Future projections of the impacts of global warming and urban planning on the thermal environments under hot-humid and hot-dry climate conditions in Jakarta, Indonesia

In this study, future (the 2030s and 2050s) urban climate projections in Jakarta, Indonesia, were performed using dynamical downscaling simulations. We particularly focused on the impacts of global warming and urban planning on the urban thermal environment in the future projections. The 2030 city master plan for Jakarta was introduced as the future urban planning. In addition, for each of the two target periods, the projections under hot-humid and hot-dry climate conditions, which were selected based on a climate analysis conducted using a reanalysis data (the ERA5 data), were conducted

The pseudo-global-warming (PGW) approach: Methodology, software package PGW4ERA5 v1.1, validation, and sensitivity analyses

The term “pseudo-global warming” (PGW) refers to a simulation strategy in regional climate modeling. The strategy consists of directly imposing large-scale changes in the climate system on a control regional climate simulation (usually representing current conditions) by modifying the boundary conditions. This differs from the traditional dynamic downscaling technique where output from a global climate model (GCM) is used to drive regional climate models (RCMs). The PGW climate changes are usually derived from a transient global climate model (GCM) simulation. The PGW approach offers several benefits, such as lowering computational requirements, flexibility in the simulation design, and avoiding biases from global climate models. However, implementing a PGW simulation is non-trivial, and care must be taken not to deteriorate the physics of the regional climate model when modifying the boundary conditions. To simplify the preparation of PGW simulations, we present a detailed description of the methodology and provide the companion software PGW4ERA5 facilitating the preparation of PGW simulations. In describing the methodology, particular attention is devoted to the adjustment of the pressure and geopotential fields. Such an adjustment is required when ensuring consistency between thermodynamical (temperature and humidity) changes on the one hand and dynamical changes on the other hand. It is demonstrated that this adjustment is important in the extratropics and highly essential in tropical and subtropical regions. We show that climate projections of PGW simulations prepared using the presented methodology are closely comparable to traditional dynamic downscaling for most climatological variables.publishedVersio

How does dynamical downscaling affect model biases and future projections of explosive extratropical cyclones along North America’s Atlantic coast?

Explosive extratropical cyclones (EETCs) are rapidly intensifying low pressure systems that generate severe weather along North America’s Atlantic coast. Global climate models (GCMs) tend to simulate too few EETCs, perhaps partly due to their coarse horizontal resolution and poorly resolved moist diabatic processes. This study explores whether dynamical downscaling can reduce EETC frequency biases, and whether this affects future projections of storms along North America’s Atlantic coast. A regional climate model (CanRCM4) is forced with the CanESM2 GCM for the periods 1981 to 2000 and 2081 to 2100. EETCs are tracked from relative vorticity using an objective feature tracking algorithm. CanESM2 simulates 38% fewer EETC tracks compared to reanalysis data, which is consistent with a negative Eady growth rate bias (−0.1 day−1). Downscaling CanESM2 with CanRCM4 increases EETC frequency by one third, which reduces the frequency bias to −22%, and increases maximum EETC precipitation by 22%. Anthropogenic greenhouse gas forcing is projected to decrease EETC frequency (−15%, −18%) and Eady growth rate (−0.2 day−1, −0.2 day−1), and increase maximum EETC precipitation (46%, 52%) in CanESM2 and CanRCM4, respectively. The limited effect of dynamical downscaling on EETC frequency projections is consistent with the lack of impact on the maximum Eady growth rate. The coarse spatial resolution of GCMs presents an important limitation for simulating extreme ETCs, but Eady growth rate biases are likely just as relevant. Further bias reductions could be achieved by addressing processes that lead to an underestimation of lower tropospheric meridional temperature gradients

Urban warming and future air-conditioning use in an Asian megacity: importance of positive feedback

The impact of feedback between urban warming and air-conditioning (AC) use on temperatures in future urban climates is explored in this study. Pseudo global warming projections are dynamically downscaled to 1 km using a regional climate model (RCM) coupled to urban canopy and building energy models for current and six future global warming (ΔTGW) climates based on IPCC RCP8.5. Anthropogenic heat emissions from AC use is projected to increase almost linearly with ΔTGW, causing additional urban warming. This feedback on urban warming reaches 20% of ΔTGW in residential areas. This further uncertainty in future projections is comparable in size to that associated with: a selection of emission scenarios, RCMs and urban planning scenarios. Thus, this feedback should not be neglected in future urban climate projections, especially in hot cities with large AC use. The impact of the feedback during the July 2018 Japanese heat waves is calculated to be 0.11ºC

Response and impact of equatorial ocean dynamics and tropical instability waves in the tropical Atlantic under global warming : a regional coupled downscaling study

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 116 (2011): C03026, doi:10.1029/2010JC006670.A regional coupled model is used for a dynamic downscaling over the tropical Atlantic based on a global warming simulation carried out with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory CM2.1. The regional coupled model features a realistic representation of equatorial ocean dynamical processes such as the tropical instability waves (TIWs) that are not adequately simulated in many global coupled climate models. The coupled downscaling hence provides a unique opportunity to assess their response and impact in a changing climate. Under global warming, both global and regional models exhibit an increased (decreased) rainfall in the tropical northeast (South) Atlantic. Given this asymmetric change in mean state, the regional model produces the intensified near-surface cross-equatorial southerly wind and zonal currents. The equatorial cold tongue exhibits a reduced surface warming due to the enhanced upwelling. It is mainly associated with the increased vertical velocities driven by cross-equatorial wind, in contrast to the equatorial Pacific, where thermal stratification is suggested to be more important under global warming. The strengthened upwelling and zonal currents in turn amplify the dynamic instability of the equatorial ocean, thereby intensifying TIWs. The increased eddy heat flux significantly warms the equator and counters the effect of enhanced upwelling. Zonal eddy heat flux makes the largest contribution, suggesting a need for sustained monitoring of TIWs with spatially denser observational arrays in the equatorial oceans. Overall, results suggest that eddy heat flux is an important factor that may impact the mean state warming of equatorial oceans, as it does in the current climate.H.S. acknowledges the support from the NOAA Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and the Penzance Endowed Fund in Support of Assistant Scientists at WHOI. H.S. and S.‐P.X. are thankful for support from NOAA, NSF, and the Japan Agency for Marine‐Earth Science and Technology