Impact of the equatorial Atlantic sea surface temperature on the tropical Pacific in a CGCM

Many coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) suffer from serious model bias in the zonal gradient of sea surface temperature (SST) in the equatorial Atlantic. The bias of the equatorial Atlantic SST (EASST) may affect the interannual variability of the equatorial Atlantic, which in turn may influence the state of the tropical Pacific. In this paper we investigate the impact of the bias and the interannual variability of the EASST on the tropical Pacific in a CGCM. To determine the impact of the interannual variability of the EASST on the tropical Pacific, we compare a run in a fully coupled mode (CTL run) and a run in which the EASST is nudged toward the climatological monthly mean of the SST in the CTL run, but full air-sea coupling is allowed elsewhere (AT_m run). We find that, when the interannual variability of the EASST is excluded, the thermocline depth in the eastern equatorial Pacific is deepened, and the amplitude of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation is reduced by 30 % compared to the CTL run. The impact of the bias of the EASST on the tropical Pacific is investigated by comparing the AT_m run and a run in which the EASST is nudged toward the observed climatological monthly mean SST (AT_o run). It is found that, when the bias of the EASST is removed (i.e. AT_o run), the Gill–Matsuno type response to the warm SST anomalies in the western equatorial Atlantic induces low-level cyclonic anomalies in the eastern South Pacific, which leads to a deeper thermocline and colder SST in the South Pacific as compared to AT_m. The colder SST in the South Pacific reduces the precipitation along the South Pacific convergence zone. Our results of the model experiments demonstrate the importance of the EASST to the tropical Pacific climate.     

Forecasting extreme events in the tropical Indian Ocean sector climate

Prospects for forecasting climate variability over the tropical Indian Ocean sector, specifically extreme positive events of the Indian Dipole Mode (IDM), with lead times of a season or more are investigated using the NASA Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP) coupled-model system. The coupled system presents biases in its climatology over the Indian Ocean sector, which include (i) warmest sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) occurring in the central equatorial basin rather than on the eastside with the eastern (western) tropical SSTs up to 1 °C too cool (warm), (ii) a too northwest lying InterTropical Convergence Zonal over the ocean in boreal fall, (iii) a thermocline shallower (deeper) than observed west of Sumatra-Java (north of Madagascar), (iv) a delay of about a month in the onset (cessation) of the southwest (southeast) monsoon in the west (east) in boreal spring (fall). These biases affect the effectiveness of the SST-clouds-shortwave radiation negative feedback, the sensitivity of SST to wind-stress perturbations, and the character of equatorial coupled ocean-atmosphere modes. Despite these biases, ensemble hindcasts of the SST anomalies averaged over the eastern and western poles of the IDM for the decade 1993–2002, which included extreme positive events in 1994 and 1997/1998, are encouragingly good at 3-months lead. The onset of the 1997/1998-event is delayed by about a month, though the peak and decay are correctly timed. At 6-months lead-time, the forecast at the eastern pole deteriorates with either positive or negative false alarms generated each boreal fall. The forecast at the western pole remains good.     

Impact of increased vertical resolution on simulation of tropical climate

Summary The aim of this study is to describe the behaviour of tropical dynamics in the ECHAM4 model when increased vertical resolution around the tropopause and in the planetary boundary layer is used. In this work we perform experiments with the ECHAM4 model using T30 horizontal resolution and 19 and 42 vertical levels. The impact of the increased vertical resolution on the simulation of tropical clouds and precipitation has been investigated. Therefore, the dynamic fields related to tropical convection have been analyzed. The results suggest a beneficial effect of the increased number of vertical levels on the convective scheme performance and on the related dynamic fields over the Tropics. The improvement of the rainfall climatologies in the 42-level model has been explained via the impact of vertical resolution on the cloud structure. In the cloud spectrum of the L42 simulation, a third peak appears around 600 hPa, revealing that when using higher vertical resolution the convective parametrization starts to represent cumulus congestus clouds.     

ENSO and Western North Pacific tropical cyclone activity simulated in a CGCM

A high-resolution (T213) coupled ocean–atmosphere general circulation model (CGCM) has been used to examine the relationship between El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and tropical cyclone (TC) activity over the western North Pacific (WNP). The model simulates ENSO-like events similar to those observed, though the amplitude of the simulated Niño34 sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly is twice as large as observed. In El Niño (La Niña) years, the annual number of model TCs in the southeast quadrant of the WNP increases (decreases), while it decreases (increases) in the northwest quadrant. In spite of the significant difference in the mean genesis location of model TCs between El Niño and La Niña years, however, there is no significant simultaneous correlation between the annual number of model TCs over the entire WNP and model Niño34 SST anomalies. The annual number of model TCs, however, tends to decrease in the years following El Niño, relating to the development of anticyclonic circulation around the Philippine Sea in response to the SST anomalies in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. Furthermore, it seems that the number of model TCs tends to increase in the years before El Niño. It is also shown that the number of TCs moving into the East Asia is fewer in October of El Niño years than La Niña years, related to the anomalous southward shift of mid-latitude westerlies, though no impact of ENSO on TC tracks is found in other months. It is found that model TCs have longer lifetimes due to the southeastward shift of mean TC genesis location in El Niño years than in La Niña years. As the result of longer fetch of TCs over warm SST, model TCs appear to be more intense in El Niño years. These relationships between ENSO and TC activity in the WNP are in good agreement with observational evidence, suggesting that a finer-resolution CGCM may become a powerful tool for understanding interannual variability of TC activity.     

The interannual variability in the tropical Indian Ocean as simulated by a CGCM

The interannual variability in the tropical Indian Ocean, and in particular the Indian Ocean dipole mode (IODM), is investigated using both observations and a multi-decadal simulations performed by the coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model SINTEX. Overall, the characteristics of the simulated IODM are close to the features of the observed mode. Evidence of significant correlations between sea level pressure anomalies in the southeastern Indian Ocean and sea surface temperature anomalies in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans have been found both in observations and a multi-decadal simulation. In particular, a positive SLP anomaly in the southeastern part of the basin seems to produce favorable conditions for the development of an IODM event. The role played by the ocean dynamics both in the developing and closing phases of the IODM events is also investigated. Our results suggest that, during the developing phase, the heat content and SST variability associated with the IODM are influenced by a local response of the ocean to the winds, and a remote response with the excitation of Kelvin and Rossby waves. Ocean wave dynamics appear to be important also during the dying phase of the IODM, when equatorial downwelling Kelvin waves transport positive heat content anomalies from the western to the eastern part of the basin, suppressing the zonal heat content anomaly gradient. The results obtained from the model suggest a mechanism for the IODM. This mechanism is generally consistent with the characteristics of the observed IODM. Furthermore, it might give some clue in understanding the correlation between IODM and ENSO activity found both in the model and in the observations.     

Impact of vertical mixing induced by small vertical scale structures above and within the equatorial thermocline on the tropical Pacific in a CGCM

Oceanic vertical mixing is known to influence the state of the equatorial ocean which affects the climate system, including the amplitude of El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Recent measurements of ocean currents at high vertical resolution capture numerous small vertical scale structures (SVSs) within and above the equatorial thermocline that contribute significantly to vertical mixing but which are not sufficiently resolved by coarse resolution ocean models. We investigate the impact of the vertical mixing induced by the SVSs on the mean state and interannual variability in the tropical Pacific by using a coupled general circulation model. The vertical mixing induced by the SVSs is represented as an elevated vertical diffusivity from the surface down to the 20 °C isotherm depth, a proxy for the depth of the thermocline. We investigate different forms for the elevated mixing. It is found that the SVS-induced mixing strongly affect the mean state of the ocean leading to a warming of sea surface temperature (SST) and associated deepening and sharpening of the thermocline in the eastern equatorial Pacific. We find that the SST warming induced by the elevated mixing is further strengthened through the Bjerknes feedback and SST-shortwave flux feedback. We also find a reduction in the number of large amplitude ENSO events and in certain cases an increase in the skewness of ENSO.     

Effects of freshwater runoff on a tropical pacific climate in the HadGEM2

This paper investigates the effects of river discharge on simulated climatology from 1979 to 1988 using the Hadley Centre Global Environmental Model version 2. Two experiments are performed with and without the inclusion of Total Runoff Integrating Pathways. The results show that the inclusion of flow routing can lead to the decrease of salinity over the coastal region due to freshwater. This reduction results in a shallower mixed layer depth, which in turn leads to the weakening of trade winds and a decrease in vertical mixing in the ocean. The enhanced sensible and latent heat fluxes over warmed SST improve the simulated precipitation and thermodynamic circulation. As a result, the experiment with flow routing is capable of improving the large-scale climate feature with an increase in precipitation over the eastern tropical equatorial Pacific region.     

Impact of bio-physical feedbacks on the tropical climate in coupled and uncoupled GCMs

The bio-physical feedback process between the marine ecosystem and the tropical climate system is investigated using both an ocean circulation model and a fully-coupled ocean–atmosphere circulation model, which interact with a biogeochemical model. We found that the presence of chlorophyll can have significant impact on the characteristics of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), including its amplitude and asymmetry, as well as on the mean state. That is, chlorophyll generally increases mean sea surface temperature (SST) due to the direct biological heating. However, SST in the eastern equatorial Pacific decreases due to the stronger indirect dynamical response to the biological effects outweighing the direct thermal response. It is demonstrated that this biologically-induced SST cooling is intensified and conveyed to other tropical-ocean basins when atmosphere–ocean coupling is taken into account. It is also found that the presence of chlorophyll affects the magnitude of ENSO by two different mechanisms; one is an amplifying effect by the mean chlorophyll, which is associated with shoaling of the mean thermocline depth, and the other is a damping effect derived from the interactively-varying chlorophyll coupled with the physical model. The atmosphere–ocean coupling reduces the biologically-induced ENSO amplifying effect through the weakening of atmospheric feedback. Lastly, there is also a biological impact on ENSO which enhances the positive skewness. This skewness change is presumably caused by the phase dependency of thermocline feedback which affects the ENSO magnitude.     

The CO2 climate response problem a statistical approach

Summary The anthropogenic increase of the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration leads to a global warming of the atmospheric surface layer, whereas the stratosphere is cooled. This greenhouse effect postulated by a number of climate models (on a physical basis) can be conditionally verified by statistical multiple regression techniques. In this study the following climatic time series are used (all data yearly averages): northern hemisphere mean temperatures near surface 1781–1980 (alternatively since 1851 or 1881) and corresponding stratospheric data 1958–1983, sea surface temperatures 1856–1980, northern hemisphere or global average, alternatively, and the global mean sea level fluctuations 1881–1980. In order to account for an appropriate part of explained variance, volcanic and solar forcing parameters are implied and the data are low-pass filtered suppressing variations of the period rangeT < 10 years. Based on the recently assessed preindustrial CO₂ concentration of c. 280 ppm and the Mauna Loa value of c. 344 ppm in 1984 this industrial CO₂ increase reveals a northern hemisphere temperature increase near surface of c. (.7±.1) K (average and standard deviation of all statistical regression runs), statistically significant at the 95% level. A CO₂ doubling (300 to 600 ppm) leads to a statistically derived signal of (3.1±.6) K, satisfactorily congruent with the results of most of the (deterministic) climate models: c. (3±1.5)K. A stratospheric cooling trend in recent time may be existent but is highly non-significant. Similarly, the SST data do not allow to evaluate a significant CO₂ signal to noise ratio. In contrast to that the observed long-term global mean sea level increase (9.3 cm) can be predominantly attributed to the CO₂ effect (99.9% level).

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Zusammenfassung Der anthropogen bedingte Anstieg der atmosphärischen Kohlendioxid-(CO₂-)Konzentration führt zu einer Erwärmung der bodennahen Luftschicht, während die Stratosphäre abgekühlt wird. Dieser Glashauseffekt, von zahlreichen Klimamodellierungen (auf physikalischer Basis) postuliert, kann auf statistischem Weg durch multiple Regressionsrechnungen bedingt verifiziert werden. Die vorliegende Studie basiert auf den folgenden Klima-Zeitreihen (alle Daten in Form von Jahresmittelwerten): nordhemisphärische Mitteltemperatur in Bodennähe 1781–1980 (alternativ seit 1851 bzw. 1881) und in der Stratosphäre 1958–1983, Meeresoberflächentemperatur 1956–1980, nordhemisphärisch bzw. global gemittelt, und mittlere globale Meeresspiegelschwankungen 1881–1980. Um einen angemessenen Teil erklärter Varianz zu erfassen, wurden vulkanische und solare Parameter mit einbezogen und eine Tiefpaßfilterung mit Unterdrückung des PeriodenbereichsT < 10 Jahre zugrunde gelegt. Auf der Basis des kürzlich abgeschätzten vorindustriellen CO₂-Konzentrationswertes von ca. 280 ppm und dem Mauna Loa Wert des Jahres 1984 von ca. 344 ppm entspricht dieser industrielle CO₂-Anstieg einer Erhöhung der bodennahen nordhemisphärischen Mitteltemperatur von ca. (0.7±0.1) K (Mittelwert und Standardabweichung aller Regressionsrechnungen), was einen auf dem 95%-Niveau signifikanten Temperaturanstieg darstellt. Eine CO₂-Verdoppelung (300 auf 600 ppm) führt, ebenfalls auf statistischem Weg, zu einem Temperatursignal von (3.1±0.6) K, in befriedigender Übereinstimmung mit den meisten der (deterministischen) Klimamodelle: ca. (3±1.5) K. In der Stratosphäre könnte in letzter Zeit ein Abkühlungstrend aufgetreten sein, der aber höchst insignifikant ist. Auch die SST-Daten erlauben keine signifikanten Schätzungen des Signal-Rausch-Verhältnisses. Im Gegensatz dazu kann der langfristige Trend des globalen Meeresspiegelanstiegs (9.3 cm) weitgehend dem CO₂-Effekt zugeschrieben werden (99.9%-Signifikanzniveau).

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With 7 Figures     

Impact of spectral nudging on the downscaling of tropical cyclones in regional climate simulations

This study investigated the simulations of three months of seasonal tropical cyclone (TC) activity over the western North Pacific using the Advanced Research WRF Model. In the control experiment (CTL), the TC frequency was considerably overestimated. Additionally, the tracks of some TCs tended to have larger radii of curvature and were shifted eastward. The large-scale environments of westerly monsoon flows and subtropical Pacific highs were unreasonably simulated. The overestimated frequency of TC formation was attributed to a strengthened westerly wind field in the southern quadrants of the TC center. In comparison with the experiment with the spectral nudging method, the strengthened wind speed was mainly modulated by large-scale flow that was greater than approximately 1000 km in the model domain. The spurious formation and undesirable tracks of TCs in the CTL were considerably improved by reproducing realistic large-scale atmospheric monsoon circulation with substantial adjustment between large-scale flow in the model domain and large-scale boundary forcing modified by the spectral nudging method. The realistic monsoon circulation took a vital role in simulating realistic TCs. It revealed that, in the downscaling from large-scale fields for regional climate simulations, scale interaction between model-generated regional features and forced large-scale fields should be considered, and spectral nudging is a desirable method in the downscaling method.     

Impact of climate on tea production: a study of the Dooars region in India

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The Dooars region of West Bengal in India is a major tea producing region that contributes around 25% of the national tea yield. Changes in weather patterns...     

Fast and slow timescales in the tropical low-cloud response to increasing CO2 in two climate models

To obtain physical insights into the response and feedback of low clouds (C _l ) to global warming, ensemble 4?×?CO₂ experiments were carried out with two climate models, the Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC) versions 3.2 and 5. For quadrupling CO₂, tropical-mean C _l decreases, and hence, acts as positive feedback in MIROC3, whereas it increases and serves as negative feedback in MIROC5. Three time scales of tropical-mean C _l change were identified—an initial adjustment without change in the global-mean surface air temperature, a slow response emerging after 10–20?years, and a fast response in between. The two models share common features for the former two changes in which C _l decreases. The slow response reflects the variability of C _l associated with the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation in the control integration, and may therefore be constrained by observations. However, the fast response is opposite in the two models and dominates the total response of C _l . Its sign is determined by a subtle residual of the C _l increase and decrease over the ascending and subsidence regions, respectively. The regional C _l increase is consistent with a more frequent occurrence of a stable condition, and vice versa, as measured by lower-tropospheric stability (LTS). The above frequency change in LTS is similarly found in six other climate models despite a large difference in both the mean and the changes in the low-cloud fraction for a given LTS. This suggests that the response of the thermodynamic constraint for C _l to increasing CO₂ concentrations is a robust part of the climate change.     

High latitude river runoff in a doubled CO2 climate

A global atmospheric model is used to calculate the monthly river flow for nine of the world's major high latitude rivers for the present climate and for a doubled CO₂ climate. The model has a horizontal resolution of 4° × 5°, but the model's runoff from each grid box is quartered and added to the appropriate river drainage basin on a 2° × 2.5° resolution. A routing scheme is used to move runoff from a grid box to its neighboring downstream grid box and ultimately to the mouth of the river. In a model simulation in which atmospheric carbon dioxide is doubled, mean annual precipitation and river flow increase for all of these rivers, increased outflow at the river mouths begins earlier in the spring, and the maximum outflow occurs approximately one month sooner due to an earlier snow melt season. In the doubled CO₂ climate, snow mass decreases for the Yukon and Mackenzie rivers in North America and for rivers in northwestern Asia, but snow mass increases for rivers in northeastern Asia.     

Non-stationary extreme value analysis in a changing climate

This paper introduces a framework for estimating stationary and non-stationary return levels, return periods, and risks of climatic extremes using Bayesian inference. This framework is implemented in the Non-stationary Extreme Value Analysis (NEVA) software package, explicitly designed to facilitate analysis of extremes in the geosciences. In a Bayesian approach, NEVA estimates the extreme value parameters with a Differential Evolution Markov Chain (DE-MC) approach for global optimization over the parameter space. NEVA includes posterior probability intervals (uncertainty bounds) of estimated return levels through Bayesian inference, with its inherent advantages in uncertainty quantification. The software presents the results of non-stationary extreme value analysis using various exceedance probability methods. We evaluate both stationary and non-stationary components of the package for a case study consisting of annual temperature maxima for a gridded global temperature dataset. The results show that NEVA can reliably describe extremes and their return levels.     

CO2 equivalences for short-lived climate forcers

With advancing climate change there is a growing need to include short-lived climate forcings in cost-efficient mitigation strategies to achieve international climate policy targets. Tools are required to compare the climate impact of perturbations with distinctively different atmospheric lifetimes and atmospheric properties. We present a generic approach for relating the climate effect of short-lived climate forcers (SLCF) to that of CO₂ emissions. We distinguish between three alternative types of metric-based factors that can be used to derive CO₂ equivalences for SLCF: based on forcing, activity and fossil fuel consumption. We derive numerical values for a wide range of parameter assumptions and apply the resulting generalised approach to the practical example of aviation-induced cloudiness. The evaluation of CO₂ equivalences for SLCF tends to be more sensitive to SLCF specific physical uncertainties and the normative choice of a discount rate than to the choice of a physical or economic metric approach. The ability of physical metrics to approximate economic-based metrics alters with changing atmospheric concentration levels and trends. Under reference conditions, physical CO₂ equivalences for SLCF provide sufficient proxies for economic ones. The latter, however, allow detailed insight into structural uncertainties. They provide CO₂ equivalences for SLCF in short term strategies in the face of failing climate policies, and a temporal evolution of CO₂ equivalences over time that is noticeably better in line with cost-efficient climate stabilisation.     

Effects of increased CO2 levels on monsoons

Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration provided warmer atmospheric temperature and higher atmospheric water vapor content, but not necessarily more precipitation. A set of experiments performed with a state-of-the-art coupled general circulation model forced with increased atmospheric CO₂ concentration (2, 4 and 16 times the present-day mean value) were analyzed and compared with a control experiment to evaluate the effect of increased CO₂ levels on monsoons. Generally, the monsoon precipitation responses to CO₂ forcing are largest if extreme concentrations of carbon dioxide are used, but they are not necessarly proportional to the forcing applied. In fact, despite a common response in terms of an atmospheric water vapor increase to the atmospheric warming, two out of the six monsoons studied simulate less or equal summer mean precipitation in the 16×CO₂ experiment compared to the intermediate sensitivity experiments. The precipitation differences between CO₂ sensitivity experiments and CTRL have been investigated specifying the contribution of thermodynamic and purely dynamic processes. As a general rule, the differences depending on the atmospheric moisture content changes (thermodynamic component) are large and positive, and they tend to be damped by the dynamic component associated with the changes in the vertical velocity. However, differences are observed among monsoons in terms of the role played by other terms (like moisture advection and evaporation) in shaping the precipitation changes in warmer climates. The precipitation increase, even if weak, occurs despite a weakening of the mean circulation in the monsoon regions (??precipitation-wind paradox??). In particular, the tropical east-west Walker circulation is reduced, as found from velocity potential analysis. The meridional component of the monsoon circulation is changed as well, with larger (smaller) meridional (vertical) scales.     

Effects of climate change and elevated atmospheric CO2 on soil organic carbon: a response equation

Climate change, such as warming and precipitation change, as well as elevated CO₂ can affect soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics and cause changes in soil carbon sequestration. In this study, we introduced a response equation, relating the relative change of SOC to the relative changes of annual average temperature, annual precipitation, and atmospheric CO₂ concentration, as well as their inter-products. Using Nelson Farm as a case study, based on simulations of CENTURY model and multiple regressions, we examined the response equation for three vegetation covers (i.e., soybean, corn, and grass) and scenarios with different soil erosion rates and initial SOC contents. The response equation fit the simulation results very well with high adjusted coefficients of determination (R ²) (0.982 to 0.990). The results showed that the SOC was negatively related to the annual average temperature, positively related to the annual precipitation, and positively related to the elevated CO₂ for all the vegetation covers (p?<?0.001). The SOC was also significantly impacted by the interaction effects between elevated CO₂ and warming or precipitation change (p?<?0.001). The general form of the response equations for the different vegetation covers, soil erosion rates, and initial SOC contents was the same although the parameters varied with the different conditions. Based on the response equation, ??cutoff surfaces?? were defined to clearly quantify the synthesis effects of any possible combination of climate change and elevated CO₂ on the SOC, and the SOC sequestration potential was assessed under climate change and elevated CO₂ for different vegetations. Compared with the empirical models in the literature, this response equation provides a simple yet but robust method to represent the relationship between the SOC relative change vs. the relative changes of atmospheric temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric CO₂ concentration.     

Potential impact of vegetation feedback on European heat waves in a 2 x CO 2 climate

Inclusion of the effects of vegetation feedback in a global climate change simulation suggests that the vegetation–climate feedback works to alleviate partially the summer surface warming and the associated heat waves over Europe induced by the increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. The projected warming of 4°C over most of Europe with static vegetation has been reduced by 1°C as the dynamic vegetation feedback effects are included.. Examination of the simulated surface energy fluxes suggests that additional greening in the presence of vegetation feedback effects enhances evapotranspiration and precipitation, thereby limiting the warming, particularly in the daily maximum temperature. The greening also tends to reduce the frequency and duration of heat waves. Results in this study strongly suggest that the inclusion of vegetation feedback within climate models is a crucial factor for improving the projection of warm season temperatures and heat waves over Europe.