Search Results
You are looking at 1 - 10 of 97 items for
- Author or Editor: J. M. Gregory x
- Refine by Access: All Content x
Abstract
Climate change resulting from the enhanced greenhouse effect of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations is expected to bring about global and local changes in sea level. A global rise in sea level would result from thermal expansion of seawater and from melting of land ice, while changes in ocean dynamics and atmospheric pressure patterns could alter relative sea surface topography. Global and local sea level changes have been diagnosed from a 75-yr experiment with a version of the U.K. Meteorological Office coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model in which the CO2 concentration increases at 1% per year. Over the final decade, the component of mean global average sea level rise caused by thermal expansion is 90 mm; on this time scale, a significant contribution is expected from melting of mountain glaciers, but the model does not represent these. Sea level rises over practically the entire ocean area, but there is considerable variation in the magnitude, showing that the global figure by itself gives only a rough idea of the local effect; the largest rises are found in the northwest Atlantic. Here it is illustrated how this local variation makes it difficult to estimate global sea level rise from a limited number of coastal stations, as must usually be done in practice.
Abstract
Climate change resulting from the enhanced greenhouse effect of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations is expected to bring about global and local changes in sea level. A global rise in sea level would result from thermal expansion of seawater and from melting of land ice, while changes in ocean dynamics and atmospheric pressure patterns could alter relative sea surface topography. Global and local sea level changes have been diagnosed from a 75-yr experiment with a version of the U.K. Meteorological Office coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model in which the CO2 concentration increases at 1% per year. Over the final decade, the component of mean global average sea level rise caused by thermal expansion is 90 mm; on this time scale, a significant contribution is expected from melting of mountain glaciers, but the model does not represent these. Sea level rises over practically the entire ocean area, but there is considerable variation in the magnitude, showing that the global figure by itself gives only a rough idea of the local effect; the largest rises are found in the northwest Atlantic. Here it is illustrated how this local variation makes it difficult to estimate global sea level rise from a limited number of coastal stations, as must usually be done in practice.
Abstract
No abstract available
Abstract
No abstract available
Abstract
Tropopause polar vortices (TPVs) are commonly observed, coherent circulation features of the Arctic with typical radii as large as approximately 800 km. Intensification of cyclonic TPVs has been shown to be dominated by infrared radiation. Here the hypothesis is tested that while radiation alone may not be essential for TPV genesis, radiation has a substantial impact on the long-term population characteristics of cyclonic TPVs.
A numerical model is used to derive two 10-yr climatologies of TPVs for both winter and summer: a control climatology with radiative forcing and an experimental climatology with radiative forcing withheld. Results from the control climatology are first compared to those from the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis project (NNRP), which indicates sensitivity to both horizontal grid resolution and the use of polar filtering in the NNRP. Smaller horizontal grid resolution of 60 km in the current study yields sample-mean cyclonic TPV radii that are smaller by a factor of ~2 compared to NNRP, and vortex track densities in the vicinity of the North Pole are considerably larger compared to NNRP. The experimental climatologies show that winter (summer) vortex maximum amplitude is reduced by 22.3% (38.0%), with a net tendency to weaken without radiation. Moreover, while the number and lifetime of cyclonic TPVs change little in winter without radiation, the number decreases 12% and the mean lifetime decreases 19% during summer without radiation. These results suggest that dynamical processes are primarily responsible for the genesis of the vortices, and that radiation controls their maximum intensity and duration during summer, when the destructive effect of ambient shear is weaker.
Abstract
Tropopause polar vortices (TPVs) are commonly observed, coherent circulation features of the Arctic with typical radii as large as approximately 800 km. Intensification of cyclonic TPVs has been shown to be dominated by infrared radiation. Here the hypothesis is tested that while radiation alone may not be essential for TPV genesis, radiation has a substantial impact on the long-term population characteristics of cyclonic TPVs.
A numerical model is used to derive two 10-yr climatologies of TPVs for both winter and summer: a control climatology with radiative forcing and an experimental climatology with radiative forcing withheld. Results from the control climatology are first compared to those from the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis project (NNRP), which indicates sensitivity to both horizontal grid resolution and the use of polar filtering in the NNRP. Smaller horizontal grid resolution of 60 km in the current study yields sample-mean cyclonic TPV radii that are smaller by a factor of ~2 compared to NNRP, and vortex track densities in the vicinity of the North Pole are considerably larger compared to NNRP. The experimental climatologies show that winter (summer) vortex maximum amplitude is reduced by 22.3% (38.0%), with a net tendency to weaken without radiation. Moreover, while the number and lifetime of cyclonic TPVs change little in winter without radiation, the number decreases 12% and the mean lifetime decreases 19% during summer without radiation. These results suggest that dynamical processes are primarily responsible for the genesis of the vortices, and that radiation controls their maximum intensity and duration during summer, when the destructive effect of ambient shear is weaker.
Abstract
Tropopause polar vortices are coherent circulation features based on the tropopause in polar regions. They are a common feature of the Arctic, with typical radii less than 1500 km and lifetimes that may exceed 1 month. The Arctic is a particularly favorable region for these features due to isolation from the horizontal wind shear associated with the midlatitude jet stream, which may destroy the vortical circulation. Intensification of cyclonic tropopause polar vortices is examined here using an Ertel potential vorticity framework to test the hypothesis that there is an average tendency for diabatic effects to intensify the vortices due to enhanced upper-tropospheric radiative cooling within the vortices. Data for the analysis are derived from numerical simulations of a large sample of observed cyclonic vortices over the Canadian Arctic. Results show that there is on average a net tendency to create potential vorticity in the vortex, and hence intensify cyclones, and that the tendency is radiatively driven. While the effects of latent heating are considerable, they are smaller in magnitude, and all other diabatic processes have a negligible effect on vortex intensity.
Abstract
Tropopause polar vortices are coherent circulation features based on the tropopause in polar regions. They are a common feature of the Arctic, with typical radii less than 1500 km and lifetimes that may exceed 1 month. The Arctic is a particularly favorable region for these features due to isolation from the horizontal wind shear associated with the midlatitude jet stream, which may destroy the vortical circulation. Intensification of cyclonic tropopause polar vortices is examined here using an Ertel potential vorticity framework to test the hypothesis that there is an average tendency for diabatic effects to intensify the vortices due to enhanced upper-tropospheric radiative cooling within the vortices. Data for the analysis are derived from numerical simulations of a large sample of observed cyclonic vortices over the Canadian Arctic. Results show that there is on average a net tendency to create potential vorticity in the vortex, and hence intensify cyclones, and that the tendency is radiatively driven. While the effects of latent heating are considerable, they are smaller in magnitude, and all other diabatic processes have a negligible effect on vortex intensity.
Abstract
Long-lived coherent vortices located near the tropopause are often found over polar regions. Although these vortices are a commonly observed feature of the Arctic, and can have lifetimes longer than one month, little is known about the mechanisms that control their evolution. This paper examines mechanisms of intensity change for a cyclonic tropopause polar vortex (TPV) using an Ertel potential vorticity (EPV) diagnostic framework. Results from a climatology of intensifying cyclonic TPVs suggest that the essential dynamics are local to the vortex, rather than a consequence of larger-scale processes. This fact motivates a case study using a numerical model to investigate the role of diabatic mechanisms in the growth and decay of a particular cyclonic vortex. A component-wise breakdown of EPV reveals that cloud-top radiational cooling is the primary diabatic mechanism that intensifies the TPV during the growth phase. Increasing amounts of moisture become entrained into the vortex core at later times near Hudson Bay, allowing the destruction of potential vorticity near the tropopause due to latent heat release to become comparable to the radiational tendency to create potential vorticity.
Abstract
Long-lived coherent vortices located near the tropopause are often found over polar regions. Although these vortices are a commonly observed feature of the Arctic, and can have lifetimes longer than one month, little is known about the mechanisms that control their evolution. This paper examines mechanisms of intensity change for a cyclonic tropopause polar vortex (TPV) using an Ertel potential vorticity (EPV) diagnostic framework. Results from a climatology of intensifying cyclonic TPVs suggest that the essential dynamics are local to the vortex, rather than a consequence of larger-scale processes. This fact motivates a case study using a numerical model to investigate the role of diabatic mechanisms in the growth and decay of a particular cyclonic vortex. A component-wise breakdown of EPV reveals that cloud-top radiational cooling is the primary diabatic mechanism that intensifies the TPV during the growth phase. Increasing amounts of moisture become entrained into the vortex core at later times near Hudson Bay, allowing the destruction of potential vorticity near the tropopause due to latent heat release to become comparable to the radiational tendency to create potential vorticity.
Abstract
Global land surface runoff and sea surface temperatures (SST) are analyzed to identify the primary modes of variability of these hydroclimatic data for the period 1905–2002. A monthly water-balance model first is used with global monthly temperature and precipitation data to compute time series of annual gridded runoff for the analysis period. The annual runoff time series data are combined with gridded annual sea surface temperature data, and the combined dataset is subjected to a principal components analysis (PCA) to identify the primary modes of variability. The first three components from the PCA explain 29% of the total variability in the combined runoff/SST dataset. The first component explains 15% of the total variance and primarily represents long-term trends in the data. The long-term trends in SSTs are evident as warming in all of the oceans. The associated long-term trends in runoff suggest increasing flows for parts of North America, South America, Eurasia, and Australia; decreasing runoff is most notable in western Africa. The second principal component explains 9% of the total variance and reflects variability of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and its associated influence on global annual runoff patterns. The third component explains 5% of the total variance and indicates a response of global annual runoff to variability in North Atlantic SSTs. The association between runoff and North Atlantic SSTs may explain an apparent steplike change in runoff that occurred around 1970 for a number of continental regions.
Abstract
Global land surface runoff and sea surface temperatures (SST) are analyzed to identify the primary modes of variability of these hydroclimatic data for the period 1905–2002. A monthly water-balance model first is used with global monthly temperature and precipitation data to compute time series of annual gridded runoff for the analysis period. The annual runoff time series data are combined with gridded annual sea surface temperature data, and the combined dataset is subjected to a principal components analysis (PCA) to identify the primary modes of variability. The first three components from the PCA explain 29% of the total variability in the combined runoff/SST dataset. The first component explains 15% of the total variance and primarily represents long-term trends in the data. The long-term trends in SSTs are evident as warming in all of the oceans. The associated long-term trends in runoff suggest increasing flows for parts of North America, South America, Eurasia, and Australia; decreasing runoff is most notable in western Africa. The second principal component explains 9% of the total variance and reflects variability of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and its associated influence on global annual runoff patterns. The third component explains 5% of the total variance and indicates a response of global annual runoff to variability in North Atlantic SSTs. The association between runoff and North Atlantic SSTs may explain an apparent steplike change in runoff that occurred around 1970 for a number of continental regions.
Abstract
Characterized by radii as large as 800 km and lifetimes up to months, cyclonic tropopause polar vortices (TPVs) are coherent circulation features over the Arctic that are important precursors for surface cyclogenesis in high and middle latitudes. TPVs have been shown to be maintained by radiative processes over the Arctic owing to limited amounts of latent heating. This study explores the hypothesis that a downward extension of dry stratospheric air associated with TPVs results in an increase in longwave radiative cooling that intensifies the vortex.
Idealized numerical modeling experiments are performed to isolate physical interactions, beginning with radiative forcing in a dry atmosphere and culminating with multiple physical interactions between radiation and clouds that more accurately represent the observed environment of TPVs. Results show that longwave radiative cooling associated with a rapid decrease in water vapor concentration near the tropopause is primarily responsible for observed TPV intensification. These enhanced water vapor gradients result from a lower tropopause within the vortex that places dry stratospheric air above relatively moist tropospheric air. Cloud-top radiative cooling enhances this effect and also promotes the maintenance of clouds by destabilizing the region near cloud top. Shortwave radiation and latent heating offset the longwave intensification mechanism. Heating from shortwave radiation reduces the cloud water mixing ratio by preferentially warming levels above cloud tops.
Abstract
Characterized by radii as large as 800 km and lifetimes up to months, cyclonic tropopause polar vortices (TPVs) are coherent circulation features over the Arctic that are important precursors for surface cyclogenesis in high and middle latitudes. TPVs have been shown to be maintained by radiative processes over the Arctic owing to limited amounts of latent heating. This study explores the hypothesis that a downward extension of dry stratospheric air associated with TPVs results in an increase in longwave radiative cooling that intensifies the vortex.
Idealized numerical modeling experiments are performed to isolate physical interactions, beginning with radiative forcing in a dry atmosphere and culminating with multiple physical interactions between radiation and clouds that more accurately represent the observed environment of TPVs. Results show that longwave radiative cooling associated with a rapid decrease in water vapor concentration near the tropopause is primarily responsible for observed TPV intensification. These enhanced water vapor gradients result from a lower tropopause within the vortex that places dry stratospheric air above relatively moist tropospheric air. Cloud-top radiative cooling enhances this effect and also promotes the maintenance of clouds by destabilizing the region near cloud top. Shortwave radiation and latent heating offset the longwave intensification mechanism. Heating from shortwave radiation reduces the cloud water mixing ratio by preferentially warming levels above cloud tops.
Abstract
Arctic sea ice decline in recent decades has been dramatic; however, few long-term records of Arctic sea ice exist to put such a decline in context. Here we employ an ensemble Kalman filter data assimilation approach to reconstruct Arctic sea ice concentration over the last two millennia by assimilating temperature-sensitive proxy records with ensembles drawn from last millennium climate model simulations. We first test the efficacy of this method using pseudoproxy experiments. Results show good agreement between the target and reconstructed total Arctic sea ice extent (R 2 value and coefficient of efficiency values of 0.51 and 0.47 for perfect model experiments and 0.43 and 0.43 for imperfect model experiments). Imperfect model experiments indicate that the reconstructions inherit some bias from the model prior. We assimilate 487 temperature-sensitive proxy records with two climate model simulations to produce two gridded reconstructions of Arctic sea ice over the last two millennia. These reconstructions show good agreement with satellite observations between 1979 and 1999 CE for total Arctic sea ice extent with an R 2 value and coefficient of efficiency of about 0.60 and 0.50, respectively, for both models. Regional quantities derived from these reconstructions show encouraging similarities with independent reconstructions and sea ice sensitive proxy records from the Barents Sea, Baffin Bay, and East Greenland Sea. The reconstructions show a positive trend in Arctic sea ice extent between around 750 and 1820 CE, and increases during years with large volcanic eruptions that persist for about 5 years. Trend analysis of total Arctic sea ice extent reveals that for time periods longer than 30 years, the satellite era decline in total Arctic sea ice extent is unprecedented over the last millennium.
Significance Statement
Areal coverage of Arctic sea ice is a critical aspect of the climate system that has been changing rapidly in recent decades. Prior to the advent of satellite observations, sparse observations of Arctic sea ice make it difficult to put the current changes in context. Here we reconstruct annual averages of Arctic sea ice coverage for the last two millennia by combining temperature-sensitive proxy records (i.e., ice cores, tree rings, and corals) with climate model simulations using a statistical technique called data assimilation. We find large interannual changes in Arctic sea ice coverage prior to 1850 that are associated with volcanic eruptions, with a steady rise in Arctic sea ice coverage between 750 and 1820 CE. The satellite-period loss of sea ice has no analog during the last millennium.
Abstract
Arctic sea ice decline in recent decades has been dramatic; however, few long-term records of Arctic sea ice exist to put such a decline in context. Here we employ an ensemble Kalman filter data assimilation approach to reconstruct Arctic sea ice concentration over the last two millennia by assimilating temperature-sensitive proxy records with ensembles drawn from last millennium climate model simulations. We first test the efficacy of this method using pseudoproxy experiments. Results show good agreement between the target and reconstructed total Arctic sea ice extent (R 2 value and coefficient of efficiency values of 0.51 and 0.47 for perfect model experiments and 0.43 and 0.43 for imperfect model experiments). Imperfect model experiments indicate that the reconstructions inherit some bias from the model prior. We assimilate 487 temperature-sensitive proxy records with two climate model simulations to produce two gridded reconstructions of Arctic sea ice over the last two millennia. These reconstructions show good agreement with satellite observations between 1979 and 1999 CE for total Arctic sea ice extent with an R 2 value and coefficient of efficiency of about 0.60 and 0.50, respectively, for both models. Regional quantities derived from these reconstructions show encouraging similarities with independent reconstructions and sea ice sensitive proxy records from the Barents Sea, Baffin Bay, and East Greenland Sea. The reconstructions show a positive trend in Arctic sea ice extent between around 750 and 1820 CE, and increases during years with large volcanic eruptions that persist for about 5 years. Trend analysis of total Arctic sea ice extent reveals that for time periods longer than 30 years, the satellite era decline in total Arctic sea ice extent is unprecedented over the last millennium.
Significance Statement
Areal coverage of Arctic sea ice is a critical aspect of the climate system that has been changing rapidly in recent decades. Prior to the advent of satellite observations, sparse observations of Arctic sea ice make it difficult to put the current changes in context. Here we reconstruct annual averages of Arctic sea ice coverage for the last two millennia by combining temperature-sensitive proxy records (i.e., ice cores, tree rings, and corals) with climate model simulations using a statistical technique called data assimilation. We find large interannual changes in Arctic sea ice coverage prior to 1850 that are associated with volcanic eruptions, with a steady rise in Arctic sea ice coverage between 750 and 1820 CE. The satellite-period loss of sea ice has no analog during the last millennium.
Abstract
A monthly snow accumulation and melt model was used with monthly Precipitation-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) temperature and precipitation data to generate time series of 1 April snow water equivalent (SWE) for 1900 through 2008 in the western United States. Averaged across the western United States, SWE generally was higher than long-term (1900–2008) average conditions during the periods 1900–25, 1944–55, and 1966–82; SWE was lower than long-term average conditions during the periods 1926–43, 1957–65, and 1984–2008. During the period 1900–2008, the temporal pattern in winter precipitation exhibited wetter-than-average and drier-than-average decadal-scale periods with no long-term increasing or decreasing trend. Winter temperature generally was below average from 1900 to the mid-1950s, close to average from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s, and above average from the mid-1980s to 2008. In general, periods of higher-than-average SWE have been associated with higher precipitation and lower temperature. Since about 1980, western U.S. winter temperatures have been consistently higher than long-term average values, and the resultant lower-than-average SWE values have been only partially offset by periods of higher-than-average precipitation. The post-1980 lower-than-average SWE conditions in the western United States are unprecedented within the context of twentieth-century climate and estimated SWE.
Abstract
A monthly snow accumulation and melt model was used with monthly Precipitation-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) temperature and precipitation data to generate time series of 1 April snow water equivalent (SWE) for 1900 through 2008 in the western United States. Averaged across the western United States, SWE generally was higher than long-term (1900–2008) average conditions during the periods 1900–25, 1944–55, and 1966–82; SWE was lower than long-term average conditions during the periods 1926–43, 1957–65, and 1984–2008. During the period 1900–2008, the temporal pattern in winter precipitation exhibited wetter-than-average and drier-than-average decadal-scale periods with no long-term increasing or decreasing trend. Winter temperature generally was below average from 1900 to the mid-1950s, close to average from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s, and above average from the mid-1980s to 2008. In general, periods of higher-than-average SWE have been associated with higher precipitation and lower temperature. Since about 1980, western U.S. winter temperatures have been consistently higher than long-term average values, and the resultant lower-than-average SWE values have been only partially offset by periods of higher-than-average precipitation. The post-1980 lower-than-average SWE conditions in the western United States are unprecedented within the context of twentieth-century climate and estimated SWE.
Abstract
Singular value decomposition (SVD) is used to identify the variability common to global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and water-balance-modeled water-year (WY) runoff in the conterminous United States (CONUS) for the 1900–2012 period. Two modes were identified from the SVD analysis; the two modes explain 25% of the variability in WY runoff and 33% of the variability in WY SSTs. The first SVD mode reflects the variability of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the SST data and the hydroclimatic effects of ENSO on WY runoff in the CONUS. The second SVD mode is related to variability of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO). An interesting aspect of these results is that both ENSO and AMO appear to have nearly equivalent effects on runoff variability in the CONUS. However, the relatively small amount of variance explained by the SVD analysis indicates that there is little covariation between runoff and SSTs, suggesting that SSTs may not be a viable predictor of runoff variability for most of the conterminous United States.
Abstract
Singular value decomposition (SVD) is used to identify the variability common to global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and water-balance-modeled water-year (WY) runoff in the conterminous United States (CONUS) for the 1900–2012 period. Two modes were identified from the SVD analysis; the two modes explain 25% of the variability in WY runoff and 33% of the variability in WY SSTs. The first SVD mode reflects the variability of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the SST data and the hydroclimatic effects of ENSO on WY runoff in the CONUS. The second SVD mode is related to variability of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO). An interesting aspect of these results is that both ENSO and AMO appear to have nearly equivalent effects on runoff variability in the CONUS. However, the relatively small amount of variance explained by the SVD analysis indicates that there is little covariation between runoff and SSTs, suggesting that SSTs may not be a viable predictor of runoff variability for most of the conterminous United States.
