Past global climate conditions and the impact on the Tibetan hydrological cycle
Palaeontology
Final Report Abstract
Global climate: The global climate reveals distinct deviations during the LGM and the historic simulations. The anomalies can be summarized as: Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) • Temperature: There is a strong cooling over North America and Northern Europe which is also prominent in the boreal summer. • Precipitation: Summers near 60N and the equator are drier, as well as in the Indian region, while the mid-high latitudes of Africa and east of China are wetter. • Winds: In both hemispheres jets are more intense. Medieval Warming (MDW) and Little Ice Age (LIA) • Temperature: similar temperature deviation patterns, warmer Greenland throughout the year, colder Barents Sea in boreal winter (this originates possibly in the mismatch of the glacial mask). • Precipitation: wetter summers in Eastern China. East Asia and the Tibetan region The results obtained with the Planet Simulator for the climate changes in eastern Asia are summarized in more detail. The deviations are compared to previous simulations. (Note that this is not a Medieval Warming (MDW) • Asia: Dryer summer in East Asia. The results in this reference are difficult to compare. • Qinhai-Tibet: Dry spring. This is well simulated. • South America: Wet in the north and dry in mid-latitude. This is well simulated. • Africa: Dry in the east. This has yet to be assessed. Little Ice Age (LIA) • Northwest China: Cold and wet with a West-East contrast. Since the model shows season-dependent patterns, this is difficult to compare. • Qinhai-Tibet: less precipitation. This is well simulated. • Dry spring and cold autumn. The model shows dry springs, the temperature has yet to be compared. Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) • East Asia: Drier. This result is obtained partly. • West China: Colder and wetter, enhanced westerlies shifted southward. The results cited are not obtained. • Gobally: A cooling is well captured. • Tropics: There is less precipitation in the African and the Indian monsoon regions. This is simulated in the Indian monsoon region.
Publications
- 2003: Ein Zirkulationsmodell für Forschung und Lehre. Promet 29, 34-48
Fraedrich, K., E. Kirk, U. Luksch, F. Lunkeit
- 2005: The Planet Simulator: Green planet and desert world. Meteorol. Zeitschrift, 14, 305-314
Fraedrich, K., H. Jansen, E. Kirk, F. Lunkeit
- 2005: The Planet Simulator: Towards a user friendly model. Meteorol. Zeitschrift, 14, 299-304
Fraedrich, K., H. Jansen, E. Kirk, U. Luksch, F. Lunkeit
(See online at https://dx.doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2005/0043) - 2005: The Portable University Model of the Atmosphere: Storm track dynamics and low frequency variability. Meteorol. Zeitschrift, 14, 735-745
Fraedrich, K., E. Kirk, and F. Lunkeit
- 2007: Atmospheric multidecadal variations in the North Atlantic realm: proxy data, observations, and atmospheric circulation model studies. Climate of the Past, 3, 39-50
Grosfeld, K., G. Lohmann, N. Rimbu, K. Fraedrich, and F. Lunkeit
- 2007: Changes of pan evaporation and reference evapotranspiration in the Yangtze River basin, Theor. Appl. Climatol., 90, 13-23
Wang, Y., T. Jiang, O. Bothe, and K. Fraedrich
- 2007: Projection of Future Precipitation Extremes in the Yangtze River Basin 2001-2050. Advances in Climate Change Research, 3, 340-244
Zengxin, Zhang, K. Fraedrich, J. Tong, Z. Jinchi
- 2008: Yangtze 1/f discharge variability and the interacting river-lake system. Journal of Hydrology, 351, 230-237
Wang, G., T. Jiang, R. Blender, and K. Fraedrich
