of RCMs in capturing the local features of the climatic conditions of the Carpathian Region. This work is in favor to select RCMs with reasonable performance over the Carpathian Region, based on which a high-resolution bias-adjusted climatic database can be established for future risk assessment and impact studies. Key-words: EURO-CORDEX, Med-CORDEX, CARPATCLIM, regional climate model evaluation, Carpathian Region, temperature, precipitation