• \
    Start Submission Become a Reviewer

    Reading: Spectral nudging in a spectral regional climate model

    Download

     A- A+
    Alt. Display

    Original Research Papers

    Spectral nudging in a spectral regional climate model

    Authors:

    Raluca Radu ,

    National Meteorological Administration LNM, Bucharest, RO
    X close

    Michel Déqué,

    Météo France CNRM/GMGEC CNRS/GAME, Toulouse, FR
    X close

    Samuel Somot

    Météo France CNRM/GMGEC CNRS/GAME, Toulouse, FR
    X close

    Abstract

    Spectral nudging, a dynamic downscaling method, has been used as a suitable approach to force a regional model to adopt prescribed large-scales over the entire domain, not just at the lateral boundaries, while developing realistic detailed regional features consistent with the large-scales. The aim of this study is to compare a global spectral climate model at high resolution (50 km) and a driven spectral regional climate model over Europe by using the so-called perfect model approach. The spectral nudging method is applied in order to achieve a better representation of large-scale climate over a limited domain. The results show that the regional model driven only at its lateral boundaries presents a summer warm bias in the middle of the domain. This bias disappears when spectral nudging is applied. On the other hand, the smallest scales which are not driven by the spectral nudging are not significantly affected by scale interaction. The only detrimental impact of spectral nudging is a slight precipitation increase in the upper quantiles of precipitation, which can be resolved by large-scale nudging of specific humidity.

    How to Cite: Radu, R., Déqué, M. and Somot, S., 2008. Spectral nudging in a spectral regional climate model. Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography, 60(5), pp.898–910. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0870.2008.00341.x
      Published on 01 Jan 2008
    Peer Reviewed
     CC BY 4.0
     Accepted on 23 Apr 2008            Submitted on 11 Oct 2007

    References

    1. Anthes , R. A. 1983 . Regional models of the atmosphere in middle lati-tudes . Mon. Wea. Rev . 111 , 1306 – 1335 .  

    2. Antic , S. , Laprise , R. , Denis , D. and de Ella , R. 2004 . Testing the down-scaling ability of a one-way nested regional climate modeling regions of complex topography . Clim. Dyn 23 , 473 – 493 .  

    3. Barring , L. and Laprise , R. 2005 . High-resolution climate modelling: Assesment, added value and applications. In: Extendend abstracts of a WMO/WCRP-sponsored regional scale climate modelling Workshop Lund (Sweden), 29 March-2 April 2004, Lund University electronic reports in physical geography 132 pp .  

    4. Biner , S. , Caya , D. , Laprise , R. and Spacek , L. 2000 . Nesting of RCM by imposing large scales . WMO/TD No. 987 30 , 7 . 3-7 . 4 .  

    5. Bougeault , P. 1985 A simple parameterization of the large-scale effects of cumulus convection. Mon. Wea. Re v . 113 , 2108 – 2121 .  

    6. Bubnova , R. , Horányi , A. and Malardel , S. 1993 . International project ARPEGE/ALADIN . EWGLAM Newslett . 22 , 117 – 130 .  

    7. Castro , C. L. , Pielke , R. A. Sr. and Leoncini , G. 2005 . Dynamical down-scaling: an assessment of value added using regional climate model . J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos . 110 , D05108 , https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JD004721 .  

    8. Cocke , S. and LaRow , T. E. 2000 . Seasonal predictions using a regional spectral model embedded within a coupled ocean-atmosphere model . Mon. Wea. Rev . 128 , 689 – 708 .  

    9. Davies , H. C. 1976 . A lateral boundary formulation for multi-level pre-diction models . Quart. J. Roy. Meteor Soc . 102 , 405 – 418 .  

    10. de Elía , R. , Laprise , R. and Denis , B. 2002 . Forecasting skill limits of nested, limited area models: a perfect model approach . Mon. Wea. Rew . 130 , 2006– 2023 .  

    11. Denis , B. , Cote , J. and Laprise , R. 2002a . Spectral decomposition of two-dimensional atmospheric fields on limited-area domains using the discrete cosine transform (DCT) . Mon. Wea. Rew 130 , 1812 – 1829 .  

    12. Denis , B. , Laprise , R. , Caya , D. and Cote , J. 2002b . Downscaling ability of one-way nested regional climate models: the Big-Brother Experiment . Clim. Dyn . 18 , 627 - 646 .  

    13. Denis , B. , Laprise , R. and Caya , D. 2003 . Sensitivity of a regional climate model to the spatial resolution and temporal updating frequency of the lateral boundary conditions. Clim. Dyn . 20 , 107 - 126 .  

    14. Déqué , M. , Dreveton , C. , Braun , A. and Cariolle , D. 1994 . The ARPEGE-IFS atmosphere model: a contribution to the French com-munity climate modelling. Clim. Dyn . 10 , 249 - 266 .  

    15. Dickinson , M. , Errico , R. M. , Giorgi , F. and Bates , G. T. 1989 . A regional climate model for the western United States . Clim. Change 15 , 383 – 422 .  

    16. Dimitrijevic , M. and Laprise , R. 2005 . Validation of the nesting tech-nique in a regional climate model and sensitivity tests to the resolu-tion of the lateral boundary conditions during summer . Clim. Dyn . 25 , 555 – 580 .  

    17. Feser , E and von Storch , H. 2006 . A spatial two-dimensional discrete filter for limited area model evaluation purposes . Mon. Wea. Rev . 133 , 1774 – 1786 .  

    18. Fouquart , Y. 1987 . Radiative transfer in climate modeling . In: NATO Ad-vanced Study Institute on Physically-Based Modeling and Simlation of Climate and Climatic Changes. Erice , 11-23 May 1986. ( ed . M. E. Schlesinger , 223 – 283 ).  

    19. Frei , C. , Christensen , J. H. , Deque , M. , Jacob , D. , Jones , R. G. and Vidale , P. L. 2002 . Daily precipitation statistics in regional climate models: evaluation and intercomparison for the European Alps. J. Geophys. Res . 108 , ACL 91 - 19 .  

    20. Giorgi , F. 1990 . Simulation of regional climate using a limited area model nested in general circulation model . J. Climate 3 , 941 – 963 .  

    21. Giorgi , F. and Bates , G. T. 1989 . On the climatological skill of a regional model over complex terrain . Mon. Wea. Rev . 117 , 2325 – 2347 .  

    22. Herceg , D. , Sobel , A. H. , Sun , L. and Zebiak , S. E. 2006 . The Big Brother experiment and seasonal predictability in the NCEP regional spectral model. Clim. Dyn . 27 , 69 - 82 .  

    23. Haugen , J. E. and Machenhauer , B. 1993 . A spectral limited-area model formulation with time dependent boundary conditions applied to the shallow-water equations . Mon. Wea. Rev . 121 , 2618 – 2630 .  

    24. Hewitt , C. D. and Griggs , D. J. 2004 . Ensembles-based predictions of climate changes and their impacts . EOS 85 , 566 .  

    25. IPCC , 2007 . Climate Change 2007: the Physical Science Basis. In: Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (eds S. Solomon , D. Qin , M. Manning , Z. Chen , M. Marquis and co-editors ), Cambridge University Press , Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.  

    26. Jones , R. G. , Murphy , J. M. and Noguer , M. 1995 . Simulation of climate change over Europe using a nested regional-climate model. Part I: assesment of control climate, including sensitivity to location of lateral boundaries . Quart. J. Roy. Meteor Soc . 121 , 1413 – 1449 .  

    27. Juang , H.-M. H. and Kanamitsu , M. 1994 . The NMC regional spectral model . Mon. Wea. Rev . 122 , 3 – 26 .  

    28. Juang , S.-Y. H. and Kanamitsu , M. 1997 . The NCEP regional spectral model: an update . Bull. Amer Meteor Soc . 78 , 2125 – 2143 .  

    29. Kida , H. , Koide , T. , Sasaki , H. and Chiba , M. 1991 . A new approach to coupling a limited area model with a GCM for regional climate simulation. J. Meteor Soc. Japan 69 , 723 - 728 .  

    30. Laprise , R. 2003 . Resolved scales and nonlinear interactions in limited-area models . J. Atmos. Sci . 60 , 768 – 779 .  

    31. Machenhauer , B. and Haugen , J.-E. 1987 . Test of a spectral limited area shallow water model with time dependent lateral boundary con-ditions and combined normal mode/semi-Lagrangean time integra-tion schemes. In: ECMWF Workshop Proceedings: Techniques for Horizontal Discretization in Numerical Weather Prediction Models ECMWF 361 - 371 .  

    32. Marbaix , R , Galle , H. , Brasseur , O. and van Ypersele , J.-P. 2003 . Lateral boundary conditions in regional climate models: a detailed study of the relaxation procedure. Mon. Wea. Rev . 131 , 461 - 479 .  

    33. McDonald , A. 1999 . A review of lateral boundary conditions for limited area forecast models . Proc. Ind. Natl. Sci. Acad . 65 , 91 – 105 .  

    34. McGregor , J. L. , Katzfey , J. J. and Nguyen , K. C. 1998 . Fine resolution simulations of climate change for southeast Asia. South-east Asian Regional Committee for START Research project Final Report 51pp . Available from CISRO Atmospheric Research, PMB1, Aspendale, VIC 3195, Australia .  

    35. Miguez-Macho , G. , Stenchikov , G. L. and Robock , A. 2004 . Spectral nudging to eliminate the effects of domain position and geometry in regional climate model simulations . J. Geophys. Res . 109 , D13104 , https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JD004495 .  

    36. Miyalcoda , K. and Rosati , A. 1977 . One way nested grid: the interface conditions and the numerical accuracy . Mon. Wea. Rev . 105 , 1092 – 1107 .  

    37. Morcrette , J. J. 1990 . Impact of changes to the radiation transfer param-eterizations plus cloud optical properties in the ECMWF model . Mon. Wea. Rev 118 , 847 – 873 .  

    38. Orszag , S. A. 1970 . Transform method for the calculation of vector-coupled sums: application to the spectral form of the voracity equa-tion . J. Atmos. Sci . 27 , 890 – 895 .  

    39. Pan , Z. , Segal , M. , Turner , R. and Tackle , E. 1995 . Model simulation of impacts of transient surface wetness on summer rainfall in the United States Midwest during drought and flood years . Mon. Wea. Rev . 123 , 1575 – 1581 .  

    40. Pal , J. S. and Eltahir , E. A. B. 2003 . A feedback mechanism between soil-moisture distribution and storm tracks . Quart. J. Roy. Meteor Soc . 129 , 2279 – 2297 .  

    41. Radnoti , G. and co-authors , 1995 . The spectral limited area model ARPEGE/ALADIN. PWPR Report Series 7 , WMO-TD 699 , 111 - 117 .  

    42. Radnoti , G. 2001 . An improved method to incorporate lateral boundary conditions in a spectral limited area model . ALADIN Newslett . 20 http://www.cnrm.meteo.fr/aladin/newsletters/newsletters. html  

    43. Radu , R. 2003 . Extensive study of the coupling problem for a high resolution limited area model. ALATNET Final Report http://www.cnrm.meteo.fr/alatnet/.  

    44. Ricard , J. L. and Royer , J. F. 1993 . A statistical cloud scheme for use in AGCM . Ann. Geophys . 11 , 1095 – 1115 .  

    45. Rowell , D. P. and Jones , R. 2006 . Causes and uncertainty of future summer drying over Europe . Clim. Dyn . 27 , 281 – 299 .  

    46. Salas Y. Melia , D. , Chauvin , F. , Deque , M. , Douville , H. , Gueremy , J. F. and co-authors . 2005 . Description and validation of CNRM-CM3 global coupled climte model . Note de centre GMGEC, CNRM 103 .  

    47. Sasaki , H. , Kida , J. , Koide , T. and Chiba , M. 1995 . The performance of a long-term integrations of a limited area model wit the spec-tral boundary coupling method . J. Meteor. Soc. Japan 73 , 165 – 181 .  

    48. Smith , R. N. B. 1990 . A scheme for predicting layer clouds and their water content in a general circulation model. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor Soc . 116 , 435 - 460 .  

    49. Staniforth , A. 1997 . Regional modeling: a theoretical discussion . Meteor Atmos. Phys . 63 , 15 – 29 .  

    50. von Storch , H. , Langenberg , H. and Feser , F. 2000 . A spectral nudging technique for dynamical downscaling purposes. Mon. Wea. Rev . 128 , 3664 - 3673 .  

    51. Waldron , K. M. , Paegle , J. and Horel , J. D. 1996 . Sensitivity of a spec-trally filtered and nudged limited area model to outer model options . Mon. Wea. Rev . 124 , 529 – 547 .  

    52. Wang , Y. , Leung , L.-R. , McGregor , J. L. , Lee , D.-K. , Wang W.-C. and co-authors. 2004 a. Regional climate modelling: progress, challenges and prospects . J. Meteor Soc. Japan 82 , 1599– 1628 .  

    53. Wang , Y., Xie , S.-P. , Xu , H. and Wang , B. 2004b. Regional model simulations of boundary layer clouds over the Sotheast Pacific of South America. Part I: control experiment. Mon. Wea. Rev . 132 , 274 - 296 .  

    54. Warner , T. T. , Peterson , R. A. and Treadon , R. E. 1997 . A tutorial on lateral conditions as a basical and potentially serious limitation to regional numerical weather prediction . Bull. Amer Meteor Soc . 78 , 2599 – 2617 .  

    Jump to Discussions Related content
    comments powered by Disqus