On the evidence of orographical modulation of regional fine scale precipitation change signals: The Carpathians

• Main Authors: Csaba Torma, Filippo Giorgi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2020-06-01
• Series: Atmospheric Science Letters
• Subjects: Carpathian climate; precipitation change; regional climate modeling
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.967

Abstract This study investigates the greenhouse gas‐induced winter and summer precipitation change signals over the Carpathian region with special focus on topographical effects and underlying processes. Six high‐resolution (~12 km grid spacing) regional climate model projections are analyzed for the future period 2070–2099 with respect to the reference period 1976–2005 under the RCP8.5 scenarios. We find that the topographically induced fine scale modulation of the precipitation change signal is mostly of dynamical nature in winter (due to the precipitation shadowing effect), and thermodynamical in summer (associated with high elevation convection) over the region of interest. Additionally, elevation, size, and orientation of mountains play key roles in such processes. Our results draw attention to the fact that the high‐resolution representation of topography in climate models is crucial for the provision of fine scale precipitation projections in mountainous regions.