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Independently assessing the representation of midlatitude cyclones in high‐resolution reanalyses using satellite observed winds
Author(s) -
Pepler Acacia S.,
Di Luca Alejandro,
Evans Jason P.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
international journal of climatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.58
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-0088
pISSN - 0899-8418
DOI - 10.1002/joc.5245
Subject(s) - middle latitudes , climatology , cyclone (programming language) , environmental science , extratropical cyclone , satellite , meteorology , scale (ratio) , tropical cyclone , latitude , cyclogenesis , geology , geography , computer science , geodesy , field programmable gate array , aerospace engineering , computer hardware , engineering , cartography
High‐resolution reanalyses offer the potential to improve our understanding of midlatitude cyclones, particularly smaller‐scale systems and those with complex structures. However, previous studies have demonstrated large variations in the frequency and characteristics of Australian midlatitude cyclones between reanalyses when using their native resolution. In this paper we use satellite observations of winds and rainfall in order to evaluate the ability of the ERA‐Interim, JRA55, MERRA and CFSR reanalyses to reproduce Australian east coast cyclones. The MERRA reanalysis produces a large number of erroneous small‐scale lows without cyclonic wind patterns using a simple pressure‐difference‐based cyclone identification and tracking method. Consequently, we recommend the ERA‐Interim reanalysis when using such methods, or applying more complex tracking methods that are able to compensate for these issues.