Temporal downscaling: a comparison between artificial neural network and autocorrelation techniques over the Amazon Basin in present and future climate change scenarios

Several studies have been devoted to dynamic and statistical downscaling for both climate variability and climate change. This paper introduces an application of temporal neural networks for downscaling global climate model output and autocorrelation functions. This method is proposed for downscaling daily precipitation time series for a region in the Amazon Basin. The downscaling models were developed and validated using IPCC AR4 model output and observed daily precipitation. In this paper, five AOGCMs for the twentieth century (20C3M; 1970–1999) and three SRES scenarios (A2, A1B, and B1) were used. The performance in downscaling of the temporal neural network was compared to that of an autocorrelation statistical downscaling model with emphasis on its ability to reproduce the observed climate variability and tendency for the period 1970–1999. The model test results indicate that the neural network model significantly outperforms the statistical models for the downscaling of daily precipitation variability.     

基于GWR模型的典型区域GPM数据降尺度研究——以浙江省为例北大核心

为提高研究区域的降尺度效果,基于地理加权回归法(Geographically Weighted Regression,GWR),选取全球降水计划(Global Precipitation Measurement,GPM)3IMERGM产品,以数字高程模型(Digital Elevation Model,DEM)作为控制解释变量,将其分别与解释变量水汽通量散度、气温构建两个降尺度模型、与解释变量归一化植被指数(Normalized Difference Vegetation Index,NDVI)构建对照降尺度模型,对浙江省进行降尺度研究。利用研究区域内气象站点的实测数据,对由不同解释变量构建的3个降尺度模型的降尺度结果进行对比分析及精度验证。结果表明:构建的3个降尺度模型中,引入解释变量水汽通量散度构建的降尺度模型的综合效果优于其余两种模型,水汽通量散度较NDVI、气温更适合作为解释变量。构建的降尺度模型有效地提高了GPM数据的空间分辨率(由0.1°提升至1 km),降尺度数据维持了精度且能够更真实反映研究区域内的降水量分布情况。     

A comparison of downscaling techniques in the projection of local climate change and wheat yields

This study aims to evaluate the performance of two mainstream downscaling techniques: statistical and dynamical downscaling and to compare the differences in their projection of future climate change and the resultant impact on wheat crop yields for three locations across New South Wales, Australia. Bureau of Meteorology statistically- and CSIRO dynamically-downscaled climate, derived or driven by the CSIRO Mk 3.5 coupled general circulation model, were firstly evaluated against observed climate data for the period 1980–1999. Future climate projections derived from the two downscaling approaches for the period centred on 2055 were then compared. A stochastic weather generator, LARS-WG, was used in this study to derive monthly climate changes and to construct climate change scenarios. The Agricultural Production System sIMulator-Wheat model was then combined with the constructed climate change scenarios to quantify the impact of climate change on wheat grain yield. Statistical results show that (1) in terms of reproducing the past climate, statistical downscaling performed better over dynamical downscaling in most of the cases including climate variables, their mean, variance and distribution, and study locations, (2) there is significant difference between the two downscaling techniques in projected future climate change except the mean value of rainfall across the three locations for most of the months; and (3) there is significant difference in projected wheat grain yields between the two downscaling techniques at two of the three locations.     

匹配域投影降尺度方法在黄河流域夏季降水预测中的应用

文章采用黄河流域夏季降水数据和BCC-CGCM模式资料,利用匹配域投影降尺度方法对黄河流域夏季降水进行预测,得到以下结论:(1)交叉验证期,匹配域投影降尺度方法对黄河流域夏季降水的预测效果要好于原始模式预测,且较模式直接输出的要素预测稳定;分月预测比夏季整体预测效果要好。(2)匹配域投影降尺度方法对各个区域的预测能力不同,在夏季(6—8月)预测中,预测较好区域比较分散,而分月预测中,预测较好的区域比较集中。月份不同,降尺度方法对于不同地区的预测能力也不同。(3)2009—2013年的独立样本检验表明,匹配域投影降尺度方法对于黄河流域夏季降水的预测效果要明显好于模式直接输出的要素预测。尤其6和7月的降尺度预测较模式直接输出的要素预测有较大提高。     

基于NCEP CFSv2模式的黑龙江省夏季降水预测研究

基于1982-2017年NCEP_CFSv2（NCEP Climate Forecast System version 2）模式预测资料对黑龙江省夏季降水进行降尺度预测。通过分析黑龙江省夏季降水与同期环流因子的关系、模式对关键区环流因子的预测,选取模式模拟与再分析资料相关较好、黑龙江降水实况与再分析资料关系较好的环流因子作为预测因子,结合最优子集回归法筛选因子,建立降尺度预测模型,最后采用交叉检验法进行预测效果检验和独立样本预测。结果表明：模式降尺度预测与实况的距平符号-致率为69%,6 a独立样本预测中有5 a预测正确,优于目前的业务预测效果。进-步研究发现,在模式能够准确预测环流因子的情况下,模式降尺度可以较好地预测黑龙江省夏季降水的趋势。此外,模式降尺度在拉尼娜年预测效果较好。     

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"。     

Application of physical scaling towards downscaling climate model precipitation data

Physical scaling (SP) method downscales climate model data to local or regional scales taking into consideration physical characteristics of the area under analysis. In this study, multiple SP method based models are tested for their effectiveness towards downscaling North American regional reanalysis (NARR) daily precipitation data. Model performance is compared with two state-of-the-art downscaling methods: statistical downscaling model (SDSM) and generalized linear modeling (GLM). The downscaled precipitation is evaluated with reference to recorded precipitation at 57 gauging stations located within the study region. The spatial and temporal robustness of the downscaling methods is evaluated using seven precipitation based indices. Results indicate that SP method-based models perform best in downscaling precipitation followed by GLM, followed by the SDSM model. Best performing models are thereafter used to downscale future precipitations made by three global circulation models (GCMs) following two emission scenarios: representative concentration pathway (RCP) 2.6 and RCP 8.5 over the twenty-first century. The downscaled future precipitation projections indicate an increase in mean and maximum precipitation intensity as well as a decrease in the total number of dry days. Further an increase in the frequency of short (1-day), moderately long (2–4 day), and long (more than 5-day) precipitation events is projected.     

An Experiment of a Statistical Downscaling Forecast Model for Summer Precipitation over China

A combination of the optimal subset regression (OSR) approach, the coupled general circulation model of the National Climate Center (NCC-CGCM) and precipitation observations from 160 stations over China is used to construct a statistical downscaling forecast model for precipitation in summer. Retroactive forecasts are performed to assess the skill of statistical downscaling during the period from 2003 to 2009. The results show a poor simulation for summer precipitation by the NCC- CGCM for China, and the average spatial anomaly correlation coefficient (ACC) is 0.01 in the forecast period. The forecast skill can be improved by OSR statistical downscaling, and the OSR forecast performs better than the NCC-CGCM in most years except 2003. The spatial ACC is more than 0.2 in the years 2008 and 2009, which proves to be relatively skillful. Moreover, the statistical downscaling forecast performs relatively well for the main rain belt of the summer precipitation in some years, including 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009. However, the forecast skill of statistical downscaling is restricted to some extent by the relatively low skill of the NCC- CGCM.     

Performance comparison of three predictor selection methods for statistical downscaling of daily precipitation

Predictor selection is a critical factor affecting the statistical downscaling of daily precipitation. This study provides a general comparison between uncertainties in downscaled results from three commonly used predictor selection methods (correlation analysis, partial correlation analysis, and stepwise regression analysis). Uncertainty is analyzed by comparing statistical indices, including the mean, variance, and the distribution of monthly mean daily precipitation, wet spell length, and the number of wet days. The downscaled results are produced by the artificial neural network (ANN) statistical downscaling model and 50 years (1961–2010) of observed daily precipitation together with reanalysis predictors. Although results show little difference between downscaling methods, stepwise regression analysis is generally the best method for selecting predictors for the ANN statistical downscaling model of daily precipitation, followed by partial correlation analysis and then correlation analysis.     

Statistical Downscaling Based on Dynamically DownscaledPredictors： Application to Monthly Precipitation in Sweden

A prerequisite of a successful statistical downscaling is that large-scale predictors simulated by the General Circulation Model (GCM) must be realistic. It is assumed here that features smaller than the GCM resolution are important in determining the realism of the large-scale predictors. It is tested whether a three-step method can improve conventional one-step statistical downscaling. The method uses predictors that are upscaled from a dynamical downscaling instead of predictors taken directly from a GCM simulation. The method is applied to downscaling of monthly precipitation in Sweden. The statistical model used is a multiple regression model that uses indices of large-scale atmospheric circulation and 850-hPa specific humidity as predictors. Data from two GCMs (HadCM2 and ECHAM4) and two RCM experiments of the Rossby Centre model (RCA1) driven by the GCMs are used. It is found that upscaled RCA1 predictors capture the seasonal cycle better than those from the GCMs, and hence increase the reliability of the downscaled precipitation. However, there are only slight improvements in the simulation of the seasonal cycle of downscaled precipitation. Due to the cost of the method and the limited improvements in the downscaling results, the three-step method is not justified to replace the one-step method for downscaling of Swedish precipitation.     

两种统计降尺度方法在秦岭山地的适用性

基于ASD（automated statistical downscaling）统计降尺度模型提供的多元线性回归和岭回归两种统计降尺度方法,采用RCP4.5（representative concentration pathways 4.5）和RCP8.5情景下全球气候模式MPI-ESM-LR输出的预报因子数据、NCEP/NCAR再分析数据和秦岭山地周边10个气象站观测数据,评估两种统计降尺度方法在秦岭山地的适用性及预估秦岭山地未来3个时期（2006-2040年、2041-2070年和2071-2100年）的平均气温和降水。结果表明:率定期和验证期内,两种统计降尺度方法均可以较好地模拟研究区域的平均气温和降水的变化特征,且多元线性回归的模拟效果优于岭回归。在未来气候情景下,两种统计降尺度方法预估的研究区域平均气温均呈明显上升趋势,气温增幅随辐射强迫增加而增大。降水方面,21世纪未来3个时期降水均呈不明显减少趋势,但季节分配发生变化。综合考虑两种统计降尺度方法在秦岭山地对平均气温和降水的模拟效果和情景预估结果,认为多元线性回归降尺度方法更适用于秦岭山地气候变化的降尺度预估研究。     

多模式集合优选方案在淮河流域夏季降水预测中的应用

基于国家气候中心提供的1981—2010年4种季节气候预测模式的资料,将两种互为补充的降尺度因子挑选方案应用于淮河流域夏季降水预测,利用距平符号一致率ASCR、等级评定PG、距平相关系数ACC方法,评定了每种模式及其所采用的两种降尺度方法对淮河流域夏季降水的预测效果,并采用了一种优选方案进行多模式集合。结果表明,从4种模式的降水预测效果来看,NCEP_CFSv2和TCC_CPS1模式的评分较高,NCC_CGCM1和ECMWF_SYSTEM4模式相对较低;采用2种基于最优子集回归的降尺度方法后,NCC_CGCM1、TCC_CPS1和ECMWF_SYSTEM4模式的降尺度方法相对于模式降水预测为正订正,NCEP_CFSv2模式为负订正;将模式和降尺度预测方案进行优选,其集合平均的评分不仅高于模式降水预测的集合平均,也优于降尺度方法的集合平均,该方法发挥了不同模式的区域性优势,改进了原始集合平均的效果,为提高多模式解释应用水平提供了一种参考性方案。      

新疆夏季降水和冬季气温预测方法及效果评估

本文利用4个国内外先进的气候模式（国家气候中心、ECMWF、NCEP和JMA）业务预测数据,采用2种多模式集合方法（等权平均和超级集合）、3种降尺度方法（BP-CCA、EOF迭代、高相关回归集成）和3种统计方法（CCA、最优气候值、高相关回归集成）以及降尺度集成和降尺度-统计方法集成,分析了目前季节模式、多模式集合、降尺度、统计方法、降尺度-统计集合等目前常用气候预测技术对新疆夏季降水和冬季气温的业务预测能力。 研究表明,以上技术方法对新疆夏季降水和冬季气温的预测预测能力有较大差别。目前先进的气候业务模式的预测技巧普遍很低,多模式超级集合和降尺度方法的技巧常高于单个模式,并且最佳的降尺度方法通常技巧高于最佳多模式集合方法。同时,统计方法和降尺度方法的预测技巧通常较为接近,而对二者进行超级集合可以具有相对很高的预测技巧。此外,现有常用气候预测技术方法对新疆夏季降水和冬季气温的趋势有一定的预测能力,但对气候异常的空间分布基本无预测能力。建议新疆气候预测技术围绕统计和降尺度方法集合发展。     

Uncertainty analysis of statistical downscaling models using Hadley Centre Coupled Model

Regression-based statistical downscaling is a method broadly used to resolve the coarse spatial resolution of general circulation models. Nevertheless, the assessment of uncertainties linked with climatic variables is essential to climate impact studies. This study presents a procedure to characterize the uncertainty in regression-based statistical downscaling of daily precipitation and temperature over a highly vulnerable area (semiarid catchment) in the west of Iran, based on two downscaling models: a statistical downscaling model (SDSM) and an artificial neural network (ANN) model. Biases in mean, variance, and wet/dry spells are estimated for downscaled data using vigorous statistical tests for 30 years of observed and downscaled daily precipitation and temperature data taken from the National Center for Environmental Prediction reanalysis predictors for the years of 1961 to 1990. In the case of daily temperature, uncertainty is estimated by comparing monthly mean and variance of downscaled and observed daily data at a 95 % confidence level. In daily precipitation, downscaling uncertainties were evaluated from comparing monthly mean dry and wet spell lengths and their confidence intervals, cumulative frequency distributions of monthly mean of daily precipitation, and the distributions of monthly wet and dry days for observed and modeled daily precipitation. Results showed that uncertainty in downscaled precipitation is high, but simulation of daily temperature can reproduce extreme events accurately. Finally, this study shows that the SDSM is the most proficient model at reproducing various statistical characteristics of observed data at a 95 % confidence level, while the ANN model is the least capable in this respect. This study attempts to test uncertainties of regression-based statistical downscaling techniques in a semiarid area and therefore contributes to an improvement of the quality of predictions of climate change impact assessment in regions of this type.     

基于TIGGE资料的北半球地面气温预报的统计降尺度研究

基于TIGGE(THORPEX Interactive Grand Global Ensemble,全球交互式大集合)资料中欧洲中期天气预报中心(European Centre for Medium-Range Weather,ECMWF)、日本气象厅(Japan Meteorological Agency,JMA)、美国国家环境预报中心(National Centers for Environmental Prediction,NCEP)和英国气象局(United Kingdom Met Office,UKMO)4个中心的北半球地面2 m气温集合平均预报资料,利用插值技术与回归分析,并引入了消除偏差集合平均(bias-removed ensemble mean,BREM)和多模式超级集合(superensemble,SUP)方法进行统计降尺度预报研究。结果表明,在2007年夏季3个月中,4个单中心的降尺度预报明显地改善了预报效果。引入SUP和BREM两种集成预报方法后,预报误差得到进一步减小。对比综合表现最好的单中心ECMWF的预报,1~7 d的降尺度预报误差改进率均达20%以上。研究还发现,引入SUP方法的降尺度预报效果优于引入BREM方法的降尺度预报,利用双线性插值方法在上述两方案中的预报效果优于其他3种插值方法。     

Comparison of regional climate model and statistical downscaling simulations of different winter precipitation change scenarios over Romania

Summary Regional climate model and statistical downscaling procedures are used to generate winter precipitation changes over Romania for the period 2071–2100 (compared to 1961–1990), under the IPCC A2 and B2 emission scenarios. For this purpose, the ICTP regional climate model RegCM is nested within the Hadley Centre global atmospheric model HadAM3H. The statistical downscaling method is based on the use of canonical correlation analysis (CCA) to construct climate change scenarios for winter precipitation over Romania from two predictors, sea level pressure and specific humidity (either used individually or together). A technique to select the most skillful model separately for each station is proposed to optimise the statistical downscaling signal. Climate fields from the A2 and B2 scenario simulations with the HadAM3H and RegCM models are used as input to the statistical downscaling model. First, the capability of the climate models to reproduce the observed link between winter precipitation over Romania and atmospheric circulation at the European scale is analysed, showing that the RegCM is more accurate than HadAM3H in the simulation of Romanian precipitation variability and its connection with large-scale circulations. Both models overestimate winter precipitation in the eastern regions of Romania due to an overestimation of the intensity and frequency of cyclonic systems over Europe. Climate changes derived directly from the RegCM and HadAM3H show an increase of precipitation during the 2071–2100 period compared to 1961–1990, especially over northwest and northeast Romania. Similar climate change patterns are obtained through the statistical downscaling method when the technique of optimum model selected separately for each station is used. This adds confidence to the simulated climate change signal over this region. The uncertainty of results is higher for the eastern and southeastern regions of Romania due to the lower HadAM3H and RegCM performance in simulating winter precipitation variability there as well as the reduced skill of the statistical downscaling model.     

A Hybrid Statistical-Dynamical Downscaling of Air Temperature over Scandinavia Using the WRF Model

An accurate simulation of air temperature at local scales is crucial for the vast majority of weather and climate applications.In this work,a hybrid statistical–dynamical downscaling method and a high-resolution dynamical-only downscaling method are applied to daily mean,minimum and maximum air temperatures to investigate the quality of localscale estimates produced by downscaling.These two downscaling approaches are evaluated using station observation data obtained from the Finnish Meteorological Institute over a near-coastal region of western Finland.The dynamical downscaling is performed with the Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF)model,and the statistical downscaling method implemented is the Cumulative Distribution Function-transform(CDF-t).The CDF-t is trained using 20 years of WRF-downscaled Climate Forecast System Reanalysis data over the region at a 3-km spatial resolution for the central month of each season.The performance of the two methods is assessed qualitatively,by inspection of quantile-quantile plots,and quantitatively,through the Cramer-von Mises,mean absolute error,and root-mean-square error diagnostics.The hybrid approach is found to provide significantly more skillful forecasts of the observed daily mean and maximum air temperatures than those of the dynamical-only downscaling(for all seasons).The hybrid method proves to be less computationally expensive,and also to give more skillful temperature forecasts(at least for the Finnish near-coastal region).     

我国地面降水的分级回归统计降尺度预报研究

利用TIGGE资料中欧洲中期天气预报中心(ECMWF,the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts)、日本气象厅(JMA,the Japan Meteorological Agency)、美国国家环境预报中心(NCEP,the National Centers for Environmental Prediction)以及英国气象局(UKMO,the UK Met Office)4个中心1~7 d预报的日降水量集合预报资料,并以中国降水融合产品作为"观测值",对我国地面降水量预报进行统计降尺度处理。采用空间滑动窗口增加中雨和大雨雨量样本,建立分级雨量的回归方程,并与未分级雨量的统计降尺度预报进行对比。结果表明,对于不同模式、不同预报时效以及不同降水量级,统计降尺度的预报技巧改进程度不尽相同。统计降尺度的预报技巧依赖于模式本身的预报效果。相比雨量未分级回归,雨量分级回归的统计降尺度预报与观测值的距平相关系数更高,均方根误差更小,不同量级降水的ETS评分明显提高。对雨量分级回归统计降尺度预报结果进行二次订正,可大大减少小雨的空报。     

Precipitation and temperature space–time variability and extremes in the Mediterranean region: evaluation of dynamical and statistical downscaling methods

This study evaluates how statistical and dynamical downscaling models as well as combined approach perform in retrieving the space–time variability of near-surface temperature and rainfall, as well as their extremes, over the whole Mediterranean region. The dynamical downscaling model used in this study is the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with varying land-surface models and resolutions (20 and 50 km) and the statistical tool is the Cumulative Distribution Function-transform (CDF-t). To achieve a spatially resolved downscaling over the Mediterranean basin, the European Climate Assessment and Dataset (ECA&D) gridded dataset is used for calibration and evaluation of the downscaling models. In the frame of HyMeX and MED-CORDEX international programs, the downscaling is performed on ERA-I reanalysis over the 1989–2008 period. The results show that despite local calibration, CDF-t produces more accurate spatial variability of near-surface temperature and rainfall with respect to ECA&D than WRF which solves the three-dimensional equation of conservation. This first suggests that at 20–50 km resolutions, these three-dimensional processes only weakly contribute to the local value of temperature and precipitation with respect to local one-dimensional processes. Calibration of CDF-t at each individual grid point is thus sufficient to reproduce accurately the spatial pattern. A second explanation is the use of gridded data such as ECA&D which smoothes in part the horizontal variability after data interpolation and damps the added value of dynamical downscaling. This explains partly the absence of added-value of the 2-stage downscaling approach which combines statistical and dynamical downscaling models. The temporal variability of statistically downscaled temperature and rainfall is finally strongly driven by the temporal variability of its forcing (here ERA-Interim or WRF simulations). CDF-t is thus efficient as a bias correction tool but does not show any added-value regarding the time variability of the downscaled field. Finally, the quality of the reference observation dataset is a key issue. Comparison of CDF-t calibrated with ECA&D dataset and WRF simulations to local measurements from weather stations not assimilated in ECA&D, shows that the temporal variability of the downscaled data with respect to the local observations is closer to the local measurements than to ECA&D data. This highlights the strong added-value of dynamical downscaling which improves the temporal variability of the atmospheric dynamics with regard to the driving model. This article highlights the benefits and inconveniences emerging from the use of both downscaling techniques for climate research. Our goal is to contribute to the discussion on the use of downscaling tools to assess the impact of climate change on regional scales.     

月尺度动力模式产品解释应用系统及预测技巧

从短期气候预测业务面临的实际问题出发,针对月尺度气候预测,利用国家气候中心月动力延伸预报(DERF)模式资料,开发了集多种统计预测方法、多种解释应用技术于一体的业务系统。利用该系统的多种预测方法对广西88个站点2005-2008年6月降水距平百分率的独立样本检验结果表明:在解释应用方法中,基于模式输出统计假设方法(MOS)的预报结果优于完全预报法(PP);利用预测站点附近的环流关键区构建的预测因子预报效果最好;经验统计函数法(EOF)和动力与统计相结合的解释应用方法的预测准确率较高且较稳定;同时满足模式预测资料中预测因子和预测对象的高相关关系,以及再分析资料中预测因子和预测对象之间高相关关系确定关键区,并在此基础上建立预测模型的预测效果更佳。解释应用预测准确率一般都在70分以上,高于传统的物理统计预测结果。