Canadian Surface Reanalysis (CaSR)

CaSR in general

ECCC Meteorological Research Division (MRD) started the development of the Canadian Surface Reanalysis (CaSR) in 2015 with funding from the International Joint Commission's (IJC) International Watersheds Initiative (IWI). Its primary objective was to provide high-resolution estimates of precipitation and surface variables continuous in space and time over an extended period, addressing the mission and mandates of the IJC to enhance understanding of Canada-USA transboundary waters. The reanalysis referred to as the Canadian Surface Reanalysis.

The initial version 1.0 of CaSR served as a proof of concept, offering surface and precipitation variables on a 15km grid spacing from 2000 to 2005 over North America. Subsequent versions, 2 and 2.1 were significantly improved and released on a dedicated web platform in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Notable improvements over version 1.0 included the incorporation of more advanced model components, an increase in spatial resolution, and an extension of the period to as long as 39 years for the latest version 2.1.

A report documenting CaSR v1 can be found here. A publication describing and evaluating the CaSR v2 product is available here. The data (v2 and v2.1) are hourly with a spatial resolution of approximately 10 km, covering North and Central America (see Data Specifications for more detailed information). CaSR is available for 18 years (2000-2017) for version 2 and 39 years (1980-2018) for version 2.1.

Name change from RDRS to CaSR

Several reasons motivated the decision to initiate a name change for the surface reanalysis project from RDRS to CaSR; the primary reason being to avoid any confusion among users between the different components of the reanalysis. Indeed, CaSR comprises several components described in the Data Specifications section, one of which is named RDRS (Regional Deterministic Reforecast/Reanalysis System). There were instances where data from another CaSR component, such as the offline precipitation analysis, were mistakenly labeled as RDRS data. In reality, RDRS is a specific component coupled with CaLDAS (surface analysis system) providing the precipitation fields necessary for the offline reanalysis.

The second reason supporting this name change is to ensure flexibility for future versions by being as general as possible. Thus, with CaSR, the domain limits are no longer restricted to North/Central America, and the type of product would not necessarily be deterministic only. Finally, the new name, CaSR, emphasizes the focus on key variables, particularly surface data.

However, it should be noted that the variable names in the CaSR v2.1 and earlier data will not be updated, and users will find the old English acronym, RDRS, in the NetCDF files.

They use CaSR

Since their release, versions 2 and 2.1 of CaSR have been widely applied in various domains, encompassing intercomparison studies of runoff models across the Great Lakes (here), air quality analysis (here), river temperature modeling in western Canada (here), and river flood modeling (here). CaSR has also served to assess hydrological conditions for a Canada-USA transboundary watershed in a historical period for climate change impact for future periods (here). Additionally, CaSR has contributed to public interest products, such as integrating its precipitation analysis component into the Historical Flood Events (HFE) database developed by NRCan (Natural Resources Canada) and which provides information to Canadians on past flooding events.

Contributors

Research and development team

• Vincent Fortin, Chercheur Scientifique Senior at ECCC
• Dikra Khedhaouiria, Research Scientist at ECCC
• Nicolas Gasset, Research Scientist at ECCC
• Milena Dimitrijevic, Senior Physical Scientist
• Audrey Lauer, Physical Scientist

Production team

• Nedka Pentcheva, Physical Scientist
• Maxim Bulat, Physical Scientist
• Lionnel Lemogo, Information Technology Specialist
• Xihong Wang, Physical Scientist

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