Documentation
This page contains the documentation for the TYN SC 1.0 data-set, and comprises:
Data
The TYN SC 1.0 data-set is available to download.
Full range of data-sets
If you have arrived at this page from a different website (without the red frame), you may be interested in the wider range of high-resolution climate grids available here. There is a table detailing the full range of data-sets. For example, there are observed time-series for the 20th century on the same 10 minute grid (CRU TS 1.2).
4th August 2003
2nd May 2003
A new software page gives users the opportunity to share software for manipulating these climate grids, and reinvent the wheel less frequently!
1st April 2003
4th February 2003
Introduction
Guidance
The purpose of providing 16 different futures is to enable environmental modellers to represent the uncertainty in climate impacts arising from two distinct sources of uncertainty: uncertainty in the future emissions of greenhouse gases, and uncertainty in climate modelling. Each of the 16 permutations should be treated as equally likely. Between them, the 16 scenarios cover 93% of the possible range of future global warming estimated by the IPCC in their Third Assessment Report (2001). The control scenario may be useful for tuning models, and for establishing baselines.
This data-set is complemented by TYN SC 2.0, which is very similar to this data-set, but is at a lower spatial resolution (0.5 degrees) and extends to the global land mass.
For many purposes, it is better to use this data-set than to use direct model outputs:
Data Structure
WARNING! The raw data files are USELESS without the unpacking procedure. Do NOT attempt to directly use these raw data files. Your results will be WRONG! Use the unpacking procedure.
Ownership
Mitchell, T.D., Carter, T.R., Jones, P.D., Hulme,M., New, M., 2003: A comprehensive set of high-resolution grids of monthly climate for Europe and the globe: the observed record (1901-2000) and 16 scenarios (2001-2100). Journal of Climate: submitted.
Disclaimer
Further Information
Models
An elevations file (540 KB, compressed) has been provided. (The land-sea mask is implied.)
Data-set publicly released, as version 1.05.
The TYN SC 1.0 data-set comprises 20400 monthly grids of observed climate, for the period 2001-2100, and covering the European land surface at 10 minute resolution. There are five climatic variables available: cloud cover, DTR, precipitation, temperature, vapour pressure. There is one control scenario and 16 climate change scenarios, which should be treated as equally likely.
The primary purpose for which this data-set was constructed was to provide environmental modellers with some of the inputs they require to run their models.
The companion data-set CRU TS 1.2 may be used in conjunction with TYN SC 1.0 to provide complete time-series for the period 1901-2100. The control scenario for the 21st century may be duplicated into the 20th century, which provides a time-series for the period 1901-2100 without any long-term climate change.
The net effect of these advantages is that it becomes much easier to conduct systematic investigations into the future of the environmental system being modelled.
This data-set is very large. To reduce data transfer volumes, the data-set is supplied in the form of a set of raw ASCII files, which must then be unpacked into the scenarios. Please bear in mind that the scenarios are designed for use on a Unix system, not in Excel! There are two approaches to unpacking: use the supplied fortran software, or carry out the unpacking yourself. The readme file provides further information about the file structure. The unpacking procedure is explained here. You will need the file format details. There is also a user-supplied software page.
The creator of this data
set (Dr. T. D. Mitchell) retains full ownership rights over it. The data set may
be freely used for non-commerical scientific and educational purposes, provided
it is described as TYN SC 1.0 and attributed to:
The author of this data-set cannot bear any responsibility for the consequences of using it, which are entirely the responsibility of the user. It is inevitable that a data-set of this size will contain some errors and inconsistencies. However, these have been kept to a minimum and when they are identified they are corrected when resources permit. Updates to this data-set will be notified on this web page and by email to registered users.
The four models
used in this data-set are among the set of state-of-the-art coupled climate models used by the IPCC (2001) in the Third Assessment
Working Group 1 Report. Further details about the individual models may be obtained
from that report (Tables 8.1 and 9.1).
model
short
IPCC number
CGCM2
CCCma
7
CSIRO mk 2
CSIRO2
10
DOE PCM
PCM
30
HadCM3
UKMO
23