Accessibility navigation


Midlatitude atmospheric circulation responses under 1.5C and 2.0C warming and implications for regional impacts

Li, C., Michel, C., Graff, L. S., Bethke, I., Zappa, G., Bracegirdle, T. J., Fischer, E., Harvey, B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6510-8181, Iversen, T., King, M. P., Krishnan, H., Lierhammer, L., Mitchell, D., Scinocca, J., Shiogama, H., Stone, D. A. and Wettstein, J. J. (2018) Midlatitude atmospheric circulation responses under 1.5C and 2.0C warming and implications for regional impacts. Earth System Dynamics, 9 (2). pp. 359-382. ISSN 2190-4987

[img]
Preview
Text (Open Access) - Published Version
· Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
· Please see our End User Agreement before downloading.

21MB
[img] Text - Accepted Version
· Restricted to Repository staff only

9MB

It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. See Guidance on citing.

To link to this item DOI: 10.5194/esd-9-359-2018

Abstract/Summary

This study investigates the global response of the midlatitude atmospheric circulation to 1.5◦C and 5 2.0◦C of warming using the HAPPI “Half a degree Additional warming, Prognosis and Projected Im- pacts” ensemble, with a focus on the winter season. Characterizing and understanding this response is critical for accurately assessing the near-term regional impacts of climate change and the benefits of limiting warming to 1.5◦C above pre-industrial levels, as advocated by the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The HAPPI experimental 10 design allows an assessment of uncertainty in the circulation response due to model dependence and internal variability. Internal variability is found to dominate the multi-model mean response of the jet streams, storm tracks and stationary waves across most of the midlatitudes; larger signals in these features are mostly consistent with those seen in more strongly forced warming scenarios. Signals that emerge in the 1.5◦C experiment are a weakening of storm activity over North America, an inland 15 shift of the North American stationary ridge, an equatorward shift of the North Pacific jet exit, and an equatorward intensification of the South Pacific jet. Signals that emerge under an additional 0.5◦C of warming include a poleward shift of the North Atlantic jet exit, an eastward extension of the North Atlantic storm track, and an intensification on the flanks of the Southern Hemisphere storm track. Case studies explore the implications of these circulation responses for precipitation impacts in the 20 Mediterranean, western Europe and on the North American west coast, paying particular attention to possible outcomes at the tails of the response distributions. For example, the projected weakening of the Mediterranean storm track emerges in the 2◦C warmer world, with exceptionally dry decades becoming five times more likely.

Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
ID Code:75795
Publisher:European Geosciences Union

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

University Staff: Request a correction | Centaur Editors: Update this record

Page navigation