Improved Performance of High-Resolution Atmospheric Models in Simulating the East Asian Summer Monsoon Rain Belt

Yao, Junqiang; Zhou, Tianjun; Guo, Zhaobing; Chen, Xiaolong; Zou, Liwei; Sun, Yong

doi:10.1175/jcli-d-16-0372.1

Cited by 55 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…To further understand regional variations in vertical motion and their relation to EASM precipitation, we use the moist static energy (MSE) equation for relevant diagnostics of the monsoon dynamics (Chen et al, ; Chen & Bordoni, , ; Sun et al, ; Yao et al, ). Here we extend its application to two different climates: the mid‐Piacenzian and the ECP4.5 anthropogenic warming scenario.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying East Asian Summer Monsoon Dynamics in the ECP4.5 Scenario With Reference to the Mid‐Piacenzian Warm Period

Sun

Ramstein

et al. 2018

Geophysical Research Letters

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The mid‐Piacenzian (~3.3–3.0 Ma), which was characterized by high pCO2 (~400 ppm) and global surface air temperatures that were 1.84–3.60 °C above pre‐Industrial levels, provides clues to the likely changes in atmospheric dynamics in a future climate affected by anthropogenic warming, although its suitability as an analogue of the future climate has yet to be assessed. This study investigates the extent to which the dynamics of the East Asian summer monsoon during the mid‐Piacenzian can aid our understanding of East Asian summer monsoon behavior in the Extended Concentration Pathway version 4.5 scenario, using water vapor and moist static energy equations. The temperature‐dependent large‐scale moisture transport explains the similar pattern of precipitation increase in the two climates, whereas regional patterns of vertical motion differ significantly. Two of the main terms of the moist static energy equation control the changes in regional dynamics relative to the pre‐Industrial period. These terms relate to zonal advection of stationary eddy dry enthalpy by the mean zonal wind and meridional stationary eddy velocity over East Asia. Topographic differences between the two cases have a negligible effect on regional precipitation.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying East Asian Summer Monsoon Dynamics in the ECP4.5 Scenario With Reference to the Mid‐Piacenzian Warm Period

Sun

Ramstein

et al. 2018

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…Studies with global climate models show benefits from increasing atmospheric resolution (e.g., Roberts et al, 2018), with modest increases in blocking frequency (Berckmans et al, 2013;Schiemann et al, 2017), improvements in regional climatology (e.g., Yao et al, 2017) and improvements in rainfall variability (e.g., Kopparla et al, 2013). However, the benefits of increased atmospheric resolution for seasonal prediction skill are less clear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does increased atmospheric resolution improve seasonal climate predictions?

Scaife

Camp

Comer

et al. 2019

Atmospheric Science Letters

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We assess the impact of atmospheric horizontal resolution on the prediction skill and fidelity of seasonal forecasts. We show the response to an increase of atmospheric resolution from 0.8 to 0.3° horizontal grid spacing in parallel ensembles of forecasts. Changes in the prediction skill of major modes of tropical El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and extratropical North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) variability are small and not detected and there is no discernible impact on the weak signal‐to‐noise ratio in seasonal predictions of the winter NAO at this range of resolutions. Although studies have shown improvements in the simulation of tropical cyclones as model resolution is increased, we find little impact on seasonal prediction skill of either their numbers or intensity. Over this range of resolutions it appears that the benefit of increasing atmospheric resolution to seasonal climate predictions is minimal. However, at yet finer scales there appears to be increased eddy feedback which could strengthen weak signals in predictions of the NAO. Until prediction systems can be run operationally at these scales, it may be better to use additional computing resources for other enhancements such as increased ensemble size, for which there is a clear benefit in extratropical seasonal prediction skill.

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“…This is because, globally, evaporation and precipitation are more sensitive to net surface short‐wave radiation (Wu et al ., ; ). Reports also suggest higher‐resolution models generally improve some aspect of monsoon simulations (Johnson et al ., ; Fang et al ., ; Zhang et al ., 2016) and regional rainfall distributions (Schiemann et al ., ; Vellinga et al ., ; Yao et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of horizontal atmospheric resolution in modelling air–sea heat fluxes

Roberts

Martin

et al. 2019

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

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Climate modes as simulated by global climate models are often found to be considerably weaker than are observed. One possibility is that coarse‐resolution climate models do not capture turbulent air–sea fluxes sufficiently. Ensemble experiments with the same atmospheric configuration of the Met Office Hadley Centre climate model, forced with observed sea‐surface temperatures (SST) and at three different horizontal model resolutions (approximately 130, 60 and 25 km), are used to test the sensitivity of air–sea surface heat and moisture fluxes. We find that, although global mean budgets at the three resolutions are very similar, substantial differences appear in regional air–sea flux patterns. Increased model resolution consistently enhances zonal‐mean air–sea fluxes in the mid–high latitudes while suppressing heat fluxes in the low latitudes and weakening the Hadley Circulation. In the North Atlantic, annual mean surface heat fluxes into the atmosphere along the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic Current and over the sub‐polar gyre can increase by up to 10 W/m2 when atmospheric model resolution increases from 130 to 60 km. In the Pacific, increased model resolution tends to weaken the Walker Circulation with increased heat fluxes from the east but markedly reduced fluxes from the western Pacific, leading to significantly improved precipitation over the tropical western Pacific and the Maritime Continent. Changes in air–sea heat fluxes come about mainly as a result of changed near‐surface ventilation. Generally, increasing resolution strengthens surface winds and reduces specific humidity in the mid–high latitudes while weakening surface winds over the Tropics and subtropics.

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Improved Performance of High-Resolution Atmospheric Models in Simulating the East Asian Summer Monsoon Rain Belt

Cited by 55 publications

References 41 publications

Quantifying East Asian Summer Monsoon Dynamics in the ECP4.5 Scenario With Reference to the Mid‐Piacenzian Warm Period

Quantifying East Asian Summer Monsoon Dynamics in the ECP4.5 Scenario With Reference to the Mid‐Piacenzian Warm Period

Does increased atmospheric resolution improve seasonal climate predictions?

The impact of horizontal atmospheric resolution in modelling air–sea heat fluxes

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