You can now download HadCM3Q(0-16) global model data from the British Atmospheric Data Centre (BADC). You will need to register for a BADC account and then apply for access to the restricted data set. For access click on the Data Tab, then Dataset Index, go to Climate Impacts LINK Project, click on Apply for Access and then follow the instructions. When you have access please click here.

About the BADC data

The Quantifying Uncertainty in Model Predictions (QUMP) research theme aims to provide probabilistic predictions of future climate. These are based on large ensembles of simulations of equilibrium and time-dependent change, carried out by perturbing poorly constrained parameters controlling key physical and biogeochemical processes in the HadCM3 coupled ocean-atmosphere global climate model. Further ensembles of regional climate simulations at high resolution, driven by boundary conditions obtained from the HadCM3 ensemble, allow the specification of probabilistic predictions at spatial scales suitable for climate impact studies. These experiments allow quantification of the effects of earth system modelling uncertainties and internal climate variability on feedbacks likely to exert a significant influence on twenty-first century regional climate.

The data at  /badc/hadcm3/data/PRECIS/ are the output data from the HadCM3Q GCM ensemble, which used the SRES A1B scenario (see the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES)), spans December 1949 to November 2099, split up according to their runid and then by their stash code. A description of the runids and stash codes can be found below.

The diagnostics are either on the horizontal 'pressure grid' or the horizontal 'wind grid'. For the 'wind grid' an Arakawa B grid layout is used, in which wind variables are offset from all other variables (said to be on the 'pressure grid') by half a grid box in both directions. The 'wind grid' has the same number of points in the east-west direction as the 'pressure grid', but one less in the north-south direction.

For more information about the structure of PP files please read Appendix D and E of the PRECIS Technical Manual (PDF, 1 MB) . Some files are available as monthly means and some are available as daily means.

Each daily mean file contains 360 fields (one field per day for a year in the 360 day calendar used by HadCM3Q). Each monthly mean tarball contains a files with one field (one field for a month covering the span of December 1949 to November 2099.

To un-tar the files please use the following command:

tar xvf [file].tar

eg.

tar xvf aenwh_08020.tar

Please find below tables of information about the runids and stash codes.

Run IDs

Monthly Files Stash Codes

Daily Files Stash Codes

Key to Stash Codes