Mechanisms for Global Warming Impacts on Precipitation Frequency and Intensity

Chou, Chia; Chen, Chao‐An; Tan, Pei‐Hua; Chen, Kuan Ting

doi:10.1175/jcli-d-11-00239.1

Cited by 159 publications

(136 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The data are sorted and binned according to precipitation intensity (Hagos et al 2010) with a total of 100 bins (i.e., each bin contains 1% of the total sampled precipitation events), similar to the percentile ranks. In our analysis, a precipitation event is defined as the precipitation rate greater than 0.1 mm day −1 as in previous studies (Sun et al 2007;Chou et al 2012). The first few bins represent light precipitation events, which are presumably dominated by shallow bottom-heavy convection; while the last few bins denote heavy precipitation events, in which both top-heavy and bottom-heavy convection often coexist, in agreement with the results from Hagos et al (2010).…”

Section: The Dependence Of Convective Vertical Structure On Precipitasupporting

confidence: 68%

Impacts of model spatial resolution on the vertical structure of convection in the tropics

Bui

Chou

2018

Clim Dyn

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This study examined the impacts of model horizontal resolution on vertical structures of convection in the tropics by performing sensitivity experiments with the NCAR CESM1. It was found that contributions to the total precipitation between top-heavy and bottom-heavy convection are different among various resolutions. A coarser resolution tends to produce a greater contribution from top-heavy convection and, as a result, stronger precipitation in the western Pacific ITCZ; while there is less contribution from bottom-heavy convection and weaker precipitation in the eastern Pacific ITCZ. In the western Pacific ITCZ, where the convection is dominated by a top-heavy structure, the stronger precipitation in coarser resolution experiments is due to changes in temperature and moisture profiles associated with a warmer environment (i.e., thermodynamical effect). In the eastern Pacific ITCZ, where the convection is dictated by a bottom-heavy structure, the stronger precipitation in finer resolution experiments comes from changes in convection structure (i.e., dynamic effect) which favors a greater contribution of bottom-heavy convection as the model resolution goes higher. The moisture budget analysis further suggested that the very different behavior in precipitation tendencies in response to model resolution changes between the western and eastern Pacific ITCZs are determined mainly by changes in convective structure rather than changes in convective strength. This study pointed out the importance of model spatial resolution in reproducing a reasonable contribution to the total precipitation between top-heavy and bottom-heavy structure of convection in the tropical Pacific ITCZs.

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Section: The Dependence Of Convective Vertical Structure On Precipitasupporting

confidence: 68%

Impacts of model spatial resolution on the vertical structure of convection in the tropics

Bui

Chou

2018

Clim Dyn

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“…Similar to the present results, conventional GCMs also show an increase in the occurrence frequency of intense (weak) precipitation (Sun et al 2007;Vecchi and Soden 2007;Chou et al 2012). These precipitation responses were robustly observed in previous GCM studies (Knutti and Sedláček 2012;Liu et al 2012;Huang et al 2013).…”

Section: Increase In Surface Precipitationsupporting

confidence: 92%

Cold and Warm Rain Simulated Using a Global Nonhydrostatic Model without Cumulus Parameterization, and their Responses to Global Warming

Noda

Satoh

Yamada

et al. 2015

Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan

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A global nonhydrostatic model was used to evaluate the reproduction skill of cold and warm rain over the ocean at low latitudes and investigate their responses to global warming. In response to global warming, surface precipitation at low latitudes (30°S-30°N) in the simulations using mesh sizes of 7 and 14 km (R7 and R14, respectively) increased by 1.9 % and 2.6 %, respectively. It was found that the increase in precipitation in the higher horizontal resolution model R7 was caused by the increase in cold and warm rain and that in R14 was due to the increase in cold rain. In R7, the net increase in cold rain occurred due to the increase in stronger precipitation (> 40 mm hr ). In contrast, warm rain increased in almost all ranges of precipitation intensity. The fractional coverage of warm (cold) rain increased (decreased) robustly for both mesh sizes in the simulations. Analysis of the contribution of dynamic and thermodynamic environmental changes to the changes in cold and warm rain revealed a strong dependency on dynamic regimes in their effects.The lifespans of cold and warm clouds at low latitudes (defined by the ratio of the sum of cloud water and cloud ice paths to the precipitation flux) and possible changes related to global warming were also evaluated. On an average, in all precipitation intensities, there was no significant change in the longevity of cold clouds in response to global warming. In contrast, the lifespan of warm clouds was reduced in most of the sea surface temperature anomaly regimes.

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“…Winter season precipitation frequency is the number of days where precipitation exceeds 0.1 mm within each winter season, a metric used as the standard for precipitation events in many studies [6,32,33]. The seasonal total is the sum of the daily precipitation values that occurred for all three months of the season.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and Temporal Variability in Winter Precipitation across the Western United States during the Satellite Era

Nash

Fetzer

2017

Remote Sensing

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Abstract:The western United States is known for its water shortages due to large seasonal and inter-annual variability of precipitation as well as increasing demand. Climate change will impact the availability of water in the western United States through the modification of precipitation characteristics. Satellite data presents the opportunity to study these changes at a fine, continuous spatial resolution-particularly in places where no traditional ground observations exist. Utilizing the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B42 version 7 precipitation data, this study examines the spatio-temporal changes in precipitation characteristics over the western United States between 1998 and 2015, and their connections with the atmospheric total column water vapor and the El Niño Southern Oscillation during the winter season. The results show that precipitation frequency in the western United States has been decreasing in general, precipitation totals and mean daily intensity are increasing in northwestern United States, but decreasing in the southwest United States during the 18 years of the study time period. Additionally, results show a strong relationship between total column water vapor and the precipitation characteristics, specifically in the southwestern United States.

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Mechanisms for Global Warming Impacts on Precipitation Frequency and Intensity

Cited by 159 publications

References 48 publications

Impacts of model spatial resolution on the vertical structure of convection in the tropics

Impacts of model spatial resolution on the vertical structure of convection in the tropics

Cold and Warm Rain Simulated Using a Global Nonhydrostatic Model without Cumulus Parameterization, and their Responses to Global Warming

Spatial and Temporal Variability in Winter Precipitation across the Western United States during the Satellite Era

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