Downscaling dinâmico de precipitação e veranicos no estado do Ceará

A região semiárida do Nordeste do Brasil (NEB) é conhecida por ser uma região extremamente oscilante do ponto de vista climático, devido à variabilidade temporal e espacial da precipitação. O objetivo desse estudo foi analisar a variabilidade intrassazonal e interanual das precipitações, através de veranicos, no Estado do Ceará. Esse comportamento é influenciado diretamente pela Temperatura da Superfície do Mar (TSM) dos oceanos Pacífico e Atlântico. O Regional Spectral Model RSM97, associado com a técnica de downscaling dinâmico, para quantificar as variações usando eventos de veranicos (dias consecutivos com precipitações abaixo de 2 mm que se sucedem durante a estação chuvosa do Estado), no período de 1974 a 2012, através de dados diários de precipitação da FUNCEME, de simulações de modelo numérico atmosférico e das anomalias de TSM (fases do ENOS). Os resultados foram apresentados em duas etapas, primeiro modo diagnóstico (com anomalias de TSM observadas de 1974 a 2000) e o segundo modo prognóstico (com anomalias de TSM persistidas de 2002 a 2012. Conclui-se que o uso do modelo RSM97, na previsão de períodos de estiagem durante a quadra chuva, tem algum potencial, em grande parte dos resultados o modelo subestimou o número de veranicos em relação aos observados, porém representou o sinal das observações dos eventos o que indica que suas características físicas influenciaram em quantificar a precipitação e sua distribuição espacial no Estado.

A semi-Lagrangian advection scheme for radioactive tracers in the NCEP Regional Spectral Model (RSM)

In this study, the non-iteration dimensional-split semi-Lagrangian (NDSL) advection scheme is applied to the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Regional Spectral Model (RSM) to alleviate the Gibbs phenomenon. The Gibbs phenomenon is a problem wherein negative values of positive-definite quantities (e.g., moisture and tracers) are generated by the spectral space transformation in a spectral model system. To solve this problem, the spectral prognostic specific humidity and radioactive tracer advection scheme is replaced by the NDSL advection scheme, which considers advection of tracers in a grid system without spectral space transformations. A regional version of the NDSL is developed in this study and is applied to the RSM. Idealized experiments show that the regional version of the NDSL is successful. The model runs for an actual case study suggest that the NDSL can successfully advect radioactive tracers (iodine-131 and cesium-137) without noise from the Gibbs phenomenon. The NDSL can also remove negative specific humidity values produced in spectral calculations without losing detailed features.

A semi-Lagrangian advection scheme for radioactive tracers in a regional spectral model

In this study, the non-iteration dimensional-split semi-Lagrangian (NDSL) advection scheme is applied to the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) regional spectral model (RSM) to alleviate the Gibbs phenomenon. The Gibbs phenomenon is a problem wherein negative values of positive-definite quantities (e.g., moisture and tracers) are generated by the spectral space transformation in a spectral model system. To solve this problem, the spectral prognostic specific humidity and radioactive tracer advection scheme is replaced by the NDSL advection scheme, which considers advection of tracers in a grid system without spectral space transformations. A regional version of the NDSL is developed in this study and is applied to the RSM. Idealized experiments show that the regional version of the NDSL is successful. The model runs for an actual case study suggest that the NDSL can successfully advect radioactive tracers (iodine-131 and cesium-137) without noise from the Gibbs phenomenon. The NDSL can also remove negative specific humidity values produced in spectral calculations without losing detailed features.

The Diurnal Cycle of Precipitation in Regional Spectral Model Simulations over West Africa: Sensitivities to Resolution and Cumulus Schemes

As a basic form of climate patterns, the diurnal cycle of precipitation (DCP) can provide a key test bed for model reliability and development. In this study, the DCP over West Africa was simulated by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Regional Spectral Model (RSM) during the monsoon season (April–September) of 2005. Three convective parameterization schemes (CPSs), single-layer simplified Arakawa–Schubert (SAS), multilayer relaxed Arakawa–Schubert (RAS), and new Kain–Fritsch (KF2), were evaluated at two horizontal resolutions (20 and 10 km). The Benin mesoscale site was singled out for additional investigation of resolution effects. Harmonic analysis was used to characterize the phase and amplitude of the DCP. Compared to satellite observations, the overall spatial distributions of amplitude were well captured at regional scales. The RSM properly reproduced the observed late afternoon peak over land and the early morning peak over ocean. Nevertheless, the peak time was early. Sensitivity experiments of CPSs showed similar spatial patterns of rainfall totals among the schemes; CPSs mainly affected the amplitude of the diurnal cycle, while the phase was not significantly shifted. There is no clear optimal pairing of resolution and CPS. However, it is found that the sensitivity of DCP to CPSs and resolution varies with the partitioning between convective and stratiform, which implies that appropriate partitioning needs to be considered for future development of CPSs in global or regional climate models.