A new GIS landscape classification method for rain/snow temperature thresholds in surface based models

Landscape air temperature thresholds (TA) and percent misclassified precipitation (error) for 12 years of meteorological observations from 40 stations across the Scandinavian Peninsula were derived and compared using both manual and geographic information system (GIS) landscape classification methods. Dew-point, wet-bulb, and wet bulb 0.5 were also tested. Both classification methods used the following west to east landscape categories: windward (WW) ocean, coast, fjord, hill, and mountain in Norway; and leeward (LW) mountain, hill, rolling terrain, and coast in Sweden. GIS landscape classification has the advantages of automating the classification process and increasing objectivity. The GIS classification was based on station location (LW or WW) relative to the Scandinavian mountain range, and the % water or range of elevation change within 15 km. The GIS and manual method had the same TA for 20 stations, and similar total reduction in error (2.29 to 2.17% respectively) when compared to country TA. Therefore, automated GIS landscape classification can be used to decrease error from common country or global scale TA. Wet-bulb temperature thresholds for GIS landscapes resulted in a greater reduction in error (8.26%) compared to air (2.29%), and dew-point (-16.67%) thresholds. However, finding stations reporting relative humidity or wetbulb temperature may limit its widespread use

Testing the applicability of physiographic classification methods toward improving precipitation phase determination in conceptual models

Regions with a large percentage of precipitation occurring near freezing experience high percentages (>10%) of misclassified precipitation events (rain versus snow) and necessitate efforts to improve precipitation phase determination schemes through the use of more accurate surface air temperature thresholds (Trs). Meteorological data from 169 sites in Scandinavia were used to test the applicability of using physiographic categories to determine Trs. Three classification methods involving varying degrees of automation were evaluated. The two automated methods tested did not perform as well as when tested on a smaller region, showing only 0.16% and 0.20% reduction in error. A semi-manual method produced the largest average reduction in misclassified precipitation (0.53%) across all sites. Further refinement of classification criteria for mountain and hill stations showed that at mesoscales (>5 km), maximum elevation is a better predictor of Trs (0.89% average reduction in error) than terrain relief (0.22%), but that relief becomes increasingly important at microscales (0.90%). A new method for categorizing mountainous stations based on upslope or downslope air movement increased the average reduction in error up to 0.53%. These results provide a framework for future landscape classification methods and confirm the importance of microscale topography for determining Trs in alpine regions

Evidence for Millennial-Scale Climate Change During Marine Isotope Stages 2 and 3 at Little Lake, Western Oregon, U.S.A.

Pollen and geochemical data from Little Lake, western Oregon, suggest several patterns of millennial-scale environmental change during marine isotope stage (MIS) 2 (14,100–27,600 cal yr B.P.) and the latter part of MIS 3 (27,600–42,500 cal yr B.P.). During MIS 3, a series of transitions between warm- and cold-adapted taxa indicate that temperatures oscillated by ca. 2±–4±C every 1000–3000 yr. Highs and lows in summer insolation during MIS 3 are generally associated with the warmest and coldest intervals. Warm periods at Little Lake correlate with warm sea-surface temperatures in the Santa Barbara Basin. Changes in the strength of the subtropical high and the jet stream may account for synchronous changes at the two sites. During MIS 2, shifts between mesic and xeric subalpine forests suggest changes in precipitation every 1000–3000 yr. Increases in Tsuga heterophylla pollen at 25,000 and 22,000 cal yr B.P. imply brief warmings. Minimum summer insolation and maximum global ice-volumes during MIS 2 correspond to cold and dry conditions. Fluctuations in precipitation at Little Lake do not correlate with changes in the Santa Barbara Basin and may be explained by variations in the strength of the glacial anticyclone and the position of the jet stream