The ENEA-REG system (v1.0), a multi-component regional earth system model. Sensitivity to different atmospheric component over Med-CORDEX region

In this study, a new regional Earth system model is developed and applied to the Med-CORDEX region. The ENEA-REG system is made up of two interchangeable regional climate models as atmospheric components (RegCM and WRF), a river model (HD), and an ocean model (MITgcm); processes taking place at the land surface are represented within the atmospheric models with the possibility to use several land surface schemes of different complexity. The coupling between these components is performed through the RegESM driver. Here, we present and describe our regional Earth system model and evaluate its components using a multidecadal hindcast simulation over the period 1980–2013 driven by ERA-INTERIM reanalysis. We show how the atmospheric components are able to correctly reproduce both large-scale and local features of the Euro-Mediterranean climate, although some remarkable biases are relevant for some variables. In particular, WRF has a significant cold bias during winter over North-Eastern bound of the domain, while RegCM systematically overestimates the wind speed over the Mediterranean Sea. This latter bias has severe consequences on the ocean component: we show that when WRF is used as the atmospheric component of the Earth system, the performances of the ocean model are remarkably better compared with the RegCM version. Our regional Earth system model allows studying the Euro-Mediterranean climate system and can be applied to both hindcast and scenario simulations.

A Coupled OpenFOAM-WRF Study on Atmosphere-Wake-Ocean Interaction

This work aims to better understand how small scale disturbances that are generated at the air-sea interface propagate into the surrounding atmosphere under realistic environmental conditions. To that end, a one-way coupled atmosphere-ocean model is presented, in which predictions of sea surface currents and sea surface temperatures from a microscale ocean model are used as constant boundary conditions in a larger atmospheric model. The coupled model consists of an ocean component implemented while using the open source CFD software OpenFOAM, an atmospheric component solved using the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model, and a Python-based utility foamToWRF, which is responsible for mapping field data between the ocean and atmospheric domains. The results are presented for two demonstration cases, which indicate that the proposed coupled model is able to capture the propagation of small scale sea surface disturbances in the atmosphere, although a more thorough study is required in order to properly validate the model.

Lessons Learned from Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Research and Implications for Operational Fire Prediction and Meteorological Products Provided by the Bureau of Meteorology to Australian Fire Agencies

Coupled fire-atmosphere models are simulators that integrate a fire component and an atmospheric component, with the objective of capturing interactions between the fire and atmosphere. As a fire releases energy in the combustion process, the surrounding atmosphere adjusts in response to the energy fluxes; coupled fire-atmosphere (CFA) models aim to resolve the processes through which these adjustments occur. Several CFA models have been developed internationally, mostly by meteorological institutions and primarily for use as a research tool. Research studies have provided valuable insights into some of the atmospheric processes surrounding a fire. The potential to run CFA models in real time is currently limited due to the intensive computational requirements. In addition, there is a need for systematic verification to establish their accuracy and the appropriate circumstances for their use. The Bureau of Meteorology (the Bureau) is responsible for providing relevant and accurate meteorological information to Australian fire agencies to inform decisions for the protection of life and property and to support hazard management activities. The inclusion of temporally and spatially detailed meteorological fields that adjust in response to the energy released by a fire is seen as a component in developing fire prediction systems that capture some of the most impactful fire and weather behavior. The Bureau’s ten-year research and development plan includes a commitment to developing CFA models, with the objective of providing enhanced services to Australian fire agencies. This paper discusses the operational use of fire predictions and simulators, learnings from CFA models and potential future directions for the Bureau in using CFA models to support fire prediction activities.

One-year assessment of the two-way coupled atmosphere-ocean wave modeling system CHAOS over the Mediterranean and Black Seas

Nowadays, it has become clear that atmosphere and ocean should be simulated by integrated modeling systems resolving interconnected physical factors which determine Earth’s energy balance. Waves play a key role on the interfacial interaction between atmosphere and ocean regulating momentum, heat and moisture exchange. This study aims to evaluate the two-way coupled atmosphere-ocean wave system CHAOS (Chemical Hydrological Atmosphere Ocean wave System) over the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The evaluation is performed against in-situ and remote sensing data for the period from 1 December 2013 to 1 December 2014. CHAOS includes the Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model version 3.8 as atmospheric component and the Wave model (WAM) cycle 4.5.4 as ocean wave component, coupled through the OASIS3-MCT coupler version 3.0. In order to assess the impact of the atmosphere-ocean waves coupling, two approaches of continuous model simulations are followed. In the first approach (1-way coupling mode) the ocean wave component uses the winds produced by the atmospheric component while in the second approach (2-way coupling mode) the atmospheric component additionally uses the sea state information estimated by the ocean wave component through wave-dependent Charnock parameter computations. In the 2-way coupling mode, the attenuation of the atmospheric flow has a damping effect on wind-generated waves. The simulations in 2-way coupling mode produce more realistic results yielding statistical improvements. Against buoys observations, 2-way reduces root mean square error (RMSE) per 1.2% and 6.3% for wind speed and significant wave height, respectively, while against Jason-2 satellite retrievals per 0.5% and 2.4%, respectively. Additionally, the 2-way outperforms the 1-way coupling mode under intense wind and wave conditions during this one-year period.

Contrasting the role of regional and remote circulation in driving the Asian monsoon in HadGEM3-GA7

<p>Monsoon biases are long-standing and an important problem to solve because nearly half of the world’s population is affected by monsoon precipitation and circulation. The effect of local and remote circulation biases on Asian monsoon biases is studied with dynamical nudging using the latest version of the atmospheric component of the HadGEM3 model. Constraining the large-scale circulation substantially reduces oceanic biases in precipitation and circulation, particularly over the extra-tropics. Tropical wet biases may become even stronger because of unconstrained convection. By contrast, model biases over land are less sensitive to nudging due to the prominent role of local planetary boundary layer processes in modulating the low-level circulation. Nudging reduces the seasonal excess (deficit) precipitation over India in winter (summer) by reducing the local cyclonic (anti-cyclonic) biases. Constraining the circulation outside Asia demonstrates that the wet (dry) biases are mostly remotely (locally) controlled in winter (summer) over India. The monsoon biases over China show small changes with nudging, suggesting they are more thermodynamically driven. Monsoon variability is improved over India but not over China in nudged simulations. Despite the remaining errors in nudged simulations, our study suggests that nudging serves as a useful tool to disentangle the contribution of regional and remote circulation in generating the monsoon responses.</p>

Color As A Significant Atmospheric Factor Of Merchant Websites: A Moroccan Exploratory Study

Our exploratory study highlights the influence of environmental characteristics on individuals’ behavior in the commercial context. More particularly, it evaluates the importance of "color" as an atmospheric component in the context of e-commerce websites and it mesures its impact on the Moroccan web user. The literature review around the subject allowed us to brush the features of the commercial atmosphere both traditional and virtual, putting the component of "color" in the center of our interest. The conducted qualitative study via semi-directive interviews has brought to light the variables of our research confronted to the results of the literature.

The Collective Contribution of Atmospheric and Oceanic Components to ENSO Asymmetry

Four cross-coupled models were used to investigate the relative contributions of atmospheric and oceanic components to the asymmetry of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Strong El Niño and La Niña events related to the negative heat flux feedbacks were found to be determined mainly by the atmospheric component, and the stronger sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the warm phase did not lead to an increased SST asymmetry. The skewness of the four models could be affected by both atmospheric and oceanic components; the atmospheric component determines the strength of positive and negative SST anomalies, and the oceanic component affects the strength of the negative SST anomalies in the cold phase under the same atmospheric component group. The Bjerknes stability index (BJ index) of warm and cold phases contributed to the El Niño–La Niña SSTA asymmetries in observation, but the BJ index did not necessarily explain the El Niño–La Niña SSTA asymmetries in climate model simulations. The SST asymmetries in these four models were closely associated with convective precipitation and wind stress asymmetries, which are also determined by both the atmospheric and oceanic components.