Example of Increasing Spatial Resolution of Climate Models

Figure 2

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Allison Crimmins

This figure appears in chapter appendix-1--technical-support-document of the The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment report.

Top: Illustration of eastern North American topography in a resolution of 68 miles x 68 miles (110 x 110 km). Bottom: Illustration of eastern North America at a resolution of 19 miles x 19 miles (30 x 30 km). Global climate models are constantly being enhanced as scientific understanding of climate improves and as computational power increases. For example, in 1990, the average model divided up the world into grid cells measuring more than 300 miles per side. Today, most models divide the world up into grid cells of about 60 to 100 miles per side, and some of the most recent models are able to run short simulations with grid cells of only 15 miles per side. Supercomputer capabilities are the primary limitation on grid cell size. Newer models also incorporate more of the physical processes and components that make up the Earth’s climate system. (Figure source: Melillo et al. 2014)dd5b893d-4462-4bb3-9205-67b532919566

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The time range for this figure is January 01, 1995 (00:00 AM) to December 31, 2011 (23:59 PM).

This figure was created on May 01, 2014.

The spatial range for this figure is 30° to 52° latitude, and 80° to 106° longitude.

This figure was derived from Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment .

References :

• Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment (dd5b893d)

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