DOI: 10.1007/s00382-012-1472-3
Scopus记录号: 2-s2.0-84881030041
论文题名: Midlatitude storms in a moister world: Lessons from idealized baroclinic life cycle experiments
作者: Booth J.F. ; Wang S. ; Polvani L.
刊名: Climate Dynamics
ISSN: 9307575
出版年: 2013
卷: 41, 期: 2017-03-04 起始页码: 787
结束页码: 802
语种: 英语
英文关键词: Baroclinic
; Global warming
; Life cycles
; Midlatitude storms
; Moisture
英文摘要: The response of midlatitude storms to global warming remains uncertain. This is due, in part, to the competing effects of a weaker meridional surface temperature gradient and a higher low-level moisture content, both of which are projected to occur as a consequence of increasing greenhouse gases. Here we address the latter of these two effects, and try to elucidate the effect of increased moisture on the development and evolution of midlatitude storms. We do this with a set of highly controlled, baroclinic lifecycle experiments, in which atmospheric moisture is progressively increased. To assess the robustness of the results, the moisture content is changed in two different ways: first by using different initial relative humidity, and second by varying a parameter that we insert into the Clausius-Clapeyron equation. The latter method allows us to artificially increase the moisture content above current levels while keeping the relative humidity constant. Irrespective of how moisture is altered, we find that nearly all important measures of storm strength increase as the moisture content rises. Specifically, we examine the storm's central pressure minimum, the strongest surface winds, and both extreme and accumulated precipitation rates. For all these metrics, increased moisture yields a stronger storm. Interestingly, we also find that when moisture is increased beyond current levels, the resulting storm has a reduced horizontal scale while its vertical extent increases. Finally, we note that for moisture increases comparable to those projected to occur by the end of the twentyfirst century, the actual amplitude of the increases in storm strength is relatively modest, irrespective of the specific measure one uses. © 2012 Springer-Verlag. Citation statistics:
资源类型: 期刊论文
标识符: http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/54834
Appears in Collections: 过去全球变化的重建
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作者单位: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2880 Broadway, New York, NY, 10025, United States; Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, 500 West 120th Street, 290, New York, NY, 10027, United States; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, S. W. Mudd Bldg., 216, Mail Code 4701, New York, NY, 10027, United States
Recommended Citation:
Booth J.F.,Wang S.,Polvani L.. Midlatitude storms in a moister world: Lessons from idealized baroclinic life cycle experiments[J]. Climate Dynamics,2013-01-01,41(2017-03-04)