Implementation of intuitionistic fuzzy logic to assess the predictability of severe thunderstorms

Thunderstorms are responsible for remarkable devastation when accompanied with lightning flashes, high wind gusts, torrential rain, hail and tornadoes. Weather hazards due to thunderstorms of such severe measure take place every year over Kolkata (22°32′N, 88°20′E), India during the pre-monsoon season (April–May). Prediction of severe thunderstorms is extremely important to cope with the devastations. However, forecasting severe thunderstorms is very difficult because the weather system is confined within a very small spatial-temporal scale. The network of observation systems is not adequate to detect such high frequency small scale weather. The purpose of the present study is to bring in the concept of Intuitionistic fuzzy logic as a decision — making technique to assess the predictability of severe thunderstorms over Kolkata in the premonsoon season. Different measures of entropies are used to extract the route of fuzziness. The intuitionistic fuzzy logic is implemented with ten years (1997–2006) observation of the occurrence/nonoccurrence of severe thunderstorms to assess the predictability. The result reveals that two consecutive severe thunderstorm days are highly probable after two consecutive non-thunderstorm days whereas the probability of severe thunderstorm is very less after three consecutive non-thunderstorm days during the pre-monsoon season over Kolkata. The result is compared with the box-and-whisker plot and validated with four years (2007–2010) observations of India Meteorological Department (IMD).     

Disparity in the characteristic of thunderstorms and associated lightning activities over dissimilar terrains

Thunderstorms and associated lightning flash activities are studied over two different locations in India with different terrain features. Lightning imaging sensor (LIS) data from 1998 to 2008 are analyzed during the pre-monsoon months (March, April and May). The eastern sector is designated as Sector A that represents a 2° × 2° square area enclosing Kolkata (22.65°N, 88.45°E) at the centre and covering Gangetic West Bengal, parts of Bihar and Orissa whereas the north-eastern sector designated as Sector B that also represents a 2° × 2° square area encircling Guwahati (26.10°N, 91.58°E) at the centre and covering Assam and foot hills of Himalaya of India. The stations Kolkata and Guwahati are selected for the present study from Sector A and Sector B, respectively, as these are the only stations over the selected areas having Radiosonde observatory. The result of the present study reveals that the characteristics of thunderstorms over the two locations are remarkably different. Lightning frequency is observed to be higher in Sector B than Sector A. The result further reveals that though the lightning frequency is less in Sector A, but the associated radiance is higher in Sector A than Sector B. It is also observed that the radiance increases linearly with convective available potential energy (CAPE) and their high correlation reveals that the lightning intensity can be estimated through the CAPE values. The sensitivity of lightning activity to CAPE is higher at the elevated station Guwahati (elevation 54 m) than Kolkata (elevation 6 m). Moderate resolution imaging spectrometer (MODIS) data products are used to obtain aerosol optical depth and cloud top temperature and employed to find their responses on lightning radiance.     

Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system to forecast peak gust speed during thunderstorms

The aim of the present study is to develop an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) to forecast the peak gust speed associated with thunderstorms during the pre-monsoon season (April?CMay) over Kolkata (22°32??N, 88°20??E), India. The pre-monsoon thunderstorms during 1997?C2008 are considered in this study to train the model. The input parameters are selected from various stability indices using statistical skill score analysis. The most useful and relevant stability indices are taken to form the input matrix of the model. The forecast through the hybrid ANFIS model is compared with non-hybrid radial basis function network (RBFN), multi layer perceptron (MLP) and multiple linear regression (MLR) models. The forecast error analyses of the models in the test cases reveal that ANFIS provides the best forecast of the peak gust speed with 3.52% error, whereas the errors with RBFN, MLP, and MLR models are 10.48, 11.57, and 12.51%, respectively. During the validation with the 2009 observations of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the ANFIS model confirms its superiority over other comparative models. The forecast error during the validation of the ANFIS model is observed to be 3.69%, with a lead time of <12?h, whereas the errors with RBFN, MLP, and MLR are 12.25, 13.19, and 14.86%, respectively. The ANFIS model may, therefore, be used as an operational model for forecasting the peak gust speed associated with thunderstorms over Kolkata during the pre-monsoon season.     

A composite stability index for dichotomous forecast of thunderstorms

Thunderstorms are the perennial feature of Kolkata (22° 32???N, 88° 20???E), India during the premonsoon season (April?CMay). Precise forecast of these thunderstorms is essential to mitigate the associated catastrophe due to lightning flashes, strong wind gusts, torrential rain, and occasional hail and tornadoes. The present research provides a composite stability index for forecasting thunderstorms. The forecast quality detection parameters are computed with the available indices during the period from 1997 to 2006 to select the most relevant indices with threshold ranges for the prevalence of such thunderstorms. The analyses reveal that the lifted index (LI) within the range of ?5 to ?12?°C, convective inhibition energy (CIN) within the range of 0?C150?J/kg and convective available potential energy (CAPE) within the ranges of 2,000 to 7,000?J/kg are the most pertinent indices for the prevalence thunderstorms over Kolkata during the premonsoon season. A composite stability index, thunderstorm prediction index (TPI) is formulated with LI, CIN, and CAPE. The statistical skill score analyses show that the accuracy in forecasting such thunderstorms with TPI is 99.67?% with lead time less than 12?h during training the index whereas the accuracies are 89.64?% with LI, 60?% with CIN and 49.8?% with CAPE. The performance diagram supports that TPI has better forecast skill than its individual components. The forecast with TPI is validated with the observation of the India Meteorological Department during the period from 2007 to 2009. The real-time forecast of thunderstorms with TPI is provided for the year?2010.     

Convective energies in forecasting severe thunderstorms with one hidden layer neural net and variable learning rate back propagation algorithm

Thunderstorms are perennial features of India. However, the severe thunderstorms of pre — monsoon season (April–May) over Kolkata (22°32′N, 88°20′E) are of great concern for imparting devastating effect on life and property on the ground and aviation aloft. The study is thus, focused on developing one hidden layer neural network model with variable learning rate back propagation algorithm to forecast such thunderstorms. Convective available potential energy (CAPE) and convective inhibition energy (CIN) are selected as the input parameters of the model after the estimation of various skill scores like, Probability of Detection (POD), False Alarm Ratio (FAR), Heidke Skill Score (HSS) and Odds Ratio Skill Score (Yule’s Q) on different stability indices. During training the model, the squared error for forecasting severe thunderstorms is observed to be 0.0022 when the values of CIN within the range of 0 to 140 J kg^?1 is taken as the input whereas the error is observed to be 0.0114 while the values of CAPE within the range of 2000 to 7000 J kg^?1 is considered as the input. The values of CIN and CAPE at twelve to six hours prior to the occurrence of severe thunderstorms are considered in this study. During validation of the model, the percentage of prediction error with the values of CIN as input is observed to be 0.042% and that with CAPE as input is 0.162%. The values of CIN within the range of 0–140 J kg^?1 are observed to be more persistent in forecasting severe thunderstorms over Kolkata than the values of CAPE within the range of 2000–7000 J kg^?1.     

Trends in middle- and upper-level tropospheric humidity from NCEP reanalysis data

The National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data on tropospheric humidity are examined for the period 1973 to 2007. It is accepted that radiosonde-derived humidity data must be treated with great caution, particularly at altitudes above the 500 hPa pressure level. With that caveat, the face-value 35-year trend in zonal-average annual-average specific humidity q is significantly negative at all altitudes above 850 hPa (roughly the top of the convective boundary layer) in the tropics and southern midlatitudes and at altitudes above 600 hPa in the northern midlatitudes. It is significantly positive below 850 hPa in all three zones, as might be expected in a mixed layer with rising temperatures over a moist surface. The results are qualitatively consistent with trends in NCEP atmospheric temperatures (which must also be treated with great caution) that show an increase in the stability of the convective boundary layer as the global temperature has risen over the period. The upper-level negative trends in q are inconsistent with climate-model calculations and are largely (but not completely) inconsistent with satellite data. Water vapor feedback in climate models is positive mainly because of their roughly constant relative humidity (i.e., increasing q) in the mid-to-upper troposphere as the planet warms. Negative trends in q as found in the NCEP data would imply that long-term water vapor feedback is negative—that it would reduce rather than amplify the response of the climate system to external forcing such as that from increasing atmospheric CO₂. In this context, it is important to establish what (if any) aspects of the observed trends survive detailed examination of the impact of past changes of radiosonde instrumentation and protocol within the various international networks.     

Variations of 500 hPa flow patterns over Iranand surrounding areas and their relationship with the climate of Iran

Summary In order to explore the spatial and temporal variations of 500 hPa flow patterns and their relationship with the climate of Iran, monthly mean geopotential heights for the region 0° E to 70° E and 20° N to 50° N, at 5 degree resolution, were analysed. The study period covered the winter months October to March during the period 1961–90. The monthly height of the 500 hPa level was averaged along each meridian from 25° N to 45° N. The height of the mean monthly pressure pattern was mapped against the study years. The results showed that the characteristics of the 500 hPa flow pattern varied over monthly and annual time scales. Principal Component Analysis, with S-mode and Varimax rotation, was also used to reduce the gridded data to 5 (6 in October) significant factors. The factor scores for each month were then correlated with monthly Z-scores of precipitation and temperature anomalies over Iran. The results showed that troughs and ridges located close to Iran had more influence on the climate of Iran. Two troughs were identified and named the Caspian and Syrian troughs. Received April 12, 2001 Revised July 24, 2001     

越赤道气流对副高脊线北抬至25°N的影响

副高脊线北抬至25°N的时间早晚是福建前汛期结束和开始进入夏季的重要环流背景。应用850hPa月平均风场、500hPa环流场和西太平洋副热带高压脊线北抬至25°N日期及福建省25个代表站(县)6—7月的降水为基本分析资料,首先标定副高北抬至25°N的标准与年例,其次采用合成分析法揭示异常年例6月850hPa风场的基本特征,进而探讨了索马里越赤道气流强度变化对副高北抬至25°N的影响关系,最后对2005年进行诊断。其主要结果有:(1)6月索马里越赤道气流强劲(不够明显),较常年偏强(偏弱),有利于副高北抬至25°N提早(推迟);(2)5—6月索马里越赤道气流强度与500hPa东亚至西太平洋中纬度区域的高度场呈现正相关关系,该区域高度场高(低)有(不)利于副高主体北抬,为副高北抬25°N时间提早(推迟)提供有利环流背景;(3)索马里越赤道气流强度为副高北抬至25°N提供了一个较强的预报预测信号;诊断2005年副高北抬至25°N提早,实况与诊断相符。     

贵州省冬季雨凇灾害预测模型的初构

该研究利用1961—2015年贵州省逐日雨凇观测资料,NCEP/NCAR海平面气压场和500 h Pa高度场逐月再分析资料,以及NOAA ERSSTV4逐月海表温度资料,初步构建了贵州省冬季雨凇灾害预测模型。模型主要量化为以下指标:雨凇灾害偏强/弱时,对应500 h Pa位势高度异常场正/负(50~70°N、40~80°E)和负/正(20~40°N、60~100°E),对应海平面气压异常场正/负(45~65°N、40~80°E),对应前期秋季北大西洋关键区(25~35°N,60~40°W)的海表温度异常为负/正异常。且强雨凇年时,该模型的可信度更高。利用该模型,本研究展开了对2016年冬季雨凇强度的试报,试报结果为强度偏弱,与实况场吻合,表明该模型有一定的参考价值。     

东亚夏季风指数的年际变化与东亚大气环流

文中从夏季东亚热带、副热带环流系统特点出发 ,定义了能较好表征东亚夏季风环流年际变化的特征指数 ,并分析了东亚夏季风指数的年际变化与东亚大气环流及夏季中国东部降水的关系。文中定义的东亚夏季风指数既反映了夏季东亚大气环流风场的变化特征 ,也较好地反映了夏季中国东部降水的年际变化特征。此外 ,还探讨了东亚夏季风指数变化的先兆信号     

6月西太平洋副高脊线的年际变化及其对华南降水的影响

用１９５１－１９９１年６月份５００ｈＰａ位势高度资料取得了西太平洋副热带高压脊线位置资料序列，分析了脊线位置的变化。分析结果发现副高脊线位置与５００ｈＰａ位势高度场、海面温度等关系密切。脊线位置具有显著的３２年、５．３年、３．２年和２．３年振荡周期。６月份副高脊线偏北（南）华南降水偏少（多）。     

Characteristics of summertime daily rainfall variability over South America and the South Atlantic Convergence Zone

Summary ?This paper presents an objective analysis of the structure of daily rainfall variability over the South American/South Atlantic region (15°–60° W and 0°–40° S) during individual austral summer months of November to March. From EOF analysis of satellite derived daily rainfall we find that the leading mode of variability is represented by a highly coherent meridional dipole structure, organised into 2 extensive bands, oriented northwest to southeast across the continent and Atlantic Ocean. We argue that this dipole structure represents variability in the meridional position of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ). During early and later summer, in the positive (negative) phase of the dipole, enhanced (suppressed) rainfall over eastern tropical Brazil links with that over the subtropical and extra-tropical Atlantic and is associated with suppressed (enhanced) rainfall over the sub-tropical plains and adjacent Atlantic Ocean. This structure is indicative of interaction between the tropical, subtropical and temperate zones. Composite fields from NCEP reanalysis products (associated with the major positive and negative events) show that in early and late summer the position of the SACZ is associated with variability in: (a) the midlatitude wave structure, (b) the position of the continental low, and (c) the zonal position of the South Atlantic Subtropical High. Harmonic analysis of the 200 hPa geopotential anomaly structure in the midlatitudes indicates that reversals in the rainfall dipole structure are associated primarily with variability in zonal wave 4. There is evidence of a wave train extending throughout the midlatitudes from the western Pacific into the SACZ region. During positive (negative) events the largest anomalous moisture advection occurs within westerlies (easterlies) primarily from Amazonia (the South Atlantic). In both phases a convergent poleward flow results along the leading edge of the low-level trough extending from the tropics into temperate latitudes. High summer events differ from those in early and late summer in that the rainfall dipole is primarily associated with variability in the phase of zonal wave 3, and that tropical-temperate link is not clearly evident in positive events. Received May 31, 2001; revised October 17, 2001; accepted June 13, 2002     

Effect of tropospheric temperature change on the zonal mean circulation and SH winter extratropical cyclones

This study aims to understand the mechanisms which cause an overall reduction of SH extratropical cyclone activity with a slight increase in the high latitudes in a warmer climate simulated in general circulation models (GCMs) with increasing CO₂. For this purpose, we conducted idealized model experiments by forcing warm temperature anomalies to the areas where climate change models exhibit local maximum warming—the tropics in the upper troposphere and the polar regions in the lower troposphere—simultaneously and separately. The Melbourne University atmospheric GCM (R21) coupled with prescribed SST was utilized for the experiments. Our results demonstrate that the reduction of SH extratropical cyclone frequency and depth in the midlatitudes but the slight increase in the high latitudes suggested in climate change models result essentially from the tropical upper tropospheric warming. With this tropical warming, the enhanced static stability which decreases baroclinicity in the low and midlatitudes turns out to be a major contributor to the decrease of cyclone activity equatorward of 45°S whereas the increased meridional temperature gradient in the high latitudes seems an important mechanism for the increase of cyclone activity over 50°–60°S.     

近百年东亚冬季气温及其大气环流变化型态

利用最新20世纪近百年再分析气象资料,研究近百年东亚冬季气温变化型及其相关的大气环流型态.结果表明近百年内东亚冬季气温主要有两种变化型:第一是东亚西南与东北相反气温变化型,表现在40°N以南及105°E以西地区(西南地区)气温变化与40°N以北及105°E以东地区(东北地区)变化相反;第二是40°N以南气温一致变化型.与第一种气温变化型耦合的大气模态是500hPa欧亚型遥相关、西伯利亚高压及北大西洋涛动.当欧亚型遥相关负位相,北大西洋涛动正位相及西伯利亚高压减弱时,有利于蒙古和我国105° E以东的区域增温而我国西南地区和青藏高原降温,反之亦然.第二种气温变化型耦合大气模态是500hPa西太平洋型遥相关,北太平洋涛动.当西太平洋型遥相关及北太平洋涛动处于正位相时(北太平洋北负南正),东亚40°N以南地区增温,东亚40°N以北地区降温.耦合的大气模态的型态差异,影响各阶段气温的年际变化.近一百年中,欧亚型遥相关和北大西洋涛动在1984～2010期间的型态最显著,是20世纪80年代东亚显著增暖的原因之一.研究还发现20世纪中期后东亚气温的年际变化与极地环流的变化联系紧密,表现在西伯利亚高压范围东扩并与极地环流联系,也是近百年气温趋势上升的一个原因.     

Nonlinear kinetic energy interactions and their contributions to the growth and decay of atmospheric waves in the lower troposphere during summer monsoon, 1979

Summary Lower tropospheric (1000–500) hPa kinetic energy (KE), temporal variations of KE and nonlinear KE transfer of rotational and divergent flows and energy conversion between them, partitioning further into stationary and transient components in the Fourier spectral domain and the mechanism for the evolution of significant transient waves for the month July 1979 in the latitudinal belt 10° S–30° N are studied.Divergent zonal and eddy KE show their maxima at the lowest level 1000 hPa. Lower tropospheric monsoon motion provides a non-divergent level close to 850 hPa. The daily flow patterns bear little resemblence to the climatology over tropics at 500 hPa. Although the transient mode of synoptic scale waves is stronger than that of planetary scale waves they are comparable. Analysis of energetics over global tropics can get signature of transient activities embedded in the large scale system. Summer momentum flux in the lower troposphere is essentially associated with stationary planetary and transient synoptic scale waves. Waves 1, 3 and 6 are the most preferred transient waves. Divergent to rotational KE conversion is the most dominating mechanism for the maintenance of planetary and synoptic scale waves. All categories of waves contribute towards the maintenance of zonal flows. The primary source of energy for transient synoptic scale waves is the transient divergent rotational KE transfer whereas the interaction between zonal stationary and transient wave is likely to be secondary source. Transient KE and all transient interactions, stationary KE and all stationary interactions are found to be strongest at 500 hPa and 850 hPa respectively. Growth and decay of transient waves 1 and 3 are mainly controlled by divergent-rotational KE conversions whereas those of transient wave 6 are controlled by KE transfer due to zonal-wave interaction.With 13 Figures     

Analysis of Stationary-Wave Nonstationarity in the Northern Hemisphere 500-hPa Height Field

In this paper, the concept of stationary-wave nonstationarity is presented and elucidated in the framework of the Lorenz circulation decomposition. This concept indicates the relative magnitude of the zonal nonuniform abnormity to the intensity of stationary waves on the monthly mean scale. Based on the Lorenz circulation decomposition, the nonstationarity degree Ius(Ilus) of the global (local) stationary waves is defined, and then used to analyze the stationary-wave nonstationarity at 30° 60°N, where the intensity of stationary waves at 500 hPa in the Northern Hemisphere, as is well known, is very high. The following findings are obtained: (1) There exist seasonal southward and northward movements in the position of the nonstationarity zones of the global stationary waves. The steady stationary waves occur in midlatitudes (35°-55°N) in winter and in the subtropical region (south of 35°N) in summer, associated with the major troughs over East Asia and North America and the weak European trough in winter, and with the relatively steady subtropical high system in summer. A high value center of Ius is at 35°N in spring and 50°N in summer, which might be caused by the seasonal variation of stationary-wave intensity, particularly in association with the interannual variability of trough ridge positions of stationary waves on the monthly mean maps. (2) There exists obvious asymmetry in Ilus, with the steady zones always located in the areas controlled by strong troughs/ridges and the unsteady ones in the areas where the stationary-wave intensity is low. The Ilus in the subtropics (south of 35°N) is larger in winter than in summer, and vice versa in the midlatitude region (north of 35°N). The summertime distribution of Ilus on the whole shows a rather complicated structure. However, North Europe is the most unsteady area for local stationary waves, as represented by high values of Ilus in both summer and winter, while over the North American continent (about 120°E-60°W), the °Ilus is slightly less than 1 in summer, indicating that the stationary waves in this region are more steady than those over other mid and high latitude regions. (3) From North China to Northwest Pacific, there is a high value zone of Ilus in summer, with its center (45°N, 130°E) located in the east of Heilongjiang Province. This influences the summer climate of northern China, including Northeast, North, and Northwest China. It is obvious that the nonstationarity is an intrinsic attribute of stationary waves, and can be regarded as being of the same importance as the intensity and energy-spectrum structure of stationary waves in the studies of the general circulation system.     

2010年秋冬季西南地区严重干旱与南支槽关系分析

利用1951~2009年西南地区24个站点逐月降水资料以及NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,分析了2009/2010年冬季我国西南地区严重干旱的演变特征,并使用SVD、小波分析和合成分析揭示了南支槽与我国西南地区冬季严重干旱的关系。结果表明:2009/2010年西南地区冬季严重干旱从秋季10月份云南省开始出现大范围干旱为征兆,11~2月逐步发展到西南三省,3月减弱。从秋季10月到次年2月的降水持续偏少,加重了此次旱情。2009/2010年冬季西南地区严重干旱的开始、发展和减弱与同期500hPa南支槽活动及整层水汽输送有着密切的关系。我国西南地区11~3月降水和前期11月南支槽指数在10~12年周期变化上存在显著的反相关系,前期11月南支槽区负距平,南支槽指数偏弱,南支槽加深,水汽输送充足,西南地区降水偏多;反之,前期11月南支槽区正距平,南支槽指数偏强,南支槽变浅,水汽条件不足,西南地区降水偏少。SVD分析表明,高度场第一模态同性相关场的关键区在青藏高原南侧孟加拉湾地区,反映了南支槽强弱变化信息,第一模态的这对空间分布型表明18~20°N,84~92°E范围11~3月500hPa高度场异常偏低时,同期我国西南地区降水偏多;高度场第二模态同性相关场的关键区在22°N以南区域,反映了西风强弱变化信息。第二模态的这对空间分布性表明70~110°E之间22°N以南区域11~3月500hPa高度场异常偏低时,同期我国西南地区降水偏少。11~3月关键区500hPa高度场与我国西南地区同期降水在时空场上都有着很好的同步关系,并且前期500hPa高度场是我国西南地区11~3月旱涝情况的一种预测信号。      

A closer look at the climatological discontinuities present in the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis temperature due to the introduction of satellite data

Principal component analysis was applied to NCEP/NCAR (National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research) reanalyses data for monthly temperature at given pressure levels between 1948–2000. The series composed with the time coefficients of the main components were tested for possible discontinuities. The study proved useful in gaining a better understanding of the impact of satellite observations in the reanalyses. The period 1975–1979 proved to be the most affected by inhomogeneities, in particular in August–September 1976 and December 1978–January 1979. The latter time corresponds with the introduction of satellite infrared and microwave retrievals, which gave global coverage to the observing network. Inhomogeneities due to satellite data especially affect patterns in the tropics for levels between 700 and 50 hPa and over the Southern Ocean in the layer 500 to 250 hPa, i.e. the affected regions are larger than previously determined with other methods. Greatest shifts were observed in the tropics at 100 and 150 hPa, where the discontinuity is equal to 1.6–2.0 standard deviations.     

Volcanos and El Niño: signal separation in Northern Hemisphere winter

The frequent coincidence of volcanic forcing with El Niño events disables the clear assignment of climate anomalies to either volcanic or El Niño forcing. In order to select the signals, a set of four different perpetual January GCM experiments was performed (control, volcano case, El Niño case and combined volcano/El Niño case) and studied with advanced statistical methods for the Northern Hemisphere winter. The results were compared with observations. The signals for the different forcings are discussed for three variables (temperature, zonal wind and geopotential height) and five levels (surface, 850 hPa, 500 hPa, 200 hPa and 50 hPa). The global El Niño signal can be selected more clearly in the troposphere than in the stratosphere. In contrast, the global volcano signal is strongest in the stratospheric temperature field. The amplitude of the perturbation for the volcano case is largest in the Atlantic region. The observed effect of local cooling due to the volcanic reduction of shortwave radiation over large land areas (like Asia) in subtropical regions, the observed advective warming over Eurasia and the advective cooling over Greenland are well simulated in the model. The radiative cooling near the surface is important for the volcano signal in the subtropics, but it is weak in high latitudes during winter. A statistically significant tropospheric signal of El Niño forcing occurs in the subtropics and in the midlatitudes of the North Pacific. The local anomalies in the El Niño forcing region in the tropics, and the warming over North America in middle and high latitudes are simulated as observed. The combined signal is different from a simple linear combination of the separate signals. It leads to a climate perturbation stronger than for forcing with El Niño or stratospheric aerosol alone and to a somewhat modified pattern.     

A quantitative assessment of changes in seasonal potential predictability for the twentieth century

Changes over the twentieth century in seasonal mean potential predictability (PP) of global precipitation, 200 hPa height and land surface temperature are examined by using 100-member ensemble. The ensemble simulations have been conducted by using an intermediate complexity atmospheric general circulation model of the International Center for Theoretical Physics, Italy. Using the Hadley Centre sea surface temperature (SST) dataset on a 1° grid, two 31 year periods of 1920–1950 and 1970–2000 are separated to distinguish the periods of low and high SST variability, respectively. The standard deviation values averaged for the (“Niño-3.4”; 5°S–5°N, 170°W–120°W) region are 0.71 and 1.15 °C, for the periods of low and high SST variability, respectively, with a percentage change of 62 % during December–January–February (DJF). The leading eigenvector and the associated principal component time series, also indicate that the amplitude of SST variations have positive trend since 1920s to recent years, particularly over the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) region. Our hypothesis states that the increase in SST variability has increased the PP for precipitation, 200 hPa height and land surface temperature during the DJF. The analysis of signal and noise shows that the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio is much increased over most of the globe, particularly over the tropics and subtropics for DJF precipitation. This occurs because of a larger increase in the signal and at the same time a reduction in the noise, over most of the tropical areas. For 200 hPa height, the S/N ratio over the Pacific North American (PNA) region is increasing more than that for the other extratropical regions, because of a larger percentage increase in the signal and only a small increase in noise. It is also found that the increase in seasonal mean transient signal over the PNA region is 50 %, while increase in the noise is only 12 %, during the high SST variability period, which indicates that the increase in signal is more than the noise. For DJF land surface temperature, the perfect model notion is utilized to confirm the changes in PP during the low and high SST variability periods. The correlation between the perfect model and the other members clearly reveal that the seasonal mean PP changed. In particular, the PP for the 31 years period of 1970–2000 is higher than that for the 31 years period of 1920–1950. The land surface temperature PP is increased in northern and southern Africa, central Europe, southern South America, eastern United States and over Canada. The increase of the signal and hence the seasonal mean PP is coincides with an increase in tropical Pacific SST variability, particularly in the ENSO region.