Climate Models and Their Simulation of Precipitation. Issue 6 (August 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Legates, David R.
• Is Part Of: Energy & environment. Volume 25:Issue 6/7(2014)
• Page Start: 1163
• Page End: 1175
• Publication Date: 2014-08
• Subjects: Power resources -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Periodicals; Renewable energy sources -- Periodicals; Energy policy -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Ressources énergétiques; Politique énergétique; Energy policy -- Environmental aspects; Power resources; Power resources -- Environmental aspects; Renewable energy sources; Periodicals; 333.7
• DOI: 10.1260/0958-305X.25.6-7.1163
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0958-305X

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.