Structural Similarities and Differences in Climate Responses to CO2 Increase between Two Perturbed Physics Ensembles

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1392-1410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tokuta Yokohata ◽  
Mark J. Webb ◽  
Matthew Collins ◽  
Keith D. Williams ◽  
Masakazu Yoshimori ◽  
...  

Abstract The equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) of the two perturbed physics ensembles (PPE) generated using structurally different GCMs, Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC3.2) and the Third Hadley Centre Atmospheric Model with slab ocean (HadSM3), is investigated. A method to quantify the shortwave (SW) cloud feedback by clouds with different cloud-top pressure is developed. It is found that the difference in the ensemble means of the ECS between the two ensembles is mainly caused by differences in the SW low-level cloud feedback. The ensemble mean SW cloud feedback and ECS of the MIROC3.2 ensemble is larger than that of the HadSM3 ensemble. This is likely related to the 1XCO2 low-level cloud albedo of the former being larger than that of the latter. It is also found that the largest contribution to the within-ensemble variation of ECS comes from the SW low-level cloud feedback in both ensembles. The mechanism that causes the within-ensemble variation is different between the two ensembles. In the HadSM3 ensemble, members with large 1XCO2 low-level cloud albedo have large SW cloud feedback and large ECS; ensemble members with large 1XCO2 cloud cover have large negative SW cloud feedback and relatively low ECS. In the MIROC3.2 ensemble, the 1XCO2 low-level cloud albedo is much more tightly constrained, and no relationship is found between it and the cloud feedback. These results indicate that both the parametric uncertainties sampled in PPEs and the structural uncertainties of GCMs are important and worth further investigation.

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Cesini ◽  
S. Morelli ◽  
F. Parmiggiani

Abstract. Numerical simulations of a bora event, recently occurred in the Adriatic area, are presented. Two reference runs at different horizontal resolution (about 20km and 8km) describe the case. Initial conditions for the atmospheric model integration are obtained from ECMWF analyses. Satellite data are used for comparisons. A further run at horizontal resolution of 8km, using initial satellite sea surface temperatures, is performed to evaluate their impact on the low level wind over the Adriatic Sea. All the simulations are carried out with 50 layers in the vertical. Numerous aspects of the simulations are found to be in agreement with the understanding as well as the observational knowledge of bora distinctive characteristics. Satellite data and model results indicate that a more realistic simulation of the bora wind over the sea is achieved using the model with 8km horizontal resolution and that the low level wind in this case is sensitive, though weakly, to the difference between the used sea surface temperature fields. Simulation results also show that both wind intensity and the area around wind peaks tend to increase when relatively higher sea surface temperatures are used.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 152
Author(s):  
Haklim Choi ◽  
Xiong Liu ◽  
Gonzalo Gonzalez Abad ◽  
Jongjin Seo ◽  
Kwang-Mog Lee ◽  
...  

Clouds act as a major reflector that changes the amount of sunlight reflected to space. Change in radiance intensity due to the presence of clouds interrupts the retrieval of trace gas or aerosol properties from satellite data. In this paper, we developed a fast and robust algorithm, named the fast cloud retrieval algorithm, using a triplet of wavelengths (469, 477, and 485 nm) of the O2–O2 absorption band around 477 nm (CLDTO4) to derive the cloud information such as cloud top pressure (CTP) and cloud fraction (CF) for the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS). The novel algorithm is based on the fact that the difference in the optical path through which light passes with regard to the altitude of clouds causes a change in radiance due to the absorption of O2–O2 at the three selected wavelengths. To reduce the time required for algorithm calculations, the look-up table (LUT) method was applied. The LUT was pre-constructed for various conditions of geometry using Vectorized Linearized Discrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer (VLIDORT) to consider the polarization of the scattered light. The GEMS was launched in February 2020, but the observed data of GEMS have not yet been widely released. To evaluate the performance of the algorithm, the retrieved CTP and CF using observational data from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2), which cover the spectral range of GEMS, were compared with the results of the Fast Retrieval Scheme for Clouds from the Oxygen A band (FRESCO) algorithm, which is based on the O2 A-band. There was good agreement between the results, despite small discrepancies for low clouds.


2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (18) ◽  
pp. 4859-4878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minghua Zhang ◽  
Christopher Bretherton

Abstract This study investigates the physical mechanism of low cloud feedback in the Community Atmospheric Model, version 3 (CAM3) through idealized single-column model (SCM) experiments over the subtropical eastern oceans. Negative cloud feedback is simulated from stratus and stratocumulus that is consistent with previous diagnostics of cloud feedbacks in CAM3 and its predecessor versions. The feedback occurs through the interaction of a suite of parameterized processes rather than from any single process. It is caused by the larger amount of in-cloud liquid water in stratus clouds from convective sources, and longer lifetimes of these clouds in a warmer climate through their interaction with boundary layer turbulence. Thermodynamic effects are found to dominate the negative cloud feedback in the model. The dynamic effect of weaker subsidence in a warmer climate also contributes to the negative cloud feedback, but with about one-quarter of the magnitude of the thermodynamic effect, owing to increased low-level convection in a warmer climate.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 125-146
Author(s):  
Eija Yli-Panula ◽  
Elia Jeronen ◽  
Nonmanut Pongsakdi

Individuals’ perceptions of their knowledge can have an important role in shaping their cognition and influencing their behaviour. However, there has been a scarcity of studies in biology on how perceived knowledge relates to actual knowledge. The focus of this article is on quantitative results analysing and interpreting student teachers’ perceived knowledge of biological content in relation to their actual animal and species name knowledge linked to the ecosystem in which they live. K-means cluster analysis and ANOVA were used. The results show a high- and low-level perceived knowledge cluster group among the participants. They further indicate that the difference in actual animal and species name knowledge betweenthese cluster groups remained the same during the five years of the study. The student teachers with a higher level of perceived knowledge tended to have better actual animal and species name knowledge than those in the low-level group. The actual animal name knowledge in these cluster groups was similar with regard to the local Finnish ecosystems but differed concerning the exotic species by year. The year that the participants enrolled in the study programme had an impact on their actual animal and species name knowledge. Strategies for coping with work-related demands and maintaining engagement in one’s career would be important additions to the teacher education curriculum.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 27667-27691
Author(s):  
I. Tegen ◽  
K. Schepanski ◽  
B. Heinold

Abstract. A regional-scale dust model is used to simulate Saharan dust emissions and atmospheric distributions in the years 2007 and 2008. The model results are compared to dust source activation events compiled from infrared dust index imagery from the geostationary Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite. The observed morning maximum in dust source activation frequencies indicates that the breakdown of nocturnal low-level jets is responsible for a considerable number of dust source activation events in the Sahara. The comparison shows that the time of the day of the onset of dust emission is delayed in the model compared to the observations. Also, the simulated number of dust emission events associated with nocturnal low level jets in mountainous regions is underestimated in the model. The MSG dust index observations indicate a strong increase in dust source activation frequencies in the year 2008 compared to 2007, the difference between the two years is less pronounced in the model. The quantitative comparison of simulated dust optical thicknesses with observations at stations of the sunphotometer network AERONET shows, however, good agreement for both years, indicating that the number of observed dust activation events is only of limited use for estimating actual dust emission fluxes in the Sahara.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
pp. 4919-4935
Author(s):  
J. Guerbette ◽  
M. Plu ◽  
C. Barthe ◽  
J.-F. Mahfouf

Abstract. The role of an active phase of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) on the evolution of a mesoscale convective systems (MCS) leading to a tropical depression is investigated in the South-West Indian Ocean during the Dynamics of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (DYNAMO) field experiment, with a numerical limited-area atmospheric model. A mesoscale vortex is followed in the low-troposphere from the initiation of the active MJO phase. It is shown that the interaction of the vortex with the Equatorial jet associated with the MJO plays an important role on the vortex development. As the vortex encounters the southern part of the low-level jet, it undergoes intensification that is explained by the barotropic conversion of kinetic energy from the low-level jet to the vortex.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2S8) ◽  
pp. 1463-1468

Software program optimization for improved execution speed can be achieved through modifying the program. Programs are usually written in high level languages then translated into low level assembly language. More coverage of optimization and performance analysis can be performed on low level than high level language. Optimization improvement is measured in the difference in program execution performance. Several methods are available for measuring program performance are classified into static approaches and dynamic approaches. This paper presents an alternative method of more accurately measuring code performance statically than commonly used code analysis metrics. New metrics proposed are designed to expose effectiveness of optimization performed on code, specifically unroll optimizations. An optimization method, loop unroll is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the increased accuracy of the proposed metric. The results of the study show that measuring Instructions Performed and Instruction Latency is a more accurate static metric than Instruction Count and subsequently those based on it.


2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2381-2390 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Tegen ◽  
K. Schepanski ◽  
B. Heinold

Abstract. A regional-scale dust model is used to simulate Saharan dust emissions and atmospheric distributions in the years 2007 and 2008. The model results are compared to dust source activation events compiled from infrared dust index imagery from the geostationary Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite. The observed morning maximum in dust source activation frequencies indicates that the breakdown of nocturnal low level jets is an important mechanism for dust source activation in the Sahara. The comparison shows that the time of the day of the onset of dust emission is delayed in the model compared to the observations. Also, the simulated number of dust emission events associated with nocturnal low level jets in mountainous regions is underestimated in the model. The MSG dust index observations indicate a strong increase in dust source activation frequencies in the year 2008 compared to 2007. The difference between the two years is less pronounced in the model. Observations of dust optical thickness, e.g. at stations of the sunphotometer network AERONET, do not show such increase, in agreement with the model results. This indicates that the number of observed dust activation events is only of limited use for estimating actual dust emission fluxes in the Sahara. The ability to reproduce interannual variability of Saharan dust with models remains an important challenge for understanding the controls of the atmospheric dust load.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aristofanis Tsiringakis ◽  
Natalie Theeuwes ◽  
Janet Barlow ◽  
Gert-Jan Steeneveld

<p>The low-level jet (LLJ) is an important phenomenon that can affect (and is affected by) the turbulence in the nocturnal urban boundary layer (UBL). We investigate the interaction of a regional LLJ with the UBL during a 2-day period over London. Observations from two Doppler Lidars and two numerical weather prediction models (Weather Research & Forecasting model and UKV Met Office Unified Model) are used to compared the LLJ characteristics (height, speed and fall-off) between a urban (London) and a rural (Chilbolton) site. We find that LLJs are elevated (70m) over London, due to the deeper UBL, an effect of the increased vertical mixing over the urban area and the difference in the topography between the two sites. Wind speed and fall-off are slightly reduced with respect to the rural LLJ. The effects of the urban area and the surrounding topography on the LLJ characteristics over London are isolated through idealized sensitivity experiments. We find that topography strongly affects the LLJ characteristics (height, falloff, and speed), but there is still a substantial urban influence.</p>


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