Process-oriented assessment of RCA4 regional climate model projections over the Congo Basin under 1.5∘C and 2∘C global warming levels: influence of regional moisture fluxes

Alain T. Tamoffo; Wilfran Moufouma-Okia; Alessandro Dosio; Rachel James; Wilfried M. Pokam; Derbetini A. Vondou; Thierry C. Fotso-Nguemo; Guy Merlin Guenang; Pierre H. Kamsu-Tamo; Grigory Nikulin; Georges Noel Longandjo; Christopher J. Lennard; Jean Pierre Bell; Roland R. Takong; Andreas Haensler; Lucie A.Djiotang Tchotchou; Robert Nouayou

doi:10.1007/s00382-019-04751-y

Process-oriented assessment of RCA4 regional climate model projections over the Congo Basin under 1.5^∘C and 2^∘C global warming levels: influence of regional moisture fluxes

Alain T. Tamoffo^*, Wilfran Moufouma-Okia, Alessandro Dosio, Rachel James, Wilfried M. Pokam, Derbetini A. Vondou, Thierry C. Fotso-Nguemo, Guy Merlin Guenang, Pierre H. Kamsu-Tamo, Grigory Nikulin, Georges Noel Longandjo, Christopher J. Lennard, Jean Pierre Bell, Roland R. Takong, Andreas Haensler, Lucie A.Djiotang Tchotchou, Robert Nouayou

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

47 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Understanding the processes responsible for precipitation and its future change is important to develop plausible and sustainable climate change adaptation strategies, especially in regions with few available observed data like Congo Basin (CB). This paper investigates the atmospheric circulation processes associated with climate model biases in CB rainfall, and explores drivers of projected rainfall changes. Here we use an ensemble of simulations from the Swedish Regional Climate Model (RCM) RCA4, driven by eight General Circulation Models (GCMs) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), for the 1.5∘C and 2∘C global warming levels (GWLs), and under the representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5. RCA4 captures reasonably well the observed patterns of CB rainfall seasonality, but shows dry biases independent of seasons and large scale driving atmospheric conditions. While simulations mimic observed peaks in transition seasons (March–May and September–November), the rain-belt is misplaced southward (northward) in December–February (June–August), reducing the latitudinal extent of rainfall. Moreover, ERA-Interim reanalysis driven RCM simulation and RCM–GCM combinations show similar results, indicating the dominance of systematic biases. Modelled dry biases are associated with dry upper-tropospheric layers, resulting from a western outflow stronger than the eastern inflow and related to the northern component of African Easterly Jet. From the analysis of the climate change signal, we found that regional scale responses to anthropogenic forcings vary across GWLs and seasons. Changes of rainfall and moisture divergence are correlated, with values higher in March–May than in September–November, and larger for global warming of 2.0∘C than at 1.5∘C. There is an increase of zonal moisture divergence fluxes in upper atmospheric layers (>700hPa) under RCP8.5 compared to RCP4.5. Moreover, it is found that additional warming of 0.5∘C will change the hydrological cycle and water availability in the CB, with potential to cause challenges to water resource management, agriculture, hydro-power generation, sanitation and ecosystems.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1911-1935
Number of pages	25
Journal	Climate Dynamics
Volume	53
Issue number	3-4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-019-04751-y
Publication status	Published - 19 Apr 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The constructive comments and suggestions of the editor and two anonymous reviewers led to several key improvements of the first version of the manuscript. The first author wish to express their gratitude to very fruitful discussions with F. Guichard (CNRM). The authors would like to acknowledge support from the Swedish Government through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). This work is partially supported by the International Joint Laboratory’s research “Dynamics of Land Ecosystems in Central Africa: A Context of Global Changes” (IJL DYCOCA/LMI DYCOFAC). GNL acknowledges support by PREFACE project (EU FP7/2007-2013 under grant agreement no. 603521); National Research Foundation SARChI Chair in Ocean-Atmosphere-Land modelling and ACCESS project. We also acknowledge logistical support from the CORDEX International Project Office, the Swedish Meteorological Institute and the Climate System Analysis Group at the University of Cape Town. We are grateful to all the modeling groups that performed the simulations and made their data available.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Keywords

CMIP5
Congo Basin rainfall biases
Global warming levels
Moisture convergence
RCA4
RCPs

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Tamoffo, A. T., Moufouma-Okia, W., Dosio, A., James, R., Pokam, W. M., Vondou, D. A., Fotso-Nguemo, T. C., Guenang, G. M., Kamsu-Tamo, P. H., Nikulin, G., Longandjo, G. N., Lennard, C. J., Bell, J. P., Takong, R. R., Haensler, A., Tchotchou, L. A. D., & Nouayou, R. (2019). Process-oriented assessment of RCA4 regional climate model projections over the Congo Basin under 1.5^∘C and 2^∘C global warming levels: influence of regional moisture fluxes. Climate Dynamics, 53(3-4), 1911-1935. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-019-04751-y

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abstract = "Understanding the processes responsible for precipitation and its future change is important to develop plausible and sustainable climate change adaptation strategies, especially in regions with few available observed data like Congo Basin (CB). This paper investigates the atmospheric circulation processes associated with climate model biases in CB rainfall, and explores drivers of projected rainfall changes. Here we use an ensemble of simulations from the Swedish Regional Climate Model (RCM) RCA4, driven by eight General Circulation Models (GCMs) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), for the 1.5∘C and 2∘C global warming levels (GWLs), and under the representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5. RCA4 captures reasonably well the observed patterns of CB rainfall seasonality, but shows dry biases independent of seasons and large scale driving atmospheric conditions. While simulations mimic observed peaks in transition seasons (March–May and September–November), the rain-belt is misplaced southward (northward) in December–February (June–August), reducing the latitudinal extent of rainfall. Moreover, ERA-Interim reanalysis driven RCM simulation and RCM–GCM combinations show similar results, indicating the dominance of systematic biases. Modelled dry biases are associated with dry upper-tropospheric layers, resulting from a western outflow stronger than the eastern inflow and related to the northern component of African Easterly Jet. From the analysis of the climate change signal, we found that regional scale responses to anthropogenic forcings vary across GWLs and seasons. Changes of rainfall and moisture divergence are correlated, with values higher in March–May than in September–November, and larger for global warming of 2.0∘C than at 1.5∘C. There is an increase of zonal moisture divergence fluxes in upper atmospheric layers (>700hPa) under RCP8.5 compared to RCP4.5. Moreover, it is found that additional warming of 0.5∘C will change the hydrological cycle and water availability in the CB, with potential to cause challenges to water resource management, agriculture, hydro-power generation, sanitation and ecosystems.",

keywords = "CMIP5, Congo Basin rainfall biases, Global warming levels, Moisture convergence, RCA4, RCPs",

author = "Tamoffo, {Alain T.} and Wilfran Moufouma-Okia and Alessandro Dosio and Rachel James and Pokam, {Wilfried M.} and Vondou, {Derbetini A.} and Fotso-Nguemo, {Thierry C.} and Guenang, {Guy Merlin} and Kamsu-Tamo, {Pierre H.} and Grigory Nikulin and Longandjo, {Georges Noel} and Lennard, {Christopher J.} and Bell, {Jean Pierre} and Takong, {Roland R.} and Andreas Haensler and Tchotchou, {Lucie A.Djiotang} and Robert Nouayou",

note = "Funding Information: The constructive comments and suggestions of the editor and two anonymous reviewers led to several key improvements of the first version of the manuscript. The first author wish to express their gratitude to very fruitful discussions with F. Guichard (CNRM). The authors would like to acknowledge support from the Swedish Government through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). This work is partially supported by the International Joint Laboratory{\textquoteright}s research “Dynamics of Land Ecosystems in Central Africa: A Context of Global Changes” (IJL DYCOCA/LMI DYCOFAC). GNL acknowledges support by PREFACE project (EU FP7/2007-2013 under grant agreement no. 603521); National Research Foundation SARChI Chair in Ocean-Atmosphere-Land modelling and ACCESS project. We also acknowledge logistical support from the CORDEX International Project Office, the Swedish Meteorological Institute and the Climate System Analysis Group at the University of Cape Town. We are grateful to all the modeling groups that performed the simulations and made their data available. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.",

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doi = "10.1007/s00382-019-04751-y",

language = "English",

volume = "53",

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Tamoffo, AT, Moufouma-Okia, W, Dosio, A, James, R, Pokam, WM, Vondou, DA, Fotso-Nguemo, TC, Guenang, GM, Kamsu-Tamo, PH, Nikulin, G, Longandjo, GN, Lennard, CJ, Bell, JP, Takong, RR, Haensler, A, Tchotchou, LAD & Nouayou, R 2019, 'Process-oriented assessment of RCA4 regional climate model projections over the Congo Basin under 1.5^∘C and 2^∘C global warming levels: influence of regional moisture fluxes', Climate Dynamics, vol. 53, no. 3-4, pp. 1911-1935. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-019-04751-y

Process-oriented assessment of RCA4 regional climate model projections over the Congo Basin under 1.5^∘C and 2^∘C global warming levels: influence of regional moisture fluxes. / Tamoffo, Alain T.; Moufouma-Okia, Wilfran; Dosio, Alessandro et al.
In: Climate Dynamics, Vol. 53, No. 3-4, 19.04.2019, p. 1911-1935.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article (Academic Journal) › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Process-oriented assessment of RCA4 regional climate model projections over the Congo Basin under 1.5∘C and 2∘C global warming levels

T2 - influence of regional moisture fluxes

AU - Tamoffo, Alain T.

AU - Moufouma-Okia, Wilfran

AU - Dosio, Alessandro

AU - James, Rachel

AU - Pokam, Wilfried M.

AU - Vondou, Derbetini A.

AU - Fotso-Nguemo, Thierry C.

AU - Guenang, Guy Merlin

AU - Kamsu-Tamo, Pierre H.

AU - Nikulin, Grigory

AU - Longandjo, Georges Noel

AU - Lennard, Christopher J.

AU - Bell, Jean Pierre

AU - Takong, Roland R.

AU - Haensler, Andreas

AU - Tchotchou, Lucie A.Djiotang

AU - Nouayou, Robert

N1 - Funding Information: The constructive comments and suggestions of the editor and two anonymous reviewers led to several key improvements of the first version of the manuscript. The first author wish to express their gratitude to very fruitful discussions with F. Guichard (CNRM). The authors would like to acknowledge support from the Swedish Government through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). This work is partially supported by the International Joint Laboratory’s research “Dynamics of Land Ecosystems in Central Africa: A Context of Global Changes” (IJL DYCOCA/LMI DYCOFAC). GNL acknowledges support by PREFACE project (EU FP7/2007-2013 under grant agreement no. 603521); National Research Foundation SARChI Chair in Ocean-Atmosphere-Land modelling and ACCESS project. We also acknowledge logistical support from the CORDEX International Project Office, the Swedish Meteorological Institute and the Climate System Analysis Group at the University of Cape Town. We are grateful to all the modeling groups that performed the simulations and made their data available. Publisher Copyright: © 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

PY - 2019/4/19

Y1 - 2019/4/19

N2 - Understanding the processes responsible for precipitation and its future change is important to develop plausible and sustainable climate change adaptation strategies, especially in regions with few available observed data like Congo Basin (CB). This paper investigates the atmospheric circulation processes associated with climate model biases in CB rainfall, and explores drivers of projected rainfall changes. Here we use an ensemble of simulations from the Swedish Regional Climate Model (RCM) RCA4, driven by eight General Circulation Models (GCMs) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), for the 1.5∘C and 2∘C global warming levels (GWLs), and under the representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5. RCA4 captures reasonably well the observed patterns of CB rainfall seasonality, but shows dry biases independent of seasons and large scale driving atmospheric conditions. While simulations mimic observed peaks in transition seasons (March–May and September–November), the rain-belt is misplaced southward (northward) in December–February (June–August), reducing the latitudinal extent of rainfall. Moreover, ERA-Interim reanalysis driven RCM simulation and RCM–GCM combinations show similar results, indicating the dominance of systematic biases. Modelled dry biases are associated with dry upper-tropospheric layers, resulting from a western outflow stronger than the eastern inflow and related to the northern component of African Easterly Jet. From the analysis of the climate change signal, we found that regional scale responses to anthropogenic forcings vary across GWLs and seasons. Changes of rainfall and moisture divergence are correlated, with values higher in March–May than in September–November, and larger for global warming of 2.0∘C than at 1.5∘C. There is an increase of zonal moisture divergence fluxes in upper atmospheric layers (>700hPa) under RCP8.5 compared to RCP4.5. Moreover, it is found that additional warming of 0.5∘C will change the hydrological cycle and water availability in the CB, with potential to cause challenges to water resource management, agriculture, hydro-power generation, sanitation and ecosystems.

AB - Understanding the processes responsible for precipitation and its future change is important to develop plausible and sustainable climate change adaptation strategies, especially in regions with few available observed data like Congo Basin (CB). This paper investigates the atmospheric circulation processes associated with climate model biases in CB rainfall, and explores drivers of projected rainfall changes. Here we use an ensemble of simulations from the Swedish Regional Climate Model (RCM) RCA4, driven by eight General Circulation Models (GCMs) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), for the 1.5∘C and 2∘C global warming levels (GWLs), and under the representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5. RCA4 captures reasonably well the observed patterns of CB rainfall seasonality, but shows dry biases independent of seasons and large scale driving atmospheric conditions. While simulations mimic observed peaks in transition seasons (March–May and September–November), the rain-belt is misplaced southward (northward) in December–February (June–August), reducing the latitudinal extent of rainfall. Moreover, ERA-Interim reanalysis driven RCM simulation and RCM–GCM combinations show similar results, indicating the dominance of systematic biases. Modelled dry biases are associated with dry upper-tropospheric layers, resulting from a western outflow stronger than the eastern inflow and related to the northern component of African Easterly Jet. From the analysis of the climate change signal, we found that regional scale responses to anthropogenic forcings vary across GWLs and seasons. Changes of rainfall and moisture divergence are correlated, with values higher in March–May than in September–November, and larger for global warming of 2.0∘C than at 1.5∘C. There is an increase of zonal moisture divergence fluxes in upper atmospheric layers (>700hPa) under RCP8.5 compared to RCP4.5. Moreover, it is found that additional warming of 0.5∘C will change the hydrological cycle and water availability in the CB, with potential to cause challenges to water resource management, agriculture, hydro-power generation, sanitation and ecosystems.

KW - CMIP5

KW - Congo Basin rainfall biases

KW - Global warming levels

KW - Moisture convergence

KW - RCA4

KW - RCPs

UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-019-04751-y

U2 - 10.1007/s00382-019-04751-y

DO - 10.1007/s00382-019-04751-y

M3 - Article (Academic Journal)

SN - 0930-7575

VL - 53

SP - 1911

EP - 1935

JO - Climate Dynamics

JF - Climate Dynamics

IS - 3-4

ER -