Summer interactions between weather regimes and surface ocean in the North-Atlantic region

This study aims at understanding the summer ocean-atmosphere interactions in the North Atlantic European region on intraseasonal timescales. The CNRMOM1d ocean model is forced with ERA40 (ECMWF Re-Analysis) surface fluxes with a 1-h frequency in solar heat flux (6 h for the other forcing fields) over the 1959–2001 period. The model has 124 vertical levels with a vertical resolution of 1 m near the surface and 500 m at the bottom. This ocean forced experiment is used to assess the impact of the North Atlantic weather regimes on the surface ocean. Composites of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies associated with each weather regime are computed and the mechanisms explaining these anomalies are investigated. Then, the SST anomalies related to each weather regime in the ocean-forced experiment are prescribed to the ARPEGE Atmosphere General Circulation Model. We show that the interaction with the surface ocean induces a positive feedback on the persistence of the Blocking regime, a negative feedback on the persistence of the NAO-regime and favours the transition from the Atlantic Ridge regime to the NAO-regime and from the Atlantic Low regime toward the Blocking regime.     

海温异常影响长期天气过程研究的进展

众所周知,地球大气的运动,广泛受到下垫面的影响,特别是下垫面的加热效应对大尺度大气运动的影响更为重要。由于地球表面海洋占整个面积71%,所以海洋作为大气运动的下垫面的主要组成部分,对于大气运动可产生控制作用。同时,海洋具有较大的热惯性,其热容量比大气大1200倍之多,这样,海洋是一种大气储存热量的机构。对于长期     

An assessment of European synoptic variability in Hadley Centre Global Environmental models based on an objective classification of weather regimes

The frequency of occurrence of persistent synoptic-scale weather patterns over the European and North-East Atlantic regions is examined in a hierarchy of climate model simulations and compared to observational re-analysed data. A new objective method, employing pattern correlation techniques, has been constructed for classifying daily-mean mean-sea-level pressure and 500 hPa geopotential height fields with respect to a set of 29 European weather regime types, based on the widely known subjective Grosswetterlagen (GWL) system of the German Weather Service. The objective method is described and applied initially to ERA40 and NCEP re-analysis data. While the resulting daily Objective-GWL catalogue shows some systematic differences with respect to the subjectively-derived original GWL series, the method is shown to be sufficiently robust for application to climate model output. Ensemble runs from the most recent development of the Hadley Centre’s Global Environmental model, HadGEM1, in atmosphere-only, coupled and climate change scenario modes are analysed with regards to European synoptic variability. All simulations successfully exhibit a wide spread of GWL occurrences across all regime types, but some systematic differences in mean GWL frequencies are seen in spite of significant levels of interdecadal variability. These differences provide a basis for estimating local anomalies of surface temperature and precipitation over Europe, which would result from circulation changes alone, in each climate simulation. Comparison to observational re-analyses shows a clear and significant improvement in the simulation of realistic European synoptic variability with the development and resolution of the atmosphere-only models.     

定量降水预报技术进展

利用2016—2019年ECWMF模式降水预报及对应时段的观测资料,设计了最优百分位(OP)、最优TS评分(OTS)、概率匹配(PM)、分区OTS和分区PM-OTS融合共5种方案,对数值模式晴雨预报展开了订正试验。结果表明：(1) OP和PM方案的晴雨订正阈值为静态阈值,OTS方案为动态阈值。5种方案的阈值均适用于A区(盆地、阿坝州和甘孜州北部),其中PM、分区PM-OTS融合方案阈值更适用于数值模式湿偏差明显的B区(甘孜州南部和攀西地区)。(2) 各方案对ECWMF模式晴雨预报均有明显的订正能力,24 h时效订正效果最优,B区订正效果优于A区,秋冬季节优于春夏季节。(3) 分区后的订正方案晴雨评分优于分区前,其中分区PM-OTS融合方案评分最优。个例和批量试验表明,A区各方案订正效果相当,B区以PM、分区OTS和分区PM-OTS融合3种方案订正后的雨区分布与实况更接近,其中分区PM-OTS融合方案订正效果最优。

     

Impact of soil moisture and winter wheat height from the Loess Plateau in Northwest China on surface spectral albedo

The understanding of surface spectral radiation and reflected radiation characteristics of different surfaces in different climate zones aids in the interpretation of regional surface energy transfers and the development of land surface models. This study analysed surface spectral radiation variations and corresponding surface albedo characteristics at different wavelengths as well as the relationship between 5-cm soil moisture and surface albedo on typical sunny days during the winter wheat growth period. The analysis was conducted using observational Loess Plateau winter wheat data from 2015. The results show that the ratio of atmospheric downward radiation to global radiation on typical sunny days is highest for near-infrared wavelengths, followed by visible wavelengths and ultraviolet wavelengths, with values of 57.3, 38.7 and 4.0%, respectively. The ratio of reflected spectral radiation to global radiation varies based on land surface type. The visible radiation reflected by vegetated surfaces is far less than that reflected by bare ground, with surface albedos of 0.045 and 0.27, respectively. Thus, vegetated surfaces absorb more visible radiation than bare ground. The atmospheric downward spectral radiation to global radiation diurnal variation ratios vary for near-infrared wavelengths versus visible and ultraviolet wavelengths on typical sunny days. The near-infrared wavelengths ratio is higher in the morning and evening and lower at noon. The visible and ultraviolet wavelengths ratios are lower in the morning and evening and higher at noon. Visible and ultraviolet wavelength surface albedo is affected by 5-cm soil moisture, demonstrating a significant negative correlation. Excluding near-infrared wavelengths, correlations between surface albedo and 5-cm soil moisture pass the 99% confidence test at each wavelength. The correlation with 5-cm soil moisture is more significant at shorter wavelengths. However, this study obtained surface spectral radiation characteristics that were affected by land surface vegetation coverage as well as by soil physical properties.     

The role of atmospheric internal variability on the prediction skill of interannual North Pacific sea-surface temperatures

The sensitivity of the sea-surface temperature (SST) prediction skill to the atmospheric internal variability (weather noise) in the North Pacific (20^°–60^°N;120^°E–80^°W) on decadal timescales is examined using state-of-the-art Climate Forecasting System model version 2 (CFS) and a variation of CFS in an Interactive Ensemble approach (CFSIE), wherein six copies of atmospheric components with different perturbed initial states of CFS are coupled with the same ocean model by exchanging heat, momentum and fresh water fluxes dynamically at the air-sea interface throughout the model integrations. The CFSIE experiments are designed to reduce weather noise and using a few ten-year long forecasts this study shows that reduction in weather noise leads to lower SST forecast skill. To understand the pathways that cause the reduced SST prediction skill, two twenty-year long forecasts produced with CFS and CFSIE for 1980-2000 are analyzed for the ocean subsurface characteristics that influence SST due to the reduction in weather noise in the North Pacific. The heat budget analysis in the oceanic mixed layer across the North Pacific reveals that weather noise significantly impacts the heat transport in the oceanic mixed layer. In the CFSIE forecasts, the reduced weather noise leads to increased variations in heat content due to shallower mixed layer, diminished heat storage and enhanced horizontal heat advection. The enhancement of the heat advection spans from the active Kuroshio regions of the east coast of Japan to the west coast of continental United States and significantly diffuses the basin-wide SST anomaly (SSTA) contrasts and leads to reduction in the SST prediction skill in decadal forecasts.     

Impact of snow variability on the Swiss winter tourism sector: implications in an era of climate change

An analysis procedure is developed to explore the robustness and overall productivity of reservoir management under plausible assumptions about climate fluctuation and change. Results are presented based on a stylized version of a multi-use reservoir management model adapted from Angat Dam, Philippines. Analysis focuses on October-March, during which climatological inflow declines as the dry season arrives, and reservoir management becomes critical and challenging. Inflow is assumed to be impacted by climate fluctuations representing interannual variation (white noise), decadal to multidecadal variability (MDV, here represented by a stochastic autoregressive process) and global change (GC), here represented by a systematic linear trend in seasonal inflow total over the simulation period of 2008–2047. Stochastic (Monte Carlo) simulations are undertaken to explore reservoir performance. In this way, reservoir reliability and risk of extreme persistent water deficit are assessed in the presence of different combinations and magnitudes of GC and MDV. The effectiveness of dynamic management is then explored as a possible climate change adaptation practice, focusing on reservoir performance in the presence of a 20 % downward inflow trend. In these dynamic management experiments, the October-March water allocation each year is adjusted based on seasonal forecasts and updated climate normals. The results illustrate how, in the near-term, MDV can be as significant as GC in impact for this kind of climate-related problem. The results also illustrate how dynamic management can mitigate the impacts. Overall, this type of analysis can deliver guidance on the expected benefits and risks of different management strategies and climate scenarios.     

The impact of weather variability on British outbound flows

Climate can be understood both as a resource and a motivation for tourism. This study focuses on the second issue trying to establish the sensitivity to weather anomalies of the outbound flows from United Kingdom, the third biggest international tourist spender country. Using transfer function models it is possible to analyze the significance of the short-term weather conditions in the determination of outbound British flows and simulate the effects of different climate change scenarios. Results show how mean temperature, heat waves, air frost and sunshine days are the weather variables that can be significantly related to the dynamics of the outbound British flows time series.     

不同区域海温对亚洲夏季副热带西风急流变异主模态的影响

利用1979—2014年ERA Interim再分析资料和NCAR CAM5.1大气环流模式,围绕海温对夏季亚洲急流变异主模态的影响展开研究。首先通过理论分析和动力诊断方法,对急流主模态的物理特征进行分析,并证实了海温与急流变异的显著联系。随后基于观测结果设计数值试验方案,探究不同区域海温对急流演变的具体贡献。结果表明,急流第一模态与太平洋及印度洋异常海温紧密联系,在二者相似的贡献下,高层异常风场表现为沿急流轴线南北偏移的纬向对称分布;急流第二模态的上、下游风场则受到不同海表热源影响,在印度洋、太平洋及北大西洋异常海温的协同作用下,亚洲上空形成了四极型纬向非对称的风场分布。该结果有利于更加综合地认识亚洲夏季副热带急流的变异特征,也为研究海温对急流的影响效应提供了新的依据。     

Influence of the intraseasonal variability on heat waves in subtropical South America

The influence of the intraseasonal variability on heat wave development over subtropical South America during austral summer is analyzed. The role of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) on this development is documented. Results show that intraseasonal variability can explain on average at least 32% of summer temperature variance. Moreover, 73% of the heat waves in subtropical South America develop in association with an active SACZ. The analysis of pentad maps shows that warm conditions in the region under study develop in association with the strengthening of an anticyclonic anomaly, which is discernible over the subtropical regions at least 15?days before temperature peak occurrence. That circulation anomaly is embedded in a large-scale Rossby wave train extending along the South Pacific Ocean that is linked to convection anomalies at the equatorial western and central Pacific Ocean. In addition, the development of the anticyclonic circulation over subtropical South America appears to be strengthened by the subsidence conditions promoted by the active SACZ, which result in temperature rise in the subtropical region under relatively dry conditions. On the other hand, during the last 2?days of evolution, SACZ activity weakens and the progressive temperature rise in the region is dominated by warmer and moister air being anomalously advected from the north. Results confirm the important role that SACZ activity on intraseasonal time scales has in inducing persistent circulation anomalies at the subtropical regions that can result in the development of persistent heat waves, and very extreme daily temperature.     

Intra-seasonal variability in Oceansat-2 scatterometer sea-surface winds over the Indian summer monsoon region

In September 2009, the Indian Space Research Organisation launched a Ku-band microwave scatterometer (OSCAT) onboard the polar orbiting satellite ‘Oceansat-2’. In this article, the capabilities of the newly available OSCAT sea-surface winds are demonstrated by studying the monsoon intra-seasonal variabilities during the 2010 summer monsoon season. A preliminary validation of OSCAT surface winds with European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) analysis surface winds carried out during June to August 2010 suggests that the quality of the OSCAT winds are able to meet the mission specifications. The observed mean monthly features of the Indian summer monsoon in July and August 2010 from OSCAT match well with those of ECMWF reanalysis winds. The OSCAT winds capture the known characteristics of the Indian summer monsoon, such as the northward propagation of a low level jet, and its preferred locations during active and break monsoon conditions, reasonably well. The Morlet wavelet transform is used for time series analysis. The OSCAT measured sea-surface winds were found to possess two dominant modes of variability during the 2010 monsoon season: one with a periodicity between 32 and 64?days, and another with a periodicity between 8 and 16?days. Rainfall activity over the Indian summer monsoon region is closely associated with the phases of the two above-mentioned dominant intra-seasonal variabilities. This study demonstrates that the OSCAT winds can be used very well and with confidence for meteorological studies.     

一次冬季冰雹的双偏振多普勒天气雷达回波分析

为研究双偏振雷达资料在冬季冰雹监测预警中的应用,利用厦门S波段双偏振雷达资料,分析了2016年12月21日福建漳州冰雹的回波特征。发现在降雹过程中,最强回波达69 dBZ,三体散射回波径向长度达16 km,旁瓣回波切向宽达20 km,低层的钩状回波与入流缺口明显;冰雹区的差分反射率因子Z_(dr)和差分相位常数K_(dp)数值小,冰水混合区的相关系数ρ_(hv)较低。分析表明:此冰雹个例并非典型的超级单体,但存在超级单体的部分偏振回波特征,回波前侧下沉气流存在Z_(dr)弧,可延伸到中层,在入流缺口和后侧下沉气流处,Z_(dr)柱和K_(dp)柱成对出现,中层存在CC的低值环。     

Recurrent climate winter regimes in reconstructed and modelled 500 hPa geopotential height fields over the North Atlantic/European sector 1659–1990

Recurrent climate winter regimes are examined from statistically reconstructed and modelled 500 hPa geopotential height fields over the North Atlantic/European sector for the period 1659–1990. We investigate the probability density function of the state space spanned by the first two empirical orthogonal functions of combined winter data. Regimes are detected as patterns that correspond to areas of the state space with an unexpected high recurrence probability using a Monte Carlo approach. The reconstruction and the model reveal four recurrent climate regimes. They correspond to the two phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation and two opposite blocking patterns. Complemented by the investigation of the temporal evolution of the climate regimes this leads to the conclusion that the reconstructed and the modelled data for this geographic sector reproduce low-frequency atmospheric variability in the form of regime-like behaviour. The overall evidence for recurrent climate regimes is higher for the model than for the reconstruction. However, comparisons with independent data sources for the period 1659–1990 revealed a more realistic temporal evolution of the regimes for the reconstructed data. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Yearly evolution of Euro-Atlantic weather regimes and of their sub-seasonal predictability

It is often assumed that weather regimes adequately characterize atmospheric circulation variability. However, regime classifications spanning many months and with a low number of regimes may not satisfy this assumption. The first aim of this study is to test such hypothesis for the Euro-Atlantic region. The second one is to extend the assessment of sub-seasonal forecast skill in predicting the frequencies of occurrence of the regimes beyond the winter season. Two regime classifications of four regimes each were obtained from sea level pressure anomalies clustered from October to March and from April to September respectively. Their spatial patterns were compared with those representing the annual cycle. Results highlight that the two regime classifications are able to reproduce most part of the patterns of the annual cycle, except during the transition weeks between the two periods, when patterns of the annual cycle resembling Atlantic Low regime are not also observed in any of the two classifications. Forecast skill of Atlantic Low was found to be similar to that of NAO+, the regime replacing Atlantic Low in the two classifications. Thus, although clustering yearly circulation data in two periods of 6 months each introduces a few deviations from the annual cycle of the regime patterns, it does not negatively affect sub-seasonal forecast skill. Beyond the winter season and the first ten forecast days, sub-seasonal forecasts of ECMWF are still able to achieve weekly frequency correlations of r = 0.5 for some regimes and start dates, including summer ones. ECMWF forecasts beat climatological forecasts in case of long-lasting regime events, and when measured by the fair continuous ranked probability skill score, but not when measured by the Brier skill score. Thus, more efforts have to be done yet in order to achieve minimum skill necessary to develop forecast products based on weather regimes outside winter season.

     

天气形势影响对流层顶高度分析

针对寒潮、梅雨锋个例采用全国120个探空站2000—2007年探空资料,根据对流层顶的热力学定义计算对应的天气形势下各站点的对流层顶高度,利用一元线性回归等统计学方法分析不同天气系统控制下的对流层顶高度的变化规律。结果表明:寒潮爆发,对流层顶高度下降,850、700、500 hPa 3层平均温度每下降1oC,对流层顶高度下降2.486 m,位相差为-6.85 m,温度改变对对流层顶改变量的方差贡献率达56.36%,冷高压系统造成控制区气流下沉、对流层顶高度下降。梅雨锋形成期间和暴雨前期,对流层内以上升运动为主,对流层顶高度上升;暴雨结束,对流层顶高度较暴雨前上升30~50 m,幅度与天气形势有关。     

Weather regimes in the South American sector and neighbouring oceans during winter

Climate Dynamics - We classified 34 years of winter daily 500&;nbsp;hPa geopotential height patterns over the eastern South Pacific-South America-South Atlantic region using the K-means...