Temperature-Driven Rise in Extreme Sub-Hourly Rainfall

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (22) ◽  
pp. 7597-7609 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Bürger ◽  
A. Pfister ◽  
A. Bronstert

Abstract Estimates of present and future extreme sub-hourly rainfall are derived from a daily spatial followed by a sub-daily temporal downscaling, the latter of which incorporates a novel, and crucial, temperature sensitivity. Specifically, daily global climate fields are spatially downscaled to local temperature T and precipitation P, which are then disaggregated to a temporal resolution of 10 min using a multiplicative random cascade model. The scheme is calibrated and validated with a group of 21 station records of 10-min resolution in Germany. The cascade model is used in the classical (denoted as MC) and in the new T-sensitive (MC+) version, which respects local Clausius–Clapeyron (CC) effects such as CC scaling. Extreme P is positively biased in both MC versions. Observed T sensitivity is absent in MC but well reproduced by MC+. Long-term positive trends in extreme sub-hourly P are generally more pronounced and more significant in MC+ than in MC. In units of 10-min rainfall, observed centennial trends in annual exceedance counts (EC) of P > 5 mm are +29% and in 3-yr return levels (RL) +27%. For the RCP4.5-simulated future, higher extremes are projected in both versions MC and MC+: per century, EC increases by 30% for MC and by 83% for MC+; the RL rises by 14% for MC and by 33% for MC+. Because the projected daily P trends are negligible, the sub-daily signal is mainly driven by local temperature.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Leonarduzzi ◽  
Peter Molnar

<p>Rainfall event properties like maximum intensity, total rainfall depth, or their representation in the form of intensity-duration (ID) or total rainfall-duration (ED) curves, are commonly used to determine the triggering rainfall (event) conditions required for landslide initiation. This rainfall data-driven prediction of landsliding can be extended by the inclusion of antecedent wetness conditions. Although useful for first order assessment of landslide triggering conditions in warning systems, this approach relies heavily on data quality and temporal resolution, which may affect the overall predictive model performance as well as its reliability.</p><p>In this work, we address three key aspects of rainfall thresholds when applied at large spatial scales: (a) the tradeoffs between higher and lower temporal resolution (hourly or daily) (b) the spatial variability associated with long term rainfall, and (c) the added value of antecedent rainfall as predictor. We explore all of these by utilizing a long-term landslide inventory, containing more than 2500 records in Switzerland and 3 gridded rainfall records: a long daily rainfall dataset and two derived hourly products, disaggregated using stations or radar hourly measurements.</p><p>We observe that while predictive performances improve slightly when utilizing high quality hourly record (using radar information), the length of the record decreases, as well as the number of landslides in the inventory, which affects the reliability of the thresholds. A tradeoff has to be found between using long records of less accurate daily rainfall data and landslide timing, and shorter records with highly accurate hourly rainfall data and landslide timing. Even daily rainfall data may give reasonable predictive performance if thresholds are estimated with a long landslide inventory. Good quality hourly rainfall data significantly improve performance, but historical records tend to be shorter or less accurate (e.g. fewer stations available) and landslides with known timing are fewer. Considering antecedent rainfall, we observe that it is generally higher prior to landslide-triggering events and this can partially explain the false alarms and misses of an intensity-duration threshold. Nevertheless, in our study antecedent rainfall shows less predictive power by itself than the rainfall event characteristics. Finally, we show that we can improve the performances of the rainfall thresholds by accounting for local climatology in which we define new thresholds by normalizing the event characteristics with a chosen quantile of the local rainfall distribution or using the mean annual precipitation.</p>


2019 ◽  
pp. 79-95
Author(s):  
N.E. Terentiev

Based on the latest data, paper investigates the dynamics of global climate change and its impact on economic growth in the long-term. The notion of climate risk is considered. The main directions of climate risk management policies are analyzed aimed, first, at reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions through technological innovation and structural economic shifts; secondly, at adaptation of population, territories and economic complexes to the irreparable effects of climate change. The problem of taking into account the phenomenon of climate change in the state economic policy is put in the context of the most urgent tasks of intensification of long-term socio-economic development and parrying strategic challenges to the development of Russia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateusz Taszarek ◽  
John T. Allen ◽  
Mattia Marchio ◽  
Harold E. Brooks

AbstractGlobally, thunderstorms are responsible for a significant fraction of rainfall, and in the mid-latitudes often produce extreme weather, including large hail, tornadoes and damaging winds. Despite this importance, how the global frequency of thunderstorms and their accompanying hazards has changed over the past 4 decades remains unclear. Large-scale diagnostics applied to global climate models have suggested that the frequency of thunderstorms and their intensity is likely to increase in the future. Here, we show that according to ERA5 convective available potential energy (CAPE) and convective precipitation (CP) have decreased over the tropics and subtropics with simultaneous increases in 0–6 km wind shear (BS06). Conversely, rawinsonde observations paint a different picture across the mid-latitudes with increasing CAPE and significant decreases to BS06. Differing trends and disagreement between ERA5 and rawinsondes observed over some regions suggest that results should be interpreted with caution, especially for CAPE and CP across tropics where uncertainty is the highest and reliable long-term rawinsonde observations are missing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tainã M. L. Pinho ◽  
Cristiano M. Chiessi ◽  
Rodrigo C. Portilho-Ramos ◽  
Marília C. Campos ◽  
Stefano Crivellari ◽  
...  

AbstractSubtropical ocean gyres play a key role in modulating the global climate system redistributing energy between low and high latitudes. A poleward displacement of the subtropical gyres has been observed over the last decades, but the lack of long-term monitoring data hinders an in-depth understanding of their dynamics. Paleoceanographic records offer the opportunity to identify meridional changes in the subtropical gyres and investigate their consequences to the climate system. Here we use the abundance of planktonic foraminiferal species Globorotalia truncatulinodes from a sediment core collected at the northernmost boundary of the South Atlantic Subtropical Gyre (SASG) together with a previously published record of the same species from the southernmost boundary of the SASG to reconstruct meridional fluctuations of the SASG over last ca. 70 kyr. Our findings indicate southward displacements of the SASG during Heinrich Stadials (HS) 6-4 and HS1, and a contraction of the SASG during HS3 and HS2. During HS6-4 and HS1, the SASG southward displacements likely boosted the transfer of heat to the Southern Ocean, ultimately strengthening deep-water upwelling and CO2 release to the atmosphere. We hypothesize that the ongoing SASG poleward displacement may further increase oceanic CO2 release.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1673-1684 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. Bodeker ◽  
S. Kremser

Abstract. The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Reference Upper Air Network (GRUAN) provides reference quality RS92 radiosonde measurements of temperature, pressure and humidity. A key attribute of reference quality measurements, and hence GRUAN data, is that each datum has a well characterized and traceable estimate of the measurement uncertainty. The long-term homogeneity of the measurement records, and their well characterized uncertainties, make these data suitable for reliably detecting changes in global and regional climate on decadal time scales. Considerable effort is invested in GRUAN operations to (i) describe and analyse all sources of measurement uncertainty to the extent possible, (ii) quantify and synthesize the contribution of each source of uncertainty to the total measurement uncertainty, and (iii) verify that the evaluated net uncertainty is within the required target uncertainty. However, if the climate science community is not sufficiently well informed on how to capitalize on this added value, the significant investment in estimating meaningful measurement uncertainties is largely wasted. This paper presents and discusses the techniques that will need to be employed to reliably quantify long-term trends in GRUAN data records. A pedagogical approach is taken whereby numerical recipes for key parts of the trend analysis process are explored. The paper discusses the construction of linear least squares regression models for trend analysis, boot-strapping approaches to determine uncertainties in trends, dealing with the combined effects of autocorrelation in the data and measurement uncertainties in calculating the uncertainty on trends, best practice for determining seasonality in trends, how to deal with co-linear basis functions, and interpreting derived trends. Synthetic data sets are used to demonstrate these concepts which are then applied to a first analysis of temperature trends in RS92 radiosonde upper air soundings at the GRUAN site at Lindenberg, Germany (52.21° N, 14.12° E).


2021 ◽  
pp. 1420326X2110398
Author(s):  
S. R. Jensen ◽  
C. Gabel ◽  
S. Petersen ◽  
P. H. Kirkegaard

The paper explores potentials for increasing residents' wellbeing in multi-family social housing (MSH) undergoing energy renovation. The renovation measures needed to reach national and global climate goals are often not financially feasible when viewed in isolation. Therefore, it is relevant to identify potentials for added value, which can justify more extensive measures. This paper is based on the hypothesis that every renovation project holds potentials for added value in terms of increased resident wellbeing. Further, that it is crucial to extend current understandings of wellbeing beyond single, quantitative wellbeing parameters in order to promote more holistic, long-term sustainable renovation solutions. The paper sheds light on potentials for increased resident wellbeing based on an analysis of residents’ experience and satisfaction with gestures in the existing built environment and comparing these findings to their perceived health. The analysis is based on data collected through a mixed-methods approach in three MSH areas facing extensive renovation. The findings demonstrate and exemplify that energy renovation measures may influence a number of interrelated physiological, mental and social wellbeing aspects across scales. As such, the paper contributes with new insights, which can help promote previously neglected aspects of resident wellbeing in future energy renovation design processes.


Author(s):  
Jiban Mani Poudel

In the 21st century, global climate change has become a public and political discourse. However, there is still a wide gap between global and local perspectives. The global perspective focuses on climate fluctuations that affect the larger region; and their analysis is based on long-term records over centuries and millennium. By comparison, local peoples’ perspectives vary locally, and local analyses are limited to a few days, years, decades and generations only. This paper examines how farmers in Kirtipur of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, understand climate variability in their surroundings. The researcher has used a cognized model to understand farmers’ perception on weather fluctuations and climate change. The researcher has documented several eyewitness accounts of farmers about weather fluctuations which they have been observing in a lifetime. The researcher has also used rainfall data from 1970-2009 to test the accuracy of perceptions. Unlike meteorological analyses, farmers recall and their understanding of climatic variability by weather-crop interaction, and events associating with climatic fluctuations and perceptions are shaped by both physical visibility and cultural frame or belief system.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hn.v11i1.7200 Hydro Nepal Special Issue: Conference Proceedings 2012 pp.30-34


2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (21) ◽  
pp. 4531-4544 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Bala ◽  
K. Caldeira ◽  
A. Mirin ◽  
M. Wickett ◽  
C. Delire

Abstract A coupled climate and carbon (CO2) cycle model is used to investigate the global climate and carbon cycle changes out to the year 2300 that would occur if CO2 emissions from all the currently estimated fossil fuel resources were released to the atmosphere. By the year 2300, the global climate warms by about 8 K and atmospheric CO2 reaches 1423 ppmv. The warming is higher than anticipated because the sensitivity to radiative forcing increases as the simulation progresses. In this simulation, the rate of emissions peaks at over 30 Pg C yr−1 early in the twenty-second century. Even at the year 2300, nearly 50% of cumulative emissions remain in the atmosphere. Both soils and living biomass are net carbon sinks throughout the simulation. Despite having relatively low climate sensitivity and strong carbon uptake by the land biosphere, these model projections suggest severe long-term consequences for global climate if all the fossil fuel carbon is ultimately released into the atmosphere.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1169-1175 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Liu ◽  
M. Song ◽  
Y. Hu ◽  
X. Ren

Abstract. Recent studies demonstrate that the Hadley Circulation has intensified and expanded for the past three decades, which has important implications for subtropical societies and may lead to profound changes in global climate. However, the robustness of this intensification and expansion that should be considered when interpreting long-term changes of the Hadley Circulation is still a matter of debate. It also remains largely unknown how the Hadley Circulation has evolved over longer periods. Here, we present long-term variability of the Hadley Circulation using the 20th Century Reanalysis. It shows a slight strengthening and widening of the Hadley Circulation since the late 1970s, which is not inconsistent with recent assessments. However, over centennial timescales (1871–2008), the Hadley Circulation shows a tendency towards a more intense and narrower state. More importantly, the width of the Hadley Circulation might have not yet completed a life-cycle since 1871. The strength and width of the Hadley Circulation during the late 19th to early 20th century show strong natural variability, exceeding variability that coincides with global warming in recent decades. These findings raise the question of whether the recent change in the Hadley Circulation is primarily attributed to greenhouse warming or to a long-period oscillation of the Hadley Circulation – substantially longer than that observed in previous studies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Splinter ◽  
Mitchell Harley ◽  
Ian Turner

Narrabeen-Collaroy Beach, located on the Northern Beaches of Sydney along the Pacific coast of southeast Australia, is one of the longest continuously monitored beaches in the world. This paper provides an overview of the evolution and international scientific impact of this long-term beach monitoring program, from its humble beginnings over 40 years ago using the rod and tape measure Emery field survey method; to today, where the application of remote sensing data collection including drones, satellites and crowd-sourced smartphone images, are now core aspects of this continuing and much expanded monitoring effort. Commenced in 1976, surveying at this beach for the first 30 years focused on in-situ methods, whereby the growing database of monthly beach profile surveys informed the coastal science community about fundamental processes such as beach state evolution and the role of cross-shore and alongshore sediment transport in embayment morphodynamics. In the mid-2000s, continuous (hourly) video-based monitoring was the first application of routine remote sensing at the site, providing much greater spatial and temporal resolution over the traditional monthly surveys. This implementation of video as the first of a now rapidly expanding range of remote sensing tools and techniques also facilitated much wider access by the international research community to the continuing data collection program at Narrabeen-Collaroy. In the past decade the video-based data streams have formed the basis of deeper understanding into storm to multi-year response of the shoreline to changing wave conditions and also contributed to progress in the understanding of estuary entrance dynamics. More recently, ‘opportunistic’ remote sensing platforms such as surf cameras and smartphones have also been used for image-based shoreline data collection. Commencing in 2011, a significant new focus for the Narrabeen-Collaroy monitoring program shifted to include airborne lidar (and later Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)), in an enhanced effort to quantify the morphological impacts of individual storm events, understand key drivers of erosion, and the placing of these observations within their broader regional context. A fixed continuous scanning lidar installed in 2014 again improved the spatial and temporal resolution of the remote-sensed data collection, providing new insight into swash dynamics and the often-overlooked processes of post-storm beach recovery. The use of satellite data that is now readily available to all coastal researchers via Google Earth Engine continues to expand the routine data collection program and provide key insight into multi-decadal shoreline variability. As new and expanding remote sensing technologies continue to emerge, a key lesson from the long-term monitoring at Narrabeen-Collaroy is the importance of a regular re-evaluation of what data is most needed to progress the science.


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