Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/Z504026/1
NERC- FAPESP-NSTC Land Use Change Investigation and Regional Climate (LIRIC)
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr K P Chun, University of the West of England, Faculty of Environment and Technology
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr T Octavianti, University of the West of England, Faculty of Environment and Technology
- Science Area:
- None
- Overall Classification:
- Unknown
- ENRIs:
- None
- Science Topics:
- None
- Abstract:
- Increasing supercomputer power has allowed climate projections to be run at a resolution, with kilometre-scale grid spacing. In this high resolution, convection-permitting models (CPMs) allow the organised vertical transport of heat and moisture in the atmosphere to be represented explicitly on the model grid, without the need for parameterisation based on empirical relationships. CPMs have been shown to provide realistic temperature and precipitation simulations with statistical properties of localised extreme events, not captured by coarser resolution models. Despite the significant advances CPMs offer, there is an immediate need to quantify the impact of land use changes related to building density and heights on regional climate - for promoting climate change action related to environmental management and urban planning in different parts of the globe. In this project, we propose to generate and compare CPM simulations for three regions: Guandu in northern Taiwan, S?o Paulo in southeast Brazil, and Bristol in the southwest UK, that have distinct land use characteristics and unique climate features. Analysing the temperature and precipitation fields of the simulations will improve our understanding of the impact of land use changes on regional climate. The results of the CPM simulations will then be visualised using immersive technology to create impacts of using CPM with stakeholders of regional planning in the UK, South America, and Taiwan. To do this, we are extending the collaboration between Bristol and S?o Paolo where researchers have led several CPM studies, to include researchers at the National University of Taiwan who have complementary urban and environmental management expertise. The CPM simulations for northern Taiwan and southeast Brazil will be undertaken, and the results will be compared with the southwest UK ensembles from the Europe Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (Europe-CORDEX) and UKCP18. This comparison aims to analyse the impact of different land uses, including cropland and urban areas, on temperature and precipitation patterns. A workshop in Brazil will discuss these findings and consolidate research activities with South American groups. This will be followed by hydroclimatic analysis to evaluate how land use changes related to deforestation and urbanisation affect joint distribution of precipitation and temperature. Findings will be discussed in a workshop in Taiwan. Immersive materials will then be developed for the final workshop in Bristol with the atmospheric, hydroclimatic and environmental management communities including the South America-CORDEX team, the UK Met office, and Taiwanese urban planning and modelling groups. This will be a forum for presenting the results of the project and for initiating an interdisciplinary application to support future collaborative research activities, to expand the scientific community engaged with CPM research focusing on the local climate impact studies. All workshops will be open to the broader urban and environmental management research communities, ensuring inclusive involvement of diverse stakeholders. Overall, the findings will inform regional sustainability planning and policy-making based on refined horizontal and temporal scales of convection-permitting models. Furthermore, these insights will guide environmental management and urban planning by assessing how changes in land use may influence localised temperature and precipitation extremes, supporting efforts to achieve Sustainable Develop Goal 13: Climate Action.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/Z504026/1
- Grant Stage:
- Awaiting Authorisation
- Scheme:
- Research Grants
- Grant Status:
- Approved
- Programme:
- GPSF
This grant award has a total value of £81,587
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DI - Staff | DA - Estate Costs | DI - T&S |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £13,882 | £16,570 | £15,924 | £2,012 | £33,200 |
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