Global climate changes and moisture conditions in the intracontinental arid zones

In order to estimate a transient response of the local hydrological cycle and vegetation cover in the African monsoon area to global climate changes, a simple two-dimensional water vapor transport model coupled with a carbon cycle model for the soil was used. The key difference from other models is that we take into account a positive feedback between the precipitation and development of the vegetation root system in the underlying surface. As our calculation shows, this feedback is responsible for a long-term transient response of local hydrological cycles to the global temperature changes. In the case of a four component vegetation system - tropical forests, savannah, semi desert and desert, (and 2 °C ocean surface water warming), a new steady-state is reached in about 1500 years.In previous works of other authors, the increase of summer precipitations during Holocene or Last Interglacial could be explained only as a result of the surface temperature increase in the intracontinental parts of Africa. However, from paleodata indicates, the temperature in the intracontinental regions of Africa rather decreased during warm epochs of geological past: Holocene optimum, Last Interglacial and middle Pliocene climatic optimum. Our simple model simulations agree with both paleoprecipitation and paleotemperature data.     

NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF EFFECTS OF LAND SURFACE PROCESSES ON CLIMATE——IMPLEMENTING OF SSiB IN IAP/LASG AGCM AND ITS PERFORMANCE

This is an investigation of exchanges of energy and water between the atmosphere and thevegetated continents,and the impact of and mechanisms for land surface-atmosphere interactionson hydrological cycle and general circulation by implementing the Simplified Simple Biosphere(SSiB)model in a modified version of IAP/LASG global spectral general model(L9R15 AGCM).This study reveals that the SSiB model produces a better partitioning of the land surface heat andmoisture fluxes and its diurnal variations,and also gives the transport of energy and water amongatmosphere,vegetation and soil explicitly and realistically.Thus the coupled SSiB-AGCM runslead to the more conspicuous improvement in the simulated circulation,precipitation,mean watervapor content and its transport.particularly in the Asian monsoon region in the real world thanCTL-AGCM runs.It is also pointed out that both the implementation of land surfaceparameterizations and the variations in land surface into the GOALS model have greatly improvedhydrological balance over continents and have a significant impact on the simulated climate.particularly over the massive continents.Improved precipitation recycling model was employed to verify the mechanisms for landsurface hydrology parameterizations on hydrological cycle and precipitation climatology in AGCM.It can be argued that the recycling precipitation rate is significantly reduced,particularly in the aridand semi-arid region of the boreal summer hemisphere,coincident with remarkable reduction inevapotranspiration over the continental area.Therefore the coupled SSiB-AGCM runs reduce thebias of too much precipitation over land surface in most AGCMs,thereby bringing the simulatedprecipitation closer to observations in many continental regions of the world than CTL-AGCMruns.     

NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF EFFECTS OF LAND SURFACE PROCESSES ON CLIMATE--IMPLEMENTING OF SSiB IN IAP/LASG AGCM AND ITS PERFORMANCE*

This is an investigation of exchanges of energy and water between the atmosphere and the vegetated continents,and the impact of and mechanisms for land surface-atmosphere interactions on hydrological cycle and general circulation by implementing the Simplified Simple Biosphere(SSiB) model in a modified version of IAP/LASG global spectral general model(L9R15 AGCM).This study reveals that the SSiB model produces a better partitioning of the land surface heat and moisture fluxes and its diurnal variations,and also gives the transport of energy and water among atmosphere,vegetation and soil explicitly and realistically.Thus the coupled SSiB-AGCM runs lead to the more conspicuous improvement in the simulated circulation,precipitation,mean water vapor content and its transport.particularly in the Asian monsoon region in the real world than CTL-AGCM runs.It is also pointed out that both the implementation of land surface parameterizations and the variations in land surface into the GOALS model have greatly improved hydrological balance over continents and have a significant impact on the simulated climate.particularly over the massive continents.Improved precipitation recycling model was employed to verify the mechanisms for land surface hydrology parameterizations on hydrological cycle and precipitation climatology in AGCM.It can be argued that the recycling precipitation rate is significantly reduced,particularly in the arid and semi-arid region of the boreal summer hemisphere,coincident with remarkable reduction in evapotranspiration over the continental area.Therefore the coupled SSiB-AGCM runs reduce the bias of too much precipitation over land surface in most AGCMs,thereby bringing the simulatedprecipitation closer to observations in many continental regions of the world than CTL-AGCMruns.     

陆面过程对气候影响的数值模拟:SSiB与IAP/LASG L9R15 AGCM耦合及其模式性能

利用陆面过程模式 SSi B与 IAP/LASG发展的 L9R1 5AGCM的耦合 1 0 a积分试验 ,研究了全球尺度大气与地表的水分和能量交换以及陆地与大气环流和气候的相互作用。模拟表明 :SSi B模式可模拟出陆地上较为真实的表面通量及其日变化 ,较好地定量描述土壤 -植被 -大气连续体系 ( SPAC)中能量和水分的传输过程。因此 ,将其引入气候模式中能够模拟出比 CTL- AGCM更合理的气候平均状态、水汽分布以及水汽输送的气候特征 ,特别是亚洲夏季风水汽输送独特的地域性 ,再现了大气环流 ,尤其是陆面气候的基本特征。并指出 ,陆面过程参数化的引进及其陆面状况的变化显著地改善了全球陆地上的水分平衡状况。利用改进的再循环降水模式 ,进一步研究了陆面过程参数化明显改进降水模拟的物理机制。指出全球陆地 ,特别是盛夏北半球干旱、半干旱地区的再循环降水率明显减小 ,与陆面上表面潜热通量的显著减小区一致 ,从而克服了许多未耦合陆面过程的 AGCMs因对地表水过程非常简单地参数化导致的普遍存在着整个陆地降水偏高 ,改善了全球陆地上的水分平衡状况。因此 ,在充分耦合的陆气环流模式中模拟的降水分布与实况接近。     

大尺度土地利用变化对东亚地表能量、水分循环及气候影响的敏感性试验

利用NCAR大气环流模式CAM4.0,针对潜在植被和当代植被的分布情形进行了两组25 a的积分试验,探讨了土地利用变化对东亚地区地表能量平衡、水分循环和气候的可能影响.结果表明:以森林退化、农田迅速增加为主的当代土地利用变化,显著改变地表属性,使得东亚地区不同季节的地表反照率均明显增加,并显著改变东亚地区的冬、春季节的地表能量和水分循环.此外,当代大尺度土地利用变化对东亚地区大气环流也有一定影响,可引起东亚冬季风环流显著加强和东亚夏季较弱的偏南风异常.当代土地利用变化未能引起东亚地区近地面气温的显著变化,但可引起东亚北(南)部地区春季降水的显著增加(减小).     

气候变化、植被改变及人类用水与黄河流域水循环的研究进展

受气候增暖和人类活动的双重影响,黄河流域的水循环正在发生显著变化,水资源供需矛盾突出。陆地水循环是一个复杂的非线性系统,为清晰认识水循环变化的全貌,并合理高效利用有限的水资源量,需要综合考虑水循环各个要素之间的协同变化机制。同时,在“人类世”背景下,黄河流域水循环研究必须考虑人类活动的影响,主要包括植被变化和人类用水,其中人类用水主体为农业灌溉。自从实施生态恢复工程以来,黄土高原植被覆盖明显改善的同时也引发了对径流、蒸散发、降水、土壤湿度以及地下水的一系列影响,且研究结论还存在一些争议,但黄土高原植被覆盖改善使得该地区蒸散发量增加基本达成共识,大多数研究支持植被改善减少径流的结论。黄河流域的农业灌溉方式主要为大水漫灌,其对地表蒸散发、地表水及地下水多个过程具有重要影响。本文主要针对黄河流域的水循环研究,讨论相关研究进展以及发展方向。     

特殊大地形背景下塔里木盆地夏季降水过程及其大气水分循环结构

对塔里木盆地夏季降水过程和复杂的大气水分循环结构进行了分析,采用常规气象观测、探空及其不同网格NCEP等再分析数据,通过塔里木盆地视热源、水汽汇、涡度、散度三维动力结构以及相关小波周期分析、水汽输送通道相关矢量场及其Fluxpart轨迹模型等各类方法,综合剖析该区域大气热源与夏季降水过程及其水分循环结构特征。计算分析结果表明塔里木盆地沙漠边界层辐射强日变化叠加上周边C型大地形“山谷风”效应,导致高山环抱盆地及沙漠区的独特水、热过程与局地环流特征。     

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF VEGETATION COVER FACTOR ON BOUNDARY LAYER CLIMATE IN SEMI-ARID REGION

A numerical model has been developed for simulating land-surface processes and atmosphericboundary layer climate of vegetation and desert in semi-arid region.Dynamically,thermal andhydrological processes take place in the atmospheric boundary layer.Vegetation and surface layerof soil are included in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere coupled system,in which,vegetation isconsidered as a horizontally uniform layer,soil is divided into 13 layers and the horizontaldifferences of variables in the system are neglected.The influence of local boundary layer climateby vegetation cover factor is simulated with the coupled model in the semi-arid region of NorthwestChina (around 38°N,105°E).Results indicate that due to significant differences of water andenergy budgets in vegetation and desert region,the air is colder and wetter over the vegetation andcorrespondingly an obvious local circulation in the lower atmosphere is formed.Simulating results also show that maximum updraft and downdraft occur around thevegetation-desert marginal area,where the dynamical and thermodynamical properties of PBL(Planetary Boundary Layer) are uncontinuous.It is stronger at daytime,weaker and reverse atnighttime.In the simulation,the moisture inversion phenomena are analyzed.Finally.theinfluences of vegetation cover factor exchange on local boundary layer climate are simulated.Thesimulating results bring to light that water may be conserved and improved by developing treeplanting and afforestation,and improving cover factor of vegetation in local ecoenvironment,andthis is an important way of transforming local climate in arid and semi-arid area.Results indicatethat the coupled model can be used to study the soil-vegetation-atmosphere interaction and localboundary layer climate.     

Global effect of irrigation and its impact on the onset of the Indian summer monsoon

In a context of increased demand for food and of climate change, the water consumptions associated with the agricultural practice of irrigation focuses attention. In order to analyze the global influence of irrigation on the water cycle, the land surface model ORCHIDEE is coupled to the GCM LMDZ to simulate the impact of irrigation on climate. A 30-year simulation which takes into account irrigation is compared with a simulation which does not. Differences are usually not significant on average over all land surfaces but hydrological variables are significantly affected by irrigation over some of the main irrigated river basins. Significant impacts over the Mississippi river basin are shown to be contrasted between eastern and western regions. An increase in summer precipitation is simulated over the arid western region in association with enhanced evapotranspiration whereas a decrease in precipitation occurs over the wet eastern part of the basin. Over the Indian peninsula where irrigation is high during winter and spring, a delay of 6?days is found for the mean monsoon onset date when irrigation is activated, leading to a significant decrease in precipitation during May to July. Moreover, the higher decrease occurs in June when the water requirements by crops are maximum, exacerbating water scarcity in this region. A significant cooling of the land surfaces occurs during the period of high irrigation leading to a decrease of the land-sea heat contrast in June, which delays the monsoon onset.     

Global and Regional Impacts of Vegetation on the Hydrological Cycle and Energy Budget as Represented by the Community Atmosphere Model （CAM3）

The effects of vegetation and its seasonal variation on energy and the hydrological cycle were examined using a state-of-the-art Community Atmosphere Model （CAM3）. Three 15-year numerical experiments were completed： the first with realistic vegetation characteristics varying monthly （VEG run）, the second without vegetation over land （NOVEG run）, and the third with the vegetation characteristics held at their annual mean values （VEGMEAN run）. In these models, the hydrological cycle and land surface energy budget were widely affected by vegetation. Globaland annual-mean evapotranspiration significantly increased compared with the NOVEG by 11.8% in the VEG run run, while runoff decreased by 13.2% when the realistic vegetation is incorporated. Vegetation plays different roles in different regions. In tropical Asia, vegetation-induced cooling of the land surface plays a crucial role in decreasing tropical precipitation. In middle latitudes and the Amazon region, however, the vegetation-induced increase of evapotranspiration plays a more important role in increasing precipitation. The seasonal variation of vegetation also shows clear influences on the hydrological cycle and energy budget. In the boreal mid-high latitudes where vegetation shows a strong seasonal cycle, evapotranspiration and precipitation are higher in the summer in the VEG run than in the VEGMEAN run.     

A Green Planet Versus a Desert World: Estimating the Maximum Effect of Vegetation on the Land Surface Climate

We quantify the maximum possible influence of vegetation on the global climate by conducting two extreme climate model simulations: in a first simulation (desert world), values representative of a desert are used for the land surface parameters for all non glaciated land regions. At the other extreme, a second simulation is performed (green planet) in which values are used which are most beneficial for the biosphere's productivity. Land surface evapotranspiration more than triples in the presence of the green planet, land precipitation doubles (as a second order effect) and near surface temperatures are lower by as much as 8 K in the seasonal mean resulting from the increase in latent heat flux. The differences can be understood in terms of more absorbed radiation at the surface and increased recycling of water. Most of the increase in net surface radiation originates from less thermal radiative loss and not from increases in solar radiation which would be expected from the albedo change. To illustrate the differences in climatic character and what it would imply for the vegetation type, we use the Köppen climate classification. Both cases lead to similar classifications in the extra tropics and South America indicating that the character of the climate is not substantially altered in these regions. Fundamental changes occur over Africa, South Asia and Australia, where large regions are classified as arid (grassland/desert) climate in the desert world simulation while classified as a forest climate in the green planet simulation as a result of the strong influence of maximum vegetation on the climate. This implies that these regions are especially sensitive to biosphere-atmosphere interaction.     

陆面植被类型对华北地区夏季降水影响的数值模拟研究

为了检验陆面植被类型变化对华北地区夏季降水的影响,共做了５组数值试验,结果表明,在华北地区以草原或沙漠代替落叶林后,华北地区夏季降水略有减少,但降水总量变化不大,这主要是由于降水变化的区域分布不一致所致;在华北西北部以沙漠代替草原后,华北地区平均降水有所增加,这主要是由华北北部地区降水增加引起的。上述三个试验中,华北 中部以南地区的降水变化主要由积云对流降水变化引起,以北主要由大尺度降水变化引起。     

青藏高原及其周边地区降水的水汽来源变化研究进展

近几十年来,随着全球气候变暖,青藏高原降水整体呈现增加趋势,气候暖湿化趋势明显;与此同时,位于青藏高原东南缘的中国西南地区整体上呈现暖干化趋势,干旱事件频发。探讨青藏高原及其周边地区降水的水汽来源变化、揭示降水趋势性变化的原因已经成为当前研究热点。本文评述了近年来青藏高原降水的水汽来源研究,重点关注青藏高原变湿、西南地区变干的水汽来源变化原因以及青藏高原南北水汽来源差异,讨论了尚未解决的科学问题,展望了未来研究方向。现有研究表明,青藏高原以西的西风带控制区蒸散发贡献的水汽整体呈现减少趋势,青藏高原以南和以东的季风控制区蒸散发贡献的水汽整体呈现增加趋势,上述水汽源区贡献变化导致了青藏高原及其周边不同区域降水趋势性变化的差异。展望未来,水汽来源分析的模型和数据需要进一步验证及减少不确定性,青藏高原下垫面和蒸散发变化对周边地区降水的影响机制研究有待加强,全球变化与青藏高原降水水汽来源变化的关系尚需深入分析。     

On the vertical distribution of local and remote sources of water for precipitation

Summary The vertical distribution of local and remote sources of water for precipitation and total column water over the United States are evaluated in a general circulation model simulation. The Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) general circulation model (GCM) includes passive constituent tracers to determine the geographical sources of the water in the column. Results show that the local percentage of precipitable water and local percentage of precipitation can be very different. The transport of water vapor from remote oceanic sources at mid and upper levels is important to the total water in the column over the central United States, while the access of locally evaporated water in convective precipitation processes is important to the local precipitation ratio. This result resembles the conceptual formulation of the convective parameterization. However, the formulations of simple models of precipitation recycling include the assumption that the ratio of the local water in the column is equal to the ratio of the local precipitation. The present results demonstrate the uncertainty in that assumption, as locally evaporated water is more concentrated near the surface. Received November 14, 2001 Revised December 28, 2001     

1982-2012年北半球荒漠草原过渡带植被物候特征及其与气候因子的关系

基于GIMMS（global inventory modeling and mapping studies）NDVI 3g数据,在提取北半球荒漠草原过渡带每年植被物候期的基础上,研究了1982-2012年物候期的时间演化趋势及空间分异特征,并结合全球气候再分析资料,探讨了物候变化的气候驱动因素。结果表明：在1998年之前,荒漠草原过渡带植被物候期变化地区间差异较大,而在1998年之后,北半球荒漠草原过渡带生长季结束期整体提前,平均提前0.41 d/a;同时,除萨赫勒以外的各地区植被生长季长度普遍缩短,平均缩短0.88 d/a。植被物候期与气候因子的相关分析发现,荒漠草原过渡带植被物候变化受气候变化影响显著,且空间差异明显。在中高纬度地区,气温是限制植被活动的关键因子,温度升高可以促进生长季开始期的提前,而降水增加则会妨碍植被生长;在较低纬度地区,水分是影响植被活动的关键因素,高温造成的水分亏缺会导致植被生长季缩短。从植被物候期对各气候因子响应的时滞性来看,荒漠草原过渡带植被的物候期对气温变化的响应最迅速,对蒸散的响应存在一定的滞后性,而对降水的响应不存在时滞差异。     

The role of horizontal resolution in simulating drivers of the global hydrological cycle

The role of atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) horizontal resolution in representing the global energy budget and hydrological cycle is assessed, with the aim of improving the understanding of model uncertainties in simulating the hydrological cycle. We use two AGCMs from the UK Met Office Hadley Centre: HadGEM1-A at resolutions ranging from 270 to 60 km, and HadGEM3-A ranging from 135 to 25 km. The models exhibit a stable hydrological cycle, although too intense compared to reanalyses and observations. This over-intensity is explained by excess surface shortwave radiation, a common error in general circulation models (GCMs). This result is insensitive to resolution. However, as resolution is increased, precipitation decreases over the ocean and increases over the land. This is associated with an increase in atmospheric moisture transport from ocean to land, which changes the partitioning of moisture fluxes that contribute to precipitation over land from less local to more non-local moisture sources. The results start to converge at 60-km resolution, which underlines the excessive reliance of the mean hydrological cycle on physical parametrization (local unresolved processes) versus model dynamics (large-scale resolved processes) in coarser HadGEM1 and HadGEM3 GCMs. This finding may be valid for other GCMs, showing the necessity to analyze other chains of GCMs that may become available in the future with such a range of horizontal resolutions. Our finding supports the hypothesis that heterogeneity in model parametrization is one of the underlying causes of model disagreement in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) exercises.     

Response of inland lake dynamics over the Tibetan Plateau to climate change

The water balance of inland lakes on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) involves complex hydrological processes; their dynamics over recent decades is a good indicator of changes in water cycle under rapid global warming. Based on satellite images and extensive field investigations, we demonstrate that a coherent lake growth on the TP interior (TPI) has occurred since the late 1990s in response to a significant global climate change. Closed lakes on the TPI varied heterogeneously during 1976–1999, but expanded coherently and significantly in both lake area and water depth during 1999–2010. Although the decreased potential evaporation and glacier mass loss may contribute to the lake growth since the late 1990s, the significant water surplus is mainly attributed to increased regional precipitation, which, in turn, may be related to changes in large-scale atmospheric circulation, including the intensified Northern Hemisphere summer monsoon (NHSM) circulation and the poleward shift of the Eastern Asian westerlies jet stream.     

不均匀植被分布对地表面和大气边界层影响的数值试验

研究陆地与大气间相互作用的方法之一是建立联系地表面层与大气间各种过程的数值模式进行模拟。本文是建立一个陆面过程与二维大气边界层相耦合的模式,耦合模式中包含了发生在大气边界层、植被冠层和土壤表层各种动力、热力和水文过程。运用这一模式模拟了荒漠环境中一片绿洲的不均匀地表面形成的局地气候。由于绿洲植被与周围荒漠有着显著不同的水份与能量平衡关系,使绿洲表面与边界层较四周荒漠冷而湿,并形成了相应的局地环流,即所谓“绿洲效应”。试验结果表明,模拟的气候状况与观测现象是一致的。模式可以用于陆气相互作用的研究。     

Expected changes in future agro-climatological conditions in Northeast Thailand and their differences between general circulation models

We have studied future changes in the atmospheric and hydrological environments in Northeast Thailand from the viewpoint of risk assessment of future cultural environments in crop fields. To obtain robust and reliable estimation for future climate, ten general circulation models under three warming scenarios, B1, A1B, and A2, were used in this study. The obtained change trends show that daily maximum air temperature and precipitation will increase by 2.6°C and 4.0%, respectively, whereas soil moisture will decrease by c.a. 1% point in volumetric water content at the end of this century under the A1B scenario. Seasonal contrasts in precipitation will intensify: precipitation increases in the rainy season and precipitation decreases in the dry season. Soil moisture will slightly decrease almost throughout the year. Despite a homogeneous increase in the air temperature over Northeast Thailand, a future decrease in soil water content will show a geographically inhomogeneous distribution: Soil will experience a relative larger decrease in wetness at a shallow depth on the Khorat plateau than in the surrounding mountainous area, reflecting vegetation cover and soil texture. The predicted increase in air temperature is relatively consistent between general circulation models. In contrast, relatively large intermodel differences in precipitation, especially in long-term trends, produce unwanted bias errors in the estimation of other hydrological elements, such as soil moisture and evaporation, and cause uncertainties in projection of the agro-climatological environment. Offline hydrological simulation with a wide precipitation range is one strategy to compensate for such uncertainties and to obtain reliable risk assessment of future cultural conditions in rainfed paddy fields in Northeast Thailand.     

Atmospheric Moisture Residence Times and Cycling: Implications for Rainfall Rates and Climate Change

New estimates of the moistening of the atmosphere through evaporation at the surface and of the drying through precipitation are computed. Overall, the e-folding residence time of atmospheric moisture is just over 8 days. New estimates are also made of how much moisture that precipitates out comes from horizontal transport versus local evaporation, referred to as recycling. The results depend greatly on the scale of the domain under consideration and global maps of the recycling for annual means are produced for 500 km scales for which global recycling is 9.6%, consisting of 8.9% over land and 9.9% over the oceans. Even for 1000 km scales, less than 20% of the annual precipitation typically comes from evaporation within the domain. While average overall atmospheric moisture depletion and restoration must balance, precipitation falls only a small fraction of the time. Thus precipitation rates are also examined. Over the United States, one hour intervals with 0.1 mm or more are used to show that the frequency of precipitation ranges from over 30% in the Northwest, to about 20% in the Southeast and less than 4% just east of the continental divide in winter, and from less than 2% in California to over 20% in the Southeast in summer. In midlatitudes precipitation typically falls about 10% of the time, and so rainfall rates, conditional on when rain is falling, are much larger than evaporation rates. The mismatches in the rates of rainfall versus evaporation imply that precipitating systems of all kinds feed mostly on the moisture already in the atmosphere. Over North America, much of the precipitation originates from moisture advected from the Gulf of Mexico and subtropical Atlantic or Pacific a day or so earlier. Increases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere produce global warming through an increase in downwelling infrared radiation, and thus not only increase surface temperatures but also enhance the hydrological cycle, as much of the heating at the surface goes into evaporating surface moisture. Global temperature increases signify that the water-holding capacity of the atmosphere increases and, together with enhanced evaporation, this means that the actual atmospheric moisture should increase. It follows that naturally-occurring droughts are likely to be exacerbated by enhanced potential evapotranspiration. Further, globally there must be an increase in precipitation to balance the enhanced evaporation but the processes by which precipitation is altered locally are not well understood. Observations confirm that atmospheric moisture is increasing in many places, for example at a rate of about 5% per decade over the United States. Based on the above results, we argue that increased moisture content of the atmosphere therefore favors stronger rainfall or snowfall events, thus increasing risk of flooding, which is a pattern observed to be happening in many parts of the world. Moreover, because there is a disparity between the rates of increase of atmospheric moisture and precipitation, there are implied changes in the frequency of precipitation and/or efficiency of precipitation (related to how much moisture is left behind in a storm). However, an analysis of linear trends in the frequency of precipitation events for the United States corresponding to thresholds of 0.1 and 1 mm/h shows that the most notable statistically significant trends are for increases in the southern United States in winter and decreases in the Pacific Northwest from November through January, which may be related to changes in atmospheric circulation and storm tracks associated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation trends. It is suggested that as the physical constraints on precipitation apply only globally, more attention should be paid to rates in both observations and models as well as the frequency of occurrence.