Hydroclimate in a Changing World: Recent Trends, Current Progress and Future Directions (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Climatology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 January 2025 | Viewed by 5464

Special Issue Editor

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, New York, NY 10960, USA
Interests: climate variability and climate change; hydroclimate variability and change; droughts and floods; high-resolution numerical weather prediction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global warming is imposing tremendous challenges upon human lives and other lives on Earth, and people are working hard to find the causes and ways to adapt. We had a successful Special Issue on this topic last year, entitled “Hydroclimate in a Changing World: Recent Trends, Current Progress and Future Directions” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/atmosphere/special_issues/hydroclimate_changing_world). However, more research results are waiting to be published, so we decided to run a second Special Issue on this topic. We sincerely welcome your contribution. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture. The consensus is that the moisture transport via atmospheric circulation strengthens and makes already wet areas of moisture convergence wetter and already dry areas of moisture divergence drier. Therefore, the tropics and mid- to high latitudes will become wetter and the subtropics will become drier. Without any change in the interannual variability of the hydroclimate, the change in the mean hydroclimate would increase drought risk in some places and flood risk in other places. However, global warming will cause the interannual variability of the hydroclimate to intensify, which will induce more droughts and floods. Furthermore, the changing atmospheric circulation interaction with the land surface may cause the changing of storm tracks, and may play an important role in shaping moisture redistribution.

This Special Issue serves as a convenient platform for the community to document and discuss the hydroclimate response of global warming. Topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Diagnoses and forecasts of recent and future hydroclimatic extremes;
  • Hydroclimate dynamics;
  • Hydroclimate variability;
  • Food and water security under a changing climate;
  • Drought and flood under a changing climate.

Your participation is highly appreciated.

Dr. Haibo Liu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forecast
  • climate variability
  • climate change
  • hydroclimate variability
  • droughts
  • floods
  • storms
  • storm track
  • precipitation
  • aridification

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

16 pages, 9352 KiB  
Article
SAL Method Applied in Grid Forecasting Product Verification with Three-Source Fusion Product
by Debin Su, Jinhua Zhong, Yunong Xu, Linghui Lv, Honglan Liu, Xingang Fan, Lin Han and Fuzeng Wang
Atmosphere 2024, 15(11), 1366; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15111366 - 13 Nov 2024
Viewed by 311
Abstract
Quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF) verification stands out as one of the most formidable endeavors in the realm of forecast verification. Traditional verification methods are not suitable for high-resolution forecasting products in some cases. Therefore, the SAL (structure, amplitude and location) method was proposed [...] Read more.
Quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF) verification stands out as one of the most formidable endeavors in the realm of forecast verification. Traditional verification methods are not suitable for high-resolution forecasting products in some cases. Therefore, the SAL (structure, amplitude and location) method was proposed as a method of object-based spatial verification that studies precipitation verification in a certain range, which is combined with factors including structure, amplitude and location of the targets. However, the setting of the precipitation threshold would affect the result of the verification. This paper presented an improved method for determining the precipitation threshold using the QPF from ECMWF, which is an ensemble forecast model and three-source fusion product that was used in China from 1 July to 31 August 2020, and then the results obtained with this method were compared with the other two traditional methods. Furthermore, the SAL and the traditional verification methods were carried out for geometric, simulated and real cases, respectively. The results showed the following: (1) The proposed method in this paper for determining the threshold was more accurate at identifying the precipitation objects. (2) The verification area size was critical for SAL calculation. If the area selected was too large, the calculated SAL value had little significance. (3) ME (Mean Error) could not identify the displacement between prediction and observation, while HSS (Heidke Skill Score) was sensitive to the displacement of the prediction field. (4) Compared with the traditional verification methods, the SAL method was more straight forward and simple, and it could give a better representation of prediction ability. Therefore, forecasters can better understand the model prediction effect and what needs to be improved. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 15144 KiB  
Article
Quantifying the Atmospheric Water Balance Closure over Mainland China Using Ground-Based, Satellite, and Reanalysis Datasets
by Linghao Zhou, Yunchang Cao, Chuang Shi, Hong Liang and Lei Fan
Atmosphere 2024, 15(4), 497; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15040497 - 18 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1241
Abstract
Quantifying the atmospheric water balance is critical for the study of hydrological processes in significant regions. This study quantified atmospheric water balance closure at 205 stations in mainland China on a monthly timescale from 2009 to 2018 using datasets from ground- and satellite-based [...] Read more.
Quantifying the atmospheric water balance is critical for the study of hydrological processes in significant regions. This study quantified atmospheric water balance closure at 205 stations in mainland China on a monthly timescale from 2009 to 2018 using datasets from ground- and satellite-based observations and reanalysis data. The closure performances were firstly quantified using the mean and root mean square (RMS) of the residuals, and the possible influencing factors were explored, as well as the influence of different water balance components (WBCs) using different datasets. In the closure experiment using ERA5, the mean and residuals were 6.26 and 12.39 mm/month, respectively, on average, which indicated a closure uncertainty of 12.8%. Using ERA5 analysis as a reference, the closure experiment using different combinations revealed average mean residuals of 8.73, 11.50, and 15.89 mm/month, indicating a precipitation closure uncertainty of 22.0, 23.7, and 24.4% for the ground- and satellite-based observations and reanalysis data, respectively. Two possible influencing factors, station latitude and the climatic zone in which the station is located, were shown to be related to closure performance. Finally, the analysis of the impact from different WBCs showed that precipitation tended to have the most significant impact, which may have been due to larger observation uncertainties. Generally, the atmospheric water balance in mainland China can be closed using datasets from different observational techniques. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 8377 KiB  
Article
Research on a Rainfall Prediction Model in Guizhou Based on Raindrop Spectra
by Fuzeng Wang, Xuejiao An, Qiusong Wang, Zixin Li, Lin Han and Debin Su
Atmosphere 2024, 15(4), 495; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15040495 - 17 Apr 2024
Viewed by 970
Abstract
Our study and analysis of the distribution differences in raindrop spectra in a Guizhou precipitation prediction model were of great significance for understanding precipitation microphysical processes and improving radar quantitative precipitation prediction. This article selected the Dafang, Majiang, and Luodian stations at different [...] Read more.
Our study and analysis of the distribution differences in raindrop spectra in a Guizhou precipitation prediction model were of great significance for understanding precipitation microphysical processes and improving radar quantitative precipitation prediction. This article selected the Dafang, Majiang, and Luodian stations at different altitudes in Guizhou and analyzed the distribution characteristics of precipitation particles at different altitudes. This article used precipitation data from the new-generation Doppler weather radar, OTT-Parsivel laser raindrop spectrometer, and automatic meteorological observation stations in Guiyang via M-P and GAMMA and established methods to fit the particle size of raindrop spectrum precipitation. Based on the LSTM neural network method, we constructed a precipitation prediction model for Guizhou and conducted performance testing. The results show that (1) the precipitation particles at the three stations are all concentrated in small particle size areas, with a peak value of 0.312 mm and a final falling velocity of 1–5 m/s, and the particle size increases with a decreasing altitude. The contribution rate to the density of particles with a precipitation particle size of less than 1 mm exceeds 80% and decreases with a decreasing altitude. The average volume diameter of precipitation particles has the highest correlation with the precipitation intensity. (2) In the fitting of the raindrop spectrum distribution, the GAMMA distribution fitted by the three stations has a better effect and the fitting effect gradually improves with an increasing altitude. (3) In precipitation prediction for convective clouds and stratiform clouds, the 60 min prediction results are the most consistent with the actual precipitation, with correlation coefficients of 0.9287 and 0.9257, respectively, indicating that the prediction has high reliability. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 11965 KiB  
Article
An Analysis of the Instability Conditions and Water Vapor Transport Characteristics during a Typical Rainstorm in the Tarim Basin
by Chen Jin, Qing He, Qian Huang and Ze Chen
Atmosphere 2024, 15(2), 210; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15020210 - 8 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1035
Abstract
In order to deepen the understanding of the occurrence mechanism and water vapor transport characteristics of the heavy rain process in the extreme arid region of Xinjiang, a rare heavy rain process in the Tarim Basin during the period of 18–22 July 2021 [...] Read more.
In order to deepen the understanding of the occurrence mechanism and water vapor transport characteristics of the heavy rain process in the extreme arid region of Xinjiang, a rare heavy rain process in the Tarim Basin during the period of 18–22 July 2021 was comprehensively analyzed by using multi-source data. The results show that the upper tropospheric South Asian high was distributed in a “west-high-east-low” pattern during the rainstorm process, and the rainstorm area was located on the right side of the upper jet stream entrance area, while the middle-level Iranian high pressure, Baikal high pressure and Central Asian low pressure formed a “two-highs and one-low” circulation situation. The coupling of the high and low air jets and the strong vertical upward motion provided favorable dynamic conditions. Rainstorm water vapor mainly comes from the Mediterranean Sea, Central Asia and the Indian Ocean, and it enters the basin in four paths: west, east to west, west to east, and southwest and south. The water vapor mainly flows into the middle layer of the western boundary and the southern boundary and the lower layer of the eastern boundary, and it flows out from the middle and upper layer of the eastern boundary. The negative moist potential vorticity region at a low level has a strong indicator significance for the occurrence and development of heavy rain, and the superposition of positive and negative moist potential vorticity regions at vertical height is conducive to the occurrence and development of heavy rain. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 3364 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Characteristics of Uneven Spatio-Temporal Distribution in Wujiang River Basin over the Last 60 Years
by Junchao Wang, Tao Peng, Yiheng Xiang, Zhiyuan Yin and Haixia Qi
Atmosphere 2023, 14(9), 1356; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14091356 - 29 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1119
Abstract
Exploring the characteristics of uneven temporal and spatial distribution of precipitation in mountain watersheds can provide a reference for regional agricultural development and resource utilization, and contribute to the protection of the ecological environment. Based on the daily precipitation observation data of 40 [...] Read more.
Exploring the characteristics of uneven temporal and spatial distribution of precipitation in mountain watersheds can provide a reference for regional agricultural development and resource utilization, and contribute to the protection of the ecological environment. Based on the daily precipitation observation data of 40 meteorological stations in the Wujiang River Basin from 1963 to 2021, the temporal- and spatial-variation characteristics of the precipitation concentration degree (PCD) and precipitation concentration period (PCP) were analyzed using the Randall S analysis method, Mann–Kendall test method, Pettitt method, wavelet analysis and empirical orthogonal function (EOF). The results showed that the fluctuation range of PCD in Wujiang River Basin from 1963 to 2021 was 0.34–0.59, with a multi-year average of 0.47, which was obviously higher than the national average level and is showing a trend of slowly increasing. The fluctuation range of PCP was between 17.1 and 21.5 days, with a multi-year average of 19.0. The annual precipitation was mostly concentrated around the middle of July and showed a slowly decreasing trend. The abrupt change in PCD and PCP occurred around 1983 and 2001, respectively. There is an obvious Hearst phenomenon in PCP. In the future, the trend of precipitation concentration in the middle period will remain in advance, and the degree of precipitation concentration will continue to increase. The maximum precipitation in the flood season will continue to be delayed. The spatial pattern of the first mode of PCD and PCP in the Wujiang River basin was consistent and showed an opposite pattern between the upper reaches and the middle-lower reaches of the basin, which reflects the influence of the topography of the basin on the spatial distribution of precipitation. The distribution of precipitation is affected by topography. The elevation change in the basin was complex, and the leeward slope varied a lot. Therefore, it has a significant impact on precipitation. Areas with less precipitation are at higher elevations and on mountain leeward slopes, with a lack of moist air flow. The area with more precipitation was the summer monsoon mountain windward slope, and the topography blocks the increase in precipitation. The elevation of the central region is relatively uniform and the terrain is flat. Therefore, the distribution of precipitation is more uniform. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop