Polar lows over the Nordic seas: Improved representation in ERA-interim compared to ERA-40 and the impact on downscaled simulations
International audience Polar lows are intense high-latitude mesocyclones that form during the cold season over open sea. Their relatively small-scale and short life span lead to a rather poor representation in model outputs and meteorological reanalyses. In this paper, the ability of the Interim Eur...
Published in: | Monthly Weather Review |
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Main Authors: | , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
HAL CCSD
2014
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-01087286 https://hal.science/hal-01087286/document https://hal.science/hal-01087286/file/%5B15200493%20-%20Monthly%20Weather%20Review%5D%20Polar%20Lows%20over%20the%20Nordic%20Seas%20Improved%20Representation%20in%20ERA-Interim%20Compared%20to%20ERA-40%20and%20the%20Impact%20on%20Downscaled%20Simulations.pdf https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-13-00171.1 |
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ftutoulouse3hal:oai:HAL:hal-01087286v1 |
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record_format |
openpolar |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier: HAL-UPS |
op_collection_id |
ftutoulouse3hal |
language |
English |
topic |
[SDU.STU.ME]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Meteorology |
spellingShingle |
[SDU.STU.ME]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Meteorology Laffineur, Thibaud Claud, Chantal Chaboureau, Jean-Pierre Noer, G. Polar lows over the Nordic seas: Improved representation in ERA-interim compared to ERA-40 and the impact on downscaled simulations |
topic_facet |
[SDU.STU.ME]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Meteorology |
description |
International audience Polar lows are intense high-latitude mesocyclones that form during the cold season over open sea. Their relatively small-scale and short life span lead to a rather poor representation in model outputs and meteorological reanalyses. In this paper, the ability of the Interim European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) to represent polar lows over the Norwegian and Barents Sea is assessed, and a comparison with the 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) is provided for three cold seasons (1999-2000 until 2001-02). A better representation in ERA-Interim is found, with 13 systems captured out of the 29 observed, against 6 in the case of ERA-40. Reasons for the lack of representation are identified. Unexpectedly, the representation of different polar low sizes does not appear to be linked to the resolution. Rather, it is the representation of synoptic conditions that appears to be essential. In a second part, a downscaling is conducted using the mesoscale model Méso-NH. For each observed polar low, a pair of simulations is performed: one initialized by ERA-Interim and the other one by ERA-40. An improvement is noted with 22 polar lows represented when ERA-Interim is used. Through a model-to-satellite approach, it is shown that even if polar lows are simulated, convective processes remain insufficiently represented. Wind speeds, which were underestimated in reanalyses, are nevertheless more realistic in the Méso-NH simulations. These results are supported by a spectral analysis of reanalyses and Méso-NH fields. © 2014 American Meteorological Society. |
author2 |
Ecole Nationale de la Météorologie (ENM) Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Météo-France Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD) Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) Laboratoire d'aérologie (LAERO) Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Norwegian Meteorological Institute Oslo (MET) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Laffineur, Thibaud Claud, Chantal Chaboureau, Jean-Pierre Noer, G. |
author_facet |
Laffineur, Thibaud Claud, Chantal Chaboureau, Jean-Pierre Noer, G. |
author_sort |
Laffineur, Thibaud |
title |
Polar lows over the Nordic seas: Improved representation in ERA-interim compared to ERA-40 and the impact on downscaled simulations |
title_short |
Polar lows over the Nordic seas: Improved representation in ERA-interim compared to ERA-40 and the impact on downscaled simulations |
title_full |
Polar lows over the Nordic seas: Improved representation in ERA-interim compared to ERA-40 and the impact on downscaled simulations |
title_fullStr |
Polar lows over the Nordic seas: Improved representation in ERA-interim compared to ERA-40 and the impact on downscaled simulations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Polar lows over the Nordic seas: Improved representation in ERA-interim compared to ERA-40 and the impact on downscaled simulations |
title_sort |
polar lows over the nordic seas: improved representation in era-interim compared to era-40 and the impact on downscaled simulations |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-01087286 https://hal.science/hal-01087286/document https://hal.science/hal-01087286/file/%5B15200493%20-%20Monthly%20Weather%20Review%5D%20Polar%20Lows%20over%20the%20Nordic%20Seas%20Improved%20Representation%20in%20ERA-Interim%20Compared%20to%20ERA-40%20and%20the%20Impact%20on%20Downscaled%20Simulations.pdf https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-13-00171.1 |
genre |
Barents Sea Nordic Seas |
genre_facet |
Barents Sea Nordic Seas |
op_source |
ISSN: 0027-0644 EISSN: 1520-0493 Monthly Weather Review https://hal.science/hal-01087286 Monthly Weather Review, 2014, 142 (6), pp.2271-2289. ⟨10.1175/MWR-D-13-00171.1⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1175/MWR-D-13-00171.1 hal-01087286 https://hal.science/hal-01087286 https://hal.science/hal-01087286/document https://hal.science/hal-01087286/file/%5B15200493%20-%20Monthly%20Weather%20Review%5D%20Polar%20Lows%20over%20the%20Nordic%20Seas%20Improved%20Representation%20in%20ERA-Interim%20Compared%20to%20ERA-40%20and%20the%20Impact%20on%20Downscaled%20Simulations.pdf doi:10.1175/MWR-D-13-00171.1 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-13-00171.1 |
container_title |
Monthly Weather Review |
container_volume |
142 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
2271 |
op_container_end_page |
2289 |
_version_ |
1799477576472723456 |
spelling |
ftutoulouse3hal:oai:HAL:hal-01087286v1 2024-05-19T07:38:10+00:00 Polar lows over the Nordic seas: Improved representation in ERA-interim compared to ERA-40 and the impact on downscaled simulations Laffineur, Thibaud Claud, Chantal Chaboureau, Jean-Pierre Noer, G. Ecole Nationale de la Météorologie (ENM) Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Météo-France Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD) Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) Laboratoire d'aérologie (LAERO) Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Norwegian Meteorological Institute Oslo (MET) 2014 https://hal.science/hal-01087286 https://hal.science/hal-01087286/document https://hal.science/hal-01087286/file/%5B15200493%20-%20Monthly%20Weather%20Review%5D%20Polar%20Lows%20over%20the%20Nordic%20Seas%20Improved%20Representation%20in%20ERA-Interim%20Compared%20to%20ERA-40%20and%20the%20Impact%20on%20Downscaled%20Simulations.pdf https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-13-00171.1 en eng HAL CCSD American Meteorological Society info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1175/MWR-D-13-00171.1 hal-01087286 https://hal.science/hal-01087286 https://hal.science/hal-01087286/document https://hal.science/hal-01087286/file/%5B15200493%20-%20Monthly%20Weather%20Review%5D%20Polar%20Lows%20over%20the%20Nordic%20Seas%20Improved%20Representation%20in%20ERA-Interim%20Compared%20to%20ERA-40%20and%20the%20Impact%20on%20Downscaled%20Simulations.pdf doi:10.1175/MWR-D-13-00171.1 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess ISSN: 0027-0644 EISSN: 1520-0493 Monthly Weather Review https://hal.science/hal-01087286 Monthly Weather Review, 2014, 142 (6), pp.2271-2289. ⟨10.1175/MWR-D-13-00171.1⟩ [SDU.STU.ME]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Meteorology info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2014 ftutoulouse3hal https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-13-00171.1 2024-04-25T01:02:02Z International audience Polar lows are intense high-latitude mesocyclones that form during the cold season over open sea. Their relatively small-scale and short life span lead to a rather poor representation in model outputs and meteorological reanalyses. In this paper, the ability of the Interim European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) to represent polar lows over the Norwegian and Barents Sea is assessed, and a comparison with the 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) is provided for three cold seasons (1999-2000 until 2001-02). A better representation in ERA-Interim is found, with 13 systems captured out of the 29 observed, against 6 in the case of ERA-40. Reasons for the lack of representation are identified. Unexpectedly, the representation of different polar low sizes does not appear to be linked to the resolution. Rather, it is the representation of synoptic conditions that appears to be essential. In a second part, a downscaling is conducted using the mesoscale model Méso-NH. For each observed polar low, a pair of simulations is performed: one initialized by ERA-Interim and the other one by ERA-40. An improvement is noted with 22 polar lows represented when ERA-Interim is used. Through a model-to-satellite approach, it is shown that even if polar lows are simulated, convective processes remain insufficiently represented. Wind speeds, which were underestimated in reanalyses, are nevertheless more realistic in the Méso-NH simulations. These results are supported by a spectral analysis of reanalyses and Méso-NH fields. © 2014 American Meteorological Society. Article in Journal/Newspaper Barents Sea Nordic Seas Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier: HAL-UPS Monthly Weather Review 142 6 2271 2289 |