On the use of nudging techniques for regional climate modeling: application for tropical convection

Using a large set of WRF ensemble simulations at 70-km horizontal resolution over a domain encompassing the Warm Pool region and its surroundings [45°N–45°S, 10°E–240°E], this study aims at quantifying how nudging techniques can modify the simulation of deep atmospheric convection. Both seasonal mean climate, transient variability at intraseasonal timescales, and the respective weight of internal (stochastic) and forced (reproducible) variability are considered. Sensitivity to a large variety of nudging settings (nudged variables and layers and nudging strength) and to the model physics (using 3 convective parameterizations) is addressed. Integrations are carried out during a 7-month season characterized by neutral background conditions and strong intraseasonal variability. Results show that (1) the model responds differently to the nudging from one parameterization to another. Biases are decreased by ~50 % for Betts–Miller–Janjic convection against 17 % only for Grell–Dévényi, the scheme producing yet the largest biases; (2) relaxing air temperature is the most efficient way to reduce biases, while nudging the wind increases most co-variability with daily observations; (3) the model’s internal variability is drastically reduced and mostly depends on the nudging strength and nudged variables; (4) interrupting the relaxation before the end of the simulations leads to an abrupt convergence towards the model’s natural solution, with no clear effects on the simulated climate after a few days. The usefulness and limitations of the approach are finally discussed through the example of the Madden–Julian Oscillation, that the model fails at simulating and that can be artificially and still imperfectly reproduced in relaxation experiments.     

The Berchtesgaden magnetic anomaly

A total intensity survey of the large magnetic anomaly in the Berchtesgaden area in the Northern Calcareous Alps has been carried out. The anomaly can be simulated by two-dimensional plate-like bodies having a NS extension of about 65 km, lower boundaries between 20 and 10 km and upper boundaries up to 5 km below the surface, depending on the intensity of magnetization (1–2 · 10^–3 G). A comparison with Bouguer gravity data favours a relatively thin magnetic source layer with a lower boundary at about 10 km and an upper boundary at about 5 km. From the magnetization required for modelling it can be concluded that mafic and possibly also ultramafic rocks are the causes of the anomalies. Two interpretations are suggested: 1) The magnetic source layers could form part of the metamorphic complex of the Bohemian Massif, belonging to a paleo-European plate. There would be probably no relation to the processes involved in the formation of the Alps in this case. 2) The magnetic source layers could be part of an ancient tethyan ocean floor, and should then be considered in relation to fossil subduction zones proposed in different models for the geodynamic evolution of the Eastern Alps.

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Zusammenfassung Im Gebiet der Berchtesgadener Anomalie wurde die Totalintensität des Erdmagnetfeldes gemessen. Die Anomalie hat in NS-Richtung eine Halbwertsbreite von rund 40 km. Sie kann durch zweidimensionale, plattenförmige magnetisierte Körper mit einer NS-Erstreckung von rund 65 km, einer unteren Begrenzung zwischen rund 20 und 10 km und einer oberen Begrenzung bis 5 km unter der Oberfläche simuliert werden. Die Bouguer-Anomalie zeigt, daß eine relativ dünne magnetisierte Schicht zwischen 5 und 10 km als wahrscheinlicher anzusehen ist. Aufgrund der zur Modellrechnung erforderlichen Magnetisierung (1–2 · 10^–3 G) müssen basische, zum Teil eventuell auch ultrabasische Gesteine als Ursache der Anomalie angenommen werden. Diese Gesteine könnten einerseits Teile des sich bis weit unter die Alpen erstreckenden Kristallins der Böhmischen Masse sein. Andererseits könnten sie Reste eines ehemaligen Ozeanbodens am Südrand der europäischen Platte sein. Sie sollten dann bei den Modellen für die geodynamische Entwicklung der Alpen, die fossile Subduktionszonen postulieren, in Betracht gezogen werden.

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Résumé Un levé de l'intensité totale du champ magnétique terrestre a été exécuté dans la région de l'anomalie magnétique de Berchtesgaden, dans les Alpes calcaires du Nord. La largeur de valeur moyenne de l'anomalie est d'environ 40 km dans la direction NS. Les calculs de modèles montrent que l'anomalie est causée par un corps magnétique en forme de plaque, ayant une extension NS d'environ 65 km, la limite inférieure pouvant varier entre 20 et 10 km et la limite supérieure pouvant atteindre 5 km. Une comparaison des effets gravimétriques des modèles magnétiques avec l'anomalie de Bouguer indique que les modèles relativement minces, entre 5 et 10 km, sont plus probables. L'aimantation requise pour les calculs (1 à 2 · 10^–3 G) montre que des roches basiques et peut-être en partie ultrabasiques doivent être considérées comme causes probables de l'anomalie. Deux interprétations alternatives sont proposées: 1) Les couches magnétiques peuvent appartenir au complexe métamorphique du Massif Bohémien. 2) Il s'agit d'un ancien fragment de croûte océanique. Dans ce cas il faudrait en tenir compte dans les modèles géodynamiques expliquant la formation des Alpes Orientales par la tectonique des plaques.

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Modelling the spatial–temporal variability of spring snowmelt in an arctic catchment

Arctic spring landscapes are usually characterized by a mosaic of coexisting snow‐covered and bare ground patches. This phenomenon has major implications for hydrological processes, including meltwater production and runoff. Furthermore, as indicated by aircraft observations, it affects land‐surface–atmosphere exchanges, leading to a high degree of variability in surface energy terms during melt. The heterogeneity and related differences when certain parts of the landscape become snow free also affects the length of the growing season and the carbon cycle. Small‐scale variability in arctic snowmelt is addressed here by combining a spatially distributed end‐of‐winter snow cover with simulations of variable snowmelt energy balance factors for the small arctic catchment of Trail Valley Creek (63 km²). Throughout the winter, snow in arctic tundra basins is redistributed by frequent blowing snow events. Areas of above‐ or below‐average end‐of‐winter snow water equivalents were determined from land‐cover classifications, topography, land‐cover‐based snow surveys, and distributed surface wind‐field simulations. Topographic influences on major snowmelt energy balance factors (solar radiation and turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat) were modelled on a small‐scale (40 m) basis. A spatially variable complete snowmelt energy balance was subsequently computed and applied to the distributed snow cover, allowing the simulation of the progress of melt throughout the basin. The emerging patterns compared very well visually to snow cover observations from satellite images and aerial photographs. Results show the relative importance of variable end‐of‐winter snow cover, spatially distributed melt energy fluxes, and local advection processes for the development of a patchy snow cover. This illustrates that the consideration of these processes is crucial for an accurate determination of snow‐covered areas, as well as the location, timing, and amount of meltwater release from arctic catchments, and should, therefore, be included in hydrological models. Furthermore, the study shows the need for a subgrid parameterization of these factors in the land surface schemes of larger scale climate models. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Laboratory studies of methane and ethane adsorption and nucleation onto organic particles: Application to Titan's clouds

Titan, Saturn's largest moon, has a thick nitrogen/methane atmosphere. The temperature and pressure conditions in Titan's atmosphere are such that the methane vapor should condense near the tropopause to form clouds. Several ground-based measurements have observed sparse cloud-like features in Titan's atmosphere, while the Cassini mission to Saturn has provided large scale images of the clouds. However, Titan's cloud formation conditions remain poorly constrained. Heterogeneous nucleation (from the vapor phase onto a solid or liquid aerosol surface) greatly enhances cloud formation relative to homogeneous nucleation. In order to elucidate the cloud formation mechanism near the tropopause, we have performed laboratory measurements of the adsorption of methane and ethane onto solid organic particles (tholins) representative of Titan's photochemical haze. We find that monolayers of methane adsorb onto tholin particles at saturation ratios less than unity. We also find that solid methane nucleates onto the adsorbed methane at a saturation ratio of S=1.07±0.008. This implies that Titan's methane clouds should form easily. This is consistent with recent measurements of the column of methane ruling out excessive methane supersaturation. In addition, we find ethane adsorbs onto tholin particles in a metastable phase prior to nucleation. However, ethane nucleation onto the adsorbed ethane occurs at a relatively high saturation ratio of S=1.36±0.08. These findings are consistent with the recent report of polar ethane clouds in Titan's lower stratosphere.     

Understanding the West African monsoon variability and its remote effects: an illustration of the grid point nudging methodology

General circulation models still show deficiencies in simulating the basic features of the West African Monsoon at intraseasonal, seasonal and interannual timescales. It is however, difficult to disentangle the remote versus regional factors that contribute to such deficiencies, and to diagnose their possible consequences for the simulation of the global atmospheric variability. The aim of the present study is to address these questions using the so-called grid point nudging technique, where prognostic atmospheric fields are relaxed either inside or outside the West African Monsoon region toward the ERA40 reanalysis. This regional or quasi-global nudging is tested in ensembles of boreal summer simulations. The impact is evaluated first on the model climatology, then on intraseasonal timescales with an emphasis on North Atlantic/Europe weather regimes, and finally on interannual timescales. Results show that systematic biases in the model climatology over West Africa are mostly of regional origin and have a limited impact outside the domain. A clear impact is found however on the eddy component of the extratropical circulation, in particular over the North Atlantic/European sector. At intraseasonal timescale, the main regional biases also resist to the quasi-global nudging though their magnitude is reduced. Conversely, nudging the model over West Africa exerts a strong impact on the frequency of the two North Atlantic weather regimes that favor the occurrence of heat waves over Europe. Significant impacts are also found at interannual timescale. Not surprisingly, the quasi-global nudging allows the model to capture the variability of large-scale dynamical monsoon indices, but exerts a weaker control on rainfall variability suggesting the additional contribution of regional processes. Conversely, nudging the model toward West Africa suppresses the spurious ENSO teleconnection that is simulated over Europe in the control experiment, thereby emphasizing the relevance of a realistic West African monsoon simulation for seasonal prediction in the extratropics. Further experiments will be devoted to case studies aiming at a better understanding of regional processes governing the monsoon variability and of the possible monsoon teleconnections, especially over Europe.     

A new extraordinary neuropterid family from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil: a new insect order? (Insecta, Neuropterida)

A new, highly specialized family, Rafaelidae, is proposed for two new lacewing-like species from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation in the Araripe Basin, Brazil. They have body and wing venation characters that are unique within the neuropterid insects, i.e., head, ovipositor, organization of the radial and median veins and structure of the subcostal vein. This new family cannot be attributed to any known insect order with certainty. These discoveries support the hypothesis of a considerable morphological disparity between neuropterid insects during the Early Cretaceous, as for the Odonatoptera.     

Ecotoxicity assessment of natural attenuation effects at a historical dumping site in the western Baltic Sea

During the late 1950s and early 1960s of the past century, industrial waste material highly enriched in various contaminants (heavy metals, PAHs) was dumped in the inner Mecklenburg Bay, western Baltic Sea. Large-scale shifts in the spatial distribution of heavy metals in surface sediments were mapped by geochemical monitoring in the mid-1980s and 12 years later in 1997. A further study in 2001 was designed to investigate the small-scale spatial distribution of contaminants inside, on top of, and around the historical dumping ground and to examine possible effects to benthic organisms (Arctica islandica, microbiological toxicity tests). The site is located within an area characterized by a discontinuous deposition of fine sediments, but net sedimentation rate of about 3mm/y led ultimately to a gradual coverage of the dumped material. During the first decades after the dumping, about half of the originally dumped material was already spread over the surrounding area as a result of sediment dynamics and re-suspension processes. Recent sediments of the historical dump site are still significantly enriched in heavy metals and PAHs. Microbiological toxicity test results were positive, though uptake of contaminants in mussels was found to deviate only slightly from that of a non-contaminated reference station due to a gradual dilution and decrease in bioavailability of the contaminants.