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Trends of regional precipitation and their control mechanisms during 1979–2013

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Abstract

Trends in precipitation are critical to water resources. Considerable uncertainty remains concerning the trends of regional precipitation in response to global warming and their controlling mechanisms. Here, we use an interannual difference method to derive trends of regional precipitation from GPCP (Global Precipitation Climatology Project) data and MERRA (Modern- Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications) reanalysis in the near-global domain of 60°S–60°N during a major global warming period of 1979–2013. We find that trends of regional annual precipitation are primarily driven by changes in the top 30% heavy precipitation events, which in turn are controlled by changes in precipitable water in response to global warming, i.e., by thermodynamic processes. Significant drying trends are found in most parts of the U.S. and eastern Canada, the Middle East, and eastern South America, while significant increases in precipitation occur in northern Australia, southern Africa, western India and western China. In addition, as the climate warms there are extensive enhancements and expansions of the three major tropical precipitation centers–the Maritime Continent, Central America, and tropical Africa–leading to the observed widening of Hadley cells and a significant strengthening of the global hydrological cycle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Run Liu, Jun Li & Yuanhang Zhang

  2. Research Center for Environmental Changes, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, China

    Shaw Chen Liu & Chein-Jung Shiu

  3. Department of Atmospheric Science, NCU, Jhongli, 32001, China

    Shaw Chen Liu

Authors
  1. Run Liu
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  2. Shaw Chen Liu
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  3. Chein-Jung Shiu
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  4. Jun Li
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  5. Yuanhang Zhang
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Correspondence to Shaw Chen Liu.

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Liu, R., Liu, S.C., Shiu, CJ. et al. Trends of regional precipitation and their control mechanisms during 1979–2013. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 33, 164–174 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-015-5117-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-015-5117-4

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