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Abstract

Abstract. This study presents the application of an interactive downscaling in Europe using iLOVECLIM (a model of intermediate complexity), increasing its atmospheric resolution from 5.56 to 0.25∘ kilometric. A transient simulation using the appropriate climate forcings for the entire Holocene (11.5–0 ka BP) was done for both the standard version of the model and with an interactive downscaling applied. Our results show that simulations from downscaling present spatial variability that agrees better with proxy-based reconstructions and other climate models as compared to the standard model. The downscaling scheme simulates much higher (by at least a factor of 2) precipitation maxima and provides detailed information in mountainous regions. We focus on examples from the Scandes mountains, the Alps, the Scottish Highlands, and the Mediterranean. The higher spatial resolution of the downscaling provides a more realistic overview of the topography and gives local climate information, such as precipitation and temperature gradient, that is important for paleoclimate studies. With downscaling, we simulate similar trends and spatial patterns of the precipitation changes reconstructed by other proxy studies (for example in the Alps) as compared to the standard version. Our downscaling tool is numerically cheap, implying that our model can perform kilometric, multi-millennial simulations and is suitable for future studies.

DOI

10.5194/cp-19-87-2023

Publication Date

2023-01-10

Publication Title

Climate of the Past

Volume

19

Issue

1

ISSN

1814-9324

Embargo Period

2023-02-01

Organisational Unit

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

First Page

87

Last Page

106

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