Climate Models and Their Simulation of Precipitation

David R. Legates
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David R. Legates: University of Delaware Newark, Delaware USA

Energy & Environment, 2014, vol. 25, issue 6-7, 1163-1175

Abstract: Current state-of-the-art General Circulation Models (GCMs) do not simulate precipitation well because they do not include the full range of precipitation-forming mechanisms that occur in the real world. It is demonstrated here that the impact of these errors are not trivial – an error of only 1 mm in simulating liquid rainfall is equivalent to the energy required to heat the entire troposphere by 0.3°C. Given that models exhibit differences between the observed and modeled precipitation that often exceed 1 mm day −1 , this lost energy is not trivial. Thus, models and their prognostications are largely unreliable.

Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:engenv:v:25:y:2014:i:6-7:p:1163-1175

DOI: 10.1260/0958-305X.25.6-7.1163

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