scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Topic

Precipitation

About: Precipitation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 32861 publications have been published within this topic receiving 990496 citations. The topic is also known as: rain & rainfall.


Papers
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, digital terrain analysis was employed to quantify aspects of the upwind topography related to wind shelter and exposure, to efficiently develop a distributed time-series of snow accumulation rates and wind speeds to force a distributed snow model.
Abstract: In mountainous regions, wind plays a prominent role in determining snow accumulation patterns and turbulent heat exchanges, strongly affecting the timing and magnitude of snowmelt runoff. In this study, digital terrain analysis was employed to quantify aspects of the upwind topography related to wind shelter and exposure, to efficiently develop a distributed time-series of snow accumulation rates and wind speeds to force a distributed snow model. Parameters are presented that determined each grid cell's topographic exposure and potential for drift development relative to observed winds. Using meteorological data taken from both an exposed and a sheltered site in the Reynolds Mountain East watershed (0·38 km2) in southwestern Idaho, the terrain parameters were used to distribute rates of snow accumulation and wind speeds at an hourly time step for input to ISNOBAL, an energy and mass balance snow model. Model runs were initiated prior to the development of the seasonal snow cover and continued through complete meltout for the 1986 (precipitation 128% of average), 1987 (66%), and 1989 (108%) water years. A comprehensive dataset consisting of a time series of aerial photographs taken during meltout, measured runoff, and snow data from the sheltered meteorological site were used to validate the simulations. ISNOBAL forced with accumulation rates and wind fields generated from the applied terrain parameterizations accurately modelled the observed snow distribution (including the formation of drifts and scoured wind-exposed ridges) and snowmelt runoff for all three years of study. By contrast, ISNOBAL forced with spatially constant accumulation rates and wind speeds taken from the sheltered meteorological site, a typical snow-monitoring site, overestimated peak snowmelt inputs and tended to underestimate snowmelt inputs prior to the runoff peak. Published in 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

239 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the relationship between hourly precipitation extremes and atmospheric temperature and moisture derived for the present-day climate is studied with the aim of understanding the behavior (and the uncertainty in predictions) of hourly precipitation extreme in a changing climate.
Abstract: Relations between hourly precipitation extremes and atmospheric temperature and moisture derived for the present-day climate are studied with the aim of understanding the behavior (and the uncertainty in predictions) of hourly precipitation extremes in a changing climate. A dependency of hourly precipitation extremes on the daily mean 2 m temperature of approximately two times the Clausius–Clapeyron (CC) relation is found for temperatures above 10 °C. This is a robust relation obtained in four observational records across western Europe. A dependency following the CC relation can be explained by the observed increase in atmospheric (absolute) humidity with temperature, whereas the enhanced dependency (compared to the CC relation) appears to be caused by dynamical feedbacks owing to excess latent heat release in extreme showers. Integrations with the KNMI regional climate model RACMO2 at 25 km grid spacing show that changes in hourly precipitation extremes may indeed considerably exceed the prediction from the CC relation. The results suggests that increases of + 70% or even more are possible by the end of this century. However, a different regional model (CLM operated at ETHZ) predicts much smaller increases; this is probably caused by a too strong sensitivity of this model to a decrease in relative humidity.

239 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The linkages between the space-time variability of observed clouds, rainfall, large-circulation patterns and topography in northern India and the Himalayas were investigated using remote sensing data as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The linkages between the space-time variability of observed clouds, rainfall, large-circulation patterns and topography in northern India and the Himalayas were investigated using remote sensing data The research purpose was to test the hypothesis that cloudiness patterns are dynamic tracers of rainstorms, and therefore their temporal and spatial evolution can be used as a proxy of the spatial and temporal organization of precipitation and precipitation processes in the Himalayan range during the monsoon The results suggest that the space-time distribution of precipitation, the spatial variability of the diurnal cycle of convective activity, and the terrain (landform and altitudinal gradients) are intertwined at spatial scales ranging from the order of a few kms (1–5km) up to the continental-scale Furthermore, this relationship is equally strong in the time domain with respect to the onset and intra-seasonal variability of the monsoon Infrared and microwave imagery of cloud fields were analyzed to characterize the spatial and temporal evolution of mesoscale convective weather systems and short-lived convection in Northern India, the Himalayan range, and in the Tibetan Plateau during three monsoon seasons (1999, 2000 and 2001) The life cycle of convective systems suggests landform and orographic controls consistent with a convergence zone constrained to the valley of the Ganges and the Himalayan range, bounded in the west by the Aravalli range and the Garhwal mountains and in the East by the Khasi Hills and the Bay of Bengal, which we call the Northern India Convergence Zone (NICZ) The NICZ exhibits strong night-time activity along the south-facing slopes of the Himalayan range, which is characterized by the development of short-lived convection (1–3h) aligned with protruding ridges between 1:00 and 3:00 AM The intra-annual and inter-annual variability of convective activity in the NICZ were assessed with respect to large-scale synoptic conditions, monsoon activity in the Bay of Bengal, and the modulating role of orography Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) and canonical correlation (CC) analysis suggest that joint modes of variability of monsoon weather and topography, which we call orographic land-atmosphere interactions, modulate the space-time variability of cloudiness in the region Finally, scaling analysis of cloudiness suggests three different scaling regimes of orographic land-atmosphere interactions: 1) a synoptic-scale regime (≥70-80km); 2) an orographic meso–β regime (30–70km) associated with the succession of wide valleys and bulky terrain features; and 3) an orographic meso–α regime (≤30km) associated with the complex succession of protruding south-facing ridges and narrow valleys that characterize the Himalayan foothills between altitudes of 3000 and 5000m elevations

239 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model, Spectral Version 2 (FGOALS-s2) was used to simulate realistic climates and to study anthropogenic influences on climate change.
Abstract: The Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model, Spectral Version 2 (FGOALS-s2) was used to simulate realistic climates and to study anthropogenic influences on climate change. Specifically, the FGOALS-s2 was integrated with Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) to conduct coordinated experiments that will provide valuable scientific information to climate research communities. The performances of FGOALS-s2 were assessed in simulating major climate phenomena, and documented both the strengths and weaknesses of the model. The results indicate that FGOALS-s2 successfully overcomes climate drift, and realistically models global and regional climate characteristics, including SST, precipitation, and atmospheric circulation. In particular, the model accurately captures annual and semi-annual SST cycles in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, and the main characteristic features of the Asian summer monsoon, which include a low-level southwestern jet and five monsoon rainfall centers. The simulated climate variability was further examined in terms of teleconnections, leading modes of global SST (namely, ENSO), Pacific Decadal Oscillations (PDO), and changes in 19th–20th century climate. The analysis demonstrates that FGOALS-s2 realistically simulates extra-tropical teleconnection patterns of large-scale climate, and irregular ENSO periods. The model gives fairly reasonable reconstructions of spatial patterns of PDO and global monsoon changes in the 20th century. However, because the indirect effects of aerosols are not included in the model, the simulated global temperature change during the period 1850–2005 is greater than the observed warming, by 0.6°C. Some other shortcomings of the model are also noted.

239 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: California’s more nuanced hydrological future reflects a precarious balance between the expanding subtropical high from the south and the south-eastward extending Aleutian low from the north-west, bolstering extreme precipitation events.
Abstract: In most Mediterranean climate (MedClim) regions around the world, global climate models (GCMs) consistently project drier futures. In California, however, projections of changes in annual precipitation are inconsistent. Analysis of daily precipitation in 30 GCMs reveals patterns in projected hydrometeorology over each of the five MedClm regions globally and helps disentangle their causes. MedClim regions, except California, are expected to dry via decreased frequency of winter precipitation. Frequencies of extreme precipitation, however, are projected to increase over the two MedClim regions of the Northern Hemisphere where projected warming is strongest. The increase in heavy and extreme precipitation is particularly robust over California, where it is only partially offset by projected decreases in low-medium intensity precipitation. Over the Mediterranean Basin, however, losses from decreasing frequency of low-medium-intensity precipitation are projected to dominate gains from intensifying projected extreme precipitation. MedClim regions are projected to become more sub-tropical, i.e. made dryer via pole-ward expanding subtropical subsidence. California's more nuanced hydrological future reflects a precarious balance between the expanding subtropical high from the south and the south-eastward extending Aleutian low from the north-west. These dynamical mechanisms and thermodynamic moistening of the warming atmosphere result in increased horizontal water vapor transport, bolstering extreme precipitation events.

239 citations


Network Information
Related Topics (5)
Climate model
22.2K papers, 1.1M citations
89% related
Climate change
99.2K papers, 3.5M citations
87% related
Global warming
36.6K papers, 1.6M citations
85% related
Vegetation
49.2K papers, 1.4M citations
85% related
Water content
49.8K papers, 1.1M citations
84% related
Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
20237,839
202214,365
20212,302
20201,964
20191,942
20181,773