Impacts of future climatic and land cover changes on the hydrological regime of the Madeira River basin

Brazilian strategic interest in the Madeira River basin, one of the most important of the southern Amazon tributaries, includes the development of hydropower to satisfy the country’s growing energy needs and new waterways to boost regional trade and economic development. Because of evidences that climate change impacts the hydrological regime of rivers, the aim of this study was to assess how global climate change and regional land cover change caused by deforestation could affect the river’s hydrological regime. To achieve this goal, we calibrated a large-scale hydrological model for the period from 1970–1990 and analyzed the ability of the model to simulate the present hydrological regime when climate model simulations were used as input. Climate change projections produced by climate models were used in the hydrological model to generate scenarios with and without regional land-use and land-cover changes induced by forest conversion to pasture for the period from 2011–2099. Although results show variability among models, consensus scenarios indicated a decrease in the low-flow regime. When the simulations included forest conversion to pasture, climate change impacts on low flows were reduced in the upper basin, while, in the lower basin, discharges were affected along the whole year due to the more vigorous land-use conversion in the Brazilian region of the basin.     

Long-term changes of climate and hydrological regime in the Baltic region and their causes

A complex analysis is made of the variability of climatic, hydrological, and oceanological processes and environmental factors in the Baltic Sea region in the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century. The cause-and-effect relations between the climate dynamics over the North Atlantic and hydrometeorological conditions in the Baltic basin are established. Different variants of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) indices were used as an atmospheric circulation intensity measure.     

Human implication of changes in the hydrological regime due to climate change in Northern Greece

This paper examines the impacts of climate change on various forms of water resources and on some critical water management issues. The study area is the Aliakmon river basin including three subbasins of hydrological interest located in northern Greece. A monthly conceptual water balance model was calibrated for each subbasin separately, using historical hydrometeorological data. This model was applied to estimate runoff values at the outlet of each subbasin under different climate change scenarios. Two equilibrium scenarios (UKHI, CCC) referring to years 2020, 2050 and 2100 and one transient scenario (UKTR) referring to years 2032 and 2080 were implied. It was found that reduction of the mean annual runoff and mean winter runoff values, as well as serious reduction of the summer runoff values would occur in all cases and basins. However, the runoff values for November, December and January were increased, whereas the spring runoff values were decreased, leading to a shifting of the wet period towards December and severe prolongation of the dry period. Moreover, the results indicate that all subbasins exhibit almost the same behavior under the different climate change scenarios, while the equilibrium scenarios (UKHI, CCC) seem to give more reasonable and consistent results than the transient scenario (UKTR). Finally, the negative effects of the climatically induced changes on the hydroelectric production and the water use for agricultural purposes in the study basin were assessed.     

Possible climatic impacts of tropical deforestation

Large-scale conversion of tropical forests into pastures or annual crops will likely lead to changes in the local microclimate of those regions. Larger diurnal fluctuations of surface temperature and humidity deficit, increased surface runoff during rainy periods and decreased runoff during the dry season, and decreased soil moistrue are to be expected.It is likely that evapotranspiration will be reduced because of less available radiative energy at the canopy level since grass presents a higher albedo than forests, also because of the reduced availability of soil moisture at the rooting zone primarily during the dry season. Recent results from general circulation model (GCM) simulations of Amazonian deforestation seem to suggest that the equilibrium climate for a grassy vegetation in Amazonia would be one in which regional precipitation would be significantly reduced.Global climate changes probably will occur if there is a marked change in rainfall patterns in tropical forest regions as a result of deforestation. Besides that, biomass burning of tropical forests is likely adding CO₂ into the atmosphere, thus contributing to the enhanced greenhouse warming.     

黄河流域夏季旱涝变化及气候物理因素的影响

利用1951-2008年NCAR/NCEP再分析资料及中国气象局整编的160站降水资料,探讨了黄河流域夏季降水气候分布范围,在此基础上研究了黄河流域夏季降水旱涝的年代际变化特点。结果表明：20世纪90年代以前,黄河流域夏季旱涝变化为9-11 a和2-3 a周期,20世纪90年代后周期变化不明显。对导致黄河流域夏季旱涝的气候物理因素分析表明,东亚高度场负距平异常直接造成中国黄河流域的夏季偏旱,而亚洲高度距平场东高西低的配置造成黄河流域偏涝;夏季南亚季风、东亚季风在黄河流域的辐合是流域降水偏多的关键。在同期OLR距平场,涝年黄河流域处在大的负距平中,对流强盛有利于水汽的辐合。影响大气的主要下垫面要素海温场,赤道东太平洋海温指数与夏季黄河流域降水同期呈负相关关系。流域旱年赤道东太平洋海温多为正位相,对应流域涝年赤道东太平洋海温多为负位相。本研究提出了一个寻找旱涝成因方法并为预测旱涝提供了科学参考。     

黄河流域夏季旱涝变化及气候物理因素的影响

利用1951—2008年NCAR/NCEP再分析资料及中国气象局整编的160站降水资料,探讨了黄河流域夏季降水气候分布范围,在此基础上研究了黄河流域夏季降水旱涝的年代际变化特点。结果表明：20世纪90年代以前,黄河流域夏季旱涝变化为9—11 a和2—3 a周期,20世纪90年代后周期变化不明显。对导致黄河流域夏季旱涝的气候物理因素分析表明,东亚高度场负距平异常直接造成中国黄河流域的夏季偏旱,而亚洲高度距平场东高西低的配置造成中国黄河流域偏涝;夏季南亚季风、东亚季风在中国黄河流域的辐合是流域降水偏多的关键。在同期OLR距平场,涝年黄河流域处在大的负距平中,对流强盛有利于水汽的辐合。影响大气的主要下垫面要素海温场,赤道东太平洋海温指数与夏季中国黄河流域降水同期呈负相关关系。中国黄河流域旱年赤道东太平洋海温多为正位相,对应中国黄河流域涝年赤道东太平洋海温多为负位相。提出了一个寻找旱涝成因方法并为预测旱涝变化提供参考。     

Long term changes in ice and discharge regime of rivers in the Baltic region in relation to climatic variability

The river ice regime is considered a sensitive indicator of climate change and within this study long term changes (in case of River Daugava starting from 1530, but for other studied rivers starting from first half of twentieth century) river ice regimes in the Baltic region have been studied. The ice cover duration on the rivers (17 rivers) in the Baltic countries and Belarus has decreased during the recent decades. In addition to this, long term observational records of ice break on the rivers of the studied region exhibit a pattern of periodic changes in the intensity of ice regime. Both the ice regime and the seasonal river discharge are shown to be strongly influenced by large-scale atmospheric circulation processes over North Atlantic that manifests through close correlation with North Atlantic Oscillation index.     

兰江流域气候与水文模拟研究

该文建立了气候 水文嵌套模式,用于气候变化情景下流域气候、水文模拟,并在此基础上进行水资源评估。首先应用20 km高分辨率的区域气候模式RegCM3,嵌套全球环流模式FvGCM的大气部分,在中国东部地区进行了两组30 a积分的模拟试验,即控制试验和未来预测试验。控制试验（1961—1990年）结果表明,RegCM3能较细致地刻画浙江省的地形分布,模拟的浙江省的多年平均气温和降水均呈现出明显的地形特征,与实况较为符合。兰江流域年平均气温模拟较好,但夏季降水模拟量明显偏低。在未来预测试验中,构建了SRES A2排放情景下兰江流域2071—2100年的气候变化情景。然后,用兰江流域的历史观测资料对分布式水文模型DHSVM进行了率定和验证,该模型较好地再现了兰江流域的历史径流过程,具有较好的模拟特性。最后,将RegCM3的两组试验结果输入到DHSVM中,驱动模型进行水文模拟。模拟结果表明：相对于1961—1990年,兰江流域2071—2100年各月的平均气温均呈上升趋势,年平均气温上升幅度达2.84 ℃;年降水量也将增加,主要发生在4—7月的汛期,可能会导致汛期洪涝灾害发生频率上升;年径流深变化与年降水量变化基本一致,汛期径流将明显增加。在全球持续变暖的背景下,兰江流域未来高温热浪和洪涝等气候、水文极端事件有可能进一步加剧。     

Integrated assessment of abrupt climatic changes

One of the most controversial conclusions to emerge from many of the first generation of integrated assessment models (IAMs) of climate policy was the perceived economic optimality of negligible near-term abatement of greenhouse gases. Typically, such studies were conducted using smoothly varying climate change scenarios or impact responses. Abrupt changes observed in the climatic record and documented in current models could substantially alter the stringency of economically optimal IAM policies. Such abrupt climatic changes — or consequent impacts — would be less foreseeable and provide less time to adapt, and thus would have far greater economic or environmental impacts than gradual warming. We extend conventional, smooth IAM analysis by coupling a climate model capable of one type of abrupt change to a well-established energy–economy model (DICE). We compare the DICE optimal policy using the standard climate sub-model to our version that allows for abrupt change — and consequent enhanced climate damage — through changes in the strength (and possible collapse) of the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC). We confirm the potential significance of abrupt climate change to economically optimal IAM policies, thus calling into question all previous work neglecting such possibilities — at the least for the wide ranges of relevant social and climate system parameters we consider. In addition, we obtain an emergent property of our coupled social–natural system model: “optimal policies” that do consider abrupt changes may, under relatively low discount rates, calculate emission control levels sufficient to avoid significant abrupt change, whereas “optimal policies” disregarding abrupt change would not prevent this non-linear event. However, there is a threshold in discount rate above which the present value of future damages is so low that even very large enhanced damages in the 22nd century, when a significant abrupt change such as a THC collapse would be most likely to occur, do not increase optimal control levels sufficiently to prevent such a collapse. Thus, any models not accounting for potential abrupt non-linear behavior and its interaction with the discounting formulation are likely to miss an important set of possibilities relevant to the climate policy debate.     

Twentieth century changes in winter climatic regions

The configuration of the northern hemispheric general atmospheric circulation system shifted from a zonal to a meridional pattern in the early 1950s. Winter climatic regions in the conterminous United States are developed for a ten year period dominated by zonal flow and a second decade of meridional flow using a combination of principal components factor analysis and a Euclidean distance clustering algorithm. The results demonstrate that regional patterns in the surface climatic data substantially changed as the circulation system shifted its basic configuration. The regional structures of the eastern United States and the Great Plains appeared to be particularly sensitive to the change in the upperlevel flow pattern.     

Light-absorbing particles in snow and ice: Measurement and modeling of climatic and hydrological impact

Light absorbing particles(LAP, e.g., black carbon, brown carbon, and dust) influence water and energy budgets of the atmosphere and snowpack in multiple ways. In addition to their effects associated with atmospheric heating by absorption of solar radiation and interactions with clouds, LAP in snow on land and ice can reduce the surface reflectance(a.k.a., surface darkening), which is likely to accelerate the snow aging process and further reduces snow albedo and increases the speed of snowpack melt. LAP in snow and ice(LAPSI) has been identified as one of major forcings affecting climate change, e.g.in the fourth and fifth assessment reports of IPCC. However, the uncertainty level in quantifying this effect remains very high. In this review paper, we document various technical methods of measuring LAPSI and review the progress made in measuring the LAPSI in Arctic, Tibetan Plateau and other mid-latitude regions. We also report the progress in modeling the mass concentrations, albedo reduction, radiative forcing, and climatic and hydrological impact of LAPSI at global and regional scales. Finally we identify some research needs for reducing the uncertainties in the impact of LAPSI on global and regional climate and the hydrological cycle.     

中全新世时期中国地区水循环因子变化的模拟研究

利用全球气候模式CAEM3嵌套区域模式MM5模拟了现代和中全新世时的气候,从模拟结果可以发现中全新世有效降水变化中心随季节变化,最大的有效降水增加出现在夏季东北地区和内蒙古东部,最大值超过3 mm/d;同时,黄河与长江之间区域降水减少,最大变化超过2 mm/d.中国北方地区云量增加,同时,中国东部的长江流域云量减少.高云量变化较小,低云量变化最大,最大变化超过2成.夏季,对应着黄河与长江之间区域的云量减少,这个区域的温度升高最大.从水汽的变化可以看到长江流域地区水汽减少,相对湿度也减少,这与云量的变化一致;华南地区水汽的变化与季节有关;东北地区水汽增加,相对湿度增大,对应云量的增加和降水增多.从结果可以发现相对湿度最大的变化超过15%,不是一个常数.有些地区温度升高,但是水汽却减少.但是,在LGM的温度降低的区域,水汽一致减少.这说明温度降低水汽对应减少,但温度升高不一定对应水汽增加.这与全球尺度水汽相对湿度基本保持常数的结果不同.中全新世时,长江流域除春季外变得干燥、少雨和高温,东北和内蒙古东部变得多雨和潮湿.     

Snow avalanche regime and climatic conditions in the Chic-Choc Range, eastern Canada

Because snow avalanches occur at altitudes close to the 0°C isotherm in mountain environments, they should respond quickly to climatic variations. This study provides tree-ring-based high-magnitude avalanche chronologies for 12 subalpine avalanche paths in the Chic-Choc Range of Québec (eastern Canada). For the period covered by the chronologies, i.e., between 1895 and 1999, high-magnitude avalanches occurred with an average return interval of 5.3 years, which represents an average annual probability of 21% for all paths. A regional avalanche activity index (RAAI) was developed to help differentiating widespread regional avalanche activity from avalanche events resulting from local factors. Nineteen years of high-magnitude avalanche occurrence were identified (1898, 1936, 1939, 1941, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1977, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1995). Of these, 15 occurred after 1950 and 10 after 1980. Propitious climatic conditions that account for widespread avalanche activity in the study region were identified as follows: (1) above-average total snowfall, (2) high-frequency of snowstorms, (3) major rain events and facet–crust development, (4) sequences of freezing rain and strong winds, and (5) early-season weak layers of faceted crystals and depth hoar. The number of days with air temperature above 0°C has strong implications on the internal structure and stratigraphy of the snowpack, and consequently on avalanche release. Land managers should thus consider more closely the impact of climatic conditions and warming on avalanche activity.     

Influence of hydrological regime on carbon dioxide fluxes over oligotrophic bog massif in northwestern Russia

It is found that the surface bog temperature and bog water level position are major factors that determine CO₂ emission from the bog massif. The emission intensity increases with increasing temperature and with a bog water level decrease. The dependence of CO₂ emission is shown to be different for each bog microlandscape. Monthly mean CO₂ emissions are given for the central bog massif in the years with different water content. Based on modeling, it is shown that in the case of a low bog water level the CO₂ flux is directed to the atmosphere (the emission value exceeds the gas amount consumed for photosynthesis), while in the case of a high level, it is taken up by the growing plants.     

Climate models and CO2-induced climatic changes

This article is a review of the modeling of potential CO₂ effects on climate, intended for an interdisciplinary audience of mathematically oriented scientists and engineers. The carbon dioxide (CO₂) content of the atmosphere has shown a systematic increase each year since regular measurements began in 1958. A major source of CO₂ is the combustion of fossil fuels. A number of studies of the sensitivity of climate to increases in the CO₂ content of the atmosphere have been published. This report is an assimilation of the results of some of these studies. The climate sensitivity problem is introduced through a discussion of the various atmospheric feedbacks and the ice albedo feedback. The most recent estimates of the various feedbacks are used to estimate upper and lower bounds of the globally averaged temperature increase that would accompany a doubling of atmospheric CO₂ content. The results of a CO₂ doubling experiment using a simple general circulation model are reviewed, and the possible response of the cryosphere is discussed.     

Variations in climatic and hydrological parameters in the Selenga River basin in the Russian Federation

The variations in average annual surface air temperature, precipitation, and runoff in the Selenga River basin (within Russia) are analyzed. It is demonstrated that the considerable increase in average annual temperature of surface air layers occurred in the 1980s-1990s. The decrease in peak water discharge in the rivers and the increase in the frequency of low-water periods were revealed in the forest-steppe and steppe zones of the Selenga River basin in 2001-2010. In the southwestern mountain regions (the Dzhida River basin) the river runoff increased during that period.