ESS seminar: Dynamical downscaling of global gridded atmospheric data - Observing the unobserved

Missing observational data at high temporal and spatial detail are one of the major obstacles in gaining better insight into meso-scale atmospheric processes controlling climate and environmental conditions in remote regions difficult to assess. Dynamical downscaling of global atmospheric data using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model has proven to be an appropriate, while yet not perfect methodology for overcoming the limitations in availability of weather and climate data. The methodology that has led to the widely used High Asia Refined analysis data set (HAR) will be discussed and critically reviewed in the presentation. In addition, new directions for improving and applying the methodology for dynamical downscaling of global reanalysis data like the ERA5 data set or GCM output from paleoclimate simulations or climate projections will be discussed with respect to their potential for further improvement of our knowledge on past, present and future climates in High Mountain Asia and other regions suffering from data scarcity.
 

Lecturer

Prof. Dr. Dieter Scherer obtained his PhD in meteorology at University of Basel, Switzerland. As physicist and geographer by education, his interests have always included hydrological, glaciological and environmental aspects influenced or controlled by weather and climate. Since 2003, he heads the Chair of Climatology at Technische Universität Berlin, Germany.