Validation of a homogeneous 41-year (1961–2001) winter precipitation hindcasted dataset over the Iberian Peninsula: assessment of the regional improvement of global reanalysis

A 44-year (1958–2001) homogeneous, Mediterranean, high-resolution atmospheric database was generated through dynamical downscaling within the HIPOCAS (Hindcast of Dynamic Processes of the Ocean and Coastal Areas of Europe) Project framework. This work attempts to provide a validation of the monthly winter HIPOCAS precipitation over the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands and to evaluate the potential improvement of these new hindcasted data versus global reanalysis datasets. The validation was performed through the comparative analysis with a precipitation database derived from 4,617 in situ stations located over Iberia and the Balearics. The statistical comparative analysis between the observed and the HIPOCAS fields highlights their very good agreement not only in terms of spatial and time distribution, but also in terms of total amount of precipitation. A principal component analysis is carried out, showing that the patterns derived from the HIPOCAS data largely capture the main characteristics of the observed field. Moreover, it is worth to note that the HIPOCAS patterns reproduce accurately the observed regional characteristics linked to the main orographic features of the study domain. The existence of high correlations between the hindcasted and observed principal component time series gives a measure of the model performance ability. An additional comparative study of the HIPOCAS winter precipitation with global reanalysis data (NCEP and ERA) is performed. This study reveals the important regional improvement in the characterization of the observed precipitation introduced by the HIPOCAS hindcast relative to the above global reanalyses. Such improvement is effective not only in terms of total amount values, but also in the spatial distribution, the observed field being much more realistically reproduced by HIPOCAS than by the global reanalysis data.     

The simulation of medicanes in a high-resolution regional climate model

Medicanes, strong mesoscale cyclones with tropical-like features, develop occasionally over the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the scarcity of observations over sea and the coarse resolution of the long-term reanalysis datasets, it is difficult to study systematically the multidecadal statistics of sub-synoptic medicanes. Our goal is to assess the long-term variability and trends of medicanes, obtaining a long-term climatology through dynamical downscaling of the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. In this paper, we examine the robustness of this method and investigate the value added for the study of medicanes. To do so, we performed several climate mode simulations with a high resolution regional atmospheric model (CCLM) for a number of test cases described in the literature. We find that the medicanes are formed in the simulations, with deeper pressures and stronger winds than in the driving global NCEP reanalysis. The tracks are adequately reproduced. We conclude that our methodology is suitable for constructing multi-decadal statistics and scenarios of current and possible future medicane activities.     

A high-resolution 43-year atmospheric hindcast for South America generated with the MPI regional model

An evaluation of the present-day climate in South America simulated by the MPI atmospheric limited area model, REMO, is made. The model dataset was generated by dynamical downscaling from the ECMWF-ERA40 reanalysis and compared to in-situ observations. The model is able to reproduce the low-level summer monsoon circulation but it has some deficiencies in representing the South American Low-Level Jet structure. At upper levels, summer circulation features like the Bolivian High and the associated subtropical jet are well simulated by the model. Sea-level pressure fields are in general well represented by REMO. The model exhibits reasonable skill in representing the general features of the mean seasonal cycle of precipitation. Nevertheless, there is a systematic overestimation of precipitation in both tropical and subtropical regions. Differences between observed and modeled temperature are smaller than 1.5°C over most of the continent, excepting during spring when those differences are quite large. Results also show that the dynamical downscaling performed using REMO introduces some enhancement of the global reanalysis especially in temperature at the tropical regions during the warm season and in precipitation in both the subtropics and extratropics. It is then concluded that REMO can be a useful tool for regional downscaling of global simulations of present and future climates.     

一种分离时间尺度的统计降尺度模型的建立和应用——以华北汛期降水为例

针对预报量变化中存在受不同物理因子控制的不同时间尺度变率特征, 本文提出了分离时间尺度的统计降尺度模型。应用滤波方法, 将不同尺度的变率分量分开, 在各自对应的时间尺度上利用不同的大尺度气候因子分别建立降尺度模型。华北汛期 (7～8月) 降水具有年际变率和年代际变率, 本文以华北汛期降水为例利用分离时间尺度的统计降尺度模型进行预测研究。采用的预报因子来自海平面气压场、 500 hPa位势高度场、 850 hPa经向风场和海表温度场以及一些已知的大尺度气候指数。利用基于交叉检验的逐步回归法建立模型。结果表明, 年际尺度上, 华北汛期降水与前期6月赤道中东太平洋海温以及同期中国东部的低层经向风密切相关; 年代际尺度上, 在东印度洋—西太平洋暖池海温的作用下, 华北降水与前期6月西南印度洋海平面气压有同步变化关系。年际模型和年代际模型的结果相加得到对总降水量的降尺度结果。1991～2008年的独立检验中, 模型估计的降水和观测降水的相关系数是0.82, 平均均方根误差是14.8%。结合模式的回报资料, 利用降尺度模型对1991～2001年的华北汛期降水进行回报试验。相比于模式直接预测的降水, 降尺度模型预测的结果有明显改进。改进了模式预测中年际变率过小的问题, 与观测降水的相关系数由0.12提高到0.45。     

区域风能资源评价分析的动力降尺度研究

不同于以往的统计风能评估方法,本研究将动力降尺度方法应用到江苏省的风能评价分析中。利用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料与江苏省65个地面气象观测站1971～2000年的观测资料,建立了动力降尺度区域气候模式MM5V3的初始场和边界条件,用较高分辨率（水平分辨率为5 km）评估了江苏省60 m高度的风能分布,分析了动力降尺度方法在区域风能资源评估中的有效应用。结果表明,江苏省风能资源由东部沿海向西部内陆递减,以西连岛为代表的东部沿海风能资源最丰富,其次为长江三角洲地区,太湖、洪泽湖及高邮湖地区的风能资源也比较丰富,徐州市与南京市的风能资源最贫乏。分析表明,动力降尺度方法能够用较高分辨率模拟局地环流和地面风的主要分布特征,可以作为区域风能资源评价分析的有效手段。     

Simulation of the atmospheric circulation in the Weddell Sea region using the limited-area model REMO

Summary ?To analyse the applicability of a limited-area atmosphere model to the Southern Ocean, a one-year simulation for 1985 is performed using the REgional MOdel REMO at 55-km horizontal grid-spacing implemented for the Antarctic regions of the Weddell, Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas. To evaluate the performance of REMO, a comparison of model results to observations and to reanalysis/analysis data sets is carried out. REMO is initialized and driven at the lateral and lower boundaries by data of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis (ERA15). Overall, REMO is an appropriate tool for further climate studies in Antarctic regions. It reproduces reasonably well basic spatial patterns and the seasonal cycle of the atmospheric circulation. However, the simulated mean sea level pressure (MSLP) is predominantly lower than the MSLP provided by observations and by ERA. Considerable temperature differences in the lower troposphere over sea ice in winter cause discrepancies between the REMO and ERA pressure fields in the mid-troposphere too. The precipitation rate P of the REMO simulation agrees qualitatively well with main features of the observed climatological spatial distribution described in literature. The seasonal cycle of P in the inner Weddell Sea reflects the Antarctic semi-annual oscillation. Concerning the forcing fields, the ERA sea ice surface temperatures in winter are generally higher than satellite derived surface temperatures. Although the differences are 10 to 15 K in the southern Weddell Sea, this deficiency of the ERA data hardly influences the mean large-scale circulation. Received October 10, 2001; revised April 22, 2002; accepted May 12, 2002     

A statistical�Cdynamical scheme for reconstructing ocean forcing in the Atlantic. Part I: weather regimes as predictors for ocean surface variables

The links between the observed variability of the surface ocean variables estimated from reanalysis and the overlying atmosphere decomposed in classes of large-scale atmospheric circulation via clustering are investigated over the Atlantic from 1958 to 2002. Daily 500?hPa geopotential height and 1,000?hPa wind anomaly maps are classified following a weather-typing approach to describe the North Atlantic and tropical Atlantic atmospheric dynamics, respectively. The algorithm yields patterns that correspond in the extratropics to the well-known North Atlantic-Europe weather regimes (NAE-WR) accounting for the barotropic dynamics, and in the tropics to wind classes (T-WC) representing the alteration of the trades. 10-m wind and 2-m temperature (T2) anomaly composites derived from regime/wind class occurrence are indicative of strong relationships between daily large-scale atmospheric circulation and ocean surface over the entire Atlantic basin. High temporal correlation values are obtained basin-wide at low frequency between the observed fields and their reconstruction by multiple linear regressions with the frequencies of occurrence of both NAE-WR and T-WC used as sole predictors. Additional multiple linear regressions also emphasize the importance of accounting for the strength of the daily anomalous atmospheric circulation estimated by the combined distances to all regimes centroids in order to reproduce the daily to interannual variability of the Atlantic ocean. We show that for most of the North Atlantic basin the occurrence of NAE-WR generally sets the sign of the ocean surface anomaly for a given day, and that the inter-regime distances are valuable predictors for the magnitude of that anomaly. Finally, we provide evidence that a large fraction of the low-frequency trends in the Atlantic observed at the surface over the last 50?years can be traced back, except for T2, to changes in occurrence of tropical and extratropical weather classes. All together, our findings are encouraging for the prospects of basin-scale ocean dynamical downscaling using a weather-typing approach to reconstruct forcing fields for high resolution ocean models (Part II) from coarse resolution climate models.     

Evaluation of wind fields for storm events in the black sea region using a numerical regional atmospheric circulation model

A method of the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis wind data recalculation using a regional atmospheric circulation model is described. A comparison of model results and satellite measurements is performed. The results of wind wave computation using the reanalysis and model winds are presented and their comparison is made. It is shown that the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis wind recalculation using a regional atmospheric circulation model removes the underestimation in the reanalysis winds, provides a better representation of the wind regime, and, consequently, gives a possibility to create the reanalysis of wind regime in the Black Sea region to be used in climate estimates.     

The Potential Predictability of the South China Sea Summer Monsoon in a Dynamical Seasonal Prediction System

The potential predictability of climatological mean circulation and the interannual variation of the South China Sea summer monsoon (SCSSM) were investigated using hindcast results from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics Dynamical Seasonal Prediction System (IAP DCP),along with the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data from the period of 1980-2000.The large-scale characteristics of the SCSSM monthly and seasonal mean low-level circulation have been well reproduced by IAP DCP,especially for the zonal wind at 850 hPa;furthermore,the hindcast variability also agrees quite well with observations.By introducing the South China Sea summer monsoon index,the potential predictability of IAP DCP for the intensity of the SCSSM has been evaluated.IAP DCP showed skill in predicting the interannual variation of SCSSM intensity.The result is highly encouraging;the correlation between the hindcasted and observed SCSSM Index was 0.58,which passes the 95% significance test.The result for the seasonal mean June-July-August SCSSM Index was better than that for the monthly mean,suggesting that seasonal forecasts are more reliable than monthly forecasts.     

Downscaling法在贵州冬季气温和降水预测中的应用

基于CGCM模式输出500 hPa位势高度场、NCEP/NCAR再分析500 hPa高度资料、贵州冬季降水和气温历史资料,利用降尺度法,对贵州冬季降水和气温预报的技巧和预测效果进行了预测试验和改进。结果表明,该方法从动力与统计相结合的角度,给出季尺度大气环流与局地降水、气温之间的关系,有明确的动力学背景和天气学意义。20年回算及两年回报试验证明了该关系的合理性;对贵州冬季降水的预测率约70%,而对气温的预测率为65%左右。另外,通过对气温反演方程订正后,其预测率达67%左右;在极端异常年,该方法对降水的预测率变幅不大,而对气温的预测效果影响极大。最后利用该方法对2005年贵州冬季降水和气温趋势进行了展望。     

基于时间尺度分离的中国东部夏季降水预测

基于时间尺度分离,利用NCEP第2代气候预测系统 (CFSv2) 每年4月起报的夏季月平均预测资料, 结合实际观测资料和再分析资料,对江淮流域及华北地区夏季降水距平百分率进行降尺度预测。将预测量和预测因子分为年际分量和年代际分量,在两个时间尺度上分别建立降尺度模型,两个预测分量之和为总预测量。对1982—2008年拟合时段的夏季降水距平百分率的回报结果表明:降尺度预测结果相对于原始模式结果预测技巧显著提高。降尺度预测与实况降水在江淮流域和华北地区的空间相关系数最大值超过0.8,多年平均值也分别提高到0.53和0.51;时间相关在每个站点也显著增强,相关系数为0.38~0.65。对2009—2013年进行独立样本检验,结果表明:降尺度模型能较好地预测出该时段的降水异常空间型态。同时,该模型对2014年夏季降水长江以南偏多、黄淮地区偏少的分布形势也有一定预测能力。     

WRF模式对中国夏季降水的动力降尺度模拟研究

采用NCEP的FNL再分析资料驱动WRF模式,对中国10 a(2000—2009年)夏季降水进行双重动力降尺度(双重嵌套)模拟,将子、母区域模拟结果和观测进行对比,以检验双重动力降尺度对中国夏季降水模拟的"增值"能力。结果表明:单重动力降尺度(单重嵌套)方法能较好模拟出中国10 a夏季平均降水的空间分布,对季风雨带"北跳"特征模拟较好,但模拟降水具有系统性正偏差。在母区域的强迫下,双重动力降尺度模拟的降水分布与单重动力降尺度相比,没有发生根本性变化。但由于子区域的分辨率要高于母区域,双重动力降尺度比单重动力降尺度能提供更多有价值的降水细节。双重动力降尺度的这种"增值"能力存在地域依赖性,在华南地区和江淮地区,双重动力降尺度模拟出的降水分布、量值和逐日演变都要好于单重动力降尺度。但在华北地区,双重动力降尺度没有表现出明显的"增值"。     

区域气候模式REMO对东亚季风季节变化的模拟研究

将欧洲区域气候模式REMO首次应用于东亚区域,利用该模式对1980年和1990年东亚季风季节变化进行了模拟研究,并将模拟结果与NCEP再分析资料进行比较,以检验该模式对东亚季风的模拟能力.研究表明,区域气候模式REMO能够较好地模拟出东亚地区高、低空的大气环流特征,模拟的高度场、流场和温度场与NCEP再分析资料场都比较一致.模拟结果显示了东亚季风的月变化和季节转换特征.模拟的降水场与GPCC降水资料的对比结果表明,REMO能较为成功地模拟出东亚地区降水的空间分布,并能较好地反映降水的季节变化及主要降水趋势,夏季降水模拟偏大,整个区域平均的降水量偏差约为18%左右.     

Decadal and long-term sea level variability in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean

In this study, we analysed decadal and long-term steric sea level variations over 1966–2007 period in the Indo-Pacific sector, using an ocean general circulation model forced by reanalysis winds. The simulated steric sea level compares favourably with sea level from satellite altimetry and tide gauges at interannual and decadal timescales. The amplitude of decadal sea level variability (up to ~5 cm standard deviation) is typically nearly half of the interannual variations (up to ~10 cm) and two to three times larger than long-term sea level variations (up to 2 cm). Zonal wind stress varies at decadal timescales in the western Pacific and in the southern Indian Ocean, with coherent signals in ERA-40 (from which the model forcing is derived), NCEP, twentieth century and WASWind products. Contrary to the variability at interannual timescale, for which there is a tendency of El Niño and Indian Ocean Dipole events to co-occur, decadal wind stress variations are relatively independent in the two basins. In the Pacific, those wind stress variations drive Ekman pumping on either side of the equator, and induce low frequency sea level variations in the western Pacific through planetary wave propagation. The equatorial signal from the western Pacific travels southward to the west Australian coast through equatorial and coastal wave guides. In the Indian Ocean, decadal zonal wind stress variations induce sea level fluctuations in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal, through equatorial and coastal wave-guides. Wind stress curl in the southern Indian Ocean drives decadal variability in the south-western Indian Ocean through planetary waves. Decadal sea level variations in the south–western Indian Ocean, in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean and in the Bay of Bengal are weakly correlated to variability in the Pacific Ocean. Even though the wind variability is coherent among various wind products at decadal timescales, they show a large contrast in long-term wind stress changes, suggesting that long-term sea level changes from forced ocean models need to be interpreted with caution.     

Wave Climate in the Caspian Sea Based on Wave Hindcast

The results of wind wave hindcast for the Caspian Sea for the period of 1979–2017 are presented. The WAVEWATCHIII wave model and wind forcing from the NCEP/CFSR reanalysis are used. The modeling is performed on the unstructured grid with the spacing to 1 km in the coastal zone. Mean and extreme values of wave height, length, and period are provided. It is shown that the maximum height of waves of 3% probability of exceedance is 11.7 m. The interannual variability of wave parameters is analyzed. No unambiguous trend towards increase or decrease in the storm activity was revealed over the hindcasting period.     

黄淮地区夏季降水的统计降尺度预测

利用1991-2011年黄淮地区夏季降水、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料和国家气候中心第2代动力气候模式（BCC_CSM1.1m）夏季回报结果,研究黄淮地区夏季降水降尺度预测模型和可预报性来源。诊断发现,黄淮地区夏季降水与同期南亚高压、乌拉尔山附近阻塞高压、西风急流、西太平洋赤道上空200 hPa纬向风场呈明显正相关。分析BCC_CSM1.1m对夏季环流的回报结果发现,模式对200 hPa和500 hPa位势高度场、200 hPa纬向风场和850 hPa经向风场上影响黄淮地区夏季降水的部分关键区域有较好的模拟能力。利用模式预报技巧较高且对黄淮地区夏季降水的影响有物理含义的环流特征作为预测因子,对比预测因子进行独立性筛选前后分别建立的降尺度预测模型发现,黄淮地区夏季降水预测与实况的距平符号一致率由61%提高到72%。预测技巧来源分析发现,降尺度预测能力与BCC_CSM1.1m对影响黄淮地区夏季降水的3个关键因子乌拉尔山附近环流、南亚高压、西太平洋赤道上空西风强弱的预测技巧密切相关,尤其是模式对西太平洋赤道上空西风的模拟能力起到决定性作用。     

Statistical downscaling of sea-surface wind over the Peru�CChile upwelling region: diagnosing the impact of climate change from the IPSL-CM4 model

The key aspect of the ocean circulation off Peru?CChile is the wind-driven upwelling of deep, cold, nutrient-rich waters that promote a rich marine ecosystem. It has been suggested that global warming may be associated with an intensification of upwelling-favorable winds. However, the lack of high-resolution long-term observations has been a limitation for a quantitative analysis of this process. In this study, we use a statistical downscaling method to assess the regional impact of climate change on the sea-surface wind over the Peru?CChile upwelling region as simulated by the global coupled general circulation model IPSL-CM4. Taking advantage of the high-resolution QuikSCAT wind product and of the NCEP reanalysis data, a statistical model based on multiple linear regressions is built for the daily mean meridional and zonal wind at 10?m for the period 2000?C2008. The large-scale 10?m wind components and sea level pressure are used as regional circulation predictors. The skill of the downscaling method is assessed by comparing with the surface wind derived from the ERS satellite measurements, with in situ wind observations collected by ICOADS and through cross-validation. It is then applied to the outputs of the IPSL-CM4 model over stabilized periods of the pre-industrial, 2?×?CO₂ and 4?×?CO₂ IPCC climate scenarios. The results indicate that surface along-shore winds off central Chile (off central Peru) experience a significant intensification (weakening) during Austral winter (summer) in warmer climates. This is associated with a general decrease in intra-seasonal variability.     

利用ARGO资料改进ENSO和我国夏季降水气候预测

全球海洋ARGO资料的获取为气候预测的研究提供了前所未有的海洋资料。该文首先利用ARGO资料改进次表层参数化方案后的Zebiak-Cane海洋模式, 与统计大气模式耦合, 建立了热带动力海洋-统计大气耦合模式。通过比较应用和未应用ARGO资料改进的海洋模式, 进行了耦合模式的长期回报试验。结果表明:ARGO资料的应用极大地改善了耦合模式对热带太平洋海面温度异常的预测能力, 提前3个月和6个月的回报结果都有很大的改进, 基本上回报出了Ni?o3.4区海面温度异常的演变特征, 对厄尔尼诺和拉尼娜都能够给出较准确的回报, 回报结果与观测之间的相关性在整个热带太平洋区域明显提高。该文还利用国家气候中心 (NCC) 全球海气耦合模式, 对我国夏季降水进行了个例和多年季度回报模拟试验, 探讨了包含和不包含ARGO观测资料的同化资料作为初始场对我国夏季降水预测的影响, 表明采用带有ARGO观测资料的海洋同化初始场, 回报的我国夏季降水分布形式与观测更一致, 回报结果与观测之间的正相关区域变大, 对我国夏季降水的回报水平比采用没有ARGO观测资料的海洋同化初始场时有明显提高。     

广西区域霾过程高低空大气环流型影响分析

利用1980—2015年NCEP/NCAR逐日再分析资料和广西80个地面气象站资料,采用Lamb-Jenkinson方法对广西区域霾过程的大气环流进行分型,并探讨高低空环流型配置与区域霾过程的关系。结果表明:当地面东南风型、高空西风型时,广西出现霾过程的频率最高;地面东风型配合高空西风型对年霾过程的贡献最大,地面东南风型配合高空西风型主要出现在冷暖气流转换的春季、地面低压型配合高空高压脊型出现在西太平洋副热带高压明显加强、地面处于弱低压环境场的夏季、地面东风型配合高空西风型出现在环流稳定平直的秋季、地面东风型配合高空高压脊型出现在环流经向度明显增强的冬季,霾过程具有冬季多发、夏季少发的特点。近36年来,地面东风型配合高空高压脊型是广西霾过程呈偏多趋势的主导环流型。