An investigation of cloud cover change in response to thermal forcing

The role of cloud cover in determining the sensitivity of climate has been a source of great uncertainty. This article reviews the distributions of cloud cover change from several climate sensitivity experiments conducted at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory of NOAA (GFDL) and other institutions. Two of the sensitivity experiments conducted at GFDL used a general circulation model with a limited computational domain and idealized geography, whereas three other experiments were conducted by the use of a global model with realistic geography. A thermal forcing imposed was either a change of solar constant or that of the CO₂-concentration in the atmosphere. It was found that in all five cases, clouds were decreased in the moist, convectively active regions such as the tropical and middle latitude rainbelts, whereas they increased in the stable region near the model surface from middle to higher latitudes. In addition, cloud also increased in the lower model stratosphere and generally decreased in the middle and upper troposphere for practically all latitudes.A comparison of the cloud changes obtained from investigations carried out at other institutions reveals certain qualitative (but not necessarily quantitative) similarities to the GFDL results. These similarities include a general reduction of tropospheric cloud cover especially in the vicinity of the rainbelts, a general increase of lower stratospheric cloud cover for almost all latitudes and an increase of low stratiform cloud in high latitudes.     

Transient simulations,empirical reconstructions and forcing mechanisms for the Mid-holocene hydrological climate in southern Patagonia

This study investigates the atmospheric circulation in transient climate simulations with a coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model (GCM) for the mid-Holocene (MH) period 7–4.5 ka BP driven with combinations of orbital, solar and greenhouse gas forcings. The focus is on southern South America. Statistical downscaling models are derived from observational data and applied to the simulations to estimate precipitation in south-eastern Patagonia during the MH. These estimates are compared with lake level estimates for Laguna Potrok Aike (LPA) from sediments. Relative to pre-industrial conditions (i.e. 1550–1850), which show extraordinarily high lake levels, the proxy-based reconstructed lake levels during the MH are lower. The downscaled simulated circulation differences indicate higher LPA precipitation during the MH from March to August, higher annual means, and reduced precipitation from September to February. Thus the reconstructed lower LPA lake levels can not be explained solely by the simulated precipitation changes. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. Based on proxy data from southern South America hypotheses have also been proposed on the latitudinal position of the southern hemispheric westerlies (SHWs). In agreement with some of these hypotheses our simulations show an increased seasonal cycle of the latitudinal position of the SHWs during the MH, which can be explained by the orbital forcing. The simulations also show stronger SHWs over southern Patagonia during austral summer and weaker SHWs during winter. The downscaling model associates weaker SHWs with increased precipitation in the LPA region. However, this relationship is only moderate, and therefore the downscaling model does not support the assumption of a strong link between mean SHWs and precipitation over south-eastern Patagonia, which is the basis of many proxy-based hypotheses about the SHWs.     

Oceanic thermal forcing of North Atlantic tropical cyclones

The relationship between North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) peak intensity and subsurface ocean temperature is investigated in this study using atmospheric and ocean reanalysis data. It is found that the peak intensity of basin-wide strong TCs (Categories 4 and 5) is positively correlated with subsurface ocean temperature in the extratropical North Atlantic. A possible physical mechanism is that subsurface ocean temperature in the extratropical North Atlantic can affect local sea surface temperature (SST); on the other hand, the moisture generated by the warming SST in the extratropical North Atlantic is transported to the main region of TC development in the tropics by a near-surface anticyclonic atmospheric circulation over the tropical North Atlantic, affecting TC peak intensity. Moreover, coastal upwelling off Northwest Africa and southern Europe can affect subsurface ocean temperature in the extratropical North Atlantic. Therefore, the peak intensity of strong TCs is also found to be directly correlated with the water temperature in these two upwelling regions on an interdecadal timescale.摘要利用大气与海洋再分析数据等相关资料, 本项研究发现, 北大西洋强台风 (Saffir–Simpson分类中的第4和第5类) 的最大强度与亚热带北大西洋的次表层海温呈正相关. 由于亚热带北大西洋的次表层海温会影响当地的海表温度, 该地区海面产生的水汽通过近地面的反气旋大气环流可被输送到位于热带的台风主要发展区域, 进而影响台风的最大强度. 与此同时, 位于西非北部和南欧的近岸涌升流会影响亚热带北大西洋的次表层海温. 因此, 强台风的最大强度也被发现与上述两个涌升流区域的海温具有相关性, 但是这种相关性主要体现在年代际时间尺度上.     

Greenhouse-gas versus aerosol forcing and African climate response

There are many indicators that human activity may change climate conditions all around the globe through emissions of greenhouse gases. In addition, aerosol particles are emitted from various natural and anthropogenic sources. One important source of aerosols arises from biomass burning, particularly in low latitudes where shifting cultivation and land degradation lead to enhanced aerosol burden. In this study the counteracting effects of greenhouse gases and aerosols on African climate are compared using climate model experiments with fully interactive aerosols from different sources. The consideration of aerosol emissions induces a remarkable decrease in short-wave solar irradiation near the surface, especially in winter and autumn in tropical West Africa and the Congo Basin where biomass burning is mainly prevailing. This directly leads to a modification of the surface energy budget with reduced sensible heat fluxes. As a consequence, temperature decreases, compensating the strong warming signal due to enhanced trace gas concentrations. While precipitation in tropical Africa is less sensitive to the greenhouse warming, it tends to decrease, if the effect of aerosols from biomass burning is taken into account. This is partly due to the local impact of enhanced aerosol burden and partly to modifications of the large-scale monsoon circulation in the lower troposphere, usually lagging behind the season with maximum aerosol emissions. In the model equilibrium experiments, the greenhouse gas impact on temperature stands out from internal variability at various time scales from daily to decadaland the same holds for precipitation under the additional aerosol forcing. Greenhouse gases and aerosols exhibit an opposite effect on daily temperature extremes, resulting in an compensation of the individual responses under the combined forcing. In terms of precipitation, daily extreme events tend to be reduced under aerosol forcing, particularly over the tropical Atlantic and the Congo basin. These results suggest that the simulation of the multiple aerosol effects from anthropogenic sources represents an important factor in tropical climate change, hence, requiring more attention in climate modelling attempts.     

Uncertainties in the GSWP-2 precipitation forcing and their impacts on regional and global hydrological simulations

The Global Soil Wetness Project (GSWP) is an international initiative aimed at producing global data sets of soil wetness and energy and water fluxes by driving land surface models with state-of-the-art 1° by 1° atmospheric forcing and land surface parameters. It also provides a unique opportunity to develop and test land surface parameterizations at the global scale, using multi-year off-line simulations that are not affected by the systematic errors found in atmospheric models. Nevertheless, the accuracy and reliability of the 10?year GSWP-2 atmospheric forcing remain questionable. A first comparison using the high-resolution Rhône-AGGregation (Rhône-AGG) database reveals that the baseline GSWP-2 precipitation forcing is drastically overestimated over the Rhône river basin. Hydrological simulations driven with each dataset and using the ISBA land surface model and the MODCOU river routing model are also compared. The simulated river discharges are validated against a dense network of river gauges and are generally less realistic when using the GSWP-2 instead of the Rhône-AGG precipitation forcing. Secondly, the GSWP-2 precipitation forcing is compared with three alternative data sets (GPCP-2, CRU-2, CMAP) at the global scale. Moreover, the results of a global sensitivity study to the precipitation forcing conducted with six land surface models are shown. The TRIP river routing model is used to convert daily runoff from all models into river discharges, which are compared at 80 gauging stations distributed over the globe. In agreement with the regional evaluation, the results reveal that the baseline GSWP-2 precipitation forcing is generally overestimated over the mid and high latitudes, which implies systematic errors in the simulated discharges. This study reveals that the empirical wind corrections applied to the GSWP-2 precipitation forcing are exaggerated, whereas the GPCP satellite adjustments seem to be useful for simulating realistic annual mean river discharges over the East Siberian river basins.     

The response of currents in Trinity Bay,Newfoundland, to local wind forcing

Abstract

Analysis of current measurements taken between June and October 1984 at four moorings in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, is discussed. The alongshore component of current exhibits baroclinic fluctuations coherent with the along‐bay component of wind stress at periods between 3 and 7 days. A two‐layer model of internal Kelvin waves propagating around the perimeter of an elongated bay and forced by a spatially uniform wind stress is presented. The observations support several features of the model response to wind forcing. Along the side of the bay on which Kelvin waves are incoming, the amplitude of the response increases into the bay and decreases with increasing frequency. Along the outgoing side of the bay the amplitude of the response generally shows a maximum at a frequency between 0.2 and 0.3 cpd. The phase lag between current and wind is consistent with a forced response. An example is given of upwelling and downwelling on opposite sides of the bay in agreement with the model behaviour.     

Transient hysteresis of near-surface permafrost response to external forcing

Estimates of changes in near-surface permafrost (NSP) area S _p relative to change in globally averaged surface air temperature T _g are made by using the global climate model developed at the A.M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics RAS (IAP RAS CM). For ensemble of runs forced by scenarios constructed as return-to-preindustrial continuations of the RCP (Representative Concentration Pathways) scenarios family, a possibility of transient hysteresis in dependence of S _p versus T _g is exhibited: in some temperature range which depends on imposed scenario of external forcing, NSP area is larger, at the same global mean surface air temperature, in a warming climate than in a cooling climate. This hysteresis is visible more clearly for scenarios with higher concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere in comparison to those in which this concentration is lower. Hysteresis details are not sensitive to the type of the prescribed continuation path which is used to return the climate to the preindustrial state. The multiple-valued dependence of S _p on T _g arises due to dependence of soil state in the regions of extra-tropical wetlands and near the contemporary NSP boundaries on sign of external climatic forcing. To study the dependence of permafrost hysteresis on amplitude and temporal scale of external forcing, additional model runs are performed. These runs are forced by idealised scenarios of atmospheric CO₂ content varying, depending on run, with periods from 100 to 1,000 year and with different amplitudes. It is shown that the above-mentioned hysteresis is related to the impact of phase transitions of soil water on apparent inertia of the system as well as to the impact of soil state on atmospheric hydrological cycle and radiation transfer in the atmosphere.     

Contrasting the tropical responses to zonally asymmetric extratropical and tropical thermal forcing

The mechanism is investigated by which extratropical thermal forcing with a finite zonal extent produces global impact. The goal is to understand the near-global response to a weakened Atlantic meridional overturning circulation suggested by paleoclimate data and modeling studies. An atmospheric model coupled to an aquaplanet slab mixed layer ocean, in which the unperturbed climate is zonally symmetric, is perturbed by prescribing cooling of the mixed layer in the Northern Hemisphere and heating of equal magnitude in the Southern Hemisphere, over some finite range of longitudes. In the case of heating/cooling confined to the extratropics, the zonally asymmetric forcing is homogenized by midlatitude westerlies and extratropical eddies before passing on to the tropics, inducing a zonally symmetric tropical response. In addition, the zonal mean responses vary little as the zonal extent of the forced region is changed, holding the zonal mean heating fixed, implying little impact of stationary eddies on the zonal mean. In contrast, when the heating/cooling is confined to the tropics, the zonally asymmetric forcing produces a highly localized response with slight westward extension, due to advection by mean easterly trade winds. Regardless of the forcing location, neither the spatial structure nor the zonal mean responses are strongly affected by wind–evaporation–sea surface temperature feedback.     

The response of an open stratified bay to wind forcing

Abstract

Current and temperature measurements collected during the summers of 1974, 1975 and 1979 are used to investigate the wind‐induced response of St Georges Bay, Nova Scotia. A multivariate‐frequency response analysis shows that temperature and the along‐bay component of current in the lower layer are coherent with the local wind stress at periods of 2–6 d, with the wind stress accounting for 35–65% of the observed variances. Winds are also coherent with the surface currents but account for only 20–25% of the variance. Two dynamically different regions are identified. Near the entrance to the bay, cross‐bay wind stresses (τ_x) produce Ekman drift with compensating flow in the lower layer. In the interior of the bay, the near‐bottom currents are coherent with along‐bay (τ_y) wind stresses and are directed upwind. These currents are topographically steered and a response to surface pressure gradients set up by the wind. The surface gradients are believed to be part of the wind‐induced set‐up within the southern Gulf of St Lawrence.     

A three-dimensional study of mesoscale model response to radiative forcing

An infrared radiation parameterization has been applied to a detailed three-dimensional mesoscale model in order to determine whether radiative forcing significantly affects mesoscale atmospheric processes. By taking into account water vapor, liquid water, and carbon dioxide absorption, the scheme differentiates between cloud and clear air regions. The parametric model is presented, along with an overview of the associated mesoscale model.Comparisons between a control run in which only a uniform cooling rate of l K day^–1 is specified, and runs with the infrared scheme are made for 12-hr simulations. The major feature of the radiative forcing is seen to be strong cloud-top cooling. This leads to enhanced destabilization of the upper cloud layer, which in turn results in faster growth of clouds (and which extend to higher levels) than in the control experiment. The deeper clouds force a more vigorous secondary circulation, in which thermodynamic feedbacks between clouds and their environment are substantially stronger than in the case with only a constant cooling rate. This confirms findings made in previous studies undertaken in small-scale numerical models. The discussion also focuses upon a simulation in which the cloud-top infrared cooling has been smoothed out over neighboring vertical levels, in order to represent a cloud-top height distribution crudely. The results indicate that although the absolute values of cloud-top cooling are reduced with respect to the unfiltered case, the fact that cooling extends even higher than previously predicted leads to the formation of thicker, more vigorous clouds. These clouds interact more intensely with their environment than in the unfiltered situation, thereby considerably modifying the mesoscale atmosphere.     

热力强迫对澳洲北部越赤道气流强弱变化的影响

采用1980-2004年NCEP／NCAR再分析资料,从影响越赤道气流的大气内、外强迫因子（主要指大气凝结潜热释放及下垫面热力差异）出发,结合诊断分析和数值试验,探讨了强迫因子对澳洲北部由南向北越赤道气流强弱变化的影响。结果表明,冷澳洲大陆有利于强澳高或频繁冷空气活动的形成,通道南部弱下垫面加热有利于弱Walker环流的形成,南海一中南半岛较强海陆热力差异或菲律宾强对流加热有利于通道北部强辐合带的形成,它们都对应澳洲北部由南向北强越赤道气流的形成。弱越赤道气流对应的强迫因子及环流因子的特征则与上述情况相反。     

Quantifying global climate feedbacks, responses and forcing under abrupt and gradual CO2 forcing

Experiments with abrupt CO₂ forcing allow the diagnosis of the response of global mean temperature and precipitation in terms of fast temperature independent adjustments and slow, linear temperature-dependent feedbacks. Here we compare responses, feedbacks and forcings in experiments performed as part of version 5 of the coupled model inter-comparison project (CMIP5). The experiments facilitate, for the first time, a comparison of fully coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (GCM’s) under both linearly increasing and abrupt radiative forcing. In the case of a 1 % per year compounded increase in CO₂ concentration, we find that the non-linear evolution of surface air temperature in time, when combined with the linear evolution of the radiative balance at the top of the atmosphere, results in a feedback parameter and effective climate sensitivity having an offset compared to values computed from abrupt 4× CO₂ forcing experiments. The linear evolution of the radiative balance at the top of the atmosphere also contributes to an offset between the global mean precipitation response predicted in the 1 % experiment using linear theory and that diagnosed from the experiments themselves, and a potential error between the adjusted radiative forcing and that produced using a standard linear formula. The non-linear evolution of temperature and precipitation responses are also evident in the RCP8.5 scenario and have implications for understanding, quantifying and emulating the global response of the CMIP5 climate GCMs.     

Sensitivity of the northern extratropics hydrological cycle to the changing insolation forcing at 126 and 115 ky BP

The orbital configuration at the end of the last interglacial, 115,000 years BP (115 ky BP), was such that the Northern Hemisphere seasonal contrast was decreased when compared to the last interglacial maximum, 126 ky BP. Climatic reconstructions argue for increased latitudinal surface temperature and salinity gradients in the North Atlantic at 115 ky BP compared to 126 ky BP. According to proxy measurements the high-latitude ocean freshening may be explained by enhanced northward atmospheric moisture advection which would have then led to decreased deep convection activity in the northern seas. To evaluate such re-adjustments of the atmospheric circulation to the insolation forcing changes, we have explored the changes in atmospheric energy balance and transport with two AGCM experiments, one for each climate. We show that the northward increase in static heat transport at 115 ky BP to 126 ky BP constitutes a first order response to the changing insolation. It tends to equalise the heat balance of the atmosphere. Despite sea surface temperatures fixed (SSTs) to present-day this feature is strongly amplified by the air–sea heat flux exchanges. By comparing with OAGCM experiments for the same periods, we find that the simulated surface ocean heat flux responses to insolation forcing are similar whether the ocean is allowed to vary or not. The latent heat transport does not undergo the same changes as the dry static one. On an annual basis, it decreases over the high northern latitudes. This is the result of summer modification of moisture sources and transient activity. The latter appears to affect latent heat transport much more than the dry static one. The winter response, however, differs from the summer response which dominates the annual mean. There is an enhanced northward atmospheric moisture advection during winter at 115 ky BP, which is responsible for the freshening of high-latitude ocean during this season. This result seems to confirm the hypothesis inferred from marine data.     

Dependence of climate forcing and response on the altitude of black carbon aerosols

Black carbon aerosols absorb solar radiation and decrease planetary albedo, and thus can contribute to climate warming. In this paper, the dependence of equilibrium climate response on the altitude of black carbon is explored using an atmospheric general circulation model coupled to a mixed layer ocean model. The simulations model aerosol direct and semi-direct effects, but not indirect effects. Aerosol concentrations are prescribed and not interactive. It is shown that climate response of black carbon is highly dependent on the altitude of the aerosol. As the altitude of black carbon increases, surface temperatures decrease; black carbon near the surface causes surface warming, whereas black carbon near the tropopause and in the stratosphere causes surface cooling. This cooling occurs despite increasing planetary absorption of sunlight (i.e. decreasing planetary albedo). We find that the trend in surface air temperature response versus the altitude of black carbon is consistent with our calculations of radiative forcing after the troposphere, stratosphere, and land surface have undergone rapid adjustment, calculated as “regressed” radiative forcing. The variation in climate response from black carbon at different altitudes occurs largely from different fast climate responses; temperature dependent feedbacks are not statistically distinguishable. Impacts of black carbon at various altitudes on the hydrological cycle are also discussed; black carbon in the lowest atmospheric layer increases precipitation despite reductions in solar radiation reaching the surface, whereas black carbon at higher altitudes decreases precipitation.     

Changes of interannual NAO variability in response to greenhouse gases forcing

Observations show that there was change in interannual North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) variability in the mid-1970s. This change was characterized by an eastward shift of the NAO action centres, a poleward shift of zonal wind anomalies and a downstream extension of climate anomalies associated with the NAO. The NAO interannual variability for the period after the mid-1970s has an annular mode structure that penetrates deeply into the stratosphere, indicating a strengthened relationship between the NAO and the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and strengthened stratosphere-troposphere coupling. In this study we have investigated possible causes of these changes in the NAO by carrying out experiments with an atmospheric GCM. The model is forced either by doubling CO₂, or increasing sea surface temperatures (SST), or both. In the case of SST forcing the SST anomaly is derived from a coupled model simulation forced by increasing CO₂. Results indicate that SST and CO₂ change both force a poleward and eastward shift in the pattern of interannual NAO variability and the associated poleward shift of zonal wind anomalies, similar to the observations. The effect of SST change can be understood in terms of mean changes in the troposphere. The direct effect of CO₂ change, in contrast, can not be understood in terms of mean changes in the troposphere. However, there is a significant response in the stratosphere, characterized by a strengthened climatological polar vortex with strongly enhanced interannual variability. In this case, the NAO interannual variability has a strong link with the variability over the North Pacific, as in the annular AO pattern, and is also strongly related to the stratospheric vortex, indicating strengthened stratosphere-troposphere coupling. The similarity of changes in many characteristics of NAO interannual variability between the model response to doubling CO₂ and those in observations in the mid-1970s implies that the increase of greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere, and the resulting changes in the stratosphere, might have played an important role in the multidecadal change of interannual NAO variability and its associated climate anomalies during the late twentieth century. The weak change in mean westerlies in the troposphere in response to CO₂ change implies that enhanced and eastward extended mid-latitude westerlies in the troposphere might not be a necessary condition for the poleward and eastward shift of the NAO action centres in the mid-1970s.     

亚洲夏季风对强外辐射强迫变化的响应

该文通过改变太阳常数,利用NCAR气候系统模式CSM1.4研究了亚洲夏季风对强外辐射强迫变化的响应。结果表明:随太阳常数增加,局地增温幅度变化很大,中高纬地区比低纬地区增暖幅度强,这在太阳常数增加较大的试验中表现尤为明显;随太阳常数增大越大,大气温度升高越高,对流层有强烈增温,对流层高层更为显著;随太阳常数增大,亚洲夏季风系统的响应越强,太平洋副热带高压和南亚高压强度增强明显,并且太阳常数增加越大,高压强度越强,但形式有所不同,500 hPa太阳常数增加2.5%高压强度随纬度增高增强幅度变小,太阳常数增加10%和25%高压强度随纬度增高增强幅度变大。100 hPa太阳常数增加2.5%和10%高压强度随纬度增高增强幅度变小,太阳常数增加25%高压强度随纬度增高增强幅度变大。     

影响副高活动的热力强迫作用——动力学解析模型

采用最优化搜索方法,对影响副高活动的东亚季风区位势场和季风雨带降水场进行了函数拟合,并用拟合出的函数作为基函数和热力强迫因子代入正压涡度方程,对涡度方程解的性质进行了讨论。分析和模拟结果表明:中心位于我国华北一带东亚季风雨带凝结潜热释放易导致副高的西伸和北抬;而中心位于赤道附近的南海季风槽降水热力作用可导致副高出现东退和西伸两种可能。     

Response of the Asian summer Monsoons to a high-latitude thermal forcing: mechanisms and nonlinearities

This study investigates mechanisms and nonlinearities in the response of the Asian Summer Monsoons (ASM) to high-latitude thermal forcings of different amplitudes. Using a suite of runs carried out with an intermediate-complexity atmospheric general circulation model, we find that the imposed forcings produce a strong precipitation response over the eastern ASM but a rather weak response over the southern ASM. The forcing also causes a precipitation dipole with wet conditions over the eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP) and dry conditions over the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and southeast Asia. A moderate increase of precipitation along the southern margin of the TP is also produced. Simulations designed to isolate the causal mechanisms show that thermodynamic interactions involving the tropical surface oceans are far less important than the water-vapour feedback for the transmission of information from the high-latitudes to the ASM. Additionally, we assess the nonlinearity of the ASM precipitation response to the forcing amplitude using a novel application of the empirical orthogonal function method. The response can be decomposed in two overlapping patterns. The first pattern represents a precipitation dipole with wet conditions over the eastern TP and dry conditions over BoB, which linearly increases with forcing amplitude becoming quasi-stationary for large forcing amplitudes (i.e. amplitudes leading to Arctic temperature anomalies larger than 10 °C). The second pattern is associated with increased precipitation over the southeastern TP and is nonlinearly dependent on forcing, being most important for intermediate forcing amplitudes (i.e. amplitudes leading to Arctic temperature anomalies between 5 and 10 °C).