scholarly journals An Assessment of Future Southern Hemisphere Blocking Using CMIP5 Projections from Four GCMs

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (21) ◽  
pp. 7599-7611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Parsons ◽  
James A. Renwick ◽  
Adrian J. McDonald

AbstractThis study is concerned with blocking events (BEs) in the Southern Hemisphere (SH), their past variability, and future projections. ERA-Interim (ERA-I) is used to compare the historical output from four general circulation models (GCMs) from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5); the output of the representative concentration pathway 4.5 and 8.5 (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) projections are also examined. ERA-I shows that the higher latitudes of the South Pacific Ocean (SPO) are the main blocking region, with blocking occurring predominantly in winter. The CMIP5 historical simulations also agree well with ERA-I for annual and seasonal BE locations and frequencies. A reduction in BEs is observed in the SPO in the 2071–2100 period in the RCP4.5 projections, and this is more pronounced for the RCP8.5 projections and occurs predominantly during the spring and summer seasons. Preliminary investigations imply that the southern annular mode (SAM) is negatively correlated with blocking activity in the SPO in all seasons in the reanalysis. This negative correlation is also observed in the GCM historical output. However, in the RCP projections this correlation is reduced in three of the four models during summer, suggesting that SAM may be less influential in summertime blocking in the future.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vimal Mishra ◽  
Udit Bhatia ◽  
Amar Deep Tiwari

Abstract Climate change is likely to pose enormous challenges for agriculture, water resources, infrastructure, and livelihood of millions of people living in South Asia. Here, we develop daily bias-corrected data of precipitation, maximum and minimum temperatures at 0.25° spatial resolution for South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka) and 18 river basins located in the Indian sub-continent. The bias-corrected dataset is developed using Empirical Quantile Mapping (EQM) for the historic (1951–2014) and projected (2015–2100) climate for the four scenarios (SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, SSP585) using output from 13 General Circulation Models (GCMs) from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project-6 (CMIP6). The bias-corrected dataset was evaluated against the observations for both mean and extremes of precipitation, maximum and minimum temperatures. Bias corrected projections from 13 CMIP6-GCMs project a warmer (3–5°C) and wetter (13–30%) climate in South Asia in the 21st century. The bias-corrected projections from CMIP6-GCMs can be used for climate change impact assessment in South Asia and hydrologic impact assessment in the sub-continental river basins.


2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 1016-1031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth E. Kunkel ◽  
Xin-Zhong Liang

Abstract A diagnostic analysis of relationships between central U.S. climate characteristics and various flow and scalar fields was used to evaluate nine global coupled ocean–atmosphere general circulation models (CGCMs) participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP). To facilitate identification of physical mechanisms causing biases, data from 21 models participating in the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) were also used for certain key analyses. Most models reproduce basic features of the circulation, temperature, and precipitation patterns in the central United States, although no model exhibits small differences from the observationally based data for all characteristics in all seasons. Model ensemble means generally produce better agreement with the observationally based data than any single model. A fall precipitation deficiency, found in all AMIP and CMIP models except the third-generation Hadley Centre CGCM (HadCM3), appears to be related in part to slight biases in the flow on the western flank of the Atlantic subtropical ridge. In the model mean, the ridge at 850 hPa is displaced slightly to the north and to the west, resulting in weaker southerly flow into the central United States. The CMIP doubled-CO2 transient runs show warming (1°–5°C) for all models and seasons and variable precipitation changes over the central United States. Temperature (precipitation) changes are larger (mostly less) than the variations that are observed in the twentieth century and the model variations in the control simulations.


Author(s):  
N.A. Lemeshko ◽  
◽  
V.P. Evstigneev ◽  
A.P. Morozov ◽  
V.A. Rusakov ◽  
...  

The analysis of reliability and accuracy reproduction of air temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity of the air by 18 ocean-atmosphere general circulation models (GCMs) included in CMIP6 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) is performed. Based on statistical criteria, the best models that most accurately reproduce empirical data are selected. On the basis of these models, an ensemble of models is compiled. The calculation of several agro-climatic indicators for the European part of Russia is performed using an ensemble approach. The comparison of agro-climatic indicators calculated on the basis of the ensemble of models and observational data is carried out for the territory of the Upper Volga including Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Vologda, Novgorod and Tver regions. The feasibility of using the ensemble of models to assess agro-climatic conditions of the region is shown.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-61
Author(s):  
Jesse Norris ◽  
Alex Hall ◽  
J. David Neelin ◽  
Chad W. Thackeray ◽  
Di Chen

AbstractDaily and sub-daily precipitation extremes in historical Coupled-Model-Intercomparison-Project-Phase-6 (CMIP6) simulations are evaluated against satellite-based observational estimates. Extremes are defined as the precipitation amount exceeded every x years, ranging from 0.01–10, encompassing the rarest events that are detectable in the observational record without noisy results. With increasing temporal resolution there is an increased discrepancy between models and observations: for daily extremes the multi-model median underestimates the highest percentiles by about a third, and for 3-hourly extremes by about 75% in the tropics. The novelty of the current study is that, to understand the model spread, we evaluate the 3-D structure of the atmosphere when extremes occur. In midlatitudes, where extremes are simulated predominantly explicitly, the intuitive relationship exists whereby higher-resolution models produce larger extremes (r=–0.49), via greater vertical velocity. In the tropics, the convective fraction (the fraction of precipitation simulated directly from the convective scheme) is more relevant. For models below 60% convective fraction, precipitation amount decreases with convective fraction (r=–0.63), but above 75% convective fraction, this relationship breaks down. In the lower-convective-fraction models, there is more moisture in the lower troposphere, closer to saturation. In the higher-convective-fraction models, there is deeper convection and higher cloud tops, which appears to be more physical. Thus, the low-convective models are mostly closer to the observations of extreme precipitation in the tropics, but likely for the wrong reasons. These inter-model differences in the environment in which extremes are simulated hold clues into how parameterizations could be modified in general circulation models to produce more credible 21st-Century projections.


2006 ◽  
Vol 111 (D16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Fox-Rabinovitz ◽  
Jean Côté ◽  
Bernard Dugas ◽  
Michel Déqué ◽  
John L. McGregor

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (19) ◽  
pp. 7747-7766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anmin Duan ◽  
Jun Hu ◽  
Zhixiang Xiao

Abstract Temporal variability within the Tibetan Plateau summer monsoon (TPSM) is closely linked to both the East and South Asian summer monsoons over several time scales but has received much less attention than these other systems. In this study, extensive integrations under phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) historical scenarios from 15 coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) and Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) runs from eight atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) are used to evaluate the performance of these GCMs. Results indicate that all GCMs are able to simulate the climate mean TPSM circulation system. However, the large bias associated with precipitation intensity and patterns remains, despite the higher resolution and inclusion of the indirect effects of sulfate aerosol that have helped to improve the skill of the models to simulate the annual cycle of precipitation in both AGCMs and CGCMs. The interannual variability of the surface heat low and the Tibetan high in most of the AGCMs resembles the observation reasonably because of the prescribed forcing fields. However, only a few models were able to reproduce the observed seesaw pattern associated with the interannual variability of the TPSM and the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). Regarding long-term trends, most models overestimated the amplitude of the tropospheric warming and the declining trend in the surface heat low between 1979 and 2005. In addition, the observed cooling trend in the upper troposphere and the decline of the Tibetan high were not reproduced by most models. Therefore, there is still significant scope for improving GCM simulations of regional climate change, especially in regions near extensive mountain ranges.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 3683-3695
Author(s):  
Robin D. Lamboll ◽  
Chris D. Jones ◽  
Ragnhild B. Skeie ◽  
Stephanie Fiedler ◽  
Bjørn H. Samset ◽  
...  

Abstract. Lockdowns to avoid the spread of COVID-19 have created an unprecedented reduction in human emissions. While the country-level scale of emissions changes can be estimated in near real time, the more detailed, gridded emissions estimates that are required to run general circulation models (GCMs) of the climate will take longer to collect. In this paper we use recorded and projected country-and-sector activity levels to modify gridded predictions from the MESSAGE-GLOBIOM SSP2-4.5 scenario. We provide updated projections for concentrations of greenhouse gases, emissions fields for aerosols, and precursors and the ozone and optical properties that result from this. The code base to perform similar modifications to other scenarios is also provided. We outline the means by which these results may be used in a model intercomparison project (CovidMIP) to investigate the impact of national lockdown measures on climate, including regional temperature, precipitation, and circulation changes. This includes three strands: an assessment of short-term effects (5-year period) and of longer-term effects (30 years) and an investigation into the separate effects of changes in emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols. This last strand supports the possible attribution of observed changes in the climate system; hence these simulations will also form part of the Detection and Attribution Model Intercomparison Project (DAMIP).


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 415-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Ackerley ◽  
J. A. Renwick

Abstract. The Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) was undertaken to assess the climatic effects of the presence of large ice-sheets and changes in the Earth's orbital parameters in fully coupled Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models (AOGCMs). Much of the previous literature has focussed on the tropics and the Northern Hemisphere during the last glacial maximum and Mid-Holocene whereas this study focuses only on the Southern Hemisphere. This study addresses the representation of the Semiannual Oscillation (SAO) in the PMIP2 models and how it may have changed during the Mid-Holocene. The output from the five models suggest a weakening of the (austral) autumn circumpolar trough (CPT) and (in all but one model) a strengthening of the spring CPT. The effects of changing the orbital parameters are to cause warming and drying during spring over New Zealand and a cooling and moistening during autumn. The amount of spring warming/drying and autumn cooling/moistening is variable between the models and depends on the climatological locations of surface pressure anomalies associated with changes in the SAO. This study also undertakes an Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis of the leading modes of atmospheric variability during the control and Mid-Holocene phases for each model. Despite the seasonal changes, the overall month by month and interannual variability was simulated to have changed little from the Mid-Holocene to present.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison A. Wing ◽  
Kevin A. Reed ◽  
Masaki Satoh ◽  
Bjorn Stevens ◽  
Sandrine Bony ◽  
...  

Abstract. RCEMIP, an intercomparison of multiple types of models configured in radiative-convective equilibrium (RCE), is proposed. RCE is an idealization of the climate system in which there is a balance between radiative cooling of the atmosphere and heating by convection. The scientific objectives of RCEMIP are three-fold. First, clouds and climate sensitivity will be investigated in the RCE setting. This includes determining how cloud fraction changes with warming and the role of self-aggregation of convection. Second, RCEMIP will quantify the dependence of the degree of convective aggregation and tropical circulation regimes on temperature. Finally, by providing a common baseline, RCEMIP will allow the robustness of the RCE state, cloud feedbacks, and convective aggregation across the spectrum of models to be assessed. A novel aspect and major advantage of RCEMIP is the accessibility of the RCE framework to a variety of models, including cloud-resolving models, general circulation models, global cloud-resolving models, and single column models.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 4019-4028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Good ◽  
Timothy Andrews ◽  
Robin Chadwick ◽  
Jean-Louis Dufresne ◽  
Jonathan M. Gregory ◽  
...  

Abstract. nonlinMIP provides experiments that account for state-dependent regional and global climate responses. The experiments have two main applications: (1) to focus understanding of responses to CO2 forcing on states relevant to specific policy or scientific questions (e.g. change under low-forcing scenarios, the benefits of mitigation, or from past cold climates to the present day), or (2) to understand the state dependence (non-linearity) of climate change – i.e. why doubling the forcing may not double the response. State dependence (non-linearity) of responses can be large at regional scales, with important implications for understanding mechanisms and for general circulation model (GCM) emulation techniques (e.g. energy balance models and pattern-scaling methods). However, these processes are hard to explore using traditional experiments, which explains why they have had so little attention in previous studies. Some single model studies have established novel analysis principles and some physical mechanisms. There is now a need to explore robustness and uncertainty in such mechanisms across a range of models (point 2 above), and, more broadly, to focus work on understanding the response to CO2 on climate states relevant to specific policy/science questions (point 1). nonlinMIP addresses this using a simple, small set of CO2-forced experiments that are able to separate linear and non-linear mechanisms cleanly, with a good signal-to-noise ratio – while being demonstrably traceable to realistic transient scenarios. The design builds on the CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5) and CMIP6 DECK (Diagnostic, Evaluation and Characterization of Klima) protocols, and is centred around a suite of instantaneous atmospheric CO2 change experiments, with a ramp-up–ramp-down experiment to test traceability to gradual forcing scenarios. In all cases the models are intended to be used with CO2 concentrations rather than CO2 emissions as the input. The understanding gained will help interpret the spread in policy-relevant scenario projections. Here we outline the basic physical principles behind nonlinMIP, and the method of establishing traceability from abruptCO2 to gradual forcing experiments, before detailing the experimental design, and finally some analysis principles. The test of traceability from abruptCO2 to transient experiments is recommended as a standard analysis within the CMIP5 and CMIP6 DECK protocols.


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