Weather and climate affect almost every facet of human activity, which
makes the pursuit to understand the hydrologic and atmospheric systems
of the Earth, as well as the effects of anthropogenic activities on
these systems, one of the most important areas of scientific research
today. One approach used to gain a better understanding of local land-
atmosphere processes is regional modeling. Though limited in predictive
ability by the use of boundary conditions and prescribed sea surface
temperatures (SSTs), regional models are able to resolve important
processes at sub-general circulation model (GCM) resolutions.
Currently, the focus of my research is assessing the ability of Regional
Climate Model version 3 coupled to Integrated Biosphere Simulator
(RegCM3-IBIS) and RegCM3 with its native land surface model, Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme 1e (RegCM3-BATS1e), to simulate the energy and water budgets over the Midwestern United States.