Solar radiation is a critical variable in global change sciences. While most of the current global datasets provide only the total downward solar radiation, we aim to develop a method to estimate the downward global land surface solar radiation and its partitioned direct and diffuse components, which provide the necessary key meteorological inputs for most land surface models. We developed a si...

The stratospheric mean-meridional circulation (MMC) and eddy mixing are compared among six meteorological reanalysis data sets: NCEP-NCAR, NCEP-CFSR, ERA-40, ERA-Interim, JRA-25, and JRA-55 for the period 1979–2012. The reanalysis data sets produced using advanced systems (i.e., NCEP-CFSR, ERA-Interim, and JRA55) generally reveal a weaker MMC in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) compared with those ...

In this study a non-hydrostatic version of Penn State University (PSU) – National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) mesoscale model is used to simulate the super cyclonic storm that crossed Orissa coast on 29 October 1999. The model is integrated up to 123 h for producing 5-day forecast of the storm. Several important fields including sea level pressure, horizontal wind and rainfall are co...

[1] Changes in the frequency and intensity of the prevailing northeast and east trade winds from 1973-2009 are analyzed from four land stations in the Hawaiian Islands. A nonparametric robust trend analysis indicates a downward trend in northeast trade wind frequency since 1973. At the Honolulu International Airport, northeast trade wind days usually occurred 291 days per year 37 years ago are ...

We determined the weather type, according to the Jenkinson and Collison procedure, of the 22 646 days in the 1948-2009 period for the western Mediterranean basin. The analysis is based upon the surface pressure values of the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis, for a grid of nine points with extreme vertices at 45o N, 5o W and 35o N, 15o E, which provides a broad synoptic catalogue for this region. We analyze...

A global sea ice–ocean model is used to examine the impact of wind intensification on Antarctic sea ice volume. Based on the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data, there are increases in surface wind speed (0.13%yr) and convergence (0.66%yr) over the ice-covered areas of the SouthernOcean during the period 1979–2010. Driven by the intensifying winds, the model simulates an increase in sea ice speed, conver...

The homogeneity of the ECMWF 40-yr Re-Analysis (ERA-40) is assessed. This is done by comparing ERA40 data with results from the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis and also by investigating a known relationship between a modeled (latent heat flux) and an external (SST) quantity. The direct comparison between the two reanalyses reveals a lot of inhomogeneities. They occur mainly in the Southern Hemisphere and ...