20CRv3-WRF - High-resolution WRF climate simulation for southern Alaska using the 20CRv3

Currently, mass loss from Alaskan glaciers contributes to about a third of global mean sea level rise. The 20CRv3-WRF, a high-resolution (4 km) climate dataset, covers southern Alaska and spans from 1837 to 2015, providing extensive temporal coverage for studying long-term climate trends in this highly climate-sensitive region. The dataset was created by downscaling the NOAA-CIRES-DOE 20th Century Reanalysis (20CRv3) using the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF). The downscaling dataset was evaluated for the modern-day period (1981-2015) against the GSOD and PRISM observational datasets for Alaska and compared to ERA5 reanalysis output. The 20CRv3-WRF dataset includes surface variables at 3-hourly intervals (e.g., temperature, precipitation, wind) and atmospheric variables at 6-hourly intervals (e.g., pressure, wind). The primary motivation was to investigate the climate control on tidewater glaciers within southern Alaska, where long-term meteorological records are sparse. However, the 20CRv3-WRF dataset's applicability extends to various fields, including glaciology, hydrology, and biology, offering a valuable resource for diverse climate change studies and research applications. With its high resolution, it can be used as input data for various types of glacier modeling.

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Temporal Range

  • Begin:  1837-01-01T0000+00
    End:  2016-01-02T0000+00

Keywords

Resource Type dataset
Temporal Range Begin 1837-01-01T0000+00
Temporal Range End 2016-01-02T0000+00
Temporal Resolution N/A
Bounding Box North Lat 75.53433134654969
Bounding Box South Lat 41.83700000000001
Bounding Box West Long -160.71840492232025
Bounding Box East Long -96.97199319200632
Spatial Representation grid
Spatial Resolution 20000.0 m
4000.0 m
Related Links N/A
Additional Information N/A
Resource Format NetCDF4
Standardized Resource Format NetCDF
Asset Size 51427945.847 MB
Legal Constraints

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License


Access Constraints None
Software Implementation Language N/A

Resource Support Name N/A
Resource Support Email datahelp@ucar.edu
Resource Support Organization N/A
Distributor NSF NCAR Geoscience Data Exchange
Metadata Contact Name N/A
Metadata Contact Email datahelp@ucar.edu
Metadata Contact Organization NSF NCAR Geoscience Data Exchange

Author K\u00f6nigseder, Sandra K.
Barrows, Timothy T.
Fisher, Jenny A.
Evans, Jason P.
McColl, Chesley
Publisher NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research
Publication Date 2024-08-28
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) https://doi.org/10.5065/VP7Z-YG52
Alternate Identifier d010080
Resource Version N/A
Topic Category climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere
Progress completed
Metadata Date 2025-10-09T01:47:38Z
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.gdex::d010080
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation K\u00f6nigseder, Sandra K., Barrows, Timothy T., Fisher, Jenny A., Evans, Jason P., McColl, Chesley. (2024). 20CRv3-WRF - High-resolution WRF climate simulation for southern Alaska using the 20CRv3. NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research. https://doi.org/10.5065/VP7Z-YG52. Accessed 09 October 2025.

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