TempestExtremes: a framework for scale-insensitive pointwise feature tracking on unstructured grids

Ullrich, P. A.; Zarzycki, Colin M.

doi:10.5194/gmd-10-1069-2017

Cited by 192 publications

(184 citation statements)

References 95 publications

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“…One of the challenges in studying ARs is defining the event, given that ARs are highly dynamic and fluid areas of the atmosphere and are notoriously challenging to track in time and space. Similar challenges have been observed when tracking other atmospheric phenomena, including tropical cyclones (Ullrich & Zarzycki, 2017;Kerns & Zipser, 2008 and extratropical cyclones (Hodges et al, 1994). Many methods have been developed and used to characterize AR events into catalogs, or list of dates when ARs occur at specific locations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Genesis, Pathways, and Terminations of Intense Global Water Vapor Transport in Association with Large‐Scale Climate Patterns

Sellars

Kawzenuk

Nguyen

et al. 2017

Geophysical Research Letters

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The CONNected objECT (CONNECT) algorithm is applied to global Integrated Water Vapor Transport data from the NASA's Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications-Version 2 reanalysis product for the period of 1980 to 2016. The algorithm generates life-cycle records in time and space evolving strong vapor transport events. We show five regions, located in the midlatitudes, where events typically exist (off the coast of the southeast United States, eastern China, eastern South America, off the southern tip of South Africa, and in the southeastern Pacific Ocean). Global statistics show distinct genesis and termination regions and global seasonal peak frequency during Northern Hemisphere late fall/winter and Southern Hemisphere winter. In addition, the event frequency and geographical location are shown to be modulated by the Arctic Oscillation, Pacific North American Pattern, and the quasi-biennial oscillation. Moreover, a positive linear trend in the annual number of objects is reported, increasing by 3.58 objects yearover-year. Plain Language Summary A computational science approach to tracking global atmospheric water vapor plumes is applied to a NASA data set from 1980 to 2016. Results show regions of the globe where intense water vapor transport often exists, including their genesis and termination locations. Winter time months tend to have more water vapor plumes in both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. In addition, climate phenomena also have an impact on the frequency and location of these water vapor plumes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Genesis, Pathways, and Terminations of Intense Global Water Vapor Transport in Association with Large‐Scale Climate Patterns

Sellars

Kawzenuk

Nguyen

et al. 2017

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…Individual TCs in 6 hourly CAM, CFSR, and ERA‐I data are tracked using TempestExtremes [ Ullrich and Zarzycki , ]. A brief overview of the technique used is presented here, although a more comprehensive discussion of the general procedure for detecting TCs can be found in Zarzycki and Jablonowski [] (note that the parameter values are slightly different in this study).…”

Section: Tracking Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Objective tropical cyclone extratropical transition detection in high‐resolution reanalysis and climate model data

Zarzycki

Thatcher

Jablonowski

2017

J Adv Model Earth Syst

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This paper describes an objective technique for detecting the extratropical transition (ET) of tropical cyclones (TCs) in high‐resolution gridded climate data. The algorithm is based on previous observational studies using phase spaces to define the symmetry and vertical thermal structure of cyclones. Storm tracking is automated, allowing for direct analysis of climate data. Tracker performance in the North Atlantic is assessed using 23 years of data from the variable‐resolution Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) at two different resolutions ( ΔX∼55 km and 28 km), the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR, ΔX∼38 km), and the ERA‐Interim Reanalysis (ERA‐I, ΔX∼80 km). The mean spatiotemporal climatologies and seasonal cycles of objectively detected ET in the observationally constrained CFSR and ERA‐I are well matched to previous observational studies, demonstrating the capability of the scheme to adequately find events. High‐resolution CAM reproduces TC and ET statistics that are in general agreement with reanalyses. One notable model bias, however, is significantly longer time between ET onset and ET completion in CAM, particularly for TCs that lose symmetry prior to developing a cold‐core structure and becoming extratropical cyclones, demonstrating the capability of this method to expose model biases in simulated cyclones beyond the tropical phase.

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“…To date, several model downscaling techniques have been developed for this purpose. For example, regional downscaling (e.g., Wang et al, 2004;Giorgi et al, 2009) computationally allows for finer grid spacings by employing a smaller domain, thus circumventing the resolution deficiency of traditional GCMs. Using a regional domain, however, presents the issue of how to specify lateral boundary conditions, and two-way interactions with larger scales cannot be fully incorporated (Small et al, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of a unique approach to high-resolution climate modeling using the Model for Prediction Across Scales – Atmosphere (MPAS-A) version 5.1

2019

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We present multi-seasonal simulations representative of present-day and future environments using the global Model for Prediction Across Scales -Atmosphere (MPAS-A) version 5.1 with high resolution (15 km) throughout the Northern Hemisphere. We select 10 simulation years with varying phases of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and integrate each for 14.5 months. We use analyzed sea surface temperature (SST) patterns for present-day simulations. For the future climate simulations, we alter present-day SSTs by applying monthly-averaged temperature changes derived from a 20-member ensemble of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) general circulation models (GCMs) following the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 emissions scenario. Daily sea ice fields, obtained from the monthly-averaged CMIP5 ensemble mean sea ice, are used for present-day and future simulations. The present-day simulations provide a reasonable reproduction of large-scale atmospheric features in the Northern Hemisphere such as the wintertime midlatitude storm tracks, uppertropospheric jets, and maritime sea-level pressure features as well as annual precipitation patterns across the tropics. The simulations also adequately represent tropical cyclone (TC) characteristics such as strength, spatial distribution, and seasonal cycles for most Northern Hemisphere basins. These results demonstrate the applicability of these model simulations for future studies examining climate change effects on various Northern Hemisphere phenomena, and, more generally, the utility of MPAS-A for studying climate change at spatial scales generally unachievable in GCMs.

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TempestExtremes: a framework for scale-insensitive pointwise feature tracking on unstructured grids

Cited by 192 publications

References 95 publications

Genesis, Pathways, and Terminations of Intense Global Water Vapor Transport in Association with Large‐Scale Climate Patterns

Genesis, Pathways, and Terminations of Intense Global Water Vapor Transport in Association with Large‐Scale Climate Patterns

Objective tropical cyclone extratropical transition detection in high‐resolution reanalysis and climate model data

Evaluation of a unique approach to high-resolution climate modeling using the Model for Prediction Across Scales – Atmosphere (MPAS-A) version 5.1

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