Extending the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) atmospheric river scale to the polar regions
<p>Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are the primary mechanism for transporting water vapor from low latitudes to polar regions, playing a significant role in extreme weather in both the Arctic and Antarctica. With the rapidly growing interest in polar ARs during the past decade, it is imperative to es...
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Copernicus Publications
2024-11-01
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| Series: | The Cryosphere |
| Online Access: | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/5239/2024/tc-18-5239-2024.pdf |
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| author | Z. Zhang F. M. Ralph X. Zou B. Kawzenuk M. Zheng I. V. Gorodetskaya P. M. Rowe D. H. Bromwich |
| author_facet | Z. Zhang F. M. Ralph X. Zou B. Kawzenuk M. Zheng I. V. Gorodetskaya P. M. Rowe D. H. Bromwich |
| author_sort | Z. Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are the primary mechanism for transporting water vapor from low latitudes to polar regions, playing a significant role in extreme weather in both the Arctic and Antarctica. With the rapidly growing interest in polar ARs during the past decade, it is imperative to establish an objective framework quantifying the strength and impact of these ARs for both scientific research and practical applications. The AR scale introduced by Ralph et al. (2019) ranks ARs based on the duration of AR conditions and the intensity of integrated water vapor transport (IVT). However, the thresholds of IVT used to rank ARs are selected based on the IVT climatology at middle latitudes. These thresholds are insufficient for polar regions due to the substantially lower temperature and moisture content. In this study, we analyze the IVT climatology in polar regions, focusing on the coasts of Antarctica and Greenland. Then we introduce an extended version of the AR scale tuned to polar regions by adding lower IVT thresholds of 100, 150, and 200 kg m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> s<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> to the standard AR scale, which starts at 250 kg m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> s<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>. The polar AR scale is utilized to examine AR frequency, seasonality, trends, and associated precipitation and surface melt over Antarctica and Greenland. Our results show that the polar AR scale better characterizes the strength and impacts of ARs in the Antarctic and Arctic regions than the original AR scale and has the potential to enhance communication across observational, research, and forecasting communities in polar regions.</p> |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1b15331dfcad4d85a69063a936924b50 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Cryosphere |
| spelling | doaj-art-1b15331dfcad4d85a69063a936924b502024-11-19T05:19:14ZengCopernicus PublicationsThe Cryosphere1994-04161994-04242024-11-01185239525810.5194/tc-18-5239-2024Extending the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) atmospheric river scale to the polar regionsZ. Zhang0F. M. Ralph1X. Zou2B. Kawzenuk3M. Zheng4I. V. Gorodetskaya5P. M. Rowe6D. H. Bromwich7Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USACenter for Western Weather and Water Extremes, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USACenter for Western Weather and Water Extremes, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USACenter for Western Weather and Water Extremes, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USACenter for Western Weather and Water Extremes, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USACIIMAR | Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Porto, PortugalNorthWest Research Associates, Redmond, WA, USAPolar Meteorology Group, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA<p>Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are the primary mechanism for transporting water vapor from low latitudes to polar regions, playing a significant role in extreme weather in both the Arctic and Antarctica. With the rapidly growing interest in polar ARs during the past decade, it is imperative to establish an objective framework quantifying the strength and impact of these ARs for both scientific research and practical applications. The AR scale introduced by Ralph et al. (2019) ranks ARs based on the duration of AR conditions and the intensity of integrated water vapor transport (IVT). However, the thresholds of IVT used to rank ARs are selected based on the IVT climatology at middle latitudes. These thresholds are insufficient for polar regions due to the substantially lower temperature and moisture content. In this study, we analyze the IVT climatology in polar regions, focusing on the coasts of Antarctica and Greenland. Then we introduce an extended version of the AR scale tuned to polar regions by adding lower IVT thresholds of 100, 150, and 200 kg m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> s<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> to the standard AR scale, which starts at 250 kg m<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> s<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>. The polar AR scale is utilized to examine AR frequency, seasonality, trends, and associated precipitation and surface melt over Antarctica and Greenland. Our results show that the polar AR scale better characterizes the strength and impacts of ARs in the Antarctic and Arctic regions than the original AR scale and has the potential to enhance communication across observational, research, and forecasting communities in polar regions.</p>https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/5239/2024/tc-18-5239-2024.pdf |
| spellingShingle | Z. Zhang F. M. Ralph X. Zou B. Kawzenuk M. Zheng I. V. Gorodetskaya P. M. Rowe D. H. Bromwich Extending the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) atmospheric river scale to the polar regions The Cryosphere |
| title | Extending the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) atmospheric river scale to the polar regions |
| title_full | Extending the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) atmospheric river scale to the polar regions |
| title_fullStr | Extending the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) atmospheric river scale to the polar regions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extending the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) atmospheric river scale to the polar regions |
| title_short | Extending the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) atmospheric river scale to the polar regions |
| title_sort | extending the center for western weather and water extremes cw3e atmospheric river scale to the polar regions |
| url | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/5239/2024/tc-18-5239-2024.pdf |
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