The Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Continental-Scale International Project (GCIP): An overview

1996 ◽  
Vol 101 (D3) ◽  
pp. 7139-7147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Coughlan ◽  
Roni Avissar
Keyword(s):  
Water Cycle ◽  
International Project ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
Continental Scale

scholarly journals Transferability Intercomparison: An Opportunity for New Insight on the Global Water Cycle and Energy Budget

2007 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. S. Takle ◽  
J. Roads ◽  
B. Rockel ◽  
W. J. Gutowski ◽  
R. W. Arritt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Budget ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Global Water Cycle ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Global Water

A new approach, called transferability intercomparisons, is described for advancing both understanding and modeling of the global water cycle and energy budget. Under this approach, individual regional climate models perform simulations with all modeling parameters and parameterizations held constant over a specific period on several prescribed domains representing different climatic regions. The transferability framework goes beyond previous regional climate model intercomparisons to provide a global method for testing and improving model parameterizations by constraining the simulations within analyzed boundaries for several domains. Transferability intercomparisons expose the limits of our current regional modeling capacity by examining model accuracy on a wide range of climate conditions and realizations. Intercomparison of these individual model experiments provides a means for evaluating strengths and weaknesses of models outside their “home domains” (domain of development and testing). Reference sites that are conducting coordinated measurements under the continental-scale experiments under the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Hydrometeorology Panel provide data for evaluation of model abilities to simulate specific features of the water and energy cycles. A systematic intercomparison across models and domains more clearly exposes collective biases in the modeling process. By isolating particular regions and processes, regional model transferability intercomparisons can more effectively explore the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of predictability. A general improvement of model ability to simulate diverse climates will provide more confidence that models used for future climate scenarios might be able to simulate conditions on a particular domain that are beyond the range of previously observed climates.

scholarly journals Continental Runoff into the Oceans (1950–2008)

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1502-1520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Clark ◽  
Justin Sheffield ◽  
Michelle T. H. van Vliet ◽  
Bart Nijssen ◽  
Dennis P. Lettenmaier
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Land Surface Model ◽  
Hydrologic Model ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Infiltration Capacity ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Continental Runoff

Abstract A common term in the continental and oceanic components of the global water cycle is freshwater discharge to the oceans. Many estimates of the annual average global discharge have been made over the past 100 yr with a surprisingly wide range. As more observations have become available and continental-scale land surface model simulations of runoff have improved, these past estimates are cast in a somewhat different light. In this paper, a combination of observations from 839 river gauging stations near the outlets of large river basins is used in combination with simulated runoff fields from two implementations of the Variable Infiltration Capacity land surface model to estimate continental runoff into the world’s oceans from 1950 to 2008. The gauges used account for ~58% of continental areas draining to the ocean worldwide, excluding Greenland and Antarctica. This study estimates that flows to the world’s oceans globally are 44 200 (±2660) km3 yr−1 (9% from Africa, 37% from Eurasia, 30% from South America, 16% from North America, and 8% from Australia–Oceania). These estimates are generally higher than previous estimates, with the largest differences in South America and Australia–Oceania. Given that roughly 42% of ocean-draining continental areas are ungauged, it is not surprising that estimates are sensitive to the land surface and hydrologic model (LSM) used, even with a correction applied to adjust for model bias. The results show that more and better in situ streamflow measurements would be most useful in reducing uncertainties, in particular in the southern tip of South America, the islands of Oceania, and central Africa.

Variability and Trends of Surface Solar Radiation in Europe based on satellite- and surface-based data

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uwe Pfeifroth ◽  
Jörg Trentmann
Keyword(s):  
Data Center ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Surface Radiation ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Surface Solar Radiation ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
Radiation Data ◽  
Climate Monitoring ◽  
Data Record ◽  
Surface Measurements

<p>The EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF) generates satellite-based  high-quality climate data records, with a focus on the global energy and water cycle. The new concept of Interim Climate Data Records (ICDRs) that extent the fixed-length Climate Data Records (CDRs) into 'near-realtime' in a consistent way, enables climate monitoring at a higher level of accuracy.</p><p>It has been found in recent studies based on surface and satellite data that on average SSR has been increasing in the last 3 decades in Europe (e.g. Sanchez-Lorenzo et al. 2017, Pfeifroth et al. 2018) - especially in spring and summer. Here we use the latest SARAH-2.1 TCDR (1983-2017), potentially together with its corresponding ICDR (2018 onwards), to analyze if the found positve trends in SSR are about to continue. In this respect, the satellite-based data record will be compared and validated with surface measurements given by the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN), the  World Radiation Data Center (WRDC) and the Global Energy Balance Archive (GEBA). A reasonable line of potential reasons for the found spring and summertime brightening in Europe is discussed.</p>

scholarly journals The GEWEX Water Vapor Assessment: Results from Intercomparison, Trend, and Homogeneity Analysis of Total Column Water Vapor

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 1633-1649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Schröder ◽  
Maarit Lockhoff ◽  
John M. Forsythe ◽  
Heather Q. Cronk ◽  
Thomas H. Vonder Haar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Water Vapor ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Regular Grid ◽  
Homogeneity Analysis ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
Spatial Features ◽  
Ensemble Mean ◽  
Total Column ◽  
Observing Systems

AbstractThe Global Energy and Water Cycle Exchanges project (GEWEX) water vapor assessment’s (G-VAP) main objective is to analyze and explain strengths and weaknesses of satellite-based data records of water vapor through intercomparisons and comparisons with ground-based data. G-VAP results from the intercomparison of six total column water vapor (TCWV) data records are presented. Prior to the intercomparison, the data records were regridded to a common regular grid of 2° × 2° longitude–latitude. All data records cover a common period from 1988 to 2008. The intercomparison is complemented by an analysis of trend estimates, which was applied as a tool to identify issues in the data records. It was observed that the trends over global ice-free oceans are generally different among the different data records. Most of these differences are statistically significant. Distinct spatial features are evident in maps of differences in trend estimates, which largely coincide with maxima in standard deviations from the ensemble mean. The penalized maximal F test has been applied to global ice-free ocean and selected land regional anomaly time series, revealing differences in trends to be largely caused by breakpoints in the different data records. The time, magnitude, and number of breakpoints typically differ from region to region and between data records. These breakpoints often coincide with changes in observing systems used for the different data records. The TCWV data records have also been compared with data from a radiosonde archive. For example, at Lindenberg, Germany, and at Yichang, China, such breakpoints are not observed, providing further evidence for the regional imprint of changes in the observing system.

scholarly journals Deducing Earth’s Global Energy Flows from a Simple Greenhouse Model

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miklos Zagoni
Keyword(s):  
Energy Flow ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Flow System ◽  
Single Layer ◽  
Longwave Radiation ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Global Energy ◽  
Energy Flows ◽  
Global Mean

Earth atmosphere is almost opaque in the infrared: about 374 W/m2 is absorbed by the atmosphere out of 396 W/m2 surface upward longwave radiation, and only about 22 W/m2 leaves the system unabsorbed in the atmospheric window. This makes rise to the idea to approximate the annual global mean energy flow system from a simple idealized greenhouse model, where the surface is surrounded by a single-layer shortwave (SW) transparent, longwave (LW) opaque, non-turbulent atmosphere. The energy flows in this geometry can be described by elementary arithmetic relationships. Starting from this model, the realistic Earth’s atmosphere can be achieved by introducing partial atmospheric SW opacity, partial atmospheric LW transparency and turbulent fluxes during the course of the deduction. The resulted global mean energy flow system is then compared to several data sets such as satellite observations from the CERES mission; estimates using direct surface observations and climate models; global energy and water cycle assessments; and independent detailed clear-sky radiative transfer computations. We find that the deduction from this idealized model approximates the real values in Earth energy budget with reasonable accuracy: the deduced fluxes and the observed ones are consistent within the acknowledged error of observations; while fundamental features of the initial geometry like special ratios and definite relationships between the fluxes are preserved.

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