The Extreme Summer Precipitation over East China during 1982–2007 Simulated by the LASG/IAP Regional Climate Model

The extreme summer precipitation over East China during 1982-2007 was simulated using the LASG/IAP regional climate model CREM(the Climate version of a Regional Eta-coordinate Model).The results show that the probability density functions(PDFs) of precipitation intensities are reasonably simulated,except that the PDFs of light and moderate rain are underestimated and that the PDFs of heavy rain are overestimated.The extreme precipitation amount(R95p) and the percent contribution of extreme precipitation to the total precipitation(R95pt) are also reasonably reproduced by the CREM.However,the R95p and R95pt over most of East China are generally overestimated,while the R95p along the coastal area of South China(SC) is underestimated.The bias of R95pt is consistent with the bias of precipitation intensity on wet days(SDII).The interannual variation for R95p anomalies(PC1) is well simulated,but that of R95pt anomalies(PC2) is poorly simulated.The skill of the model in simulating PC1(PC2) increases(decreases) from north to south.The bias of water vapor transport associated with the 95th percentile of summer daily precipitation(WVTr95) explains well the bias of the simulated extreme precipitation.     

Projected Changes in Kppen Climate Types in the 21st Century over China

Future changes in the climate regimes over China as measured by the Kppen climate classification are reported in this paper. The analysis is based on a high-resolution climate change simulation conducted by a regional climate model (the Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) RegCM3) driven by the global model of Center for Climate System Research (CCSR)/National Institute for Environment Studies (NIES)/Frontier Research Center for Global Change (FRCGC) MIROC3.2_hires (the Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate) under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A1B scenario. Validation of the model performances is presented first. The results show that RegCM3 reproduces the present-day distribution of the Kppen climate types well. Significant changes of the types are found in the future over China, following the simulated warming and precipitation changes. In southern China, the change is characterized by the replacement of subtropical humid (Cr) by subtropical winter-dry (Cw). A pronounced decrease of the cold climate types is found over China, e.g., tundra (Ft) over the Tibetan Plateau and sub-arctic continental (Ec) over northeast China. The changes are usually greater in the end compared with the middle of the 21st century.     

Multi-Model Projection of July–August Climate Extreme Changes over China under CO_2 Doubling. Part II: Temperature

This is the second part of the authors’ analysis on the output of 24 coupled climate models from the Twentieth-Century Climate in Coupled Models (20C3M) experiment and 1% per year CO 2 increase experiment (to doubling) (1pctto2x) of phase 3 of the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP3). The study focuses on the potential changes of July–August temperature extremes over China. The pattern correlation coefficients of the simulated temperature with the observations are 0.6–0.9, which are higher than the results for precipitation. However, most models have cold bias compared to observation, with a larger cold bias over western China (>5°C) than over eastern China (<2°C). The multi-model ensemble (MME) exhibits a significant increase of temperature under the 1pctto2x scenario. The amplitude of the MME warming shows a northwest–southeast decreasing gradient. The warming spread among the models (～1°C– 2°C) is less than MME warming (～2°C–4°C), indicating a relatively robust temperature change under CO 2 doubling. Further analysis of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory coupled climate model version 2.1 (GFDL-CM2.1) simulations suggests that the warming pattern may be related to heat transport by summer monsoons. The contrast of cloud effects also has contributions. The different vertical structures of warming over northwestern China and southeastern China may be attributed to the different natures of vertical circulations. The deep, moist convection over southeastern China is an effective mechanism for "transporting" the warming upward, leading to more upper-level warming. In northwestern China, the warming is more surface-orientated, possibly due to the shallow, dry convection.     

How Well does BCC_CSM1.1 Reproduce the 20th Century Climate Change over China?

The historical simulation of phase five of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project(CMIP5) experiments performed by the Beijing Climate Center climate system model(BCC_CSM1.1) is evaluated regarding the time evolutions of the global and China mean surface air temperature(SAT) and surface climate change over China in recent decades.BCC_CSM1.1 has better capability at reproducing the time evolutions of the global and China mean SAT than BCC_CSM1.0.By the year 2005,the BCC_CSM1.1 model simulates a warming amplitude of approximately 1℃ in China over the 1961-1990 mean,which is consistent with observation.The distributions of the warming trend over China in the four seasons during 1958-2004 are basically reproduced by BCC_CSM1.1,with the warmest occurring in winter.Although the cooling signal of Southwest China in spring is partly reproduced by BCC_CSM1.1,the cooling trend over central eastern China in summer is omitted by the model.For the precipitation change,BCC_CSM1.1 has good performance in spring,with drought in Southeast China.After removing the linear trend,the interannual correlation map between the model and the observation shows that the model has better capability at reproducing the summer SAT over China and spring precipitation over Southeast China.     

Projected Changes in NO_x Emissions from Lightning as a Result of 2000–2050 Climate Change

Lightning is one of the most important natural sources of atmospheric NOx.The authors investigate the2000–2050 changes in NOx emissions from lightning using the global three-dimensional Goddard Earth Observing System chemical transport model(GEOS-Chem)driven by meteorological fields from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies(GISS)general circulation model(GCM)3.Projected changes in climate over 2000–2050are based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC)A1B scenario.The global NOx emission from lightning is simulated to be 4.8 Tg N in present day and to increase by about 16.7%over 2000–2050 as a result of the future climate change.The largest present-day emissions and climate-induced changes are found in the upper troposphere in the tropics.Regionally in eastern China(20–55 N,98–125 E),NOx emissions from lighting is simulated to be 0.3 Tg N(6.3%of the global total emission)in present day and to increase by 26.7%over2000–2050.The simulated changes in NOx from lightening correspond well with the projected future changes in convective precipitation.     

Geographical Patterns and Temporal Variations of Regional Dry and Wet Heatwave Events in China during 1960–2008

Daily maximum/minimum temperatures and relative humidity records from 510 stations in China for the period 1960–2008 were used to investigate geographical patterns and temporal variations of heatwave (HW) events. Dry and wet HW events were compared by different definitions. Regionally, both dry and wet HW events are commonly located in southeastern China in the monsoon area, with neither type occurring in the northeast part of Northeast China and Southwest China, while the north-northwest region of the country experiences dry HW events and a few wet HW events. In the southeast of the country, site dry HW events occurred from April to September and mostly in June, while site wet HW events occurred from April to October and mostly in September. In total, 163 regional wet HW events were identified. The ten longest regional wet HW events lasted for more than 20 days, while the mean duration for 163 events was about 11 days. For the top ten events, six occurred after the 1990s, compared with four before this time. Global surface warming was clear since 1979, but the frequency and severity of regional wet HW events were relatively low in the 1980s, increasing remarkably since the 1990s. Possible reasons for this might be the strong interdecadal and interannual variations in regional atmospheric circulations, as well as water transport related directly to temperature contrasts in different regions, rather than global-mean temperature changes.     

Changes in Regional Heavy Rainfall Events in China during 1961–2012

A new technique for identifying regional climate events, the Objective Identification Technique for Regional Extreme Events(OITREE), was applied to investigate the characteristics of regional heavy rainfall events in China during the period1961–2012. In total, 373 regional heavy rainfall events(RHREs) were identified during the past 52 years. The East Asian summer monsoon(EASM) had an important influence on the annual variations of China's RHRE activities, with a significant relationship between the intensity of the RHREs and the intensity of the Mei-yu. Although the increase in the frequency of those RHREs was not significant, China experienced more severe and extreme regional rainfall events in the 1990 s. The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the northern part of South China were the regions in the country most susceptible to extreme precipitation events. Some stations showed significant increasing trends in the southern part of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the northern part of South China, while parts of North China, regions between Guangxi and Guangdong, and northern Sichuan showed decreasing trends in the accumulated intensity of RHREs.The spatial distribution of the linear trends of events' accumulated intensity displayed a similar so-called "southern flooding and northern drought" pattern over eastern China in recent decades.     

A Study of the Impacts of the Spatial Differences in Climate Engineering Programs on the Extreme Intensities of High-Temperature Events in China Under A 1.5°C Temperature Control Target

Based on the daily maximum temperature data and average temperature data prediction for the period ranging from 2020 to 2099 under the scenario of BNU-ESM climate engineering (G4 test) and non-climate engineering (RCP4.5), the regional differences in the extreme high-temperature intensities in China during the implementation of climate engineering programs (2020 to 2069) and after the implementation of those programs (2070 to 2099) were analyzed using a Weibull Distribution Theory. The results indicated the following: (1) The results of this study’s comparison between the two scenarios had shown that climate engineering had not fundamentally changed the spatial features of the high and low differentiations for the extreme high-temperature intensities with the different recurrence periods in China. It was found that in both scenarios, the extreme high-temperature intensities were characterized by the spatial differentiations of low-temperature intensities on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and high-temperature intensities in the eastern and northwestern region; (2) This study’s comparison results of the two scenarios had indicated that the climate engineering processes during the two study periods could potentially help mitigate the extreme high-temperature intensities with different recurrence periods in China. Furthermore, the mitigation effects during the implementation period would be significantly higher than those after the implementation; (3) This study’s results of the comparison between the periods ranging from 2020 to 2069 and 2070 to 2099 under the proposed climate engineering scenarios suggested that there would be no strong rebounding of the extreme high-temperatures following the implementation of climate engineering programs, and the mitigation effects on the extreme high-temperature intensities during the implementation of the climate engineering programs would be significantly higher than after the implementation of the programs; (4) When comparisons were made of the changes of the average temperatures in China before and after the implementation of climate engineering programs, the results had shown that the average temperature in China had been reduced by at least 1.25℃ as a result of climate engineering, which would effectively alleviate the global warming trend, and could also be conducive to the realization of a temperature control target of 1.5℃ in accordance with the Paris Agreement.     

Changes of Air–sea Coupling in the North Atlantic over the 20th Century

Changes of air–sea coupling in the North Atlantic Ocean over the 20 th century are investigated using reanalysis data,climate model simulations, and observational data. It is found that the ocean-to-atmosphere feedback over the North Atlantic is significantly intensified in the second half of the 20 th century. This coupled feedback is characterized by the association between the summer North Atlantic Horseshoe(NAH) SST anomalies and the following winter North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO). The intensification is likely associated with the enhancement of the North Atlantic storm tracks as well as the NAH SST anomalies. Our study also reveals that most IPCC AR4 climate models fail to capture the observed NAO/NAH coupled feedback.     

Changes in Seasonal Cycle and Extremes in China during the Period 1960–2008

Recent trends in seasonal cycles in China are analyzed, based on a homogenized dataset of daily temperatures at 541 stations during the period 1960–2008. Several indices are defined for describing the key features of a seasonal cycle, including local winter/summer (LW/LS) periods and local spring/autumn phase (LSP/LAP). The Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition method is applied to determine the indices for each year. The LW period was found to have shortened by 2–6 d (10 yr)-1, mainly due to an earlier end to winter conditions, with the LW mean temperature having increased by 0.2°C–0.4°C (10 yr)?1, over almost all of China. Records of the most severe climate extremes changed less than more typical winter conditions did. The LS period was found to have lengthened by 2–4 d (10 yr)?1, due to progressively earlier onsets and delayed end dates of the locally defined hot period. The LS mean temperature increased by 0.1°C–0.2°C (10 yr)-1 in most of China, except for a region in southern China centered on the mid-lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In contrast to the winter cases, the warming trend in summer was more prominent in the most extreme records than in those of more typical summer conditions. The LSP was found to have advanced significantly by about 2 d (10 yr)-1 in most of China. Changes in the autumn phase were less prominent. Relatively rapid changes happened in the 1980s for most of the regional mean indices dealing with winter and in the 1990s for those dealing with summer.     

Agricultural Land Use Effects on Climate over China as Simulated by a Regional Climate Model

The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) Regional Climate Model version 3 (RegCM3) is used to investigate the climate effects of land use change related to agriculture over China. The model is driven by the European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecast 40-yr Re-Analysis (ERA40)data. Two sets of experiments for 15 yr (1987-2001) are conducted, one with the potential vegetation cover and the other the agricultural land use (AG). The results show that the AG effects on temperature are weak over northern China while in southern China a significant cooling is found in both winter (December-January-February) and summer (June-July-August). The mean cooling in the sub-regions of South China (SC) in winter and the sub-regions of Southeast (SE) China in summer are found to be the greatest,up to 0.5℃ and 0.8℃, respectively. In general, the change of AG leads to a decrease of annual mean temperature by 0.5-1℃ in southern China. Slight change of precipitation in western China and a decrease of precipitation in eastern China are simulated in winter, with the maximum reduction reaching -7.5% over SE. A general decrease of precipitation over northern China and an increase over southern China are simulated in summer,in particular over SE where the increase of precipitation can be up to 7.3%. The AG effects on temperature and precipitation show strong interannual variability. Comparison of the climate effects between AG and the present-day land use (LU) is also performed. In southern China, the ratio of temperature (precipitation)changes caused by AG and LU is greater than (closer to) the ratio of the number of grid cells with changed vegetation cover due to AG and LU variations.     

华北地区未来气候变化的高分辨率数值模拟

使用20km高水平分辨率的区域气候模式RegCM3,单向嵌套FvGCM/CCM3全球模式,进行了中国区域气候变化的数值模拟试验,分析华北地区夏半年4-9月的气温、降水和高温、干旱事件的变化。模式积分时间分为两个时段,分别为当代的1961-1990年和在IPCC SRES A2温室气体排放情景下的21世纪末2071-2100年。模式检验结果表明:在大部分月份,区域模式对当代气候的模拟都较全球模式更好。两个模式模拟的未来气温和降水变化,在空间分布型和量级上都有一定不同,如区域模式的升温更高,降水出现大范围减少等。此外,使用日最高气温不低于35℃的日数(D_(T35))和考虑了湿度因素的炎热指数(I_(H))不低于35℃的日数(D_(H135)),分析了区域模式模拟的未来高温事件变化,结果表明:未来华北地区D_(T35)和平原地区D_(H135)均有较大增加。未来华北地区的连续干旱日数(CDD)将增加,依照UNEP(United Nations Environment Programme)干旱指数(A_(U))给出的气候湿润区将有较大幅度减少,而半湿润半干旱区和半干旱区面积将增加。     

中国20年一遇气温和降水极值变化的高分辨率模拟

基于25 km高分辨率区域气候模式（RegCM3）嵌套MIROC3.2_hires全球气候模式结果,进行IPCC SRES A1B情景下21世纪气候变化的模拟,分析中国区域未来气温和降水极值重现期的变化。首先检验模式对当代（1981-2000年）极端事件重现期的模拟能力,结果表明,模式能够较好地再现中国地区20年一遇极端事件的基本分布型,但所模拟的数值与观测相比还有一定偏差,特别是在极端降水方面。21世纪中期（2041-2060年）和末期（2081-2100年）20年一遇的高温极值在整个区域内均将升高,东北地区增幅最大;低温极值将增大,中心位于内蒙古、新疆及青藏高原南麓;降水极值也将普遍增大。气温和降水极值在21世纪末期的增加幅度均比中期要大。在未来全球变暖背景下,中国地区极端高温事件将明显增多,面积增大;极端低温事件将大幅度减少,面积减少;强降水事件也将增多,面积不断扩大。     

温室效应对我国东部地区气候影响的高分辨率数值试验

使用RegCM3区域气候模式,单向嵌套NASA/NCAR 的全球环流模式FvGCM的输出结果,对中国东部地区进行了在实际温室气体浓度下当代1961~1990年和在IPCC A2温室气体排放情景下21世纪末期2071~2100年各30年时间长度,水平分辨率为20 km的气候变化模拟试验。首先分析全球和区域模式对中国东部地区当代气候的模拟情况,结果表明全球模式对中国东部地区气温的总体分布型模拟较好,但存在冷偏差,区域模式在对这个冷偏差有所纠正的同时,提供了气温地理分布更详细的信息。全球模式模拟的年降水中心位于长江流域,与观测差别较大,区域模式对此同样也有改进,降水高值区主要位于区域南部,并表现出较强的地形强迫特征。区域模式的模拟结果还表明,至21世纪末期,在温室效应作用下,中国东部的气温将明显升高,年平均气温的升高值在2.7~4.0℃之间,其中北部升温大于南部,冬季升温大于夏季。冬季升温表现出明显的随纬度增加而增加的分布型。模拟区域内年平均降水将增加,增加值一般在10%以上,部分地区达到30%。降水增加在夏季较明显,区域内以普遍增加为主,冬季降水自山东半岛至湖南地区将减少,其他地区增加。此外,对夏季高温日数和冬季低温日数及年平均大雨日数的变化也进行了分析。     

商丘市极端天气气候事件变化趋势

利用1961~2004年逐日气象资料,分析了商丘市近44年来极端天气气候事件的变化趋势。结果表明:近44年来,商丘市暴雨、大暴雨和达到极端干旱标准的总天数都存在增加的趋势,但是这种趋势在统计上并不显著。极端高温事件年发生频率增加而极端低温事件发生频率减少;季节变化以冬、夏两季最为明显,其中冬季极端高温事件增加而极端低温事件减少,变化趋势都通过了99%的显著性水平检验;夏季与冬季变化趋势相反,其中极端高温事件显著减少,通过95%的显著性水平检验。寒冷期长度和炎热期长度都显著减少,分别通过99%和95%的显著性水平检验。     

全球变暖背景下中国区域不同强度降水事件变化的高分辨率数值模拟

对一个20km高水平分辨率区域气候模式(RegCM3)所模拟的全球变暖背景下,中国区域未来不同强度降水事件变化进行了分析。以日降水量的大小,将降水划分为不同等级。首先检验了模式对当代(1961—1990年)各等级降水日数的模拟能力,结果表明,与观测相比,模式模拟的小雨事件偏多而大雨事件在南方过少。21世纪末(2071—2100年)在IPCC SRES A2温室气体排放情景下,中国区域不同强度降水的变化在各地表现不同,同时其对各个地区降水总量变化的贡献也表现出较大不同,但在大部分地区,模式给出了未来强降水事件将增加的结果。     

未来我国极端温度事件变化情景分析

基于Hadley气候预测与研究中心的区域气候模式系统PRECIS（Providing REgional Climates for Impacts Studies）单向嵌套该中心全球海-气耦合气候模式HadCM3高分辨率的大气部分HadAM3P, 检验PRECIS对我国气候基准时段（1961—1990年）极端温度事件的模拟能力, 分析IPCCSRES（Special Reporton Emission Scenarios）B2情景下未来2071—2100年相对于气候基准时段我国极端温度事件的变化响应。与观测资料的对比分析表明:PRECIS能够较好地模拟我国气候基准时段极端温度事件的局地分布特征。IPCC SRESB2情景下, 预估未来2071—2100年我国大部分地区高温日数出现频率均比气候基准时段高5倍以上; 霜冻日数将呈减少趋势, 我国南方地区的减少趋势大于北方地区; 暖期持续指数整体将呈增加趋势, 我国东北地区、西北地区中西部、华北地区和东南沿海地区增加显著; 冷期持续指数整体将呈减少趋势, 且东北地区、华北地区、西北地区及内蒙古、青藏高原大部地区的减少幅度将达到90%以上。     

Regional Climate Change and Uncertainty Analysis based on Four Regional Climate Model Simulations over China

Four sets of climate change simulations at grid spacing of 50 km were conducted over East Asia with two regional climate models driven at the lateral boundaries by two global models for the period 1981–2050. The focus of the study was on the ensemble projection of climate change in the mid-21 st century(2031–50) over China. Validation of each simulation and the ensemble average showed good performances of the models overall, as well as advantages of the ensemble in reproducing present day(1981–2000) December–February(DJF), June–August(JJA), and annual(ANN) mean temperature and precipitation. Significant warming was projected for the mid-21 st century, with larger values of temperature increase found in the northern part of China and in the cold seasons. The ensemble average changes of precipitation in DJF, JJA, and ANN were determined, and the uncertainties of the projected changes analyzed based on the consistencies of the simulations. It was concluded that the largest uncertainties in precipitation projection are in eastern China during the summer season(monsoon precipitation).     

中国地区极端事件预估研究

简要介绍了极端气候事件预估的基本方法,概述了东亚和中国地区关于气候和极端气候事件预估研究的进展。针对极端事件变化预估研究中的重要问题,如高分辨率、长时间尺度的区域气候变化模拟和预估,高时空分辨率的网格化观测资料,除温室效应外的土地利用和气溶胶的作用,使用合理方法进行多模式结果的集合,以及统计降尺度方法的应用等,进行了讨论。