scholarly journals Is Hadley Cell Expanding?

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1699
Author(s):  
Tao Xian ◽  
Jingwen Xia ◽  
Wei Wei ◽  
Zehua Zhang ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Cell Expansion ◽  
Hadley Cell ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Temporal Scales ◽  
Cell Width ◽  
Atmospheric Processes ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Circulation Changes ◽  
Climate And Society

This review provides a comprehensive coverage of changes of the Hadley Cell extent and their impacts on the weather, climate, and society. The theories predicting the Hadley Cell width are introduced as a background for the understanding of the circulation changes and the metrics used for detection. A variety of metrics derived from various data sources have been used to quantify the Hadley Cell width. These metrics can be classified as dynamical, hydrological, thermal, and chemical metrics, based on the properties of the variables used. The dynamical metrics have faster trends than those based on thermal or hydrological metrics, with the values exceeding 1 degree per decade. The hydrological metric edge poleward trends were found a slightly faster expansion in the Northern Hemisphere than its southern counterpart. The chemical metrics show a poleward trend of more than 1 degree per decade in both hemispheres. We also suggest a few reasons for the discrepancy among trends in Hadley Cell expansion found in previous studies. Multiple forcings have been found responsible for the expansion, which seems to be more attributed to the natural variability than anthropogenic forcing. Validation of the scaling theories by the trends in Hadley Cell width suggests that theories considering the extratropical factor would be better models for predicting the Hadley Cell width changes. The Hadley Cell has an impact on different atmospheric processes on varying spatio-temporal scales, ranging from weather to climate, and finally on society. The remaining questions regarding Hadley Cell climate are briefly summarized at the end.

Impacts of Shifting Subtropical Highs on North American Climate

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Schmidt ◽  
Kevin Grise ◽  
Dillon Amaya ◽  
Arthur Miller
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Cell Expansion ◽  
Hadley Cell ◽  
Subtropical High ◽  
Sea Level Pressure ◽  
The North ◽  
Dry Zone ◽  
Subtropical Highs ◽  
Eastern Boundary Currents

<p>Numerous observational studies have found that the Hadley cells have expanded poleward in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and model results suggest that such expansion is likely to continue throughout the 21st century as a result of global warming.  This has led to concerns about future impacts of Hadley cell expansion, including a poleward shift of the subtropical dry zone.  However, climatic changes associated with Hadley cell expansion are zonally asymmetric—especially in the Northern Hemisphere—suggesting that a more regional focus may be necessary.  In this study, we consider the influence of the Northern Hemisphere subtropical highs, and contrast this with the influence of Hadley cell expansion. </p><p>Specifically, we consider the North Pacific and North Atlantic subtropical highs and define, for each high, three indices representing longitude, latitude, and strength.  We find that 21st century trends in variables as diverse as precipitation, sea-level pressure, winds, and ocean upwelling in eastern boundary currents are all driven more by the trends of these subtropical high indices than by the expansion of the Hadley cell.  We conclude that 21st century trends in subtropical high positions and strengths are crucial to understanding the future of Northern Hemisphere climate.  Further work will be needed to determine the dynamical drivers of these subtropical high trends.  </p>

scholarly journals Photovoltaic Power Forecasting: Assessment of the Impact of Multiple Sources of Spatio-Temporal Data on Forecast Accuracy

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1432
Author(s):  
Xwégnon Ghislain Agoua ◽  
Robin Girard ◽  
Georges Kariniotakis
Keyword(s):  
Satellite Images ◽  
Forecast Accuracy ◽  
Absolute Error ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Temporal Data ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Forecasting Error ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
The Impact

The efficient integration of photovoltaic (PV) production in energy systems is conditioned by the capacity to anticipate its variability, that is, the capacity to provide accurate forecasts. From the classical forecasting methods in the state of the art dealing with a single power plant, the focus has moved in recent years to spatio-temporal approaches, where geographically dispersed data are used as input to improve forecasts of a site for the horizons up to 6 h ahead. These spatio-temporal approaches provide different performances according to the data sources available but the question of the impact of each source on the actual forecasting performance is still not evaluated. In this paper, we propose a flexible spatio-temporal model to generate PV production forecasts for horizons up to 6 h ahead and we use this model to evaluate the effect of different spatial and temporal data sources on the accuracy of the forecasts. The sources considered are measurements from neighboring PV plants, local meteorological stations, Numerical Weather Predictions, and satellite images. The evaluation of the performance is carried out using a real-world test case featuring a high number of 136 PV plants. The forecasting error has been evaluated for each data source using the Mean Absolute Error and Root Mean Square Error. The results show that neighboring PV plants help to achieve around 10% reduction in forecasting error for the first three hours, followed by satellite images which help to gain an additional 3% all over the horizons up to 6 h ahead. The NWP data show no improvement for horizons up to 6 h but is essential for greater horizons.

Eddy-mediated Hadley cell expansion due to axisymmetric angular momentum adjustment to greenhouse gas forcings

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas A. Davis ◽  
Thomas Birner
Keyword(s):  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Cell Expansion ◽  
Energy Transport ◽  
Baroclinic Instability ◽  
Temperature Response ◽  
Equilibrium Temperature ◽  
Hadley Cell ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Fully Coupled

AbstractThe poleward expansion of the Hadley cells is one of the most robust modeled responses to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. There are many proposed mechanisms for expansion, and most are consistent with modeled changes in thermodynamics, dynamics, and clouds. The adjustment of the eddies and the mean flow to greenhouse gas forcings, and to one another, complicates any effort toward a deeper understanding. Here we modify the Gray Radiation AND Moist Aquaplanet (GRANDMA) model to uncouple the eddy and mean flow responses to forcings. When eddy forcings are held constant, the purely axisymmetric response of the Hadley cell to a greenhouse gas-like forcing is an intensification and poleward tilting of the cell with height in response to an axisymmetric increase in angular momentum in the subtropics. The angular momentum increase drastically alters the circulation response compared to axisymmetric theories, which by nature neglect this adjustment. Model simulations and an eddy diffusivity framework demonstrate that the axisymmetric increase in subtropical angular momentum – the direct manifestation of the radiative-convective equilibrium temperature response – drives a poleward shift of the eddy stresses which leads to Hadley cell expansion. Prescribing the eddy response to the greenhouse gas-like forcing shows that eddies damp, rather than drive, changes in angular momentum, moist static energy transport, and momentum transport. Expansion is not driven by changes in baroclinic instability, as would otherwise be diagnosed from the fully-coupled simulation. These modeling results caution any assessment of mechanisms for circulation change within the fully-coupled wave-mean flow system.

scholarly journals Changes in the width of the tropical belt due to simple radiative forcing changes in the GeoMIP simulations

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (15) ◽  
pp. 10083-10095 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas A. Davis ◽  
Dian J. Seidel ◽  
Thomas Birner ◽  
Sean M. Davis ◽  
Simone Tilmes
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Temperature Response ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Hadley Cell ◽  
Solar Constant ◽  
Cell Width ◽  
Climate Forcings

Abstract. Model simulations of future climates predict a poleward expansion of subtropical arid climates at the edges of Earth's tropical belt, which would have significant environmental and societal impacts. This expansion may be related to the poleward shift of the Hadley cell edges, where subsidence stabilizes the atmosphere and suppresses precipitation. Understanding the primary drivers of tropical expansion is hampered by the myriad forcing agents in most model projections of future climate. While many previous studies have examined the response of idealized models to simplified climate forcings and the response of comprehensive climate models to more complex climate forcings, few have examined how comprehensive climate models respond to simplified climate forcings. To shed light on robust processes associated with tropical expansion, here we examine how the tropical belt width, as measured by the Hadley cell edges, responds to simplified forcings in the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP). The tropical belt expands in response to a quadrupling of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and contracts in response to a reduction in the solar constant, with a range of a factor of 3 in the response among nine models. Models with more surface warming and an overall stronger temperature response to quadrupled carbon dioxide exhibit greater tropical expansion, a robust result in spite of inter-model differences in the mean Hadley cell width, parameterizations, and numerical schemes. Under a scenario where the solar constant is reduced to offset an instantaneous quadrupling of carbon dioxide, the Hadley cells remain at their preindustrial width, despite the residual stratospheric cooling associated with elevated carbon dioxide levels. Quadrupled carbon dioxide produces greater tropical belt expansion in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere. This expansion is strongest in austral summer and autumn. Ozone depletion has been argued to cause this pattern of changes in observations and model experiments, but the results here indicate that seasonally and hemispherically asymmetric tropical expansion can be a basic response of the general circulation to climate forcings.

scholarly journals Summer Westerly Jet in Northern Hemisphere during the Mid-Holocene: A Multi-Model Study

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1193
Author(s):  
Chuchu Xu ◽  
Mi Yan ◽  
Liang Ning ◽  
Jian Liu
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Gradient ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Hadley Cell ◽  
Dynamic Processes ◽  
Jet Stream ◽  
Meridional Temperature Gradient ◽  
The North ◽  
Westerly Jet ◽  
Poleward Shift ◽  
Thermodynamic Processes

The upper-level jet stream, a narrow band of maximum wind speed in the mid-latitude westerlies, exerts a considerable influence on the global climate by modulating the transport and distribution of momentum, heat and moisture. In this study by using four high-resolution models in the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project phase 3, the changes of position and intensity of the northern hemisphere westerly jet at 200 hPa in summer during the mid-Holocene (MH), as well as the related mechanisms, are investigated. The four models show similar performance on the westerly jet. At the hemispheric scale, the simulated westerly jet has a poleward shift during the MH compared to the preindustrial period. The warming in arctic and cooling in the tropics during the MH are caused by the orbital changes of the earth and the precipitation changes, and it could lead to the weakened meridional temperature gradient and pressure gradient, which might account for the poleward shift of the westerly jet from the thermodynamic perspective. From the dynamic perspective, two maximum centers of eddy kinetic energy are simulated over the North Pacific and North Atlantic with the north deviation, which could cause the northward movement of the westerly jet. The weakening of the jet stream is associated with the change of the Hadley cell and the meridional temperature gradient. The largest weakening is over the Pacific Ocean where both the dynamic and the thermodynamic processes have weakening effects. The smallest weakening is over the Atlantic Ocean, and it is induced by the offset effects of dynamic processes and thermodynamic processes. The weakening over the Eurasia is mainly caused by the dynamic processes.

scholarly journals PSI-based methodology to land subsidence mechanism recognition

2015 ◽  
Vol 372 ◽  
pp. 357-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Bonì ◽  
C. Meisina ◽  
C. Perotti ◽  
F. Fenaroli
Keyword(s):  
Land Subsidence ◽  
Vadose Zone ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
Clay Soils ◽  
Soil Consolidation ◽  
Persistent Scatterer Interferometry ◽  
Temporal Scales ◽  
Po Plain ◽  
Persistent Scatterer ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Abstract. A methodology based on Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) is proposed in order to disentangle the contribution of different processes that act at different spatio-temporal scales in land subsidence (i.e. vadose zone processes as swelling/shrinkage of clay soils, soil consolidation and fluid extraction). The methodology was applied in different Italian geological contexts characterized by natural and anthropic processes (i.e. a Prealpine valley and the Po Plain in northern Italy).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document