Constraining decadal climate predictions with seasonal forecasts: a step toward seamless multi-year climate information

The increasing demand for climate information that spans seasonal to multi-annual time scales poses a challenge for current prediction systems, which are traditionally designed for specific forecast horizons. This study addresses this gap by proposing a new method to generate seamless climate inform...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Solaraju Murali, Balakrishnan|||0000-0003-0013-3295, Torralba, Verónica|||0000-0002-8941-1548, Delgado Torres, Carlos, Donat, Markus|||0000-0002-0608-7288, Cos, Pep, González Reviriego, Nube, Soret, Albert|||0000-0002-1962-2972, Doblas-Reyes, Francisco|||0000-0002-6622-4280
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/440577
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/440577
https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adfd73
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Decadal climate predictions
Seasonal forecasts
El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
Interannual climate variability
Climate services
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria agroalimentària::Ciències de la terra i de la vida::Climatologia i meteorologia
Descripción
Sumario:The increasing demand for climate information that spans seasonal to multi-annual time scales poses a challenge for current prediction systems, which are traditionally designed for specific forecast horizons. This study addresses this gap by proposing a new method to generate seamless climate information from seasonal to decadal time scales. We develop a constraining approach based on ensemble member selection, in which decadal prediction members are selected to match the seasonal forecast ensemble mean of sea surface temperature (SST). The method leverages the higher skill of seasonal predictions in capturing interannual climate variability, particularly El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), to constrain decadal forecasts using the most recent climate information. Results show that the method to constrain decadal predictions improves the forecast skill over the Niño3.4 region up to 12 months and enhances the near-surface temperature predictions over broad parts of the globe, with modest improvements in precipitation. This work highlights the practical potential of combining seasonal and decadal prediction systems and offers a first step toward operational, seamless climate services across monthly to multi-year timescales.