Azorín Molina, César

Azorín Molina, César

 
Visor de contenido

Research

 

► Postdoctoral Fellowship Juan de la Cierva

 

    

 

My principal research line has been aimed at analyzing wind circulations from local (sea breezes) to synoptic-scales (regional wind speed trends) and their socioeconomic and environmental implications for (i) air quality applications, (ii) weather forecasting of sea breeze-initiated thunderstorms, and particularly for (iii) evaporation, water resources and droughts. While most climate change and variability research has traditionally focused on air temperature and precipitation, only over the last 20-years have wind speed been researched.

 

My current research line is devoted to study the unexpected widespread decline in wind speed (termed “global stilling”) reported across much of the globe and its implications for hydro-climatic processes. The precise cause of the “global stilling” is currently unresolved and has been hypothetically attributed to several factors such as an increasing of surface roughness and a weakening of atmospheric circulation. The innovative research line is aimed at reducing the constraint of wind data availability (i.e., starting in the 1960s; ~50-years), and improving our knowledge on the causes controlling the “global stilling” in a climate change scenario. To achieve this, my future research seeks to rescue the longest and highest quality wind speed series across the globe and create the first worldwide long-term homogenised wind speed dataset, providing a unique opportunity to examine wind speed trends and cycles on hemispheric scales and longer time periods (i.e., starting in the 1880s; ~130-years) than previous studies. This outstanding challenge is of great scientific, socioeconomic, and environmental interest because the interdisciplinary nature of the research topic based on the implications of a hypothetical future weakening of wind speed in many fields, but especially in wind energy, agriculture and environmental hydrology to advance climate change adaptation for e.g. European policy-makers.

 

Activity key words: Climatology; Climate Change and Variability; Sea breezes; Sea breeze-initiated thunderstorms; Wind Speed Trends; Implications for Environmental Hydrology

 

 

Publications

 

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., McVICAR, T.R., REVUELTO, J., JEREZ, S., LOPEZ-MORENO, J.I., 2015: Assessing the impact of measurement time interval of wind speed on the stilling phenomenon. Climatic Change. Under review.

  • MORÁN-TEJADA, E., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., AGUILAR, E., BAZO, J., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., SÁNCHEZ-LORENO, A., MARTÍNEZ, R., NIETO, J.J., and VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M. 2015: Climate trends and variability in Ecuador (1966–2011). Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres. Under review.

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., CABELLO, D., TOMÁS-BURGUERA, M., MARTÍN-HERNÁNDEZ, N., BEGUERÍA, S., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., El KENAWY, A., 2015: Drought Variability and land degradation in semi-arid regions: assessment using remote sensing data and drought indices (1982-2011). Remote Sensing of Land Degradation in Drylands, Under review.

  • LOPEZ-MORENO, J.I., MORÁN-TEJEDA, E., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., BAZO, J., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., REVUELTO, J., SÁNCHEZ-LORENZO, A., NAVARRO-SERRANO, F., AGUILAR, E., and CHURA, O., 2015: Recent temperature variability and change in the Altiplano of Bolivia and Peru. International Journal of Climatology. Under review.

  • REVUELTO, J., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., and VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., 2015: Canopy influence on snow depth distribution in a pine stand determined from terrestrial laser data. Water Resources Research. Under review.

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., GARCÍA-HERRERA, R., BARRIOPEDRO, D., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., GIMENO, L., NIETO, R. 2015: The Westerly Index as complementary indicator of the North Atlantic Oscillation in explaining drought variability across Europe. Climate Dynamics, Under review.

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., SANCHEZ-LORENZO, A., McVICAR, T.R., MORÁN-TEJEDA, E., REVUELTO, J., EL KENAWY, A., MARTÍN-HERNÁNDEZ, N., and TOMAS-BURGUERA, M., 2015: Atmospheric evaporative demand observations, estimates and driving factors in Spain (1961-2011). Journal of Hydrology, In press.

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., EL KENAWY, A., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., CHURA, O, TRUJILLO, F., AGUILAR, E., HERNÁNDEZ-MARTÍN, N., LOPEZ-MORENO, SÁNCHEZ-LORENZO, A., MORAN-TEJEDA, E., YCAZA, P., FRIEND, F., 2015: Long-term high spatial resolution monthly and annual climate maps for Bolivia. Journal of Maps. In press.

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., VAN DER SCHRIER, G., BEGUERIA, S., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., 2015: Contribution of precipitation and reference evapotranspiration to drought indices under different climates. Journal of Hydrology. In press.

  • BUISAN, S. T., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., and JIMENEZ, Y., 2015: Impact of two different sized Stevenson screens on temperature measurements in Calamocha (Spain). International Journal of Climatology. In press.

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., SANCHEZ-LORENZO, A., REVUELTO, J., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., and ESPEJO, F., 2014: Sensitivity of reference evapotranspiration to changes in meteorological parameters in Spain (1961-2011). Water Resources Research 50 (11), 8458-8480. doi: 10.1002/2014WR015427

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., CHURA, O., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., SANCHEZ-LORENZO, A., AGUILAR, E., MORAN-TEJEDA, E., TRUJILLO, F., MARTÍNEZ, R., NIETO, J.J., 2014: Spatio-temporal variability of droughts in Bolivia: 1955-2012. International Journal of Climatology. In press. doi: 10.1002/joc.4190.

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., TIJM, S., EBERT, E.E., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.-M., and ESTRELA-NAVARRO, M.J., 2014: High resolution HIRLAM simulations of the role of low-level sea breeze convergence in initiating deep moist convection in the eastern Iberian Peninsula. Boundary-Layer Meteorology 154 (1), 81-100. doi: 10.1007/s10546-014-9961-z

  • SANCHEZ-LORENZO, A., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., WILD, M., CALBO, J., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., PEÑUELAS, J., 2014: Evaporation trends in Spain: A comparison of Class A pan and Piché atmometer measurements. Climate Research, 61, 269-280. doi: 10.3354/cr01255.

  • LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., REVUELTO, J., FASSNACHT, S.R., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.-M., SEXSTONE, G., MORAN-TEJEDA, E., 2014: Snowpack variability across various spatio-temporal resolutions. Hydrological Processes, In press, doi: 10.1002/hyp.10245.

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., SANCHEZ-LORENZO, A., REVUELTO, J., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., GONZALEZ-HIDALGO, J.C., and ESPEJO, F., 2013: Reference evapotranspiration variability and trends in Spain, 1961-2011. Global and Planetary Change, 121, 26-40.

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., CHEN, D., CONNELL, B.H., DOMÍNGUEZ-DURÁN, M.A., REVUELTO, J., and LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., 2014: AVHRR warm-season cloud climatologies under various synoptic regimes across the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. International Journal of Climatology, In press. doi: 10.1002/joc.4102

  • REVUELTO, J., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., and VICENTE-SERRANO, S.-M., 2014: Topographic control of snowpack distribution in a small catchment in the central Spanish Pyrenees: intra- and inter-annual persistence. The Cryosphere, 8, 1989-2006.

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., CAMARERO MARTINEZ, J.J.,AZORIN-MOLINA, C., 2014: Global diversity in the responses of forest growth to drought time-scales. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 23, 1019-1030. doi: 10.1111/geb.12183.

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., McVICAR, T.R., JEREZ, S., SANCHEZ-LORENZO, A., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., REVUELTO, J., TRIGO, R. M., LOPEZ-BUSTINS, J.A., and ESPÍRITO SANTO, F., 2014: Homogenization and assessment of observed near-surface wind speed trends over Spain and Portugal, 1961-2011. Journal of Climate 27 (10), 3692-3712.

  • SANCHEZ-ROMERO, A., SANCHEZ-LORENZO, A., CALBÓ, J., GONZÁLEZ, J.A., and AZORIN-MOLINA, C., 2014: The signal of aerosol-induced changes in sunshine duration records: A review of the evidence. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 119, doi:10.1002/2013JD021393

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., BEGUERIA, S., LORENZO-LACRUZ, J., SANCHEZ-LORENZO, A., GARCIA-RUIZ, J.M., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., MORAN-TEJEDA, E., REVUELTO, J., TRIGO, R. M., COELHO, F. and ESPEJO, F., 2014: Evidence of increasing drought severity caused by temperature rise in southern Europe. Environmental Research Letters 9, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/9/4/044001

  • REVUELTO, J., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., ZABALZA, J., ARGUEDAS, G., and VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., 2014: Mapping the annual evolution of snow depth in a small catchment in the Pyrenees using the long-range terrestrial laser scanner technique. Journal of Maps, 10, 379-393. doi: 10.1080/17445647.2013.869268+

  • LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., ZABALZA, J., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., REVUELTO, J., GILABERTE, M., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., MORAN-TEJEDA, E., GARCÍA-RUIZ, J.M., and TAGUE, C., 2013: Impact of climate and land use change on water availability and reservoir management: scenarios in the upper Aragon river, Spanish Pyrenees. Science of the Total Environment, 493, 1222-1231.

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., TIJM, S., EBERT, E.E., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.-M., and ESTRELA-NAVARRO, M.J., 2014: Sea breeze thunderstorms in the eastern Iberian Peninsula. Neighborhood verification of HIRLAM and HARMONIE precipitation forecasts. Atmospheric Research, 139, 101-115 doi: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2014.01.010

  • LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., FONTANEDA, S., BAZO, J., REVUELTO, J., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., VALERO-GARCÉS, B., MORÁN-TEJEDA, E., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., ZUBIETA, R., and ALEJO-COCHACHÍN, J., 2014: Recent glaciar retreat and climate trends in Cordillera Huaytapallana, Peru. Global and Planetary Change, 112(1), 1-11.

  • SANCHEZ-LORENZO, A., CALBÓ, J., WILD, M., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., and SANCHEZ-ROMERO, A., 2013: New insight into the history of the Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder. Weather, 68 (12), 327-331.

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.-M., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., SANCHEZ-LORENZO, A., MORÁN-TEJEDA, E., LORENZO-LACRUZ, J., REVUELTO, J., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., and ESPEJO, F., 2014: Temporal evolution of surface humidity in Spain: recent trends and possible physical mechanisms. Climate Dynamics, 42, 2655-2674. doi: 10.1007/s00382-013-1885-7

  • SANCHEZ-LORENZO, A., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., WILD, M., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., and CORELL-CUSTARDOY, D., 2013: Feasibility of sunshine duration records to detect changes in atmospheric turbidity: a case study in Valencia (Spain). Radiation Processes in the atmosphere and ocean (IRS 2012): Proceedings of the International Radiation Symposium (IRC/IAMAS), AIP Conf. Proc. 1531, 736-739. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4804875

  • LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., EL-KENAWY, A., REVUELTO, J., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., MORÁN-TEJEDA, E., LORENZO-LACRUZ, J., ZABALZA, J., and VICENTE-SERRANO, S.M., 2013: Observed trends and future projections for winter warm events in the Ebro basin, Northeast Iberian Peninsula. International Journal of Climatology, 34, 49-60. doi: 10.1002/joc.3665.

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.-M., GOUVEIA, C., CAMARERO, J.J., BEGUERÍA, S., TRIGO, R. M., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., PASHO, E., LORENZO-LACRUZ, J., REVUELTO, J., MORÁN-TEJEDA, E., and SANCHEZ-LORENZO, A., 2013: Response of vegetation to drought time-scales across global land biomes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110, 52-57. doi10.1073/pnas.1207068110

  • LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.-M., ZABALZA, J., BEGUERÍA, S., LORENZO-LACRUZ, J., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., and MORÁN-TEJEDA, E., 2013: Hydrological response to climate variability at different time scales: A study in the Ebro basin. Journal of Hydrology, 477 (16), 175-188. doi : 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.11.028

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.-M., BEGUERÍA, S., LORENZO-LACRUZ, J., CAMARERO, J.J., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., REVUELTO, J., and MORÁN-TEJEDA, E., 2012: Performance of drought indices for ecological, agricultural and hydrological applications. Earth Interactions, 16, 1-27. doi: 10.1175/2012EI000434.1

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., BAENA-CALATRAVA, R., ECHAVE-CALVO, I., CONNELL, B., VICENTE-SERRANO, S.-M., and LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., 2012: A daytime over land algorithm for computing convective cloud climatologies over the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands. International Journal of Climatology, 33, 2113-2128. doi:10.1002/joc.3572

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., 2012: Timelapse of an isolated sea breeze thunderstorm. Weather, 67(6), 165-165. doi: 10.1002/wea.1916

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.-M., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., BEGUERÍA, S., LORENZO-LACRUZ, J., AZORIN-MOLINA, C., and MORÁN-TEJEDA, E., 2012: An accurate calculation of a streamflow drought index. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 17, 318-332. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0000433

  • VICENTE-SERRANO, S.-M., LÓPEZ-MORENO, J.I., GIMENO, L., NIETO, R., MORÁN-TEJEDA, E., LORENZO-LACRUZ, J., BEGUERÍA, S., and AZORIN-MOLINA, C., 2011: A multi-scalar global evaluation of the impact of ENSO on droughts. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmosphere, 116 (D20). doi: 10.1029/2011JD016039.

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., TIJM, S., and CHEN, D., 2011: Development of selection algorithms and databases for sea breeze studies. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 106(3-4), 531-546. doi: 10.1007/s00704-011-0454-4

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., TIJM, S., CHEN, D., and BALDI, M., 2011: A multi-year study of sea breezes in a Mediterranean coastal site: Alicante (Spain). International Journal of Climatology, 31(3), 468-486. doi: 10.1002/joc.2064

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., CONNELL, B.H., and BAENA-CALATRAVA, R., 2009: Sea breeze convergence zones from AVHRR over the Iberian Mediterranean area and the Isle of Mallorca (Spain). Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 48 (10), 2069-2085. doi: 10.1175/2009JAMC2141.1

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., SANCHEZ-LORENZO, A., and CALBÓ, J., 2009: A climatological study of sea breeze clouds in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula (Alicante, Spain). Atmosfera, 22 (1), 33-49. doi: 10.1007/s00704-008-0028-2

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., and CHEN, D. 2008: A climatological study of the influence of synoptic-scale flows on sea breeze evolution in the Bay of Alicante (Spain). Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 96 (3-4), 249-260. doi: 10.1007/s00704-008-0028-2

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., and LOPEZ-BUSTINS, J.A. 2008: An automated sea breeze selection technique based on regional sea-level pressure difference: WeMOi. International Journal of Climatology, 28(12), 1681-1692. doi: 10.1002/joc.1663

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., and MARTIN-VIDE, J., 2007: Methodological approach to the study of the daily persistence of the sea breeze in Alicante (Spain). Atmosfera, 20(1), 57-81.

  • OLCINA-CANTOS, J., and AZORIN-MOLINA, C., 2006: Typologie des fronts de brise dans le Levant espagnol. Annales de Géographie, 652, 643-663.

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., and LOPEZ-BUSTINS, J.A., 2004: Catálogo sinóptico manual y causas atmosféricas de la precipitación en la provincia de Alicante. Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles, 38, 279-310.

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., 2004: The subtropical jet stream. Weather, 59(10), 292-292. doi: 10.1256/wea.112.04

  • OLCINA-CANTOS, J., and AZORIN-MOLINA, C., 2004: The meteorological importance of sea breezes in the Levant region of Spain. Weather, 59(10), 282-285. doi: 10.1256/wea.176.03

  • AZORIN-MOLINA, C., 2003: Clouds and their association with the weather of Villena, Spain. Weather, 58(2), 89-92. doi 10.1256/wea.54.02

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
     
     

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Current Projects

 

 

Two of the R&D&I projects that I have been involved lately:

 

  • Impactos hidrológicos del calentamiento global en España (HIDROCAES). Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. CGL2011-27574-C02-02. 2012-2014. PI: Dr. Sergio-M. Vicente-Serrano (IPE-CSIC).

  • Hidrología nival en el Pirineo Central español: variabilidad espacial, importancia hidrológica y su respuesta a la variabilidad y cambio climático (HIDRONIEVE). Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. CGL2011-27536. 2012-2014. PI: Dr. Juan-I. López-Moreno (IPE-CSIC).

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