RCM domains

In order to allow for intercomparison, 12 domains that cover all continents were defined within the CORDEX project. These domains are described here. The domains vary in size and location, but the base resolution of each domain is assumed to be 0.44°x0.44° for an equatorial rotated coordinate system, resulting in a quasi-regular resolution of ~50km.

How are the CORDEX domains defined?

The base resolution of the CORDEX domains is 0.44ºx0.44º for an equatorial rotated coordinate system, resulting in a quasi-regular resolution of ~50km. The resolution of the CORDEX-CORE domains is 0.22ºx0.22º for an equatorial rotated coordinate system, resulting in a quasi-regular resolution of ~25km. A set of parameters are provided to define the different CORDEX domains:

A. Rotated-pole coordinate system RCMs

  • 1. Coordinates of the rotated pole (Longitude, Latitude)
  • 2. Coordinates of the Top Left Corner (Longitude, Latitude)
  • 3. Number of grid points in the East-West direction (Ny)
  • 4. Number of grid points in the South-North direction (Nx)

B. Non-rotated-pole coordinate system RCMs

The domains are defined using a number of reference points (Longitude, Latitude) shown in the figure below:

CORDEXDomainDef.jpg

CORDEX AustralAsia Domain

This is a minimal domain to enter CORDEX AustralAsia

austal_asia2.jpg

Parameters of the CORDEX AustralAsia domain:

A. Rotated-pole coordinate system

CORDEX base:
RotPole (321.38; -60.31)
TLC (142.16; 33.44)
Nx=200
Ny=129

CORDEX-CORE:
RotPole (321.38; -60.31)
TLC (142.05; 33.55)
Nx=400
Ny=258

B. Non-rotated pole coordinate system

TLC (110.19; 8.76)
CNB (146.16; 3.87)
TRC (182.02; 12.21)
CWB (101.41; -18.03)
CPD (147.63; -24.26)
CEB (192.85; -13.82)
BLC (89.25; -44.28)
CSB (150.03; -52.36)
BRC (206.57; -39.25)

WRF parameters for the CORDEX AustralAsia domain

These are the parameters to define the domain in WRF as used by the UNSW CCRC. Note that an 6-point relaxation (1 specification point, 4 relaxation points and 1 extra point within the domain) zone is added to the previously defined parameters and so the values are slightly different.

 e_we              =  216,
 e_sn              =  145,
 geog_data_res     = '10m',
 dx = 0.44,
 dy = 0.44,
 map_proj = 'lat-lon',
 ref_lat   = -24.26,
 ref_lon   = 147.63,
 pole_lat = 60.31
 pole_lon = 321.38
 stand_lon = 32.37,

Please, add other RCMs parameters to define the CORDEX AustralAsia domain.


Other sub-domains

In addition to the minimal domain required to enter CORDEX AustralAsia, several groups have defined additional sub-domains to increase resolution over particular areas. These are the sub-domains:

NARCliM Southeast Australia

This domain was created for the NSW and ACT Regional Climate Modelling (NARCliM) project, developed by CCRC, UNSW. It was defined for WRF model and aimed at covering southeast Australia.

NARCliMdomains.jpg

B. Non-rotated pole coordinate system

TLC (135.14; -22.36)
CNB (150.48; -22.95)
TRC (165.73; -21.67)
CWB (134.04; -31.10)
CPD (150.73; -31.75)
CEB (167.30; -30.35)
BLC (132.72; -39.75)
CSB (151.04; -40.46)
BRC (169.16; -38.93)

WRF parameters

This are the WRF parameters for the NARCliM sub-domain:

 parent_id         = 1,1,
 parent_grid_ratio = 1,5,
 i_parent_start    = 1,82,
 j_parent_start    = 1,36,
 e_we          = 216,326,
 e_sn          = 145,201,
 geog_data_res = '10m','2m',
 dx = 0.44,
 dy = 0.44,
 map_proj =  'lat-lon',
 ref_lat   = -24.26,
 ref_lon   = 147.63,
 pole_lat  = 60.31,
 pole_lon  = 321.38,
 stand_lon = 32.37,

Murdoch University Western Australia

This domain was created for a project looking at current and future climate projections, specifically for the agricultural region of WA (commonly know as the wheat-belt).

SWWAdomains.jpg

B. Non-rotated pole coordinate system - First inner nest

TLC(109.485;-24.9644)
CNB(117.911;-27.1415)
TRC(126.628;-28.8121)
CWB(107.244;-30.9376)
CPD(114.361;-32.8315)
CEB(125.267;-34.9973)
BLC(104.667;-36.9495)
CSB(113.916;-39.369)
BRC(123.659;-41.251)

B. Non-rotated pole coordinate system - Second inner nest

TLC(115.697;-29.7922)
CNB(118.62;-30.4497)
TRC(121.579;-31.0491)
CWB(114.884;-32.3158)
CPD(117.869;-32.9886)
CEB(120.894;-33.6023)
BLC(114.025;-34.834)
CSB(117.073;-35.5227)
BRC(120.167;-36.1515)

 parent_id         =   1,   1, 2,
 parent_grid_ratio =   1,   5, 2,
 i_parent_start    =   1,  35, 77,
 j_parent_start    =   1,  34, 51,
 e_we              =  224,181,121,
 e_sn              =  153,146,121,
 geog_data_res     = '10m','5m','30s',
 dx = 0.44,
 dy = 0.44,
 map_proj = 'lat-lon',
 ref_lat   = -24.26,
 ref_lon   = 147.63,
 pole_lat = 60.31
 pole_lon = 321.38
 stand_lon = 32.37,

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