Downscaling CCSM data using WRF for air quality modeling

The WRF model was used as a regional climate model to downscale outputs from the CCSM global climate model forced by the IPCC A1B future emissions scenario. CCSM 6-hourly outputs were downscaled to 108, 36 and 12 km resolutions for three climate periods consisting of the years 2001-2003, 2018-2020, and 2048-2050. To facilitate the downscaling, a tool was developed to create WPS intermediate files to be used as initial and boundary conditions into WRF. The WRF output was qualitatively compared against the CCSM input data to validate the downscaling technique. Further analysis of the WRF output focused on differences between the three climate periods for various surface parameters important to air quality, such as temperature, precipitation, and radiation. These differences were examined mainly over the 12 km CONUS domain, with a secondary focus on North Carolina.