Managing the impacts of climate change is an important issue for sustainable urban planning. A large range of economic activities influence urban climate and are influenced by climate change itself. The impacts of climate change on power plants, manufacturing processes and business locations as well as adaptation options should be analysed to understand the vulnerability to climate change. The seriousness of the potential impacts of
climate change on enterprises requires new concepts and innovative products for flexible and robust adaptation options. The analysis of the impacts of climate change on enterprises and potential adaptation measures is the basis of the research framework of a “climate-focused economic development” within the networking and research project dynaklim. A differentiated vulnerability assessment enables us to define and identify strategies of adaptation in the means of organisational, marked-focused and technical developments.
A statistical downscaling method has been developed to produce highly resolved precipitation data from regional climate model (RCM) output, using the model CLM (2 runs, scenario A1B). The procedure is based on the analogue method with the predictors precipitation (daily sums on CLM grid points) and objective weather types (DWD). Analogue days of the time period 2001-2009 are searched using corrected and adjusted data of radar Essen and DWD measurements of objective weather types. The radar data is used to produce high-resolution precipitation data sets (1km², 5min) with realistic spatial and temporal correlations for three catchments in North Rhine-Westphalia. Results in
the reference period (1961 - 1990) are examined using extreme value statistics and compared to corrected station data. Data sets of the near and the far future (2021-2050, 2071-2100) are analysed with respect to future trends, and uncertainties of the downscaling procedure are discussed.
Rainfall statistics are composed based on data gained by precipitation measurements and from climate models. These statistics are carried out for both periods in the past and the future. When analysing the time series, different trends can be seen in the measured data of the past and the model data for future periods. Influences on the statistically determined precipitation amounts caused by changes can be neglected for past periods. However, significant increases of the statistical precipitation amounts can be observed for the future. Here a pragmatic approach is presented, showing how to consider possible increases in the statistical precipitation amounts – due to the climate change signal – in the dimensioning of water management systems.
The precipitation data of the Regional Climate Model CLM are used for the water management impact models within the dynaklim networking and research project. For this purpose, it is necessary to apply a bias correction to the CLM
precipitation data. First, the bias assessed for varying temporal resolutions and precipitation characteristics is described. Subsequently, a method for the bias correction is introduced. The developed methodology is a modified form of the socalled
quantile mapping. The focus lies on the corrections of the dry days and the heavy rainfall events. They are considered separately, deviating from other quantile mapping procedures.
Proceeding of the 12th International Conference on Urban Drainage, Porto Alegre/Brazil, 11-16 September 2011.
For the development of adaptation strategies in the research project dynaklim (Dynamic Adaptation of Regional Planning and Development Processes to the Effects of Climate Change in the Emscher-Lippe-Region) numerous models (e. g. sewer models) which need rainfall data as input are used. These models need data with a temporal and spatial resolution beyond the resolution provided by regional climate models. Therefore downscaling of the
precipitation data is performed with the help of weather radar data. Comparisons of measurement and model data during 1961-1990 show systematic bias and differing statistical characteristics between the two data types; thus the model data requires preliminary correction before use. A critical point is the corrections´ impact on extreme event data that are applied in extreme value statistics for structure design, e.g. for retention basins. Different characteristics of the analysed rainfall data and correction procedures are described.
One of the important parts of the final conference of ‘nordwest2050’ has been the scientific exchange sessions in the House of Science and the Industryclub Bremen. Contributions were based upon a call for papers from October 2013. The scientific committee received almost 100 abstracts where 36 were chosen for oral presentations and 15 for poster presentations (see overview tables below).
Four main topics were discussed in parallel workshops:
• Analysing Impacts and Assessing Vulnerabilities
• Designing and Testing Solutions for Regional Climate Adaptation and Resilience
• Implementing Climate Adaptation and Paths to a Resilient Future
• Resilience for Business: Climate Adaptation Challenge and Strategies of Sectors and Companies
The vulnerability assessment within dynaklim - a tool for analysing the effects of climate change on enterprises
(2013)
