Review - Streamflow variability over 1881-2011 period in northern Quebec: comparison of hydrological reconstructions based on tree rings and on geopotential height field reanalysis

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anonymous
Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 253
Author(s):  
Luying Ji ◽  
Qixiang Luo ◽  
Yan Ji ◽  
Xiefei Zhi

Bayesian model averaging (BMA) and ensemble model output statistics (EMOS) were used to improve the prediction skill of the 500 hPa geopotential height field over the northern hemisphere with lead times of 1–7 days based on ensemble forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), and UK Met Office (UKMO) ensemble prediction systems. The performance of BMA and EMOS were compared with each other and with the raw ensembles and climatological forecasts from the perspective of both deterministic and probabilistic forecasting. The results show that the deterministic forecasts of the 500 hPa geopotential height distribution obtained from BMA and EMOS are more similar to the observed distribution than the raw ensembles, especially for the prediction of the western Pacific subtropical high. BMA and EMOS provide a better calibrated and sharper probability density function than the raw ensembles. They are also superior to the raw ensembles and climatological forecasts according to the Brier score and the Brier skill score. Comparisons between BMA and EMOS show that EMOS performs slightly better for lead times of 1–4 days, whereas BMA performs better for longer lead times. In general, BMA and EMOS both improve the prediction skill of the 500 hPa geopotential height field.


2007 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 1619-1630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph H. Casola ◽  
John M. Wallace

Abstract A hierarchical clustering algorithm using Ward’s method has been applied to the 500-hPa geopotential height field in the Pacific–North American sector. In contrast to previous clustering studies that measure distance between records by using all the grid points within the domain (full-field method), the procedure outlined here, referred to as the limited-contour method, focuses on the coordinates of the 540-dam contour as the distance measure. Comparison between the regimes emerging from the two methods shows that the limited-contour method is more efficient than the full-field method with respect to grouping maps with ridges located at similar longitudes. The four regimes emerging from the limited-contour clustering analysis have been named as follows: Off-Shore Trough, Alaskan Ridge, Coastal Ridge, and Rockies Ridge. The frequencies of occurrence of the regimes have a significant relationship with the phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. El Niño winters exhibit a strong preference for the Rockies Ridge pattern; La Niña winters exhibit a greater diversity of regimes. The frequencies of occurrence of extreme cold outbreaks and episodes of heavy precipitation in the Pacific Northwest show a relatively strong connection to the regime type. For other regions in the western portion of the United States, only the frequency of occurrence of cold outbreaks exhibits a significant relationship to regime type.


2013 ◽  
Vol 122 ◽  
pp. 213-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Pascual ◽  
M.L. Martín ◽  
F. Valero ◽  
M.Y. Luna ◽  
A. Morata

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Brigode ◽  
F. Brissette ◽  
A. Nicault ◽  
L. Perreault ◽  
A. Kuentz ◽  
...  

Abstract. Over the last decades, different methods have been used by hydrologists to extend observed hydro-climatic time series, based on other data sources, such as tree rings or sedimentological datasets. For example, tree ring multi-proxies have been studied for the Caniapiscau Reservoir in northern Quebec (Canada), leading to the reconstruction of flow series for the last 150 years. In this paper, we applied a new hydro-climatic reconstruction method on the Caniapiscau Reservoir to compare the obtained streamflow series and study the natural streamflow variability over the 1881–2011 period. This new reconstruction is based, not on natural proxies, but on a historical reanalysis of global geopotential height fields, and aims firstly to produce daily climatic time series, which are then used as inputs to a rainfall-runoff model in order to obtain daily streamflow time series. The performances of the hydro-climatic reconstruction were quantified over the observed period, and showed good performances, both in terms of monthly regimes and interannual variability. The streamflow reconstructions were then compared to two different reconstructions performed on the same catchment by using tree ring data series, one being focused on mean annual flows, and the other one on spring floods. In terms of mean annual flows, the interannual variability of the reconstructed flows were similar (except for the 1930–1940 decade), with significant changes seen in wetter and drier years. For spring floods, the interannual variabilities reconstructed were quite similar for the 1955–2011 period, but significantly different between 1880 and 1940. The results emphasize the need to apply different reconstruction methods on the same catchments. Indeed, comparisons such as those above highlight potential differences between available reconstructions, and finally, allow a retrospective analysis of the proposed reconstructions of past hydro-climatological variabilities.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1785-1804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Brigode ◽  
François Brissette ◽  
Antoine Nicault ◽  
Luc Perreault ◽  
Anna Kuentz ◽  
...  

Abstract. Over the last decades, different methods have been used by hydrologists to extend observed hydro-climatic time series, based on other data sources, such as tree rings or sedimentological datasets. For example, tree ring multi-proxies have been studied for the Caniapiscau Reservoir in northern Québec (Canada), leading to the reconstruction of flow time series for the last 150 years. In this paper, we applied a new hydro-climatic reconstruction method on the Caniapiscau Reservoir and compare the obtained streamflow time series against time series derived from dendrohydrology by other authors on the same catchment and study the natural streamflow variability over the 1881–2011 period in that region. This new reconstruction is based not on natural proxies but on a historical reanalysis of global geopotential height fields, and aims firstly to produce daily climatic time series, which are then used as inputs to a rainfall–runoff model in order to obtain daily streamflow time series. The performances of the hydro-climatic reconstruction were quantified over the observed period, and showed good performances, in terms of both monthly regimes and interannual variability. The streamflow reconstructions were then compared to two different reconstructions performed on the same catchment by using tree ring data series, one being focused on mean annual flows and the other on spring floods. In terms of mean annual flows, the interannual variability in the reconstructed flows was similar (except for the 1930–1940 decade), with noteworthy changes seen in wetter and drier years. For spring floods, the reconstructed interannual variabilities were quite similar for the 1955–2011 period, but strongly different between 1880 and 1940. The results emphasize the need to apply different reconstruction methods on the same catchments. Indeed, comparisons such as those above highlight potential differences between available reconstructions and, finally, allow a retrospective analysis of the proposed reconstructions of past hydro-climatological variabilities.


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