Abstract
With a decadal long period (1998–2010) climate simulation using the Weather Research and Forecasting model at convection-permitting resolution (4 km) (WRF_CPM), the diurnal cycles of precipitation amount (PA), frequency (PF) and intensity (PI) and their related large-scale atmospheric circulations over eastern China are analyzed. The simulations are further compared against the CN05.1, CMORPH v1.0 and the ECMWF Re-Analysis Interim (ERAIN). Results show that WRF_CPM can reasonably represent the observed seasonal rainfall and the atmospheric circulations. As for the features at a sub-daily scale, WRF_CPM is superior at reproducing the diurnal amplitude of PF that is similar to PA in terms of the spatial distribution. Moreover, the diurnal peak timing of summer PF and PA over the three sub-regions, i.e., North China (NC), Yangtze-Huaihe River basin (YHR) and South China (SC), can be properly reproduced by WRF_CPM. The observed precipitation systems exhibit obvious eastward propagation from the Plateau to its downstream, which may be due to the solenoid circulations associated with the low-level anomalous wind and moisture convergence. However, they are almost overestimated by WRF_CPM and in turn causing overestimated precipitation along YHR. The early morning precipitation in WRF_CPM has a larger fraction than CMORPH, which is related to the overestimated nocturnal low-level jet. Whereas, due to the solar heating and the land-sea breezes, the late-afternoon precipitation peak is mainly located along the coasts of eastern China, which matches well with the vertical motion in WRF_CPM.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bao X, Zhang F, Sun J (2011) Diurnal variations of warm-season precipitation east of the tibetan plateau over China. Mon Weather Rev 139(9):2790–2810
Berthou S, Kendon EJ, Chan SC, Ban N, Fosser G (2018) Pan-european climate at convection-permitting scale: a model intercomparison study. Clim Dyn 5:1–25
Chen F, Dudhia J (2001) Coupling and advanced land surface-hydrology model with the Penn State-NCAR MM5 modeling system. Part I: model implementation and sensitivity. Mon Weather Rev 129:569–585
Chen H, Yu R, Li J, Yuan W, Zhou T (2010) Why nocturnal long-duration rainfall presents an eastward-delayed diurnal phase of rainfall down the Yangtze River valley. J Clim 23(4):905–917
Chen G, Sha W, Iwasaki T, Ueno K (2012) Diurnal variation of rainfall in the yangtze river valley during the spring–summer transition from TRMM measurements. J Geophys Res Atmos. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD017056
Chen G, Sha W, Sawada M, Iwasaki T (2013) Influence of summer monsoon diurnal cycle on moisture transport and precipitation over eastern China. J Geophys Res Atmos 118(8):3163–3177
Chen G, Yoshida R, Sha W, Iwasaki T, Qin H (2014) Convective instability associated with the eastward-propagating rainfall episodes over eastern China during the warm season. J Clim 27(6):3331–3339
Chen X, Zhang F, Zhao K (2016) Diurnal variations of land/sea breeze and its related precipitation over South China. J Atmos Sci. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-16-0106.1
Chen G, Sha W, Iwasaki T, Wen Z (2017) Diurnal cycle of a heavy rainfall corridor over East Asia. Mon Weather Rev 145(8):3365–3389
Chen G, Lan R, Zeng W, Pan H, Li W (2018) Diurnal variations of rainfall in surface and satellite observations at the monsoon coast (South China). J Clim 31(5):1703–1724
Collins WD, Rash PJ, Boville BA, Hack JJ, McCaa JR, Williamson DL et al (2004) Description of the NCAR community atmosphere model (CAM 3.0). NCAR technical note NCAR/TN-464 + STR, NCAR
Dai A, Lin X, Hsu KL (2007) The frequency, intensity, and diurnal cycle of precipitation in surface and satellite observations over low-and mid-latitudes. Clim Dyn 29(7–8):727–744
de Barros Brito SS, Oyama MD (2014) Daily cycle of precipitation over the northern coast of Brazil. J Appl Meteorol Climatol 53(11):2481–2502
Dee DP, Uppala SM, Simmons AJ, Berrisford P, Poli P, Kobayashi S et al (2011) The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system. Q J R Meteorol Soc 137(656):553–597
Feser F, Rockel B, Von Storch H, Winterfeldt J, Zahn M (2011) Regional climate models add value to global model data: a review and selected examples. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 92(9):1181–1192
Fosser G, Khodayar S, Berg P (2015) Benefit of convection permitting climate model simulations in the representation of convective precipitation. Clim Dyn 44(1–2):45–60
Fu C, Wang S, Xiong Z, Gutowski WJ, Lee DK, Mcgregor JL, Sato Y, Kato H (2005) Regional climate model intercomparison project for Asia. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 86(2):257–266
Gao X, Xu Y, Zhao Z, Pal JS, Giorgi F (2006) On the role of resolution and topography in the simulation of east Asia precipitation. Theor Appl Climatol 86(1–4):173–185
Gao Y, Leung L, Zhao C, Hagos SM (2017) Sensitivity of U.S. summer precipitation to model resolution and convective parameterizations across gray zone resolutions. J Geophys Res D Atmos 122(5):2714–2733
Giorgi F, Mearns LO (1999) Introduction to special section: regional climate modeling revisited. J Geophys Res Atmos 104(D6):6335–6352
Guo Z, Fang J, Sun X, Yang Y, Tang J (2019) Sensitivity of summer precipitation simulation to microphysics parameterization over eastern China: convection-permitting regional climate simulation. J Geophys Res Atmos. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD030295
Hong SY, Dudhia J, Chen SH (2004) A revised approach to ice microphysical processes for the bulk parameterization of clouds and precipitation. Mon Weather Rev 132:103–120
Hui P, Tang J, Wang S, Niu X, Zong P, Dong X (2018) Climate change projections over China using regional climate models forced by two CMIP5 global models. Part I: evaluation of historical simulations. Int J Climatol 38:e57–e77
Jiang Z, Zhang DL, Xia R, Qian T (2017) Diurnal variations of presummer rainfall over southern China. J Clim 30(2):755–773
Joyce RJ, Janowiak JE, Arkin PA, Xie P (2004) Cmorph: a method that produces global precipitation estimates from passive microwave and infrared data at high spatial and temporal resolution. J Hydrometeorol 5(3):287–296
Li J, Yu R, Yuan W, Chen H, Sun W, Zhang Y (2015) Precipitation over east Asia simulated by NCAR CAM5 at different horizontal resolutions. J Adv Model Earth Syst 7(2):774–790
Li P, Furtado K, Zhou T, Chen H, Li J, Guo Z, Xiao C (2018) The diurnal cycle of East Asian summer monsoon precipitation simulated by the Met Office Unified Model at convection-permitting scales. Clim Dyn. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-018-4368-z
Lind P, Lindstedt D, Kjellström E, Jones C (2016) Spatial and temporal characteristics of summer precipitation over central europe in a suite of high-resolution climate models. J Clim 29(10):160308090852005
Liu C, Ikeda K, Rasmussen R, Barlage M, Newman AJ, Prein AF, Chen F, Chen L, Clark M, Dai A, Dudhia J, Eidhammer T, Gochis D, Guumann E, Kurkute S, Li Y, Thompson G, Yates D (2017) Continental-scale convection-permitting modeling of the current and future climate of North America. Clim Dyn 49(1–2):71–95
Noh Y, Cheon WG, Hong SY, Raasch S (2003) Improvement of the K-profile model for the planetary boundary layer based on large eddy simulation data. Bound Layer Meteorol 107:401–427
Prein AF, Gobiet A, Suklitsch M, Truhetz H, Awan NK, Keuler K, Georgievski G (2013) Added value of convection permitting seasonal simulations. Clim Dyn 41(9–10):2655–2677
Prein AF, Langhans W, Fosser G, Ferrone A, Ban N, Goergen K, Keller M, Tölle M, Gutjahr O, Feser F, Brisson E, Kollet S, Schmidli J, van Lipzig NPM, Leung R (2015) A review on regional convection-permitting climate modeling: demonstrations, prospects, and challenges. Rev Geophys 53(2):323–361
Qian T, Zhao P, Zhang F, Bao X (2015) Rainy-season precipitation over the Sichuan basin and adjacent regions in southwestern China. Mon Weather Rev 143(1):383–394
Reynolds RW, Smith TM, Liu C, Chelton DB, Casey KS, Schlax MG (2007) Daily high-resolution-blended analyses for sea surface temperature. J Clim 20(22):5473–5496
Rummukainen M (2016) Added value in regional climate modeling. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Clim Change 7(1):145–159
Shen Y, Xiong A, Wang Y, Xie P (2010) Performance of high-resolution satellite precipitation products over China. J Geophys Res Atmos. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD012097
Skamarock WC, Klemp JB, Dudhia J, Gill DO, Barker DM, Wang W, Powers JG (2005) A description of the advanced research WRF version 2 (No. NCAR/TN-468 + STR). Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Division, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder
Sorooshian S, Gao X, Hsu K, Maddox RA, Hong Y, Gupta HV (2002) Diurnal variability of tropical rainfall retrieved from combined goes and TRMM satellite information. J Clim 15(9):983–1001
Sun X, Xue M, Brotzge J, McPherson RA, Hu X-M, Yang X-Q (2016) An evaluation of dynamical downscaling of Central Plains summer precipitation using a WRF-based regional climate model at a convection-permitting 4 km resolution. J Geophys Res Atmos 121:13801–13825. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD024796
Tang J, Wang S, Niu X, Hui P, Zong P, Wang X (2016) Impact of spectral nudging on regional climate simulation over CORDEX East Asia using WRF. Clim Dyn 48(7):1–19
Tang J, Sun X, Hui P, Li Y, Zhang Q, Liu J (2018) Effects of spectral nudging on precipitation extremes and diurnal cycle over CORDEX-East Asia domain. Int J Climatol 38(13):4903–4923
Taylor KE (2001) Summarizing multiple aspects of model performance in a single diagram. J Geophys Res 106(D7):7183–7192
Warrach-Sagi K, Schwitalla T, Wulfmeyer V, Bauer HS (2013) Evaluation of a climate simulation in Europe based on the WRF-NOAH model system: precipitation in Germany. Clim Dyn 41(3–4):755–774
Wu J, Gao X (2013) A gridded daily observation dataset over China region and comparison with the other datasets. Chin J Geophys 56:1102–1111
Wu Y, Huang A, Huang D, Chen F, Yang B, Zhou Y, Wen L (2018) Diurnal variations of summer precipitation over the regions east to Tibetan Plateau. Clim Dyn 51(11–12):4287–4307
Yu R, Zhou T, Xiong A, Zhu Y, Li J (2007a) Diurnal variations of summer precipitation over contiguous China. Geophys Res Lett 34(1):223–234
Yu R, Xu Y, Zhou T, Li J (2007b) Relation between rainfall duration and diurnal variation in the warm season precipitation over central eastern China. Geophys Res Lett 34(13):173–180
Yu E, Sun J, Chen H, Xiang W (2015) Evaluation of a high-resolution historical simulation over China: climatology and extremes. Clim Dyn 45(7–8):2013–2031
Yuan W, Yu R, Zhang M, Lin W, Li J, Fu Y (2013) Diurnal cycle of summer precipitation over subtropical east Asia in CAM5. J Clim 26(10):3159–3172
Zhang Y, Zhang F, Davis CA, Sun J (2018) Diurnal evolution and structure of long-lived mesoscale convective vortices along the mei-yu front over the east china plains. J Atmos Sci 75:1005–1025. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-17-0197.1
Zhou T, Yu R, Chen H, Dai A, Pan Y (2008) Summer precipitation frequency, intensity, and diurnal cycle over China: a comparison of satellite data with rain gauge observations. J Clim 21(16):3997–4010
Zhu K, Xue M, Zhou B, Zhao K, Sun Z, Fu P, Zheng Y, Zhang X (2018) Evaluation of real-time convection-permitting precipitation forecasts in China during the 2013–2014 summer season. J Geophys Res Atmos 123(2):1037–1064
Zhuo H, Zhao P, Zhou T (2014) Diurnal cycle of summer rainfall in Shandong of eastern China. Int J Climatol 34(3):742–750
Zou L, Zhou T (2016) Future summer precipitation changes over CORDEX-East Asia domain downscaled by a regional ocean–atmosphere coupled model: a comparison to the stand-alone RCM. J Geophys Res Atmos 121(6):2691–2704
Acknowledgements
National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFA0606003, 2016YFA0600303, 2018YFC1505803) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41875124, 41775065 and 41775074) jointly fund this work. The numerical calculations in this paper have been done on the computing facilities in the High Performance Computing Center (HPCC) of Nanjing University. The authors also acknowledge with thanks the ECMWF for providing the ERA-interim reanalysis data as driving fields in the simulations, and NOAA’s Climate Precipitation Center (CPC) for providing the CMORPH observational data.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
We declare that we have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guo, Z., Fang, J., Sun, X. et al. Decadal long convection-permitting regional climate simulations over eastern China: evaluation of diurnal cycle of precipitation. Clim Dyn 54, 1329–1349 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-019-05061-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-019-05061-z