Articles | Volume 19, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-8535-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-8535-2026
Model description paper
 | 
15 Sep 2026
Model description paper |  | 15 Sep 2026

Km-scale regional coupled system in the Northwest European shelf for weather and climate applications: RCS-UKC4

Ségolène Berthou, Juan Manuel Castillo, Vivian Fraser-Leonhardt, Sana Mahmood, Nefeli Makrygianni, Alex Arnold, Claudio Sanchez, Huw W. Lewis, Dale Partridge, Martin Best, Lucy Bricheno, Helen Davies, Douglas B. Clark, James R. Clark, Jeff A. Polton, Andrew Saulter, Chris J. Short, Jonathan Tinker, Simon Tucker, and Maisie Wright

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Cited articles

Ardhuin, F., Rogers, E., Babanin, A. V., Filipot, J. F., Magne, R., Roland, A., van der Westhuysen, A., Queffeulou, P., Lefevre, J. M., Aouf, L., and Collard, F.: Semiempirical Dissipation Source Functions for Ocean Waves, Part I: Definition, Calibration, and Validation, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 40, 1917–1941, https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JPO4324.1, 2010. 
Barrett, P., Abel, S., Lean, H., Price, J., Stein, T., Stirling, A., and Darlington, T.: WesCon 2023: Wessex UK Summertime Convection Field Campaign, EGU21, https://doi.org/10.5194/EGUSPHERE-EGU21-2357, 2021. 
Berthou, S.: RCS-UKC4 configuration paper data and code, Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22286990, 2025. 
Berthou, S., Renshaw, R., Smyth, T., Tinker, J., Grist, J. P., Wihsgott, J. U., Jones, S., Inall, M., Nolan, G., Berx, B., Arnold, A., Blunn, L. P., Castillo, J. M., Cotterill, D., Daly, E., Dow, G., Gómez, B., Fraser-Leonhardt, V., Hirschi, J. J.-M., Lewis, H. W., Mahmood, S., and Worsfold, M.: Exceptional atmospheric conditions in June 2023 generated a northwest European marine heatwave which contributed to breaking land temperature records, Commun. Earth Environ., 5, 287, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01413-8, 2024. 
Berthou, S., Siddorn, J., Fraser-Leonhardt, V., Le Traon, P.-Y., and Hoteit, I.: Towards Earth system modelling: coupled ocean forecasting, State Planet, 5-opsr, 20, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-5-opsr-20-2025, 2025. 
Short summary
The UK’s new RCS-UKC4 (Regional Coupled Suite – UK Coupled domain version 4) system combines atmosphere, ocean, waves, land, rivers, and biogeochemistry models to improve coastal weather and climate predictions. It offers better storm wave predictions, more accurate river flows, and captures rapid sea-level changes. These advances help predict multiple hazards more reliably, supporting safer communities and helping better planning.
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