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.