Statistical downscaling of regional daily precipitation over southeast Australia based on self-organizing maps

This paper presents a novel statistical downscaling method based on a non-linear classification technique known as self-organizing maps (SOMs) and has therefore been named SOM-SD. The relationship between large-scale atmospheric circulation and local-scale surface variable was constructed in a relatively simple and transparent manner. For a specific atmospheric state, an ensemble of possible values was generated for the predictand following the Monte Carlo method. Such a stochastic simulation is essential to explore the uncertainties of climate change in the future through a series of random re-sampling experiments. The novel downscaling method was evaluated by downscaling daily precipitation over Southeast Australia. The large-scale predictors were extracted from the daily NCAR/NCEP reanalysis data, while the predictand was high-resolution gridded daily observed precipitation (1958?C2008) from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The results showed that the method works reasonably well across a variety of climatic zones in the study area. Overall, there was no particular zone that stands out as a climatic entity where the downscaling skill in reproducing all statistical indices was consistently lower or higher across seasons than the other zones. The method displayed a high skill in reproducing not only the climatologic statistical properties of the observed precipitation, but also the characteristics of the extreme precipitation events. Furthermore, the model was able to reproduce, to a certain extent, the inter-annual variability of precipitation characteristics.     

我国地面降水的分级回归统计降尺度预报研究

利用TIGGE资料中欧洲中期天气预报中心(ECMWF,the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts)、日本气象厅(JMA,the Japan Meteorological Agency)、美国国家环境预报中心(NCEP,the National Centers for Environmental Prediction)以及英国气象局(UKMO,the UK Met Office)4个中心1~7 d预报的日降水量集合预报资料,并以中国降水融合产品作为"观测值",对我国地面降水量预报进行统计降尺度处理。采用空间滑动窗口增加中雨和大雨雨量样本,建立分级雨量的回归方程,并与未分级雨量的统计降尺度预报进行对比。结果表明,对于不同模式、不同预报时效以及不同降水量级,统计降尺度的预报技巧改进程度不尽相同。统计降尺度的预报技巧依赖于模式本身的预报效果。相比雨量未分级回归,雨量分级回归的统计降尺度预报与观测值的距平相关系数更高,均方根误差更小,不同量级降水的ETS评分明显提高。对雨量分级回归统计降尺度预报结果进行二次订正,可大大减少小雨的空报。     

多模式集合预报及其降尺度技术在东亚夏季降水预测中的应用

利用动力季节模式输出的匹配域投影技术和多模式集合预报技术对多个国家和城市的站点月平均降水进行预报。预报变量是北京1个站、韩国60个站和曼谷地区8个站点的月平均降水,预报因子是从多个业务动力季节预报模式输出的多个大尺度变量。模式回报数据和站点观测降水数据时段是1983—2003年。降尺度预报降水的技巧是在交叉验证的框架下进行的。匹配域投影方法是设定一个可以活动的窗口在全球范围内大尺度场上进行扫描,寻求与目标站点降水最优化的因子和最相关的区域,目标站点的降水变率就是由该匹配域上大尺度环流场信息决定的。最终预报是用多个降尺度模式预报结果的集合预报(DMME)。多个降尺度模式预报结果的集合预报能显著地提高站点降水的预报技巧。北京站,多个降尺度模式预报结果的集合预报的预报和观测降水的相关系数可以提高到0.71;韩国地区,多个降尺度模式预报结果的集合预报平均技巧提高到0.75;泰国,多个降尺度模式预报结果的集合预报技巧是0.61。     

Statistical Downscaling Based on Dynamically DownscaledPredictors： Application to Monthly Precipitation in Sweden

A prerequisite of a successful statistical downscaling is that large-scale predictors simulated by the General Circulation Model (GCM) must be realistic. It is assumed here that features smaller than the GCM resolution are important in determining the realism of the large-scale predictors. It is tested whether a three-step method can improve conventional one-step statistical downscaling. The method uses predictors that are upscaled from a dynamical downscaling instead of predictors taken directly from a GCM simulation. The method is applied to downscaling of monthly precipitation in Sweden. The statistical model used is a multiple regression model that uses indices of large-scale atmospheric circulation and 850-hPa specific humidity as predictors. Data from two GCMs (HadCM2 and ECHAM4) and two RCM experiments of the Rossby Centre model (RCA1) driven by the GCMs are used. It is found that upscaled RCA1 predictors capture the seasonal cycle better than those from the GCMs, and hence increase the reliability of the downscaled precipitation. However, there are only slight improvements in the simulation of the seasonal cycle of downscaled precipitation. Due to the cost of the method and the limited improvements in the downscaling results, the three-step method is not justified to replace the one-step method for downscaling of Swedish precipitation.     

Statistical downscaling of precipitation using local regression and high accuracy surface modeling method

Downscaling precipitation is required in local scale climate impact studies. In this paper, a statistical downscaling scheme was presented with a combination of geographically weighted regression (GWR) model and a recently developed method, high accuracy surface modeling method (HASM). This proposed method was compared with another downscaling method using the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) database and ground-based data from 732 stations across China for the period 1976–2005. The residual which was produced by GWR was modified by comparing different interpolators including HASM, Kriging, inverse distance weighted method (IDW), and Spline. The spatial downscaling from 1° to 1-km grids for period 1976–2005 and future scenarios was achieved by using the proposed downscaling method. The prediction accuracy was assessed at two separate validation sites throughout China and Jiangxi Province on both annual and seasonal scales, with the root mean square error (RMSE), mean relative error (MRE), and mean absolute error (MAE). The results indicate that the developed model in this study outperforms the method that builds transfer function using the gauge values. There is a large improvement in the results when using a residual correction with meteorological station observations. In comparison with other three classical interpolators, HASM shows better performance in modifying the residual produced by local regression method. The success of the developed technique lies in the effective use of the datasets and the modification process of the residual by using HASM. The results from the future climate scenarios show that precipitation exhibits overall increasing trend from T1 (2011–2040) to T2 (2041–2070) and T2 to T3 (2071–2100) in RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 emission scenarios. The most significant increase occurs in RCP8.5 from T2 to T3, while the lowest increase is found in RCP2.6 from T2 to T3, increased by 47.11 and 2.12 mm, respectively.

     

Statistical bias correction for daily precipitation in regional climate models over Europe

We design, apply, and validate a methodology for correcting climate model output to produce internally consistent fields that have the same statistical intensity distribution as the observations. We refer to this as a statistical bias correction. Validation of the methodology is carried out using daily precipitation fields, defined over Europe, from the ENSEMBLES climate model dataset. The bias correction is calculated using data from 1961 to 1970, without distinguishing between seasons, and applied to seasonal data from 1991 to 2000. This choice of time periods is made to maximize the lag between calibration and validation within the ERA40 reanalysis period. Results show that the method performs unexpectedly well. Not only are the mean and other moments of the intensity distribution improved, as expected, but so are a drought and a heavy precipitation index, which depend on the autocorrelation spectra. Given that the corrections were derived without seasonal distinction and are based solely on intensity distributions, a statistical quantity oblivious of temporal correlations, it is encouraging to find that the improvements are present even when seasons and temporal statistics are considered. This encourages the application of this method to multi-decadal climate projections.     

Statistical downscaling of daily climate variables for climate change impact assessment over New South Wales, Australia

This paper outlines a new statistical downscaling method based on a stochastic weather generator. The monthly climate projections from global climate models (GCMs) are first downscaled to specific sites using an inverse distance-weighted interpolation method. A bias correction procedure is then applied to the monthly GCM values of each site. Daily climate projections for the site are generated by using a stochastic weather generator, WGEN. For downscaling WGEN parameters, historical climate data from 1889 to 2008 are sorted, in an ascending order, into 6 climate groups. The WGEN parameters are downscaled based on the linear and non-linear relationships derived from the 6 groups of historical climates and future GCM projections. The overall averaged confidence intervals for these significant linear relationships between parameters and climate variables are 0.08 and 0.11 (the range of these parameters are up to a value of 1.0) at the observed mean and maximum values of climate variables, revealing a high confidence in extrapolating parameters for downscaling future climate. An evaluation procedure is set up to ensure that the downscaled daily sequences are consistent with monthly GCM output in terms of monthly means or totals. The performance of this model is evaluated through the comparison between the distributions of measured and downscaled climate data. Kruskall-Wallis rank (K-W) and Siegel-Tukey rank sum dispersion (S-T) tests are used. The results show that the method can reproduce the climate statistics at annual, monthly and daily time scales for both training and validation periods. The method is applied to 1062 sites across New South Wales (NSW) for 9 GCMs and three IPCC SRES emission scenarios, B1, A1B and A2, for the period of 1900–2099. Projected climate changes by 7 GCMs are also analyzed for the A2 emission scenario based on the downscaling results.     

Variability of daily precipitation over Nigeria

This study identified coherent daily precipitation regions in Nigeria by analyzing the spatial and temporal homogeneity of daily precipitation; investigating the dependence of wet day amount (WDAMT) and percentage of wet day (PWD) on latitude, longitude, elevation and distance from the ocean and finally regionalizing the daily precipitation stations. Non-parametric spatial homogeneity test was carried out on daily precipitation over 23 stations in Nigeria between 1992 and 2000 while the temporal analysis was done from 1971 to 2000. Regression analysis was used to determine the dependence of WDAMT and PWD on latitude, longitude, elevation and distance from the ocean. Principal component and cluster analyses were conducted to regionalize the precipitation stations. Seven homogeneous groups of stations were identified. Elevation explains 19.9 and 4.8 % of the variance in WDAMT and PWD, respectively, while latitude explains 76.2 % of variance in PWD. Eight principal components that explain 63.1 % of the variance in the daily precipitation data were retained for cluster analysis. Precipitation in the six daily precipitation regions that emerged from the cluster analysis is influenced by the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone, latitude, distance from ocean and southwesterlies while the northern region alone is influenced by the African Easterly Wave. In addition, precipitation in all the regions is influenced by topography. Low to medium spatial coherence exists in the precipitation regions. The spatial variations of PWD and WDAMT have implications for agricultural productivity and water resources in different parts of the country.     

Validation of GCM control simulations using indices of daily airflow types over the British Isles

In this study, the control simulations of two general circulation model (GCM) experiments are assessed in terms of their ability to reproduce realistic real world weather. The models examined are the UK Meteorological Office high-resolution atmospheric model (UKHI) and a coupled ocean/atmosphere model of the Max Planck Institut für Meteorologic, Hamburg (MPI). An objective classification of daily airflow patterns over the British Isles is used as a basis for comparing the frequencies of model-generated weather types with the frequencies derived from 110 years of observed mean-sea-level pressure (MSLP) fields. The weather-type frequencies generated by the GCMs, and their relationships with simulated monthly mean temperatures and total precipitation over the UK, are compared, season by season, with similar results derived using the observational data. An index of gale frequencies over the British Isles, derived from a similar objective analysis of daily MSLP fields, is used to evaluate the ability of the GCMs to simulate the observed frequency of storm events. One advantage of using 110 years of observational data is that the observed decadal-scale variability of climate can be introduced into this type of validation exercise. Both the GCMs assessed here are too cyclonic in winter. The seasonality of both anticyclonic and cyclonic types is much too strong in MPI and summer precipitation in this model is greatly underestimated. MPI simulates the annual cycle of temperature well, while UKHI successfully reproduces the annual cycle of precipitation. The analysis also indicates that the summer temperature variability of the two models is not driven by circulation changes.This paper was presented at the Second International Conference on Modelling of Global Climate Variability, held in Hamburg 7–11 September 1992 under the auspices of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology. Guest Editor for these papers is L. Dümenil     

基于TIGGE多模式降水量预报的统计降尺度研究

利用TIGGE资料中欧洲中期天气预报中心、美国国家环境预报中心、英国气象局以及日本气象厅4个中心,1~7 d预报时效的降水量预报资料,以TRMM/3B42RT降水量作为"观测值",对东亚地区降水量进行统计降尺度处理。首先利用逻辑回归方法将天气分为有雨和无雨,再对有雨的情况,利用线性回归方法对插值后的预报结果进行降尺度订正,最后将4个中心的预报值进行消除偏差集合平均,得到多模式集成的降水量预报场。结果表明:逻辑回归能够有效地改善预报中小雨的空报情况,统计降尺度订正后的预报结果比直接插值更加准确,多模式集成的预报效果优于单模式结果,其改进效果随预报时效的延长逐渐减小。     

Statistical downscaling of daily mean temperature, pan evaporation and precipitation for climate change scenarios in Haihe River, China

A statistical downscaling method (SDSM) was evaluated by simultaneously downscaling air temperature, evaporation, and precipitation in Haihe River basin, China. The data used for evaluation were large-scale atmospheric data encompassing daily NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and the daily mean climate model results for scenarios A2 and B2 of the HadCM3 model. Selected as climate variables for downscaling were measured daily mean air temperature, pan evaporation, and precipitation data (1961–2000) from 11 weather stations in the Haihe River basin. The results obtained from SDSM showed that: (1) the pattern of change in and numerical values of the climate variables can be reasonably simulated, with the coefficients of determination between observed and downscaled mean temperature, pan evaporation, and precipitation being 99%, 93%, and 73%, respectively; (2) systematic errors existed in simulating extreme events, but the results were acceptable for practical applications; and (3) the mean air temperature would increase by about 0.7°C during 2011~2040; the total annual precipitation would decrease by about 7% in A2 scenario but increase by about 4% in B2 scenario; and there were no apparent changes in pan evaporation. It was concluded that in the next 30 years, climate would be warmer and drier, extreme events could be more intense, and autumn might be the most distinct season among all the changes.     

Dynamic downscaling of summer precipitation prediction over China in 1998 using WRF and CCSM4

To study the prediction of the anomalous precipitation and general circulation for the summer(June–July–August) of1998, the Community Climate System Model Version 4.0(CCSM4.0) integrations were used to drive version 3.2 of the Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF3.2) regional climate model to produce hindcasts at 60 km resolution. The results showed that the WRF model produced improved summer precipitation simulations. The systematic errors in the east of the Tibetan Plateau were removed, while in North China and Northeast China the systematic errors still existed. The improvements in summer precipitation interannual increment prediction also had regional characteristics. There was a marked improvement over the south of the Yangtze River basin and South China, but no obvious improvement over North China and Northeast China. Further analysis showed that the improvement was present not only for the seasonal mean precipitation, but also on a sub-seasonal timescale. The two occurrences of the Mei-yu rainfall agreed better with the observations in the WRF model,but were not resolved in CCSM. These improvements resulted from both the higher resolution and better topography of the WRF model.     

Downscaling daily precipitation over the Yellow River source region in China: a comparison of three statistical downscaling methods

Three statistical downscaling methods are compared with regard to their ability to downscale summer (June–September) daily precipitation at a network of 14 stations over the Yellow River source region from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data with the aim of constructing high-resolution regional precipitation scenarios for impact studies. The methods used are the Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM), the Generalized LInear Model for daily CLIMate (GLIMCLIM), and the non-homogeneous Hidden Markov Model (NHMM). The methods are compared in terms of several statistics including spatial dependence, wet- and dry spell length distributions and inter-annual variability. In comparison with other two models, NHMM shows better performance in reproducing the spatial correlation structure, inter-annual variability and magnitude of the observed precipitation. However, it shows difficulty in reproducing observed wet- and dry spell length distributions at some stations. SDSM and GLIMCLIM showed better performance in reproducing the temporal dependence than NHMM. These models are also applied to derive future scenarios for six precipitation indices for the period 2046–2065 using the predictors from two global climate models (GCMs; CGCM3 and ECHAM5) under the IPCC SRES A2, A1B and B1scenarios. There is a strong consensus among two GCMs, three downscaling methods and three emission scenarios in the precipitation change signal. Under the future climate scenarios considered, all parts of the study region would experience increases in rainfall totals and extremes that are statistically significant at most stations. The magnitude of the projected changes is more intense for the SDSM than for other two models, which indicates that climate projection based on results from only one downscaling method should be interpreted with caution. The increase in the magnitude of rainfall totals and extremes is also accompanied by an increase in their inter-annual variability.     

Performance comparison of three predictor selection methods for statistical downscaling of daily precipitation

Predictor selection is a critical factor affecting the statistical downscaling of daily precipitation. This study provides a general comparison between uncertainties in downscaled results from three commonly used predictor selection methods (correlation analysis, partial correlation analysis, and stepwise regression analysis). Uncertainty is analyzed by comparing statistical indices, including the mean, variance, and the distribution of monthly mean daily precipitation, wet spell length, and the number of wet days. The downscaled results are produced by the artificial neural network (ANN) statistical downscaling model and 50 years (1961–2010) of observed daily precipitation together with reanalysis predictors. Although results show little difference between downscaling methods, stepwise regression analysis is generally the best method for selecting predictors for the ANN statistical downscaling model of daily precipitation, followed by partial correlation analysis and then correlation analysis.     

广义线性统计降尺度方法模拟日降水量的应用研究

利用1960—2010年青藏高原23个台站和长江下游25个台站的日降水量观测资料及NCEP再分析资料,采用广义线性模型的统计降尺度方法模拟台站日降水量,并评估了广义线性模型对日降水量的模拟能力。在建模期(1960—2005年)广义线性模型对日降水量表现出良好的模拟能力,两区域模拟结果与观测值1月平均相关系数0.75左右,7月也均超过0.5。模拟结果大部分台站日降水偏大,但偏大的量值较小;模拟的无降水准确率较高,最高值在高原区域,1月平均达85.2%。检验期(2006—2010年)广义线性模型模拟的日降水与建模期具有较好的一致性。此外,对两区域代表站的分析显示,广义线性模型模拟降水极值和降水0值的效果较好,且较好地还原了主要降水过程。总之,广义线性模型对日降水量的降尺度效果良好,适合应用于气候领域的相关研究。     

Statistical downscaling for daily precipitation in Korea using combined PRISM,RCM, and quantile mapping: Part 1, methodology and evaluation in historical simulation

In this study, we present the Parameter-elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM)-based Dynamic downscaling Error correction (PRIDE) model, which is suitable for complex topographies, such as the Korean peninsula. The PRIDE model is constructed by combining the PRISM module, the Regional Climate Model (RCM) anomaly, and quantile mapping (QM) to produce high-resolution (1 km) grid data at a daily time scale. The results show that the systematic bias of the RCM was significantly reduced by simply substituting the climatological observational seasonal cycle at a daily timescale for each grid point obtained from the PRISM. QM was then applied to correct additional systematic bias by constructing the transfer functions under the cumulative density function framework between the model and observation using six types of transfer functions. K-fold cross-validation of the PRIDE model shows that the number of modeled precipitation days is approximately 90~121% of the number of observed precipitation days for the five daily precipitation classes, indicating that the PRIDE model reasonably estimates the observational frequency of daily precipitation under a quantile framework. The relative Mean Absolute Error (MAE) is also discussed in the framework of the intensity of daily precipitation.     

降水的统计降尺度预报及其空间相关性和时间连续性重建

利用欧洲中期天气预报中心(ECMWF)、日本气象厅(JMA)、美国国家环境预报中心(NCEP)以及英国气象局(UKMO)四个中心1~7 d日累计降水量集合预报资料,以中国降水融合产品作为"观测值",对我国地面降水量进行统计降尺度预报,并对预报降水的空间相关性和时间连续性进行重建。对降水量进行分级后,建立各个量级的回归方程进行统计降尺度预报。此外,还利用Schaake Shuffle方法重建丢失的空间相关性和时间连续性。结果表明,分级回归比未分级回归后的预报结果相关系数更高,预报误差更小,更接近观测值。Schaake Shuffle方法可以有效地改进降水预报的空间相关性和时间连续性,使之更接近实况观测,集合成员间的相关性也更好。     

A comparison of explicit and implicit spatial downscaling of GCM output for soil erosion and crop production assessments

Spatial downscaling of climate change scenarios can be a significant source of uncertainty in simulating climatic impacts on soil erosion, hydrology, and crop production. The objective of this study is to compare responses of simulated soil erosion, surface hydrology, and wheat and maize yields to two (implicit and explicit) spatial downscaling methods used to downscale the A2a, B2a, and GGa1 climate change scenarios projected by the Hadley Centre’s global climate model (HadCM3). The explicit method, in contrast to the implicit method, explicitly considers spatial differences of climate scenarios and variability during downscaling. Monthly projections of precipitation and temperature during 1950–2039 were used in the implicit and explicit spatial downscaling. A stochastic weather generator (CLIGEN) was then used to disaggregate monthly values to daily weather series following the spatial downscaling. The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model was run for a wheat–wheat–maize rotation under conventional tillage at the 8.7 and 17.6% slopes in southern Loess Plateau of China. Both explicit and implicit methods projected general increases in annual precipitation and temperature during 2010–2039 at the Changwu station. However, relative climate changes downscaled by the explicit method, as compared to the implicit method, appeared more dynamic or variable. Consequently, the responses to climate change, simulated with the explicit method, seemed more dynamic and sensitive. For a 1% increase in precipitation, percent increases in average annual runoff (soil loss) were 3–6 (4–10) times greater with the explicit method than those with the implicit method. Differences in grain yield were also found between the two methods. These contrasting results between the two methods indicate that spatial downscaling of climate change scenarios can be a significant source of uncertainty, and further underscore the importance of proper spatial treatments of climate change scenarios, and especially climate variability, prior to impact simulation. The implicit method, which applies aggregated climate changes at the GCM grid scale directly to a target station, is more appropriate for simulating a first-order regional response of nature resources to climate change. But for the site-specific impact assessments, especially for entities that are heavily influenced by local conditions such as soil loss and crop yield, the explicit method must be used.     

CHAC: a weather pattern classification system for regional climate downscaling of daily precipitation

A weather pattern clustering method is applied and calibrated to Argentinean daily weather stations in order to predict daily precipitation data. The clustering technique is based on k-means and is applied to a set of 17 atmospheric variables from the ERA-40 reanalysis covering the period 1979–1999. The set of atmospheric variables represent the different components of the atmosphere (dynamical, thermal and moisture). Different sensitivity tests are applied to optimize (1) the number of observations (weather patterns) per cluster, (2) the spatial domain size of the weather pattern around the station and (3) the number of members of the ensembles. All the sensitivity tests are compared using the ROC (Relative Operating Characteristic) Skill Score (RSS) derived from the ROC curve used to assess the performance of a predictive system. First, we found the number of observations per cluster to be optimum for values larger than 39. Second, the spatial domain size (~4° × 4°) was found to be closer to a local scale than to a synoptic scale, certainly due to a dominant role of the moisture components in the optimization of the transfer function. Indeed, when reducing the set of variables to the subset of dynamical variables, the predictive skill of the method is significantly reduced, but at the same time the domain size must be increased. A potential improvement of the method may therefore be to consider different domains for dynamical and non-dynamical variables. Third, the number of members per ensembles of simulations was estimated to be always two to three times larger than the mean number of observations per cluster (meaning that at least all the observed weather patterns are selected by one member). The skill of the statistical method to predict daily precipitation is found to be relatively homogeneous all over the country for different thresholds of precipitation.     

Improving long-lead seasonal forecasts of precipitation over Southern China based on statistical downscaling using BCC_CSM1.1m

Long-lead precipitation forecasts for 1–4 seasons ahead are usually difficult in dynamical climate models due to the model deficiencies and the limited persistence of initial signals. But, these forecasts could be empirically improved by statistical approaches. In this study, to improve the seasonal precipitation forecast over the southern China (SC), the statistical downscaling (SD) models are built by using the predictors of atmospheric circulation and sea surface temperature (SST) simulated by the Beijing Climate Center Climate System Model version 1.1 m (BCC_CSM1.1 m). The different predictors involved in each SD model is selected based on both its close relationship with the target seasonal precipitation and its reasonable prediction skill in the BCC_CSM1.1 m. Cross and independent validations show the superior performance of the SD models, relative to the BCC_CSM1.1 m. The temporal correlation coefficient of SD models could reach > 0.4, exceeding the 95 % confidence level. The SC precipitation index can be much better forecasted by the SD models than by the BCC_CSM1.1 m in terms of the interannual variability. In addition, the errors of the precipitation forecast in all four seasons are significantly reduced over most of SC in the SD models. For the 2015/2016 strong El Niño event, the SD models outperform the dynamical BCC_CSM1.1 m model on the spatial and regional-average precipitation anomalies, mostly due to the effective SST predictor in the SD models and the weak response of the SC precipitation to El Niño-related SST anomalies in the BCC_CSM1.1 m.