Articles | Volume 3, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-713-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-713-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Benefits and challenges of dynamic sea ice for weather forecasts
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Shinfield Park, Reading, RG2 9AX, UK
Sarah Keeley
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Shinfield Park, Reading, RG2 9AX, UK
Gabriele Arduini
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Shinfield Park, Reading, RG2 9AX, UK
Linus Magnusson
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Shinfield Park, Reading, RG2 9AX, UK
Kristian Mogensen
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Shinfield Park, Reading, RG2 9AX, UK
Mark Rodwell
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Shinfield Park, Reading, RG2 9AX, UK
Irina Sandu
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Shinfield Park, Reading, RG2 9AX, UK
Steffen Tietsche
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Robert-Schuman-Platz 3, 53175 Bonn, Germany
Related authors
Johanna Tjernström, Michael Gallagher, Jareth Holt, Gunilla Svensson, Matthew D. Shupe, Jonathan J. Day, Lara Ferrighi, Siri Jodha Khalsa, Leslie M. Hartten, Ewan O'Connor, Zen Mariani, and Øystein Godøy
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2088, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2088, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The value of numerical weather predictions can be enhanced in several ways, one is to improve the representations of small-scale processes in models. To understand what needs to be improved, the model results need to be evaluated. Following standardized principles, a file format has been defined to be as similar as possible for both observational and model data. Python packages and toolkits are presented as a community resource in the production of the files and evaluation analysis.
Jonathan J. Day, Gunilla Svensson, Barbara Casati, Taneil Uttal, Siri-Jodha Khalsa, Eric Bazile, Elena Akish, Niramson Azouz, Lara Ferrighi, Helmut Frank, Michael Gallagher, Øystein Godøy, Leslie M. Hartten, Laura X. Huang, Jareth Holt, Massimo Di Stefano, Irene Suomi, Zen Mariani, Sara Morris, Ewan O'Connor, Roberta Pirazzini, Teresa Remes, Rostislav Fadeev, Amy Solomon, Johanna Tjernström, and Mikhail Tolstykh
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 5511–5543, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5511-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5511-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The YOPP site Model Intercomparison Project (YOPPsiteMIP), which was designed to facilitate enhanced weather forecast evaluation in polar regions, is discussed here, focussing on describing the archive of forecast data and presenting a multi-model evaluation at Arctic supersites during February and March 2018. The study highlights an underestimation in boundary layer temperature variance that is common across models and a related inability to forecast cold extremes at several of the sites.
Taneil Uttal, Leslie M. Hartten, Siri Jodha Khalsa, Barbara Casati, Gunilla Svensson, Jonathan Day, Jareth Holt, Elena Akish, Sara Morris, Ewan O'Connor, Roberta Pirazzini, Laura X. Huang, Robert Crawford, Zen Mariani, Øystein Godøy, Johanna A. K. Tjernström, Giri Prakash, Nicki Hickmon, Marion Maturilli, and Christopher J. Cox
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 5225–5247, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5225-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5225-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A Merged Observatory Data File (MODF) format to systematically collate complex atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial data sets collected by multiple instruments during field campaigns is presented. The MODF format is also designed to be applied to model output data, yielding format-matching Merged Model Data Files (MMDFs). MODFs plus MMDFs will augment and accelerate the synergistic use of model results with observational data to increase understanding and predictive skill.
Zen Mariani, Sara M. Morris, Taneil Uttal, Elena Akish, Robert Crawford, Laura Huang, Jonathan Day, Johanna Tjernström, Øystein Godøy, Lara Ferrighi, Leslie M. Hartten, Jareth Holt, Christopher J. Cox, Ewan O'Connor, Roberta Pirazzini, Marion Maturilli, Giri Prakash, James Mather, Kimberly Strong, Pierre Fogal, Vasily Kustov, Gunilla Svensson, Michael Gallagher, and Brian Vasel
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3083–3124, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3083-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3083-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
During the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP), we increased measurements in the polar regions and have made dedicated efforts to centralize and standardize all of the different types of datasets that have been collected to facilitate user uptake and model–observation comparisons. This paper is an overview of those efforts and a description of the novel standardized Merged Observation Data Files (MODFs), including a description of the sites, data format, and instruments.
Alexander Frank Vessey, Kevin I. Hodges, Len C. Shaffrey, and Jonathan J. Day
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2115–2132, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2115-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2115-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The risk posed to ships by Arctic cyclones has seldom been quantified due to the lack of publicly available historical Arctic ship track data. This study investigates historical Arctic ship tracks, cyclone tracks, and shipping incident reports to determine the number of shipping incidents caused by the passage of Arctic cyclones. Results suggest that Arctic cyclones have not been hazardous to ships and that ships are resilient to the rough sea conditions caused by Arctic cyclones.
Gillian Young McCusker, Jutta Vüllers, Peggy Achtert, Paul Field, Jonathan J. Day, Richard Forbes, Ruth Price, Ewan O'Connor, Michael Tjernström, John Prytherch, Ryan Neely III, and Ian M. Brooks
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4819–4847, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4819-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4819-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we show that recent versions of two atmospheric models – the Unified Model and Integrated Forecasting System – overestimate Arctic cloud fraction within the lower troposphere by comparison with recent remote-sensing measurements made during the Arctic Ocean 2018 expedition. The overabundance of cloud is interlinked with the modelled thermodynamic structure, with strong negative temperature biases coincident with these overestimated cloud layers.
Alexander F. Vessey, Kevin I. Hodges, Len C. Shaffrey, and Jonathan J. Day
Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 1097–1112, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1097-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1097-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the location and intensity of hazardous weather across the Arctic is important for assessing risks to infrastructure, shipping, and coastal communities. This study describes the typical lifetime and structure of intense winter and summer Arctic cyclones. Results show the composite development and structure of intense summer Arctic cyclones are different from intense winter Arctic and North Atlantic Ocean extra-tropical cyclones and from conceptual models.
Paul J. Valdes, Edward Armstrong, Marcus P. S. Badger, Catherine D. Bradshaw, Fran Bragg, Michel Crucifix, Taraka Davies-Barnard, Jonathan J. Day, Alex Farnsworth, Chris Gordon, Peter O. Hopcroft, Alan T. Kennedy, Natalie S. Lord, Dan J. Lunt, Alice Marzocchi, Louise M. Parry, Vicky Pope, William H. G. Roberts, Emma J. Stone, Gregory J. L. Tourte, and Jonny H. T. Williams
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 3715–3743, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-3715-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-3715-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper we describe the family of climate models used by the BRIDGE research group at the University of Bristol as well as by various other institutions. These models are based on the UK Met Office HadCM3 models and here we describe the various modifications which have been made as well as the key features of a number of configurations in use.
Tom Edinburgh and Jonathan J. Day
The Cryosphere, 10, 2721–2730, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2721-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2721-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Contrary to expectations, Antarctic sea ice cover has been increasing in area during the last three decades. In order to put these trends into a wider context this paper analyses direct observations of sea ice, recorded in ships' logbooks during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration (1887–1917) for the first time. It shows that the sea ice was significantly further north in the Weddell Sea during the period but comparable to the present day in other sectors.
Jonathan J. Day, Steffen Tietsche, Mat Collins, Helge F. Goessling, Virginie Guemas, Anabelle Guillory, William J. Hurlin, Masayoshi Ishii, Sarah P. E. Keeley, Daniela Matei, Rym Msadek, Michael Sigmond, Hiroaki Tatebe, and Ed Hawkins
Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 2255–2270, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-2255-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-2255-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Recent decades have seen significant developments in seasonal-to-interannual timescale climate prediction. However, until recently the potential of such systems to predict Arctic climate had not been assessed. This paper describes a multi-model predictability experiment which was run as part of the Arctic Predictability and Prediction On Seasonal to Interannual Timescales (APPOSITE) project. The main goal of APPOSITE was to quantify the timescales on which Arctic climate is predictable.
Johanna Tjernström, Michael Gallagher, Jareth Holt, Gunilla Svensson, Matthew D. Shupe, Jonathan J. Day, Lara Ferrighi, Siri Jodha Khalsa, Leslie M. Hartten, Ewan O'Connor, Zen Mariani, and Øystein Godøy
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2088, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2088, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The value of numerical weather predictions can be enhanced in several ways, one is to improve the representations of small-scale processes in models. To understand what needs to be improved, the model results need to be evaluated. Following standardized principles, a file format has been defined to be as similar as possible for both observational and model data. Python packages and toolkits are presented as a community resource in the production of the files and evaluation analysis.
Joshua Dorrington, Marta Wenta, Federico Grazzini, Linus Magnusson, Frederic Vitart, and Christian M. Grams
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2995–3012, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2995-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2995-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Extreme rainfall is the leading weather-related source of damages in Europe, but it is still difficult to predict on long timescales. A recent example of this was the devastating floods in the Italian region of Emiglia Romagna in May 2023. We present perspectives based on large-scale dynamical information that allows us to better understand and predict such events.
Jonathan J. Day, Gunilla Svensson, Barbara Casati, Taneil Uttal, Siri-Jodha Khalsa, Eric Bazile, Elena Akish, Niramson Azouz, Lara Ferrighi, Helmut Frank, Michael Gallagher, Øystein Godøy, Leslie M. Hartten, Laura X. Huang, Jareth Holt, Massimo Di Stefano, Irene Suomi, Zen Mariani, Sara Morris, Ewan O'Connor, Roberta Pirazzini, Teresa Remes, Rostislav Fadeev, Amy Solomon, Johanna Tjernström, and Mikhail Tolstykh
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 5511–5543, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5511-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5511-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The YOPP site Model Intercomparison Project (YOPPsiteMIP), which was designed to facilitate enhanced weather forecast evaluation in polar regions, is discussed here, focussing on describing the archive of forecast data and presenting a multi-model evaluation at Arctic supersites during February and March 2018. The study highlights an underestimation in boundary layer temperature variance that is common across models and a related inability to forecast cold extremes at several of the sites.
Taneil Uttal, Leslie M. Hartten, Siri Jodha Khalsa, Barbara Casati, Gunilla Svensson, Jonathan Day, Jareth Holt, Elena Akish, Sara Morris, Ewan O'Connor, Roberta Pirazzini, Laura X. Huang, Robert Crawford, Zen Mariani, Øystein Godøy, Johanna A. K. Tjernström, Giri Prakash, Nicki Hickmon, Marion Maturilli, and Christopher J. Cox
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 5225–5247, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5225-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-5225-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A Merged Observatory Data File (MODF) format to systematically collate complex atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial data sets collected by multiple instruments during field campaigns is presented. The MODF format is also designed to be applied to model output data, yielding format-matching Merged Model Data Files (MMDFs). MODFs plus MMDFs will augment and accelerate the synergistic use of model results with observational data to increase understanding and predictive skill.
Zen Mariani, Sara M. Morris, Taneil Uttal, Elena Akish, Robert Crawford, Laura Huang, Jonathan Day, Johanna Tjernström, Øystein Godøy, Lara Ferrighi, Leslie M. Hartten, Jareth Holt, Christopher J. Cox, Ewan O'Connor, Roberta Pirazzini, Marion Maturilli, Giri Prakash, James Mather, Kimberly Strong, Pierre Fogal, Vasily Kustov, Gunilla Svensson, Michael Gallagher, and Brian Vasel
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3083–3124, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3083-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3083-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
During the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP), we increased measurements in the polar regions and have made dedicated efforts to centralize and standardize all of the different types of datasets that have been collected to facilitate user uptake and model–observation comparisons. This paper is an overview of those efforts and a description of the novel standardized Merged Observation Data Files (MODFs), including a description of the sites, data format, and instruments.
Alexander Frank Vessey, Kevin I. Hodges, Len C. Shaffrey, and Jonathan J. Day
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2115–2132, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2115-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2115-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The risk posed to ships by Arctic cyclones has seldom been quantified due to the lack of publicly available historical Arctic ship track data. This study investigates historical Arctic ship tracks, cyclone tracks, and shipping incident reports to determine the number of shipping incidents caused by the passage of Arctic cyclones. Results suggest that Arctic cyclones have not been hazardous to ships and that ships are resilient to the rough sea conditions caused by Arctic cyclones.
Thomas Rackow, Xabier Pedruzo-Bagazgoitia, Tobias Becker, Sebastian Milinski, Irina Sandu, Razvan Aguridan, Peter Bechtold, Sebastian Beyer, Jean Bidlot, Souhail Boussetta, Michail Diamantakis, Peter Dueben, Emanuel Dutra, Richard Forbes, Helge F. Goessling, Ioan Hadade, Jan Hegewald, Sarah Keeley, Lukas Kluft, Nikolay Koldunov, Alexei Koldunov, Tobias Kölling, Josh Kousal, Kristian Mogensen, Tiago Quintino, Inna Polichtchouk, Domokos Sármány, Dmitry Sidorenko, Jan Streffing, Birgit Sützl, Daisuke Takasuka, Steffen Tietsche, Mirco Valentini, Benoît Vannière, Nils Wedi, Lorenzo Zampieri, and Florian Ziemen
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-913, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-913, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Detailed global climate model simulations have been created based on a numerical weather prediction model, offering more accurate spatial detail down to the scale of individual cities ("kilometre-scale"), and a better understanding of climate phenomena such as atmospheric storms, whirls in the ocean, and cracks in sea ice. The new model aims to provide globally consistent information on local climate change with greater precision, benefiting environmental planning and local impact modelling.
Gab Abramowitz, Anna Ukkola, Sanaa Hobeichi, Jon Cranko Page, Mathew Lipson, Martin De Kauwe, Sam Green, Claire Brenner, Jonathan Frame, Grey Nearing, Martyn Clark, Martin Best, Peter Anthoni, Gabriele Arduini, Souhail Boussetta, Silvia Caldararu, Kyeungwoo Cho, Matthias Cuntz, David Fairbairn, Craig Ferguson, Hyungjun Kim, Yeonjoo Kim, Jürgen Knauer, David Lawrence, Xiangzhong Luo, Sergey Malyshev, Tomoko Nitta, Jerome Ogee, Keith Oleson, Catherine Ottlé, Phillipe Peylin, Patricia de Rosnay, Heather Rumbold, Bob Su, Nicolas Vuichard, Anthony Walker, Xiaoni Wang-Faivre, Yunfei Wang, and Yijian Zeng
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3084, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3084, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This paper evaluates land models – computer based models that simulate ecosystem dynamics, the land carbon, water and energy cycles and the role of land in the climate system. It uses machine learning / AI approaches to show that despite the complexity of land models, they do not perform nearly as well as they could, given the amount of information they are provided with about the prediction problem.
Hannah L. Croad, John Methven, Ben Harvey, Sarah P. E. Keeley, and Ambrogio Volonté
Weather Clim. Dynam., 4, 617–638, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-617-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-617-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The interaction between Arctic cyclones and the sea ice surface in summer is investigated by analysing the friction and sensible heat flux processes acting in two cyclones with contrasting evolution. The major finding is that the effects of friction on cyclone strength are dependent on a particular feature of cyclone structure: whether they have a warm or cold core during growth. Friction leads to cooling within both cyclone types in the lower atmosphere, which may contribute to their longevity.
Mark J. Rodwell and Heini Wernli
Weather Clim. Dynam., 4, 591–615, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-591-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-591-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Midlatitude storms and their downstream impacts have a major impact on society, yet their prediction is especially prone to uncertainty. While this can never be fully eliminated, we find that the initial rate of growth of uncertainty varies for a range of forecast models. Examination of the model of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) suggests ways in which uncertainty growth could be reduced, leading to sharper and more reliable forecasts over the first few days.
Gillian Young McCusker, Jutta Vüllers, Peggy Achtert, Paul Field, Jonathan J. Day, Richard Forbes, Ruth Price, Ewan O'Connor, Michael Tjernström, John Prytherch, Ryan Neely III, and Ian M. Brooks
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4819–4847, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4819-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4819-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, we show that recent versions of two atmospheric models – the Unified Model and Integrated Forecasting System – overestimate Arctic cloud fraction within the lower troposphere by comparison with recent remote-sensing measurements made during the Arctic Ocean 2018 expedition. The overabundance of cloud is interlinked with the modelled thermodynamic structure, with strong negative temperature biases coincident with these overestimated cloud layers.
Melissa Ruiz-Vásquez, Sungmin O, Alexander Brenning, Randal D. Koster, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Ulrich Weber, Gabriele Arduini, Ana Bastos, Markus Reichstein, and René Orth
Earth Syst. Dynam., 13, 1451–1471, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-1451-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-13-1451-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Subseasonal forecasts facilitate early warning of extreme events; however their predictability sources are not fully explored. We find that global temperature forecast errors in many regions are related to climate variables such as solar radiation and precipitation, as well as land surface variables such as soil moisture and evaporative fraction. A better representation of these variables in the forecasting and data assimilation systems can support the accuracy of temperature forecasts.
Alessandro Carlo Maria Savazzi, Louise Nuijens, Irina Sandu, Geet George, and Peter Bechtold
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13049–13066, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13049-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13049-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Winds are of great importance for the transport of energy and moisture in the atmosphere. In this study we use measurements from the EUREC4A field campaign and several model experiments to understand the wind bias in the forecasts produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. We are able to link the model errors to heights above 2 km and to the representation of the diurnal cycle of winds: the model makes the winds too slow in the morning and too strong in the evening.
Alexander F. Vessey, Kevin I. Hodges, Len C. Shaffrey, and Jonathan J. Day
Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 1097–1112, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1097-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1097-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding the location and intensity of hazardous weather across the Arctic is important for assessing risks to infrastructure, shipping, and coastal communities. This study describes the typical lifetime and structure of intense winter and summer Arctic cyclones. Results show the composite development and structure of intense summer Arctic cyclones are different from intense winter Arctic and North Atlantic Ocean extra-tropical cyclones and from conceptual models.
Bin Cao, Gabriele Arduini, and Ervin Zsoter
The Cryosphere, 16, 2701–2708, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2701-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2701-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We implemented a new multi-layer snow scheme in the land surface scheme of ERA5-Land with revised snow densification parameterizations. The revised HTESSEL improved the representation of soil temperature in permafrost regions compared to ERA5-Land; in particular, warm bias in winter was significantly reduced, and the resulting modeled near-surface permafrost extent was improved.
Patrick Le Moigne, Eric Bazile, Anning Cheng, Emanuel Dutra, John M. Edwards, William Maurel, Irina Sandu, Olivier Traullé, Etienne Vignon, Ayrton Zadra, and Weizhong Zheng
The Cryosphere, 16, 2183–2202, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2183-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2183-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This paper describes an intercomparison of snow models, of varying complexity, used for numerical weather prediction or academic research. The results show that the simplest models are, under certain conditions, able to reproduce the surface temperature just as well as the most complex models. Moreover, the diversity of surface parameters of the models has a strong impact on the temporal variability of the components of the simulated surface energy balance.
Steve Delhaye, Thierry Fichefet, François Massonnet, David Docquier, Rym Msadek, Svenya Chripko, Christopher Roberts, Sarah Keeley, and Retish Senan
Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 555–573, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-555-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-555-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
It is unclear how the atmosphere will respond to a retreat of summer Arctic sea ice. Much attention has been paid so far to weather extremes at mid-latitude and in winter. Here we focus on the changes in extremes in surface air temperature and precipitation over the Arctic regions in summer during and following abrupt sea ice retreats. We find that Arctic sea ice loss clearly shifts the extremes in surface air temperature and precipitation over terrestrial regions surrounding the Arctic Ocean.
Paolo Davini, Federico Fabiano, and Irina Sandu
Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 535–553, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-535-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-535-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In climate models, improvements obtained in the winter mid-latitude circulation following horizontal resolution increase are mainly caused by the more detailed representation of the mean orography. A high-resolution climate model with low-resolution orography might underperform compared to a low-resolution model with low-resolution orography. The absence of proper model tuning at high resolution is considered the potential reason behind such lack of improvements.
Stipo Sentić, Peter Bechtold, Željka Fuchs-Stone, Mark Rodwell, and David J. Raymond
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 3371–3385, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-3371-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-3371-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Organization of Tropical East Pacific Convection (OTREC) field campaign focuses on studying convection in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean. Observations obtained from dropsondes have been assimilated into the ECMWF model and compared to a model run in which sondes have not been assimilated. The model performs well in both simulations, but the assimilation of sondes helps to reduce the departure for pre-tropical-storm conditions. Variables important to studying convection are also studied.
Beatriz M. Monge-Sanz, Alessio Bozzo, Nicholas Byrne, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Michail Diamantakis, Johannes Flemming, Lesley J. Gray, Robin J. Hogan, Luke Jones, Linus Magnusson, Inna Polichtchouk, Theodore G. Shepherd, Nils Wedi, and Antje Weisheimer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4277–4302, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4277-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4277-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The stratosphere is emerging as one of the keys to improve tropospheric weather and climate predictions. This study provides evidence of the role the stratospheric ozone layer plays in improving weather predictions at different timescales. Using a new ozone modelling approach suitable for high-resolution global models that provide operational forecasts from days to seasons, we find significant improvements in stratospheric meteorological fields and stratosphere–troposphere coupling.
Joaquín Muñoz-Sabater, Emanuel Dutra, Anna Agustí-Panareda, Clément Albergel, Gabriele Arduini, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Souhail Boussetta, Margarita Choulga, Shaun Harrigan, Hans Hersbach, Brecht Martens, Diego G. Miralles, María Piles, Nemesio J. Rodríguez-Fernández, Ervin Zsoter, Carlo Buontempo, and Jean-Noël Thépaut
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4349–4383, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4349-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4349-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The creation of ERA5-Land responds to a growing number of applications requiring global land datasets at a resolution higher than traditionally reached. ERA5-Land provides operational, global, and hourly key variables of the water and energy cycles over land surfaces, at 9 km resolution, from 1981 until the present. This work provides evidence of an overall improvement of the water cycle compared to previous reanalyses, whereas the energy cycle variables perform as well as those of ERA5.
Bjorn Stevens, Sandrine Bony, David Farrell, Felix Ament, Alan Blyth, Christopher Fairall, Johannes Karstensen, Patricia K. Quinn, Sabrina Speich, Claudia Acquistapace, Franziska Aemisegger, Anna Lea Albright, Hugo Bellenger, Eberhard Bodenschatz, Kathy-Ann Caesar, Rebecca Chewitt-Lucas, Gijs de Boer, Julien Delanoë, Leif Denby, Florian Ewald, Benjamin Fildier, Marvin Forde, Geet George, Silke Gross, Martin Hagen, Andrea Hausold, Karen J. Heywood, Lutz Hirsch, Marek Jacob, Friedhelm Jansen, Stefan Kinne, Daniel Klocke, Tobias Kölling, Heike Konow, Marie Lothon, Wiebke Mohr, Ann Kristin Naumann, Louise Nuijens, Léa Olivier, Robert Pincus, Mira Pöhlker, Gilles Reverdin, Gregory Roberts, Sabrina Schnitt, Hauke Schulz, A. Pier Siebesma, Claudia Christine Stephan, Peter Sullivan, Ludovic Touzé-Peiffer, Jessica Vial, Raphaela Vogel, Paquita Zuidema, Nicola Alexander, Lyndon Alves, Sophian Arixi, Hamish Asmath, Gholamhossein Bagheri, Katharina Baier, Adriana Bailey, Dariusz Baranowski, Alexandre Baron, Sébastien Barrau, Paul A. Barrett, Frédéric Batier, Andreas Behrendt, Arne Bendinger, Florent Beucher, Sebastien Bigorre, Edmund Blades, Peter Blossey, Olivier Bock, Steven Böing, Pierre Bosser, Denis Bourras, Pascale Bouruet-Aubertot, Keith Bower, Pierre Branellec, Hubert Branger, Michal Brennek, Alan Brewer, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Björn Brügmann, Stefan A. Buehler, Elmo Burke, Ralph Burton, Radiance Calmer, Jean-Christophe Canonici, Xavier Carton, Gregory Cato Jr., Jude Andre Charles, Patrick Chazette, Yanxu Chen, Michal T. Chilinski, Thomas Choularton, Patrick Chuang, Shamal Clarke, Hugh Coe, Céline Cornet, Pierre Coutris, Fleur Couvreux, Susanne Crewell, Timothy Cronin, Zhiqiang Cui, Yannis Cuypers, Alton Daley, Gillian M. Damerell, Thibaut Dauhut, Hartwig Deneke, Jean-Philippe Desbios, Steffen Dörner, Sebastian Donner, Vincent Douet, Kyla Drushka, Marina Dütsch, André Ehrlich, Kerry Emanuel, Alexandros Emmanouilidis, Jean-Claude Etienne, Sheryl Etienne-Leblanc, Ghislain Faure, Graham Feingold, Luca Ferrero, Andreas Fix, Cyrille Flamant, Piotr Jacek Flatau, Gregory R. Foltz, Linda Forster, Iulian Furtuna, Alan Gadian, Joseph Galewsky, Martin Gallagher, Peter Gallimore, Cassandra Gaston, Chelle Gentemann, Nicolas Geyskens, Andreas Giez, John Gollop, Isabelle Gouirand, Christophe Gourbeyre, Dörte de Graaf, Geiske E. de Groot, Robert Grosz, Johannes Güttler, Manuel Gutleben, Kashawn Hall, George Harris, Kevin C. Helfer, Dean Henze, Calvert Herbert, Bruna Holanda, Antonio Ibanez-Landeta, Janet Intrieri, Suneil Iyer, Fabrice Julien, Heike Kalesse, Jan Kazil, Alexander Kellman, Abiel T. Kidane, Ulrike Kirchner, Marcus Klingebiel, Mareike Körner, Leslie Ann Kremper, Jan Kretzschmar, Ovid Krüger, Wojciech Kumala, Armin Kurz, Pierre L'Hégaret, Matthieu Labaste, Tom Lachlan-Cope, Arlene Laing, Peter Landschützer, Theresa Lang, Diego Lange, Ingo Lange, Clément Laplace, Gauke Lavik, Rémi Laxenaire, Caroline Le Bihan, Mason Leandro, Nathalie Lefevre, Marius Lena, Donald Lenschow, Qiang Li, Gary Lloyd, Sebastian Los, Niccolò Losi, Oscar Lovell, Christopher Luneau, Przemyslaw Makuch, Szymon Malinowski, Gaston Manta, Eleni Marinou, Nicholas Marsden, Sebastien Masson, Nicolas Maury, Bernhard Mayer, Margarette Mayers-Als, Christophe Mazel, Wayne McGeary, James C. McWilliams, Mario Mech, Melina Mehlmann, Agostino Niyonkuru Meroni, Theresa Mieslinger, Andreas Minikin, Peter Minnett, Gregor Möller, Yanmichel Morfa Avalos, Caroline Muller, Ionela Musat, Anna Napoli, Almuth Neuberger, Christophe Noisel, David Noone, Freja Nordsiek, Jakub L. Nowak, Lothar Oswald, Douglas J. Parker, Carolyn Peck, Renaud Person, Miriam Philippi, Albert Plueddemann, Christopher Pöhlker, Veronika Pörtge, Ulrich Pöschl, Lawrence Pologne, Michał Posyniak, Marc Prange, Estefanía Quiñones Meléndez, Jule Radtke, Karim Ramage, Jens Reimann, Lionel Renault, Klaus Reus, Ashford Reyes, Joachim Ribbe, Maximilian Ringel, Markus Ritschel, Cesar B. Rocha, Nicolas Rochetin, Johannes Röttenbacher, Callum Rollo, Haley Royer, Pauline Sadoulet, Leo Saffin, Sanola Sandiford, Irina Sandu, Michael Schäfer, Vera Schemann, Imke Schirmacher, Oliver Schlenczek, Jerome Schmidt, Marcel Schröder, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Andrea Sealy, Christoph J. Senff, Ilya Serikov, Samkeyat Shohan, Elizabeth Siddle, Alexander Smirnov, Florian Späth, Branden Spooner, M. Katharina Stolla, Wojciech Szkółka, Simon P. de Szoeke, Stéphane Tarot, Eleni Tetoni, Elizabeth Thompson, Jim Thomson, Lorenzo Tomassini, Julien Totems, Alma Anna Ubele, Leonie Villiger, Jan von Arx, Thomas Wagner, Andi Walther, Ben Webber, Manfred Wendisch, Shanice Whitehall, Anton Wiltshire, Allison A. Wing, Martin Wirth, Jonathan Wiskandt, Kevin Wolf, Ludwig Worbes, Ethan Wright, Volker Wulfmeyer, Shanea Young, Chidong Zhang, Dongxiao Zhang, Florian Ziemen, Tobias Zinner, and Martin Zöger
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4067–4119, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The EUREC4A field campaign, designed to test hypothesized mechanisms by which clouds respond to warming and benchmark next-generation Earth-system models, is presented. EUREC4A comprised roughly 5 weeks of measurements in the downstream winter trades of the North Atlantic – eastward and southeastward of Barbados. It was the first campaign that attempted to characterize the full range of processes and scales influencing trade wind clouds.
Beena Balan-Sarojini, Steffen Tietsche, Michael Mayer, Magdalena Balmaseda, Hao Zuo, Patricia de Rosnay, Tim Stockdale, and Frederic Vitart
The Cryosphere, 15, 325–344, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-325-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-325-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Our study for the first time shows the impact of measured sea ice thickness (SIT) on seasonal forecasts of all the seasons. We prove that the long-term memory present in the Arctic winter SIT is helpful to improve summer sea ice forecasts. Our findings show that realistic SIT initial conditions to start a forecast are useful in (1) improving seasonal forecasts, (2) understanding errors in the forecast model, and (3) recognizing the need for continuous monitoring of world's ice-covered oceans.
Silvia Terzago, Valentina Andreoli, Gabriele Arduini, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Lorenzo Campo, Claudio Cassardo, Edoardo Cremonese, Daniele Dolia, Simone Gabellani, Jost von Hardenberg, Umberto Morra di Cella, Elisa Palazzi, Gaia Piazzi, Paolo Pogliotti, and Antonello Provenzale
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4061–4090, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4061-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4061-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In mountain areas high-quality meteorological data to drive snow models are rarely available, so coarse-resolution data from spatial interpolation of the available in situ measurements or reanalyses are typically employed. We perform 12 experiments using six snow models with different degrees of complexity to show the impact of the accuracy of the forcing on snow depth and snow water equivalent simulations at the Alpine site of Torgnon, discussing the results in relation to the model complexity.
Christine Pohl, Larysa Istomina, Steffen Tietsche, Evelyn Jäkel, Johannes Stapf, Gunnar Spreen, and Georg Heygster
The Cryosphere, 14, 165–182, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-165-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-165-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
A spectral to broadband conversion is developed empirically that can be used in combination with the Melt Pond Detector algorithm to derive broadband albedo (300–3000 nm) of Arctic sea ice from MERIS data. It is validated and shows better performance compared to existing conversion methods. A comparison of MERIS broadband albedo with respective values from ERA5 reanalysis suggests a revision of the albedo values used in ERA5. MERIS albedo might be useful for improving albedo representation.
Joula Siponen, Petteri Uotila, Eero Rinne, and Steffen Tietsche
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2019-272, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2019-272, 2019
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
Long sea-ice thickness time series are needed to better understand the Arctic climate and improve its forecasts. In this study 2002–2017 satellite observations are compared with reanalysis output, which is used as initial conditions for long forecasts. The reanalysis agrees well with satellite observations, with differences typically below 1 m when averaged in time, although seasonally and in certain years the differences are large. This is caused by uncertainties in reanalysis and observations.
Yvan Orsolini, Martin Wegmann, Emanuel Dutra, Boqi Liu, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Kun Yang, Patricia de Rosnay, Congwen Zhu, Wenli Wang, Retish Senan, and Gabriele Arduini
The Cryosphere, 13, 2221–2239, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2221-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-2221-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
The Tibetan Plateau region exerts a considerable influence on regional climate, yet the snowpack over that region is poorly represented in both climate and forecast models due a large precipitation and snowfall bias. We evaluate the snowpack in state-of-the-art atmospheric reanalyses against in situ observations and satellite remote sensing products. Improved snow initialisation through better use of snow observations in reanalyses may improve medium-range to seasonal weather forecasts.
Hao Zuo, Magdalena Alonso Balmaseda, Steffen Tietsche, Kristian Mogensen, and Michael Mayer
Ocean Sci., 15, 779–808, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-779-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-779-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
OCEAN5 is the fifth generation of the ocean and sea-ice analysis system at ECMWF. It was used for production of historical ocean and sea-ice states from 1979 onwards and is also used for generating real-time ocean and sea-ice states responsible for initializing the operational ECMWF weather forecasting system. This is a valuable data set with broad applications. A description of the OCEAN5 system and an assessment of the historical data set have been documented in this reference paper.
Stephanie J. Johnson, Timothy N. Stockdale, Laura Ferranti, Magdalena A. Balmaseda, Franco Molteni, Linus Magnusson, Steffen Tietsche, Damien Decremer, Antje Weisheimer, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Sarah P. E. Keeley, Kristian Mogensen, Hao Zuo, and Beatriz M. Monge-Sanz
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 1087–1117, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1087-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-1087-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In this article, we describe the new ECMWF seasonal forecast system, SEAS5, which replaced its predecessor in November 2017. We describe the forecast methodology used in SEAS5 and compare results from SEAS5 to results from the previous seasonal forecast system, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of SEAS5. SEAS5 data are publicly available through the Copernicus Climate Change Service's multi-system seasonal forecast.
Gerhard Krinner, Chris Derksen, Richard Essery, Mark Flanner, Stefan Hagemann, Martyn Clark, Alex Hall, Helmut Rott, Claire Brutel-Vuilmet, Hyungjun Kim, Cécile B. Ménard, Lawrence Mudryk, Chad Thackeray, Libo Wang, Gabriele Arduini, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Paul Bartlett, Julia Boike, Aaron Boone, Frédérique Chéruy, Jeanne Colin, Matthias Cuntz, Yongjiu Dai, Bertrand Decharme, Jeff Derry, Agnès Ducharne, Emanuel Dutra, Xing Fang, Charles Fierz, Josephine Ghattas, Yeugeniy Gusev, Vanessa Haverd, Anna Kontu, Matthieu Lafaysse, Rachel Law, Dave Lawrence, Weiping Li, Thomas Marke, Danny Marks, Martin Ménégoz, Olga Nasonova, Tomoko Nitta, Masashi Niwano, John Pomeroy, Mark S. Raleigh, Gerd Schaedler, Vladimir Semenov, Tanya G. Smirnova, Tobias Stacke, Ulrich Strasser, Sean Svenson, Dmitry Turkov, Tao Wang, Nander Wever, Hua Yuan, Wenyan Zhou, and Dan Zhu
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 5027–5049, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-5027-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-5027-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This paper provides an overview of a coordinated international experiment to determine the strengths and weaknesses in how climate models treat snow. The models will be assessed at point locations using high-quality reference measurements and globally using satellite-derived datasets. How well climate models simulate snow-related processes is important because changing snow cover is an important part of the global climate system and provides an important freshwater resource for human use.
Christopher D. Roberts, Retish Senan, Franco Molteni, Souhail Boussetta, Michael Mayer, and Sarah P. E. Keeley
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 3681–3712, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3681-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-3681-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents climate model configurations of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Integrated Forecast System (ECMWF-IFS) for different combinations of ocean and atmosphere resolution. These configurations are used to perform multi-decadal experiments following the protocols of the High Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP) and phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6).
Steffen Tietsche, Magdalena Alonso-Balmaseda, Patricia Rosnay, Hao Zuo, Xiangshan Tian-Kunze, and Lars Kaleschke
The Cryosphere, 12, 2051–2072, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2051-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2051-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We compare Arctic sea-ice thickness from L-band microwave satellite observations and an ocean–sea ice reanalysis. There is good agreement for some regions and times but systematic discrepancy in others. Errors in both the reanalysis and observational products contribute to these discrepancies. Thus, we recommend proceeding with caution when using these observations for model validation or data assimilation. At the same time we emphasise their unique value for improving sea-ice forecast models.
Paul J. Valdes, Edward Armstrong, Marcus P. S. Badger, Catherine D. Bradshaw, Fran Bragg, Michel Crucifix, Taraka Davies-Barnard, Jonathan J. Day, Alex Farnsworth, Chris Gordon, Peter O. Hopcroft, Alan T. Kennedy, Natalie S. Lord, Dan J. Lunt, Alice Marzocchi, Louise M. Parry, Vicky Pope, William H. G. Roberts, Emma J. Stone, Gregory J. L. Tourte, and Jonny H. T. Williams
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 3715–3743, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-3715-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-3715-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper we describe the family of climate models used by the BRIDGE research group at the University of Bristol as well as by various other institutions. These models are based on the UK Met Office HadCM3 models and here we describe the various modifications which have been made as well as the key features of a number of configurations in use.
Tom Edinburgh and Jonathan J. Day
The Cryosphere, 10, 2721–2730, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2721-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2721-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Contrary to expectations, Antarctic sea ice cover has been increasing in area during the last three decades. In order to put these trends into a wider context this paper analyses direct observations of sea ice, recorded in ships' logbooks during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration (1887–1917) for the first time. It shows that the sea ice was significantly further north in the Weddell Sea during the period but comparable to the present day in other sectors.
Jonathan J. Day, Steffen Tietsche, Mat Collins, Helge F. Goessling, Virginie Guemas, Anabelle Guillory, William J. Hurlin, Masayoshi Ishii, Sarah P. E. Keeley, Daniela Matei, Rym Msadek, Michael Sigmond, Hiroaki Tatebe, and Ed Hawkins
Geosci. Model Dev., 9, 2255–2270, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-2255-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-2255-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Recent decades have seen significant developments in seasonal-to-interannual timescale climate prediction. However, until recently the potential of such systems to predict Arctic climate had not been assessed. This paper describes a multi-model predictability experiment which was run as part of the Arctic Predictability and Prediction On Seasonal to Interannual Timescales (APPOSITE) project. The main goal of APPOSITE was to quantify the timescales on which Arctic climate is predictable.
E. Dutra, W. Pozzi, F. Wetterhall, F. Di Giuseppe, L. Magnusson, G. Naumann, P. Barbosa, J. Vogt, and F. Pappenberger
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 2669–2678, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2669-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2669-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Boundary-layer dynamics incl. coupling to land, ocean and ice
Exploring the daytime boundary layer evolution based on Doppler spectrum width from multiple coplanar wind lidars during CROSSINN
Forcing for varying boundary layer stability across Antarctica
Variations in boundary layer stability across Antarctica: a comparison between coastal and interior sites
Adverse impact of terrain steepness on thermally driven initiation of orographic convection
Effects on early monsoon rainfall in West Africa due to recent deforestation in a convection-permitting ensemble
Vortex streets to the lee of Madeira in a kilometre-resolution regional climate model
Extratropical-cyclone-induced sea surface temperature anomalies in the 2013–2014 winter
Nevio Babić, Bianca Adler, Alexander Gohm, Manuela Lehner, and Norbert Kalthoff
Weather Clim. Dynam., 5, 609–631, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-609-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-609-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Day-to-day weather over mountains remains a significant challenge in the domain of weather forecast. Using a combination of measurements from several instrument platforms, including Doppler lidars, aircraft, and radiosondes, we developed a method that relies primarily on turbulence characteristics of the lowest layers of the atmosphere. As a result, we identified new ways in which atmosphere behaves over mountains during daytime, which may serve to further improve forecasting capabilities.
Mckenzie J. Dice, John J. Cassano, and Gina C. Jozef
Weather Clim. Dynam., 5, 369–394, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-369-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-369-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study aims to identify the main reasonings for changes in boundary layer stability, namely changes in radiative forcing or mechanical mixing (wind shear). Across the continent of Antarctica, varying stability in the boundary layer is affected by many different forces, and this study seeks to characterize the main forcing mechanisms for these variations in stability across Antarctica, annually and seasonally.
Mckenzie J. Dice, John J. Cassano, Gina C. Jozef, and Mark Seefeldt
Weather Clim. Dynam., 4, 1045–1069, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-1045-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-1045-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study documents boundary layer stability profiles, from the surface to 500 m above ground level, present in radiosonde observations across the Antarctic continent. A boundary layer stability definition method is developed and applied to the radiosonde observations to determine the frequency and seasonality of stability regimes. It is found that, in the continental interior, strong stability is dominant throughout most of the year, while stability is more varied at coastal locations.
Matthias Göbel, Stefano Serafin, and Mathias W. Rotach
Weather Clim. Dynam., 4, 725–745, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-725-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-725-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
On summer days over mountains, upslope winds transport moist air towards mountain tops and beyond, making local rain showers more likely. We use idealized simulations to investigate how mountain steepness affects this mechanism. We find that steeper mountains lead to a delayed onset and lower intensity of the storms, because less moisture accumulates over the ridges and the thermal updraft zone at the top is narrower and thus more prone to the intrusion of dry air from the environment.
Julia Crook, Cornelia Klein, Sonja Folwell, Christopher M. Taylor, Douglas J. Parker, Adama Bamba, and Kouakou Kouadio
Weather Clim. Dynam., 4, 229–248, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-229-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-229-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We estimate recent deforestation in West Africa and use a climate model allowing explicit convection to determine impacts on early season rainfall. We find enhanced rainfall over deforestation, in line with recent observational results, due to changes in circulation rather than humidity, showing potential for future studies. Local changes depend on initial soil moisture, deforestation extent, and ocean proximity, with sea breezes shifting inland where surface friction decreased.
Qinggang Gao, Christian Zeman, Jesus Vergara-Temprado, Daniela C. A. Lima, Peter Molnar, and Christoph Schär
Weather Clim. Dynam., 4, 189–211, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-189-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-189-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We developed a vortex identification algorithm for realistic atmospheric simulations. The algorithm enabled us to obtain a climatology of vortex shedding from Madeira Island for a 10-year simulation period. This first objective climatological analysis of vortex streets shows consistency with observed atmospheric conditions. The analysis shows a pronounced annual cycle with an increasing vortex shedding rate from April to August and a sudden decrease in September.
Helen F. Dacre, Simon A. Josey, and Alan L. M. Grant
Weather Clim. Dynam., 1, 27–44, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-27-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-27-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The 2013–2014 winter sea surface temperature (SST) was anomalously cool in the mid-North Atlantic region. We investigate the processes by which cyclones can lead to SST cooling and their contribution towards the 2013–2014 SST anomaly. We find that cyclones induce a cold wake, which extends along the cyclones' cold front. Cyclones account for over 40 % of the observed cooling in the mid-North Atlantic. Thus, cyclones play a major role in determining the extreme 2013–2014 winter SST cooling.
Cited articles
Andersen, S., Tonboe, R., Kaleschke, L., Heygster, G., and Pedersen, L. T.:
Intercomparison of passive microwave sea ice concentration retrievals over the high-concentration Arctic sea ice, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 112, C08004, https://doi.org/10.1029/2006JC003543, 2007.
Andreas, E. L.:
Estimation of heat and mass fluxes over Arctic leads, Mon. Weather Rev., 108, 2057–2063, 1980.
Balmaseda, M. A., Ferranti, L., Molteni, F., and Palmer, T. N.:
Impact of 2007 and 2008 Arctic ice anomalies on the atmospheric circulation: Implications for long-range predictions, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 136, 1655–1664, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.661, 2010.
Blackport, R., Screen, J. A., van der Wiel, K., and Bintanja, R.:
Minimal influence of reduced Arctic sea ice on coincident cold winters in mid-latitudes, Nat. Clim. Change, 9, 697–704, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0551-4, 2019.
Browne, P. A., de Rosnay, P., Zuo, H., Bennett, A., and Dawson, A.:
Weakly Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Data Assimilation in the ECMWF NWP System, Remote Sens.-Basel, 11, 234, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11030234, 2019.
Buizza, R., Bidlot, J.-R., Janousek, M., Keeley, S., Mogensen, K., and Richardson, D.:
New IFS cycle brings sea-ice coupling and higher ocean resolution, ECMWF Newsletter, 150, 14–17, https://doi.org/10.21957/xbov3ybily, 2017.
Day, J. J., Bamber, J. L., Valdes, P. J., and Kohler, J.:
The impact of a seasonally ice free Arctic Ocean on the temperature, precipitation and surface mass balance of Svalbard, The Cryosphere, 6, 35–50, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-35-2012, 2012.
Day, J. J.: high resolution forecast experiment with coupled ice-ocean (APPLICATE), ECMWF [data set], https://doi.org/10.21957/xbe4-6v10, 2022a.
Day, J. J.: high resolution forecast experiment forced by persisted sea ice concentration (APPLICATE), ECMWF [data set], https://doi.org/10.21957/4vw1-0f68, 2022b.
Day, J. J.: high resolution forecast experiment forced by observed sea ice concentration (APPLICATE), ECMWF [data set], https://doi.org/10.21957/4r57-jb72, 2022c.
Deser, C., Tomas, R., Alexander, M., and Lawrence, D.:
The Seasonal Atmospheric Response to Projected Arctic Sea Ice Loss in the Late Twenty-First Century, J. Climate, 23, 333–351, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JCLI3053.1, 2010.
Donlon, C. J., Martin, M., Stark, J., Roberts-Jones, J., Fiedler, E., and Wimmer, W.:
The Operational Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Ice Analysis (OSTIA) system, Remote Sens. Environ., 116, 140–158, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2010.10.017, 2012.
Elvidge, A. D., Renfrew, I. A., Weiss, A. I., Brooks, I. M., Lachlan-Cope, T. A., and King, J. C.:
Observations of surface momentum exchange over the marginal ice zone and recommendations for its parametrisation, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 1545–1563, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-1545-2016, 2016.
Geer, A. J.:
Significance of changes in medium-range forecast scores, Tellus A, 68, 30229, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v68.30229, 2016.
Goessling, H. F., Tietsche, S., Day, J. J., Hawkins, E., and Jung, T.:
Predictability of the Arctic sea ice edge, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, 1642–1650, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL067232, 2016.
Gryschka, M., Drüe, C., Etling, D., and Raasch, S.:
On the influence of sea-ice inhomogeneities onto roll convection in cold-air outbreaks, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L23804, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL035845, 2008.
Guemas, V., Blanchard-Wrigglesworth, E., Chevallier, M., Day, J. J., Déqué, M., Doblas-Reyes, F. J., Fučkar, N. S., Germe, A., Hawkins, E., Keeley, S., Koenigk, T., Salas y Mélia, D., and Tietsche, S.:
A review on Arctic sea-ice predictability and prediction on seasonal to decadal time-scales, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 142, 546–561, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2401, 2016.
Hersbach, H., Bell, B., Berrisford, P., Hirahara, S., Horányi, A., Muñoz‐Sabater, J., Nicolas, J., Peubey, C., Radu, R., Schepers, D., Simmons, A., Soci, C., Abdalla, S., Abellan, X., Balsamo, G., Bechtold, P., Biavati, G., Bidlot, J., Bonavita, M., Chiara, G. D., Dahlgren, P., Dee, D., Diamantakis, M., Dragani, R., Flemming, J., Forbes, R., Fuentes, M., Geer, A., Haimberger, L., Healy, S., Hogan, R. J., Hólm, E., Janisková, M., Keeley, S., Laloyaux, P., Lopez, P., Lupu, C., Radnoti, G., Rosnay, P. de, Rozum, I., Vamborg, F., Villaume, S., and Thépaut, J.-N.: The ERA5 global reanalysis, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 146, 1999–2049, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3803, 2020.
Holland, M. M. and Bitz, C. M.:
Polar amplification of climate change in coupled models, Clim. Dynam., 21, 221–232, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-003-0332-6, 2003.
Hunke, E., Allard, R., Blain, P., Blockley, E., Feltham, D., Fichefet, T., Garric, G., Grumbine, R., Lemieux, J.-F., Rasmussen, T., Ribergaard, M., Roberts, A., Schweiger, A., Tietsche, S., Tremblay, B., Vancoppenolle, M., and Zhang, J.:
Should Sea-Ice Modeling Tools Designed for Climate Research Be Used for Short-Term Forecasting?, Curr. Clim. Change Rep., 6, 121–136, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40641-020-00162-y, 2020.
Jung, T., Gordon, N. D., Bauer, P., Bromwich, D. H., Chevallier, M., Day, J. J., Dawson, J., Doblas-Reyes, F., Fairall, C., Goessling, H. F., Holland, M., Inoue, J., Iversen, T., Klebe, S., Lemke, P., Losch, M., Makshtas, A., Mills, B., Nurmi, P., Perovich, D., Reid, P., Renfrew, I. A., Smith, G., Svensson, G., Tolstykh, M., and Yang, Q.:
Advancing Polar Prediction Capabilities on Daily to Seasonal Time Scales, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 97, 1631–1647, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-14-00246.1, 2016.
Keeley, S. P. E. and Mogensen, K. S.:
Dynamic sea ice in the IFS, ECMWF Newsletter, 156, https://doi.org/10.21957/4ska25furb, 23–29 pp., 2018.
Koenigk, T. and Mikolajewicz, U.:
Seasonal to interannual climate predictability in mid and high northern latitudes in a global coupled model, Clim. Dynam., 32, 783–798, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-008-0419-1, 2009.
Laloyaux, P., Balmaseda, M., Dee, D., Mogensen, K., and Janssen, P.:
A coupled data assimilation system for climate reanalysis, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 142, 65–78, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2629, 2016.
Liu, A. Q., Moore, G. W. K., Tsuboki, K., and Renfrew, I. A.:
The Effect of the Sea-ice Zone on the Development of Boundary-layer Roll Clouds During Cold Air Outbreaks, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 118, 557–581, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-005-6434-4, 2006.
Madec, G.:
NEMO ocean engine, Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL), France, 300 pp., 2008.
Manabe, S. and Stouffer, R. J.:
Sensitivity of a global climate model to an increase of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 85, 5529–5554, https://doi.org/10.1029/JC085iC10p05529, 1980.
Meier, W. N.:
Comparison of passive microwave ice concentration algorithm retrievals with AVHRR imagery in arctic peripheral seas, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 43, 1324–1337, https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2005.846151, 2005.
Melia, N., Haines, K., Hawkins, E., and Day, J. J.:
Towards seasonal Arctic shipping route predictions, Environ. Res. Lett., 12, 084005, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7a60, 2017.
Mironov, D., Ritter, B., Schulz, J.-P., Buchhold, M., Lange, M., and MacHulskaya, E.:
Parameterisation of sea and lake ice in numerical weather prediction models of the German Weather Service, Tellus A, 64, 17330, https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v64i0.17330, 2012.
Mogensen, K., Keeley, S., and Towers, P.:
Coupling of the NEMO and IFS models in a single executable, ECMWF, https://doi.org/10.21957/rfplwzuol, 2012.
Mogensen, K. S., Magnusson, L., and Bidlot, J.-R.:
Tropical cyclone sensitivity to ocean coupling in the ECMWF coupled model, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 122, 4392–4412, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JC012753, 2017.
Mohammadi-Aragh, M., Goessling, H. F., Losch, M., Hutter, N., and Jung, T.:
Predictability of Arctic sea ice on weather time scales, Sci. Rep., 8, 6514, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-24660-0, 2018.
Moore, G. W. K., Alverson, K., and Renfrew, I. A.:
A Reconstruction of the Air–Sea Interaction Associated with the Weddell Polynya, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 32, 1685–1698, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(2002)032<1685:AROTAS>2.0.CO;2, 2002.
Notz, D.:
Sea-ice extent and its trend provide limited metrics of model performance, The Cryosphere, 8, 229–243, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-229-2014, 2014.
Oke, T. R.:
Boundary layer climates, Second edition, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxford, 435 pp., https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004, 1987.
Pellerin, P., Ritchie, H., Saucier, S. J., Roy, F., Desjardins, S., Valin, M., and Lee, V.:
Impact of a two-way coupling between an atmospheric and an ocean – ice model over the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Mon. Weather Rev., 132, 1379–1398, 2004.
Pinto, J. O. and Curry, J. A.:
Atmospheric convective plumes emanating from leads: 2. Microphysical and radiative processes, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 100, 4633–4642, https://doi.org/10.1029/94JC02655, 1995.
Pithan, F., Ackerman, A., Angevine, W. M., Hartung, K., Ickes, L., Kelley, M., Medeiros, B., Sandu, I., Steeneveld, G.-J., Sterk, H. a. M., Svensson, G., Vaillancourt, P. A., and Zadra, A.:
Select strengths and biases of models in representing the Arctic winter boundary layer over sea ice: the Larcform 1 single column model intercomparison, J. Adv. Model. Earth Sy., 8, 1345–1357, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016MS000630, 2016.
Pithan, F., Svensson, G., Caballero, R., Chechin, D., Cronin, T. W., Ekman, A. M. L., Neggers, R., Shupe, M. D., Solomon, A., Tjernström, M., and Wendisch, M.:
Role of air-mass transformations in exchange between the Arctic and mid-latitudes, Nat. Geosci., 11, 805–812, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0234-1, 2018.
Renfrew, I. A. and King, J. C.:
A simple model of the convective internal boundary layer and its application to surface heat flux estimates within polynyas, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 94, 335–356, 2000.
Renfrew, I. A., Elvidge, A. D., and Edwards, J. M.:
Atmospheric sensitivity to marginal-ice-zone drag: Local and global responses, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 145, 1165–1179, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3486, 2019.
Renfrew, I. A., Barrell, C., Elvidge, A. D., Brooke, J. K., Duscha, C., King, J. C., Kristiansen, J., Cope, T. L., Moore, G. W. K., Pickart, R. S., Reuder, J., Sandu, I., Sergeev, D., Terpstra, A., Våge, K., and Weiss, A.:
An evaluation of surface meteorology and fluxes over the Iceland and Greenland Seas in ERA5 reanalysis: The impact of sea ice distribution, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 147, 691–712, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3941, 2021.
Screen, J. A.:
Simulated Atmospheric Response to Regional and Pan-Arctic Sea Ice Loss, J. Climate, 30, 3945–3962, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0197.1, 2017.
Sergeev, D., Renfrew, I. A., and Spengler, T.: Modification of Polar Low Development by Orography and Sea Ice, Mon. Weather Rev., 146, 3325–3341, 2018.
Smith, G. C., Roy, F., and Brasnett, B.:
Evaluation of an operational ice-ocean analysis and forecasting system for the Gulf of St Lawrence, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 139, 419–433, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.1982, 2013.
Smith, G. C., Bélanger, J.-M., Roy, F., Pellerin, P., Ritchie, H., Onu, K., Roch, M., Zadra, A., Colan, D. S., Winter, B., Fontecilla, J.-S., and Deacu, D.:
Impact of Coupling with an Ice–Ocean Model on Global Medium-Range NWP Forecast Skill, Mon. Weather Rev., 146, 1157–1180, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-17-0157.1, 2018.
Spensberger, C. and Spengler, T.:
Sensitivity of air–sea heat exchange in cold-air outbreaks to model resolution and sea-ice distribution, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 126, e2020JD033610, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033610, 2021.
Spreen, G., Kaleschke, L., and Heygster, G.:
Sea ice remote sensing using AMSR-E 89-GHz channels, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 113, C02S03, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JC003384, 2008.
Stephenson, S. R., Smith, L. C., Brigham, L. W., and Agnew, J. A.:
Projected 21st-century changes to Arctic marine access, Clim. Change, 118, 885–899, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-012-0685-0, 2013.
Tietsche, S., Day, J. J., Guemas, V., Hurlin, W. J., E. Keeley, S. P., Matei, D., Msadek, R., Collins, M., and Hawkins, E.:
Seasonal to interannual Arctic sea ice predictability in current global climate models, Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 1035–1043, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GL058755, 2014.
Tietsche, S., Balmaseda, M. A., Zuo, H., and Mogensen, K.:
Arctic sea ice in the global eddy-permitting ocean reanalysis ORAP5, Clim. Dynam., 49, 775–789, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2673-3, 2015.
Tonboe, R. and Lavelle, J.:
The EUMETSAT OSI SAF Sea Ice Concentration Algorithm Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document, EUMETSAT, 2016.
Vellinga, M., Copsey, D., Graham, T., Milton, S., and Johns, T.:
Evaluating Benefits of Two-Way Ocean–Atmosphere Coupling for Global NWP Forecasts, Weather Forecast., 35, 2127–2144, https://doi.org/10.1175/WAF-D-20-0035.1, 2020.
Zampieri, L., Goessling, H. F., and Jung, T.:
Bright Prospects for Arctic Sea Ice Prediction on Subseasonal Time Scales, Geophys. Res. Lett., 45, 9731–9738, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL079394, 2018.
Zuo, H., Balmaseda, M. A., Tietsche, S., Mogensen, K., and Mayer, M.:
The ECMWF operational ensemble reanalysis–analysis system for ocean and sea ice: a description of the system and assessment, Ocean Sci., 15, 779–808, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-779-2019, 2019.
Short summary
A recent drive to develop seamless forecasting systems has culminated in the development of weather forecasting systems that include a coupled representation of the atmosphere, ocean and sea ice. Before this, sea ice and sea surface temperature anomalies were typically fixed throughout a given forecast. We show that the dynamic coupling is most beneficial during periods of rapid ice advance, where persistence is a poor forecast of the sea ice and leads to large errors in the uncoupled system.
A recent drive to develop seamless forecasting systems has culminated in the development of...