Downscaling precipitation and temperature in the Andes: applied methods and performance-a systematic review protocol

Area of Science:

• Climate Science
• Environmental Science
• Meteorology

Background:

• Global warming and climate change pose significant threats, altering water availability and increasing extreme weather events.
• South America, particularly the Andes, is highly vulnerable due to resource inequities.
• General Circulation Models (GCMs) lack the spatial resolution for accurate local climate representation in mountainous regions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and identify the performance of downscaling methods for temperature and precipitation in the Andes region.
• To detect factors influencing the performance of different downscaling approaches.
• To highlight effective methods and identify knowledge gaps in regional climate downscaling.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review of published and grey literature on climate downscaling applications in the Andes.
• Coding and mapping of downscaling methods by country, purpose, variable, and type.
• Meta-analysis of studies with comparable performance metrics, supplemented by narrative synthesis, maps, and heatmaps.

Main Results:

• Performance metrics of various downscaling methods will be analyzed.
• Factors influencing method performance will be identified through meta-analysis.
• A critical appraisal will categorize the validity of the evidence.

Conclusions:

• Effective downscaling methods for temperature and precipitation in the Andes will be identified.
• Knowledge gaps in regional climate downscaling research will be highlighted.
• Recommendations for future research and application of downscaling techniques will be provided.