Abstract
Number of researches of climate simulation and climate prediction using high-resolution regional climate models (RCMs) are recently increasing, in relation to monsoon researches or global warming studies. Since RCMs have higher resolutions compared to conventional GCMs, they are able to represent realistic regional climate more in details. Thus, it has become popular among hydrologists, to utilize RCMs as a dynamical downscaling method. In this review, I try to summarize the trend of RCM researches in the latest few years, as well as the characteristics of utilized RCMs. From the beginning of researches using RCMs, it has been stressed that (1) we can improve precisions of the orographical precipitation by increasing the resolution of the model topography. However, (2) the accuracies of the RCMs' results are also strongly controlled by the mother GCM. Moreover, (3) the necessity of urgent preparation of high-resolution and high-accuracy observational data, comparable with those of RCMs, has been emphasized. We also should note that, (4) as for the treatments of physical processes in RCMs, they are improving but still in progress.
