Comments on 'The parameterization of radiation for numerical weather prediction and climate models'
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Harshvardhan, MR.↗
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The Lack of a QBO‐MJO Connection in Climate Models With a Nudged Stratosphere
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Zane K. Martin↗
Equatorial waves simulated by the NCAR community climate model
The equatorial planetary waves simulated by the NCAR CCM1 general circulation model were investigated in terms of space-time spectral analysis (Kao, 1968; Hayashi, 1971, 1973) and energetic analysis (Hayashi, 1980). These analyses are particularly applied to grid-point data on latitude circles. In order to test some physical factors which may affect the generation of tropical transient planetary waves, three different model simulations with the CCM1 (the control, the no-mountain, and the no-cloud experiments) were analyzed.
Cheng, Xinhua↗
Improved ground hydrology calculations for global climate models (GCMs) - Soil water movement and evapotranspiration
A physically based ground hydrology model is presented that includes the processes of transpiration, evaporation from intercepted precipitation and dew, evaporation from bare soil, infiltration, soil water flow, and runoff. Data from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies GCM were used as inputs for off-line tests of the model in four 8 x 10 deg regions, including Brazil, Sahel, Sahara, and India. Soil and vegetation input parameters were caculated as area-weighted means over the 8 x 10 deg gridbox; the resulting hydrological quantities were compared to ground hydrology model calculations performed on the 1 x 1 deg cells which comprise the 8 x 10 deg gridbox. Results show that the compositing procedure worked well except in the Sahel, where low soil water levels and a heterogeneous land surface produce high variability in hydrological quantities; for that region, a resolution better than 8 x 10 deg is needed.
Abramopoulos, F.↗
An earth outgoing longwave radiation climate model. II - Radiation with clouds included
The model of the outgoing longwave radiation (OLWR) of Yang et al. (1987) is modified by accounting for the presence of clouds and their influence on OLWR. Cloud top temperature was adjusted so that the calculation agreed with NOAA scanning radiometer measurements. Cloudy sky cases were calculated for global average, zonal average, and worldwide distributed cases. The results were found to agree well with satellite observations.
Yang, Shi-Keng↗
Cloud parameterization for climate modeling - Status and prospects
The current status of cloud parameterization research is reviewed. It is emphasized that the upper tropospheric stratiform clouds associated with deep convection are both physically important and poorly parameterized in current models. Emerging parameterizations are described in general terms, with emphasis on prognostic cloud water and fractional cloudiness, and how these relate to the problem just mentioned.
Randall, David A.↗
A comparison of the impact of two time-differencing schemes on the NASA-GLAS climate model
Evidence is presented of the sensitivity of a GCM to the time-differencing scheme employed when the physical parameterizations and space discretization are not changed. Two-time marching schemes, the leapfrog and the Matsuno schemes, are analyzed and tested on the NASA-Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheric Studies fourth-order GCM in terms of the behavior and stability of two-month-averaged fields. Linear analysis indicates that Rossby waves are slightly accelerated and slightly damped when the Matsuno scheme is utilized and that these effects are scale selective, being smallest for the longest waves.
Pfeffer, Richard L.↗
The vertical structure of diabatic heating associated with the Madden-Julian oscillation simulated by the Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres climate model
The diabatic heating structure of the nine-layer Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres model of the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) is illustrated with composite charts made for those times when this low-frequency mode reaches its maximum and minimum amplitudes. These composite charts compare the vertically integrated diabatic heating with potential functions, the vertical distribution of diabatic heating with the east-west mass flux function in the tropics, and the vertical profiles of diabatic heating at the centers of maximum and minimum MJO amplitude. Three interesting features of the model MJO's diabatic heating are revealed: (1) the maximum heating rate of this low-frequency mode is located over the Asian monsoon region and its amplitude is about a half of the maximum value of the seasonal mean heating rate in this region, (2) the vertical diabatic heating rate profile has a maximum at 500 mbar and resembles the seasonal mean total heating profile, and (3) the total diabatic heating is for the most part composed of the latent heat released by cumulus convection.
Chen, Tsing-Chang↗
Thermal remote sensing of surface soil water content with partial vegetation cover for incorporation into climate models
This study outlines a method for the estimation of regional patterns of surface moisture availability (M(sub 0)) and fractional vegetation (Fr) in the presence of spatially variable vegetation cover. The method requires relating variations in satellite-derived (NOAA, Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)) surface radiant temperature to a vegetation index (computed from satellite visible and near-infrared data) while coupling this association to an inverse modeling scheme. More than merely furnishing surface soil moisture values, the method constitues a new conceptual and practical approach for combining thermal infrared and vegetation index measurements for incorporating the derived values of M(sub 0) into hydrologic and atmospheric prediction models. Application of the technique is demonstrated for a region in and around the city of Newcastle upon Tyne situated in the northeast of England. A regional estimate of M(sub 0) is derived and is probabbly good for fractional vegetation cover up to 80% before errors in the estimated soil water content become unacceptably large. Moreover, a normalization scheme is suggested from which a nomogram, `universal triangle,' is constructed and is seen to fit the observed data well. The universal triangle also simplifies the inclusion of remotely derived M(sub 0) in hydrology and meteorological models and is perhaps a practicable step toward integrating derived data from satellite measurements in weather forecasting.
Gillies, Robert R.↗
Nonsphericity of dust-like tropospheric aerosols: Implications for aerosol remote sensing and climate modeling
T-matrix computations of light scattering by polydispersions of randomly oriented nonspherical aerosols and Mie computations for equivalent spheres are compared. Findings show that even moderate nonsphericity results in suubstantial errors in the retrieved aerosol optical thickness if satellite reflectance measurements are analyzed using Mie theory. On the other hand, the use of Mie theory for nonspherical aerosols produces negligible errors in the computation of albedo and flux related quantities, provided that the aerosol size distribution and optical thickness are known beforehand. The first result can be explained by large nonspherical-spherical differences in scattering phase function, while the second result follows from small nonspherical-spherical differences in single-scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter. No cancellation of errors occurs if one consistently uses Mie theory in the retrieval algorithm and then in computing the albedo for the retrieved aerosol optical thickness.
Mishchenko, M. I.↗
A remotely sensed index of deforestation/urbanization for use in climate models
The object of this research is to use indirect measurements, notably thermal infrared, to describe urbanization and deforestation with parameters that can be used to assess, as well as predict, the effects of land use changes on local microclimate. More specifically, we use a new approach for the treatment of remotely sensed data; this is referred to as the 'triangle' method. The name triangle is given because the envelope of data points, when plotted as a function of surface radiant temperature versus vegetation index or fractional vegetation cover, exhibits the shape of a triangle. From the information contained on these 'scatter plots', land use changes can be related to two intrinsic surface variables, the surface moisture availability (M(sub 0))(sup 1) and fractional vegetation cover. Recent work by Carlson et al. indicate that the triangle shape on the scatter plots may be scale similar, suggesting that these two parameters are subject to the same interpretation on differing scales. A second objective in this research is to determine if historical data for Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) (NOAA satellite; 1.1 km resolution at nadir) can be used to assess changes in regional land use over time. To this end, two target areas were chosen for the investigation of urbanization and two for deforestation. The former comprise tow areas in Pennsylvania, one a small but rapidly growing population center (State College) and the other a medium-sized urban area which continues to undergo development (Chester County). The two deforestation sites consist of rain forest areas in western and central Costa Rica and a region in the Brazilian Amazon.
Gillies, Robert R.↗
Remotely Sensed Index of Deforestation/Urbanization for use in Climate Models
The purpose of this investigation is to use a new method for deriving land surface parameters from a combination of thermal infrared and vegetation index measurements from satellites (Landsat-TM, and NOAA-AVHRR) and to integrate these parameters with more conventional data bases. We have completed an investigation of urbanization in the State College, PA area and have begun work in Chester County, PA, and Costa Rica. Our basic hypothesis is that changes in land use, including deforestation, exert a profound influence on local microclimates whose effects may greatly exceed in importance those occurring on larger scales.
Carlson, Toby N.↗
Chemistry-Climate Models of the Stratosphere
Over the last decade, improved computer power has allowed three-dimensional models of the stratosphere to be developed that can be used to simulate polar ozone levels over long periods. This paper compares the meteorology between these models, and discusses the future of polar ozone levels over the next 50 years.
Austin, J.↗
Using Satellite-derived Ice Concentration to Represent Antarctic Coastal Polynyas in Ocean Climate Models
The focus of this paper is on the representation of Antarctic coastal polynyas in global ice-ocean general circulation models (OGCMs), in particular their local, regional, and high-frequency behavior. This is verified with the aid of daily ice concentration derived from satellite passive microwave data using the NASATeam 2 (NT2) and the bootstrap (BS) algorithms. Large systematic regional and temporal discrepancies arise, some of which are related to the type of convection parameterization used in the model. An attempt is made to improve the fresh-water flux associated with melting and freezing in Antarctic coastal polynyas by ingesting (assimilating) satellite ice concentration where it comes to determining the thermodynamics of the open-water fraction of a model grid cell. Since the NT2 coastal open-water fraction (polynyas) tends to be less extensive than the simulated one in the decisive season and region, assimilating NT2 coastal ice concentration yields overall reduced net freezing rates, smaller formation rates of Antarctic Bottom Water, and a stronger southward flow of North Atlantic Deep Water across 30 S. Enhanced net freezing rates occur regionally when NT2 coastal ice concentration is assimilated, concomitant with a more realistic ice thickness distribution and accumulation of High-Salinity Shelf Water. Assimilating BS rather than NT2 coastal ice concentration, the differences to the non-assimilated simulation are generally smaller and of opposite sign. This suggests that the model reproduces coastal ice concentration in closer agreement with the BS data than with the NT2 data, while more realistic features emerge when NT2 data are assimilated.
Stoessel, Achim↗
Parameterization of Cloud Droplet Formation in Global Climate Models
An aerosol activation parameterization has been developed based on a generalized representation of aerosol size and composition within the framework of an ascending adiabatic parcel; this allows for parameterizing the activation of chemically complex aerosol with an arbitrary size distribution and mixing state. The new parameterization introduces the concept of"population splitting", in which the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) that form droplets are treated as two separate populations; those that have a size close to their critical diameter and those that do not.Explicit consideration of kinetic limitations of droplet growth is introduced. Our treatment of the activation process unravels much of its complexity. As a result of this, a substantial number of conditions of droplet formation can be treated completely free of empirical information or correlations; there are, however, some conditions of droplet activation for which an empirically derived correlation is utilized. Predictions of the parameterization are compared against extensive cloud parcel model simu;lations for a variety of aerosol activation conditions that cover a wide range of chemical variability and CCN concentrations. The parameterization tracks the parcel model simulations closely and robustly. The parameterization presented here is intended to allow for a comprehensive assessment of the aerosol indirect effect in general circulation models.
Nenes, A.↗
Assessment and Consequences of the Delayed Breakup of the Antarctic Polar Vortex in Two Versions of the GEOS Chemistry-Climate Model
In mid-winter, winds circle the globe at speeds greater than 200 km/hr (approximately 130mph) in the middle atmosphere. This strong jet bounds the region known as the polar vortex. The presence of the Antarctic polar vortex is a key ingredient in the formation of the 'ozone hole', because the air inside the vortex is cold and isolated from lower latitudes, creating ideal conditions for large-scale chemical ozone depletion. Many atmospheric models are not able to reproduce observed winds in the middle atmosphere. Specifically, the polar vortices tend to break down too late and peak wind speeds are higher than observed. Hurwitz et al. find that the delayed break-up of the Antarctic polar vortex is due to weaker-than-observed wave driving from the lower atmosphere during the October-November period. The delayed break-up of the Antarctic polar vortex changes the temperature structure of the middle atmosphere, which biases the amount of chemical ozone depletion that can occur in late winter and spring. Also, the extended lifetime of the polar vortex strengthens the 'overturning' circulation cell in the middle atmosphere, changing the amount of ozone, methane and other chemical species that is transported from low to high latitudes. As greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise, the atmospheric temperature structure and resulting wind structure are expected to change. Clearly, if models cannot duplicate the observed late 20th century high-latitude winds, their ability to simulate the polar vortices in future must be poor. Understanding model weaknesses and improving the modeled polar vortices will be necessary for accurate predictions of ozone recovery in the coming century.
Hurwitz, M.M.↗
Reconciling Simulated and Observed Views of Clouds: MODIS, ISCCP, and the Limits of Instrument Simulators in Climate Models
The properties of clouds that may be observed by satellite instruments, such as optical depth and cloud top pressure, are only loosely related to the way clouds are represented in models of the atmosphere. One way to bridge this gap is through "instrument simulators," diagnostic tools that map the model representation to synthetic observations so that differences between simulator output and observations can be interpreted unambiguously as model error. But simulators may themselves be restricted by limited information available from the host model or by internal assumptions. This work examines the extent to which instrument simulators are able to capture essential differences between MODIS and ISCCP, two similar but independent estimates of cloud properties. We focus on the stark differences between MODIS and ISCCP observations of total cloudiness and the distribution of cloud optical thickness can be traced to different approaches to marginal pixels, which MODIS excludes and ISCCP treats as homogeneous. These pixels, which likely contain broken clouds, cover about 15% of the planet and contain almost all of the optically thinnest clouds observed by either instrument. Instrument simulators can not reproduce these differences because the host model does not consider unresolved spatial scales and so can not produce broken pixels. Nonetheless, MODIS and ISCCP observation are consistent for all but the optically-thinnest clouds, and models can be robustly evaluated using instrument simulators by excluding ambiguous observations.
Pincus, Robert↗
Sensitivity of the Mid-Winter Arctic Stratosphere to QBO Width in a Simplified Chemistry-Climate Model
In the stratosphere, equatorial winds continually alternate between easterly (westward) and westerly (eastward). This phenomenon is called the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). The average QBO cycle (Le. easterly to westerly to easterly) lasts approximately 27 months. Large-scale 'planetary' waves can only travel upward through the atmosphere when equatorial winds are westerly, and below a critical threshold. Thus, the amount of wave energy that reaches the middle atmosphere depends on the wind direction. When equatorial winds are easterly, wave energy is concentrated at higher latitudes, weakening the high-latitude eastward wind feature known as the 'polar jet' during the Northern Hemisphere winter season. Holton and Tan (1980) used atmospheric observations to show the dependence of the strength of the northern polar jet on the phase (easterly vs. westerly) of the QBO. This modeling study finds that the width of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) varies from one cycle to the next, and that variation in QBO width may exert equal influence on the Arctic stratosphere as does the QBO wind direction. High latitude winds are weaker and ozone values are higher in a wide-QBO model simulation, as compared with a realistic simulation. This result implies that a relatively wider QBO acts like a preferential shift toward the easterly phase of the QBO.
Hurwitz, M. M.↗