Rodrigo J. Bombardi

Precipitation over eastern South America and the South Atlantic Sea surface temperature during neutral ENSO periods

The dominant mode of coupled variability over the South Atlantic Ocean is known as “South Atlantic Dipole” (SAD) and is characterized by a dipole in sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies with centers over the tropical and the extratropical South Atlantic. Previous studies have shown that variations in SST related to SAD modulate large-scale patterns of precipitation over the Atlantic Ocean. Here we show that variations in the South Atlantic SST are associated with changes in daily precipitation over eastern South America. Rain gauge precipitation, satellite derived sea surface temperature and reanalysis data are used to investigate the variability of the subtropical and tropical South Atlantic and impacts on precipitation. SAD phases are assessed by performing Singular value decomposition analysis of sea level pressure and SST anomalies. We show that during neutral El Niño Southern Oscillation events, SAD plays an important role in modulating cyclogenesis and the characteristics of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone. Positive SST anomalies over the extratropical South Atlantic (SAD negative phase) are related to increased cyclogenesis near southeast Brazil as well as the migration of extratropical cyclones further north. As a consequence, these systems organize convection and increase precipitation over eastern South America.

Improvements in the representation of the Indian summer monsoon in the NCEP climate forecast system version 2

A new triggering mechanism for deep convection based on the heated condensation framework (HCF) is implemented into the National Centers for Environmental Prediction climate forecast system version 2 (CFSv2). The new trigger is added as an additional criterion in the simplified Arakawa–Schubert scheme for deep convection. Seasonal forecasts are performed to evaluate the influence of the new triggering mechanism in the representation of the Indian summer monsoon in the CFSv2. The HCF trigger improves the seasonal representation of precipitation over the Indian subcontinent. The new triggering mechanism leads to a significant, albeit relatively small, improvement in the bias of seasonal precipitation totals. In addition, the new trigger improves the representation of the seasonal precipitation cycle including the monsoon onset, and the probability distribution of precipitation intensities. The mechanism whereby the HCF improves convection over India seems to be related not only to a better representation of the background state of atmospheric convection but also to an increase in the frequency in which SAS is triggered. As a result, there was an increase in convective precipitation over India favored by the availability of moist convective instability. The increase in precipitation intensity leads to a reduction in the dry bias.

The heated condensation framework as a convective trigger in the NCEP Climate Forecast System version 2

An updated version of the Heated Condensation Framework (HCF) is implemented as a convective triggering criterion into the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2). The new trigger replaces the original criteria in both the deep (Simplified Arakawa-Schubert – SAS) and shallow (SAS based) convective schemes. The performance of the original and new triggering criteria is first compared against radiosonde observations. Then, a series of hindcasts are performed to evaluate the influence of the triggering criterion in the CFSv2 representation of summer precipitation, the diurnal cycle of precipitation, and hurricanes that made landfall. The observational analysis shows that the HCF trigger better captures the frequency of convection, where the original SAS trigger initiates convection too often. When implemented in CFSv2, the HCF trigger improves the seasonal forecast of the Indian summer monsoon rainfall, including the representation of the onset dates of the rainy season over India. On the other hand, the HCF trigger increases error in the seasonal forecast of precipitation over the eastern United States. The HCF trigger also improves the representation of the intensity of hurricanes. Moreover, the simulation of hurricanes provides insights on the mechanism whereby the HCF trigger impacts the representation of convection.

Evaluation of the CFSv2 CMIP5 decadal predictions

Abstract Retrospective decadal forecasts were undertaken using the Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2) as part of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5. Decadal forecasts were performed separately by the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and by the Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA), with the centers using two different analyses for the ocean initial conditions the NCEP Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) and the NEMOVAR-COMBINE analysis. COLA also examined the sensitivity to the inclusion of forcing by specified volcanic aerosols. Biases in the CFSv2 for both sets of initial conditions include cold midlatitude sea surface temperatures, and rapid melting of sea ice associated with warm polar oceans. Forecasts from the NEMOVAR-COMBINE analysis showed strong weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), eventually approaching the weaker AMOC associated with CFSR. The decadal forecasts showed high predictive skill over the Indian, the western Pacific, and the Atlantic Oceans and low skill over the central and eastern Pacific. The volcanic forcing shows only small regional differences in predictability of surface temperature at 2m (T2m) in comparison to forecasts without volcanic forcing, especially over the Indian Ocean. An ocean heat content (OHC) budget analysis showed that the OHC has substantial memory, indicating potential for the decadal predictability of T2m; however, the model has a systematic drift in global mean OHC. The results suggest that the reduction of model biases may be the most productive path towards improving the model’s decadal forecasts.

Variabilidade do regime de monções sobre o Brasil: o clima presente e projeções para um cenário com 2xCO2 usando o modelo MIROC

VARIABILIty Of thE MOnSOOn REGIME OVER BRAzIL: thE PRESEnt CLIMAtE AnD PROJECtIOnS fOR A 2XCO2 SCEnARIO USInG thE MIROC MODEL. this study investigates the temporal variability of the South America monsoon system (SAMS) over Brazil with focus on the Brazilian savanna. the onset, end, and total rainfall during the summer monsoon are investigated using precipitation pentad estimates from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (1979-2004). Likewise, the variability of SAMS characteristics are investigated using the intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) coupled global climate model for Interdisciplinary Research (MIROC) in the 20th century (1981-2000) and in a scenario with the double present concentration of CO2 (2xCO2) (2061-2080).. It is shown that the spatial variability of the onsets over central Brazil simulated by MIROC for the 20th century run corresponds very well to the observations. Moreover, there is indication of change in the tails of the seasonal precipitation distributions over the savanna for the scenario with 2xCO2, comparatively to the present climate. this suggests changes in the probability of extremes (dry or wet) events over that region in a scenario with 2xCO2, which indicates according to MIROC the large exposure of the region to possible consequences of climate changes resulting from increasing greenhouse gases. Key-words: Monsoon, Climate changes, Brazilian savanna, MIROC, 2xCO2, IPCC

Simulating the influence of the South Atlantic dipole on the South Atlantic convergence zone during neutral ENSO

The South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) is an intrinsic characteristic of the South American Summer Monsoon. In a recent study, we verified that the main mode of coupled variability over the South Atlantic (South Atlantic Dipole (SAD)) plays a role in modulating the position of extratropical cyclones that affect the SACZ precipitation. In this study, we perform numerical experiments to further investigate the mechanisms between SAD and the SACZ. Numerical experiments forced with prescribed SST anomalies showed that, even though the Atlantic SST affects the position of the cyclone associated with the SACZ, the atmospheric response and precipitation patterns over land are opposed to the observations. On the other hand, experiments forced with prescribed anomalous driving fields showed that the atmospheric component of SAD plays a significant role for the right position and intensity of precipitation associated with the SACZ. SAD negative anomalies provide the low-level and upper-level atmospheric support for the intensification of the cyclone at surface and for the increase in precipitation over the land portion of the SACZ. Therefore, the numerical experiments suggest that, during El Niño Southern Oscillation neutral conditions, the SACZ precipitation variability associated with SAD is largely dependent on the atmospheric variability rather than the underlying SST.

Seasonal Predictability of Summer Rainfall over South America

AbstractThe seasonal predictability of austral summer rainfall is evaluated in a set of retrospective forecasts (hindcasts) performed as part of the Minerva and Metis projects. Both projects use th...

Simple Practices in Climatological Analyses: A Review

Many studies in Meteorology and Climatology use methodologies that overestimate or even underestimate the statistical significance of the results. Analyses that underestimate the role of trends and temporal or spatial dependency in the data sets can lead to incorrect conclusions. On the other hand, unnecessarily rigorous analyses can undermine the conclusions. The objective of this article is to discuss some simple practices, commonly neglected, that can produce results much more robust and statistically significant. This paper discusses some problems related to the calculation of the mean annual cycle and anomalies, trend analyzes, and temporal and spatial dependency, emphasizing statistical hypothesis