Understanding and simulating the link between African easterly waves and Atlantic tropical cyclones using a regional climate model: the role of domain size and lateral boundary conditions

Using a suite of lateral boundary conditions, we investigate the impact of domain size and boundary conditions on the Atlantic tropical cyclone and african easterly Wave activity simulated by a regional climate model. Irrespective of boundary conditions, simulations closest to observed climatology are obtained using a domain covering both the entire tropical Atlantic and northern African region. There is a clear degradation when the high-resolution model domain is diminished to cover only part of the African continent or only the tropical Atlantic. This is found to be the result of biases in the boundary data, which for the smaller domains, have a large impact on TC activity. In this series of simulations, the large-scale Atlantic atmospheric environment appears to be the primary control on simulated TC activity. Weaker wave activity is usually accompanied by a shift in cyclogenesis location, from the MDR to the subtropics. All ERA40-driven integrations manage to capture the observed interannual variability and to reproduce most of the upward trend in tropical cyclone activity observed during that period. When driven by low-resolution global climate model (GCM) integrations, the regional climate model captures interannual variability (albeit with lower correlation coefficients) only if tropical cyclones form in sufficient numbers in the main development region. However, all GCM-driven integrations fail to capture the upward trend in Atlantic tropical cyclone activity. In most integrations, variations in Atlantic tropical cyclone activity appear uncorrelated with variations in African easterly wave activity.     

CLIMATE PREDICTION EXPERIMENT FOR TROPICAL CYCLONE GENESIS FREQUENCY USING THE LARGE-SCALE CIRCULATION FORECAST BY A COUPLED GLOBAL CIRCULATION MODEL

Based on an analysis of the relationship between the tropical cyclone genesis frequency and large-scale circulation anomaly in NCEP reanalysis, large-scale atmosphere circulation information forecast by the JAMSTEC SINTEX-F coupled model is used to build a statistical model to predict the cyclogenesis frequency over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific. The SINTEX-F coupled model has relatively good prediction skill for some circulation features associated with the cyclogenesis frequency including sea level pressure, wind vertical shear, Intertropical Convergence Zone and cross-equatorial air flows. Predictors derived from these large-scale circulations have good relationships with the cyclogenesis frequency over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific. A multivariate linear regression （MLR） model is further designed using these predictors. This model shows good prediction skill with the anomaly correlation coefficient reaching, based on the cross validation, 0.71 between the observed and predicted cyclogenesis frequency. However, it also shows relatively large prediction errors in extreme tropical cyclone years （1994 and 1998, for example）.     

Future changes in tropical cyclone genesis in fully dynamic ocean- and mixed layer ocean-coupled climate models: a low-resolution model study

The global and regional projected changes in tropical cyclone (TC) genesis due to increased CO₂ concentrations has been investigated through a large-scale TC genesis parameter (convective seasonal genesis parameter, ConvGP) in two perturbed physics ensembles. The ensembles are based on the third generation Hadley Centre atmosphere?Cocean general circulation model with the first ensemble using a coupled fully dynamic ocean (HadCM3) and the second coupled to a simplified mixed layer thermodynamic ocean (HadSM3) both consisting of 17 members. In each ensemble, parameters are identically perturbed to provide a wide range of climate sensitivity whilst retaining a credible present-day climate simulation. It is found, by comparing the ConvGP climatology from reanalysis data with the best track genesis, that it is possible to reproduce the observed genesis distribution. Future changes in the spatial ConvGP distribution are explored with respect to each tropical ocean basin. Whilst there is a similarity in the gross pattern of the ensemble-mean projected ConvGP change between HadCM3 and HadSM3, there is a non-trivial difference in the tropical Pacific Ocean, arising from different patterns of tropical Pacific sea surface temperature change. This indicates that ocean representation can be important for regional scale projections. The quantitative contribution of individual constituent parameters (i.e. vorticity parameter, shear parameter and convective potential) to the projected ConvGP change is estimated. It is found that all three large-scale parameters generally contribute constructively, but with different magnitude, in the regions where a large doubled CO₂ response is found.     

Winter cyclone frequencies in thirteen models participating in the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP1)

Various aspects of the simulated behaviour of cyclones in thirteen models participating in the AMIP1 exercise are presented. In the simulation of the winter climatological mean sea level pressure field for the Northern Hemisphere, the models produce reasonable simulations of the "semi-permanent" features of the climatology. The greatest departures from the observed climatology occur near the exit regions of the oceanic storm tracks; i.e., over northwestern North America, over and to the west of the British Isles and in the Mediterranean. The departures in the three geographical areas are very systematic in that at least eleven of the models exhibit similar departures from observations. In the Southern Hemisphere the intensity of the circumpolar trough is generally well simulated but positioned slightly too far north. Most models exhibit errors south of Africa, New Zealand, and South America. The simulations of the cyclone events show that the models are reasonably successful in reproducing the large-scale aspects of observed cyclone events but deficiencies in the details of the simulations are apparent. The paucity of simulated events to the south of the Alps and to the east of the Rockies suggests that the models have difficulty simulating lee cyclogenesis. Over much of North America, the models have difficulty simulating the correct level of synoptic activity as demonstrated by the low numbers of both cyclone events and anticyclone events. The models have difficulty simulating the distribution of cyclone events as a function of central pressure. The most common problem is that the models exhibit an ever increasing deficit of events with decreasing central pressure. This problem is more apparent in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere and does not appear to be resolution dependent. There is an apparent ENSO signal in the observed Northern Hemisphere interannual variability of intense winter cyclone events. With the exception of ECMWF, the models fail to reproduce this phenomenon. There is some evidence that the models do indeed respond to the interannual variability in the SSTs, but the response tends to be negatively correlated with that of the real atmosphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, there does not appear to be ENSO-induced interannual variability in the observed numbers of cyclone events. Consequently, it could be argued that the models have been reasonably successful in the Southern Hemisphere since they, like the observations, do not exhibit any ENSO-induced interannual variability.     

2006年7—9月西北太平洋热带气旋季节活动的数值模拟

利用NCEP（National Centers for Environmental Prediction）提供的1°×1°的FNL（final）资料和中尺度WRF（Weather Research and Forecasting）模式,研究了热带气旋（tropical cyclone,简记TC）动力季节预报的可能性,通过在27km的粗网格中运用张弛逼近（Nudging）技术,对2006年7-9月西北太平洋TC活动进行了92d的连续数值积分。与观测结果比较表明,WRF模式不仅较好地模拟了MJO（Madden-Julian oscillation）和准双周振荡的活动情况,而且模拟的TC频数、移动路径和强度都与实际观测结果比较接近。在嵌套的9km网格中,不仅模拟出眼墙、暖心等TC结构的主要特征和TC的西行盛行路径及登陆活动情况,而且所模拟的生成过程包括早期研究中提出的TC生成过程中的两次快速发展的过程。模拟的TC初始涡旋主要出现在季风槽中,伴随准双周振荡活动,它的第一次发展在初始涡旋中心形成强烈的对流区;经过一段时间的减弱后,在有利的大尺度形势下,涡旋中心湿水汽层迅速增厚,导致气旋的第二次强烈发展。     

2007年西北太平洋热带气旋活动综述

利用热带气旋年鉴、海温和大气环流再分析资料,分析2007年西北太平洋(包括南海)的风暴级以上热带气旋(简称TC)活动状况及海-气条件.结果表明,相对于气候平均值,2007年西北太平洋TC活动的季节峰期推后了约2个月,源地明显偏北,生成点纬度发生了2次明显跃变,年度TC的总体活动较弱,但个体的强度较强,路径以西北行为主,登陆比例偏大.影响上述TC活动特征的一个重要原因是年内ENSO循环的位相使得上半年的大气环流不利因素居多,而下半年大尺度上升运动、热带辐合带均较强,副高偏北、局地垂直风切变较小和对流层低层较强的扰动活动等条件,也十分有利热带气旋活动.     

ERA40再分析资料揭示的北半球和东亚地区温带气旋生成频率变化

本文利用欧洲中心再分析数据ERA40的6小时间隔海平面气压场和一种改进的客观判定和追踪方法研究19582001年北半球和东亚地区温带气旋生成频率的气候态、年代际变化及可能原因。结果表明:(1)北半球温带气旋的源地主要位于北美东部(落基山下游地区)、西北大西洋地区、格陵兰至欧洲北部地区、蒙古地区和日本至西北太平洋地区。大洋的西岸和陡峭地形的背风坡有利于大气斜压性的增强和正涡度的发展,从而有利于地面气旋的形成。(2)年、冬季和春季30°～60°N气旋生成数目呈现减少的变化趋势,60°～90°N地区的气旋生成数呈增加的变化趋势。这在一定程度上支持了北半球风暴路径北移的观点。60°N以南和以北的温带气旋数目同北极涛动指数(AO)分别呈现负相关和正相关,这种相关性在年、春季和秋季最为显著。(3)1 958—2001年东亚地区的年气旋数目呈现明显的年代际变化。20世纪60年代至80年代中期40°～60°N、80°～140°E地区气旋数目呈增加趋势,而80年代中期之后温带气旋数目则锐减,主要原因是80年代以后该地区大气斜压性减弱,更高纬度地区的大气斜压性增强,从而导致了气旋源地的北移。在较低纬带的20°～40°N、110°～160°E地区气旋数目线性增加,这主要是由于位于40°～55°N的北太平洋风暴轴有向低纬度偏移的变化趋势造成的。     

Model Evaluation and Projection on the Linkage between Hadley Circulation and Atmospheric Background Related to the Tropical Cyclone Frequency over the Western North Pacific

The performance of climate models in simulating the linkage of the spring Hadley circulation (HC) to the vertical zonal wind shear and atmospheric divergence in the lower and upper troposphere, which are related to the tropical cyclone frequency over the western North Pacific (WNPTCF) during June-September (JJAS), is evaluated on the basis of the 20th century climate simulations (20C3M). It is found that four models can simulta-neously reproduce the pattern revealed in the observation, with the spring HC in the Northern Hemisphere being positively correlated to the vertical zonal wind shear in the major tropical cyclone (TC) genesis region and negatively (positively) correlated to the atmospheric diver- gence in the upper (lower) troposphere over the western North Pacific (WNP) in the following JJAS. These four models are further used to project their relationship in the late 21st century under the A1B scenario. The results show that the association of spring HC with the vertical zonal wind shear and the upper-and lower-tropospheric divergence over the WNP will weaken in the late 21st century, thereby resulting in a weak relationship between the spring HC and the JJAS WNPTCF.     

Large scale features and energetics of the hybrid subtropical low ‘Duck’ over the Tasman Sea

New aspects of the genesis and partial tropical transition of a rare hybrid subtropical cyclone on the eastern Australian coast are presented. The ‘Duck’ (March 2001) attracted more recent attention due to its underlying genesis mechanisms being remarkably similar to the first South Atlantic hurricane (March 2004). Here we put this cyclone in climate perspective, showing that it belongs to a class within the 1 % lowest frequency percentile in the Southern Hemisphere as a function of its thermal evolution. A large scale analysis reveals a combined influence from an existing tropical cyclone and a persistent mid-latitude block. A Lagrangian tracer showed that the upper level air parcels arriving at the cyclone’s center had been modified by the blocking. Lorenz energetics is used to identify connections with both tropical and extratropical processes, and reveal how these create the large scale environment conducive to the development of the vortex. The results reveal that the blocking exerted the most important influence, with a strong peak in barotropic generation of kinetic energy over a large area traversed by the air parcels just before genesis. A secondary peak also coincided with the first time the cyclone developed an upper level warm core, but with insufficient amplitude to allow for a full tropical transition. The applications of this technique are numerous and promising, particularly on the use of global climate models to infer changes in environmental parameters associated with severe storms.     

西北太平洋热带气旋生成客观预测模型

该文提出一种西北太平洋热带气旋年生成活动的客观预测模型。研究大尺度环境因子对西北太平洋热带气旋年生成频次的作用,使用最小角回归算法对初始14个预测因子进行选择和降维,将资料集分为训练集(1979—2015年)和验证集(2016—2020年),建立随机森林回归模型预测热带气旋年生成频次。分析环境因子对西北太平洋热带气旋生成位置的作用,使用逐步回归算法筛选影响显著的预测因子,建立局部泊松回归模型预测热带气旋生成空间位置的概率。结果表明:随机森林回归模型可以预测西北热带气旋频次的主要变化和趋势,揭示环境因子对西北太平洋热带气旋年生成频次的影响。局部泊松回归模型对于气旋生成位置概率有一定预测能力。利用随机森林回归模型和局部泊松回归模型模拟1979—2020年西北太平洋热带气旋生成,结果与观测基本一致,可见模型可为热带气旋危险性分析提供参考。     

Tropical cyclones in a regional climate change projection with RegCM4 over the CORDEX Central America domain

The characteristics of tropical cyclones (TCs) over the Central America Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) domain are examined for present and future climate conditions using the regional climate model RegCM4. RegCM4 is first tested in a 22 year (1982–2003) simulation with boundary forcing from the ERA-Interim reanalysis, showing a generally good performance in reproducing the observed TC climatology and over the Atlantic in reproducing the interannual variations of TC counts. Four scenario simulations (1970-2100) are generated using two model configurations and two driving global models (MPI and HadGEM). The simulations employing the Grell convection scheme produce too few TCs, while those using the Emanuel convection scheme reproduce the observed climatology, especially when driven by the MPI global model. The simulation of TCs is thus sensitive to both the model convection scheme and the forcing GCM. Comparison of future and present day TC statistics indicates that the frequency of future TCs decreases over the tropical Atlantic and the East Pacific coastal areas while it increases over the western areas of the East Pacific and the northern areas of the Atlantic. We also find an increase in the frequency of intense TCs and long lasting TCs, along with a northward shift of TC tracks over the Atlantic. Conclusions on the changes in TC activity are not found to be sensitive to the inclusion of SST thresholds in the detection procedure. These findings     

Effect of tropospheric temperature change on the zonal mean circulation and SH winter extratropical cyclones

This study aims to understand the mechanisms which cause an overall reduction of SH extratropical cyclone activity with a slight increase in the high latitudes in a warmer climate simulated in general circulation models (GCMs) with increasing CO₂. For this purpose, we conducted idealized model experiments by forcing warm temperature anomalies to the areas where climate change models exhibit local maximum warming—the tropics in the upper troposphere and the polar regions in the lower troposphere—simultaneously and separately. The Melbourne University atmospheric GCM (R21) coupled with prescribed SST was utilized for the experiments. Our results demonstrate that the reduction of SH extratropical cyclone frequency and depth in the midlatitudes but the slight increase in the high latitudes suggested in climate change models result essentially from the tropical upper tropospheric warming. With this tropical warming, the enhanced static stability which decreases baroclinicity in the low and midlatitudes turns out to be a major contributor to the decrease of cyclone activity equatorward of 45°S whereas the increased meridional temperature gradient in the high latitudes seems an important mechanism for the increase of cyclone activity over 50°–60°S.     

The impact of doubled CO2 on the energetics and hydrologic processes of mid-latitude transient eddies

The Northern Hemisphere winter (DJF) stationary eddy response of a general circulation model (GCM) to a doubling of atmospheric CO₂ is simulated with a linear steady state model as a response to anomalies in diabatic heating (latent, sensible and radiative), mountain and transient eddy effects. For this analysis the doubled CO₂ experiment performed by Wilson and Mitchell (1987) is used. The linear simulations of the control and perturbation climate capture most of the important features of the GCMs stationary eddies. The simulation of the anomalous stationary eddy pattern in the Northern Hemisphere captures only some of the important features of the GCMs anomalies. The climate anomalies in the Southern Hemisphere are poorly simulated. In the Northern Hemisphere the climate anomalies are dominated by the effect of transient eddies and mountains. In low latitudes also the contribution of latent heating is important. The contributions of sensible and radiative heating are small.     

季风涡旋对热带气旋生成影响的理想试验研究

利用新一代非静力平衡中尺度数值模式WRF_ARW（3.3.1版本）模拟季风涡旋中热带气旋生成的过程,从动力和热力作用两方面分析大尺度季风涡旋对热带气旋生成的影响。结果表明:从动力学角度来看,能提供较大环境场涡度的季风涡旋不利于扰动涡旋快速发展成热带气旋。初始阶段,由于季风涡旋尺度大,垂直涡度径向梯度弱。而垂直涡度径向梯度的强弱可以通过“涡度隔离”效应影响对流单体向涡旋中心的聚集合并过程。随着扰动的组织化,径向入流对涡度的平流作用越来越重要。对流单体相对最大风速半径的位置对热带气旋生成作用明显,当其集中在最大风速半径附近时涡旋容易快速发展。此外,环境场相对涡度与热带气旋的尺度存在显著正相关。初始尺度大的涡旋最终具有较大的外围尺度,其涡度的分布范围也更广。从热力学角度来说,较大的环境场相对湿度有利于热带气旋的生成。虽然较大的环境场湿度能够诱发较强的外围对流,但同时也会使最大风速半径以内存在丰富的对流,后者能够提供充分的内区非绝热加热,降低中心气压,促进涡旋发展。      

Projection of the Future Changes in Tropical Cyclone Activity Affecting East Asia over the Western North Pacific Based on Multi-RegCM4 Simulations

Future changes in tropical cyclone(TC)activity over the western North Pacific(WNP)under the representative concentration pathway RCP4.5 are investigated based on a set of 21 st century climate change simulations over East Asia with the regional climate model RegCM4 driven by five global models.The RegCM4 reproduces the major features of the observed TC activity over the region in the present-day period of 1986-2005,although with the underestimation of the number of TC genesis and intensity.A low number of TCs making landfall over China is also simulated.By the end of the 21st century(2079-98),the annual mean frequency of TC genesis and occurrence is projected to increase over the WNP by16%and 10%,respectively.The increase in frequency of TC occurrence is in good agreement among the simulations,with the largest increase over the ocean surrounding Taiwan Island and to the south of Japan.The TCs tend to be stronger in the future compared to the present-day period of 1986-2005,with a large increase in the frequency of strong TCs.In addition,more TCs landings are projected over most of the China coast,with an increase of~18%over the whole Chinese territory.     

An empirical framework for tropical cyclone climatology

An empirical approach for analyzing tropical cyclone climate is presented. The approach uses lifetime-maximum wind speed and cyclone frequency to induce two orthogonal variables labeled “activity” and “efficiency of intensity”. The paired variations of activity and efficiency of intensity along with the opponent variations of frequency and intensity configure a framework for evaluating tropical cyclone climate. Although cyclone activity as defined in this framework is highly correlated with the commonly used exponent indices like accumulated cyclone energy, it does not contain cyclone duration. Empirical quantiles are used to determine threshold intensity levels, and variant year ranges are used to find consistent trends in tropical cyclone climatology. In the western North Pacific, cyclone activity is decreasing despite increases in lifetime-maximum intensity. This is due to overwhelming decreases in cyclone frequency. These changes are also explained by an increasing efficiency of intensity. The North Atlantic shows different behavior. Cyclone activity is increasing due to increasing frequency and, to a lesser extent, increasing intensity. These changes are also explained by a decreasing efficiency of intensity. Tropical cyclone trends over the North Atlantic basin are more consistent over different year ranges than tropical cyclone trends over the western North Pacific.     

西北太平洋与南海热带气旋活动季节变化的差异及可能原因

利用1945~2011年美国联合台风预警中心(JTWC)西北太平洋热带气旋资料,研究了南海(5°N~25°N,110°E~120°E)与西北太平洋(5°N~25°N,120°E~180°)热带气旋生成位置、生成频数、强度和持续时间的季节变化差异及其成因。从热带气旋路径穿越经度带频数的角度,探讨了ENSO对气旋活动年际变化的影响。结果表明,南海热带气旋活动显著地受季风调控。在南海冬季风作用下,1~4月热带气旋生成于10°N以南且频数较少、强度较弱,这主要是低层气旋式相对涡度和弱东风切变区偏南造成的。相反,受夏季风影响,6~9月是热带气旋生成最多、最频繁的季节,大都生成于南海北部17°N附近。在5月(10月)的季节转换期,生成位置大幅度北进(南撤)且生成频数显著增加(减少),取决于风速垂直切变及中层的相对湿度的急剧转变。11、12月两海域热带气旋生成于10°N以南主要归因于其上空中层大气相对湿度较北部偏大。在西北太平洋,热带气旋生成的季节变化没有南海显著,只在7月有一次明显的变化,7~10月是热带气旋活动的"盛期"。在强度上,西北太平洋大部分区域全年均为弱东风切变,因此热带气旋以台风为主且持续时间长;但南海多为热带风暴。ENSO事件使得不同季节热带气旋生成区域和气旋路径地理位置发生显著变化。在El Nio事件期间,穿越南海所在经度带路径频数为负距平,而西北太平洋经度带为正距平;在La Nia事件期间,情况相反。     

Role of synoptic-scale forcing in cyclogenesis over the Bay of Bengal

The cyclone frequency distribution over the Bay of Bengal during 1990–2009 was distinctly bimodal, with a primary post-monsoon peak and a secondary pre-monsoon peak, despite the very high convective available potential energy (CAPE) during the pre-monsoon. The location of the monsoon trough over the bay is a primary factor in tropical cyclogenesis. Because the trough was in the northernmost bay during the pre-monsoon season, cyclogenesis was inactive in the southern bay, where a strong southwesterly wind shear was found. In this season, moreover, a hot, dry air mass extending vertically from 950 to 600 hPa was advected from northwestern India toward the bay. Moist, warm southwesterly winds penetrating below the deep, dry air mass caused a prominent dryline to form aloft on the northwestern side of the bay. The synoptic-scale hot, dry air forcing to the bay suppressed the active convection necessary for cyclogenesis. The strength of the stable environmental layer, represented by convective inhibition (CIN), was extremely large, and acted as a cap over the northern and northwestern bay. Conversely, during the post-monsoon, there were no horizontal temperature or moisture gradients, and CAPE and CIN were fairly modest. The entire bay was covered by a very deep, moist layer from the surface to 700 hPa transported from the east. The monsoon trough position and the environmental CIN in combination can explain the lower frequency of cyclogenesis during the pre-monsoon compared with the post-monsoon season.     

利用GCM模式对全球雷电活动的模拟分析

将修正的参数化方案嵌套入美国马里兰大学海-陆-气研究中心的全球大气环流谱模式(COLAGCM),建立了可用于全球雷电活动模拟与估测的模式系统.通过对模式输出与实况资料的对比,检验其气候模拟性能.虽然模式的分辨率较低但经过较长时间积分,仍可再现实况资料的主要特征.性能良好,计算稳定,且因时间步长较大可大大节省机时.耦合模式系统经长时间的积分后,模拟的多年平均的全球雷电频次时空分布及变化与观测分析较一致.全球范围内每秒钟平均有79次的雷电发生,陆海比为12.2.多发生在北半球夏季且具明显的季节变化特征.     

Convectively coupled Kelvin and easterly waves in a regional climate simulation of the tropics

This study evaluates the performance of a regional climate model in simulating two types of synoptic tropical weather disturbances: convectively-coupled Kelvin and easterly waves. Interest in these two wave modes stems from their potential predictability out to several weeks in advance, as well as a strong observed linkage between easterly waves and tropical cyclogenesis. The model is a recent version of the weather research and forecast (WRF) system with 36-km horizontal grid spacing and convection parameterized using a scheme that accounts for key convective triggering and inhibition processes. The domain spans the entire tropical belt between 45°S and 45°N with periodic boundary conditions in the east–west direction, and conditions at the meridional/lower boundaries specified based on observations. The simulation covers 6 years from 2000 to 2005, which is long enough to establish a statistical depiction of the waves through space-time spectral filtering of rainfall data, together with simple lagged-linear regression. Results show that both the horizontal phase speeds and three-dimensional structures of the waves are qualitatively well captured by the model in comparison to observations. However, significant biases in wave activity are seen, with generally overactive easterly waves and underactive Kelvin waves. Evidence is presented to suggest that these biases in wave activity (which are also correlated with biases in time–mean rainfall, as well as biases in the model’s tropical cyclone climatology) stem in part from convection in the model coupling too strongly to rotational circulation anomalies. Nevertheless, the model is seen to do a reasonable job at capturing the genesis of tropical cyclones from easterly waves, with evidence for both wave accumulation and critical layer processes being importantly involved.