CMIP6 Evaluation and Projection of Temperature and Precipitation over China

This article evaluates the performance of 20 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6(CMIP6)models in simulating temperature and precipitation over China through comparisons with gridded observation data for the period of 1995–2014,with a focus on spatial patterns and interannual variability.The evaluations show that the CMIP6 models perform well in reproducing the climatological spatial distribution of temperature and precipitation,with better performance for temperature than for precipitation.Their interannual variability can also be reasonably captured by most models,however,poor performance is noted regarding the interannual variability of winter precipitation.Based on the comprehensive performance for the above two factors,the“highest-ranked”models are selected as an ensemble(BMME).The BMME outperforms the ensemble of all models(AMME)in simulating annual and winter temperature and precipitation,particularly for those subregions with complex terrain but it shows little improvement for summer temperature and precipitation.The AMME and BMME projections indicate annual increases for both temperature and precipitation across China by the end of the 21st century,with larger increases under the scenario of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 5/Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5(SSP585)than under scenario of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 2/Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5(SSP245).The greatest increases of annual temperature are projected for higher latitudes and higher elevations and the largest percentage-based increases in annual precipitation are projected to occur in northern and western China,especially under SSP585.However,the BMME,which generally performs better in these regions,projects lower changes in annual temperature and larger variations in annual precipitation when compared to the AMME projections.

CMIP6 Evaluation and Projection of Precipitation over Northern China:Further Investigation

Based on 20 models from phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project(CMIP6),this article explored possible reasons for differences in simulation biases and projected changes in precipitation in northern China among the allmodel ensemble(AMME),“highest-ranked”model ensemble(BMME),and“lowest-ranked”model ensemble(WMME),from the perspective of atmospheric circulations and moisture budgets.The results show that the BMME and AMME reproduce the East Asian winter circulations better than the WMME.Compared with the AMME and WMME,the BMME reduces the overestimation of evaporation,thereby improving the simulation of winter precipitation.The three ensemble simulated biases for the East Asian summer circulations are generally similar,characterized by a stronger zonal pressure gradient between the mid-latitudes of the North Pacific and East Asia and a northward displacement of the East Asian westerly jet.However,the simulated vertical moisture advection is improved in the BMME,contributing to the slightly higher performance of the BMME than the AMME and WMME on summer precipitation in North and Northeast China.Compared to the AMME and WMME,the BMME projects larger increases in precipitation in northern China during both seasons by the end of the 21st century under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 5-8.5(SSP5-8.5).One of the reasons is that the increase in evaporation projected by the BMME is larger.The projection of a greater dynamic contribution by the BMME also plays a role.In addition,larger changes in the nonlinear components in the BMME projection contribute to a larger increase in winter precipitation in northern China.

How the “Best” CMIP5 Models Project Relations of Asian–Pacific Oscillation to Circulation Backgrounds Favorable for Tropical Cyclone Genesis over the Western North Pacific

Based on the simulations of 32 models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 （CMIP5）, the present study assesses their capacity to simulate the relationship of the summer Asian-Pacific Oscillation （APO） with the vertical zonal wind shear, low-level atmospheric vorticity, mid-level humidity, atmospheric divergence in the lower and upper troposphere, and western Pacific subtropical high （WPSH） that are closely associated with the gen- esis of tropical cyclones over the western North Pacific. The results indicate that five models can simultaneously re- produce the observed pattern with the positive APO phase accompanied by weak vertical zonal wind shear, strengthened vorticity in the lower troposphere, increased mid-level humidity, intensified low-level convergence and high-level divergence, and a northward-located WPSH over the western North Pacific. These five models are further used to project their potential relationship under the RCPS.5 scenario during 2050 2099. Compared to 1950-1999, the relationship between the APO and the vertical zonal wind shear is projected to weaken by both the multi-model ensemble and the individual models. Its linkage to the low-level vorticity, mid-level humidity, atmospheric diver- gence in the lower and upper troposphere, and the northward-southward movement of the WPSH would also reduce slightly but still be significant. However, the individual models show relatively large differences in projecting the linkage between the APO and the mid-level humidity and low-level divergence.