Global Surface Air Temperature Research Articles

Uncertainty in near-term global surface warming linked to tropical Pacific climate variability

Climate models generally simulate a long-term slowdown of the Pacific Walker Circulation in a warming world. However, despite increasing greenhouse forcing, there was an unprecedented intensification of the Pacific Trade Winds during 1992–2011, that co-occurred with a temporary slowdown in global surface warming. Using ensemble simulations from three different climate models starting from different initial conditions, we find a large spread in projected 20-year globally averaged surface air temperature trends that can be linked to differences in Pacific climate variability. This implies diminished predictive skill for global surface air temperature trends over decadal timescales, to a large extent due to intrinsic Pacific Ocean variability. We show, however, that this uncertainty can be considerably reduced when the initial oceanic state is known and well represented in the model. In this case, the spatial patterns of 20-year surface air temperature trends depend largely on the initial state of the Pacific Ocean.

The Role of Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage (Ccs) in Emission Mitigation

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is an important option in the portfolio of emission mitigation technologies in scenarios that lead to deep reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions consistent with limiting increases in global average surface air temperature to 2 degrees Celsius (2C). Industrial CCS applications are more challenging to analyze than CCS in the power sector -- mainly due to the vast heterogeneity in industrial and fuel processes. Our study focuses on the cement industry and provides the estimated costs associated with several CCS options: coal-fired post-combustion capture (PCC), natural gas-fired PCC, and Cryogenic Carbon Capture (CCC). We explore regional cost estimates with variations in costs of capital and fuels to provide a basis for regional and global projections of industrial CCS deployment. We offer a methodology for incorporating the CCS cost information into energy-economic and integrated assessment models. Our methodology can be applied to other applications of CCS in the industrial sector. We illustrate our method by introducing the industrial CCS options into the MIT EPPA model, a global energy-economic model that provides a basis for the analysis of long-term energy deployment, and we discuss different scenarios for industrial CCS deployment in different parts of the world. We tested in the EPPA model the potential for industrial CCS under the assumptions that CCS is the only mitigation option for deep GHG emission reduction in industry and that negative emission options are not available for other sectors of the economy. Overall, industrial CCS enables the continued use of energy-intensive goods with large reductions in global and sectoral emissions. We find that in scenarios with stringent climate policy, CCS in the industry sector is a key mitigation option, and our approach provides a path to projecting the deployment of industrial CCS across industries and regions.

WAVELET ANALYSIS OF THE El NIÑO - LA NIÑA PHENOMENON DYNAMICS AND ITS FORECASTING

Having calculated the frequency content of a solar constant, solar activity from the time series in (1610-2012), the El Niño curve in both (1470-1984) and (1950-2075), it has been found that the frequency content of an El Niño - La Niña curve is induced by frequency contents of solar variables. The frequency contents of the variables have been calculated by developing their wavelet phase-frequency responses. Instantaneous phase differences of the solar variables curves CO2(t), global surface air temperature, El Niño in the two time intervals, in (1891-1950) and (1950-2009), have been calculated; linear approximations with coefficients of instantaneous phase differences between variables in these time intervals have been obtained. Based on relational approximation coefficient analysis of the two time intervals, it has been identified that rising surface air temperature and El Niño alike had been markedly influenced by solar variables variations during the first time interval, with the El Niño rise being affected by that of the surface air temperature amid the global climate change in 1950-2009. The predicted El Niño curves have been obtained from the 2015/16 to 2050 time period by the trained data curve in 1950-2015/16 in two versions as the sum of predicted wavelet approximating and detailing components of the original signal according to the Mallat rule. The accuracy of the predictive El Niño curve values is » 83%. On the obtained curves, coordinates of local maximum and minimum are nearly matching. Wavelet phase-frequency response imaging of one curve reflects an impact on El Niño - La Niña variations of the Earth's solar and climatic variables in the past and the future alike.

Quantifying East Asian Summer Monsoon Dynamics in the ECP4.5 Scenario With Reference to the Mid‐Piacenzian Warm Period

AbstractThe mid‐Piacenzian (~3.3–3.0 Ma), which was characterized by high pCO2 (~400 ppm) and global surface air temperatures that were 1.84–3.60 °C above pre‐Industrial levels, provides clues to the likely changes in atmospheric dynamics in a future climate affected by anthropogenic warming, although its suitability as an analogue of the future climate has yet to be assessed. This study investigates the extent to which the dynamics of the East Asian summer monsoon during the mid‐Piacenzian can aid our understanding of East Asian summer monsoon behavior in the Extended Concentration Pathway version 4.5 scenario, using water vapor and moist static energy equations. The temperature‐dependent large‐scale moisture transport explains the similar pattern of precipitation increase in the two climates, whereas regional patterns of vertical motion differ significantly. Two of the main terms of the moist static energy equation control the changes in regional dynamics relative to the pre‐Industrial period. These terms relate to zonal advection of stationary eddy dry enthalpy by the mean zonal wind and meridional stationary eddy velocity over East Asia. Topographic differences between the two cases have a negligible effect on regional precipitation.

Comparison of land–ocean warming ratios in updated observed records and CMIP5 climate models

A well-known feature of the observed and simulated climate is enhanced land surface warming compared to the ocean. This difference in warming, frequently expressed as a ratio, is often contrasted between the observed record and climate model output as both an evaluation metric for climate models and as a global index used for climate change detection and attribution. Latest simulated estimates of the ratio use full global coverage and marine surface air temperature, making genuine comparisons with observations difficult, since global observed data sets typically use sea surface temperatures (SST) and have limited spatial coverage. We show that re-calculating simulated ratios using SST and limited spatial coverage (to resemble the observations) raises the ratio by ∼0.25. We also update the observed ratio using latest observations and we find a close convergence of observed and simulated ratios towards ∼1.6 for the 2000–2016 period accompanied by a decline in temporal variability. If we revise estimates of the likely range of ratios from climate models to account for the above factors, then our new observed ratio estimate is slightly less than the median of the GCM ensemble range (1.54–1.81).

Did Smoke From City Fires in World War II Cause Global Cooling?

AbstractBetween 3 February and 9 August 1945, an area of 461 km2 in 69 Japanese cities, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was burned during the U.S. B‐29 Superfortress air raids. In the previous 5 years, 205 km2 in German cities were destroyed, so the smoke that was generated was spread out over a much longer period of time than that from Japan in 1945. Observations of solar irradiance show reductions consistent with the hypothesis that smoke was injected into the stratosphere by the city fires. Historical simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5, with no smoke in their forcing, showed no postwar cooling. Global average surface air temperature observations during and following World War II are problematic, because of issues with measuring sea surface temperatures, but there were no large volcanic eruptions, El Niño, or La Niña during this period to confuse the record. Nevertheless, 1945 and 1946 global average land surface air temperatures were not significantly lower than the average for 1940–1944. Estimates of the amount of smoke generated by the fires are somewhat uncertain. Although the climate record is consistent with an expected 0.1–0.2 K cooling, because of multiple uncertainties in smoke injected to the stratosphere, solar radiation observations, and surface temperature observations, it is not possible to formally detect a cooling signal from World War II smoke.

Contribution of Greenhouse Gas Radiative Forcing and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation to Surface Air Temperature Trends

The contributions of radiative forcing of greenhouse gases (GHG) and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) to the trends in global surface air temperature (GST) and surface air temperature for different latitude bands are estimated. Instrumental observational data obtained since the middle of the 19th century and three-component autoregressive models are used. Characteristics of influences of both factors on GST (Wiener–Granger causality) are obtained. The contribution of AMO over the length intervals of 15–30 years appears comparable in absolute value to the contribution of GHG and sometimes even exceeds it, while its contribution over 60-year and longer periods is insignificant. During the recent decades, GHG contribute stronger to the trends of GST and tropical surface air temperature, while their contribution to the trends in surface air temperature in the middle and high latitudes is smaller.

Sensitivity of Surface Temperature to Oceanic Forcing via q-Flux Green’s Function Experiments. Part II: Feedback Decomposition and Polar Amplification

A large set of Green’s function-type experiments is performed with q-flux forcings mimicking the effects of the ocean heat uptake (OHU) to examine the global surface air temperature (SAT) sensitivities to the location of the forcing. The result of the experiments confirms the earlier notion derived from experiments with different model complexities that the global mean SAT is far more sensitive to the oceanic forcing from high latitudes than the tropics. Remarkably, no matter in which latitude the q-flux forcings are placed, the SAT response is always characterized by a feature of polar amplification, implicating that it is intrinsic to our climate system. Considerable zonal asymmetry is also present in the efficacy of the tropical OHU, with the tropical eastern Pacific being much more efficient than the Indian Ocean and tropical Atlantic in driving global SAT warming by exciting the leading neutral mode of the SAT that projects strongly onto global mean warming. Using a radiative kernel, feedback analysis is also conducted to unravel the underlying processes responsible for the spatial heterogeneity in the global OHU efficacy, the polar amplification structures, and the tropical altruism of sharing the warmth with remote latitudes. Warming “altruism” for a q flux at a given latitude is also investigated in terms of the ratio of the induced remote latitudes versus the directly forced local warming. It is found that the tropics are much more altruistic than higher latitudes because of the high-energy transport efficiency of the Hadley circulation.

Global and Arctic climate sensitivity enhanced by changes in North Pacific heat flux

Arctic amplification is a consequence of surface albedo, cloud, and temperature feedbacks, as well as poleward oceanic and atmospheric heat transport. However, the relative impact of changes in sea surface temperature (SST) patterns and ocean heat flux sourced from different regions on Arctic temperatures are not well constrained. We modify ocean-to-atmosphere heat fluxes in the North Pacific and North Atlantic in a climate model to determine the sensitivity of Arctic temperatures to zonal heterogeneities in northern hemisphere SST patterns. Both positive and negative ocean heat flux perturbations from the North Pacific result in greater global and Arctic surface air temperature anomalies than equivalent magnitude perturbations from the North Atlantic; a response we primarily attribute to greater moisture flux from the subpolar extratropics to Arctic. Enhanced poleward latent heat and moisture transport drive sea-ice retreat and low-cloud formation in the Arctic, amplifying Arctic surface warming through the ice-albedo feedback and infrared warming effect of low clouds. Our results imply that global climate sensitivity may be dependent on patterns of ocean heat flux in the northern hemisphere.

Sensitivity of different physics schemes in the WRF model during a West African monsoon regime

A 2-month (August–September) regime of the year 2007 West African monsoon (WAM) was simulated with 27 physics combinations using the Weather Research and Forecasting model at 20-km horizontal grid. The objective is to examine WAM sensitivity to parameterization of microphysical, convective, and boundary layer processes for long-term simulation. The model precipitation was evaluated against the TRMM, CMORPH, and GPCP satellite rainfall products. The surface temperature was compared against the ERA-Interim, NCEP, MERRA, and global surface air temperature, an ensemble of the three reanalysis datasets. Model skill score (MSS) computed from a synthesis of the normalized correlation coefficient, mean bias, and mean absolute error was used to rank the model performance. Results show the model adequately simulates the diurnal cycles of surface temperature than precipitation, as well as the westward propagation of intense precipitation associated with the African easterly waves. The new Grell-Freitas (nGF) cumulus parameterization scheme (CPS) outperforms its predecessor especially when combined with the Mellor-Yamada-Nakanishi-Niino 2.5 (MYNN) planetary boundary layer scheme. The new simplified Arakawa-Schubert (nSAS) and Tiedtke CPSs produced better simulation of precipitation and surface temperature, respectively. The simulation of observed peak of diurnal precipitation in nSAS and nGF highlights success made towards a more realistic representation of convective processes by the schemes. Goddard microphysics and MYNN performed better for both variables. Based on the MSS, some relatively good and poorly performing combinations for precipitation and surface temperature were identified. The optimal combinations are however not separated in a statistically significant way and, thus, could be used for long-term simulation of WAM.

Characterizing heat stress on livestock using the temperature humidity index (THI)\u2014prospects for a warmer Caribbean

There is an urgent need to mitigate climate change-induced heat stress in livestock and poultry in the Caribbean, given the deleterious effects it has on food and nutrition security. The temperature humidity index (THI) was used to assess the potential for heat stress on four types of livestock and poultry (broiler and layer chickens, pigs and ruminants) for three different agro-ecological locations in Jamaica. The THI was formulated specifically to each livestock type and was examined for 2001–2012 for seasonal and annual patterns of variability. Differences in THI were observed between summer (July to September) and winter (December to February) with some moderation due to agro-ecological location. Our results suggest that animals in ambient field conditions in Jamaica may already be experiencing considerable periods of heat stress even during the relatively cooler northern hemisphere winter months. Future patterns of heat stress relative to a 1961–1990 baseline were derived from a regional climate model when mean global surface air temperature is 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. At 1.5 °C, marked increases were noted in THI and almost persistent year-round heat stress is projected for Caribbean livestock. Conditions will be exacerbated at the higher global warming states. Possible response strategies such as cooling technologies are discussed.

Estimating the Contributions of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and Variations in the Atmospheric Concentration of Greenhouse Gases to Surface Air Temperature Trends from Observations

We have quantitatively estimated the contributions of anthropogenic forcing characterized by variations in the atmospheric content of greenhouse gases and of natural variability characterized by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation to the trends of global surface air temperature from observations since the middle of the nineteenth century on the basis of three-component autoregressive models.

Multidecadal Variability in Global Surface Temperatures Related to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

Multidecadal internal climate variability centered in the North Atlantic is evident in sea surface temperatures and is assumed to be related to variations in the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). In this study, the extent to which variations in the AMOC may also alter hemispheric and global surface air temperature trends and ocean heat content during the past century is examined. Forty-seven realizations of the twentieth-century climate change from two large ensembles using the Community Earth System Model (CESM) are analyzed. One of the ensembles shows a much wider spread in global mean surface air temperature between its members. This ensemble simulates diverging trends of the AMOC strength during the twentieth century. The presence and strength of deep convection in the Labrador Sea controls these trends. The AMOC strength influences the air–sea heat flux into the high-latitude ocean, where a strengthening of the AMOC leads to decreased storage of heat in the Atlantic, and a larger fraction of the heat taken up by the global ocean accumulates in the top 300 m, compared to the case of a weakening AMOC. The spread in the amount of heat stored in the global ocean below 300 m is similar across the CESM members as in a set of CMIP5 models, confirming the AMOC as a “control knob” on deep-ocean heat storage. By influencing the ocean heat uptake efficiency and by shifting the pattern of heat uptake, global surface air temperatures are significantly altered on a multidecadal time scale by AMOC variability.

Future Caribbean Climates in a World of Rising Temperatures: The 1.5 vs 2.0 Dilemma

A 10-member ensemble from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) is used to analyze the Caribbean’s future climate when mean global surface air temperatures are 1.5°, 2.0°, and 2.5°C above preindustrial (1861–1900) values. The global warming targets are attained by the 2030s, 2050s, and 2070s respectively for RCP4.5. The Caribbean on average exhibits smaller mean surface air temperature increases than the globe, although there are parts of the region that are always warmer than the global warming targets. In comparison to the present (using a 1971–2000 baseline), the Caribbean domain is 0.5° to 1.5°C warmer at the 1.5°C target, 5%–10% wetter except for the northeast and southeast Caribbean, which are drier, and experiences increases in annual warm spells of more than 100 days. At the 2.0°C target, there is additional warming by 0.2°–1.0°C, a further extension of warm spells by up to 70 days, a shift to a predominantly drier region (5%–15% less than present day), and a greater occurrence of droughts. The climate patterns at 2.5°C indicate an intensification of the changes seen at 2.0°C. The shift in the rainfall pattern between 1.5°C (wet) and 2.0°C (dry) for parts of the domain has implications for regional adaptation pursuits. The results provide some justification for the lobby by the Caribbean Community and Small Island Developing States to limit global warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, as embodied in the slogan “1.5 to Stay Alive.”

Global land surface air temperature dynamics since 1880

ABSTRACTThe geographical extent, magnitude, and uncertainty of global climate change have been widely discussed and have critical policy implications at both global and local scales. In this study, a new analysis of annual mean global land surface air temperature since 1880 was generated, which has greater coverage and lower uncertainty than previous distributions. The Biased Sentinel Hospitals Areal Disease Estimation (BSHADE) method, used in this study, makes a best linear unbiased estimation (BLUE) when a sample is small and biased to a spatially heterogeneous population. For the period of 1901–2010, the warming trend was found to be 0.109 °C decade−1with 95% confidence intervals between 0.081 °C and 0.137 °C. Additionally, warming exhibited different spatial patterns in different periods. In the early 20th century (1923–1950), warming occurred mainly in the mid‐high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, whereas in the most recent decades (1977–2014), warming was more spatially extensive across the global land surface. Compared with other common methods, the difference in results appears in the areas with few stations and in the early years, when stations had sparse coverage and were unevenly distributed. Validation, which was performed using real data that simulated the historic situation, showed a smaller error in the BSHADE estimate than in other methods. This study produced a new database with greater coverage and less uncertainty that will improve the understanding of climate dynamics on the Earth since 1880, especially in isolated areas and early periods, and will benefit the assessment of climate‐change‐related issues, such as the effects of human activities.

Recently amplified arctic warming has contributed to a continual global warming trend

The existence and magnitude of the recently suggested global warming hiatus, or slowdown, have been strongly debated1–3. Although various physical processes4–8 have been examined to elucidate this phenomenon, the accuracy and completeness of observational data that comprise global average surface air temperature (SAT) datasets is a concern9,10. In particular, these datasets lack either complete geographic coverage or in situ observations over the Arctic, owing to the sparse observational network in this area 9 . As a consequence, the contribution of Arctic warming to global SAT changes may have been underestimated, leading to an uncertainty in the hiatus debate. Here, we constructed a new Arctic SAT dataset using the most recently updated global SATs 2 and a drifting buoys based Arctic SAT dataset 11 through employing the ‘data interpolating empirical orthogonal functions’ method 12 . Our estimate of global SAT rate of increase is around 0.112 °C per decade, instead of 0.05 °C per decade from IPCC AR5 1 , for 1998–2012. Analysis of this dataset shows that the amplified Arctic warming over the past decade has significantly contributed to a continual global warming trend, rather than a hiatus or slowdown.

Evaluation of future trends of characteristics change of hydrological regime of rivers of the Southern Buh basin in the winter period

Introduction. Climate changes occurring in recent decades determine the relevance of the problem of forecasting such changes in future both globally and regionally. After all, knowledge of climate's behavior in future is very important when carrying out an analysis of trends of hydrological characteristics change. Significant increase of the global surface air temperature observed since the end of the 20th century is mainly caused by increase of concentration of greenhouse gases generated as a result of industrial activity. Thus, climate changes could not but affect the continental water resources and in particular the processes taking place in rivers.
 Purpose. Assessment of change of surface air layer during the winter period within the South-ern Buh Basin and assessment of change of the hydrological regime of the basin's rivers following the changes of air temperature.
 Methods of research. This study is based on the data for the winter period obtained from 24 hydrological station and 15 meteorological stations within the Southern Buh River Basin. With assistance of scientists of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute and using the regional climate model REMO for A1B scenario forecast values of air temperature were calculated.
 Results of research. The main regularities of studied characteristics change for the period of 2031-2050 were determined on the basis of prepared calculation dependences of the characteristics of ice and thermal regimes of the studied basin's rivers and obtained forecast values of air temperature. According to the climatologists' calculations there is a tendency of air temperature increase during the forecast period, and, respectively, increase of water temperature and decrease of ice period duration of the rivers within the Southern Buh Basin.
 Summary (conclusions and author's recommendations). The results of the carried out research indicate the fact that the trend of increase of surface air layer temperature and change of main characteristics of ice and thermal regimes of the basin's rivers formed at the end of 20th - the beginning of the 21th century will develop in future.

Multi‐decadal evolution characteristics of global surface temperature anomaly data shown by observation and CMIP5 models

ABSTRACTBased on methods of statistical analysis, the time series of global surface air temperature (SAT) anomalies from 1860 to 2014 has been defined by three types of phase changes that occur through the division of temperature changes into different stages. The characteristics of the three types of phase changes simulated by Coupled Model Inter‐Comparison Project (CMIP5) models were evaluated. The conclusion is as follows: the SAT from 1860 to 2014 can be divided into six stages according to trend differences, and this subdivision is proved to be statistically significant. Based on trend analysis and the distribution of slopes between any two points (two points' slope) in every stage, the six stages can be summarized as three phase changes of warming, cooling, and hiatus. Between 1860 and 2014, the world experienced three heating phases (1860–1878, 1909–1942, and 1975–2004), one cooling phase (1878–1909), and two hiatus phases (1942–1975 and 2004–2014). Using the definition method, whether the next year belongs to the previous phase can be estimated. Furthermore, the temperature in 2015 was used as an example to validate the feasibility of this method. The simulations of the heating period by CMIP5 models are well; however, the characteristics shown by SAT during the cooling and hiatus period cannot be represented by CMIP5 models. As such, the projections of future heating phases using the CMIP5 models are credible, but for cooling and hiatus events they are unreliable.

Slowdown of global surface air temperature increase and acceleration of ice melting

AbstractAlthough recent decades have been the warmest since 1850, and global mean temperatures during 2015 and 2016 beat all instrumental records, the rate of increase in global surface air temperature (GSAT) significantly decreased at the beginning of the 21st Century. In this context, we examine the roles of ice melting and associated increase in sea‐water mass, both of which significantly increased at the same time as GSAT decreased. Specifically, we show that (1) the slowdown of the rate of increase in GSAT between the specific periods 1992–2001 and 2002–2011 exists in all three climate records analyzed and is statistically significant at the 5% level amounting between 0.029 and 0. 036°C/yr and leaving an energy of 14.8–18.4 1019 J/yr available; (2) the increase of the atmosphere‐related ice melt between these two periods amounts to 316 Gt/yr which requires 10.5 1019 J/yr, that is, between 57% and 71% of the energy left by the slowdown; and (3) the energy budget shows, therefore, that the heat required to melt this additional 316 Gt/yr of ice is of the same order as the energy needed to warm the atmosphere during the decade 2002–2011 as much as during the previous one, suggesting a redistribution of heat within the atmosphere–cryosphere system.

A new integrated and homogenized global monthly land surface air temperature dataset for the period since 1900

A new dataset of integrated and homogenized monthly surface air temperature over global land for the period since 1900 [China Meteorological Administration global Land Surface Air Temperature (CMA-LSAT)] is developed. In total, 14 sources have been collected and integrated into the newly developed dataset, including three global (CRUTEM4, GHCN, and BEST), three regional and eight national sources. Duplicate stations are identified, and those with the higher priority are chosen or spliced. Then, a consistency test and a climate outlier test are conducted to ensure that each station series is quality controlled. Next, two steps are adopted to assure the homogeneity of the station series: (1) homogenized station series in existing national datasets (by National Meteorological Services) are directly integrated into the dataset without any changes (50% of all stations), and (2) the inhomogeneities are detected and adjusted for in the remaining data series using a penalized maximal t test (50% of all stations). Based on the dataset, we re-assess the temperature changes in global and regional areas compared with GHCN-V3 and CRUTEM4, as well as the temperature changes during the three periods of 1900–2014, 1979–2014 and 1998–2014. The best estimates of warming trends and there 95% confidence ranges for 1900–2014 are approximately 0.102 ± 0.006 °C/decade for the whole year, and 0.104 ± 0.009, 0.112 ± 0.007, 0.090 ± 0.006, and 0.092 ± 0.007 °C/decade for the DJF (December, January, February), MAM, JJA, and SON seasons, respectively. MAM saw the most significant warming trend in both 1900–2014 and 1979–2014. For an even shorter and more recent period (1998–2014), MAM, JJA and SON show similar warming trends, while DJF shows opposite trends. The results show that the ability of CMA-LAST for describing the global temperature changes is similar with other existing products, while there are some differences when describing regional temperature changes.