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Contrasting Phase Changes of Precipitation Annual Cycle Between Land and Ocean Under Global Warming
Author(s) -
Song Fengfei,
Lu Jian,
Leung L. Ruby,
Liu Fukai
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2020gl090327
Subject(s) - precipitation , environmental science , climatology , amplitude , atmospheric sciences , annual cycle , water cycle , climate model , climate change , wet season , sea surface temperature , meteorology , geology , oceanography , geography , ecology , physics , cartography , quantum mechanics , biology
We report a land‐ocean contrast in the phase change of precipitation annual cycle in multimodel ensemble simulations as climate warms, with a robust delay over land (0–40°N/S) versus an advance (0–40°N/S) or no clear (0–25°N/S) phase changes over ocean. The robust delay over land is caused by the increased effective atmospheric heat capacity C A . Over ocean, the increased C A favors a phase delay, while the land‐ocean precipitation contrast during the peak rainy season favors a phase advance. The latter overwhelms the former and causes a seasonal advance over 0–40°N/S, while the two factors cancel out and result in no phase changes over 0–25°N/S. Under the atmospheric energetic constraint, the land‐ocean precipitation contrast in the peak rainy season is related to their opposite amplitude changes of surface temperature annual cycle: Seasonally different wind changes enhance the amplitude over ocean, while increased C A and surface cooling feedback reduce the amplitude over land.