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Validation of precipitation characteristics in current climate models
| PI: |
Ying Sun |
| Institution: |
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
| Additional Investigators: |
Susan Solomon |
| Abstract: |
Objectives
The distribution of worldwide precipitation has been the focus of many studies (e.g., Legates and Willmott 1990; Xie and Arkin 1997; Huffman et al. 1997; Adler et al. 2003), but other characteristics relevant to climate research such as the frequency of occurrence, intensity and the contribution of heavy rainfall to total amount, are also attracting increasing attention. For example, Trenberth et al. (2003) argued that in a warmer climate, where the amount of atmospheric moisture is expected to rise faster than the total precipitation amount, increases in precipitation intensity must be offset by decreases in precipitation frequency. However, these characteristics have been subject to limited analysis using observations and models. Evaluating the global distribution of these parameters from observations and testing how well climate models deal with these characteristics of precipitation is the focus of this project.
Technical approach
Precipitation frequency, intensity and the index that reflects the major precipitation events will be investigated separately. According to the available model outputs, precipitation will be classified into a few categories to be studied.
Data requirement
Daily and monthly precipitation outputs for all the models are needed.
References
Adler, R. F., G. J. Huffman, A. Chang, R. Ferraro, P. Xie, J. Janowiak, B. Rudolf, U. Schneider, S. Curtis, D. Bolvin, A. Gruber, J. Susskind, P. Arkin, and E. Nelkin, 2003: The Version-2 Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) Monthly Precipitation Analysis (1979-Present). J. Hydrometeorol., 4, 1147-1167.
Huffman, G. J., R. F. Adler, P. Arkin, A. Chang, R. Ferraro, A. Gruber, J. Janowiak, A. McNab, B. Rudolf, and U. Schneider, 1997: The global precipitation climatology project (GPCP) combined precipitation dataset. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 78, 5-20.
Legates, D. R., and C. J. Willmott, 1990: Mean seasonal and spatial variability in gauge-corrected, global precipitation. Int. J. Climatol., 10, 111-127.
Trenberth, K. E., A. Dai, R. M. Rasmussen, and D. B. Parsons, 2003: The changing character of precipitation. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 84, 1205-1217.
Xie, P. and P. A. Arkin, 1997: Global precipitation: A 17-year monthly analysis based on gauge observations, satellite estimates, and numerical model outputs. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 78, 2539-2558. |
| Publications: |
- Sun, Y., S. Solomon, A. Dai, and R. Portmann, 2006: How often does it rain?. J. Climate, 19, 916-934. Abstract. Full Article. Edit.
- Sun, Y., S. Solomon, A. Dai, and R. Portmann, 2007: How often will it rain?. J. Climate. In press. Abstract. Full Article. Edit.
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