Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Jorge Eiras-Barca, Alexandre M. Ramos, Iago Algarra, Marta Vazquez, Francina Dominguez, Gonzalo Miguez-Macho, Raquel Nieto, Luis Gimeno, Juan Taboada, F. Martin Ralph
Summary: This study applies the newly-created atmospheric river intensity and impacts scale (AR Scale) to the European continent, finding remarkable variability in the distribution of AR events across Europe. AR1 and AR2 events are the most frequent, explaining most of the precipitation, but with a low probability of extreme rainfall, while AR3, AR4, and AR5 events, although less common, are associated with a high probability of extreme rainfall.
WEATHER AND CLIMATE EXTREMES
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Dhana Lakshmi Douluri, Arun Chakraborty
Summary: This study investigates the simulation of heavy precipitation events over the West Coast of India associated with atmospheric rivers using the ARW-WRF model. The sensitivity of different parameterization schemes was evaluated, with deviations and advantages observed in the model simulations.
ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Mimi Hughes, Dustin Swales, James D. Scott, Michael Alexander, Kelly Mahoney, Rachel R. McCrary, Robert Cifelli, Melissa Bukovsky
Summary: Rainfall and snowpack in the Western U.S. vary greatly and have significant societal relevance. Previous studies have shown that they are influenced by extreme integrated water vapor transport events along the coast. Future projections indicate a decrease in cool season precipitation at high elevations and an increase in the Great Basin.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Gerd Masselink, Bruno Castelle, Tim Scott, Aikaterini Konstantinou
Summary: Beaches are highly variable environments and respond to changes in wave forcing, themselves modulated by climate variability. Winter wave conditions and shoreline variability are strongly linked to North Atlantic Oscillation and Western Europe Pressure Anomaly, but not to El Nino Southern Oscillation. The antecedent beach morphology is an important factor in determining summer and winter shoreline response.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
James B. Shope, Li H. Erikson, Patrick L. Barnard, Curt D. Storlazzi, Katherine Serafin, Kara Doran, Hilary Stockdon, Borja Reguero, Fernando Mendez, Sonia Castanedo, Alba Cid, Laura Cagigal, Peter Ruggiero
Summary: This study introduces a methodology to assess the probability of erosion and flooding caused by extreme total water levels (TWLs) along the U.S. West Coast, which can also be applied to other coastal areas. By analyzing 61 years of wave and water level data, combined with modeling and calculation, relevant predictions can be generated to evaluate the probability of erosion and flooding.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Swatah Snigdha Borkotoky, A. Park Williams, Scott Steinschneider
Summary: Atmospheric rivers (AR) play a crucial role in water resources management along the US west coast, impacting droughts and floods. However, long-term variations in the frequency and landfall location of ARs are poorly understood due to limited records. By using precipitation and tree-ring records, we reconstructed daily and annual occurrences of ARs in the past 600 years, providing novel insights into their variability prior to the instrumental record.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Juliette Blanchet, Jean-Dominique Creutin, Antoine Blanc
Summary: This study analyzed the large-scale circulations producing daily precipitation extremes in the Southwestern Alps and their trends from 1958 to 2017, mainly influenced by the Atlantic and Mediterranean influences. With seasonal variations, the atmospheric influences triggering precipitation extremes are spatially organized, with the Mediterranean influence significantly weakening in winter and spring, while the Atlantic influence expanding further south in autumn.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Justin Hicks, Bin Guan, Sumant Nigam, Alfredo Ruiz-Barradas
Summary: This study analyzes the atmospheric rivers (ARs) that occurred along the west coast of North America from 1980 to 2018, with a focus on winter landfalling ARs. The analysis reveals that the North Pacific Oscillation/West Pacific (NPO/WP) teleconnection has a significant impact on the number of ARs in this region.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Jit Biswas
Summary: This study explores the influence of major climate indices on monsoon extreme precipitation indices in India. Linear and nonlinear functions are used to evaluate the relations between each precipitation index and climate indices. Wavelet power spectra are used to investigate the periodicities and coherent patterns. The study reveals the correlation patterns and variability of monsoon precipitation extremes.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
A. Sreenath, S. Abhilash, P. Vijaykumar, B. E. Mapes
Summary: The disastrous cloudburst and floods in Kerala have raised concerns about the changing rainfall patterns along the west coast of India. Analysis of reanalysis data, satellite observations, and balloon soundings data suggest that there is a trend towards more convective and deeper clouds in recent decades.
NPJ CLIMATE AND ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Linye Song, Shangfeng Chen, Wen Chen, Jianping Guo, Conglan Cheng, Yong Wang
Summary: This study reveals that haze pollution in the North China Plain during winter can persist into the following spring due to specific atmospheric anomalies. The evolution of haze pollution and atmospheric anomalies are influenced by sea surface temperature anomalies in the North Atlantic, which can serve as important signals for predicting haze pollution one season ahead over the North China Plain.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
E. Beaudin, E. Di Lorenzo, A. J. Miller, H. Seo, Y. Joh
Summary: The study shows that North Pacific oceanic variability plays an important role in precipitation changes over the U.S. West Coast, with stronger (weaker) precipitation anomalies during warm (cold) phases. These anomalies are particularly pronounced in Northern and Central California during winters and in Baja California during summers. The changes in precipitation are primarily modulated by alterations in water vapor flux, which are directed towards (away from) the coast in winters (summers). These flux anomalies are mainly driven by large-scale wind changes associated with the atmospheric response to strong ocean surface temperature anomalies.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Gyu-Ho Noh, Kuk-Hyun Ahn
Summary: This study investigates the predictability of early winter precipitation in South Korea using North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) patterns with a lead time of 6-7 months. The results show that SST anomalies in the North Atlantic are associated with variations in early winter precipitation, which are influenced by summer sea ice concentration in the Arctic. These patterns modulate the atmospheric circulation over Eurasia and extend to East Asia through Rossby wave propagation, impacting the interannual variability of early winter precipitation. The study suggests that North Atlantic SST anomalies have potential for drought impact mitigation planning, with extended forecast lead times.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Yating Xiong, Xuejuan Ren
Summary: The atmospheric river (AR) significantly influences wintertime precipitation over the pan-North Pacific, especially in the core region, with AR group and non-AR group precipitation originating from different sources. Additionally, AR frequency varies notably during El Nino and La Nina years.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Qianrong Ma, Hongjia Lei, Fang Jia, Siyuan Sun, Pengcheng Yan, Yu Gu, Guolin Feng
Summary: The characteristics and mechanisms of interannual variability of extreme precipitation in late summer (August) in West China from 1961 to 2021 were investigated. Precipitation and extreme precipitation showed a decreasing trend in the southeast-northwest direction, with the highest values in the Sichuan Basin. The non-linear trends in extreme precipitation have increased since the 1980s. The interannual increase in extreme precipitation in West China was found to be significantly related to several atmospheric circulation patterns, including the strengthened South Asian high, stretched Western Pacific Subtropical high, enhanced westerly jet, anomalous cyclone in Mongolia, and anomalous anticyclone in the western Pacific.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Jianfeng Li, Yun Qian, L. Ruby Leung, Xiaodong Chen, Zhao Yang, Zhe Feng
Summary: This study investigates the potential future development of the June 2012 North American derecho with global warming. Through model simulations, it is found that the derecho would shrink and decay earlier in future environments with warming, resulting in less destructive impacts on the Mid-Atlantic coastal areas.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
W. Liu, P. A. Ullrich, J. Li, C. Zarzycki, P. M. Caldwell, L. R. Leung, Y. Qian
Summary: This paper introduces a testbed for evaluating and comparing climate modeling systems at cloud resolving scales using hindcasts. The testbed is applied to two models: SCREAM and WRF. The results show that simulation results are highly sensitive to initial conditions, initialization time, and model configurations. The testbed can be used to better understand model simulations of extreme events and guide model development.
JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN MODELING EARTH SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Qianlai Zhuang, Mingyang Guo, John M. M. Melack, Xin Lan, Zeli Tan, Youmi Oh, L. Ruby Leung
Summary: Freshwater ecosystems, especially lakes, contribute to the uncertainty of global methane budget. We estimate global lake methane emissions and evaluate the effects of temperature increase on these emissions. Our findings suggest that current lake emissions account for 11% of the global natural source and future projections indicate a significant growth in emissions. Enhanced methane oxidation in lake water can reduce net methane emissions.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Claudia Tebaldi, Michael Wehner, Ruby Leung, David Lawrence
Summary: We used six Earth system models to study changes in climate extremes under different land use change scenarios. The results show that changes in precipitation extremes are not significant, while temperature extremes show mixed results. Overall, our analysis suggests that the hypothesis to pair SSPs to RCPs in a flexible fashion is defensible, but further investigation is needed for some locations and indices.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Sandro W. Lubis, Samson Hagos, Chuan-Chieh Chang, Karthik Balaguru, L. Ruby Leung
Summary: The influence of the cross-equatorial northerly surge (CES) on the eastward propagation of Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) during boreal winter is evaluated through the analysis of the column integrated moisture budget. The study reveals that the CES reinforces MJO's southward detour by increasing horizontal moisture convergence over the southern Maritime Continent (MC) region. Further analysis shows that the stronger moisture convergence in the southern MC is associated with the CES-induced intensification of low-level northwesterly and westerly winds, which strengthen zonal wind convergences and positive wind-evaporation feedbacks onto the MJO convection.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yang Gao, Yubing Wu, Xiuwen Guo, Wenbin Kou, Shaoqing Zhang, L. Ruby Leung, Xiaodong Chen, Jian Lu, Noah S. Diffenbaugh, Daniel E. Horton, Xiaohong Yao, Huiwang Gao, Lixin Wu
Summary: Heatwaves are strongly associated with temperature distributions, and a high-resolution climate model can better simulate temperature distribution characteristics. Surface soil moisture and energy partitioning can alter the intensity and persistence of heatwaves.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Wenyu Zhou, L. Ruby Leung, Jian Lu
Summary: Relative humidity decreases over land under anthropogenic warming and this decrease is coupled with the decline in soil moisture. Interactive soil moisture is necessary and may be sufficient to explain the decrease in land relative humidity. The prior imbalance in evaporation and precipitation increases, facilitated by interactive soil moisture, leads to a drying effect on land.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Editorial Material
Environmental Sciences
Tapio Schneider, Swadhin Behera, Giulio Boccaletti, Clara Deser, Kerry Emanuel, Raffaele Ferrari, L. Ruby Leung, Ning Lin, Thomas Mueller, Antonio Navarra, Ousmane Ndiaye, Andrew Stuart, Joseph Tribbia, Toshio Yamagata
Summary: There are different opinions on how to produce accurate predictions for climate change adaptation. This article argues for the use of artificial intelligence, domain-specific knowledge, and ensembles of moderately high-resolution climate simulations as anchors for detailed hazard models.
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Chang Liao, Tian Zhou, Donghui Xu, Zeli Tan, Gautam Bisht, Matthew G. Cooper, Darren Engwirda, Hong-Yi Li, L. Ruby Leung
Summary: This study presents a novel approach for digital elevation model (DEM) processing in flow direction modeling, which accurately represents river networks and preserves hydrological characteristics. The proposed methods are mesh-independent and provide a robust procedure to remove local depressions in DEM.
JOURNAL OF ADVANCES IN MODELING EARTH SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Pradeep Kumar Rai, Chandan Sarangi, N. Arun, S. N. Kuiry, L. Ruby Leung
Summary: Aerosol-cloud interactions have a significant impact on extreme climate indices in India, including consecutive dry days, consecutive wet days, and precipitation intensity. Studying these interactions is important for accurately predicting future hydroclimate changes in the region.
Article
Environmental Sciences
S. s. -c. Wang, L. R. Leung, Y. Qian
Summary: The burned areas in the western US have increased ten-fold since the 1980s, driven by factors such as rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and extended drought. Using machine learning and explainable artificial intelligence, a study examined the predictors contributing to large fire emissions and identified fuel load and dryness levels as major drivers. Furthermore, it found that the risk of large fire emissions in autumn has increased due to decreased fuel moisture and concurrent fire-favorable meteorological patterns.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Koichi Sakaguchi, L. Ruby Leung, Colin M. Zarzycki, Jihyeon Jang, Seth McGinnis, Bryce E. Harrop, William C. Skamarock, Andrew Gettelman, Chun Zhao, William J. Gutowski, Stephen Leak, Linda Mearns
Summary: Comprehensive assessment of climate datasets is crucial for communicating model projections and uncertainties to stakeholders. The study focuses on understanding the sources of uncertainties in global variable-resolution dynamical downscaling and provides technical details of the model configuration, simulations, computational requirements, post-processing, and data archive of the CAM-MPAS downscaling data.
GEOSCIENTIFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Yilin Fang, L. Ruby Leung
Summary: This study compares different numerical experiments and ERA5-Land data to reveal the driving factors and complexity of snow droughts. In addition to above-normal temperature and low snowfall, other factors such as low soil moisture, warm soil temperature, and low relative humidity can also contribute to snow droughts. El Nino-Southern Oscillation events exacerbate snow drought conditions in various regions. However, there are some discrepancies between the models and ERA5-Land data.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Dalei Hao, Gautam Bisht, Yu Gu, L. Ruby Leung
Summary: Solar radiation-topography interaction plays important roles in the climate of the Tibetan Plateau and Asian regions. It regulates the surface energy balance, snow processes, and surface climate over the Tibetan Plateau. Considering this interaction improves the simulation of surface climate, reducing the winter cold bias and mitigating the wet bias in summer precipitation.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Xiaodong Chen, L. Ruby Leung, Lu Dong
Summary: This study investigates the antecedent hydrometeorological conditions (AHCs) of wildfires in the western U.S. by using a high-resolution regional climate simulation and wildfire observations. The study classifies wildfires into four types based on their AHCs and finds that each type of wildfires has different climate and vegetation conditions and their diverse relations to regional hydrometeorological conditions. Clustering-based predictions improve the seasonal wildfire prediction accuracy, especially for wet-soil-type fires and LW-type fires. The increase in wildfire occurrence during 1984-2018 is dominated by the increases in LW-type fires.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
(2023)