lake-atmosphere feedbacks in a coupled regional climate model over the Great Lakes

North American Great Lakes have long been referred to as "inland seas". Great Lakes are particularly sensitive to climate change and also play a critical role in regulating the regional climate. Accurate representations of lake-ice-atmosphere interactions in regional climate modeling remain one of the most critical challenges for understanding large-lake systems and their impacts on regional climate. We developed a two-way coupled 3-D climate-lake-ice modeling system for improving the simulation of large lakes in regional climate models and accurately resolving the two-way hydroclimatic interactions. Using the coupled model, we examined various lake-ice-atmosphere feedback processes. Analyses also helped us understand physical mechanisms for the recent warming trend and climate extremes of the Great Lakes.