COoRdinated Downscaling EXperiment - Empirical-Statistical Downscaling Methods

The workshop is part of a series that will develop the core ESD comparison framework, evaluate and refine methodologies and engage stakeholders directly in coexploration and utilization of combined ESD/RCM data archives. A draft experiment framework has b een developed through the CORDEX Science Advisory Team, and this would form a starting point of discussion. The workshops will bring together scientists active in ESD in order to establish a standard framework of ESD activities that contribute to CORDEX and complement the equivalent RCM product suite, and to build on existing climate activities in Africa. We will use the foundation of previous CORDEX RCM activities involving both model analysis and stakeholder interaction to bring the ESD side of CORDEX to a level of engagement, assessment and utilization on a par with the RCM effort. The workshop series will build a more cohesive community among the wide diversity of ESD practitioners, and establish a more rigorous foundation for the evaluation and upta ke of ESD outputs by the scientific community and by stakeholders in Africa. The workshops will develop amulti-model, multi-method downscaling product complementary to the established CORDEX RCM design, and include additional diagnostics pertinent to ESD evaluation and tailored outputs targeted at needs of the adaptation and impacts communities. The ESD outputs will contribute directly to the broad range of other ongoing and proposed stakeholder-relevant adaptation and policy activities in developing nat ions, including those of various country aid agencies (e.g., UK DFID) and development agencies (e.g., World Bank). By advancing the role of statistical downscaling in CORDEX, the workshops will broaden the basis for analyzing climate downscaling and the p rovisioning of information for climate change studies in vulnerability, impacts and adaptation. The workshops have received US$100,000 from the NSF, but needs some additional funding for the last workshop.