RACMO2.3p2: Antarctic Climate Model Output (1979-2022)

Monthly averaged atmospheric and surface variables from a 44-year regional climate model simulation over Antarctica. The hydrostatic RACMO2.3p2 model, forced by ERA5 reanalysis data, runs at a 27 km horizontal resolution with 40 vertical levels and includes specialized physics for polar snow processes. This dataset is provided on a rotated polar coordinate grid, which offers accurate calculations but presents a known challenge for reprojection onto standard grids.

Use Cases

• [Analyzing long-term surface mass balance trends] based on [modeled melt, refreezing, percolation, and runoff from a multilayer snow scheme]
• [Studying near-surface atmospheric dynamics] based on [variables from a model with active upper air relaxation of wind, humidity, and temperature]
• [Investigating snow-albedo feedbacks] based on [snow albedo calculated through a prognostic scheme for snow grain size]
• [Modeling snow transport] based on [interactions simulated by a drifting snow scheme]
• [Validating or downscaling global reanalysis data] based on [a regional climate model forced by 3-hourly ERA5 data]

Strengths

• Covers a long and recent time period, from January 1979 to December 2022
• Simulates the entire Antarctic ice sheet at a relatively high horizontal resolution of 27 km
• Incorporates specialized polar physics modules for snow, albedo, and drifting snow processes

Limitations

• Specific column names and the dataset's size or row count are not provided in the source metadata
• Data is provided on a rotated polar grid, which the description notes is often troublesome to reproject using standard software
• The most recent update date for the dataset is unknown, affecting certainty about its current state

Provenance

Source

Utrecht University

Collection Method

Simulated by the hydrostatic regional atmospheric climate model RACMO2.3p2, forced at its boundaries by ERA5 reanalysis data.

Time Range

1979-01-01 to 2022-12-31

Geography

Antarctic ice sheet