Simulation of Asian Monsoon Seasonal Variations with Climate Model R42L9／LASG

The seasonal variations of the Asian monsoon were explored by applying the atmospheric general circulation model R42L9 that was developed recently at the State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (LASG/IAP/CAS). The 20-yr (1979-1998) simulation was done using the prescribed 20-yr monthly SST and sea-ice data as required by Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP)Ⅱ in the model. The monthly precipitation and monsoon circulations were analyzed and compared with the observations to validate the model‘s performance in simulating the climatological mean and seasonal variations of the Asian monsoon. The results show that the model can capture the main features of the spatial distribution and the temporal evolution of precipitation in the Indian and East Asian monsoon areas. The model also reproduced the basic patterns of monsoon circulation. However, some biases exis tin this model. The simulation of the heating over the Tibetan Plateau in summer was too strong. The overestimated heating caused a stronger East Asian monsoon and a weaker Indian monsoon than the observations. In the circulation fields, the South Asia high was stronger and located over the Tibetan Plateau. The western Pacific subtropical high was extended westward, which is in accordance with the observational results when the heating over the Tibetan Plateau is stronger. Consequently, the simulated rainfall around this area and in northwest China was heavier than in observations, but in the Indian monsoon area and west Pacific the rainfall was somewhat deficient.     

Improvements in Climate Simulation with Modifications to the Tiedtke Convective Parameterization in the Grid-Point Atmospheric Model of IAP LASG （GAMIL）

The grid-point atmospheric model of IAP LASG （GAMIL） was developed in and has been evaluated since early 2004. Although the model shows its ability in simulating the global climate, it suffers from some problems in simulating precipitation in the tropics. These biases seem to result mainly from the treatment of the subgrid scale convection, which is parameterized with Tiedtke＇s massflux scheme （or the Zhang-McFarlane scheme, as an option） in the model. In order to reduce the systematic biases, several modifications were made to the Tiedtke scheme used in GAMIL, including （1） an increase in lateral convective entrainment/detrainment rate for shallow convection, （2） inclusion of a relative humidity threshold for the triggering of deep convection, and （3） a reduced efficiency for the conversion of cloud water to rainwater in the convection scheme.
Two experiments, one with the original Tiedtke scheme used in GAMIL and the other with the modified scheme, were conducted to evaluate the performance of the modified scheme in this study. The results show that both the climatological mean state, such as precipitation, temperature and specific humidity, and interannual variability in the model simulation are improved with the use of this modified scheme. Results from several additional experiments show that the improvements in the model performance in different regions mainly result from either the introduction of the relative humidity threshold for triggering of the deep convection or the suppressed shallow convection due to enhanced lateral convective entrainment/detrainment rates.     

The Performance of Atmospheric Component Model R42L9 of GOALS／LASG

This paper examines the performance of an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) developed at the State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics (LASG/IAP). It is a spectral model truncated at R42(2.8125°long×1.66°lat) resolution and with nine vertical levels, and referred to as R42L9/LASG hereafter. It is also the new version of atmospheric component model R15L9 of the global ocean-atmosphere-land system (GOALS/LASG). A 40-year simulation in which the model is forced with the climatological monthly mean sea surface temperature is compared with the 40-year (1958-97) U.S. National Center for Environmental Prediction (NGEP) global reanalysis and the 22-year (1979-2000) Xie-Arkin monthly precipitation climatology. The mean DJF and JJA geographical distributions of precipitation, sea level pressure, 500-hPa geopotential height, 850-hPa and 200-hPa zonal wind, and other fields averaged for the last 30-year integrat     

Reappraisal of Asian Summer Monsoon Indices and the Long-Term Variation of Monsoon

The Webster and Yang monsoon index (WYI)-the zonal wind shear between 850 and 200 hPa was calculated and modified on the basis of NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. After analyzing the circulation and divergence fields of 150-100 and 200 hPa, however, we found that the 200-hPa level could not reflect the real change of the upper-tropospheric circulation of Asian summer monsoon, especially the characteristics and variation of the tropical easterly jet which is the most important feature of the upper-tropospheric circulation. The zonal wind shear U850-U(150 100) is much larger than U850-U200, and thus it can reflect the strength of monsoon more appropriately. In addition, divergence is the largest at 150 hPa rather than 200 hPa, so 150 hPa in the upper-troposphere can reflect the coupling of the monsoon system. Therefore, WYI is redefined as DHI, i.e., IDH=U850* - U(150 100)*, which is able to characterize the variability of not only the intensity of the center of zonal wind shear in Asia, but also the monsoon system in the upper and lower troposphere. DHI is superior to WYI in featuring the long-term variation of Asian summer monsoon as it indicates there is obvious interdecadal variation in the Asian summer monsoon and the climate abrupt change occurred in 1980. The Asian summer monsoon was stronger before 1980 and it weakened after then due to the weakening of the easterly in the layer of 150-100 hPa, while easterly at 200 hPa did not weaken significantly. After the climate jump year in general, easterly in the upper troposphere weakened in Asia, indicating the weakening of summer monsoon; the land-sea pressure difference and thermal difference reduced, resulting in the weakening of monsoon; the corresponding upper divergence as well as the water vapor transport decreased in Indian Peninsula, central Indo-China Peninsula, North China, and Northeast China, indicating the weakening of summer monsoon as well. The difference between NCEP/NCAR and ERA-40 reanalysis data in studying the intensity and long-term variation of Asian summer monsoon is also compared in the end for reference.     

Relationships between Interannual and Intraseasonal Variations of the Asian-Western Pacific Summer Monsoon Hindcasted by BCC_CSM1.1（m）

Using hindcasts of the Beijing Climate Center Climate System Model, the relationships between interannual variability （IAV） and intraseasonal variability （ISV） of the Asian-western Pacific summer monsoon are diagnosed. Predictions show reasonable skill with respect to some basic characteristics of the ISV and IAV of the western North Pacific summer monsoon （WNPSM） and the Indian summer monsoon （ISM）. However, the links between the seasonally averaged ISV （SAISV） and seasonal mean of ISM are overestimated by the model. This deficiency may be partially attributable to the overestimated frequency of long breaks and underestimated frequency of long active spells of ISV in normal ISM years, although the model is capable of capturing the impact of ISV on the seasonal mean by its shift in the probability of phases. Furthermore, the interannual relationships of seasonal mean, SAISV, and seasonally averaged long-wave variability （SALWV; i.e., the part with periods longer than the intraseasonal scale） of the WNPSM and ISM with SST and low-level circulation are examined. The observed seasonal mean, SAISV, and SALWV show similar correlation patterns with SST and atmospheric circulation, but with different details. However, the model presents these correlation distributions with unrealistically small differences among different scales, and it somewhat overestimates the teleconnection between monsoon and tropical central-eastern Pacific SST for the ISM, but underestimates it for the WNPSM, the latter of which is partially related to the too-rapid decrease in the impact of E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation with forecast time in the model.     

The Weakening of the Asian Monsoon Circulation after the End of 1970＇s

The transition of the global atmospheric circulation in the end of 1970＇s can clearly be detected in the atmospheric temperature, wind velocity, and so on. Wavelet analysis reveals that the temporal scale of this change is larger than 20 years. Studies in this work indicate that the trend of the transition over the mid-latitude Asia is opposite to that of global average for some variables at the middle troposphere. Another finding of this research is that the African-Asian monsoon circulation is weaker and the trade wind over the tropical eastern Pacific is weaker as well after this transition. Such a signal may be found in the summer precipitation over China as well.     

Seasonal Transition Features of Large-Scale Moisture Transport in the Asian-Australian Monsoon Region

Using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data for the period of 1957-2001, the climatological seasonal transition features of large-scale vertically integrated moisture transport （VIMT） in the Asian-Australian monsoon region are investigated in this paper. The basic features of the seasonal transition of VIMT from winter to summer are the establishment of the summertime ＂great moisture river＂ pattern （named the GMR pattern） and its eastward expansion, associated with a series of climatological events which occurred in some ＂key periods＂, which include the occurrence of the notable southerly VIMT over the Indochina Peninsula in mid March, the activity of the low VIMT vortex around Sri Lanka in late April, and the onset of the South China Sea summer monsoon in mid May, among others. However, during the transition from summer to winter, the characteristics are mainly exhibited by the establishment of the easterly VIMT belt located in the tropical area, accompanied by some events occurring in ＂key periods＂. Further analyses disclose a great difference between the Indian and East Asian monsoon regions when viewed from the meridional migration of the westerly VIMT during the seasonal change process, according to which the Asian monsoon region can be easily divided into two parts along the western side of the Indochina Peninsula and it may also denote different formation mechanisms between the two regions.     

South China Sea Monsoon Experiment （SCSMEX） and the East Asian Monsoon

The SCSMEX is a joint atmospheric and oceanic experiment by international efforts, aiming at studying the onset, maintenance, and variability of the South China Sea (SCS) summer monsoon, thus improving the monsoon prediction in Southeast and East Asian regions. The field experiment carried out in May-August 1998 was fully successful, with a large amount of meteorological and oceanographic data acquired that have been used in four dimensional data assimilations by several countries, in order to improve their numerical simulations and prediction. These datasets are also widely used in the follow-up SCS and East Asian monsoon study. The present paper has summarized the main research results obtained by Chinese meteorologists which cover six aspects: (1) onset processes and mechanism of the SCS summer monsoon; (2) development of convection and mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) during the onset phase and their interaction with large-scale circulation; (3) low-frequency oscillation and teleconnection effect; (4) measurements of surface fluxes over the SCS and their relationship with the monsoon activity; (5) oceanic thermodynamic structures, circulation, and mesoscale eddies in the SCS during the summer monsoon and their relationship with ENSO events; and (6) numerical simulations of the SCS and East Asian monsoon.     

Review of the Study of Nonlinear Atmospheric Dynamics in China （1999-2002）

Researches on nonlinear atmospheric dynamics in China (1999-2002) are briefly surveyed. This review includes the major achievements in the following branches of nonlinear dynamics: nonlinear stability theory,nonlinear blocking dynamics, 3D spiral structure in the atmosphere, traveling wave solution of the nonlinear evolution equation, numerical predictability in a chaotic system, and global analysis of climate dynamics.Some applications of nonlinear methods such as hierarchy structure of climate and scaling invariance, the spatial-temporal series predictive method, the nonlinear inverse problem, and a new difference scheme with multi-time levels are also introduced.     

Sensitivity of the Grid-point Atmospheric Model of IAP LASG （GAMILI.I.0） Climate Simulations to Cloud Droplet Effective Radius and Liquid Water Path

This paper documents a study to examine the sensitivity to cloud droplet effective radius and liquid water path and the alleviation the energy imbalance at the top of the atmosphere and at the surface in the latest version of the Grid-point Atmospheric Model of the State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics （LASG）, Institute of Atmospheric Physics （IAP） （GAMIL1.1.0）. Considerable negative biases in all flux components, and thus an energy imbalance, are found in GAMIL1.1.0. In order to alleviate the energy imbalance, two modifications, namely an increase in cloud droplet effective radius and a decrease in cloud liquid water path, have been made to the cloud properties used in GAMIL. With the increased cloud droplet effective radius, the single scattering albedo of clouds is reduced, and thus the reflection of solar radiation into space by clouds is reduced and the net solar radiation flux at the top of the atmosphere is increased. With the reduced cloud optical depth, the net surface shortwave radiation flux is increased, causing a net warming over the land surface. This results in an increase in both sensible and latent heat fluxes over the land regions, which is largely balanced by the increased terrestrial radiation fluxes. Consequently, the energy balance at the top of atmosphere and at the surface is achieved with energy flux components consistent with available satellite observations.     

Aerosol Indirect Effects on Warm Clouds in the Grid-Point Atmospheric Model of IAP LASG (GAMIL)

Aerosol indirect effects on warm clouds are estimated in the Grid-point Atmospheric Model of the State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics,Institute of Atmospheric Physics(IAP LASG)(GAMIL) with a new two-moment cloud microphysics scheme using two different physically-based aerosol activation parameterizations:Abdul-Razzak and Ghan,and Nenes and Seinfeld.The annual global mean changes in shortwave cloud forcing from preindustrial times to present day(a measure of the aerosol indirect effects) estimated from these two parameterizations are remarkably similar:0.76 W m?2 with the Abdul-Razzak and Ghan parameterization,and 0.78 W m?2 with the Nenes and Seinfeld parameterization.Physically-based parameterizations can provide robust representations of aerosol effects on droplet nucleation,meaning that aerosol activation is no longer the most uncertain factor in modeling aerosol indirect effects.     

BCC大气环流模式对亚澳季风年际变率主导模态的模拟

利用观测海温驱动下的北京气候中心大气环流模式(BCC-AGCM)1979-2000年的模拟数据,从亚澳季风(A-AM)年际变率的角度,对该模式的性能进行了分析.通过季节依赖的EOF分析方法(SEOF)得到观测第1模态,与ENSO从暖位相向冷位相的转变相联系,并伴随东南印度洋和西北太平洋的降水异常随季节变化.该模态具有准2a和4-6a周期的谱峰.分析结果显示,BCC模式可以很好地模拟出第1模态的时间变化特征,及其与ENSO位相的同步关系.但是,模式模拟的降水空间型与观测存在偏差,这主要是由于模式对环流场模拟的偏差造成的,具体表现在西北太平洋(WNP)反气旋和南印度洋(SIO)反气旋的季节锁相模拟偏差.前者与模式模拟的环流场整体偏东有关,后者是由于SIO反气旋的发展和衰亡过程受印度洋局地海气相瓦作用影响,而单独大气模式则无法合理地反映这一过程.另外,模式模拟的第一模态降水空间型在夏季效果较差,原因在于模式模拟的夏季平均降水量存在偏差,尤其是东南印度洋的降水量模拟偏少.进一步分析表明,这可能与对流参数化方案的选择有关.     

Evaluation of grid-point atmospheric model of IAP LASG version 2 (GAMIL2)

The Grid-point Atmospheric Model of IAP LASG version 2 (GAMIL2) has been developed through upgrading the deep convection parameterization, cumulus cloud fraction and two-moment cloud microphysical scheme, as well as changing some of the large uncertain parameters. In this paper, its performance is evaluated, and the results suggest that there are some significant improvements in GAMIL2 compared to the previous version GAMIL1, for example, the components of the energy budget at the top of atmosphere (TOA) and surface; the geographic distribution of shortwave cloud radiative forcing (SWCF); the ratio of stratiform versus total rainfall; the response of atmospheric circulation to the tropical ocean; and the eastward propagation and spatiotemporal structures of the Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO). Furthermore, the indirect aerosols effect (IAE) is -0.94 W m-2, within the range of 0 to -2 W m-2 given by the IPCC 4th Assessment Report (2007). The influence of uncertain parameters on the MJO and radiation fluxes is also discussed.     

Two-moment bulk stratiform cloud microphysics in the grid-point atmospheric model of IAP LASG (GAMIL)

A two-moment bulk stratiform microphysics scheme, including recently developed physically-based droplet activation/ice nucleation parameterizations has been implemented into the Grid-point Atmospheric Model of IAP LASG (GAMIL) as an effort to enhance the model’s capability to simulate aerosol indirect effects. Unlike the previous one-moment cloud microphysics scheme, the new scheme produces a reasonable representation of cloud particle size and number concentration. This scheme captures the observed spatial variations in cloud droplet number concentrations. Simulated ice crystal number concentrations in cirrus clouds qualitatively agree with in situ observations. The longwave and shortwave cloud forcings are in better agreement with observations. Sensitivity tests show that the column cloud droplet number concentrations calculated from two different droplet activation parameterizations are similar. However, ice crystal number concentration in mixed-phased clouds is sensitive to different heterogeneous ice nucleation formulations. The simulation with high ice crystal number concentration in mixed-phase clouds has less liquid water path and weaker cloud forcing. Furthermore, ice crystal number concentration in cirrus clouds is sensitive to different ice nucleation parameterizations. Sensitivity tests also suggest that the impact of pre-existing ice crystals on homogeneous freezing in old clouds should be taken into account.     

LASG/IAP 大气环流谱模式对陆面过程的敏感性试验

将中国科学院大气物理研究所大气科学和地球流体力学数值模拟国家重点实验室最近发展的高分辨率全球大气环流谱模式SAMIL-R42L26, 分别与两个陆面模式--NCAR通用陆面模式CLM和简化的简单生物圈模式SSiB进行耦合.在比较了两个陆面过程模式, 指出CLM改进方面的基础上, 通过分析两个陆气耦合模式所模拟的陆气通量交换结果, 指出新版本的陆气耦合模式(SAMIL-R42L26与CLM耦合)对表面感热、温度、降水率、潜热通量和海平面气压场的模拟能力大大提高, 尤其对于夏季表面感热通量场, 使亚洲北部和东南部、格陵兰岛以及北美洲大部分地区的数值从100 W/m2 降低到接近60 W/m2, 与NCEP再分析资料一致.新版本的陆气耦合模式模拟陆地表面能量收支趋于平衡, 为下一步发展海-陆-气-冰耦合气候系统模式提供保障.采用CLM陆面模式, SAMIL-R42L26能较好地模拟亚洲季风区地表感热和潜热的季节演变趋势, 而采用SSiB陆面模式的结果, 则存在较大误差.文中的结果表明, 不同的陆面模式所模拟的大气下垫面(包括洋面)通量发生的变化, 通过陆气耦合过程产生的影响不仅仅是局地性的, 而且是全球范围的.     

大气环流模式和耦合模式模拟的降水-海温关系之比较

本文讨论了气候系统耦合模式FGOALS_s模拟的局地降水和海温的关系, 并通过与单独大气模式SAMIL的AMIP试验结果进行对比分析, 考察了海气耦合过程对局地降水和海温关系模拟的影响。结果表明, 耦合模式FGOALS_s和单独大气模式SAMIL在模拟局地降水和海温关系上各有优势。在赤道中东太平洋地区, 观测中局地降水和海温的关系是海洋强迫为主, FGOALS_s模拟的海洋对大气的强迫比观测偏弱, 因此, SAMIL相对于FGOALS_s更有优势。在西北太平洋东部地区, 观测中夏秋季节降水和海温的关系是大气强迫为主, 由于考虑了海气相互作用过程, FGOALS_s对降水和海温关系的模拟能力要优于单独的大气模式。此外, 由于大气模式SAMIL的云参数化方案导致的模拟偏差, 在赤道中东太平洋地区 (9～11月), 降水增加时入射的短波辐射通量也是增加的, 并且这种模拟的偏差在耦合后仍然保留了下来, 导致了与观测不符的云[CD*2]辐射反馈过程。因此, 改进大气模式的云参数化方案是未来工作重点之一。此外, 分析发现耦合模式模拟的潜热通量的变化过分依赖海气湿度差。     

Seasonal Prediction of the Global Precipitation Annual Modes with the Grid-Point Atmospheric Model of IAP LASG

A right annual cycle is of critical importance for a model to improve its seasonal prediction skill. This work assesses the performance of the Grid-point Atmospheric Model of IAP LASG （GAMIL） in retrospective prediction of the global precipitation annual modes for the 1980 2004 period. The annual modes are gauged by a three-parameter metrics： the long-term annual mean and two major modes of annual cycle （AC）, namely, a solstitial mode and an equinoctial asymmetric mode. The results demonstrate that the GAMIL one-month lead prediction is basically able to capture the major patterns of the long-term annual mean as well as the first AC mode （the solstitial monsoon mode）. The GAMIL has deficiencies in reproducing the second AC mode （the equinoctial asymmetric mode）. The magnitude of the GAMIL prediction tends to be greater than the observed precipitation, especially in the sea areas including the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal （BOB）, and the western North Pacific （WNP）. These biases may be due to underestimation of the convective activity predicted in the tropics, especially over the western Pacific warm pool （WPWP） and its neighboring areas. It is suggested that a more accurate parameterization of convection in the tropics, especially in the Maritime Continent, the WPWP and its neighboring areas, may be critical for reproducing the more realistic annual modes, since the enhancement of convective activity over the WPWP and its vicinity can induce suppressed convection over the WNP, the BOB, and the South Indian Ocean where the GAMIL produces falsely vigorous convections. More efforts are needed to improve the simulation not only in monsoon seasons but also in transitional seasons when the second AC mode takes place. Selection of the one-tier or coupled atmosphere-ocean system may also reduce the systematic error of the GAMIL prediction. These results offer some references for improvement of the GAMIL seasonal prediction skill.