ESCER Centre:
Étude et Simulation du Climat à l’Échelle Régionale
Analysis and Simulation of Regional-Scale Climate
Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
University of Québec at Montréal (UQAM)
René Laprise, Director
Members of ESCER
Jean-Pierre Blanchet (UQAM, ScTA)
Aerosols and Arctic climate; simulation of satellite measurements
Daniel Caya (Ouranos, Director of Climate Science Branch)
Regional climate simulation
Éric Girard (UQAM, ScTA)
Aerosols and cloud microphysics; Arctic climate
Pierre Gauthier (UQAM, ScTA)
Data assimilation and Numerical Weather Prediction
René Laprise (UQAM, ScTA)
Numerical modelling; Climate dynamics and dyagnostics
Marie Larocque (UQAM, ScTA)
Geohydrology
Michel Slivitzky (Ouranos, INRS-ETE)
Surface water flow
Laxmi Sushama (UQAM, ScTA)
Surface processes, hydrology
Enrico Torlaschi (UQAM, ScTA)
Active remote sensing; simulation of weather radar measurements
Mission of the ESCER Centre
Analysis & Simulation of Climate at Regional Scale
Simulation (modelling):
• Development of computer models to simulate
physical processes in interacting climate components
• High-resolution permitted by regional (non-global)
nature of model
Analysis of climate data
• Observed in “recent” past
• Simulated by model(s) in retrospective mode
• Their interpretation: budgets, interactions
• Analysis of remote measurement systems
The Canadian Regional Climate Modelling
and Diagnostics (CRCMD) Network (2006–2010)
http://www.mrcc.uqam.ca
PI: Laxmi Sushama, Canada Research Chair
Co-Investigators of CRCMD Network
UQAM:
Jean-Pierre Blanchet
Éric Girard
René Laprise
Changhui Peng
Laxmi Sushama
Aerosols, radiation, Arctic climate
Aerosols, Clouds microphysics, Arctic climate
Numerical methods, climate modelling
Dynamic vegetation
Surface processes: lakes, permafrost, hydrology, oceans
Ouranos:
Daniel Caya
Ramón de Elía
Regional climate modelling
Predictability, uncertainty analysis
RPN EC Dorval:
Gilbert Brunet
Jean Côté
Bernard Dugas
Paul Vaillancourt
Ayrton Zadra
Weather regimes, diagnostics
Numerical methods for atmospheric sciences
Present-day climate simulations and diagnostics
Physical parameterisations for Weather Prediction
Regional and global atmospheric modelling
CCCma EC Victoria:
Vivek Arora
Greg Flato
John Scinocca
Land-surface processes, hydrology, land carbon cycle
Sea-ice, global climate modelling
Physical parameterizations for Global Climate Models
Univ. Victoria:
Adam Monahan
Climate system from a probabilistic perspective
Funding of CRCMD Network (2006-2010)
(in $1,000 / year)
CFCAS
748
Ouranos
187
FQRNT (GEC3) 30
US DoE
68 (till 2008 only)
TOTAL
1,033
In-kind:
Ouranos:
Infrastructure:
UQAM
EC
% Climate Simulation Team specialists,
Computers, Office space,
1 System Analyst (A. Khaled)
Access to scientists expertise,
GCM and GEM software
CRCMD Network
1 Network Coordinator
Adelina Alexandru
8 Research Associates
Dr. Ping Du
Katja Winger
Dr. Yanping He
Dr. Debasish Pai Mazumder
Dr. Andrey Martynov
Dr. Minwei Qian
Dr. Rong Li (CCCma)
Dr. Janya Sillman (CCCma)
1 System Analyst
Abderrahim Khaled (UQAM)
2 Computer Programmers
Luis Duarte
Georges Huard
19 Graduate Students:
10 Ph. D.
9 M.Sc.
J.-P. Blanchette
L.-P. Caron
E.-P. Diaconescu
M. Leduc
A. Di Luca
M. Markovic
D. Paquin-Ricard
J.-P. Paquin
L. Separovic
D. Surcel-Colan
R. Bresson
P.-L. Carpentier
D. Kornic
B. Mladjic
O. Nikiema
V. Poitras
M. Powers
M. Rapaic
M. Verville
CRCMD Network
Scientific Research Plan
2006 - 2010
Main themes:
1.
2.
3.
Scientific issues for high-resolution climate modelling
Bernard Dugas
The impact of surface feedback processes on regional climate
Laxmi Sushama
Developing new diagnostic techniques for regional climate models
René Laprise
CRCMD Network Scientific Research Plan
Theme 1: Scientific issues for high-resolution climate modelling
1.
Testing of physical parameterisations (RPN GEM, CCCma
AGCM4)
2.
Assessment of the scalability of parameterisations from
GCM to RCM resolutions
3.
Parameterising moist processes (convection, cloud
microphysics)
4.
Large-scale control in nested RCMs
North America, 0.5°
Piloted with ERA40
Period: 1957/09 – 2002/08
Output: 3 hourly output
North America, 0.25°
Piloted with ERA40
Period: 1957/09 – 2002/08
Output: 3 hourly output
CRCMD Network Scientific Research Plan
Theme 2: Studying the impact of surface feedback
processes on regional climate
1. Representation of surface fluxes in CRCM5
2. Dynamic vegetation (CTEM)
3. Soil and permafrost studies (CLASS)
4. Interactive lakes (Hostetler, Mironov Flakes, K-)
5. Regional oceans (RCO)
The impact of surface feedback processes on
regional climate
Coupling of CRCM5 with RCO over the Arctic
Minwei Qian (RA)
Jean Philippe Paquin (PhD)
(RCAO, WATRoute)
CRCM5
P0
P1
P2
RCO
…
Pi-1
Atmosphere
Dynamics and Physics
SST, IST,SIC, suface albedo
Radiation, precipitation, sensible, latent
heat and momentun Fluxes
Pi
Pi+1
Pi+2
…
Pn-1
Ocean
Dynamics and Physics
Blue lines: Output data, Red lines : Input data
Solid lines : Finished, Dash lines : In progress
CRCMD Network Scientific Research Plan
Theme 3: Developing new diagnostic techniques for RCMs
1. Quantifying uncertainty in RCM downscaling
2. Scale-selective budget studies
3. Using satellite data in the evaluation of CRCM5
4. Estimating the added value of RCMs
Source: Di Luca
The Big-Brother Experiment
FILTER
Global
Analyses
LBC
t=6 h
Small scales
IC
LBC
LARGE DOMAIN
45-km Big-Brother
RCM
IC
SMALL DOMAIN
45-km Little-Brother
RCM
196x196
100x100
VIRTUAL CLIMATE
RCM CLIMATE
Big-Brother
Reference Simulation
Little-Brother
simulation
STAT. VERIF.
of
REG. CLIM.
3. Spatial spin-up of small scales
Fine scales develop within RCM domain from low-resolution LBC:
This takes space to occur…
Sensitivity to domain size
Domains:
Big-Brother
 BB: 196x196
Little-Brothers
 LB1: 144x144
 LB2: 120x120
 LB3: 96x96
 LB4: 72x72
Validation area:
QC: 38x38
2 Periods:
 July 90 to 93
 February 90 to 93
14
Sensitivity to domain size
Variance ratio (LB/BB) of small-scale transient-eddy winds
SUMMER
WINTER
(%)
(%)
15