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Abstract In mountains, the precipitation phase greatly varies in space and time and affects the evolution of the snow cover. Snowpack models usually rely on precipitation‐phase partitioning methods (PPMs) that use near‐surface variables. These PPMs ignore conditions above the surface thus limiting their ability to predict the precipitation phase at the surface. In this study, the impact on snowpack simulations of atmospheric‐based PPMs, incorporating upper atmospheric information, is tested using the snowpack scheme Crocus. Crocus is run at 2.5‐km grid spacing over the mountains of southwestern Canada and northwestern United States and is driven by meteorological fields from an atmospheric model at the same resolution. Two atmospheric‐based PPMs were considered from the atmospheric model: the output from a detailed microphysics scheme and a post‐processing algorithm determining the snow level and the associated precipitation phase. Two ground‐based PPMs were also included as lower and upper benchmarks: a single air temperature threshold at 0°C and a PPM using wet‐bulb temperature. Compared to the upper benchmark, the snow‐level based PPM improved the estimation of snowfall occurrence by 5% and the simulation of snow water equivalent (SWE) by 9% during the snow melting season. In contrast, due to missing processes, the microphysics scheme decreased performances in phase estimate and SWE simulations compared to the upper benchmark. These results highlight the need for detailed evaluation of the precipitation phase from atmospheric models and the benefit for mountain snow hydrology of the post‐processed snow level. The limitations to drive snowpack models at slope scale are also discussed. , Plain Language Summary The partitioning of precipitation between rainfall and snowfall is a crucial component of the evolution of the snowpack in mountains. Most snowpack models use the air temperature and humidity near the surface to derive the precipitation phase. However, the phase at the surface is strongly influenced by processes such as melting and refreezing of falling hydrometeors that occur above the surface. Atmospheric models simulate these processes and the corresponding phase at the surface. However, snowpack models rarely use this information. In this study, we considered two estimates of precipitation phase from an atmospheric model and tested them with a physically‐based snow model over the mountains of southwestern Canada and northwestern United States. The results were compared with traditional approaches using the air temperature and humidity near the surface to derive the precipitation phase. Our results showed that the precipitation phase associated with the snow level obtained from the atmospheric model improved snowfall estimate and snowpack prediction compared to the traditional approaches. In contrast, the cloud/precipitation scheme of the atmospheric model decreased performance in phase estimate and snow simulations due to missing physical processes. Our study highlights that snowpack predictions in the mountains can be improved if valuable information is obtained from atmospheric models. , Key Points Estimates of precipitation phase from an atmospheric model were used to drive snow simulations with a detailed snowpack model Snowfall prediction and snowpack modeling are improved by using the snow level from post‐processing of the atmospheric model Direct precipitation phase from the microphysics scheme does not improve snow simulations compared to simpler rain‐snow partitioning schemes
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Abstract Aim Compared with gradual climate change, extreme climatic events have more direct and dramatic impacts on vegetation growth. However, the influence of climate extremes on important phenological periods, such as the end of the growing season (EOS), remains unclear. Here, we investigate the temporal trends of EOS across different biomes and quantify the response of EOS to multiple climate extreme indices (CEIs). Location Northern middle and high latitudes. Time period 2000–2020. Major taxa studied Plants. Methods Three phenology extraction methods were used to compute EOS from satellite, FLUXNET and Pan European Phenology Project PEP725 phenological datasets. Different stress states of cold, hot, dry and wet extremes were represented by 12 CEIs. Partial correlation and ridge regression analysis were used to quantify the response of EOS to climate extremes across latitudinal and biome scales. Results Our study showed a delayed EOS in boreal biomes, but a significantly advanced EOS in temperate biomes. The advanced EOS induced by cold stress was observed for c . 80% of the vegetated pixels. The warm‐related CEIs delayed the EOS in high latitudes, and the delayed effect weakened or even reversed with decreasing latitude. In contrast, EOS exhibited opposite response patterns to dry days and wet‐related CEIs. Overall, EOS exhibited higher sensitivity to extreme temperature in boreal biomes than in temperate biomes. Specifically, continuous drought and high heat stress induced an earlier EOS in some temperate forest biomes, whereas moderate heat stress delayed the EOS in most study biomes. In contrast, EOS was not sensitive to extreme drought in water‐restricted biomes. Main conclusions EOS exhibited divergent responses to various climate extremes with different intensities and frequencies. Moreover, the response of EOS to extreme climate stress was dependent on the biome and latitude. These findings emphasize the importance of incorporating the divergent extreme climate effects into vegetation phenological models and Earth system models.
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Sounding data collected during the WINTRE-MIX project field phase are included in this dataset. This dataset has soundings from the University of Colorado (CU) DOWs, McGill University at Gault, St Jean sur Richelieu, University at Albany (UA) DOWs, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), and UA Essex sites. data file names are of the form "upperair.sounding.YYYYMMDDHHMM.siteName.[txt or csv]" where the YYYMMDDHHMM indicates the date and time of the sounding and the siteName indicates the site source and location. See the documentation for more information on this dataset.
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Abstract Climate changes over the past two millennia in the central part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence are documented in this paper with the aim of determining and understanding the natural climate variability and the impact of anthropogenic forcing at a regional scale. The palynological content (dinocysts, pollen, and spores) of the composite marine sediment core MSM46-03 collected in the Laurentian Channel was used to reconstruct oceanographic and climatic changes with a multidecadal temporal resolution. Sea-surface conditions, including summer salinity and temperature, sea-ice cover, and primary productivity, were reconstructed from dinocyst assemblages. Results revealed a remarkable cooling trend of about 4°C after 1230 cal yr BP (720 CE) and a culmination with a cold pulse dated to 170–40 cal yr BP (1780–1910 CE), which likely corresponds to the regional signal of the Little Ice Age. This cold interval was followed by a rapid warming of about 3°C. In the pollen assemblages, the decrease of Pinus abundance over the past 1700 yr suggests changes in wind regimes, likely resulting from increased southerly incursions of cold and dry Arctic air masses into southeastern Canada.