Simulation of the annual and diurnal cycles of rainfall over South Africa by a regional climate model

The capability of a current state-of-the-art regional climate model for simulating the diurnal and annual cycles of rainfall over a complex subtropical region is documented here. Hourly rainfall is simulated over Southern Africa for 1998–2006 by the non-hydrostatic model weather research and forecasting (WRF), and compared to a network of 103 stations covering South Africa. We used five simulations, four of which consist of different parameterizations for atmospheric convection at a 0.5 × 0.5° resolution, performed to test the physic-dependency of the results. The fifth experiment uses explicit convection over tropical South Africa at a 1/30° resolution. WRF simulates realistic mean rainfall fields, albeit wet biases over tropical Africa. The model mean biases are strongly modulated by the convective scheme used for the simulations. The annual cycle of rainfall is well simulated over South Africa, mostly influenced by tropical summer rainfall except in the Western Cape region experiencing winter rainfall. The diurnal cycle shows a timing bias, with atmospheric convection occurring too early in the afternoon, and causing too abundant rainfall. This result, particularly true in summer over the northeastern part of the country, is weakly physic-dependent. Cloud-resolving simulations do not clearly reduce the diurnal cycle biases. In the end, the rainfall overestimations appear to be mostly imputable to the afternoon hours of the austral summer rainy season, i.e., the periods during which convective activity is intense over the region.     

Performance assessment of three convective parameterization schemes in WRF for downscaling summer rainfall over South Africa

Austral summer rainfall over the period 1991/1992 to 2010/2011 was dynamically downscaled by the weather research and forecasting (WRF) model at 9 km resolution for South Africa. Lateral boundary conditions for WRF were provided from the European Centre for medium-range weather (ECMWF) reanalysis (ERA) interim data. The model biases for the rainfall were evaluated over the South Africa as a whole and its nine provinces separately by employing three different convective parameterization schemes, namely the (1) Kain–Fritsch (KF), (2) Betts–Miller–Janjic (BMJ) and (3) Grell–Devenyi ensemble (GDE) schemes. All three schemes have generated positive rainfall biases over South Africa, with the KF scheme producing the largest biases and mean absolute errors. Only the BMJ scheme could reproduce the intensity of rainfall anomalies, and also exhibited the highest correlation with observed interannual summer rainfall variability. In the KF scheme, a significantly high amount of moisture was transported from the tropics into South Africa. The vertical thermodynamic profiles show that the KF scheme has caused low level moisture convergence, due to the highly unstable atmosphere, and hence contributed to the widespread positive biases of rainfall. The negative bias in moisture, along with a stable atmosphere and negative biases of vertical velocity simulated by the GDE scheme resulted in negative rainfall biases, especially over the Limpopo Province. In terms of rain rate, the KF scheme generated the lowest number of low rain rates and the maximum number of moderate to high rain rates associated with more convective unstable environment. KF and GDE schemes overestimated the convective rain and underestimated the stratiform rain. However, the simulated convective and stratiform rain with BMJ scheme is in more agreement with the observations. This study also documents the performance of regional model in downscaling the large scale climate mode such as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and subtropical dipole modes. The correlations between the simulated area averaged rainfalls over South Africa and Nino3.4 index were ?0.66, ?0.69 and ?0.49 with KF, BMJ and GDE scheme respectively as compared to the observed correlation of ?0.57. The model could reproduce the observed ENSO-South Africa rainfall relationship and could successfully simulate three wet (dry) years that are associated with La Niña (El Niño) and the BMJ scheme is closest to the observed variability. Also, the model showed good skill in simulating the excess rainfall over South Africa that is associated with positive subtropical Indian Ocean Dipole for the DJF season 2005/2006.     

中国夏季不同强度降水模拟对不同积云对流参数化方案的敏感性研究

利用PσRCM9区域气候模式, 分析了中国夏季不同强度降水模拟对不同积云对流参数化方案的敏感性。结果表明, 采用四种积云对流参数化方案, 模式能够模拟出小雨、 大雨和暴雨的雨量百分比和雨日百分比空间分布的一致性特征, 但不能模拟出中雨雨量百分比和雨日百分比空间分布的相似性, 这是由于模式不能模拟中雨雨量百分比的空间分布形式所致。还发现模拟的我国夏季降水以小雨和中雨为主, 四种积云对流参数化方案均低估了中国夏季大雨和暴雨对总降水的贡献, 尤其是在我国西部、 东北和华北地区更明显。不同积云对流参数化方案下模拟的极端强降水阈值的空间分布形式基本与观测一致, 但强度与观测存在较大差异。相比较而言, Grell方案较Kuo、 Anthes-Kuo和Betts-Mille积云对流参数化方案更适合中国东南部地区夏季极端强降水的模拟。     

物理过程参数化方案对中尺度暴雨数值模拟影响的研究

利用中尺度非静力MM 5模式和中国 2 0 0 1年 8月的 4个暴雨个例 ,研究了非绝热物理过程对中国暴雨动力和热力场预报的影响 ,深入分析了对流参数化方案在中尺度暴雨预报中的作用 ,讨论了利用模式扰动方法开展中国暴雨集合预报的可行性。结果表明 ,在短期数值预报中 ,非绝热物理过程对高度场预报影响较小 ,但边界层方案和对流参数化方案对产生暴雨的 3个基本条件即水汽通量散度、垂直速度、不稳定层结的影响很明显。不同对流参数化方案所预报的中尺度热力、动力场离差的结构特征与所预报降水的离差特征相似 ,且主要是在模式积分初期迅速增加 ,其后即趋于稳定。对中国热力场较均匀的暴雨过程 ,可以通过扰动模式的边界层和对流参数化方案 ,构造集合预报模式     

区域气候模拟中多种对流参数化方案的比较研究

利用区域气候模式RegCM2,选择Betts-Miller、Kuo-Anthes和Grell3种积云对流参数化方案,进行了1991年和1994年5～7月2个个例的东亚季风区区域气候模拟试验,重点分析比较了3种参数化方案对降水总量分布、主要降水时段、雨带南北变动和基本气象要素场的模拟能力,并相对实测降水和基本要素的观测分析进行了统计检验.通过对比,发现Betts方案的模拟能力明显优于其他两种方案.     

Multiseason evaluation of the MM5, COAMPS and WRF over southeast United States

Three models, MM5, COAMPS, and WRF, have been applied for the warm season in 2003 and the cool season in 2003?C2004 to evaluate their performances. All models run over the same domain area covering the north Gulf Mexico and southeastern United States (US) region with the same spatial resolution of 27?km. It was found that the temporal variations of the mean error distribution and strength at 24 and 36?h were rather weak for surface temperature, sea level pressure, and surface wind speed for all models. A warm bias in surface temperature forecasts dominated over land during the warm season, whereas a cool bias existed during the cool season. The MM5 and WRF produced negative biases of sea level pressure during the warm season and positive biases during the cool season while the COAMPS yielded a similar distribution of sea level pressure biases during both seasons. During both seasons, similar surface wind speed biases produced by each model included a high wind speed forecast over most areas by MM5 while the COAMPS and WRF yielded weak surface winds over the western Plains and stronger surface winds over the eastern Plains. Root-mean-squared errors revealed that the forecast of surface temperature, sea level pressure, and surface wind speed were degraded with the increase of forecast time. For rainfall evaluation, it was found that the MM5 underpredicted seasonal precipitation while the COAMPS and WRF overpredicted. The bias scores revealed that the MM5 yielded an underprediction of the coverage of precipitation areas, especially for heavier rainfall events. The MM5 presented the lower threat score at lighter rainfall events compared to the COAMPS and WRF. For moderate and heavier thresholds, all models lacked forecast accuracy. The WRF accuracy in predicting precipitation was heavily dependent upon the performance of the selected cumulus parameterization scheme. Use of the Grell?CDevenyi and Bette?CMiller?CJanjic schemes helps suppress precipitation overprediction.     

Mechanisms of diurnal precipitation over the US Great Plains: a cloud resolving model perspective

The mechanisms of summertime diurnal precipitation in the US Great Plains were examined with the two-dimensional (2D) Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) cloud-resolving model (CRM). The model was constrained by the observed large-scale background state and surface flux derived from the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program’s Intensive Observing Period (IOP) data at the Southern Great Plains (SGP). The model, when continuously-forced by realistic surface flux and large-scale advection, simulates reasonably well the temporal evolution of the observed rainfall episodes, particularly for the strongly forced precipitation events. However, the model exhibits a deficiency for the weakly forced events driven by diurnal convection. Additional tests were run with the GCE model in order to discriminate between the mechanisms that determine daytime and nighttime convection. In these tests, the model was constrained with the same repeating diurnal variation in the large-scale advection and/or surface flux. The results indicate that it is primarily the surface heat and moisture flux that is responsible for the development of deep convection in the afternoon, whereas the large-scale upward motion and associated moisture advection play an important role in preconditioning nocturnal convection. In the nighttime, high clouds are continuously built up through their interaction and feedback with long-wave radiation, eventually initiating deep convection from the boundary layer. Without these upper-level destabilization processes, the model tends to produce only daytime convection in response to boundary layer heating. This study suggests that the correct simulation of the diurnal variation in precipitation requires that the free-atmospheric destabilization mechanisms resolved in the CRM simulation must be adequately parameterized in current general circulation models (GCMs) many of which are overly sensitive to the parameterized boundary layer heating.     

Uncertainties in simulating regional climate of Southern Africa: sensitivity to physical parameterizations using WRF

This study aims at quantifying seasonal biases of regional climate model outputs during southern African summer, against a dense in situ measurement network (daily rain-gauge and surface air temperature records, and 12?h UTC radiosondes), and uncertainties associated with some physical parameterizations. Using the non-hydrostatic Advanced Research Weather Forecast (WRF) laterally forced by ERA40 reanalysis, twenty-seven experiments configured with three schemes of cumulus (CU), planetary boundary layer (PBL) and microphysics (MP), are performed at 35?km horizontal resolution during the core of a summer rainy season (December 1993 to February 1994 season) representative of the South African rainfall climatology. WRF simulates accurately seasonal large-scale rainfall patterns, as well as seasonal gradients of South African rainfall and 2-m temperature, and seasonal vertical profiles of the air temperature and humidity. However seasonal biases fluctuate strongly from an experiment to another, denoting considerable uncertainties generated by the physical package. Rainfall amounts are the most sensitive parameter to the tested schemes. Their geography, intensity, and intraseasonal characteristics are predominantly sensitive to CU schemes, and much less to PBL and MP schemes. Some CU-PBL combinations produce additive effects, which can dramatically either reduce or increase biases. Satisfactory configurations are found for South African climate, which would not have been possible without testing numerous physical parameterizations.     

Monsoon rainfall simulations with the Kuo and Betts-Miller schemes

Summary Two numerical experiments are performed using a nested grid regional model to study the performance of the Kuo and the Betts-Miller cumulus parameterization schemes in simulating the rainfall during an active monsoon period. Results indicate that the monsoon circulation features, such as the Somali jet and monsoon depression are better simulated with the Kuo scheme. With the Kuo scheme, predicted intensity and associated rainfall of the monsoon depression are in good agreement with the observations. Uncertainty in the adjustment parameters in the Betts-Miller scheme appears to have lead to the poor prediction of rainfall. Also, the Betts-Miller scheme showed considerable sensitivity to the convergence in the lower troposphere in the initial conditions over the Arabian Sea, leading to a prediction of a spurious intense tropical cyclone. This cyclone replaced the normal heat-low over the desert region. Rainfall distribution and its maximum along the west coast of India were predicted better with the Kuo scheme. Area-averaged convective heating rates indicated that the cumulus convection is deeper and more intense with the Kuo scheme. Also, area averaged evaporation rates far exceeded the rainfall rates with the Betts-Miller scheme while with the Kuo scheme these rates are in balance after the spinup period. Forecast erros in the zonally averaged specific humidities indicate that the model atmosphere is more humid with the Betts-Miller scheme.With 14 Figures     

不同边界层参数化方案在暴雨数值模拟中的对比分析

本文利用非静力平衡的中尺度模式(MM5),通过对一次华南锋前暖区暴雨的数值模拟,比较了3种边界层参数化方案的作用。结果表明：从24小时累积降水的分布来看,MRF方案的预报与实况对比效果最好,其次是Blaekadar高分辨率PBL模式,最差是no PBI,方案。分析MRF方案的输出结果,发现对应每个时刻的累积雨团上空,925hPa都有较强的辐合辐散偶极子与之相配合,而在300hPa则有较强的辐散。不同边界层方案模拟的辐散场有一定的差别,导致了降水的不同预报效果。     

Diagnosing GCM errors over West Africa using relaxation experiments. Part II: intraseasonal variability and African easterly waves

A near-global grid-point nudging of the Arpege-Climat atmospheric General Circulation Model towards ECMWF reanalyses is used to diagnose the regional versus remote origin of the summer model biases and variability over West Africa. First part of this study revealed a limited impact on the monsoon climatology compared to a control experiment without nudging, but a significant improvement of interannual variability, although the amplitude of the seasonal anomalies remained underestimated. Focus is given here on intraseasonal variability of monsoon rainfall and dynamics. The reproducible part of these signals is investigated through 30-member ensemble experiments computed for the 1994 rainy season, a year abnormally wet over the Sahel but representative of the model systematic biases. In the control experiment, Arpege-Climat simulates too few rainy days that are associated with too low rainfall amounts over the central and western Sahel, in line with the seasonal dry biases. Nudging the model outside Africa tends to slightly increase the number of rainy days over the Sahel, but has little effect on associated rainfall amounts. However, results do indicate that a significant part of the monsoon intraseasonal variability simulated by Arpege-Climat is controlled by lateral boundary conditions. Parts of the wet/dry spells over the Sahel occur in phase in the 30 members of the nudging experiment, and are therefore embedded in larger-scale variability patterns. Inter-member spread is however not constant across the selected summer season. It is partly controlled by African Easterly Waves, which show dissimilar amplitude from one member to another, but a coherent phasing in all members. A lowpass filtering of the nudging fields suggests that low frequency variations in the lateral boundary conditions can lead to eastward extensions of the African Easterly Jet, creating a favorable environment for easterly waves, while high frequency perturbations seem to control their phasing.     

A note on surface layer parameterizations in the weather research and forecast model

Two surface layer parameterization schemes along with five planetary boundary layer (PBL) schemes in the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) are analyzed in order to evaluate the performance of the WRF model in simulating the surface variables and turbulent fluxes over an Indian sub-continent region. These surface layer schemes are based on the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University—National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5) parameterization; (a) Old MM5 scheme having Businger-Dyer similarity functions and (b) revised MM5 scheme utilizing the functions that are valid for full ranges of atmospheric stabilities. The study suggests that each PBL scheme can reproduce the diurnal variation of 2 m temperature, momentum flux and sensible heat flux irrespective of the surface layer scheme used for the simulations. However, a comparison of model-simulated values of surface variables and turbulent fluxes with observed values suggests that each PBL scheme is found to systematically over-estimate the nocturnal 2 m temperature and 10 m wind speed with both the revised and old schemes during stable conditions.     

湿地边界层通量影响热带气旋登陆维持和降水的数值试验

用MM5v3模式及其TC Bogus方案对台风Nina(7503)在中国大陆上的维持加强过程进行模拟,并通过各种敏感性试验,研究了饱和湿地对热带气旋在大陆上维持和降水的影响。结果表明:湿地边界层内各通量对登陆热带气旋的强度、结构及其降水具有明显影响。潜热通量和感热通量均有利于热带气旋的维持和加强,其中潜热输送的作用显著,感热输送的作用较小。潜热和感热通量有利于热带气旋雨带螺旋结构的维持,对台风降水分布有明显影响,动量通量对热带气旋风场有显著的削弱作用,是其能量耗散、低压填塞的主要原因,但对台风降水具有局地增幅作用。     

一次地形作用产生的强降雨过程分析

2002年6月24日夜间北京西南部地区的局地大暴雨是一次强地形雨，它是在对流层中低层有两层逆温以及边界层内中尺度低空急流与北京特定地形条件相互作用的情况下产生的。边界层内中尺度低空急流的发生、发展是低层偏东风与干、湿过程的“内边界效应”及强降水潜热释放等综合作用的结果。     

高黎贡山复杂地形下局地环流的数值模拟研究

本文利用中尺度模式WRF（weather research and forecasting）模拟了2016年干季和湿季高黎贡山南段（腾冲—保山地区）山谷风环流,分析YSU、MYJ、MYNN3、ACM2和BouLac五种边界层参数化方案在高黎贡山复杂下垫面的适用性。研究结果表明YSU方案对温度模拟的效果最好;ACM2模拟的风速平均绝对误差最小;MYNN3方案模拟的风向绝对误差最小,YSU方案和MYJ方案模拟的风向日变化趋势与观测更加一致。高黎贡山南段地区上午09时（北京时,下同）出现谷风环流,夜间19时转为山风环流。白天多为偏南风,夜间为偏北风和偏西风。白天山顶气流辐合而山谷气流辐散,夜间相反。白天风速大于夜间。干季西风风力较弱,有利于低层局地环流的发展;而湿季受较强的偏东背景风影响时,局地环流的发展受到抑制,边界层高度也就低于干季。干季西风遇到高黎贡山,在西坡下沉并形成涡旋,西侧湍流混合充分,边界层高度高;湿季偏东风使高黎贡山西侧谷风减弱,腾冲与保山的边界层高度相差不大。     

The observed teleconnection between the equatorial Amazon and the Intra-Americas Seas

Using observations of rainfall and SST analysis it is shown that there is a robust relationship with two-season lag between the austral summer (December–January–February [DJF]) Equatorial Amazon (EA) rainfall and the following boreal summer season (June–July–August [JJA]) Intra-Americas Seas (IAS) Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies (SSTA). It is observed that in wetter than normal austral summer seasons over EA, the SSTA in the IAS are cooler than normal in the following JJA season. This teleconnection also manifests in the ocean heat content of the IAS region. Our analysis indicates that the net surface heat flux into the ocean (particularly the surface longwave and the shortwave radiative fluxes) dictates the strongest influence on the JJA Caribbean SSTA, the core region of the IAS where the observed teleconnection with EA rainfall is strongest. This study also finds that this teleconnection is in fact a manifestation of the remote ENSO forcing on the Caribbean SSTA through its modulation of the EA rainfall anomalies. In a wet DJF year over EA, the Atlantic Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) moves further southward than climatology. This causes the dry limb of the associated overturning circulation of the Atlantic ITCZ to reside over the Caribbean Sea region in the subsequent March–April–May and JJA seasons. As a result of this large-scale descent in the wet DJF year over EA, there is a net decrease in the heat flux into the ocean from increased emission of surface longwave radiation in the presence of anomalously dry atmosphere. In a dry DJF year over EA the Atlantic ITCZ is nearly co-located in the core region of the IAS, which is northward than the climatological location, resulting in the descending limb of the overturning location to be located further south of the Caribbean Sea leading to warmer SSTA.     

The influences of boundary layer parameterization schemes on mesoscale heavy rain system

1.Introducti0nThemesoscaleoperationalmodel-whichisoftenused,isMM4orMM5'butMM4isusedfrequentlyonlO3kmscale.Thephysicalprocessesinthismodeldevelopconstantly.FororiginalMM4,thecomputationofsurfacefluxesisnotaccurate,andKmodelfortheturbu-lencefluxesbetweenany2levelsneedstobeimprovedbynewtreatment.Inordertostudytheinfluencesofboundarylayerparameterizationschemesonmesoscaleheavyrainsystem,sur-facefluxesandKmodelinoriginalMM4areimprovedbytherecentresearchinthispaPer.Theflux-profilerelationsforv…     

北京地区夏季边界层急流的基本特征及形成机理研究

首先指出了北京地区夏季边界层急流的基本特征, 即北京地区边界层急流一般出现在白天高温背景下或发生局地暴雨的夜间, 强度存在明显的日变化, 垂直分布具有明显的"鼻状"结构特征, 急流核高度一般为600～900 m.从中尺度扰动方程出发, 并通过天气过程演变实例, 研究了地形热力作用、局地强降水在边界层急流形成过程中的作用, 指出: (1)夏季高温背景下, 平原与山区之间温度梯度方向、强度的变化, 是造成低空风垂直切变加速或减速, 即边界层急流形成或消失的直接原因, 因此这种边界层急流的高度一般要低于山体的高度.(2)局地暴雨与边界层急流之间存在明显的正反馈现象: 由于局地暴雨同时改变了对流层中层和近地面层气温的水平分布, 这种热力强迫作用造成了边界层气流加速; 反过来, 边界层气流的加速又加强了急流前方的风速辐合--如果急流方向水平垂直于山坡, 这种迎风坡上的辐合将更强, 造成局地降水强度进一步增强.     

CAM3模式海气湍流通量参数化的改进及其应用

通过对流性阵风参数化方法,在CAM3原有海气湍流通量参数化方案(CAM3方案)中引入边界层自由对流和降水深对流对海表湍流通量的贡献,改进了CAM3模式的海气湍流通量参数化方案(CAM3 ME方案).在此基础上,利用观测海温积分改进的CAM3模式,分析改进模式对冬(DJF)、夏季(JJA)大气环流异常的模拟性能.结果表明,采用改进的海气湍流通量参数化方案,模式对冬(DJF)、夏季(JJA)大气环流异常年际变化的模拟能力有了很大提高,尤其是冬季(DJF)北太平洋和北美大陆地区以及夏季(JJA)南半球海洋上空.     

NATURE OF PRECIPITATION AND ACTIVITY OF CUMULUS CONVECTION DURING THE 1991 MEIYU SEASON OF CHANGJIANG-HUAIHE RIVER BASIN*

Seasonal variability regarding the nature of precipitation and the activity of cumulus convection during the 1991 Meiyu season of Changjiang-Huaihe River Basin(Jianghuai)has been investigated by calculating apparent heat source/apparent moisture sink and analyzing TBB(cloud-top blackody radiation temperature)data.It is found that three periods of strong ascending motion during the Meiyu season lead to three episodes of heavy rain,and the latent heat due to the precipitation is of the sole heat source of the atmosphere.The nature of precipitation shows distinct seasonal variability,from frontal precipitation of the first episode to the extremely strong convective precipitation of the third episode.TBB field of East Asia may well reflect not only the intensity of convection and rainfall,but also the movement of rain belt and convection belt.In the whole Meiyu season.convection belt mainly stays in Jianghuai.but may shift within the domain of East Asia.Its locating in Jianghuai or not determines the maintenance or break of Meiyu.In the third episode,the narrow convection belt over Jianghuai is mainly caused by southwest monsoon which takes moist and convective atmosphere from tropical ocean.