Article
Environmental Sciences
Goutam Konapala, Somnath Mondal, Ashok Mishra
Summary: This study introduces a novel framework based on network theory to explore the three-dimensional structure of drought evolution, and applies it to analyze droughts in North America using the Standardized Precipitation Evaporation Index. The results identify major source regions for drought propagation in North America, including the West coast, Texas coastal region, and Southeastern Arkansas.
WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Water Resources
Giacomo Moraglia, Erika Brattich, Gregory Carbone
Summary: This study investigates trends in the pluviometric regime in North and South Carolina, USA using data from forty-four historical stations. The results show that most of the stations do not exhibit consistent, statistically significant trends in precipitation amount, frequency, and intensity. However, a third of the stations show a significant increasing trend in the annual number of light rain days. These findings contribute to the understanding of trends in the southeastern United States and have implications for adaptation planning.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY-REGIONAL STUDIES
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
John T. Abatzoglou, Adrienne M. Marshall, A. C. Lute, Mohammad Safeeq
Summary: Temperature and precipitation are found to be covariant across timescales. In the contiguous United States, maximum temperatures are anomalously cool on wet days in the warm season, while minimum temperatures are anomalously warm on wet days in the cool season. Climate models exhibit a subtle precipitation dependence of temperature trends.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Anna Carolina Bazzanela, Claudine Dereczynski, Wanderson Luiz-Silva, Pedro Regoto
Summary: This work evaluates the ability of 28 CMIP6 models to represent the South American climate during the reference period and finds that some models perform poorly in representing specific systems, with most models overestimating the intensity of the subtropical and polar jets.
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Terhi K. Laurila, Victoria A. Sinclair, Hilppa Gregow
Summary: This study analyzes the monthly 10-m wind speed climatology, decadal variability and possible trends in the North Atlantic and Europe, as well as investigates the physical reasons for the decadal variability. Results show distinct land-sea contrast and seasonal variation in wind speeds, with large annual and decadal variability identified. The decadal changes in wind speeds are largely influenced by the positioning of the jet stream and storm tracks.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Robert Fritzen, Victoria Lang, Vittorio A. Gensini
Summary: Extratropical cyclones are the main weather phenomena in the midlatitudes of North America, affecting precipitation, winds, and storms. Analysis of historical extratropical cyclones shows a decrease in average cyclone numbers in the past 20 years, especially in certain regions like Canada's Northwest Territories, Colorado, and east of the Graah Mountain Range.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED METEOROLOGY AND CLIMATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Daniela B. Risaro, Maria Paz Chidichimo, Alberto R. Piola
Summary: This study examines the interannual variability and trends of sea surface temperature (SST) around southern South America from 1982 to 2017. The research finds that there is a warming trend in the mid-latitude regions of the eastern South Pacific and western South Atlantic, while the region around southern South America shows a cooling trend. Additionally, two areas on the Patagonian Shelf exhibit statistically significant warming and cooling trends in SST anomalies. The results suggest that these SSTa trends are largely associated with the variability observed in the past decade.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Erik T. Smith, Omon Obarein, Scott C. Sheridan, Cameron C. Lee
Summary: This study classified circulation patterns in five regions across North America using self-organized maps, showing that trends in the z500 circulation patterns were generally larger than those in mean sea-level pressure, indicating a stronger influence of geopotential heights on atmospheric conditions.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Dae Il Jeong, Bin Yu, Alex J. Cannon
Summary: The unprecedented 2021 heatwave in Western North America resulted in record-breaking human-perceived heat stress, with extreme heat stress increasing at a faster rate than extreme air temperature, both showing rapid increases in recent decades. In the future, a larger increase in extreme human-perceived heat stress is projected compared to air temperature, especially for events exceeding the levels observed in 2021.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Valerio Lucarini, Vera Melinda Galfi, Jacopo Riboldi, Gabriele Messori
Summary: Understanding the statistical properties of extreme weather events and their underlying physical processes is crucial for evaluating climate variability, climate change, and associated hazards. Recent studies have shown that large deviation theory (LDT) is useful for investigating persistent extreme events and estimating long return periods. In this study, we utilize LDT and a state-of-the-art Earth system model to analyze the 2021 Western North America summer heatwave. We find that the occurrence of the heatwave can be attributed to climate variability, but its probability is greatly amplified by ongoing climate change. We also examine the spatial coherence and the role of the Rocky Mountains in influencing extreme events in the Western Pacific region of North America.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Richard Seager, Mingfang Ting, Patrick Alexander, Jennifer Nakamura, Haibo Liu, Cuihua Li, Isla R. Simpson
Summary: This study examines the onset and development of the drought in the southwestern United States from summer 2020 to spring 2021 using reanalyses and climate models. The severity of the drought in summer 2021 was a result of four consecutive seasons of record-low or extremely dry precipitation in the southwest. The onset of the drought was driven by a combination of internal atmospheric variability and interannual climate variability, and the worsening conditions were guided by the development of a La Nina in the tropical Pacific Ocean. There is also evidence of human-driven climate change contributing to the drying conditions in the southern part of the region in spring.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Haiyan Zhao, XianYan Chen, JiaXi Yang, Chuang Yao, Qiang Zhang, Ping Mei
Summary: In this study, a drought intensity formula was developed based on the extreme intensity-duration theory, and the maximum intensity of drought was calculated and selected as the annual drought intensity to analyze the drought characteristics in North China. The results show a decreasing trend of drought in North China after 1998, with significant variations in intensity and trends at different stages.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED METEOROLOGY AND CLIMATOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
S. L. Harper, A. Cunsolo, A. Babujee, S. Coggins, E. De Jongh, T. Rusnak, C. J. Wright, M. Dominguez Aguilar
Summary: Since the IPCC's 5th Assessment Report in 2014, there has been significant advancement in climate change and health research in North America, particularly in the areas of climate change impacts, heat-related mortality and morbidity, and respiratory illness. However, research gaps still exist regarding the impacts of climate change on mental health, nutrition, and foodborne disease.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Jan D. Keller, Sabrina Wahl
Summary: Atmospheric reanalysis datasets are critical for assessing past climate variability, with newer global and regional reanalysis systems showing significant differences in performance, particularly in terms of precipitation representation. Regional reanalyses provide added value, especially in terms of precipitation, compared to global reanalyses.
JOURNAL OF CLIMATE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Anran Zhuge, Benkui Tan
Summary: The ZNPO pattern is a newly identified teleconnection pattern that oscillates mass in the troposphere between the eastern and western North Pacific, affecting severe weather and hydroclimate events in North Pacific and North America during winter. It is primarily driven by baroclinic energy conversion and feedback forcing by transient eddies, acting as a major source of kinetic energy to maintain the pattern.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)