Numerical simulation of the impact of land cover change on regional climate in China

Land use and land cover change (LUCC) can modify the physical and thermodynamic characteristics of the land surface, including surface roughness, albedo, and vegetation fraction, among others. These direct changes can result in a series of impacts on regional climate. In this paper, the simulated results over China under the scenario of LUCC using weather research and forecasting model are presented. The period for the simulation is from December 2006 to December 2011. Two experiments are initialized by the LUCC datasets derived from the MODIS data of 2001 and 2008, respectively. The results show that the LUCC in most areas of China reduces the surface albedo and increases the surface temperature. Especially in the Hetao Plain, the magnitude of increased surface temperature is above 0.5 °C in winter, and the increase in winter is more obvious than in summer. The precipitation in the Hetao Plain increases. The sensible heat in most parts of East China is reduced, while the latent heat is increased in most areas of China.     

The role of land surface processes in regional climate change: a case study of future land cover change over south western Australia

Summary Using a high resolution regional climate model we perform multiple January simulations of the impact of land cover change over western Australia. We focus on the potential of reforestation to ameliorate the projected warming over western Australia under two emission scenarios (A2, B2) for 2050 and 2100. Our simulations include the structural and physiological responses of the biosphere to changes in climate and changes in carbon dioxide. We find that reforestation has the potential to reduce the warming caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect by as much as 30% under the A2 and B2 scenarios by 2050 but the cooling effect declines to 10% by 2100 as CO₂-induced warming intensifies. The cooling effect of reforestation over western Australia is caused primarily by the increase in leaf area index that leads to a corresponding increase in the latent heat flux. This cooling effect is localized and there were no simulated changes in temperature over regions remote from land cover change. We also show that the more extreme emission scenario (A2) appears to lead to a more intense response in photosynthesis by 2100. Overall, our results are not encouraging in terms of the potential to offset future warming by large scale reforestation. However, at regional scales the impact of land cover change is reasonably large relative to the impact of increasing carbon dioxide (up to 2050) suggesting that future projections of the Australian climate would benefit from the inclusion of projections of future land cover change. We suggest that this would add realism and regional detail to future projections and perhaps aid detection and attribution studies.     

The Relative Impact of Regional Scale Land Cover Change and Increasing CO2 over China

A series of 17-yr equilibrium simulations using the NCAR CCM3 (T42 resolution) were performed to investigate the regional scale impacts of land cover change and increasing CO2 over China. Simulations with natural and current land cover at CO2 levels of 280,355, 430, and 505 ppmv were conducted. Results show statistically significant changes in major climate fields (e.g. temperature and surface wind speed) on a 15-yr average following land cover change. We also found increases in the maximum temperature and in the diurnal temperature range due to land cover change. Increases in CO2 affect both the maximum and minimum temperature so that changes in the diurnal range are small. Both land cover change and CO2 change also impact the frequency distribution of precipitation with increasing CO2 tending to lead to more intense precipitation and land cover change leading to less intense precipitation-indeed, the impact of land cover change typically had the opposite effect versus the impacts of CO2. Our results provide support for the inclusion of future land cover change scenarios in long-term transitory climate inodelling experiments of the 21st Century. Our results also support the inclusion of land surface models that can represent future land cover changes resulting from an ecological response to natural climate variability or increasing CO2. Overall, we show that land cover change can have a significant impact on the regional scale climate of China, and that regionally, this impact is of a similar magnitude to increases in CO2 of up to about 430 ppmv. This means that that the impact of land cover change must be accounted for in detection and attribution studies over China.     

Evaluating uncertainties in regional climate simulations over South America at the seasonal scale

This work focuses on the evaluation of different sources of uncertainty affecting regional climate simulations over South America at the seasonal scale, using the MM5 model. The simulations cover a 3-month period for the austral spring season. Several four-member ensembles were performed in order to quantify the uncertainty due to: the internal variability; the definition of the regional model domain; the choice of physical parameterizations and the selection of physical parameters within a particular cumulus scheme. The uncertainty was measured by means of the spread among individual members of each ensemble during the integration period. Results show that the internal variability, triggered by differences in the initial conditions, represents the lowest level of uncertainty for every variable analyzed. The geographic distribution of the spread among ensemble members depends on the variable: for precipitation and temperature the largest spread is found over tropical South America while for the mean sea level pressure the largest spread is located over the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, where large synoptic-scale activity occurs. Using nudging techniques to ingest the boundary conditions reduces dramatically the internal variability. The uncertainty due to the domain choice displays a similar spatial pattern compared with the internal variability, except for the mean sea level pressure field, though its magnitude is larger all over the model domain for every variable. The largest spread among ensemble members is found for the ensemble in which different combinations of physical parameterizations are selected. The perturbed physics ensemble produces a level of uncertainty slightly larger than the internal variability. This study suggests that no matter what the source of uncertainty is, the geographical distribution of the spread among members of the ensembles is invariant, particularly for precipitation and temperature.     

Alpine snow cover in a changing climate: a regional climate model perspective

An analysis is presented of an ensemble of regional climate model (RCM) experiments from the ENSEMBLES project in terms of mean winter snow water equivalent (SWE), the seasonal evolution of snow cover, and the duration of the continuous snow cover season in the European Alps. Two sets of simulations are considered, one driven by GCMs assuming the SRES A1B greenhouse gas scenario for the period 1951–2099, and the other by the ERA-40 reanalysis for the recent past. The simulated SWE for Switzerland for the winters 1971–2000 is validated against an observational data set derived from daily snow depth measurements. Model validation shows that the RCMs are capable of simulating the general spatial and seasonal variability of Alpine snow cover, but generally underestimate snow at elevations below 1,000 m and overestimate snow above 1,500 m. Model biases in snow cover can partly be related to biases in the atmospheric forcing. The analysis of climate projections for the twenty first century reveals high inter-model agreement on the following points: The strongest relative reduction in winter mean SWE is found below 1,500 m, amounting to 40–80 % by mid century relative to 1971–2000 and depending upon the model considered. At these elevations, mean winter temperatures are close to the melting point. At higher elevations the decrease of mean winter SWE is less pronounced but still a robust feature. For instance, at elevations of 2,000–2,500 m, SWE reductions amount to 10–60 % by mid century and to 30–80 % by the end of the century. The duration of the continuous snow cover season shows an asymmetric reduction with strongest shortening in springtime when ablation is the dominant factor for changes in SWE. We also find a substantial ensemble-mean reduction of snow reliability relevant to winter tourism at elevations below about 1,800 m by mid century, and at elevations below about 2,000 m by the end of the century.     

Satellite monitoring of global land cover changes and their impact on climate

Land cover is a crucial, spatially and temporally varying component of global carbon and climate systems. Therefore accurate estimation and monitoring of land cover changes is important in global change research. Although, land cover has dramatically changed over the last few centuries, until now there has been no consistent way of quantifying the changes globally.In this study we used long-term climate, soils data along with coarse resolution satellite observations to quantify the magnitude and spatial extent of global land cover changes due to anthropogenic processes. Differences between potential leaf area index, derived from climate-soil-leaf area equilibrium and actual leaf area index obtained from satellite data were used to estimate changes in land cover.Forest clearing for agriculture and irrigated farming in arid and semi-arid lands are found to be two major sources of climatically important land cover changes. Satellite derived Spectral Vegetation indices (SV I) and surface temperatures (T s) show strong impact of land cover changes on climatic processes. Irrigated agriculture in dry areas increased energy absorption and evapotranspiration (ET) compared to natural vegetation. On the other hand, forest clearing for crops decreased energy absorption andET. A land cover classification and monitoring system is proposed using satellite derivedSV I andT s that simultaneously characterize energy absorption and exchange processes. This completely remote sensing based approach is useful for monitoring land cover changes as well as their impacts on climate. Monitoring the spatio-temporal dynamics of land cover is possible with current operational satellites, and could be substantially improved with the Earth Observing System (EOS) era satellite sensors.     

中国农田下垫面变化对气候影响的模拟研究

使用同期的美国国家环境预报中心/能源部(NCEP/DOE)再分析资料驱动区域气候耦合模式AVIM-RIEMS2.0,从遥感卫星图像资料中获取3期中国土地利用/覆盖数据中的农田植被类型,将其分别引入到AVIM-RIEMS2.0模式进行积分,研究中国农田下垫面变化对东亚区域气候的影响。结果表明:中国农田变化对气候影响具有冬季弱、夏季强的季节性变化,夏季气温和降水的差异在一些地区通过了95%的显著性检验;20世纪80年代农田扩张,林地、草地为主的植被类型转化为农田,植被变化区域的叶面积指数降低,反照率升高,且通过了95%的显著性检验,使得中国东部地区的气温由南到北呈现增加—减少—增加—减少的相间变化趋势,而降水的变化趋势大体相反;20世纪90年代农田面积减少,除东北地区外,农田变化引起的植被变化与80年代基本相反,叶面积指数变化、反照率以及由此导致的气候各要素也呈现大体相反的变化趋势;不同时期农田变化引起的植被类型转化的差异,使850 hPa风场变化趋势基本相反,可能是导致气温和降水变化趋势差异的主要原因之一。     

Potential climate change impact on wind energy resources in northern Europe: analyses using a regional climate model

There is considerable interest in the potential impact of climate change on the feasibility and predictability of renewable energy sources including wind energy. This paper presents dynamically downscaled near-surface wind fields and examines the impact of climate change on near-surface flow and hence wind energy density across northern Europe. It is shown that: Simulated wind fields from the Rossby Centre coupled Regional Climate Model (RCM) (RCAO) with boundary conditions derived from ECHAM4/OPYC3 AOGCM and the HadAM3H atmosphere-only GCM exhibit reasonable and realistic features as documented in reanalysis data products during the control period (1961–1990). The near-surface wind speeds calculated for a climate change projection period of 2071–2100 are higher than during the control run for two IPCC emission scenarios (A2, B2) for simulations conducted using boundary conditions from ECHAM4/OPYC3. The RCAO simulations conducted using boundary conditions from ECHAM4/OPYC3 indicate evidence for a small increase in the annual wind energy resource over northern Europe between the control run and climate change projection period and for more substantial increases in energy density during the winter season. However, the differences between the RCAO simulations for the climate projection period and the control run are of similar magnitude to differences between the RCAO fields in the control period and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Additionally, the simulations show a high degree of sensitivity to the boundary conditions, and simulations conducted using boundary conditions from HadAM3H exhibit evidence of slight declines or no change in wind speed and energy density between 1961–1990 and 2071–2100. Hence, the uncertainty of the projected wind changes is relatively high.     

An assessment of the influence of land cover uncertainties on the simulation of global climate in the early Holocene

Six and 21 kyear BP represent the extreme states of climate since the last glacial maximum. The early Holocene, in contrast, was a time of transition, experiencing rapidly melting continental ice sheets, rising sea-level, and increasing summer insolation. Key features of the climate, illustrated by an NCAR CCM3 general circulation model experiment representing 11 kyr BP, include enhanced continentality and seasonality, and an enhanced northern monsoon. The principal circulation responses to the 11 kyr BP boundary conditions can be summarized as an intensification and northward shift of the mean meridional circulation and an intensification of the planetary wave structure of the Northern Hemisphere in northern summer, and a slight intensification of the mean meridional circulation coupled with a southward shift in the planetary wave structure in northern winter. These changes are manifest in the enhancement of the typical seasonal cycle of sea-level pressure in the Northern Hemisphere relative to that of the present day, and enhancement and equatorward shift of the Aleutian and Icelandic lows in northern winter. Over the period 15-8 kyr BP, within the current boreal forest zone, herbaceous tundra was replaced by shrub tundra, and subsequently by evergreen or deciduous forest, but there is uncertainty in the location, timing, and exact nature of these transitions. The specific location of the relatively small area of the Asian boreal forest-tundra transition can have an impact on regional climate, primarily in the net shortwave radiation component of the surface energy budget in spring, and in the cloudiness, net shortwave radiation, and turbulent heat fluxes in summer. These changes also have an impact on global climate. Our results suggest that the additional northern heating leads to a reduced equator-pole heat transport in the Northern Hemisphere which then influences heat and momentum transport in the Southern Hemisphere.     

Recent progress in studies on land cover change and its regional climatic effects over China during historical times

The recent progresses on the reconstruction of historical land cover and the studies on regional climatic effects to temperature,precipitation,and the East Asian Monsoon across China were reviewed.Findings show that the land cover in China has been significantly modified by human activities over the last several thousands years,mainly through cropland expansion and forest clearance.The cropland over traditional Chinese agricultural areas increased from 5.32×105 km2 in the mid-17th century to 8.27×105 km2 in...     

Projected increases in near-surface air temperature over Ontario,Canada: a regional climate modeling approach

Climate Dynamics - As the biggest economy in Canada, the Province of Ontario is now suffering many consequences caused by or associated with global warming, such as frequent and intense heat waves,...     

The impact of combined ENSO and PDO on the PNA climate: a 1,000-year climate modeling study

This study analyzes the atmospheric response to the combined Pacific interannual ENSO and decadal–interdecadal PDO variability, with a focus on the Pacific-North American (PNA) sector, using a 1,000-year long integration of the Canadian Center for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCCma) coupled climate model. Both the tropospheric circulation and the North American temperature suggest an enhanced PNA-like climate response and impacts on North America when ENSO and PDO variability are in phase. The anomalies of the centers of action for the PNA-like pattern are significantly different from zero and the anomaly pattern is field significant. In association with the stationary wave anomalies, large stationary wave activity fluxes appear in the mid-high latitudes originating from the North Pacific and flowing downstream toward North America. There are significant Rossby wave source anomalies in the extratropical North Pacific and in the subtropical North Pacific. In addition, the axis of the Pacific storm track shifts southward with the positive PNA. Atmospheric heating anomalies associated with ENSO variability are confined primarily to the tropics. There is an anomalous heating center over the northeast Pacific, together with anomalies with the same polarity in the tropical Pacific, for the PDO variability. The in-phase combination of ENSO and PDO would in turn provide anomalous atmospheric energy transports towards North America from both the Tropical Pacific and the North Pacific, which tends to favor the occurrence of stationary wave anomalies and would lead to a PNA-like wave anomaly structure. The modeling results also confirm our analysis based on the observational record in the twentieth century.     

The Statistical Significance Test of Regional Climate Change Caused by Land Use and Land Cover Variation in West China

The West Development Policy being implemented in China is causing significant land use and land cover （LULC） changes in West China. With the up-to-date satellite database of the Global Land Cover Characteristics Database （GLCCD） that characterizes the lower boundary conditions, the regional climate model RIEMS-TEA is used to simulate possible impacts of the significant LULC variation. The model was run for five continuous three-month periods from 1 June to 1 September of 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997, and the results of the five groups are examined by means of a student t-test to identify the statistical significance of regional climate variation. The main results are： （1） The regional climate is affected by the LULC variation because the equilibrium of water and heat transfer in the air-vegetation interface is changed. （2） The integrated impact of the LULC variation on regional climate is not only limited to West China where the LULC varies, but also to some areas in the model domain where the LULC does not vary at all. （3） The East Asian monsoon system and its vertical structure are adjusted by the large scale LULC variation in western China, where the consequences are the enhancement of the westward water vapor transfer from the east oast and the relevant increase of wet-hydrostatic energy in the middle-upper atmospheric layers. （4） The ecological engineering in West China affects significantly the regional climate in Northwest China, North China and the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River; there are obvious effects in South, Northeast, and Southwest China, but minor effects in Tibet.     

Assessment of regional seasonal predictability using the PRECIS regional climate modeling system over South America

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and skill of the UK Met Office Hadley Center Regional Climate Model (HadRM3P) in describing the seasonal variability of the main climatological features over South America and adjacent oceans, in long-term simulations (30 years, 1961–1990). The analysis was performed using seasonal averages from observed and simulated precipitation, temperature, and lower- and upper-level circulation. Precipitation and temperature patterns as well as the main general circulation features, including details captured by the model at finer scales than those resolved by the global model, were simulated by the model. However, in the regional model, there are still systematic errors which might be related to the physics of the model (convective schemes, topography, and land-surface processes) and the lateral boundary conditions and possible biases inherited from the global model.     

Potential for added value to downscaled climate extremes over Korea by increased resolution of a regional climate model

This study estimates the potential for added value in dynamical downscaling by increasing the spatial resolution of the regional climate model (RCM) over Korea. The Global/Regional Integrated Model System—Regional Model Program with two different resolutions is employed as the RCM. Large-scale forcing is given by a historical simulation of a global climate model, namely the Hadley Center Global Environmental Model version 2. As a standard procedure, the reproducibility of the RCM results for the present climate is evaluated against the reanalysis and observation datasets. It is confirmed that the RCM adequately reproduces the major characteristics of the observed atmospheric conditions and the increased resolution of the RCM contributes to the improvement of simulated surface variables including precipitation and temperature. For the added-value assessment, the interannual and daily variabilities of precipitation, temperature are compared between the different resolution RCM experiments. It is distinctly shown that variabilities are additionally described as the spatial resolution becomes higher. The increased resolution also contributes to capture the extreme weather conditions, such as heavy rainfall events and sweltering days. The enhanced added value is more evident for the precipitation than for the temperature, which stands for a usefulness of the high-resolution RCM especially for diagnosing potential hazard related to heavy rainfall. The results of this study assure the effectiveness of increasing spatial resolution of the RCM for detecting climate extremes and also provide credibility to the current climate simulation for future projection studies.     

Integrating global and regional analyses of the effects of climate change: A case study of land use in England and Wales

The purpose of this paper is to exemplify a means by which an integrated assessment can be made of global and regional effects on land use of climate change. This is achieved by use of data on the effects of climate change on world food prices as inputs to a regional land use allocation model.Data on world prices are drawn from a recent global study of climate change and crop yields. In a case study of England and Wales a land allocation model is used to infer changes of land use that are the product of the integrated effect of climate-induced global price changes and climate-related changes of yield in England and Wales. This combination of changed prices and yield potential is used to calculate the land use providing the highest returns for each of 155,235 1 km² cells of land in England and Wales for a future assumed for the year 2060 (without climate change) and then for that same environment with climate change. The difference between these two is then treated as an estimated effect resulting from climate change.     

Climate-change effects on extreme precipitation in central Europe: uncertainties of scenarios based on regional climate models

Observations as well as most climate model simulations are generally in accord with the hypothesis that the hydrologic cycle should intensify and become highly volatile with the greenhouse-gas-induced climate change, although uncertainties of these projections as well as the spatial and seasonal variability of the changes are much larger than for temperature extremes. In this study, we examine scenarios of changes in extreme precipitation events in 24 future climate runs of ten regional climate models, focusing on a specific area of the Czech Republic (central Europe) where complex orography and an interaction of other factors governing the occurrence of heavy precipitation events result in patterns that cannot be captured by global models. The peaks-over-threshold analysis with increasing threshold censoring is applied to estimate multi-year return levels of daily rainfall amounts. Uncertainties in scenarios of changes for the late 21st century related to the inter-model and within-ensemble variability and the use of the SRES-A2 and SRES-B2 greenhouse gas emission scenarios are evaluated. The results show that heavy precipitation events are likely to increase in severity in winter and (with less agreement among models) also in summer. The inter-model and intra-model variability and related uncertainties in the pattern and magnitude of the change is large, but the scenarios tend to agree with precipitation trends recently observed in the area, which may strengthen their credibility. In most scenario runs, the projected change in extreme precipitation in summer is of the opposite sign than a change in mean seasonal totals, the latter pointing towards generally drier conditions in summer. A combination of enhanced heavy precipitation amounts and reduced water infiltration capabilities of a dry soil may severely increase peak river discharges and flood-related risks in this region.