scholarly journals Influence of atmospheric internal variability on the long-term Siberian water cycle during the past two centuries

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuhiro Oshima ◽  
Koto Ogata ◽  
Hotaek Park ◽  
Yoshihiro Tachibana

Abstract. River discharges from Siberia are a large source of freshwater into the Arctic Ocean, although the cause of the long-term variation in discharge is still unclear. The observed river discharges of the Lena in the east and the Ob in the west indicated different relationships in each of the epochs during the past seven decades. The correlations between the two river discharges were negative during the 1980s to mid-1990s, positive during the mid-1950s to 1960s, and became weak after the mid-1990s. Long-term records of tree-ring-reconstructed discharges during the past two centuries have also shown differences in the correlations in each epoch. However, it is noteworthy that the correlations obtained from the reconstructions tend to be negative. Such negative correlations have also been obtained from precipitations over the Lena and Ob in observation, and in simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) and multi-coupled models conducted for the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. The AGCM control simulation further demonstrated that an east–west seesaw pattern of summertime atmospheric large-scale circulation frequently emerges over Siberia as an atmospheric internal variability, resulting in the negative correlation between the Lena and Ob. Consequently, the summertime atmospheric internal variability of east–west seesaw pattern over Siberia is a key factor influencing the long-term variation in precipitation and river discharge, i.e., the water cycle in this region.

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 497-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuhiro Oshima ◽  
Koto Ogata ◽  
Hotaek Park ◽  
Yoshihiro Tachibana

Abstract. River discharges from Siberia are a large source of freshwater into the Arctic Ocean, whereas the cause of the long-term variation in Siberian discharges is still unclear. The observed river discharges of the Lena in the east and the Ob in the west indicated different relationships in each of the epochs during the past 7 decades. The correlations between the two river discharges were negative during the 1980s to mid-1990s, positive during the mid-1950s to 1960s, and became weak after the mid-1990s. More long-term records of tree-ring-reconstructed discharges have also shown differences in the correlations in each of the epochs. It is noteworthy that the correlations obtained from the reconstructions tend to be negative during the past 2 centuries. Such tendency has also been obtained from precipitations in observations, and in simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) and fully coupled atmosphere–ocean GCMs conducted for the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. The AGCM control simulation further demonstrated that an east–west seesaw pattern of summertime large-scale atmospheric circulation frequently emerges over Siberia as an atmospheric internal variability. This results in an opposite anomaly of precipitation over the Lena and Ob and the negative correlation. Consequently, the summertime atmospheric internal variability in the east–west seesaw pattern over Siberia is a key factor influencing the long-term variation in precipitation and river discharge, i.e., the water cycle in this region.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 2843-2866
Author(s):  
Elisa Ziegler ◽  
Kira Rehfeld

Abstract. Modeling the long-term transient evolution of climate remains a technical and scientific challenge. However, understanding and improving modeling of the long-term behavior of the climate system increases confidence in projected changes in the mid- to long-term future. Energy balance models (EBMs) provide simplified and computationally efficient descriptions of long timescales and allow large ensemble runs by parameterizing energy fluxes. In this way, they can be used to pinpoint periods and phenomena of interest. Here, we present TransEBM, an extended version of the two-dimensional energy balance model by Zhuang et al. (2017a). Transient CO2, solar insolation, orbital configuration, fixed ice coverage, and land–sea distribution are implemented as effective radiative forcings at the land surface. We show that the model is most sensitive to changes in CO2 and ice distribution, but the obliquity and land–sea mask have significant influence on modeled temperatures as well. We tune TransEBM to reproduce the 1960–1989 CE global mean temperature and the Equator-to-pole and seasonal temperature gradients of ERA-20CM reanalysis (Hersbach et al., 2015). The resulting latitudinal and seasonal temperature distributions agree well with reanalysis and the general circulation model (GCM) HadCM3 for a simulation of the past millennium (Bühler et al., 2020). TransEBM does not represent the internal variability of the ocean–atmosphere system, but non-deterministic elements and nonlinearity can be introduced through model restarts and randomized forcing. As the model facilitates long transient simulations, we envisage its use in exploratory studies of stochastic forcing and perturbed parameterizations, thus complementing studies with comprehensive GCMs.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 3427-3442 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Schneider ◽  
K. Yoshimura ◽  
F. Hase ◽  
T. Blumenstock

Abstract. We present tropospheric H216O and HD16O/H216O vapour profiles measured by ground-based FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) spectrometers between 1996 and 2008 at a northern hemispheric subarctic and subtropical site (Kiruna, Northern Sweden, 68° N and Izaña, Tenerife Island, 28° N, respectively). We compare these measurements to an isotope incorporated atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM). If the model is nudged towards meteorological fields of reanalysis data the agreement is very satisfactory on time scales ranging from daily to inter-annual. Taking the Izaña and Kiruna measurements as an example we document the FTIR network's unique potential for investigating the atmospheric water cycle. At the subarctic site we find strong correlations between the FTIR data, on the one hand, and the Arctic Oscillation index and the northern Atlantic sea surface temperature, on the other hand. The Izaña FTIR measurements reveal the importance of the Hadley circulation and the Northern Atlantic Oscillation index for the subtropical middle/upper tropospheric water balance. We document where the AGCM is able to capture these complexities of the water cycle and where it fails.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 26199-26235 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Schneider ◽  
K. Yoshimura ◽  
F. Hase ◽  
T. Blumenstock

Abstract. We present tropospheric H216O and HD16O/H216O vapour profiles measured by ground-based FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) spectrometers between 1996 and 2008 at a northern hemispheric subarctic and subtropical site (Kiruna, Northern Sweden, 68° N and Izaña, Tenerife Island, 28° N, respectively). We compare these measurements to an isotope incorporated atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM). If the model is nudged towards meteorological fields of reanalyses data the agreement is very satisfactory on time scales ranging from daily to inter-annual which demonstrates the good quality of the FTIR data. Taking the Izaña and Kiruna measurements as an example we document the FTIR network's unique potential for investigating the atmospheric water cycle. For the subtropical site the FTIR observations confirm the central role of the Hadley circulation, but in addition they reveal a strong connection between the Northern Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the middle/upper tropospheric water vapour transport pathways. Concerning the subarctic site the observations indicate that water transport to the lower troposphere is affected by the northern Atlantic sea surface temperature and correlated to the Arctic Oscillation (AO). For the middle troposphere we observe that spring and autumn water transport pathways are different. We document in detail where the AGCM is able to capture these complexities of the water cycle and where it fails.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 2251-2272 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Straus ◽  
Susanna Corti ◽  
Franco Molteni

Abstract The circulation regimes in the Pacific–North American region are studied using the NCEP–NCAR reanalyses for the 18-winter period (1981/82–1998/99; NCEP18) and for the 54-winter period (1948/49–2001/02; NCEP54). The sampling properties of the regimes are estimated using very large ensembles (of size 55) of winter simulations made for the NCEP18 period with the atmospheric general circulation model of the Center for Ocean–Land–Atmosphere Studies, forced by observed SST and sea ice. The regimes are identified using a modified version of the k-means method. From the NCEP54 dataset a set of four clusters was found [i.e., the Alaskan ridge (AR), Arctic low (AL), Pacific trough (PT), and the Arctic high (AH)], which are significant (vis-à-vis a multinormal background), and more reproducible (within randomly chosen half-length samples) than would be expected from a multinormal process. The frequency of occurrence of the PT (AH) has increased (decreased) significantly during the past two decades. The PT cluster obtained from NCEP18 dataset more closely resembles the El Niño–forced seasonal mean pattern of recent decades than it does the traditional PNA. The GCM simulates the AR, AL, and PT clusters (but not the AH). The simulated AR and PT patterns have errors (cf. the NCEP18 results), which are outside the range of internal variability. The simulated frequency of occurrence agrees with the NCEP18 results within sampling variability. The differences in cluster properties of the PT and AR regimes between the NCEP18 and NCEP54 datasets are due to changes in SST forcing, not sampling error. Year-to-year changes in the frequency of occurrence of the PT, AL, and AR clusters in the simulations and the NCEP18 dataset are generally consistent with each other.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 765-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Jochum ◽  
Clara Deser ◽  
Adam Phillips

Abstract Atmospheric general circulation model experiments are conducted to quantify the contribution of internal oceanic variability in the form of tropical instability waves (TIWs) to interannual wind and rainfall variability in the tropical Pacific. It is found that in the tropical Pacific, along the equator, and near 25°N and 25°S, TIWs force a significant increase in wind and rainfall variability from interseasonal to interannual time scales. Because of the stochastic nature of TIWs, this means that climate models that do not take them into account will underestimate the strength and number of extreme events and may overestimate forecast capability.


Ocean Science ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 967-975 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. G. Nurser ◽  
S. Bacon

Abstract. The first (and second) baroclinic deformation (or Rossby) radii are presented north of ~60° N, focusing on deep basins and shelf seas in the high Arctic Ocean, the Nordic seas, Baffin Bay, Hudson Bay and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, derived from climatological ocean data. In the high Arctic Ocean, the first Rossby radius increases from ~5 km in the Nansen Basin to ~15 km in the central Canadian Basin. In the shelf seas and elsewhere, values are low (1–7 km), reflecting weak density stratification, shallow water, or both. Seasonality strongly impacts the Rossby radius only in shallow seas, where winter homogenization of the water column can reduce it to below 1 km. Greater detail is seen in the output from an ice–ocean general circulation model, of higher resolution than the climatology. To assess the impact of secular variability, 10 years (2003–2012) of hydrographic stations along 150° W in the Beaufort Gyre are also analysed. The first-mode Rossby radius increases over this period by ~20%. Finally, we review the observed scales of Arctic Ocean eddies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Wang ◽  
J. Emile-Geay ◽  
D. Guillot ◽  
J. E. Smerdon ◽  
B. Rajaratnam

Abstract. Pseudoproxy experiments (PPEs) have become an important framework for evaluating paleoclimate reconstruction methods. Most existing PPE studies assume constant proxy availability through time and uniform proxy quality across the pseudoproxy network. Real multiproxy networks are, however, marked by pronounced disparities in proxy quality, and a steep decline in proxy availability back in time, either of which may have large effects on reconstruction skill. A suite of PPEs constructed from a millennium-length general circulation model (GCM) simulation is thus designed to mimic these various real-world characteristics. The new pseudoproxy network is used to evaluate four climate field reconstruction (CFR) techniques: truncated total least squares embedded within the regularized EM (expectation-maximization) algorithm (RegEM-TTLS), the Mann et al. (2009) implementation of RegEM-TTLS (M09), canonical correlation analysis (CCA), and Gaussian graphical models embedded within RegEM (GraphEM). Each method's risk properties are also assessed via a 100-member noise ensemble. Contrary to expectation, it is found that reconstruction skill does not vary monotonically with proxy availability, but also is a function of the type and amplitude of climate variability (forced events vs. internal variability). The use of realistic spatiotemporal pseudoproxy characteristics also exposes large inter-method differences. Despite the comparable fidelity in reconstructing the global mean temperature, spatial skill varies considerably between CFR techniques. Both GraphEM and CCA efficiently exploit teleconnections, and produce consistent reconstructions across the ensemble. RegEM-TTLS and M09 appear advantageous for reconstructions on highly noisy data, but are subject to larger stochastic variations across different realizations of pseudoproxy noise. Results collectively highlight the importance of designing realistic pseudoproxy networks and implementing multiple noise realizations of PPEs. The results also underscore the difficulty in finding the proper bias-variance tradeoff for jointly optimizing the spatial skill of CFRs and the fidelity of the global mean reconstructions.


2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 961-1006 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. van Aalst ◽  
J. Lelieveld ◽  
B. Steil ◽  
C. Brühl ◽  
P. Jöckel ◽  
...  

Abstract. We have performed a 4-year simulation with the Middle Atmosphere General Circulation Model MAECHAM5/MESSy, while slightly nudging the model’s meteorology in the free troposphere (below 113 hPa) towards ECMWF analyses. We show that the nudging 5 technique, which leaves the middle atmosphere almost entirely free, enables comparisons with synoptic observations. The model successfully reproduces many specific features of the interannual variability, including details of the Antarctic vortex structure. In the Arctic, the model captures general features of the interannual variability, but falls short in reproducing the timing of sudden stratospheric warmings. A 10 detailed comparison of the nudged model simulations with ECMWF data shows that the model simulates realistic stratospheric temperature distributions and variabilities, including the temperature minima in the Antarctic vortex. Some small (a few K) model biases were also identified, including a summer cold bias at both poles, and a general cold bias in the lower stratosphere, most pronounced in midlatitudes. A comparison 15 of tracer distributions with HALOE observations shows that the model successfully reproduces specific aspects of the instantaneous circulation. The main tracer transport deficiencies occur in the polar lowermost stratosphere. These are related to the tropopause altitude as well as the tracer advection scheme and model resolution. The additional nudging of equatorial zonal winds, forcing the quasi-biennial oscillation, sig20 nificantly improves stratospheric temperatures and tracer distributions.


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