The exceptional Alpine south foehn event of 14–16 November 2002: a case study

Summary This study examines the exceptional Alpine south foehn event of 14–16 November 2002 using routine observations and high-resolution numerical simulations. Besides its long duration and an extremely high temperature level related to warm-air advection from the northern Sahara, this foehn event exhibited an unusual spatial structure of the low-level wind and temperature field. Whereas the foehn was largely restricted to the first half of 14 November in the western part of the Alps (Switzerland), it extended over the full period in the inner-Alpine valleys in the eastern Alps. The duration and intensity of the foehn also tended to decrease from the Alpine crest towards the northern rim of the Alps. Most surprisingly, continuous foehn even occurred on the windward side of the Alpine crest, namely in a basin located in the southeastern Alps. The distribution of the orographic precipitation associated with the foehn case was unusual as well. In Switzerland, intense precipitation was not restricted to the windward (southern) side of the Alps but extended to the northern side of the Alpine crest, particularly on 16 November. The results indicate that the spatio-temporal distribution of the foehn in the northern Alps was related to the fact that the western Alps were within a synoptic-scale transition zone between extremely warm air advected from the south and colder air lying over western Europe. The colder air was advected around the western Alps whereas extremely warm air descended from the Alpine crest farther east. Moreover, a small cyclone formed on 14 November north of the Alps and generated a shallow cold front propagating eastward along the northern Alps. Thus, the tendency towards foehn decreased from west to east and from the Alpine crest towards the north. The occurrence of foehn on the windward side of the Alpine crest was made possible by the extreme strength of the large-scale southerly flow, combined with the fact that the upstream precipitation field did not reach the southeastern edge of the Alps. Finally, the pronounced spillover of precipitation to the northern side in the Swiss part of the Alps appears to be related to the colder air present north of the crest. This prevented the formation of orographic gravity waves and downslope air motion, which usually leads to a rapid evaporation of the precipitation on the lee side of the Alpine crest.     

1980-2020年山西省极端降水的研究

基于1980-2020年山西省109个气象观测站点的逐日降水资料,选取10个极端降水指数,采用气候倾向率、相关分析、因子分析、R/S预测方法等方法,对山西省极端降水进行了时空分布的研究,以期为山西省的气候变化、生态环境保护、防灾减灾、气象服务工作提供参考依据,结果表明：(1)从时间尺度来看,1980-2020年期间,山西省极端降水的强度和极值都有明显增加,连续干旱日数和连续湿日日数呈下降趋势,其余均表现出不同程度的增加,其中年总降水量增加幅度最明显;从空间尺度来看,年总降水量、降水强度、降水频率、极值均为从西北向东南逐渐增多,空间差异较明显;从各站点的空间分布来看,北部和中部地区的极端事件增加最显著,北部地区的干旱日数仍以增加趋势为主,连续湿日日数气候倾向率的空间差异较大,中部地区站点显著增加,南北部以减少趋势为主;(2)基于相关分析方法表明各极端降水指数(除干旱日数外)与年总降水量都有很好的相关关系,强降水量和极强降水量对年总降水量的贡献值呈现出增加趋势;采用因子分析方法提取了3个公共因子,方差贡献率累计达到了87％,可以看出极端降水强度和降水量指数在对极端降水方面影响较大;利用R/S分析法可以得到年总降水量、中雨日数、大雨日数、最大5日降水量这几个指数未来呈现弱减少趋势,而干旱日数仍为减少趋势,连续湿日日数为持续弱增加趋势。总体看来,山西省极端降水近年来呈现出增加趋势,在空间分布有明显差异。     

Extreme precipitation over the Maritime Alps and associated weather regimes simulated by a regional climate model: Present-day and future climate scenarios

Summary We use the regional climate model RegCM nested within time-slice atmospheric general circulation model experiments to investigate the possible changes of intense and extreme precipitation over the French Maritime Alps in response to global climate change. This is a region with complex orography where heavy and/or extended precipitation episodes induced catastrophic floods during the last decades. Output from a 30-year simulation of present-day climate (1961–1990) is first analysed and compared with NCEP reanalysed 700 hPa geopotential heights (Z700) and daily precipitation observations from the Alpine Precipitation Climatology (1966–1999). Two simulations under forcing from the A2 and B2 IPCC emission scenarios for the period 2071–2100 are used to investigate projected changes in extreme precipitation for our region of interest. In general, the model overestimates the annual cycle of precipitation. The climate change projections show some increase of precipitation, mostly outside the warm period for the B2 scenario, and some increase in the variability of the annual precipitation totals for the A2 scenario. The model reproduces the main observed patterns of the spatial leading EOFs in the Z700 field over the Atlantic-European domain. The simulated large scale circulation (LSC) variability does not differ significantly from that of the reanalysis data provided the EOFs are computed on the same domain. Two similar clusters of LSC corresponding to heavy precipitation days were identified for both simulated and observed data and their patterns do not change significantly in the climate change scenarios. The analysis of frequency histograms of extreme indices shows that the control simulation systematically underestimates the observed heavy precipitation expressed as the 90^th percentile of rainday amounts in all seasons except summer and better reproduces the greatest 5-day precipitation accumulation. The main hydrological changes projected for the Maritime Alps consist of an increase of most intense wet spell precipitation during winters for both scenarios and during autumn for the B2 scenario. Case studies of heavy precipitation events show that the RegCM is capable to reproduce the physical mechanisms responsible for heavy precipitation over our region of interest.     

Climatological aspects of extreme precipitation in Europe, related to mid-latitude cyclonic systems

Climatic aspects of extreme European precipitation are studied. Daily pluviometric data from 280 stations across Europe, covering the period from 1958 to 2000, are used. First, the criteria for extreme precipitation cases and episodes are communicated using threshold and spatial definitions. The cases and episodes meeting these criteria are grouped according to their area of appearance. Most of them are located in three major areas: Greece, the Alps, and the Iberian Peninsula. The existence of trends in the annual and seasonal time series of these extreme events is examined. Decreasing trends are found in most of the cases, for Greece, the Iberian Peninsula, and Europe, as a whole. The Alps present a different behavior, with no trend at all in the southern part, and a possible increasing trend in the northern part. Finally, the positive impact of altitude in the frequency of occurrence of extreme precipitation episodes in Europe is discussed.     

从小时尺度考察中国中东部极端降水的持续性和季节特征

相对于日降水量,小时尺度降水资料可以更准确地反映降水强度并描述降水过程,因而更适用于极端降水阈值确定及其特性研究.利用广义极值分布估计中国321个站最大小时降水量的分布函数,确定了5a重现期的小时降水强度阈值.阈值的空间分布呈现出明显的地域差异,西北地区阈值偏低,华北地区、长江中下游地区、华南沿海地区和四川盆地西部地区为高阈值中心.取各站5a一遇极端降水事件对其持续性特征和季节特征进行分析,发现在沿海地区、长江流域和青藏高原东坡极端降水事件的平均持续时间较长(超过12h);中国北部地区持续时间较短.在具有较大海拔落差的复杂地形区,极端降水事件较平原地区更快地发展到峰值.华南地区4月就可有极端降水事件出现,而中国北方地区要到6月底才出现极端降水;全中国大部分地区的年最晚极端降水在8-9月,但沿海地区、大陆南端和西南地区南部的少数站点在10月以后仍有极端降水发生.     

Cut-off Lows in the South Africa region and their contribution to precipitation

The contribution of Cut-off Lows (CoLs) to precipitation and extreme rainfall frequency in South Africa has been quantified from 402 station records over the period 1979–2006. Firstly, 500 hPa CoL trajectories over Southern Africa and surrounding oceans were determined and their features thoroughly analyzed. In a second step, using daily precipitable water, outgoing long wave radiation data and station rainfall records, an area was defined where the occurrence of CoLs is associated with rainfall over South Africa. CoLs transiting in the 2.5°E–32.5°E/20°S–45°S are more likely to produce precipitation over the country. When 500 hPa CoLs are centered just off the west coast of the country (around 15°E/32.5°S) their impact is substantial in term of daily rainfall intensity and spatial coverage. CoL rainy days have been studied and it is shown that they significantly contribute to precipitation in South Africa, more strongly along the south and east coasts as well as inland, over the transition zone between the summer and winter rainfall domains where they contribute between 25 to more than 35 % of annual accumulation. At the country scale, CoL rainfall is more intense and widespread in spring than during other seasons. Over the analyzed period, a significant trend in annual CoLs’ frequency shows an increase of about 25 %. This increase is mainly realized in spring and in a lesser extent in summer. This trend is accompanied by a significant increase in the frequency of CoL rainy days specifically along the south coast and over the East of the country during the spring–summer period. In parallel, it is shown that from late spring until summer CoLs’ frequency varies significantly accordingly with large scale circulation modes of the Southern Hemisphere such as the Pacific South American pattern (PSA). This positive trend in CoLs’ frequency may be related with the positive trend in the PSA during the spring–summer period over the three last decades.     

The climatic characteristics of extreme precipitations for short-term intervals in the watershed of Lake Maggiore

Alpine and Mediterranean areas are undergoing a profound change in the typology and distribution of rainfall. In particular, there has been an increase in consecutive non-rainy days, and an escalation of extreme rainy events. The climatic characteristic of extreme precipitations over short-term intervals is an object of study in the watershed of Lake Maggiore, the second largest freshwater basin in Italy (located in the north-west of the country) and an important resource for tourism, fishing and commercial flower growing. The historical extreme rainfall series with high-resolution from 5 to 45 min and above: 1, 2, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h collected at different gauges located at representative sites in the watershed of Lake Maggiore, have been computed to perform regional frequency analysis of annual maxima precipitation based on the L-moments approach, and to produce growth curves for different return-period rainfall events. Because of different rainfall-generating mechanisms in the watershed of Lake Maggiore such as elevation, no single parent distribution could be found for the entire study area. This paper concerns an investigation designed to give a first view of the temporal change and evolution of annual maxima precipitation, focusing particularly on both heavy and extreme events recorded at time intervals ranging from few minutes to 24 h and also to create and develop an extreme storm precipitation database, starting from historical sub-daily precipitation series distributed over the territory. There have been two-part changes in extreme rainfall events occurrence in the last 23 years from 1987 to 2009. Little change is observed in 720 min and 24-h precipitations, but the change seen in 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 120, 180 and 360 min events is significant. In fact, during the 2000s, growth curves have flattened and annual maxima have decreased.     

Mechanisms and reliability of future projected changes in daily precipitation

We isolate the contribution of warming, other large-scale changes and soil moisture decline and feedbacks in driving future projected changes in daily precipitation across Europe. Our confidence in each of these mechanisms differs, so this analysis then allows us to determine an overall confidence (or reliability) in the projected changes. In winter, increases in extreme precipitation over Europe as a whole are judged to be reliable, dominated by increased atmospheric moisture with warming. At scales less than about 2,000 km changing circulation patterns could enhance or offset this increase. Additionally, over the Scandinavian mountains warming-induced circulation changes do offset the effect of increased moisture and the overall change is unreliable. In summer, increases in extreme precipitation over northern Scandinavia and decreases over the Mediterranean are reliable in the absence of considerable circulation change. Over central Europe, an increase in the proportion of summer rainfall falling as extreme events is reliable.     

Mountain–valley precipitation differences in the northern Alps: an exemplary high-resolution modeling study

This paper investigates the dependence on environmental conditions of altitudinal precipitation differences in the northern Alps, based on high-resolution numerical simulations with the MM5 model for a selected region in the Bavarian Alps (Zugspitze mountain and surrounding valley stations). Three exemplary precipitation events representing climatological regimes with different orographic enhancement characteristics are selected. After validating the MM5 precipitation fields against the available surface observations, the model results are used to analyse the interactions of atmospheric dynamics and cloud microphysics with the local orography. The first two cases (19–22 March 1997, 05–09 February 1999) are characterized by a strong northwesterly or northerly flow, associated with large precipitation differences between the mountain and the surrounding valley stations. For these cases, the model results indicate a dominance of the classical seeder–feeder mechanism, with strong orographic lifting generating dense orographic clouds over each individual mountain ridge, which in turn intensify precipitation. The related surface precipitation maxima can be found near the mountain peaks or somewhat in the lee due to hydrometeor drifting. The third case (05–07 December 1992) represents conditions with relatively small (i.e. below climatological average) precipitation differences between the Zugspitze and the surrounding valley stations. For this event, the model results indicate that relatively weak ambient winds at and below Alpine crest level (700 hPa) were primarily responsible for the lack of substantial precipitation enhancement. Precipitation was nevertheless moderately intense because of strong frontal lifting at higher levels. In all three cases, the agreement between simulated and observed precipitation patterns is so high that there is good reason to expect that mountain–valley precipitation differences will be quantitatively predictable for nonconvective events once a sufficiently high model resolution is computationally affordable.     

Potential future changes in the characteristics of daily precipitation in Europe simulated by the HIRHAM regional climate model

In this study the potential future changes in various aspects of daily precipitation events over Europe as a consequence of the anticipated future increase in the atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations are investigated. This is done by comparing two 3-member ensembles of simulations with the HIRHAM regional climate model for the period 1961–1990 and 2071–2100, respectively. Daily precipitation events are characterized by their frequency and intensity, and heavy precipitation events are described via 30-year return levels of daily precipitation. Further, extended periods with and without rainfall (wet and dry spells) are studied, considering their frequency and length as well as the average and extreme amounts of precipitation accumulated during wet spells, the latter again described via 30-year return levels. The simulations show marked changes in the characteristics of daily precipitation in Europe due to the anticipated greenhouse warming. In winter, for instance, the frequency of wet days is enhanced over most of the European continent except for the region on the Norwegian west coast and the Mediterranean region. The changes in the intensity and the 30-year return level of daily precipitation are characterized by a similar pattern except for central Europe with a tendency of decreased 30-year return levels and increased precipitation intensity. In summer, on the other hand, the frequency of wet days is decreased over most of Europe except for northern Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea region. In contrast, the precipitation intensity and the 30-year return level of daily precipitation are increased over entire Scandinavia, central and eastern Europe. The changes in the 30-year return level of daily precipitation are generally stronger than the corresponding changes in the precipitation intensity but can have opposite signs in some regions. Also the distribution of wet days is changed in the future. During summer, for instance, both the frequency and the length of dry spells are substantially increased over most of the European continent except for the Iberian Peninsula. The frequency and the length of wet spells, on the other hand, are generally reduced during summer and increased during winter, again, with the exception of the Iberian Peninsula. The future changes in the frequency of wet days in winter are related to a change in the large-scale flow over the North Atlantic and a corresponding shift of the North Atlantic storm track. The reduction in the frequency of wet days in summer is related to a northward extension of the dry subtropical region in the future, with a reduction of the convective activity because of the large-scale sinking motion in the downward branch of the Hadley cell. Because the atmosphere contains more moisture in the warmer future climate, the amount of precipitation associated with individual low-pressure systems or with individual convective events is increased, leading to a general increase in the intensity of individual precipitation events. Only in regions, where all the moisture evaporates from the ground already in spring, the intensity of precipitation events is reduced in summer.     

太行山复杂地形下华北暖季极端降水的时空分布特征

基于2012—2021年5—9月华北五省的逐日降水资料和台站地形高度数据,统计分析了华北全区及各子区域极端降水事件的降水量及其强度和频次的时空分布特征;并运用地理加权回归(GWR)模型分析得到极端降水事件的降水量、强度及频次与海拔高度之间的关系。结果表明:1)华北区域极端降水量的时间变化均呈多波动特征且区域差异性显著,太行山以西高原和以东平原降水频次多、波动明显且强度较弱,太行山南段以南平原降水频次少、变化平缓而强度明显偏强。2)极端降水量的空间分布呈现南北少、中间多的型态分布,降水量大值区分别位于燕山东南侧和太行山南段晋冀豫三省交界处;极端降水高频站点主要聚集在晋东南地区;日最大降水量超过300 mm的站点主要集中在太行山脉和燕山山脉与华北平原的过渡地带。3)华北区域38°N以北,极端降水量、降水频次、强度和日最大降水量均随海拔高度的升高而减小;38°N以南,山西南部临运地区降水量随海拔高度的升高而显著增加。由于降水频次和强度与地形均存在正相关而导致,太行山附近降水量随海拔高度的升高而减小的贡献主要在于降水强度而非降水频次。     

Duration and Seasonality of Hourly Extreme Rainfall in the Central Eastern China

Compared with daily rainfall amount, hourly rainfall rate represents rainfall intensity and the rainfall process more accurately, and thus is more suitable for studies of extreme rainfall events. The distribution functions of annual maximum hourly rainfall amount at 321 stations in China are quantified by the Generalized Extreme Value（GEV） distribution, and the threshold values of hourly rainfall intensity for 5-yr return period are estimated. The spatial distributions of the threshold exhibit significant regional diferences, with low values in northwestern China and high values in northern China, the mid and lower reaches of the Yangtze River valley, the coastal areas of southern China, and the Sichuan basin. The duration and seasonality of the extreme precipitation with 5-yr return periods are further analyzed. The average duration of extreme precipitation events exceeds 12 h in the coastal regions, Yangtze River valley, and eastern slope of the Tibetan Plateau. The duration in northern China is relatively short. The extreme precipitation events develop more rapidly in mountain regions with large elevation diferences than those in the plain areas. There are records of extreme precipitation in as early as April in southern China while extreme rainfall in northern China will not occur until late June. At most stations in China, the latest extreme precipitation happens in August–September. The extreme rainfall later than October can be found only at a small portion of stations in the coastal regions, the southern end of the Asian continent, and the southern part of southwestern China.     

Added value of convection permitting seasonal simulations

In this study the added value of a ensemble of convection permitting climate simulations (CPCSs) compared to coarser gridded simulations is investigated. The ensemble consists of three non hydrostatic regional climate models providing five simulations with ~10 and ~3 km (CPCS) horizontal grid spacing each. The simulated temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and global radiation fields are evaluated within two seasons (JJA 2007 and DJF 2007–2008) in the eastern part of the European Alps. Spatial variability, diurnal cycles, temporal correlations, and distributions with focus on extreme events are analyzed and specific methods (FSS and SAL) are used for in-depth analysis of precipitation fields. The most important added value of CPCSs are found in the diurnal cycle improved timing of summer convective precipitation, the intensity of most extreme precipitation, and the size and shape of precipitation objects. These improvements are not caused by the higher resolved orography but by the explicit treatment of deep convection and the more realistic model dynamics. In contrary improvements in summer temperature fields can be fully attributed to the higher resolved orography. Generally, added value of CPCSs is predominantly found in summer, in complex terrain, on small spatial and temporal scales, and for high precipitation intensities.     

基于CLDAS的贺兰山区5—9月降水时空分布特征及其与地形的关系分析

利用2008—2016年5—9月中国气象局陆面数据同化系统(CLDAS)格点融合分析降水资料以及降水观测资料,在对CLDAS格点降水融合资料进行验证的基础上,对贺兰山区降水时空分布特征以及与地形的关系进行了分析。结果表明：贺兰山区降水呈“东多西少、南多北少”的分布特征,贺兰山主峰偏西0.1°存在一个超过240 mm的降水高值中心,日降水量极值西侧高于东侧。8月降水量和短时强降水次数最多,11:00—18:00降水次数最多,午后到前半夜短时强降水次数最多。贺兰山区降水以小雨为主,其次是中雨,中雨和小雨雨量占区域总雨量的比例高达85%。贺兰山区降水量随海拔高度的增加而增加,西坡降水随高度的增加率为5.1 mm/hm,东坡降水随高度的增加率为2.1 mm/hm,西坡明显高于东坡。中雨日数与地形高度的相关性较好,其它级别降雨日数与地形相关性不强。     

The impact of weak synoptic forcing on the valley-wind circulation in the Alpine Inn Valley

This paper investigates the impact of weak synoptic-scale forcing on the thermally induced valley-wind circulation in the Alpine Inn Valley and one of its largest tributaries, the Wipp Valley. To this end, high-resolution numerical simulations with realistic topography but idealized large-scale atmospheric conditions are performed. The large-scale flow has a speed increasing linearly from 5 m s^?1 at sea level to 12.5 m s^?1 at tropopause level, but its direction is varied between each experiment. For reference, an experiment without large-scale winds is conducted as well. The results indicate that the sensitivity to ambient flow forcing differs substantially between the Inn Valley and the Wipp Valley. The valley-wind circulation of the Inn Valley is found to be fairly robust against weak ambient forcing, changing by a much smaller amount than the along-valley component of the imposed large-scale flow. The valley wind tends to be intensified (weakened) when the ambient flow is aligned with (opposite to) the local valley orientation. However, the flow response is complicated by larger-scale interactions of the ambient flow with the Alpine massif. Most notably, northerly and northwesterly flow is deflected around the Alps, leading to the formation of a low-level jet along the northern edge of the Alps which in turn affects the valley-wind circulation in the lower Inn Valley. For the Wipp Valley, which is oriented approximately normal to the Alpine crest line and constitutes a deep gap in the Alpine crest, two distinctly different flow regimes are found depending on whether the large-scale flow has a significant southerly component or not. In the absence of a southerly flow component, the valley-wind circulation is similarly robust against ambient forcing as in the Inn Valley, with a fairly weak response of the local wind speeds. However, southerly ambient flow tends to force continuous downvalley (southerly) wind in the Wipp Valley. The flow dynamics can then be described as a pressure-driven gap flow during the day and as a mixture between katabatic flow and gap flow during the night. The responsible pressure forcing arises from the larger-scale interaction of the ambient flow with the Alpine massif, with southerly flow causing lifting on the southern side of the Alps and subsidence in the north.     

Spatial patterns and temporal trends of daily precipitation indices in Iran

Spatial patterns of daily precipitation indices and their temporal trends over Iran are investigated using the APHRODITE gridded daily precipitation dataset for the period 1961–2004. The performance and limitations of the gridded dataset are checked against observations at ten rain-gauge stations that are representative of different climates in Iran. Results suggest that the spatial patterns of the indices reflect the role of orography and sea neighborhoods in differentiating central-southern arid and semi-arid regions from northern and western mountainous humid areas. It is also found that western Iran is impacted by the most extreme daily precipitation events occurring in the country, though the number of rainy days has its maximum in the Caspian Sea region. The time series of precipitation indices is checked for long-term trends using the least squares method and Mann-Kendall test. The maximum daily precipitation per year shows upward trends in most of Iran, though being statistically significant only in western regions. In the same regions, upward trends are also observed in the number of wet days and in the accumulated precipitation and intensity during wet days. Conversely, the contribution of precipitation events below the 75th percentile to the annual total precipitation is decreasing with time, suggesting that extreme events are responsible for the upward trend observed in the total annual precipitation and in the other indices. This tendency towards more severe/extreme precipitation events, if confirmed by other datasets and further analyses with longer records, would require the implementation of adequate water resources management plans in western Iran aimed at mitigating the increasing risk of intense precipitation and associated flash floods and soil erosion.     

Regional climate simulations for the European Alpine Region��sensitivity of precipitation to large-scale flow conditions of driving input data

The MM5 modelling system has been used to perform regional climate simulations over Western Europe on a 45-km grid for the years 1971 to 2000. We focus our analysis on the impact of the driving input data on simulated precipitation in the Alpine area. Using ERA40 reanalysis data, the MM5 climatology of precipitation compares reasonably well with an observational climatology for the Alpine region. Switching to an ECHAM5 climate simulation as driving data induces excessive overprediction by up to 80% in the colder seasons there, primarily over the Alpine slopes. The large-scale flow provided by the global datasets revealed moderate differences indicating an increased number of low-pressure systems travelling from the Atlantic into the Alpine region for ECHAM5 compared with ERA40. Mean seasonal 700-hPa wind speeds correspondingly showed higher values for the ECHAM5 driven simulation in the central Alps. Partitioning three-hourly 700-hPa winds according to direction and speed in the central Alps specifically revealed a distinct shift to stronger westerly and north-westerly winds. Furthermore, aggregating three-hourly rainfall amounts to the same wind direction and wind speed intervals as for the wind statistics revealed strongly intensified precipitation due to the overly intense westerly winds, implying too intense orographic precipitation enhancement.     

Changes in Regional Heavy Rainfall Events in China during 1961–2012

A new technique for identifying regional climate events, the Objective Identification Technique for Regional Extreme Events(OITREE), was applied to investigate the characteristics of regional heavy rainfall events in China during the period1961–2012. In total, 373 regional heavy rainfall events(RHREs) were identified during the past 52 years. The East Asian summer monsoon(EASM) had an important influence on the annual variations of China's RHRE activities, with a significant relationship between the intensity of the RHREs and the intensity of the Mei-yu. Although the increase in the frequency of those RHREs was not significant, China experienced more severe and extreme regional rainfall events in the 1990 s. The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the northern part of South China were the regions in the country most susceptible to extreme precipitation events. Some stations showed significant increasing trends in the southern part of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the northern part of South China, while parts of North China, regions between Guangxi and Guangdong, and northern Sichuan showed decreasing trends in the accumulated intensity of RHREs.The spatial distribution of the linear trends of events' accumulated intensity displayed a similar so-called "southern flooding and northern drought" pattern over eastern China in recent decades.     

全球升温1.5℃和2.0℃情景下中国乡村振兴核心区极端降水的变化特征北大核心CSCD

中国乡村振兴核心区生态环境较脆弱,暴雨洪涝等气象灾害频发,在此背景下,定量、科学地评估乡村振兴核心区全球升温情景下极端降水的变化特征,能够为乡村振兴核心区防止因灾返贫策略等的制定提供一定的科学依据。本研究基于CMIP6(Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6)气候模式下不同SSPs-RCPs(Shared Socioeconomic Pathways-Representative Concentration Pathways)组合情景模拟数据,对全球升温1.5℃和2.0℃情景下中国乡村振兴核心区极端降水事件频次、强度和持续时间的变化特征进行了分析。结果表明:(1)相对于基准期(1995~2014年),全球升温1.5℃情景下,乡村振兴核心区受极端降水影响明显增大,面积占比60.91%的区域极端降水频次增加,面积占比88.19%的区域极端降水强度增强,面积占比81.07%的区域极端降水持续时间增加;(2)全球升温2.0℃情景下,乡村振兴核心区三项极端降水指标变化与升温1.5℃情景下相似,相对于基准期有增加趋势,极端降水频次、强度和持续时间面积占比分别为55.78%、85.24%、79.33%;(3)从空间角度分析,全球升温1.5℃和2.0℃情景下,乡村振兴核心区中西部相较东部可能更易受极端降水的影响,西藏片区频次和持续时间增加显著,尤其值得关注;(4)当全球升温从1.5℃到2.0℃情景,乡村振兴核心区整体极端降水特征的变化未表现出明显增减趋势及空间特征。相比1.5℃较基准期的变化,2.0℃情景下极端降水频次、强度、持续时间的增加区域范围均缩小,但平均增幅均变大,对于发生极端降水事件的乡村振兴核心区区域而言可能面临更大的风险。     

Influence of similarity measures on the performance of the analog method for downscaling daily precipitation

This study examines the performance of the analog method for downscaling daily precipitation. The evaluation is performed for (1) a number of similarity measures for searching analogs, (2) various ways to include the past atmospheric evolution, and (3) different truncations in EOF space. It is carried out for two regions with complex topographic structures, and with distinct climatic characteristics, namely, California’s Central Valley (together with the Sierra Nevada) and the European Alps. NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data are used to represent the large scale state of the atmosphere over the regions. The assessment is based on simulating daily precipitation for 103 stations for the month of January, for the years 1950–2004 in the California region, and for 70 stations in the European Alps (January 1948–2004). Generally, simulated precipitation is in better agreement with observations in the California region than in the European Alps. Similarity measures such as the Euclidean norm, the sum of absolute differences and the angle between two atmospheric states perform better than measures which introduce additional weightings to principal components (e.g., the Mahalanobis distance). The best choice seems dependent upon the target variable. Lengths of wet spells, for instance, are best simulated by using the angular similarity measure. Overall, the Euclidean norm performs satisfactorily in most cases and hence is a reasonable first choice, whereas the use of Mahalanobis distance is less advisable. The performance of the analog method improves by including large-scale information for bygone days, particularly, for the simulation of wet and dry spells. Optimal performance is obtained when about 85–90% of the total predictor variability is retained.