中国冬季气温的集合典型相关分析和预报

以欧亚大陆地面温度、北半球500 hPa高度、热带印度洋SST(sea surface temperature)以及北太平洋SST为预报因子,通过典型相关分析(canonical correlation analysis,简称CCA)建立预报关系,然后用集合典型相关分析预报(ensemble canonical correlation prediction,简称ECC)方法预报中国冬季气温,并分析预报技巧及进行独立样本检验.结果表明,不同的预报因子对各个地区有不同的预报技巧,以欧亚大陆地面温度为预报因子预报技巧较高,而ECC模式对中国冬季气温有更好的预报能力,预报技巧高于任何一个单因子场的CCA预报;采用回归法的集合平均比简单的等权集合平均预报技巧更稳定.     

不同区域海温异常对中国夏季旱涝影响的诊断研究和预测试验

利用季降水异常的典型集合相关预测模式, 研究了前期和同期不同季节全球海表温度距平场与中国夏季旱涝的遥相关分布特征以及这种相关型随季节的变化, 揭示了全球海温的异常变化在中国夏季旱涝中的信号特征.研究表明, 全球不同区域海温对我国夏季降水的影响存在着明显的季节差异.全球特定的海温分布可以作为中国夏季旱涝预报的信号因子.选取不同区域及不同时段的海温场作为因子场分别对1998、 1999年这两个典型年份的我国夏季降水进行了诊断研究和预测试验, 并通过不同区域海温的影响权重做集成预测.试验结果表明:不同区域海温的集成预测不仅可以有效地提高预测的准确性, 而且可以揭示不同时段不同区域海温的异常变化在夏季旱涝中的强信号现象.     

Predictability of the western North Pacific summer climate demonstrated by the coupled models of ENSEMBLES

The Asian monsoon system, including the western North Pacific (WNP), East Asian, and Indian monsoons, dominates the climate of the Asia-Indian Ocean-Pacific region, and plays a significant role in the global hydrological and energy cycles. The prediction of monsoons and associated climate features is a major challenge in seasonal time scale climate forecast. In this study, a comprehensive assessment of the interannual predictability of the WNP summer climate has been performed using the 1-month lead retrospective forecasts (hindcasts) of five state-of-the-art coupled models from ENSEMBLES for the period of 1960–2005. Spatial distribution of the temporal correlation coefficients shows that the interannual variation of precipitation is well predicted around the Maritime Continent and east of the Philippines. The high skills for the lower-tropospheric circulation and sea surface temperature (SST) spread over almost the whole WNP. These results indicate that the models in general successfully predict the interannual variation of the WNP summer climate. Two typical indices, the WNP summer precipitation index and the WNP lower-tropospheric circulation index (WNPMI), have been used to quantify the forecast skill. The correlation coefficient between five models’ multi-model ensemble (MME) mean prediction and observations for the WNP summer precipitation index reaches 0.66 during 1979–2005 while it is 0.68 for the WNPMI during 1960–2005. The WNPMI-regressed anomalies of lower-tropospheric winds, SSTs and precipitation are similar between observations and MME. Further analysis suggests that prediction reliability of the WNP summer climate mainly arises from the atmosphere–ocean interaction over the tropical Indian and the tropical Pacific Ocean, implying that continuing improvement in the representation of the air–sea interaction over these regions in CGCMs is a key for long-lead seasonal forecast over the WNP and East Asia. On the other hand, the prediction of the WNP summer climate anomalies exhibits a remarkable spread resulted from uncertainty in initial conditions. The summer anomalies related to the prediction spread, including the lower-tropospheric circulation, SST and precipitation anomalies, show a Pacific-Japan or East Asia-Pacific pattern in the meridional direction over the WNP. Our further investigations suggest that the WNPMI prediction spread arises mainly from the internal dynamics in air–sea interaction over the WNP and Indian Ocean, since the local relationships among the anomalous SST, circulation, and precipitation associated with the spread are similar to those associated with the interannual variation of the WNPMI in both observations and MME. However, the magnitudes of these anomalies related to the spread are weaker, ranging from one third to a half of those anomalies associated with the interannual variation of the WNPMI in MME over the tropical Indian Ocean and subtropical WNP. These results further support that the improvement in the representation of the air–sea interaction over the tropical Indian Ocean and subtropical WNP in CGCMs is a key for reducing the prediction spread and for improving the long-lead seasonal forecast over the WNP and East Asia.     

夏季热带北大西洋海温异常对西北太平洋热带气旋生成的影响

利用1979—2012年西北太平洋热带气旋最佳路径资料,Hadley中心的海温资料和NCEP/NCAR再分析资料等,研究了夏季(6—10月)热带北大西洋海温异常与西北太平洋热带气旋(Tropical Cyclone,TC)生成的关系及其可能机制。结果表明,夏季热带北大西洋海温异常与同期西北太平洋TC生成频次之间存在显著的负相关关系。热带北大西洋海温的异常增暖可产生一对东—西向分布的偶极型低层异常环流,其中气旋性异常环流位于北大西洋/东太平洋地区,反气旋异常环流位于西北太平洋地区。该反气旋环流异常使得TC主要生成区的对流活动受到抑制、低层涡度正异常、中低层相对湿度负异常、中层下沉气流异常,这些动力/热力条件均不利于TC生成。此外,西北太平洋地区低层涡旋动能负异常,同时来自大尺度环流的涡旋动能的正压转换也受到抑制,不能为TC的生成和发展提供额外能量源。反之亦然。     

BCC_CSM模式夏季关键区海温回报评估

利用国家气候中心气候系统模式(Beijing Climate Center Climate System Model, BCC_CSM)的汛期回报试验数据集, 评估了夏季中低纬度海表面温度(Sea Surface Temperature, SST)的预测能力。结果表明:该模式对夏季中低纬海温具有一定的预测能力, 且在低纬地区的预测技巧尤为出色。对太平洋、热带印度洋和北大西洋这三个关键区进一步分析发现, 该模式对不同海区海温的预测能力有所不同。其中, 模式对夏季北太平洋海温及Ni?o 3.4指数表现出显著的预测技巧, 对热带印度洋、北大西洋海温及热带印度洋全区一致海温模态(Indian Ocean Basin-wide Warming, IOBW)也表现出一定的预测技巧, 而对北大西洋海温三极子模态(North Atlantic Tripole, NAT)的技巧相对较低。研究发现, 预测技巧与前冬的ENSO状态密切相关, 当前冬位于ENSO异常位相时, BCC_CSM模式对于三大海区夏季海温的预测技巧要高于前冬位于ENSO正常位相时, 且对NAT指数也具有更高的预测技巧。前冬ENSO所处的位相对于该模式对夏季Ni?o 3.4指数及IOBW指数的预测技巧影响不明显。此外, 该模式对夏季海温的预测技巧依赖于超前时间, 预测技巧在大部分情形下超前1个月的预测技巧相对更高。     

How are seasonal prediction skills related to models’ performance on mean state and annual cycle?

Given observed initial conditions, how well do coupled atmosphere–ocean models predict precipitation climatology with 1-month lead forecast? And how do the models’ biases in climatology in turn affect prediction of seasonal anomalies? We address these questions based on analysis of 1-month lead retrospective predictions for 21 years of 1981–2001 made by 13 state-of-the-art coupled climate models and their multi-model ensemble (MME). The evaluation of the precipitation climatology is based on a newly designed metrics that consists of the annual mean, the solstitial mode and equinoctial asymmetric mode of the annual cycle, and the rainy season characteristics. We find that the 1-month lead seasonal prediction made by the 13-model ensemble has skills that are much higher than those in individual model ensemble predictions and approached to those in the ERA-40 and NCEP-2 reanalysis in terms of both the precipitation climatology and seasonal anomalies. We also demonstrate that the skill for individual coupled models in predicting seasonal precipitation anomalies is positively correlated with its performances on prediction of the annual mean and annual cycle of precipitation. In addition, the seasonal prediction skill for the tropical SST anomalies, which are the major predictability source of monsoon precipitation in the current coupled models, is closely link to the models’ ability in simulating the SST mean state. Correction of the inherent bias in the mean state is critical for improving the long-lead seasonal prediction. Most individual coupled models reproduce realistically the long-term annual mean precipitation and the first annual cycle (solstitial mode), but they have difficulty in capturing the second annual (equinoctial asymmetric) mode faithfully, especially over the Indian Ocean (IO) and Western North Pacific (WNP) where the seasonal cycle in SST has significant biases. The coupled models replicate the monsoon rain domains very well except in the East Asian subtropical monsoon and the tropical WNP summer monsoon regions. The models also capture the gross features of the seasonal march of the rainy season including onset and withdraw of the Asian–Australian monsoon system over four major sub-domains, but striking deficiencies in the coupled model predictions are observed over the South China Sea and WNP region, where considerable biases exist in both the amplitude and phase of the annual cycle and the summer precipitation amount and its interannual variability are underestimated.     

Deficiencies and possibilities for long-lead coupled climate prediction of the Western North Pacific-East Asian summer monsoon

Long-lead prediction of waxing and waning of the Western North Pacific (WNP)-East Asian (EA) summer monsoon (WNP-EASM) precipitation is a major challenge in seasonal time-scale climate prediction. In this study, deficiencies and potential for predicting the WNP-EASM precipitation and circulation one or two seasons ahead were examined using retrospective forecast data for the 26-year period of 1981–2006 from two operational couple models which are the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System (CFS) and the Bureau of Meteorology Research Center (BMRC) Predictive Ocean–Atmosphere Model for Australia (POAMA). While both coupled models have difficulty in predicting summer mean precipitation anomalies over the region of interest, even for a 0-month lead forecast, they are capable of predicting zonal wind anomalies at 850 hPa several months ahead and, consequently, satisfactorily predict summer monsoon circulation indices for the EA region (EASMI) and for the WNP region (WNPSMI). It should be noted that the two models’ multi-model ensemble (MME) reaches 0.40 of the correlation skill for the EASMI with a January initial condition and 0.75 for the WNPSMI with a February initial condition. Further analysis indicates that prediction reliability of the EASMI is related not only to the preceding El Niño and Southern Oscillation (ENSO) but also to simultaneous local SST variability. On other hand, better prediction of the WNPSMI is accompanied by a more realistic simulation of lead–lag relationship between the index and ENSO. It should also be noted that current coupled models have difficulty in capturing the interannual variability component of the WNP-EASM system which is not correlated with typical ENSO variability. To improve the long-lead seasonal prediction of the WNP-EASM precipitation, a statistical postprocessing was developed based on the multiple linear regression method. The method utilizes the MME prediction of the EASMI and WNPSMI as predictors. It is shown that the statistical postprocessing is able to improve forecast skill for the summer mean precipitation over most of the WNP-EASM region at all forecast leads. It is noteworthy that the MME prediction, after applying statistical postprocessing, shows the best anomaly pattern correlation skill for the EASM precipitation at a 4-month lead (February initial condition) and for the WNPSM precipitation at a 5-month lead (January initial condition), indicating its potential for improving long-lead prediction of the monsoon precipitation.     

Predictability of Mediterranean climate variables from oceanic variability. Part II: Statistical models for monthly precipitation and temperature in the Mediterranean area

The objective of this study is to investigate the predictability of monthly climate variables in the Mediterranean area by using statistical models. It is a well-known fact that the future state of the atmosphere is sensitive to preceding conditions of the slowly varying ocean component with lead times being sufficiently long for predictive assessments. Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are therefore regarded as one of the best variables to be used in seasonal climate predictions. In the present study, SST-regimes which have been derived and discussed in detail in Part I of this paper, are used with regard to monthly climate predictions for the Mediterranean area. Thus, cross-correlations with time lags from 0 up to 12?months and ensuing multiple regression analyses between the large-scale SST-regimes and monthly precipitation and temperature for Mediterranean sub-regions have been performed for the period 1950?C2003. Statistical hindcast ensembles of Mediterranean precipitation including categorical forecast skill can be identified only for some months in different seasons and for some individual regions of the Mediterranean area. Major predictors are the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean SST-regimes, but significant relationships can also be found with tropical Pacific and North Pacific SST-regimes. Statistical hindcast ensembles of Mediterranean temperature with some categorical forecast skill can be determined primarily for the Western Mediterranean and the North African regions throughout the year. As for precipitation the major predictors for temperature are located in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, but some connections also exist with the Pacific SST variations.     

Impact of local sea surface temperature anomaly over the western North Pacific on extreme East Asian summer monsoon

In this study, the anomalous characteristics of observed large-scale synoptic fields in the extreme East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) years are analyzed, and the impact of the local sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly over the western North Pacific (WNP) on the extreme EASM is investigated through sensitivity experiments of 28?years EASM simulations to the local SST over the WNP. The observation analysis reveals that the extreme EASM is influenced more by anomalous large-scale atmospheric features such as monsoon circulations and the western North Pacific subtropical high than the local SST anomaly over the WNP. However, the results of the sensitivity experiments show that the local SST anomaly has an implicit impact on the extreme EASM. The patterns of differences in precipitation between the experiment forced by observed SST in each year and the experiment forced by climatological SST over the WNP are opposite to anomaly patterns of observed precipitation in the extreme EASM years. This is because the SST anomaly over the WNP plays a role in reducing precipitation anomaly by changing surface latent heat flux and monsoon circulations. In particular, the local SST anomaly over the WNP decreases anomalies of large-scale circulations, i.e., the local Hadley and the Walker circulations. Thus, the local SST anomaly over the WNP plays a role in decreasing the interannual variability of the EASM.     

热带对流季内振荡强度异常特征及其与海表温度的关系

利用外逸长波辐射 (outgoing longwave radiation, OLR) 资料分析了热带对流季内振荡 (ISO) 强度的季节变化及年际异常特征, 重点研究其与海表温度的关系。结果表明:最强的OLR季内振荡主要位于高海表温度 (SST) 区, 即热带印度洋和热带西太平洋区域, 终年存在, 冬、春季最强, 振荡中心偏于夏半球。OLR季内振荡强度年际异常显著区域是热带中东太平洋区域、西北太平洋区域和西南太平洋区域, 它与SST年际异常存在局地正相关关系, 伴随环流的辐合辐散, 并与ENSO事件关系密切。另外, El Ni?o事件发生之前, 热带印度洋和热带西太平区域OLR季内振荡增强, 其中心随事件的发展逐渐东移, 事件发生后这两个区域ISO减弱, 这与OLR季内振荡强度年际异常显著的区域具有内在连贯性。海表温度是决定OLR季内振荡强度季节变化、年际异常的一个关键因子。     

Asian summer monsoon prediction in ECMWF System 4 and NCEP CFSv2 retrospective seasonal forecasts

The seasonal prediction skill of the Asian summer monsoon is assessed using retrospective predictions (1982–2009) from the ECMWF System 4 (SYS4) and NCEP CFS version 2 (CFSv2) seasonal prediction systems. In both SYS4 and CFSv2, a cold bias of sea-surface temperature (SST) is found over the equatorial Pacific, North Atlantic, Indian Oceans and over a broad region in the Southern Hemisphere relative to observations. In contrast, a warm bias is found over the northern part of North Pacific and North Atlantic. Excessive precipitation is found along the ITCZ, equatorial Atlantic, equatorial Indian Ocean and the maritime continent. The southwest monsoon flow and the Somali Jet are stronger in SYS4, while the south-easterly trade winds over the tropical Indian Ocean, the Somali Jet and the subtropical northwestern Pacific high are weaker in CFSv2 relative to the reanalysis. In both systems, the prediction of SST, precipitation and low-level zonal wind has greatest skill in the tropical belt, especially over the central and eastern Pacific where the influence of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is dominant. Both modeling systems capture the global monsoon and the large-scale monsoon wind variability well, while at the same time performing poorly in simulating monsoon precipitation. The Asian monsoon prediction skill increases with the ENSO amplitude, although the models simulate an overly strong impact of ENSO on the monsoon. Overall, the monsoon predictive skill is lower than the ENSO skill in both modeling systems but both systems show greater predictive skill compared to persistence.     

Indo-Pacific remote forcing in summer rainfall variability over the South China Sea

This study investigates summer rainfall variability in the South China Sea (SCS) region and the roles of remote sea surface temperature (SST) forcing in the tropical Indian and Pacific Ocean regions. The SCS summer rainfall displays a positive and negative relationship with simultaneous SST in the equatorial central Pacific (ECP) and the North Indian Ocean (NIO), respectively. Positive ECP SST anomalies induce an anomalous low-level cyclone over the SCS-western North Pacific as a Rossby-wave type response, leading to above-normal precipitation over northern SCS. Negative NIO SST anomalies contribute to anomalous cyclonic winds over the western North Pacific by an anomalous east–west vertical circulation north of the equator, favoring more rainfall over northern SCS. These NIO SST anomalies are closely related to preceding La Niña and El Niño events through the “atmospheric bridge”. Thus, the NIO SST anomalies serve as a medium for an indirect impact of preceding ECP SST anomalies on the SCS summer rainfall variability. The ECP SST influence is identified to be dominant after 1990 and the NIO SST impact is relatively more important during 1980s. These Indo-Pacific SST effects are further investigated by conducting numerical experiments with an atmospheric general circulation model. The consistency between the numerical experiments and the observations enhances the credibility of the Indo-Pacific SST influence on the SCS summer rainfall variability.     

热带北大西洋海温异常对南海夏季风的影响及其机理

利用HadiSST资料、CMAP降水资料和NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,分析了热带北大西洋(Northern Tropical Atlantic,NTA)海表温度异常(Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly,SSTA)与南海夏季风(South China Sea Summer Monsoon,SCSSM)的联系及可能机制。观测分析表明,夏季NTA海温异常与SCSSM存在显著的负相关关系;NTA海温正异常时,北半球副热带东太平洋至大西洋区域存在气旋式环流异常,有利于热带大西洋(热带中太平洋)地区产生异常上升(下沉)运动,使得西北太平洋地区出现反气旋环流异常,该反气旋环流异常西侧的南风异常使得SCSSM增强。利用春季NTA指数、东南印度洋海温异常指数、北太平洋海温异常指数、南太平洋经向模(South Pacific Ocean Meridional Dipole,SPOMD)及Niňo3.4指数构建了SCSSM季节预测模型,预测模型后报与观测的SCSSM指数的相关系数为0.81,表明该模型可较好预测SCSSM。     

Contrasting Impacts of South and North Tropical Indian Ocean Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies on East Asian Summer Climate

Using observational data and model simulations,the author find that the North Indian Ocean(NIO)sea surface temperature(SST)anomalies can trigger an eastward atmospheric Kelvin wave propagating into the equatorial western Pacific,inducing an anomalous anticyclone over the subtropical Northwest Pacific(NWP)and resulting in prominent summer climate anomalies in the East Asia-Northwest Pacific(EANWP)region.However,the response of tropospheric temperatures and atmospheric Kelvin waves to the South Indian Ocean(SIO)SST anomalies is weak;as a result,the impact of the SIO SST anomalies on the EANWP summer climate is weak.The contrasting impacts of NIO and SIO SST anomalies on the EANWP summer climate is possibly due to the different mean state of SSTs in the two regions.In summer,the climatological SSTs in the NIO are higher than in the SIO,leading to a stronger response of atmospheric convection to the NIO SST anomalies than to the SIO SST anomalies.Thus,compared with the SIO SST anomalies,the NIO SST anomalies can lead to stronger tropospheric air temperature anomalies and atmospheric Kelvin waves to affect the EANWP summer climate.     

Multidecadal-to-centennial SST variability in the MPI-ESM simulation ensemble for the last millennium

We assess the responses of North Atlantic, North Pacific, and tropical Indian Ocean Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) to natural forcing and their linkage to simulated global surface temperature (GST) variability in the MPI-Earth System Model simulation ensemble for the last millennium. In the simulations, North Atlantic and tropical Indian Ocean SSTs show a strong sensitivity to external forcing and a strong connection to GST. The leading mode of extra-tropical North Pacific SSTs is, on the other hand, rather resilient to natural external perturbations. Strong tropical volcanic eruptions and, to a lesser extent, variability in solar activity emerge as potentially relevant sources for multidecadal SST modes’ phase modulations, possibly through induced changes in the atmospheric teleconnection between North Atlantic and North Pacific that can persist over decadal and multidecadal timescales. Linkages among low-frequency regional modes of SST variability, and among them and GST, can remarkably vary over the integration time. No coherent or constant phasing is found between North Pacific and North Atlantic SST modes over time and among the ensemble members. Based on our assessments of how multidecadal transitions in simulated North Atlantic SSTs compare to reconstructions and of how they contribute characterizing simulated multidecadal regional climate anomalies, past regional climate multidecadal fluctuations seem to be reproducible as simulated ensemble-mean responses only for temporal intervals dominated by major external forcings.     

太平洋和印度洋表层水温、海平面气压变化关系及对东亚冷夏的影响

太平洋和印度洋表层水温、海平面气压变化关系及对东亚冷夏的影响沙文钰，蔡剑平（空军气象学院，南京２１１１０１）近１０多年来，关于海气关系的研究很多。Ｗａｌｌａｃｅ和Ｇｕｔｚｌｅｒ〔１〕论证了５００ｈＰａ高度场上５个遥相关型，而Ｈｏｒｅｌ和Ｗａｌｌａｃｅ...     

季节预测模式对东亚夏季环流的预测能力及其对热带海洋的响应分析

东亚夏季环流变化对中国夏季降水的年际变化有重要影响,因此需要进一步理解季节预测模式对东亚夏季环流的预测能力。利用1991~2013年美国国家环境预测中心（NCEP）、中国气象局国家气候中心（NCC）和日本东京气候中心（TCC）的三个季节预测模式（CFS V2、BCC_CSM V2和MRI-CGCM）以及NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,定量评估了模式对东亚夏季风（EASM）和夏季西太平洋副热带高压（WPSH）强度的预测能力。在此基础上,分析了模式预测的EASM和WPSH对热带海温异常的响应能力,以及ENSO事件对EASM和WPSH预测的影响,阐述了预测误差产生的原因。结果表明:整体而言,三个模式对EASM和WPSH的预测技巧较高,但TCC模式对WPSH的预测技巧相对较低。三个模式预测的850 hPa风场在西北太平洋存在一个异常气旋,使得预测的EASM偏强和WPSH偏弱。同时,二者的年际变率整体比观测小。三个模式预测的EASM和WPSH对热带海洋海温异常的响应随季节演变特征与观测比较接近,但NCEP模式和TCC模式预测的EASM对前期热带太平洋和前期、同期热带印度洋的海温异常响应要强于观测,NCC模式预测的EASM对前期和同期的热带太平洋的海温异常响应明显比观测强。此外,三个模式预测的WPSH对前期和同期的热带太平洋、热带印度洋和热带大西洋的海温异常响应明显强于观测。三个模式预测的EASM和WPSH在ENSO年的平均绝对误差（MAE）整体而言要比正常年的小很多,NCEP模式和NCC模式预测的EASM和WPSH的MAE在La Ni?a年和El Ni?o年差别不大,而TCC模式预测的EASM和WPSH的MAE在El Ni?o年比在La Ni?a年大很多,表明ENSO事件是东亚夏季环流重要的可预报源。     

Intensified impact of northern tropical Atlantic SST on tropical cyclogenesis frequency over the western North Pacific after the late 1980s

Previous studies suggest that spring SST anomalies over the northern tropical Atlantic(NTA) affect the tropical cyclone(TC) activity over the western North Pacific(WNP) in the following summer and fall. The present study reveals that the connection between spring NTA SST and following summer–fall WNP TC genesis frequency is not stationary. The influence of spring NTA SST on following summer–fall WNP TC genesis frequency is weak and insignificant before, but strong and significant after, the late 1980 s. Before the late 1980 s, the NTA SST anomaly-induced SST anomalies in the tropical central Pacific are weak, and the response of atmospheric circulation over the WNP is not strong. As a result, the connection between spring NTA SST and following summer–fall WNP TC genesis frequency is insignificant in the former period. In contrast,after the late 1980 s, NTA SST anomalies induce pronounced tropical central Pacific SST anomalies through an Atlantic–Pacific teleconnection. Tropical central Pacific SST anomalies further induce favorable conditions for WNP TC genesis,including vertical motion, mid-level relative humidity, and vertical zonal wind shear. Hence, the connection between NTA SST and WNP TC genesis frequency is significant in the recent period. Further analysis shows that the interdecadal change in the connection between spring NTA SST and following summer–fall WNP TC genesis frequency may be related to the climatological SST change over the NTA region.     

Prediction of early summer rainfall over South China by a physical-empirical model

In early summer (May–June, MJ) the strongest rainfall belt of the northern hemisphere occurs over the East Asian (EA) subtropical front. During this period the South China (SC) rainfall reaches its annual peak and represents the maximum rainfall variability over EA. Hence we establish an SC rainfall index, which is the MJ mean precipitation averaged over 72 stations over SC (south of 28°N and east of 110°E) and represents superbly the leading empirical orthogonal function mode of MJ precipitation variability over EA. In order to predict SC rainfall, we established a physical-empirical model. Analysis of 34-year observations (1979–2012) reveals three physically consequential predictors. A plentiful SC rainfall is preceded in the previous winter by (a) a dipole sea surface temperature (SST) tendency in the Indo-Pacific warm pool, (b) a tripolar SST tendency in North Atlantic Ocean, and (c) a warming tendency in northern Asia. These precursors foreshadow enhanced Philippine Sea subtropical High and Okhotsk High in early summer, which are controlling factors for enhanced subtropical frontal rainfall. The physical empirical model built on these predictors achieves a cross-validated forecast correlation skill of 0.75 for 1979–2012. Surprisingly, this skill is substantially higher than four-dynamical models’ ensemble prediction for 1979–2010 period (0.15). The results here suggest that the low prediction skill of current dynamical models is largely due to models’ deficiency and the dynamical prediction has large room to improve.     

夏季西北太平洋热带气旋生成频次与热带海温关系的年代际变化

探讨了夏季(6—8月)西北太平洋(Western North Pacific,WNP)热带气旋生成频次(Tropical Cyclone Genesis Frequency,TCGF)与热带海温关系的年代际变化,发现影响WNP TCGF的热带海温型在1991/1992年发生了年代际变化。在1990年代初之前,TCGF正异常对应的热带海温异常(Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly,SSTA)呈现东部型La Ni?a衰减位相,前冬至春季WNP局地暖SSTA在其西北侧激发气旋异常,夏季时由热带印度洋冷SSTA继续维持。在1990年代初之后,TCGF正异常对应的热带SSTA呈现东部型La Ni?a向中部型El Ni?o快速转换的位相,夏季中太平洋暖SSTA在其西北侧激发气旋异常,同时热带东印度洋至海洋性大陆以及热带大西洋的冷SSTA通过垂直环流圈加强中太平洋的辐合上升运动,进一步维持其西北侧气旋异常。由于激发气旋异常的暖SSTA在第二个年代相较第一个年代明显偏南偏东,气旋异常和TCGF正异常在第二个年代也整体偏南且向东扩展至更远的区域。WNP TCGF与热带海温关系的年代际变化与1990年代初之后厄尔尼诺-南方涛动演变速率加快有关。