Evaluation for the continent of Australia of the simulation of the surface climate using the Biosphere/Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS) coupled into a global climate model

The Biosphere Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS) of Dickinson et al. (1986) has been coupled to the National Center for Atmospheric Research's Community Climate Model (CCM1). The land surface climatology generated by averaging the results of a 3 yr model integration on a monthly basis is evaluated for the continent of Australia by comparison with published descriptions of a wide range of parameters. The major inconsistencies in the BATS simulation are associated with surface hydrology: modelled precipitation is too high in the central desert area and the large maxima of rainfall on the coast are grossly underestimated. This may be entirely a result of the coarse resolution of the GCM grid but, since rainfall is of crucial importance to agricultural and water supply activities, the inconsistencies clearly merit further consideration. -from Author