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Volume 8
Issue 5
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Climate, Volume 8, Issue 5 (May 2020) – 7 articles

Cover Story (view full-size image): Drought is a recurring phenomenon in North Africa and can have a serious impact on socioeconomic and natural systems. Thus, understanding the mechanisms that underlie precipitation variability in the region is a key driver of sustainable economic growth. The link between winter precipitation variability in this region and some North Atlantic patterns is assessed here over the last millennium. Results show that the link between the westerlies and winter precipitation is stronger and more robust over time than other atmospheric modes. Both winter precipitation and westerlies present significant decreasing trends, associated with drier conditions, starting in the 19th century. This is in agreement with reconstructed and simulated droughts, which show a decreasing trend toward drying conditions in North Africa.View this paper.
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15 pages, 2636 KiB  
Article
Land Use Change and Its Impacts on Land Surface Temperature in Galle City, Sri Lanka
by DMSLB Dissanayake
Climate 2020, 8(5), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli8050065 - 18 May 2020
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 6579
Abstract
This study investigated the spatiotemporal changes of land use land cover (LULC) and its impact on land surface temperature (LST) in the Galle Municipal Council area (GMCA), Sri Lanka. The same was achieved by employing the multi-temporal satellite data and geo-spatial techniques between [...] Read more.
This study investigated the spatiotemporal changes of land use land cover (LULC) and its impact on land surface temperature (LST) in the Galle Municipal Council area (GMCA), Sri Lanka. The same was achieved by employing the multi-temporal satellite data and geo-spatial techniques between 1996 and 2019. The post-classification change detection technique was employed to determine the temporal changes of LULC, and its results were utilized to assess the LST variation over the LULC changes. The results revealed that the area had undergone a drastic LULC transformation. It experienced 38% increase in the built-up area, while vegetation and non-built-up area declined by 26% and 12%, respectively. Rapid urban growth has had a significant effect on the LST, and the built-up area had the highest mean LST of 22.7 °C, 23.2 °C, and 26.3 °C for 1996, 2009, and 2019, correspondingly. The mean LST of the GMCA was 19.2 °C in 1996, 20.1 °C in 2009, and 22.4 °C in 2019. The land area with a temperature above 24 °C increased by 9% and 12% in 2009 and 2019, respectively. The highest LST variation (5.5 °C) was observed from newly added built-up area, which was also transferred from vegetation land. Meanwhile, the lowest mean LST difference was observed from newly added vegetation land. The results show that the mean annual LST increased by 3.2 °C in the last 22 years in GMCA. This study identified significant challenges for urban planners and respective administrative bodies to mitigate and control the negative effect of LST for the long livability of Galle City. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Landscape and Climate Change)
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15 pages, 3105 KiB  
Article
Joint Modeling of Severe Dust Storm Events in Arid and Hyper Arid Regions Based on Copula Theory: A Case Study in the Yazd Province, Iran
by Tayyebeh Mesbahzadeh, Maryam Mirakbari, Mohsen Mohseni Saravi, Farshad Soleimani Sardoo and Nir Y. Krakauer
Climate 2020, 8(5), 64; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli8050064 - 13 May 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3102
Abstract
Natural disasters such as dust storms are random phenomena created by complicated mechanisms involving many parameters. In this study, we used copula theory for bivariate modeling of dust storms. Copula theory is a suitable method for multivariate modeling of natural disasters. We identified [...] Read more.
Natural disasters such as dust storms are random phenomena created by complicated mechanisms involving many parameters. In this study, we used copula theory for bivariate modeling of dust storms. Copula theory is a suitable method for multivariate modeling of natural disasters. We identified 40 severe dust storms, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization, during 1982–2017 in Yazd province, central Iran. We used parameters at two spatial vertical levels (near-surface and upper atmosphere) that included surface maximum wind speed, and geopotential height and vertical velocity at 500, 850, and 1000 hPa. We compared two bivariate models based on the pairs of maximum wind speed–geopotential height and maximum wind speed–vertical velocity. We determined the bivariate return period using Student t and Gaussian copulas, which were considered as the most suitable functions for these variables. The results obtained for maximum wind speed–geopotential height indicated that the maximum return period was consistent with the observed frequency of severe dust storms. The bivariate modeling of dust storms based on maximum wind speed and geopotential height better described the conditions of severe dust storms than modeling based on maximum wind speed and vertical velocity. The finding of this study can be useful to improve risk management and mitigate the impacts of severe dust storms. Full article
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6 pages, 198 KiB  
Editorial
Disconnect within Agriculture and Ecosystem Climate Effects, Adaptations and Policy
by Anastasia W. Thayer, Aurora M Vargas, Thomas E. Lacher and Bruce A. McCarl
Climate 2020, 8(5), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli8050063 - 13 May 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2899
Abstract
Frequently, agriculture and ecosystems (AE) are seen as separate entities, causing entity specific solutions in response to threats [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change in Complex Systems: Effects, Adaptations, and Policy Considerations for Agriculture and Ecosystems)
23 pages, 9366 KiB  
Article
Robustness of the Link between Precipitation in North Africa and Standard Modes of Atmospheric Variability during the Last Millennium
by Arab Djebbar, Hugues Goosse and François Klein
Climate 2020, 8(5), 62; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli8050062 - 6 May 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4900
Abstract
Drought is a recurring phenomenon in North Africa, and extended dry periods can have a serious impact on economic and social structures, as well as the natural environment. Consequently, understanding the mechanisms that underlie precipitation variability in the region is a key driver [...] Read more.
Drought is a recurring phenomenon in North Africa, and extended dry periods can have a serious impact on economic and social structures, as well as the natural environment. Consequently, understanding the mechanisms that underlie precipitation variability in the region is a key driver of sustainable economic growth in activities such as agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and transport. North Africa’s climate differs significantly between coastal and inland areas. The region has a Mediterranean climate along the coast, characterized by mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers with reasonable rainfall of around 400 to 600 mm per year. The link between winter precipitation variability in this region and atmospheric patterns is assessed here using several gridded datasets of observations and reanalysis as well as model simulations from the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) and the third phase of the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) covering the last millennium. Results show that the link between the zonal wind index at 850 hPa (U850) and winter precipitation is stronger and more robust over time than the link with some well-known modes of variability, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Mediterranean Oscillation (MO), and Western Mediterranean Oscillation (WeMO). U850 better explains the interannual changes in winter precipitation variability in North Africa for the past decades as well as the last millennium. Both winter precipitation and U850 simulated time series present significant decreasing trends, associated with drier conditions, starting in the 19th century. This is in agreement with the reconstructed and simulated Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), which shows a decreasing trend toward drying conditions in North Africa. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue From Local to Global Precipitation Dynamics and Climate Interaction)
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13 pages, 2999 KiB  
Article
Modeling of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Concentrations as a Function of Fossil-Fuel and Land-Use Change CO2 Emissions Coupled with Oceanic and Terrestrial Sequestration
by John P. O’Connor
Climate 2020, 8(5), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli8050061 - 2 May 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 11504
Abstract
In this work, a semi-empirical relationship of carbon dioxide emissions with atmospheric CO2 concentrations has been developed that is capable of closely replicating observations from 1751 to 2018. The analysis was completed using data from fossil-fuel-based and land-use change based CO2 [...] Read more.
In this work, a semi-empirical relationship of carbon dioxide emissions with atmospheric CO2 concentrations has been developed that is capable of closely replicating observations from 1751 to 2018. The analysis was completed using data from fossil-fuel-based and land-use change based CO2 emissions, both singly and together. Evaluation of emissions data from 1750 to 1890 yields a linear CO2 concentration component that may be attributed to the net flux from land-use changes combined with a rapidly varying component of the terrestrial sink. This linear component is then coupled across the full-time period with a CO2 concentration calculation using fossil-fuel combustion/cement production emissions with a single, fixed fossil-fuel combustion airborne fraction [AFFF] value that is determined by the ocean sink coupled with the remaining slowly varying component of the land sink. The analysis of the data shows that AFFF has remained constant at 51.3% over the past 268 years. However, considering the broad range of variables including emission and sink processes influencing the climate, it may not be expected that a single value for AFFF would accurately reproduce the measured changes in CO2 concentrations during the industrial era. Full article
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2 pages, 176 KiB  
Editorial
Editorial for the Special Issue “Sustainable Agriculture for Climate Change Adaptation”
by Kathy Lewis and Douglas Warner
Climate 2020, 8(5), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli8050060 - 29 Apr 2020
Viewed by 2529
Abstract
As we lie firmly entrenched within what many have termed the Anthropocene, the time of humans, human influence on the functioning of the planet has never been greater or in greater need of mitigation [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Agriculture for Climate Change Adaptation)
3 pages, 181 KiB  
Editorial
Preface: Climate Change Impact on Plant Ecology
by Marcello Vitale and Alessio Collalti
Climate 2020, 8(5), 59; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli8050059 - 25 Apr 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3247
Abstract
Climate change likely represents the major modifying agents of functional and structural processes in terrestrial and marine ecosystems [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change Impact on Plant Ecology)
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