Coupled atmosphere-ocean-vegetation simulations for modern and mid-Holocene climates: role of extratropical vegetation cover feedbacks

A full global atmosphere-ocean-land vegetation model is used to examine the coupled climate/vegetation changes in the extratropics between modern and mid-Holocene (6,000 year BP) times and to assess the feedback of vegetation cover changes on the climate response. The model produces a relatively realistic natural vegetation cover and a climate sensitivity comparable to that realized in previous studies. The simulated mid-Holocene climate led to an expansion of boreal forest cover into polar tundra areas (mainly due to increased summer/fall warmth) and an expansion of middle latitude grass cover (due to a combination of enhanced temperature seasonality with cold winters and interior drying of the continents). The simulated poleward expansion of boreal forest and middle latitude expansion of grass cover are consistent with previous modeling studies. The feedback effect of expanding boreal forest in polar latitudes induced a significant spring warming and reduced snow cover that partially countered the response produced by the orbitally induced changes in radiative forcing. The expansion of grass cover in middle latitudes worked to reinforce the orbital forcing by contributing a spring cooling, enhanced snow cover, and a delayed soil water input by snow melt. Locally, summer rains tended to increase (decrease) in areas with greatest tree cover increases (decreases); however, for the broad-scale polar and middle latitude domains the climate responses produced by the changes in vegetation are relatively much smaller in summer/fall than found in previous studies. This study highlights the need to develop a more comprehensive strategy for investigating vegetation feedbacks.     

The Decadal Shift of the Summer Climate in the Late 1980s over Eastern China and Its Possible Causes

In this paper, it is pointed out that a notable decadal shift of, the summer climate in eastern China occurred in the late 1980s. In association with this decadal climate shift, after the late 1980s more precipitation appeared in the southern region of eastern China （namely South China）, the western Pacific subtropical high stretched farther westward with a larger south-north extent, and a strengthened anticyclone at 850 hPa appeared in the northwestern Pacific. The decadal climate shift of the summer precipitation in South China was accompanied with decadal changes of the Eurasian snow cover in boreal spring and sea surface temperature （SST） in western North Pacific in boreal summer in the late 1980s. After the late 1980s, the spring Eurasian snow cover apparently became less and the summer SST in western North Pacific increased obviously, which were well correlated with the increase of the South China precipitation. The physical processes are also investigated on how the summer precipitation in China was affected by the spring Eurasian snow cover and summer SST in western North Pacific. The change of the spring Eurasian snow cover could excite a wave-train in higher latitudes, which lasted from spring to summer. Because of the wave-train, an abnormal high appeared over North China and a weak depression over South China, leading to more precipitation in South China. The increase of the summer SST in the western North Pacific reduced the land-sea thermal contrast and thus weakened the East Asian summer monsoon, also leading to more precipitation in South China.     

中国东部夏季气候20世纪80年代后期的年代际转型及其可能成因

指出了中国东部夏季气候在20世纪80年代末出现了一次明显的年代际气候转型.伴随着这次年代际转型,80年代末以后中国东部南方地区降水明显增多,500 hPa西太平洋副热带高压西伸且南北范围变大,西北太平洋上空850 hPa反气旋增强.中国东部夏季80年代后期出现南方多雨的年代际转型与欧亚大陆春季积雪、西北太平洋夏季海面温度的年代际变化存在密切联系,它们也都在80年代末出现年代际转型.从80年代末以后,伴随着欧亚大陆春季积雪明显减少和西北太平洋夏季海面温度明显增高,中国夏季南方降水明显增加.文中分析了欧亚大陆春季积雪和西北太平洋夏季海面温度影响中国降水的物理过程,指出欧亚大陆春季积雪能够在500 hPa激发出大气中的遥相关波列,所激发出的波列可以从春季一直持续到夏季,造成中国北方为高压控制,南方为微弱低压控制,使得降水出现在中国南方.西北太平洋夏季海面温度的升高能够减小海陆热力差异,使得夏季风减弱,导致中国南方地区降水增多.     

Evaluating the influence of different vegetation biomes on the global climate

The participation of different vegetation types within the physical climate system is investigated using a coupled atmosphere-biosphere model, CCM3-IBIS. We analyze the effects that six different vegetation biomes (tropical, boreal, and temperate forests, savanna, grassland and steppe, and shrubland/tundra) have on the climate through their role in modulating the biophysical exchanges of energy, water, and momentum between the land-surface and the atmosphere. Using CCM3-IBIS we completely remove the vegetation cover of a particular biome and compare it to a control simulation where the biome is present, thereby isolating the climatic effects of each biome. Results from the tropical and boreal forest removal simulations are in agreement with previous studies while the other simulations provide new evidence as to their contribution in forcing the climate. Removal of the temperate forest vegetation exhibits behavior characteristic of both the tropical and boreal simulations with cooling during winter and spring due to an increase in the surface albedo and warming during the summer caused by a reduction in latent cooling. Removal of the savanna vegetation exhibits behavior much like the tropical forest simulation while removal of the grassland and steppe vegetation has the largest effect over the central United States with warming and drying of the atmosphere in summer. The largest climatic effect of shrubland and tundra vegetation removal occurs in DJF in Australia and central Siberia and is due to reduced latent cooling and enhanced cold air advection, respectively. Our results show that removal of the boreal forest yields the largest temperature signal globally when either including or excluding the areas of forest removal. Globally, precipitation is most affected by removal of the savanna vegetation when including the areas of vegetation removal, while removal of the tropical forest most influences the global precipitation excluding the areas of vegetation removal.     

A Possible Impact of Cooling over the Tibetan Plateau on the Mid-Holocene East Asian Monsoon Climate

By using a 9-level global atmospheric general circulation model developed at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP9L-AGCM) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the authors investigated the response of the East Asian monsoon climate to changes both in orbital forcing and the snow and glaciers over the Tibetan Plateau at the mid-Holocene, about 6000 calendar years before the present (6 kyr BP). With the Earth’s orbital parameters appropriate for the mid-Holocene, the IAP9L-AGCM computed warmer and wetter conditions in boreal summer than for the present day. Under the precondition of continental snow and glacier cover existing over part of the Tibetan Plateau at the mid-Holocene, the authors examined the regional climate response to the Tibetan Plateau cooling. The simulations indicated that climate changes in South Asia and parts of central Asia as well as in East Asia are sensitive to the Tibetan Plateau cooling at the mid-Holocene, showing a significant decrease in precipitation in northern India, northern China and southern Mongolia and an increase in Southeast Asia during boreal summer. The latter seems to correspond to the weakening, southeastward shift of the Asian summer monsoon system resulting from reduced heat contrast between the Eurasian continent and the Pacific and Indian Oceans when a cooling over the Tibetan Plateau was imposed. The simulation results suggest that the snow and glacier environment over the Tibetan Plateau is an important factor for mid-Holocene climate change in the areas highly influenced by the Asian monsoon.     

Climate change impact on snow and soil temperature in boreal Scots pine stands

Scenarios indicate that the air temperature will increase in high latitude regions in coming decades, causing the snow covered period to shorten, the growing season to lengthen and soil temperatures to change during the winter, spring and early summer. To evaluate how a warmer climate is likely to alter the snow cover and soil temperature in Scots pine stands of varying ages in northern Sweden, climate scenarios from the Swedish regional climate modelling programme SWECLIM were used to drive a Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer (SVAT)-model (COUP). Using the two CO₂ emission scenarios A and B in the Hadley centres global climate model, HadleyA and HadleyB, SWECLIM predicts that the annual mean air temperature and precipitation will increase at most 4.8°C and 315 mm, respectively, within a century in the study region. The results of this analysis indicate that a warmer climate will shorten the period of persistent snow pack by 73–93 days, increase the average soil temperature by 0.9–1.5°C at 10 cm depth, advance soil warming by 15–19 days in spring and cause more soil freeze–thaw cycles by 31–38%. The results also predict that the large current variations in snow cover due to variations in tree interception and topography will be enhanced in the coming century, resulting in increased spatial variability in soil temperatures.     

The albedo of temperate and boreal forest and the Northern Hemisphere climate: a sensitivity experiment using the LMD GCM

A deforestation experiment is performed using the Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique Atmospheric General Circulation Model (LMD GCM) to determine the climatic role of the largest vegetation formation in the Northern Hemisphere, localized mostly north of latitude 45°N, which is called the temperate and boreal forest. For this purpose, an iterative albedo scheme based on vegetation type, snow age, snowfall rate and area of snow cover, is developed for snow-covered surfaces. The results show a cooling of Northern Hemisphere soil and an increase in the snow cover when the forest is removed, as found by previous similar experiments.In our study this cooling is related to different causes, depending on the season. It is linked to modifications in the soil radiative properties, like surface albedo, due to the disappearance of forest, and consequently, to a greater exposure of the snow-covered soil underneath. It is also related to alterations in the hydrological cycle, observed mainly in summer and autumn at middle latitudes. The model shows a strong sensitivity to the coupled surface albedo — soil temperature — fractional snow cover response in the spring. A later and longer snowmelt season is also detected.This study adds to our understanding of climatic variation on longer time scales, since it is widely accepted that the formation and disappearance of different vegetation formations is closely related to climatic evolution patterns, in particular on the time scale of the glacial oscillations.     

Synergistic feedbacks between ocean and vegetation on mid- and high-latitude climates during the mid-Holocene

Simulations with the IPSL atmosphere–ocean model asynchronously coupled with the BIOME1 vegetation model show the impact of ocean and vegetation feedbacks, and their synergy, on mid- and high-latitude (>40°N) climate in response to orbitally-induced changes in mid-Holocene insolation. The atmospheric response to orbital forcing produces a +1.2 °C warming over the continents in summer and a cooling during the rest of the year. Ocean feedback reinforces the cooling in spring but counteracts the autumn and winter cooling. Vegetation feedback produces warming in all seasons, with largest changes (+1 °C) in spring. Synergy between ocean and vegetation feedbacks leads to further warming, which can be as large as the independent impact of these feedbacks. The combination of these effects causes the high northern latitudes to be warmer throughout the year in the ocean–atmosphere-vegetation simulation. Simulated vegetation changes resulting from this year-round warming are consistent with observed mid-Holocene vegetation patterns. Feedbacks also impact on precipitation. The atmospheric response to orbital-forcing reduces precipitation throughout the year; the most marked changes occur in the mid-latitudes in summer. Ocean feedback reduces aridity during autumn, winter and spring, but does not affect summer precipitation. Vegetation feedback increases spring precipitation but amplifies summer drying. Synergy between the feedbacks increases precipitation in autumn, winter and spring, and reduces precipitation in summer. The combined changes amplify the seasonal contrast in precipitation in the ocean–atmosphere-vegetation simulation. Enhanced summer drought produces an unrealistically large expansion of temperate grasslands, particularly in mid-latitude Eurasia.     

Snow-albedo feedback and Swiss spring temperature trends

We quantify the effect of the snow-albedo feedback on Swiss spring temperature trends using daily temperature and snow depth measurements from six station pairs for the period 1961?C2011. We show that the daily mean 2-m temperature of a spring day without snow cover is on average 0.4?°C warmer than one with snow cover at the same location. This estimate is comparable with estimates from climate modelling studies. Caused by the decreases in snow pack, the snow-albedo feedback amplifies observed temperature trends in spring. The influence is small and confined to areas around the upward-moving snow line in spring and early summer. For the 1961?C2011 period, the related temperature trend increases are in the order of 3?C7?% of the total observed trend.     

Ice-free glacial northern Asia due to dust deposition on snow

During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 kyr BP), no large ice sheets were present in northern Asia, while northern Europe and North America (except Alaska) were heavily glaciated. We use a general circulation model with high regional resolution and a new parameterization of snow albedo to show that the ice-free conditions in northern Asia during the LGM are favoured by strong glacial dust deposition on the seasonal snow cover. Our climate model simulations indicate that mineral dust deposition on the snow surface leads to low snow albedo during the melt season. This, in turn, caused enhanced snow melt and therefore favoured snow-free peak summer conditions over almost the entire Asian continent during the LGM, whereas perennial snow cover is simulated over a large part of eastern Siberia when glacial dust deposition is not taken into account.     

Impacts of boreal hydroelectric reservoirs on seasonal climate and precipitation recycling as simulated by the CRCM5: a case study of the La Grande River watershed,Canada

Located in northern Quebec, Canada, eight hydroelectric reservoirs of a 9782-km² maximal area cover 6.4% of the La Grande watershed. This study investigates the changes brought by the impoundment of these reservoirs on seasonal climate and precipitation recycling. Two 30-year climate simulations, corresponding to pre- and post-impoundment conditions, were used. They were generated with the fifth-generation Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM5), fully coupled to a 1D lake model (FLake). Seasonal temperatures and annual energy budget were generally well reproduced by the model, except in spring when a cold bias, probably related to the overestimation of snow cover, was seen. The difference in 2-m temperature shows that reservoirs induce localized warming in winter (+0.7 ± 0.02 °C) and cooling in the summer (−0.3 ± 0.02 °C). The available energy at the surface increases throughout the year, mostly due to a decrease in surface albedo. Fall latent and sensible heat fluxes are enhanced due to additional energy storage and availability in summer and spring. The changes in precipitation and runoff are within the model internal variability. At the watershed scale, reservoirs induce an additional evaporation of only 5.9 mm year⁻¹ (2%). We use Brubaker’s precipitation recycling model to estimate how much of the precipitation is recycled within the watershed. In both simulations, the maximal precipitation recycling occurs in July (less than 6%), indicating weak land-atmosphere coupling. Reservoirs do not seem to affect this coupling, as precipitation recycling only decreased by 0.6% in July.

     

Sensitivity of the Asian summer monsoon to an anomalous Eurasian snow cover within the Météo-France GCM

Both observational and numerical studies suggest that the Eurasian winter snow cover has a strong influence on the subsequent summer monsoon in Asia. An updated version of the ARPEGE climate model of Météo-France, including a simple but physically-based snow parameterization, is used to test the impact of an increased snow mass prescribed at the beginning of March on the simulated summer monsoon circulation and rainfall. The large-scale features of the Asian monsoon are reproduced in a realistic way in the control integration, which is a necessary premise of such a sensitivity test. In the heavy snow cover experiment, the anomalous persistence of the winter snow pack delays the springtime continental heating. This weakens the thermal low over northern India and Persia as well as the southwesterly winds over the monsoon area. There is also a significant decrease in the rainfall over western India and Bengal-Burma, which usually represent the centers of maximum precipitation. Radiative, turbulence transfer and hydrological processes seem to be involved in the snow-monsoon relationship. The changes in the monsoon precipitation are strongly related to changes in the atmospheric circulation and are not reinforced by a local evaporation/convection feedback in our experiment. Received: 17 May 1995 / Accepted: 27 November 1995     

Effects of Land Use on the Climate of the United States

Land use practices have replaced much of the natural needleleaf evergreen, broadleaf deciduous, and mixed forests of the Eastern United States with crops. To a lesser extent, the natural grasslands in the Central United States have also been replaced with crops. Simulations with a land surface process model coupled to an atmospheric general circulation model show that the climate of the United States with modern vegetation is significantly different from that with natural vegetation. Three important climate signals caused by modern vegetation are: (1) 1 °C cooling over the Eastern United States and 1 °C warming over the Western United States in spring; (2) summer cooling of up to 2 °C over a wide region of the Central United States; and (3) moistening of the near-surface atmosphere by 0.5 to 1.5 g kg^-1over much of the United States in spring and summer. Although individual months show large, statistically significant differences in precipitation due to land-use practices, these differences average out over the course of the 3-month seasons. These changes in surface temperature and moisture extend well into the atmosphere, up to 500 mb, and affect the boundary layer and atmospheric circulation. The altered climate is due to reduced surface roughness, reduced leaf and stem area index, reduced stomatal resistance, and increased surface albedo with modern vegetation compared to natural vegetation. The climate change caused by land use practices is comparable to other well known anthropogenic climate forcings. For example, it would take 100 to 175 years at the current, observed rate of summer warming over the United States to offset the cooling from deforestation. The summer sulfate aerosol forcing completely offsets the greenhouse forcing over the Eastern United States. Similarly, the climatic effect of North American deforestation, with extensive summer cooling, further offsets the greenhouse forcing.     

Response of rangeland vegetation to snow cover dynamics in Nepal Trans Himalaya

Global climate change is expected to result in greater variation in snow cover and subsequent impacts on land surface hydrology and vegetation production in the high Trans Himalayan region (THR). This paper examines how the changes in timing and duration of snow cover affect the spatio-temporal pattern of rangeland phenology and production in the region. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) 16-day normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data from 2000 to 2009 and concurrent snow cover, precipitation and temperature data were analyzed. In contrast to numerous studies which have suggested that an earlier start of the season and an extension of the length of the growing season in mid and higher latitude areas due to global warming, this study shows a delay in the beginning of the growing season and the peak time of production, and a decline in the length of growing season in the drier part of THR following a decline and a delay in snow cover. Soil moisture in the beginning of the growing season and consequent rangeland vegetation production in drier areas of the THR was found to be strongly dependent upon the timing and duration of snow cover. However, in the wetter part of the THR, an earlier start of season, a delay in end of season and hence a longer growing season was observed, which could be attributed to warming in winter and early spring and cooling in summer and late spring and changes in timing of snow melt. The study shows a linear positive relationship between rangeland vegetation production and snow cover in the drier parts of THR, a quadratic relationship near to permanent snow line, and a negative linear relationship in wetter highlands. These findings suggest that, while temperature is important, changes in snow cover and precipitation pattern play more important roles in snow-fed, drier regions for rangeland vegetation dynamics.     

POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTION OF A TROPICAL CYCLONE TO SHORT-TERM CLIMATE ANOMALIES IN EAST ASIA VIA SNOW COVER ON THE TIBETAN PLATEAU

Snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) has been shown to be essential for the East Asian summer monsoon. In this paper, we demonstrate that tropical cyclone (TC) 04B (1999) in the northern Indian Ocean, which made landfall during the autumn of 1999, may have contributed to climate anomalies over East Asia during the following spring and summer by increasing snow cover on the TP. Observations indicate that snow cover on the TP increased markedly after TC 04B (1999) made landfall in October of 1999. Sensitivity experiments, in which the TC was removed from a numerical model simulation of the initial field, verified that TC 04B (1999) affected the distribution as well as increased the amount of snow on the TP. In addition, the short-term numerical modeling of the climate over the region showed that the positive snow cover anomaly induced negative surface temperature, negative sensible heat flux, positive latent heat flux, and positive soil temperature anomalies over the central and southern TP during the following spring and summer. These climate anomalies over the TP were associated with positive (negative) summer precipitation anomalies over the Yangtze River valley (along the southeastern coast of China).     

春季欧亚大陆积雪对春夏季南北半球大气质量交换的可能影响

本文基于春季欧亚雪盖资料与大气再分析资料的奇异值分解(SVD)分析结果,结合数值试验,研究了春季欧亚大陆积雪变化与春、夏季南北半球大气质量交换的联系。研究表明,当春季欧亚积雪异常偏多时,同期欧亚大陆中高纬大范围地区的地面气温异常偏低,这种冷却效应可能持续至夏季,同时,冷空气的堆积造成了欧亚大陆地表气压(气柱大气质量)的增加,并且对应了夏季北半球大气总质量的异常上升,而南半球大气质量却明显下降。分析发现,春季欧亚积雪异常与夏季南北半球际大气质量涛动存在显著的滞后相关,而且前者还与同期及后期包括索马里急流和对流层上部80°E~120°E区域高空急流在内的多处越赤道气流变化联系密切。从数值模拟结果分析发现,以改变春季初始积雪状况作为驱动,欧亚大陆中高纬地区的低层大气环流出现了显著响应,即当积雪增加时,同期及其后夏季地面气温显著降低,并且冷异常区域对应着气柱质量的异常升高。     

The simulated atmospheric response to expansion of the Arctic boreal forest biome

Over the last century, the Arctic has warmed at twice the rate of the planet as a whole. Observational evidence indicates that this rapid warming is affecting the tundra and boreal forest biomes by changing their structure and geographic distribution. A global climate model (GCM) was used to explore the atmospheric response to boreal forest expansion by applying a one-grid cell shift of the forest into tundra. This subtle shift is meant to represent the expansion that would occur this century rather than more extreme scenarios predicted by dynamic vegetation models. Results show that this shift causes an average annual warming of 0.3 °C over the region because of a reduction in the surface albedo and an increase in net radiation. A warming of ~1.0 °C occurs in spring when the forest masks the higher albedo snow-covered surface and results in snowmelt and a reduction in cloud cover. Results fail to show a larger-scale dynamical response although some warming of the lower and mid troposphere occurs in July. No changes were found in the position or strength of the Arctic frontal zone as some studies have indicated will occur with a shift in the boreal forest-tundra boundary. These findings suggest that coupled model simulations that predict larger changes in vegetation distribution are likely overemphasizing the amount of Arctic warming that will occur this century. These findings also indicate that a realistic dynamical response to subtle land cover change might not be correctly simulated by GCMs run at coarse spatial resolutions.     

A scenario of European climate change for the late twenty-first century: seasonal means and interannual variability

A scenario of European climate change for the late twenty-first century is described, using a high-resolution state-of-the-art model. A time-slice approach is used, whereby the atmospheric general circulation model, HadAM3P, was integrated for two periods, 1960–1990 and 2070–2100, using the SRES A2 scenario. For the first time an ensemble of such experiments was produced, along with appropriate statistical tests for assessing significance. The focus is on changes to the statistics of seasonal means, and includes analysis of both multi-year means and interannual variance. All four seasons are assessed, and anomalies are mapped for surface air temperature, precipitation and snow mass. Mechanisms are proposed where these are dominated by straightforward local processes. In winter, the largest warming occurs over eastern Europe, up to 7°C, mean snow mass is reduced by at least 80% except over Scandinavia, and precipitation increases over all but the southernmost parts of Europe. In summer, temperatures rise by 6–9°C south of about 50°N, and mean rainfall is substantially reduced over the same area. In spring and autumn, anomalies tend to be weaker, but often display patterns similar to the preceding season, reflecting the inertia of the land surface component of the climate system. Changes in interannual variance are substantial in the solsticial seasons for many regions (note that for precipitation, variance estimates are scaled by the square of the mean). In winter, interannual variability of near-surface air temperature is considerably reduced over much of Europe, and the relative variability of precipitation is reduced north of about 50°N. In summer, the (relative) interannual variance of both variables increases over much of the continent.     

Relationship between winter snow cover days in Northeast China and rainfall near the Yangtze River basin in the following summer

Based on observed snow and precipitation data and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data,the relationship between the number of winter snow cover days in Northeast China and the following summer’s rainfall in the northern part of southern China is analyzed and the possible underlying mechanisms are discussed.The results indicate that a negative relationship is significant throughout the study period,especially more obvious after the 1980s.The pre-winter circulation patterns in years with more snow cover days and less summer rainfall in the south bank of the Yangtze River are almost the same.In years with more snow cover days,lower temperatures at the lower level over Northeast China are found in winter and spring.The winter monsoon is weaker and retreats later in these years than in those with fewer snow cover days.In spring of years with more snow cover days,anomalous cyclonic circulation is observed over Northeast China,and anomalous northerly wind is found in eastern China.In summer of these years,anomalous northeasterly wind at the lower level is found from the area south of the Yangtze River to the East China Sea and Yellow Sea;and with less southwesterly water vapor transport,the rainfall in the area south of the Yangtze River is less than normal,and the opposite patterns are true in years with fewer snow cover days.In recent years,the stable relationship between winter snow cover in Northeast China and summer rainfall in the Yangtze River basin can be used for summer rainfall prediction.The results are of great importance to short-term climate prediction for summer rainfall.