2. Projects
3. Development of an agreed set of climate projections for South Australia

Development of an agreed set of climate projections for South Australia

Development of an agreed set of downscaled climate projections for South Australia was the largest funded climate change project in South Australia. The focus of this Climate Change priority project was the development of a benchmark suite of downscaled climate projections and climate variable time series for South Australia. The project has produced the most comprehensive set of detailed, local scale climate projections data ever available in South Australia. It covers rainfall, temperature, solar radiation, vapour pressure deficit and evapotranspiration. The three characteristics that distinguish this important project are: · the latest CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5) GCMs (Global Climate Models) were used to generate the large scale projections · the GCM models selected were those that accurately picked up the climate drivers that specifically affect the SA climate · the latest downscaling techniques were adapted for application in SA The project used records collected by all weather stations located throughout South Australia and projected climate conditions out to 2100 using climate change scenarios which the IPCC describe as "Representative Concentration Pathways" (RPCs). The scenarios used by the project were RCP8.5 and RCP4.5. The project was funded through the Goyder Institute which is a partnership between the South Australian Government (through the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources), CSIRO, Flinders University, University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia.

Data and resources