Quantifying the sensitivity of simulated climate change to model configuration

This study used “factor separation” to quantify the sensitivity of simulated present and future surface temperatures and precipitation to alternative regional climate model physics components. The method enables a quantitative isolation of the effects of using each physical component as well as the combined effect of two or more components. Simulation results are presented from eight versions of the Mesoscale Modeling System Version 5 (MM5), one-way nested within one version of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies Atmosphere-Ocean Global Climate Model (GISS AOGCM). The MM5 simulations were made at 108 km grid spacing over the continental United States for five summers in the 1990s and 2050s. Results show that the choice of cumulus convection parameterization is the most important “factor” in the simulation of contemporary surface summer temperatures and precipitation over both the western and eastern USA. The choice of boundary layer scheme and radiation package also increases the range of model simulation results. Moreover, the alternative configurations give quite different results for surface temperature and precipitation in the 2050s. For example, simulated 2050s surface temperatures by the scheme with the coolest 1990s surface temperatures are comparable to 1990s temperatures produced by other schemes. The study analyzes the spatial distribution of 1990s to 2050s projected changes in the surface temperature for the eight MM5 versions. The predicted surface temperature change at a given grid point, averaged over all eight model configurations, is generally about twice the standard deviation of the eight predicted changes, indicating relative consensus among the different model projections. Factor separation analysis indicates that the choice of cumulus parameterization is the most important modeling factor amongst the three tested contributing to the computed 1990s to 2050s surface temperature change, although enhanced warming over many areas is also attributable to synergistic effects of changing all three model components. Simulated ensemble mean precipitation changes, however, are very small and generally smaller than the inter-model standard deviations. The MM5 versions therefore offer little consensus regarding 1990s to 2050s changes in precipitation rates.     

Development of an arc-shaped precipitation system during the pre-monsoon period in Bangladesh

A numerical simulation is performed to understand the features and development processes of the arc-shaped precipitation system that dominates in Bangladesh during the pre-monsoon (March–May) period. An arc-shaped precipitation system of 26 April 2002 is simulated using the Cloud Resolving Storm Simulator (CReSS) with a horizontal grid increment of 2 km. The Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model is used for downscaling. Hourly outputs of the finest domain (grid increment of 5 km) of MM5 and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Reynolds weekly mean sea surface temperature data are used as the initial and boundary conditions for CReSS. Younger and more intense cells are formed in the southwestern end of the system. These cells move northeastward and merge with the system producing intense rainfalls. Simulation results indicate that low-level southwesterly or southerly wind brings warm moist air from the Bay of Bengal and helps develop new cells. The propagation speed of the system is 8 m/s, and the northeastern end moves faster than the southwestern end, creating clockwise rotation of the system. The propagation speed and the rotation of the simulated system coincide well with radar observations. The clockwise rotation of the system can be explained by the stronger (weaker) outflow and weaker (stronger) inflow in the northeastern (southwestern) end. The propagation of the system is attributable to the weak (≤7 m/s, storm relative) rear-to-front flow in the moist environment. Thus, the arc-shaped precipitation system common to the pre-monsoon period in Bangladesh develops through a balance of strong southwesterly or southerly moist inflow in the low altitudes below 2 km and relatively weak outflow in the rear of the system.     

Extreme precipitation in WRF during the Newcastle East Coast Low of 2007

In the context of regional downscaling, we study the representation of extreme precipitation in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, focusing on a major event that occurred on the 8^th of June 2007 along the coast of eastern Australia (abbreviated “Newy”). This was one of the strongest extra-tropical low-pressure systems off eastern Australia in the last 30 years and was one of several storms comprising a test bed for the WRF ensemble that underpins the regional climate change projections for eastern Australia (New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory Regional Climate Modelling Project, NARCliM). Newy provides an informative case study for examining precipitation extremes as simulated by WRF set up for regional downscaling. Here, simulations from the NARCliM physics ensemble of Newy available at ～10 km grid spacing are used. Extremes and spatio-temporal characteristics are examined using land-based daily and hourly precipitation totals, with a particular focus on hourly accumulations. Of the different physics schemes assessed, the cumulus and the boundary layer schemes cause the largest differences. Although the Betts-Miller-Janjic cumulus scheme produces better rainfall totals over the entire storm, the Kain-Fritsch cumulus scheme promotes higher and more realistic hourly extreme precipitation totals. Analysis indicates the Kain-Fritsch runs are correlated with larger resolved grid-scale vertical moisture fluxes, which are produced through the influence of parameterized convection on the larger-scale circulation and the subsequent convergence and ascent of moisture. Results show that WRF qualitatively reproduces spatial precipitation patterns during the storm, albeit with some errors in timing. This case study indicates that whilst regional climate simulations of an extreme event such as Newy in WRF may be well represented at daily scales irrespective of the physics scheme used, the representation at hourly scales is likely to be physics scheme dependent.     

催化对降水区域外效应的中尺度数值模拟

The Fifth-Generation NCAR/Penn State Mesoscale Model (MM5) has been used to investigate the extra-area effects of silver iodide (AgI) seeding on stratiform clouds performed at the supercooled layer.A bulk two-moment microphysical scheme and the new software package for silver iodide are incorporated in MM5.Extra conservation equations are applied to trace the seeding agent,which is transported along the flow field and interacts with the supercooled cloud fields.In this study,the model was run using three nested grids,with 3.3 km × 3.3 km horizontal resolution in the finest grid.The model results showed that seeding with AgI at the 5 to 15℃ levels had microphysical effects on the simulated clouds and that the simulation produced a longer-lasting seeding effect because of the transport of the seeding agent by upper-level winds.Most of the AgI particles acted as deposition nuclei,and the deposition nucleation process contributed mostly to additional cloud ice formation in this study.The results showed that more precipitation results from seeded than unseeded case,and the precipitation was redistributed downwind of the target.Augmented precipitation (varying from 5% to 25% downwind) was confined in space to within 250 km of the seeding target and in time to the 3-h period after initial seeding.     

卫星遥感地表植被及其在华南暴雨中尺度数值模拟中的应用试验

将我国植被资料和NCAR资料分别用于非静力平衡中尺度模式MM5, 对1998年5月23~24日华南暴雨进行数值模拟试验, 比较其对降水量和动力热力场预报的影响, 结果表明, 当网格格距为45 km时, 二者差别很小, 当网格格距减小到5~15 km, 预报降水量最大值增加了12%~14%, 更接近观测值, 同时对低层大气热力动力结构也有一定影响。     

中国地区IPCC A1B情景下21世纪中期气候变化的数值模拟试验

利用MM5V3区域气候模式单向嵌套ECHAM5全球环流模式的结果,对中国地区实际温室气体浓度下当代气候(1981—2000年)及IPCC A1B情景下21世纪中期气候(2041—2060年)分别进行了水平分辨率为50 km的模拟试验。首先检验全球和区域模式对当代气候的模拟情况,结果表明:区域模式对中国地区地面温度和降水空间分布的模拟能力优于全球模式;与实际观测相比,区域模式模拟的地面温度在中国大部分地区偏低,模拟的降水量偏多,降水位置偏北。IPCCA1B情景下中国地区21世纪中期气候变化的模式结果显示:各季节地面温度在全国范围内都将比当代升高1.2～3.9℃,且升温幅度具有北方大于南方、冬季大于夏季的时空分布特征;降水变化具有一定的区域性和季节性,秋季和冬季降水在全国大部分地区都将增加10%～30%,春季和夏季降水则呈现"北方减少、南方增多"的趋势,变化幅度在-10%～10%之间。21世纪中期地面温度和降水变化还具有一定的年际特征:地面温度在中国地区各子区域均表现为上升趋势,升温速率在0.7～0.9℃/10a之间,温度变率也比当代有所增大;降水在西北地区略呈下降趋势,在其它子区域均为上升,降水变率的变化具有区域性特征。     

上海区域降水集合预报系统的建立与运行结果的检验

以MM5模式为基础, 从预报模式的不确定性出发形成8个集合成员, 建立了上海区域降水集合预报系统。该系统实现从资料收集、资料处理、模式预报到预报结果处理与产品输出的全自动化, 于2005年8月1日开始业务运行, 运行稳定可靠。对系统8—10月的运行结果进行检验, 结果表明:集合预报系统对降水的总体预报效果尚可, 其中对量级小的降水的总体预报效果更好, 集合预报产品尤其是概率预报产品具有一定的参考价值, 但系统还存在发散度偏小的问题, 有待进一步改进。     

不同降水方案对"03.7"一次暴雨过程模拟的影响

观测和数值模拟研究已经表明,潜热释放对中国东部夏季梅雨锋系统及其锋面降水的维持和发展发挥着非常重要的作用.然而,目前对于梅雨锋降水模拟中各种降水方案的相互协调和系统评估方面的工作仍不多见,为了增进对梅雨锋暴雨模拟中降水过程的认识,作者针对2003年7月4～5日一次梅雨锋暴雨过程,构造了四组试验,利用MM5模式考察了两种分辨率(36 km、12 km),各种隐/显式方案搭配下,对所生成的雨带、雨量和降水类型的配置进行了仔细的研究,得到了一些有意义的结论,为今后更好地使用模式、利用数值模式来认识中尺度降水过程中的气象问题打下基础.主要结论包括:模拟总降水的水平分布和强度,以及显式降水和隐式降水的划分对积云参数化方案的选择非常敏感.但对特定积云参数化方案而言,降水的模拟对36 km、12 km水平分辨率不敏感(除Betts-Miller方案外);在中尺度网格分辨率10～50 km范围内,不同积云参数化方案对梅雨锋降水分布和降水量模拟的影响比不同显式方案带来的变化大得多.     

The thermodynamic influence of subgrid orography in a global climate model

Assessments of the impacts of climate change typically require information at scales of 10 km or less. Such a resolution in global climate simulations is unlikely for at least two decades. We have developed an alternative to explicit resolution that provides a framework for meeting the needs of climate change impact assessment much sooner. We have applied to a global climate model a physically based subgrid-scale treatment of the influence of orography on temperature, clouds, precipitation, and land surface hydrology. The treatment represents subgrid variations in surface elevation in terms of fractional area distributions of discrete elevation classes. For each class it calculates the height rise/descent of air parcels traveling through the grid cell, and applies the influence of the rise/descent to the temperature and humidity profiles of the elevation class. Cloud, radiative, and surface processes are calculated separately for each elevation class using the same physical parametrizations used by the model without the subgrid orography parametrization. The simulated climate fields for each elevation class can then be distributed in post-processing according to the spatial distribution of surface elevation within each grid cell. Parallel 10-year simulations with and without the subgrid treatment have been performed. The simulated temperature, precipitation and snow water are mapped to 2.5-minute (~5 km) resolution and compared with gridded analyses of station measurements. The simulation with the subgrid scheme produces a much more realistic distribution of snow water and significantly more realistic distributions of temperature and precipitation than the simulation without the subgrid scheme. Moreover, the 250-km grid cell means of most other fields are virtually unchanged by the subgrid scheme. This suggests that the tuning of the climate model without the subgrid scheme is also applicable to the model with the scheme.     

Multi-decadal scenario simulation over Korea using a one-way double-nested regional climate model system. Part 1: recent climate simulation (1971–2000)

We present an analysis of a high resolution multi-decadal simulation of recent climate (1971–2000) over the Korean Peninsula with a regional climate model (RegCM3) using a one-way double-nested system. Mean climate state as well as frequency and intensity of extreme climate events are investigated at various temporal and spatial scales, with focus on surface air temperature and precipitation. The mother intermediate resolution model domain encompasses the eastern regions of Asia at 60 km grid spacing while the high resolution nested domain covers the Korean Peninsula at 20 km grid spacing. The simulation spans the 30-year period of January 1971 through December 2000, and initial and lateral boundary conditions for the mother domain are provided from ECHO-G fields based on the IPCC SRES B2 scenario. The model shows a good performance in reproducing the climatological and regional characteristics of surface variables, although some persistent biases are present. Main results are as follows: (1) The RegCM3 successfully simulates the fine-scale structure of the temperature field due to topographic forcing but it shows a systematic cold bias mostly due to an underestimate of maximum temperature. (2) The frequency distribution of simulated daily mean temperature agrees well with the observed seasonal and spatial patterns. In the summer season, however, daily variability is underestimated. (3) The RegCM3 simulation adequately captures the seasonal evolution of precipitation associated to the East Asia monsoon. In particular, the simulated winter precipitation is remarkably good, clearly showing typical precipitation patterns that occur on the northwestern areas of Japan during the winter monsoon. Although summer precipitation is underestimated, area-averaged time series of precipitation over Korea show that the RegCM3 agrees better with observations than ECHO-G both in terms of seasonal evolution and precipitation amounts. (4) Heavy rainfall phenomena exceeding 300 mm/day are simulated only at the high resolution of the double nested domain. (5) The model shows a tendency to overestimate the number of precipitation days and to underestimate the precipitation intensities. (6) A CSEOF analysis reveals that the model captures the strength of the annual cycle and the surface warming trend throughout the simulated period.     

Precipitation,temperature and wind in Norway: dynamical downscaling of ERA40

A novel downscaling approach of the ERA40 (ECMWF 40-years reanalysis) data set has been taken and results for comparison with observations in Norway are shown. The method applies a nudging technique in a stretched global model, focused in the Norwegian Sea (67°N, 5°W). The effective resolution is three times the one of the ERA40, equivalent to about 30 km grid spacing in the area of focus. Longer waves (<T42) in the downscaled solution are nudged towards the ERA40 solution, and thus the large-scale circulation is similar in the two data sets. The shorter waves are free to evolve, and produce high intensities of winds and precipitation. The comparison to observations incorporate numerous station data points of (1) precipitation (#357), (2) temperature (#98) and (3) wind (#10), and for the period 1961–1990, the downscaled data set shows large improvements over ERA40. The daily precipitation shows considerable reduction in bias (from 50 to 11%), and twofold reduction at the 99.9 percentile (from −59 to −29%). The daily temperature showed a bias reduction of about a degree in most areas, and relative large RMSE reduction (from 7.5 to 5.0°C except winter). The wind comparison showed a slight improvement in bias, and significant improvements in RMSE.     

GRAPES-MESO模式浅对流参数化的改进与试验

参考Berg 等2005、2013年提出的扰动对流触发函数方法,对GRAPES-Meso模式积云对流参数化方案(KF eta)中的浅对流激发进行改进设计和试验,将单一的温、湿度触发改为对近地层进行一组温度、湿度扰动后的触发,并且用与该组扰动相关的边界层温、湿度分布确定的联合概率密度函数(JPDF)来表征浅对流云的特征参量及计算浅对流的强度。 着重分析了改进方案的浅对流激发、浅对流对环境场的反馈、模式地面降水和2 m气温的相关响应等,并与原方案和相关观测比较,验证了改进方案的合理性。 结果显示,改进方案比原方案能较早地激发出浅对流,且浅对流的激发频次高,浅对流激发的增加致使在模式低层距地数百米至2—3 km的垂直层内对环境温、湿度场和云雨水反馈增大,对GRAPES-Meso浅对流激发偏弱有改进作用,并对格点尺度与次网格尺度降水分配比不协调有改进。 对连续两个月批量试验的检验表明,浅对流激发的改进,可对GRAPES-Meso的24 h降水预报技巧的提高和2 m气温偏差的减小等产生不同程度的正影响。     

多普勒雷达PPI资料在数值模式MM5中的应用

利用多普勒天气雷达观测的回波强度资料,估测大气的湿度值。假定回波强度大于4 0dBz的区域,相对湿度为1 0 0 % ,小于2 0dBz的区域相对湿度为90 % ,2 0～4 0dBz区域的相对湿度按线性变化求取。对应各点的温度值由MM5控制试验得出。然后通过迭代处理,求出对应各点的露点温度,通过以上步骤把雷达观测的回波强度值转换为模式中直接使用的物理变量,用于模式计算。为了验证该方法的可行性,进行了模拟试验,个例选用2 0 0 1年7月1 3日安徽全椒暴雨过程。背景场采用T2 1 3资料,加上常规探空,地面资料,通过分析形成控制试验的初始场。将安徽合肥新一代天气雷达观测的回波强度按上述方法加入到MM5中,形成敏感试验的初始场。水平网格为1 0 3×1 0 3,格距为1 0km ,垂直分33层,中心位置为31 0 0°N、1 1 7 6 6°E。试验结果表明,加入雷达资料后降水中心位置预报有明显改进。说明上述方法是可行的。     

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.     

bbGPS/PWV资料三维变分同化改进MM5降水预报连续试验的评估

利用区域地基GPS网反演的高时空密度的大气垂直方向水汽总量,也称为可降水量（PWV）,可大大弥补常规探空探测水汽资料的不足。为了全面评估区域GPS网PWV资料同化对业务数值天气预报改进程度的目的,在个例研究分析的基础上,进行了连续38天的GPS/PWV资料三维同化（3D-Var）改进数值业务预报的试验。研究方法是根据长江三角洲地区GPS气象网在2002年梅雨和盛夏季节观测的刖资料,通过三维变分同化建立中尺度数值预报模式MM5的初始场,逐日作出长江三角洲地区24小时的降水量预报。以6小时累积雨量为对象,与未同化GPS／刖资料的MM5的相应预报比较,通过多种评分方法,评估了GPS／PWV资料改进MM5降水预报的效果。结果表明GPS／PWV资料同化后的MM5降水预报能力在大部分时间和大部分地区都有所提高,主要是伪击率有较明显的下降,对小范围降水预报的改进更为明显。预报明显改进的区域恰好位于GPS站填补常规探空站间距较大的地区。     

The sensitivity of numerical forecasts to convective parameterization during the warm period and the use of lightning data as an indicator for convective occurrence

The sensitivity of numerical model quantitative precipitation forecasts to the choice of the convective parameterization scheme (CPS) is examined for twenty selected cases characterized by intense convective activity and widespread precipitation over Greece, during the warm period of 2005–2007. Namely, the study is conducted using MM5 model and the following three different CPSs: Kain–Fritsch, Grell and Betts–Miller–Janjic. Sixty numerical simulations were carried out on two nested domains, with horizontal grid increments of 24 and 8 km respectively. The simulated precipitation from the 8-km grid was verified against raingauge measurements and lightning data provided by the ZEUS long-range lightning detection system, operated by the National Observatory of Athens. Verification results showed that for all three schemes the model presented a tendency to overestimate light to moderate rain while in general it underestimated the high precipitation amounts. The validation against both sources of data showed that among the three CPSs, the more consistent behavior in quantitative precipitation forecasting was obtained by the Kain–Fritsch scheme that provided the best statistical scores. However, the differences of the results of statistical analysis between the Kain–Fritsch and Grell schemes were not large.     

Extreme daily precipitation in Belgrade and their links with the prevailing directions of the air trajectories

The main goal of this study was to present the statistical analysis of the daily precipitation exceeding 20 mm in Belgrade and their links with the prevailing directions of the air trajectories at 500, 1,500 and 5,000 m. For the extreme precipitation analysis, the generalised extreme value (GEV) distribution and generalised Pareto distribution (GPD) were used. The estimated return levels for 100- and 10-year return periods using GEV and GPD were obtained. Four-day backward trajectory simulations were conducted for days with precipitation exceeding 20 mm to investigate the regional transport of the air moisture towards Belgrade using the hybrid single-particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory model. The air trajectories were classified into 13 trajectory categories by the origin and direction of their approach to Belgrade. Three of the most frequent categories of air flow from south-west, south-east and north-west contributed to more than a half of the observed precipitation. Almost 74.5 % of precipitation totals in Belgrade fell during the warmer part of the year. These were directly connected with the intensive convection of colder and humid, usually maritime, air masses.     

近38年中国气温和降水的1 km网格数据集

对中国38年的气温和降水进行了空间插值分析,选取最优模型去生成1km网格数据集,为中国大陆的植被分布、气候变化和环境生态等研究提供支持。基于国家气象中心839个气象站的逐日气温和降水数据,用经度、纬度和海拔作为ANUSPLIN软件插值的3个变量,对降水进行开平方预处理,采用3次样条的薄盘光滑样条法,得到了1980—2017年中国大陆月平均气温和月累计降水1km网格插值数据集。数据集的广义交叉验证均方根(RTGCV)和均方根误差(RMSE)具有年周期性和明显的季节变化特征;各站点的平均误差(MBE)的频率分布近似正态分布,绝对误差(MAE)的空间分布也符合中国大陆气候的变化特征。数据集在精准度和时间序列上较新,且提供公共下载服务,可为全国陆地生态系统的研究提供信息支持。     

The sensitivity of African easterly waves to eastern tropical Atlantic sea-surface temperatures

The results of two regional atmospheric model simulations are compared to assess the influence of the eastern tropical Atlantic sea-surface temperature maximum on local precipitation, transient easterly waves and the West African summer monsoon. Both model simulations were initialized with reanalysis 2 data (US National Center for Environmental Prediction and Department of Energy) on 15 May 2006 and extended through 6 October 2006, forced by synchronous reanalysis 2 lateral boundary conditions introduced four times daily. One simulation uses 2006 reanalysis 2 sea-surface temperatures, also updated four times daily, while the second simulation considers ocean forcing absent the sea-surface temperature maximum, achieved here by subtracting 3°K at every ocean grid point between 0° and 15°N during the entire simulation. The simulation with 2006 sea-surface temperature forcing produces a realistic distribution of June?CSeptember mean precipitation and realistic westward propagating swaths of maximum rainfall, based on validation against Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) estimates. The simulation without the sea-surface temperature maximum produces only 57% of the control June?CSeptember total precipitation over the eastern tropical Atlantic and about 83% of the Sahel precipitation. The simulation with warmer ocean temperatures generates generally stronger circulation, which in turn enhances precipitation by increasing moisture convergence. Some local precipitation enhancement is also attributed to lower vertical thermal stability above the warm water. The study shows that the eastern tropical Atlantic sea-surface temperature maximum enhances the strength of transient easterly waves and broadens the spatial extent of associated precipitation. However, large-scale circulation and its interaction with the African continent, and not sea-surface temperatures, control the timing and trajectories of the waves.     

Effects of air pollution on precipitation in Kraków (Cracow), Poland in the years 1971–2005

Daily precipitation data from the period 1971–2005 from four stations in and around Kraków (Cracow), Poland (one urban and three rural ones) were analysed in order to find out whether the 80% decrease in air pollution after 1989 had an impact on the atmospheric precipitation amount and spatial distribution. The analyses were performed for the whole 35-year series and in two 17-year sub-periods: 1972–1988 (high air pollution) and 1989–2005 (low air pollution). No decreasing or increasing trend in the precipitation totals at the particular stations studied in the period 1971–2005 has been observed. The precipitation totals from 1972–1988 differ significantly from the ones of 1989–2005 only in case of Igo?omia (one of the rural stations) in winter and at the urban station in autumn. The spatial pattern of precipitation did not change after 1989. The changes in air pollution affected the spatial pattern of days with precipitation mainly in spring and autumn for daily totals above 5 mm.