Large-Scale Exploratory Analysis of the Spatiotemporal Distribution of Climate Projections

Author(s):  
Vitali Diaz ◽  
Gerald Corzo ◽  
José R. Pérez
2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 2693-2719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Marmy ◽  
Jan Rajczak ◽  
Reynald Delaloye ◽  
Christin Hilbich ◽  
Martin Hoelzle ◽  
...  

Abstract. Permafrost is a widespread phenomenon in mountainous regions of the world such as the European Alps. Many important topics such as the future evolution of permafrost related to climate change and the detection of permafrost related to potential natural hazards sites are of major concern to our society. Numerical permafrost models are the only tools which allow for the projection of the future evolution of permafrost. Due to the complexity of the processes involved and the heterogeneity of Alpine terrain, models must be carefully calibrated, and results should be compared with observations at the site (borehole) scale. However, for large-scale applications, a site-specific model calibration for a multitude of grid points would be very time-consuming. To tackle this issue, this study presents a semi-automated calibration method using the Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) as implemented in a 1-D soil model (CoupModel) and applies it to six permafrost sites in the Swiss Alps. We show that this semi-automated calibration method is able to accurately reproduce the main thermal condition characteristics with some limitations at sites with unique conditions such as 3-D air or water circulation, which have to be calibrated manually. The calibration obtained was used for global and regional climate model (GCM/RCM)-based long-term climate projections under the A1B climate scenario (EU-ENSEMBLES project) specifically downscaled at each borehole site. The projection shows general permafrost degradation with thawing at 10 m, even partially reaching 20 m depth by the end of the century, but with different timing among the sites and with partly considerable uncertainties due to the spread of the applied climatic forcing.


2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Dobler ◽  
G. Bürger ◽  
J. Stötter

Abstract. The objectives of the present investigation are (i) to study the effects of climate change on precipitation extremes and (ii) to assess the uncertainty in the climate projections. The investigation is performed on the Lech catchment, located in the Northern Limestone Alps. In order to estimate the uncertainty in the climate projections, two statistical downscaling models as well as a number of global and regional climate models were considered. The downscaling models applied are the Expanded Downscaling (XDS) technique and the Long Ashton Research Station Weather Generator (LARS-WG). The XDS model, which is driven by analyzed or simulated large-scale synoptic fields, has been calibrated using ECMWF-interim reanalysis data and local station data. LARS-WG is controlled through stochastic parameters representing local precipitation variability, which are calibrated from station data only. Changes in precipitation mean and variability as simulated by climate models were then used to perturb the parameters of LARS-WG in order to generate climate change scenarios. In our study we use climate simulations based on the A1B emission scenario. The results show that both downscaling models perform well in reproducing observed precipitation extremes. In general, the results demonstrate that the projections are highly variable. The choice of both the GCM and the downscaling method are found to be essential sources of uncertainty. For spring and autumn, a slight tendency toward an increase in the intensity of future precipitation extremes is obtained, as a number of simulations show statistically significant increases in the intensity of 90th and 99th percentiles of precipitation on wet days as well as the 5- and 20-yr return values.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Cooper ◽  
Eleanor Blyth ◽  
Hollie Cooper ◽  
Rich Ellis ◽  
Ewan Pinnington ◽  
...  

Abstract. Soil moisture predictions from land surface models are important in hydrological, ecological and meteorological applications. In recent years the availability of wide-area soil-moisture measurements has increased, but few studies have combined model-based soil moisture predictions with in-situ observations beyond the point scale. Here we show that we can markedly improve soil moisture estimates from the JULES land surface model using field scale observations and data assimilation techniques. Rather than directly updating soil moisture estimates towards observed values, we optimize constants in the underlying pedotransfer functions, which relate soil texture to JULES soil physics parameters. In this way we generate a single set of newly calibrated pedotransfer functions based on observations from a number of UK sites with different soil textures. We demonstrate that calibrating a pedotransfer function in this way can improve the performance of land surface models, leading to the potential for better flood, drought and climate projections.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiming Liu ◽  
Lianchun Wang ◽  
Caowen Sun ◽  
Benye Xi ◽  
Doudou Li ◽  
...  

AbstractSapindus (Sapindus L.) is a widely distributed economically important tree genus that provides biodiesel, biomedical and biochemical products. However, with climate change, deforestation, and economic development, the diversity of Sapindus germplasms may face the risk of destruction. Therefore, utilising historical environmental data and future climate projections from the BCC-CSM2-MR global climate database, we simulated the current and future global distributions of suitable habitats for Sapindus using a Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model. The estimated ecological thresholds for critical environmental factors were: a minimum temperature of 0–20 °C in the coldest month, soil moisture levels of 40–140 mm, a mean temperature of 2–25 °C in the driest quarter, a mean temperature of 19–28 °C in the wettest quarter, and a soil pH of 5.6–7.6. The total suitable habitat area was 6059.97 × 104 km2, which was unevenly distributed across six continents. As greenhouse gas emissions increased over time, the area of suitable habitats contracted in lower latitudes and expanded in higher latitudes. Consequently, surveys and conservation should be prioritised in southern hemisphere areas which are in danger of becoming unsuitable. In contrast, other areas in northern and central America, China, and India can be used for conservation and large-scale cultivation in the future.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wojciech Michalak ◽  
Vasileios Tsiamis ◽  
Veit Schwämmle ◽  
Adelina Rogowska-Wrzesińska

AbstractWe have developed ComplexBrowser, an open source, online platform for supervised analysis of quantitative proteomics data that focuses on protein complexes. The software uses information from CORUM and Complex Portal databases to identify protein complex components. Based on the expression changes of individual complex subunits across the proteomics experiment it calculates Complex Fold Change (CFC) factor that characterises the overall protein complex expression trend and the level of subunit co-regulation. Thus up- and down-regulated complexes can be identified. It provides interactive visualisation of protein complexes composition and expression for exploratory analysis. It also incorporates a quality control step that includes normalisation and statistical analysis based on Limma test. ComplexBrowser performance was tested on two previously published proteomics studies identifying changes in protein expression in human adenocarcinoma tissue and during activation of mouse T-cells. The analysis revealed 1519 and 332 protein complexes, of which 233 and 41 were found co-ordinately regulated in the respective studies. The adopted approach provided evidence for a shift to glucose-based metabolism and high proliferation in adenocarcinoma tissues and identification of chromatin remodelling complexes involved in mouse T-cell activation. The results correlate with the original interpretation of the experiments and also provide novel biological details about protein complexes affected. ComplexBrowser is, to our knowledge, the first tool to automate quantitative protein complex analysis for high-throughput studies, providing insights into protein complex regulation within minutes of analysis.A fully functional demo version of ComplexBrowser v1.0 is available online via http://computproteomics.bmb.sdu.dk/Apps/ComplexBrowser/The source code can be downloaded from: https://bitbucket.org/michalakw/complexbrowserHighlightsAutomated analysis of protein complexes in proteomics experimentsQuantitative measure of the coordinated changes in protein complex componentsInteractive visualisations for exploratory analysis of proteomics resultsIn briefComplexBrowser is capable of identifying protein complexes in datasets obtained from large scale quantitative proteomics experiments. It provides, in the form of the CFC factor, a quantitative measure of the coordinated changes in complex components. This facilitates assessing the overall trends in the processes governed by the identified protein complexes providing a new and complementary way of interpreting proteomics experiments.


2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1354-1373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinhua Yu ◽  
Yuqing Wang ◽  
Kevin Hamilton

Abstract This paper reports on an analysis of the tropical cyclone (TC) potential intensity (PI) and its control parameters in transient global warming simulations. Specifically, the TC PI is calculated for phase 3 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3) integrations during the first 70 yr of a transient run forced by a 1% yr−1 CO2 increase. The linear trend over the period is used to project a 70-yr change in relevant model parameters. The results for a 15-model ensemble-mean climate projection show that the thermodynamic potential intensity (THPI) increases on average by 1.0% to ∼3.1% over various TC basins, which is mainly attributed to changes in the disequilibrium in enthalpy between the ocean and atmosphere in the transient response to increasing CO2 concentrations. This modest projected increase in THPI is consistent with that found in other recent studies. In this paper the effects of evolving large-scale dynamical factors on the projected TC PI are also quantified, using an empirical formation that takes into account the effects of vertical shear and translational speed based on a statistical analysis of present-day observations. Including the dynamical efficiency in the formulation of PI leads to larger projected changes in PI relative to that obtained using just THPI in some basins and smaller projected changes in others. The inclusion of the dynamical efficiency has the largest relative effect in the main development region (MDR) of the North Atlantic, where it leads to a 50% reduction in the projected PI change. Results are also presented for the basin-averaged changes in PI for the climate projections from each of the 15 individual models. There is considerable variation among the results for individual model projections, and for some models the projected increase in PI in the eastern Pacific and south Indian Ocean regions exceeds 10%.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Paxian ◽  
Katja Reinhardt ◽  
Birgit Mannig ◽  
Katharina Isensee ◽  
Amelie Krug ◽  
...  

<p>DWD provides operational seasonal and decadal predictions of the German climate prediction system since 2016 and 2020, respectively. We plan to present these predictions together with post-processed ECMWF sub-seasonal forecast products on the DWD climate prediction website www.dwd.de/climatepredictions. In March 2020, this climate service was published with decadal predictions for the coming years; sub-seasonal and seasonal predictions for the coming weeks and months will follow.</p><p>The user-oriented evaluation and design of this climate service has been developed in close cooperation with users from various sectors at workshops of the German MiKlip project and will be consistent across all time scales. The website offers maps, time series and tables of ensemble mean and probabilistic predictions in combination with the prediction skill for 1-year and 5-year means/ sums of temperature and precipitation for different regions (World, Europe, Germany, German regions).</p><p>For Germany, the statistical downscaling EPISODES was applied to reach high spatial resolution required by several climate data users. Decadal predictions were statistically recalibrated in order to adjust bias, drift and standard deviation and optimize ensemble spread. We used the MSESS and RPSS to evaluate the skill of climate predictions in comparison to reference predictions, e.g. ‘observed climatology’ or ‘uninitialized climate projections’ (which are both applied by users until now as an alternative to climate predictions). The significance was tested via bootstraps.</p><p>Within the ‘basic climate predictions’ section, a user-oriented traffic light indicates whether regional-mean climate predictions are significantly better (green), not significantly different (yellow) or significantly worse (red) than reference predictions. Within the ‘expert climate predictions’ section, prediction maps show per grid box the prediction itself (via the color of dots) and its skill (via the size of dots representing the skill categories of the traffic light). The co-development of this climate prediction application with users from different sectors strongly improves the comprehensibility and applicability by users in their daily work.</p><p>In addition to sub-seasonal and seasonal predictions, plans for future extensions of this climate service include multi-year seasonal predictions, e.g. 5-year summer or winter means, combined products for climate predictions and climate projections, further user-oriented, extreme or large-scale variables, e.g. ENSO, or high-resolution applications for German cities based on statistically downscaled predictions.</p>


Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 959
Author(s):  
Ana María Durán-Quesada ◽  
Rogert Sorí ◽  
Paulina Ordoñez ◽  
Luis Gimeno

The Intra–Americas Seas region is known for its relevance to air–sea interaction processes, the contrast between large water masses and a relatively small continental area, and the occurrence of extreme events. The differing weather systems and the influence of variability at different spatio–temporal scales is a characteristic feature of the region. The impact of hydro–meteorological extreme events has played a huge importance for regional livelihood, having a mostly negative impact on socioeconomics. The frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events and droughts are often discussed in terms of their impact on economic activities and access to water. Furthermore, future climate projections suggest that warming scenarios are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme events, which poses a major threat to vulnerable communities. In a region where the economy is largely dependent on agriculture and the population is exposed to the impact of extremes, understanding the climate system is key to informed policymaking and management plans. A wealth of knowledge has been published on regional weather and climate, with a majority of studies focusing on specific components of the system. This study aims to provide an integral overview of regional weather and climate suitable for a wider community. Following the presentation of the general features of the region, a large scale is introduced outlining the main structures that affect regional climate. The most relevant climate features are briefly described, focusing on sea surface temperature, low–level circulation, and rainfall patterns. The impact of climate variability at the intra–seasonal, inter–annual, decadal, and multi–decadal scales is discussed. Climate change is considered in the regional context, based on current knowledge for natural and anthropogenic climate change. The present challenges in regional weather and climate studies have also been included in the concluding sections of this review. The overarching aim of this work is to leverage information that may be transferred efficiently to support decision–making processes and provide a solid foundation on regional weather and climate for professionals from different backgrounds.


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