Projected Changes in Extreme High Temperature and Heat Stress in China

High temperature accompanied with high humidity may result in unbearable and oppressive weather. In this study, future changes of extreme high temperature and heat stress in mainland China are examined based on daily maximum temperature (T_x) and daily maximum wet-bulb globe temperature (T_w). T_w has integrated the effects of both temperature and humidity. Future climate projections are derived from the bias-corrected climate data of five general circulation models under the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 2.6 and 8.5 scenarios. Changes of hot days and heat waves in July and August in the future (particularly for 2020–50 and 2070–99), relative to the baseline period (1981–2010), are estimated and analyzed. The results show that the future T_x and T_w of entire China will increase by 1.5–5°C on average around 2085 under different RCPs. Future increases in T_x and T_w exhibit high spatial heterogeneity, ranging from 1.2 to 6°C across different regions and RCPs. By around 2085, the mean duration of heat waves will increase by 5 days per annum under RCP8.5. According to T_x, heat waves will mostly occur in Northwest and Southeast China, whereas based on T_w estimates, heat waves will mostly occur over Southeast China and the mean heat wave duration will be much longer than those from T_x. The total extreme hot days (T_x or T_w > 35°C) will increase by 10–30 days. Southeast China will experience the severest heat stress in the near future as extreme high temperature and heat waves will occur more often in this region, which is particularly true when heat waves are assessed based on T_w. In comparison to those purely temperature-based indices, the index T_w provides a new perspective for heat stress assessment in China.     

RCP4.5情景下中国未来干湿变化预估

本文采用国际耦合模式比较计划第五阶段(CMIP5)中21个气候模式的试验数据, 利用土壤湿度以及由其他8个地表气象要素计算所得的干旱指数, 预估了RCP4.5(Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5)情景下21世纪中国干湿变化。结果表明:全球气候模式对1986～2005年中国现代干湿分布具备模拟能力, 尽管在西部地区模式与观测间存在一定的差异。在RCP4.5情景下, 21世纪中国区域平均的标准化降水蒸散发指数和土壤湿度均有减小趋势, 与之对应的是短期和长期干旱发生次数增加以及湿润区面积减小。从2016到2100年, 约1.5%～3.5%的陆地面积将从湿润区变成半干旱或半湿润区。空间分布上, 干旱化趋势明显的区域主要位于西北和东南地区, 同时短期和长期干旱发生次数在这两个地区的增加幅度也最大, 未来干旱化的发生时间也较其他地区要早;只在东北和西南地区未来或有变湿倾向, 但幅度较小。在季节尺度上, 北方地区变干主要发生在暖季, 南方则主要以冷季变干为主。造成中国干旱化的原因主要是由降水与蒸散发所表征的地表可用水量减少。     

Projected Changes in Asian Summer Monsoon in RCP Scenarios of CMIP5

Responses of the Asian Summer Monsoon （ASM） in future projections have been studied based on two core future projections of phase five of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project （CMIP5） coordinated experiments with the IAP-coupled model FGOALS s2 （the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System Model）. The projected changes of the ASM in climatological mean and interannual variability were respectively reported. Both the South Asian Summer Monsoon （SASM） and the East Asian Summer Monsoon （EASM） were intensified in their climatology, featuring increased monsoon precipitation and an enhanced monsoon lower-level westerly jet flow. Accordingly, the amplitude of the annual cycle of rainfall over East Asia （EA） is enhanced, thereby indicating a more abrupt monsoon onset. After the EA monsoon onset, the EASM marched farther northward in the future scenarios than in the historical runs. In the interannual variability, the leading pattern of the EASM, defined by the first multi-variable EOF analysis over EA, explains more of the total variances in the warmest future scenario, specifically, Representative Concentration Pathway （RCP8.5）. Also, the correlation coefficients analysis suggests that the relationship between the EASM interannual variations and ENSO was significantly strengthened in the future projections, which may indicate improved predictability of the EASM interannual variations.     

Projected Changes in Surface Air Temperature and Surface Wind in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Abstract

The impacts of climate change on surface air temperature (SAT) and winds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL) are investigated by performing simulations from 1970 to 2099 with the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM), driven by a five-member ensemble. Three members are from Canadian Global Climate Model (CGCM3) simulations following scenario A1B from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); one member is from the Community Climate System Model, version 3 (CCSM3) simulation, also following the A1B scenario; and one member is from the CCSM4 (version 4) simulation following the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP8.5) scenario. Compared with North America Regional Reanalysis (NARR) data, it is shown that CRCM can reproduce the observed SAT spatial patterns; for example, both CRCM simulations and NARR data show a warm SAT tongue along the eastern Gulf; CRCM simulations also capture the dominant northwesterly winds in January and the southwesterly winds in July. In terms of future climate scenarios, the spatial patterns of SAT show plausible seasonal variations. In January, the warming is 3°–3.5°C in the northern Gulf and 2.5°–3°C near Cabot Strait during 2040–2069, whereas the warming is more uniform during 2070–2099, with SAT increases of 4°–5°C. In summer, the warming gradually decreases from the western side of the GSL to the eastern side because of the different heat capacities between land and water. Moreover, the January winds increase by 0.2–0.4?m?s^?1 during 2040–2069, related to weakening stability in the atmospheric planetary boundary layer. However, during 2070–2099, the winds decrease by 0.2–0.4?m?s^?1 over the western Gulf, reflecting the northeastward shift in northwest Atlantic storm tracks. In July, enhanced baroclinicity along the east coast of North America dominates the wind changes, with increases of 0.2–0.4?m?s^?1. On average, the variance for the SAT changes is about 10% of the SAT increase, and the variance for projected wind changes is the same magnitude as the projected changes, suggesting uncertainty in the latter.     

CMIP5全球气候模式对上海极端气温和降水的情景预估

基于国际耦合模式比较计划第五阶段(Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5,以下简称CMIP5)28个模式的数值模拟结果和1981~2010年华东和上海气温和降水观测数据,评估了该28个气候模式对华东和上海气温和降水的模拟能力,并预估了RCP4.5(Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5)情景下上海2021~2030年极端气温和降水气候的变化趋势和不确定性。结果表明:与观测值相比,模式对华东和上海年平均气温的模拟大多均值偏高、方差偏低;对年总降水量的模拟大多均值偏高,但方差以华东偏高、上海偏低为主;26个模式的气温变化趋势和12个模式的降水变化趋势与观测值相同。选出8个模式的预估结果表明:与2001~2010年相比,2021~2030年上海冬天极端低温的出现日数(冷夜日数)呈减少趋势,不确定性最小;夏天暖夜日数呈增加的趋势,不确定性较小;其他极端气温事件的变化趋势则存在较大的不确定性,冷夜指标的不确定性最大。强降水发生日数和强降水的强度都呈现增加的趋势,且不确定性较小。     

基于MIROC/WRF嵌套模式的中国气候变化预估

开展了基于全球模式MIROC嵌套区域气候模式WRF的动力降尺度模拟试验,预估了IPCC SRES A1B排放情景下中国21世纪中期(2041~2060年)和末期(2081~2100年)的气候变化。21世纪中期:全国大部分区域年平均地表气温(下文简称气温)上升2~4°C,升温幅度较大的是在北方地区和青藏高原。年平均降水在华南和东北大部基本没有增加,甚至有所减少,在西北及长江和黄河的中下游地区有所增加。气温的标准差总体上是北方大于南方,全国的大值区位于青藏高原,表明北方地区和青藏高原的气温年际变率较大。降水年际变率较大的是华北和西北地区。21世纪末期:全国大部分区域升温在4°C以上,升温幅度较大的依然是北方地区和青藏高原。其中,青藏高原大部升温超过7°C。从季节来看,春季和冬季升温要多于夏季和秋季。降水整体上是增加的,在南方部分地区有所减少,特别是在西南地区和青藏高原的南部。气温年际变率依然是北方大于南方,全国的大值区同样位于青藏高原。华北和西北还是降水年际变率较大的地区。     

Projected Changes of Palmer Drought Severity Index under an RCP8.5 Scenario

The potential change of drought measured by the Palmer Drought Severity Index(PDSI)is projected by using a coupled climate system model under a Representative Pathway 8.5(RCP8.5)scenario.The PDSI changes calculated by two potential evapotranspiration algorithms are compared.The algorithm of Thornthwaite equation overestimates the impact of surface temperature on evaporation and leads to an unrealistic increasing of drought frequency.The PM algorithm based on the Penman-Monteith equation is physically reasonably and necessary for climate change projections.The Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model,Spectral Version 2(FGOALS-s2)projects an increasing trend of drought during 2051–2100 in tropical and subtropical areas of North and South America,North Africa,South Europe,Southeast Asia,and the Australian continent.Both the moderate drought(PDSI–2)and extreme drought(PDSI–4)areas show statistically significant increasing trends under an RCP8.5 scenario.The uncertainty in the model projection is also discussed.     

Changes of Terrestrial Water Storage in River Basins of China Projected by RegCM4

In this study, a historic simulation covering the period from 1951 to 2000 and three projected scenario simulations covering 2001-2050 were conducted employing the regional climate model RegCM4 to detect the changes of terrestrial water storage (TWS) in major river basins of China, using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES): A1B, A2, and B1. The historic simulation revealed that the variations of TWS, which are dominated by precipitation in the basins, rely highly on their climatic features. Compared with the historic simulation, the changes of TWS in the scenario simulations showed strong regional differences. However, for all scenarios, TWS was found to increase most in Northeast China and surrounding mountains around the Tibetan Plateau, and decrease most in eastern regions of China. Unlike the low seasonal variations of TWS in arid areas, the TWS showed strong seasonal variations in eastern monsoon areas, with the maximum changes usually occurring in summer, when TWS increases most in a year. Among the three scenario simulations, TWS increased most in Songhua River Basin of B1 scenario, and de- creased most in Pearl River Basin of A2 scenario and Hai River Basin of A1B scenario, accompanied by different annual trends and seasonal variations.     

Catchment precipitation processes in the San Francisco valley in southern Ecuador: combined approach using high-resolution radar images and in situ observations

The precise estimation of precipitation quantities in tropical mountain regions is in great demand by ecological and hydrological studies, due to the heterogeneity of the rainfall distribution and the lack of meteorological station data. This study uses radar images and ground station data to provide the required high-resolution precipitation maps. Also wind data are taken into account, due to its influence on the precipitation formation and to demonstrate the relation between synoptic wind, topography and the precipitation distribution inside small mountain valleys. The study analyses the rainfall distribution and amounts of 4 days inside the San Francisco Valley, a small catchment in the tropical Andes of southern Ecuador, representing different seasons and the typical atmospheric flows, which are correlated to the annual precipitation map. The results show that the rainfall distribution and amounts are generally defined by the wind direction and velocity, besides the topographic location in relation to the main barriers and pathways. The dominant wind direction causes a division of the catchment in a wetter eastern and a dryer western part. Moreover, the annual seasons are reversed; the main rainy season for the eastern part occurs between June and August, while the western part reaches the precipitation maximum between January and March. This may have influence on the species composition at the different slopes and the annual hydrological cycle inside the catchment.     

Creating adaptive social-ecological fit: The role of regional actors in the governance of Sea-level rise adaptation in San Francisco bay

Sea level rise is one of the most pressing climate adaptation issues around the world. Often, coastal communities are interdependent in their exposure to sea level rise – if one builds a seawall, it will push water to another – and would benefit from a coordinated adaptive response. The literature on social-ecological systems (SES) calls for actors placed at higher levels of governance (e.g. regional government in a metropolitan area) to improve coordination between local managers by serving as brokers. However, we lack empirical insight on how higher-level actors might improve coordination in practice, and theoretical development on the implications of their intermediation. To address these gaps, we study the case of adaptation to sea level rise in the San Francisco Bay Area. We build a social-ecological network of social actors and shoreline segments using original survey data and simulated scenarios of tidal and traffic interdependencies between shoreline segments. We perform a frequency analysis of network motifs that operationalize social-ecological ‘fit’ in the context of the Bay Area. We find that regional actors and non-governmental organizations increase social-ecological fit by providing intermediation between actors who work on different shoreline segments, whether interdependent or not. This shows that these actors provide adaptive social-ecological fit, future-proofing the Bay Area to current and future climate adaptation challenges.     

FGOALS/RegCM动力降尺度对南亚夏季气候变化的预估

基于CORDEX计划的试验设计,利用区域气候模式Reg CM3对全球模式FGOALS-g2在RCP8.5情景下的预估结果进行动力降尺度,预估了南亚地区未来近期(2016~2035年)和远期(2080~2099年)的夏季气候变化特征。结果显示,未来两个时段的气候变化空间分布类似,只是远期的变化幅度更大。具体表现为:高低空急流减弱,低空急流中心向北移动。南亚地区整体降水减少,但其北部降水显著增加。降水变化的空间分布主要受降水频率的控制,且降水频率随强度分布的变化表现出明显的地域差异。降水的未来变化特征与水汽输送的变化有密切联系。在区域模式中,受低空急流减弱和北移的影响,水汽输送减弱,对应降水减少。而在全球模式中,虽然季风环流也在减弱,但可降水量增加起主导作用,使得预估的水汽输送增强、降水量增加。     

Surface Temperature Changes Projected by FGOALS Models under Low Warming Scenarios in CMIP5 and CMIP6

To meet the low warming targets proposed in the 2015 Paris Agreement,substantial reduction in carbon emissions is needed in the future.It is important to know how surface climates respond under low warming targets.The present study investigates the surface temperature changes under the low-forcing scenario of Representative Concentration Pathways(RCP2.6)and its updated version(Shared Socioeconomic Pathways,SSP1-2.6)by the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System(FGOALS)models participating in phases 5 and 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project(CMIP5 and CMIP6,respectively).In both scenarios,radiative forcing(RF)first increases to a peak of 3 W m^?2 around 2045 and then decreases to 2.6 W m^?2 by 2100.Global mean surface air temperature rises in all FGOALS models when RF increases(RF increasing stage)and declines or holds nearly constant when RF decreases(RF decreasing stage).The surface temperature change is distinct in its sign and magnitude between the RF increasing and decreasing stages over the land,Arctic,North Atlantic subpolar region,and Southern Ocean.Besides,the regional surface temperature change pattern displays pronounced model-to-model spread during both the RF increasing and decreasing stages,mainly due to large intermodel differences in climatological surface temperature,ice-albedo feedback,natural variability,and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation change.The pattern of tropical precipitation change is generally anchored by the spatial variations of relative surface temperature change(deviations from the tropical mean value)in the FGOALS models.Moreover,the projected changes in the updated FGOALS models are closer to the multi-model ensemble mean results than their predecessors,suggesting that there are noticeable improvements in the future projections of FGOALS models from CMIP5 to CMIP6.     

The 154-year record of sea level at San Francisco: extracting the long-term trend, recent changes, and other tidbits

A data adaptive method called ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) is used to examine the 154-year record of monthly sea level at San Francisco. The mode that is lowest in frequency corresponds to the long-term trend. The next highest mode corresponds to an oscillation with a period of ~100?years and may be related to solar variability. When this mode is combined with the long-term trend, the rate of increase in sea level starts to decrease by ~1980. The next lower mode corresponds to interdecadal time scales and thus includes the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. When combined with the two lower modes, sea level itself starts to decrease by the mid-1990s. These results are consistent with the most recent results from the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC), and may be the first obtained from a tidal record. Prior to conducting EEMD, corrections for glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) and the inverse barometer (IB) effect were applied. The effect of applying the GIA correction was relatively small, but the IB correction reduced the slope of the long-term trend in sea level by almost 15%. This reduction is due to a long-term increase in the variance of sea level pressure. To determine if the 10?C15?year ENSO modulation cycle could be detected from the decomposition we first compared the envelope from the mode associated with ENSO, with the two adjacent modes that were lower in frequency. Spectral analysis revealed no significant maxima in the ENSO mode envelope, but a major peak in the spectrum for the two adjacent modes, with a period of 12.8?years. This is consistent with a local response to El Ni?o warming for the ENSO mode, but a non-local response for the two adjacent modes. A similar analysis was performed for the Southern Oscillation Index and a spectral maximum was found between 12 and 16?years, consistent with our non-local interpretation of the previous two modes.     

Elevational and latitudinal patterns of snow accumulation departures from normal in the Sierra Nevada

Summary This study investigates whether snowpack water equivalents in the northern and southern parts of the Sierra Nevada, or at high and low elevations in that range, have a tendency to acquire opposite departures from normal. Data from 28 snow courses were subjected to principal components analysis for February 1 and April 1 observations for the years 1954–1983. The first principal component indicated that there is a great deal of uniformity within the Sierra in terms of above- or below-normal accumulations in a given year. A second component had loadings depicting a pattern whereby high and low elevation sites have opposite departures from normal. Over the entire period of record this pattern accounted for a small percentage of the total variance, although in some years it was conspicuous. A third component indicated a tendency for northern and southern sites to have opposite departures from normal. Correlation coefficients were also obtained for 42 snow courses from 5 basins to further compare the relative influence of elevation and spatial separation. The correlation coefficients showed that elevation exerts a greater influence on the variation in departures from normal than does distance within drainage basins. These elevational differences in accumulation may have important consequences with regard to the timing of runoff and the availability of water stored in reservoirs.With 8 Figures     

Projected changes in the physical climate of the Gulf Coast and Caribbean

As the global climate warms due to increasing greenhouse gases, the regional climate of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean region will also change. This study presents the latest estimates of the expected changes in temperature, precipitation, tropical cyclone activity, and sea level. Changes in temperature and precipitation are derived from climate model simulations produced for the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR4), by comparing projections for the mid- and late-21st century to the late 20th century and assuming a “middle-of-the-road” scenario for future greenhouse gas emissions. Regional simulations from the North America Regional Climate Change Program (NARCCAP) are used to corroborate the IPCC AR4 rainfall projections over the US portion of the domain. Changes in tropical cyclones and sea level are more uncertain, and our understanding of these variables has changed more since IPCC AR4 than in the case of temperature and precipitation. For these quantities, the current state of knowledge is described based on the recent peer-reviewed literature.     

Hydrologic effects of climate change in the Yukon River Basin

A monthly water balance (WB) model was developed for the Yukon River Basin (YRB). The WB model was calibrated using mean monthly values of precipitation and temperature derived from the Precipitation-elevation Regression on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) data set and by comparing estimated mean monthly runoff with runoff measured at Pilot Station, Alaska. The calibration procedure used the Shuffled Complex Evolution global search. Potential hydrologic effects of climate change were assessed for the YRB by imposing changes in precipitation and temperature derived from selected Inter-governmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) climate simulations. Scenarios from five general circulation model (GCM) simulations were used to provide a range of potential changes. Results from the scenarios indicate an increase in annual runoff in the twenty-first century for the YRB with simulated increases in precipitation having the greatest effect on increases in runoff. Simulated increases in temperature were found to alter the timing of snow accumulation and melt.     

Projected 21st century trends in hydroclimatology of the Tahoe basin

With down-scaled output from two General Circulation Models (the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, or GFDL, and the Parallel Climate Model, or PCM) and two emissions scenarios (A2 and B1), we project future trends in temperature and precipitation for the Tahoe basin. With the GFDL, we also project drought conditions and (through the use of a distributed hydrologic model) flood frequency. The steepest trend (GFDL with A2) indicates a 4–5°C warming by the end of the 21st century. Trends in annual precipitation are more modest with a dip in the latter half of the 21st century indicated by the GFDL/A2 case, but not the others. Comparisons with the Palmer Drought Severity Index show that drought will increase, in part due to the declining role of the snowpack as a reservoir for soil moisture replenishment. Analysis of flood frequency for the largest watershed in the basin indicates that the magnitude of the 100-yr flood could increase up to 2.5-fold for the middle third of the century, but decline thereafter as the climate warms and dries. These trends have major implications for the management of land and water resources in the Tahoe basin, as well as for design and maintenance of infrastructure.     

2010—2100年淮河径流量变化情景预估

根据淮河流域14个气象站点1964—2007年观测降水量与温度数据和ECHAM5/MPI-OM模式在3种排放情景下对该流域2001—2100年的气候预估,利用人工神经网络模型预估淮河蚌埠站2010—2100年逐月径流量变化。计算结果表明:3种排放情景下2010—2100年淮河径流量年际变化幅度差异较大,SRES-A2情景总体处于波动上升趋势,其中2051—2085年上升趋势显著;SRES-A1B情景2024—2037年年平均流量显著降低;SRES-B1情景年平均流量的变率甚小。季节分析表明:春季径流量在2010—2100年变幅最小,距平百分率在-15.1%～18.6%之间小幅波动。夏季平均流量在2040年代前呈下降趋势,之后小幅波动上升。秋、冬季平均流量SRES-A2和SRES-A1B情景变幅显著,其中,秋季SRES-A2情景2060年代距平百分率下降达50.6%,为3种情景下各季节径流量降幅之最;冬季SRES-A1B情景2050年代其增幅达到54.7%,亦为上升幅度之最。     

Stability Dependence of Height Scales and Effective Roughness Lengths of Momentum and Heat Transfer Over Roughness Changes

It is widely accepted that the correct formulation of an effective roughness length, defined as the area average of the roughness length in heterogeneous terrain, relies upon the appropriate de-termination of a height scale. At this height a meteorological quantity is approximately in equilibrium with local surface conditions and independent of horizontal position. This research note determines explicitly the different height scales from the perturbation solutions of flow velocity and temperature, as well as the fluxes of momentum and heat, in a stratified boundary layer. These solutions are derived from the asymptotic approximation theory and shown to capture major characteristics of momentum and heat transfer over heterogeneous terrain with changes of the underlying roughness lengths. The effective roughness lengths can then be computed by use of these height scales. The dependence of height scales and effective roughness lengths upon stratification is also discussed briefly.     

Projected changes in the tropical Pacific Ocean of importance to tuna fisheries

Future physical and chemical changes to the ocean are likely to significantly affect the distribution and productivity of many marine species. Tuna are of particular importance in the tropical Pacific, as they contribute significantly to the livelihoods, food and economic security of island states. Changes in water properties and circulation will impact on tuna larval dispersal, preferred habitat distributions and the trophic systems that support tuna populations throughout the region. Using recent observations and ocean projections from the CMIP3 and preliminary results from CMIP5 climate models, we document the projected changes to ocean temperature, salinity, stratification and circulation most relevant to distributions of tuna. Under a business-as-usual emission scenario, projections indicate a surface intensified warming in the upper 400 m and a large expansion of the western Pacific Warm Pool, with most surface waters of the central and western equatorial Pacific reaching temperatures warmer than 29 °C by 2100. These changes are likely to alter the preferred habitat of tuna, based on present-day thermal tolerances, and in turn the distribution of spawning and foraging grounds. Large-scale shoaling of the mixed layer and increases in stratification are expected to impact nutrient provision to the biologically active layer, with flow-on trophic effects on the micronekton. Several oceanic currents are projected to change, including a strengthened upper equatorial undercurrent, which could modify the supply of bioavailable iron to the eastern Pacific.