Changes in precipitation extremes over arid to semiarid and subhumid Punjab,Pakistan

Asymmetrical monsoons during the recent past have resulted into spatially variable and devastating floods in South Asia. Analysis of historic precipitation extremes record may help in formulating mitigation strategies at local level. Eleven indices of precipitation extremes were evaluated using RClimDex and daily time series data for analysis period of 1981–2010 from five representative cities across Punjab province of Pakistan. The indices include consecutive dry days, consecutive wet days, number of days above daily average precipitation, number of days with precipitation ≥10 mm, number of days with precipitation ≥20 mm, very wet days, extremely wet days, simple daily intensity index, maximum 1-day precipitation quantity, maximum 5 consecutive day precipitation quantity, and annual total wet-day precipitation. Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope extremes were used to detect trends in indices. Droughts and excessive precipitation were dictated by elevation from mean sea level with prolonged dry spells in southern Punjab and vice versa confirming spatial trends for precipitation extremes. However, no temporal trend was observed for any of the indices. Summer in the region is the wettest season depicting contribution of monsoons during June through August toward devastating floods in the region.     

Annual and seasonal variability of precipitation in Vojvodina,Serbia

Annual and seasonal variability of precipitation observed at 92 stations in Vojvodina (Serbia) were analyzed during the period 1946–2006. The rainfall series were examined by means of the empirical orthogonal functions (EOF). The first set of singular vectors explains from 68.8 % (in summer) to 81.8 % (in winter) of the total variance. The temporal variability of the time series associated with the main EOF configurations (the principal components, PCs) was examined using the Mann–Kendall test and the spectral analysis. The time series of PC1 revealed decreasing trend in the winter and spring precipitation and increasing trend in the autumn, summer, and annual precipitation. The relationships between the first PC and circulation patterns, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the East Atlantic (EA) pattern, and East Atlantic/West Russia pattern, were also investigated. The PC1, displaying temporal behavior of the first mode, demonstrated evident correspondence with the NAO index in analysis of the annual, winter, and autumn precipitation. Power spectra of the PC1 show statistically significant oscillations of about 3.3 years for the spring precipitation and about 8 and 15 years for the winter precipitation. Comparisons with spectral analysis of authors for some regions in Europe, most of them in the Mediterranean domain, show that similar periodicities are detected.     

Trends of precipitation extremes during 1960–2008 in Xinjiang, the Northwest China

The spatial–temporal variability of the precipitation extremes defined by eight precipitation indices based on daily precipitation dataset was analyzed using the linear regression method and the Mann–Kendall test. The results indicate that increasing trends in the precipitation amount, rainy days, and the intensity of the extreme precipitation were identified at above 70 % of the total rain stations considered in this study, with more than 30 % of them were significant, while most stations show notable decreasing trend in the annual maximum consecutive no-rain days. Significantly increasing trends of the precipitation extremes are observed mainly in the northern Xinjiang and the north of the southern Xinjiang. Most extreme precipitation indices show a potential regime shift starting from the middle of 1980s. The magnitude of the trends is compatible with their pattern of spatial stability. The generally increasing trends in precipitation extremes are found in this study.     

Trends and periodicity of daily temperature and precipitation extremes during 1960–2013 in Hunan Province,central south China

In this study, the trends and periodicity in climate extremes are examined in Hunan Province over the period 1960–2013 on the basis of 27 extreme climate indices calculated from daily temperature and precipitation records at 89 meteorological stations. The results show that in the whole province, temperature extremes exhibit a warming trend with more than 50% stations being statistically significant for 7 out of 16 temperature indices, and the nighttime temperature increases faster than the daytime temperature at the annual scale. The changes in most extreme temperature indices show strongly coherent spatial patterns. Moreover, the change rates of almost all temperature indices in north Hunan are greater than those of other regions. However, the statistically significant changes in indices of extreme precipitation are observed at fewer stations than in extreme temperature indices, forming less spatially coherent patterns. Positive trends in indices of extreme precipitation show that the amount and intensity of extreme precipitation events are generally increasing in both annual and seasonal scales, whereas the significant downward trend in consecutive wet days indicates that the precipitation becomes more even over the study period. Analysis of changes in probability distributions of extreme indices for 1960–1986 and 1987–2013 also demonstrates a remarkable shift toward warmer condition and increasing tendency in the amount and intensity of extreme precipitation during the past decades. The variations in extreme climate indices exhibit inconstant frequencies in the wavelet power spectrum. Among the 16 temperature indices, 2 of them show significant 1-year periodic oscillation and 7 of them exhibit significant 4-year cycle during some certain periods. However, significant periodic oscillations can be found in all of the precipitation indices. Wet-day precipitation and three absolute precipitation indices show significant 1-year cycle and other seven provide significant power at the 4-year period, which are mainly found during 1970–1980 and after 1992.     

Simulation of extreme precipitation over the Yangtze River Basin using Wakeby distribution

Based on the daily observational precipitation data at 147 stations in the Yangtze River Basin during 1960–2005 and projected daily data of 79 grid cells from the ECHAM5/ MPI-OM model in the 20th and 21st century, time series of precipitation extremes which contain AM (Annual Maximum) and MI (Munger Index) are constructed. The distribution feature of precipitation extremes is analyzed based on the two index series. Three principal results were obtained, as stated in the sequel. (i) In the past half century, the intensity of extreme heavy precipitation and drought events was higher in the mid-lower Yangtze than in the upper Yangtze reaches. Although the ECHAM5 model still can’t capture the precipitation extremes over the Yangtze River Basin satisfactorily, spatial pattern of the observed and the simulated precipitation extremes are much similar to each other. (ii) For quantifying the characteristics of extremely high and extremely low precipitation over the Yangtze River Basin, four probability distributions are used, namely: General Extreme Value (GEV), General Pareto (GPA), General Logistic (GLO), and Wakeby (WAK). It was found that WAK can adequately describe the probability distribution of precipitation extremes calculated from both observational and projected data. (iii) Return period of precipitation extremes show spatially different changes under three greenhouse gas emission scenarios. The 50-year heavy precipitation and drought events from simulated data during 1951–2000 will become more frequent, with return period below 25 years, for the most mid-lower Yangtze region in 2001–2050. The changing character of return periods of precipitation extremes should be taken into account for the hydrological design and future water resources management.     

Impact of multi-scale oscillations at high and low latitudes on two persistent heavy rainfall events in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

To investigate the multi-scale features in two persistent heavy rainfall (PHR) events in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (MLRYR) in June of 1982 and 1998, this study examines the impact of multi-scale oscillations in the north and south of 30°N on the PHR events by performing sensitivity experiments with the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model. It is found that the 60-day lowpass perturbation made a trivial contribution to the MLRYR precipitation during the PHR event in 1982. This PHR event resulted mainly from the combined effects of 30–60-day oscillation at low latitudes and 10–30-day oscillation at both high and low latitudes. The southwesterly anomalies associated with the 30–60-day anticyclonic anomaly over the northwestern Pacific facilitated moisture transport from the ocean to the MLRYR and enhanced the low-level convergence and ascending motion in the MLRYR. This similarly occurred in the 10–30-day oscillation as well. Moreover, the 10–30-day anomalies at high latitudes played a role in strengthening the large-scale low-level convergence over the MLRYR. The PHR event in 1998 was mainly related to the 60-day oscillation at both high and low latitudes and 30–60-day oscillation at low latitudes. The 60-day low-pass filtered anomalous cyclone at high latitudes in the north of 30°N contributed to the development of low-level convergence and ascending motion in northern MLRYR while the anomalous anticyclone at low latitudes in the south of 30°N not only increased the moisture in the MLRYR but also preconditioned the dynamical factors favorable for PHR over the whole area. The 30–60-day perturbations located north and south of 30°N worked together producing positive moisture anomaly in the MLRYR. In addition, the anomalous circulation in the south of 30°N tended to favor the development of ascending motion and low-level convergence in the MLRYR.     

南海周边越赤道气流的多时间尺度变化特征及其与环流和降水的联系

利用NCAR/NCEP-1再分析资料、NOAA的OLR资料以及GPCP降水资料等,通过功率谱分析、超前滞后回归等方法,对夏季南海周边105 °E、125 °E以及150 °E三支越赤道气流进行了多尺度特征分析,重点探讨三支越赤道气流季节内振荡与热带大气环流异常及南海周边降水的联系。结果表明,在季节内时间尺度上,105 °E与125 °E越赤道气流均具有10~20 d以及30~60 d低频振荡显著周期,而150 °E越赤道气流则以10~20 d周期为主。在年际尺度上,105 °E、125 °E、150 °E越赤道气流分别具有2~4年、2~3年、2~6年振荡周期。无论是季内还是年际变化,皆以105 °E与125 °E这两支越赤道气流之间关系较密切。南亚-南海-西太平洋地区对流层低层10~20 d振荡的气旋(对流加强)和反气旋(对流减弱)的环流活动变化,决定着105 °E及125 °E越赤道气流的10~20 d振荡的演变。这两支越赤道气流之30~60 d振荡所伴随的异常变化与热带夏季季节内振荡(BSISO)的演变过程非常相似,而150 °E越赤道气流之30~60 d振荡所伴随的异常低频环流则与南半球热带辐合带关系密切。105 °E及125 °E越赤道气流的季节内振荡及年际异常均与南海周边降水异常密切相关。      

A study on the role of land-atmosphere coupling on the south Asian monsoon climate variability using a regional climate model

The spatial and temporal trends of 11 (7) temperature (precipitation) extreme indices are examined for the Loess Plateau Region (LPR) and its southeast and northwest sub-regions based on daily observations at 214 meteorological stations. Results show widespread significant warming trends for all the temperature extremes except for the diurnal temperature range (DTR) and the lowest daily maximum temperature in each year (TXn) during 1961–2010. When regionally averaged, a significant warming trend is detected for all the indices except for DTR and TXn in the past 50 years. Compared with the entire LPR, a significant warming trend is detected for all the indices except for DTR and TXn over the southeast sub-region of LPR; while it is observed for all the indices over the northwest. The trends for these indices are generally stronger in the northwest than in the southeast in the past 50 years. In contrast, for precipitation indices, only a small percentage of areas show significant drying or wetting trends and, when regionally averaged, none of them displays significant trends during the past 50 years. On the sub-regional scale, however, a larger percentage of areas show significant drying trends for precipitation indices generally over the southeast relative to the entire LPR, and noticeably, the sub-regional average heavy precipitation (R10mm) and wet day precipitation (PRCPTOT) display significant decreasing trends during the past 50 years; whereas only a slightly larger percentage of areas show significant wetting trends for these indices over the northwest compared with the entire LPR, and when sub-regionally averaged, none of the indices have significant trends during the past 50 years.     

江淮流域夏季降水异常与西北太平洋副热带30～60天振荡强度年际变化的联系

利用1978～2007年NCEP/NCAR再分析资料和地面观测站降水资料, 研究了夏季江淮流域降水多寡与30～60天振荡 (ISO) 强度年际变化的联系。结果表明: 江淮流域夏季降水异常与台湾海峡地区及西北太平洋低频能量变化相关显著。定义了ISO强度指数, 对ISO强度指数高低年夏季低频降水以及低频环流的位相合成表明: 高指数年主要通过存在于南海—西北太平洋地区的低频气旋、 反气旋系统的交替活动来影响副热带高压的进退, 从而引起江淮流域夏季降水异常; 低指数年江淮流域夏季降水主要受西太平洋副热带高压位置及强度变化的影响, 降水异常区主要位于江南地区。进一步研究表明, 非30～60天低频降水扰动与低频振荡强度也有很好的相关。低频环流对双周以及天气时间尺度环流变化可能存在调制作用, 这种作用对江淮流域夏季降水的年际异常起到非常重要的作用。     

The influence of the inter-decadal Pacific oscillation on US precipitation during 1923–2010

Precipitation over the contiguous United States exhibits large multi-decadal oscillations since the early twentieth century, and they often lead to dry (e.g., 1946–1976 and 1999-present) and wet (e.g., 1977–1998) periods and apparent precipitation trends (e.g., from the 1950s to 1990s) over most of the western and central US. The exact cause of these inter-decadal variations is not fully understood. Using observational and reanalysis data and model simulations, this paper examines the influence of the Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) on US precipitation. The IPO is a leading mode of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) seen mostly in the Pacific Ocean. It is found that decadal precipitation variations over much of the West and Central US, especially the Southwest, closely follow the evolution of the IPO (r = 0.85 during 1923–2010 for the Southwest US), and the dry and wet periods are associated, respectively, with the cold and warm phases of the IPO. In particular, the apparent upward trend from the 1950s–1990s and the dry decade thereafter in precipitation over much of the West and Central US are largely caused by the IPO cycles, which switched to a warm phase around 1977 and back to a cold phase around 1999. An atmospheric model forced with observed SSTs reproduces much of this association of US precipitation with the IPO (r = 0.95 between smoothed observed and simulated Southwest US precipitation during 1950–2009 and r = 0.88 between the simulated Southwest US precipitation and the IPO). Atmospheric reanalysis and model data both show a strong high (low) pressure center and anti-cyclonic (cyclonic) anomaly circulation over the North Pacific in the lower troposphere during cold (warm) phases of the IPO, which lead to dry and cold northwesterly and northerly winds and below-normal precipitation over much of the West US during IPO cold periods. The IPO induced changes are most pronounced during the boreal cold season. The results reinforce the notion that tropical Pacific SSTs (and the accompanying SST anomalies in the North Pacific) have large impacts on US precipitation and highlight the need to understand and simulate the IPO for decadal prediction of US precipitation.     

The influence of Atlantic hurricanes on Southern Ontario’s precipitation extremes

Little is known about the influence of hurricanes on precipitation extremes (PEs) in Southern Ontario, Canada. We examine PEs and their spatial–temporal link with hurricanes events in Southern Ontario during the period of 1950–2000. On average, 5.4 PEs or 11 % of the 50 wettest days in the selected five locations occurred under the influence of hurricanes within this 51-year period. Our results indicate hurricane-influenced PEs are most frequent in September and derive from storms that had reached major hurricane status (>50 m/s) at some point during their lifetime. An absence of landfalling hurricanes in Southern Ontario during the 1960s to 1980s suggests either that the direct impact of hurricanes occurs on a multidecadal time scale or that recent years are experiencing unprecedented change.     

Winter weather regimes over the Mediterranean region: their role for the regional climate and projected changes in the twenty-first century

The winter time weather variability over the Mediterranean is studied in relation to the prevailing weather regimes (WRs) over the region. Using daily geopotential heights at 700 hPa from the ECMWF ERA40 Reanalysis Project and Cluster Analysis, four WRs are identified, in increasing order of frequency of occurrence, as cyclonic (22.0 %), zonal (24.8 %), meridional (25.2 %) and anticyclonic (28.0 %). The surface climate, cloud distribution and radiation patterns associated with these winter WRs are deduced from satellite (ISCCP) and other observational (E-OBS, ERA40) datasets. The LMDz atmosphere–ocean regional climate model is able to simulate successfully the same four Mediterranean weather regimes and reproduce the associated surface and atmospheric conditions for the present climate (1961–1990). Both observational- and LMDz-based computations show that the four Mediterranean weather regimes control the region’s weather and climate conditions during winter, exhibiting significant differences between them as for temperature, precipitation, cloudiness and radiation distributions within the region. Projections (2021–2050) of the winter Mediterranean weather and climate are obtained using the LMDz model and analysed in relation to the simulated changes in the four WRs. According to the SRES A1B emission scenario, a significant warming (between 2 and 4 °C) is projected to occur in the region, along with a precipitation decrease by 10–20 % in southern Europe, Mediterranean Sea and North Africa, against a 10 % precipitation increase in northern European areas. The projected changes in temperature and precipitation in the Mediterranean are explained by the model-predicted changes in the frequency of occurrence as well as in the intra-seasonal variability of the regional weather regimes. The anticyclonic configuration is projected to become more recurrent, contributing to the decreased precipitation over most of the basin, while the cyclonic and zonal ones become more sporadic, resulting in more days with below normal precipitation over most of the basin, and on the eastern part of the region, respectively. The changes in frequency and intra-seasonal variability highlights the usefulness of dynamics versus statistical downscaling techniques for climate change studies.     

Winter precipitation in Western Italian Alps (1926–2010)

Six snow depth and total precipitation time series recorded in Western Italian Alps between 960 and 2,177 m a.s.l. have been analyzed to investigate variability and trends over the period 1926–2010. The results outline a significant decrease of snow depth in the period 1951–2010 ranging from ?0.2 cm/year in the lowest station up to ?1.4 cm/year in the highest one. The contribution to this negative trend comes mainly from spring. These results have been related to the changes in the amount/frequency of total precipitation and to the temperatures analyzed in former studies. The connections between winter precipitation and large-scale atmospheric forcings have been investigated by looking for regular oscillations embedded in the time series. Two different techniques have been used, the MultiTaperMethod and the Monte Carlo Singular Spectral Analysis. Both highlight oscillations corresponding to 2.4–2.7 year periods which are found to be driven by the North Atlantic Oscillation.     

Understanding the impacts of climate change and human activities on streamflow: a case study of the Soan River basin,Pakistan

Urmia Lake, as one of the most valuable saline ecosystems in the world, has faced a sharp drop in the water level in recent years. The trend studies of climatic parameters can be effective in identifying the responsible factors and managing this crisis. This research investigated the frequency trend of daily precipitation in the ranges of less than 5 mm, 5–10 mm, 10–15 mm, 15–20 mm, and more than 20 mm in the Urmia Lake basin. The trend was assessed using Mann-Kendall, Spearman Rho and linear regression tests on 60 stations during a period of 30 years (1981 to 2011). The results showed that in all the three tests, the frequency of daily precipitation of less than 5 mm had a significant increase at 1% level. The 5–10 mm range displayed no significant trend, while the 10–15 mm range showed a significantly decreasing trend. The frequency in the 15–20 mm and above 20 mm ranges showed an insignificant falling trend. The analysis also indicated jumps in 1996 and 1999 (almost coinciding with the sharp drop in the lake’s water level). In other words, the frequency trends of daily precipitation with small amounts (as a result, high evapotranspiration loss) were increasing and with large amounts were decreasing. This can be a contributor to reduced run-off and, hence, decreased water entering the lake. The results emphasize the need for changes in the management and consumption of water resources in the basin, in order to adapt to the climatic change.     

Propagation characteristic of atmospheric responses to abnormal warm SST in the Kuroshio Extension in winter

A complete picture of changes in climate extremes has been presented for Shanxi Province, China using data from all 61 available stations. The results reveal large spatial coherence of trends for the majority of extremes, especially for temperature extremes. Significant and symmetric increasing trends of the annual mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures (TXam, TNam) are detected over the past 50 years. Significant positive trends are detected for warm days and nights (TX90p, TN90p), the highest and lowest maximum and minimum temperatures (TXx, TXn, TNx, TNn), and the growing season length (GSL). Significant negative trends are revealed for cold days and nights (TX10p, TN10p) and frost days (FD). Significant decreases are found in the number of heavy precipitation days (R10mm) and wet day precipitation (PRCPTOT). Although Shanxi and the northern half of North China Plain (NNCP) have been grouped into the North China region and assessed together in previous studies for China, the changes in climate extremes in the NNCP have some pronounced differences in comparison with Shanxi. Noticeably, the increase of the TNam is at a rate nearly three times that of the TXam during 1959–2008 over the NNCP. The warming for the nighttime indices TN90p, TN10p, TNx, and TNn is stronger, but the warming for the daytime indices TX10p, TX90p, and TXx is weaker in the NNCP. There is no significant decrease for R10mm and PRCPTOT in the NNCP.     

Summer weather characteristics and periodicity observed over the period 1888–2013 in the region of Belgrade,Serbia

With the goal of finding summer climate patterns in the region of Belgrade (Serbia) over the period 1888–2013, different techniques of multivariate statistical analysis were used in order to analyze the simultaneous changes of a number of climatologic parameters. An increasing trend of the mean daily minimum temperature was detected. In the recent decades (1960–2013), this increase was much more pronounced. The number of days with the daily minimum temperature greater or equal to 20 °C also increased significantly. Precipitation had no statistically significant trend. Spectral analysis showed a repetitive nature of the climatologic parameters which had periods that roughly can be classified into three groups, with the durations of the following: (1) 6 to 7 years, (2) 10 to 18 years, and (3) 21, 31, and 41 years. The temperature variables mainly had one period of repetitiveness of 5 to 7 years. Among other variables, the correlations of regional fluctuations of the temperature and precipitation and atmospheric circulation indices were analyzed. The North Atlantic oscillation index had the same periodicity as that of the precipitation, and it was not correlated to the temperature variables. Atlantic multidecadal oscillation index correlated well to the summer mean daily minimum and summer mean temperatures. The underlying structure of the data was analyzed by principal component analysis, which detected the following four easily interpreted dimensions: More sunshine-Higher temperature, Precipitation, Extreme heats, and Changeable summer.     

Mediterranean climate extremes in synoptic downscaling assessments

The behaviour of precipitation and maximum temperature extremes in the Mediterranean area under climate change conditions is analysed in the present study. In this context, the ability of synoptic downscaling techniques in combination with extreme value statistics for dealing with extremes is investigated. Analyses are based upon a set of long-term station time series in the whole Mediterranean area. At first, a station-specific ensemble approach for model validation was developed which includes (1) the downscaling of daily precipitation and maximum temperature values from the large-scale atmospheric circulation via analogue method and (2) the fitting of extremes by generalized Pareto distribution (GPD). Model uncertainties are quantified as confidence intervals derived from the ensemble distributions of GPD-related return values and described by a new metric called “ratio of overlapping”. Model performance for extreme precipitation is highest in winter, whereas the best models for maximum temperature extremes are set up in autumn. Valid models are applied to a 30-year period at the end of the twenty-first century (2070–2099) by means of ECHAM5/MPI-OM general circulation model data for IPCC SRES B1 scenario. The most distinctive future changes are observed in autumn in terms of a strong reduction of precipitation extremes in Northwest Iberia and the Northern Central Mediterranean area as well as a simultaneous distinct increase of maximum temperature extremes in Southwestern Iberia and the Central and Southeastern Mediterranean regions. These signals are checked for changes in the underlying dynamical processes using extreme-related circulation classifications. The most important finding connected to future changes of precipitation extremes in the Northwestern Mediterranean area is a reduction of southerly displaced deep North Atlantic cyclones in 2070–2099 as associated with a strengthened North Atlantic Oscillation. Thus, the here estimated future changes of extreme precipitation are in line with the discourse about the influence of North Atlantic circulation variability on the changing climate in Europe.     

The role of land-surface processes in modulating the Indian monsoon annual cycle

The annual cycle of solar radiation, together with the resulting land–ocean differential heating, is traditionally considered the dominant forcing controlling the northward progression of the Indian monsoon. This study makes use of a state-of-the-art atmospheric general circulation model in a realistic configuration to conduct “perpetual” experiments aimed at providing new insights into the role of land–atmosphere processes in modulating the annual cycle of precipitation over India. The simulations are carried out at three important stages of the monsoon cycle: March, May, and July. Insolation and SSTs are held fixed at their respective monthly mean values, thus eliminating any external seasonal forcing. In the perpetual May experiment both precipitation and circulation are able to considerably evolve only by regional internal land–atmosphere processes and the mediation of soil hydrology. A large-scale equilibrium state is reached after approximately 270 days, closely resembling mid-summer climatological conditions. As a result, despite the absence of external forcing, intense and widespread rains over India are able to develop in the May-like state. The interaction between soil moisture and circulation, modulated by surface heating over the northwestern semi-arid areas, determines a slow northwestward migration of the monsoon, a crucial feature for the existence of desert regions to the west. This also implies that the land–atmosphere system in May is far from being in equilibrium with the external forcing. The inland migration of the precipitation front comprises a succession of large-scale 35–50 day coupled oscillations between soil moisture, precipitation, and circulation. The oscillatory regime is self-sustained and entirely due to the internal dynamics of the system. In contrast to the May case, minor changes in the land–atmosphere system are found when the model is initialized in March and, more surprisingly, in July, the latter case further emphasizing the role of northwestern surface heating.     

Spatial and temporal characteristics of intraseasonal oscillations of precipitation over the United States

Summary  This study shows that precipitation over the United States has two time scales of intraseasonal variation at about 37 days and 24 days. The results are derived from the application of a combination of statistical methods including principal component analysis (PCA), singular spectrum analysis (SSA), and multi-channel singular spectrum analysis (MSSA) to over 10 years of gridded daily precipitation records. Both oscillations have largest amplitude during the cold season. The 37-day oscillation has larger interannual variability. Intraseasonal oscillations are most significant in the Pacific Northwest. The 37-day oscillation has opposite phases between the western and eastern United States, while the 24-day oscillation has the same phases. These intraseasonal time scale precipitation variations may be associated with previously revealed mid-tropospheric circulation anomalies that oscillate at similar time scales. Received February 7, 2000 Revised October 20, 2000     

Simulation of Indian summer monsoon intraseasonal oscillations in a superparameterized coupled climate model: need to improve the embedded cloud resolving model

The characteristic features of Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and monsoon intraseasonal oscillations (MISO) are analyzed in the 25 year simulation by the superparameterized Community Climate System Model (SP-CCSM). The observations indicate the low frequency oscillation with a period of 30–60 day to have the highest power with a dominant northward propagation, while the faster mode of MISO with a period of 10–20 day shows a stationary pattern with no northward propagation. SP-CCSM simulates two dominant quasi-periodic oscillations with periods 15–30 day and 40–70 day indicating a systematic low frequency bias in simulating the observed modes. Further, contrary to the observation, the SP-CCSM 15–30 day mode has a significant northward propagation; while the 40–70 day mode does not show prominent northward propagation. The inability of the SP-CCSM to reproduce the observed modes correctly is shown to be linked with inability of the cloud resolving model (CRM) to reproduce the characteristic heating associated with the barotropic and baroclinic vertical structures of the high-frequency and the low-frequency modes. It appears that the superparameterization in the General Circulation Model (GCM) certainly improves seasonal mean model bias significantly. There is a need to improve the CRM through which the barotropic and baroclinic modes are simulated with proper space and time distribution.