WorldWideScience

Sample records for global precipitation patterns

  1. The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Combined Precipitation Dataset

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huffman, George J.; Adler, Robert F.; Arkin, Philip; Chang, Alfred; Ferraro, Ralph; Gruber, Arnold; Janowiak, John; McNab, Alan; Rudolf, Bruno; Schneider, Udo

    1997-01-01

    The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) has released the GPCP Version 1 Combined Precipitation Data Set, a global, monthly precipitation dataset covering the period July 1987 through December 1995. The primary product in the dataset is a merged analysis incorporating precipitation estimates from low-orbit-satellite microwave data, geosynchronous-orbit -satellite infrared data, and rain gauge observations. The dataset also contains the individual input fields, a combination of the microwave and infrared satellite estimates, and error estimates for each field. The data are provided on 2.5 deg x 2.5 deg latitude-longitude global grids. Preliminary analyses show general agreement with prior studies of global precipitation and extends prior studies of El Nino-Southern Oscillation precipitation patterns. At the regional scale there are systematic differences with standard climatologies.

  2. The Global Precipitation Patterns Associated with Short-Term Extratropical Climate Fluctuations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huffman, George J.; Adler, Robert F.; Bolvin, David T.

    1999-01-01

    Two globally-complete, observation-only precipitation datasets have recently been developed for the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). Both depend heavily on a variety of satellite input, as well as gauge data over land. The first, Version 2x79, provides monthly estimates on a 2.5 deg. x 2.5 deg. lat/long grid for the period 1979 through late 1999 (by the time of the conference). The second, the One-Degree Daily (1DD), provides daily estimates on a 1 deg. x l deg. grid for the period 1997 through late 1999 (by the time of the conference). Both are in beta test preparatory to release as official GPCP products. These datasets provide a unique perspective on the hydrological effects of the various atmospheric flow anomalies that have been identified by meteorologists. In this paper we discuss the regional precipitation effects that result from persistent extratropical flow anomalies. We will focus on the Pacific-North America (PNA) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) patterns. Each characteristically becomes established on synoptic time scales, but then persists for periods that can exceed a month. The onset phase of each appears to have systematic mobile features, while the mature phase tend to be more stationary. Accordingly, composites of monthly data for outstanding positive and negative events (separately) contained in the 20-year record reveal the climatological structure of the precipitation during the mature phase. The climatological anomalies of the positive, negative, and (positive-negative) composites show the expected storm-track-related shifts in precipitation, and provide the advantage of putting the known precipitation effects over land in the context of the total pattern over land and ocean. As well, this global perspective points out some unexpected areas of correlation. Day-by-day composites of daily data anchored to the onset date demonstrate the systematic features during the onset. Although the 1DD has a fairly short record, some

  3. Identifying external influences on global precipitation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marvel, K.; Bonfils, C.

    2013-11-11

    Changes in global (ocean and land) precipitation are among the most important and least well-understood consequences of climate change. Increasing greenhouse gas concentrations are thought to affect the zonal-mean distribution of precipitation through two basic mechanisms. First, increasing temperatures will lead to an intensification of the hydrological cycle (“thermodynamic” changes). Second, changes in atmospheric circulation patterns will lead to poleward displacement of the storm tracks and subtropical dry zones and to a widening of the tropical belt (“dynamic” changes). We demonstrate that both these changes are occurring simultaneously in global precipitation, that this behavior cannot be explained by internal variability alone, and that external influences are responsible for the observed precipitation changes. Whereas existing model experiments are not of sufficient length to differentiate between natural and anthropogenic forcing terms at the 95% confidence level, we present evidence that the observed trends result from human activities.

  4. Global Precipitation Analyses at Time Scales of Monthly to 3-Hourly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adler, Robert F.; Huffman, George; Curtis, Scott; Bolvin, David; Nelkin, Eric; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Global precipitation analysis covering the last few decades and the impact of the new TRMM precipitation observations are discussed. The 20+ year, monthly, globally complete precipitation analysis of the World Climate Research Program's (WCRP/GEWEX) Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) is used to explore global and regional variations and trends and is compared to the much shorter TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) tropical data set. The GPCP data set shows no significant trend in precipitation over the twenty years, unlike the positive trend in global surface temperatures over the past century. Regional trends are also analyzed. A trend pattern that is a combination of both El Nino and La Nina precipitation features is evident in the Goodyear data set. This pattern is related to an increase with time in the number of combined months of El Nino and La Nina during the Goodyear period. Monthly anomalies of precipitation are related to ENRON variations with clear signals extending into middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres. The GPCP daily, 1 degree latitude-longitude analysis, which is available from January 1997 to the present is described and the evolution of precipitation patterns on this time scale related to El Nino and La Nina is described. Finally, a TRMM-based Based analysis is described that uses TRMM to calibrate polar-orbit microwave observations from SSM/I and geosynchronous OR observations and merges the various calibrated observations into a final, Baehr resolution map. This TRMM standard product will be available for the entire TRMM period (January Represent). A real-time version of this merged product is being produced and is available at 0.25 degree latitude-longitude resolution over the latitude range from 50 deg. N -50 deg. S. Examples will be shown, including its use in monitoring flood conditions.

  5. Impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C and 2.0 °C on precipitation patterns in China by regional climate model (COSMO-CLM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Hemin; Wang, Anqian; Zhai, Jianqing; Huang, Jinlong; Wang, Yanjun; Wen, Shanshan; Zeng, Xiaofan; Su, Buda

    2018-05-01

    Regional precipitation patterns may change in a warmer climate, thereby increasing flood and drought risks. In this paper, annual, annual maximum, intense, heavy, moderate, light, and trace precipitation are employed as indicators to assess changes in precipitation patterns under two scenarios in which the global mean temperature increases by 1.5 °C and 2.0 °C relative to pre-industrial levels using the regional climate model COSMO-CLM (CCLM). The results show that annual precipitation in China will be approximately 2.5% higher under 1.5 °C warming relative to the present-day baseline (1980-2009), although it will decrease by approximately 4.0% under an additional 0.5 °C increase in global mean temperature. This trend is spatially consistent for regions with annual precipitation of 400-800 mm, which has experienced a drying trend during the past half century; thus, limiting global warming to 1.5 °C may mitigate these drying conditions. The annual maximum precipitation continues to increase from present day levels to the 2.0 °C warming scenario. Relative to the baseline period, the frequency of trace and light precipitation days exhibits a negative trend, while that of moderate, heavy, and intense precipitation days has a positive trend under the 1.5 °C warming scenario. For the 2.0 °C warming world, the frequency of days is projected to decrease for all precipitation categories, although the intensity of intense precipitation increases. Spatially, a decrease in the number of precipitation days is expected to continue in central and northern China, where a drying trend has persisted over the past half century. Southeastern China, which already suffers greatly from flooding, is expected to face more heavy and intense precipitation with an additional 0.5 °C increase in global mean temperature. Meanwhile, the intensity of intense precipitation is expected to increase in northern China, and the contribution of light and moderate precipitation to the annual

  6. Large-scale Meteorological Patterns Associated with Extreme Precipitation Events over Portland, OR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aragon, C.; Loikith, P. C.; Lintner, B. R.; Pike, M.

    2017-12-01

    Extreme precipitation events can have profound impacts on human life and infrastructure, with broad implications across a range of stakeholders. Changes to extreme precipitation events are a projected outcome of climate change that warrants further study, especially at regional- to local-scales. While global climate models are generally capable of simulating mean climate at global-to-regional scales with reasonable skill, resiliency and adaptation decisions are made at local-scales where most state-of-the-art climate models are limited by coarse resolution. Characterization of large-scale meteorological patterns associated with extreme precipitation events at local-scales can provide climatic information without this scale limitation, thus facilitating stakeholder decision-making. This research will use synoptic climatology as a tool by which to characterize the key large-scale meteorological patterns associated with extreme precipitation events in the Portland, Oregon metro region. Composite analysis of meteorological patterns associated with extreme precipitation days, and associated watershed-specific flooding, is employed to enhance understanding of the climatic drivers behind such events. The self-organizing maps approach is then used to characterize the within-composite variability of the large-scale meteorological patterns associated with extreme precipitation events, allowing us to better understand the different types of meteorological conditions that lead to high-impact precipitation events and associated hydrologic impacts. A more comprehensive understanding of the meteorological drivers of extremes will aid in evaluation of the ability of climate models to capture key patterns associated with extreme precipitation over Portland and to better interpret projections of future climate at impact-relevant scales.

  7. Global warming without global mean precipitation increase?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salzmann, Marc

    2016-06-01

    Global climate models simulate a robust increase of global mean precipitation of about 1.5 to 2% per kelvin surface warming in response to greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing. Here, it is shown that the sensitivity to aerosol cooling is robust as well, albeit roughly twice as large. This larger sensitivity is consistent with energy budget arguments. At the same time, it is still considerably lower than the 6.5 to 7% K(-1) decrease of the water vapor concentration with cooling from anthropogenic aerosol because the water vapor radiative feedback lowers the hydrological sensitivity to anthropogenic forcings. When GHG and aerosol forcings are combined, the climate models with a realistic 20th century warming indicate that the global mean precipitation increase due to GHG warming has, until recently, been completely masked by aerosol drying. This explains the apparent lack of sensitivity of the global mean precipitation to the net global warming recently found in observations. As the importance of GHG warming increases in the future, a clear signal will emerge.

  8. Variations and Trends in Global and Regional Precipitation Based on the 22-year GPCP (Global Precipitation Climatology Project) and Three-year TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) Data Sets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adler, R.; Curtis, S.; Huffman, G.; Bolvin, D.; Nelkin, E.

    2001-05-01

    This paper gives an overview of the analysis of global precipitation over the last few decades and the impact of the new TRMM precipitation observations. The 20+ year, monthly, globally complete precipitation analysis of the World Climate Research Program's (WCRP/GEWEX) Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) is used to study global and regional variations and trends and is compared to the much shorter TRMM(Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) tropical data set. The GPCP data set shows no significant trend in global precipitation over the twenty years, unlike the positive trend in global surface temperatures over the past century. The global trend analysis must be interpreted carefully, however, because the inhomogeneity of the data set makes detecting a small signal very difficult, especially over this relatively short period. The relation of global (and tropical) total precipitation and ENSO events is quantified with no significant signal when land and ocean are combined. Identifying regional trends in precipitation may be more practical. From 1979 to 2000 the tropics have pattern of regional rainfall trends that has an ENSO-like pattern with features of both the El Nino and La Nina. This feature is related to a possible trend in the frequency of ENSO events (either El Nino or La Nina) over the past 20 years. Monthly anomalies of precipitation are related to ENSO variations with clear signals extending into middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres. The El Nino and La Nina mean anomalies are near mirror images of each other and when combined produce an ENSO signal with significant spatial continuity over large distances. A number of the features are shown to extend into high latitudes. Positive anomalies extend in the Southern Hemisphere (S.H.) from the Pacific southeastward across Chile and Argentina into the south Atlantic Ocean. In the Northern Hemisphere (N.H.) the counterpart feature extends across the southern U.S. and Atlantic Ocean into Europe

  9. Global estimate of lichen and bryophyte contributions to forest precipitation interception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Stan, John; Porada, Philipp; Kleidon, Axel

    2017-04-01

    Interception of precipitation by forest canopies plays an important role in its partitioning to evaporation, transpiration and runoff. Field observations show arboreal lichens and bryophytes can substantially enhance forests' precipitation storage and evaporation. However, representations of canopy interception in global land surface models currently ignore arboreal lichen and bryophyte contributions. This study uses the lichen and bryophyte model (LiBry) to provide the first process-based modelling approach estimating these organisms' contributions to canopy water storage and evaporation. The global mean value of forest water storage capacity increased significantly from 0.87 mm to 1.33 mm by the inclusion of arboreal poikilohydric organisms. Global forest canopy evaporation of intercepted precipitation was also greatly enhanced by 44%. Ratio of total versus bare canopy global evaporation exceeded 2 in many forested regions. This altered global patterns in canopy water storage, evaporation, and ultimately the proportion of rainfall evaporated. A sensitivity analysis was also performed. Results indicate rainfall interception is of larger magnitude than previously reported by global land surface modelling work because of the important role of lichen and bryophytes in rainfall interception.

  10. A Global Precipitation Perspective on Persistent Extratropical Flow Anomalies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huffman, George J.; Adler, Robert F.; Bolvin, David T.

    1999-01-01

    Two globally-complete, observation-only precipitation datasets have recently been developed for the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). Both depend heavily on a variety of satellite input, as well as gauge data over land. The first, Version 2 x 79, provides monthly estimates on a 2.5 deg x 2.5 deg lat/long grid for the period 1979 through late 1999 (by the time of the conference). The second, the One-Degree Daily (1DD), provides daily estimates on a 1 deg x 1 deg grid for the period 1997 through late 1999 (by the time of the conference). Both are in beta test preparatory to release as official GPCP products. These datasets provide a unique perspective on the hydrological effects of the various atmospheric flow anomalies that have been identified by meteorologists. In this paper we discuss the regional precipitation effects that result from persistent extratropical flow anomalies. We will focus on the Pacific-North America (PNA) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) patterns. Each characteristically becomes established on synoptic time scales, but then persists for periods that can exceed a month. The onset phase of each appears to have systematic mobile features, while the mature phase tend to be more stationary. Accordingly, composites of monthly data for outstanding positive and negative events (separately) contained in the 20-year record reveal the climatological structure of the precipitation during the mature phase. The climatological anomalies of the positive, negative, and (positive-negative) composites show the expected storm-track-related shifts in precipitation, and provide the advantage of putting the known precipitation effects over land in the context of the total pattern over land and ocean. As well, this global perspective points out some unexpected areas of correlation. Day-by-day composites of daily data anchored to the onset date demonstrate the systematic features during the onset. Although the 1DD has a fairly short record, some

  11. Effective Assimilation of Global Precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lien, G.; Kalnay, E.; Miyoshi, T.; Huffman, G. J.

    2012-12-01

    Assimilating precipitation observations by modifying the moisture and sometimes temperature profiles has been shown successful in forcing the model precipitation to be close to the observed precipitation, but only while the assimilation is taking place. After the forecast start, the model tends to "forget" the assimilation changes and lose their extra skill after few forecast hours. This suggests that this approach is not an efficient way to modify the potential vorticity field, since this is the variable that the model would remember. In this study, the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) method is used to effectively change the potential vorticity field by allowing ensemble members with better precipitation to receive higher weights. In addition to using an EnKF, two other changes in the precipitation assimilation process are proposed to solve the problems related to the highly non-Gaussian nature of the precipitation variable: a) transform precipitation into a Gaussian distribution based on its climatological distribution, and b) only assimilate precipitation at the location where some ensemble members have positive precipitation. The idea is first tested by the observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) using SPEEDY, a simplified but realistic general circulation model. When the global precipitation is assimilated in addition to conventional rawinsonde observations, both the analyses and the medium range forecasts are significantly improved as compared to only having rawinsonde observations. The improvement is much reduced when only modifying the moisture field with the same approach, which shows the importance of the error covariance between precipitation and all other model variables. The effect of precipitation assimilation is larger in the Southern Hemisphere than that in the Northern Hemisphere because the Northern Hemisphere analyses are already accurate as a result of denser rawinsonde stations. Assimilation of precipitation using a more comprehensive

  12. Global Precipitation Measurement Poster

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azarbarzin, Art

    2010-01-01

    This poster presents an overview of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) constellation of satellites which are designed to measure the Earth's precipitation. It includes the schedule of launches for the various satellites in the constellation, and the coverage of the constellation, It also reviews the mission capabilities, and the mission science objectives.

  13. Changes in precipitation extremes projected by a 20-km mesh global atmospheric model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akio Kitoh

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available High-resolution modeling is necessary to project weather and climate extremes and their future changes under global warming. A global high-resolution atmospheric general circulation model with grid size about 20 km is able to reproduce climate fields as well as regional-scale phenomena such as monsoonal rainfall, tropical and extratropical cyclones, and heavy precipitation. This 20-km mesh model is applied to project future changes in weather and climate extremes at the end of the 21st century with four different spatial patterns in sea surface temperature (SST changes: one with the mean SST changes by the 28 models of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5 under the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP-8.5 scenario, and the other three obtained from a cluster analysis, in which tropical SST anomalies derived from the 28 CMIP5 models were grouped. Here we focus on future changes in regional precipitation and its extremes. Various precipitation indices averaged over the Twenty-two regional land domains are calculated. Heavy precipitation indices (maximum 5-day precipitation total and maximum 1-day precipitation total increase in all regional domains, even where mean precipitation decrease (Southern Africa, South Europe/Mediterranean, Central America. South Asia is the domain of the largest extreme precipitation increase. In some domains, different SST patterns result in large precipitation changes, possibly related to changes in large-scale circulations in the tropical Pacific.

  14. Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) L-6

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neeck, Steven P.; Kakar, Ramesh K.; Azarbarzin, Ardeshir A.; Hou, Arthur Y.

    2013-10-01

    The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission will advance the measurement of global precipitation, making possible high spatial resolution precipitation measurements. GPM will provide the first opportunity to calibrate measurements of global precipitation across tropical, mid-latitude, and polar regions. The GPM mission has the following scientific objectives: (1) Advance precipitation measurement capability from space through combined use of active and passive remote-sensing techniques; (2) Advance understanding of global water/energy cycle variability and fresh water availability; (3) Improve climate prediction by providing the foundation for better understanding of surface water fluxes, soil moisture storage, cloud/precipitation microphysics and latent heat release in the Earth's atmosphere; (4) Advance Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) skills through more accurate and frequent measurements of instantaneous rain rates; and (5) Improve high impact natural hazard (flood/drought, landslide, and hurricane hazard) prediction capabilities. The GPM mission centers on the deployment of a Core Observatory carrying an advanced radar / radiometer system to measure precipitation from space and serve as a reference standard to unify precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational satellites. GPM, jointly led with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), involves a partnership with other international space agencies including the French Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), and others. The GPM Core Observatory is currently being prepared for shipment to Japan for launch. Launch is scheduled for February 2014 from JAXA's Tanegashima Space Center on an H-IIA 202 launch vehicle.

  15. Classification and global distribution of ocean precipitation types based on satellite passive microwave signatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gautam, Nitin

    The main objectives of this thesis are to develop a robust statistical method for the classification of ocean precipitation based on physical properties to which the SSM/I is sensitive and to examine how these properties vary globally and seasonally. A two step approach is adopted for the classification of oceanic precipitation classes from multispectral SSM/I data: (1)we subjectively define precipitation classes using a priori information about the precipitating system and its possible distinct signature on SSM/I data such as scattering by ice particles aloft in the precipitating cloud, emission by liquid rain water below freezing level, the difference of polarization at 19 GHz-an indirect measure of optical depth, etc.; (2)we then develop an objective classification scheme which is found to reproduce the subjective classification with high accuracy. This hybrid strategy allows us to use the characteristics of the data to define and encode classes and helps retain the physical interpretation of classes. The classification methods based on k-nearest neighbor and neural network are developed to objectively classify six precipitation classes. It is found that the classification method based neural network yields high accuracy for all precipitation classes. An inversion method based on minimum variance approach was used to retrieve gross microphysical properties of these precipitation classes such as column integrated liquid water path, column integrated ice water path, and column integrated min water path. This classification method is then applied to 2 years (1991-92) of SSM/I data to examine and document the seasonal and global distribution of precipitation frequency corresponding to each of these objectively defined six classes. The characteristics of the distribution are found to be consistent with assumptions used in defining these six precipitation classes and also with well known climatological patterns of precipitation regions. The seasonal and global

  16. Mapping Precipitation Patterns from the Stable Isotopic Composition of Surface Waters: Olympic Peninsula, Washington State

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anders, A. M.; Brandon, M. T.

    2008-12-01

    Available data indicate that large and persistent precipitation gradients are tied to topography at scales down to a few kilometers, but precipitation patterns in the majority of mountain ranges are poorly constrained at scales less than tens of kilometers. A lack of knowledge of precipitation patterns hampers efforts to understand the processes of orographic precipitation and identify the relationships between geomorphic evolution and climate. A new method for mapping precipitation using the stable isotopic composition of surface waters is tested in the Olympic Mountains of Washington State. Measured δD and δ18O of 97 samples of surface water are linearly related and nearly inseparable from the global meteoric water line. A linear orographic precipitation model extended to include in effects of isotopic fractionation via Rayleigh distillation predicts precipitation patterns and isotopic composition of surface water. Seven parameters relating to the climate and isotopic composition of source water are used. A constrained random search identifies the best-fitting parameter set. Confidence intervals for parameter values are defined and precipitation patterns are determined. Average errors for the best-fitting model are 4.8 permil in δD. The difference between the best fitting model and other models within the 95% confidence interval was less than 20%. An independent high-resolution precipitation climatology documents precipitation gradients similar in shape and magnitude to the model derived from surface water isotopic composition. This technique could be extended to other mountain ranges, providing an economical and fast assessment of precipitation patterns requiring minimal field work.

  17. A global satellite assisted precipitation climatology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funk, Christopher C.; Verdin, Andrew P.; Michaelsen, Joel C.; Pedreros, Diego; Husak, Gregory J.; Peterson, P.

    2015-01-01

    Accurate representations of mean climate conditions, especially in areas of complex terrain, are an important part of environmental monitoring systems. As high-resolution satellite monitoring information accumulates with the passage of time, it can be increasingly useful in efforts to better characterize the earth's mean climatology. Current state-of-the-science products rely on complex and sometimes unreliable relationships between elevation and station-based precipitation records, which can result in poor performance in food and water insecure regions with sparse observation networks. These vulnerable areas (like Ethiopia, Afghanistan, or Haiti) are often the critical regions for humanitarian drought monitoring. Here, we show that long period of record geo-synchronous and polar-orbiting satellite observations provide a unique new resource for producing high resolution (0.05°) global precipitation climatologies that perform reasonably well in data sparse regions. Traditionally, global climatologies have been produced by combining station observations and physiographic predictors like latitude, longitude, elevation, and slope. While such approaches can work well, especially in areas with reasonably dense observation networks, the fundamental relationship between physiographic variables and the target climate variables can often be indirect and spatially complex. Infrared and microwave satellite observations, on the other hand, directly monitor the earth's energy emissions. These emissions often correspond physically with the location and intensity of precipitation. We show that these relationships provide a good basis for building global climatologies. We also introduce a new geospatial modeling approach based on moving window regressions and inverse distance weighting interpolation. This approach combines satellite fields, gridded physiographic indicators, and in situ climate normals. The resulting global 0.05° monthly precipitation climatology, the Climate

  18. North-South precipitation patterns in western North America on interannual-to-decadal timescales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dettinger, M.D.; Cayan, D.R.; Diaz, Henry F.; Meko, D.M.

    1998-01-01

    The overall amount of precipitation deposited along the West Coast and western cordillera of North America from 25??to 55??N varies from year to year, and superimposed on this domain-average variability are varying north-south contrasts on timescales from at least interannual to interdecadal. In order to better understand the north-south precipitation contrasts, their interannual and decadal variations are studied in terms of how much they affect overall precipitation amounts and how they are related to large-scale climatic patterns. Spatial empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) and spatial moments (domain average, central latitude, and latitudinal spread) of zonally averaged precipitation anomalies along the westernmost parts of North America are analyzed, and each is correlated with global sea level pressure (SLP) and sea surface temperature series, on interannual (defined here as 3-7 yr) and decadal (>7 yr) timescales. The interannual band considered here corresponds to timescales that are particularly strong in tropical climate variations and thus is expected to contain much precipitation variability that is related to El Nino-Southern Oscillation; the decadal scale is defined so as to capture the whole range of long-term climatic variations affecting western North America. Zonal EOFs of the interannual and decadal filtered versions of the zonal-precipitation series are remarkably similar. At both timescales, two leading EOFs describe 1) a north-south seesaw of precipitation pivoting near 40??N and 2) variations in precipitation near 40??N, respectively. The amount of overall precipitation variability is only about 10% of the mean and is largely determined by precipitation variations around 40??-45??N and most consistently influenced by nearby circulation patterns; in this sense, domain-average precipitation is closely related to the second EOF. The central latitude and latitudinal spread of precipitation distributions are strongly influenced by precipitation

  19. Climate dynamics: a network-based approach for the analysis of global precipitation.

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    Scarsoglio, Stefania; Laio, Francesco; Ridolfi, Luca

    2013-01-01

    Precipitation is one of the most important meteorological variables for defining the climate dynamics, but the spatial patterns of precipitation have not been fully investigated yet. The complex network theory, which provides a robust tool to investigate the statistical interdependence of many interacting elements, is used here to analyze the spatial dynamics of annual precipitation over seventy years (1941-2010). The precipitation network is built associating a node to a geographical region, which has a temporal distribution of precipitation, and identifying possible links among nodes through the correlation function. The precipitation network reveals significant spatial variability with barely connected regions, as Eastern China and Japan, and highly connected regions, such as the African Sahel, Eastern Australia and, to a lesser extent, Northern Europe. Sahel and Eastern Australia are remarkably dry regions, where low amounts of rainfall are uniformly distributed on continental scales and small-scale extreme events are rare. As a consequence, the precipitation gradient is low, making these regions well connected on a large spatial scale. On the contrary, the Asiatic South-East is often reached by extreme events such as monsoons, tropical cyclones and heat waves, which can all contribute to reduce the correlation to the short-range scale only. Some patterns emerging between mid-latitude and tropical regions suggest a possible impact of the propagation of planetary waves on precipitation at a global scale. Other links can be qualitatively associated to the atmospheric and oceanic circulation. To analyze the sensitivity of the network to the physical closeness of the nodes, short-term connections are broken. The African Sahel, Eastern Australia and Northern Europe regions again appear as the supernodes of the network, confirming furthermore their long-range connection structure. Almost all North-American and Asian nodes vanish, revealing that extreme events can

  20. Climate dynamics: a network-based approach for the analysis of global precipitation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefania Scarsoglio

    Full Text Available Precipitation is one of the most important meteorological variables for defining the climate dynamics, but the spatial patterns of precipitation have not been fully investigated yet. The complex network theory, which provides a robust tool to investigate the statistical interdependence of many interacting elements, is used here to analyze the spatial dynamics of annual precipitation over seventy years (1941-2010. The precipitation network is built associating a node to a geographical region, which has a temporal distribution of precipitation, and identifying possible links among nodes through the correlation function. The precipitation network reveals significant spatial variability with barely connected regions, as Eastern China and Japan, and highly connected regions, such as the African Sahel, Eastern Australia and, to a lesser extent, Northern Europe. Sahel and Eastern Australia are remarkably dry regions, where low amounts of rainfall are uniformly distributed on continental scales and small-scale extreme events are rare. As a consequence, the precipitation gradient is low, making these regions well connected on a large spatial scale. On the contrary, the Asiatic South-East is often reached by extreme events such as monsoons, tropical cyclones and heat waves, which can all contribute to reduce the correlation to the short-range scale only. Some patterns emerging between mid-latitude and tropical regions suggest a possible impact of the propagation of planetary waves on precipitation at a global scale. Other links can be qualitatively associated to the atmospheric and oceanic circulation. To analyze the sensitivity of the network to the physical closeness of the nodes, short-term connections are broken. The African Sahel, Eastern Australia and Northern Europe regions again appear as the supernodes of the network, confirming furthermore their long-range connection structure. Almost all North-American and Asian nodes vanish, revealing that

  1. Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Global Precipitation Time Series

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The global precipitation time series provides time series charts showing observations of daily precipitation as well as accumulated precipitation compared to normal...

  2. A global gridded dataset of daily precipitation going back to 1950, ideal for analysing precipitation extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Contractor, S.; Donat, M.; Alexander, L. V.

    2017-12-01

    Reliable observations of precipitation are necessary to determine past changes in precipitation and validate models, allowing for reliable future projections. Existing gauge based gridded datasets of daily precipitation and satellite based observations contain artefacts and have a short length of record, making them unsuitable to analyse precipitation extremes. The largest limiting factor for the gauge based datasets is a dense and reliable station network. Currently, there are two major data archives of global in situ daily rainfall data, first is Global Historical Station Network (GHCN-Daily) hosted by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the other by Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) part of the Deutsche Wetterdienst (DWD). We combine the two data archives and use automated quality control techniques to create a reliable long term network of raw station data, which we then interpolate using block kriging to create a global gridded dataset of daily precipitation going back to 1950. We compare our interpolated dataset with existing global gridded data of daily precipitation: NOAA Climate Prediction Centre (CPC) Global V1.0 and GPCC Full Data Daily Version 1.0, as well as various regional datasets. We find that our raw station density is much higher than other datasets. To avoid artefacts due to station network variability, we provide multiple versions of our dataset based on various completeness criteria, as well as provide the standard deviation, kriging error and number of stations for each grid cell and timestep to encourage responsible use of our dataset. Despite our efforts to increase the raw data density, the in situ station network remains sparse in India after the 1960s and in Africa throughout the timespan of the dataset. Our dataset would allow for more reliable global analyses of rainfall including its extremes and pave the way for better global precipitation observations with lower and more transparent uncertainties.

  3. Responses of Seasonal Precipitation Intensity to Global Warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lan, Chia-Wei; Lo, Min-Hui; Chou, Chia

    2016-04-01

    Under global warming, the water vapor increases with rising temperature at the rate of 7%/K. Most previous studies focus on the spatial differences of precipitation and suggest that wet regions become wetter and dry regions become drier. Our recent studies show a temporal disparity of global precipitation, which the wet season becomes wetter and dry season becomes drier; therefore, the annual range increases. However, such changes in the annual range are not homogeneous globally, and in fact, the drier trend over the ocean is much larger than that over the land, where the dry season does not become drier. Such precipitation change over land is likely because of decreased omega at 500hPa (more upward motion) in the reanalysis datasets from 1980 to 2013. The trends of vertical velocity and moist static energy profile over the increased precipitation regions become more unstable. The instability is most likely attributed to the change in specific humility below 400hPa. Further, we will use Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) archives to investigate whether the precipitation responses in dry season are different between the ocean and land under global warming.

  4. Changes in equatorial zonal circulations and precipitation in the context of the global warming and natural modes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, B. H.; Ha, K. J.

    2017-12-01

    The strengthening and westward shift of Pacific Walker Circulation (PWC) is observed during the recent decades. However, the relative roles of global warming and natural variability on the change in PWC unclearly remain. By conducting numerical atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) experiments using the spatial SST patterns in the global warming and natural modes which are obtained by the multi-variate EOF analysis from three variables including precipitation, sea surface temperature (SST), and divergent zonal wind, we indicated that the westward shift and strengthening of PWC are caused by the global warming SST pattern in the global warming mode and the negative Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation-like SST pattern in the natural mode. The SST distribution of the Pacific Ocean (PO) has more influence on the changes in equatorial zonal circulations and tropical precipitation than that of the Indian Ocean (IO) and Atlantic Ocean (AO). The change in precipitation is also related to the equatorial zonal circulations variation through the upward and downward motions of the circulations. The IO and AO SST anomalies in the global warming mode can affect on the changes in equatorial zonal circulations, but the influence of PO SST disturbs the Indian Walker circulation and Atlantic Walker circulation changes by the IO and AO. The zonal shift of PWC is found to be highly associated with a zonal gradient of SST over the PO through the idealized numerical AGCM experiments and predictions of CMIP5 models.

  5. The Impact of Global Warming on Precipitation Patterns in Ilorin and the Hydrological Balance of the Awun Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayanshola, Ayanniyi; Olofintoye, Oluwatosin; Obadofin, Ebenezer

    2018-03-01

    This study presents the impact of global warming on precipitation patterns in Ilorin, Nigeria, and its implications on the hydrological balance of the Awun basin under the prevailing climate conditions. The study analyzes 39 years of rainfall and temperature data of relevant stations within the study areas. Simulated data from the Coupled Global Climate model for historical and future datasets were investigated under the A2 emission scenario. Statistical regression and a Mann-Kendall analysis were performed to determine the nature of the trends in the hydrological variables and their significance levels, while a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to estimate the water balance and derive the stream flow and yield of the Awun basin. The study revealed that while minimum and maximum temperatures in Ilorin are increasing, rainfall is generally decreasing. The assessment of the trends in the water balance parameters in the basin indicates that there is no improvement in the water yield as the population increases. This may result in major stresses to the water supply in the near future.

  6. The Version 2 Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Monthly Precipitation Analysis (1979-Present)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adler, Robert F.; Huffman, George J.; Chang, Alfred; Ferraro, Ralph; Xie, Ping-Ping; Janowiak, John; Rudolf, Bruno; Schneider, Udo; Curtis, Scott; Bolvin, David

    2003-01-01

    The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Version 2 Monthly Precipitation Analysis is described. This globally complete, monthly analysis of surface precipitation at 2.5 degrees x 2.5 degrees latitude-longitude resolution is available from January 1979 to the present. It is a merged analysis that incorporates precipitation estimates from low-orbit-satellite microwave data, geosynchronous-orbit-satellite infrared data, and rain gauge observations. The merging approach utilizes the higher accuracy of the low-orbit microwave observations to calibrate, or adjust, the more frequent geosynchronous infrared observations. The data set is extended back into the premicrowave era (before 1987) by using infrared-only observations calibrated to the microwave-based analysis of the later years. The combined satellite-based product is adjusted by the raingauge analysis. This monthly analysis is the foundation for the GPCP suite of products including those at finer temporal resolution, satellite estimate, and error estimates for each field. The 23-year GPCP climatology is characterized, along with time and space variations of precipitation.

  7. Analysis of Roanoke Region Weather Patterns Under Global Teleconnections

    OpenAIRE

    LaRocque, Eric John

    2006-01-01

    This work attempts to relate global teleconnections, through physical phenomena such as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Artic Oscillation (AO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and the Pacific North American (PNA) pattern to synoptic-scale weather patterns and precipitation in the Roanoke, Virginia region. The first chapter describes the behavior of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) by implementing non-homogeneous and homogeneous Markov Chain models on a monthly time series o...

  8. Are climate-related changes to the character of global-mean precipitation predictable?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stephens, Graeme L; Hu, Yongxiang

    2010-01-01

    The physical basis for the change in global-mean precipitation projected to occur with the warming associated with increased greenhouse gases is discussed. The expected increases to column water vapor W control the rate of increase of global precipitation accumulation through its affect on the planet's energy balance. The key role played by changes to downward longwave radiation controlled by this changing water vapor is emphasized. The basic properties of molecular absorption by water vapor dictate that the fractional rate of increase of global-mean precipitation must be significantly less that the fractional rate of increase in water vapor and it is further argued that this reduced rate of precipitation increase implies that the timescale for water re-cycling is increased in the global mean. This further implies less frequent precipitation over a fixed period of time, and the intensity of these less frequent precipitating events must subsequently increase in the mean to realize the increased global accumulation. These changes to the character of global-mean precipitation, predictable consequences of equally predictable changes to W, apply only to the global-mean state and not to the regional or local scale changes in precipitation.

  9. Conditional Stochastic Models in Reduced Space: Towards Efficient Simulation of Tropical Cyclone Precipitation Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodov, B.

    2017-12-01

    Stochastic simulation of realistic and statistically robust patterns of Tropical Cyclone (TC) induced precipitation is a challenging task. It is even more challenging in a catastrophe modeling context, where tens of thousands of typhoon seasons need to be simulated in order to provide a complete view of flood risk. Ultimately, one could run a coupled global climate model and regional Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model, but this approach is not feasible in the catastrophe modeling context and, most importantly, may not provide TC track patterns consistent with observations. Rather, we propose to leverage NWP output for the observed TC precipitation patterns (in terms of downscaled reanalysis 1979-2015) collected on a Lagrangian frame along the historical TC tracks and reduced to the leading spatial principal components of the data. The reduced data from all TCs is then grouped according to timing, storm evolution stage (developing, mature, dissipating, ETC transitioning) and central pressure and used to build a dictionary of stationary (within a group) and non-stationary (for transitions between groups) covariance models. Provided that the stochastic storm tracks with all the parameters describing the TC evolution are already simulated, a sequence of conditional samples from the covariance models chosen according to the TC characteristics at a given moment in time are concatenated, producing a continuous non-stationary precipitation pattern in a Lagrangian framework. The simulated precipitation for each event is finally distributed along the stochastic TC track and blended with a non-TC background precipitation using a data assimilation technique. The proposed framework provides means of efficient simulation (10000 seasons simulated in a couple of days) and robust typhoon precipitation patterns consistent with observed regional climate and visually undistinguishable from high resolution NWP output. The framework is used to simulate a catalog of 10000 typhoon

  10. Global precipitations and climate change. Proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Desbois, M.; Desalmand, F.

    1994-01-01

    The workshop reviewed the present status of knowledge concerning the past and present evolution of the distribution of precipitations at global scale, related to climate evolution at different time scales. This review was intended to assess the availability and quality of data which could help, through validation and initialization of model studies, to improve our understanding of the processes determining these precipitation changes. On another hand, the modelling specialists presented their actual use of precipitation data. Exchanges of views between the modelling and observing communities were thus made possible, leading to a set of recommendations for future studies. Sessions were then devoted to specific themes: 1) Paleoclimatology, 2) data collection, history and statistics, programmes, 3) methodologies and accuracy of large scale estimation of precipitation from conventional data, 4) estimation of precipitation from satellite data, 5) modelling studies. (orig.)

  11. Global Precipitation Measurement. Report 7; Bridging from TRMM to GPM to 3-Hourly Precipitation Estimates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepherd, J. Marshall; Smith, Eric A.; Adams, W. James (Editor)

    2002-01-01

    Historically, multi-decadal measurements of precipitation from surface-based rain gauges have been available over continents. However oceans remained largely unobserved prior to the beginning of the satellite era. Only after the launch of the first Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellite in 1987 carrying a well-calibrated and multi-frequency passive microwave radiometer called Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) have systematic and accurate precipitation measurements over oceans become available on a regular basis; see Smith et al. (1994, 1998). Recognizing that satellite-based data are a foremost tool for measuring precipitation, NASA initiated a new research program to measure precipitation from space under its Mission to Planet Earth program in the 1990s. As a result, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), a collaborative mission between NASA and NASDA, was launched in 1997 to measure tropical and subtropical rain. See Simpson et al. (1996) and Kummerow et al. (2000). Motivated by the success of TRMM, and recognizing the need for more comprehensive global precipitation measurements, NASA and NASDA have now planned a new mission, i.e., the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. The primary goal of GPM is to extend TRMM's rainfall time series while making substantial improvements in precipitation observations, specifically in terms of measurement accuracy, sampling frequency, Earth coverage, and spatial resolution. This report addresses four fundamental questions related to the transition from current to future global precipitation observations as denoted by the TRMM and GPM eras, respectively.

  12. The physical drivers of historical and 21st century global precipitation changes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thorpe, Livia; Andrews, Timothy

    2014-01-01

    Historical and 21st century global precipitation changes are investigated using data from the fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) Atmosphere-Ocean-General-Circulation-Models (AOGCMs) and a simple energy-balance model. In the simple model, precipitation change in response to a given top-of-atmosphere radiative forcing is calculated as the sum of a response to the surface warming and a direct ‘adjustment’ response to the atmospheric radiative forcing. This simple model allows the adjustment in global mean precipitation to atmospheric radiative forcing from different forcing agents to be examined separately and emulates the AOGCMs well. During the historical period the AOGCMs simulate little global precipitation change despite an increase in global temperature—at the end of the historical period, global multi-model mean precipitation has increased by about 0.03 mm day −1 , while the global multi-model mean surface temperature has warmed by about 1 K, both relative to the pre-industrial control means. This is because there is a large direct effect from CO 2 and black carbon atmospheric forcing that opposes the increase in precipitation from surface warming. In the 21st century scenarios, the opposing effect from black carbon declines and the increase in global precipitation due to surface warming dominates. The cause of the spread between models in the global precipitation projections (which can be up to 0.25 mm day −1 ) is examined and found to come mainly from uncertainty in the climate sensitivity. The spatial distribution of precipitation change is found to be dominated by the response to surface warming. It is concluded that AOGCM global precipitation projections are in line with expectations based on our understanding of how the energy and water cycles are physically linked. (letters)

  13. The Signature of Southern Hemisphere Atmospheric Circulation Patterns in Antarctic Precipitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Gareth J; Thompson, David W J; van den Broeke, Michiel R

    2017-11-28

    We provide the first comprehensive analysis of the relationships between large-scale patterns of Southern Hemisphere climate variability and the detailed structure of Antarctic precipitation. We examine linkages between the high spatial resolution precipitation from a regional atmospheric model and four patterns of large-scale Southern Hemisphere climate variability: the southern baroclinic annular mode, the southern annular mode, and the two Pacific-South American teleconnection patterns. Variations in all four patterns influence the spatial configuration of precipitation over Antarctica, consistent with their signatures in high-latitude meridional moisture fluxes. They impact not only the mean but also the incidence of extreme precipitation events. Current coupled-climate models are able to reproduce all four patterns of atmospheric variability but struggle to correctly replicate their regional impacts on Antarctic climate. Thus, linking these patterns directly to Antarctic precipitation variability may allow a better estimate of future changes in precipitation than using model output alone.

  14. Increasing importance of precipitation variability on global livestock grazing lands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sloat, Lindsey L.; Gerber, James S.; Samberg, Leah H.; Smith, William K.; Herrero, Mario; Ferreira, Laerte G.; Godde, Cécile M.; West, Paul C.

    2018-03-01

    Pastures and rangelands underpin global meat and milk production and are a critical resource for millions of people dependent on livestock for food security1,2. Forage growth, which is highly climate dependent3,4, is potentially vulnerable to climate change, although precisely where and to what extent remains relatively unexplored. In this study, we assess climate-based threats to global pastures, with a specific focus on changes in within- and between-year precipitation variability (precipitation concentration index (PCI) and coefficient of variation of precipitation (CVP), respectively). Relating global satellite measures of vegetation greenness (such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; NDVI) to key climatic factors reveals that CVP is a significant, yet often overlooked, constraint on vegetation productivity across global pastures. Using independent stocking data, we found that areas with high CVP support lower livestock densities than less-variable regions. Globally, pastures experience about a 25% greater year-to-year precipitation variation (CVP = 0.27) than the average global land surface area (0.21). Over the past century, CVP has generally increased across pasture areas, although both positive (49% of pasture area) and negative (31% of pasture area) trends exist. We identify regions in which livestock grazing is important for local food access and economies, and discuss the potential for pasture intensification in the context of long-term regional trends in precipitation variability.

  15. Advances in Global Water Cycle Science Made Possible by Global Precipitation Mission (GPM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Eric A.; Starr, David OC. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Within this decade the internationally sponsored Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) will take an important step in creating a global precipitation observing system from space. One perspective for understanding the nature of GPM is that it will be a hierarchical system of datastreams from very high caliber combined dual frequency radar/passive microwave (PMW) rain-radiometer retrievals, to high caliber PMW rain-radiometer only retrievals, and on to blends of the former datastreams with other less-high caliber PMW-based and IR-based rain retrievals. Within the context of NASA's role in global water cycle science and its own Global Water & Energy Cycle (GWEC) program, GPM is the centerpiece mission for improving our understanding of the global water cycle from a space-based measurement perspective. One of the salient problems within our current understanding of the global water and energy cycle is determining whether a change in the rate of the water cycle is accompanying changes in global temperature. As there are a number of ways in which to define a rate-change of the global water cycle, it is not entirely clear as to what constitutes such a determination, This paper presents an overview of the Global Precipitation Mission and how its datasets can be used in a set of quantitative tests within the framework of the oceanic and continental water budget equations to determine comprehensively whether substantive rate changes do accompany perturbations in global temperatures and how such rate changes manifest themselves in both water storage and water flux transport processes.

  16. A new precipitation and drought climatology based on weather patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richardson, Douglas; Fowler, Hayley J; Kilsby, Christopher G; Neal, Robert

    2018-02-01

    Weather-pattern, or weather-type, classifications are a valuable tool in many applications as they characterize the broad-scale atmospheric circulation over a given region. This study analyses the aspects of regional UK precipitation and meteorological drought climatology with respect to a new set of objectively defined weather patterns. These new patterns are currently being used by the Met Office in several probabilistic forecasting applications driven by ensemble forecasting systems. Weather pattern definitions and daily occurrences are mapped to Lamb weather types (LWTs), and parallels between the two classifications are drawn. Daily precipitation distributions are associated with each weather pattern and LWT. Standardized precipitation index (SPI) and drought severity index (DSI) series are calculated for a range of aggregation periods and seasons. Monthly weather-pattern frequency anomalies are calculated for SPI wet and dry periods and for the 5% most intense DSI-based drought months. The new weather-pattern definitions and daily occurrences largely agree with their respective LWTs, allowing comparison between the two classifications. There is also broad agreement between weather pattern and LWT changes in frequencies. The new data set is shown to be adequate for precipitation-based analyses in the UK, although a smaller set of clustered weather patterns is not. Furthermore, intra-pattern precipitation variability is lower in the new classification compared to the LWTs, which is an advantage in this context. Six of the new weather patterns are associated with drought over the entire UK, with several other patterns linked to regional drought. It is demonstrated that the new data set of weather patterns offers a new opportunity for classification-based analyses in the UK.

  17. Precipitation thresholds and drought-induced tree die-off: insights from patterns of Pinus edulis mortality along an environmental stress gradient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clifford, Michael J; Royer, Patrick D; Cobb, Neil S; Breshears, David D; Ford, Paulette L

    2013-10-01

    Recent regional tree die-off events appear to have been triggered by a combination of drought and heat - referred to as 'global-change-type drought'. To complement experiments focused on resolving mechanisms of drought-induced tree mortality, an evaluation of how patterns of tree die-off relate to highly spatially variable precipitation is needed. Here, we explore precipitation relationships with a die-off event of pinyon pine (Pinus edulis Engelm.) in southwestern North America during the 2002-2003 global-change-type drought. Pinyon die-off and its relationship with precipitation was quantified spatially along a precipitation gradient in north-central New Mexico with standard field plot measurements of die-off combined with canopy cover derived from normalized burn ratio (NBR) from Landsat imagery. Pinyon die-off patterns revealed threshold responses to precipitation (cumulative 2002-2003) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD), with little to no mortality (< 10%) above 600 mm and below warm season VPD of c. 1.7 kPa. [Correction added after online publication 17 June 2013; in the preceding sentence, the word 'below' has been inserted.] Our results refine how precipitation patterns within a region influence pinyon die-off, revealing a precipitation and VPD threshold for tree mortality and its uncertainty band where other factors probably come into play - a response type that influences stand demography and landscape heterogeneity and is of general interest, yet has not been documented. © 2013 No claim to US Government works. New Phytologist © 2013 New Phytologist Trust.

  18. Improving Global Precipitation Product Access at the GES DISC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Z.; Vollmer, B.; Savtchenko, A.; Ostrenga, D.; DeShong, B.; Fang, F.; Albayrak, R,; Sherman, E.; Greene, M.; Li, A.; hide

    2018-01-01

    The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) has been actively and continually engaged in improving the access to and use of Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), Tropical Precipitation Measuring Mission (TRMM), and other precipitation data, including the following new services and Ongoing development activities: Updates on GPM products and data services, New features in Giovanni, Ongoing development activities; and Precipitation product and service outreach activities.

  19. Global Precipitation Responses to Land Hydrological Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, M.; Famiglietti, J. S.

    2012-12-01

    Several studies have established that soil moisture increases after adding a groundwater component in land surface models due to the additional supply of subsurface water. However, impacts of groundwater on the spatial-temporal variability of precipitation have received little attention. Through the coupled groundwater-land-atmosphere model (NCAR Community Atmosphere Model + Community Land Model) simulations, this study explores how groundwater representation in the model alters the precipitation spatiotemporal distributions. Results indicate that the effect of groundwater on the amount of precipitation is not globally homogeneous. Lower tropospheric water vapor increases due to the presence of groundwater in the model. The increased water vapor destabilizes the atmosphere and enhances the vertical upward velocity and precipitation in tropical convective regions. Precipitation, therefore, is inhibited in the descending branch of convection. As a result, an asymmetric dipole is produced over tropical land regions along the equator during the summer. This is analogous to the "rich-get-richer" mechanism proposed by previous studies. Moreover, groundwater also increased short-term (seasonal) and long-term (interannual) memory of precipitation for some regions with suitable groundwater table depth and found to be a function of water table depth. Based on the spatial distributions of the one-month-lag autocorrelation coefficients as well as Hurst coefficients, air-land interaction can occur from short (several months) to long (several years) time scales. This study indicates the importance of land hydrological processes in the climate system and the necessity of including the subsurface processes in the global climate models.

  20. Global patterns of NDVI-indicated vegetation extremes and their sensitivity to climate extremes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Guo; Liu Hongyan; Yin Yi

    2013-01-01

    Extremes in climate have significant impacts on ecosystems and are expected to increase under future climate change. Extremes in vegetation could capture such impacts and indicate the vulnerability of ecosystems, but currently have not received a global long-term assessment. In this study, a robust method has been developed to detect significant extremes (low values) in biweekly time series of global normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from 1982 to 2006 and thus to acquire a global pattern of vegetation extreme frequency. This pattern coincides with vegetation vulnerability patterns suggested by earlier studies using different methods over different time spans, indicating a consistent mechanism of regulation. Vegetation extremes were found to aggregate in Amazonia and in the semi-arid and semi-humid regions in low and middle latitudes, while they seldom occurred in high latitudes. Among the environmental variables studied, extreme low precipitation has the highest slope against extreme vegetation. For the eight biomes analyzed, these slopes are highest in temperate broadleaf forest and temperate grassland, suggesting a higher sensitivity in these environments. The results presented here contradict the hypothesis that vegetation in water-limited semi-arid and semi-humid regions might be adapted to drought and suggest that vegetation in these regions (especially temperate broadleaf forest and temperate grassland) is highly prone to vegetation extreme events under more severe precipitation extremes. It is also suggested here that more attention be paid to precipitation-induced vegetation changes than to temperature-induced events. (letter)

  1. Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission: Overview and Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Arthur Y.

    2012-01-01

    The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is an international satellite mission specifically designed to unify and advance precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational microwave sensors. NASA and JAXA will deploy a Core Observatory in 2014 to serve as a reference satellite to unify precipitation measurements from the constellation of sensors. The GPM Core Observatory will carry a Ku/Ka-band Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and a conical-scanning multi-channel (10-183 GHz) GPM Microwave Radiometer (GMI). The DPR will be the first dual-frequency radar in space to provide not only measurements of 3-D precipitation structures but also quantitative information on microphysical properties of precipitating particles. The DPR and GMI measurements will together provide a database that relates vertical hydrometeor profiles to multi-frequency microwave radiances over a variety of environmental conditions across the globe. This combined database will be used as a common transfer standard for improving the accuracy and consistency of precipitation retrievals from all constellation radiometers. For global coverage, GPM relies on existing satellite programs and new mission opportunities from a consortium of partners through bilateral agreements with either NASA or JAXA. Each constellation member may have its unique scientific or operational objectives but contributes microwave observations to GPM for the generation and dissemination of unified global precipitation data products. In addition to the DPR and GMI on the Core Observatory, the baseline GPM constellation consists of the following sensors: (1) Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) instruments on the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites, (2) the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-2 (AMSR-2) on the GCOM-W1 satellite of JAXA, (3) the Multi-Frequency Microwave Scanning Radiometer (MADRAS) and the multi-channel microwave humidity sounder

  2. Successes with the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skofronick-Jackson, Gail; Huffman, George; Stocker, Erich; Petersen, Walter

    2016-01-01

    Water is essential to our planet Earth. Knowing when, where and how precipitation falls is crucial for understanding the linkages between the Earth's water and energy cycles and is extraordinarily important for sustaining life on our planet during climate change. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory spacecraft launched February 27, 2014, is the anchor to the GPM international satellite mission to unify and advance precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational sensors to provide "next-generation" precipitation products. GPM is currently a partnership between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Status and successes in terms of spacecraft, instruments, retrieval products, validation, and impacts for science and society will be presented. Precipitation, microwave, satellite

  3. From the clouds to the ground - snow precipitation patterns vs. snow accumulation patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerber, Franziska; Besic, Nikola; Mott, Rebecca; Gabella, Marco; Germann, Urs; Bühler, Yves; Marty, Mauro; Berne, Alexis; Lehning, Michael

    2017-04-01

    Knowledge about snow distribution and snow accumulation patterns is important and valuable for different applications such as the prediction of seasonal water resources or avalanche forecasting. Furthermore, accumulated snow on the ground is an important ground truth for validating meteorological and climatological model predictions of precipitation in high mountains and polar regions. Snow accumulation patterns are determined by many different processes from ice crystal nucleation in clouds to snow redistribution by wind and avalanches. In between, snow precipitation undergoes different dynamical and microphysical processes, such as ice crystal growth, aggregation and riming, which determine the growth of individual particles and thereby influence the intensity and structure of the snowfall event. In alpine terrain the interaction of different processes and the topography (e.g. lifting condensation and low level cloud formation, which may result in a seeder-feeder effect) may lead to orographic enhancement of precipitation. Furthermore, the redistribution of snow particles in the air by wind results in preferential deposition of precipitation. Even though orographic enhancement is addressed in numerous studies, the relative importance of micro-physical and dynamically induced mechanisms on local snowfall amounts and especially snow accumulation patterns is hardly known. To better understand the relative importance of different processes on snow precipitation and accumulation we analyze snowfall and snow accumulation between January and March 2016 in Davos (Switzerland). We compare MeteoSwiss operational weather radar measurements on Weissfluhgipfel to a spatially continuous snow accumulation map derived from airborne digital sensing (ADS) snow height for the area of Dischma valley in the vicinity of the weather radar. Additionally, we include snow height measurements from automatic snow stations close to the weather radar. Large-scale radar snow accumulation

  4. A possible constraint on regional precipitation intensity changes under global warming

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gutowski, William J.; Kozak, K. A.; Arritt, R. W.

    2007-01-01

    Changes in daily precipitation versus intensity under a global warming scenario in two regional climate simulations of the United States show a well-recognized feature of more intense precipitation. More important, by resolving the precipitation intensity spectrum, the changes show a relatively...

  5. Towards global patterns in the diversity and community structure of ectomycorrhizal fungi

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tedersoo, Leho; Bahram, Mohammad; Toots, Märt

    2012-01-01

    Global species richness patterns of soil micro-organisms remain poorly understood compared to macro-organisms. We use a global analysis to disentangle the global determinants of diversity and community composition for ectomycorrhizal (EcM) fungi—microbial symbionts that play key roles in plant...... nutrition in most temperate and many tropical forest ecosystems. Host plant family has the strongest effect on the phylogenetic community composition of fungi, whereas temperature and precipitation mostly affect EcM fungal richness that peaks in the temperate and boreal forest biomes, contrasting...... with latitudinal patterns of macro-organisms. Tropical ecosystems experience rapid turnover of organic material and have weak soil stratification, suggesting that poor habitat conditions may contribute to the relatively low richness of EcM fungi, and perhaps other soil biota, in most tropical ecosystems. For EcM...

  6. Recent change of the global monsoon precipitation (1979-2008)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Bin [University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Meteorology, Honolulu, HI (United States); University of Hawaii at Manoa, International Pacific Research Center, Honolulu, HI (United States); Liu, Jian [Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Nanjing (China); Kim, Hyung-Jin [Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Research Institute for Global Change, Yokohama, Kanagawa (Japan); Webster, Peter J. [Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Atlanta, GA (United States); Yim, So-Young [University of Hawaii at Manoa, International Pacific Research Center, Honolulu, HI (United States)

    2012-09-15

    The global monsoon (GM) is a defining feature of the annual variation of Earth's climate system. Quantifying and understanding the present-day monsoon precipitation change are crucial for prediction of its future and reflection of its past. Here we show that regional monsoons are coordinated not only by external solar forcing but also by internal feedback processes such as El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). From one monsoon year (May to the next April) to the next, most continental monsoon regions, separated by vast areas of arid trade winds and deserts, vary in a cohesive manner driven by ENSO. The ENSO has tighter regulation on the northern hemisphere summer monsoon (NHSM) than on the southern hemisphere summer monsoon (SHSM). More notably, the GM precipitation (GMP) has intensified over the past three decades mainly due to the significant upward trend in NHSM. The intensification of the GMP originates primarily from an enhanced east-west thermal contrast in the Pacific Ocean, which is coupled with a rising pressure in the subtropical eastern Pacific and decreasing pressure over the Indo-Pacific warm pool. While this mechanism tends to amplify both the NHSM and SHSM, the stronger (weaker) warming trend in the NH (SH) creates a hemispheric thermal contrast, which favors intensification of the NHSM but weakens the SHSM. The enhanced Pacific zonal thermal contrast is largely a result of natural variability, whilst the enhanced hemispherical thermal contrast is likely due to anthropogenic forcing. We found that the enhanced global summer monsoon not only amplifies the annual cycle of tropical climate but also promotes directly a ''wet-gets-wetter'' trend pattern and indirectly a ''dry-gets-drier'' trend pattern through coupling with deserts and trade winds. The mechanisms recognized in this study suggest a way forward for understanding past and future changes of the GM in terms of its driven mechanisms. (orig.)

  7. Orographic precipitation at global and regional scales: Observational uncertainty and evaluation of 25-km global model simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiemann, Reinhard; Roberts, Charles J.; Bush, Stephanie; Demory, Marie-Estelle; Strachan, Jane; Vidale, Pier Luigi; Mizielinski, Matthew S.; Roberts, Malcolm J.

    2015-04-01

    Precipitation over land exhibits a high degree of variability due to the complex interaction of the precipitation generating atmospheric processes with coastlines, the heterogeneous land surface, and orography. Global general circulation models (GCMs) have traditionally had very limited ability to capture this variability on the mesoscale (here ~50-500 km) due to their low resolution. This has changed with recent investments in resolution and ensembles of multidecadal climate simulations of atmospheric GCMs (AGCMs) with ~25 km grid spacing are becoming increasingly available. Here, we evaluate the mesoscale precipitation distribution in one such set of simulations obtained in the UPSCALE (UK on PrACE - weather-resolving Simulations of Climate for globAL Environmental risk) modelling campaign with the HadGEM-GA3 AGCM. Increased model resolution also poses new challenges to the observational datasets used to evaluate models. Global gridded data products such as those provided by the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) are invaluable for assessing large-scale features of the precipitation distribution but may not sufficiently resolve mesoscale structures. In the absence of independent estimates, the intercomparison of different observational datasets may be the only way to get some insight into the uncertainties associated with these observations. Here, we focus on mid-latitude continental regions where observations based on higher-density gauge networks are available in addition to the global data sets: Europe/the Alps, South and East Asia, and the continental US. The ability of GCMs to represent mesoscale variability is of interest in its own right, as climate information on this scale is required by impact studies. An additional motivation for the research proposed here arises from continuing efforts to quantify the components of the global radiation budget and water cycle. Recent estimates based on radiation measurements suggest that the global mean

  8. Precipitation Sedimentation and Advection in GFS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, R.; Tallapragada, V.

    2016-12-01

    Zhao and Carr microphysics scheme as implemented in the NCEP Global Forecasting System (GFS) predicts only the total cloud condensate (cloud water or ice). The precipitation generated in the column fall to the ground instantly. This mean precipitation sedimentation and advection are not considered. As resolution increases the lack of the two physical processes creates problems. The slowly falling precipitation (snow) falls to the wrong surface grid box, which may have led to the observed spotty-precipitation pattern. To solve the problem two prognositic variables, snow and rain, are added. Addition of the two precipitation variable allows their advection. The corresponding sedimentation process are also added. In this study we examine the effect of precipitation advection and sedimentation on the precipitation pattern, associated precipitation skills and clouds.

  9. Advances in Understanding Global Water Cycle with Advent of Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Eric A.; Starr, David (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Within this decade the internationally organized Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission will take an important step in creating a global precipitation observing system from space. One perspective for understanding the nature of GPM is that it will be a hierarchical system of datastreams beginning with very high caliber combined dual frequency radar/passive microwave (PMW) rain-radiometer retrievals, to high caliber PMW rain-radiometer only retrievals, and then on to blends of the former datastreams with additional lower-caliber PMW-based and IR-based rain retrievals. Within the context of the now emerging global water & energy cycle (GWEC) programs of a number of research agencies throughout the world, GPM serves as a centerpiece space mission for improving our understanding of the global water cycle from a global measurement perspective. One of the salient problems within our current understanding of the global water and energy cycle is determining whether a change in the rate of the water cycle is accompanying changes in climate, e.g., climate warming. As there are a number of ways in which to define a rate-change of the global water cycle, it is not entirely clear as to what constitutes such a determination. This paper presents an overview of the GPM Mission and how its observations can be used within the framework of the oceanic and continental water budget equations to determine whether a given perturbation in precipitation is indicative of an actual rate change in the global water cycle, consistent with required responses in water storage and/or water flux transport processes, or whether it is the natural variability of a fixed rate cycle.

  10. Monitoring Global Precipitation through UCI CHRS's RainMapper App on Mobile Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, P.; Huynh, P.; Braithwaite, D.; Hsu, K. L.; Sorooshian, S.

    2014-12-01

    The Water and Development Information for Arid Lands-a Global Network (G-WADI) Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks—Cloud Classification System (PERSIANN-CCS) GeoServer has been developed through a collaboration between the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing (CHRS) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and the UNESCO's International Hydrological Program (IHP). G-WADI PERSIANN-CCS GeoServer provides near real-time high resolution (0.04o, approx 4km) global (60oN - 60oS) satellite precipitation estimated by the PERSIANN-CCS algorithm developed by the scientists at CHRS. The G-WADI PERSIANN-CCS GeoServer utilizes the open-source MapServer software from the University of Minnesota to provide a user-friendly web-based mapping and visualization of satellite precipitation data. Recent efforts have been made by the scientists at CHRS to provide free on-the-go access to the PERSIANN-CCS precipitation data through an application named RainMapper for mobile devices. RainMapper provides visualization of global satellite precipitation of the most recent 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72-hour periods overlaid with various basemaps. RainMapper uses the Google maps application programing interface (API) and embedded global positioning system (GPS) access to better monitor the global precipitation data on mobile devices. Functionalities include using geographical searching with voice recognition technologies make it easy for the user to explore near real-time precipitation in a certain location. RainMapper also allows for conveniently sharing the precipitation information and visualizations with the public through social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. RainMapper is available for iOS and Android devices and can be downloaded (free) from the App Store and Google Play. The usefulness of RainMapper was demonstrated through an application in tracking the evolution of the recent Rammasun Typhoon over the

  11. Precipitation and Carbon-Water Coupling Jointly Control the Interannual Variability of Global Land Gross Primary Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yao; Xiao, Xiangming; Guanter, Luis; Zhou, Sha; Ciais, Philippe; Joiner, Joanna; Sitch, Stephen; Wu, Xiaocui; Nabel, Julian; Dong, Jinwei; hide

    2016-01-01

    Carbon uptake by terrestrial ecosystems is increasing along with the rising of atmospheric CO2 concentration. Embedded in this trend, recent studies suggested that the interannual variability (IAV) of global carbon fluxes may be dominated by semi-arid ecosystems, but the underlying mechanisms of this high variability in these specific regions are not well known. Here we derive an ensemble of gross primary production (GPP) estimates using the average of three data-driven models and eleven process-based models. These models are weighted by their spatial representativeness of the satellite-based solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF). We then use this weighted GPP ensemble to investigate the GPP variability for different aridity regimes. We show that semi-arid regions contribute to 57% of the detrended IAV of global GPP. Moreover, in regions with higher GPP variability, GPP fluctuations are mostly controlled by precipitation and strongly coupled with evapotranspiration (ET). This higher GPP IAV in semi-arid regions is co-limited by supply (precipitation)-induced ET variability and GPP-ET coupling strength. Our results demonstrate the importance of semi-arid regions to the global terrestrial carbon cycle and posit that there will be larger GPP and ET variations in the future with changes in precipitation patterns and dryland expansion.

  12. Effective assimilation of global precipitation: simulation experiments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guo-Yuan Lien

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Past attempts to assimilate precipitation by nudging or variational methods have succeeded in forcing the model precipitation to be close to the observed values. However, the model forecasts tend to lose their additional skill after a few forecast hours. In this study, a local ensemble transform Kalman filter (LETKF is used to effectively assimilate precipitation by allowing ensemble members with better precipitation to receive higher weights in the analysis. In addition, two other changes in the precipitation assimilation process are found to alleviate the problems related to the non-Gaussianity of the precipitation variable: (a transform the precipitation variable into a Gaussian distribution based on its climatological distribution (an approach that could also be used in the assimilation of other non-Gaussian observations and (b only assimilate precipitation at the location where at least some ensemble members have precipitation. Unlike many current approaches, both positive and zero rain observations are assimilated effectively. Observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs are conducted using the Simplified Parametrisations, primitivE-Equation DYnamics (SPEEDY model, a simplified but realistic general circulation model. When uniformly and globally distributed observations of precipitation are assimilated in addition to rawinsonde observations, both the analyses and the medium-range forecasts of all model variables, including precipitation, are significantly improved as compared to only assimilating rawinsonde observations. The effect of precipitation assimilation on the analyses is retained on the medium-range forecasts and is larger in the Southern Hemisphere (SH than that in the Northern Hemisphere (NH because the NH analyses are already made more accurate by the denser rawinsonde stations. These improvements are much reduced when only the moisture field is modified by the precipitation observations. Both the Gaussian transformation and

  13. Japanese Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission status and application of satellite-based global rainfall map

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kachi, Misako; Shimizu, Shuji; Kubota, Takuji; Yoshida, Naofumi; Oki, Riko; Kojima, Masahiro; Iguchi, Toshio; Nakamura, Kenji

    2010-05-01

    As accuracy of satellite precipitation estimates improves and observation frequency increases, application of those data to societal benefit areas, such as weather forecasts and flood predictions, is expected, in addition to research of precipitation climatology to analyze precipitation systems. There is, however, limitation on single satellite observation in coverage and frequency. Currently, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission is scheduled under international collaboration to fulfill various user requirements that cannot be achieved by the single satellite, like the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM). The GPM mission is an international mission to achieve high-accurate and high-frequent rainfall observation over a global area. GPM is composed of a TRMM-like non-sun-synchronous orbit satellite (GPM core satellite) and constellation of satellites carrying microwave radiometer instruments. The GPM core satellite carries the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), which is being developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), and microwave radiometer provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Development of DPR instrument is in good progress for scheduled launch in 2013, and DPR Critical Design Review has completed in July - September 2009. Constellation satellites, which carry a microwave imager and/or sounder, are planned to be launched around 2013 by each partner agency for its own purpose, and will contribute to extending coverage and increasing frequency. JAXA's future mission, the Global Change Observation Mission (GCOM) - Water (GCOM-W) satellite will be one of constellation satellites. The first generation of GCOM-W satellite is scheduled to be launched in 2011, and it carries the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2), which is being developed based on the experience of the AMSR-E on EOS Aqua satellite

  14. Identification of large-scale meteorological patterns associated with extreme precipitation in the US northeast

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agel, Laurie; Barlow, Mathew; Feldstein, Steven B.; Gutowski, William J.

    2018-03-01

    Patterns of daily large-scale circulation associated with Northeast US extreme precipitation are identified using both k-means clustering (KMC) and Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) applied to tropopause height. The tropopause height provides a compact representation of the upper-tropospheric potential vorticity, which is closely related to the overall evolution and intensity of weather systems. Extreme precipitation is defined as the top 1% of daily wet-day observations at 35 Northeast stations, 1979-2008. KMC is applied on extreme precipitation days only, while the SOM algorithm is applied to all days in order to place the extreme results into the overall context of patterns for all days. Six tropopause patterns are identified through KMC for extreme day precipitation: a summertime tropopause ridge, a summertime shallow trough/ridge, a summertime shallow eastern US trough, a deeper wintertime eastern US trough, and two versions of a deep cold-weather trough located across the east-central US. Thirty SOM patterns for all days are identified. Results for all days show that 6 SOM patterns account for almost half of the extreme days, although extreme precipitation occurs in all SOM patterns. The same SOM patterns associated with extreme precipitation also routinely produce non-extreme precipitation; however, on extreme precipitation days the troughs, on average, are deeper and the downstream ridges more pronounced. Analysis of other fields associated with the large-scale patterns show various degrees of anomalously strong moisture transport preceding, and upward motion during, extreme precipitation events.

  15. Interaction of valleys and circulation patterns (CPs on spatial precipitation patterns in southern Germany

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Liu

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Topography exerts influence on the spatial precipitation distribution over different scales, known typically at the large scale as the orographic effect, and at the small scale as the wind-drift rainfall (WDR effect. At the intermediate scale (1~10 km, which is characterized by secondary mountain valleys, topography also demonstrates some effect on the precipitation pattern. This paper investigates such intermediate-scale topographic effects on precipitation patterns, focusing on narrow-steep valleys in the complex terrain of southern Germany, based on the daily observations over a 48 yr period (1960~2007 from a high-density rain-gauge network covering two sub-areas, Baden-Wuerttemberg (BW and Bavaria (BY. Precipitation data at the valley and non-valley stations are compared under consideration of the daily general circulation patterns (CPs classified by a fuzzy rule-based algorithm. Scatter plots of precipitation against elevation demonstrate a different behavior of valley stations comparing to non-valley stations. A detailed study of the precipitation time series for selected station triplets, each consisting of a valley station, a mountain station and an open station have been investigated by statistical analysis with the Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS test supplemented by the One-way analysis of variance (One-way ANOVA and a graphical comparison of the mean precipitation amounts. The results show an interaction of valley orientation and the direction of the CPs at the intermediate scale, i.e. when the valley is shielded from the CP which carries the precipitation, the precipitation amount within the valley is comparable to that on the mountain crest, and both larger than the precipitation at the open station. When the valley is open to the CP, the precipitation within the valley is similar to the open station but much less than that on the mountain. Such phenomenon where the precipitation is "blind" to the valleys at the intermediate scale

  16. Evaluation of globally available precipitation data products as input for water balance models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebrenz, H.; Bárdossy, A.

    2009-04-01

    Subject of this study is the evaluation of globally available precipitation data products, which are intended to be used as input variables for water balance models in ungauged basins. The selected data sources are a) the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC), b) the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) and c) the Climate Research Unit (CRU), resulting into twelve globally available data products. The data products imply different data bases, different derivation routines and varying resolutions in time and space. For validation purposes, the ground data from South Africa were screened on homogeneity and consistency by various tests and an outlier detection using multi-linear regression was performed. External Drift Kriging was subsequently applied on the ground data and the resulting precipitation arrays were compared to the different products with respect to quantity and variance.

  17. Similarities and Improvements of GPM Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR upon TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR in Global Precipitation Rate Estimation, Type Classification and Vertical Profiling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinyu Gao

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Spaceborne precipitation radars are powerful tools used to acquire adequate and high-quality precipitation estimates with high spatial resolution for a variety of applications in hydrological research. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM mission, which deployed the first spaceborne Ka- and Ku-dual frequency radar (DPR, was launched in February 2014 as the upgraded successor of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM. This study matches the swath data of TRMM PR and GPM DPR Level 2 products during their overlapping periods at the global scale to investigate their similarities and DPR’s improvements concerning precipitation amount estimation and type classification of GPM DPR over TRMM PR. Results show that PR and DPR agree very well with each other in the global distribution of precipitation, while DPR improves the detectability of precipitation events significantly, particularly for light precipitation. The occurrences of total precipitation and the light precipitation (rain rates < 1 mm/h detected by GPM DPR are ~1.7 and ~2.53 times more than that of PR. With regard to type classification, the dual-frequency (Ka/Ku and single frequency (Ku methods performed similarly. In both inner (the central 25 beams and outer swaths (1–12 beams and 38–49 beams of DPR, the results are consistent. GPM DPR improves precipitation type classification remarkably, reducing the misclassification of clouds and noise signals as precipitation type “other” from 10.14% of TRMM PR to 0.5%. Generally, GPM DPR exhibits the same type division for around 82.89% (71.02% of stratiform (convective precipitation events recognized by TRMM PR. With regard to the freezing level height and bright band (BB height, both radars correspond with each other very well, contributing to the consistency in stratiform precipitation classification. Both heights show clear latitudinal dependence. Results in this study shall contribute to future development of spaceborne

  18. Precipitable water: Its linear retrieval using leaps and bounds procedure and its global distribution from SEASAT SMMR data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandey, P. C.

    1982-01-01

    Eight subsets using two to five frequencies of the SEASAT scanning multichannel microwave radiometer are examined to determine their potential in the retrieval of atmospheric water vapor content. Analysis indicates that the information concerning the 18 and 21 GHz channels are optimum for water vapor retrieval. A comparison with radiosonde observations gave an rms accuracy of approximately 0.40 g sq cm. The rms accuracy of precipitable water using different subsets was within 10 percent. Global maps of precipitable water over oceans using two and five channel retrieval (average of two and five channel retrieval) are given. Study of these maps reveals the possibility of global moisture distribution associated with oceanic currents and large scale general circulation in the atmosphere. A stable feature of the large scale circulation is noticed. The precipitable water is maximum over the Bay of Bengal and in the North Pacific over the Kuroshio current and shows a general latitudinal pattern.

  19. Regionalizing Africa: Patterns of Precipitation Variability in Observations and Global Climate Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badr, Hamada S.; Dezfuli, Amin K.; Zaitchik, Benjamin F.; Peters-Lidard, Christa D.

    2016-01-01

    Many studies have documented dramatic climatic and environmental changes that have affected Africa over different time scales. These studies often raise questions regarding the spatial extent and regional connectivity of changes inferred from observations and proxies and/or derived from climate models. Objective regionalization offers a tool for addressing these questions. To demonstrate this potential, applications of hierarchical climate regionalizations of Africa using observations and GCM historical simulations and future projections are presented. First, Africa is regionalized based on interannual precipitation variability using Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) data for the period 19812014. A number of data processing techniques and clustering algorithms are tested to ensure a robust definition of climate regions. These regionalization results highlight the seasonal and even month-to-month specificity of regional climate associations across the continent, emphasizing the need to consider time of year as well as research question when defining a coherent region for climate analysis. CHIRPS regions are then compared to those of five GCMs for the historic period, with a focus on boreal summer. Results show that some GCMs capture the climatic coherence of the Sahel and associated teleconnections in a manner that is similar to observations, while other models break the Sahel into uncorrelated subregions or produce a Sahel-like region of variability that is spatially displaced from observations. Finally, shifts in climate regions under projected twenty-first-century climate change for different GCMs and emissions pathways are examined. A projected change is found in the coherence of the Sahel, in which the western and eastern Sahel become distinct regions with different teleconnections. This pattern is most pronounced in high-emissions scenarios.

  20. First evaluation of the utility of GPM precipitation in global flood monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, H.; Yan, Y.; Gao, Z.

    2017-12-01

    The Global Flood Monitoring System (GFMS) has been developed and used to provide real-time flood detection and streamflow estimates over the last few years with significant success shown by validation against global flood event data sets and observed streamflow variations (Wu et al., 2014). It has become a tool for various national and international organizations to appraise flood conditions in various areas, including where rainfall and hydrology information is limited. The GFMS has been using the TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) as its main rainfall input. Now, with the advent of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission there is an opportunity to significantly improve global flood monitoring and forecasting. GPM's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) multi-satellite product is designed to take advantage of various technical advances in the field and combine that with an efficient processing system producing "early" (4 hrs) and "late" (12 hrs) products for operational use. Specifically, this study is focused on (1) understanding the difference between the new IMERG products and other existing satellite precipitation products, e.g., TMPA, CMORPH, and ground observations; (2) addressing the challenge in the usage of the IMERG for flood monitoring through hydrologic models, given that only a short period of precipitation data record has been accumulated since the lunch of GPM in 2014; and (3) comparing the statistics of flood simulation based on the DRIVE model with IMERG, TMPA, CMORPH etc. as precipitation inputs respectively. Derivation of a global threshold map is a necessary step to define flood events out of modelling results, which requires a relatively longer historic information. A set of sensitivity tests are conducted by adjusting IMERG's light, moderate, heavy rain to existing precipitation products with long-term records separately, to optimize the strategy of PDF matching. Other aspects are also examined

  1. Characteristics of Spatial Structural Patterns and Temporal Variability of Annual Precipitation in Ningxia

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2011-01-01

    [Objective] The aim was to study the characteristics of the spatial structural patterns and temporal variability of annual precipitation in Ningxia.[Method] Using rotated empirical orthogonal function,the precipitation concentration index,wavelet analysis and Mann-Kendall rank statistic method,the characteristics of precipitation on the spatial-temporal variability and trend were analyzed by the monthly precipitation series in Ningxia during 1951-2008.[Result] In Ningxia,the spatial structural patterns of a...

  2. Access NASA Satellite Global Precipitation Data Visualization on YouTube

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Z.; Su, J.; Acker, J. G.; Huffman, G. J.; Vollmer, B.; Wei, J.; Meyer, D. J.

    2017-12-01

    Since the satellite era began, NASA has collected a large volume of Earth science observations for research and applications around the world. Satellite data at 12 NASA data centers can also be used for STEM activities such as disaster events, climate change, etc. However, accessing satellite data can be a daunting task for non-professional users such as teachers and students because of unfamiliarity of terminology, disciplines, data formats, data structures, computing resources, processing software, programing languages, etc. Over the years, many efforts have been developed to improve satellite data access, but barriers still exist for non-professionals. In this presentation, we will present our latest activity that uses the popular online video sharing web site, YouTube, to access visualization of global precipitation datasets at the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC). With YouTube, users can access and visualize a large volume of satellite data without necessity to learn new software or download data. The dataset in this activity is the 3-hourly TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA). The video consists of over 50,000 data files collected since 1998 onwards, covering a zone between 50°N-S. The YouTube video will last 36 minutes for the entire dataset record (over 19 years). Since the time stamp is on each frame of the video, users can begin at any time by dragging the time progress bar. This precipitation animation will allow viewing precipitation events and processes (e.g., hurricanes, fronts, atmospheric rivers, etc.) on a global scale. The next plan is to develop a similar animation for the GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement) Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG). The IMERG provides precipitation on a near-global (60°N-S) coverage at half-hourly time interval, showing more details on precipitation processes and development, compared to the 3

  3. Climatology and Interannual Variability of Quasi-Global Intense Precipitation Using Satellite Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ricko, Martina; Adler, Robert F.; Huffman, George J.

    2016-01-01

    Climatology and variations of recent mean and intense precipitation over a near-global (50 deg. S 50 deg. N) domain on a monthly and annual time scale are analyzed. Data used to derive daily precipitation to examine the effects of spatial and temporal coverage of intense precipitation are from the current Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B42 version 7 precipitation product, with high spatial and temporal resolution during 1998 - 2013. Intense precipitation is defined by several different parameters, such as a 95th percentile threshold of daily precipitation, a mean precipitation that exceeds that percentile, or a fixed threshold of daily precipitation value [e.g., 25 and 50 mm day(exp -1)]. All parameters are used to identify the main characteristics of spatial and temporal variation of intense precipitation. High correlations between examined parameters are observed, especially between climatological monthly mean precipitation and intense precipitation, over both tropical land and ocean. Among the various parameters examined, the one best characterizing intense rainfall is a fraction of daily precipitation Great than or equal to 25 mm day(exp. -1), defined as a ratio between the intense precipitation above the used threshold and mean precipitation. Regions that experience an increase in mean precipitation likely experience a similar increase in intense precipitation, especially during the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Improved knowledge of this intense precipitation regime and its strong connection to mean precipitation given by the fraction parameter can be used for monitoring of intense rainfall and its intensity on a global to regional scale.

  4. The Global Climatology Network Precipitation data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, T.C.; Easterling, D.R.; Eischeid, J.K.

    1993-01-01

    Several years ago, in response to growing concern about global climate change, the US National Climatic Data Center and the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center undertook an effort to create a baseline global land surface climate data set called the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN, Vose et al., 1992). GHCN was created by merging several large existing climate data sets into one data base. Fifteen separate data sets went into the creation of the GHCN version 1.0. GHCN version 1.0 was released in 1992. It has 7,533 precipitation stations, but the number of stations varies with time. A slight majority (55%) have records in excess of 50 years, and a significant proportion (13%) have records in excess of 100 years. The longest period of record for any given station is 291 years (1697--1987 for Kew, United Kingdom)

  5. The assessment of Global Precipitation Measurement estimates over the Indian subcontinent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murali Krishna, U. V.; Das, Subrata Kumar; Deshpande, Sachin M.; Doiphode, S. L.; Pandithurai, G.

    2017-08-01

    Accurate and real-time precipitation estimation is a challenging task for current and future spaceborne measurements, which is essential to understand the global hydrological cycle. Recently, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellites were launched as a next-generation rainfall mission for observing the global precipitation characteristics. The purpose of the GPM is to enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of global precipitation. The main objective of the present study is to assess the rainfall products from the GPM, especially the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for the GPM (IMERG) data by comparing with the ground-based observations. The multitemporal scale evaluations of rainfall involving subdaily, diurnal, monthly, and seasonal scales were performed over the Indian subcontinent. The comparison shows that the IMERG performed better than the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)-3B42, although both rainfall products underestimated the observed rainfall compared to the ground-based measurements. The analyses also reveal that the TRMM-3B42 and IMERG data sets are able to represent the large-scale monsoon rainfall spatial features but are having region-specific biases. The IMERG shows significant improvement in low rainfall estimates compared to the TRMM-3B42 for selected regions. In the spatial distribution, the IMERG shows higher rain rates compared to the TRMM-3B42, due to its enhanced spatial and temporal resolutions. Apart from this, the characteristics of raindrop size distribution (DSD) obtained from the GPM mission dual-frequency precipitation radar is assessed over the complex mountain terrain site in the Western Ghats, India, using the DSD measured by a Joss-Waldvogel disdrometer.

  6. Identifying Patterns in Extreme Precipitation Risk and the Related Impacts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schroeer, K.; Tye, M. R.

    2017-12-01

    Extreme precipitation can harm human life and assets through flooding, hail, landslides, or debris flows. Flood risk assessments typically concentrate on river or mountain torrent channels, using water depth, flow velocity, and/or sediment deposition to quantify the risk. In addition, extreme events with high recurrence intervals are often the main focus. However, damages from short-term and localized convective showers often occur away from watercourses. Also, damages from more frequent small scale extremes, although usually less disastrous, can accumulate to considerable financial burdens. Extreme convective precipitation is expected to intensify in a warmer climate, and vulnerability patterns might change in tandem with changes in the character of precipitation and flood types. This has consequences for adaptation planners who want to establish effective protection measures and reduce the cost from natural hazards. Here we merge hydrological and exposure data to identify patterns of risk under varying synoptic conditions. Exposure is calculated from a database of 76k damage claims reported to the national disaster fund in 480 municipalities in south eastern Austria from 1990-2015. Hydrological data comprise sub-daily precipitation (59 gauges) and streamflow (62 gauges) observations. We use synoptic circulation types to identify typical precipitation patterns. They indicate the character of precipitation even if a gauge is not in close proximity, facilitating potential future research with regional climate model data. Results show that more claims are reported under synoptic conditions favouring convective precipitation (on average 1.5-3 times more than on other days). For agrarian municipalities, convective precipitation damages are among the costliest after long low-intensity precipitation events. In contrast, Alpine communities are particularly vulnerable to convective high-intensity rainfall. In addition to possible observational error, uncertainty is present

  7. California Wintertime Precipitation in Regional and Global Climate Models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caldwell, P M

    2009-04-27

    In this paper, wintertime precipitation from a variety of observational datasets, regional climate models (RCMs), and general circulation models (GCMs) is averaged over the state of California (CA) and compared. Several averaging methodologies are considered and all are found to give similar values when model grid spacing is less than 3{sup o}. This suggests that CA is a reasonable size for regional intercomparisons using modern GCMs. Results show that reanalysis-forced RCMs tend to significantly overpredict CA precipitation. This appears to be due mainly to overprediction of extreme events; RCM precipitation frequency is generally underpredicted. Overprediction is also reflected in wintertime precipitation variability, which tends to be too high for RCMs on both daily and interannual scales. Wintertime precipitation in most (but not all) GCMs is underestimated. This is in contrast to previous studies based on global blended gauge/satellite observations which are shown here to underestimate precipitation relative to higher-resolution gauge-only datasets. Several GCMs provide reasonable daily precipitation distributions, a trait which doesn't seem tied to model resolution. GCM daily and interannual variability is generally underpredicted.

  8. Downscaling atmospheric patterns to multi-site precipitation amounts in southern Scandinavia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gelati, Emiliano; Christensen, O.B.; Rasmussen, P.F.

    2010-01-01

    A non-homogeneous hidden Markov model (NHMM) is applied for downscaling atmospheric synoptic patterns to winter multi-site daily precipitation amounts. The implemented NHMM assumes precipitation to be conditional on a hidden weather state that follows a Markov chain, whose transition probabilities...... depend on current atmospheric information. The gridded atmospheric fields are summarized through the singular value decomposition (SVD) technique. SVD is applied to geopotential height and relative humidity at several pressure levels, to identify their principal spatial patterns co...... products of bivariate distributions. Conditional on the weather state, precipitation amounts are modelled separately at each gauge as independent gamma-distributed random variables. This modelling approach is applied to 51 precipitation gauges in Denmark and southern Sweden for the period 1981...

  9. Regional scaling of annual mean precipitation and water availability with global temperature change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greve, Peter; Gudmundsson, Lukas; Seneviratne, Sonia I.

    2018-03-01

    Changes in regional water availability belong to the most crucial potential impacts of anthropogenic climate change, but are highly uncertain. It is thus of key importance for stakeholders to assess the possible implications of different global temperature thresholds on these quantities. Using a subset of climate model simulations from the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), we derive here the sensitivity of regional changes in precipitation and in precipitation minus evapotranspiration to global temperature changes. The simulations span the full range of available emission scenarios, and the sensitivities are derived using a modified pattern scaling approach. The applied approach assumes linear relationships on global temperature changes while thoroughly addressing associated uncertainties via resampling methods. This allows us to assess the full distribution of the simulations in a probabilistic sense. Northern high-latitude regions display robust responses towards wetting, while subtropical regions display a tendency towards drying but with a large range of responses. Even though both internal variability and the scenario choice play an important role in the overall spread of the simulations, the uncertainty stemming from the climate model choice usually accounts for about half of the total uncertainty in most regions. We additionally assess the implications of limiting global mean temperature warming to values below (i) 2 K or (ii) 1.5 K (as stated within the 2015 Paris Agreement). We show that opting for the 1.5 K target might just slightly influence the mean response, but could substantially reduce the risk of experiencing extreme changes in regional water availability.

  10. Improving weapons fallout time series on a global basis using precipitation data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palsson, S.E.; Howard, B.J.; Aoyama, M.

    2004-01-01

    The fallout from the atmospheric weapons tests in the late fifties and early sixties forms the main source of man made radionuclides in the terrestrial environment. It is important to be able to distinguish global fallout from other sources of man-made radioactivity, and therefore to have good methods of quantifying the level of global fallout in areas where it has not previously been measured. Because global fallout was deposited over many years, model validation can require knowledge about deposition time series which are not available through direct measurements. This can be especially important for sparsely populated areas with vulnerable ecosystems, where high transfer of radionuclides, particularly radiocaesium, may occur. The UNSCEAR reports describe the global data and show how the deposition was dependent on latitude. Others have successfully used a model assuming a proportional relationship between deposition and precipitation (e.g. on a regional scale within the AMAP project and on a local scale in some countries, such as Iceland and Sweden). This paper describes a study where different data sets were combined to test, at a local scale to a global scale, how well the proportional relationship between precipitation and deposition holds and to what degree other effects (e.g. dependence on latitude as in the UNSCEAR model) need to be taken into account. It makes use of the Integrated Global Fallout Database of the Meteorological Research Institute of Japan which has been used previously to demonstrate the relationship between precipitation and deposition and subsequently to make an estimate of the total fallout amount of 137 Cs in the mid latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The study described in this paper provides a fuller description of global deposition than the latitude or precipitation based studies alone. Applied in a simple model as presented here, this enable better deposition estimation (including time dependency), especially if precipitation

  11. Short-Term Effects of Changing Precipitation Patterns on Shrub-Steppe Grasslands: Seasonal Watering Is More Important than Frequency of Watering Events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Densmore-McCulloch, Justine A; Thompson, Donald L; Fraser, Lauchlan H

    2016-01-01

    Climate change is expected to alter precipitation patterns. Droughts may become longer and more frequent, and the timing and intensity of precipitation may change. We tested how shifting precipitation patterns, both seasonally and by frequency of events, affects soil nitrogen availability, plant biomass and diversity in a shrub-steppe temperate grassland along a natural productivity gradient in Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area near Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. We manipulated seasonal watering patterns by either exclusively watering in the spring or the fall. To simulate spring precipitation we restricted precipitation inputs in the fall, then added 50% more water than the long term average in the spring, and vice-versa for the fall precipitation treatment. Overall, the amount of precipitation remained roughly the same. We manipulated the frequency of rainfall events by either applying water weekly (frequent) or monthly (intensive). After 2 years, changes in the seasonality of watering had greater effects on plant biomass and diversity than changes in the frequency of watering. Fall watering reduced biomass and increased species diversity, while spring watering had little effect. The reduction in biomass in fall watered treatments was due to a decline in grasses, but not forbs. Plant available N, measured by Plant Root Simulator (PRS)-probes, increased from spring to summer to fall, and was higher in fall watered treatments compared to spring watered treatments when measured in the fall. The only effect observed due to frequency of watering events was greater extractable soil N in monthly applied treatments compared to weekly watering treatments. Understanding the effects of changing precipitation patterns on grasslands will allow improved grassland conservation and management in the face of global climatic change, and here we show that if precipitation is more abundant in the fall, compared to the spring, grassland primary productivity will likely be

  12. Validation of a homogeneous 41-year (1961-2001) winter precipitation hindcasted dataset over the Iberian Peninsula: assessment of the regional improvement of global reanalysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sotillo, M.G. [Area de Medio Fisico, Puertos del Estado, Madrid (Spain); Martin, M.L. [Universidad de Valladolid, Dpto. Matematica Aplicada, Escuela Universitaria de Informatica, Campus de Segovia, Segovia (Spain); Valero, F. [Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Dpto. Astrofisica y CC. de la Atmosfera, Facultad de CC Fisicas, Madrid (Spain); Luna, M.Y. [Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia, Madrid (Spain)

    2006-11-15

    A 44-year (1958-2001) homogeneous, Mediterranean, high-resolution atmospheric database was generated through dynamical downscaling within the HIPOCAS (Hindcast of Dynamic Processes of the Ocean and Coastal Areas of Europe) Project framework. This work attempts to provide a validation of the monthly winter HIPOCAS precipitation over the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands and to evaluate the potential improvement of these new hindcasted data versus global reanalysis datasets. The validation was performed through the comparative analysis with a precipitation database derived from 4,617 in situ stations located over Iberia and the Balearics. The statistical comparative analysis between the observed and the HIPOCAS fields highlights their very good agreement not only in terms of spatial and time distribution, but also in terms of total amount of precipitation. A principal component analysis is carried out, showing that the patterns derived from the HIPOCAS data largely capture the main characteristics of the observed field. Moreover, it is worth to note that the HIPOCAS patterns reproduce accurately the observed regional characteristics linked to the main orographic features of the study domain. The existence of high correlations between the hindcasted and observed principal component time series gives a measure of the model performance ability. An additional comparative study of the HIPOCAS winter precipitation with global reanalysis data (NCEP and ERA) is performed. This study reveals the important regional improvement in the characterization of the observed precipitation introduced by the HIPOCAS hindcast relative to the above global reanalyses. Such improvement is effective not only in terms of total amount values, but also in the spatial distribution, the observed field being much more realistically reproduced by HIPOCAS than by the global reanalysis data. (orig.)

  13. Altered Precipitation and Flow Patterns in the Dunajec River Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariola Kędra

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study analyzes changes in long-term patterns of precipitation and river flow, as well as changes in their variability over the most recent 60 years (1956–2015. The study area is situated in the mountain basin of the Dunajec River, encompassing streams draining the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland. The focus of the study was to evaluate how regional warming translates into precipitation changes in the studied mountain region, and how changes in climate affect sub-regional hydrology. Monthly time series of precipitation measured at several sites were compared for two 30-year periods (1986–2015 versus 1956–1985. The significance of the difference between the periods in question was evaluated by means of the Wilcoxon signed rank test with the Bonferroni correction. The identified shifts in precipitation for 6 months are statistically significant and largely consistent with the revealed changes in river flow patterns. Moreover, significant differences in precipitation variability were noted in the study area, resulting in a significant decrease in the repeatability of precipitation over the most recent 30 years (1986–2015. Changes in the variability of the river flow studied were less visible in this particular mountain region (while significant for two months; however, the overall repeatability of river flow decreased significantly at the same rate as for precipitation.

  14. Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory Falling Snow Estimates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skofronick Jackson, G.; Kulie, M.; Milani, L.; Munchak, S. J.; Wood, N.; Levizzani, V.

    2017-12-01

    Retrievals of falling snow from space represent an important data set for understanding and linking the Earth's atmospheric, hydrological, and energy cycles. Estimates of falling snow must be captured to obtain the true global precipitation water cycle, snowfall accumulations are required for hydrological studies, and without knowledge of the frozen particles in clouds one cannot adequately understand the energy and radiation budgets. This work focuses on comparing the first stable falling snow retrieval products (released May 2017) for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory (GPM-CO), which was launched February 2014, and carries both an active dual frequency (Ku- and Ka-band) precipitation radar (DPR) and a passive microwave radiometer (GPM Microwave Imager-GMI). Five separate GPM-CO falling snow retrieval algorithm products are analyzed including those from DPR Matched (Ka+Ku) Scan, DPR Normal Scan (Ku), DPR High Sensitivity Scan (Ka), combined DPR+GMI, and GMI. While satellite-based remote sensing provides global coverage of falling snow events, the science is relatively new, the different on-orbit instruments don't capture all snow rates equally, and retrieval algorithms differ. Thus a detailed comparison among the GPM-CO products elucidates advantages and disadvantages of the retrievals. GPM and CloudSat global snowfall evaluation exercises are natural investigative pathways to explore, but caution must be undertaken when analyzing these datasets for comparative purposes. This work includes outlining the challenges associated with comparing GPM-CO to CloudSat satellite snow estimates due to the different sampling, algorithms, and instrument capabilities. We will highlight some factors and assumptions that can be altered or statistically normalized and applied in an effort to make comparisons between GPM and CloudSat global satellite falling snow products as equitable as possible.

  15. Global warming precipitation accumulation increases above the current-climate cutoff scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neelin, J David; Sahany, Sandeep; Stechmann, Samuel N; Bernstein, Diana N

    2017-02-07

    Precipitation accumulations, integrated over rainfall events, can be affected by both intensity and duration of the storm event. Thus, although precipitation intensity is widely projected to increase under global warming, a clear framework for predicting accumulation changes has been lacking, despite the importance of accumulations for societal impacts. Theory for changes in the probability density function (pdf) of precipitation accumulations is presented with an evaluation of these changes in global climate model simulations. We show that a simple set of conditions implies roughly exponential increases in the frequency of the very largest accumulations above a physical cutoff scale, increasing with event size. The pdf exhibits an approximately power-law range where probability density drops slowly with each order of magnitude size increase, up to a cutoff at large accumulations that limits the largest events experienced in current climate. The theory predicts that the cutoff scale, controlled by the interplay of moisture convergence variance and precipitation loss, tends to increase under global warming. Thus, precisely the large accumulations above the cutoff that are currently rare will exhibit increases in the warmer climate as this cutoff is extended. This indeed occurs in the full climate model, with a 3 °C end-of-century global-average warming yielding regional increases of hundreds of percent to >1,000% in the probability density of the largest accumulations that have historical precedents. The probabilities of unprecedented accumulations are also consistent with the extension of the cutoff.

  16. Global warming precipitation accumulation increases above the current-climate cutoff scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahany, Sandeep; Stechmann, Samuel N.; Bernstein, Diana N.

    2017-01-01

    Precipitation accumulations, integrated over rainfall events, can be affected by both intensity and duration of the storm event. Thus, although precipitation intensity is widely projected to increase under global warming, a clear framework for predicting accumulation changes has been lacking, despite the importance of accumulations for societal impacts. Theory for changes in the probability density function (pdf) of precipitation accumulations is presented with an evaluation of these changes in global climate model simulations. We show that a simple set of conditions implies roughly exponential increases in the frequency of the very largest accumulations above a physical cutoff scale, increasing with event size. The pdf exhibits an approximately power-law range where probability density drops slowly with each order of magnitude size increase, up to a cutoff at large accumulations that limits the largest events experienced in current climate. The theory predicts that the cutoff scale, controlled by the interplay of moisture convergence variance and precipitation loss, tends to increase under global warming. Thus, precisely the large accumulations above the cutoff that are currently rare will exhibit increases in the warmer climate as this cutoff is extended. This indeed occurs in the full climate model, with a 3 °C end-of-century global-average warming yielding regional increases of hundreds of percent to >1,000% in the probability density of the largest accumulations that have historical precedents. The probabilities of unprecedented accumulations are also consistent with the extension of the cutoff. PMID:28115693

  17. Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) - Daily, Version 1.2

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) comprises a total of 27 products. The Version 1.2 Daily product covers the period October 1998 to the present,...

  18. Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) - Pentad, Version 2.2

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) comprises a total of 27 products. The Version 2.2 Pentad product covers the period January 1979 to the present,...

  19. Developing Information Services and Tools to Access and Evaluate Data Quality in Global Satellite-based Precipitation Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Z.; Shie, C. L.; Meyer, D. J.

    2017-12-01

    Global satellite-based precipitation products have been widely used in research and applications around the world. Compared to ground-based observations, satellite-based measurements provide precipitation data on a global scale, especially in remote continents and over oceans. Over the years, satellite-based precipitation products have evolved from single sensor and single algorithm to multi-sensors and multi-algorithms. As a result, many satellite-based precipitation products have been enhanced such as spatial and temporal coverages. With inclusion of ground-based measurements, biases of satellite-based precipitation products have been significantly reduced. However, data quality issues still exist and can be caused by many factors such as observations, satellite platform anomaly, algorithms, production, calibration, validation, data services, etc. The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC) is home to NASA global precipitation product archives including the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), as well as other global and regional precipitation products. Precipitation is one of the top downloaded and accessed parameters in the GES DISC data archive. Meanwhile, users want to easily locate and obtain data quality information at regional and global scales to better understand how precipitation products perform and how reliable they are. As data service providers, it is necessary to provide an easy access to data quality information, however, such information normally is not available, and when it is available, it is not in one place and difficult to locate. In this presentation, we will present challenges and activities at the GES DISC to address precipitation data quality issues.

  20. Pattern formation and self-organization in a simple precipitation system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Volford, Andras; Izsak, F.; Ripzam, Matyas; Lagzi, Istvan

    Various types of pattern formation and self-organization phenomena can be observed in biological, chemical, and geochemical systems due to the interaction of reaction with diffusion. The appearance of static precipitation patterns was reported first by Liesegang in 1896. Traveling waves and

  1. Calculation of probability density functions for temperature and precipitation change under global warming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watterson, Ian G.

    2007-01-01

    Full text: he IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (Meehl ef al. 2007) presents multi-model means of the CMIP3 simulations as projections of the global climate change over the 21st century under several SRES emission scenarios. To assess the possible range of change for Australia based on the CMIP3 ensemble, we can follow Whetton etal. (2005) and use the 'pattern scaling' approach, which separates the uncertainty in the global mean warming from that in the local change per degree of warming. This study presents several ways of representing these two factors as probability density functions (PDFs). The beta distribution, a smooth, bounded, function allowing skewness, is found to provide a useful representation of the range of CMIP3 results. A weighting of models based on their skill in simulating seasonal means in the present climate over Australia is included. Dessai ef al. (2005) and others have used Monte-Carlo sampling to recombine such global warming and scaled change factors into values of net change. Here, we use a direct integration of the product across the joint probability space defined by the two PDFs. The result is a cumulative distribution function (CDF) for change, for each variable, location, and season. The median of this distribution provides a best estimate of change, while the 10th and 90th percentiles represent a likely range. The probability of exceeding a specified threshold can also be extracted from the CDF. The presentation focuses on changes in Australian temperature and precipitation at 2070 under the A1B scenario. However, the assumption of linearity behind pattern scaling allows results for different scenarios and times to be simply obtained. In the case of precipitation, which must remain non-negative, a simple modification of the calculations (based on decreases being exponential with warming) is used to avoid unrealistic results. These approaches are currently being used for the new CSIRO/ Bureau of Meteorology climate projections

  2. Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Climate Data Record (CDR), Version 2.3 (Monthly)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) consists of monthly satellite-gauge and associated precipitation error estimates and covers the period January...

  3. Global Precipitation Measurement Mission: Architecture and Mission Concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bundas, David

    2005-01-01

    The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is a collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and other partners, with the goal of monitoring the diurnal and seasonal variations in precipitation over the surface of the earth. These measurements will be used to improve current climate models and weather forecasting, and enable improved storm and flood warnings. This paper gives an overview of the mission architecture and addresses some of the key trades that have been completed, including the selection of the Core Observatory s orbit, orbit maintenance trades, and design issues related to meeting orbital debris requirements.

  4. Spatio-temporal patterns and climate variables controlling of biomass carbon stock of global grassland ecosystems from 1982 to 2006

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Jiangzhou; Liu, Shuguang; Liang, Shunlin; Chen, Yang; Xu, Wenfang; Yuan, Wenping

    2014-01-01

    Grassland ecosystems play an important role in subsistence agriculture and the global carbon cycle. However, the global spatio-temporal patterns and environmental controls of grassland biomass are not well quantified and understood. The goal of this study was to estimate the spatial and temporal patterns of the global grassland biomass and analyze their driving forces using field measurements, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series from satellite data, climate reanalysis data, and a satellite-based statistical model. Results showed that the NDVI-based biomass carbon model developed from this study explained 60% of the variance across 38 sites globally. The global carbon stock in grassland aboveground live biomass was 1.05 Pg·C, averaged from 1982 to 2006, and increased at a rate of 2.43 Tg·C·y−1 during this period. Temporal change of the global biomass was significantly and positively correlated with temperature and precipitation. The distribution of biomass carbon density followed the precipitation gradient. The dynamics of regional grassland biomass showed various trends largely determined by regional climate variability, disturbances, and management practices (such as grazing for meat production). The methods and results from this study can be used to monitor the dynamics of grassland aboveground biomass and evaluate grassland susceptibility to climate variability and change, disturbances, and management.

  5. Application of Observed Precipitation in NCEP Global and Regional Data Assimilation Systems, Including Reanalysis and Land Data Assimilation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, K. E.

    2006-12-01

    The Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) applies several different analyses of observed precipitation in both the data assimilation and validation components of NCEP's global and regional numerical weather and climate prediction/analysis systems (including in NCEP global and regional reanalysis). This invited talk will survey these data assimilation and validation applications and methodologies, as well as the temporal frequency, spatial domains, spatial resolution, data sources, data density and data quality control in the precipitation analyses that are applied. Some of the precipitation analyses applied by EMC are produced by NCEP's Climate Prediction Center (CPC), while others are produced by the River Forecast Centers (RFCs) of the National Weather Service (NWS), or by automated algorithms of the NWS WSR-88D Radar Product Generator (RPG). Depending on the specific type of application in data assimilation or model forecast validation, the temporal resolution of the precipitation analyses may be hourly, daily, or pentad (5-day) and the domain may be global, continental U.S. (CONUS), or Mexico. The data sources for precipitation include ground-based gauge observations, radar-based estimates, and satellite-based estimates. The precipitation analyses over the CONUS are analyses of either hourly, daily or monthly totals of precipitation, and they are of two distinct types: gauge-only or primarily radar-estimated. The gauge-only CONUS analysis of daily precipitation utilizes an orographic-adjustment technique (based on the well-known PRISM precipitation climatology of Oregon State University) developed by the NWS Office of Hydrologic Development (OHD). The primary NCEP global precipitation analysis is the pentad CPC Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP), which blends both gauge observations and satellite estimates. The presentation will include a brief comparison between the CMAP analysis and other global

  6. The nonstationary impact of local temperature changes and ENSO on extreme precipitation at the global scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Qiaohong; Miao, Chiyuan; Qiao, Yuanyuan; Duan, Qingyun

    2017-12-01

    The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and local temperature are important drivers of extreme precipitation. Understanding the impact of ENSO and temperature on the risk of extreme precipitation over global land will provide a foundation for risk assessment and climate-adaptive design of infrastructure in a changing climate. In this study, nonstationary generalized extreme value distributions were used to model extreme precipitation over global land for the period 1979-2015, with ENSO indicator and temperature as covariates. Risk factors were estimated to quantify the contrast between the influence of different ENSO phases and temperature. The results show that extreme precipitation is dominated by ENSO over 22% of global land and by temperature over 26% of global land. With a warming climate, the risk of high-intensity daily extreme precipitation increases at high latitudes but decreases in tropical regions. For ENSO, large parts of North America, southern South America, and southeastern and northeastern China are shown to suffer greater risk in El Niño years, with more than double the chance of intense extreme precipitation in El Niño years compared with La Niña years. Moreover, regions with more intense precipitation are more sensitive to ENSO. Global climate models were used to investigate the changing relationship between extreme precipitation and the covariates. The risk of extreme, high-intensity precipitation increases across high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere but decreases in middle and lower latitudes under a warming climate scenario, and will likely trigger increases in severe flooding and droughts across the globe. However, there is some uncertainties associated with the influence of ENSO on predictions of future extreme precipitation, with the spatial extent and risk varying among the different models.

  7. Assessment of CLIGEN precipitation and storm pattern generation under four precipitation depth categories in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    CLIGEN (CLImate GENerator) is a widely used stochastic weather generator to simulate continuous daily precipitation and storm pattern information for hydrological and soil erosion models. Although CLIGEN has been tested in several regions in the world, thoroughly assessment before applying it to Chi...

  8. Calibration Plans for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bidwell, S. W.; Flaming, G. M.; Adams, W. J.; Everett, D. F.; Mendelsohn, C. R.; Smith, E. A.; Turk, J.

    2002-01-01

    The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is an international effort led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the U.S.A. and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) for the purpose of improving research into the global water and energy cycle. GPM will improve climate, weather, and hydrological forecasts through more frequent and more accurate measurement of precipitation world-wide. Comprised of U.S. domestic and international partners, GPM will incorporate and assimilate data streams from many spacecraft with varied orbital characteristics and instrument capabilities. Two of the satellites will be provided directly by GPM, the core satellite and a constellation member. The core satellite, at the heart of GPM, is scheduled for launch in November 2007. The core will carry a conical scanning microwave radiometer, the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), and a two-frequency cross-track-scanning radar, the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR). The passive microwave channels and the two radar frequencies of the core are carefully chosen for investigating the varying character of precipitation over ocean and land, and from the tropics to the high-latitudes. The DPR will enable microphysical characterization and three-dimensional profiling of precipitation. The GPM-provided constellation spacecraft will carry a GMI radiometer identical to that on the core spacecraft. This paper presents calibration plans for the GPM, including on-board instrument calibration, external calibration methods, and the role of ground validation. Particular emphasis is on plans for inter-satellite calibration of the GPM constellation. With its Unique instrument capabilities, the core spacecraft will serve as a calibration transfer standard to the GPM constellation. In particular the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar aboard the core will check the accuracy of retrievals from the GMI radiometer and will enable improvement of the radiometer retrievals

  9. 21st Century Changes in Precipitation Extremes Based on Resolved Atmospheric Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, X.; Schlosser, C. A.; O'Gorman, P. A.; Monier, E.

    2014-12-01

    Global warming is expected to alter the frequency and/or magnitude of extreme precipitation events. Such changes could have substantial ecological, economic, and sociological consequences. However, climate models in general do not correctly reproduce the frequency distribution of precipitation, especially at the regional scale. In this study, a validated analogue method is employed to diagnose the potential future shifts in the probability of extreme precipitation over the United States under global warming. The method is based on the use of the resolved large-scale meteorological conditions (i.e. flow features, moisture supply) to detect the occurrence of extreme precipitation. The CMIP5 multi-model projections have been compiled for two radiative forcing scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5). We further analyze the accompanying circulation features and their changes that may be responsible for shifts in extreme precipitation in response to changed climate. The application of such analogue method to detect other types of hazard events, i.e. landslides is also explored. The results from this study may guide hazardous weather watches and help society develop adaptive strategies for preventing catastrophic losses.

  10. New Global Precipitation Products and Data Service Updates at the NASA GES DISC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Z.; Ostrenga, D.; Savtchenko, A.; DeShong, B.; Greene, M.; Vollmer, B.; Kempler, S.

    2016-01-01

    This poster describes recent updates of the ongoing GPM data service activities at the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center(DISC) to facilitate access and exploration of GPM, TRMM and other NASA precipitation datasets for the global community. The poster contains -Updates on GPM products and data services -New features in Giovanni for precipitation data visualization -Precipitation data and service outreach activities.

  11. Applying Advances in GPM Radiometer Intercalibration and Algorithm Development to a Long-Term TRMM/GPM Global Precipitation Dataset

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berg, W. K.

    2016-12-01

    The Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) Core Observatory, which was launched in February of 2014, provides a number of advances for satellite monitoring of precipitation including a dual-frequency radar, high frequency channels on the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), and coverage over middle and high latitudes. The GPM concept, however, is about producing unified precipitation retrievals from a constellation of microwave radiometers to provide approximately 3-hourly global sampling. This involves intercalibration of the input brightness temperatures from the constellation radiometers, development of an apriori precipitation database using observations from the state-of-the-art GPM radiometer and radars, and accounting for sensor differences in the retrieval algorithm in a physically-consistent way. Efforts by the GPM inter-satellite calibration working group, or XCAL team, and the radiometer algorithm team to create unified precipitation retrievals from the GPM radiometer constellation were fully implemented into the current version 4 GPM precipitation products. These include precipitation estimates from a total of seven conical-scanning and six cross-track scanning radiometers as well as high spatial and temporal resolution global level 3 gridded products. Work is now underway to extend this unified constellation-based approach to the combined TRMM/GPM data record starting in late 1997. The goal is to create a long-term global precipitation dataset employing these state-of-the-art calibration and retrieval algorithm approaches. This new long-term global precipitation dataset will incorporate the physics provided by the combined GPM GMI and DPR sensors into the apriori database, extend prior TRMM constellation observations to high latitudes, and expand the available TRMM precipitation data to the full constellation of available conical and cross-track scanning radiometers. This combined TRMM/GPM precipitation data record will thus provide a high-quality high

  12. Supporting Hydrometeorological Research and Applications with Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Products and Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhong; Ostrenga, D.; Vollmer, B.; Deshong, B.; MacRitchie, K.; Greene, M.; Kempler, S.

    2016-01-01

    Precipitation is an important dataset in hydrometeorological research and applications such as flood modeling, drought monitoring, etc. On February 27, 2014, the NASA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission was launched to provide the next-generation global observations of rain and snow (http:pmm.nasa.govGPM). The GPM mission consists of an international network of satellites in which a GPM Core Observatory satellite carries both active and passive microwave instruments to measure precipitation and serve as a reference standard, to unify precipitation measurements from a constellation of other research and operational satellites. The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC) hosts and distributes GPM data. The GES DISC is home to the data archive for the GPM predecessor, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). GPM products currently available include the following:1. Level-1 GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) and partner radiometer products2. Goddard Profiling Algorithm (GPROF) GMI and partner products (Level-2 and Level-3)3. GPM dual-frequency precipitation radar and their combined products (Level-2 and Level-3)4. Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) products (early, late, and final run)GPM data can be accessed through a number of data services (e.g., Simple Subset Wizard, OPeNDAP, WMS, WCS, ftp, etc.). A newly released Unified User Interface or UUI is a single interface to provide users seamless access to data, information and services. For example, a search for precipitation products will not only return TRMM and GPM products, but also other global precipitation products such as MERRA (Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications), GLDAS (Global Land Data Assimilation Systems), etc.New features and capabilities have been recently added in GIOVANNI to allow exploring and inter-comparing GPM IMERG (Integrated Multi-satelliE Retrievals for GPM) half-hourly and monthly precipitation

  13. Emerging European winter precipitation pattern linked to atmospheric circulation changes over the North Atlantic region in recent decades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ummenhofer, Caroline C.; Seo, Hyodae; Kwon, Young-Oh; Parfitt, Rhys; Brands, Swen; Joyce, Terrence M.

    2017-08-01

    Dominant European winter precipitation patterns over the past century, along with their associated extratropical North Atlantic circulation changes, are evaluated using cluster analysis. Contrary to the four regimes traditionally identified based on daily wintertime atmospheric circulation patterns, five distinct seasonal precipitation regimes are detected here. Recurrent precipitation patterns in each regime are linked to changes in atmospheric blocking, storm track, and sea surface temperatures across the North Atlantic region. Multidecadal variability in the frequency of the precipitation patterns reveals more (fewer) winters with wet conditions in northern (southern) Europe in recent decades and an emerging distinct pattern of enhanced wintertime precipitation over the northern British Isles. This pattern has become unusually common since the 1980s and is associated with changes in moisture transport and more frequent atmospheric river events. The observed precipitation changes post-1950 coincide with changes in storm track activity over the central/eastern North Atlantic toward the northern British Isles.

  14. Next-Generation Satellite Precipitation Products for Understanding Global and Regional Water Variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Arthur Y.

    2011-01-01

    A major challenge in understanding the space-time variability of continental water fluxes is the lack of accurate precipitation estimates over complex terrains. While satellite precipitation observations can be used to complement ground-based data to obtain improved estimates, space-based and ground-based estimates come with their own sets of uncertainties, which must be understood and characterized. Quantitative estimation of uncertainties in these products also provides a necessary foundation for merging satellite and ground-based precipitation measurements within a rigorous statistical framework. Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is an international satellite mission that will provide next-generation global precipitation data products for research and applications. It consists of a constellation of microwave sensors provided by NASA, JAXA, CNES, ISRO, EUMETSAT, DOD, NOAA, NPP, and JPSS. At the heart of the mission is the GPM Core Observatory provided by NASA and JAXA to be launched in 2013. The GPM Core, which will carry the first space-borne dual-frequency radar and a state-of-the-art multi-frequency radiometer, is designed to set new reference standards for precipitation measurements from space, which can then be used to unify and refine precipitation retrievals from all constellation sensors. The next-generation constellation-based satellite precipitation estimates will be characterized by intercalibrated radiometric measurements and physical-based retrievals using a common observation-derived hydrometeor database. For pre-launch algorithm development and post-launch product evaluation, NASA supports an extensive ground validation (GV) program in cooperation with domestic and international partners to improve (1) physics of remote-sensing algorithms through a series of focused field campaigns, (2) characterization of uncertainties in satellite and ground-based precipitation products over selected GV testbeds, and (3) modeling of atmospheric processes and

  15. Global patterns of amphibian phylogenetic diversity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fritz, Susanne; Rahbek, Carsten

    2012-01-01

    Aim  Phylogenetic diversity can provide insight into how evolutionary processes may have shaped contemporary patterns of species richness. Here, we aim to test for the influence of phylogenetic history on global patterns of amphibian species richness, and to identify areas where macroevolutionary...... processes such as diversification and dispersal have left strong signatures on contemporary species richness. Location  Global; equal-area grid cells of approximately 10,000 km2. Methods  We generated an amphibian global supertree (6111 species) and repeated analyses with the largest available molecular...... phylogeny (2792 species). We combined each tree with global species distributions to map four indices of phylogenetic diversity. To investigate congruence between global spatial patterns of amphibian species richness and phylogenetic diversity, we selected Faith’s phylogenetic diversity (PD) index...

  16. Patterns of Precipitation and Streamflow Responses to Moisture Fluxes during Atmospheric Rivers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henn, B. M.; Wilson, A. M.; Asgari Lamjiri, M.; Ralph, M.

    2017-12-01

    Precipitation from landfalling atmospheric rivers (ARs) have been shown to dominate the hydroclimate of many parts of the world. ARs are associated with saturated, neutrally-stable profiles in the lower atmosphere, in which forced ascent by topography induces precipitation. Understanding the spatial and temporal variability of precipitation over complex terrain during AR-driven precipitation is critical for accurate forcing of distributed hydrologic models and streamflow forecasts. Past studies using radar wind profilers and radiosondes have demonstrated predictability of precipitation rates based on upslope water vapor flux over coastal terrain, with certain levels of moisture flux exhibiting the greatest influence on precipitation. Additionally, these relationships have been extended to show that streamflow in turn responds predictably to upslope vapor flux. However, past studies have focused on individual pairs of profilers and precipitation gauges; the question of how orographic precipitation in ARs is distributed spatially over complex terrain, at different topographic scales, is less well known. Here, we examine profiles of atmospheric moisture transport from radiosondes and wind profilers, against a relatively dense network of precipitation gauges, as well as stream gauges, to assess relationships between upslope moisture flux and the spatial response of precipitation and streamflow. We focus on California's Russian River watershed in the 2016-2017 cool season, when regular radiosonde launches were made at two locations during an active sequence of landfalling ARs. We examine how atmospheric water vapor flux results in precipitation patterns across gauges with different topographic relationships to the prevailing moisture-bearing winds, and conduct a similar comparison of runoff volume response from several unimpaired watersheds in the upper Russian watershed, taking into account antecedent soil moisture conditions that influence runoff generation. Finally

  17. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission: Overview and U.S. Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Arthur Y.; Azarbarzin, Ardeshir A.; Kakar, Ramesh K.; Neeck, Steven

    2011-01-01

    The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is an international satellite mission specifically designed to unify and advance precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational microwave sensors. The cornerstone of the GPM mission is the deployment of a Core Observatory in a 65 deg non-Sun-synchronous orbit to serve as a physics observatory and a transfer standard for inter-calibration of constellation radiometers. The GPM Core Observatory will carry a Ku/Ka-band Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and a conical-scanning multi-channel (10-183 GHz) GPM Microwave Radiometer (GMI). The first space-borne dual-frequency radar will provide not only measurements of 3-D precipitation structures but also quantitative information on microphysical properties of precipitating particles needed for improving precipitation retrievals from passive microwave sensors. The combined use of DPR and GMI measurements will place greater constraints on radiometer retrievals to improve the accuracy and consistency of precipitation estimates from all constellation radiometers. The GPM constellation is envisioned to comprise five or more conical-scanning microwave radiometers and four or more cross-track microwave sounders on operational satellites. NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plan to launch the GPM Core in July 2013. NASA will provide a second radiometer to be flown on a partner-provided GPM Low-Inclination Observatory (L10) to improve near real-time monitoring of hurricanes and mid-latitude storms. NASA and the Brazilian Space Program (AEB/IPNE) are currently engaged in a one-year study on potential L10 partnership. JAXA will contribute to GPM data from the Global Change Observation Mission-Water (GCOM-W) satellite. Additional partnerships are under development to include microwave radiometers on the French-Indian Megha-Tropiques satellite and U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites, as well as cross

  18. Effects of variability in probable maximum precipitation patterns on flood losses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zischg, Andreas Paul; Felder, Guido; Weingartner, Rolf; Quinn, Niall; Coxon, Gemma; Neal, Jeffrey; Freer, Jim; Bates, Paul

    2018-05-01

    The assessment of the impacts of extreme floods is important for dealing with residual risk, particularly for critical infrastructure management and for insurance purposes. Thus, modelling of the probable maximum flood (PMF) from probable maximum precipitation (PMP) by coupling hydrological and hydraulic models has gained interest in recent years. Herein, we examine whether variability in precipitation patterns exceeds or is below selected uncertainty factors in flood loss estimation and if the flood losses within a river basin are related to the probable maximum discharge at the basin outlet. We developed a model experiment with an ensemble of probable maximum precipitation scenarios created by Monte Carlo simulations. For each rainfall pattern, we computed the flood losses with a model chain and benchmarked the effects of variability in rainfall distribution with other model uncertainties. The results show that flood losses vary considerably within the river basin and depend on the timing and superimposition of the flood peaks from the basin's sub-catchments. In addition to the flood hazard component, the other components of flood risk, exposure, and vulnerability contribute remarkably to the overall variability. This leads to the conclusion that the estimation of the probable maximum expectable flood losses in a river basin should not be based exclusively on the PMF. Consequently, the basin-specific sensitivities to different precipitation patterns and the spatial organization of the settlements within the river basin need to be considered in the analyses of probable maximum flood losses.

  19. Patterning of alloy precipitation through external pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franklin, Jack A.

    Due to the nature of their microstructure, alloyed components have the benefit of meeting specific design goals across a wide range of electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. In general by selecting the correct alloy system and applying a proper heat treatment it is possible to create a metallic sample whose properties achieve a unique set of design requirements. This dissertation presents an innovative processing technique intended to control both the location of formation and the growth rates of precipitates within metallic alloys in order to create multiple patterned areas of unique microstructure within a single sample. Specific experimental results for the Al-Cu alloy system will be shown. The control over precipitation is achieved by altering the conventional heat treatment process with an external surface load applied to selected locations during the quench and anneal. It is shown that the applied pressures affect both the rate and directionality of the atomic diffusion in regions close to the loaded surfaces. The control over growth rates is achieved by altering the enthalpic energy required for successful diffusion between lattice sites. Changes in the local chemical free energy required to direct the diffusion of atoms are established by introducing a non-uniform elastic strain energy field within the samples created by the patterned surface pressures. Either diffusion rates or atomic mobility can be selected as the dominating control process by varying the quench rate; with slower quenches having greater control over the mobility of the alloying elements. Results have shown control of Al2Cu precipitation over 100 microns on mechanically polished surfaces. Further experimental considerations presented will address consistency across sample ensembles. This includes repeatable pressure loading conditions and the chemical interaction between any furnace environments and both the alloy sample and metallic pressure loading devices.

  20. Variability modes of precipitation along a Central Mediterranean area and their relations with ENSO, NAO, and other climatic patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalimeris, Anastasios; Ranieri, Ezio; Founda, Dimitra; Norrant, Caroline

    2017-12-01

    This study analyses a century-long set of precipitation time series in the Central Mediterranean (encompassing the Greek Ionian and the Italian Puglia regions) and investigates the statistically significant modes of the interannual precipitation variability using efficient methods of spectral decomposition. The statistical relations and the possible physical couplings between the detected modes and the global or hemispheric patterns of climatic variability (the El Niño Southern Oscillation or ENSO, the North Atlantic Oscillation or NAO, the East Atlantic or EA, the Scandinavian or SCAND, and others) were examined in the time-frequency domain and low-order synchronization events were sought. Significant modes of precipitation variability were detected in the Taranto Gulf and the southern part of the Greek Ionian region at the sub-decadal scales (mostly driven by the SCAND pattern) and particularly at the decadal and quasi-decadal scales, where strong relations found with the ENSO activity (under complex implications of EA and NAO) prior to the 1930s or after the early-1970s. The precipitation variations in the Adriatic stations of Puglia are dominated by significant bi-decadal modes which found to be coherent with the ENSO activity and also weakly related with the Atlantic Ocean sea surface temperature intrinsic variability. Additionally, important discontinuities characterize the evolution of precipitation in certain stations of the Taranto Gulf and the Greek Ionian region during the early-1960s and particularly during the early-1970s, followed by significant reductions in the mean annual precipitation. These discontinuities seem to be associated with regional effects of NAO and SCAND, probably combined with the impact of the 1970s climatic shift in the Pacific and the ENSO variability.

  1. Organic influences on inorganic patterns of diffusion-controlled precipitation in gels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barge, Laura M.; Nealson, Kenneth H.; Petruska, John

    2010-06-01

    The well-known AgNO 3/K 2CrO 4 reaction-diffusion system produces periodic bands of silver chromate precipitate in gelatin, but only randomly oriented crystals in agarose gel. We show that comparable bands can be produced in agarose gel by adding small amounts of simple organic acids (e.g., acetic acid, N-acetyl glycine, and N-acetyl alanine) that suppress crystal growth and promote formation of rounded particles of precipitate. These results indicate that α-carboxyl groups of amino acids or short peptides in gelatin under mildly acidic conditions can induce periodic band patterns in diffusion-controlled silver chromate precipitates.

  2. Preliminary Studies on Summer Precipitation Patterns in China%我国夏季降水类型初探

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    李鸾

    2008-01-01

    [Objective]Study on the spatial distribution of summer precipitation patterns and interannnal and interdacadal variability.[Method]The summer precipitation patterns were obtained from standard field of summer precipitation data for 160 observation stations in China during 1951-2000 by the utilization of empirical orthogonal function(EOF),and characteristics of interannual and interdecadal variability were analyzed.[Result]The summer precipitation mainly distributes in eastern part of China;The Ist,2nd and 3rd EOF modes of spatial distribution are especially remarkable as well consistent with the results of previous reports about three rainfall patterns from analysis on the percentages of precipitation anomaly of summer.[Conclusion]There exists interannnal and interdecadal variability for summer precipitation in China.

  3. Evaluation of global fine-resolution precipitation products and their uncertainty quantification in ensemble discharge simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, W.; Zhang, C.; Fu, G.; Sweetapple, C.; Zhou, H.

    2016-02-01

    The applicability of six fine-resolution precipitation products, including precipitation radar, infrared, microwave and gauge-based products, using different precipitation computation recipes, is evaluated using statistical and hydrological methods in northeastern China. In addition, a framework quantifying uncertainty contributions of precipitation products, hydrological models, and their interactions to uncertainties in ensemble discharges is proposed. The investigated precipitation products are Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) products (TRMM3B42 and TRMM3B42RT), Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS)/Noah, Asian Precipitation - Highly-Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation of Water Resources (APHRODITE), Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN), and a Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMAP-MVK+) product. Two hydrological models of different complexities, i.e. a water and energy budget-based distributed hydrological model and a physically based semi-distributed hydrological model, are employed to investigate the influence of hydrological models on simulated discharges. Results show APHRODITE has high accuracy at a monthly scale compared with other products, and GSMAP-MVK+ shows huge advantage and is better than TRMM3B42 in relative bias (RB), Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient of efficiency (NSE), root mean square error (RMSE), correlation coefficient (CC), false alarm ratio, and critical success index. These findings could be very useful for validation, refinement, and future development of satellite-based products (e.g. NASA Global Precipitation Measurement). Although large uncertainty exists in heavy precipitation, hydrological models contribute most of the uncertainty in extreme discharges. Interactions between precipitation products and hydrological models can have the similar magnitude of contribution to discharge uncertainty as the hydrological models. A

  4. Global monsoon precipitation responses to large volcanic eruptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Fei; Chai, Jing; Wang, Bin; Liu, Jian; Zhang, Xiao; Wang, Zhiyuan

    2016-04-11

    Climate variation of global monsoon (GM) precipitation involves both internal feedback and external forcing. Here, we focus on strong volcanic forcing since large eruptions are known to be a dominant mechanism in natural climate change. It is not known whether large volcanoes erupted at different latitudes have distinctive effects on the monsoon in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) and the Southern Hemisphere (SH). We address this issue using a 1500-year volcanic sensitivity simulation by the Community Earth System Model version 1.0 (CESM1). Volcanoes are classified into three types based on their meridional aerosol distributions: NH volcanoes, SH volcanoes and equatorial volcanoes. Using the model simulation, we discover that the GM precipitation in one hemisphere is enhanced significantly by the remote volcanic forcing occurring in the other hemisphere. This remote volcanic forcing-induced intensification is mainly through circulation change rather than moisture content change. In addition, the NH volcanic eruptions are more efficient in reducing the NH monsoon precipitation than the equatorial ones, and so do the SH eruptions in weakening the SH monsoon, because the equatorial eruptions, despite reducing moisture content, have weaker effects in weakening the off-equatorial monsoon circulation than the subtropical-extratropical volcanoes do.

  5. Precipitation-generated oscillations in open cellular cloud fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feingold, Graham; Koren, Ilan; Wang, Hailong; Xue, Huiwen; Brewer, Wm Alan

    2010-08-12

    Cloud fields adopt many different patterns that can have a profound effect on the amount of sunlight reflected back to space, with important implications for the Earth's climate. These cloud patterns can be observed in satellite images of the Earth and often exhibit distinct cell-like structures associated with organized convection at scales of tens of kilometres. Recent evidence has shown that atmospheric aerosol particles-through their influence on precipitation formation-help to determine whether cloud fields take on closed (more reflective) or open (less reflective) cellular patterns. The physical mechanisms controlling the formation and evolution of these cells, however, are still poorly understood, limiting our ability to simulate realistically the effects of clouds on global reflectance. Here we use satellite imagery and numerical models to show how precipitating clouds produce an open cellular cloud pattern that oscillates between different, weakly stable states. The oscillations are a result of precipitation causing downward motion and outflow from clouds that were previously positively buoyant. The evaporating precipitation drives air down to the Earth's surface, where it diverges and collides with the outflows of neighbouring precipitating cells. These colliding outflows form surface convergence zones and new cloud formation. In turn, the newly formed clouds produce precipitation and new colliding outflow patterns that are displaced from the previous ones. As successive cycles of this kind unfold, convergence zones alternate with divergence zones and new cloud patterns emerge to replace old ones. The result is an oscillating, self-organized system with a characteristic cell size and precipitation frequency.

  6. Spatiotemporal patterns of precipitation inferred from streamflow observations across the Sierra Nevada mountain range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henn, Brian; Clark, Martyn P.; Kavetski, Dmitri; Newman, Andrew J.; Hughes, Mimi; McGurk, Bruce; Lundquist, Jessica D.

    2018-01-01

    Given uncertainty in precipitation gauge-based gridded datasets over complex terrain, we use multiple streamflow observations as an additional source of information about precipitation, in order to identify spatial and temporal differences between a gridded precipitation dataset and precipitation inferred from streamflow. We test whether gridded datasets capture across-crest and regional spatial patterns of variability, as well as year-to-year variability and trends in precipitation, in comparison to precipitation inferred from streamflow. We use a Bayesian model calibration routine with multiple lumped hydrologic model structures to infer the most likely basin-mean, water-year total precipitation for 56 basins with long-term (>30 year) streamflow records in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. We compare basin-mean precipitation derived from this approach with basin-mean precipitation from a precipitation gauge-based, 1/16° gridded dataset that has been used to simulate and evaluate trends in Western United States streamflow and snowpack over the 20th century. We find that the long-term average spatial patterns differ: in particular, there is less precipitation in the gridded dataset in higher-elevation basins whose aspect faces prevailing cool-season winds, as compared to precipitation inferred from streamflow. In a few years and basins, there is less gridded precipitation than there is observed streamflow. Lower-elevation, southern, and east-of-crest basins show better agreement between gridded and inferred precipitation. Implied actual evapotranspiration (calculated as precipitation minus streamflow) then also varies between the streamflow-based estimates and the gridded dataset. Absolute uncertainty in precipitation inferred from streamflow is substantial, but the signal of basin-to-basin and year-to-year differences are likely more robust. The findings suggest that considering streamflow when spatially distributing precipitation in complex terrain

  7. Systematical estimation of GPM-based global satellite mapping of precipitation products over China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Haigen; Yang, Bogang; Yang, Shengtian; Huang, Yingchun; Dong, Guotao; Bai, Juan; Wang, Zhiwei

    2018-03-01

    As the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory satellite continues its mission, new version 6 products for Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP) have been released. However, few studies have systematically evaluated the GSMaP products over mainland China. This study quantitatively evaluated three GPM-based GSMaP version 6 precipitation products for China and eight subregions referring to the Chinese daily Precipitation Analysis Product (CPAP). The GSMaP products included near-real-time (GSMaP_NRT), microwave-infrared reanalyzed (GSMaP_MVK), and gauge-adjusted (GSMaP_Gau) data. Additionally, the gauge-adjusted Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (IMERG_Gau) was also assessed and compared with GSMaP_Gau. The analyses of the selected daily products were carried out at spatiotemporal resolutions of 1/4° for the period of March 2014 to December 2015 in consideration of the resolution of CPAP and the consistency of the coverage periods of the satellite products. The results indicated that GSMaP_MVK and GSMaP_NRT performed comparably and underdetected light rainfall events (Pearson linear correlation coefficient (CC), fractional standard error (FSE), and root-mean-square error (RMSE) metrics during the summer. Compared with GSMaP_NRT and GSMaP_MVK, GSMaP_Gau possessed significantly improved metrics over mainland China and the eight subregions and performed better in terms of CC, RMSE, and FSE but underestimated precipitation to a greater degree than IMERG_Gau. As a quantitative assessment of the GPM-era GSMaP products, these validation results will supply helpful references for both end users and algorithm developers. However, the study findings need to be confirmed over a longer future study period when the longer-period IMERG retrospectively-processed data are available.

  8. Impact of Precipitation Patterns on Biomass and Species Richness of Annuals in a Dry Steppe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Hong; Liang, Cunzhu; Li, Zhiyong; Liu, Zhongling; Miao, Bailing; He, Chunguang; Sheng, Lianxi

    2015-01-01

    Annuals are an important component part of plant communities in arid and semiarid grassland ecosystems. Although it is well known that precipitation has a significant impact on productivity and species richness of community or perennials, nevertheless, due to lack of measurements, especially long-term experiment data, there is little information on how quantity and patterns of precipitation affect similar attributes of annuals. This study addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing how quantity and temporal patterns of precipitation affect aboveground biomass, interannual variation aboveground biomass, relative aboveground biomass, and species richness of annuals using a 29-year dataset from a dry steppe site at the Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Research Station. Results showed that aboveground biomass and relative aboveground biomass of annuals increased with increasing precipitation. The coefficient of variation in aboveground biomass of annuals decreased significantly with increasing annual and growing-season precipitation. Species richness of annuals increased significantly with increasing annual precipitation and growing-season precipitation. Overall, this study highlights the importance of precipitation for aboveground biomass and species richness of annuals. PMID:25906187

  9. Precipitation response to the current ENSO variability in a warming world

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonfils, C.; Santer, B. D.; Phillips, T. J.; Marvel, K.; Leung, L.

    2013-12-01

    The major triggers of past and recent droughts include large modes of variability, such as ENSO, as well as specific and persistent patterns of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs; Hoerling and Kumar, 2003, Shin et al. 2010, Schubert et al. 2009). However, alternative drought initiators are also anticipated in response to increasing greenhouse gases, potentially changing the relative contribution of ocean variability as drought initiator. They include the intensification of the current zonal wet-dry patterns (the thermodynamic mechanism, Held and Soden, 2006), a latitudinal redistribution of global precipitation (the dynamical mechanism, Seager et al. 2007, Seidel et al. 2008, Scheff and Frierson 2008) and a reduction of local soil moisture and precipitation recycling (the land-atmosphere argument). Our ultimate goal is to investigate whether the relative contribution of those mechanisms change over time in response to global warming. In this study, we first perform an EOF analysis of the 1900-1999 time series of observed global SST field and identify a simple ENSO-like (ENSOL) mode of SST variability. We show that this mode is well spatially and temporally correlated with observed worldwide regional precipitation and drought variability. We then develop concise metrics to examine the fidelity with which the CMIP5 coupled global climate models (CGCMs) capture this particular ENSO-like mode in the current climate, and their ability to replicate the observed teleconnections with precipitation. Based on the CMIP5 model projections of future climate change, we finally analyze the potential temporal variations in ENSOL to be anticipated under further global warming, as well as their associated teleconnections with precipitation (pattern, amplitude, and total response). Overall, our approach allows us to determine what will be the effect of the current ENSO-like variability (i.e., as measured with instrumental observations) on precipitation in a warming world. This

  10. Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission: Precipitation Processing System (PPS) GPM Mission Gridded Text Products Provide Surface Precipitation Retrievals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stocker, Erich Franz; Kelley, O.; Kummerow, C.; Huffman, G.; Olson, W.; Kwiatkowski, J.

    2015-01-01

    In February 2015, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission core satellite will complete its first year in space. The core satellite carries a conically scanning microwave imager called the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), which also has 166 GHz and 183 GHz frequency channels. The GPM core satellite also carries a dual frequency radar (DPR) which operates at Ku frequency, similar to the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar, and a new Ka frequency. The precipitation processing system (PPS) is producing swath-based instantaneous precipitation retrievals from GMI, both radars including a dual-frequency product, and a combined GMIDPR precipitation retrieval. These level 2 products are written in the HDF5 format and have many additional parameters beyond surface precipitation that are organized into appropriate groups. While these retrieval algorithms were developed prior to launch and are not optimal, these algorithms are producing very creditable retrievals. It is appropriate for a wide group of users to have access to the GPM retrievals. However, for researchers requiring only surface precipitation, these L2 swath products can appear to be very intimidating and they certainly do contain many more variables than the average researcher needs. Some researchers desire only surface retrievals stored in a simple easily accessible format. In response, PPS has begun to produce gridded text based products that contain just the most widely used variables for each instrument (surface rainfall rate, fraction liquid, fraction convective) in a single line for each grid box that contains one or more observations.This paper will describe the gridded data products that are being produced and provide an overview of their content. Currently two types of gridded products are being produced: (1) surface precipitation retrievals from the core satellite instruments GMI, DPR, and combined GMIDPR (2) surface precipitation retrievals for the partner constellation

  11. Quantifying the temperature-independent effect of stratospheric aerosol geoengineering on global-mean precipitation in a multi-model ensemble

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferraro, Angus J; Griffiths, Hannah G

    2016-01-01

    The reduction in global-mean precipitation when stratospheric aerosol geoengineering is used to counterbalance global warming from increasing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations has been mainly attributed to the temperature-independent effect of CO 2 on atmospheric radiative cooling. We demonstrate here that stratospheric sulphate aerosol itself also acts to reduce global-mean precipitation independent of its effects on temperature. The temperature-independent effect of stratospheric aerosol geoenginering on global-mean precipitation is calculated by removing temperature-dependent effects from climate model simulations of the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP). When sulphate aerosol is injected into the stratosphere at a rate of 5 Tg SO 2 per year the aerosol reduces global-mean precipitation by approximately 0.2 %, though multiple ensemble members are required to separate this effect from internal variability. For comparison, the precipitation reduction from the temperature-independent effect of increasing CO 2 concentrations under the RCP4.5 scenario of the future is approximately 0.5 %. The temperature-independent effect of stratospheric sulphate aerosol arises from the aerosol’s effect on tropospheric radiative cooling. Radiative transfer calculations show this is mainly due to increasing downward emission of infrared radiation by the aerosol, but there is also a contribution from the stratospheric warming the aerosol causes. Our results suggest climate model simulations of solar dimming can capture the main features of the global-mean precipitation response to stratospheric aerosol geoengineering. (letter)

  12. Indirect downscaling of global circulation model data based on atmospheric circulation and temperature for projections of future precipitation in hourly resolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, F.; Bárdossy, A.

    2013-07-01

    Many hydraulic applications like the design of urban sewage systems require projections of future precipitation in high temporal resolution. We developed a method to predict the regional distribution of hourly precipitation sums based on daily mean sea level pressure and temperature data from a Global Circulation Model. It is an indirect downscaling method avoiding uncertain precipitation data from the model. It is based on a fuzzy-logic classification of atmospheric circulation patterns (CPs) that is further subdivided by means of the average daily temperature. The observed empirical distributions at 30 rain gauges to each CP-temperature class are assumed as constant and used for projections of the hourly precipitation sums in the future. The method was applied to the CP-temperature sequence derived from the 20th century run and the scenario A1B run of ECHAM5. According to ECHAM5, the summers in southwest Germany will become progressively drier. Nevertheless, the frequency of the highest hourly precipitation sums will increase. According to the predictions, estival water stress and the risk of extreme hourly precipitation will both increase simultaneously during the next decades.

  13. Spatiotemporal Analysis of Extreme Hourly Precipitation Patterns in Hainan Island, South China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenjie Chen

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available To analyze extreme precipitation patterns in Hainan Island, hourly precipitation datasets from 18 stations, for the period from 1967 to 2012, were investigated. Two precipitation concentration indices (PCI and 11 extreme precipitation indices (EPI were chosen. PCI1 indicated a moderate seasonality in yearly precipitation and PCI2 showed that at least 80% of the total precipitation fell in 20% of the rainiest hours. Furthermore, the spatial variations of PCI1 and PCI2 differed. Linear regression indicated increasing trends in 11 of the calculated EPI. Principal component analysis found that the first recalculated principal component represented the 11 EPI. The recalculated principal component revealed an increasing trend in precipitation extremes for the whole island (except the interior section. Trend stability analysis of several of EPI suggested that the southern parts of Hainan Island, and especially the city of Sanya, should receive more attention to establish the drainage facilities necessary to prevent waterlogging.

  14. Spatio-Temporal Patterns and Climate Variables Controlling of Biomass Carbon Stock of Global Grassland Ecosystems from 1982 to 2006

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiangzhou Xia

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Grassland ecosystems play an important role in subsistence agriculture and the global carbon cycle. However, the global spatio-temporal patterns and environmental controls of grassland biomass are not well quantified and understood. The goal of this study was to estimate the spatial and temporal patterns of the global grassland biomass and analyze their driving forces using field measurements, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI time series from satellite data, climate reanalysis data, and a satellite-based statistical model. Results showed that the NDVI-based biomass carbon model developed from this study explained 60% of the variance across 38 sites globally. The global carbon stock in grassland aboveground live biomass was 1.05 Pg·C, averaged from 1982 to 2006, and increased at a rate of 2.43 Tg·C·y−1 during this period. Temporal change of the global biomass was significantly and positively correlated with temperature and precipitation. The distribution of biomass carbon density followed the precipitation gradient. The dynamics of regional grassland biomass showed various trends largely determined by regional climate variability, disturbances, and management practices (such as grazing for meat production. The methods and results from this study can be used to monitor the dynamics of grassland aboveground biomass and evaluate grassland susceptibility to climate variability and change, disturbances, and management.

  15. Performance of the Falling Snow Retrieval Algorithms for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skofronick-Jackson, Gail; Munchak, Stephen J.; Ringerud, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    Retrievals of falling snow from space represent an important data set for understanding the Earth's atmospheric, hydrological, and energy cycles, especially during climate change. Estimates of falling snow must be captured to obtain the true global precipitation water cycle, snowfall accumulations are required for hydrological studies, and without knowledge of the frozen particles in clouds one cannot adequately understand the energy and radiation budgets. While satellite-based remote sensing provides global coverage of falling snow events, the science is relatively new and retrievals are still undergoing development with challenges remaining). This work reports on the development and testing of retrieval algorithms for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission Core Satellite, launched February 2014.

  16. Precipitation patterns control the distribution and export of large wood at the catchment scale

    OpenAIRE

    Il Seo, Jung; Nakamura, Futoshi; Chun, Kun Woo; Kim, Suk Woo; Grant, Gordon E.

    2015-01-01

    Large wood (LW) plays an important role in river ecosystems, but LW-laden floods may cause serious damage to human lives and property. The relationship between precipitation patterns and variations in LW distribution and export at the watershed scale is poorly understood. To explore these linkages, we examined differences in LW distribution as a function of channel morphologies in six watersheds located in southern and northern Japan and analysed the impacts of different precipitation pattern...

  17. Validation and Error Characterization for the Global Precipitation Measurement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bidwell, Steven W.; Adams, W. J.; Everett, D. F.; Smith, E. A.; Yuter, S. E.

    2003-01-01

    The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) is an international effort to increase scientific knowledge on the global water cycle with specific goals of improving the understanding and the predictions of climate, weather, and hydrology. These goals will be achieved through several satellites specifically dedicated to GPM along with the integration of numerous meteorological satellite data streams from international and domestic partners. The GPM effort is led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan. In addition to the spaceborne assets, international and domestic partners will provide ground-based resources for validating the satellite observations and retrievals. This paper describes the validation effort of Global Precipitation Measurement to provide quantitative estimates on the errors of the GPM satellite retrievals. The GPM validation approach will build upon the research experience of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) retrieval comparisons and its validation program. The GPM ground validation program will employ instrumentation, physical infrastructure, and research capabilities at Supersites located in important meteorological regimes of the globe. NASA will provide two Supersites, one in a tropical oceanic and the other in a mid-latitude continental regime. GPM international partners will provide Supersites for other important regimes. Those objectives or regimes not addressed by Supersites will be covered through focused field experiments. This paper describes the specific errors that GPM ground validation will address, quantify, and relate to the GPM satellite physical retrievals. GPM will attempt to identify the source of errors within retrievals including those of instrument calibration, retrieval physical assumptions, and algorithm applicability. With the identification of error sources, improvements will be made to the respective calibration

  18. Mapping global precipitation with satellite borne microwave radiometer and infrared radiometer using Kalman filter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noda, S.; Sasashige, K.; Katagami, D.; Ushio, T.; Kubota, T.; Okamoto, K.; Iida, Y.; Kida, S.; Shige, S.; Shimomura, S.; Aonashi, K.; Inoue, T.; Morimoto, T.; Kawasaki, Z.

    2007-01-01

    Estimates of precipitation at a high time and space resolution are required for many important applications. In this paper, a new global precipitation map with high spatial (0.1 degree) and temporal (1 hour) resolution using Kalman filter technique is presented and evaluated. Infrared radiometer data, which are available globally nearly everywhere and nearly all the time from geostationary orbit, are used with the several microwave radiometers aboard the LEO satellites. IR data is used as a means to move the precipitation estimates from microwave observation during periods when microwave data are not available at a given location. Moving vector is produced by computing correlations on successive images of IR data. When precipitation is moved, the Kalman filter is applied for improving the moving technique in this research. The new approach showed a better score than the technique without Kalman filter. The correlation coefficient was 0.1 better than without the Kalman filter about 6 hours after the last microwave overpasses, and the RMS error was improved about 0.1 mm/h with the Kalman filter technique. This approach is unique in that 1) the precipitation estimates from the microwave radiometer is mainly used, 2) the IR temperature in every hour is also used for the precipitation estimates based on the Kalman filter theory

  19. Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission Core Spacecraft Systems Engineering Challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bundas, David J.; ONeill, Deborah; Field, Thomas; Meadows, Gary; Patterson, Peter

    2006-01-01

    The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is a collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and other US and international partners, with the goal of monitoring the diurnal and seasonal variations in precipitation over the surface of the earth. These measurements will be used to improve current climate models and weather forecasting, and enable improved storm and flood warnings. This paper gives an overview of the mission architecture and addresses the status of some key trade studies, including the geolocation budgeting, design considerations for spacecraft charging, and design issues related to the mitigation of orbital debris.

  20. Ground-Based Global Positioning System (GPS) Meteorology Integrated Precipitable Water Vapor (IPW)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Ground-Based Global Positioning System (GPS) Meteorology Integrated Precipitable Water Vapor (IPW) data set measures atmospheric water vapor using ground-based...

  1. Global resistance and resilience of primary production following extreme drought are predicted by mean annual precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stuart-Haëntjens, E. J.; De Boeck, H. J.; Lemoine, N. P.; Gough, C. M.; Kröel-Dulay, G.; Mänd, P.; Jentsch, A.; Schmidt, I. K.; Bahn, M.; Lloret, F.; Kreyling, J.; Wohlgemuth, T.; Stampfli, A.; Anderegg, W.; Classen, A. T.; Smith, M. D.

    2017-12-01

    Extreme drought is increasing globally in frequency and intensity, with uncertain consequences for the resistance and resilience of key ecosystem functions, including primary production. Primary production resistance, the capacity of an ecosystem to withstand change in primary production following extreme climate, and resilience, the degree to which primary production recovers, vary among and within ecosystem types, obscuring global patterns of resistance and resilience to extreme drought. Past syntheses on resistance have focused climatic gradients or individual ecosystem types, without assessing interactions between the two. Theory and many empirical studies suggest that forest production is more resistant but less resilient than grassland production to extreme drought, though some empirical studies reveal that these trends are not universal. Here, we conducted a global meta-analysis of sixty-four grassland and forest sites, finding that primary production resistance to extreme drought is predicted by a common continuum of mean annual precipitation (MAP). However, grasslands and forests exhibit divergent production resilience relationships with MAP. We discuss the likely mechanisms underlying the mixed production resistance and resilience patterns of forests and grasslands, including different plant species turnover times and drought adaptive strategies. These findings demonstrate the primary production responses of forests and grasslands to extreme drought are mixed, with far-reaching implications for Earth System Models, ecosystem management, and future studies of extreme drought resistance and resilience.

  2. Global Analysis of Ecosystem Evapotranspiration Response to Precipitation Deficits

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Bin; Wang, Haiyan; Guo, Lanlan; Liu, Junjie

    2017-12-01

    Changes in ecosystem evapotranspiration (ET) due to precipitation deficits (PD) can relieve or aggravate soil moisture shortages, thus impacting drought severity. Previous findings have conflicted with regard to response of ET to PD. The present study relies on a global land ET synthesis data set (ETsyn) and observations from eddy-covariance towers (ETobs) to thoroughly examine the sensitivity of ET to PD, which is represented by the standardized precipitation index. There was a contrast in the response to PD between arid and humid ecosystems. ETsyn of arid ecosystems was typically reduced promptly in response to a reduction of precipitation, while ETsyn in humid ecosystems experienced a two-staged change: First, there was an enhancement, and then a reduction associated with persisting PD. Compared with ETsyn, ETobs suggests the occurrence of a more significant ET transition in response to PD. In arid ecosystems, ET typically negatively correlated with low PD, but this was limited by a large PD. Findings from this study are crucial for understanding the role of ET in drought evolution.

  3. Assessment of global precipitation measurement satellite products over Saudi Arabia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmoud, Mohammed T.; Al-Zahrani, Muhammad A.; Sharif, Hatim O.

    2018-04-01

    Most hydrological analysis and modeling studies require reliable and accurate precipitation data for successful simulations. However, precipitation measurements should be more representative of the true precipitation distribution. Many approaches and techniques are used to collect precipitation data. Recently, hydrometeorological and climatological applications of satellite precipitation products have experienced a significant improvement with the emergence of the latest satellite products, namely, the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission (IMERG) products, which can be utilized to estimate and analyze precipitation data. This study focuses on the validation of the IMERG early, late and final run rainfall products using ground-based rain gauge observations throughout Saudi Arabia for the period from October 2015 to April 2016. The accuracy of each IMERG product is assessed using six statistical performance measures to conduct three main evaluations, namely, regional, event-based and station-based evaluations. The results indicate that the early run product performed well in the middle and eastern parts as well as some of the western parts of the country; meanwhile, the satellite estimates for the other parts fluctuated between an overestimation and an underestimation. The late run product showed an improved accuracy over the southern and western parts; however, over the northern and middle parts, it showed relatively high errors. The final run product revealed significantly improved precipitation estimations and successfully obtained higher accuracies over most parts of the country. This study provides an early assessment of the performance of the GPM satellite products over the Middle East. The study findings can be used as a beneficial reference for the future development of the IMERG algorithms.

  4. Global monsoon precipitation responses to large volcanic eruptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Fei; Chai, Jing; Wang, Bin; Liu, Jian; Zhang, Xiao; Wang, Zhiyuan

    2016-01-01

    Climate variation of global monsoon (GM) precipitation involves both internal feedback and external forcing. Here, we focus on strong volcanic forcing since large eruptions are known to be a dominant mechanism in natural climate change. It is not known whether large volcanoes erupted at different latitudes have distinctive effects on the monsoon in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) and the Southern Hemisphere (SH). We address this issue using a 1500-year volcanic sensitivity simulation by the Community Earth System Model version 1.0 (CESM1). Volcanoes are classified into three types based on their meridional aerosol distributions: NH volcanoes, SH volcanoes and equatorial volcanoes. Using the model simulation, we discover that the GM precipitation in one hemisphere is enhanced significantly by the remote volcanic forcing occurring in the other hemisphere. This remote volcanic forcing-induced intensification is mainly through circulation change rather than moisture content change. In addition, the NH volcanic eruptions are more efficient in reducing the NH monsoon precipitation than the equatorial ones, and so do the SH eruptions in weakening the SH monsoon, because the equatorial eruptions, despite reducing moisture content, have weaker effects in weakening the off-equatorial monsoon circulation than the subtropical-extratropical volcanoes do. PMID:27063141

  5. Intercomparison of spaceborne precipitation radars and its applications in examining precipitation-topography relationships in the Tibetan Plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, G.; Gao, J.; Long, D.

    2017-12-01

    Precipitation is one of the most important components in the water and energy cycles. Spaceborne radars are considered the most direct technology for observing precipitation from space since 1998. This study compares and evaluates the only three existing spaceborne precipitation radars, i.e., the Ku-band precipitation radar (TRMM PR), the W-band Cloud Profiling Radar (CloudSat CPR), and the Ku/Ka-band Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (GPM DPR). In addition, TRMM PR and GPM DPR are evaluated against hourly rain gauge data in Mainland China. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is known as the Earth's third pole where precipitation is affected profoundly by topography. However, ground gauges are extremely sparse in the TP, and spaceborne radars can provide valuable data with relatively high accuracy. The relationships between precipitation and topography over the TP are investigated using 17-year TRMM PR data and 2-year GPM DPR data, in combination with rain gauge data. Results indicate that: (1) DPR and PR agree with each other and correlate very well with gauges in Mainland China. DPR improves light precipitation detectability significantly compared with PR. However, DPR high sensitivity scans (HS) deviates from DPR normal and matched scans (NS and MS) and PR in the comparison based on global coincident events and rain gauges in China; (2) CPR outperforms the other two radars in terms of light precipitation detection. In terms of global snowfall estimation, DPR and CPR show very different global snowfall distributions originating from different frequencies, retrieval algorithms, and sampling characteristics; and (3) Precipitation generally decreases exponentially with increasing elevation in the TP. The precipitation-topography relationships are regressed using exponential fitting in seventeen river basins in the TP with good coefficients of determination. Due to the short time span of GPM DPR, the relationships based on GPM DPR data are less robust than those derived from

  6. Investigation on the Patterns of Global Vegetation Change Using a Satellite-Sensed Vegetation Index

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ainong Li

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available The pattern of vegetation change in response to global change still remains a controversial issue. A Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI dataset compiled by the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS was used for analysis. For the period 1982–2006, GIMMS-NDVI analysis indicated that monthly NDVI changes show homogenous trends in middle and high latitude areas in the northern hemisphere and within, or near, the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn; with obvious spatio-temporal heterogeneity on a global scale over the past two decades. The former areas featured increasing vegetation activity during growth seasons, and the latter areas experienced an even greater amplitude in places where precipitation is adequate. The discussion suggests that one should be cautious of using the NDVI time-series to analyze local vegetation dynamics because of its coarse resolution and uncertainties.

  7. Estimating Climatological Bias Errors for the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adler, Robert; Gu, Guojun; Huffman, George

    2012-01-01

    A procedure is described to estimate bias errors for mean precipitation by using multiple estimates from different algorithms, satellite sources, and merged products. The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) monthly product is used as a base precipitation estimate, with other input products included when they are within +/- 50% of the GPCP estimates on a zonal-mean basis (ocean and land separately). The standard deviation s of the included products is then taken to be the estimated systematic, or bias, error. The results allow one to examine monthly climatologies and the annual climatology, producing maps of estimated bias errors, zonal-mean errors, and estimated errors over large areas such as ocean and land for both the tropics and the globe. For ocean areas, where there is the largest question as to absolute magnitude of precipitation, the analysis shows spatial variations in the estimated bias errors, indicating areas where one should have more or less confidence in the mean precipitation estimates. In the tropics, relative bias error estimates (s/m, where m is the mean precipitation) over the eastern Pacific Ocean are as large as 20%, as compared with 10%-15% in the western Pacific part of the ITCZ. An examination of latitudinal differences over ocean clearly shows an increase in estimated bias error at higher latitudes, reaching up to 50%. Over land, the error estimates also locate regions of potential problems in the tropics and larger cold-season errors at high latitudes that are due to snow. An empirical technique to area average the gridded errors (s) is described that allows one to make error estimates for arbitrary areas and for the tropics and the globe (land and ocean separately, and combined). Over the tropics this calculation leads to a relative error estimate for tropical land and ocean combined of 7%, which is considered to be an upper bound because of the lack of sign-of-the-error canceling when integrating over different areas with a

  8. What controls deuterium excess in global precipitation?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Pfahl

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The deuterium excess (d of precipitation is widely used in the reconstruction of past climatic changes from ice cores. However, its most common interpretation as moisture source temperature cannot directly be inferred from present-day water isotope observations. Here, we use a new empirical relation between d and near-surface relative humidity (RH together with reanalysis data to globally predict d of surface evaporation from the ocean. The very good quantitative agreement of the predicted hemispherically averaged seasonal cycle with observed d in precipitation indicates that moisture source relative humidity, and not sea surface temperature, is the main driver of d variability on seasonal timescales. Furthermore, we review arguments for an interpretation of long-term palaeoclimatic d changes in terms of moisture source temperature, and we conclude that there remains no sufficient evidence that would justify to neglect the influence of RH on such palaeoclimatic d variations. Hence, we suggest that either the interpretation of d variations in palaeorecords should be adapted to reflect climatic influences on RH during evaporation, in particular atmospheric circulation changes, or new arguments for an interpretation in terms of moisture source temperature will have to be provided based on future research.

  9. Predictable patterns of the Asian and Indo-Pacific summer precipitation in the NCEP CFS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liang, Jianyin [CMA Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology, Guangzhou, Guangdong (China); Yang, Song; Kumar, Arun [NOAA/NWS/NCEP Climate Prediction Center, Camp Springs, MD (United States); Hu, Zeng-Zhen [Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies, Calverton, MD (United States); Huang, Bohua [George Mason University, Department of Climate Dynamics, Fairfax, VA (United States); Zhang, Zuqiang [CMA National Climate Center, Beijing (China)

    2009-06-15

    The predictable patterns of the Asian and Indo-Pacific summer precipitation in the NCEP climate forecast system (CFS) are depicted by applying a maximized signal-to-noise empirical orthogonal function analysis. The CFS captures the two most dominant modes of observed climate patterns. The first most dominant mode is characterized by the climate features of the onset years of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), with strong precipitation signals over the tropical eastern Indian and western Pacific oceans, Southeast Asia, and tropical Asian monsoon regions including the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea. The second most dominant mode is characterized by the climate features of the decay years of ENSO, with weakening signals over the western-central Pacific and strengthening signals over the Indian Ocean. The CFS is capable of predicting the most dominant modes several months in advance. It is also highly skillful in capturing the air-sea interaction processes associated with the precipitation features, as demonstrated in sea surface temperature and wind patterns. (orig.)

  10. Global daily precipitation fields from bias-corrected rain gauge and satellite observations. Pt. 1. Design and development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kottek, M.; Rubel, F. [Univ. of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna (Austria). Biometeorology Group

    2007-10-15

    Global daily precipitation analyses are mainly based on satellite estimates, often calibrated with monthly ground analyses or merged with model predictions. We argue here that an essential improvement of their accuracy is only possible by incorporation of daily ground measurements. In this work we apply geostatistical methods to compile a global precipitation product based on daily rain gauge measurements. The raw ground measurements, disseminated via Global Telecommunication System (GTS), are corrected for their systematic measurement errors and interpolated onto a global 1 degree grid. For interpolation ordinary block kriging is applied, with precalculated spatial auto-correlation functions (ACFs). This technique allows to incorporate additional climate information. First, monthly ACFs are calculated from the daily data; second, they are regionalised according to the five main climatic zones of the Koeppen-Geiger climate classification. The interpolation error, a by-product of kriging, is used to flag grid points as missing if the error is above a predefined threshold. But for many applications missing values constitute a problem. Due to a combination of the ground analyses with the daily multi-satellite product of the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP-1DD) not only these missing values are replaced but also the spatial structure of the satellite estimates is considered. As merging method bivariate ordinary co-kriging is applied. The ACFs necessary for the gauge and the satellite fields as well as the corresponding spatial cross-correlation functions (CCFs) are again precalculated for each of the five main climatic zones and for each individual month. As a result two new global daily data sets for the period 1996 up to today will be available on the Internet (www.gmes-geoland.info): A precipitation product over land, analysed from ground measurements; and a global precipitation product merged from this and the GPCP-1DD multi-satellite product. (orig.)

  11. Combined Effects of Synoptic-Scale Teleconnection Patterns on Summer Precipitation in Southern China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao Wang

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Using ERA-Interim daily reanalysis and precipitation data, the combined effects of East Asia-Pacific (EAP and Silk Road (SR teleconnection patterns on summer precipitation in Southern China were investigated on synoptic to sub-monthly timescales. Combined EAP and SR patterns lead to more persistent and extreme precipitation in the Yangtze River Valley (YRV and exhibit an obvious zonal advance between the South Asia High (SAH and Western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH prior to its onset. During typical combined events, an overlap between the SAH and WPSH remains in a favorable position for Persistent Extreme Precipitation (PEP. Furthermore, SR-induced acceleration of the westerly jet stream and extra positive vorticity advection provide persistent upper-level divergence for YRV precipitation. An anomalous EAP-related cyclone/anticyclone pair over East Asia induces enhanced low-level southwesterlies to the northern anticyclone flank and northerlies from the mid-latitudes, advecting anomalously abundant moisture toward the YRV, resulting in clear moisture convergence. Moreover, the strong ascent of warmer/moister air along a quasi-stationary front may be crucial for PEP. During decay, the SAH and WPSH diverge from each other and retreat to their normal positions, and the strong ascent of warmer/moister air rapidly weakens to dissipation, terminating PEP in the YRV.

  12. Climate Prediction Center (CPC) NCEP-Global Forecast System (GFS) Precipitation Forecast Product

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Global Forecast System (GFS) forecast precipitation data at 37.5km resolution is created at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center for the purpose of near real-time...

  13. MSWEP : 3-hourly 0.25° global gridded precipitation (1979-2015) by merging gauge, satellite, and reanalysis data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beck, Hylke E.; Van Dijk, Albert I.J.M.; Levizzani, Vincenzo; Schellekens, Jaap; Miralles, Diego G.; Martens, Brecht; De Roo, Ad

    2017-01-01

    Current global precipitation (P) datasets do not take full advantage of the complementary nature of satellite and reanalysis data. Here, we present Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP) version 1.1, a global P dataset for the period 1979-2015 with a 3-hourly temporal and 0.25° spatial

  14. Verification of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Satellite by the Olympic Mountains Experiment (OLYMPEX)

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMurdie, L. A.; Houze, R.

    2017-12-01

    Measurements of global precipitation are critical for monitoring Earth's water resources and hydrological processes, including flooding and snowpack accumulation. As such, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission `Core' satellite detects precipitation ranging from light snow to heavy downpours in a wide range locations including remote mountainous regions. The Olympic Mountains Experiment (OLYMPEX) during the 2015-2016 fall-winter season in the mountainous Olympic Peninsula of Washington State provide physical and hydrological validation for GPM precipitation algorithms and insight into the modification of midlatitude storms by passage over mountains. The instrumentation included ground-based dual-polarization Doppler radars on the windward and leeward sides of the Olympic Mountains, surface stations that measured precipitation rates, particle size distributions and fall velocities at various altitudes, research aircraft equipped with cloud microphysics probes, radars, lidar, and passive radiometers, supplemental rawinsondes and dropsondes, and autonomous recording cameras that monitored snowpack accumulation. Results based on dropsize distributions (DSDs) and cross-sections of radar reflectivity over the ocean and windward slopes have revealed important considerations for GPM algorithm development. During periods of great precipitation accumulation and enhancement by the mountains on windward slopes, both warm rain and ice-phase processes are present, implying that it is important for GPM retrievals be sensitive to both types of precipitation mechanisms and to represent accurately the concentration of precipitation at the lowest possible altitudes. OLYMPEX data revealed that a given rain rate could be associated with a variety of DSDs, which presents a challenge for GPM precipitation retrievals in extratropical cyclones passing over mountains. Some of the DSD regimes measured during OLYMPEX stratiform periods have the same characteristics found in prior

  15. The influence of the circulation on surface temperature and precipitation patterns over Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. D. Jones

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The atmospheric circulation clearly has an important influence on variations in surface temperature and precipitation. In this study we illustrate the spatial patterns of variation that occur for the principal circulation patterns across Europe in the standard four seasons. We use an existing classification scheme of surface pressure patterns, with the aim of considering whether the patterns of influence of specific weather types have changed over the course of the 20th century. We consider whether the long-term warming across Europe is associated with more favourable weather types or related to warming within some of the weather types. The results indicate that the latter is occurring, but not all circulation types show warming. The study also illustrates that certain circulation types can lead to marked differences in temperature and/or precipitation for relatively closely positioned sites when the sites are located in areas of high relief or near coasts.

  16. A Global Model for Circumgalactic and Cluster-core Precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voit, G. Mark; Meece, Greg; Li, Yuan; O'Shea, Brian W.; Bryan, Greg L.; Donahue, Megan

    2017-08-01

    We provide an analytic framework for interpreting observations of multiphase circumgalactic gas that is heavily informed by recent numerical simulations of thermal instability and precipitation in cool-core galaxy clusters. We start by considering the local conditions required for the formation of multiphase gas via two different modes: (1) uplift of ambient gas by galactic outflows, and (2) condensation in a stratified stationary medium in which thermal balance is explicitly maintained. Analytic exploration of these two modes provides insights into the relationships between the local ratio of the cooling and freefall timescales (I.e., {t}{cool}/{t}{ff}), the large-scale gradient of specific entropy, and the development of precipitation and multiphase media in circumgalactic gas. We then use these analytic findings to interpret recent simulations of circumgalactic gas in which global thermal balance is maintained. We show that long-lasting configurations of gas with 5≲ \\min ({t}{cool}/{t}{ff})≲ 20 and radial entropy profiles similar to observations of cool cores in galaxy clusters are a natural outcome of precipitation-regulated feedback. We conclude with some observational predictions that follow from these models. This work focuses primarily on precipitation and AGN feedback in galaxy-cluster cores, because that is where the observations of multiphase gas around galaxies are most complete. However, many of the physical principles that govern condensation in those environments apply to circumgalactic gas around galaxies of all masses.

  17. pH and its frequency distribution patterns of Acid Precipitation in Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitamura, Moritsugu; Katou, Takunori; Sekiguchi, Kyoichi

    1991-01-01

    The pH data was collected at the 29 stations in Phase-I study of Acid Precipitation Survey over Japan by Japan Environment Agency in terms of frequency distribution patterns. This study was undertaken from April 1984 to March 1988, which was the first survey of acid precipitation over Japan with identical sampling procedures and subsequent chemical analyses. While the annual mean pH at each station ranged from 4.4 to 5.5, the monthly mean varied more widely, from 4.0 to 7.1. Its frequency distribution pattern was obtained for each station, and further grouped into four classes: class I; a mode at the rank of pH 4.5∼4.9, class II; bimodes above and below this pH region, class III; a mode at a higher pH region, class IV; a mode at a lower pH region. The bimodal pattern was suggestive of precipitation with and without incorporation of significant amounts of basic aerosol of anthropogenic origin during descent of rain droplet. The patterns of the stations were also classified on a basis of summer-winter difference into another four classes. Winter pH values were appreciably lower than summer pHs in western parts of Japan and on Japan Sea coast, we attribute the winter pH to probable contribution of acidic pollutants transported by strong winter monsoon from Eurasian Continent. At most stations in northern and eastern Japan, the pH was higher in winter months reflecting more incorporation of basic materials, e.g., NH 4 + and Ca 2+ . (author)

  18. Downscaling global precipitation for local applications - a case for the Rhine basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sperna Weiland, Frederiek; van Verseveld, Willem; Schellekens, Jaap

    2017-04-01

    Within the EU FP7 project eartH2Observe a global Water Resources Re-analysis (WRR) is being developed. This re-analysis consists of meteorological and hydrological water balance variables with global coverage, spanning the period 1979-2014 at 0.25 degrees resolution (Schellekens et al., 2016). The dataset can be of special interest in regions with limited in-situ data availability, yet for local scale analysis particularly in mountainous regions, a resolution of 0.25 degrees may be too coarse and downscaling the data to a higher resolution may be required. A downscaling toolbox has been made that includes spatial downscaling of precipitation based on the global WorldClim dataset that is available at 1 km resolution as a monthly climatology (Hijmans et al., 2005). The input of the down-scaling tool are either the global eartH2Observe WRR1 and WRR2 datasets based on the WFDEI correction methodology (Weedon et al., 2014) or the global Multi-Source Weighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP) dataset (Beck et al., 2016). Here we present a validation of the datasets over the Rhine catchment by means of a distributed hydrological model (wflow, Schellekens et al., 2014) using a number of precipitation scenarios. (1) We start by running the model using the local reference dataset derived by spatial interpolation of gauge observations. Furthermore we use (2) the MSWEP dataset at the native 0.25-degree resolution followed by (3) MSWEP downscaled with the WorldClim dataset and final (4) MSWEP downscaled with the local reference dataset. The validation will be based on comparison of the modeled river discharges as well as rainfall statistics. We expect that down-scaling the MSWEP dataset with the WorldClim data to higher resolution will increase its performance. To test the performance of the down-scaling routine we have added a run with MSWEP data down-scaled with the local dataset and compare this with the run based on the local dataset itself. - Beck, H. E. et al., 2016. MSWEP

  19. Evaluation of the Potential of NASA Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis in Global Landslide Hazard Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Yang; Adler, Robert F.; Huffman, George J.

    2007-01-01

    Landslides are one of the most widespread natural hazards on Earth, responsible for thousands of deaths and billions of dollars in property damage every year. In the U.S. alone landslides occur in every state, causing an estimated $2 billion in damage and 25- 50 deaths each year. Annual average loss of life from landslide hazards in Japan is 170. The situation is much worse in developing countries and remote mountainous regions due to lack of financial resources and inadequate disaster management ability. Recently, a landslide buried an entire village on the Philippines Island of Leyte on Feb 17,2006, with at least 1800 reported deaths and only 3 houses left standing of the original 300. Intense storms with high-intensity , long-duration rainfall have great potential to trigger rapidly moving landslides, resulting in casualties and property damage across the world. In recent years, through the availability of remotely sensed datasets, it has become possible to conduct global-scale landslide hazard assessment. This paper evaluates the potential of the real-time NASA TRMM-based Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) system to advance our understanding of and predictive ability for rainfall-triggered landslides. Early results show that the landslide occurrences are closely associated with the spatial patterns and temporal distribution of rainfall characteristics. Particularly, the number of landslide occurrences and the relative importance of rainfall in triggering landslides rely on the influence of rainfall attributes [e.g. rainfall climatology, antecedent rainfall accumulation, and intensity-duration of rainstorms). TMPA precipitation data are available in both real-time and post-real-time versions, which are useful to assess the location and timing of rainfall-triggered landslide hazards by monitoring landslide-prone areas while receiving heavy rainfall. For the purpose of identifying rainfall-triggered landslides, an empirical global rainfall intensity

  20. The global precipitation response to volcanic eruptions in the CMIP5 models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iles, Carley E; Hegerl, Gabriele C

    2014-01-01

    We examine the precipitation response to volcanic eruptions in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) historical simulations compared to three observational datasets, including one with ocean coverage. Global precipitation decreases significantly following eruptions in CMIP5 models, with the largest decrease in wet tropical regions. This also occurs in observational land data, and ocean data in the boreal cold season. Monsoon rainfall decreases following eruptions in both models and observations. In response to individual eruptions, the ITCZ shifts away from the hemisphere with the greater concentration of aerosols in CMIP5. Models undergo a longer-lasting ocean precipitation response than over land, but the response in the short satellite record is too noisy to confirm this. We detect the influence of volcanism on precipitation in all three datasets in the cold season, although the models underestimate the size of the response. In the warm season the volcanic influence is only marginally detectable. (letter)

  1. Global Precipitation Measurement. Report 1; Summary of the First GPM Partners Planning Workshop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepherd, J. Marshall; Mehta, Amita; Smith, Eric A. (Editor); Adams, W. James (Editor)

    2002-01-01

    This report provides a synopsis of the proceedings of the First Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Partners Planning Workshop held at the University of Maryland, College Park, from May 16 to 18, 2001. GPM consists of a multi-member global satellite constellation (i.e., an international set of satellite missions) and the accompanying scientific research program, with the main goal of providing frequent, accurate, and globally distributed precipitation measurements essential in understanding several fundamental issues associated with the global water and energy cycle (GWEC). The exchange of scientific and technical information at this and subsequent GPM workshops between representatives from around the world represents a key step in the formulation phase of GPM mission development. The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), and other interested agencies from nations around the world seek to observe, understand, and model the Earth system to learn how it is changing and what consequences these changes have on life, particularly as they pertain to hydrological processes and the availability of fresh water resources. GWEN processes are central to a broader understanding of the Earth system.

  2. How consistent are precipitation patterns predicted by GCMs in the absence of cloud radiative effects?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popke, Dagmar; Bony, Sandrine; Mauritsen, Thorsten; Stevens, Bjorn

    2015-04-01

    Model simulations with state-of-the-art general circulation models reveal a strong disagreement concerning the simulated regional precipitation patterns and their changes with warming. The deviating precipitation response even persists when reducing the model experiment complexity to aquaplanet simulation with forced sea surface temperatures (Stevens and Bony, 2013). To assess feedbacks between clouds and radiation on precipitation responses we analyze data from 5 models performing the aquaplanet simulations of the Clouds On Off Klima Intercomparison Experiment (COOKIE), where the interaction of clouds and radiation is inhibited. Although cloud radiative effects are then disabled, the precipitation patterns among models are as diverse as with cloud radiative effects switched on. Disentangling differing model responses in such simplified experiments thus appears to be key to better understanding the simulated regional precipitation in more standard configurations. By analyzing the local moisture and moist static energy budgets in the COOKIE experiments we investigate likely causes for the disagreement among models. References Stevens, B. & S. Bony: What Are Climate Models Missing?, Science, 2013, 340, 1053-1054

  3. Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Climate Data Record (CDR), Version 1.3 (Daily)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The GPCP Daily analysis is a companion to the GPCP Monthly analysis, and provides globally complete precipitation estimates at a spatial resolution of one degree...

  4. Observed variability of summer precipitation pattern and extreme events in East China associated with variations of the East Asian summer monsoon: VARIABILITY OF SUMMER PRECIPITATION AND EXTREME EVENT IN EAST CHINA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Lei [School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, China; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Qian, Yun [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Zhang, Yaocun [School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, China; Zhao, Chun [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Leung, L. Ruby [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Huang, Anning [School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, China; Xiao, Chuliang [Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI USA

    2015-11-09

    This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of interannual and interdecadal variations of summer precipitation and precipitation-related extreme events in China associated with variations of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) from 1979-2012. A high-quality daily precipitation dataset covering 2287 weather stations in China is analyzed. Based on the precipitation pattern analysis using empirical orthogonal functions, three sub-periods of 1979-1992 (period I), 1993-1999 (period II) and 2000-2012 (period III) are identified to be representative of the precipitation variability. Similar significant variability of the extreme precipitation indices is found across four sub-regions in eastern China. The spatial patterns of summer mean precipitation, the number of days with daily rainfall exceeding 95th percentile precipitation (R95p) and the maximum number of consecutive wet days (CWD) anomalies are consistent, but opposite to that of maximum consecutive dry days (CDD) anomalies during the three sub-periods. However, the spatial patterns of hydroclimatic intensity (HY-INT) are notably different from that of the other three extreme indices, but highly correlated to the dry events. The changes of precipitation anomaly patterns are accompanied by the change of the EASM regime and the abrupt shift of the position of the west Pacific subtropical high around 1992/1993 and 1999/2000, respectively, which influence the moisture transport that contributes most to the precipitation anomalies. Lastly, the EASM intensity is linked to sea surface temperature anomaly over the tropical Indian and Pacific Ocean that influences deep convection over the oceans.

  5. Global auroral conductance distribution due to electron and proton precipitation from IMAGE-FUV observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Coumans

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available The Far Ultraviolet (FUV imaging system on board the IMAGE satellite provides a global view of the north auroral region in three spectral channels, including the SI12 camera sensitive to Doppler shifted Lyman-α emission. FUV images are used to produce instantaneous maps of electron mean energy and energy fluxes for precipitated protons and electrons. We describe a method to calculate ionospheric Hall and Pedersen conductivities induced by auroral proton and electron ionization based on a model of interaction of auroral particles with the atmosphere. Different assumptions on the energy spectral distribution for electrons and protons are compared. Global maps of ionospheric conductances due to instantaneous observation of precipitating protons are calculated. The contribution of auroral protons in the total conductance induced by both types of auroral particles is also evaluated and the importance of proton precipitation is evaluated. This method is well adapted to analyze the time evolution of ionospheric conductances due to precipitating particles over the auroral region or in particular sectors. Results are illustrated with conductance maps of the north polar region obtained during four periods with different activity levels. It is found that the proton contribution to conductance is relatively higher during quiet periods than during substorms. The proton contribution is higher in the period before the onset and strongly decreases during the expansion phase of substorms. During a substorm which occurred on 28 April 2001, a region of strong proton precipitation is observed with SI12 around 14:00MLT at ~75° MLAT. Calculation of conductances in this sector shows that neglecting the protons contribution would produce a large error. We discuss possible effects of the proton precipitation on electron precipitation in auroral arcs. The increase in the ionospheric conductivity, induced by a former proton precipitation can reduce the potential drop

  6. Global auroral conductance distribution due to electron and proton precipitation from IMAGE-FUV observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Coumans

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available The Far Ultraviolet (FUV imaging system on board the IMAGE satellite provides a global view of the north auroral region in three spectral channels, including the SI12 camera sensitive to Doppler shifted Lyman-α emission. FUV images are used to produce instantaneous maps of electron mean energy and energy fluxes for precipitated protons and electrons. We describe a method to calculate ionospheric Hall and Pedersen conductivities induced by auroral proton and electron ionization based on a model of interaction of auroral particles with the atmosphere. Different assumptions on the energy spectral distribution for electrons and protons are compared. Global maps of ionospheric conductances due to instantaneous observation of precipitating protons are calculated. The contribution of auroral protons in the total conductance induced by both types of auroral particles is also evaluated and the importance of proton precipitation is evaluated. This method is well adapted to analyze the time evolution of ionospheric conductances due to precipitating particles over the auroral region or in particular sectors. Results are illustrated with conductance maps of the north polar region obtained during four periods with different activity levels. It is found that the proton contribution to conductance is relatively higher during quiet periods than during substorms. The proton contribution is higher in the period before the onset and strongly decreases during the expansion phase of substorms. During a substorm which occurred on 28 April 2001, a region of strong proton precipitation is observed with SI12 around 14:00MLT at ~75° MLAT. Calculation of conductances in this sector shows that neglecting the protons contribution would produce a large error. We discuss possible effects of the proton precipitation on electron precipitation in auroral arcs. The increase in the ionospheric conductivity, induced by a former proton precipitation can reduce the potential drop

  7. Characteristics of autumn-winter extreme precipitation on the Norwegian west coast identified by cluster analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heikkilae, U. [Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Uni Bjerknes Centre, Bergen (Norway); Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Lucas Heights, NSW (Australia); Sorteberg, A. [University of Bergen, Geophysical Institute, Bergen (Norway); University of Bergen, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen (Norway)

    2012-08-15

    Extremely high autumn and winter precipitation events on the European west coast are often driven by low-pressure systems in the North Atlantic. Climate projections suggest the number and intensity of these events is likely to increase far more than the mean precipitation. In this study we investigate the autumn-winter extreme precipitation on the Norwegian west coast and the connection between its spatial distribution and sea level pressure (SLP) patterns using the k-means cluster analysis. We use three relatively high resolved downscalings of one global coupled model: the Arpege global atmospheric model (stretched grid with 35-km horizontal resolution over Norway) and the WRF-downscaled Arpege model (30 and 10-km) for the 30-year periods of 1961-1990 and 2021-2050. The cluster analysis finds three main SLP patterns responsible for extreme precipitation in different parts of the country. The SLP patterns found are similar to the NAO positive pattern known to strengthen the westerly flow towards European coast. We then apply the method to investigate future change in extreme precipitation. We find an increase in the number of days with extreme precipitation of 15, 39 and 35% in the two simulations (Arpege 35-km and WRF 30 and 10-km, respectively). We do not find evidence of a significant change in the frequency of weather patterns between the present and the future periods. Rather, it is the probability of a given weather pattern to cause extreme precipitation which is increased in the future, probably due to higher temperatures and an increased moisture content of the air. The WRF model predicts the increase in this probability caused by the most important SLP patterns to be >50%. The Arpege model does not predict such a significant change because the general increase in extreme precipitation predicted is smaller, probably due to its coarser resolution over ocean which leads to smoother representation of the low pressure systems. (orig.)

  8. Attribution of changes in precipitation patterns in African rainforests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otto, Friederike E. L.; Jones, Richard G.; Halladay, Kate; Allen, Myles R.

    2013-01-01

    Tropical rainforests in Africa are one of the most under-researched regions in the world, but research in the Amazonian rainforest suggests potential vulnerability to climate change. Using the large ensemble of Atmosphere-only general circulation model (AGCM) simulations within the weather@home project, statistics of precipitation in the dry season of the Congo Basin rainforest are analysed. By validating the model simulation against observations, we could identify a good model performance for the June, July, August (JJA) dry season, but this result does need to be taken with caution as observed data are of poor quality. Additional validation methods have been used to investigate the applicability of probabilistic event attribution analysis from large model ensembles to a tropical region, in this case the Congo Basin. These methods corroborate the confidence in the model, leading us to believe the attribution result to be robust. That is, that there are no significant changes in the risk of low precipitation extremes during this dry season (JJA) precipitation in the Congo Basin. Results for the December, January, February dry season are less clear. The study highlights that attribution analysis has the potential to provide valuable scientific evidence of recent or anticipated climatological changes, especially in regions with sparse observational data and unclear projections of future changes. However, the strong influence of sea surface temperature teleconnection patterns on tropical precipitation provides more challenges in the set up of attribution studies than midlatitude rainfall. PMID:23878330

  9. An ensemble-based dynamic Bayesian averaging approach for discharge simulations using multiple global precipitation products and hydrological models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Wei; Liu, Junguo; Yang, Hong; Sweetapple, Chris

    2018-03-01

    Global precipitation products are very important datasets in flow simulations, especially in poorly gauged regions. Uncertainties resulting from precipitation products, hydrological models and their combinations vary with time and data magnitude, and undermine their application to flow simulations. However, previous studies have not quantified these uncertainties individually and explicitly. This study developed an ensemble-based dynamic Bayesian averaging approach (e-Bay) for deterministic discharge simulations using multiple global precipitation products and hydrological models. In this approach, the joint probability of precipitation products and hydrological models being correct is quantified based on uncertainties in maximum and mean estimation, posterior probability is quantified as functions of the magnitude and timing of discharges, and the law of total probability is implemented to calculate expected discharges. Six global fine-resolution precipitation products and two hydrological models of different complexities are included in an illustrative application. e-Bay can effectively quantify uncertainties and therefore generate better deterministic discharges than traditional approaches (weighted average methods with equal and varying weights and maximum likelihood approach). The mean Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency values of e-Bay are up to 0.97 and 0.85 in training and validation periods respectively, which are at least 0.06 and 0.13 higher than traditional approaches. In addition, with increased training data, assessment criteria values of e-Bay show smaller fluctuations than traditional approaches and its performance becomes outstanding. The proposed e-Bay approach bridges the gap between global precipitation products and their pragmatic applications to discharge simulations, and is beneficial to water resources management in ungauged or poorly gauged regions across the world.

  10. Precipitation isotopes link regional climate patterns to water supply in a tropical mountain forest, eastern Puerto Rico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholl, Martha A.; Murphy, Sheila F.

    2014-05-01

    Like many mountainous areas in the tropics, watersheds in the Luquillo Mountains of eastern Puerto Rico have abundant rainfall and stream discharge and provide much of the water supply for the densely populated metropolitan areas nearby. Projected changes in regional temperature and atmospheric dynamics as a result of global warming suggest that water availability will be affected by changes in rainfall patterns. It is essential to understand the relative importance of different weather systems to water supply to determine how changes in rainfall patterns, interacting with geology and vegetation, will affect the water balance. To help determine the links between climate and water availability, stable isotope signatures of precipitation from different weather systems were established to identify those that are most important in maintaining streamflow and groundwater recharge. Precipitation stable isotope values in the Luquillo Mountains had a large range, from fog/cloud water with δ2H, δ18O values as high as +12 ‰, -0.73 ‰ to tropical storm rain with values as low as -127 ‰, -16.8 ‰. Temporal isotope values exhibit a reverse seasonality from those observed in higher latitude continental watersheds, with higher isotopic values in the winter and lower values in the summer. Despite the higher volume of convective and low-pressure system rainfall, stable isotope analyses indicated that under the current rainfall regime, frequent trade -wind orographic showers contribute much of the groundwater recharge and stream base flow. Analysis of rain events using 20 years of 15 -minute resolution data at a mountain station (643 m) showed an increasing trend in rainfall amount, in agreement with increased precipitable water in the atmosphere, but differing from climate model projections of drying in the region. The mean intensity of rain events also showed an increasing trend. The determination of recharge sources from stable isotope tracers indicates that water supply

  11. Understanding the Global Water and Energy Cycle Through Assimilation of Precipitation-Related Observations: Lessons from TRMM and Prospects for GPM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Arthur; Zhang, Sara; daSilva, Arlindo; Li, Frank; Atlas, Robert (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Understanding the Earth's climate and how it responds to climate perturbations relies on what we know about how atmospheric moisture, clouds, latent heating, and the large-scale circulation vary with changing climatic conditions. The physical process that links these key climate elements is precipitation. Improving the fidelity of precipitation-related fields in global analyses is essential for gaining a better understanding of the global water and energy cycle. In recent years, research and operational use of precipitation observations derived from microwave sensors such as the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager and Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) have shown the tremendous potential of using these data to improve global modeling, data assimilation, and numerical weather prediction. We will give an overview of the benefits of assimilating TRMM and SSM/I rain rates and discuss developmental strategies for using space-based rainfall and rainfall-related observations to improve forecast models and climate datasets in preparation for the proposed multi-national Global Precipitation Mission (GPM).

  12. Effect of boreal spring precipitation anomaly pattern change in the late 1990s over tropical Pacific on the atmospheric teleconnection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Yuanyuan; Wen, Zhiping; Chen, Ruidan; Li, Xiuzhen; Yang, Xiu-Qun

    2018-02-01

    Observational evidence showed that the leading mode of precipitation variability over the tropical Pacific during boreal spring experienced a pronounced interdecadal change around the late 1990s, characterized by a precipitation pattern shift from an eastern Pacific (EP) type to a central Pacific (CP) type. The distinct impacts of such a precipitation pattern shift on the extratropical atmospheric teleconnection were examined. An apparent poleward teleconnection extending from the tropics to the North Atlantic region was observed after 1998, while, there was no significant teleconnection before 1998. To understand why only the CP-type precipitation mode is associated with a striking atmospheric teleconnection after 1998, diagnostic analyses with the Eliassen-Palm flux and Rossby wave source (RWS) based on the barotropic vorticity equation were performed. The results show that for the EP-type precipitation mode, no significant RWS anomalies appeared over the subtropical Pacific due to the opposite effect of the vortex stretching and absolute vorticity advection processes. For the CP-type precipitation mode, however, there are both significant vorticity forcing source over the subtropical CP and clear poleward-propagation of Rossby wave. The spatial distribution of the CP-type precipitation pattern tends to excite a conspicuous anomalous southerly and a well-organized negative vorticity center over the subtropical CP where both the mean absolute vorticity gradient and mean divergence flow are large, hence, the interaction between the heating-induced anomalous circulation and the basic state made the generation of Rossby waves conceivable and effective. Such corresponding teleconnection responses to the prescribed heating were also examined by using a Linear Baroclinic Model (LBM). It turned out that significant poleward teleconnection pattern is only caused by the CP-type precipitation mode, rather than by the EP-type precipitation mode. Further sensitive experiments

  13. Extreme precipitation patterns and reductions of terrestrial ecosystem production across biomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yongguang Zhang; M. Susan Moran; Mark A. Nearing; Guillermo E. Ponce Campos; Alfredo R. Huete; Anthony R. Buda; David D. Bosch; Stacey A. Gunter; Stanley G. Kitchen; W. Henry McNab; Jack A. Morgan; Mitchel P. McClaran; Diane S. Montoya; Debra P.C. Peters; Patrick J. Starks

    2013-01-01

    Precipitation regimes are predicted to shift to more extreme patterns that are characterized by more heavy rainfall events and longer dry intervals, yet their ecological impacts on vegetation production remain uncertain across biomes in natural climatic conditions. This in situ study investigated the effects of these climatic conditions on aboveground net primary...

  14. Air pollution or global warming: Attribution of extreme precipitation changes in eastern China—Comments on "Trends of extreme precipitation in Eastern China and their possible causes"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yuan

    2015-10-01

    The recent study "Trends of Extreme Precipitation in Eastern China and Their Possible Causes" attributed the observed decrease/increase of light/heavy precipitation in eastern China to global warming rather than the regional aerosol effects. However, there exist compelling evidence from previous long-term observations and numerical modeling studies, suggesting that anthropogenic pollution is closely linked to the recent changes in precipitation intensity because of considerably modulated cloud physical properties by aerosols in eastern China. Clearly, a quantitative assessment of the aerosol and greenhouse effects on the regional scale is required to identify the primary cause for the extreme precipitation changes.

  15. Future changes in extreme precipitation in the Rhine basin based on global and regional climate model simulations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pelt, van S.C.; Beersma, J.J.; Buishand, T.A.; Hurk, van den B.J.J.M.; Kabat, P.

    2012-01-01

    Probability estimates of the future change of extreme precipitation events are usually based on a limited number of available global climate model (GCM) or regional climate model (RCM) simulations. Since floods are related to heavy precipitation events, this restricts the assessment of flood risks.

  16. Precipitation Pattern Controls on the Dynamics and Subsequent Export of Large Wood from River Catchments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, J.; Nakamura, F.; Chun, K.; Grant, G. E.

    2011-12-01

    In-stream large wood (LW) has a critical impact on the geomorphic and ecological character in river catchments, yet relatively little is known about variations in its dynamics and subsequent export in relation to different precipitation patterns and intensities. To understand these variations we used the annual volume of LW removed from 42 reservoirs in Japan and daily precipitation at or near the reservoir sites. Daily precipitation data were transformed into effective precipitation to evaluate trends in both current and antecedent precipitation, and these data were then used to explain basin variation in LW export. Model selection with generalized linear mixed models revealed that the precipitation pattern and intensity controlling LW export in small, intermediate, and large watersheds differed with latitude along the Japanese archipelago. LW export in small watersheds was well explained by effective precipitation greater than 120 mm, and showed little latitudinal variation. In contrast, LW export in intermediate and large watersheds was well explained by daily precipitation greater than 40 mm and 60 mm, respectively, and varied with latitude. In small watersheds with narrow channels and low stream discharges, mass movements (such as landslides and debris flows) are major factors in the production and transport of LW. Thus LW export in small watersheds appears to be regulated by the effective precipitation required to initiate mass movements, and shows little latitudinal change. In intermediate and large watersheds with wide channels and high stream discharges, heavy rainfall and subsequent floods regulate buoyant depth influencing the initiation of LW mobility, and thus control the amount of LW exported. In southern and central Japan, intense rainfall accompanying typhoons or localized torrential downpours lead to geomorphic disturbances, which produce massive amounts of LW delivery into channels. However, these pieces are constantly removed by high streamflows

  17. Incorporation of a Cuban radiological station to the global net of isotopes in precipitations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dominguez L, O.; Ramos V, E.O.; Prendes A, M.; Alonso A, D.; Caveda R, C.A.

    2006-01-01

    From March, 2002 the West station of the National Net of Environmental Radiological Surveillance located in the Center of Protection and Hygiene of the Radiations, belongs to the Global Net of Isotopes in Precipitations. The obtained isotopic information of the analysis of the samples of monthly monitored precipitations (oxygen-18, deuterium and tritium) its are stored in a database, which is available through Internet. For the acceptance in the Global Net, it was necessary the incorporation to the monitoring of the station the meteorological surface variables. Also it was developed a software for the calculation of the tension of the water steam starting from the values of humidity and temperature. The obtained results in 2002 and published recently, its are inside the range of values reported for these isotopes in the Caribbean area. (Author)

  18. Consultants' meeting on operational aspects of the global network ''isotopes in precipitation''

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    The Consultant's meeting on ''Operational Aspects of the Global Network - Isotopes in Precipitation'' was organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in co-operation with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Past Global Changes Project (PAGES) of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS). It was agreed to transfer the responsibility of running the GNIP and the collection of isotope data in precipitation to a Steering Committee, which will consist of representatives of the following organizations: IAEA, WMO, IGBP-PAGES, WHO, UNESCO and IAHS. The responsibilities of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the Steering Committee are as follows: Co-ordination of the sample analysis: Arrangements for and participation in the measuring programme. Monitoring analytical aspects of sample collection, storage, etc. Arrangements for interlaboratory comparison exercises; collection of isotope and meteorological data, maintenance of the GNIP database and data distribution to interested users; promotion of full use and wider application of GNIP data in practical hydrological applications. Figs, tabs

  19. Online Assessment of Satellite-Derived Global Precipitation Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhong; Ostrenga, D.; Teng, W.; Kempler, S.

    2012-01-01

    inter-comparing both versions of TRMM products in their areas of interest. Making this service available to users will help them to better understand associated changes. We plan to implement this inter-comparison in TRMM standard monthly products with the IPWG algorithms. The plans outlined above will complement and accelerate the existing and ongoing validation activities in the community as well as enhance data services for TRMM and the future Global Precipitation Mission (GPM).

  20. The Impact of Desert Dust Aerosol Radiative Forcing on Global and West African Precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, A.; Zaitchik, B. F.; Gnanadesikan, A.; Dezfuli, A. K.

    2015-12-01

    Desert dust aerosols exert a radiative forcing on the atmosphere, influencing atmospheric temperature structure and modifying radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) and surface. As dust aerosols perturb radiative fluxes, the atmosphere responds by altering both energy and moisture dynamics, with potentially significant impacts on regional and global precipitation. Global Climate Model (GCM) experiments designed to characterize these processes have yielded a wide range of results, owing to both the complex nature of the system and diverse differences across models. Most model results show a general decrease in global precipitation, but regional results vary. Here, we compare simulations from GFDL's CM2Mc GCM with multiple other model experiments from the literature in order to investigate mechanisms of radiative impact and reasons for GCM differences on a global and regional scale. We focus on West Africa, a region of high interannual rainfall variability that is a source of dust and that neighbors major Sahara Desert dust sources. As such, changes in West African climate due to radiative forcing of desert dust aerosol have serious implications for desertification feedbacks. Our CM2Mc results show net cooling of the planet at TOA and surface, net warming of the atmosphere, and significant increases in precipitation over West Africa during the summer rainy season. These results differ from some previous GCM studies, prompting comparative analysis of desert dust parameters across models. This presentation will offer quantitative analysis of differences in dust aerosol parameters, aerosol optical properties, and overall particle burden across GCMs, and will characterize the contribution of model differences to the uncertainty of forcing and climate response affecting West Africa.

  1. Global pattern of trends in streamflow and water availability in a changing climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milly, P C D; Dunne, K A; Vecchia, A V

    2005-11-17

    Water availability on the continents is important for human health, economic activity, ecosystem function and geophysical processes. Because the saturation vapour pressure of water in air is highly sensitive to temperature, perturbations in the global water cycle are expected to accompany climate warming. Regional patterns of warming-induced changes in surface hydroclimate are complex and less certain than those in temperature, however, with both regional increases and decreases expected in precipitation and runoff. Here we show that an ensemble of 12 climate models exhibits qualitative and statistically significant skill in simulating observed regional patterns of twentieth-century multidecadal changes in streamflow. These models project 10-40% increases in runoff in eastern equatorial Africa, the La Plata basin and high-latitude North America and Eurasia, and 10-30% decreases in runoff in southern Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East and mid-latitude western North America by the year 2050. Such changes in sustainable water availability would have considerable regional-scale consequences for economies as well as ecosystems.

  2. Altered precipitation patterns and simulated nitrogen deposition effects on phenology of common plant species in a Tibetan Plateau alpine meadow

    Science.gov (United States)

    The interactive effects of five seasonal precipitation distribution patterns and two levels of N deposition (ambient and doubled) on phenological traits of six dominant plant species were studied in an alpine meadow of the Tibetan Plateau for two consecutive years. Seasonal precipitation patterns i...

  3. Basin-scale heterogeneity in Antarctic precipitation and its impact on surface mass variability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Fyke

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Annually averaged precipitation in the form of snow, the dominant term of the Antarctic Ice Sheet surface mass balance, displays large spatial and temporal variability. Here we present an analysis of spatial patterns of regional Antarctic precipitation variability and their impact on integrated Antarctic surface mass balance variability simulated as part of a preindustrial 1800-year global, fully coupled Community Earth System Model simulation. Correlation and composite analyses based on this output allow for a robust exploration of Antarctic precipitation variability. We identify statistically significant relationships between precipitation patterns across Antarctica that are corroborated by climate reanalyses, regional modeling and ice core records. These patterns are driven by variability in large-scale atmospheric moisture transport, which itself is characterized by decadal- to centennial-scale oscillations around the long-term mean. We suggest that this heterogeneity in Antarctic precipitation variability has a dampening effect on overall Antarctic surface mass balance variability, with implications for regulation of Antarctic-sourced sea level variability, detection of an emergent anthropogenic signal in Antarctic mass trends and identification of Antarctic mass loss accelerations.

  4. future changes in seasonal-mean precipitation over west africa

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    HOD

    a Approximate radiative forcing levels were defined as ±5% of the stated level in Wm-2 relative to the pre-industrial levels. Radiative ... MESSAGE is Model for Energy Supply Strategy Alternatives and their General Environmental Impact. GCAM is Global Change ... the general pattern of the observed precipitation described ...

  5. Precipitation regime classification for the Mojave Desert: Implications for fire occurrence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tagestad, Jerry; Brooks, Matthew L.; Cullinan, Valerie; Downs, Janelle; McKinley, Randy

    2016-01-01

    Long periods of drought or above-average precipitation affect Mojave Desert vegetation condition, biomass and susceptibility to fire. Changes in the seasonality of precipitation alter the likelihood of lightning, a key ignition source for fires. The objectives of this study were to characterize the relationship between recent, historic, and future precipitation patterns and fire. Classifying monthly precipitation data from 1971 to 2010 reveals four precipitation regimes: low winter/low summer, moderate winter/moderate summer, high winter/low summer and high winter/high summer. Two regimes with summer monsoonal precipitation covered only 40% of the Mojave Desert ecoregion but contain 88% of the area burned and 95% of the repeat burn area. Classifying historic precipitation for early-century (wet) and mid-century (drought) periods reveals distinct shifts in regime boundaries. Early-century results are similar to current, while the mid-century results show a sizeable reduction in area of regimes with a strong monsoonal component. Such a shift would suggest that fires during the mid-century period would be minimal and anecdotal records confirm this. Predicted precipitation patterns from downscaled global climate models indicate numerous epochs of high winter precipitation, inferring higher fire potential for many multi-decade periods during the next century.

  6. Implications of a decrease in the precipitation area for the past and the future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benestad, Rasmus E.

    2018-04-01

    The total area with 24 hrs precipitation has shrunk by 7% between 50°S–50°N over the period 1998–2016, according to the satellite-based Tropical Rain Measurement Mission data. A decrease in the daily precipitation area is an indication of profound changes in the hydrological cycle, where the global rate of precipitation is balanced by the global rate of evaporation. This decrease was accompanied by increases in total precipitation, evaporation, and wet-day mean precipitation. If these trends are real, then they suggest increased drought frequencies and more intense rainfall. Satellite records, however, may be inhomogeneous because they are synthesised from a number of individual missions with improved technology over time. A linear dependency was also found between the global mean temperature and the 50°S–50°N daily precipitation area with a slope value of ‑17 × 106 km 2/°C. This dependency was used with climate model simulations to make future projections which suggested a continued decrease that will strengthen in the future. The precipitation area evolves differently when the precipitation is accumulated over short and long time scales, however, and there has been a slight increase in the monthly precipitation area while the daily precipitation area decreased. An increase on monthly scale may indicate more pronounced variations in the rainfall patterns due to migrating rain-producing phenomena.

  7. How much might additional half a degree from a global warming of 1.5°C affects the extreme precipitation change in China?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, W.; Jiang, Z.

    2017-12-01

    In order to strengthen the global respond to the dangerous of global warming, Paris Agreement sets out two long-term warming goals: limiting global warming to well below 2˚C and purse effort to below 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels. However, future climate change risks in those two warming targets show significant regional differences. This article aims to study the intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation change over China under those two global warming targets by using CMIP5 models under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenario. Focus is put on the effects of the additional half degree in changing the extreme precipitation. Results show that the changes of extreme precipitation are independent of the RCP scenarios when global warming reaches the same threshold. Intensity of extreme precipitation averaged over China increase by around 6% and 11% when global warming reaches 1.5˚C and 2˚C, respectively. The additional half a degree increase makes the intensity of extreme precipitation averaged over China to increase by 4.5%, which translates to an increase close to the Clausius-Clapeyron scaling. Return period decreases by 5 years for the extra half degree warming when the 20-year return values are considered at the reference level.

  8. Large differences in regional precipitation change between a first and second 2 K of global warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Good, Peter; Booth, Ben B. B.; Chadwick, Robin; Hawkins, Ed; Jonko, Alexandra; Lowe, Jason A.

    2016-12-01

    For adaptation and mitigation planning, stakeholders need reliable information about regional precipitation changes under different emissions scenarios and for different time periods. A significant amount of current planning effort assumes that each K of global warming produces roughly the same regional climate change. Here using 25 climate models, we compare precipitation responses with three 2 K intervals of global ensemble mean warming: a fast and a slower route to a first 2 K above pre-industrial levels, and the end-of-century difference between high-emission and mitigation scenarios. We show that, although the two routes to a first 2 K give very similar precipitation changes, a second 2 K produces quite a different response. In particular, the balance of physical mechanisms responsible for climate model uncertainty is different for a first and a second 2 K of warming. The results are consistent with a significant influence from nonlinear physical mechanisms, but aerosol and land-use effects may be important regionally.

  9. Asymmetric responses of primary productivity to precipitation extremes: A synthesis of grassland precipitation manipulation experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilcox, Kevin R; Shi, Zheng; Gherardi, Laureano A; Lemoine, Nathan P; Koerner, Sally E; Hoover, David L; Bork, Edward; Byrne, Kerry M; Cahill, James; Collins, Scott L; Evans, Sarah; Gilgen, Anna K; Holub, Petr; Jiang, Lifen; Knapp, Alan K; LeCain, Daniel; Liang, Junyi; Garcia-Palacios, Pablo; Peñuelas, Josep; Pockman, William T; Smith, Melinda D; Sun, Shanghua; White, Shannon R; Yahdjian, Laura; Zhu, Kai; Luo, Yiqi

    2017-10-01

    Climatic changes are altering Earth's hydrological cycle, resulting in altered precipitation amounts, increased interannual variability of precipitation, and more frequent extreme precipitation events. These trends will likely continue into the future, having substantial impacts on net primary productivity (NPP) and associated ecosystem services such as food production and carbon sequestration. Frequently, experimental manipulations of precipitation have linked altered precipitation regimes to changes in NPP. Yet, findings have been diverse and substantial uncertainty still surrounds generalities describing patterns of ecosystem sensitivity to altered precipitation. Additionally, we do not know whether previously observed correlations between NPP and precipitation remain accurate when precipitation changes become extreme. We synthesized results from 83 case studies of experimental precipitation manipulations in grasslands worldwide. We used meta-analytical techniques to search for generalities and asymmetries of aboveground NPP (ANPP) and belowground NPP (BNPP) responses to both the direction and magnitude of precipitation change. Sensitivity (i.e., productivity response standardized by the amount of precipitation change) of BNPP was similar under precipitation additions and reductions, but ANPP was more sensitive to precipitation additions than reductions; this was especially evident in drier ecosystems. Additionally, overall relationships between the magnitude of productivity responses and the magnitude of precipitation change were saturating in form. The saturating form of this relationship was likely driven by ANPP responses to very extreme precipitation increases, although there were limited studies imposing extreme precipitation change, and there was considerable variation among experiments. This highlights the importance of incorporating gradients of manipulations, ranging from extreme drought to extreme precipitation increases into future climate change

  10. Precipitation and total power consumption in the ionosphere: Global MHD simulation results compared with Polar and SNOE observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Palmroth

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available We compare the ionospheric electron precipitation morphology and power from a global MHD simulation (GUMICS-4 with direct measurements of auroral energy flux during a pair of substorms on 28-29 March 1998. The electron precipitation power is computed directly from global images of auroral light observed by the Polar satellite ultraviolet imager (UVI. Independent of the Polar UVI measurements, the electron precipitation energy is determined from SNOE satellite observations on the thermospheric nitric oxide (NO density. We find that the GUMICS-4 simulation reproduces the spatial variation of the global aurora rather reliably in the sense that the onset of the substorm is shown in GUMICS-4 simulation as enhanced precipitation in the right location at the right time. The total integrated precipitation power in the GUMICS-4 simulation is in quantitative agreement with the observations during quiet times, i.e., before the two substorm intensifications. We find that during active times the GUMICS-4 integrated precipitation is a factor of 5 lower than the observations indicate. However, we also find factor of 2-3 differences in the precipitation power among the three different UVI processing methods tested here. The findings of this paper are used to complete an earlier objective, in which the total ionospheric power deposition in the simulation is forecasted from a mathematical expression, which is a function of solar wind density, velocity and magnetic field. We find that during this event, the correlation coefficient between the outcome of the forecasting expression and the simulation results is 0.83. During the event, the simulation result on the total ionospheric power deposition agrees with observations (correlation coefficient 0.8 and the AE index (0.85.

  11. Spatio-Temporal Variability of Summer Precipitation in Mexico under the Influence of the MJO, with Emphasis on the Bimodal Pattern

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perdigón, J.; Romero-Centeno, R.; Barrett, B.; Ordoñez-Perez, P.

    2017-12-01

    In many regions of Mexico, precipitation occurs in a very well defined annual cycle with peaks in May-June and September-October and a relative minimum in the middle of the rainy season known as the midsummer drought (MSD). The MJO is the most important mode of intraseasonal variability in the tropics, and, although some studies have shown its evident influence on summer precipitation in Mexico, its role in modulating the bimodal pattern of the summer precipitation cycle is still an open question. The spatio-temporal variability of summer precipitation in Mexico is analyzed through composite analysis according to the phases of the MJO, using the very high resolution CHIRPS precipitation data base and gridded data from the CFSR reanalysis to analyzing the MJO influence on the atmospheric circulation over Mexico and its adjacent basins. In general, during MJO phases 8-2 (4-6) rainfall is above-normal (below-normal), although, in some cases, the summer rainfall patterns during the same phase present considerable differences. The atmospheric circulation shows low (high) troposphere southwesterly (northeasterly) wind anomalies in southern Mexico under wetter conditions compared with climatological patterns, while the inverse pattern is observed under drier conditions. Composite anomalies of several variables also agreed well with those rainfall anomalies. Finally, a MJO complete cycle that reinforces (weakens) the bimodal pattern of summer rainfall in Mexico was found.

  12. Analysis of precipitation teleconnections in CMIP models as a measure of model fidelity in simulating precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langenbrunner, B.; Neelin, J.; Meyerson, J.

    2011-12-01

    The accurate representation of precipitation is a recurring issue in global climate models, especially in the tropics. Poor skill in modeling the variability and climate teleconnections associated with El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) also persisted in the latest Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) campaigns. Observed ENSO precipitation teleconnections provide a standard by which we can judge a given model's ability to reproduce precipitation and dynamic feedback processes originating in the tropical Pacific. Using CMIP3 Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) runs as a baseline, we compare precipitation teleconnections between models and observations, and we evaluate these results against available CMIP5 historical and AMIP runs. Using AMIP simulations restricts evaluation to the atmospheric response, as sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in AMIP are prescribed by observations. We use a rank correlation between ENSO SST indices and precipitation to define teleconnections, since this method is robust to outliers and appropriate for non-Gaussian data. Spatial correlations of the modeled and observed teleconnections are then evaluated. We look at these correlations in regions of strong precipitation teleconnections, including equatorial S. America, the "horseshoe" region in the western tropical Pacific, and southern N. America. For each region and season, we create a "normalized projection" of a given model's teleconnection pattern onto that of the observations, a metric that assesses the quality of regional pattern simulations while rewarding signals of correct sign over the region. Comparing this to an area-averaged (i.e., more generous) metric suggests models do better when restrictions on exact spatial dependence are loosened and conservation constraints apply. Model fidelity in regional measures remains far from perfect, suggesting intrinsic issues with the models' regional sensitivities in moist processes.

  13. Global patterns of Leptospira prevalence in vertebrate reservoir hosts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen-Ranberg, Emilie U.; Pipper, Christian Bressen; Jensen, Per Moestrup

    2016-01-01

    leptospirosis requires more detailed information on animal reservoirs that are the source of human infection. We evaluated the prevalence of Leptospira in vertebrates worldwide and its association with taxonomy, geographic region, host biology, ambient temperature, and precipitation patterns. A multivariate...

  14. A Robust Response of Precipitation to Global Warming from CMIP5 Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, K. -M.; Wu, H. -T.; Kim, K. -M.

    2012-01-01

    How precipitation responds to global warming is a major concern to society and a challenge to climate change research. Based on analyses of rainfall probability distribution functions of 14 state-of-the-art climate models, we find a robust, canonical global rainfall response to a triple CO2 warming scenario, featuring 100 250% more heavy rain, 5-10% less moderate rain, and 10-15% more very light or no-rain events. Regionally, a majority of the models project a consistent response with more heavy rain events over climatologically wet regions of the deep tropics, and more dry events over subtropical and tropical land areas. Results suggest that increased CO2 emissions induce basic structural changes in global rain systems, increasing risks of severe floods and droughts in preferred geographic locations worldwide.

  15. Prime mission results of the dual-frequency precipitation radar on the global precipitation measurement core spacecraft and the version 5 GPM standard products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furukawa, K.; Nio, T.; Oki, R.; Kubota, T.; Iguchi, T.

    2017-09-01

    The Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) on the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) core satellite was developed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). The objective of the GPM mission is to observe global precipitation more frequently and accurately. The GPM core satellite is a joint product of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), JAXA and NICT. NASA developed the satellite bus and the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), and JAXA and NICT developed the DPR. The inclination of the GPM core satellite is 65 degrees, and the nominal flight altitude is 407 km. The non-sunsynchronous circular orbit is necessary for measuring the diurnal change of rainfall. The DPR consists of two radars, which are Ku-band precipitation radar (KuPR) and Ka-band precipitation radar (KaPR). GPM core observatory was successfully launched by H2A launch vehicle on Feb. 28, 2014. DPR orbital check out was completed in May 2014. DPR products were released to the public on Sep. 2, 2014 and Normal Observation Operation period was started. JAXA is continuing DPR trend monitoring, calibration and validation operations to confirm that DPR keeps its function and performance on orbit. The results of DPR trend monitoring, calibration and validation show that DPR kept its function and performance on orbit during the 3 years and 2 months prime mission period. The DPR Prime mission period was completed in May 2017. The version 5 GPM products were released to the public in 2017. JAXA confirmed that GPM/DPR total system performance and the GPM version 5 products achieved the success criteria and the performance indicators that were defined for the JAXA GPM/DPR mission.

  16. Applications of TRMM-based Multi-Satellite Precipitation Estimation for Global Runoff Simulation: Prototyping a Global Flood Monitoring System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Yang; Adler, Robert F.; Huffman, George J.; Pierce, Harold

    2008-01-01

    Advances in flood monitoring/forecasting have been constrained by the difficulty in estimating rainfall continuously over space (catchment-, national-, continental-, or even global-scale areas) and flood-relevant time scale. With the recent availability of satellite rainfall estimates at fine time and space resolution, this paper describes a prototype research framework for global flood monitoring by combining real-time satellite observations with a database of global terrestrial characteristics through a hydrologically relevant modeling scheme. Four major components included in the framework are (1) real-time precipitation input from NASA TRMM-based Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA); (2) a central geospatial database to preprocess the land surface characteristics: water divides, slopes, soils, land use, flow directions, flow accumulation, drainage network etc.; (3) a modified distributed hydrological model to convert rainfall to runoff and route the flow through the stream network in order to predict the timing and severity of the flood wave, and (4) an open-access web interface to quickly disseminate flood alerts for potential decision-making. Retrospective simulations for 1998-2006 demonstrate that the Global Flood Monitor (GFM) system performs consistently at both station and catchment levels. The GFM website (experimental version) has been running at near real-time in an effort to offer a cost-effective solution to the ultimate challenge of building natural disaster early warning systems for the data-sparse regions of the world. The interactive GFM website shows close-up maps of the flood risks overlaid on topography/population or integrated with the Google-Earth visualization tool. One additional capability, which extends forecast lead-time by assimilating QPF into the GFM, also will be implemented in the future.

  17. Evaluating the Global Precipitation Measurement mission with NOAA/NSSL Multi-Radar Multisensor: current status and future directions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirstetter, P. E.; Petersen, W. A.; Gourley, J. J.; Kummerow, C.; Huffman, G. J.; Turk, J.; Tanelli, S.; Maggioni, V.; Anagnostou, E. N.; Hong, Y.; Schwaller, M.

    2017-12-01

    Accurate characterization of uncertainties in space-borne precipitation estimates is critical for many applications including water budget studies or prediction of natural hazards at the global scale. The GPM precipitation Level II (active and passive) and Level III (IMERG) estimates are compared to the high quality and high resolution NEXRAD-based precipitation estimates derived from the NOAA/NSSL's Multi-Radar, Multi-Sensor (MRMS) platform. A surface reference is derived from the MRMS suite of products to be accurate with known uncertainty bounds and measured at a resolution below the pixel sizes of any GPM estimate, providing great flexibility in matching to grid scales or footprints. It provides an independent and consistent reference research framework for directly evaluating GPM precipitation products across a large number of meteorological regimes as a function of resolution, accuracy and sample size. The consistency of the ground and space-based sensors in term of precipitation detection, typology and quantification are systematically evaluated. Satellite precipitation retrievals are further investigated in terms of precipitation distributions, systematic biases and random errors, influence of precipitation sub-pixel variability and comparison between satellite products. Prognostic analysis directly provides feedback to algorithm developers on how to improve the satellite estimates. Specific factors for passive (e.g. surface conditions for GMI) and active (e.g. non uniform beam filling for DPR) sensors are investigated. This cross products characterization acts as a bridge to intercalibrate microwave measurements from the GPM constellation satellites and propagate to the combined and global precipitation estimates. Precipitation features previously used to analyze Level II satellite estimates under various precipitation processes are now intoduced for Level III to test several assumptions in the IMERG algorithm. Specifically, the contribution of Level II is

  18. Controls on the meridional extent of tropical precipitation and its contraction under global warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donohoe, A.

    2017-12-01

    A method for decomposing changes and variability in the spatial structure of tropical precipitation into shifting (meridional translation), contracting, and intensifying modes of variability is introduced. We demonstrate that the shifting mode of tropical precipitation explains very little (20%) more of the tropical precipitation changes and variability. Furthermore, the contraction of tropical precipitation is highly correlated (R2 > 0.95) with an intensification of the precipitation in both the observations and forced modeled simulations. These results suggest that the simultaneous contraction and intensification of tropical precipitation is the dominant mode of variability and changes under external forcing. We speculate that tropical surface temperature controls this concurrent variability. Indeed, models robustly predict that tropical precipitation increases and meridionally contracts in response to increased CO2 and is reduced and meridionally expanded under glacial forcing and boundary conditions. In contrast, the directionality of the tropical precipitation shift is both ambiguous and small in magnitude in response to increased CO2. Furthermore, the ratio of the contraction/expansion to intensification/reduction is consistent in the continuum of climate states from the glacial climate to a modern climate to a 4XCO2 climate suggesting that the intensification and contraction are linked together via a single mechanism. We examine two mechanisms responsible for the contraction of the precipitation under global warming : i. the reduction of the seasonal cycle of energy input to the atmosphere due to sea ice retreat that results in the tropical precipitation remaining closer to the equator during the solsticial seasons and; ii. the increased gross moist stability of the tropical atmosphere as the surface warms resulting in a weaker cross-equatorial Hadley circulation during the solsticial seasons.

  19. Dynamical response of Mediterranean precipitation to greenhouse gases and aerosols

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Tang

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Atmospheric aerosols and greenhouse gases affect cloud properties, radiative balance and, thus, the hydrological cycle. Observations show that precipitation has decreased in the Mediterranean since the beginning of the 20th century, and many studies have investigated possible mechanisms. So far, however, the effects of aerosol forcing on Mediterranean precipitation remain largely unknown. Here we compare the modeled dynamical response of Mediterranean precipitation to individual forcing agents in a set of global climate models (GCMs. Our analyses show that both greenhouse gases and aerosols can cause drying in the Mediterranean and that precipitation is more sensitive to black carbon (BC forcing than to well-mixed greenhouse gases (WMGHGs or sulfate aerosol. In addition to local heating, BC appears to reduce precipitation by causing an enhanced positive sea level pressure (SLP pattern similar to the North Atlantic Oscillation–Arctic Oscillation, characterized by higher SLP at midlatitudes and lower SLP at high latitudes. WMGHGs cause a similar SLP change, and both are associated with a northward diversion of the jet stream and storm tracks, reducing precipitation in the Mediterranean while increasing precipitation in northern Europe. Though the applied forcings were much larger, if forcings are scaled to those of the historical period of 1901–2010, roughly one-third (31±17 % of the precipitation decrease would be attributable to global BC forcing with the remainder largely attributable to WMGHGs, whereas global scattering sulfate aerosols would have negligible impacts. Aerosol–cloud interactions appear to have minimal impacts on Mediterranean precipitation in these models, at least in part because many simulations did not fully include such processes; these merit further study. The findings from this study suggest that future BC and WMGHG emissions may significantly affect regional water resources, agricultural practices, ecosystems and

  20. Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Spacecraft Lithium Ion Battery Micro-Cycling Investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dakermanji, George; Lee, Leonine; Spitzer, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) spacecraft was jointly developed by NASA and JAXA. It is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) spacecraft launched on February 27, 2014. The power system is a Direct Energy Transfer (DET) system designed to support 1950 watts orbit average power. The batteries use SONY 18650HC cells and consist of three 8s by 84p batteries operated in parallel as a single battery. During instrument integration with the spacecraft, large current transients were observed in the battery. Investigation into the matter traced the cause to the Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) phased array radar which generates cyclical high rate current transients on the spacecraft power bus. The power system electronics interaction with these transients resulted in the current transients in the battery. An accelerated test program was developed to bound the effect, and to assess the impact to the mission.

  1. Global change and biological soil crusts: Effects of ultraviolet augmentation under altered precipitation regimes and nitrogen additions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belnap, J.; Phillips, S.L.; Flint, S.; Money, J.; Caldwell, M.

    2008-01-01

    Biological soil crusts (BSCs), a consortium of cyanobacteria, lichens, and mosses, are essential in most dryland ecosystems. As these organisms are relatively immobile and occur on the soil surface, they are exposed to high levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, rising temperatures, and alterations in precipitation patterns. In this study, we applied treatments to three types of BSCs (early, medium, and late successional) over three time periods (spring, summer, and spring-fall). In the first year, we augmented UV and altered precipitation patterns, and in the second year, we augmented UV and N. In the first year, with average air temperatures, we saw little response to our treatments except quantum yield, which was reduced in dark BSCs during one of three sample times and in Collema BSCs two of three sample times. There was more response to UV augmentation the second year when air temperatures were above average. Declines were seen in 21% of the measured variables, including quantum yield, chlorophyll a, UV-protective pigments, nitrogenase activity, and extracellular polysaccharides. N additions had some negative effects on light and dark BSCs, including the reduction of quantum yield, ??-carotene, nitrogenase activity, scytonemin, and xanthophylls. N addition had no effects on the Collema BSCs. When N was added to samples that had received augmented UV, there were only limited effects relative to samples that received UV without N. These results indicate that the negative effect of UV and altered precipitation on BSCs will be heightened as global temperatures increase, and that as their ability to produce UV-protective pigments is compromised, physiological functioning will be impaired. N deposition will only ameliorate UV impacts in a limited number of cases. Overall, increases in UV will likely lead to lowered productivity and increased mortality in BSCs through time, which, in turn, will reduce their ability to contribute

  2. Precipitation patterns during channel flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamtveit, B.; Hawkins, C.; Benning, L. G.; Meier, D.; Hammer, O.; Angheluta, L.

    2013-12-01

    Mineral precipitation during channelized fluid flow is widespread in a wide variety of geological systems. It is also a common and costly phenomenon in many industrial processes that involve fluid flow in pipelines. It is often referred to as scale formation and encountered in a large number of industries, including paper production, chemical manufacturing, cement operations, food processing, as well as non-renewable (i.e. oil and gas) and renewable (i.e. geothermal) energy production. We have studied the incipient stages of growth of amorphous silica on steel plates emplaced into the central areas of the ca. 1 meter in diameter sized pipelines used at the hydrothermal power plant at Hellisheidi, Iceland (with a capacity of ca 300 MW electricity and 100 MW hot water). Silica precipitation takes place over a period of ca. 2 months at approximately 120°C and a flow rate around 1 m/s. The growth produces asymmetric ca. 1mm high dendritic structures ';leaning' towards the incoming fluid flow. A novel phase-field model combined with the lattice Boltzmann method is introduced to study how the growth morphologies vary under different hydrodynamic conditions, including non-laminar systems with turbulent mixing. The model accurately predicts the observed morphologies and is directly relevant for understanding the more general problem of precipitation influenced by turbulent mixing during flow in channels with rough walls and even for porous flow. Reference: Hawkins, C., Angheluta, L., Hammer, Ø., and Jamtveit, B., Precipitation dendrites in channel flow. Europhysics Letters, 102, 54001

  3. Data Visualization and Analysis Tools for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Validation Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Kenneth R.; Schwaller, Mathew

    2010-01-01

    The Validation Network (VN) prototype for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission compares data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite Precipitation Radar (PR) to similar measurements from U.S. and international operational weather radars. This prototype is a major component of the GPM Ground Validation System (GVS). The VN provides a means for the precipitation measurement community to identify and resolve significant discrepancies between the ground radar (GR) observations and similar satellite observations. The VN prototype is based on research results and computer code described by Anagnostou et al. (2001), Bolen and Chandrasekar (2000), and Liao et al. (2001), and has previously been described by Morris, et al. (2007). Morris and Schwaller (2009) describe the PR-GR volume-matching algorithm used to create the VN match-up data set used for the comparisons. This paper describes software tools that have been developed for visualization and statistical analysis of the original and volume matched PR and GR data.

  4. Spatial Pattern and Scale Influence Invader Demographic Response to Simulated Precipitation Change in an Annual Grassland Community.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meghan J Skaer Thomason

    Full Text Available It is important to predict which invasive species will benefit from future changes in climate, and thereby identify those invaders that need particular attention and prioritization of management efforts. Because establishment, persistence, and spread determine invasion success, this prediction requires detailed demographic information. Explicit study of the impact of pattern on demographic response is particularly important for species that are naturally patchy, such as the invasive grass, Aegilops triuncialis. In the northern California Coast Range, where climate change may increase or decrease mean annual rainfall, we conducted a field experiment to understand the interaction of climate change and local-scale patterning on the demography of A. triuncialis. We manipulated precipitation (reduced, ambient, or augmented, seed density, and seeding pattern. Demographic and environmental data were collected for three years following initial seeding. Pattern and scale figure prominently in the demographic response of A. triuncialis to precipitation manipulation. Pattern interacts with precipitation and seeding density in its influence on per-plant seed output. Although per-plot seed production was highest when seeds were not aggregated, per-plant seed output was higher in aggregated patches. Results suggest aggregation of invasive A. triuncialis reduces the detrimental impact of interspecific competition in its invaded community, and that interspecific competition per se has a stronger impact than intraspecific competition.

  5. A new pattern of the moisture transport for precipitation related to the drastic decline in Arctic sea ice extent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gimeno-Sotelo, Luis; Nieto, Raquel; Vázquez, Marta; Gimeno, Luis

    2018-05-01

    In this study we use the term moisture transport for precipitation for a target region as the moisture coming to this region from its major moisture sources resulting in precipitation over the target region (MTP). We have identified changes in the pattern of moisture transport for precipitation over the Arctic region, the Arctic Ocean, and its 13 main subdomains concurrent with the major sea ice decline that occurred in 2003. The pattern consists of a general decrease in moisture transport in summer and enhanced moisture transport in autumn and early winter, with different contributions depending on the moisture source and ocean subregion. The pattern is statistically significant and consistent with changes in the vertically integrated moisture fluxes and frequency of circulation types. The results of this paper also reveal that the assumed and partially documented enhanced poleward moisture transport from lower latitudes as a consequence of increased moisture from climate change seems to be less simple and constant than typically recognised in relation to enhanced Arctic precipitation throughout the year in the present climate.

  6. Response of precipitation extremes to idealized global warming in an aqua-planet climate model: Towards robust projection across different horizontal resolutions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, F.; Collins, W.D.; Wehner, M.F.; Williamson, D.L.; Olson, J.G.

    2011-04-15

    Current climate models produce quite heterogeneous projections for the responses of precipitation extremes to future climate change. To help understand the range of projections from multimodel ensembles, a series of idealized 'aquaplanet' Atmospheric General Circulation Model (AGCM) runs have been performed with the Community Atmosphere Model CAM3. These runs have been analysed to identify the effects of horizontal resolution on precipitation extreme projections under two simple global warming scenarios. We adopt the aquaplanet framework for our simulations to remove any sensitivity to the spatial resolution of external inputs and to focus on the roles of model physics and dynamics. Results show that a uniform increase of sea surface temperature (SST) and an increase of low-to-high latitude SST gradient both lead to increase of precipitation and precipitation extremes for most latitudes. The perturbed SSTs generally have stronger impacts on precipitation extremes than on mean precipitation. Horizontal model resolution strongly affects the global warming signals in the extreme precipitation in tropical and subtropical regions but not in high latitude regions. This study illustrates that the effects of horizontal resolution have to be taken into account to develop more robust projections of precipitation extremes.

  7. Global distribution of moisture, evaporation-precipitation, and diabatic heating rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christy, John R.

    1989-01-01

    Global archives were established for ECMWF 12-hour, multilevel analysis beginning 1 January 1985; day and night IR temperatures, and solar incoming and solar absorbed. Routines were written to access these data conveniently from NASA/MSFC MASSTOR facility for diagnostic analysis. Calculations of diabatic heating rates were performed from the ECMWF data using 4-day intervals. Calculations of precipitable water (W) from 1 May 1985 were carried out using the ECMWF data. Because a major operational change on 1 May 1985 had a significant impact on the moisture field, values prior to that date are incompatible with subsequent analyses.

  8. Global pattern of trends in streamflow and water availability in a changing climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milly, P.C.D.; Dunne, K.A.; Vecchia, A.V.

    2005-01-01

    Water availability on the continents is important for human health, economic activity, ecosystem function and geophysical processes. Because the saturation vapour pressure of water in air is highly sensitive to temperature, perturbations in the global water cycle are expected to accompany climate warming. Regional patterns of warming-induced changes in surface hydroclimate are complex and less certain than those in temperature, however, with both regional increases and decreases expected in precipitation and runoff. Here we show that an ensemble of 12 climate models exhibits qualitative and statistically significant skill in simulating observed regional patterns of twentieth-century multidecadal changes in streamflow. These models project 10–40% increases in runoff in eastern equatorial Africa, the La Plata basin and high-latitude North America and Eurasia, and 10–30% decreases in runoff in southern Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East and mid-latitude western North America by the year 2050. Such changes in sustainable water availability would have considerable regional-scale consequences for economies as well as ecosystems.

  9. Mapping global diversity patterns for migratory birds.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marius Somveille

    Full Text Available Nearly one in five bird species has separate breeding and overwintering distributions, and the regular migrations of these species cause a substantial seasonal redistribution of avian diversity across the world. However, despite its ecological importance, bird migration has been largely ignored in studies of global avian biodiversity, with few studies having addressed it from a macroecological perspective. Here, we analyse a dataset on the global distribution of the world's birds in order to examine global spatial patterns in the diversity of migratory species, including: the seasonal variation in overall species diversity due to migration; the contribution of migratory birds to local bird diversity; and the distribution of narrow-range and threatened migratory birds. Our analyses reveal a striking asymmetry between the Northern and Southern hemispheres, evident in all of the patterns investigated. The highest migratory bird diversity was found in the Northern Hemisphere, with high inter-continental turnover in species composition between breeding and non-breeding seasons, and extensive regions (at high latitudes where migratory birds constitute the majority of the local avifauna. Threatened migratory birds are concentrated mainly in Central and Southern Asia, whereas narrow-range migratory species are mainly found in Central America, the Himalayas and Patagonia. Overall, global patterns in the diversity of migratory birds indicate that bird migration is mainly a Northern Hemisphere phenomenon. The asymmetry between the Northern and Southern hemispheres could not have easily been predicted from the combined results of regional scale studies, highlighting the importance of a global perspective.

  10. Systematic change in global patterns of streamflow following volcanic eruptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iles, Carley E; Hegerl, Gabriele C

    2015-11-01

    Following large explosive volcanic eruptions precipitation decreases over much of the globe1-6, particularly in climatologically wet regions4,5. Stratospheric volcanic aerosols reflect sunlight, which reduces evaporation, whilst surface cooling stabilises the atmosphere and reduces its water-holding capacity7. Circulation changes modulate this global precipitation reduction on regional scales1,8-10. Despite the importance of rivers to people, it has been unclear whether volcanism causes detectable changes in streamflow given large natural variability. Here we analyse observational records of streamflow volume for fifty large rivers from around the world which cover between two and 6 major volcanic eruptions in the 20 th and late 19 th century. We find statistically significant reductions in flow following eruptions for the Amazon, Congo, Nile, Orange, Ob, Yenisey and Kolyma amongst others. When data from neighbouring rivers are combined - based on the areas where climate models simulate either an increase or a decrease in precipitation following eruptions - a significant (peruptions is detected in northern South American, central African and high-latitude Asian rivers, and on average across wet tropical and subtropical regions. We also detect a significant increase in southern South American and SW North American rivers. This suggests that future volcanic eruptions could substantially affect global water availability.

  11. Climate change and precipitation: Detecting changes Climate change and precipitation: Detecting changes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Boxel, John H

    2001-01-01

    Precipitation is one of the most, if not the most important climate parameter In most studies on climate change the emphasis is on temperature and sea level rise. Often too little attention is given to precipitation. For a large part this is due to the large spatial en temporal variability of precipitation, which makes the detection of changes difficult. This paper describes methods to detect changes in precipitation. In order to arrive at statistically significant changes one must use long time series and spatial averages containing the information from several stations. In the Netherlands the average yearly precipitation increased by 11% during the 20th century .In the temperate latitudes on the Northern Hemisphere (40-60QN) the average increase was about 7% over the 20th century and the globally averaged precipitation increased by about 3%. During the 20th century 38% of the land surface of the earth became wetter, 42% experienced little change (less than 5% change) and 20% became dryer. More important than the average precipitation is the occurrence of extremes. In the Netherlands there is a tendency to more extreme precipitations, whereas the occurrence of relatively dry months has not changed. Also in many other countries increases in heavy precipitation events are observed. All climate models predict a further increase of mean global precipitation if the carbon dioxide concentration doubles. Nevertheless some areas get dryer, others have little change and consequently there are also areas where the increase is much more than the global average. On a regional scale however there are large differences between the models. Climate models do not yet provide adequate information on changes in extreme precipitations

  12. Characterization of increased persistence and intensity of precipitation in the northeastern United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guilbert, Justin; Betts, Alan K.; Rizzo, Donna M.; Beckage, Brian; Bomblies, Arne

    2015-03-01

    We present evidence of increasing persistence in daily precipitation in the northeastern United States that suggests that global circulation changes are affecting regional precipitation patterns. Meteorological data from 222 stations in 10 northeastern states are analyzed using Markov chain parameter estimates to demonstrate that a significant mode of precipitation variability is the persistence of precipitation events. We find that the largest region-wide trend in wet persistence (i.e., the probability of precipitation in 1 day and given precipitation in the preceding day) occurs in June (+0.9% probability per decade over all stations). We also find that the study region is experiencing an increase in the magnitude of high-intensity precipitation events. The largest increases in the 95th percentile of daily precipitation occurred in April with a trend of +0.7 mm/d/decade. We discuss the implications of the observed precipitation signals for watershed hydrology and flood risk.

  13. The global historical climatology network: Long-term monthly temperature, precipitation, and pressure data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vose, R.S.; Schmoyer, R.L.; Peterson, T.C.; Steurer, P.M.; Heim, R.R. Jr.; Karl, T.R.; Eischeid, J.K.

    1992-01-01

    Interest in global climate change has risen dramatically during the past several decades. In a similar fashion, the number of data sets available to study global change has also increased. Unfortunately, many different organizations and researchers have compiled these data sets, making it confusing and time consuming for individuals to acquire the most comprehensive data. In response to this rapid growth in the number of global data sets, DOE's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) and NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) established the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) project. The purpose of this project is to compile an improved data set of long-term monthly mean temperature, precipitation, sea level pressure, and station pressure for as dense a network of global stations as possible. Specifically, the GHCN project seeks to consolidate the numerous preexisting national-, regional-, and global-scale data sets into a single global data base; to subject the data to rigorous quality control; and to update, enhance, and distribute the data set at regular intervals. The purpose of this paper is to describe the compilation and contents of the GHCN data base (i.e., GHCN Version 1.0)

  14. Global patterns of evolutionary distinct and globally endangered amphibians and mammals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safi, Kamran; Armour-Marshall, Katrina; Baillie, Jonathan E M; Isaac, Nick J B

    2013-01-01

    Conservation of phylogenetic diversity allows maximising evolutionary information preserved within fauna and flora. The "EDGE of Existence" programme is the first institutional conservation initiative that prioritises species based on phylogenetic information. Species are ranked in two ways: one according to their evolutionary distinctiveness (ED) and second, by including IUCN extinction status, their evolutionary distinctiveness and global endangerment (EDGE). Here, we describe the global patterns in the spatial distribution of priority ED and EDGE species, in order to identify conservation areas for mammalian and amphibian communities. In addition, we investigate whether environmental conditions can predict the observed spatial pattern in ED and EDGE globally. Priority zones with high concentrations of ED and EDGE scores were defined using two different methods. The overlap between mammal and amphibian zones was very small, reflecting the different phylo-biogeographic histories. Mammal ED zones were predominantly found on the African continent and the neotropical forests, whereas in amphibians, ED zones were concentrated in North America. Mammal EDGE zones were mainly in South-East Asia, southern Africa and Madagascar; for amphibians they were in central and south America. The spatial pattern of ED and EDGE was poorly described by a suite of environmental variables. Mapping the spatial distribution of ED and EDGE provides an important step towards identifying priority areas for the conservation of mammalian and amphibian phylogenetic diversity in the EDGE of existence programme.

  15. Atmospheric Circulation Patterns over East Asia and Their Connection with Summer Precipitation and Surface Air Temperature in Eastern China during 1961-2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shuping; Hou, Wei; Feng, Guolin

    2018-04-01

    Based on the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and Chinese observational data during 1961-2013, atmospheric circulation patterns over East Asia in summer and their connection with precipitation and surface air temperature in eastern China as well as associated external forcing are investigated. Three patterns of the atmospheric circulation are identified, all with quasi-barotropic structures: (1) the East Asia/Pacific (EAP) pattern, (2) the Baikal Lake/Okhotsk Sea (BLOS) pattern, and (3) the eastern China/northern Okhotsk Sea (ECNOS) pattern. The positive EAP pattern significantly increases precipitation over the Yangtze River valley and favors cooling north of the Yangtze River and warming south of the Yangtze River in summer. The warm sea surface temperature anomalies over the tropical Indian Ocean suppress convection over the northwestern subtropical Pacific through the Ekman divergence induced by a Kelvin wave and excite the EAP pattern. The positive BLOS pattern is associated with below-average precipitation south of the Yangtze River and robust cooling over northeastern China. This pattern is triggered by anomalous spring sea ice concentration in the northern Barents Sea. The anomalous sea ice concentration contributes to a Rossby wave activity flux originating from the Greenland Sea, which propagates eastward to North Pacific. The positive ECNOS pattern leads to below-average precipitation and significant warming over northeastern China in summer. The reduced soil moisture associated with the earlier spring snowmelt enhances surface warming over Mongolia and northeastern China and the later spring snowmelt leads to surface cooling over Far East in summer, both of which are responsible for the formation of the ECNOS pattern.

  16. Multiresolution comparison of precipitation datasets for large-scale models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chun, K. P.; Sapriza Azuri, G.; Davison, B.; DeBeer, C. M.; Wheater, H. S.

    2014-12-01

    Gridded precipitation datasets are crucial for driving large-scale models which are related to weather forecast and climate research. However, the quality of precipitation products is usually validated individually. Comparisons between gridded precipitation products along with ground observations provide another avenue for investigating how the precipitation uncertainty would affect the performance of large-scale models. In this study, using data from a set of precipitation gauges over British Columbia and Alberta, we evaluate several widely used North America gridded products including the Canadian Gridded Precipitation Anomalies (CANGRD), the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis, the Water and Global Change (WATCH) project, the thin plate spline smoothing algorithms (ANUSPLIN) and Canadian Precipitation Analysis (CaPA). Based on verification criteria for various temporal and spatial scales, results provide an assessment of possible applications for various precipitation datasets. For long-term climate variation studies (~100 years), CANGRD, NCEP, WATCH and ANUSPLIN have different comparative advantages in terms of their resolution and accuracy. For synoptic and mesoscale precipitation patterns, CaPA provides appealing performance of spatial coherence. In addition to the products comparison, various downscaling methods are also surveyed to explore new verification and bias-reduction methods for improving gridded precipitation outputs for large-scale models.

  17. The Day-1 GPM Combined Precipitation Algorithm: IMERG

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huffman, G. J.; Bolvin, D. T.; Braithwaite, D.; Hsu, K.; Joyce, R.; Kidd, C.; Sorooshian, S.; Xie, P.

    2012-12-01

    The Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission (IMERG) algorithm will provide the at-launch combined-sensor precipitation dataset being produced by the U.S. GPM Science Team. IMERG is being developed as a unified U.S. algorithm that takes advantage of strengths in three current U.S. algorithms: - the TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), which addresses inter-satellite calibration of precipitation estimates and monthly scale combination of satellite and gauge analyses; - the CPC Morphing algorithm with Kalman Filtering (KF-CMORPH), which provides quality-weighted time interpolation of precipitation patterns following storm motion; and - the Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks using a Cloud Classification System (PERSIANN-CCS), which provides a neural-network-based scheme for generating microwave-calibrated precipitation estimates from geosynchronous infrared brightness temperatures, and filters out some non-raining cold clouds. The goal is to provide a long-term, fine-scale record of global precipitation from the entire constellation of precipitation-relevant satellite sensors, with input from surface precipitation gauges. The record will begin January 1998 at the start of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and extend as GPM records additional data. Although homogeneity is considered desirable, the use of diverse and evolving data sources works against the strict long-term homogeneity that characterizes a Climate Data Record (CDR). This talk will briefly review the design requirements for IMERG, including multiple runs at different latencies (most likely around 4 hours, 12 hours, and 2 months after observation time), various intermediate data fields as part of the IMERG data file, and the plans to bring up IMERG with calibration by TRMM initially, transitioning to GPM when its individual-sensor precipitation algorithms are fully functional

  18. Diabetic Ketoacidosis: Pattern of Precipitating Causes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashraf Uddin Ahmed

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA is one of the most common acute complications of diabetes mellitus (DM. DKA is a recognised presenting feature of type 1 DM, but it commonly complicates previously diagnosed diabetic patients of all types, specially if they get infection or discontinue treatment. Objective: To describe the precipitating causes of DKA. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done from September to November, 2010 in Bangladesh Institute of Research & Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders (BIRDEM. Diagnosed DKA cases were evaluated clinically and by laboratory investigations for identification of precipitating causes. Results: Out of 50 patients, 28 were female. Mean age was 38.3 years. Forty patients (80% were known diabetics and 10 (20% were detected diabetic first time during this admission. Severe DKA cases were less common. Infection (20, 40% was the commonest precipitating cause followed by noncompliance (14, 28%. In 7 (14% cases no cause could be identified. Other less common causes included acute myocardial infarction, acute pancreatitis, stroke and surgery. Conclusion: Infection and noncompliance were the major precipitants of DKA. So, it is assumed that many DKA cases might be prevented by proper counselling regarding adherence to medication and sick days’ management.

  19. Evaluating IPCC AR4 cool-season precipitation simulations and projections for impacts assessment over North America

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McAfee, Stephanie A. [The University of Arizona, Department of Geosciences, Tucson, AZ (United States); The Wilderness Society, Anchorage, AK (United States); Russell, Joellen L.; Goodman, Paul J. [The University of Arizona, Department of Geosciences, Tucson, AZ (United States)

    2011-12-15

    General circulation models (GCMs) have demonstrated success in simulating global climate, and they are critical tools for producing regional climate projections consistent with global changes in radiative forcing. GCM output is currently being used in a variety of ways for regional impacts projection. However, more work is required to assess model bias and evaluate whether assumptions about the independence of model projections and error are valid. This is particularly important where models do not display offsetting errors. Comparing simulated 300-hPa zonal winds and precipitation for the late 20th century with reanalysis and gridded precipitation data shows statistically significant and physically plausible associations between positive precipitation biases across all models and a marked increase in zonal wind speed around 30 N, as well as distortions in rain shadow patterns. Over the western United States, GCMs project drier conditions to the south and increasing precipitation to the north. There is a high degree of agreement between models, and many studies have made strong statements about implications for water resources and about ecosystem change on that basis. However, since one of the mechanisms driving changes in winter precipitation patterns appears to be associated with a source of error in simulating mean precipitation in the present, it suggests that greater caution should be used in interpreting impacts related to precipitation projections in this region and that standard assumptions underlying bias correction methods should be scrutinized. (orig.)

  20. Large differences in regional precipitation change between a first and second 2 K of global warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Good, Peter; Booth, Ben B. B.; Chadwick, Robin; Hawkins, Ed; Jonko, Alexandra; Lowe, Jason A.

    2016-01-01

    For adaptation and mitigation planning, stakeholders need reliable information about regional precipitation changes under different emissions scenarios and for different time periods. A significant amount of current planning effort assumes that each K of global warming produces roughly the same regional climate change. Here using 25 climate models, we compare precipitation responses with three 2 K intervals of global ensemble mean warming: a fast and a slower route to a first 2 K above pre-industrial levels, and the end-of-century difference between high-emission and mitigation scenarios. We show that, although the two routes to a first 2 K give very similar precipitation changes, a second 2 K produces quite a different response. In particular, the balance of physical mechanisms responsible for climate model uncertainty is different for a first and a second 2 K of warming. The results are consistent with a significant influence from nonlinear physical mechanisms, but aerosol and land-use effects may be important regionally. PMID:27922014

  1. Applying an orographic precipitation model to improve mass balance modeling of the Juneau Icefield, AK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roth, A. C.; Hock, R.; Schuler, T.; Bieniek, P.; Aschwanden, A.

    2017-12-01

    Mass loss from glaciers in Southeast Alaska is expected to alter downstream ecological systems as runoff patterns change. To investigate these potential changes under future climate scenarios, distributed glacier mass balance modeling is required. However, the spatial resolution gap between global or regional climate models and the requirements for glacier mass balance modeling studies must be addressed first. We have used a linear theory of orographic precipitation model to downscale precipitation from both the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and ERA-Interim to the Juneau Icefield region over the period 1979-2013. This implementation of the LT model is a unique parameterization that relies on the specification of snow fall speed and rain fall speed as tuning parameters to calculate the cloud time delay, τ. We assessed the LT model results by considering winter precipitation so the effect of melt was minimized. The downscaled precipitation pattern produced by the LT model captures the orographic precipitation pattern absent from the coarse resolution WRF and ERA-Interim precipitation fields. Observational data constraints limited our ability to determine a unique parameter combination and calibrate the LT model to glaciological observations. We established a reference run of parameter values based on literature and performed a sensitivity analysis of the LT model parameters, horizontal resolution, and climate input data on the average winter precipitation. The results of the reference run showed reasonable agreement with the available glaciological measurements. The precipitation pattern produced by the LT model was consistent regardless of parameter combination, horizontal resolution, and climate input data, but the precipitation amount varied strongly with these factors. Due to the consistency of the winter precipitation pattern and the uncertainty in precipitation amount, we suggest a precipitation index map approach to be used in combination with

  2. Will surface winds weaken in response to global warming?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Jian; Foltz, Gregory R.; Soden, Brian J.; Huang, Gang; He, Jie; Dong, Changming

    2016-12-01

    The surface Walker and tropical tropospheric circulations have been inferred to slow down from historical observations and model projections, yet analysis of large-scale surface wind predictions is lacking. Satellite measurements of surface wind speed indicate strengthening trends averaged over the global and tropical oceans that are supported by precipitation and evaporation changes. Here we use corrected anemometer-based observations to show that the surface wind speed has not decreased in the averaged tropical oceans, despite its reduction in the region of the Walker circulation. Historical simulations and future projections for climate change also suggest a near-zero wind speed trend averaged in space, regardless of the Walker cell change. In the tropics, the sea surface temperature pattern effect acts against the large-scale circulation slow-down. For higher latitudes, the surface winds shift poleward along with the eddy-driven mid-latitude westerlies, resulting in a very small contribution to the global change in surface wind speed. Despite its importance for surface wind speed change, the influence of the SST pattern change on global-mean rainfall is insignificant since it cannot substantially alter the global energy balance. As a result, the precipitation response to global warming remains ‘muted’ relative to atmospheric moisture increase. Our results therefore show consistency between projections and observations of surface winds and precipitation.

  3. Integrated Remote Sensing and Wavelet Analyses for Screening Short-term Teleconnection Patterns in Northeast America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Global sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies have a demonstrable effect on vegetation dynamics and precipitation patterns throughout the continental U.S. SST variations have been correlated with greenness (vegetation densities) and precipitation via ocean-atmospheric interactio...

  4. Characteristic precipitation patterns of El Niño/La Niña in time-variable gravity fields by GRACE

    OpenAIRE

    Morishita, Yu; Heki, Kosuke

    2008-01-01

    El Niño and La Niña are known to bring about characteristic patterns of anomalous precipitation in various regions of the world. We extracted temporary and regional gravity changes from monthly gravity fields recovered by the GRACE satellites, and converted them to the changes in surface mass, possibly ground or subsurface water in land area. Such mass changes in the 2006-2007 El Niño and 2005-2006 La Niña episodes agreed well with precipitation anomaly patterns inferred from meteorological r...

  5. Cluster Analysis of Monthly Precipitation over the Western Maritime Continent under Climate Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saurabh K Singh

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Changes in climate because of global warming during the 20th and 21st centuries have a direct impact on the hydrological cycle as driven by precipitation. However, studying precipitation over the Western Maritime Continent (WMC is a great challenge, as the WMC has a complex topography and weather system. Understanding changes in precipitation patterns and their groupings is an important aspect of planning mitigation measures to minimize flood and drought risk as well as of understanding the redistribution of precipitation arising from climate change. This paper employs Ward’s hierarchical clustering on regional climate model (RCM-simulated monthly precipitation gridded data over 42 approximately evenly distributed grid stations from the years 2030 to 2060. The aim was to investigate spatial and temporal groupings over the four major landmasses in the WMC and to compare these with historical precipitation groupings. The results showed that the four large-scale islands of Java, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo would experience a significant spatial redistribution of precipitation over the years 2030 to 2060, as compared to historical patterns from 1980 to 2005. The spatial groups were also compared for two future forcing scenarios, representative concentration pathways (RCPs 4.5 and 8.5, and different groupings over the Borneo region were observed.

  6. Global patterns of evolutionary distinct and globally endangered amphibians and mammals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamran Safi

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Conservation of phylogenetic diversity allows maximising evolutionary information preserved within fauna and flora. The "EDGE of Existence" programme is the first institutional conservation initiative that prioritises species based on phylogenetic information. Species are ranked in two ways: one according to their evolutionary distinctiveness (ED and second, by including IUCN extinction status, their evolutionary distinctiveness and global endangerment (EDGE. Here, we describe the global patterns in the spatial distribution of priority ED and EDGE species, in order to identify conservation areas for mammalian and amphibian communities. In addition, we investigate whether environmental conditions can predict the observed spatial pattern in ED and EDGE globally. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Priority zones with high concentrations of ED and EDGE scores were defined using two different methods. The overlap between mammal and amphibian zones was very small, reflecting the different phylo-biogeographic histories. Mammal ED zones were predominantly found on the African continent and the neotropical forests, whereas in amphibians, ED zones were concentrated in North America. Mammal EDGE zones were mainly in South-East Asia, southern Africa and Madagascar; for amphibians they were in central and south America. The spatial pattern of ED and EDGE was poorly described by a suite of environmental variables. CONCLUSIONS: Mapping the spatial distribution of ED and EDGE provides an important step towards identifying priority areas for the conservation of mammalian and amphibian phylogenetic diversity in the EDGE of existence programme.

  7. Fluctuations in the large-scale atmospheric circulation and ocean conditions associated with the dominant modes of wintertime precipitation variability for the contiguous United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitchell, T.P.; Blier, W.

    1994-01-01

    The historical Climatic Division record of monthly- and seasonal-mean wintertime precipitation totals are analyzed to document the dominant patterns of precipitation variability for the contiguous United States. The analysis technique employed is the Rotated Principal Component analysis. Time series for the leading patterns are related to global sea-surface temperatures (SSTs), and to gridded surface and upper-air analyses for the Northern Hemisphere

  8. Climate Drivers of Spatiotemporal Variability of Precipitation in the Source Region of Yangtze River

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Y.; Berndtsson, R.; An, D.; Yuan, F.

    2017-12-01

    Variability of precipitation regime has significant influence on the environment sustainability in the source region of Yangtze River, especially when the vegetation degradation and biodiversity reduction have already occurred. Understanding the linkage between variability of local precipitation and global teleconnection patterns is essential for water resources management. Based on physical reasoning, indices of the climate drivers can provide a practical way of predicting precipitation. Due to high seasonal variability of precipitation, climate drivers of the seasonal precipitation also varies. However, few reports have gone through the teleconnections between large scale patterns with seasonal precipitation in the source region of Yangtze River. The objectives of this study are therefore (1) assessment of temporal trend and spatial variability of precipitation in the source region of Yangtze River; (2) identification of climate indices with strong influence on seasonal precipitation anomalies; (3) prediction of seasonal precipitation based on revealed climate indices. Principal component analysis and Spearman rank correlation were used to detect significant relationships. A feed-forward artificial neural network(ANN) was developed to predict seasonal precipitation using significant correlated climate indices. Different influencing climate indices were revealed for precipitation in each season, with significant level and lag times. Significant influencing factors were selected to be the predictors for ANN model. With correlation coefficients between observed and simulated precipitation over 0.5, the results were eligible to predict the precipitation of spring, summer and winter using teleconnections, which can improve integrated water resources management in the source region of Yangtze River.

  9. Linking Global Patterns of Nitrogen Resorption with Nitrogen Mineralization During Litter Decomposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, M.; Liu, L.; Jiang, L.

    2017-12-01

    The nitrogen (N) cycle in terrestrial ecosystems is strongly influenced by resorption prior to litter fall and by mineralization after litter fall. Although both resorption and mineralization make N available to plants and are influenced by climate, their linkage in a changing environment remains largely unknown. Here, we show that, at the global scale, increasing N resorption efficiency has a negative effect on the N mineralization rate. With increasing temperature and precipitation, the increasing rate of the N cycle is closely related to the shift from the more conservative resorption pathway to an acquiring mineralization pathway. Furthermore, systems with faster N-cycle rates support plants with higher foliar N:P ratios and microbes with lower fungi:bacteria ratios. We highlight the importance of considering the geographic pattern and the dynamic interaction between N resorption and N mineralization, which should be incorporated into earth-system models to improve the simulation of nutrient constraints on ecosystem productivity.

  10. Uncertainty of global summer precipitation in the CMIP5 models: a comparison between high-resolution and low-resolution models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Danqing; Yan, Peiwen; Zhu, Jian; Zhang, Yaocun; Kuang, Xueyuan; Cheng, Jing

    2018-04-01

    The uncertainty of global summer precipitation simulated by the 23 CMIP5 CGCMs and the possible impacts of model resolutions are investigated in this study. Large uncertainties exist over the tropical and subtropical regions, which can be mainly attributed to convective precipitation simulation. High-resolution models (HRMs) and low-resolution models (LRMs) are further investigated to demonstrate their different contributions to the uncertainties of the ensemble mean. It shows that the high-resolution model ensemble means (HMME) and low-resolution model ensemble mean (LMME) mitigate the biases between the MME and observation over most continents and oceans, respectively. The HMME simulates more precipitation than the LMME over most oceans, but less precipitation over some continents. The dominant precipitation category in the HRMs (LRMs) is the heavy precipitation (moderate precipitation) over the tropic regions. The combinations of convective and stratiform precipitation are also quite different: the HMME has much higher ratio of stratiform precipitation while the LMME has more convective precipitation. Finally, differences in precipitation between the HMME and LMME can be traced to their differences in the SST simulations via the local and remote air-sea interaction.

  11. Characterisation of extreme winter precipitation in Mediterranean coastal sites and associated anomalous atmospheric circulation patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toreti, A.; Xoplaki, E.; Maraun, D.; Kuglitsch, F. G.; Wanner, H.; Luterbacher, J.

    2010-05-01

    We present an analysis of daily extreme precipitation events for the extended winter season (October-March) at 20 Mediterranean coastal sites covering the period 1950-2006. The heavy tailed behaviour of precipitation extremes and estimated return levels, including associated uncertainties, are derived applying a procedure based on the Generalized Pareto Distribution, in combination with recently developed methods. Precipitation extremes have an important contribution to make seasonal totals (approximately 60% for all series). Three stations (one in the western Mediterranean and the others in the eastern basin) have a 5-year return level above 100 mm, while the lowest value (estimated for two Italian series) is equal to 58 mm. As for the 50-year return level, an Italian station (Genoa) has the highest value of 264 mm, while the other values range from 82 to 200 mm. Furthermore, six series (from stations located in France, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus) show a significant negative tendency in the probability of observing an extreme event. The relationship between extreme precipitation events and the large scale atmospheric circulation at the upper, mid and low troposphere is investigated by using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. A 2-step classification procedure identifies three significant anomaly patterns both for the western-central and eastern part of the Mediterranean basin. In the western Mediterranean, the anomalous southwesterly surface to mid-tropospheric flow is connected with enhanced moisture transport from the Atlantic. During ≥5-year return level events, the subtropical jet stream axis is aligned with the African coastline and interacts with the eddy-driven jet stream. This is connected with enhanced large scale ascending motions, instability and leads to the development of severe precipitation events. For the eastern Mediterranean extreme precipitation events, the identified anomaly patterns suggest warm air advection connected with anomalous ascent motions

  12. Characterisation of extreme winter precipitation in Mediterranean coastal sites and associated anomalous atmospheric circulation patterns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Toreti

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available We present an analysis of daily extreme precipitation events for the extended winter season (October–March at 20 Mediterranean coastal sites covering the period 1950–2006. The heavy tailed behaviour of precipitation extremes and estimated return levels, including associated uncertainties, are derived applying a procedure based on the Generalized Pareto Distribution, in combination with recently developed methods. Precipitation extremes have an important contribution to make seasonal totals (approximately 60% for all series. Three stations (one in the western Mediterranean and the others in the eastern basin have a 5-year return level above 100 mm, while the lowest value (estimated for two Italian series is equal to 58 mm. As for the 50-year return level, an Italian station (Genoa has the highest value of 264 mm, while the other values range from 82 to 200 mm. Furthermore, six series (from stations located in France, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus show a significant negative tendency in the probability of observing an extreme event. The relationship between extreme precipitation events and the large scale atmospheric circulation at the upper, mid and low troposphere is investigated by using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. A 2-step classification procedure identifies three significant anomaly patterns both for the western-central and eastern part of the Mediterranean basin. In the western Mediterranean, the anomalous southwesterly surface to mid-tropospheric flow is connected with enhanced moisture transport from the Atlantic. During ≥5-year return level events, the subtropical jet stream axis is aligned with the African coastline and interacts with the eddy-driven jet stream. This is connected with enhanced large scale ascending motions, instability and leads to the development of severe precipitation events. For the eastern Mediterranean extreme precipitation events, the identified anomaly patterns suggest warm air advection connected with anomalous

  13. Non-stationary analysis of the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation over Canada and their relations to large-scale climate patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Xuezhi; Gan, Thian Yew

    2017-05-01

    In recent years, because the frequency and severity of floods have increased across Canada, it is important to understand the characteristics of Canadian heavy precipitation. Long-term precipitation data of 463 gauging stations of Canada were analyzed using non-stationary generalized extreme value distribution (GEV), Poisson distribution and generalized Pareto (GP) distribution. Time-varying covariates that represent large-scale climate patterns such as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) and North Pacific Oscillation (NP) were incorporated to parameters of GEV, Poisson and GP distributions. Results show that GEV distributions tend to under-estimate annual maximum daily precipitation (AMP) of western and eastern coastal regions of Canada, compared to GP distributions. Poisson regressions show that temporal clusters of heavy precipitation events in Canada are related to large-scale climate patterns. By modeling AMP time series with non-stationary GEV and heavy precipitation with non-stationary GP distributions, it is evident that AMP and heavy precipitation of Canada show strong non-stationarities (abrupt and slowly varying changes) likely because of the influence of large-scale climate patterns. AMP in southwestern coastal regions, southern Canadian Prairies and the Great Lakes tend to be higher in El Niño than in La Niña years, while AMP of other regions of Canada tends to be lower in El Niño than in La Niña years. The influence of ENSO on heavy precipitation was spatially consistent but stronger than on AMP. The effect of PDO, NAO and NP on extreme precipitation is also statistically significant at some stations across Canada.

  14. The role of trees and plantation agriculture in mitigating global ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Climate change refers to a paradigm shift in the climatic pattern of a location, region or planet which is linked with average weather components, such as temperature, wind patterns and precipitations. Climate change results in erratic events such as rising global temperature, intensified drought, flooding, cyclones, low or ...

  15. Optimizing Orbit-Instrument Configuration for Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) Satellite Fleet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Eric A.; Adams, James; Baptista, Pedro; Haddad, Ziad; Iguchi, Toshio; Im, Eastwood; Kummerow, Christian; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Following the scientific success of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spearheaded by a group of NASA and NASDA scientists, their external scientific collaborators, and additional investigators within the European Union's TRMM Research Program (EUROTRMM), there has been substantial progress towards the development of a new internationally organized, global scale, and satellite-based precipitation measuring mission. The highlights of this newly developing mission are a greatly expanded scope of measuring capability and a more diversified set of science objectives. The mission is called the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM). Notionally, GPM will be a constellation-type mission involving a fleet of nine satellites. In this fleet, one member is referred to as the "core" spacecraft flown in an approximately 70 degree inclined non-sun-synchronous orbit, somewhat similar to TRMM in that it carries both a multi-channel polarized passive microwave radiometer (PMW) and a radar system, but in this case it will be a dual frequency Ku-Ka band radar system enabling explicit measurements of microphysical DSD properties. The remainder of fleet members are eight orbit-synchronized, sun-synchronous "constellation" spacecraft each carrying some type of multi-channel PMW radiometer, enabling no worse than 3-hour diurnal sampling over the entire globe. In this configuration the "core" spacecraft serves as a high quality reference platform for training and calibrating the PMW rain retrieval algorithms used with the "constellation" radiometers. Within NASA, GPM has advanced to the pre-formulation phase which has enabled the initiation of a set of science and technology studies which will help lead to the final mission design some time in the 2003 period. This presentation first provides an overview of the notional GPM program and mission design, including its organizational and programmatic concepts, scientific agenda, expected instrument package, and basic flight

  16. GLOBAL PATTERNS OF LEPTOSPIRA PREVALENCE IN VERTEBRATE RESERVOIR HOSTS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersen-Ranberg, Emilie U; Pipper, Christian; Jensen, Per M

    2016-07-01

    Leptospirosis is a widespread emerging bacterial zoonosis. As the transmission is believed to be predominantly waterborne, human incidence is expected to increase in conjunction with global climate change and associated extreme weather events. Providing more accurate predictions of human leptospirosis requires more detailed information on animal reservoirs that are the source of human infection. We evaluated the prevalence of Leptospira in vertebrates worldwide and its association with taxonomy, geographic region, host biology, ambient temperature, and precipitation patterns. A multivariate regression analysis with a meta-analysis-like approach was used to analyze compiled data extracted from 300 Leptospira-related peer reviewed papers. A fairly uniform Leptospira infection prevalence of about 15% was found in the majority of mammalian families. Higher prevalence was frequently associated with species occupying urban habitats, and this may explain why climatic factors were not significantly correlated with prevalence as consistently as expected. Across different approaches of the multiple regression analyses, the variables most frequently correlated with Leptospira infection prevalence were the host's ability to swim, minimum ambient temperature, and methodologic quality of the study. Prevalence in carnivores was not associated with any climatic variable, and the importance of environmental risk factors were indicated to be of lesser consequence in nonhuman mammals. The dataset is made available for further analysis.

  17. Satellite communications - Intelsat and global patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Astrain, S.

    1983-10-01

    The global pattern of mankind's population growth is examined, taking into account the exponential increase in population which began only in the 17th century. As world population has grown, trade has increased, and transportation and communications have become vitally important. A revolution in global communications was initiated when Intelsat launched the first international communications satellite, 'Early Bird', in April 1965. Since April 1965, a tremendous development in global communications by means of satellites has taken place. The Intelsat VI satellite will have a capacity of 36,000 telephone circuits plus 2 TV channels, while the capacity of Early Bird was only 240 telephone circuits. Today, Intelsat is truly an international organization which includes 108 member countries. Attention is given to the particular importance of the Intelsat services to the developing countries, the exploration of new technologies and system concepts, and the extension of services to those portions of the global village which have remained electronically isolated.

  18. Impact of Precipitating Ice Hydrometeors on Longwave Radiative Effect Estimated by a Global Cloud-System Resolving Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Ying-Wen; Seiki, Tatsuya; Kodama, Chihiro; Satoh, Masaki; Noda, Akira T.

    2018-02-01

    Satellite observation and general circulation model (GCM) studies suggest that precipitating ice makes nonnegligible contributions to the radiation balance of the Earth. However, in most GCMs, precipitating ice is diagnosed and its radiative effects are not taken into account. Here we examine the longwave radiative impact of precipitating ice using a global nonhydrostatic atmospheric model with a double-moment cloud microphysics scheme. An off-line radiation model is employed to determine cloud radiative effects according to the amount and altitude of each type of ice hydrometeor. Results show that the snow radiative effect reaches 2 W m-2 in the tropics, which is about half the value estimated by previous studies. This effect is strongly dependent on the vertical separation of ice categories and is partially generated by differences in terminal velocities, which are not represented in GCMs with diagnostic precipitating ice. Results from sensitivity experiments that artificially change the categories and altitudes of precipitating ice show that the simulated longwave heating profile and longwave radiation field are sensitive to the treatment of precipitating ice in models. This study emphasizes the importance of incorporating appropriate treatments for the radiative effects of precipitating ice in cloud and radiation schemes in GCMs in order to capture the cloud radiative effects of upper level clouds.

  19. A CloudSat-CALIPSO View of Cloud and Precipitation Properties Across Cold Fronts over the Global Oceans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naud, Catherine M.; Posselt, Derek J.; van den Heever, Susan C.

    2015-01-01

    The distribution of cloud and precipitation properties across oceanic extratropical cyclone cold fronts is examined using four years of combined CloudSat radar and CALIPSO lidar retrievals. The global annual mean cloud and precipitation distributions show that low-level clouds are ubiquitous in the post frontal zone while higher-level cloud frequency and precipitation peak in the warm sector along the surface front. Increases in temperature and moisture within the cold front region are associated with larger high-level but lower mid-/low level cloud frequencies and precipitation decreases in the cold sector. This behavior seems to be related to a shift from stratiform to convective clouds and precipitation. Stronger ascent in the warm conveyor belt tends to enhance cloudiness and precipitation across the cold front. A strong temperature contrast between the warm and cold sectors also encourages greater post-cold-frontal cloud occurrence. While the seasonal contrasts in environmental temperature, moisture, and ascent strength are enough to explain most of the variations in cloud and precipitation across cold fronts in both hemispheres, they do not fully explain the differences between Northern and Southern Hemisphere cold fronts. These differences are better explained when the impact of the contrast in temperature across the cold front is also considered. In addition, these large-scale parameters do not explain the relatively large frequency in springtime post frontal precipitation.

  20. Optimizing human activity patterns using global sensitivity analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairchild, Geoffrey; Hickmann, Kyle S; Mniszewski, Susan M; Del Valle, Sara Y; Hyman, James M

    2014-12-01

    Implementing realistic activity patterns for a population is crucial for modeling, for example, disease spread, supply and demand, and disaster response. Using the dynamic activity simulation engine, DASim, we generate schedules for a population that capture regular (e.g., working, eating, and sleeping) and irregular activities (e.g., shopping or going to the doctor). We use the sample entropy (SampEn) statistic to quantify a schedule's regularity for a population. We show how to tune an activity's regularity by adjusting SampEn, thereby making it possible to realistically design activities when creating a schedule. The tuning process sets up a computationally intractable high-dimensional optimization problem. To reduce the computational demand, we use Bayesian Gaussian process regression to compute global sensitivity indices and identify the parameters that have the greatest effect on the variance of SampEn. We use the harmony search (HS) global optimization algorithm to locate global optima. Our results show that HS combined with global sensitivity analysis can efficiently tune the SampEn statistic with few search iterations. We demonstrate how global sensitivity analysis can guide statistical emulation and global optimization algorithms to efficiently tune activities and generate realistic activity patterns. Though our tuning methods are applied to dynamic activity schedule generation, they are general and represent a significant step in the direction of automated tuning and optimization of high-dimensional computer simulations.

  1. Precipitation patterns and moisture fluxes in a sandy, tropical environment with a shallow water table

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minihane, M. R.; Freyberg, D. L.

    2011-08-01

    Identifying the dominant mechanisms controlling recharge in shallow sandy soils in tropical climates has received relatively little attention. Given the expansion of coastal fill using marine sands and the growth of coastal populations throughout the tropics, there is a need to better understand the nature of water balances in these settings. We use time series of field observations at a coastal landfill in Singapore coupled with numerical modeling using the Richards' equation to examine the impact of precipitation patterns on soil moisture dynamics, including percolation past the root zone and recharge, in such an environment. A threshold in total precipitation event depth, much more so than peak precipitation intensity, is the strongest event control on recharge. However, shallow antecedent moisture, and therefore the timing between events along with the seasonal depth to water table, also play significant roles in determining recharge amounts. For example, at our field site, precipitation events of less than 3 mm per event yield little to no direct recharge, but for larger events, moisture content changes below the root zone are linearly correlated to the product of the average antecedent moisture content and the total event precipitation. Therefore, water resources planners need to consider identifying threshold precipitation volumes, along with the multiple time scales that capture variability in event antecedent conditions and storm frequency in assessing the role of recharge in coastal water balances in tropical settings.

  2. The Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation after 55 years: assessing past, present and future developments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terzer, Stefan; Araguas-Araguas, Luis; Wassenaar, Leonard I.; Aggarwal, Pradeep K.

    2015-04-01

    The Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) is a global observation programme operated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in cooperation with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and more than 100 contributing institutions worldwide. GNIP has been the primary repository for baseline stable (δ18O, δ2H) and radioactive (3H) isotope data since its foundation in 1960. The impetus for GNIP was the monitoring of radioactive fallout from atmospheric thermonuclear testing and resulting tritium levels of precipitation, but tritium together with stable isotopes was recognized as a key to understanding hydrological processes. Later, new applications were developed focusing on hydrometeorology and paleoclimatic research. Increasingly, GNIP data are being used more widely in ecological and forensic investigations, e.g. for tracking of migratory animals. The GNIP database comprises more than 135,000 isotopic records (δ18O: 63,000; δ2H: 55,000; 3H: 63,000) of monthly composite precipitation samples from more than 1,000 stations worldwide. About 300 stations are currently active for stable isotopes and ca. 100 for tritium. Data for most of the active stations is available up to 2013. Several national isotopic observation networks (e.g. in Austria, Australia, China or the United States of America) exist besides GNIP, complementing precipitation isotope data at national levels. The spatially and temporally discrete nature of the GNIP dataset induces coverage gaps. Recently, highly-resolved gridded datasets were established to help overcome this deficiency through geostatistical prediction models. These 'isoscape' (isotopic landscapes) are based on combinations of multiple regression and interpolation methods, with a range of parameterization available at regional and global levels. Attempts to bridge the gap between 'one-size-fits-all' global parameterization and improved predictions at regional and local levels led to the establishment of a

  3. Multiscale comparison of GPM radar and passive microwave precipitation fields over oceans and land: effective resolution and global/regional/local diagnostics for improving retrieval algorithms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guilloteau, C.; Foufoula-Georgiou, E.; Kummerow, C.; Kirstetter, P. E.

    2017-12-01

    A multiscale approach is used to compare precipitation fields retrieved from GMI using the last version of the GPROF algorithm (GPROF-2017) to the DPR fields all over the globe. Using a wavelet-based spectral analysis, which renders the multi-scale decompositions of the original fields independent of each other spatially and across scales, we quantitatively assess the various scales of variability of the retrieved fields, and thus define the spatially-variable "effective resolution" (ER) of the retrievals. Globally, a strong agreement is found between passive microwave and radar patterns at scales coarser than 80km. Over oceans the patterns match down to the 20km scale. Over land, comparison statistics are spatially heterogeneous. In most areas a strong discrepancy is observed between passive microwave and radar patterns at scales finer than 40-80km. The comparison is also supported by ground-based observations over the continental US derived from the NOAA/NSSL MRMS suite of products. While larger discrepancies over land than over oceans are classically explained by land complex surface emissivity perturbing the passive microwave retrieval, other factors are investigated here, such as intricate differences in the storm structure over oceans and land. Differences in term of statistical properties (PDF of intensities and spatial organization) of precipitation fields over land and oceans are assessed from radar data, as well as differences in the relation between the 89GHz brightness temperature and precipitation. Moreover, the multiscale approach allows quantifying the part of discrepancies caused by miss-match of the location of intense cells and instrument-related geometric effects. The objective is to diagnose shortcomings of current retrieval algorithms such that targeted improvements can be made to achieve over land the same retrieval performance as over oceans.

  4. Satellite-Based Precipitation Datasets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munchak, S. J.; Huffman, G. J.

    2017-12-01

    Of the possible sources of precipitation data, those based on satellites provide the greatest spatial coverage. There is a wide selection of datasets, algorithms, and versions from which to choose, which can be confusing to non-specialists wishing to use the data. The International Precipitation Working Group (IPWG) maintains tables of the major publicly available, long-term, quasi-global precipitation data sets (http://www.isac.cnr.it/ ipwg/data/datasets.html), and this talk briefly reviews the various categories. As examples, NASA provides two sets of quasi-global precipitation data sets: the older Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) and current Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission (IMERG). Both provide near-real-time and post-real-time products that are uniformly gridded in space and time. The TMPA products are 3-hourly 0.25°x0.25° on the latitude band 50°N-S for about 16 years, while the IMERG products are half-hourly 0.1°x0.1° on 60°N-S for over 3 years (with plans to go to 16+ years in Spring 2018). In addition to the precipitation estimates, each data set provides fields of other variables, such as the satellite sensor providing estimates and estimated random error. The discussion concludes with advice about determining suitability for use, the necessity of being clear about product names and versions, and the need for continued support for satellite- and surface-based observation.

  5. Insights into changes in precipitation patterns in Brazil from oxygen isotope ratios on speleothems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz, F.; Mathias, V.; Stephen, B. J.; Wang, X.; Cheng, H.; Werner, M.; Edwards, R. L.; Karmann, I.; Auler, A. S.

    2008-12-01

    Variations in tropical precipitation on millennial and orbital time scales can reflect a Hadley-cell-related anti- phasing between the Northern and Southern hemispheres due to the influence of insolation on the global summer monsoons. A new δ18O speleothem record from northeastern Brazil shows that insolation- driven changes in monsoon intensity are capable of producing a similar, zonally oriented anti-phasing within the same hemisphere. Comparison of our speleothem record with other precipitation-sensitive proxies from the central Andes and southeastern Brazil shows that precipitation in Northeastern Brazil has been out of phase with insolation and rainfall in the rest of tropical South America south of the equator since the Last Glacial Maximum. Northeastern Brazil experienced humid conditions when summer insolation was reduced and arid conditions when insolation was high. While previous interpretations of past climate change in NE South America have commonly invoked meridional displacements in ITCZ location as the main mechanism for changes in precipitation on millennial time scales, our results suggest that remote monsoon forcing is responsible for much of the observed precipitation changes on orbital time scales during the Holocene. These results demonstrate that orbitally driven out-of-phase relationships in precipitation are not limited to interhemispheric anti-phasing as demonstrated previously, but may well occur within the same hemisphere. Speleothem records also indicate contrasting climatic conditions around the Last Glacial Maximum in Brazil, characterized by marked dry and wet climates in the Nordeste and in southeastern Brazil, respectively. It is likely, however, that these regional differences primarily reflect more distant extratropical teleconnections from the Atlantic Ocean and high northern latitude changes during glacial conditions.

  6. Implementing a Global Tool for Mercy Corps Based on Spatially Continuous Precipitation Analysis for Resiliency Monitoring and Measuring at the Community-Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomlin, J. N.; El-Behaedi, R.; McCartney, S.; Lingo, R.; Thieme, A.

    2017-12-01

    Global water resources are important for societies, economies, and the environment. In Niger, limited water resources restrict the expansion of agriculture and communities. Mercy Corps currently works in over 40 countries around the world to address a variety of stresses which include water resources and building long-term food resilience. As Mercy Corps seeks to integrate the use of Earth observations, NASA has established a partnership to help facilitate this effort incorporating Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM), and Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) data to create a standardized precipitation index that highlights low and high rainfall from 1981 - 2016. The team created a Google Earth Engine tool that combines precipitation data with other metrics of stress in Niger. The system is designed to be able to incorporate groundwater storage data as it becomes available. This tool allows for near real-time updates of trends in precipitation and improves Mercy Corps' ability to spatially evaluate changes in resiliency by monitoring shocks and stressors.

  7. Precipitation variability increases in a warmer climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pendergrass, Angeline G; Knutti, Reto; Lehner, Flavio; Deser, Clara; Sanderson, Benjamin M

    2017-12-21

    Understanding changes in precipitation variability is essential for a complete explanation of the hydrologic cycle's response to warming and its impacts. While changes in mean and extreme precipitation have been studied intensively, precipitation variability has received less attention, despite its theoretical and practical importance. Here, we show that precipitation variability in most climate models increases over a majority of global land area in response to warming (66% of land has a robust increase in variability of seasonal-mean precipitation). Comparing recent decades to RCP8.5 projections for the end of the 21 st century, we find that in the global, multi-model mean, precipitation variability increases 3-4% K -1 globally, 4-5% K -1 over land and 2-4% K -1 over ocean, and is remarkably robust on a range of timescales from daily to decadal. Precipitation variability increases by at least as much as mean precipitation and less than moisture and extreme precipitation for most models, regions, and timescales. We interpret this as being related to an increase in moisture which is partially mitigated by weakening circulation. We show that changes in observed daily variability in station data are consistent with increased variability.

  8. Impacts of the EA and SCA patterns on the 20th century NAO-winter precipitation relationship in Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comas-Bru, Laia; McDermott, Frank

    2013-04-01

    Much of the 20th century multi-decadal variability in the NAO-winter precipitation relationship over the N. Atlantic / European sector can be ascribed to the combined effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and either the East Atlantic pattern (EA) or the Scandinavian pattern (SCA). The NAO, EA and SCA indices employed here are defined as the three leading vectors of the cross-correlation matrix calculated from monthly sea-level pressure anomalies for 138 complete winters from the 20CRv2 dataset (Compo et al., 2011). Winter precipitation data over Europe for the entire 20th century is derived from the high resolution CRU-TS3.1 climate dataset (Mitchell and Jones, 2005). Here we document for the first time, that different NAO/EA and NAO/SCA combinations systematically influence winter precipitation conditions in Europe as a consequence of NAO dipole migrations. We find that the zero-correlated line of the NAO-winter precipitation relationship migrates southwards when the EA is in the opposite phase to the NAO. This can be related to a south-westwards migration of the NAO dipole under these conditions, as shown by teleconnectivity maps. Similarly, a clockwise movement of the NAO-winter climate correlated areas occurs when the phase of the SCA is opposite to that of the NAO, reflecting a clockwise movement of the NAO dipole under these conditions. An important implication of these migrations is that they influence the spatial and temporal stationarity of climate-NAO relationships. As a result, the link between winter precipitation patterns and the NAO is not straightforward in some regions such as the southern UK, Ireland and France. For instance, much of the inter-annual variability in the N-S winter precipitation gradient in the UK, originally attributed to inter-annual and inter-decadal variability of the NAO, reflects the migration of the NAO dipole, linked to linear combinations of the NAO and the EA. Our results indicate that when the N-S winter

  9. UC Irvine CHRS Real-time Global Satellite Precipitation Monitoring System (G-WADI PERSIANN-CCS GeoServer) for Hydrometeorological Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sorooshian, S.; Hsu, K. L.; Gao, X.; Imam, B.; Nguyen, P.; Braithwaite, D.; Logan, W. S.; Mishra, A.

    2015-12-01

    The G-WADI Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks-Cloud Classification System (PERSIANN-CCS) GeoServer has been successfully developed by the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing (CHRS) at the University of California Irvine in collaboration with the UNESCO's International Hydrological Programme (IHP) and a number of its international centers. The system employs state-of-the-art technologies in remote sensing and artificial intelligence to estimate precipitation globally from satellite imagery in real-time and high spatiotemporal resolution (4km, hourly). It offers graphical tools and data service to help the user in emergency planning and management for natural disasters related to hydrological processes. The G-WADI PERSIANN-CCS GeoServer has been upgraded with new user-friendly functionalities. The precipitation data generated by the GeoServer is disseminated to the user community through support provided by ICIWaRM (The International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management), UNESCO and UC Irvine. Recently a number of new applications for mobile devices have been developed by our students. The RainMapper has been available on App Store and Google Play for the real-time PERSIANN-CCS observations. A global crowd sourced rainfall reporting system named iRain has also been developed to engage the public globally to provide qualitative information about real-time precipitation in their location which will be useful in improving the quality of the PERSIANN-CCS data. A number of recent examples of the application and use of the G-WADI PERSIANN-CCS GeoServer information will also be presented.

  10. Encoding information into precipitation structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martens, Kirsten; Bena, Ioana; Droz, Michel; Rácz, Zoltan

    2008-01-01

    Material design at submicron scales would be profoundly affected if the formation of precipitation patterns could be easily controlled. It would allow the direct building of bulk structures, in contrast to traditional techniques which consist of removing material in order to create patterns. Here, we discuss an extension of our recent proposal of using electrical currents to control precipitation bands which emerge in the wake of reaction fronts in A + + B – → C reaction–diffusion processes. Our main result, based on simulating the reaction–diffusion–precipitation equations, is that the dynamics of the charged agents can be guided by an appropriately designed time-dependent electric current so that, in addition to the control of the band spacing, the width of the precipitation bands can also be tuned. This makes straightforward the encoding of information into precipitation patterns and, as an amusing example, we demonstrate the feasibility by showing how to encode a musical rhythm

  11. STAMMEX high resolution gridded daily precipitation dataset over Germany: a new potential for regional precipitation climate research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zolina, Olga; Simmer, Clemens; Kapala, Alice; Mächel, Hermann; Gulev, Sergey; Groisman, Pavel

    2014-05-01

    We present new high resolution precipitation daily grids developed at Meteorological Institute, University of Bonn and German Weather Service (DWD) under the STAMMEX project (Spatial and Temporal Scales and Mechanisms of Extreme Precipitation Events over Central Europe). Daily precipitation grids have been developed from the daily-observing precipitation network of DWD, which runs one of the World's densest rain gauge networks comprising more than 7500 stations. Several quality-controlled daily gridded products with homogenized sampling were developed covering the periods 1931-onwards (with 0.5 degree resolution), 1951-onwards (0.25 degree and 0.5 degree), and 1971-2000 (0.1 degree). Different methods were tested to select the best gridding methodology that minimizes errors of integral grid estimates over hilly terrain. Besides daily precipitation values with uncertainty estimates (which include standard estimates of the kriging uncertainty as well as error estimates derived by a bootstrapping algorithm), the STAMMEX data sets include a variety of statistics that characterize temporal and spatial dynamics of the precipitation distribution (quantiles, extremes, wet/dry spells, etc.). Comparisons with existing continental-scale daily precipitation grids (e.g., CRU, ECA E-OBS, GCOS) which include considerably less observations compared to those used in STAMMEX, demonstrate the added value of high-resolution grids for extreme rainfall analyses. These data exhibit spatial variability pattern and trends in precipitation extremes, which are missed or incorrectly reproduced over Central Europe from coarser resolution grids based on sparser networks. The STAMMEX dataset can be used for high-quality climate diagnostics of precipitation variability, as a reference for reanalyses and remotely-sensed precipitation products (including the upcoming Global Precipitation Mission products), and for input into regional climate and operational weather forecast models. We will present

  12. Spatiotemporal patterns of precipitation extremes in the Poyang Lake basin, China: Changing properties and causes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, M.

    2016-12-01

    Under the background of climate change, extensive attentions have been paid on the increased extreme precipitation from the public and government. To analyze the influences of large-scale climate indices on the precipitation extremes, the spatiotemporal patterns of precipitation extremes in the Poyang Lake basin have been investigated using the Bayesian hierarchical method. The seasonal maximum one-day precipitation amount (Rx1day) was used to represent the seasonal precipitation extremes. Results indicated that spring Rx1day was affected by El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), a positive ENSO event in the same year tends to decrease the spring Rx1day in the northern part of Poyang Lake Basin while increase the spring Rx1day in southeastern Poyang Lake Basin, a positive NAO events in the same year tends to increase the spring Rx1day in the southwest and northwest part of Poyang Lake basin while decrease the spring Rx1day in the eastern part of Poyang Lake basin; summer Rx1day was affected by Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), positive IOD events in the same year tend to increase the summer Rx1day of northern Poyang Lake basin while decrease summer Rx1day of southern Poyang Lake basin; autumn Rx1day was affected by ENSO, positive ENSO events in the same year tend to mainly increase the autumn Rx1day in the west part of Poyang Lake basin; winter Rx1day was mainly affected by the NAO, positive NAO events in the same year tend to mainly increase the winter Rx1day of southern Poyang Lake basin, while positive NAO events in the previous year tend to mainly increase the winter Rx1day in the central and northeast part of Poyang Lake basin. It is considered that the region with the negative vertical velocity is dominated by more precipitation and vice versa. Furthermore, field patterns of 500 hPa vertical velocity anomalies related to each climate index have further corroborated the influences of climate indices on the seasonal Rx1day, and

  13. Precipitation in a warming world: Assessing projected hydro-climate changes in California and other Mediterranean climate regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polade, Suraj D; Gershunov, Alexander; Cayan, Daniel R; Dettinger, Michael D; Pierce, David W

    2017-09-07

    In most Mediterranean climate (MedClim) regions around the world, global climate models (GCMs) consistently project drier futures. In California, however, projections of changes in annual precipitation are inconsistent. Analysis of daily precipitation in 30 GCMs reveals patterns in projected hydrometeorology over each of the five MedClm regions globally and helps disentangle their causes. MedClim regions, except California, are expected to dry via decreased frequency of winter precipitation. Frequencies of extreme precipitation, however, are projected to increase over the two MedClim regions of the Northern Hemisphere where projected warming is strongest. The increase in heavy and extreme precipitation is particularly robust over California, where it is only partially offset by projected decreases in low-medium intensity precipitation. Over the Mediterranean Basin, however, losses from decreasing frequency of low-medium-intensity precipitation are projected to dominate gains from intensifying projected extreme precipitation. MedClim regions are projected to become more sub-tropical, i.e. made dryer via pole-ward expanding subtropical subsidence. California's more nuanced hydrological future reflects a precarious balance between the expanding subtropical high from the south and the south-eastward extending Aleutian low from the north-west. These dynamical mechanisms and thermodynamic moistening of the warming atmosphere result in increased horizontal water vapor transport, bolstering extreme precipitation events.

  14. Mid-latitude afforestation shifts general circulation and tropical precipitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swann, Abigail L S; Fung, Inez Y; Chiang, John C H

    2012-01-17

    We show in climate model experiments that large-scale afforestation in northern mid-latitudes warms the Northern Hemisphere and alters global circulation patterns. An expansion of dark forests increases the absorption of solar energy and increases surface temperature, particularly in regions where the land surface is unable to compensate with latent heat flux due to water limitation. Atmospheric circulation redistributes the anomalous energy absorbed in the northern hemisphere, in particular toward the south, through altering the Hadley circulation, resulting in the northward displacement of the tropical rain bands. Precipitation decreases over parts of the Amazon basin affecting productivity and increases over the Sahel and Sahara regions in Africa. We find that the response of climate to afforestation in mid-latitudes is determined by the amount of soil moisture available to plants with the greatest warming found in water-limited regions. Mid-latitude afforestation is found to have a small impact on modeled global temperatures and on global CO(2), but regional heating from the increase in forest cover is capable of driving unintended changes in circulation and precipitation. The ability of vegetation to affect remote circulation has implications for strategies for climate mitigation.

  15. Analysis of a global database containing tritium in precipitation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buckley, R. L. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States); Rabun, R. L. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States); Heath, M. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)

    2016-02-17

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) directed the collection of tritium in water samples from the mid-1950s to 2009. The Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) data examined the airborne movement of isotope releases to the environment, with an objective of collecting spatial data on the isotope content of precipitation across the globe. The initial motivation was to monitor atmospheric thermonuclear test fallout through tritium, deuterium, and oxygen isotope concentrations, but after the 1970s the focus changed to being an observation network of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope data for hydrologic studies. The GNIP database provides a wealth of tritium data collections over a long period of time. The work performed here primarily examined data features in the past 30 years (after much of the effects of above-ground nuclear testing in the late 1950s to early 1960s decayed away), revealing potentially unknown tritium sources. The available data at GNIP were reorganized to allow for evaluation of trends in the data both temporally and spatially. Several interesting cases were revealed, including relatively high measured concentrations in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, Russia, Norway, as well as an increase in background concentration at a collector in South Korea after 2004. Recent data from stations in the southeastern United States nearest to the Savannah River Site do not indicate any high values. Meteorological impacts have not been considered in this study. Further research to assess the likely source location of interesting cases using transport simulations and/or literature searches is warranted.

  16. Global warming and South Indian monsoon rainfall-lessons from the Mid-Miocene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reuter, Markus; Kern, Andrea K; Harzhauser, Mathias; Kroh, Andreas; Piller, Werner E

    2013-04-01

    Precipitation over India is driven by the Indian monsoon. Although changes in this atmospheric circulation are caused by the differential seasonal diabatic heating of Asia and the Indo-Pacific Ocean, it is so far unknown how global warming influences the monsoon rainfalls regionally. Herein, we present a Miocene pollen flora as the first direct proxy for monsoon over southern India during the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum. To identify climatic key parameters, such as mean annual temperature, warmest month temperature, coldest month temperature, mean annual precipitation, mean precipitation during the driest month, mean precipitation during the wettest month and mean precipitation during the warmest month the Coexistence Approach is applied. Irrespective of a ~ 3-4 °C higher global temperature during the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum, the results indicate a modern-like monsoonal precipitation pattern contrasting marine proxies which point to a strong decline of Indian monsoon in the Himalaya at this time. Therefore, the strength of monsoon rainfall in tropical India appears neither to be related to global warming nor to be linked with the atmospheric conditions over the Tibetan Plateau. For the future it implies that increased global warming does not necessarily entail changes in the South Indian monsoon rainfall.

  17. Comparison of TRMM and Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Precipitation Analyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adler, Robert F.; Huffman, George J.; Bolvin, David; Nelkin, Eric; Curtis, Scott

    1999-01-01

    This paper describes recent results of using Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) (launched in November 1997) information as the key calibration tool in a merged analysis on a 1 x 1' latitude/longitude monthly scale based on multiple satellite sources and raingauge analyses. The TRMM-based product is compared with the community-based Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) results. The long-term GPCP analysis is compared to the new TRMM-based analysis which uses the most accurate TRMM information to calibrate the estimates from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) and geosynchronous IR observations and merges those estimates together with the TRMM and gauge information to produce accurate rainfall estimates with the increased sampling provided by the combined satellite information. The comparison with TRMM results on a month-to-month basis should clarify the strengths and weaknesses of the long-term GPCP product in the tropics and point to how to improve the monitoring analysis. Preliminary results from the TRMM merged satellite analysis indicates fairly close agreement with the GPCP estimates. The GPCP analysis is done at 2.5 degree latitude/longitude resolution and interpolated to a 1 degree grid for comparison with the TRMM analysis. As expected the same features are evident in both panels, but there are subtle differences in the magnitudes. Focusing on the Pacific Ocean Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) one can see the TRMM-based estimates having higher peak values and lower values in the ITCZ periphery. These attributes also show up in the statistics, where GPCP>TRMM at low values (below 10 mm/d) and TRMM>GPCP at high values (greater than 15 mm/d). The area in the Indian Ocean which shows consistently higher values of TRMM over GPCP needs to be examined carefully to determine if the lack of geosynchronous data has led to a difference in the two analyses. By the time of the meeting over a year of TRMM products will be available for

  18. Competition, transmission and pattern evolution: A network analysis of global oil trade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Hai-Ying; Ji, Qiang; Fan, Ying

    2014-01-01

    This paper studies the competition among oil importers using complex network theory, combined with several alternative measures of competition intensity, to analyze the evolution of the pattern and transmission of oil-trading competition. The results indicate that oil trade has formed a global competition pattern and that the role played by the Asian-Pacific region in the evolution of this competition pattern is becoming increasingly prominent. In addition, global competition intensity has continued to rise, and non-OECD countries have become the main driving force for this increase in global competition intensity. The large oil importers are the most significant parts of the global oil-trading competition pattern. They are not only the major participants in the competition for oil resources but also play important roles in the transmission of oil-trading competition. China and the United States especially display the feature of globalization, whose impacts of transmission reach across the whole oil-trading competition network. Finally, a “5C” (changeability, contestability, cooperation, commitment and circumstances) policy framework is put forward to maintain the stability of oil trade and improve the energy security of oil importers in various aspects. - Highlights: • An oil-trading competition network is constructed using complex network theory. • Oil trade has formed a global competition pattern and its intensity has kept rising. • The status of the Asian-Pacific region in the competition pattern becomes prominent. • Large oil importers play important roles in transmitting the trading competition. • A “5C” policy framework is put forward to cope with the intensive competition

  19. Spatial patterns of sea surface temperature influences on East African precipitation as revealed by empirical orthogonal teleconnections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tim eAppelhans

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available East Africa is characterized by a rather dry annual precipitation climatology with two distinct rainy seasons. In order to investigate sea surface temperature driven precipitation anomalies for the region we use the algorithm of empirical orthogonal teleconnection analysis as a data mining tool. We investigate the entire East African domain as well as 5 smaller sub-regions mainly located in areas of mountainous terrain. In searching for influential sea surface temperature patterns we do not focus any particular season or oceanic region. Furthermore, we investigate different time lags from zero to twelve months. The strongest influence is identified for the immediate (i.e. non-lagged influences of the Indian Ocean in close vicinity to the East African coast. None of the most important modes are located in the tropical Pacific Ocean, though the region is sometimes coupled with the Indian Ocean basin. Furthermore, we identify a region in the southern Indian Ocean around the Kerguelen Plateau which has not yet been reported in the literature with regard to precipitation modulation in East Africa. Finally, it is observed that not all regions in East Africa are equally influenced by the identified patterns.

  20. Evolution patterns of El Niño and characteristics of typhoon precipitation over East Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Young-Il; Kim, Jong-Suk; Son, Chan-Young; Yoon, Sun-Kwon

    2013-04-01

    Many studies have been conducted on the characteristics of the activity of a tropical cyclone (TC) in the Pacific region regarding the effect of El Niño. Also, recent research has shown that change in the abnormal pattern of sea surface temperature (SST), which is higher than usual in the northwest Pacific region, has progressed considerably, and specifically, that there has been an increase in the frequency of the occurrence of the Central Pacific (CP) El Niño, which has a higher temperature characteristic than usual in the CP region. Consequently, this study conducted a comparative analysis of changes in TC genesis, TC track, and TC intensity focusing on typhoons that affected the Korean peninsula according to three evolutionary patterns (prolonged, abrupt, and symmetric-decay) of the abnormal SST in the CP region. As a result of the analysis, for the years of prolonged-decay and symmetric-decay, precipitation from typhoons during the summer on the Korean peninsula was found to rise markedly compared with usual levels. In the case of the years of abrupt-decay, a reducing pattern of precipitation during the summer appeared throughout the Korean peninsula, and an analysis showed a statistically significant change in the Han River basin and some parts of the southern basin. Such a change should show the obviously changing characteristics of local rainfall owing to change in the air circulation pattern, which is subsequent to change in the activity characteristic of typhoons according to the evolution pattern of the surface of the Pacific. The results are expected to be utilized in the future as basic information for reducing damage by typhoons and establishing realistic solutions concerning the management of water resources in a changing change. Keywords: Evolution patterns of CP El Niño, Tropical cyclone, Summer rainfall

  1. Detecting Climate Signals in Precipitation Extremes from TRMM (1998-2013) - Increasing Contrast Between Wet and Dry Extremes During the "Global Warming Hiatus"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Huey-Tzu Jenny; Lau, William K.-M.

    2016-01-01

    We investigate changes in daily precipitation extremes using Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) data (1998-2013), which coincides with the "global warming hiatus." Results show a change in probability distribution functions of local precipitation events (LPEs) during this period consistent with previous global warming studies, indicating increasing contrast between wet and dry extremes, with more intense LPE, less moderate LPE, and more dry (no rain) days globally. Analyses for land and ocean separately reveal more complex and nuanced changes over land, characterized by a strong positive trend (+12.0% per decade, 99% confidence level (c.l.)) in frequency of extreme LPEs over the Northern Hemisphere extratropics during the wet season but a negative global trend (-6.6% per decade, 95% c.l.) during the dry season. A significant global drying trend (3.2% per decade, 99% c.l.) over land is also found during the dry season. Regions of pronounced increased dry events include western and central U.S., northeastern Asia, and Southern Europe/Mediterranean.

  2. The impacts of changing transport and precipitation on pollutant distributions in a future climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Yuanyuan; Fiore, Arlene M.; Horowitz, Larry W.; Gnanadesikan, Anand; Held, Isaac; Chen, Gang; Vecchi, Gabriel; Levy, Hiram

    2011-09-01

    Air pollution (ozone and particulate matter in surface air) is strongly linked to synoptic weather and thus is likely sensitive to climate change. In order to isolate the responses of air pollutant transport and wet removal to a warming climate, we examine a simple carbon monoxide-like (CO) tracer (COt) and a soluble version (SAt), both with the 2001 CO emissions, in simulations with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory chemistry-climate model (AM3) for present (1981-2000) and future (2081-2100) climates. In 2081-2100, projected reductions in lower-tropospheric ventilation and wet deposition exacerbate surface air pollution as evidenced by higher surface COt and SAt concentrations. However, the average horizontal general circulation patterns in 2081-2100 are similar to 1981-2000, so the spatial distribution of COt changes little. Precipitation is an important factor controlling soluble pollutant wet removal, but the total global precipitation change alone does not necessarily indicate the sign of the soluble pollutant response to climate change. Over certain latitudinal bands, however, the annual wet deposition change can be explained mainly by the simulated changes in large-scale (LS) precipitation. In regions such as North America, differences in the seasonality of LS precipitation and tracer burdens contribute to an apparent inconsistency of changes in annual wet deposition versus annual precipitation. As a step toward an ultimate goal of developing a simple index that can be applied to infer changes in soluble pollutants directly from changes in precipitation fields as projected by physical climate models, we explore here a "Diagnosed Precipitation Impact" (DPI) index. This index captures the sign and magnitude (within 50%) of the relative annual mean changes in the global wet deposition of the soluble pollutant. DPI can only be usefully applied in climate models in which LS precipitation dominates wet deposition and horizontal transport patterns change

  3. High-resolution projections of mean and extreme precipitations over China through PRECIS under RCPs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Jinxin; Huang, Gordon; Wang, Xiuquan; Cheng, Guanhui; Wu, Yinghui

    2018-06-01

    The impact of global warming on the characteristics of mean and extreme precipitations over China is investigated by using the Providing REgional Climate Impacts for Studies (PRECIS) model. The PRECIS model was driven by the Hadley Centre Global Environment Model version 2 with Earth System components and coupling (HadGEM2-ES). The results of both models are analyzed in terms of mean precipitation and indices of precipitation extremes (R95p, R99p, SDII, WDF, and CWD) over China at the resolution of 25 km under the Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5 (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) scenarios for the baseline period (1976-2005) and two future periods (2036-2065 and 2070-2099). With improved resolution, the PRECIS model is able to better represent the fine-scale physical process than HadGEM2-ES. It can provide reliable spatial patterns of precipitation and its related extremes with high correlations to observations. Moreover, there is a notable improvement in temporal patterns simulation through the PRECIS model. The PRECIS model better reproduces the regional annual cycle and frequencies of daily precipitation intensity than its driving GCM. Under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, both the HadGEM2-ES and the precis project increasing annual precipitation over the entire country for two future periods. Precipitation increase in winter is greater than the increase in summer. The results suggest that increased radiative forcing from RCP4.5 to RCP8.5 would further intensify the magnitude of projected precipitation changes by both PRECIS and HadGEM2-ES. For example, some parts of south China with decreased precipitation under RCP4.5 would expect even less precipitation under RCP8.5; regions (northwest, northcentral and northeast China) with increased precipitation under RCP4.5 would expect more precipitation under RCP8.5. Apart from the projected increase in annual total precipitation, the results also suggest that there will be an increase in the days with precipitation higher than

  4. Meteorological Aspects of the Eastern North American Pattern with Impacts on Long Island Sound Salinity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Justin A. Schulte

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The eastern North American sea level pressure dipole (ENA pattern is a recently identified teleconnection pattern that has been shown to influence mid-Atlantic United States (U.S streamflow variability. Because the pattern was only recently identified, its impacts on U.S. precipitation and estuaries on daily to seasonal timescales is unknown. Thus, this paper presents the first seasonal investigation of ENA relationships with global atmospheric fields, U.S. precipitation, and mid-Atlantic estuarine salinity. We show that the ENA pattern explains up to 25–36% of precipitation variability across Texas and the western U.S. We also show that, for the Northeast U.S, the ENA pattern explains up to 65% of precipitation variability, contrasting with previous work showing how well-known climate indices can only explain a modest amount of precipitation variability. The strongest ENA-precipitation relationships are in the spring and fall. The relationships between the ENA pattern and precipitation across remote regions reflect the upper-atmospheric Rossby wave pattern associated with the ENA pattern that varies seasonally. The El-Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO is related to the spring ENA pattern, indicating that extended outlooks of the ENA pattern may be possible. We also show that the ENA index is strongly correlated with salinity and vertical haline stratification across coastal portions of the mid-Atlantic Bight so that hypoxia forecasts based on the ENA index may be possible. Statistical connections between vertical salinity gradient and ENSO were identified at lags of up two years, further highlighting the potential for extended hypoxia outlooks. The strong connection between anomalies for precipitation and mid-Atlantic Bight salinity suggests that the ENA pattern may be useful at an interdisciplinary level for better understanding historical regional climate variability and future impacts of climate change on regional precipitation and the

  5. Impact of deforestation on local precipitation patterns over the Da River basin, Vietnam

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anghileri, Daniela; Spartà, Daniele; Castelletti, Andrea; Boschetti, Mirco

    2014-05-01

    Change in land cover, e.g. from forest to bare soil, might severely impact the hydrological cycle at the river basin scale by altering the balance between rainfall and evaporation, ultimately affecting streamflow dynamics. These changes generally occur over decades, but they might be much more rapid in developing countries, where economic growth and growing population may cause abrupt changes in landscape and ecosystem. Detecting, analysing and modelling these changes is an essential step to design mitigation strategies and adaptation plans, balancing economic development and ecosystem protection. In this work we investigate the impact of land cover changes on the water cycle in the Da River basin, Vietnam. More precisely, the objective is to evaluate the interlink between deforestation and precipitation. The case study is particularly interesting because Vietnam is one of the world fastest growing economies and natural resources have been considerably exploited to support after-war development. Vietnam has the second highest rate of deforestation of primary forests in the world, second to only Nigeria (FAO 2005), with associated problems like abrupt change in run-off, erosion, sediment transport and flash floods. We performed land cover evaluation by combining literature information and Remote Sensing techniques, using Landsat images. We then analysed time series of precipitation observed on the period 1960-2011 in several stations located in the catchment area. We used multiple trend detection techniques, both state-of-the-art (e.g., Linear regression and Mann-Kendall) and novel trend detection techniques (Moving Average on Shifting Horizon), to investigate trends in seasonal pattern of precipitation. Results suggest that deforestation may induce a negative trend in the precipitation volume. The effect is mainly recognizable at the beginning and at the end of the monsoon season, when the local mechanisms of precipitation formation prevail over the large scale

  6. On the long-range dependence properties of annual precipitation using a global network of instrumental measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyralis, Hristos; Dimitriadis, Panayiotis; Koutsoyiannis, Demetris; O'Connell, Patrick Enda; Tzouka, Katerina; Iliopoulou, Theano

    2018-01-01

    The long-range dependence (LRD) is considered an inherent property of geophysical processes, whose presence increases uncertainty. Here we examine the spatial behaviour of LRD in precipitation by regressing the Hurst parameter estimate of mean annual precipitation instrumental data which span from 1916-2015 and cover a big area of the earth's surface on location characteristics of the instrumental data stations. Furthermore, we apply the Mann-Kendall test under the LRD assumption (MKt-LRD) to reassess the significance of observed trends. To summarize the results, the LRD is spatially clustered, it seems to depend mostly on the location of the stations, while the predictive value of the regression model is good. Thus when investigating for LRD properties we recommend that the local characteristics should be considered. The application of the MKt-LRD suggests that no significant monotonic trend appears in global precipitation, excluding the climate type D (snow) regions in which positive significant trends appear.

  7. Spatio-temporal patterns of the effects of precipitation variability and land use/cover changes on long-term changes in sediment yield in the Loess Plateau, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Guangyao; Zhang, Jianjun; Liu, Yu; Ning, Zheng; Fu, Bojie; Sivapalan, Murugesu

    2017-09-01

    Within China's Loess Plateau there have been concerted revegetation efforts and engineering measures since the 1950s aimed at reducing soil erosion and land degradation. As a result, annual streamflow, sediment yield, and sediment concentration have all decreased considerably. Human-induced land use/cover change (LUCC) was the dominant factor, contributing over 70 % of the sediment load reduction, whereas the contribution of precipitation was less than 30 %. In this study, we use 50-year time series data (1961-2011), showing decreasing trends in the annual sediment loads of 15 catchments, to generate spatio-temporal patterns in the effects of LUCC and precipitation variability on sediment yield. The space-time variability of sediment yield was expressed notionally as a product of two factors representing (i) the effect of precipitation and (ii) the fraction of treated land surface area. Under minimal LUCC, the square root of annual sediment yield varied linearly with precipitation, with the precipitation-sediment load relationship showing coherent spatial patterns amongst the catchments. As the LUCC increased and took effect, the changes in sediment yield pattern depended more on engineering measures and vegetation restoration campaign, and the within-year rainfall patterns (especially storm events) also played an important role. The effect of LUCC is expressed in terms of a sediment coefficient, i.e., the ratio of annual sediment yield to annual precipitation. Sediment coefficients showed a steady decrease over the study period, following a linear decreasing function of the fraction of treated land surface area. In this way, the study has brought out the separate roles of precipitation variability and LUCC in controlling spatio-temporal patterns of sediment yield at catchment scale.

  8. Seasonal climate change patterns due to cumulative CO2 emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Partanen, Antti-Ilari; Leduc, Martin; Damon Matthews, H.

    2017-07-01

    Cumulative CO2 emissions are near linearly related to both global and regional changes in annual-mean surface temperature. These relationships are known as the transient climate response to cumulative CO2 emissions (TCRE) and the regional TCRE (RTCRE), and have been shown to remain approximately constant over a wide range of cumulative emissions. Here, we assessed how well this relationship holds for seasonal patterns of temperature change, as well as for annual-mean and seasonal precipitation patterns. We analyzed an idealized scenario with CO2 concentration growing at an annual rate of 1% using data from 12 Earth system models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Seasonal RTCRE values for temperature varied considerably, with the highest seasonal variation evident in the Arctic, where RTCRE was about 5.5 °C per Tt C for boreal winter and about 2.0 °C per Tt C for boreal summer. Also the precipitation response in the Arctic during boreal winter was stronger than during other seasons. We found that emission-normalized seasonal patterns of temperature change were relatively robust with respect to time, though they were sub-linear with respect to emissions particularly near the Arctic. Moreover, RTCRE patterns for precipitation could not be quantified robustly due to the large internal variability of precipitation. Our results suggest that cumulative CO2 emissions are a useful metric to predict regional and seasonal changes in precipitation and temperature. This extension of the TCRE framework to seasonal and regional climate change is helpful for communicating the link between emissions and climate change to policy-makers and the general public, and is well-suited for impact studies that could make use of estimated regional-scale climate changes that are consistent with the carbon budgets associated with global temperature targets.

  9. Using Extreme Tropical Precipitation Statistics to Constrain Future Climate States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Igel, M.; Biello, J. A.

    2017-12-01

    Tropical precipitation is characterized by a rapid growth in mean intensity as the column humidity increases. This behavior is examined in both a cloud resolving model and with high-resolution observations of precipitation and column humidity from CloudSat and AIRS, respectively. The model and the observations exhibit remarkable consistency and suggest a new paradigm for extreme precipitation. We show that the total precipitation can be decomposed into a product of contributions from a mean intensity, a probability of precipitation, and a global PDF of column humidity values. We use the modeling and observational results to suggest simple, analytic forms for each of these functions. The analytic representations are then used to construct a simple expression for the global accumulated precipitation as a function of the parameters of each of the component functions. As the climate warms, extreme precipitation intensity and global precipitation are expected to increase, though at different rates. When these predictions are incorporated into the new analytic expression for total precipitation, predictions for changes due to global warming to the probability of precipitation and the PDF of column humidity can be made. We show that strong constraints can be imposed on the future shape of the PDF of column humidity but that only weak constraints can be set on the probability of precipitation. These are largely imposed by the intensification of extreme precipitation. This result suggests that understanding precisely how extreme precipitation responds to climate warming is critical to predicting other impactful properties of global hydrology. The new framework can also be used to confirm and discount existing theories for shifting precipitation.

  10. Modeling winter precipitation over the Juneau Icefield, Alaska, using a linear model of orographic precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roth, Aurora; Hock, Regine; Schuler, Thomas V.; Bieniek, Peter A.; Pelto, Mauri; Aschwanden, Andy

    2018-03-01

    Assessing and modeling precipitation in mountainous areas remains a major challenge in glacier mass balance modeling. Observations are typically scarce and reanalysis data and similar climate products are too coarse to accurately capture orographic effects. Here we use the linear theory of orographic precipitation model (LT model) to downscale winter precipitation from a regional climate model over the Juneau Icefield, one of the largest ice masses in North America (>4000 km2), for the period 1979-2013. The LT model is physically-based yet computationally efficient, combining airflow dynamics and simple cloud microphysics. The resulting 1 km resolution precipitation fields show substantially reduced precipitation on the northeastern portion of the icefield compared to the southwestern side, a pattern that is not well captured in the coarse resolution (20 km) WRF data. Net snow accumulation derived from the LT model precipitation agrees well with point observations across the icefield. To investigate the robustness of the LT model results, we perform a series of sensitivity experiments varying hydrometeor fall speeds, the horizontal resolution of the underlying grid, and the source of the meteorological forcing data. The resulting normalized spatial precipitation pattern is similar for all sensitivity experiments, but local precipitation amounts vary strongly, with greatest sensitivity to variations in snow fall speed. Results indicate that the LT model has great potential to provide improved spatial patterns of winter precipitation for glacier mass balance modeling purposes in complex terrain, but ground observations are necessary to constrain model parameters to match total amounts.

  11. Incorporation of a Cuban radiological station to the global net of isotopes in precipitations; Incorporacion de una estacion radiologica cubana a la red global de isotopos en precipitaciones

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dominguez L, O.; Ramos V, E.O.; Prendes A, M.; Alonso A, D.; Caveda R, C.A. [CPHR, Calle 20 No. 4113 e/41 y 47, Playa, C.P. 11300, A.P. 6195, C.P. 10600 La Habana (Cuba)]. e-mail: orlando@cphr.edu.cu

    2006-07-01

    From March, 2002 the West station of the National Net of Environmental Radiological Surveillance located in the Center of Protection and Hygiene of the Radiations, belongs to the Global Net of Isotopes in Precipitations. The obtained isotopic information of the analysis of the samples of monthly monitored precipitations (oxygen-18, deuterium and tritium) its are stored in a database, which is available through Internet. For the acceptance in the Global Net, it was necessary the incorporation to the monitoring of the station the meteorological surface variables. Also it was developed a software for the calculation of the tension of the water steam starting from the values of humidity and temperature. The obtained results in 2002 and published recently, its are inside the range of values reported for these isotopes in the Caribbean area. (Author)

  12. Pattern of NDVI-based vegetation greening along an altitudinal gradient in the eastern Himalayas and its response to global warming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Haidong; Jiang, Jiang; Chen, Bin; Li, Yingkui; Xu, Yuyue; Shen, Weishou

    2016-03-01

    The eastern Himalayas, especially the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon Nature Reserve (YNR), is a global hotspot of biodiversity because of a wide variety of climatic conditions and elevations ranging from 500 to > 7000 m above sea level (a.s.l.). The mountain ecosystems at different elevations are vulnerable to climate change; however, there has been little research into the patterns of vegetation greening and their response to global warming. The objective of this paper is to examine the pattern of vegetation greening in different altitudinal zones in the YNR and its relationship with vegetation types and climatic factors. Specifically, the inter-annual change of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and its variation along altitudinal gradient between 1999 and 2013 was investigated using SPOT-VGT NDVI data and ASTER global digital elevation model (GDEM) data. We found that annual NDVI increased by 17.58% in the YNR from 1999 to 2013, especially in regions dominated by broad-leaved and coniferous forests at lower elevations. The vegetation greening rate decreased significantly as elevation increased, with a threshold elevation of approximately 3000 m. Rising temperature played a dominant role in driving the increase in NDVI, while precipitation has no statistical relationship with changes in NDVI in this region. This study provides useful information to develop an integrated management and conservation plan for climate change adaptation and promote biodiversity conservation in the YNR.

  13. Relationship between the precipitation variability in Montenegro and the Mediterranean oscillation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burić Dragan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates the influence of atmospheric circulation in the Mediterranean region on the precipitation in Montenegro. Nine precipitation parameters have been used in the analysis and the relationship has been investigated by the Mediterranean and West Mediterranean Oscillation change index (MO and WeMO. According to a 60 - year observed period (1951-2010, the research results show that nothing characteristic happens with seasonal and annual precipitation sums because the trend is mainly insignificant. However, precipitation extremes are getting more extreme, which corresponds with a general idea of global warming. Negative consequences of daily intensity increase and frequency of precipitation days above fixed and percentile thresholds have been recorded recently in the form of torrents, floods, intensive erosive processes, etc., but it should be pointed out that human factor is partly a cause of such events. The estimate of the influence of teleconnection patterns primarily related to the Mediterranean Basin has shown that their variability affects the observed precipitation parameters on the territory of Montenegro regarding both seasonal and annual sums and frequency and intensity of extreme events shown by climate indices.

  14. An adaptive spatial model for precipitation data from multiple satellites over large regions

    KAUST Repository

    Chakraborty, Avishek

    2015-03-01

    Satellite measurements have of late become an important source of information for climate features such as precipitation due to their near-global coverage. In this article, we look at a precipitation dataset during a 3-hour window over tropical South America that has information from two satellites. We develop a flexible hierarchical model to combine instantaneous rainrate measurements from those satellites while accounting for their potential heterogeneity. Conceptually, we envision an underlying precipitation surface that influences the observed rain as well as absence of it. The surface is specified using a mean function centered at a set of knot locations, to capture the local patterns in the rainrate, combined with a residual Gaussian process to account for global correlation across sites. To improve over the commonly used pre-fixed knot choices, an efficient reversible jump scheme is used to allow the number of such knots as well as the order and support of associated polynomial terms to be chosen adaptively. To facilitate computation over a large region, a reduced rank approximation for the parent Gaussian process is employed.

  15. Pushing precipitation to the extremes in distributed experiments: Recommendations for simulating wet and dry years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knapp, Alan K.; Avolio, Meghan L.; Beier, Claus; Carroll, Charles J.W.; Collins, Scott L.; Dukes, Jeffrey S.; Fraser, Lauchlan H.; Griffin-Nolan, Robert J.; Hoover, David L.; Jentsch, Anke; Loik, Michael E.; Phillips, Richard P.; Post, Alison K.; Sala, Osvaldo E.; Slette, Ingrid J.; Yahdjian, Laura; Smith, Melinda D.

    2017-01-01

    Intensification of the global hydrological cycle, ranging from larger individual precipitation events to more extreme multiyear droughts, has the potential to cause widespread alterations in ecosystem structure and function. With evidence that the incidence of extreme precipitation years (defined statistically from historical precipitation records) is increasing, there is a clear need to identify ecosystems that are most vulnerable to these changes and understand why some ecosystems are more sensitive to extremes than others. To date, opportunistic studies of naturally occurring extreme precipitation years, combined with results from a relatively small number of experiments, have provided limited mechanistic understanding of differences in ecosystem sensitivity, suggesting that new approaches are needed. Coordinated distributed experiments (CDEs) arrayed across multiple ecosystem types and focused on water can enhance our understanding of differential ecosystem sensitivity to precipitation extremes, but there are many design challenges to overcome (e.g., cost, comparability, standardization). Here, we evaluate contemporary experimental approaches for manipulating precipitation under field conditions to inform the design of ‘Drought-Net’, a relatively low-cost CDE that simulates extreme precipitation years. A common method for imposing both dry and wet years is to alter each ambient precipitation event. We endorse this approach for imposing extreme precipitation years because it simultaneously alters other precipitation characteristics (i.e., event size) consistent with natural precipitation patterns. However, we do not advocate applying identical treatment levels at all sites – a common approach to standardization in CDEs. This is because precipitation variability varies >fivefold globally resulting in a wide range of ecosystem-specific thresholds for defining extreme precipitation years. For CDEs focused on precipitation extremes, treatments should be based

  16. On the Precipitation and Precipitation Change in Alaska

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerd Wendler

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Alaska observes very large differences in precipitation throughout the state; southeast Alaska experiences consistently wet conditions, while northern Arctic Alaska observes very dry conditions. The maximum mean annual precipitation of 5727 mm is observed in the southeastern panhandle at Little Port Arthur, while the minimum of 92 mm occurs on the North Slope at Kuparuk. Besides explaining these large differences due to geographic and orographic location, we discuss the changes in precipitation with time. Analyzing the 18 first-order National Weather Service stations, we found that the total average precipitation in the state increased by 17% over the last 67 years. The observed changes in precipitation are furthermore discussed as a function of the observed temperature increase of 2.1 °C, the mean temperature change of the 18 stations over the same period. This observed warming of Alaska is about three times the magnitude of the mean global warming and allows the air to hold more water vapor. Furthermore, we discuss the effect of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO, which has a strong influence on both the temperature and precipitation in Alaska.

  17. Patterns of precipitation and soil moisture extremes in Texas, US: A complex network analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Alexander Y.; Xia, Youlong; Caldwell, Todd G.; Hao, Zengchao

    2018-02-01

    Understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of extreme precipitation not only improves prediction skills, but also helps to prioritize hazard mitigation efforts. This study seeks to enhance the understanding of spatiotemporal covariation patterns embedded in precipitation (P) and soil moisture (SM) by using an event-based, complex-network-theoretic approach. Events concurrences are quantified using a nonparametric event synchronization measure, and spatial patterns of hydroclimate variables are analyzed by using several network measures and a community detection algorithm. SM-P coupling is examined using a directional event coincidence analysis measure that takes the order of event occurrences into account. The complex network approach is demonstrated for Texas, US, a region possessing a rich set of hydroclimate features and is frequented by catastrophic flooding. Gridded daily observed P data and simulated SM data are used to create complex networks of P and SM extremes. The uncovered high degree centrality regions and community structures are qualitatively in agreement with the overall existing knowledge of hydroclimate extremes in the study region. Our analyses provide new visual insights on the propagation, connectivity, and synchronicity of P extremes, as well as the SM-P coupling, in this flood-prone region, and can be readily used as a basis for event-driven predictive analytics for other regions.

  18. Quantification of Linkages between Large-Scale Climate Patterns and Annual Precipitation for the Colorado River Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalra, A.; Ahmad, S.

    2010-12-01

    Precipitation is regarded as one of the key variables driving various hydrologic processes and the future precipitation information can be useful to better understand the long-term climate dynamics. In this paper, a simple, robust, and parsimonious precipitation forecast model, Support Vector Machine (SVM) is proposed which uses large-scale climate information and predict annual precipitation 1-year in advance. SVM’s are a novel class of neural networks (NNs) which are based on the statistical learning theory. The SVM’s has three main advantages over the traditional NNs: 1) better generalization ability, 2) the architecture and weights of SVM’s are guaranteed to be unique and globally optimum, and 3) SVM’s are trained more rapidly than the corresponding NN. With these advantages, an application of SVM incorporating large-scale climate information is developed and applied to seventeen climate divisions encompassing the Colorado River Basin in the western United States. Annual oceanic-atmospheric indices, comprising of Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), and El Nino-Southern Oscillations (ENSO) for a period of 1900-2007 are used to generate annual precipitation estimates with 1-year lead time. The results from the present study indicate that long-term precipitation predictions for the Upper Colorado River Basin can be successfully obtained using a combination of NAO and ENSO indices whereas coupling PDO and AMO results in improved precipitation predictions for the Lower Colorado River Basin. Precipitation predictions from the SVM model are found to be better when compared with the predictions obtained from feed-forward back propagation Artificial Neural Network and Multivariate Linear Regression models. The overall results of this study revealed that the annual precipitation of the Colorado River Basin was significantly influenced by oceanic-atmospheric oscillations and the proposed SVM

  19. Properties of Extreme Precipitation and Their Uncertainties in 3-year GPM Precipitation Radar Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, N.; Liu, C.

    2017-12-01

    Extreme high precipitation rates are often related to flash floods and have devastating impacts on human society and the environments. To better understand these rare events, 3-year Precipitation Features (PFs) are defined by grouping the contiguous areas with nonzero near-surface precipitation derived using Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Ku band Precipitation Radar (KuPR). The properties of PFs with extreme precipitation rates greater than 20, 50, 100 mm/hr, such as the geographical distribution, volumetric precipitation contribution, seasonal and diurnal variations, are examined. In addition to the large seasonal and regional variations, the rare extreme precipitation rates often have a larger contribution to the local total precipitation. Extreme precipitation rates occur more often over land than over ocean. The challenges in the retrieval of extreme precipitation might be from the attenuation correction and large uncertainties in the Z-R relationships from near-surface radar reflectivity to precipitation rates. These potential uncertainties are examined by using collocated ground based radar reflectivity and precipitation retrievals.

  20. Connecting Satellite-Based Precipitation Estimates to Users

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huffman, George J.; Bolvin, David T.; Nelkin, Eric

    2018-01-01

    Beginning in 1997, the Merged Precipitation Group at NASA Goddard has distributed gridded global precipitation products built by combining satellite and surface gauge data. This started with the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP), then the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), and recently the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission (IMERG). This 20+-year (and on-going) activity has yielded an important set of insights and lessons learned for making state-of-the-art precipitation data accessible to the diverse communities of users. Merged-data products critically depend on the input sensors and the retrieval algorithms providing accurate, reliable estimates, but it is also important to provide ancillary information that helps users determine suitability for their application. We typically provide fields of estimated random error, and recently reintroduced the quality index concept at user request. Also at user request we have added a (diagnostic) field of estimated precipitation phase. Over time, increasingly more ancillary fields have been introduced for intermediate products that give expert users insight into the detailed performance of the combination algorithm, such as individual merged microwave and microwave-calibrated infrared estimates, the contributing microwave sensor types, and the relative influence of the infrared estimate.

  1. Effect of precipitation pattern on leaching of preservative from treated wood and implications for accelerated testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stan Lebow

    2014-01-01

    There is a need to develop improved accelerated test methods for evaluating the leaching of wood preservatives from treated wood exposed to precipitation. In this study the effects of rate of rainfall and length of intervals between rainfall events on leaching was evaluated by exposing specimens to varying patterns of simulated rainfall under controlled laboratory...

  2. Global patterns in mangrove soil carbon stocks and losses

    KAUST Repository

    Atwood, Trisha B.

    2017-06-26

    Mangrove soils represent a large sink for otherwise rapidly recycled carbon (C). However, widespread deforestation threatens the preservation of this important C stock. It is therefore imperative that global patterns in mangrove soil C stocks and their susceptibility to remineralization are understood. Here, we present patterns in mangrove soil C stocks across hemispheres, latitudes, countries and mangrove community compositions, and estimate potential annual CO2 emissions for countries where mangroves occur. Global potential CO2 emissions from soils as a result of mangrove loss were estimated to be ~7.0 Tg CO2e yr−1. Countries with the highest potential CO2 emissions from soils are Indonesia (3,410 Gg CO2e yr−1) and Malaysia (1,288 Gg CO2e yr−1). The patterns described serve as a baseline by which countries can assess their mangrove soil C stocks and potential emissions from mangrove deforestation.

  3. Satellite precipitation estimation over the Tibetan Plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porcu, F.; Gjoka, U.

    2012-04-01

    Precipitation characteristics over the Tibetan Plateau are very little known, given the scarcity of reliable and widely distributed ground observation, thus the satellite approach is a valuable choice for large scale precipitation analysis and hydrological cycle studies. However,the satellite perspective undergoes various shortcomings at the different wavelengths used in atmospheric remote sensing. In the microwave spectrum often the high soil emissivity masks or hides the atmospheric signal upwelling from light-moderate precipitation layers, while low and relatively thin precipitating clouds are not well detected in the visible-infrared, because of their low contrast with cold and bright (if snow covered) background. In this work an IR-based, statistical rainfall estimation technique is trained and applied over the Tibetan Plateau hydrological basin to retrive precipitation intensity at different spatial and temporal scales. The technique is based on a simple artificial neural network scheme trained with two supervised training sets assembled for monsoon season and for the rest of the year. For the monsoon season (estimated from June to September), the ground radar precipitation data for few case studies are used to build the training set: four days in summer 2009 are considered. For the rest of the year, CloudSat-CPR derived snowfall rate has been used as reference precipitation data, following the Kulie and Bennartz (2009) algorithm. METEOSAT-7 infrared channels radiance (at 6.7 and 11 micometers) and derived local variability features (such as local standard deviation and local average) are used as input and the actual rainrate is obtained as output for each satellite slot, every 30 minutes on the satellite grid. The satellite rainrate maps for three years (2008-2010) are computed and compared with available global precipitation products (such as C-MORPH and TMPA products) and with other techniques applied to the Plateau area: similarities and differences are

  4. Multi-model Projection of July-August Climate Extreme Changes over China under CO2 Doubling. Part Ⅰ:Precipitation

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    LI Hongmei; FENG Lei; ZHOU Tianjun

    2011-01-01

    Potential changes in precipitation extremes in July-August over China in response to CO2 doubling are analyzed based on the output of 24 coupled climate models from the Twentieth-Century Climate in Coupled Models (20C3M) experiment and the 1% per year CO2 increase experiment (to doubling) (lpctto2x) of phase 3 of the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP3). Evaluation of the models' performance in simulating the mean state shows that the majority of models fairly reproduce the broad spatial pattern of observed precipitation. However, all the models underestimate extreme precipitation by ~50%. The spread among the models over the Tibetan Plateau is ~2-3 times larger than that over the other areas.Models with higher resolution generally perform better than those with lower resolutions in terms of spatial pattern and precipitation amount. Under the lpctto2x scenario, the ratio between the absolute value of MME extreme precipitation change and model spread is larger than that of total precipitation, indicating a relatively robust change of extremes. The change of extreme precipitation is more homogeneous than the total precipitation. Analysis on the output of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory coupled climate model version 2.1 (GFDL-CM2.1) indicates that the spatially consistent increase of surface temperature and water vapor content contribute to the large increase of extreme precipitation over contiguous China,which follows the Clausius-Clapeyron relationship. Whereas, the meridionally tri-polar pattern of mean precipitation change over eastern China is dominated by the change of water vapor convergence, which is determined by the response of monsoon circulation to global warming.

  5. Global Dispersal Pattern of HIV Type 1 Subtype CRF01_AE

    OpenAIRE

    Poljak, Mario; Angelis, Konstantinos; Albert, Jan; Mamais, Ioannis; Magiorkinis, Gkikas; Hatzakis, Angelos; Hamouda, Osamah; Stuck, Daniel; Vercauteren, Jurgen; Wensing, Annemarie; Alexiev, Ivailo

    2016-01-01

    Background. Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtype CRF01_AE originated in Africa and then passed to Thailand, where it established a major epidemic. Despite the global presence of CRF01_AE, little is known about its subsequent dispersal pattern. Methods. We assembled a global data set of 2736 CRF01_AE sequences by pooling sequences from public databases and patient-cohort studies. We estimated viral dispersal patterns, using statistical phylogeographic analysis run over bootstrap...

  6. Patterns of LGM precipitation in the U.S. Rocky Mountains: results from regional application of a glacier mass/energy balance and flow model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonard, E. M.; Laabs, B. J.; Refsnider, K. A.; Plummer, M. A.; Jacobsen, R. E.; Wollenberg, J. A.

    2010-12-01

    Global climate model (GCM) simulations of the last glacial maximum (LGM) in the western United States predict changes in atmospheric circulation and storm tracks that would have resulted in significantly less-than-modern precipitation in the Northwest and northern Rockies, and significantly more-than-modern precipitation in the Southwest and southern Rockies. Model simulations also suggest that late Pleistocene pluvial lakes in the intermontane West may have modified local moisture regimes in areas immediately downwind. In this study, we present results of the application of a coupled energy/mass balance and glacier-flow model (Plummer and Phillips, 2003) to reconstructed paleoglaciers in Rocky Mountains of Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming to assess the changes from modern climate that would have been necessary to sustain each glacier in mass-balance equilibrium at its LGM extent. Results demonstrate that strong west-to-east and north-to-south gradients in LGM precipitation, relative to present, would be required if a uniform LGM temperature depression with respect to modern is assumed across the region. At an assumed 7oC temperature depression, approximately modern precipitation would have been necessary to support LGM glaciation in the Colorado Front Range, significantly less than modern precipitation to support glaciation in the Teton Range, and almost twice modern precipitation to sustain glaciers in the Wasatch and Uinta ranges of Utah and the New Mexico Sangre de Cristo Range. The observed west-to-east (Utah-to-Colorado) LGM moisture gradient is consistent with precipitation enhancement from pluvial Lake Bonneville, decreasing with distance downwind from the lake. The north-to-south (Wyoming-to-New Mexico) LGM moisture gradient is consistent with a southward LGM displacement of the mean winter storm track associated with the winter position of the Pacific Jet Stream across the western U.S. Our analysis of paleoglacier extents in the Rocky Mountain

  7. Spatiotemporal Patterns of Precipitation-Modulated Landslide Deformation From Independent Component Analysis of InSAR Time Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen-Waeber, J.; Bürgmann, R.; Chaussard, E.; Giannico, C.; Ferretti, A.

    2018-02-01

    Long-term landslide deformation is disruptive and costly in urbanized environments. We rely on TerraSAR-X satellite images (2009-2014) and an improved data processing algorithm (SqueeSAR™) to produce an exceptionally dense Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar ground deformation time series for the San Francisco East Bay Hills. Independent and principal component analyses of the time series reveal four distinct spatial and temporal surface deformation patterns in the area around Blakemont landslide, which we relate to different geomechanical processes. Two components of time-dependent landslide deformation isolate continuous motion and motion driven by precipitation-modulated pore pressure changes controlled by annual seasonal cycles and multiyear drought conditions. Two components capturing more widespread seasonal deformation separate precipitation-modulated soil swelling from annual cycles that may be related to groundwater level changes and thermal expansion of buildings. High-resolution characterization of landslide response to precipitation is a first step toward improved hazard forecasting.

  8. Evaluation of CMIP5 continental precipitation simulations relative to satellite-based gauge-adjusted observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehran, A.; AghaKouchak, A.; Phillips, T. J.

    2014-02-01

    The objective of this study is to cross-validate 34 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) historical simulations of precipitation against the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) data, quantifying model pattern discrepancies, and biases for both entire distributions and their upper tails. The results of the volumetric hit index (VHI) analysis of the total monthly precipitation amounts show that most CMIP5 simulations are in good agreement with GPCP patterns in many areas but that their replication of observed precipitation over arid regions and certain subcontinental regions (e.g., northern Eurasia, eastern Russia, and central Australia) is problematical. Overall, the VHI of the multimodel ensemble mean and median also are superior to that of the individual CMIP5 models. However, at high quantiles of reference data (75th and 90th percentiles), all climate models display low skill in simulating precipitation, except over North America, the Amazon, and Central Africa. Analyses of total bias (B) in CMIP5 simulations reveal that most models overestimate precipitation over regions of complex topography (e.g., western North and South America and southern Africa and Asia), while underestimating it over arid regions. Also, while most climate model simulations show low biases over Europe, intermodel variations in bias over Australia and Amazonia are considerable. The quantile bias analyses indicate that CMIP5 simulations are even more biased at high quantiles of precipitation. It is found that a simple mean field bias removal improves the overall B and VHI values but does not make a significant improvement at high quantiles of precipitation.

  9. Beyond Precipitation: Physiographic Gradients Dictate the Relative Importance of Environmental Drivers on Savanna Vegetation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campo-Bescós, Miguel A.; Muñoz-Carpena, Rafael; Kaplan, David A.; Southworth, Jane; Zhu, Likai; Waylen, Peter R.

    2013-01-01

    Background Understanding the drivers of large-scale vegetation change is critical to managing landscapes and key to predicting how projected climate and land use changes will affect regional vegetation patterns. This study aimed to improve our understanding of the role, magnitude and spatial distribution of the key environmental factors driving vegetation change in southern African savanna, and how they vary across physiographic gradients. Methodology/Principal Findings We applied Dynamic Factor Analysis (DFA), a multivariate times series dimension reduction technique to ten years of monthly remote sensing data (MODIS-derived normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI) and a suite of environmental covariates: precipitation, mean and maximum temperature, soil moisture, relative humidity, fire and potential evapotranspiration. Monthly NDVI was described by cyclic seasonal variation with distinct spatiotemporal patterns in different physiographic regions. Results support existing work emphasizing the importance of precipitation, soil moisture and fire on NDVI, but also reveal overlooked effects of temperature and evapotranspiration, particularly in regions with higher mean annual precipitation. Critically, spatial distributions of the weights of environmental covariates point to a transition in the importance of precipitation and soil moisture (strongest in grass-dominated regions with precipitation950 mm). Conclusions/Significance We quantified the combined spatiotemporal effects of an available suite of environmental drivers on NDVI across a large and diverse savanna region. The analysis supports known drivers of savanna vegetation but also uncovers important roles of temperature and evapotranspiration. Results highlight the utility of applying the DFA approach to remote sensing products for regional analyses of landscape change in the context of global environmental change. With the dramatic increase in global change research, this methodology augurs well for

  10. Consequences of 1.5 °C and 2 °C global warming levels for temperature and precipitation changes over Central Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pokam Mba, Wilfried; Longandjo, Georges-Noel T.; Moufouma-Okia, Wilfran; Bell, Jean-Pierre; James, Rachel; Vondou, Derbetini A.; Haensler, Andreas; Fotso-Nguemo, Thierry C.; Merlin Guenang, Guy; Djiotang Tchotchou, Angennes Lucie; Kamsu-Tamo, Pierre H.; Takong, Ridick R.; Nikulin, Grigory; Lennard, Christopher J.; Dosio, Alessandro

    2018-05-01

    Discriminating climate impacts between 1.5 °C and 2 °C warming levels is particularly important for Central Africa, a vulnerable region where multiple biophysical, political, and socioeconomic stresses interact to constrain the region’s adaptive capacity. This study uses an ensemble of 25 transient Regional Climate Model (RCM) simulations from the CORDEX initiative, forced with the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5, to investigate the potential temperature and precipitation changes in Central Africa corresponding to 1.5 °C and 2 °C global warming levels. Global climate model simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) are used to drive the RCMs and determine timing of the targeted global warming levels. The regional warming differs over Central Africa between 1.5 °C and 2 °C global warming levels. Whilst there are large uncertainties associated with projections at 1.5 °C and 2 °C, the 0.5 °C increase in global temperature is associated with larger regional warming response. Compared to changes in temperature, changes in precipitation are more heterogeneous and climate model simulations indicate a lack of consensus across the region, though there is a tendency towards decreasing seasonal precipitation in March–May, and a reduction of consecutive wet days. As a drought indicator, a significant increase in consecutive dry days was found. Consistent changes of maximum 5 day rainfall are also detected between 1.5 °C vs. 2 °C global warming levels.

  11. Plant Water Use Strategy in Response to Spatial and Temporal Variation in Precipitation Patterns in China: A Stable Isotope Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Zhao

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Spatial and temporal variation in precipitation patterns can directly alter the survival and growth of plants, yet in China there is no comprehensive and systematic strategy for plant use based on the effects of precipitation patterns. Here, we examined information from 93 published papers (368 plant species on plant xylem water stable isotopes (δD and δ18O in China. The results showed that: (1 The slope of the local meteoric water line (LMWL gradually increased from inland areas to the coast, as a result of continental and seasonal effects. The correlation between δD and δ18O in plant stem water is also well fitted and the correlation coefficients range from 0.78 to 0.89. With respect to the soil water line, the δ18O values in relation to depth (0–100 cm varied over time; (2 Plants’ main water sources are largely affected by precipitation patterns. In general, plants prioritize the use of stable and continuous water sources, while they have a more variable water uptake strategy under drought conditions; (3 There are no spatial and temporal variations in the contribution of the main water source (p > 0.05 because plants maintain growth by shifting their use of water sources when resources are unreliable.

  12. Convergence of soil nitrogen isotopes across global climate gradients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craine, Joseph M.; Elmore, Andrew J.; Wang, Lixin; Augusto, Laurent; Baisden, W. Troy; Brookshire, E. N. J.; Cramer, Michael D.; Hasselquist, Niles J.; Hobbie, Erik A.; Kahmen, Ansgar; Koba, Keisuke; Kranabetter, J. Marty; Mack, Michelle C.; Marin-Spiotta, Erika; Mayor, Jordan R.; McLauchlan, Kendra K.; Michelsen, Anders; Nardoto, Gabriela B.; Oliveira, Rafael S.; Perakis, Steven S.; Peri, Pablo L.; Quesada, Carlos A.; Richter, Andreas; Schipper, Louis A.; Stevenson, Bryan A.; Turner, Benjamin L.; Viani, Ricardo A. G.; Wanek, Wolfgang; Zeller, Bernd

    2015-01-01

    Quantifying global patterns of terrestrial nitrogen (N) cycling is central to predicting future patterns of primary productivity, carbon sequestration, nutrient fluxes to aquatic systems, and climate forcing. With limited direct measures of soil N cycling at the global scale, syntheses of the 15 N: 14 N ratio of soil organic matter across climate gradients provide key insights into understanding global patterns of N cycling. In synthesizing data from over 6000 soil samples, we show strong global relationships among soil N isotopes, mean annual temperature (MAT), mean annual precipitation (MAP), and the concentrations of organic carbon and clay in soil. In both hot ecosystems and dry ecosystems, soil organic matter was more enriched in 15 N than in corresponding cold ecosystems or wet ecosystems. Below a MAT of 9.8°C, soil δ15N was invariant with MAT. At the global scale, soil organic C concentrations also declined with increasing MAT and decreasing MAP. After standardizing for variation among mineral soils in soil C and clay concentrations, soil δ15N showed no consistent trends across global climate and latitudinal gradients. Our analyses could place new constraints on interpretations of patterns of ecosystem N cycling and global budgets of gaseous N loss.

  13. HANPP Collection: Global Patterns in Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Global Patterns in Net Primary Productivity (NPP) portion of the Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity (HANPP) Collection maps the net amount of solar...

  14. A Global Assessment of Runoff Sensitivity to Changes in Precipitation, Potential Evaporation, and Other Factors

    OpenAIRE

    Berghuijs, Wouter; Larsen, Joshua; van Emmerik, Tim; Woods, Ross

    2017-01-01

    Precipitation (P) and potential evaporation (Ep) are commonly studied drivers of changing freshwater availability, as aridity (Ep/P) explains ∼90% of the spatial differences in mean runoff across the globe. However, it is unclear if changes in aridity over time are also the most important cause for temporal changes in mean runoff and how this degree of importance varies regionally. We show that previous global assessments that address these questions do not properly account for changes due to...

  15. An objective daily Weather Type classification for Iberia since 1850; patterns, trends, variability and impact in precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos, A. M.; Trigo, R. M.; Lorenzo, M. N.; Vaquero, J. M.; Gallego, M. C.; Valente, M. A.; Gimeno, L.

    2009-04-01

    In recent years a large number of automated classifications of atmospheric circulation patterns have been published covering the entire European continent or specific sub-regions (Huth et al., 2008). This generalized use of objective classifications results from their relatively straightforward computation but crucially from their capacity to provide simple description of typical synoptic conditions as well as their climatic and environmental impact. For this purpose, the vast majority of authors has employed the Reanalyses datasets, namely from either NCEP/NCAR or ECMWF projects. However, both these widely used datasets suffer from important caveats, namely their restricted temporal coverage, that is limited to the last six decades (NCEP/NCAR since 1948 and ECMWF since 1958). This limitation has been partially mitigated by the recent availability of continuous daily mean sea level pressure obtained within the European project EMULATE, that extended the historic records over the extra-tropical Atlantic and Europe (70°-25° N by 70° W-50° E), for the period 1850 to the present (Ansell, T. J. et al. 2006). Here we have used the extended EMULATE dataset to construct an automated version of the Lamb Weather type (WTs) classification scheme (Jones et al 1993) adapted for the center of the Iberian Peninsula. We have identified 10 basic WTs (Cyclonic, Anticyclonic and 8 directional types) following a similar methodology to that previously adopted by Trigo and DaCamara, 2000 (for Portugal) and Lorenzo et al. 2008 (for Galicia, northwestern Iberia). We have evaluated trends of monthly/seasonal frequency of each WT for the entire period and several shorter periods. Finally, we use the long-term precipitation time series from Lisbon (recently digitized) and Cadiz (southern Spain) to evaluate, the impact of each WT on the precipitation regime. It is shown that the Anticyclonic (A) type, although being the most frequent class in winter, gives a rather small contribution to

  16. Global observed long-term changes in temperature and precipitation extremes: A review of progress and limitations in IPCC assessments and beyond

    OpenAIRE

    Lisa V. Alexander

    2016-01-01

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) first attempted a global assessment of long-term changes in temperature and precipitation extremes in its Third Assessment Report in 2001. While data quality and coverage were limited, the report still concluded that heavy precipitation events had increased and that there had been, very likely, a reduction in the frequency of extreme low temperatures and increases in the frequency of extreme high temperatures. That overall assessment had ch...

  17. Precipitation Climatology on Titan-like Exomoons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tokano, Tetsuya

    2015-06-01

    The availability of liquid water on the surface on Earth's continents in part relies on the precipitation of water. This implies that the habitability of exomoons has to consider not only the surface temperature and atmospheric pressure for the presence of liquid water, but also the global precipitation climatology. This study explores the sensitivity of the precipitation climatology of Titan-like exomoons to these moons' orbital configuration using a global climate model. The precipitation rate primarily depends on latitude and is sensitive to the planet's obliquity and the moon's rotation rate. On slowly rotating moons the precipitation shifts to higher latitudes as obliquity is increased, whereas on quickly rotating moons the latitudinal distribution does not strongly depend on obliquity. Stellar eclipse can cause a longitudinal variation in the mean surface temperature and surface pressure between the subplanetary and antiplanetary side if the planet's obliquity and the moon's orbital distance are small. In this particular condition the antiplanetary side generally receives more precipitation than the subplanetary side. However, precipitation on exomoons with dense atmospheres generally occurs at any longitude in contrast to tidally locked exoplanets.

  18. HANPP Collection: Global Patterns in Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Global Patterns in Net Primary Productivity (NPP) portion of the HANPP Collection maps the net amount of solar energy converted to plant organic matter through...

  19. Identification of symmetric and asymmetric responses in seasonal streamflow globally to ENSO phase

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Donghoon; Ward, Philip J.; Block, Paul

    2018-04-01

    The phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has large-ranging effects on streamflow and hydrologic conditions globally. While many studies have evaluated this relationship through correlation analysis between annual streamflow and ENSO indices, an assessment of potential asymmetric relationships between ENSO and streamflow is lacking. Here, we evaluate seasonal variations in streamflow by ENSO phase to identify asymmetric (AR) and symmetric (SR) spatial pattern responses globally and further corroborate with local precipitation and hydrological condition. The AR and SR patterns between seasonal precipitation and streamflow are identified at many locations for the first time. Our results identify strong SR patterns in particular regions including northwestern and southern US, northeastern and southeastern South America, northeastern and southern Africa, southwestern Europe, and central-south Russia. The seasonally lagged anomalous streamflow patterns are also identified and attributed to snowmelt, soil moisture, and/or cumulative hydrological processes across river basins. These findings may be useful in water resources management and natural hazards planning by better characterizing the propensity of flood or drought conditions by ENSO phase.

  20. Drivers of Global Vegetation Biomass Trends between 1988 and 2008

    KAUST Repository

    McCabe, Matthew; Liu, Yi; Evans, Jason; De Jeu, Richard; van Dijk, Albert

    2013-01-01

    Vegetation optical depth (VOD) is an indicator of the vegetation water content of both woody and leaf components in terrestrial biomass as derived from passive microwave observations. VOD is distinctly different from products derived from optical remote sensing: it is less prone to saturation in dense canopy; is sensitive to both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic biomass; is less affected by atmospheric conditions; and is of coarser spatial resolution. Here, VOD retrievals from a series of sensors are blended to produce a time series from 1988 through to 2008, and a global analysis is undertaken to quantify and attribute global VOD trends over the same period. We conduct Mann-Kendall linear trend tests on annual average VOD to identify regions of significant change. Patterns for these regions were evaluated against independent datasets to diagnose the underlying cause of the observed trends. Results indicate that: (1) over grassland and shrubland, VOD patterns correspond strongly to temporal precipitation patterns; (2) over croplands, annual average VOD shows a general increase that corresponds to reported crop yield patterns and can be attributed to a combination of precipitation patterns and agricultural improvement; (3) over humid tropical forest, the spatial pattern of VOD decline agrees well with deforestation patterns identified in previous studies; and (4) over boreal forests, regional VOD declines can be attributed to a combination of fires and logging. We conclude that VOD can be used to estimate and interpret global changes in total above ground vegetation biomass. We expect that this new observationally based remote sensing data source will be of considerable interest to hydrological, agricultural, climate change and carbon cycle studies, and provide new insights into these and related process investigations.

  1. Drivers of Global Vegetation Biomass Trends between 1988 and 2008

    KAUST Repository

    McCabe, Matthew

    2013-12-01

    Vegetation optical depth (VOD) is an indicator of the vegetation water content of both woody and leaf components in terrestrial biomass as derived from passive microwave observations. VOD is distinctly different from products derived from optical remote sensing: it is less prone to saturation in dense canopy; is sensitive to both photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic biomass; is less affected by atmospheric conditions; and is of coarser spatial resolution. Here, VOD retrievals from a series of sensors are blended to produce a time series from 1988 through to 2008, and a global analysis is undertaken to quantify and attribute global VOD trends over the same period. We conduct Mann-Kendall linear trend tests on annual average VOD to identify regions of significant change. Patterns for these regions were evaluated against independent datasets to diagnose the underlying cause of the observed trends. Results indicate that: (1) over grassland and shrubland, VOD patterns correspond strongly to temporal precipitation patterns; (2) over croplands, annual average VOD shows a general increase that corresponds to reported crop yield patterns and can be attributed to a combination of precipitation patterns and agricultural improvement; (3) over humid tropical forest, the spatial pattern of VOD decline agrees well with deforestation patterns identified in previous studies; and (4) over boreal forests, regional VOD declines can be attributed to a combination of fires and logging. We conclude that VOD can be used to estimate and interpret global changes in total above ground vegetation biomass. We expect that this new observationally based remote sensing data source will be of considerable interest to hydrological, agricultural, climate change and carbon cycle studies, and provide new insights into these and related process investigations.

  2. An Innovative Metric to Evaluate Satellite Precipitation's Spatial Distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, H.; Chu, W.; Gao, X.; Sorooshian, S.

    2011-12-01

    Thanks to its capability to cover the mountains, where ground measurement instruments cannot reach, satellites provide a good means of estimating precipitation over mountainous regions. In regions with complex terrains, accurate information on high-resolution spatial distribution of precipitation is critical for many important issues, such as flood/landslide warning, reservoir operation, water system planning, etc. Therefore, in order to be useful in many practical applications, satellite precipitation products should possess high quality in characterizing spatial distribution. However, most existing validation metrics, which are based on point/grid comparison using simple statistics, cannot effectively measure satellite's skill of capturing the spatial patterns of precipitation fields. This deficiency results from the fact that point/grid-wised comparison does not take into account of the spatial coherence of precipitation fields. Furth more, another weakness of many metrics is that they can barely provide information on why satellite products perform well or poor. Motivated by our recent findings of the consistent spatial patterns of the precipitation field over the western U.S., we developed a new metric utilizing EOF analysis and Shannon entropy. The metric can be derived through two steps: 1) capture the dominant spatial patterns of precipitation fields from both satellite products and reference data through EOF analysis, and 2) compute the similarities between the corresponding dominant patterns using mutual information measurement defined with Shannon entropy. Instead of individual point/grid, the new metric treat the entire precipitation field simultaneously, naturally taking advantage of spatial dependence. Since the dominant spatial patterns are shaped by physical processes, the new metric can shed light on why satellite product can or cannot capture the spatial patterns. For demonstration, a experiment was carried out to evaluate a satellite

  3. Modelling Global Pattern Formations for Collaborative Learning Environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grappiolo, Corrado; Cheong, Yun-Gyung; Khaled, Rilla

    2012-01-01

    We present our research towards the design of a computational framework capable of modelling the formation and evolution of global patterns (i.e. group structures) in a population of social individuals. The framework is intended to be used in collaborative environments, e.g. social serious games...

  4. Recent Trends of the Tropical Hydrological Cycle Inferred from Global Precipitation Climatology Project and International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Y. P.; Xu, Kuan-Man; Sud, Y. C.; Betts, A. K.

    2011-01-01

    Scores of modeling studies have shown that increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere impact the global hydrologic cycle; however, disagreements on regional scales are large, and thus the simulated trends of such impacts, even for regions as large as the tropics, remain uncertain. The present investigation attempts to examine such trends in the observations using satellite data products comprising Global Precipitation Climatology Project precipitation and International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project cloud and radiation. Specifically, evolving trends of the tropical hydrological cycle over the last 20-30 years were identified and analyzed. The results show (1) intensification of tropical precipitation in the rising regions of the Walker and Hadley circulations and weakening over the sinking regions of the associated overturning circulation; (2) poleward shift of the subtropical dry zones (up to 2deg/decade in June-July-August (JJA) in the Northern Hemisphere and 0.3-0.7deg/decade in June-July-August and September-October-November in the Southern Hemisphere) consistent with an overall broadening of the Hadley circulation; and (3) significant poleward migration (0.9-1.7deg/decade) of cloud boundaries of Hadley cell and plausible narrowing of the high cloudiness in the Intertropical Convergence Zone region in some seasons. These results support findings of some of the previous studies that showed strengthening of the tropical hydrological cycle and expansion of the Hadley cell that are potentially related to the recent global warming trends.

  5. Does extreme precipitation intensity depend on the emissions scenario?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pendergrass, Angeline; Lehner, Flavio; Sanderson, Benjamin; Xu, Yangyang

    2016-04-01

    The rate of increase of global-mean precipitation per degree surface temperature increase differs for greenhouse gas and aerosol forcings, and therefore depends on the change in composition of the emissions scenario used to drive climate model simulations for the remainder of the century. We investigate whether or not this is also the case for extreme precipitation simulated by a multi-model ensemble driven by four realistic emissions scenarios. In most models, the rate of increase of maximum annual daily rainfall per degree global warming in the multi-model ensemble is statistically indistinguishable across the four scenarios, whether this extreme precipitation is calculated globally, over all land, or over extra-tropical land. These results indicate that, in most models, extreme precipitation depends on the total amount of warming and does not depend on emissions scenario, in contrast to mean precipitation.

  6. Geographic patterns of networks derived from extreme precipitation over the Indian subcontinent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stolbova, Veronika; Bookhagen, Bodo; Marwan, Norbert; Kurths, Juergen

    2014-05-01

    Complex networks (CN) and event synchronization (ES) methods have been applied to study a number of climate phenomena such as Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM), South-American Monsoon, and African Monsoon. These methods proved to be powerful tools to infer interdependencies in climate dynamics between geographical sites, spatial structures, and key regions of the considered climate phenomenon. Here, we use these methods to study the spatial temporal variability of the extreme rainfall over the Indian subcontinent, in order to filter the data by coarse-graining the network, and to identify geographic patterns that are signature features (spatial signatures) of the ISM. We find four main geographic patterns of networks derived from extreme precipitation over the Indian subcontinent using up-to-date satellite-derived, and high temporal and spatial resolution rain-gauge interpolated daily rainfall datasets. In order to prove that our results are also relevant for other climatic variables like pressure and temperature, we use re-analysis data provided by the National Center for Environmental Prediction and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR). We find that two of the patterns revealed from the CN extreme rainfall analysis coincide with those obtained for the pressure and temperature fields, and all four above mentioned patterns can be explained by topography, winds, and monsoon circulation. CN and ES enable to select the most informative regions for the ISM, providing realistic description of the ISM dynamics with fewer data, and also help to infer geographic pattern that are spatial signatures of the ISM. These patterns deserve a special attention for the meteorologists and can be used as markers of the ISM variability.

  7. Recent and future extreme precipitation over Ukraine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vyshkvarkova, Olena; Voskresenskaya, Elena

    2014-05-01

    The aim of study is to analyze the parameters of precipitation extremes and inequality over Ukraine in recent climate epoch and their possible changes in the future. Data of observations from 28 hydrometeorological stations over Ukraine and output of GFDL-CM3 model (CMIP5) for XXI century were used in the study. The methods of concentration index (J. Martin-Vide, 2004) for the study of precipitation inequality while the extreme precipitation indices recommended by the ETCCDI - for the frequency of events. Results. Precipitation inequality on the annual and seasonal scales was studied using estimated CI series for 1951-2005. It was found that annual CI ranges vary from 0.58 to 0.64. They increase southward from the north-west (forest zone) and the north-east (forest steppe zone) of Ukraine. CI maxima are located in the coastal regions of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Annual CI spatial distribution indicates that the contribution of extreme precipitation into annual totals is most significant at the boundary zone between steppe and marine regions. At the same time precipitation pattern at the foothill of Carpathian Mountains is more homogenous. The CI minima (0.54) are typical for the winter season in foothill of Ukrainian Carpathians. The CI maxima reach 0.71 in spring at the steppe zone closed to the Black Sea coast. It should be noted that the greatest ranges of CI maximum and CI minimum deviation are typical for spring. It is associated with patterns of cyclone trajectories in that season. The most territory is characterized by tendency to decrease the contribution of extreme precipitation into the total amount (CI linear trends are predominantly negative in all seasons). Decadal and interdecadal variability of precipitation inequality associated with global processes in ocean-atmosphere system are also studied. It was shown that precipitation inequality over Ukraine on 10 - 15 % stronger in negative phase of Pacific Decadal Oscillation and in positive phase

  8. Spatio-temporal patterns of the effects of precipitation variability and land use/cover changes on long-term changes in sediment yield in the Loess Plateau, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Gao

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Within China's Loess Plateau there have been concerted revegetation efforts and engineering measures since the 1950s aimed at reducing soil erosion and land degradation. As a result, annual streamflow, sediment yield, and sediment concentration have all decreased considerably. Human-induced land use/cover change (LUCC was the dominant factor, contributing over 70 % of the sediment load reduction, whereas the contribution of precipitation was less than 30 %. In this study, we use 50-year time series data (1961–2011, showing decreasing trends in the annual sediment loads of 15 catchments, to generate spatio-temporal patterns in the effects of LUCC and precipitation variability on sediment yield. The space–time variability of sediment yield was expressed notionally as a product of two factors representing (i the effect of precipitation and (ii the fraction of treated land surface area. Under minimal LUCC, the square root of annual sediment yield varied linearly with precipitation, with the precipitation–sediment load relationship showing coherent spatial patterns amongst the catchments. As the LUCC increased and took effect, the changes in sediment yield pattern depended more on engineering measures and vegetation restoration campaign, and the within-year rainfall patterns (especially storm events also played an important role. The effect of LUCC is expressed in terms of a sediment coefficient, i.e., the ratio of annual sediment yield to annual precipitation. Sediment coefficients showed a steady decrease over the study period, following a linear decreasing function of the fraction of treated land surface area. In this way, the study has brought out the separate roles of precipitation variability and LUCC in controlling spatio-temporal patterns of sediment yield at catchment scale.

  9. Global patterns of phytoplankton dynamics in coastal ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paerl, H.; Yin, Kedong; Cloern, J.

    2011-01-01

    Scientific Committee on Ocean Research Working Group 137 Meeting; Hangzhou, China, 17-21 October 2010; Phytoplankton biomass and community structure have undergone dramatic changes in coastal ecosystems over the past several decades in response to climate variability and human disturbance. These changes have short- and long-term impacts on global carbon and nutrient cycling, food web structure and productivity, and coastal ecosystem services. There is a need to identify the underlying processes and measure the rates at which they alter coastal ecosystems on a global scale. Hence, the Scientific Committee on Ocean Research (SCOR) formed Working Group 137 (WG 137), "Global Patterns of Phytoplankton Dynamics in Coastal Ecosystems: A Comparative Analysis of Time Series Observations" (http://wg137.net/). This group evolved from a 2007 AGU-sponsored Chapman Conference entitled "Long Time-Series Observations in Coastal Ecosystems: Comparative Analyses of Phytoplankton Dynamics on Regional to Global Scales.".

  10. Simulation and spatiotemporal pattern of air temperature and precipitation in Eastern Central Asia using RegCM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Xianyong; Long, Aihua; Wu, Yiping; Yin, Gang; Wang, Hao; Ji, Xiaonan

    2018-02-26

    Central Asia is a region that has a large land mass, yet meteorological stations in this area are relatively scarce. To address this data issues, in this study, we selected two reanalysis datasets (the ERA40 and NCEP/NCAR) and downscaled them to 40 × 40 km using RegCM. Then three gridded datasets (the CRU, APHRO, and WM) that were extrapolated from the observations of Central Asian meteorological stations to evaluate the performance of RegCM and analyze the spatiotemporal distribution of precipitation and air temperature. We found that since the 1960s, the air temperature in Xinjiang shows an increasing trend and the distribution of precipitation in the Tianshan area is quite complex. The precipitation is increasing in the south of the Tianshan Mountains (Southern Xinjiang, SX) and decreasing in the mountainous areas. The CRU and WM data indicate that precipitation in the north of the Tianshan Mountains (Northern Xinjiang, NX) is increasing, while the APHRO data show an opposite trend. The downscaled results from RegCM are generally consistent with the extrapolated gridded datasets in terms of the spatiotemporal patterns. We believe that our results can provide useful information in developing a regional climate model in Central Asia where meteorological stations are scarce.

  11. Global land carbon sink response to temperature and precipitation varies with ENSO phase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fang, Yuanyuan; Michalak, Anna M.; Schwalm, Christopher R.; Huntzinger, Deborah N.; Berry, Joseph A.; Ciais, Philippe; Piao, Shilong; Poulter, Benjamin; Fisher, Joshua B.; Cook, Robert B.; Hayes, Daniel; Huang, Maoyi; Ito, Akihiko; Jain, Atul; Lei, Huimin; Lu, Chaoqun; Mao, Jiafu; Parazoo, Nicholas C.; Peng, Shushi; Ricciuto, Daniel M.; Shi, Xiaoying; Tao, Bo; Tian, Hanqin; Wang, Weile; Wei, Yaxing; Yang, Jia

    2017-05-01

    Climate variability associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and its consequent impacts on land carbon sink interannual variability have been used as a basis for investigating carbon cycle responses to climate variability more broadly, and to inform the sensitivity of the tropical carbon budget to climate change. Past studies have presented opposing views about whether temperature or precipitation is the primary factor driving the response of the land carbon sink to ENSO. Here, we show that the dominant driver varies with ENSO phase. Whereas tropical temperature explains sink dynamics following El Niño conditions (rTG,P=0.59, p<0.01), the post La Niña sink is driven largely by tropical precipitation (rPG,T=-0.46, p=0.04). This finding points to an ENSO-phase-dependent interplay between water availability and temperature in controlling the carbon uptake response to climate variations in tropical ecosystems. We further find that none of a suite of ten contemporary terrestrial biosphere models captures these ENSO-phase-dependent responses, highlighting a key uncertainty in modeling climate impacts on the future of the global land carbon sink.

  12. The European climate under a 2 °C global warming

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vautard, Robert; Stegehuis, Annemiek; Gobiet, Andreas; Mendlik, Thomas; Sobolowski, Stefan; Kjellström, Erik; Nikulin, Grigory; Watkiss, Paul; Landgren, Oskar; Teichmann, Claas; Jacob, Daniela

    2014-01-01

    A global warming of 2 °C relative to pre-industrial climate has been considered as a threshold which society should endeavor to remain below, in order to limit the dangerous effects of anthropogenic climate change. The possible changes in regional climate under this target level of global warming have so far not been investigated in detail. Using an ensemble of 15 regional climate simulations downscaling six transient global climate simulations, we identify the respective time periods corresponding to 2 °C global warming, describe the range of projected changes for the European climate for this level of global warming, and investigate the uncertainty across the multi-model ensemble. Robust changes in mean and extreme temperature, precipitation, winds and surface energy budgets are found based on the ensemble of simulations. The results indicate that most of Europe will experience higher warming than the global average. They also reveal strong distributional patterns across Europe, which will be important in subsequent impact assessments and adaptation responses in different countries and regions. For instance, a North–South (West–East) warming gradient is found for summer (winter) along with a general increase in heavy precipitation and summer extreme temperatures. Tying the ensemble analysis to time periods with a prescribed global temperature change rather than fixed time periods allows for the identification of more robust regional patterns of temperature changes due to removal of some of the uncertainty related to the global models’ climate sensitivity. (paper)

  13. What drives the formation of global oil trade patterns?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Hai-Ying; Ji, Qiang; Fan, Ying

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, the spatial characteristics of current global oil trade patterns are investigated by proposing a new indicator Moran-F. Meanwhile, the factors that influence the formation of oil trade patterns are identified by constructing four different kinds of spatial econometric models. The findings indicate that most oil exporters have an obvious export focus in North America and a relatively balanced export in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Besides supply and demand factors, technological progress and energy efficiency have also significantly influenced the oil trade. Moreover, there is a spillover effect of trade flow among different regions, but its impact is weak. In addition, oil importers in the same region have the potential to cooperate due to their similar import sources. Finally, promotion of oil importers' R&D investments can effectively reduce the demand for global oil trade. - Highlights: • A new spatial association Moran-F indicator that applies to trade flows is proposed. • Driving factors affecting the formation of oil trade patterns are identified. • Oil-exporting countries implement various export strategies in different regions. • Supply, demand and technological factors contribute to the oil trade patterns. • Spillover effect of each factor affecting oil trade flows does exist but is limited

  14. A hydroclimatic model of global fire patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boer, Matthias

    2015-04-01

    Satellite-based earth observation is providing an increasingly accurate picture of global fire patterns. The highest fire activity is observed in seasonally dry (sub-)tropical environments of South America, Africa and Australia, but fires occur with varying frequency, intensity and seasonality in almost all biomes on Earth. The particular combination of these fire characteristics, or fire regime, is known to emerge from the combined influences of climate, vegetation, terrain and land use, but has so far proven difficult to reproduce by global models. Uncertainty about the biophysical drivers and constraints that underlie current global fire patterns is propagated in model predictions of how ecosystems, fire regimes and biogeochemical cycles may respond to projected future climates. Here, I present a hydroclimatic model of global fire patterns that predicts the mean annual burned area fraction (F) of 0.25° x 0.25° grid cells as a function of the climatic water balance. Following Bradstock's four-switch model, long-term fire activity levels were assumed to be controlled by fuel productivity rates and the likelihood that the extant fuel is dry enough to burn. The frequency of ignitions and favourable fire weather were assumed to be non-limiting at long time scales. Fundamentally, fuel productivity and fuel dryness are a function of the local water and energy budgets available for the production and desiccation of plant biomass. The climatic water balance summarizes the simultaneous availability of biologically usable energy and water at a site, and may therefore be expected to explain a significant proportion of global variation in F. To capture the effect of the climatic water balance on fire activity I focused on the upper quantiles of F, i.e. the maximum level of fire activity for a given climatic water balance. Analysing GFED4 data for annual burned area together with gridded climate data, I found that nearly 80% of the global variation in the 0.99 quantile of F

  15. Comparison of tests for spatial heterogeneity on data with global clustering patterns and outliers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hachey Mark

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The ability to evaluate geographic heterogeneity of cancer incidence and mortality is important in cancer surveillance. Many statistical methods for evaluating global clustering and local cluster patterns are developed and have been examined by many simulation studies. However, the performance of these methods on two extreme cases (global clustering evaluation and local anomaly (outlier detection has not been thoroughly investigated. Methods We compare methods for global clustering evaluation including Tango's Index, Moran's I, and Oden's I*pop; and cluster detection methods such as local Moran's I and SaTScan elliptic version on simulated count data that mimic global clustering patterns and outliers for cancer cases in the continental United States. We examine the power and precision of the selected methods in the purely spatial analysis. We illustrate Tango's MEET and SaTScan elliptic version on a 1987-2004 HIV and a 1950-1969 lung cancer mortality data in the United States. Results For simulated data with outlier patterns, Tango's MEET, Moran's I and I*pop had powers less than 0.2, and SaTScan had powers around 0.97. For simulated data with global clustering patterns, Tango's MEET and I*pop (with 50% of total population as the maximum search window had powers close to 1. SaTScan had powers around 0.7-0.8 and Moran's I has powers around 0.2-0.3. In the real data example, Tango's MEET indicated the existence of global clustering patterns in both the HIV and lung cancer mortality data. SaTScan found a large cluster for HIV mortality rates, which is consistent with the finding from Tango's MEET. SaTScan also found clusters and outliers in the lung cancer mortality data. Conclusion SaTScan elliptic version is more efficient for outlier detection compared with the other methods evaluated in this article. Tango's MEET and Oden's I*pop perform best in global clustering scenarios among the selected methods. The use of SaTScan for

  16. Short-range quantitative precipitation forecasting using Deep Learning approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbari Asanjan, A.; Yang, T.; Gao, X.; Hsu, K. L.; Sorooshian, S.

    2017-12-01

    Predicting short-range quantitative precipitation is very important for flood forecasting, early flood warning and other hydrometeorological purposes. This study aims to improve the precipitation forecasting skills using a recently developed and advanced machine learning technique named Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM). The proposed LSTM learns the changing patterns of clouds from Cloud-Top Brightness Temperature (CTBT) images, retrieved from the infrared channel of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), using a sophisticated and effective learning method. After learning the dynamics of clouds, the LSTM model predicts the upcoming rainy CTBT events. The proposed model is then merged with a precipitation estimation algorithm termed Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN) to provide precipitation forecasts. The results of merged LSTM with PERSIANN are compared to the results of an Elman-type Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) merged with PERSIANN and Final Analysis of Global Forecast System model over the states of Oklahoma, Florida and Oregon. The performance of each model is investigated during 3 storm events each located over one of the study regions. The results indicate the outperformance of merged LSTM forecasts comparing to the numerical and statistical baselines in terms of Probability of Detection (POD), False Alarm Ratio (FAR), Critical Success Index (CSI), RMSE and correlation coefficient especially in convective systems. The proposed method shows superior capabilities in short-term forecasting over compared methods.

  17. Droughts in a warming climate: A global assessment of Standardized precipitation index (SPI) and Reconnaissance drought index (RDI)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asadi Zarch, Mohammad Amin; Sivakumar, Bellie; Sharma, Ashish

    2015-07-01

    Both drought and aridity indicate imbalance in water availability. While drought is a natural temporal hazard, aridity is a constant climatic feature. This paper investigates the changes in drought characteristics across different aridity zones with and without consideration of potential evapotranspiration (PET), as a means to better assess drought in a warming climate. Two drought indexes are employed: (1) Standardized precipitation index (SPI), which is solely based on precipitation; and (2) Reconnaissance drought index (RDI), which, in addition to precipitation, takes PET into account. The two indexes are first employed to observed precipitation and PET data for the period 1960-2009 from the CRU (Climate Research Unit, University of East Anglia) TS 3.1 database. The results indicate that although all the aridity zones experience both downward and upward drought trends, no significant trend is found over large parts of the zones. However, the agreement between SPI and RDI reduces from the hyper-arid zone on one extreme toward the humid zone on the other. In the three more humid zones (i.e. semi-arid, sub-humid, and humid), the indexes exhibit different trends, with RDI showing more decreasing trends (i.e. becoming drier). While SPI generally shows more drought prone areas than RDI for the pre-1998 period, the opposite is observed for the post-1998 period. Given the known changes to PET in observed records, and also expected increases as global warming intensifies, these results suggest that RDI will be consistently different to the SPI as global warming intensifies. This hypothesis is further tested for historic and future climate projections from the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia) Mk3.6 global climate model (GCM), with use of the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) and RCP8.5 (Representative Concentration Pathways). In this case, PET is calculated using FAO56-PM model for assessment of

  18. An evaluation of temperature and precipitation from global and regional climate models over Scandinavia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-07-01

    Precipitation and temperature from global (GCMs) and regional (RCMs) climate models are compared with reanalysis and observations over Scandinavia. Also projections for the next 50-100 years are considered. The climate development is visualised as moving averages (1920-2100). Box plots are used to illuminate how well GCM runs capture the observed seasonal cycle. Maps show the seasonal difference between results from control runs (RCM) and observations (E-OBS dataset) for the reference period 1981-2000. Plots illustrate the RCM-representation of seasonal temperature and precipitations cycle for five locations in Norway and Sweden: Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Tromsoe and Oestersund. The results show rather large differences between control runs and observations, demonstrating the need for bias correction of results from climate models. To get an indicator of which GC M-RCM-combination give the best representation of present climate over Scandinavia, a model ranking is provided. The performance measure used is the root-mean-square deviation of mean monthly and seasonal values. The data is compared both in an area-weighted spatial average of the whole domain as well as for the selected locations. The results indicate that the regional models RACMO2 and RCA show the smallest deviations from observed climate. Among the top ranking GCM-RCM combinations, most were driven by the global model ECHAM5 and some by a version of HadCM3. These two GCMs are also present among the worst performing GCM-RCM combinations indicating that selection of RCMs is crucial. (Author)

  19. Coupled local facilitation and global hydrologic inhibition drive landscape geometry in a patterned peatland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acharya, S.; Kaplan, D. A.; Casey, S.; Cohen, M. J.; Jawitz, J. W.

    2015-05-01

    Self-organized landscape patterning can arise in response to multiple processes. Discriminating among alternative patterning mechanisms, particularly where experimental manipulations are untenable, requires process-based models. Previous modeling studies have attributed patterning in the Everglades (Florida, USA) to sediment redistribution and anisotropic soil hydraulic properties. In this work, we tested an alternate theory, the self-organizing-canal (SOC) hypothesis, by developing a cellular automata model that simulates pattern evolution via local positive feedbacks (i.e., facilitation) coupled with a global negative feedback based on hydrology. The model is forced by global hydroperiod that drives stochastic transitions between two patch types: ridge (higher elevation) and slough (lower elevation). We evaluated model performance using multiple criteria based on six statistical and geostatistical properties observed in reference portions of the Everglades landscape: patch density, patch anisotropy, semivariogram ranges, power-law scaling of ridge areas, perimeter area fractal dimension, and characteristic pattern wavelength. Model results showed strong statistical agreement with reference landscapes, but only when anisotropically acting local facilitation was coupled with hydrologic global feedback, for which several plausible mechanisms exist. Critically, the model correctly generated fractal landscapes that had no characteristic pattern wavelength, supporting the invocation of global rather than scale-specific negative feedbacks.

  20. Global hotspots of river erosion under global warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plink-Bjorklund, P.; Reichler, T.

    2017-12-01

    Extreme precipitation plays a significant role for river hydrology, flood hazards and landscape response. For example, the September 2013 rainstorm in the Colorado Front Range evacuated the equivalent of hundreds to thousands of years of hillslope weathering products. Although promoted by steep topography, the Colorado event is clearly linked to rainfall intensity, since most of the 1100 debris flows occurred within the highest rainfall contour. Additional evidence for a strong link between extreme precipitation and river erosion comes from the sedimentary record, and especially from that of past greenhouse climates. The existence of such a link suggests that information about global rainfall patterns can be used to define regions of increased erosion potential. However, the question arises what rainfall criteria to use and how well the method works. A related question is how ongoing climate change and the corresponding shifts in rainfall might impact the results. Here, we use atmospheric reanalysis and output from a climate model to identify regions that are particularly susceptible to landscape change in response to extreme precipitation. In order to define the regions, we combine several hydroclimatological and geomorphological criteria into a single index of erosion potential. We show that for current climate, our criteria applied to atmospheric reanalysis or to climate model data successfully localize known areas of increased erosion potential, such as the Colorado region. We then apply our criteria to climate model data for future climate to document how the location, extent, and intensity of erosion hotspots are likely to change under global warming.

  1. CMORPH 8 Km: A Method that Produces Global Precipitation Estimates from Passive Microwave and Infrared Data at High Spatial and Temporal Resolution

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — A new technique is presented in which half-hourly global precipitation estimates derived from passive microwave satellite scans are propagated by motion vectors...

  2. Analyzing and Visualizing Precipitation and Soil Moisture in ArcGIS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Wenli; Pham, Long; Zhao, Peisheng; Kempler, Steve; Wei, Jennifer

    2016-01-01

    Precipitation and soil moisture are among the most important parameters in many land GIS (Geographic Information System) research and applications. These data are available globally from NASA GES DISC (Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center) in GIS-ready format at 10-kilometer spatial resolution and 24-hour or less temporal resolutions. In this presentation, well demonstrate how rainfall and soil moisture data are used in ArcGIS to analyze and visualize spatiotemporal patterns of droughts and their impacts on natural vegetation and agriculture in different parts of the world.

  3. Global patterns of fragmentation and connectivity of mammalian carnivore habitat

    OpenAIRE

    Crooks, Kevin R.; Burdett, Christopher L.; Theobald, David M.; Rondinini, Carlo; Boitani, Luigi

    2011-01-01

    Although mammalian carnivores are vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and require landscape connectivity, their global patterns of fragmentation and connectivity have not been examined. We use recently developed high-resolution habitat suitability models to conduct comparative analyses and to identify global hotspots of fragmentation and connectivity for the world's terrestrial carnivores. Species with less fragmentation (i.e. more interior high-quality habitat) had larger geographical ranges...

  4. Mean annual precipitation predicts primary production resistance and resilience to extreme drought.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stuart-Haëntjens, Ellen; De Boeck, Hans J; Lemoine, Nathan P; Mänd, Pille; Kröel-Dulay, György; Schmidt, Inger K; Jentsch, Anke; Stampfli, Andreas; Anderegg, William R L; Bahn, Michael; Kreyling, Juergen; Wohlgemuth, Thomas; Lloret, Francisco; Classen, Aimée T; Gough, Christopher M; Smith, Melinda D

    2018-04-27

    Extreme drought is increasing in frequency and intensity in many regions globally, with uncertain consequences for the resistance and resilience of ecosystem functions, including primary production. Primary production resistance, the capacity to withstand change during extreme drought, and resilience, the degree to which production recovers, vary among and within ecosystem types, obscuring generalized patterns of ecological stability. Theory and many observations suggest forest production is more resistant but less resilient than grassland production to extreme drought; however, studies of production sensitivity to precipitation variability indicate that the processes controlling resistance and resilience may be influenced more by mean annual precipitation (MAP) than ecosystem type. Here, we conducted a global meta-analysis to investigate primary production resistance and resilience to extreme drought in 64 forests and grasslands across a broad MAP gradient. We found resistance to extreme drought was predicted by MAP; however, grasslands (positive) and forests (negative) exhibited opposing resilience relationships with MAP. Our findings indicate that common plant physiological mechanisms may determine grassland and forest resistance to extreme drought, whereas differences among plant residents in turnover time, plant architecture, and drought adaptive strategies likely underlie divergent resilience patterns. The low resistance and resilience of dry grasslands suggests that these ecosystems are the most vulnerable to extreme drought - a vulnerability that is expected to compound as extreme drought frequency increases in the future. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  5. Effect of urbanization on the winter precipitation distribution in Beijing area

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2009-01-01

    According to the urbanization extent of Beijing area, and with 1980 as a turning point, the duration from 1961 to 2000 is divided into two periods: one is defined as the slow urbanization period from 1961 to 1980, and other one as the fast urbanization period from 1981 to 2000. Based on the 40-year’s precipi-tation data of 14 standard weather stations in Beijing area, the effect of urbanization on precipitation distribution is studied. It is found that there has been a noticeable and systematic change of winter precipitation distribution pattern between these two periods in Beijing area: in the slow urbanization period, the precipitation in the southern part of Beijing is more than that in the northern part; but in the fast urbanization period, the precipitation distribution pattern is reverse, i.e. the precipitation in the southern part is less than that in the northern part; But in other seasons, the precipitation distribution pattern did not change remarkably in general. The possible cause resulting in the change of winter precipitation distribution pattern, might be that with urban area extension, the effects of "urban heat island" and "urban dry island" become more and more intensified, and increase hydrometeors evapo-ration below precipitable cloud, and then cause less precipitation received on the ground surface in the downtown and the southern part. It is also noteworthy to further research why the precipitation distri-bution pattern does not change systematically in other seasons except winter after intense urbaniza-tion in Beijing area.

  6. Controls of precipitation δ18O on the northwestern Tibetan Plateau: A case study at Ngari station

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Xiaoyu; Tian, Lide; Wen, Rong; Yu, Wusheng; Qu, Dongmei

    2017-06-01

    The shifting atmospheric circulation between the Indian monsoon and the westerlies on the northwestern Tibetan Plateau (TP) influences precipitation as well as precipitation isotopes. Isotopic records will therefore show historical fluctuations. To understand better the factors controlling present day precipitation δ18O values on the northwestern TP, we made continuous observations of precipitation isotopes at Ngari station from 2010 to 2013. The drivers of precipitation δ18O were investigated using analyses of their statistical relations with temperature, precipitation amount, relative humidity, and convective activities based on outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data from NOAA satellites, and downward shortwave radiation (DSR) data collected at the Ngari automatic weather station. Atmospheric circulation patterns from NCAR reanalysis, and moisture transport paths of individual events derived from the HYSPLIT model using NCEP data, were also used to trace moisture sources. The results of our study include: (1) The slope and intercept of the Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL) at Ngari (δD = 8.51 δ18O + 11.57 (R2 = 0.97, p < 0.01)) were higher than for the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL), indicating drier local climatic conditions; (2) Precipitation δ18O values showed a weak ;temperature effect; and a weak ;precipitation amount effect; at Ngari; and (3) Convection (or temperature patterns) integrated over several days (0-20) preceding each event were determined to be the main driver of precipitation isotopic values in monsoon (or non-monsoon) season. The longer (shorter) periods of τm days when correlation coefficients between precipitation δ18O and OLR were at their maxima (minima) indicate deep convective activities (shorter moisture transportation pathways) in August (June, July, and September).

  7. Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The PREC data set is an analysis of monthly precipitation constructed on a 2.5(o)lat/lon grid over the global for the period from 1948 to the present. The land...

  8. Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) and International Space Station (ISS) Coordination for CubeSat Deployments to Minimize Collision Risk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawloski, James H.; Aviles, Jorge; Myers, Ralph; Parris, Joshua; Corley, Bryan; Hehn, Garrett; Pascucci, Joseph

    2016-01-01

    The Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GPM) is a joint U.S. and Japan mission to observe global precipitation, extending the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), which was launched by H-IIA from Tanegashima in Japan on February 28TH, 2014 directly into its 407km operational orbit. The International Space Station (ISS) is an international human research facility operated jointly by Russia and the USA from NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston Texas. Mission priorities lowered the operating altitude of ISS from 415km to 400km in early 2105, effectively placing both vehicles into the same orbital regime. The ISS has begun a program of deployments of cost effective CubeSats from the ISS that allow testing and validation of new technologies. With a major new asset flying at the same effective altitude as the ISS, CubeSat deployments became a serious threat to GPM and therefore a significant indirect threat to the ISS. This paper describes the specific problem of collision threat to GPM and risk to ISS CubeSat deployment and the process that was implemented to keep both missions safe from collision and maximize their project goals.

  9. The Globalization of Food Systems: A Conceptual Framework and Empirical Patterns

    OpenAIRE

    Senauer, Benjamin; Venturini, Luciano

    2005-01-01

    This paper discusses a number of stylized facts and empirical patterns regarding agri-food trade flows as well as foreign direct investments in food processing and retailing. This evidence supports the hypothesis of an increasingly global food system. We identify the main factors at work such as push/supply side, pull/demand-side, and enabling/external factors. We show how the shift from national to global retailing is a recent phenomenon whose relevance for the globalization of upstream sect...

  10. Decadal Seasonal Shifts of Precipitation and Temperature in TRMM and AIRS Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savtchenko, Andrey; Huffman, George; Meyer, David; Vollmer, Bruce

    2018-01-01

    We present results from an analysis of seasonal phase shifts in the global precipitation and surface temperatures. We use data from the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) Multi-satellite Precipitation Algorithm (TMPA), and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on Aqua satellite, all hosted at NASA Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). We explore the information content and data usability by first aggregating daily grids from the entire records of both missions to pentad (5-day) series which are then processed using Singular Value Decomposition approach. A strength of this approach is the normalized principal components that can then be easily converted from real to complex time series. Thus, we can separate the most informative, the seasonal, components and analyze unambiguously for potential seasonal phase drifts. TMPA and AIRS records represent correspondingly 20 and 15 years of data, which allows us to run simple “phase learning†from the first 5 years of records and use it as reference. The most recent 5 years are then phase-compared with the reference. We demonstrate that the seasonal phase of global precipitation and surface temperatures has been stable in the past two decades. However, a small global trend of delayed precipitation, and earlier arrival of surface temperatures seasons, are detectable at 95% confidence level. Larger phase shifts are detectable at regional level, in regions recognizable from the Eigen vectors to having strong seasonal patterns. For instance, in Central North America, including the North American Monsoon region, confident phase shifts of 1-2 days per decade are detected at 95% confidence level. While seemingly symbolic, these shifts are indicative of larger changes in the Earth Climate System. We thus also demonstrate a potential usability scenario of Earth Science Data Records curated at the NASA GES DISC in partnership with Earth Science Missions.

  11. Global Warming and 21st Century Drying

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Benjamin I.; Smerdun, Jason E.; Seager, Richard; Coats, Sloan

    2014-01-01

    Global warming is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of droughts in the twenty-first century, but the relative contributions from changes in moisture supply (precipitation) versus evaporative demand (potential evapotranspiration; PET) have not been comprehensively assessed. Using output from a suite of general circulation model (GCM) simulations from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, projected twentyfirst century drying and wetting trends are investigated using two offline indices of surface moisture balance: the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). PDSI and SPEI projections using precipitation and Penman- Monteith based PET changes from the GCMs generally agree, showing robust cross-model drying in western North America, Central America, the Mediterranean, southern Africa, and the Amazon and robust wetting occurring in the Northern Hemisphere high latitudes and east Africa (PDSI only). The SPEI is more sensitive to PET changes than the PDSI, especially in arid regions such as the Sahara and Middle East. Regional drying and wetting patterns largely mirror the spatially heterogeneous response of precipitation in the models, although drying in the PDSI and SPEI calculations extends beyond the regions of reduced precipitation. This expansion of drying areas is attributed to globally widespread increases in PET, caused by increases in surface net radiation and the vapor pressure deficit. Increased PET not only intensifies drying in areas where precipitation is already reduced, it also drives areas into drought that would otherwise experience little drying or even wetting from precipitation trends alone. This PET amplification effect is largest in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, and is especially pronounced in western North America, Europe, and southeast China. Compared to PDSI projections using precipitation changes only, the projections incorporating both

  12. Global peak flux profile of proton precipitation in the equatorial zone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miah, M.A.

    1991-01-01

    Particle precipitation near the equator within ± 30deg geomagnetic latitude was investigated by the Phoenix-1 instrumentation on board the S81-1 mission. The monitor telescope on board the mission was sensitive to protons in the energy range 0.6-9.1 MeV, to alpha particles in the energy range 0.4-80 MeV/nucleon and Z→3 particles ( 12 C) of energy greater than 0.7 MeV/nucleon. The peak efficiency of the telescope was for particles of ∼88deg pitch angles at the line of minimum magnetic field. Careful separation of the magnetically quiet time equatorial particle data from global data coverage and subsequent analysis shows that the ML detector on board the mission detected mostly protons. The proton peak flux profile follows the line of minimum magnetic field. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the equatorial zone is ∼ 13deg, which is well within the EUV emission zone. (author). 14 refs., 9 figs

  13. Study of sea-surface slope distribution and its effect on radar backscatter based on Global Precipitation Measurement Ku-band precipitation radar measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Qiushuang; Zhang, Jie; Fan, Chenqing; Wang, Jing; Meng, Junmin

    2018-01-01

    The collocated normalized radar backscattering cross-section measurements from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Ku-band precipitation radar (KuPR) and the winds from the moored buoys are used to study the effect of different sea-surface slope probability density functions (PDFs), including the Gaussian PDF, the Gram-Charlier PDF, and the Liu PDF, on the geometrical optics (GO) model predictions of the radar backscatter at low incidence angles (0 deg to 18 deg) at different sea states. First, the peakedness coefficient in the Liu distribution is determined using the collocations at the normal incidence angle, and the results indicate that the peakedness coefficient is a nonlinear function of the wind speed. Then, the performance of the modified Liu distribution, i.e., Liu distribution using the obtained peakedness coefficient estimate; the Gaussian distribution; and the Gram-Charlier distribution is analyzed. The results show that the GO model predictions with the modified Liu distribution agree best with the KuPR measurements, followed by the predictions with the Gaussian distribution, while the predictions with the Gram-Charlier distribution have larger differences as the total or the slick filtered, not the radar filtered, probability density is included in the distribution. The best-performing distribution changes with incidence angle and changes with wind speed.

  14. Microbial decomposition of dead grassland roots and its influence on the carbon cycle under changing precipitation patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becerra, C.; Schimel, J.

    2013-12-01

    Soil is the largest reservoir of organic carbon in terrestrial ecosystems and as such, represents a potential sink for carbon dioxide.The decomposition products of dead roots buried in the soil is a contributor to soil organic carbon. However, changing precipitation patterns may affect its fate by influencing the microbial community responsible for decomposing dead roots. To assess the impact of changing precipitation patterns, we constructed microcosms with grassland soil collected from the UCSB Sedgwick Reserve, an active and long-term research site, and dead roots from greenhouse-grown grass, Bromus diandrus. Microcosms were wetted continuously, every seven days, or every twenty days. Sets of microcosms were periodically deconstructed to assess the soil versus the roots-associated microbial community and its function. Differences in respiration rates of microcosms continuously wetted or wetted every 7 days versus microcosms wetted every 20 days existed for the first 70 days. After which, no differences in respiration rates were seen with microcosms containing roots and the no roots control. Relatedly, after a 70% roots mass loss by day 50, there was no difference in the respiration rate of microcosms containing roots and the no roots control. More than half of the roots mass loss had occurred by 30 days. By the end of the incubation period, the roots mass loss in continuously wet and 7-day wetted microcosms were over 80% compared to 67% for the microcosms wetted every 20 days. Microbial biomass in the soil were constant over time and showed no difference in treatment except with the no roots control during the first half of the incubation period. Hydrolytic enzyme activities (β-1,4-glucosidase; α-1,4-glucosidase; β-1,4-xylosidase; β-1,4-cellobiosidase) on the roots versus the soil attached to the roots were over an order greater and decreased faster with the exception of N-acetyl-glucosaminidase and acid phosphatase. Oxidative enzyme activities (phenol

  15. Performance evaluation of latest integrated multi-satellite retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) over the northern highlands of Pakistan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anjum, Muhammad Naveed; Ding, Yongjian; Shangguan, Donghui; Ahmad, Ijaz; Ijaz, Muhammad Wajid; Farid, Hafiz Umar; Yagoub, Yousif Elnour; Zaman, Muhammad; Adnan, Muhammad

    2018-06-01

    Recently, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission has released the Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) at a fine spatial (0.1° × 0.1°) and temporal (half hourly) resolutions. A comprehensive evaluation of this newly launched precipitation product is very important for satellite-based precipitation data users as well as for algorithm developers. The objective of this study was to provide a preliminary and timely performance evaluation of the IMERG product over the northern high lands of Pakistan. For comparison reference, the real-time and post real-time Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) products were also evaluated parallel to the IMERG. All of the selected precipitation products were evaluated at annual, monthly, seasonal and daily time scales using reference gauges data from April 2014 to December 2016. The results showed that: (1) the precipitation estimates from IMERG, 3B42V7 and 3B42RT products correlated well with the reference gauges observations at monthly time scale (CC = 0.93, 0.91, 0.88, respectively), whereas moderately at the daily time scale (CC = 0.67, 0.61, and 0.58, respectively); (2) Compared to the 3B42V7 and 3B42RT, the precipitation estimates from IMERG were more reliable in all seasons particularly in the winter season with lowest relative bias (2.61%) and highest CC (0.87); (3) IMERG showed a clear superiority over 3B42V7 and 3B42RT products in order to capture spatial distribution of precipitation over the northern Pakistan; (4) Relative to the 3B42V7 and 3B42RT, daily precipitation estimates from IMEREG showed lowest relative bias (9.20% vs. 21.40% and 26.10%, respectively) and RMSE (2.05 mm/day vs. 2.49 mm/day and 2.88 mm/day, respectively); and (5) Light precipitation events (0-1 mm/day) were usually overestimated by all said satellite-based precipitation products. In contrast moderate (1-20 mm/day) to heavy (>20 mm/day) precipitation events were

  16. Under which climate and soil conditions the plant productivity-precipitation relationship is linear or nonlinear?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Jian-Sheng; Pei, Jiu-Ying; Fang, Chao

    2018-03-01

    Understanding under which climate and soil conditions the plant productivity-precipitation relationship is linear or nonlinear is useful for accurately predicting the response of ecosystem function to global environmental change. Using long-term (2000-2016) net primary productivity (NPP)-precipitation datasets derived from satellite observations, we identify >5600pixels in the North Hemisphere landmass that fit either linear or nonlinear temporal NPP-precipitation relationships. Differences in climate (precipitation, radiation, ratio of actual to potential evapotranspiration, temperature) and soil factors (nitrogen, phosphorous, organic carbon, field capacity) between the linear and nonlinear types are evaluated. Our analysis shows that both linear and nonlinear types exhibit similar interannual precipitation variabilities and occurrences of extreme precipitation. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance suggests that linear and nonlinear types differ significantly regarding to radiation, ratio of actual to potential evapotranspiration, and soil factors. The nonlinear type possesses lower radiation and/or less soil nutrients than the linear type, thereby suggesting that nonlinear type features higher degree of limitation from resources other than precipitation. This study suggests several factors limiting the responses of plant productivity to changes in precipitation, thus causing nonlinear NPP-precipitation pattern. Precipitation manipulation and modeling experiments should combine with changes in other climate and soil factors to better predict the response of plant productivity under future climate. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Sea surface temperature inter-hemispheric dipole and its relation to tropical precipitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Cheng; Li, Jianping; Ding, Ruiqiang; Jin, Fei-Fei

    2013-01-01

    Using different SST datasets, the variability of zonal mean SSTs is investigated. Besides the global warming mode, the variability is dominated by one equatorially symmetric mode and one antisymmetric mode. The former is most pronounced in the Pacific and dominated by interannual variability, corresponding to the ENSO signature. The latter features an inter-hemispheric dipole-like pattern and is referred to as the SST inter-hemispheric dipole (SSTID). The SSTID and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation are found to be related but distinct in the spatial pattern. Observational analysis shows that the SSTID significantly influences tropical rainfall and contributes to the north–south asymmetry of tropical precipitation on multidecadal timescales. The observed SSTID and its relation to the tropical rainfall are realistically reproduced in a control simulation with the UKMO-HadCM3 climate model. Results from the UKMO-HadCM3 simulation suggest that the SSTID is related to the variability of the global ocean northward cross-equatorial heat transport. (letter)

  18. The impact of precipitation evaporation on the atmospheric aerosol distribution in EC-Earth v3.2.0

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Bruine, Marco; Krol, Maarten; van Noije, Twan; Le Sager, Philippe; Röckmann, Thomas

    2018-04-01

    The representation of aerosol-cloud interaction in global climate models (GCMs) remains a large source of uncertainty in climate projections. Due to its complexity, precipitation evaporation is either ignored or taken into account in a simplified manner in GCMs. This research explores various ways to treat aerosol resuspension and determines the possible impact of precipitation evaporation and subsequent aerosol resuspension on global aerosol burdens and distribution. The representation of aerosol wet deposition by large-scale precipitation in the EC-Earth model has been improved by utilising additional precipitation-related 3-D fields from the dynamical core, the Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) general circulation model, in the chemistry and aerosol module Tracer Model, version 5 (TM5). A simple approach of scaling aerosol release with evaporated precipitation fraction leads to an increase in the global aerosol burden (+7.8 to +15 % for different aerosol species). However, when taking into account the different sizes and evaporation rate of raindrops following Gong et al. (2006), the release of aerosols is strongly reduced, and the total aerosol burden decreases by -3.0 to -8.5 %. Moreover, inclusion of cloud processing based on observations by Mitra et al. (1992) transforms scavenged small aerosol to coarse particles, which enhances removal by sedimentation and hence leads to a -10 to -11 % lower aerosol burden. Finally, when these two effects are combined, the global aerosol burden decreases by -11 to -19 %. Compared to the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite observations, aerosol optical depth (AOD) is generally underestimated in most parts of the world in all configurations of the TM5 model and although the representation is now physically more realistic, global AOD shows no large improvements in spatial patterns. Similarly, the agreement of the vertical profile with Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP

  19. Neural Global Pattern Similarity Underlies True and False Memories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Zhifang; Zhu, Bi; Zhuang, Liping; Lu, Zhonglin; Chen, Chuansheng; Xue, Gui

    2016-06-22

    The neural processes giving rise to human memory strength signals remain poorly understood. Inspired by formal computational models that posit a central role of global matching in memory strength, we tested a novel hypothesis that the strengths of both true and false memories arise from the global similarity of an item's neural activation pattern during retrieval to that of all the studied items during encoding (i.e., the encoding-retrieval neural global pattern similarity [ER-nGPS]). We revealed multiple ER-nGPS signals that carried distinct information and contributed differentially to true and false memories: Whereas the ER-nGPS in the parietal regions reflected semantic similarity and was scaled with the recognition strengths of both true and false memories, ER-nGPS in the visual cortex contributed solely to true memory. Moreover, ER-nGPS differences between the parietal and visual cortices were correlated with frontal monitoring processes. By combining computational and neuroimaging approaches, our results advance a mechanistic understanding of memory strength in recognition. What neural processes give rise to memory strength signals, and lead to our conscious feelings of familiarity? Using fMRI, we found that the memory strength of a given item depends not only on how it was encoded during learning, but also on the similarity of its neural representation with other studied items. The global neural matching signal, mainly in the parietal lobule, could account for the memory strengths of both studied and unstudied items. Interestingly, a different global matching signal, originated from the visual cortex, could distinguish true from false memories. The findings reveal multiple neural mechanisms underlying the memory strengths of events registered in the brain. Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/366792-11$15.00/0.

  20. Food, Populations and Health — global Patterns and Challenges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2016-01-01

    The present volume is based on presentations at a symposium at the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in September 2014 with the title Food, Population and Health – global Patterns and Challenges. Food has played a fundamental role in the history of all societies over the World. Availab...

  1. Evaluation of NASA's MERRA Precipitation Product in Reproducing the Observed Trend and Distribution of Extreme Precipitation Events in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashouri, Hamed; Sorooshian, Soroosh; Hsu, Kuo-Lin; Bosilovich, Michael G.; Lee, Jaechoul; Wehner, Michael F.; Collow, Allison

    2016-01-01

    This study evaluates the performance of NASA's Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) precipitation product in reproducing the trend and distribution of extreme precipitation events. Utilizing the extreme value theory, time-invariant and time-variant extreme value distributions are developed to model the trends and changes in the patterns of extreme precipitation events over the contiguous United States during 1979-2010. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) U.S.Unified gridded observation data are used as the observational dataset. The CPC analysis shows that the eastern and western parts of the United States are experiencing positive and negative trends in annual maxima, respectively. The continental-scale patterns of change found in MERRA seem to reasonably mirror the observed patterns of change found in CPC. This is not previously expected, given the difficulty in constraining precipitation in reanalysis products. MERRA tends to overestimate the frequency at which the 99th percentile of precipitation is exceeded because this threshold tends to be lower in MERRA, making it easier to be exceeded. This feature is dominant during the summer months. MERRA tends to reproduce spatial patterns of the scale and location parameters of the generalized extreme value and generalized Pareto distributions. However, MERRA underestimates these parameters, particularly over the Gulf Coast states, leading to lower magnitudes in extreme precipitation events. Two issues in MERRA are identified: 1) MERRA shows a spurious negative trend in Nebraska and Kansas, which is most likely related to the changes in the satellite observing system over time that has apparently affected the water cycle in the central United States, and 2) the patterns of positive trend over the Gulf Coast states and along the East Coast seem to be correlated with the tropical cyclones in these regions. The analysis of the trends in the seasonal precipitation extremes indicates that

  2. Transient bedrock channel evolution across a precipitation gradient: A case study from Kohala, Hawaii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gasparini, N. M.; Han, J.; Johnson, J. P.; Menking, J. A.

    2011-12-01

    This study uses observations from the Kohala Peninsula, on the Big Island of Hawaii, and numerical modeling, to explore how precipitation gradients may affect fluvial bedrock incision and channel morphology. Orographic precipitation patterns result in over 4 m/yr of rainfall on the wet side of the peninsula and less than 0.5 m/yr on the dry side. These precipitation patterns likely strongly contribute to the observed channel morphology. Further, the region is subsiding, leading to prolonged transient channel evolution. We explore changes in a number of channel morphologic parameters with watershed averaged precipitation rate. We use PRISM precipitation data and data from isohyets developed from historic rain gauge data. Not surprisingly, valley depth, measured from a 10 meter DEM, increases with spatially averaged precipitation rate. We also find that channel profile form varies with precipitation rate, with drier channels exhibiting a straight to slightly concave channel form and wetter channels exhibiting a convex to concave channel form. The precipitation value at which this transition in channel profile form occurs depends on the precipitation data-set used, highlighting the need for more accurate measurements of precipitation in settings with extreme precipitation patterns similar to our study area. The downstream pattern in precipitation is likely significant in the development of the convex-concave profile form. Numerical modeling results support that precipitation patterns such as those observed on the wet-side of the Kohala Peninsula may contribute to the convex-concave profile form. However, we emphasize that while precipitation patterns may contribute to the channel form, these channel features are transient and not expected to be sustained in steady-state landscapes. We also emphasize that it is fluvial discharge, as driven by precipitation, rather than precipitation alone, that drives the processes shaping the channel form. Because fluvial discharge is

  3. Winter precipitation over the Iberian peninsula and its relationship to circulation indices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Rodríguez-Puebla

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available Winter precipitation variability over the Iberian peninsula was investigated by obtaining the spatial and temporal patterns. Empirical Orthogonal Functions were used to describe the variance distribution and to compress the precipitation data into a few modes. The corresponding spatial patterns divide the peninsula into climatic regions according to precipitation variations. The associated time series were related to large scale circulation indices and tropical sea surface temperature anomalies by using lag cross-correlation and cross-spectrum. The major findings are: the most influential indices for winter precipitation were the North Atlantic Oscillation and the East Atlantic/West Russian pattern; coherent oscillations were detected at about eight years between precipitation and the North Atlantic Oscillation and some dynamic consequences of the circulation on precipitation over the Iberian peninsula were examined during drought and wet spells. In the end statistical methods have been proposed to downscale seasonal precipitation prediction. Keywords: Winter precipitation, circulation indices, Iberian peninsula climate, climate variations, precipitation trend

  4. Palaeo-precipitation is a major determinant of palm species richness patterns across Madagascar: a tropical biodiversity hotspot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rakotoarinivo, Mijoro; Blach-Overgaard, Anne; Baker, William J.; Dransfield, John; Moat, Justin; Svenning, Jens-Christian

    2013-01-01

    The distribution of rainforest in many regions across the Earth was strongly affected by Pleistocene ice ages. However, the extent to which these dynamics are still important for modern-day biodiversity patterns within tropical biodiversity hotspots has not been assessed. We employ a comprehensive dataset of Madagascan palms (Arecaceae) and climate reconstructions from the last glacial maximum (LGM; 21 000 years ago) to assess the relative role of modern environment and LGM climate in explaining geographical species richness patterns in this major tropical biodiversity hotspot. We found that palaeoclimate exerted a strong influence on palm species richness patterns, with richness peaking in areas with higher LGM precipitation relative to present-day even after controlling for modern environment, in particular in northeastern Madagascar, consistent with the persistence of tropical rainforest during the LGM primarily in this region. Our results provide evidence that diversity patterns in the World's most biodiverse regions may be shaped by long-term climate history as well as contemporary environment. PMID:23427173

  5. The Interdecadal Variability of Summer Precipitation over the South of China and its Response to Asian Monsoon at the Turning Points of Global Warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Huan; Li, Dongliang

    2017-04-01

    Under the background of global warming, decadal variability of the summer precipitation in the South of China and the Asian monsoon experienced mutations at around the end of 1970s, the beginning of 1990s and 21st century. We examined the external and internal forcings which may cause the mutations and diagnosed the mechanism. Human emission of CO2 has always been the fatal reason for global warming, and it is also the primary reason for the precipitation increasing over Yangtze-Huai river basin at the end of the 1970s. The Yangtze-Huai river basin and South China demonstrated more summer rainfall after 1993. This can be explained by the weakening of the Asian summer monsoon caused by the positive anomaly of summer SST over northwest Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. A significant trend in the enhancement of sensible heat over the TP has exerted some considerable influence on the reinforce of the EASM, accompanied by the northward migration of the summer precipitation belt shifting northward at the beginning of 21st century.

  6. Global patterns of drought recovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schwalm, Christopher R.; Anderegg, William R. L.; Michalak, Anna M.; Fisher, Joshua B.; Biondi, Franco; Koch, George; Litvak, Marcy; Ogle, Kiona; Shaw, John D.; Wolf, Adam; Huntzinger, Deborah N.; Schaefer, Kevin; Cook, Robert; Wei, Yaxing; Fang, Yuanyuan; Hayes, Daniel; Huang, Maoyi; Jain, Atul; Tian, Hanqin

    2017-08-09

    Drought is a recurring multi-factor phenomenon with major impacts on natural and human systems1-3. Drought is especially important for land carbon sink variability, influencing climate regulation of the terrestrial biosphere4. While 20th Century trends in drought regime are ambiguous, “more extreme extremes” as well as more frequent and severe droughts3,7 are expected in the 21st Century. Recovery time, the length of time an ecosystem requires to revert to its pre-drought functional state, is a critical metric of drought impact. Yet the spatiotemporal patterning and controls of drought recovery are largely unknown. Here we use three distinct global datasets of gross primary productivity to show that across diverse terrestrial ecosystems drought recovery times are driven by biological productivity and biodiversity, with drought length and severity of secondary importance. Recovery time, especially for extreme droughts, and the areal extent of ecosystems in recovery from drought generally increase over the 20th Century, supporting an increase globally in drought impact8. Our results indicate that if future Anthropocene droughts become more widespread as expected, that droughts will become more frequent relative to recovery time. This increases the risk of entering a new regime where vegetation never recovers to its original state and widespread degradation of the land carbon sink ensues.

  7. Evaluation of the WRF model for precipitation downscaling on orographic complex islands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díaz, Juan P.; González, Albano; Expósito, Francisco; Pérez, Juan C.

    2010-05-01

    General Circulation Models (GCMs) have proven to be an effective tool to simulate many aspects of large-scale and global climate. However, their applicability to climate impact studies is limited by their capabilities to resolve regional scale situations. In this sense, dynamical downscaling techniques are an appropriate alternative to estimate high resolution regional climatologies. In this work, the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) has been used to simulate precipitations over the Canary Islands region during 2009. The precipitation patterns over Canary Islands, located at North Atlantic region, show large gradients over a relatively small geographical area due to large scale factors such as Trade Winds regime predominant in the area and mesoscale factors mainly due to the complex terrain. Sensitivity study of simulated WRF precipitations to variations in model setup and parameterizations was carried out. Thus, WRF experiments were performed using two way nesting at 3 km horizontal grid spacing and 28 vertical levels in the Canaries inner domain. The initial and lateral and lower boundary conditions for the outer domain were provided at 6 hourly intervals by NCEP FNL (Final) Operational Global Analysis data on 1.0x1.0 degree resolution interpolated onto the WRF model grid. Numerous model options have been tested, including different microphysics schemes, cumulus parameterizations and nudging configuration Positive-definite moisture advection condition was also checked. Two integration approaches were analyzed: a 1-year continuous long-term integration and a consecutive short-term monthly reinitialized integration. To assess the accuracy of our simulations, model results are compared against observational datasets obtained from a network of meteorological stations in the region. In general, we can observe that the regional model is able to reproduce the spatial distribution of precipitation, but overestimates rainfall, mainly during strong

  8. Changes in Intense Precipitation Events in West Africa and the central U.S. under Global Warming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cook, Kerry H. [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); Vizy, Edward [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)

    2016-02-08

    The purpose of the proposed project is to improve our understanding of the physical processes and large-scale connectivity of changes in intense precipitation events (high rainfall rates) under global warming in West Africa and the central U.S., including relationships with low-frequency modes of variability. This is in response to the requested subject area #2 “simulation of climate extremes under a changing climate … to better quantify the frequency, duration, and intensity of extreme events under climate change and elucidate the role of low frequency climate variability in modulating extremes.” We will use a regional climate model and emphasize an understanding of the physical processes that lead to an intensification of rainfall. The project objectives are as follows: 1. Understand the processes responsible for simulated changes in warm-season rainfall intensity and frequency over West Africa and the Central U.S. associated with greenhouse gas-induced global warming 2. Understand the relationship between changes in warm-season rainfall intensity and frequency, which generally occur on regional space scales, and the larger-scale global warming signal by considering modifications of low-frequency modes of variability. 3. Relate changes simulated on regional space scales to global-scale theories of how and why atmospheric moisture levels and rainfall should change as climate warms.

  9. Regional mantle upwelling on Venus: The Beta-Atla-Themis anomaly and correlation with global tectonic patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crumpler, L. S.; Head, J. W.; Aubele, Jayne C.

    1993-01-01

    The morphology and global distribution of volcanic centers and their association with other geological characteristics offers significant insight into the global patterns of geology, tectonic style, thermal state, and interior dynamics of Venus. Magellan data permit the detailed geological interpretation necessary to address questions about interior dynamics of Venus particularly as they reflect relatively physical, chemical, and thermal conditions of the interior. This paper focuses on the distribution of anomalous concentrations of volcanic centers on Venus and regional patterns of tectonic deformation as it may relate to the identification of global internal anomalies, including mantle dynamic, petrological, or thermal patterns.

  10. Comparison of global observations and trends of total precipitable water derived from microwave radiometers and COSMIC radio occultation from 2006 to 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Shu-Peng; Peng, Liang; Mears, Carl; Anthes, Richard A.

    2018-01-01

    We compare atmospheric total precipitable water (TPW) derived from the SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave Imager) and SSMIS (Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder) radiometers and WindSat to collocated TPW estimates derived from COSMIC (Constellation System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate) radio occultation (RO) under clear and cloudy conditions over the oceans from June 2006 to December 2013. Results show that the mean microwave (MW) radiometer - COSMIC TPW differences range from 0.06 to 0.18 mm for clear skies, from 0.79 to 0.96 mm for cloudy skies, from 0.46 to 0.49 mm for cloudy but non-precipitating conditions, and from 1.64 to 1.88 mm for precipitating conditions. Because RO measurements are not significantly affected by clouds and precipitation, the biases mainly result from MW retrieval uncertainties under cloudy and precipitating conditions. All COSMIC and MW radiometers detect a positive TPW trend over these 8 years. The trend using all COSMIC observations collocated with MW pixels for this data set is 1.79 mm decade-1, with a 95 % confidence interval of (0.96, 2.63), which is in close agreement with the trend estimated by the collocated MW observations (1.78 mm decade-1 with a 95 % confidence interval of 0.94, 2.62). The sample of MW and RO pairs used in this study is highly biased toward middle latitudes (40-60° N and 40-65° S), and thus these trends are not representative of global average trends. However, they are representative of the latitudes of extratropical storm tracks and the trend values are approximately 4 to 6 times the global average trends, which are approximately 0.3 mm decade-1. In addition, the close agreement of these two trends from independent observations, which represent an increase in TPW in our data set of about 6.9 %, are a strong indication of the positive water vapor-temperature feedback on a warming planet in regions where precipitation from extratropical storms is already large.

  11. [Effects of precipitation and interspecific competition on Quercus mongolica and pinus koraiensis seedlings growth].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Jing-Lian; Wang, Miao; Lin, Fei; Hao, Zhan-Qing; Ji, Lan-Zhu; Liu, Ya-Qin

    2009-02-01

    Aiming at the variation of precipitation pattern caused by global warming, a field simulation experiment was conducted to study the effects of 30% increase (+W) and decrease (-W) of precipitation on the morphology, growth, and biomass partitioning of mono- and mixed cultured seedlings of Quercus mongolica and Pinus koraiensis, the two dominant tree species in temperate broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest in Changbai Mountains. Comparing with monoculture, mixed culture increased the canopy width and main root length of Q. mongolica seedlings, but decreased the basal diameter, plant height, leaf number, and dry masses of root, stem, leaf and whole plant of P. koraiensis seedlings significantly. Treatment (-W) increased the stem/mass ratio while decreased the main root length of Q. mongolica seedlings, and decreased the main root length, leaf number, dry masses of leaf and whole plant, and leaf/mass ratio, while increased the stem/mass ratio of P. koraiensis seedlings significantly, compared with treatment CK. Treatment (+W) had no significant effect on these indices of the two species. At early growth stage, interspecific competition and precipitation pattern had significant effects on the morphology and growth of the seedlings, and the responses were much stronger for P. koraiensis than for Q. mongolica.

  12. Influence of altered precipitation pattern on greenhouse gas emissions and soil enzyme activities in Pannonian soils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forstner, Stefan Johannes; Michel, Kerstin; Berthold, Helene; Baumgarten, Andreas; Wanek, Wolfgang; Zechmeister-Boltenstern, Sophie; Kitzler, Barbara

    2013-04-01

    Precipitation patterns are likely to be altered due to climate change. Recent models predict a reduction of mean precipitation during summer accompanied by a change in short-term precipitation variability for central Europe. Correspondingly, the risk for summer drought is likely to increase. This may especially be valid for regions which already have the potential for rare, but strong precipitation events like eastern Austria. Given that these projections hold true, soils in this area will receive water irregularly in few, heavy rainfall events and be subjected to long-lasting dry periods in between. This pattern of drying/rewetting can alter soil greenhouse gas fluxes, creating a potential feedback mechanism for climate change. Microorganisms are the key players in most soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) transformation processes including greenhouse gas exchange. A conceptual model proposed by Schimel and colleagues (2007) links microbial stress-response physiology to ecosystem-scale biogeochemical processes: In order to cope with decreasing soil water potential, microbes modify resource allocation patterns from growth to survival. However, it remains unclear how microbial resource acquisition via extracellular enzymes and microbial-controlled greenhouse gas fluxes respond to water stress induced by soil drying/rewetting. We designed a laboratory experiment to test for effects of multiple drying/rewetting cycles on soil greenhouse gas fluxes (CO2, CH4, N2O, NO), microbial biomass and extracellular enzyme activity. Three soils representing the main soil types of eastern Austria were collected in June 2012 at the Lysimeter Research Station of the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) in Vienna. Soils were sieved to 2mm, filled in steel cylinders and equilibrated for one week at 50% water holding capacity (WHC) for each soil. Then soils were separated into two groups: One group received water several times per week (C=control), the other group received

  13. A Space-Based Perspective of the 2017 Hurricane Season from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skofronick Jackson, G.; Petersen, W. A.; Huffman, G. J.; Kirschbaum, D.; Wolff, D. B.; Tan, J.; Zavodsky, B.

    2017-12-01

    The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission collected unique, near real time 3-D satellite-based views of hurricanes in 2017 together with estimated precipitation accumulation using merged satellite data for scientific studies and societal applications. Central to GPM is the NASA-JAXA GPM Core Observatory (CO). The GPM-CO carries an advanced dual-frequency precipitation radar (DPR) and a well-calibrated, multi-frequency passive microwave radiometer that together serve as an on orbit reference for precipitation measurements made by the international GPM satellite constellation. GPM-CO overpasses of major Hurricanes such as Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Ophelia revealed intense convective structures in DPR radar reflectivity together with deep ice-phase microphysics in both the eyewalls and outer rain bands. Of considerable scientific interest, and yet to be determined, will be DPR-diagnosed characteristics of the rain drop size distribution as a function of convective structure, intensity and microphysics. The GPM-CO active/passive suite also provided important decision support information. For example, the National Hurricane Center used GPM-CO observations as a tool to inform track and intensity estimates in their forecast briefings. Near-real-time rainfall accumulation from the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) was also provided via the NASA SPoRT team to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria when ground-based radar systems on the island failed. Comparisons between IMERG, NOAA Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor data, and rain gauge rainfall accumulations near Houston, Texas during Hurricane Harvey revealed spatial biases between ground and IMERG satellite estimates, and a general underestimation of IMERG rain accumulations associated with infrared observations, collectively illustrating the difficulty of measuring rainfall in hurricanes.GPM data continue to advance scientific research on tropical cyclone intensification and structure, and contribute to

  14. Assessing the drivers shaping global patterns of urban vegetation landscape structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dobbs, C; Nitschke, C; Kendal, D

    2017-08-15

    Vegetation is one of the main resources involve in ecosystem functioning and providing ecosystem services in urban areas. Little is known on the landscape structure patterns of vegetation existing in urban areas at the global scale and the drivers of these patterns. We studied the landscape structure of one hundred cities around the globe, and their relation to demography (population), socioeconomic factors (GDP, Gini Index), climate factors (temperature and rain) and topographic characteristics (altitude, variation in altitude). The data revealed that the best descriptors of landscape structure were amount, fragmentation and spatial distribution of vegetation. Populated cities tend to have less, more fragmented, less connected vegetation with a centre of the city with low vegetation cover. Results also provided insights on the influence of socioeconomics at a global scale, as landscape structure was more fragmented in areas that are economically unequal and coming from emergent economies. This study shows the effects of the social system and climate on urban landscape patterns that gives useful insights for the distribution in the provision of ecosystem services in urban areas and therefore the maintenance of human well-being. This information can support local and global policy and planning which is committing our cities to provide accessible and inclusive green space for all urban inhabitants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Discovery of Teleconnections Using Data Mining Technologies in Global Climate Datasets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fan Lin

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we apply data mining technologies to a 100-year global land precipitation dataset and a 100-year Sea Surface Temperature (SST dataset. Some interesting teleconnections are discovered, including well-known patterns and unknown patterns (to the best of our knowledge, such as teleconnections between the abnormally low temperature events of the North Atlantic and floods in Northern Bolivia, abnormally low temperatures of the Venezuelan Coast and floods in Northern Algeria and Tunisia, etc. In particular, we use a high dimensional clustering method and a method that mines episode association rules in event sequences. The former is used to cluster the original time series datasets into higher spatial granularity, and the later is used to discover teleconnection patterns among events sequences that are generated by the clustering method. In order to verify our method, we also do experiments on the SOI index and a 100-year global land precipitation dataset and find many well-known teleconnections, such as teleconnections between SOI lower events and drought events of Eastern Australia, South Africa, and North Brazil; SOI lower events and flood events of the middle-lower reaches of Yangtze River; etc. We also do explorative experiments to help domain scientists discover new knowledge.

  16. Attribution of Large-Scale Climate Patterns to Seasonal Peak-Flow and Prospects for Prediction Globally

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Donghoon; Ward, Philip; Block, Paul

    2018-02-01

    Flood-related fatalities and impacts on society surpass those from all other natural disasters globally. While the inclusion of large-scale climate drivers in streamflow (or high-flow) prediction has been widely studied, an explicit link to global-scale long-lead prediction is lacking, which can lead to an improved understanding of potential flood propensity. Here we attribute seasonal peak-flow to large-scale climate patterns, including the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), using streamflow station observations and simulations from PCR-GLOBWB, a global-scale hydrologic model. Statistically significantly correlated climate patterns and streamflow autocorrelation are subsequently applied as predictors to build a global-scale season-ahead prediction model, with prediction performance evaluated by the mean squared error skill score (MSESS) and the categorical Gerrity skill score (GSS). Globally, fair-to-good prediction skill (20% ≤ MSESS and 0.2 ≤ GSS) is evident for a number of locations (28% of stations and 29% of land area), most notably in data-poor regions (e.g., West and Central Africa). The persistence of such relevant climate patterns can improve understanding of the propensity for floods at the seasonal scale. The prediction approach developed here lays the groundwork for further improving local-scale seasonal peak-flow prediction by identifying relevant global-scale climate patterns. This is especially attractive for regions with limited observations and or little capacity to develop flood early warning systems.

  17. Precipitation from Space: Advancing Earth System Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kucera, Paul A.; Ebert, Elizabeth E.; Turk, F. Joseph; Levizzani, Vicenzo; Kirschbaum, Dalia; Tapiador, Francisco J.; Loew, Alexander; Borsche, M.

    2012-01-01

    otherwise possible. These developments have taken place in parallel with the growth of an increasingly interconnected scientific environment. Scientists from different disciplines can easily interact with each other via information and materials they encounter online, and collaborate remotely without ever meeting each other in person. Likewise, these precipitation datasets are quickly and easily available via various data portals and are widely used. Within the framework of the NASA/JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM mission, these applications will become increasingly interconnected. We emphasize that precipitation observations by themselves provide an incomplete picture of the state of the atmosphere. For example, it is unlikely that a richer understanding of the global water cycle will be possible by standalone missions and algorithms, but must also involve some component of data, where model analyses of the physical state are constrained alongside multiple observations (e.g., precipitation, evaporation, radiation). The next section provides examples extracted from the many applications that use various high-resolution precipitation products. The final section summarizes the future system for global precipitation processing.

  18. Global Patterns of the Isotopic Composition of Soil and Plant Nitrogen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amundson, R.; Yoo, K.

    2014-12-01

    From a societal perspective, soil N follows only soil C in the importance of soil to 21st century environmental issues. Amundson et al (2003) developed a mass balance model for soil N and the ratio of 15N/14N, and provided the first global projections of the spatial patterns of soil and plant δ15N values. It was hypothesized that state factors, particularly climate, should drive broad patterns of soil and plant δ15N values in a manner analogous to the known patterns of total soil N (e.g. Post et al., 1984). At that time, the N isotope data available to explore the effect of individual factors was modest. In the past decade, numerous papers from a broad spectrum of locations have created a rich database that can be used to further refine the initial projections made more than a decade ago. In this paper, hundreds of published measurements will be used to more deeply examine the climatic impacts on soil and plant δ15N values. Additionally, we will focus on the local controls of topography on ecosystem N cycling, which can create local isotopic variation that is similar in magnitude to the global effects of climate. The adoption of process-based models from the hillslope geomorphology community appears to be a powerful tool for explaining some existing data from toposequences, designing new studies of topographic controls on biogeochemistry, and particularly for parameterization in global models. Amundson, R., A.T. Austin, E.A.G. Schuur, K. Yoo, V. Matzek, C. Kendall, A. Uebersax, D. Brenner, and W.T. Baisden. 2003. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 17(1):1031.

  19. Consequences of Global Warming of 1.5 °C and 2 °C for Regional Temperature and Precipitation Changes in the Contiguous United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karmalkar, Ambarish V; Bradley, Raymond S

    2017-01-01

    The differential warming of land and ocean leads to many continental regions in the Northern Hemisphere warming at rates higher than the global mean temperature. Adaptation and conservation efforts will, therefore, benefit from understanding regional consequences of limiting the global mean temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, a limit agreed upon at the United Nations Climate Summit in Paris in December 2015. Here, we analyze climate model simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) to determine the timing and magnitude of regional temperature and precipitation changes across the contiguous United States (US) for global warming of 1.5 and 2°C and highlight consensus and uncertainties in model projections and their implications for making decisions. The regional warming rates differ considerably across the contiguous US, but all regions are projected to reach 2°C about 10-20 years before the global mean temperature. Although there is uncertainty in the timing of exactly when the 1.5 and 2°C thresholds will be crossed regionally, over 80% of the models project at least 2°C warming by 2050 for all regions for the high emissions scenario. This threshold-based approach also highlights regional variations in the rate of warming across the US. The fastest warming region in the contiguous US is the Northeast, which is projected to warm by 3°C when global warming reaches 2°C. The signal-to-noise ratio calculations indicate that the regional warming estimates remain outside the envelope of uncertainty throughout the twenty-first century, making them potentially useful to planners. The regional precipitation projections for global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C are uncertain, but the eastern US is projected to experience wetter winters and the Great Plains and the Northwest US are projected to experience drier summers in the future. The impact of different scenarios on regional precipitation projections is

  20. Assessment of the Latest GPM-Era High-Resolution Satellite Precipitation Products by Comparison with Observation Gauge Data over the Chinese Mainland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaowei Ning

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The Global Precipitation Mission (GPM Core Observatory that was launched on 27 February 2014 ushered in a new era for estimating precipitation from satellites. Based on their high spatial–temporal resolution and near global coverage, satellite-based precipitation products have been applied in many research fields. The goal of this study was to quantitatively compare two of the latest GPM-era satellite precipitation products (GPM IMERG and GSMap-Gauge Ver. 6 with a network of 840 precipitation gauges over the Chinese mainland. Direct comparisons of satellite-based precipitation products with rain gauge observations over a 20 month period from April 2014 to November 2015 at 0.1° and daily/monthly resolutions showed the following results: Both of the products were capable of capturing the overall spatial pattern of the 20 month mean daily precipitation, which was characterized by a decreasing trend from the southeast to the northwest. GPM IMERG overestimated precipitation by approximately 0.09 mm/day while GSMap-Gauge Ver. 6 underestimated precipitation by −0.04 mm/day. The two satellite-based precipitation products performed better over wet southern regions than over dry northern regions. They also showed better performance in summer than in winter. In terms of mean error, root mean square error, correlation coefficient, and probability of detection, GSMap-Gauge was better able to estimate precipitation and had more stable quality results than GPM IMERG on both daily and monthly scales. GPM IMERG was more sensitive to conditions of no rain or light rainfall and demonstrated good capability of capturing the behavior of extreme precipitation events. Overall, the results revealed some limitations of these two latest satellite-based precipitation products when used over the Chinese mainland, helping to characterize some of the error features in these datasets for potential users.

  1. Hydropower versus irrigation—an analysis of global patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Ruijie; Cai, Ximing; Ringler, Claudia; Zhu, Tingju

    2017-03-01

    Numerous reservoirs around the world provide multiple flow regulation functions; key among these are hydroelectricity production and water releases for irrigation. These functions contribute to energy and food security at national, regional and global levels. While reservoir operations for hydroelectricity production might support irrigation, there are also well-known cases where hydroelectricity production reduces water availability for irrigated food production. This study assesses these relationships at the global level using machine-learning techniques and multi-source datasets. We find that 54% of global installed hydropower capacity (around 507 thousand Megawatt) competes with irrigation. Regions where such competition exists include the Central United States, northern Europe, India, Central Asia and Oceania. On the other hand, 8% of global installed hydropower capacity (around 79 thousand Megawatt) complements irrigation, particularly in the Yellow and Yangtze River Basins of China, the East and West Coasts of the United States and most river basins of Southeast Asia, Canada and Russia. No significant relationship is found for the rest of the world. We further analyze the impact of climate variables on the relationships between hydropower and irrigation. Reservoir flood control functions that operate under increased precipitation levels appear to constrain hydroelectricity production in various river basins of the United States, South China and most basins in Europe and Oceania. On the other hand, increased reservoir evaporative losses and higher irrigation requirements due to higher potential evaporation levels may lead to increased tradeoffs between irrigation and hydropower due to reduced water availability in regions with warmer climates, such as India, South China, and the Southern United States. With most reservoirs today being built for multiple purposes, it is important for policymakers to understand and plan for growing tradeoffs between key

  2. Global patterns in mangrove soil carbon stocks and losses

    KAUST Repository

    Atwood, Trisha B.; Connolly, Rod M.; Almahasheer, Hanan; Carnell, Paul E.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Ewers Lewis, Carolyn J.; Irigoien, Xabier; Kelleway, Jeffrey J.; Lavery, Paul S.; Macreadie, Peter I.; Serrano, Oscar; Sanders, Christian J.; Santos, Isaac; Steven, Andrew D. L.; Lovelock, Catherine E.

    2017-01-01

    . Global potential CO2 emissions from soils as a result of mangrove loss were estimated to be ~7.0 Tg CO2e yr−1. Countries with the highest potential CO2 emissions from soils are Indonesia (3,410 Gg CO2e yr−1) and Malaysia (1,288 Gg CO2e yr−1). The patterns

  3. Changing Precipitation Patterns or Waning Glaciers? Identifying Water Supply Vulnerabilities to Climate Change in the Bolivian Andes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guido, Z. S.; McIntosh, J. C.; Papuga, S. A.

    2010-12-01

    The Bolivian Andes have become an iconic example for the impacts of climate change. Glaciers are rapidly melting and some have already completely disappeared. More than 75 percent of the water consumed by 2 million people living on the flanks of the Bolivian Andes comes from mountains and it is often cited that the dwindling ice threatens the water supply of the expanding and destitute population living in the twin cities of La Paz and El Alto. However, the wet and the warm seasons and the cold and dry seasons coincide, causing high precipitation and ice melt—and therefore high streamflows—to occur only in the austral summer (October-March); during the austral winter, cold conditions limit glacier melt. This suggests that reductions in the water supply could be influenced more by changing precipitation amounts than continued glacial mass-wasting. We hypothesize that precipitation is the principal component of groundwater recharge for the aquifers at the base of the central Cordillera Real. Oxygen and hydrogen isotopes from rivers partially fed by glaciers, groundwater, and glacial melt water can help determine the relative contribution of precipitation and glacial melt to important water supplies. During the dry season in August 2010, we sampled 23 sites that follow the flow path of water in the Condiriri watershed, beginning in the glacial headwaters and ending several kilometers upriver from Lake Titicaca. We collected five samples at the toe of the Pequeño Alpamayo glacier and four samples from three tributary rivers that drain glaciated headwaters, which include meltwater from the Pequeño Alpamayo glacier. W also collected 14 water samples from shallow and deep wells in rural communities within 40 kilometers of the glaciers. If the isotopic values of groundwater are similar to rain values, as we suspect, precipitation is likely the largest contributor to groundwater resources in the region and will suggest that changing precipitation patterns present the

  4. Projections of the Ganges-Brahmaputra precipitation: downscaled from GCM predictors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pervez, Md Shahriar; Henebry, Geoffrey M.

    2014-01-01

    Downscaling Global Climate Model (GCM) projections of future climate is critical for impact studies. Downscaling enables use of GCM experiments for regional scale impact studies by generating regionally specific forecasts connecting global scale predictions and regional scale dynamics. We employed the Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) to downscale 21st century precipitation for two data-sparse hydrologically challenging river basins in South Asia—the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. We used CGCM3.1 by Canadian Center for Climate Modeling and Analysis version 3.1 predictors in downscaling the precipitation. Downscaling was performed on the basis of established relationships between historical Global Summary of Day observed precipitation records from 43 stations and National Center for Environmental Prediction re-analysis large scale atmospheric predictors. Although the selection of predictors was challenging during the set-up of SDSM, they were found to be indicative of important physical forcings in the basins. The precipitation of both basins was largely influenced by geopotential height: the Ganges precipitation was modulated by the U component of the wind and specific humidity at 500 and 1000 h Pa pressure levels; whereas, the Brahmaputra precipitation was modulated by the V component of the wind at 850 and 1000 h Pa pressure levels. The evaluation of the SDSM performance indicated that model accuracy for reproducing precipitation at the monthly scale was acceptable, but at the daily scale the model inadequately simulated some daily extreme precipitation events. Therefore, while the downscaled precipitation may not be the suitable input to analyze future extreme flooding or drought events, it could be adequate for analysis of future freshwater availability. Analysis of the CGCM3.1 downscaled precipitation projection with respect to observed precipitation reveals that the precipitation regime in each basin may be significantly impacted by climate change

  5. Analysis of the Long-term Precipitation Trend in Illinois and Its Implications for Agricultural Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vaskar Dahal

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Climate change is expected to modify the hydrological cycle resulting in a change in the amount, frequency, and intensity of surface precipitation. How the future hydrological pattern will look is uncertain. Climate change is expected to bring about intense periods of dryness and wetness, and such behavior is expected to be difficult to predict. Such uncertainty does not bode well for the agricultural systems of the United States (US Midwest that are reliant on natural precipitation systems. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the behavior of precipitation during the cropping period. The manifestation of global-warming-related changes has already been reported for the last couple of decades and more so in the current decade. Thus, precipitation data from the recent past can provide vital information on what is about to come. In this study, the precipitation data of Illinois, a Midwestern state of the US with rain-fed agriculture, was analyzed with a focus on the climate dynamics during the cropping period. It was observed that even though there has been some increase in the annual precipitation amount (+1.84 mm/year due to the increase in precipitation frequency and intensity, such change happened outside of the cropping period, thereby ensuring that climate change has not manifested itself during the cropping period.

  6. A novel convective-scale regional reanalysis COSMO-REA2: Improving the representation of precipitation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabrina Wahl

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Atmospheric reanalyses are a state-of-the-art tool to generate consistent and realistic state estimates of the atmospheric system. They provide a synthesis of various heterogeneous observational systems and model simulations using a physical model together with a data assimilation scheme. Current reanalyses are mainly global, while regional reanalyses are emerging for North America, the polar region, and most recently for Europe. However, deep convection is still parameterized even in the regional reanalyses. A novel convective-scale regional reanalysis system for Central Europe (COSMO-REA2 has been developed by the Hans-Ertel Center for Weather Research – Climate Monitoring Branch. The system is based on the COSMO model and uses observational nudging for regional data assimilation. In addition to conventional observations, radar-derived rain rates are assimilated using latent heat nudging. With a horizontal grid-spacing of 2 km, the model runs without parameterization of deep moist convection. COSMO-REA2 produces horizontal wind fields that represent a realistic energy spectrum for horizontal scales above 14 km. COSMO-REA2 is currently available for seven years from 2007 to 2013.This study illustrates the improved representation of local precipitation over Germany by the convective-scale reanalysis COSMO-REA2 compared to coarser gridded European and global reanalyses. A systematic verification using rain gauge data reveals the added value of high-resolution regional atmospheric reanalyses on different time scales. On monthly to annual time scales, regional reanalyses yield better estimates of the spatial variability of precipitation patterns which can not be provided by coarser gridded global models. On hourly to daily time scales, the convective-scale reanalysis substantially improves the representation of local precipitation in two ways. On the one hand, COSMO-REA2 shows an enhanced representation of observed frequencies of local

  7. Global patterns of aboveground carbon stock and sequestration in mangroves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    GUSTAVO C.D. ESTRADA

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT In order to contribute to understand the factors that control the provisioning of the ecosystem service of carbon storage by mangroves, data on carbon stock and sequestration in the aboveground biomass (AGB from 73 articles were averaged and tested for the dependence on latitude, climatic parameters, physiographic types and age. Global means of carbon stock (78.0 ± 64.5 tC.ha-1 and sequestration (2.9 ± 2.2 tC.ha-1.yr-1 showed that mangroves are among the forest ecosystems with greater capacity of carbon storage in AGB per area. On the global scale, carbon stock increases toward the equator (R²=0.22 and is dependent on 13 climatic parameters, which can be integrated in the following predictive equation: Carbon Stock in AGB = -16.342 + (8.341 x Isothermality + (0.021 x Annual Precipitation [R²=0.34; p < 0.05]. It was shown that almost 70% of carbon stock variability is explained by age. Carbon stock and sequestration also vary according to physiographic types, indicating the importance of hydroperiod and edaphic parameters to the local variability of carbon stock. By demonstrating the contribution of local and regional-global factors to carbon stock, this study provides information to the forecast of the effects of future climate changes and local anthropogenic forcings on this ecosystem service.

  8. The Determination of Children's Knowledge of Global Lunar Patterns from Online Essays Using Text Mining Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheon, Jongpil; Lee, Sangno; Smith, Walter; Song, Jaeki; Kim, Yongjin

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to use text mining analysis of early adolescents' online essays to determine their knowledge of global lunar patterns. Australian and American students in grades five to seven wrote about global lunar patterns they had discovered by sharing observations with each other via the Internet. These essays were analyzed for…

  9. Invasion of Old World Phragmites australis in the New World: precipitation and temperature patterns combined with human influences redesign the invasive niche

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guo, Wen-Yong; Lambertini, Carla; Li, Xiu-Zhen

    2013-01-01

    niches. We suggest that an increase in precipitation in the 20(th) century, global warming and human-made habitats have shaped the invasive niches of the two lineages in the New World. However, as the invasions are on-going and human and natural disturbances occur concomitantly, the future distribution....... australis (Haplotype M and Med) in both their native and introduced ranges using environmental niche models (ENMs) to assess (i) whether a niche shift accompanied the invasions in the New World; (ii) the role of biologically relevant climatic variables and human influence in the process of invasion...... for temperature fluctuations and increased precipitation. The introduced Med lineage has enlarged its original subtropical niche to the tropics-subtropics, invading regions with a high annual mean temperature (> c. 10 °C) and high precipitation in the driest period. Human influence is an important factor for both...

  10. Risk assessment of precipitation extremes in northern Xinjiang, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jun; Pei, Ying; Zhang, Yanwei; Ge, Quansheng

    2018-05-01

    This study was conducted using daily precipitation records gathered at 37 meteorological stations in northern Xinjiang, China, from 1961 to 2010. We used the extreme value theory model, generalized extreme value (GEV) and generalized Pareto distribution (GPD), statistical distribution function to fit outputs of precipitation extremes with different return periods to estimate risks of precipitation extremes and diagnose aridity-humidity environmental variation and corresponding spatial patterns in northern Xinjiang. Spatiotemporal patterns of daily maximum precipitation showed that aridity-humidity conditions of northern Xinjiang could be well represented by the return periods of the precipitation data. Indices of daily maximum precipitation were effective in the prediction of floods in the study area. By analyzing future projections of daily maximum precipitation (2, 5, 10, 30, 50, and 100 years), we conclude that the flood risk will gradually increase in northern Xinjiang. GEV extreme value modeling yielded the best results, proving to be extremely valuable. Through example analysis for extreme precipitation models, the GEV statistical model was superior in terms of favorable analog extreme precipitation. The GPD model calculation results reflect annual precipitation. For most of the estimated sites' 2 and 5-year T for precipitation levels, GPD results were slightly greater than GEV results. The study found that extreme precipitation reaching a certain limit value level will cause a flood disaster. Therefore, predicting future extreme precipitation may aid warnings of flood disaster. A suitable policy concerning effective water resource management is thus urgently required.

  11. Pattern transition between periodic Liesegang pattern and crystal growth regime in reaction-diffusion systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lagzi, István; Ueyama, Daishin

    2009-01-01

    The pattern transition between periodic precipitation pattern formation (Liesegang phenomenon) and pure crystal growth regimes is investigated in silver nitrate and potassium dichromate system in mixed agarose-gelatin gel. Morphologically different patterns were found depending on the quality of the gel, and transition between these typical patterns can be controlled by the concentration of gelatin in mixed gel. Effect of temperature and hydrodynamic force on precipitation pattern structure was also investigated.

  12. Evaluation of IMERG and TRMM 3B43 Monthly Precipitation Products over Mainland China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fengrui Chen

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available As the successor of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM mission significantly improves the spatial resolution of precipitation estimates from 0.25° to 0.1°. The present study analyzed the error structures of Integrated Multisatellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG monthly precipitation products over Mainland China from March 2014 to February 2015 using gauge measurements at multiple spatiotemporal scales. Moreover, IMERG products were also compared with TRMM 3B43 products. The results show that: (1 overall, IMERG can capture the spatial patterns of precipitation over China well. It performs a little better than TRMM 3B43 at seasonal and monthly scales; (2 the performance of IMERG varies greatly spatially and temporally. IMERG performs better at low latitudes than at middle latitudes, and shows worse performance in winter than at other times; (3 compared with TRMM 3B43, IMERG significantly improves the estimation accuracy of precipitation over the Xinjiang region and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, especially over the former where IMERG increases Pearson correlation coefficient by 0.18 and decreases root-mean-square error by 54.47 mm for annual precipitation estimates. However, most IMERG products over these areas are unreliable; and (4 IMERG shows poor performance in winter as TRMM 3B43 even if GPM improved its ability to sense frozen precipitation. Most of them over North China are unreliable during this period.

  13. Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD3): Global dune distribution and wind pattern observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayward, Rosalyn K.; Fenton, Lori; Titus, Timothy N.

    2014-01-01

    The Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD3) is complete and now extends from 90°N to 90°S latitude. The recently released south pole (SP) portion (MC-30) of MGD3 adds ∼60,000 km2 of medium to large-size dark dune fields and ∼15,000 km2 of sand deposits and smaller dune fields to the previously released equatorial (EQ, ∼70,000 km2), and north pole (NP, ∼845,000 km2) portions of the database, bringing the global total to ∼975,000 km2. Nearly all NP dunes are part of large sand seas, while the majority of EQ and SP dune fields are individual dune fields located in craters. Despite the differences between Mars and Earth, their dune and dune field morphologies are strikingly similar. Bullseye dune fields, named for their concentric ring pattern, are the exception, possibly owing their distinctive appearance to winds that are unique to the crater environment. Ground-based wind directions are derived from slipface (SF) orientation and dune centroid azimuth (DCA), a measure of the relative location of a dune field inside a crater. SF and DCA often preserve evidence of different wind directions, suggesting the importance of local, topographically influenced winds. In general however, ground-based wind directions are broadly consistent with expected global patterns, such as polar easterlies. Intriguingly, between 40°S and 80°S latitude both SF and DCA preserve their strongest, though different, dominant wind direction, with transport toward the west and east for SF-derived winds and toward the north and west for DCA-derived winds.

  14. Seasonality of cholera from 1974 to 2005: a review of global patterns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feldacker Caryl

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The seasonality of cholera is described in various study areas throughout the world. However, no study examines how temporal cycles of the disease vary around the world or reviews its hypothesized causes. This paper reviews the literature on the seasonality of cholera and describes its temporal cycles by compiling and analyzing 32 years of global cholera data. This paper also provides a detailed literature review on regional patterns and environmental and climatic drivers of cholera patterns. Data, Methods, and Results Cholera data are compiled from 1974 to 2005 from the World Health Organization Weekly Epidemiological Reports, a database that includes all reported cholera cases in 140 countries. The data are analyzed to measure whether season, latitude, and their interaction are significantly associated with the country-level number of outbreaks in each of the 12 preceding months using separate negative binomial regression models for northern, southern, and combined hemispheres. Likelihood ratios tests are used to determine the model of best fit. The results suggest that cholera outbreaks demonstrate seasonal patterns in higher absolute latitudes, but closer to the equator, cholera outbreaks do not follow a clear seasonal pattern. Conclusion The findings suggest that environmental and climatic factors partially control the temporal variability of cholera. These results also indirectly contribute to the growing debate about the effects of climate change and global warming. As climate change threatens to increase global temperature, resulting rises in sea levels and temperatures may influence the temporal fluctuations of cholera, potentially increasing the frequency and duration of cholera outbreaks.

  15. The Climate Hazards group InfraRed Precipitation (CHIRP) with Stations (CHIRPS): Development and Validation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, P.; Funk, C. C.; Husak, G. J.; Pedreros, D. H.; Landsfeld, M.; Verdin, J. P.; Shukla, S.

    2013-12-01

    CHIRP and CHIRPS are new quasi-global precipitation products with daily to seasonal time scales, a 0.05° resolution, and a 1981 to near real-time period of record. Developed by the Climate Hazards Group at UCSB and scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Center specifically for drought early warning and environmental monitoring, CHIRPS provides moderate latency precipitation estimates that place observed hydrologic extremes in their historic context. Three main types of information are used in the CHIRPS: (1) global 0.05° precipitation climatologies, (2) time-varying grids of satellite-based precipitation estimates, and (3) in situ precipitation observations. CHIRP: The global grids of long-term (1980-2009) average precipitation were estimated for each month based on station data, averaged satellite observations, and physiographic parameters. 1981-present time-varying grids of satellite precipitation were derived from spatially varying regression models based on pentadal cold cloud duration (CCD) values and TRMM V7 training data. The CCD time-series were derived from the CPC and NOAA B1 datasets. Pentadal CCD-percent anomaly values were multiplied by pentadal climatology fields to produce low bias pentadal precipitation estimates. CHIRPS: The CHG station blending procedure uses the satellite-observed spatial covariance structure to assign relative weights to neighboring stations and the CHIRP values. The CHIRPS blending procedure is based on the expected correlation between precipitation at a given target location and precipitation at the locations of the neighboring observation stations. These correlations are estimated using the CHIRP fields. The CHG has developed an extensive archive of in situ daily, pentadal and monthly precipitation totals. The CHG database has over half a billion daily rainfall observations since 1980 and another half billion before 1980. Most of these observations come from four sets of global

  16. Comparison of global observations and trends of total precipitable water derived from microwave radiometers and COSMIC radio occultation from 2006 to 2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.-P. Ho

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available We compare atmospheric total precipitable water (TPW derived from the SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave Imager and SSMIS (Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder radiometers and WindSat to collocated TPW estimates derived from COSMIC (Constellation System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate radio occultation (RO under clear and cloudy conditions over the oceans from June 2006 to December 2013. Results show that the mean microwave (MW radiometer – COSMIC TPW differences range from 0.06 to 0.18 mm for clear skies, from 0.79 to 0.96 mm for cloudy skies, from 0.46 to 0.49 mm for cloudy but non-precipitating conditions, and from 1.64 to 1.88 mm for precipitating conditions. Because RO measurements are not significantly affected by clouds and precipitation, the biases mainly result from MW retrieval uncertainties under cloudy and precipitating conditions. All COSMIC and MW radiometers detect a positive TPW trend over these 8 years. The trend using all COSMIC observations collocated with MW pixels for this data set is 1.79 mm decade−1, with a 95 % confidence interval of (0.96, 2.63, which is in close agreement with the trend estimated by the collocated MW observations (1.78 mm decade−1 with a 95 % confidence interval of 0.94, 2.62. The sample of MW and RO pairs used in this study is highly biased toward middle latitudes (40–60° N and 40–65° S, and thus these trends are not representative of global average trends. However, they are representative of the latitudes of extratropical storm tracks and the trend values are approximately 4 to 6 times the global average trends, which are approximately 0.3 mm decade−1. In addition, the close agreement of these two trends from independent observations, which represent an increase in TPW in our data set of about 6.9 %, are a strong indication of the positive water vapor–temperature feedback on a warming planet in regions where precipitation from extratropical

  17. Are child eating patterns being transformed globally?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adair, Linda S; Popkin, Barry M

    2005-07-01

    To examine the extent to which child dietary patterns and trends are changing globally. Diets of children 2 to 19 years of age were studied with nationally representative data from Russia and the United States, nationwide data from China, and regional data from metropolitan Cebu, Philippines. Twenty-four-hour dietary recalls were examined at several points in time to examine trends in calories consumed away from home, snacking behavior, and soft drink and modern fast food consumption. Urban-rural trends were compared. U.S. and Cebu youth consume more than one-third of their daily calories and a higher proportion of snack calories from foods prepared away from home. In contrast, away from home food consumption is minimal in Chinese and Russian children. U.S. and Cebu youth consume about one-fifth of their total daily energy from snacks, but snacks provide a much lower proportion of energy in Russia ( approximately 16%) and China (where snacks provide only approximately 1% of energy). Fast food plays a much more dominant role in the American diet ( approximately 20% of energy vs. 2% to 7% in the other countries), but as yet does not contribute substantially to children's diets in the other countries. Urban-rural differences were found to be important, but narrowing over time, for China and Cebu, whereas they are widening for Russia. This research suggests that globalization of the fast food and other modern food sectors is beginning to affect child eating patterns in several countries undergoing nutrition transition. However, the contribution of fast food and soft drinks to the diet of children remains relatively small in China, Russia, and Cebu, Philippines, relative to the United States.

  18. Statistical evaluation of the performance of gridded monthly precipitation products from reanalysis data, satellite estimates, and merged analyses over China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Xueliang; Nie, Suping; Deng, Weitao; Cao, Weihua

    2018-04-01

    In this study, we compared the following four different gridded monthly precipitation products: the National Centers for Environmental Prediction version 2 (NCEP-2) reanalysis data, the satellite-based Climate Prediction Center Morphing technique (CMORPH) data, the merged satellite-gauge Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) data, and the merged satellite-gauge-model data from the Beijing Climate Center Merged Estimation of Precipitation (BMEP). We evaluated the performances of these products using monthly precipitation observations spanning the period of January 2003 to December 2013 from a dense, national, rain gauge network in China. Our assessment involved several statistical techniques, including spatial pattern, temporal variation, bias, root-mean-square error (RMSE), and correlation coefficient (CC) analysis. The results show that NCEP-2, GPCP, and BMEP generally overestimate monthly precipitation at the national scale and CMORPH underestimates it. However, all of the datasets successfully characterized the northwest to southeast increase in the monthly precipitation over China. Because they include precipitation gauge information from the Global Telecommunication System (GTS) network, GPCP and BMEP have much smaller biases, lower RMSEs, and higher CCs than NCEP-2 and CMORPH. When the seasonal and regional variations are considered, NCEP-2 has a larger error over southern China during the summer. CMORPH poorly reproduces the magnitude of the precipitation over southeastern China and the temporal correlation over western and northwestern China during all seasons. BMEP has a lower RMSE and higher CC than GPCP over eastern and southern China, where the station network is dense. In contrast, BMEP has a lower CC than GPCP over western and northwestern China, where the gauge network is relatively sparse.

  19. HANPP Collection: Global Patterns in Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity (HANPP)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Global Patterns in Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity (HANPP) portion of the HANPP Collection represents a digital map of human appropriation of net...

  20. Regional improvement of global reanalyses by means of a new long-term Mediterranean hindcasted precipitation dataset: a first study over the Iberian Peninsula

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. G. Sotillo

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Generation of a Mediterranean long-term (1958-2001 homogeneous high resolution environmental database constituted the main objective whitin the HIPOCAS Project. The high number of parameters included in this database allows a complete characterization of Mediterranean storms. In this paper, the HIPOCAS precipitation reliability over the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands is evaluated against long-term in-situ observations from Iberia. In order to provide a more complete study, comparisons of the HIPOCAS field with NCEP/NCAR and ERA global reanalysis show the important improvement in the characterisation of the observed precipitation introduced by the HIPOCAS hindcast.

  1. Global control of colored moiré pattern in layered optical structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Kunyang; Zhou, Yangui; Pan, Di; Ma, Xueyan; Ma, Hongqin; Liang, Haowen; Zhou, Jianying

    2018-05-01

    Accurate description of visual effect of colored moiré pattern caused by layered optical structures consisting of gratings and Fresnel lens is proposed in this work. The colored moiré arising from the periodic and quasi-periodic structures is numerically simulated and experimentally verified. It is found that the visibility of moiré pattern generated by refractive optical elements is related to not only the spatial structures of gratings but also the viewing angles. To effectively control the moiré visibility, two constituting gratings are slightly separated. Such scheme is proved to be effective to globally eliminate moiré pattern for displays containing refractive optical films with quasi-periodic structures.

  2. Evaluating and Quantifying the Climate-Driven Interannual Variability in Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI3g) at Global Scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Fanwei; Collatz, George James; Pinzon, Jorge E.; Ivanoff, Alvaro

    2013-01-01

    Satellite observations of surface reflected solar radiation contain informationabout variability in the absorption of solar radiation by vegetation. Understanding thecauses of variability is important for models that use these data to drive land surface fluxesor for benchmarking prognostic vegetation models. Here we evaluated the interannualvariability in the new 30.5-year long global satellite-derived surface reflectance index data,Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies normalized difference vegetation index(GIMMS NDVI3g). Pearsons correlation and multiple linear stepwise regression analyseswere applied to quantify the NDVI interannual variability driven by climate anomalies, andto evaluate the effects of potential interference (snow, aerosols and clouds) on the NDVIsignal. We found ecologically plausible strong controls on NDVI variability by antecedent precipitation and current monthly temperature with distinct spatial patterns. Precipitation correlations were strongest for temperate to tropical water limited herbaceous systemswhere in some regions and seasons 40 of the NDVI variance could be explained byprecipitation anomalies. Temperature correlations were strongest in northern mid- to-high-latitudes in the spring and early summer where up to 70 of the NDVI variance was explained by temperature anomalies. We find that, in western and central North America,winter-spring precipitation determines early summer growth while more recent precipitation controls NDVI variability in late summer. In contrast, current or prior wetseason precipitation anomalies were correlated with all months of NDVI in sub-tropical herbaceous vegetation. Snow, aerosols and clouds as well as unexplained phenomena still account for part of the NDVI variance despite corrections. Nevertheless, this study demonstrates that GIMMS NDVI3g represents real responses of vegetation to climate variability that are useful for global models.

  3. A review of the PERSIANN family global satellite precipitation data products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, P.; Ombadi, M.; Ashouri, H.; Thorstensen, A.; Hsu, K. L.; Braithwaite, D.; Sorooshian, S.; William, L.

    2017-12-01

    Precipitation is an integral part of the hydrologic cycle and plays an important role in the water and energy balance of the Earth. Careful and consistent observation of precipitation is important for several reasons. Over the last two decades, the PERSIANN system of precipitation products have been developed at the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing (CHRS) at the University of California, Irvine in collaboration with NASA, NOAA and the UNESCO G-WADI program. The PERSIANN family includes three main satellite-based precipitation estimation products namely PERSIANN, PERSIANN-CCS, and PERSIANN-CDR. They are accessible through several web-based interfaces maintained by CHRS to serve the needs of researchers, professionals and general public. These interfaces are CHRS iRain, Data Portal and RainSphere, which can be accessed at http://irain.eng.uci.edu, http://chrsdata.eng.uci.edu, and http://rainsphere.eng.uci.edu respectively and can be used for visualization, analysis or download of the data. The main objective of this presentation is to provide a concise and clear summary of the similarities and differences between the three products in terms of attributes and algorithm structure. Moreover, the presentation aims to provide an evaluation of the performance of the products over the Contiguous United States (CONUS) using Climate Prediction Center (CPC) precipitation dataset as a baseline of comparison. Also, an assessment of the behavior of PERSIANN family products over the globe (60°S - 60°N) is performed.

  4. A Global Rapid Integrated Monitoring System for Water Cycle and Water Resource Assessment (Global-RIMS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roads, John; Voeroesmarty, Charles

    2005-01-01

    The main focus of our work was to solidify underlying data sets, the data processing tools and the modeling environment needed to perform a series of long-term global and regional hydrological simulations leading eventually to routine hydrometeorological predictions. A water and energy budget synthesis was developed for the Mississippi River Basin (Roads et al. 2003), in order to understand better what kinds of errors exist in current hydrometeorological data sets. This study is now being extended globally with a larger number of observations and model based data sets under the new NASA NEWS program. A global comparison of a number of precipitation data sets was subsequently carried out (Fekete et al. 2004) in which it was further shown that reanalysis precipitation has substantial problems, which subsequently led us to the development of a precipitation assimilation effort (Nunes and Roads 2005). We believe that with current levels of model skill in predicting precipitation that precipitation assimilation is necessary to get the appropriate land surface forcing.

  5. Drought-associated tree mortality: Global patterns and insights from tree-ring studies in the southwestern U.S.A

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macalady, Alison Kelly

    Forests play an important role in the earth system, regulating climate, maintaining biodiversity, and provisioning human communities with water, food and fuel. Interactions between climate and forest dynamics are not well constrained, and high uncertainty characterizes projections of global warming impacts on forests and associated ecosystem services. Recently observed tree mortality and forest die-off forewarn an acceleration of forest change with rising temperature and increased drought. However, the processes leading to tree death during drought are poorly understood, limiting our ability to anticipate future forest dynamics. The objective of this dissertation was to improve understanding of drought-associated tree mortality through literature synthesis and tree-ring studies on trees that survived and died during droughts in the southwestern USA. Specifically, this dissertation 1) documented global tree mortality patterns and identified emerging trends and research gaps; 2) quantified relationships between growth, climate, competition and mortality of pinon pine during droughts in New Mexico; 3) investigated tree defense anatomy as a potentially key element in pinon avoidance of death; and, 4) characterized the climate sensitivity of pinon resin ducts in order to gain insight into potential trends in tree defenses with climate variability and change. There has been an increase in studies reporting tree mortality linked to drought, heat, and the associated activity of insects and pathogens. Cases span the forested continents and occurred in water, light and temperature-limited forests. We hypothesized that increased tree mortality may be an emerging global phenomenon related to rising temperatures and drought (Appendix A). Recent radial growth was 53% higher on average in pinon that survived versus died during two episodes of drought-associated mortality, and statistical models of mortality risk based on average growth, growth variability, and abrupt growth

  6. Do invasive alien plants benefit more from global environmental change than native plants?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yanjie; Oduor, Ayub M O; Zhang, Zhen; Manea, Anthony; Tooth, Ifeanna M; Leishman, Michelle R; Xu, Xingliang; van Kleunen, Mark

    2017-08-01

    Invasive alien plant species threaten native biodiversity, disrupt ecosystem functions and can cause large economic damage. Plant invasions have been predicted to further increase under ongoing global environmental change. Numerous case studies have compared the performance of invasive and native plant species in response to global environmental change components (i.e. changes in mean levels of precipitation, temperature, atmospheric CO 2 concentration or nitrogen deposition). Individually, these studies usually involve low numbers of species and therefore the results cannot be generalized. Therefore, we performed a phylogenetically controlled meta-analysis to assess whether there is a general pattern of differences in invasive and native plant performance under each component of global environmental change. We compiled a database of studies that reported performance measures for 74 invasive alien plant species and 117 native plant species in response to one of the above-mentioned global environmental change components. We found that elevated temperature and CO 2 enrichment increased the performance of invasive alien plants more strongly than was the case for native plants. Invasive alien plants tended to also have a slightly stronger positive response to increased N deposition and increased precipitation than native plants, but these differences were not significant (N deposition: P = 0.051; increased precipitation: P = 0.679). Invasive alien plants tended to have a slightly stronger negative response to decreased precipitation than native plants, although this difference was also not significant (P = 0.060). So while drought could potentially reduce plant invasion, increases in the four other components of global environmental change considered, particularly global warming and atmospheric CO 2 enrichment, may further increase the spread of invasive plants in the future. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Consequences of Global Warming of 1.5 °C and 2 °C for Regional Temperature and Precipitation Changes in the Contiguous United States.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ambarish V Karmalkar

    Full Text Available The differential warming of land and ocean leads to many continental regions in the Northern Hemisphere warming at rates higher than the global mean temperature. Adaptation and conservation efforts will, therefore, benefit from understanding regional consequences of limiting the global mean temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, a limit agreed upon at the United Nations Climate Summit in Paris in December 2015. Here, we analyze climate model simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5 to determine the timing and magnitude of regional temperature and precipitation changes across the contiguous United States (US for global warming of 1.5 and 2°C and highlight consensus and uncertainties in model projections and their implications for making decisions. The regional warming rates differ considerably across the contiguous US, but all regions are projected to reach 2°C about 10-20 years before the global mean temperature. Although there is uncertainty in the timing of exactly when the 1.5 and 2°C thresholds will be crossed regionally, over 80% of the models project at least 2°C warming by 2050 for all regions for the high emissions scenario. This threshold-based approach also highlights regional variations in the rate of warming across the US. The fastest warming region in the contiguous US is the Northeast, which is projected to warm by 3°C when global warming reaches 2°C. The signal-to-noise ratio calculations indicate that the regional warming estimates remain outside the envelope of uncertainty throughout the twenty-first century, making them potentially useful to planners. The regional precipitation projections for global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C are uncertain, but the eastern US is projected to experience wetter winters and the Great Plains and the Northwest US are projected to experience drier summers in the future. The impact of different scenarios on regional precipitation

  8. Regionalization of precipitation characteristics in Iran's Lake Urmia basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazel, Nasim; Berndtsson, Ronny; Uvo, Cintia Bertacchi; Madani, Kaveh; Kløve, Bjørn

    2018-04-01

    Lake Urmia in northwest Iran, once one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world, has shrunk by almost 90% in area and 80% in volume during the last four decades. To improve the understanding of regional differences in water availability throughout the region and to refine the existing information on precipitation variability, this study investigated the spatial pattern of precipitation for the Lake Urmia basin. Daily rainfall time series from 122 precipitation stations with different record lengths were used to extract 15 statistical descriptors comprising 25th percentile, 75th percentile, and coefficient of variation for annual and seasonal total precipitation. Principal component analysis in association with cluster analysis identified three main homogeneous precipitation groups in the lake basin. The first sub-region (group 1) includes stations located in the center and southeast; the second sub-region (group 2) covers mostly northern and northeastern part of the basin, and the third sub-region (group 3) covers the western and southern edges of the basin. Results of principal component (PC) and clustering analyses showed that seasonal precipitation variation is the most important feature controlling the spatial pattern of precipitation in the lake basin. The 25th and 75th percentiles of winter and autumn are the most important variables controlling the spatial pattern of the first rotated principal component explaining about 32% of the total variance. Summer and spring precipitation variations are the most important variables in the second and third rotated principal components, respectively. Seasonal variation in precipitation amount and seasonality are explained by topography and influenced by the lake and westerly winds that are related to the strength of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Despite using incomplete time series with different lengths, the identified sub-regions are physically meaningful.

  9. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Spacecraft Power System Design and Orbital Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dakermanji, George; Burns, Michael; Lee, Leonine; Lyons, John; Kim, David; Spitzer, Thomas; Kercheval, Bradford

    2016-01-01

    The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) spacecraft was jointly developed by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) spacecraft launched on February 27, 2014. The spacecraft is in a circular 400 Km altitude, 65 degrees inclination nadir pointing orbit with a three year basic mission life. The solar array consists of two sun tracking wings with cable wraps. The panels are populated with triple junction cells of nominal 29.5% efficiency. One axis is canted by 52 degrees to provide power to the spacecraft at high beta angles. The power system is a Direct Energy Transfer (DET) system designed to support 1950 Watts orbit average power. The batteries use SONY 18650HC cells and consist of three 8s x 84p batteries operated in parallel as a single battery. The paper describes the power system design details, its performance to date and the lithium ion battery model that was developed for use in the energy balance analysis and is being used to predict the on-orbit health of the battery.

  10. CDRD and PNPR passive microwave precipitation retrieval algorithms: verification study over Africa and Southern Atlantic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panegrossi, Giulia; Casella, Daniele; Cinzia Marra, Anna; Petracca, Marco; Sanò, Paolo; Dietrich, Stefano

    2015-04-01

    The ongoing NASA/JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM) requires the full exploitation of the complete constellation of passive microwave (PMW) radiometers orbiting around the globe for global precipitation monitoring. In this context the coherence of the estimates of precipitation using different passive microwave radiometers is a crucial need. We have developed two different passive microwave precipitation retrieval algorithms: one is the Cloud Dynamics Radiation Database algorithm (CDRD), a physically ¬based Bayesian algorithm for conically scanning radiometers (i.e., DMSP SSMIS); the other one is the Passive microwave Neural network Precipitation Retrieval (PNPR) algorithm for cross¬-track scanning radiometers (i.e., NOAA and MetOp¬A/B AMSU-¬A/MHS, and NPP Suomi ATMS). The algorithms, originally created for application over Europe and the Mediterranean basin, and used operationally within the EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on Support to Operational Hydrology and Water Management (H-SAF, http://hsaf.meteoam.it), have been recently modified and extended to Africa and Southern Atlantic for application to the MSG full disk area. The two algorithms are based on the same physical foundation, i.e., the same cloud-radiation model simulations as a priori information in the Bayesian solver and as training dataset in the neural network approach, and they also use similar procedures for identification of frozen background surface, detection of snowfall, and determination of a pixel based quality index of the surface precipitation retrievals. In addition, similar procedures for the screening of not ¬precipitating pixels are used. A novel algorithm for the detection of precipitation in tropical/sub-tropical areas has been developed. The precipitation detection algorithm shows a small rate of false alarms (also over arid/desert regions), a superior detection capability in comparison with other widely used screening algorithms, and it is applicable

  11. Impact of Altered Precipitation Patterns on Plant Productivity and Soil Respiration in a Northern Great Plains Grassland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haase, L.; Flanagan, L. B.

    2017-12-01

    Precipitation patterns are expected to shift towards larger but fewer rain events, with longer intermittent dry periods, associated with climate change. The larger rain events may compensate for and help to mitigate climate change effects on key ecosystem functions such as plant productivity and soil respiration in semi-arid grasslands. We experimentally manipulated the amount and frequency of simulated precipitation added to trenched, treatment plots that were covered by rain shelters, and measured the response in plant productivity and soil respiration in a native, grassland ecosystem near Lethbridge, Alberta. We compared the observed responses to the predictions of a conceptual ecosystem response model developed by Knapp et al. 2008 (BioScience 58: 811-821). Two experiments were conducted during 14 weeks of the growing season from May-August. The first experiment (normal amount) applied total growing season precipitation of 180 mm (climate normal), and the second experiment (reduced amount) applied total precipitation of 90 mm. In both experiments, precipitation was applied at two frequencies, 1 rain event every week (normal frequency) and 1 rain event every two weeks (reduced frequency). In the normal amount experiment, the average rain event was 12.8 mm for the normal frequency treatment and 25.8 mm for the reduced frequency treatment. In the reduced amount experiment, the average rain event was 6.4 mm for the normal frequency treatment and 12.8 mm for the reduced frequency treatment. We hypothesized that larger but fewer rain events would result in increased plant productivity and soil respiration for both experiments. Plant greenness values calculated from digital photographs were used as a proxy for plant productivity, and showed significantly higher values for the normal vs. reduced amount experiment. Soil respiration rate also showed significantly higher values for the normal vs. reduced amount experiment. No significant treatment effect could be detected

  12. How will precipitation change in extratropical cyclones as the planet warms? Insights from a large initial condition climate model ensemble

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yettella, Vineel; Kay, Jennifer E.

    2017-09-01

    The extratropical precipitation response to global warming is investigated within a 30-member initial condition climate model ensemble. As in observations, modeled cyclonic precipitation contributes a large fraction of extratropical precipitation, especially over the ocean and in the winter hemisphere. When compared to present day, the ensemble projects increased cyclone-associated precipitation under twenty-first century business-as-usual greenhouse gas forcing. While the cyclone-associated precipitation response is weaker in the near-future (2016-2035) than in the far-future (2081-2100), both future periods have similar patterns of response. Though cyclone frequency changes are important regionally, most of the increased cyclone-associated precipitation results from increased within-cyclone precipitation. Consistent with this result, cyclone-centric composites show statistically significant precipitation increases in all cyclone sectors. Decomposition into thermodynamic (mean cyclone water vapor path) and dynamic (mean cyclone wind speed) contributions shows that thermodynamics explains 92 and 95% of the near-future and far-future within-cyclone precipitation increases respectively. Surprisingly, the influence of dynamics on future cyclonic precipitation changes is negligible. In addition, the forced response exceeds internal variability in both future time periods. Overall, this work suggests that future cyclonic precipitation changes will result primarily from increased moisture availability in a warmer world, with secondary contributions from changes in cyclone frequency and cyclone dynamics.

  13. Global patterns of renewable energy innovation, 1990–2009

    OpenAIRE

    Bayer, Patrick; Dolan, Lindsay; Urpelainen, Johannes

    2013-01-01

    Cost-effective approaches to mitigating climate change depend on advances in clean energy technologies, such as solar and wind power. Given increased technology innovation in developing countries, led by China, we focus our attention on global patterns of renewable energy innovation. Utilizing highly valuable international patents as our indicator of innovation, we examine the economic and political determinants of energy innovation in 74 countries across the world, 1990–2009. We find that hi...

  14. How do the multiple large-scale climate oscillations trigger extreme precipitation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Pengfei; Yang, Tao; Xu, Chong-Yu; Yong, Bin; Shao, Quanxi; Li, Zhenya; Wang, Xiaoyan; Zhou, Xudong; Li, Shu

    2017-10-01

    Identifying the links between variations in large-scale climate patterns and precipitation is of tremendous assistance in characterizing surplus or deficit of precipitation, which is especially important for evaluation of local water resources and ecosystems in semi-humid and semi-arid regions. Restricted by current limited knowledge on underlying mechanisms, statistical correlation methods are often used rather than physical based model to characterize the connections. Nevertheless, available correlation methods are generally unable to reveal the interactions among a wide range of climate oscillations and associated effects on precipitation, especially on extreme precipitation. In this work, a probabilistic analysis approach by means of a state-of-the-art Copula-based joint probability distribution is developed to characterize the aggregated behaviors for large-scale climate patterns and their connections to precipitation. This method is employed to identify the complex connections between climate patterns (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)) and seasonal precipitation over a typical semi-humid and semi-arid region, the Haihe River Basin in China. Results show that the interactions among multiple climate oscillations are non-uniform in most seasons and phases. Certain joint extreme phases can significantly trigger extreme precipitation (flood and drought) owing to the amplification effect among climate oscillations.

  15. Allocating Scarce Resources Strategically - An Evaluation and Discussion of the Global Fund's Pattern of Disbursements

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCoy, David; Kinyua, Kelvin

    2012-01-01

    Background The Global Fund is under pressure to improve its rationing of financial support. This study describes the GF's pattern of disbursements in relation to total health expenditure (THE), government health expenditure (GHE), income status and the burden of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. It also examines the potential for recipient countries to increase domestic public financing for health. Methods This is a cross-sectional study of 104 countries that received Global Fund disbursements in 2009. It analyses data on Global Fund disbursements; health financing indicators; government revenue and expenditure; and burden of disease. Findings Global Fund disbursements made up 0.37% of THE across all 104 countries; but with considerable country variation ranging from 0.002% to 53.4%. Global Fund disbursements to government amounted to 0.47% of GHE across the 104 countries, but again with considerable variation (in three countries more than half of GHE was based on Global Fund support). Although the Global Fund provides progressively more funding for lower income countries on average, there is much variation at the country such that here was no correlation between per capita GF disbursements and per capita THE, nor between per capita GF disbursement to government and per capita GHE. There was only a slight positive correlation between per capita GF disbursement and burden of disease. Several countries with a high degree of 'financial dependency' upon the Fund have the potential to increase levels of domestic financing for health. Discussion The Global Fund can improve its targeting of resources so that it better matches the pattern of global need. To do this it needs to: a) reduce the extent to which funds are allocated on a demand-driven basis; and b) align its funding model to broader health systems financing and patterns of health expenditure beyond the three diseases. PMID:22590496

  16. Allocating scarce resources strategically--an evaluation and discussion of the Global Fund's pattern of disbursements.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David McCoy

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The Global Fund is under pressure to improve its rationing of financial support. This study describes the GF's pattern of disbursements in relation to total health expenditure (THE, government health expenditure (GHE, income status and the burden of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. It also examines the potential for recipient countries to increase domestic public financing for health. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of 104 countries that received Global Fund disbursements in 2009. It analyses data on Global Fund disbursements; health financing indicators; government revenue and expenditure; and burden of disease. FINDINGS: Global Fund disbursements made up 0.37% of THE across all 104 countries; but with considerable country variation ranging from 0.002% to 53.4%. Global Fund disbursements to government amounted to 0.47% of GHE across the 104 countries, but again with considerable variation (in three countries more than half of GHE was based on Global Fund support. Although the Global Fund provides progressively more funding for lower income countries on average, there is much variation at the country such that here was no correlation between per capita GF disbursements and per capita THE, nor between per capita GF disbursement to government and per capita GHE. There was only a slight positive correlation between per capita GF disbursement and burden of disease. Several countries with a high degree of 'financial dependency' upon the Fund have the potential to increase levels of domestic financing for health. DISCUSSION: The Global Fund can improve its targeting of resources so that it better matches the pattern of global need. To do this it needs to: a reduce the extent to which funds are allocated on a demand-driven basis; and b align its funding model to broader health systems financing and patterns of health expenditure beyond the three diseases.

  17. Recent advances in precipitation-bias correction and application

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2009-01-01

    Significant progresses have been made in recent years in precipitation data analyses at regional to global scales. This paper re-views and synthesizes recent advances in precipitation-bias corrections and applications in many countries and over the cold re-gions. The main objective of this review is to identify and examine gaps in regional and national precipitation-error analyses. This paper also discusses and recommends future research needs and directions. More effort and coordination are necessary in the determinations of precipitation biases on large regions across national borders. It is important to emphasize that bias cor-rections of precipitation measurements affect both water budget and energy balance calculations, particularly over the cold regions.

  18. Pareto-Optimal Estimates of California Precipitation Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langenbrunner, Baird; Neelin, J. David

    2017-12-01

    In seeking constraints on global climate model projections under global warming, one commonly finds that different subsets of models perform well under different objective functions, and these trade-offs are difficult to weigh. Here a multiobjective approach is applied to a large set of subensembles generated from the Climate Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 ensemble. We use observations and reanalyses to constrain tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures, upper level zonal winds in the midlatitude Pacific, and California precipitation. An evolutionary algorithm identifies the set of Pareto-optimal subensembles across these three measures, and these subensembles are used to constrain end-of-century California wet season precipitation change. This methodology narrows the range of projections throughout California, increasing confidence in estimates of positive mean precipitation change. Finally, we show how this technique complements and generalizes emergent constraint approaches for restricting uncertainty in end-of-century projections within multimodel ensembles using multiple criteria for observational constraints.

  19. Spatiotemporal changes in precipitation extremes over Yangtze River basin, China, considering the rainfall shift in the late 1970s

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Tao; Xie, Lian

    2016-12-01

    Precipitation extremes are the dominated causes for the formation of severe flood disasters at regional and local scales under the background of global climate change. In the present study, five annual extreme precipitation events, including 1, 7 and 30 day annual maximum rainfall and 95th and 97.5th percentile threshold levels, are analyzed relating to the reference period 1960-2011 from 140 meteorological stations over Yangtze River basin (YRB). A generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution is applied to fit annual and percentile extreme precipitation events at each station with return periods up to 200 years. The entire time period is divided into preclimatic (preceding climatic) period 1960-1980 and aftclimatic (after climatic) period 1981-2011 by considering distinctly abrupt shift of precipitation regime in the late 1970s across YRB. And the Mann-Kendall trend test is adopted to conduct trend analysis during pre- and aftclimatic periods, respectively, for the purpose of exploring possible increasing/decreasing patterns in precipitation extremes. The results indicate that the increasing trends for return values during aftclimatic period change significantly in time and space in terms of different magnitudes of extreme precipitation, while the stations with significantly positive trends are mainly distributed in the vicinity of the mainstream and major tributaries as well as large lakes, this would result in more tremendous flood disasters in the mid-lower reaches of YRB, especially in southeast coastal regions. The increasing/decreasing linear trends based on annual maximum precipitation are also investigated in pre- and aftclimatic periods, respectively, whereas those changes are not significantly similar to the variations of return values during both subperiods. Moreover, spatiotemporal patterns of precipitation extremes become more uneven and unstable in the second half period over YRB.

  20. Precipitation Reconstruction over Land (PREC/L)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The monthly data set consists files of 3 resolutions of monthly averaged precipitation totals. The global analyses are defined by interpolation of gauge observations...

  1. Large-scale distribution patterns of mangrove nematodes: A global meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brustolin, Marco C; Nagelkerken, Ivan; Fonseca, Gustavo

    2018-05-01

    Mangroves harbor diverse invertebrate communities, suggesting that macroecological distribution patterns of habitat-forming foundation species drive the associated faunal distribution. Whether these are driven by mangrove biogeography is still ambiguous. For small-bodied taxa, local factors and landscape metrics might be as important as macroecology. We performed a meta-analysis to address the following questions: (1) can richness of mangrove trees explain macroecological patterns of nematode richness? and (2) do local landscape attributes have equal or higher importance than biogeography in structuring nematode richness? Mangrove areas of Caribbean-Southwest Atlantic, Western Indian, Central Indo-Pacific, and Southwest Pacific biogeographic regions. We used random-effects meta-analyses based on natural logarithm of the response ratio (lnRR) to assess the importance of macroecology (i.e., biogeographic regions, latitude, longitude), local factors (i.e., aboveground mangrove biomass and tree richness), and landscape metrics (forest area and shape) in structuring nematode richness from 34 mangroves sites around the world. Latitude, mangrove forest area, and forest shape index explained 19% of the heterogeneity across studies. Richness was higher at low latitudes, closer to the equator. At local scales, richness increased slightly with landscape complexity and decreased with forest shape index. Our results contrast with biogeographic diversity patterns of mangrove-associated taxa. Global-scale nematode diversity may have evolved independently of mangrove tree richness, and diversity of small-bodied metazoans is probably more closely driven by latitude and associated climates, rather than local, landscape, or global biogeographic patterns.

  2. Influence of SST from Pacific and Atlantic Ocean and atmospheric circulation in the precipitation regime of basin from Brazilian SIN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Custodio, M. D.; Ramos, C. G.; Madeira, P.; de Macedo, A. L.

    2013-12-01

    The South American climate presents tropical, subtropical and extratropical features because of its territorial extension, being influenced by a variety of dynamical systems with different spatial and temporal scales which result in different climatic regimes in their subregions. Furthermore, the precipitation regime in South America is influenced by low-frequency phenomena as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Atlantic dipole and the Madden Julian Oscilation (MJO), in other words, is directly influenced by variations of the Sea Surface Temperature (SST). Due to the importance of the precipitation for many sectors including the planning of productive activities, such as agriculture, livestock and hydropower energy, many studies about climate variations in Brazil have tried to determine and explain the mechanisms that affect the precipitation regime. However, because of complexity of the climate system, and consequently of their impacts on the global precipitation regime, its interactions are not totally understood and therefore misrepresented in numerical models used to forecast climate. The precipitation pattern over hydrographic basin which form the Brasilian National Interconnected System (Sistema Interligado Nacional-SIN) are not yet known and therefore the climate forecast of these regions still presents considerable failure that need to be corrected due to its economic importance. In this context, the purpose here is to determine the precipitation patterns on the Brazilian SIN, based on SST and circulation observed data. In a second phase a forecast climate model for these regions will be produced. In this first moment 30 years (1983 to 2012) of SST over Pacific and Atlantic Ocean were analyzed, along with wind in 850 and 200 hPa and precipitation observed data. The precipitation patterns were analyzed through statistical analyses for interannual (ENSO) and intraseasonal (MJO) anomalies for these variables over the SIN basin. Subsequently, these

  3. Three-pattern decomposition of global atmospheric circulation: part I—decomposition model and theorems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Shujuan; Chou, Jifan; Cheng, Jianbo

    2018-04-01

    In order to study the interactions between the atmospheric circulations at the middle-high and low latitudes from the global perspective, the authors proposed the mathematical definition of three-pattern circulations, i.e., horizontal, meridional and zonal circulations with which the actual atmospheric circulation is expanded. This novel decomposition method is proved to accurately describe the actual atmospheric circulation dynamics. The authors used the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data to calculate the climate characteristics of those three-pattern circulations, and found that the decomposition model agreed with the observed results. Further dynamical analysis indicates that the decomposition model is more accurate to capture the major features of global three dimensional atmospheric motions, compared to the traditional definitions of Rossby wave, Hadley circulation and Walker circulation. The decomposition model for the first time realized the decomposition of global atmospheric circulation using three orthogonal circulations within the horizontal, meridional and zonal planes, offering new opportunities to study the large-scale interactions between the middle-high latitudes and low latitudes circulations.

  4. Global and Regional Patterns in Riverine Fish Species Richness: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thierry Oberdorff

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available We integrate the respective role of global and regional factors driving riverine fish species richness patterns, to develop a synthetic model of potential mechanisms and processes generating these patterns. This framework allows species richness to be broken down into different components specific to each spatial extent and to establish links between these components and the processes involved. This framework should help to answer the questions that are currently being asked by society, including the effects of species invasions, habitat loss, or fragmentation and climate change on freshwater biodiversity.

  5. Dissolved organic carbon in the precipitation of Seoul, Korea: Implications for global wet depositional flux of fossil-fuel derived organic carbon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Ge; Kim, Guebuem

    2012-11-01

    Precipitation was sampled in Seoul over a one-year period from 2009 to 2010 to investigate the sources and fluxes of atmospheric dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The concentrations of DOC varied from 15 μM to 780 μM, with a volume-weighted average of 94 μM. On the basis of correlation analysis using the commonly acknowledged tracers, such as vanadium, the combustion of fossil-fuels was recognized to be the dominant source. With the aid of air mass backward trajectory analyses, we concluded that the primary fraction of DOC in our precipitation samples originated locally in Korea, albeit the frequent long-range transport from eastern and northeastern China might contribute substantially. In light of the relatively invariant organic carbon to sulfur mass ratios in precipitation over Seoul and other urban regions around the world, the global magnitude of wet depositional DOC originating from fossil-fuels was calculated to be 36 ± 10 Tg C yr-1. Our study further underscores the potentially significant environmental impacts that might be brought about by this anthropogenically derived component of organic carbon in the atmosphere.

  6. Statistical and dynamical downscaling assessments of precipitation extremes in the Mediterranean area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hertig, Elke; Seubert, Stefanie; Jacobeit, Jucundus [Augsburg Univ. (Germany). Inst. of Geography; Paxian, Andreas; Vogt, Gernot; Paeth, Heiko [Wuerzburg Univ. (Germany). Inst. of Geography and Geology

    2012-02-15

    Extreme precipitation events in the Mediterranean area have been defined by different percentile-based indices of extreme precipitation for autumn and winter: the number of events exceeding the 95{sup th} percentile of daily precipitation, percentage, total amount, and mean daily intensity of precipitation from these events. Results from statistical downscaling applying canonical correlation analysis as well as from dynamical downscaling using the regional climate model REMO are mapped for the 1961-1990 baseline period as well as for the magnitude of change for the future time slice 2021-2050 in relation to the former period. Direct output of the coupled global circulation model ECHAM5 is used as an additional source of information. A qualitative comparison of the two different downscaling techniques indicates that under the present climate both the dynamical and the statistical techniques have skill to reproduce extreme precipitation in the Mediterranean area. A good representation of the frequency of extreme precipitation events arises from the statistical downscaling approach, whereas the intensity of such events is adequately modelled by the dynamical downscaling. Concerning the change of extreme precipitation in the Mediterranean area until the mid-21{sup st} century, it is projected that the frequency of extreme precipitation events will decrease in most parts of the Mediterranean area in autumn and winter. The change of the mean intensity of such events shows a rather heterogeneous pattern with intensity increases in winter most likely at topographical elevations exposed to the West, where the uplift of humid air profits by the increase of atmospheric moisture under climate change conditions. For the precipitation total from events exceeding the 95{sup th} percentile of daily precipitation, widespread decreases are indicated in autumn, whereas in winter increases occur over the western part of the Iberian Peninsula and southern France, and reductions over

  7. Future increases in Arctic precipitation linked to local evaporation and sea-ice retreat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bintanja, R; Selten, F M

    2014-05-22

    Precipitation changes projected for the end of the twenty-first century show an increase of more than 50 per cent in the Arctic regions. This marked increase, which is among the highest globally, has previously been attributed primarily to enhanced poleward moisture transport from lower latitudes. Here we use state-of-the-art global climate models to show that the projected increases in Arctic precipitation over the twenty-first century, which peak in late autumn and winter, are instead due mainly to strongly intensified local surface evaporation (maximum in winter), and only to a lesser degree due to enhanced moisture inflow from lower latitudes (maximum in late summer and autumn). Moreover, we show that the enhanced surface evaporation results mainly from retreating winter sea ice, signalling an amplified Arctic hydrological cycle. This demonstrates that increases in Arctic precipitation are firmly linked to Arctic warming and sea-ice decline. As a result, the Arctic mean precipitation sensitivity (4.5 per cent increase per degree of temperature warming) is much larger than the global value (1.6 to 1.9 per cent per kelvin). The associated seasonally varying increase in Arctic precipitation is likely to increase river discharge and snowfall over ice sheets (thereby affecting global sea level), and could even affect global climate through freshening of the Arctic Ocean and subsequent modulations of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation.

  8. Exposure to predicted precipitation patterns decreases population size and alters community structure of cyanobacteria in biological soil crusts from the Chihuahuan Desert.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes, Vanessa M C; Machado de Lima, Náthali Maria; Roush, Daniel; Rudgers, Jennifer; Collins, Scott L; Garcia-Pichel, Ferran

    2018-01-01

    Cyanobacteria typically colonize the surface of arid soils, building biological soil crust (biocrusts) that provide a variety of ecosystem benefits, ranging from fertilization to stabilization against erosion. We investigated how future scenarios in precipitation anticipated for the Northern Chihuahuan Desert affected abundance and composition of biocrust cyanobacteria in two grassland ecosystems. Scenarios included a decrease in precipitation and a delay of monsoon rainfall. After three years, both treatments negatively affected cyanobacteria, although the effects of monsoon delay were milder than those of decreased precipitation. Mature biocrusts in black grama grassland suffered severe losses in cyanobacterial biomass and diversity, but compositionally simpler biocrusts in blue grama-dominated grassland maintained biomass, only suffering diversity losses. This could be partially explained by the differential sensitivity of cyanobacterial taxa: nitrogen-fixing Scytonema spp. were the most sensitive, followed by phylotypes in the Microcoleus steenstrupii complex. Microcoleus vaginatus was the least affected in all cases, but is known to be very sensitive to warming. We predict that altered precipitation will tend to prevent biocrusts from reaching successional maturity, selecting for M. vaginatus over competing M. steenstrupii, among pioneer biocrust-formers. A shift towards heat-sensitive M. vaginatus could ultimately destabilize biocrusts when precipitation changes are combined with global warming. © 2017 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Simulating the convective precipitation diurnal cycle in a North American scale convection-permitting model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scaff, L.; Li, Y.; Prein, A. F.; Liu, C.; Rasmussen, R.; Ikeda, K.

    2017-12-01

    A better representation of the diurnal cycle of convective precipitation is essential for the analysis of the energy balance and the water budget components such as runoff, evaporation and infiltration. Convection-permitting regional climate modeling (CPM) has been shown to improve the models' performance of summer precipitation, allowing to: (1) simulate the mesoscale processes in more detail and (2) to provide more insights in future changes in convective precipitation under climate change. In this work we investigate the skill of the Weather Research and Forecast model (WRF) in simulating the summer precipitation diurnal cycle over most of North America. We use 4 km horizontal grid spacing in a 13-years long current and future period. The future scenario is assuming no significant changes in large-scale weather patterns and aims to answer how the weather of the current climate would change if it would reoccur at the end of the century under a high-end emission scenario (Pseudo Global Warming). We emphasize on a region centered on the lee side of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, where the summer precipitation amount shows a regional maximum. The historical simulations are capable to correctly represent the diurnal cycle. At the lee-side of the Canadian Rockies the increase in the convective available potential energy as well as pronounced low-level moisture flux from the southeast Prairies explains the local maximum in summer precipitation. The PGW scenario shows an increase in summer precipitation amount and intensity in this region, consistently with a stronger source of moisture and convective energy.

  10. Probability Distribution and Projected Trends of Daily Precipitation in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    CAO; Li-Ge; ZHONG; Jun; SU; Bu-Da; ZHAI; Jian-Qing; Macro; GEMMER

    2013-01-01

    Based on observed daily precipitation data of 540 stations and 3,839 gridded data from the high-resolution regional climate model COSMO-Climate Limited-area Modeling(CCLM)for 1961–2000,the simulation ability of CCLM on daily precipitation in China is examined,and the variation of daily precipitation distribution pattern is revealed.By applying the probability distribution and extreme value theory to the projected daily precipitation(2011–2050)under SRES A1B scenario with CCLM,trends of daily precipitation series and daily precipitation extremes are analyzed.Results show that except for the western Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and South China,distribution patterns of the kurtosis and skewness calculated from the simulated and observed series are consistent with each other;their spatial correlation coefcients are above 0.75.The CCLM can well capture the distribution characteristics of daily precipitation over China.It is projected that in some parts of the Jianghuai region,central-eastern Northeast China and Inner Mongolia,the kurtosis and skewness will increase significantly,and precipitation extremes will increase during 2011–2050.The projected increase of maximum daily rainfall and longest non-precipitation period during flood season in the aforementioned regions,also show increasing trends of droughts and floods in the next 40 years.

  11. Winter Precipitation Forecast in the European and Mediterranean Regions Using Cluster Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Totz, Sonja; Tziperman, Eli; Coumou, Dim; Pfeiffer, Karl; Cohen, Judah

    2017-12-01

    The European climate is changing under global warming, and especially the Mediterranean region has been identified as a hot spot for climate change with climate models projecting a reduction in winter rainfall and a very pronounced increase in summertime heat waves. These trends are already detectable over the historic period. Hence, it is beneficial to forecast seasonal droughts well in advance so that water managers and stakeholders can prepare to mitigate deleterious impacts. We developed a new cluster-based empirical forecast method to predict precipitation anomalies in winter. This algorithm considers not only the strength but also the pattern of the precursors. We compare our algorithm with dynamic forecast models and a canonical correlation analysis-based prediction method demonstrating that our prediction method performs better in terms of time and pattern correlation in the Mediterranean and European regions.

  12. Regime-dependent forecast uncertainty of convective precipitation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Keil, Christian; Craig, George C. [Muenchen Univ. (Germany). Meteorologisches Inst.

    2011-04-15

    Forecast uncertainty of convective precipitation is influenced by all scales, but in different ways in different meteorological situations. Forecasts of the high resolution ensemble prediction system COSMO-DE-EPS of Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) are used to examine the dominant sources of uncertainty of convective precipitation. A validation with radar data using traditional as well as spatial verification measures highlights differences in precipitation forecast performance in differing weather regimes. When the forecast uncertainty can primarily be associated with local, small-scale processes individual members run with the same variation of the physical parameterisation driven by different global models outperform all other ensemble members. In contrast when the precipitation is governed by the large-scale flow all ensemble members perform similarly. Application of the convective adjustment time scale confirms this separation and shows a regime-dependent forecast uncertainty of convective precipitation. (orig.)

  13. Examine Precipitation Extremes in Terms of Storm Properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, P.; Yu, Z.; Chen, L.; Gautam, M. R.; Acharya, K.

    2017-12-01

    The increasing potential of the extreme precipitation is of significant societal concern. Changes in precipitation extremes have been mostly examined using extreme precipitation indices or Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) analyses, which often fail to reveal the characteristics of an integrated precipitation event. In this study, we will examine the precipitation extremes in terms of storm properties including storm duration, storm intensity, total storm precipitation, and within storm pattern. Single storm event will be identified and storm properties will be determined based on the hourly precipitation time series in the selected locations in southwest United States. Three types of extreme precipitation event will be recognized using the criteria as (1) longest storm duration; (2) Highest storm intensity; and (3) largest total precipitation over a storm. The trend and variation of extreme precipitation events will be discussed for each criterion. Based on the comparisons of the characteristics of extreme precipitation events identified using different criteria, we will provide guidelines for choosing proper criteria for extreme precipitation analysis in specific location.

  14. Local control of globally competing patterns in coupled Swift-Hohenberg equations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, Maximilian; Frenzel, Thomas; Niedermayer, Thomas; Reichelt, Sina; Mielke, Alexander; Bär, Markus

    2018-04-01

    We present analytical and numerical investigations of two anti-symmetrically coupled 1D Swift-Hohenberg equations (SHEs) with cubic nonlinearities. The SHE provides a generic formulation for pattern formation at a characteristic length scale. A linear stability analysis of the homogeneous state reveals a wave instability in addition to the usual Turing instability of uncoupled SHEs. We performed weakly nonlinear analysis in the vicinity of the codimension-two point of the Turing-wave instability, resulting in a set of coupled amplitude equations for the Turing pattern as well as left- and right-traveling waves. In particular, these complex Ginzburg-Landau-type equations predict two major things: there exists a parameter regime where multiple different patterns are stable with respect to each other and that the amplitudes of different patterns interact by local mutual suppression. In consequence, different patterns can coexist in distinct spatial regions, separated by localized interfaces. We identified specific mechanisms for controlling the position of these interfaces, which distinguish what kinds of patterns the interface connects and thus allow for global pattern selection. Extensive simulations of the original SHEs confirm our results.

  15. Global patterns in post-dispersal seed removal by invertebrates and vertebrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peco, Begoña; Laffan, Shawn W; Moles, Angela T

    2014-01-01

    It is commonly accepted that species interactions such as granivory are more intense in the tropics. However, this has rarely been tested. A global dataset of post-dispersal seed removal by invertebrates and vertebrates for 79 native plant species from semi-natural and natural terrestrial habitats ranging from 55° N to 45° S, was compiled from the global literature to test the hypothesis that post-dispersal seed removal by invertebrates and vertebrates is more intense at lower latitudes. We also quantified the relationship between post-dispersal seed removal by vertebrates and by invertebrates to global climatic features including temperature, actual evapotranspiration (AET) and rainfall seasonality. Linear mixed effect models were applied to describe the relationships between seed removal and latitude, hemisphere and climatic variables controlling for the effect of seed mass. Post-dispersal seed removal by invertebrates was negatively related to latitude. In contrast, post-dispersal seed removal by vertebrates was positively but weakly related to latitude. Mean annual temperature and actual evapotranspiration were positively related to post-dispersal seed removal by invertebrates, but not to post-dispersal seed removal by vertebrates, which was only marginally negatively related to rainfall seasonality. The inclusion of seed mass improved the fit of all models, but the term for seed mass was not significant in any model. Although a good climatic model for predicting post-dispersal seed predation by vertebrates at the global level was not found, our results suggest different and opposite latitudinal patterns of post-dispersal seed removal by invertebrates vs vertebrates. This is the first time that a negative relationship between post-dispersal seed removal by invertebrates and latitude, and a positive relationship with temperature and AET have been documented at a global-scale. These results have important implications for understanding global patterns in plant

  16. Long-Term Precipitation Isotope Ratios (δ18O, δ2H, d-excess) in the Northeast US Reflect Atlantic Ocean Warming and Shifts in Moisture Sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puntsag, T.; Welker, J. M.; Mitchell, M. J.; Klein, E. S.; Campbell, J. L.; Likens, G.

    2014-12-01

    The global water cycle is exhibiting dramatic changes as global temperatures increase resulting in increases in: drought extremes, flooding, alterations in storm track patterns with protracted winter storms, and greater precipitation variability. The mechanisms driving these changes can be difficult to assess, but the spatial and temporal patterns of precipitation water isotopes (δ18O, δ2H, d-excess) provide a means to help understand these water cycle changes. However, extended temporal records of isotope ratios in precipitation are infrequent, especially in the US. In our study we analyzed precipitation isotope ratio data from the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire that has the longest US precipitation isotope record, to determine: 1) the monthly composited averages and trends from 1967 to 2012 (45 years); ; 2) the relationships between abiotic properties such as local temperatures, precipitation type, storm tracks and isotope ratio changes; and 3) the influence of regional shifts in moisture sources and/or changes in N Atlantic Ocean water conditions on isotope values. The seasonal variability of Hubbard Brook precipitation isotope ratios is consistent with other studies, as average δ18O values are ~ -15‰ in January and ~ -5 ‰ in July. However, over the 45 year record there is a depletion trend in the δ 18O values (becoming isotopically lighter with a greater proportion of 16O), which coupled with less change in δ 2H leads to increases in d-excess values from ~ -10‰ around 1970 to greater than 10‰ in 2009. These changes occurred during a period of warming as opposed to cooling local temperatures indicating other processes besides temperature are controlling long-term water isotope traits in this region. We have evidence that these changes in precipitation isotope traits are controlled in large part by an increases in moisture being sourced from a warming N Atlantic Ocean that is providing evaporated, isotopically

  17. Assessing Hourly Precipitation Forecast Skill with the Fractions Skill Score

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Bin; Zhang, Bo

    2018-02-01

    Statistical methods for category (yes/no) forecasts, such as the Threat Score, are typically used in the verification of precipitation forecasts. However, these standard methods are affected by the so-called "double-penalty" problem caused by slight displacements in either space or time with respect to the observations. Spatial techniques have recently been developed to help solve this problem. The fractions skill score (FSS), a neighborhood spatial verification method, directly compares the fractional coverage of events in windows surrounding the observations and forecasts. We applied the FSS to hourly precipitation verification by taking hourly forecast products from the GRAPES (Global/Regional Assimilation Prediction System) regional model and quantitative precipitation estimation products from the National Meteorological Information Center of China during July and August 2016, and investigated the difference between these results and those obtained with the traditional category score. We found that the model spin-up period affected the assessment of stability. Systematic errors had an insignificant role in the fraction Brier score and could be ignored. The dispersion of observations followed a diurnal cycle and the standard deviation of the forecast had a similar pattern to the reference maximum of the fraction Brier score. The coefficient of the forecasts and the observations is similar to the FSS; that is, the FSS may be a useful index that can be used to indicate correlation. Compared with the traditional skill score, the FSS has obvious advantages in distinguishing differences in precipitation time series, especially in the assessment of heavy rainfall.

  18. The Relationships between Tropical Pacific and Atlantic SST and Northeast Brazil Monthly Precipitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertacchi Uvo, Cintia; Repelli, Carlos A.; Zebiak, Stephen E.; Kushnir, Yochanan

    1998-04-01

    The monthly patterns of northeast Brazil (NEB) precipitation are analyzed in relation to sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, using singular value decomposition. It is found that the relationships between precipitation and SST in both basins vary considerably throughout the rainy season (February-May). In January, equatorial Pacific SST is weakly correlated with precipitation in small areas of southern NEB, but Atlantic SST shows no significant correlation with regional precipitation. In February, Pacific SST is not well related to precipitation, but south equatorial Atlantic SST is positively correlated with precipitation over the northern Nordeste, the latter most likely reflecting an anomalously early (or late) southward migration of the ITCZ precipitation zone. During March, equatorial Pacific SST is negatively correlated with Nordeste precipitation, but no consistent relationship between precipitation and Atlantic SST is found. Atlantic SST-precipitation correlations for April and May are the strongest found among all months or either ocean. Precipitation in the Nordeste is positively correlated with SST in the south tropical Atlantic and negatively correlated with SST in the north tropical Atlantic. These relationships are strong enough to determine the structure of the seasonal mean SST-precipitation correlations, even though the corresponding patterns for the earlier months of the season are quite different. Pacific SST-precipitation correlations for April and May are similar to those for March. Extreme wet (dry) years for the Nordeste occur when both Pacific and Atlantic SST patterns for April and May occur simultaneously. A separate analysis reinforces previous findings in showing that SST in the tropical Pacific and the northern tropical Atlantic are positively correlated and that tropical Pacific-south Atlantic correlations are negligible.Time-lagged analyses show the potential for forecasting either seasonal mean

  19. Temporal and Spatial Pattern of Changes of Extreme Precipitation in the Middle and Lower Yangtze River Basin (YRB) during 1960 to 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Y.; Wu, S.; Wen, J.; Xu, M.; Tan, J.

    2013-12-01

    The Yangtze River is the longest river in China, with its river basin covering an area of 1.8 million sq km, encompassing about one fifth of China's total territory, one third of the nation's total population, and one quarter of its total arable land. Flooding resulted from extreme precipitation has always been a major problem for the middle and lower part of the YRB, particularly during the monsoon season of eastern China from May to August. Meanwhile, the relatively dense population and large cities in this region make the floods more deadly and costly. In this study we aim to establish the temporal and spatial patterns of changes in extreme precipitation in the middle and lower YRB using daily precipitation data from 71 stations in the area from 1960 to 2012. It is hoped that this study will provide useful information for better flood control. In this study, we defined and examined three major indices. Extreme precipitation frequency is defined as number of days per year with precipitation exceeding the 95th percentile for the base period of 1961 - 1990. Extreme precipitation amount is defined as the total amount of precipitation from these days. Extreme precipitation intensity is defined as the amount divided by frequency. We used non-parametric Thiel-Sen method to estimate the rate of change at each station, and Mann-Kendall test for the significance of the trend. Using Thiessen polygons, we also calculated the area-weighted mean of station trends to get the total trend for the entire study area. Abrupt changes in the time series was detected by using Mann-Kendall test and the Moving-t test methods. Our results show that there is an increasing trend of for the frequency, amount, and intensity of extreme precipitation in the study region. Of the three indicators, the extreme precipitation amount increased most, and its abrupt change point happened in1987. Between the period before and after 1987, the mean annual amount, intensity and frequency of extreme

  20. Functional Connectivity of Precipitation Networks in the Brazilian Rainforest-Savanna Transition Zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adera, S.; Larsen, L.; Levy, M. C.; Thompson, S. E.

    2016-12-01

    In the Brazilian rainforest-savanna transition zone, vegetation change has the potential to significantly affect precipitation patterns. Deforestation, in particular, can affect precipitation patterns by increasing land surface albedo, increasing aerosol loading to the atmosphere, changing land surface roughness, and reducing transpiration. Understanding land surface-precipitation couplings in this region is important not only for sustaining Amazon and Cerrado ecosystems, but also for cattle ranching and agriculture, hydropower generation, and drinking water management. Simulations suggest complex, scale-dependent interactions between precipitation and land cover. For example, the size and distribution of deforested patches has been found to affect precipitation patterns. We take an empirical approach to ask: (1) what are the dominant spatial and temporal length scales of precipitation coupling in the Brazilian rainforest-savanna transition zone? (2) How do these length scales change over time? (3) How does the connectivity of precipitation change over time? The answers to these questions will help address fundamental questions about the impacts of deforestation on precipitation. We use rain gauge data from 1100 rain gauges intermittently covering the period 1980 - 2013, a period of intensive land cover change in the region. The dominant spatial and temporal length scales of precipitation coupling are resolved using transfer entropy, a metric from information theory. Connectivity of the emergent network of couplings is quantified using network statistics. Analyses using transfer entropy and network statistics reveal the spatial and temporal interdependencies of rainfall events occurring in different parts of the study domain.

  1. Precipitation Nowcast using Deep Recurrent Neural Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akbari Asanjan, A.; Yang, T.; Gao, X.; Hsu, K. L.; Sorooshian, S.

    2016-12-01

    An accurate precipitation nowcast (0-6 hours) with a fine temporal and spatial resolution has always been an important prerequisite for flood warning, streamflow prediction and risk management. Most of the popular approaches used for forecasting precipitation can be categorized into two groups. One type of precipitation forecast relies on numerical modeling of the physical dynamics of atmosphere and another is based on empirical and statistical regression models derived by local hydrologists or meteorologists. Given the recent advances in artificial intelligence, in this study a powerful Deep Recurrent Neural Network, termed as Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model, is creatively used to extract the patterns and forecast the spatial and temporal variability of Cloud Top Brightness Temperature (CTBT) observed from GOES satellite. Then, a 0-6 hours precipitation nowcast is produced using a Precipitation Estimation from Remote Sensing Information using Artificial Neural Network (PERSIANN) algorithm, in which the CTBT nowcast is used as the PERSIANN algorithm's raw inputs. Two case studies over the continental U.S. have been conducted that demonstrate the improvement of proposed approach as compared to a classical Feed Forward Neural Network and a couple simple regression models. The advantages and disadvantages of the proposed method are summarized with regard to its capability of pattern recognition through time, handling of vanishing gradient during model learning, and working with sparse data. The studies show that the LSTM model performs better than other methods, and it is able to learn the temporal evolution of the precipitation events through over 1000 time lags. The uniqueness of PERSIANN's algorithm enables an alternative precipitation nowcast approach as demonstrated in this study, in which the CTBT prediction is produced and used as the inputs for generating precipitation nowcast.

  2. Global Analysis of Empirical Relationships Between Annual Climate and Seasonality of NDVI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potter, C. S.

    1997-01-01

    This study describes the use of satellite data to calibrate a new climate-vegetation greenness function for global change studies. We examined statistical relationships between annual climate indexes (temperature, precipitation, and surface radiation) and seasonal attributes of the AVHRR Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series for the mid-1980s in order to refine our empirical understanding of intraannual patterns and global abiotic controls on natural vegetation dynamics. Multiple linear regression results using global l(sup o) gridded data sets suggest that three climate indexes: growing degree days, annual precipitation total, and an annual moisture index together can account to 70-80 percent of the variation in the NDVI seasonal extremes (maximum and minimum values) for the calibration year 1984. Inclusion of the same climate index values from the previous year explained no significant additional portion of the global scale variation in NDVI seasonal extremes. The monthly timing of NDVI extremes was closely associated with seasonal patterns in maximum and minimum temperature and rainfall, with lag times of 1 to 2 months. We separated well-drained areas from l(sup o) grid cells mapped as greater than 25 percent inundated coverage for estimation of both the magnitude and timing of seasonal NDVI maximum values. Predicted monthly NDVI, derived from our climate-based regression equations and Fourier smoothing algorithms, shows good agreement with observed NDVI at a series of ecosystem test locations from around the globe. Regions in which NDVI seasonal extremes were not accurately predicted are mainly high latitude ecosystems and other remote locations where climate station data are sparse.

  3. The Influence of Low-carbon Economy on Global Trade Pattern

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao-jing, Guo

    Since global warming has seriously endangered the living environment of human being and their health and safety, the development of low-carbon economy has become an irreversible global trend. Under the background of economic globalization, low-carbon economy will surely exert a significant impact on global trade pattern. Countries are paying more and more attention to the green trade. The emission permits trade of carbon between the developed countries and the developing countries has become more mature than ever. The carbon tariff caused by the distribution of the "big cake" will make the low-cost advantage in developing countries cease to exist, which will, in turn, affect the foreign trade, economic development, employment and people's living in developing countries. Therefore, under the background of this trend, we should perfect the relevant laws and regulations on trade and environment as soon as possible, optimize trade structure, promote greatly the development of service trade, transform thoroughly the mode of development in foreign trade, take advantage of the international carbon trading market by increasing the added value of export products resulted from technological innovation to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results and promote common development.

  4. Evaluation of satellite-retrieved extreme precipitation using gauge observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lockhoff, M.; Zolina, O.; Simmer, C.; Schulz, J.

    2012-04-01

    Precipitation extremes have already been intensively studied employing rain gauge datasets. Their main advantage is that they represent a direct measurement with a relatively high temporal coverage. Their main limitation however is their poor spatial coverage and thus a low representativeness in many parts of the world. In contrast, satellites can provide global coverage and there are meanwhile data sets available that are on one hand long enough to be used for extreme value analysis and that have on the other hand the necessary spatial and temporal resolution to capture extremes. However, satellite observations provide only an indirect mean to determine precipitation and there are many potential observational and methodological weaknesses in particular over land surfaces that may constitute doubts concerning their usability for the analysis of precipitation extremes. By comparing basic climatological metrics of precipitation (totals, intensities, number of wet days) as well as respective characteristics of PDFs, absolute and relative extremes of satellite and observational data this paper aims at assessing to which extent satellite products are suitable for analysing extreme precipitation events. In a first step the assessment focuses on Europe taking into consideration various satellite products available, e.g. data sets provided by the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP). First results indicate that satellite-based estimates do not only represent the monthly averaged precipitation very similar to rain gauge estimates but they also capture the day-to-day occurrence fairly well. Larger differences can be found though when looking at the corresponding intensities.

  5. Global observed long-term changes in temperature and precipitation extremes: A review of progress and limitations in IPCC assessments and beyond

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa V. Alexander

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC first attempted a global assessment of long-term changes in temperature and precipitation extremes in its Third Assessment Report in 2001. While data quality and coverage were limited, the report still concluded that heavy precipitation events had increased and that there had been, very likely, a reduction in the frequency of extreme low temperatures and increases in the frequency of extreme high temperatures. That overall assessment had changed little by the time of the IPCC Special Report on Extremes (SREX in 2012 and the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5 in 2013, but firmer statements could be added and more regional detail was possible. Despite some substantial progress throughout the IPCC Assessments in terms of temperature and precipitation extremes analyses, there remain major gaps particularly regarding data quality and availability, our ability to monitor these events consistently and our ability to apply the complex statistical methods required. Therefore this article focuses on the substantial progress that has taken place in the last decade, in addition to reviewing the new progress since IPCC AR5 while also addressing the challenges that still lie ahead.

  6. Future Precipitation Extremes in China Under Climate Change and Their Possible Mechanisms by Regional Climate Model and Earth System Model Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, P.; Xie, Z.

    2017-12-01

    Future precipitation extremes in China for the mid and end of 21st century were detected with six simulations using the regional climate model RegCM4 (RCM) and 17 global climate models (GCM) participated in the coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Prior to understanding the future changes in precipitation extremes, we overviewed the performance of precipitation extremes simulated by the CMIP5s and RCMs, and found both CMIP5s and RCMs could capture the temporal and spatial pattern of the historical precipitation extremes in China. In the mid-future period 2039-2058 (MF) and far-future 2079-2098 (FF), more wet precipitation extremes will occur in most area of China relative to the present period 1982-2001 (RF). We quantified the rates of the changes in precipitation extremes in China with the changes in air surface temperature (T2M) for the MF and FF period. Changes in precipitation extremes R95p were found around 5% K-1 for the MF period and 10% K-1 for the FF period, and changes in maximum 5 day precipitation (Rx5day) were detected around 4% K-1 for the MF period and 7% K-1 for the FF period, respectively. Finally, the possible physical mechanisms behind the changes in precipitation extremes in China were also discussed through the changes in specific humidity and vertical wind.

  7. Does the precipitation redistribution of the canopy sense in the moisture pattern of the forest litter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zagyvai-Kiss, Katalin Anita; Kalicz, Péter; Csáfordi, Péter; Kucsara, Mihály; Gribovszki, Zoltán

    2013-04-01

    Precipitation is trapped and temporarily stored by the surfaces of forest crown (canopy interception) and forest litter (litter interception). The stemflow and throughfall reach the litter, thus theoretically the litter moisture content depends on these parts of precipitation. Nowadays the moisture pattern of the forest floor, both spatial and temporal scale, have growing respect for the forestry. The transition to the continuous cover forestry induce much higher variability compared to the even aged, more-less homogeneous, monocultural stands. The gap cutting is one of the key methods in the Hungarian forestry. There is an active discussion among the forest professionals how to determine the optimal gap size to maintain the optimal conditions for the seedlings. Among the open questions is how to modify surrounding trees the moisture pattern of the forest floor in the gap? In the early steps of a multidisciplinary project we processed some available data, to estimate the spatial dependency between the water content of forest litter and the spatial pattern of the canopy represented by the tree trunk. The maximum water content depends on dry weight of litter, thus we also analysed that parameter. Data were measured in three different forest ecosystems: a middle age beech (Fagus sylvatica), a sessile oak (Quercus petraea) and a spruce (Picea abies) stand. The study site (Hidegvíz Valley Research Cathcment) is located in Sopron Hills at the eastern border of the Alps. Litter samples were collected under each stand (occasionally 10-10 pieces from 40?40 cm area) and locations of the samples and neighbouring trees were mapped. We determined dry weight and the water content of litter in laboratory. The relationship between water content and the distance of tree trunks in case of spruce and oak stands were not significant and in case of the beech stand was weakly significant. Climate change effects can influence significantly forest floor moisture content, therefore this

  8. Projected Changes in the Annual Cycle of Precipitation over Central Asia by CMIP5 Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, X.; Zhao, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Future changes in the annual cycle of the precipitation in central Asia (CA) were estimated based on the historical and Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5) experiments from 25 models of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5). Compared with the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) observations, the historical (1979-1999) experiments showed that most models can capture the migration of rainfall centers, but remarkable discrepancies exist in the location and intensity of rainfall centers between simulations and observations. Considering the skill scores of precipitation and pattern correlations of circulations, which are closely related to the precipitation for each month, for the 25 models, the four best models (e.g., CanESM2, CMCC-CMS, MIROC5 and MPI-ESM-LR) with relatively good performance were selected. The four models' ensemble mean indicated that the migration and location of the precipitation centers were better reproduced, except the intensity of the centers was overestimated, compared with the result that only considered precipitation. Based on the four best models' ensemble mean under RCP8.5 scenarios, precipitation was projected to increase dramatically over most of the CA region in the boreal cold seasons (November, December, January, February, March, April and May) with the maximum in December in the end of twenty-first century (2079-2099), and several positive centers were located in the Pamirs Plateau and the Tianshan Mountains. By contrast, the precipitation changes were weak in the boreal warm seasons (June, July, August, September and October), with a wet center located in the northern Himalayas. Furthermore, there remain some uncertainties in the projected precipitation regions and periods obtained by comparing models' ensemble results of this paper and the results of previous studies. These uncertainties should be investigated in future work.

  9. Assessment of CORDEX-South Asia experiments for monsoonal precipitation over Himalayan region for future climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choudhary, A.; Dimri, A. P.

    2018-04-01

    Precipitation is one of the important climatic indicators in the global climate system. Probable changes in monsoonal (June, July, August and September; hereafter JJAS) mean precipitation in the Himalayan region for three different greenhouse gas emission scenarios (i.e. representative concentration pathways or RCPs) and two future time slices (near and far) are estimated from a set of regional climate simulations performed under Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment-South Asia (CORDEX-SA) project. For each of the CORDEX-SA simulations and their ensemble, projections of near future (2020-2049) and far future (2070-2099) precipitation climatology with respect to corresponding present climate (1970-2005) over Himalayan region are presented. The variability existing over each of the future time slices is compared with the present climate variability to determine the future changes in inter annual fluctuations of monsoonal mean precipitation. The long-term (1970-2099) trend (mm/day/year) of monsoonal mean precipitation spatially distributed as well as averaged over Himalayan region is analyzed to detect any change across twenty-first century as well as to assess model uncertainty in simulating the precipitation changes over this period. The altitudinal distribution of difference in trend of future precipitation from present climate existing over each of the time slices is also studied to understand any elevation dependency of change in precipitation pattern. Except for a part of the Hindu-Kush area in western Himalayan region which shows drier condition, the CORDEX-SA experiments project in general wetter/drier conditions in near future for western/eastern Himalayan region, a scenario which gets further intensified in far future. Although, a gradually increasing precipitation trend is seen throughout the twenty-first century in carbon intensive scenarios, the distribution of trend with elevation presents a very complex picture with lower elevations

  10. Spatial and temporal variability of precipitation and drought in Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. S. Martins

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available The spatial variability of precipitation and drought are investigated for Portugal using monthly precipitation from 74 stations and minimum and maximum temperature from 27 stations, covering the common period of 1941–2006. Seasonal precipitation and the corresponding percentages in the year, as well as the precipitation concentration index (PCI, was computed for all 74 stations and then used as an input matrix for an R-mode principal component analysis to identify the precipitation patterns. The standardized precipitation index at 3 and 12 month time scales were computed for all stations, whereas the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI and the modified PDSI for Mediterranean conditions (MedPDSI were computed for the stations with temperature data. The spatial patterns of drought over Portugal were identified by applying the S-mode principal component analysis coupled with varimax rotation to the drought indices matrices. The result revealed two distinct sub-regions in the country relative to both precipitation regimes and drought variability. The analysis of time variability of the PC scores of all drought indices allowed verifying that there is no linear trend indicating drought aggravation or decrease. In addition, the analysis shows that results for SPI-3, SPI-12, PDSI and MedPDSI are coherent among them.

  11. Various oscillation patterns in phase models with locally attractive and globally repulsive couplings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Katsuhiko; Shima, Shin-ichiro

    2015-10-01

    We investigate a phase model that includes both locally attractive and globally repulsive coupling in one dimension. This model exhibits nontrivial spatiotemporal patterns that have not been observed in systems that contain only local or global coupling. Depending on the relative strengths of the local and global coupling and on the form of global coupling, the system can show a spatially uniform state (in-phase synchronization), a monotonically increasing state (traveling wave), and three types of oscillations of relative phase difference. One of the oscillations of relative phase difference has the characteristic of being locally unstable but globally attractive. That is, any small perturbation to the periodic orbit in phase space destroys its periodic motion, but after a long time the system returns to the original periodic orbit. This behavior is closely related to the emergence of saddle two-cluster states for global coupling only, which are connected to each other by attractive heteroclinic orbits. The mechanism of occurrence of this type of oscillation is discussed.

  12. Seasonal prediction of winter extreme precipitation over Canada by support vector regression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. Zeng

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available For forecasting the maximum 5-day accumulated precipitation over the winter season at lead times of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months over Canada from 1950 to 2007, two nonlinear and two linear regression models were used, where the models were support vector regression (SVR (nonlinear and linear versions, nonlinear Bayesian neural network (BNN and multiple linear regression (MLR. The 118 stations were grouped into six geographic regions by K-means clustering. For each region, the leading principal components of the winter maximum 5-d accumulated precipitation anomalies were the predictands. Potential predictors included quasi-global sea surface temperature anomalies and 500 hPa geopotential height anomalies over the Northern Hemisphere, as well as six climate indices (the Niño-3.4 region sea surface temperature, the North Atlantic Oscillation, the Pacific-North American teleconnection, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, the Scandinavia pattern, and the East Atlantic pattern. The results showed that in general the two robust SVR models tended to have better forecast skills than the two non-robust models (MLR and BNN, and the nonlinear SVR model tended to forecast slightly better than the linear SVR model. Among the six regions, the Prairies region displayed the highest forecast skills, and the Arctic region the second highest. The strongest nonlinearity was manifested over the Prairies and the weakest nonlinearity over the Arctic.

  13. Investigating precipitation changes of anthropic origin: data and methodological issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Lima, Isabel; Lovejoy, Shaun

    2017-04-01

    There is much concern about the social, environmental and economic impacts of climate change that could result directly from changes in temperature and precipitation. For temperature, the situation is better understood; but despite the many studies that have been already dedicated to precipitation, change in this process - that could be associated to the transition to the Anthropocene - has not yet been convincingly proven. A large fraction of those studies have been exploring temporal (linear) trends in local precipitation, sometimes using records over only a few decades; other fewer studies have been dedicated to investigating global precipitation change. Overall, precipitation change of anthropic origin has showed to be difficult to establish with high statistical significance and, moreover, different data and products have displayed important discrepancies; this is valid even for global precipitation. We argue that the inadequate resolution and length of the data commonly used, as well as methodological issues, are among the main factors limiting the ability to identify the signature of change in precipitation. We propose several ways in which one can hope to improve the situation - or at least - clarify the difficulties. From the point of view of statistical analysis, the problem is one of detecting a low frequency anthropogenic signal in the presence of "noise" - the natural variability (the latter includes both internal dynamics and responses to volcanic, solar or other natural forcings). A consequence is that as one moves to longer and longer time scales, fluctuations are increasingly averaged and at some point, the anthropogenic signal will stand out above the natural variability noise. This approach can be systematized using scaling fluctuation analysis to characterizing different precipitation scaling regimes: weather, macroweather, climate - from higher to lower frequencies; in the anthropocene, the macroweather regime covers the range of time scales

  14. Spatiotemporal Variability and Covariability of Temperature, Precipitation, Soil Moisture, and Vegetation in North America for Regional Climate Model Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro, C. L.; Beltran-Przekurat, A. B.; Pielke, R. A.

    2007-05-01

    Previous work has established that the dominant modes of Pacific SSTs influence the summer climate of North America through large-scale forcing, and this effect is most pronounced during the early part of the season. It is hypothesized, then, that land surface influences become more dominant in the latter part of the season as remote teleconnection influences diminish. As a first step toward investigation of this hypothesis in a regional climate model (RCM) framework, the statistically signficant spatiotemporal patterns of variability and covariability in North American precipitation (specified by the standardized precipitation index, or SPI), soil moisture, and vegetation are determined for timescales from a month to six months. To specify these respective data we use: CPC gauge- derived precipitation (1950-2000), Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) Model and NOAH Model NLDAS soil moisture and temperature, and the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (GIMMS-NDVI). The principal statistical tool used is multiple taper frequency singular value decomposition (MTM-SVD), and this is supplemented by wavelet analysis for specific areas of interest. The significant interannual variability in all of these data occur at a timescale of about 7 to 9 years and appears to be the integrated effect of remote SST forcing from the Pacific. Considering the entire year, the spatial pattern for precipitation resembles the typical ENSO winter signature. If the summer season is considered seperately, the out of phase relationship between precipitation anomalies in the central U.S. and core monsoon region is apparent. The largest soil moisture anomalies occur in the central U.S., since precipitation in this region has a consistent relationship to Pacific SSTs for the entire year. This helps to explain the approximately 20 year periodicity in drought conditions there. Unlike soil moisture, the largest anomalies in vegetation occur in the

  15. Enhancing Global Land Surface Hydrology Estimates from the NASA MERRA Reanalysis Using Precipitation Observations and Model Parameter Adjustments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reichle, Rolf; Koster, Randal; DeLannoy, Gabrielle; Forman, Barton; Liu, Qing; Mahanama, Sarith; Toure, Ally

    2011-01-01

    The Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) is a state-of-the-art reanalysis that provides. in addition to atmospheric fields. global estimates of soil moisture, latent heat flux. snow. and runoff for J 979-present. This study introduces a supplemental and improved set of land surface hydrological fields ('MERRA-Land') generated by replaying a revised version of the land component of the MERRA system. Specifically. the MERRA-Land estimates benefit from corrections to the precipitation forcing with the Global Precipitation Climatology Project pentad product (version 2.1) and from revised parameters in the rainfall interception model, changes that effectively correct for known limitations in the MERRA land surface meteorological forcings. The skill (defined as the correlation coefficient of the anomaly time series) in land surface hydrological fields from MERRA and MERRA-Land is assessed here against observations and compared to the skill of the state-of-the-art ERA-Interim reanalysis. MERRA-Land and ERA-Interim root zone soil moisture skills (against in situ observations at 85 US stations) are comparable and significantly greater than that of MERRA. Throughout the northern hemisphere, MERRA and MERRA-Land agree reasonably well with in situ snow depth measurements (from 583 stations) and with snow water equivalent from an independent analysis. Runoff skill (against naturalized stream flow observations from 15 basins in the western US) of MERRA and MERRA-Land is typically higher than that of ERA-Interim. With a few exceptions. the MERRA-Land data appear more accurate than the original MERRA estimates and are thus recommended for those interested in using '\\-tERRA output for land surface hydrological studies.

  16. Image processing and pattern recognition algorithms for evaluation of crossed immunoelectrophoretic patterns (crossed radioimmunoelectrophoresis analysis manager; CREAM)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søndergaard, I; Poulsen, L K; Hagerup, M

    1987-01-01

    points along the precipitation curve in the curve-fitting process. The system has been tested on crossed immunoelectrophoretic patterns as well as crossed radioimmunoelectrophoretic patterns and it has been shown that the system can recognize the same precipitation curves on different immunoplates...

  17. Microphysical Properties of Frozen Particles Inferred from Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI) Polarimetric Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Jie; Wu, Dongliang

    2017-01-01

    Scattering differences induced by frozen particle microphysical properties are investigated, using the vertically (V) and horizontally (H) polarized radiances from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI) 89 and 166GHz channels. It is the first study on global frozen particle microphysical properties that uses the dual-frequency microwave polarimetric signals. From the ice cloud scenes identified by the 183.3 3GHz channel brightness temperature (TB), we find that the scatterings of frozen particles are highly polarized with V-H polarimetric differences (PD) being positive throughout the tropics and the winter hemisphere mid-latitude jet regions, including PDs from the GMI 89 and 166GHz TBs, as well as the PD at 640GHz from the ER-2 Compact Scanning Submillimeter-wave Imaging Radiometer (CoSSIR) during the TC4 campaign. Large polarization dominantly occurs mostly near convective outflow region (i.e., anvils or stratiform precipitation), while the polarization signal is small inside deep convective cores as well as at the remote cirrus region. Neglecting the polarimetric signal would result in as large as 30 error in ice water path retrievals. There is a universal bell-curve in the PD TB relationship, where the PD amplitude peaks at 10K for all three channels in the tropics and increases slightly with latitude. Moreover, the 166GHz PD tends to increase in the case where a melting layer is beneath the frozen particles aloft in the atmosphere, while 89GHz PD is less sensitive than 166GHz to the melting layer. This property creates a unique PD feature for the identification of the melting layer and stratiform rain with passive sensors. Horizontally oriented non-spherical frozen particles are thought to produce the observed PD because of different ice scattering properties in the V and H polarizations. On the other hand, changes in the ice microphysical habitats or orientation due to turbulence mixing can also lead to a reduced PD in the deep

  18. Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotopes of Precipitation in a Rocky Mountainous Area of Beijing to Distinguish and Estimate Spring Recharge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ziqiang Liu

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen were used to estimate seasonal contributions of precipitation to natural spring recharge in Beijing’s mountainous area. Isotopic compositions were shown to be more positive in the dry season and more negative in the wet season, due to the seasonal patterns in the amount of precipitation. The local meteoric water line (LMWL was δ2H = 7.0 δ18O − 2.3 for the dry season and δ2H = 5.9 δ18O − 10.4 for the wet season. LMWL in the two seasons had a lower slope and intercept than the Global Meteoric Water Line (p < 0.01. The slope and intercept of the LMWL in the wet season were lower than that in the dry season because of the effect of precipitation amount during the wet season (p < 0.01. The mean precipitation effects of −15‰ and −2‰ per 100 mm change in the amount of precipitation for δ2H and δ18O, respectively, were obtained from the monthly total precipitation and its average isotopic value. The isotopic composition of precipitation decreased when precipitation duration increased. Little changes in the isotopic composition of the natural spring were found. By employing isotope conservation of mass, it could be derived that, on average, approximately 7.2% of the natural spring came from the dry season precipitation and the rest of 92.8% came from the wet season precipitation.

  19. Macroecological patterns of sexual size dimorphism in turtles of the world

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agha, Mickey; Ennen, Joshua R.; Nowakowski, A. Justin; Lovich, Jeffrey E.; Sweat, Sarah C.; Todd, Brian D.

    2018-01-01

    Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is a well-documented phenomenon in both plants and animals; however, the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that drive and maintain SSD patterns across geographic space at regional and global scales are understudied, especially for reptiles. Our goal was to examine geographic variation of turtle SSD and to explore ecological and environmental correlates using phylogenetic comparative methods. We use published body size data on 135 species from nine turtle families to examine how geographic patterns and the evolution of SSD are influenced by habitat specialization, climate (annual mean temperature and annual precipitation) and climate variability, latitude, or a combination of these predictor variables. We found that geographic variation, magnitude and direction of turtle SSD are best explained by habitat association, annual temperature variance and annual precipitation. Use of semi-aquatic and terrestrial habitats was associated with male-biased SSD, whereas use of aquatic habitat was associated with female-biased SSD. Our results also suggest that greater temperature variability is associated with female-biased SSD. In contrast, wetter climates are associated with male-biased SSD compared with arid climates that are associated with female-biased SSD. We also show support for a global latitudinal trend in SSD, with females being larger than males towards the poles, especially in the families Emydidae and Geoemydidae. Estimates of phylogenetic signal for both SSD and habitat type indicate that closely related species occupy similar habitats and exhibit similar direction and magnitude of SSD. These global patterns of SSD may arise from sex-specific reproductive behaviour, fecundity and sex-specific responses to environmental factors that differ among habitats and vary systematically across latitude. Thus, this study adds to our current understanding that while SSD can vary dramatically across and within turtle species under

  20. Developing global climate anomalies suggest potential disease risks for 2006 – 2007

    OpenAIRE

    Tucker Compton J; Small Jennifer; Chretien Jean-Paul; Anyamba Assaf; Linthicum Kenneth J

    2006-01-01

    Abstract Background El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) related climate anomalies have been shown to have an impact on infectious disease outbreaks. The Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA/CPC) has recently issued an unscheduled El Niño advisory, indicating that warmer than normal sea surface temperatures across the equatorial eastern Pacific may have pronounced impacts on global tropical precipitation patterns extending into the northern hem...

  1. Spatio-temporal dynamics of global H5N1 outbreaks match bird migration patterns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yali Si

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available The global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in poultry, wild birds and humans, poses a significant pandemic threat and a serious public health risk. An efficient surveillance and disease control system relies on the understanding of the dispersion patterns and spreading mechanisms of the virus. A space-time cluster analysis of H5N1 outbreaks was used to identify spatio-temporal patterns at a global scale and over an extended period of time. Potential mechanisms explaining the spread of the H5N1 virus, and the role of wild birds, were analyzed. Between December 2003 and December 2006, three global epidemic phases of H5N1 influenza were identified. These H5N1 outbreaks showed a clear seasonal pattern, with a high density of outbreaks in winter and early spring (i.e., October to March. In phase I and II only the East Asia Australian flyway was affected. During phase III, the H5N1 viruses started to appear in four other flyways: the Central Asian flyway, the Black Sea Mediterranean flyway, the East Atlantic flyway and the East Africa West Asian flyway. Six disease cluster patterns along these flyways were found to be associated with the seasonal migration of wild birds. The spread of the H5N1 virus, as demonstrated by the space-time clusters, was associated with the patterns of migration of wild birds. Wild birds may therefore play an important role in the spread of H5N1 over long distances. Disease clusters were also detected at sites where wild birds are known to overwinter and at times when migratory birds were present. This leads to the suggestion that wild birds may also be involved in spreading the H5N1 virus over short distances.

  2. Flood modelling with global precipitation measurement (GPM) satellite rainfall data: a case study of Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sai Krishna, V. V.; Dikshit, Anil Kumar; Pandey, Kamal

    2016-05-01

    Urban expansion, water bodies and climate change are inextricably linked with each other. The macro and micro level climate changes are leading to extreme precipitation events which have severe consequences on flooding in urban areas. Flood simulations shall be helpful in demarcation of flooded areas and effective flood planning and preparedness. The temporal availability of satellite rainfall data at varying spatial scale of 0.10 to 0.50 is helpful in near real time flood simulations. The present research aims at analysing stream flow and runoff to monitor flood condition using satellite rainfall data in a hydrologic model. The satellite rainfall data used in the research was NASA's Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG), which is available at 30 minutes temporal resolution. Landsat data was used for mapping the water bodies in the study area. Land use land cover (LULC) data was prepared using Landsat 8 data with maximum likelihood technique that was provided as an input to the HEC-HMS hydrological model. The research was applied to one of the urbanized cities of India, viz. Dehradun, which is the capital of Uttarakhand State. The research helped in identifying the flood vulnerability at the basin level on the basis of the runoff and various socio economic parameters using multi criteria analysis.

  3. Global Changes of the Water Cycle Intensity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosilovich, Michael G.; Schubert, Siegfried D.; Walker, Gregory K.

    2003-01-01

    In this study, we evaluate numerical simulations of the twentieth century climate, focusing on the changes in the intensity of the global water cycle. A new diagnostic of atmospheric water vapor cycling rate is developed and employed, that relies on constituent tracers predicted at the model time step. This diagnostic is compared to a simplified traditional calculation of cycling rate, based on monthly averages of precipitation and total water content. The mean sensitivity of both diagnostics to variations in climate forcing is comparable. However, the new diagnostic produces systematically larger values and more variability than the traditional average approach. Climate simulations were performed using SSTs of the early (1902-1921) and late (1979- 1998) twentieth century along with the appropriate C02 forcing. In general, the increase of global precipitation with the increases in SST that occurred between the early and late twentieth century is small. However, an increase of atmospheric temperature leads to a systematic increase in total precipitable water. As a result, the residence time of water in the atmosphere increased, indicating a reduction of the global cycling rate. This result was explored further using a number of 50-year climate simulations from different models forced with observed SST. The anomalies and trends in the cycling rate and hydrologic variables of different GCMs are remarkably similar. The global annual anomalies of precipitation show a significant upward trend related to the upward trend of surface temperature, during the latter half of the twentieth century. While this implies an increase in the hydrologic cycle intensity, a concomitant increase of total precipitable water again leads to a decrease in the calculated global cycling rate. An analysis of the land/sea differences shows that the simulated precipitation over land has a decreasing trend while the oceanic precipitation has an upward trend consistent with previous studies and the

  4. Future Projections of Precipitation Characteristics in East Asia Simulated by the MRI CGCM2

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Akio KITOH; Masahiro HOSAKA; Yukimasa ADACHI; Kenji KAMIGUCHI

    2005-01-01

    Projected changes in precipitation characteristics around the mid-21st century and end-of-the-century are analyzed using the daily precipitation output of the 3-member ensemble Meteorological Research Institute global ocean-atmosphere coupled general circulation model (MRI-CGCM2) simulations under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A2 and B2 scenarios. It is found that both the frequency and intensity increase in about 40% of the globe, while both the frequency and intensity decrease in about 20% of the globe. These numbers differ only a few percent from decade to decade of the 21st century and between the A2 and B2 scenarios. Over the rest of the globe (about one third), the precipitation frequency decreases but its intensity increases, suggesting a shift of precipitation distribution toward more intense events by global warming. South China is such a region where the summertime wet-day frequency decreases but the precipitation intensity increases. This is related to increased atmospheric moisture content due to global warming and an intensified and more westwardly extended North Pacific subtropical anticyclone,which may be related with an El Ni(n)o-like mean sea surface temperature change. On the other hand, a decrease in summer precipitation is noted in North China, thus augmenting a south-to-north precipit ation contrast more in the future.

  5. An evaluation of gravity waves and gravity wave sources in the Southern Hemisphere in a 7 km global climate simulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holt, L A; Alexander, M J; Coy, L; Liu, C; Molod, A; Putman, W; Pawson, S

    2017-07-01

    In this study, gravity waves (GWs) in the high-resolution GEOS-5 Nature Run are first evaluated with respect to satellite and other model results. Southern Hemisphere winter sources of non-orographic GWs in the model are then investigated by linking measures of tropospheric non-orographic gravity wave generation tied to precipitation and frontogenesis with absolute gravity wave momentum flux in the lower stratosphere. Finally, non-orographic GW momentum flux is compared to orographic gravity wave momentum flux and compared to previous estimates. The results show that the global patterns in GW amplitude, horizontal wavelength, and propagation direction are realistic compared to observations. However, as in other global models, the amplitudes are weaker and horizontal wavelengths longer than observed. The global patterns in absolute GW momentum flux also agree well with previous model and observational estimates. The evaluation of model non-orographic GW sources in the Southern Hemisphere winter shows that strong intermittent precipitation (greater than 10 mm h -1 ) is associated with GW momentum flux over the South Pacific, whereas frontogenesis and less intermittent, lower precipitation rates (less than 10 mm h -1 ) are associated with GW momentum flux near 60°S. In the model, orographic GWs contribute almost exclusively to a peak in zonal mean momentum flux between 70 and 75°S, while non-orographic waves dominate at 60°S, and non-orographic GWs contribute a third to a peak in zonal mean momentum flux between 25 and 30°S.

  6. The Effect of Hurricanes on Annual Precipitation in Maryland and the Connection to Global Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jackie; Liu, Zhong

    2015-01-01

    Precipitation is a vital aspect of our lives droughts, floods and other related disasters that involve precipitation can cause costly damage in the economic system and general society. Purpose of this project is to determine what, if any effect do hurricanes have on annual precipitation in Maryland Research will be conducted on Marylands terrain, climatology, annual precipitation, and precipitation contributed from hurricanes Possible connections to climate change

  7. Role of α precipitates in flux pinning in a superconducting Ti-Nb-Ta-Zr quaternary alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osamura, K.; Tsunekawa, H.; Monju, Y.; Horiuchi, T.

    1984-01-01

    The precipitation behaviour of the α phase in a Ti-27 at.% Nb-6 at% Ta-6 at% Zr alloy has been investigated mainly by means of small-angle X-ray scattering measurements, by which the average size and number density of α precipitates were determined. The alloy was isothermally aged at 643 K after cold-rolling to various thicknesses. During ageing the average size of α precipitates increased but the number density decreased. The effect of cold-rolling was to increase the volume fraction of α precipitates. The superconducting critical current density was measured for the same specimens after the metallographical investigation. The specific pinning force produced by α precipitates, which corresponds to the global pinning force density divided by the number density of precipitates, was found to be proportional to the cube of the particle radius. It was found that the global pinning force density can be described using a scaling rule in terms of the volume fraction of α precipitates and the reduced magnetic field. The dominant global pinning force in the present foil specimens, as well as in commercial multifilamentary wires, is attributed to α precipitates. Dislocations and their secondary substructure introduced by cold-working also contributed to flux pinning, and could offer nucleation sites for the α phase. (author)

  8. Numerical simulations of significant orographic precipitation in Madeira island

    Science.gov (United States)

    Couto, Flavio Tiago; Ducrocq, Véronique; Salgado, Rui; Costa, Maria João

    2016-03-01

    High-resolution simulations of high precipitation events with the MESO-NH model are presented, and also used to verify that increasing horizontal resolution in zones of complex orography, such as in Madeira island, improve the simulation of the spatial distribution and total precipitation. The simulations succeeded in reproducing the general structure of the cloudy systems over the ocean in the four periods considered of significant accumulated precipitation. The accumulated precipitation over the Madeira was better represented with the 0.5 km horizontal resolution and occurred under four distinct synoptic situations. Different spatial patterns of the rainfall distribution over the Madeira have been identified.

  9. Human health implications of extreme precipitation events and water quality in California, USA: a canonical correlation analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Gershunov, PhD

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Pathogens and pollutants collect on the land surface or in infrastructure between strong rainfall episodes and are delivered via storm runoff to areas of human exposure, such as coastal recreational waters. In California, USA, precipitation events are projected to become more extreme and simultaneously decrease in frequency as storm tracks move poleward due to polar-amplified global warming. Precipitation extremes in California are dominated by atmospheric rivers, which carry more moisture in warmer climates. Thus, the physical driver of extreme precipitation events is expected to grow stronger with climate change, and pollutant accumulation and runoff-generated exposure to those pollutants are expected to increase, particularly after prolonged dry spells. Microbiological contamination of coastal waters during winter storms exposes human populations to elevated concentrations of microorganisms such as faecal bacteria, which could cause gastrointestinal and ear infections, and lead to exposure to pathogens causing life-threatening conditions, such as hepatitis A. The aim of this study was to quantitatively assess the effect of precipitation on coastal water quality in California. Methods: We used a recently published catalogue of atmospheric rivers, in combination with historical daily precipitation data and levels of three indicators of faecal bacteria (total and faecal coliforms, and Escherichia coli detected at roughly 500 monitoring locations in coastal waters along California's 840-mile coastline, to explore weekly associations between extreme precipitation events, particularly those related to atmospheric rivers, and the variability in water quality during 2003–09. We identified ten principal components (together explaining >90% of the variability in precipitation and faecal bacteria time-series to reduce the dimensionality of the datasets. We then performed canonical correlation analysis of the principal components to

  10. Global patterns of foliar nitrogen isotopes and their relationships with climate, mycorrhizal fungi, foliar nutrient concentrations, and nitrogen availability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joseph M. Craine; Andrew J. Elmore; Marcos P. M. Aidar; Mercedes Bustamante; Todd E. Dawson; Erik A. Hobbie; Ansgar Kahmen; Michelle C. Mack; Kendra K. McLauchlan; Anders Michelsen; Gabriela Nardoto; Linda H. Pardo; Josep Penuelas; Peter B. Reich; Edward A.G. Schuur; William D. Stock; Pamela H. Templer; Ross A. Virginia; Jeffrey M. Welker; Ian J. Wright

    2009-01-01

    Ratios of nitrogen (N) isotopes in leaves could elucidate underlying patterns of N cycling across ecological gradients. To better understand global-scale patterns of N cycling, we compiled data on foliar N isotope ratios, foliar N concentrations, mycorrhizal type and climate for over 11 000 plants worldwide. Global-scale comparisons of other components of the N cycle...

  11. Irradiation-induced patterning in dilute Cu–Fe alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stumphy, B.; Chee, S.W.; Vo, N.Q.; Averback, R.S.; Bellon, P.; Ghafari, M.

    2014-01-01

    Compositional patterning in dilute Cu 1−x Fe x (x ≈ 12%) induced by 1.8 MeV Kr + irradiation was studied as a function of temperature using atom probe tomography. Irradiation near room temperature led to homogenization of the sample, whereas irradiation at 300 °C and above led to precipitation and macroscopic coarsening. Between these two temperatures the irradiated alloys formed steady state patterns of composition where precipitates grew to a fixed size. The size in this regime increased somewhat with temperature. It was also observed that the steady state concentrations of Fe in Cu matrix and Cu in the Fe precipitates both greatly exceeded their equilibrium solubilities, with the degree of supersaturation in each phase decreasing with increasing temperature. In the macroscopic coarsening regime, the Fe-rich precipitates showed indications of a “cherry-pit” structure, with Cu precipitates forming within the Fe precipitates. In the patterning regime, interfaces between Fe-rich precipitates and the Cu-rich matrix were irregular and diffuse

  12. Improving the Regional Applicability of Satellite Precipitation Products by Ensemble Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Waseem Muhammad

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Satellite-based precipitation products (e.g., Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG and its predecessor, Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM are a critical source of precipitation estimation, particularly for a region with less, or no, hydrometric networking. However, the inconsistency in the performance of these products has been observed in different climatic and topographic diverse regions, timescales, and precipitation intensities and there is still room for improvement. Hence, using a projected ensemble algorithm, the regional precipitation estimate (RP is introduced here. The RP concept is mainly based on the regional performance weights derived from the Mean Square Error (MSE and the precipitation estimate from the TRMM product, that is, TRMM 3B42 (TR, real-time (late (IT and the research (post-real-time (IR products of IMERG. The overall results of the selected contingency table (e.g., Probability of detection (POD and statistical indices (e.g., Correlation Coefficient (CC signposted that the proposed RP product has shown an overall better potential to capture the gauge observations compared with the TR, IR, and IT in five different climatic regions of Pakistan from January 2015 to December 2016, at a diurnal time scale. The current study could be the first research providing preliminary feedback from Pakistan for global precipitation measurement researchers by highlighting the need for refinement in the IMERG.

  13. Diurnal Variation of Tropical Ice Cloud Microphysics inferred from Global Precipitation Measurement Microwave Imager (GPM-GMI)'s Polarimetric Measurement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, J.; Zeng, X.; Wu, D. L.; Li, X.

    2017-12-01

    Diurnal variation of tropical ice cloud has been well observed and examined in terms of the area of coverage, occurring frequency, and total mass, but rarely on ice microphysical parameters (habit, size, orientation, etc.) because of lack of direct measurements of ice microphysics on a high temporal and spatial resolutions. This accounts for a great portion of the uncertainty in evaluating ice cloud's role on global radiation and hydrological budgets. The design of Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's procession orbit gives us an unprecedented opportunity to study the diurnal variation of ice microphysics on the global scale for the first time. Dominated by cloud ice scattering, high-frequency microwave polarimetric difference (PD, namely the brightness temperature difference between vertically- and horizontally-polarized paired channel measurements) from the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) has been proven by our previous study to be very valuable to infer cloud ice microphysical properties. Using one year of PD measurements at 166 GHz, we found that cloud PD exhibits a strong diurnal cycle in the tropics (25S-25N). The peak PD amplitude varies as much as 35% over land, compared to only 6% over ocean. The diurnal cycle of the peak PD value is strongly anti-correlated with local ice cloud occurring frequency and the total ice mass with a leading period of 3 hours for the maximum correlation. The observed PD diurnal cycle can be explained by the change of ice crystal axial ratio. Using a radiative transfer model, we can simulate the observed 166 GHz PD-brightness temperature curve as well as its diurnal variation using different axial ratio values, which can be caused by the diurnal variation of ice microphysical properties including particle size, percentage of horizontally-aligned non-spherical particles, and ice habit. The leading of the change of PD ahead of ice cloud mass and occurring frequency implies the important role microphysics play in the

  14. Tritium Level in Romanian Precipitation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Varlam, C.; Stefanescu, I.; Faurescu, I.; Bogdan, D.; Soare, A. [Institute for Cryogenic and Isotope Technologies, Rm. Valcea (Romania); Duliu, O. G. [Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, Magurele (Romania)

    2013-07-15

    Romania is one of the countries that has no station included in GNIP (Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation) on its territory. This paper presents results regarding the tritium concentration in precipitation for the period 1999-2009. The precipitation fell at the Institute for cryogenic and Isotope technologies (geographical coordinates: altitude 237 m, latitude 45{sup o}02'07' N, longitude 24{sup o}17'03' E) an was collected both individually and as a composite average of each month. It was individually measured and the average was calculated and compared with the tritium concentration measured in the composite sample. tritium concentration levels ranged from 9.9 {+-} 2.1 TU for 2004 and 13.7 {+-} 2.2 TU for 2009. Comparing the arithmetic mean values with the weighted mean for the period of observation, it was noticed that the higher absolute values of the weighted means were constant. It was found that for the calculated monthly average for the period of observation (1999-2009), the months with the maximum tritium concentration are the same as the months with the maximum amount of precipitation. This behaviour is typical for the monitored location. (author)

  15. Links between North Atlantic atmospheric blocking and recent trends in European winter precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ummenhofer, Caroline; Seo, Hyodae; Kwon, Young-Oh; Joyce, Terrence

    2015-04-01

    European precipitation has sustained robust trends during wintertime (January - March) over recent decades. Central, western, and northern Europe have become wetter by an average 0.1-0.3% per annum for the period 1901-2010, while southern Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula, much of Italy and the Balkan States, has sustained drying of -0.2% per annum or more over the same period. The overall pattern is consistent across different observational precipitation products, while the magnitude of the precipitation trends varies amongst data sets. Using cluster analysis, which identifies recurrent states (or regimes) of European winter precipitation by grouping them according to an objective similarity criterion, changes in the frequency of dominant winter precipitation patterns over the past century are evaluated. Considerable multi-decadal variability exists in the frequency of dominant winter precipitation patterns: more recent decades are characterised by significantly fewer winters with anomalous wet conditions over southern, western, and central Europe. In contrast, winters with dry conditions in western and southern Europe, but above-average rainfall in western Scandinavia and the northern British Isles, have been more common recently. We evaluate the associated multi-decadal large-scale circulation changes across the broader extratropical North Atlantic region, which accompany the observed wintertime precipitation variability using the 20th Century reanalysis product. Some influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is apparent in modulating the frequency of dominant precipitation patterns. However, recent trends in the characteristics of atmospheric blocking across the North Atlantic sector indicate a change in the dominant blocking centres (near Greenland, the British Isles, and west of the Iberian Peninsula). Associated changes in sea level pressure, storm track position and strength, and oceanic heat fluxes across the North Atlantic region are also

  16. Climate Prediction Center (CPC)Monthly Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC) Spatial Resolution of 2.5 degree

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This global monthly precipitation analysis is called the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC). This analysis consists of two...

  17. Climate Prediction Center (CPC)Monthly Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC) at Spatial Resolution of 1 degree.

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This global monthly precipitation analysis is called the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC). This analysis consists of two...

  18. New X-Ray Technique to Characterize Nanoscale Precipitates in Aged Aluminum Alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sitdikov, V. D.; Murashkin, M. Yu.; Valiev, R. Z.

    2017-10-01

    This paper puts forward a new technique for measurement of x-ray patterns, which enables to solve the problem of identification and determination of precipitates (nanoscale phases) in metallic alloys of the matrix type. The minimum detection limit of precipitates in the matrix of the base material provided by this technique constitutes as little as 1%. The identification of precipitates in x-ray patterns and their analysis are implemented through a transmission mode with a larger radiation area, longer holding time and higher diffractometer resolution as compared to the conventional reflection mode. The presented technique has been successfully employed to identify and quantitatively describe precipitates formed in the Al alloy of the Al-Mg-Si system as a result of artificial aging. For the first time, the x-ray phase analysis has been used to identify and measure precipitates formed during the alloy artificial aging.

  19. Synoptic Drivers of Precipitation in the Atlantic Sector of the Arctic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, L.; Hudson, S.; Graham, R.; Renwick, J. A.

    2017-12-01

    Precipitation in the Arctic has been shown to be increasing in recent decades, from both observational and modelling studies, with largest trends seen in autumn and winter. This trend is attributed to a combination of the warming atmosphere and reduced sea ice extent. The seasonality of precipitation in the Arctic is important as it largely determines whether the precipitation falls as snow or rain. This study assesses the spatial and temporal variability of the synoptic drivers of precipitation in the Atlantic (European) sector of the Arctic. This region of the Arctic is of particular interest as it has the largest inter-annual variability in sea ice extent and is the primary pathway for moisture transport into the Arctic from lower latitudes. This study uses the ECMWF ERA-I reanalysis total precipitation to compare to long-term precipitation observations from Ny Ålesund, Svalbard to show that the reanalysis captures the synoptic variability of precipitation well and that most precipitation in this region is synoptically driven. The annual variability of precipitation in the Atlantic Arctic shows strong regionality. In the Svalbard and Barents Sea region, most of the annual total precipitation occurs during autumn and winter (Oct-Mar) (>60% of annual total), while the high-Arctic (> 80N) and Kara Sea receives most of the annual precipitation ( 60% of annual total) during summer (July-Sept). Using a synoptic classification developed for this region, this study shows that winter precipitation is driven by winter cyclone occurrence, with strong correlations to the AO and NAO indices. High precipitation over Svalbard is also strongly correlated with the Scandinavian blocking pattern, which produces a southerly flow in the Greenland Sea/Svalbard area. An increasing occurrence of these synoptic patterns are seen for winter months (Nov and Jan), which may explain much of the observed winter increase in precipitation.

  20. Impact of the surface wind flow on precipitation characteristics over the southern Himalayas: GPM observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Aoqi; Fu, Yunfei; Chen, Yilun; Liu, Guosheng; Zhang, Xiangdong

    2018-04-01

    The distribution and influence of precipitation over the southern Himalayas have been investigated on regional and global scales. However, previous studies have been limited by the insufficient emphasis on the precipitation triggers or the lack of droplet size distribution (DSD) data. Here, precipitating systems were identified using Global Precipitation Mission dual-frequency radar data, and then categorized into five classes according to surface flow from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast Interim data. The surface flow is introduced to indicate the precipitation triggers, which is validated in this study. Using case and statistical analysis, we show that the precipitating systems with different surface flow had different precipitation characteristics, including spatio-temporal features, reflectivity profile, DSD, and rainfall intensity. Furthermore, the results show that the source of the surface flow influences the intensity and DSD of precipitation. The terrain exerts different impacts on the precipitating systems of five categories, leading to various distributions of precipitation characteristics over the southern Himalayas. Our results suggest that the introduction of surface flow and DSD for precipitating systems provides insight into the complex precipitation of the southern Himalayas. The different characteristics of precipitating systems may be caused by the surface flow. Therefore, future study on the orographic precipitations should take account the impact of the surface flow and its relevant dynamic mechanism.

  1. Detection of the relationship between peak temperature and extreme precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Y.; Liu, J.; Zhiyong, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Under the background of climate change and human activities, the characteristics and pattern of precipitation have changed significantly in many regions. As the political and cultural center of China, the structure and character of precipitation in Jingjinji District has varied dramatically in recent years. In this paper, the daily precipitation data throughout the period 1960-2013 are selected for analyzing the spatial-temporal variability of precipitation. The results indicate that the frequency and intensity of precipitation presents an increasing trend. Based on the precipitation data, the maximum, minimum and mean precipitation in different temporal and spatial scales is calculated respectively. The temporal and spatial variation of temperature is obtained by using statistical methods. The relationship between temperature and precipitation in different range is analyzed. The curve relates daily precipitation extremes with local temperatures has a peak structure, increasing at the low-medium range of temperature variations but decreasing at high temperatures. The relationship between extreme precipitation is stronger in downtown than that in suburbs.

  2. A cross-biome synthesis of soil respiration and its determinants under simulated precipitation changes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lingli; Wang, Xin; Lajeunesse, Marc J; Miao, Guofang; Piao, Shilong; Wan, Shiqiang; Wu, Yuxin; Wang, Zhenhua; Yang, Sen; Li, Ping; Deng, Meifeng

    2016-04-01

    Soil respiration (Rs) is the second-largest terrestrial carbon (C) flux. Although Rs has been extensively studied across a broad range of biomes, there is surprisingly little consensus on how the spatiotemporal patterns of Rs will be altered in a warming climate with changing precipitation regimes. Here, we present a global synthesis Rs data from studies that have manipulated precipitation in the field by collating studies from 113 increased precipitation treatments, 91 decreased precipitation treatments, and 14 prolonged drought treatments. Our meta-analysis indicated that when the increased precipitation treatments were normalized to 28% above the ambient level, the soil moisture, Rs, and the temperature sensitivity (Q10) values increased by an average of 17%, 16%, and 6%, respectively, and the soil temperature decreased by -1.3%. The greatest increases in Rs and Q10 were observed in arid areas, and the stimulation rates decreased with increases in climate humidity. When the decreased precipitation treatments were normalized to 28% below the ambient level, the soil moisture and Rs values decreased by an average of -14% and -17%, respectively, and the soil temperature and Q10 values were not altered. The reductions in soil moisture tended to be greater in more humid areas. Prolonged drought without alterations in the amount of precipitation reduced the soil moisture and Rs by -12% and -6%, respectively, but did not alter Q10. Overall, our synthesis suggests that soil moisture and Rs tend to be more sensitive to increased precipitation in more arid areas and more responsive to decreased precipitation in more humid areas. The responses of Rs and Q10 were predominantly driven by precipitation-induced changes in the soil moisture, whereas changes in the soil temperature had limited impacts. Finally, our synthesis of prolonged drought experiments also emphasizes the importance of the timing and frequency of precipitation events on ecosystem C cycles. Given these

  3. Soil respiration patterns and rates at three Taiwanese forest plantations: dependence on elevation, temperature, precipitation, and litterfall.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yu-Hsuan; Hung, Chih-Yu; Lin, I-Rhy; Kume, Tomonori; Menyailo, Oleg V; Cheng, Chih-Hsin

    2017-11-15

    Soil respiration contributes to a large quantity of carbon emissions in the forest ecosystem. In this study, the soil respiration rates at three Taiwanese forest plantations (two lowland and one mid-elevation) were investigated. We aimed to determine how soil respiration varies between lowland and mid-elevation forest plantations and identify the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors affecting soil respiration. The results showed that the temporal patterns of soil respiration rates were mainly influenced by soil temperature and soil water content, and a combined soil temperature and soil water content model explained 54-80% of the variation. However, these two factors affected soil respiration differently. Soil temperature positively contributed to soil respiration, but a bidirectional relationship between soil respiration and soil water content was revealed. Higher soil moisture content resulted in higher soil respiration rates at the lowland plantations but led to adverse effects at the mid-elevation plantation. The annual soil respiration rates were estimated as 14.3-20.0 Mg C ha -1  year -1 at the lowland plantations and 7.0-12.2 Mg C ha -1  year -1 at the mid-elevation plantation. When assembled with the findings of previous studies, the annual soil respiration rates increased with the mean annual temperature and litterfall but decreased with elevation and the mean annual precipitation. A conceptual model of the biotic and abiotic factors affecting the spatial and temporal patterns of the soil respiration rate was developed. Three determinant factors were proposed: (i) elevation, (ii) stand characteristics, and (iii) soil temperature and soil moisture. The results indicated that changes in temperature and precipitation significantly affect soil respiration. Because of the high variability of soil respiration, more studies and data syntheses are required to accurately predict soil respiration in Taiwanese forests.

  4. Global Precipitation Measurement. Report 2; Benefits of Partnering with GPM Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stocker, Erich F.; Smith, Eric A. (Editor); Adams, W. James (Editor); Starr, David OC. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    An important goal of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission is to maximize participation by non-NASA partners both domestic and international. A consequence of this objective is the provision for NASA to provide sufficient incentives to achieve partner buy-in and commitment to the program. NASA has identified seven specific areas in which substantive incentives will be offered: (1) partners will be offered participation in governance of GPM mission science affairs including definition of data products; (2) partners will be offered use of NASA's TDRSS capability for uplink and downlink of commands and data in regards to partner provided spacecraft; (3) partners will be offered launch support for placing partner provided spacecraft in orbit conditional upon mutually agreeable co-manifest arrangements; (4) partners will be offered direct data access at the NASA-GPM server level rather than through standard data distribution channels; (5) partners will be offered the opportunity to serve as regional data archive and distribution centers for standard GPM data products; and (6) partners will be offered the option to insert their own specialized filtering and extraction software into the GPM data processing stream or to obtain specialized subsets and products over specific areas of interest (7) partners will be offered GPM developed software tools that can be run on their platforms. Each of these incentives, either individually or in combination, represents a significant advantage to partners who may wish to participate in the GPM mission.

  5. A new global grid model for the determination of atmospheric weighted mean temperature in GPS precipitable water vapor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Liangke; Jiang, Weiping; Liu, Lilong; Chen, Hua; Ye, Shirong

    2018-05-01

    In ground-based global positioning system (GPS) meteorology, atmospheric weighted mean temperature, T_m , plays a very important role in the progress of retrieving precipitable water vapor (PWV) from the zenith wet delay of the GPS. Generally, most of the existing T_m models only take either latitude or altitude into account in modeling. However, a great number of studies have shown that T_m is highly correlated with both latitude and altitude. In this study, a new global grid empirical T_m model, named as GGTm, was established by a sliding window algorithm using global gridded T_m data over an 8-year period from 2007 to 2014 provided by TU Vienna, where both latitude and altitude variations are considered in modeling. And the performance of GGTm was assessed by comparing with the Bevis formula and the GPT2w model, where the high-precision global gridded T_m data as provided by TU Vienna and the radiosonde data from 2015 are used as reference values. The results show the significant performance of the new GGTm model against other models when compared with gridded T_m data and radiosonde data, especially in the areas with great undulating terrain. Additionally, GGTm has the global mean RMS_{PWV} and RMS_{PWV} /PWV values of 0.26 mm and 1.28%, respectively. The GGTm model, fed only by the day of the year and the station coordinates, could provide a reliable and accurate T_m value, which shows the possible potential application in real-time GPS meteorology, especially for the application of low-latitude areas and western China.

  6. Rain use efficiency across a precipitation gradient on the Tibetan Plateau

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rain use efficiency (RUE), commonly described as the ratio of aboveground net primary production (ANPP) to mean annual precipitation (MAP), is a critical indicator for predicting potential responses of grassland ecosystems to changing precipitation regimes. However, current understanding on patterns...

  7. Field significance of performance measures in the context of regional climate model evaluation. Part 2: precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanov, Martin; Warrach-Sagi, Kirsten; Wulfmeyer, Volker

    2018-04-01

    A new approach for rigorous spatial analysis of the downscaling performance of regional climate model (RCM) simulations is introduced. It is based on a multiple comparison of the local tests at the grid cells and is also known as `field' or `global' significance. The block length for the local resampling tests is precisely determined to adequately account for the time series structure. New performance measures for estimating the added value of downscaled data relative to the large-scale forcing fields are developed. The methodology is exemplarily applied to a standard EURO-CORDEX hindcast simulation with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with the land surface model NOAH at 0.11 ∘ grid resolution. Daily precipitation climatology for the 1990-2009 period is analysed for Germany for winter and summer in comparison with high-resolution gridded observations from the German Weather Service. The field significance test controls the proportion of falsely rejected local tests in a meaningful way and is robust to spatial dependence. Hence, the spatial patterns of the statistically significant local tests are also meaningful. We interpret them from a process-oriented perspective. While the downscaled precipitation distributions are statistically indistinguishable from the observed ones in most regions in summer, the biases of some distribution characteristics are significant over large areas in winter. WRF-NOAH generates appropriate stationary fine-scale climate features in the daily precipitation field over regions of complex topography in both seasons and appropriate transient fine-scale features almost everywhere in summer. As the added value of global climate model (GCM)-driven simulations cannot be smaller than this perfect-boundary estimate, this work demonstrates in a rigorous manner the clear additional value of dynamical downscaling over global climate simulations. The evaluation methodology has a broad spectrum of applicability as it is

  8. Future weather types and their influence on mean and extreme climate indices for precipitation and temperature in Central Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ulf Riediger

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available In Central Europe, the spatial and temporal distributions of precipitation and temperature are determined by the occurrence of major weather types. In this paper, we examine climate indices (i.e. mean values or hot, cold, wet and dry days for different weather types in a recent (1971–2000 and future climate (2070–2099. The weather types are classified objectively for the control run and for the A1B scenario with an ensemble of eight global climate simulations (GCM to be compared with different reanalyses. To derive climate indices, the high-resolution, regionalized reference dataset HYRAS and an ensemble of nine regional climate simulations (RCM are used. Firstly, the reliability of simulated weather patterns and their climate indices are tested in the control period. The reanalyses circulation climatology can be reproduced well by the GCM ensemble mean. For temperature and precipitation, each climate index is characterized and evaluated in terms of defined weather patterns. The comparison of HYRAS and RCM data show reliable mean temperature values with differences between weather classes by +2$+2$ to -6$-6$ °C during winter (13 to 19 °C in summer. The analysis of observed and simulated precipitation reveal that mean winter precipitation is significantly influenced by the direction of air flow, while in summer, mesoscale atmospheric patterns of cyclonic rotation play a larger role. Secondly, the analysis of potential future changes simulated by the RCM ensemble were able to demonstrate that weather type changes, superior climate trends (such as mean warming and their interaction lead to major changes for precipitation and temperature in Central Europe. While temperature differences between cold and warm weather types are nearly stable over time, the ensemble temperature changes (with a range of +2$+2$ to +4$+4$ °C reinforce warm/hot conditions in the future winter and summer. Milder, wetter winters can be explained by an increased

  9. An Experimental System for a Global Flood Prediction: From Satellite Precipitation Data to a Flood Inundation Map

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adler, Robert

    2007-01-01

    Floods impact more people globally than any other type of natural disaster. It has been established by experience that the most effective means to reduce the property damage and life loss caused by floods is the development of flood early warning systems. However, advances for such a system have been constrained by the difficulty in estimating rainfall continuously over space (catchment-. national-, continental-. or even global-scale areas) and time (hourly to daily). Particularly, insufficient in situ data, long delay in data transmission and absence of real-time data sharing agreements in many trans-boundary basins hamper the development of a real-time system at the regional to global scale. In many countries around the world, particularly in the tropics where rainfall and flooding co-exist in abundance, satellite-based precipitation estimation may be the best source of rainfall data for those data scarce (ungauged) areas and trans-boundary basins. Satellite remote sensing data acquired and processed in real time can now provide the space-time information on rainfall fluxes needed to monitor severe flood events around the world. This can be achieved by integrating the satellite-derived forcing data with hydrological models, which can be parameterized by a tailored geospatial database. An example that is a key to this progress is NASA's contribution to the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), launched in November 1997. Hence, in an effort to evolve toward a more hydrologically-relevant flood alert system, this talk articulates a module-structured framework for quasi-global flood potential naming, that is 'up to date' with the state of the art on satellite rainfall estimation and the improved geospatial datasets. The system is modular in design with the flexibility that permits changes in the model structure and in the choice of components. Four major components included in the system are: 1) multi-satellite precipitation estimation; 2) characterization of

  10. Nature of the precipitate in (AgI)0.7(AgPO3)0.3 glass

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kartini, E.; Collins, M.F.

    1999-01-01

    Complete text of publication follows. Interest of this material arises from its superionic conducting properties, i.e. the conductivity at ambient temperature is a few order of magnitudes larger than in the pure AgI. On quenching the molten miacture from 600 deg C into liquid nitrogen, β-AgI crystal precipitates in the glassy matrix. Neutron powder diffraction studies on (AgI) 0.7 (AgPO 3 ) 0.3 are presented and the powder pattern from the crystalline precipitate is compared with that of pure AgI. The measurements show identical diffraction patterns from the precipitate and from β-AgI with the same lattice parameters. On heating, the precipitate shows a β→α phase transformation at 435 K while AgI shows this transformation at 438 K. At higher temperature in the α phase the powder pattern of the precipitate is again the same as that of pure α-AgI. On cooling the reverse transformation takes place at 415 K and 410 K, respectively. It is concluded that the precipitate is more-or-less pure AgI. (author)

  11. Precipitation Estimation Using Combined Radar/Radiometer Measurements Within the GPM Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Arthur

    2012-01-01

    The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is an international satellite mission specifically designed to unify and advance precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational microwave sensors. The GPM mission centers upon the deployment of a Core Observatory in a 65o non-Sun-synchronous orbit to serve as a physics observatory and a transfer standard for intersatellite calibration of constellation radiometers. The GPM Core Observatory will carry a Ku/Ka-band Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and a conical-scanning multi-channel (10-183 GHz) GPM Microwave Radiometer (GMI). The DPR will be the first dual-frequency radar in space to provide not only measurements of 3-D precipitation structures but also quantitative information on microphysical properties of precipitating particles needed for improving precipitation retrievals from microwave sensors. The DPR and GMI measurements will together provide a database that relates vertical hydrometeor profiles to multi-frequency microwave radiances over a variety of environmental conditions across the globe. This combined database will be used as a common transfer standard for improving the accuracy and consistency of precipitation retrievals from all constellation radiometers. For global coverage, GPM relies on existing satellite programs and new mission opportunities from a consortium of partners through bilateral agreements with either NASA or JAXA. Each constellation member may have its unique scientific or operational objectives but contributes microwave observations to GPM for the generation and dissemination of unified global precipitation data products. In addition to the DPR and GMI on the Core Observatory, the baseline GPM constellation consists of the following sensors: (1) Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) instruments on the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites, (2) the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-2 (AMSR-2) on the GCOM-W1

  12. Spatial and temporal patterns of CH4 and N2O fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems of North America during 1979–2008: application of a global biogeochemistry model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Lu

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Continental-scale estimations of terrestrial methane (CH4 and nitrous oxide (N2O fluxes over a long time period are crucial to accurately assess the global balance of greenhouse gases and enhance our understanding and prediction of global climate change and terrestrial ecosystem feedbacks. Using a process-based global biogeochemical model, the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model (DLEM, we quantified simultaneously CH4 and N2O fluxes in North America's terrestrial ecosystems from 1979 to 2008. During the past 30 years, approximately 14.69 ± 1.64 T g C a−1 (1 T g = 1012 g of CH4, and 1.94 ± 0.1 T g N a−1 of N2O were released from terrestrial ecosystems in North America. At the country level, both the US and Canada acted as CH4 sources to the atmosphere, but Mexico mainly oxidized and consumed CH4 from the atmosphere. Wetlands in North America contributed predominantly to the regional CH4 source, while all other ecosystems acted as sinks for atmospheric CH4, of which forests accounted for 36.8%. Regarding N2O emission in North America, the US, Canada, and Mexico contributed 56.19%, 18.23%, and 25.58%, respectively, to the continental source over the past 30 years. Forests and croplands were the two ecosystems that contributed most to continental N2O emission. The inter-annual variations of CH4 and N2O fluxes in North America were mainly attributed to year-to-year climatic variability. While only annual precipitation was found to have a significant effect on annual CH4 flux, both mean annual temperature and annual precipitation were significantly correlated to annual N2O flux. The regional estimates and spatiotemporal patterns of terrestrial ecosystem CH4 and N2O fluxes in North America generated in this study provide useful information for global change research and policy making.

  13. Monte Carlo climate change forecasts with a global coupled ocean-atmosphere model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cubasch, U.; Santer, B.D.; Hegerl, G.; Hoeck, H.; Maier-Reimer, E.; Mikolajwicz, U.; Stoessel, A.; Voss, R.

    1992-01-01

    The Monte Carlo approach, which has increasingly been used during the last decade in the field of extended range weather forecasting, has been applied for climate change experiments. Four integrations with a global coupled ocean-atmosphere model have been started from different initial conditions, but with the same greenhouse gas forcing according to the IPCC scenario A. All experiments have been run for a period of 50 years. The results indicate that the time evolution of the global mean warming depends strongly on the initial state of the climate system. It can vary between 6 and 31 years. The Monte Carlo approach delivers information about both the mean response and the statistical significance of the response. While the individual members of the ensemble show a considerable variation in the climate change pattern of temperature after 50 years, the ensemble mean climate change pattern closely resembles the pattern obtained in a 100 year integration and is, at least over most of the land areas, statistically significant. The ensemble averaged sea-level change due to thermal expansion is significant in the global mean and locally over wide regions of the Pacific. The hydrological cycle is also significantly enhanced in the global mean, but locally the changes in precipitation and soil moisture are masked by the variability of the experiments. (orig.)

  14. Fluoride pollution of atmospheric precipitation and its relationship with air circulation and weather patterns (Wielkopolski National Park, Poland).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walna, Barbara; Kurzyca, Iwona; Bednorz, Ewa; Kolendowicz, Leszek

    2013-07-01

    A 2-year study (2010-2011) of fluorides in atmospheric precipitation in the open area and in throughfall in Wielkopolski National Park (west-central Poland) showed their high concentrations, reaching a maximum value of 2 mg/l under the tree crowns. These high values indicate substantial deposition of up to 52 mg/m(2)/year. In 2011, over 51% of open area precipitation was characterized by fluoride concentration higher than 0.10 mg/l, and in throughfall such concentrations were found in more than 86% of events. In 2010, a strong connection was evident between fluoride and acid-forming ions, and in 2011, a correlation between phosphate and nitrite ions was seen. Analysis of available data on F(-) concentrations in the air did not show an unequivocal effect on F(-) concentrations in precipitation. To find reasons for and source areas of high fluoride pollution, the cases of extreme fluoride concentration in rainwater were related to atmospheric circulation and weather patterns. Weather conditions on days of extreme pollution were determined by movement of weather fronts over western Poland, or by small cyclonic centers with meteorological fronts. Macroscale air advection over the sampling site originated in the western quadrant (NW, W, and SW), particularly in the middle layers of the troposphere (2,500-5,000 m a.s.l.). Such directions indicate western Poland and Germany as possible sources of the pollution. At the same time in the lower troposphere, air inflow was frequently from the north, showing short distance transport from local emitters, and from the agglomeration of Poznań.

  15. A global dataset of sub-daily rainfall indices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fowler, H. J.; Lewis, E.; Blenkinsop, S.; Guerreiro, S.; Li, X.; Barbero, R.; Chan, S.; Lenderink, G.; Westra, S.

    2017-12-01

    It is still uncertain how hydrological extremes will change with global warming as we do not fully understand the processes that cause extreme precipitation under current climate variability. The INTENSE project is using a novel and fully-integrated data-modelling approach to provide a step-change in our understanding of the nature and drivers of global precipitation extremes and change on societally relevant timescales, leading to improved high-resolution climate model representation of extreme rainfall processes. The INTENSE project is in conjunction with the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP)'s Grand Challenge on 'Understanding and Predicting Weather and Climate Extremes' and the Global Water and Energy Exchanges Project (GEWEX) Science questions. A new global sub-daily precipitation dataset has been constructed (data collection is ongoing). Metadata for each station has been calculated, detailing record lengths, missing data, station locations. A set of global hydroclimatic indices have been produced based upon stakeholder recommendations including indices that describe maximum rainfall totals and timing, the intensity, duration and frequency of storms, frequency of storms above specific thresholds and information about the diurnal cycle. This will provide a unique global data resource on sub-daily precipitation whose derived indices will be freely available to the wider scientific community.

  16. Sensitivity of Sahelian Precipitation to Desert Dust under ENSO variability: a regional modeling study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, A.; Zaitchik, B. F.; Gnanadesikan, A.

    2016-12-01

    Mineral dust is estimated to comprise over half the total global aerosol burden, with a majority coming from the Sahara and Sahel region. Bounded by the Sahara Desert to the north and the Sahelian Savannah to the south, the Sahel experiences high interannual rainfall variability and a short rainy season during the boreal summer months. Observation-based data for the past three decades indicates a reduced dust emission trend, together with an increase in greening and surface roughness within the Sahel. Climate models used to study regional precipitation changes due to Saharan dust yield varied results, both in sign convention and magnitude. Inconsistency of model estimates drives future climate projections for the region that are highly varied and uncertain. We use the NASA-Unified Weather Research and Forecasting (NU-WRF) model to quantify the interaction and feedback between desert dust aerosol and Sahelian precipitation. Using nested domains at fine spatial resolution we resolve changes to mesoscale atmospheric circulation patterns due to dust, for representative phases of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The NU-WRF regional earth system model offers both advanced land surface data and resolvable detail of the mechanisms of the impact of Saharan dust. Results are compared to our previous work assessed over the Western Sahel using the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) CM2Mc global climate model, and to other previous regional climate model studies. This prompts further research to help explain the dust-precipitation relationship and recent North African dust emission trends. This presentation will offer a quantitative analysis of differences in radiation budget, energy and moisture fluxes, and atmospheric dynamics due to desert dust aerosol over the Sahel.

  17. GLOBALIZATION, CONSUMPTION PATTERNS AND POLITICAL STABILITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grzegorz Malinowski

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Rapid changes in technology and economy that we observe nowadays are accompanied by rapid changes in traditional values and attitudes. In the contemporary world, a permanent proximity of internet, computer, television or smartphone makes us all citizens of the globalised, virtual world rather than a physical, geographical, real one. But even if people consider themselves to be citizens of the “global village”, a political architecture of the real world has remained based on the nation-state. One of the main characteristics of a nation-state is its territory defined by its borders. Recognition and respect of nation-state borders is considered to be a principle of national sovereignty, national interest and territorial independence, which shape international relations. Historically, rulers always usurped the right to control what happens on their territory, but there were some areas that had escaped their supervision. The first one is the sphere of science and more broadly – ideas. Whether it was religion, superstition or steam engine, ideas were unstoppable even for isolated countries. Second area is a realm of trade. Rulers were usually rather kind for merchants, therefore borders were always wide open for business people. It is worth mentioning that both ideas and trade are significant driving forces in the history of world. Their influence is sometimes stronger and sometimes weaker but it is always meaningful. Yet the very hypothesis of this article states that in contemporary, globalised world a third important factor has arrived. It was always present but until the economy hasn’t become globalized, its impact wasn’t noticeable. This third factor can be described as universalisation of western consumption patterns and it plays an important role particularly in developing countries.

  18. Spatial Pattern of Copper Phosphate Precipitation Involves in Copper Accumulation and Resistance of Unsaturated Pseudomonas putida CZ1 Biofilm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Guangcun; Lin, Huirong; Chen, Xincai

    2016-12-28

    Bacterial biofilms are spatially structured communities that contain bacterial cells with a wide range of physiological states. The spatial distribution and speciation of copper in unsaturated Pseudomonas putida CZ1 biofilms that accumulated 147.0 mg copper per g dry weight were determined by transmission electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and micro-X-ray fluorescence microscopy coupled with micro-X-ray absorption near edge structure (micro-XANES) analysis. It was found that copper was mainly precipitated in a 75 μm thick layer as copper phosphate in the middle of the biofilm, while there were two living cell layers in the air-biofilm and biofilm-medium interfaces, respectively, distinguished from the copper precipitation layer by two interfaces. The X-ray absorption fine structure analysis of biofilm revealed that species resembling Cu₃(PO₄)₂ predominated in biofilm, followed by Cu-Citrate- and Cu-Glutathione-like species. Further analysis by micro-XANES revealed that 94.4% of copper were Cu₃(PO₄)₂-like species in the layer next to the air interface, whereas the copper species of the layer next to the medium interface were composed by 75.4% Cu₃(PO₄)₂, 10.9% Cu-Citrate-like species, and 11.2% Cu-Glutathione-like species. Thereby, it was suggested that copper was initially acquired by cells in the biofilm-air interface as a citrate complex, and then transported out and bound by out membranes of cells, released from the copper-bound membranes, and finally precipitated with phosphate in the extracellular matrix of the biofilm. These results revealed a clear spatial pattern of copper precipitation in unsaturated biofilm, which was responsible for the high copper tolerance and accumulation of the biofilm.

  19. Global Patterns in the Implementation of Payments for Environmental Services.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Driss Ezzine-de-Blas

    Full Text Available Assessing global tendencies and impacts of conditional payments for environmental services (PES programs is challenging because of their heterogeneity, and scarcity of comparative studies. This meta-study systematizes 55 PES schemes worldwide in a quantitative database. Using categorical principal component analysis to highlight clustering patterns, we reconfirm frequently hypothesized differences between public and private PES schemes, but also identify diverging patterns between commercial and non-commercial private PES vis-à-vis their service focus, area size, and market orientation. When do these PES schemes likely achieve significant environmental additionality? Using binary logistical regression, we find additionality to be positively influenced by three theoretically recommended PES 'best design' features: spatial targeting, payment differentiation, and strong conditionality, alongside some contextual controls (activity paid for and implementation time elapsed. Our results thus stress the preeminence of customized design over operational characteristics when assessing what determines the outcomes of PES implementation.

  20. Climate Prediction Center(CPC) Monthly Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC)at Spatial Resolution of 0.5 degree.

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This global monthly precipitation analysis is called the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Precipitation Reconstruction (PREC). This analysis consists of two...

  1. Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission Products and Services at the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhong; Ostrenga, D.; Vollmer, B.; Deshong, B.; Greene, M.; Teng, W.; Kempler, S. J.

    2015-01-01

    On February 27, 2014, the NASA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission was launched to provide the next-generation global observations of rain and snow (http:pmm.nasa.govGPM). The GPM mission consists of an international network of satellites in which a GPM Core Observatory satellite carries both active and passive microwave instruments to measure precipitation and serve as a reference standard, to unify precipitation measurements from a constellation of other research and operational satellites. The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC) hosts and distributes GPM data within the NASA Earth Observation System Data Information System (EOSDIS). The GES DISC is home to the data archive for the GPM predecessor, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). Over the past 16 years, the GES DISC has served the scientific as well as other communities with TRMM data and user-friendly services. During the GPM era, the GES DISC will continue to provide user-friendly data services and customer support to users around the world. GPM products currently and to-be available include the following: 1. Level-1 GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) and partner radiometer products. 2. Goddard Profiling Algorithm (GPROF) GMI and partner products. 3. Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) products. (early, late, and final)A dedicated Web portal (including user guides, etc.) has been developed for GPM data (http:disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.govgpm). Data services that are currently and to-be available include Google-like Mirador (http:mirador.gsfc.nasa.gov) for data search and access; data access through various Web services (e.g., OPeNDAP, GDS, WMS, WCS); conversion into various formats (e.g., netCDF, HDF, KML (for Google Earth), ASCII); exploration, visualization, and statistical online analysis through Giovanni (http:giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov); generation of value-added products; parameter and spatial subsetting; time aggregation; regridding; data

  2. Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission Products and Services at the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostrenga, D.; Liu, Z.; Vollmer, B.; Teng, W. L.; Kempler, S. J.

    2014-12-01

    On February 27, 2014, the NASA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission was launched to provide the next-generation global observations of rain and snow (http://pmm.nasa.gov/GPM). The GPM mission consists of an international network of satellites in which a GPM "Core Observatory" satellite carries both active and passive microwave instruments to measure precipitation and serve as a reference standard, to unify precipitation measurements from a constellation of other research and operational satellites. The NASA Goddard Earth Sciences (GES) Data and Information Services Center (DISC) hosts and distributes GPM data within the NASA Earth Observation System Data Information System (EOSDIS). The GES DISC is home to the data archive for the GPM predecessor, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). Over the past 16 years, the GES DISC has served the scientific as well as other communities with TRMM data and user-friendly services. During the GPM era, the GES DISC will continue to provide user-friendly data services and customer support to users around the world. GPM products currently and to-be available include the following: Level-1 GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) and partner radiometer products Goddard Profiling Algorithm (GPROF) GMI and partner products Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) products (early, late, and final) A dedicated Web portal (including user guides, etc.) has been developed for GPM data (http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gpm). Data services that are currently and to-be available include Google-like Mirador (http://mirador.gsfc.nasa.gov/) for data search and access; data access through various Web services (e.g., OPeNDAP, GDS, WMS, WCS); conversion into various formats (e.g., netCDF, HDF, KML (for Google Earth), ASCII); exploration, visualization, and statistical online analysis through Giovanni (http://giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov); generation of value-added products; parameter and spatial subsetting; time aggregation; regridding

  3. Variability of Evaporation and Precipitation over the Ocean from Satellite Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malinin, V. N.; Gordeeva, S. M.

    2017-12-01

    HOAPS-3 and PMWC satellite archives for 1988-2008 are used to estimate moisture-exchange components between the ocean and atmosphere (evaporation, precipitation, and the difference between them or effective evaporation). Moisture-exchange components for the entire World Ocean and for the North Atlantic Ocean within 30°-60° N are calculated. A strong overestimation of the global values of effective evaporation by HOAPS data (mainly caused by a decrease in precipitation) is shown. In the interannual variability of effective evaporation, there is clearly an overestimated positive trend, which contradicts the real increase in the Global Sea Level. Large systematic errors in moisture-exchange components are revealed for the North Atlantic water area. According to HOAPS data, there is a significant underestimation of evaporation and effective evaporation. According to PMWC data, the amount of precipitation is significantly overestimated and evaporation is underestimated. As a consequence, effective evaporation becomes negative, which is impossible. Low accuracy in the estimation of moisture-exchange components and the need to improve old estimates and develop new evaporation and precipitation databases based on satellite data are noted.

  4. Stable isotope (2H, 17O, 18O) and hydro chemical patterns of precipitation collected in weekly resolution at Hannover, Germany

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koeniger, Paul; Himmelsbach, Thomas

    2016-04-01

    Long-term observations of stable isotopes (δ18O and δ2H) in precipitation were initiated in May 2008 at the Federal Institute of Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in Hannover, Germany. In 2014 all precipitation samples were re-analyzed because a purchase of a new laser spectrometer (Picarro L2140-i) now allowed measurements of δ17O and a calculation of the 17O-excess parameter. Starting in October 2015 a routine analysis of hydro chemical parameters was added whenever enough sample aliquot was available (major ions, trace elements). A discussion of the stable isotope data of the seven year series of weekly precipitation samples (n = 370) will be presented. Beneath general patterns (seasonality and trends) we also focus on importance of amount weighing procedures, corrections for minor rain amounts, aspects of sample storage and re-analyzes, as well as impacts through changes in analytical equipment (IRMS, CRD spectroscopy) which is visible from the data. For stable isotopes a Thermo Fisher delta plus IRMS (Gasbench and H-Device) was used until 2011 and from 2012 on a Picarro L2120-i water vapor analyzer with long-term accuracies for quality check samples better than 0.2‰ and 0.8‰ for δ18O and δ2H, respectively.

  5. Variation among sub-basins of the upper Nelson River in relationships between precipitation, runoff and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCullough, G.

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, I examine relationships between precipitation and river discharge in the Nelson River watershed and several global climate indices. Inter-decadal patterns in discharge and precipitation for several sub-basins closely tracked the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) through much of the 20th century. The PDO explained 53% of the variability in precipitation and 70% in discharge for the Red River (5-y averages) from 1915-1975. However, since 1975, both precipitation and discharge have increased relative to trend of the PDO. Winnipeg River discharge likewise increased relative to the PDO, but diverged earlier, beginning in 1965. The hydrograph of the Saskatchewan River followed the PDO only until mid-century, after which discharge declined relative to the PDO. The decline of discharge in the Saskatchewan River is not matched by consistent declines in precipitation, but may be partly due to consumptive use, mainly irrigation, and losses due to evaporation from large reservoirs created in the 1960s and 1970s. However, the increases in the Red and Winnipeg River are well-explained by increased spring and summer precipitation. For instance, precipitation was 20-30% higher in the decade 1996-2005 than in the previous decade. By examining historical data, we show the runoff coefficient to increase with increasing discharge, and that the proportional increase is greater in the Red than in the Winnipeg River basin. In the Red, the moderate difference in precipitation was amplified into a doubling of annual mean discharge. Comparing the same 2 periods, a smaller 10% increase in precipitation in the Winnipeg River basin explains a 27% increase in discharge. (author)

  6. The impact of spatial resolution on resolving spatial precipitation patterns in the Himalayas

    OpenAIRE

    Bonekamp, P.N.J.; Collier, S.E.; Immerzeel, W.W.

    2017-01-01

    Frequently used gridded meteorological datasets poorly represent precipitation in the Himalaya due to their relatively low spatial resolution and the associated coarse representation of the complex topography. Dynamical downscaling using high-resolution atmospheric models may improve the accuracy and quality of the precipitation fields, as simulations at higher spatial resolution are more capable of resolving the interaction between the topography and the atmosphere. However, most physics par...

  7. Mean annual precipitation explains spatiotemporal patterns of Cenozoic mammal beta diversity and latitudinal diversity gradients in North America.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danielle Fraser

    Full Text Available Spatial diversity patterns are thought to be driven by climate-mediated processes. However, temporal patterns of community composition remain poorly studied. We provide two complementary analyses of North American mammal diversity, using (i a paleontological dataset (2077 localities with 2493 taxon occurrences spanning 21 discrete subdivisions of the Cenozoic based on North American Land Mammal Ages (36 Ma--present, and (ii climate space model predictions for 744 extant mammals under eight scenarios of future climate change. Spatial variation in fossil mammal community structure (β diversity is highest at intermediate values of continental mean annual precipitation (MAP estimated from paleosols (∼ 450 mm/year and declines under both wetter and drier conditions, reflecting diversity patterns of modern mammals. Latitudinal gradients in community change (latitudinal turnover gradients, aka LTGs increase in strength through the Cenozoic, but also show a cyclical pattern that is significantly explained by MAP. In general, LTGs are weakest when continental MAP is highest, similar to modern tropical ecosystems in which latitudinal diversity gradients are weak or undetectable. Projections under modeled climate change show no substantial change in β diversity or LTG strength for North American mammals. Our results suggest that similar climate-mediated mechanisms might drive spatial and temporal patterns of community composition in both fossil and extant mammals. We also provide empirical evidence that the ecological processes on which climate space models are based are insufficient for accurately forecasting long-term mammalian response to anthropogenic climate change and inclusion of historical parameters may be essential.

  8. Patterns of Spatial Variation of Assemblages Associated with Intertidal Rocky Shores: A Global Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz-Motta, Juan José; Miloslavich, Patricia; Palomo, Gabriela; Iken, Katrin; Konar, Brenda; Pohle, Gerhard; Trott, Tom; Benedetti-Cecchi, Lisandro; Herrera, César; Hernández, Alejandra; Sardi, Adriana; Bueno, Andrea; Castillo, Julio; Klein, Eduardo; Guerra-Castro, Edlin; Gobin, Judith; Gómez, Diana Isabel; Riosmena-Rodríguez, Rafael; Mead, Angela; Bigatti, Gregorio; Knowlton, Ann; Shirayama, Yoshihisa

    2010-01-01

    Assemblages associated with intertidal rocky shores were examined for large scale distribution patterns with specific emphasis on identifying latitudinal trends of species richness and taxonomic distinctiveness. Seventy-two sites distributed around the globe were evaluated following the standardized sampling protocol of the Census of Marine Life NaGISA project (www.nagisa.coml.org). There were no clear patterns of standardized estimators of species richness along latitudinal gradients or among Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs); however, a strong latitudinal gradient in taxonomic composition (i.e., proportion of different taxonomic groups in a given sample) was observed. Environmental variables related to natural influences were strongly related to the distribution patterns of the assemblages on the LME scale, particularly photoperiod, sea surface temperature (SST) and rainfall. In contrast, no environmental variables directly associated with human influences (with the exception of the inorganic pollution index) were related to assemblage patterns among LMEs. Correlations of the natural assemblages with either latitudinal gradients or environmental variables were equally strong suggesting that neither neutral models nor models based solely on environmental variables sufficiently explain spatial variation of these assemblages at a global scale. Despite the data shortcomings in this study (e.g., unbalanced sample distribution), we show the importance of generating biological global databases for the use in large-scale diversity comparisons of rocky intertidal assemblages to stimulate continued sampling and analyses. PMID:21179546

  9. Patterns of spatial variation of assemblages associated with intertidal rocky shores: a global perspective.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan José Cruz-Motta

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Assemblages associated with intertidal rocky shores were examined for large scale distribution patterns with specific emphasis on identifying latitudinal trends of species richness and taxonomic distinctiveness. Seventy-two sites distributed around the globe were evaluated following the standardized sampling protocol of the Census of Marine Life NaGISA project (www.nagisa.coml.org. There were no clear patterns of standardized estimators of species richness along latitudinal gradients or among Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs; however, a strong latitudinal gradient in taxonomic composition (i.e., proportion of different taxonomic groups in a given sample was observed. Environmental variables related to natural influences were strongly related to the distribution patterns of the assemblages on the LME scale, particularly photoperiod, sea surface temperature (SST and rainfall. In contrast, no environmental variables directly associated with human influences (with the exception of the inorganic pollution index were related to assemblage patterns among LMEs. Correlations of the natural assemblages with either latitudinal gradients or environmental variables were equally strong suggesting that neither neutral models nor models based solely on environmental variables sufficiently explain spatial variation of these assemblages at a global scale. Despite the data shortcomings in this study (e.g., unbalanced sample distribution, we show the importance of generating biological global databases for the use in large-scale diversity comparisons of rocky intertidal assemblages to stimulate continued sampling and analyses.

  10. GPS-based PWV for precipitation forecasting and its application to a typhoon event

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Qingzhi; Yao, Yibin; Yao, Wanqiang

    2018-01-01

    The temporal variability of precipitable water vapour (PWV) derived from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations can be used to forecast precipitation events. A number of case studies of precipitation events have been analysed in Zhejiang Province, and a forecasting method for precipitation events was proposed. The PWV time series retrieved from the Global Positioning System (GPS) observations was processed by using a least-squares fitting method, so as to obtain the line tendency of ascents and descents over PWV. The increment of PWV for a short time (two to six hours) and PWV slope for a longer time (a few hours to more than ten hours) during the PWV ascending period are considered as predictive factors with which to forecast the precipitation event. The numerical results show that about 80%-90% of precipitation events and more than 90% of heavy rain events can be forecasted two to six hours in advance of the precipitation event based on the proposed method. 5-minute PWV data derived from GPS observations based on real-time precise point positioning (RT-PPP) were used for the typhoon event that passed over Zhejiang Province between 10 and 12 July, 2015. A good result was acquired using the proposed method and about 74% of precipitation events were predicted at some ten to thirty minutes earlier than their onset with a false alarm rate of 18%. This study shows that the GPS-based PWV was promising for short-term and now-casting precipitation forecasting.

  11. Black carbon and West African Monsoon precipitation. Observations and simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, J.; Adams, A.; Zhang, C.; Wang, C.

    2009-01-01

    We have recently investigated large-scale co-variability between aerosol and precipitation and other meteorological variables in the West African Monsoon (WAM) region using long term satellite observations and reanalysis data. In this study we compared the observational results to a global model simulation including only direct radiative forcing of black carbon (BC). From both observations and model simulations we found that in boreal cold seasons anomalously high African aerosols are associated with significant reductions in cloud amount, cloud top height, and surface precipitation. These results suggest that the observed precipitation reduction in the WAM region is caused by radiative effect of BC. The result also suggests that the BC effect on precipitation is nonlinear. (orig.)

  12. An Approach for Generating Precipitation Input for Worst-Case Flood Modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Felder, Guido; Weingartner, Rolf

    2015-04-01

    There is a lack of suitable methods for creating precipitation scenarios that can be used to realistically estimate peak discharges with very low probabilities. On the one hand, existing methods are methodically questionable when it comes to physical system boundaries. On the other hand, the spatio-temporal representativeness of precipitation patterns as system input is limited. In response, this study proposes a method of deriving representative spatio-temporal precipitation patterns and presents a step towards making methodically correct estimations of infrequent floods by using a worst-case approach. A Monte-Carlo rainfall-runoff model allows for the testing of a wide range of different spatio-temporal distributions of an extreme precipitation event and therefore for the generation of a hydrograph for each of these distributions. Out of these numerous hydrographs and their corresponding peak discharges, the worst-case catchment reactions on the system input can be derived. The spatio-temporal distributions leading to the highest peak discharges are identified and can eventually be used for further investigations.

  13. Global-scale evaluation of 22 precipitation datasets using gauge observations and hydrological modeling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. E. Beck

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available We undertook a comprehensive evaluation of 22 gridded (quasi-global (sub-daily precipitation (P datasets for the period 2000–2016. Thirteen non-gauge-corrected P datasets were evaluated using daily P gauge observations from 76 086 gauges worldwide. Another nine gauge-corrected datasets were evaluated using hydrological modeling, by calibrating the HBV conceptual model against streamflow records for each of 9053 small to medium-sized ( <  50 000 km2 catchments worldwide, and comparing the resulting performance. Marked differences in spatio-temporal patterns and accuracy were found among the datasets. Among the uncorrected P datasets, the satellite- and reanalysis-based MSWEP-ng V1.2 and V2.0 datasets generally showed the best temporal correlations with the gauge observations, followed by the reanalyses (ERA-Interim, JRA-55, and NCEP-CFSR and the satellite- and reanalysis-based CHIRP V2.0 dataset, the estimates based primarily on passive microwave remote sensing of rainfall (CMORPH V1.0, GSMaP V5/6, and TMPA 3B42RT V7 or near-surface soil moisture (SM2RAIN-ASCAT, and finally, estimates based primarily on thermal infrared imagery (GridSat V1.0, PERSIANN, and PERSIANN-CCS. Two of the three reanalyses (ERA-Interim and JRA-55 unexpectedly obtained lower trend errors than the satellite datasets. Among the corrected P datasets, the ones directly incorporating daily gauge data (CPC Unified, and MSWEP V1.2 and V2.0 generally provided the best calibration scores, although the good performance of the fully gauge-based CPC Unified is unlikely to translate to sparsely or ungauged regions. Next best results were obtained with P estimates directly incorporating temporally coarser gauge data (CHIRPS V2.0, GPCP-1DD V1.2, TMPA 3B42 V7, and WFDEI-CRU, which in turn outperformed the one indirectly incorporating gauge data through another multi-source dataset (PERSIANN-CDR V1R1. Our results highlight large differences in estimation accuracy

  14. Acidity of Scandinavian precipitation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barrett, E; Bordin, G

    1955-01-01

    Data on the pH of the total monthly precipitation at stations of a Swedish network for sampling and chemical analysis of precipitation and atmospheric aerosols during the year July 1953 to June 1954 are presented and discussed, together with the pH data from the first two months of operation of a large pan-Scandinavian net. It is found that well-defined regions of acidity and alkalinity relative to the pH of water in equilibrium with atmospheric carbon dioxide exist, and that these regions persist to such an extent that the monthly deviations from the pattern of the annual mean pH at stations unaffected by local pollution show persistently high acidity, while inland northern stations show equally persistent alkalinity. Some possible reasons for the observed distributions are considered.

  15. Two millennia of torrential activity reconstructed from alpine lake sediments: towards regional patterns of extreme precipitation changes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilhelm, B.; Arnaud, F.; Giguet-Covex, C.; Sabatier, P.; Crouzet, C.; Delannoy, J. J.

    2012-04-01

    In mountain areas extreme precipitation events trigger torrential floods, characterized by a sudden and intense rise of discharge causing large human and economic losses. Their frequency and/or intensity are expected to increase in the context of global warming. However, the relationship between such events and climate changes remains difficult to assess. Long-term geological records of intense events could enable to extend documented records beyond the observational data for a better understanding of local to regional flood hazard patterns in relation to past climatic changes and hence improving predictive models. In this context, lake sediment records appear a relevant archive as they are continuous records in which the identification of high-energy sediment layers allows to reconstruct flood calendar. In addition, the flood intensity can be reconstructed from the coarse fraction of each flood layer. Frequency and intensity of past torrential floods were thus reconstructed from four high-elevation lake records of the French Alps, in the framework of Pygmalion research program. Studied sites were selected along a north-south transect over this region to investigate the flooding responses to different climatic influences (westerlies in the north and Mediterranean influences in the south). High-resolution geochemical and sedimentological analyses were undertaken for an exhaustive identification of flood layers and several dating methods (short-lived radionuclides, 14C, correlation with historic events, paleomagnetism) were combined to reduce age uncertainties as much as possible. Over the entire French Alps, the torrential-flood frequency increases at a secular timescale during the cold period of the Little Ice Age (LIA; 1300-1900 AD). This increase seems in agreement with a regional high wetness, already described in the literature, possibly related to an increase in cyclonic activity. Superimposed to this secular trend, a pluri-decadal variability appears at

  16. Seasonal variations of stable isotope in precipitation and moisture transport at Yushu,eastern Tibetan Plateau

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2008-01-01

    Precipitation δ 18O at Yushu, eastern Tibetan Plateau, shows strong fluctuation and lack of clear seasonality. The seasonal pattern of precipitation stable isotope at Yushu is apparently different from either that of the southwest monsoon region to the south or that of the inland region to the north. This different seasonal pattern probably reflects the shift of different moisture sources. In this paper, we present the spatial comparison of the seasonal patterns of precipitation δ 18O, and calculate the moisture transport flux by using the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis data. This allows us to discuss the relation between moisture transport flux and precipitation δ 18O. This study shows that both the southwest monsoon from south and inland air mass transport from north affected the seasonal precipitation δ 18O at Yushu, eastern Tibetan Plateau. Southwest monsoon brings the main part of the moisture, but southwest transport flux is weaker than in the southern part of the Tibetan Plateau. However, contribution of the inland moisture from north or local evaporation moisture is enhanced. The combined effect is the strong fluctuation of summer precipitation δ 18O at Yushu and comparatively poor seasonality.

  17. Global patterns of fragmentation and connectivity of mammalian carnivore habitat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crooks, Kevin R; Burdett, Christopher L; Theobald, David M; Rondinini, Carlo; Boitani, Luigi

    2011-09-27

    Although mammalian carnivores are vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and require landscape connectivity, their global patterns of fragmentation and connectivity have not been examined. We use recently developed high-resolution habitat suitability models to conduct comparative analyses and to identify global hotspots of fragmentation and connectivity for the world's terrestrial carnivores. Species with less fragmentation (i.e. more interior high-quality habitat) had larger geographical ranges, a greater proportion of habitat within their range, greater habitat connectivity and a lower risk of extinction. Species with higher connectivity (i.e. less habitat isolation) also had a greater proportion of high-quality habitat, but had smaller, not larger, ranges, probably reflecting shorter distances between habitat patches for species with restricted distributions; such species were also more threatened, as would be expected given the negative relationship between range size and extinction risk. Fragmentation and connectivity did not differ among Carnivora families, and body mass was associated with connectivity but not fragmentation. On average, only 54.3 per cent of a species' geographical range comprised high-quality habitat, and more troubling, only 5.2 per cent of the range comprised such habitat within protected areas. Identification of global hotspots of fragmentation and connectivity will help guide strategic priorities for carnivore conservation.

  18. A new mechanism for warm-season precipitation response to global warming based on convection-permitting simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Aiguo; Rasmussen, Roy M.; Liu, Changhai; Ikeda, Kyoko; Prein, Andreas F.

    2017-08-01

    Climate models project increasing precipitation intensity but decreasing frequency as greenhouse gases increase. However, the exact mechanism for the frequency decrease remains unclear. Here we investigate this by analyzing hourly data from regional climate change simulations with 4 km grid spacing covering most of North America using the Weather Research and Forecasting model. The model was forced with present and future boundary conditions, with the latter being derived by adding the CMIP5 19-model ensemble mean changes to the ERA-interim reanalysis. The model reproduces well the observed seasonal and spatial variations in precipitation frequency and histograms, and the dry interval between rain events over the contiguous US. Results show that overall precipitation frequency indeed decreases during the warm season mainly due to fewer light-moderate precipitation (0.1 2.0 mm/h) events, while heavy (2 10 mm/h) events increase. Dry spells become longer and more frequent, together with a reduction in time-mean relative humidity (RH) in the lower troposphere during the warm season. The increased dry hours and decreased RH lead to a reduction in overall precipitation frequency and also for light-moderate precipitation events, while water vapor-induced increases in precipitation intensity and the positive latent heating feedback in intense storms may be responsible for the large increase in intense precipitation. The size of intense storms increases while their number decreases in the future climate, which helps explain the increase in local frequency of heavy precipitation. The results generally support a new hypothesis for future warm-season precipitation: each rainstorm removes ≥7% more moisture from the air per 1 K local warming, and surface evaporation and moisture advection take slightly longer than currently to replenish the depleted moisture before the next storm forms, leading to longer dry spells and a reduction in precipitation frequency, as well as

  19. Daily precipitation statistics in regional climate models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frei, Christoph; Christensen, Jens Hesselbjerg; Déqué, Michel

    2003-01-01

    An evaluation is undertaken of the statistics of daily precipitation as simulated by five regional climate models using comprehensive observations in the region of the European Alps. Four limited area models and one variable-resolution global model are considered, all with a grid spacing of 50 km...

  20. Variability of East Asian summer monsoon precipitation during the Holocene and possible forcing mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Fuzhi; Ma, Chunmei; Zhu, Cheng; Lu, Huayu; Zhang, Xiaojian; Huang, Kangyou; Guo, Tianhong; Li, Kaifeng; Li, Lan; Li, Bing; Zhang, Wenqing

    2018-03-01

    Projecting how the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) rainfall will change with global warming is essential for human sustainability. Reconstructing Holocene climate can provide critical insight into its forcing and future variability. However, quantitative reconstructions of Holocene summer precipitation are lacking for tropical and subtropical China, which is the core region of the EASM influence. Here we present high-resolution annual and summer rainfall reconstructions covering the whole Holocene based on the pollen record at Xinjie site from the lower Yangtze region. Summer rainfall was less seasonal and 30% higher than modern values at 10-6 cal kyr BP and gradually declined thereafter, which broadly followed the Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. Over the last two millennia, however, the summer rainfall has deviated from the downward trend of summer insolation. We argue that greenhouse gas forcing might have offset summer insolation forcing and contributed to the late Holocene rainfall anomaly, which is supported by the TraCE-21 ka transient simulation. Besides, tropical sea-surface temperatures could modulate summer rainfall by affecting evaporation of seawater. The rainfall pattern concurs with stalagmite and other proxy records from southern China but differs from mid-Holocene rainfall maximum recorded in arid/semiarid northern China. Summer rainfall in northern China was strongly suppressed by high-northern-latitude ice volume forcing during the early Holocene in spite of high summer insolation. In addition, the El Niño/Southern Oscillation might be responsible for droughts of northern China and floods of southern China during the late Holocene. Furthermore, quantitative rainfall reconstructions indicate that the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) simulations underestimate the magnitude of Holocene precipitation changes. Our results highlight the spatial and temporal variability of the Holocene EASM precipitation and potential forcing

  1. Trends of precipitation characteristics in the Czech Republic over 1961–2012, their spatial patterns and links to temperature and the North Atlantic Oscillation

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Beranová, Romana; Kyselý, Jan

    (2017) ISSN 0899-8418 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA16-04676S Institutional support: RVO:68378289 Keywords : precipitation * trend analysis * spatial pattern * temperature * the North Atlantic Oscillation * the Czech Republic Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology OBOR OECD: Meteorology and atmospheric sciences Impact factor: 3.760, year: 2016 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/joc.5392/full

  2. Isotopic composition of precipitation in the Mediterranean Basin in relation to air circulation patterns and climate. Final report of a coordinated research project 2000-2004

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-10-01

    The IAEA has operated the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) since 1961. There has been an increased need for GNIP data following the recognition of the role of precipitation stable isotopes in better simulating the hydrologic cycle in climate models. The isotopic composition of precipitation is closely related to rain formation conditions, i.e. with the temperature of formation, the origin of air masses, and the degree and mechanism of rainout. Over the last twenty years, use of GNIP data in climate model has indicated a need for a much more refined, process-based understanding of isotope variations in the hydrological cycle. This coordinated research project (CRP) was initiated with the aim of collecting new data on higher spatial density and temporal frequency to improve our knowledge of environmental isotope variations in atmospheric waters. The Mediterranean region was chosen for this study so that climatic and meteorological conditions, which govern the rain formation process, and their variations along east-west and north-south directions, could be investigated. In addition, the first steps of the hydrological cycle, that is evaporation from seawater and condensation of atmospheric vapour could also be studied. The IAEA invited scientists from institutes in Mediterranean countries who have already been involved in studies related to the isotopic composition of precipitation to take part in this CRP, which was initiated in 2000. This publication is a summary of the results achieved in the CRP. The overall achievements are presented as the executive summary, and the detailed findings are presented in each contribution. These results were presented in the final research coordination meeting, held in Vienna from 15 to 19 March 2004. The results of this CRP are relevant to the Member State scientists conducting hydrological research. In addition, the results would contribute to the IAEA programme on water resources, in particular to its activities

  3. Ecohydrological responses of a model semiarid system to precipitation pulses after a global change type dry-down depend on growth-form, event size, and time since establishment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barron-Gafford, G. A.; Minor, R. L.; Braun, Z.; Potts, D. L.

    2012-12-01

    Woody encroachment into grasslands alters ecosystem structure and function both above- and belowground. Aboveground, woody plant canopies increase leaf area index and alter patterns of interception, infiltration and runoff. Belowground, woody plants alter root distribution and increase maximum rooting depth with the effect of accessing deeper pools of soil moisture and shifting the timing and duration of evapotranspiration. In turn, these woody plants mediate hydrological changes that influence patterns of ecosystem CO2 exchange and productivity. Given projections of more variable precipitation and increased temperatures for many semiarid regions, differences in physiological performance are likely to drive changes in ecosystem-scale carbon and water flux depending on the degree of woody cover. Ultimately, as soil moisture declines with decreased precipitation, differential patterns of environmental sensitivity among growth-forms and their dependence on groundwater will only become more important in determining ecosystem resilience to future change. Here, we created a series of 1-meter deep mesocosms that housed either a woody mesquite shrub, a bunchgrass, or was left as bare soil. Five replicates of each were maintained under current ambient air temperatures, and five replicates were maintained under projected (+4oC) air temperatures. Each mesocosm was outfitted with an array of soil moisture, temperature, water potential, and CO2 exchange concentration sensors at the near-surface, 30, 55, and 80cm depths to quantify patterns of soil moisture and respiratory CO2 exchange efflux in response to rainfall events of varying magnitude and intervening dry periods of varying duration. In addition, we used minirhizotrons to quantify the response of roots to episodic rainfall. During the first year, bunchgrasses photosynthetically outperformed mesquite saplings across a wider range of temperatures under dry conditions, regardless of growth temperature (ambient or +4o

  4. Defining global neuroendocrine gene expression patterns associated with reproductive seasonality in fish.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dapeng Zhang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Many vertebrates, including the goldfish, exhibit seasonal reproductive rhythms, which are a result of interactions between external environmental stimuli and internal endocrine systems in the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis. While it is long believed that differential expression of neuroendocrine genes contributes to establishing seasonal reproductive rhythms, no systems-level investigation has yet been conducted. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the present study, by analyzing multiple female goldfish brain microarray datasets, we have characterized global gene expression patterns for a seasonal cycle. A core set of genes (873 genes in the hypothalamus were identified to be differentially expressed between May, August and December, which correspond to physiologically distinct stages that are sexually mature (prespawning, sexual regression, and early gonadal redevelopment, respectively. Expression changes of these genes are also shared by another brain region, the telencephalon, as revealed by multivariate analysis. More importantly, by examining one dataset obtained from fish in October who were kept under long-daylength photoperiod (16 h typical of the springtime breeding season (May, we observed that the expression of identified genes appears regulated by photoperiod, a major factor controlling vertebrate reproductive cyclicity. Gene ontology analysis revealed that hormone genes and genes functionally involved in G-protein coupled receptor signaling pathway and transmission of nerve impulses are significantly enriched in an expression pattern, whose transition is located between prespawning and sexually regressed stages. The existence of seasonal expression patterns was verified for several genes including isotocin, ependymin II, GABA(A gamma2 receptor, calmodulin, and aromatase b by independent samplings of goldfish brains from six seasonal time points and real-time PCR assays. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Using both

  5. Assessing Climate Change Impacts on Global Hydropower

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aanund Killingtveit

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Currently, hydropower accounts for close to 16% of the world’s total power supply and is the world’s most dominant (86% source of renewable electrical energy. The key resource for hydropower generation is runoff, which is dependent on precipitation. The future global climate is uncertain and thus poses some risk for the hydropower generation sector. The crucial question and challenge then is what will be the impact of climate change on global hydropower generation and what are the resulting regional variations in hydropower generation potential? This paper is a study that aims to evaluate the changes in global hydropower generation resulting from predicted changes in climate. The study uses an ensemble of simulations of regional patterns of changes in runoff, computed from global circulation models (GCM simulations with 12 different models. Based on these runoff changes, hydropower generation is estimated by relating the runoff changes to hydropower generation potential through geographical information system (GIS, based on 2005 hydropower generation. Hydropower data obtained from EIA (energy generation, national sites, FAO (water resources and UNEP were used in the analysis. The countries/states were used as computational units to reduce the complexities of the analysis. The results indicate that there are large variations of changes (increases/decreases in hydropower generation across regions and even within regions. Globally, hydropower generation is predicted to change very little by the year 2050 for the hydropower system in operation today. This change amounts to an increase of less than 1% of the current (2005 generation level although it is necessary to carry out basin level detailed assessment for local impacts which may differ from the country based values. There are many regions where runoff and hydropower generation will increase due to increasing precipitation, but also many regions where there will be a decrease. Based on this

  6. Systematic front distortion and presence of consecutive fronts in a precipitation system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Volford, A.; Izsak, F.; Ripszam, M.; Lagzi, I.

    2006-01-01

    A new simple reaction-diffusion system is presented focusing on pattern formation phenomena as consecutive precipitation fronts and distortion of the precipitation front.The chemical system investigated here is based on the amphoteric property of aluminum hydroxide and exhibits two unique phenomena.

  7. Detecting quasi-oscillations in the monthly precipitation regimes of the Iberian Peninsula

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Morala

    2003-03-01

    Full Text Available A spectral analysis of the time series corresponding to the main monthly precipitation regimes of the Iberian Peninsula was performed using two methods, the Multi-Taper Method and Monte Carlo Singular Spectrum Analysis. The Multi-Taper Method gave a preliminary view of the presence of signals in some of the time series. Monte Carlo Singular Spectrum Analysis discriminated between potential oscillations and noise. From the results of the two methods it is concluded that there exist three significant quasi-oscillations at the 95% level of confidence: a 5.0 year quasi-oscillation and a long-term trend in the Atlantic pattern of March, a 3.2 year quasi-oscillation in the Cantabrian pattern of January, and a 4.0 year quasi-oscillation in the Catalonian pattern of February. These quasi-oscillations might be related to climatic variations with similar periodicities over the North Atlantic Ocean. The possible simultaneity of high values of precipitation generated by the significant quasi-oscillations and high sea–level pressures was studied by means of composite maps. It was found that high values of precipitation generated by the oscillations of the Atlantic patterns of January and March exist simultaneously with a specific high pressure structure over the North Atlantic Ocean, that allow cyclonic perturbations to cross the Iberian Peninsula. During the non-wet years, this high pressure structure moves northwards, keeping the track of the low pressure centers to the north, far from the Iberian Peninsula. On the other hand, high values of precipitation generated by the oscillation of the Cantabrian pattern of January exist simultaneously with a high pressure structure over the Galicia region and the Cantabrian Sea, that allow a northerly flow over the region. Also, a positive trend in the NAO index for March has been found, starting in the sixties, which is not evident for other winter months. This trend agrees with the decreasing trend found in the

  8. Spatial patterns and temporal changes in atmospheric-mercury deposition for the midwestern USA, 2001–2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Risch, Martin R.; Kenski, Donna M.

    2018-01-01

    Spatial patterns and temporal changes in atmospheric-mercury (Hg) deposition were examined in a five-state study area in the Midwestern USA where 32% of the stationary sources of anthropogenic Hg emissions in the continental USA were located. An extensive monitoring record for wet and dry Hg deposition was compiled for 2001–2016, including 4666 weekly precipitation samples at 13 sites and 27 annual litterfall-Hg samples at 7 sites. This study is the first to examine these Hg data for the Midwestern USA. The median annual precipitation-Hg deposition at the study sites was 10.4 micrograms per square meter per year (ug/m2/year) and ranged from 5.8 ug/m2/year to 15.0 ug/m2/year. The median annual Hg concentration was 9.4 ng/L. Annual litterfall-Hg deposition had a median of 16.1 ug/m2/year and ranged from 9.7 to 23.4 ug/m2/year. Isopleth maps of annual precipitation-Hg deposition indicated a recurring spatial pattern similar to one revealed by statistical analysis of weekly precipitation-Hg deposition. In that pattern, high Hg deposition in southeastern Indiana was present each year, frequently extending to southern Illinois. Most of central Indiana and central Illinois had similar Hg deposition. Areas with comparatively lower annual Hg deposition were observed in Michigan and Ohio for many years and frequently included part of northern Indiana. The area in southern Indiana where high Hg deposition predominated had the highest number of extreme episodes of weekly Hg deposition delivering up to 15% of the annual Hg load from precipitation in a single week. Modeled 48-h back trajectories indicated air masses for these episodes often arrived from the south and southwest, crossing numerous stationary sources of Hg emissions releasing from 23 to more than 300 kg Hg per year. This analysis suggests that local and regional, rather than exclusively continental or global Hg emissions were likely contributing to the extreme episodes and at least in part, to the spatial

  9. Spatial variations of summer precipitation trends in South Korea, 1973-2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Heejun; Kwon, Won-Tae

    2007-01-01

    We have investigated the spatial patterns of trends in summer precipitation amount, intensity, and heavy precipitation for South Korea between 1973 and 2005. All stations show increasing trends in precipitation amount during the summer months, with the highest percentage of significant increase in June precipitation for the northern and central western part of South Korea. There is a significant increase in August precipitation for stations in the southeastern part of South Korea. Only a few stations exhibited significant upward trends in September precipitation. There is a weak to moderate spatial autocorrelation with the highest Moran's I value in June precipitation amount and August precipitation intensity. The number of days with daily precipitation exceeding 50 and 30 mm during the summer has increased at all stations. Observed trends are likely to be associated with changes in large-scale atmospheric circulation, sea surface temperature anomalies, and orography, but detailed causes of these trends need further investigation

  10. GIS-supported analysis of global patterns of anthropogenic forest degradation. A sectoral application of the syndrome concept

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cassel-Gintz, M.

    2001-06-01

    The geographical analysis of a Syndrome is performed in several steps integrating GIS with concepts of fuzzy logic and qualitative reasoning. In the first step a syndrome specific network of interactions is formulated by analysing case studies, theories and expert assessments. Based on this systemic representation the natural and socio-economic conditions under which the syndrome specific mechanisms can be active are identified. This evaluation is called the disposition of a region towards a specific Syndrome. The resulting indicator can be used as an early warning indicator for the possible germination of a non-sustainable development. Based on the constituting elements of the Syndrome, a complex indicator for the intensity of the active Syndrome is derived in the next step of the analysis. This indicator assesses the critical states in the dynamical evolution of the non-sustainable patterns of civilisation nature interaction. Complete Syndrome analyses are performed for the main Syndromes of deforestation. The resulting spatial distribution of the combined dispositions and intensities of the different Syndromes present a unique global assessment describing the current damage and future regional threats to forests by their underlying global cause-effect patterns of civilisation-nature interaction. Specially the assessment of the threat by coupling of momentarily active and potentially active cause-effect patterns provides a previously not achieved systematic insight into the complex interaction of different patterns of global deforestation and forest degradation. (orig.)

  11. Data Analysis of GPM Constellation Satellites-IMERG and ERA-Interim precipitation products over West of Iran

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharifi, Ehsan; Steinacker, Reinhold; Saghafian, Bahram

    2016-04-01

    Precipitation is a critical component of the Earth's hydrological cycle. The primary requirement in precipitation measurement is to know where and how much precipitation is falling at any given time. Especially in data sparse regions with insufficient radar coverage, satellite information can provide a spatial and temporal context. Nonetheless, evaluation of satellite precipitation is essential prior to operational use. This is why many previous studies are devoted to the validation of satellite estimation. Accurate quantitative precipitation estimation over mountainous basins is of great importance because of their susceptibility to hazards. In situ observations over mountainous areas are mostly limited, but currently available satellite precipitation products can potentially provide the precipitation estimation needed for meteorological and hydrological applications. One of the newest and blended methods that use multi-satellites and multi-sensors has been developed for estimating global precipitation. The considered data set known as Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals (IMERG) for GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement) is routinely produced by the GPM constellation satellites. Moreover, recent efforts have been put into the improvement of the precipitation products derived from reanalysis systems, which has led to significant progress. One of the best and a worldwide used model is developed by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). They have produced global reanalysis daily precipitation, known as ERA-Interim. This study has evaluated one year of precipitation data from the GPM-IMERG and ERA-Interim reanalysis daily time series over West of Iran. IMERG and ERA-Interim yield underestimate the observed values while IMERG underestimated slightly and performed better when precipitation is greater than 10mm. Furthermore, with respect to evaluation of probability of detection (POD), threat score (TS), false alarm ratio (FAR) and probability

  12. Influence of the Anomalous Patterns of the Mascarene and Australian Highs on Precipitation during the Prerainy Season in South China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xue Han

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The authors investigate the features of precipitation during the prerainy season in South China (PSCPRS and the atmospheric circulation in the Southern Hemisphere (SH, which is expected to influence the PSCPRS significantly. The Morlet wavelet method revealed that the PSCPRS has significant interannual variability, especially in its quasi-biennial oscillation. The PSCPRS exhibits a significant monsoonal precipitation pattern. Using singular value decomposition (SVD and composite analysis, the anomalous characteristics of SH atmospheric circulations and their impacts on the PSCPRS are studied. The results reveal that eastward movements or extensions of the Mascarene high (MH and Australian high (AH, which have quasi-baroclinic geopotential height structures in the lower and middle troposphere, are the most significant factors affecting the PSCPRS. Their impacts on the PSCPRS anomalies are further studied using the index east of the MH (IEMH and index east of the AH (IEAH. The IEMH and IEAH have notable significant positive correlations with the PSCPRS. When either the IEMH or IEAH is stronger (weaker, more (less rainfall occurs during the prerainy season in South China.

  13. Responses of Mean and Extreme Precipitation to Deforestation in the Maritime Continent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, C. C.; Lo, M. H.; Yu, J. Y.

    2017-12-01

    Anthropogenic land use and land cover change, including tropical deforestation, could have substantial effects on local surface energy and water budgets, and thus on the atmospheric stability which may result in changes in precipitation. Maritime Continent has undergone severe deforestation in recent decades but has received less attention than Amazon or Congo rainforests. Therefore, this study is to decipher the precipitation response to deforestation in the Maritime Continent. We conduct deforestation experiments using Community Earth System Model (CESM) and through converting the tropical rainforest into grassland. The results show that deforestation in Maritime Continent leads to an increase in both mean temperature and mean precipitation. Moisture budget analysis indicates that the increase in precipitation is associated with the vertically integrated vertical moisture advection, especially the dynamic component (changes in convection). In addition, through moist static energy (MSE) budget analysis, we find the atmosphere among deforested areas become unstable owing to the combined effects of positive specific humidity anomalies at around 850 hPa and anomalous warming extended from the surface to 750 hPa. This instability will induce anomalous ascending motion, which could enhance the low-level moisture convergence, providing water vapor from the surrounding warm ocean. To further evaluate the precipitation response to deforestation, we examine the precipitation changes under La Niña events and global warming scenario using CESM Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) simulations and Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 simulations. We find that the precipitation increase caused by deforestation in Maritime Continent is comparable in magnitude to that generated by either natural variability or global warming forcing. Besides the changes in mean precipitation, preliminary results show the extreme precipitation also increases. We will further

  14. Fine-scale precipitation and mechanical properties of thin slab processed titanium-niobium bearing high strength steels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jia, Z. [Center for Structural and Functional Materials, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, P.O. Box 44130, Lafayette, LA 70503 (United States); Misra, R.D.K., E-mail: dmisra@louisiana.edu [Center for Structural and Functional Materials, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, P.O. Box 44130, Lafayette, LA 70503 (United States); O' Malley, R. [Nucor Steel Decatur, LLC, 4301 Iverson Blvd., Trinity, AL 35673 (United States); Jansto, S.J. [CBMM-Reference Metals Company, 1000 Old Pond Road, Bridgeville, PA 15017 (United States)

    2011-08-25

    Highlights: {yields} Precipitation and mechanical behavior of Ti-Nb and Ti-Nb-Mo-V steels were elucidated. {yields} Distribution of precipitates was analyzed with microscopy and diffraction pattern. {yields} During austenite-ferrite transformation, interface precipitation of NbC was observed. {yields} Epitaxial precipitation of NbC on TiC surface results in mixed precipitates Ti(Nb)C. - Abstract: We describe here the precipitation behavior and mechanical properties of 560 MPa Ti-Nb and 770 MPa Ti-Nb-Mo-V steels. The precipitation characteristics were analyzed in terms of chemistry and size distribution of precipitates, with particular focus on the crystallography of precipitates through an analysis of electron diffraction patterns. In addition to pure carbides (NbC, TiC, Mo{sub 2}C, and VC), Nb containing titanium-rich carbides were also observed. These precipitates were of a size range of 4-20 nm. The mechanism of formation of these Ti-rich niobium containing carbides is postulated to involve epitaxial nucleation of NbC on previously precipitated TiC. Interface precipitation of NbC was an interesting observation in compact strip processing which is characterized by an orientation relationship of [0 0 1]{sub NbC}//[0 0 1]{sub {alpha}-Fe}, implying that the precipitation of NbC occurred during austenite-ferrite transformation.

  15. Fine-scale precipitation and mechanical properties of thin slab processed titanium-niobium bearing high strength steels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jia, Z.; Misra, R.D.K.; O'Malley, R.; Jansto, S.J.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Precipitation and mechanical behavior of Ti-Nb and Ti-Nb-Mo-V steels were elucidated. → Distribution of precipitates was analyzed with microscopy and diffraction pattern. → During austenite-ferrite transformation, interface precipitation of NbC was observed. → Epitaxial precipitation of NbC on TiC surface results in mixed precipitates Ti(Nb)C. - Abstract: We describe here the precipitation behavior and mechanical properties of 560 MPa Ti-Nb and 770 MPa Ti-Nb-Mo-V steels. The precipitation characteristics were analyzed in terms of chemistry and size distribution of precipitates, with particular focus on the crystallography of precipitates through an analysis of electron diffraction patterns. In addition to pure carbides (NbC, TiC, Mo 2 C, and VC), Nb containing titanium-rich carbides were also observed. These precipitates were of a size range of 4-20 nm. The mechanism of formation of these Ti-rich niobium containing carbides is postulated to involve epitaxial nucleation of NbC on previously precipitated TiC. Interface precipitation of NbC was an interesting observation in compact strip processing which is characterized by an orientation relationship of [0 0 1] NbC //[0 0 1] α-Fe , implying that the precipitation of NbC occurred during austenite-ferrite transformation.

  16. Precipitation characteristics in tropical Africa using satellite and in situ observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dezfuli, A. K.; Ichoku, I.; Huffman, G. J.; Mohr, K. I.

    2017-12-01

    Tropical Africa receives nearly all its precipitation as a result of convection. The characteristics of rain-producing systems in this region have not been well-understood, despite their crucial role in regional and global circulation. This is mainly due to the lack of in situ observations. Here, we have used precipitation records from the Trans-African Hydro-Meteorological Observatory (TAHMO) ground-based gauge network to improve our knowledge about the rainfall systems in the region, and to validate the recently-released IMERG precipitation product based on satellite observations from the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) constellation. The high temporal resolution of the gauge data has allowed us to identify three classes of rain events based on their duration and intensity. The contribution of each class to the total rainfall and the favorable surface atmospheric conditions for each class have been examined. As IMERG aims to continue the legacy of its predecessor, TRMM Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), and provide higher resolution data, continent-wide comparisons are made between these two products. Due to its improved temporal resolution, IMERG shows some advantages over TMPA in capturing the diurnal cycle and propagation of the meso-scale convective systems. However, the performance of the two satellite-based products varies by season, region and the evaluation statistics. The results of this study serve as a basis for our ongoing work on the impacts of biomass burning on precipitation processes in Africa.

  17. Isotopic composition of past precipitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edwards, T.W.D.

    1998-01-01

    The distribution of stable isotopes in precipitation provides critical quantitative information about the global water cycle. The first PAGES/IAEA ISOMAP workshop was held at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, 24-26 August 1998, which gathered 32 participants. The presentation and discussions demonstrated that a high level of sophistication already exists in the development of transfer functions between measured parameters and precipitation, as a result of the extensive use of water isotope tracers in paleo-environmental investigations, but a major challenge facing both producers and users of paleo-isotope data is the effective management of data and meta-data, to permit ready retrieval of raw and inferred data for comparison and reinterpretation. This will be in important goal of future ISOMAP activities. The critical need for more paleo-data from low latitudes was clearly recognized

  18. Reduced transpiration response to precipitation pulses precedes mortality in a piñon-juniper woodland subject to prolonged drought.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plaut, Jennifer A; Wadsworth, W Duncan; Pangle, Robert; Yepez, Enrico A; McDowell, Nate G; Pockman, William T

    2013-10-01

    Global climate change is predicted to alter the intensity and duration of droughts, but the effects of changing precipitation patterns on vegetation mortality are difficult to predict. Our objective was to determine whether prolonged drought or above-average precipitation altered the capacity to respond to the individual precipitation pulses that drive productivity and survival. We analyzed 5 yr of data from a rainfall manipulation experiment in piñon-juniper (Pinus edulis-Juniperus monosperma) woodland using mixed effects models of transpiration response to event size, antecedent soil moisture, and post-event vapor pressure deficit. Replicated treatments included irrigation, drought, ambient control and infrastructure control. Mortality was highest under drought, and the reduced post-pulse transpiration in the droughted trees that died was attributable to treatment effects beyond drier antecedent conditions and reduced event size. In particular, trees that died were nearly unresponsive to antecedent shallow soil moisture, suggesting reduced shallow absorbing root area. Irrigated trees showed an enhanced response to precipitation pulses. Prolonged drought initiates a downward spiral whereby trees are increasingly unable to utilize pulsed soil moisture. Thus, the additive effects of future, more frequent droughts may increase drought-related mortality. © 2013 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2013 New Phytologist Trust.

  19. Bulgarian regional patterns of contamination by global fallout (strontium 90)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boyadzhiev, A.; Shopov, N.; Simova, G.; Andreev, E.; Mikha lov, M.G.

    1980-01-01

    For selected districts in the country, mean annual atmospheric precipitation rates were related to strontium-90 contents in milk over the period 1970-1977. Strontium-90 in milk was determined by the method of Popov, using Va-Z-310 counters for activity measurements. The impact of annual precipitation means was examined by monofactorial spread analysis, with sites distributed into three groups according to precipitation rates observed over longer time periods: up to 650 l/m 2 from 650 to 750 l/m 2 ; and above 750 L/M 2 . Values of coefficient F were estimated, representing the ratio of group to random spreads. These figures were compared with critical values in Student's tables for 0.05 significance level. The F data indicated a definite alternative relationship to exist between strontium-90 amounts in mils and annual precipitation rates, which is prognostically meaningful from the strandpoint of radiological protection of the population

  20. Emerging pattern of global change in the upper atmosphere and ionosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Laštovička

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available In the upper atmosphere, greenhouse gases produce a cooling effect, instead of a warming effect. Increases in greenhouse gas concentrations are expected to induce substantial changes in the mesosphere, thermosphere, and ionosphere, including a thermal contraction of these layers. In this article we construct for the first time a pattern of the observed long-term global change in the upper atmosphere, based on trend studies of various parameters. The picture we obtain is qualitative, and contains several gaps and a few discrepancies, but the overall pattern of observed long-term changes throughout the upper atmosphere is consistent with model predictions of the effect of greenhouse gas increases. Together with the large body of lower atmospheric trend research, our synthesis indicates that anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are affecting the atmosphere at nearly all altitudes between ground and space.