Badal Pal

CCCMA

This project will examine projected 21st century changes in near-surface winds over the NE Pacific Ocean as represented by the WCRP CMIP3 multi-model ensemble. Individual models will first be validated by comparing late 20th century seasonal climatologies at particular grid cells with approximately co-located buoy observations. Projections of 21st century changes for the most skillful models will be downscaled to near-coastal locations. Results will be used to assess projected changes in upwelling/downwelling regimes in the coastal circulation off western Canada and the NW United States. This work is a collaboration with Mike Foreman (Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, BC, Canada) and Bill Merryfield (Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, Victoria, BC, Canada).