scholarly journals Predicting Climate Change over the multi-annual range: a perspective from CMCC Decadal Prediction System

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario Nicolì ◽  
Alessio Bellucci ◽  
Paolo Ruggieri ◽  
Panos Athanasiadis ◽  
Giusy Fedele ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Climate Prediction ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Prediction System ◽  
Decadal Prediction ◽  
Predictive Skill ◽  
Annual Range ◽  
Decadal Climate

<p>After the early pioneering studies during the 2000s, and the first coordinated multi-model effort within the framework of the 5th Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP5) in early 2010s, decadal climate predictions are now entering a more mature phase of their historical development. Near-term climate prediction activities have been recently endorsed by the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) as one of the Grand Challenges in climate science research, and the Lead Centre for Annual-to-Decadal Climate Prediction, collecting hindcasts and forecasts from several contributing centres worldwide has been established by the WMO.</p><p>Here we present results from the CMIP6 DCPP-A decadal hindcasts produced with the CMCC decadal prediction system (CMCC DPS), based on the fully-coupled CMCC-CM2-SR5 dynamical model. A 10-member suite of 10-year retrospective forecasts, initialized every year from 1960 to 2019, is performed using a full-field initialization strategy.</p><p>The predictive skill for key quantities is assessed and compared with a non-initialized historical simulation, so as to verify the added value of initialization. In particular, the CMCC DPS is capable to skilfully reproduce past-climate surface temperature over the North Atlantic ocean, the Indian ocean and the Western Pacific ocean, as well as over most part of the continents. Beyond the contribution of the climate change, predictive skill emerges, among other regions, for the subpolar North Atlantic sea-surface temperatures, resembling the imprint of the extra-tropical part of the Atlantic Multidecadal Variability.</p><p>In terms of precipitation, CMCC DPS is able to capture most of the decadal variability over the Northern part of the Eurasian continent. Indeed, a set of regional diagnostics is aimed to investigate the process at stake behind this high predictive skill.</p>

scholarly journals Assessment of a full-field initialised decadal climate prediction system with the CMIP6 version of EC-Earth

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Bilbao ◽  
Simon Wild ◽  
Pablo Ortega ◽  
Juan Acosta-Navarro ◽  
Thomas Arsouze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Climate Prediction ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Labrador Sea ◽  
Prediction System ◽  
Full Field ◽  
Predictive Skill ◽  
Decadal Climate ◽  
Decadal Climate Prediction

Abstract. In this paper we present and evaluate the skill of the EC-Earth3.3 decadal prediction system contributing to the Decadal Climate Prediction Project - Component A (DCPP-A). This prediction system is capable of skilfully simulating past global mean surface temperature variations at interannual and decadal forecast times as well as the local surface temperature in regions such as the Tropical Atlantic, the Indian Ocean and most of the continental areas, although most of the skill comes from the representation of the externally forced trends. A benefit of initialisation in the predictive skill is evident in some areas of the Tropical Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans in the first forecast years, an added value that gets mostly confined to the south-east Tropical Pacific and the eastern Subpolar North Atlantic at the longest forecast times (6–10 years). The central Subpolar North Atlantic shows poor predictive skill and a detrimental effect of the initialisation due to the occurrence of an initialisation shock, itself related to a collapse in Labrador Sea convection by the third forecast year that leads to a rapid weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and excessive local sea ice growth. The shutdown in Labrador Sea convection responds to a gradual increase in the local density stratification in the first years of the forecast, ultimately related to the different paces at which surface and subsurface temperature and salinity drift towards their preferred mean state. This transition happens rapidly in the surface and more slowly in the subsurface, where, by the tenth forecast year, the model is still far from the typical mean states in the corresponding ensemble of historical simulations with EC-Earth3. Our study thus highlights the importance of the Labrador Sea for initialisation, the relevance of reducing model bias by model tuning or, preferably, model improvement when using full-field initialisation, and the need to identify optimal initialisation strategies.

scholarly journals Decadal Climate Prediction: An Update from the Trenches

2014 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald A. Meehl ◽  
Lisa Goddard ◽  
George Boer ◽  
Robert Burgman ◽  
Grant Branstator ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Climate Prediction ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
The North ◽  
Predictive Skill ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Decadal Climate ◽  
Decadal Climate Prediction

This paper provides an update on research in the relatively new and fast-moving field of decadal climate prediction, and addresses the use of decadal climate predictions not only for potential users of such information but also for improving our understanding of processes in the climate system. External forcing influences the predictions throughout, but their contributions to predictive skill become dominant after most of the improved skill from initialization with observations vanishes after about 6–9 years. Recent multimodel results suggest that there is relatively more decadal predictive skill in the North Atlantic, western Pacific, and Indian Oceans than in other regions of the world oceans. Aspects of decadal variability of SSTs, like the mid-1970s shift in the Pacific, the mid-1990s shift in the northern North Atlantic and western Pacific, and the early-2000s hiatus, are better represented in initialized hindcasts compared to uninitialized simulations. There is evidence of higher skill in initialized multimodel ensemble decadal hindcasts than in single model results, with multimodel initialized predictions for near-term climate showing somewhat less global warming than uninitialized simulations. Some decadal hindcasts have shown statistically reliable predictions of surface temperature over various land and ocean regions for lead times of up to 6–9 years, but this needs to be investigated in a wider set of models. As in the early days of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) prediction, improvements to models will reduce the need for bias adjustment, and increase the reliability, and thus usefulness, of decadal climate predictions in the future.

scholarly journals Assessment of a full-field initialized decadal climate prediction system with the CMIP6 version of EC-Earth

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-196
Author(s):  
Roberto Bilbao ◽  
Simon Wild ◽  
Pablo Ortega ◽  
Juan Acosta-Navarro ◽  
Thomas Arsouze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Climate Prediction ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Labrador Sea ◽  
Prediction System ◽  
Full Field ◽  
Predictive Skill ◽  
Decadal Climate ◽  
Decadal Climate Prediction

Abstract. In this paper, we present and evaluate the skill of an EC-Earth3.3 decadal prediction system contributing to the Decadal Climate Prediction Project – Component A (DCPP-A). This prediction system is capable of skilfully simulating past global mean surface temperature variations at interannual and decadal forecast times as well as the local surface temperature in regions such as the tropical Atlantic, the Indian Ocean and most of the continental areas, although most of the skill comes from the representation of the external radiative forcings. A benefit of initialization in the predictive skill is evident in some areas of the tropical Pacific and North Atlantic oceans in the first forecast years, an added value that is mostly confined to the south-east tropical Pacific and the eastern subpolar North Atlantic at the longest forecast times (6–10 years). The central subpolar North Atlantic shows poor predictive skill and a detrimental effect of initialization that leads to a quick collapse in Labrador Sea convection, followed by a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and excessive local sea ice growth. The shutdown in Labrador Sea convection responds to a gradual increase in the local density stratification in the first years of the forecast, ultimately related to the different paces at which surface and subsurface temperature and salinity drift towards their preferred mean state. This transition happens rapidly at the surface and more slowly in the subsurface, where, by the 10th forecast year, the model is still far from the typical mean states in the corresponding ensemble of historical simulations with EC-Earth3. Thus, our study highlights the Labrador Sea as a region that can be sensitive to full-field initialization and hamper the final prediction skill, a problem that can be alleviated by improving the regional model biases through model development and by identifying more optimal initialization strategies.

scholarly journals The Decadal Climate Prediction Project

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
George J. Boer ◽  
Douglas M . Smith ◽  
Christophe Cassou ◽  
Francisco Doblas-Reyes ◽  
Gokhan Danabasoglu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Climate Prediction ◽  
Decadal Prediction ◽  
Science And Society ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Climate Shifts ◽  
Component C ◽  
Decadal Climate ◽  
Decadal Climate Prediction ◽  
Ensemble Generation

Abstract. The Decadal Climate Prediction Project (DCPP) is a coordinated multi-model investigation into decadal climate prediction, predictability, and variability. The DCPP makes use of past experience in simulating and predicting decadal variability and forced climate change gained from CMIP5 and elsewhere. It builds on recent improvements in models, in the reanalysis of climate data, in methods of initialization and ensemble generation, and in data treatment and analysis to propose an extended comprehensive decadal prediction investigation as part of CMIP6. The DCPP consists of three Components. Component A comprises the production and analysis of an extensive archive of retrospective forecasts to be used to assess and understand historical decadal prediction skill, as a basis for improvements in all aspects of end-to-end decadal prediction, and as a basis for forecasting on annual to decadal timescales. Component B undertakes ongoing production, dissemination and analysis of experimental quasi-real-time multi-model forecasts as a basis for potential operational forecast production. Component C involves the organization and coordination of case studies of particular climate shifts and variations, both natural and naturally forced (e.g. the "hiatus", volcanoes), including the study of the mechanisms that determine these behaviours. Groups are invited to participate in as many or as few of the Components of the DCPP, each of which are separately prioritized, as are of interest to them. The Decadal Climate Prediction Project addresses a range of scientific issues involving the ability of the climate system to be predicted on annual to decadal timescales, the skill that is currently and potentially available, the mechanisms involved in long timescale variability, and the production of forecasts of benefit to both science and society.

scholarly journals Predictions of Climate Several Years Ahead Using an Improved Decadal Prediction System

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (20) ◽  
pp. 7550-7567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff R. Knight ◽  
Martin B. Andrews ◽  
Doug M. Smith ◽  
Alberto Arribas ◽  
Andrew W. Colman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Prediction System ◽  
Decadal Prediction ◽  
Decadal Time Scale ◽  
Predictive Skill ◽  
Decadal Climate ◽  
Prediction Systems ◽  
Hadley Centre

Abstract Decadal climate predictions are now established as a source of information on future climate alongside longer-term climate projections. This information has the potential to provide key evidence for decisions on climate change adaptation, especially at regional scales. Its importance implies that following the creation of an initial generation of decadal prediction systems, a process of continual development is needed to produce successive versions with better predictive skill. Here, a new version of the Met Office Hadley Centre Decadal Prediction System (DePreSys 2) is introduced, which builds upon the success of the original DePreSys. DePreSys 2 benefits from inclusion of a newer and more realistic climate model, the Hadley Centre Global Environmental Model version 3 (HadGEM3), but shares a very similar approach to initialization with its predecessor. By performing a large suite of reforecasts, it is shown that DePreSys 2 offers improved skill in predicting climate several years ahead. Differences in skill between the two systems are likely due to a multitude of differences between the underlying climate models, but it is demonstrated herein that improved simulation of tropical Pacific variability is a key source of the improved skill in DePreSys 2. While DePreSys 2 is clearly more skilful than DePreSys in a global sense, it is shown that decreases in skill in some high-latitude regions are related to errors in representing long-term trends. Detrending the results focuses on the prediction of decadal time-scale variability, and shows that the improvement in skill in DePreSys 2 is even more marked.

scholarly journals The Decadal Climate Prediction Project (DCPP) contribution to CMIP6

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 3751-3777 ◽  
Author(s):  
George J. Boer ◽  
Douglas M. Smith ◽  
Christophe Cassou ◽  
Francisco Doblas-Reyes ◽  
Gokhan Danabasoglu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Climate Prediction ◽  
Grand Challenge ◽  
Decadal Prediction ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Intercomparison Project ◽  
Near Term ◽  
Decadal Climate ◽  
Decadal Climate Prediction

Abstract. The Decadal Climate Prediction Project (DCPP) is a coordinated multi-model investigation into decadal climate prediction, predictability, and variability. The DCPP makes use of past experience in simulating and predicting decadal variability and forced climate change gained from the fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) and elsewhere. It builds on recent improvements in models, in the reanalysis of climate data, in methods of initialization and ensemble generation, and in data treatment and analysis to propose an extended comprehensive decadal prediction investigation as a contribution to CMIP6 (Eyring et al., 2016) and to the WCRP Grand Challenge on Near Term Climate Prediction (Kushnir et al., 2016). The DCPP consists of three components. Component A comprises the production and analysis of an extensive archive of retrospective forecasts to be used to assess and understand historical decadal prediction skill, as a basis for improvements in all aspects of end-to-end decadal prediction, and as a basis for forecasting on annual to decadal timescales. Component B undertakes ongoing production, analysis and dissemination of experimental quasi-real-time multi-model forecasts as a basis for potential operational forecast production. Component C involves the organization and coordination of case studies of particular climate shifts and variations, both natural and naturally forced (e.g. the “hiatus”, volcanoes), including the study of the mechanisms that determine these behaviours. Groups are invited to participate in as many or as few of the components of the DCPP, each of which are separately prioritized, as are of interest to them.The Decadal Climate Prediction Project addresses a range of scientific issues involving the ability of the climate system to be predicted on annual to decadal timescales, the skill that is currently and potentially available, the mechanisms involved in long timescale variability, and the production of forecasts of benefit to both science and society.

scholarly journals Development and prospects of the regional MiKlip decadal prediction system over Europe: predictive skill, added value of regionalization, and ensemble size dependency

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Reyers ◽  
Hendrik Feldmann ◽  
Sebastian Mieruch ◽  
Joaquim G. Pinto ◽  
Marianne Uhlig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forecast Accuracy ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Prediction System ◽  
Decadal Prediction ◽  
Ensemble Size ◽  
Predictive Skill ◽  
General Potential

Abstract. The current state of development and the prospects of the regional MiKlip decadal prediction system for Europe are analysed. The MiKlip regional system consists of two 10-member hindcast ensembles computed with the global coupled model MPI-ESM-LR downscaled for the European region with COSMO-CLM to a horizontal resolution of 0.22∘ (∼25 km). Prediction skills are computed for temperature, precipitation, and wind speed using E-OBS and an ERA-Interim-driven COSMO-CLM simulation as verification datasets. Focus is given to the eight European PRUDENCE regions and to lead years 1–5 after initialization. Evidence of the general potential for regional decadal predictability for all three variables is provided. For example, the initialized hindcasts outperform the uninitialized historical runs for some key regions in Europe, particularly in southern Europe. However, forecast skill is not detected in all cases, but it depends on the variable, the region, and the hindcast generation. A comparison of the downscaled hindcasts with the global MPI-ESM-LR runs reveals that the MiKlip prediction system may distinctly benefit from regionalization, in particular for parts of southern Europe and for Scandinavia. The forecast accuracy of the MiKlip ensemble is systematically enhanced when the ensemble size is increased stepwise, and 10 members is found to be suitable for decadal predictions. This result is valid for all variables and European regions in both the global and regional MiKlip ensemble. The present results are encouraging for the development of a regional decadal prediction system.

scholarly journals Development and prospects of the regional MiKlip decadal prediction system over Europe: Predictive skill, added value of regionalization and ensemble size dependency

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Reyers ◽  
Hendrik Feldmann ◽  
Sebastian Mieruch ◽  
Joaquim G. Pinto ◽  
Marianne Uhlig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forecast Accuracy ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Prediction System ◽  
Decadal Prediction ◽  
Ensemble Size ◽  
Predictive Skill ◽  
Current State ◽  
General Potential

Abstract. The current state of development and prospects of the regional MiKlip decadal prediction system for Europe are analysed. The Miklip regional system consists of two 10-member hindcast ensembles computed with the global coupled model MPI-ESM-LR downscaled for the European region with COSMO-CLM to a horizontal resolution of 0.22° (~ 25 km). Prediction skills are computed for temperature, precipitation, and wind speed using E-OBS and an ERA-Interim driven COSMO-CLM simulation as verification datasets. Focus is given to the eight European PRUDENCE regions and to lead 20 years 1–5 after initialization. Evidence of the general potential for regional decadal predictability for all three variables is provided. For example, the initialized hindcasts outperform the uninitialized historical runs for some key regions in Europe and for some variables both in terms of accuracy and reliability. However, forecast skill is not detected in all cases, but it depends on the variable, the region, and the hindcast generation. A comparison of the downscaled hindcasts with the global MPI-ESM-LR runs reveals that the MiKlip prediction system may distinctly benefit from regionalization, in particular for 25 parts of Southern Europe and for Scandinavia. The forecast accuracy and the reliability of the MiKlip ensemble is systematically enhanced when the ensemble size is stepwise increased, and a number of 10 members is found to be suitable for decadal predictions. This result is valid for all variables and European regions in both the global and regional MiKlip ensemble. The predictive skill improves distinctly, particularly for temperature, when retaining the long-term trend in the time series. The present results are encouraging towards the development of a regional decadal prediction system.

scholarly journals The regional MiKlip decadal forecast ensemble for Europe: the added value of downscaling

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 2983-2999 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Mieruch ◽  
H. Feldmann ◽  
G. Schädler ◽  
C.-J. Lenz ◽  
S. Kothe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Climate Prediction ◽  
Skill Assessment ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Lead Times ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Regional Downscaling ◽  
Decadal Climate ◽  
Decadal Climate Prediction

Abstract. The prediction of climate on time scales of years to decades is attracting the interest of both climate researchers and stakeholders. The German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) has launched a major research programme on decadal climate prediction called MiKlip (Mittelfristige Klimaprognosen, Decadal Climate Prediction) in order to investigate the prediction potential of global and regional climate models (RCMs). In this paper we describe a regional predictive hindcast ensemble, its validation, and the added value of regional downscaling. Global predictions are obtained from an ensemble of simulations by the MPI-ESM-LR model (baseline 0 runs), which were downscaled for Europe using the COSMO-CLM regional model. Decadal hindcasts were produced for the 5 decades starting in 1961 until 2001. Observations were taken from the E-OBS data set. To identify decadal variability and predictability, we removed the long-term mean, as well as the long-term linear trend from the data. We split the resulting anomaly time series into two parts, the first including lead times of 1–5 years, reflecting the skill which originates mainly from the initialisation, and the second including lead times from 6–10 years, which are more related to the representation of low frequency climate variability and the effects of external forcing. We investigated temperature averages and precipitation sums for the summer and winter half-year. Skill assessment was based on correlation coefficient and reliability. We found that regional downscaling preserves, but mostly does not improve the skill and the reliability of the global predictions for summer half-year temperature anomalies. In contrast, regionalisation improves global decadal predictions of half-year precipitation sums in most parts of Europe. The added value results from an increased predictive skill on grid-point basis together with an improvement of the ensemble spread, i.e. the reliability.

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