Greenland Ice Sheet Elevation Change in Winter and Influence of Atmospheric Teleconnections in the Northern Hemisphere

The relationship between the variability of the surface elevation of the Greenland Ice Sheet （GIS） in winter and sea level pressure is identified through analysis of data from satellite-borne radar altimeters, together with meteorological data fields during 1993-2005. We found that both the North Pacific Oscillation （NPO） and the North Atlantic Oscillation （NAO）, the two major teleconnection patterns of the atmospheric surface pressure fields in the Northern Hemisphere, significantly influence the GIS winter elevation change. Further, it is suggested that the NPO may affect the GIS accumulation by influencing the NAO, particularly by changing the intensity and location of the Icelandic Low.     

北极涛动与北大西洋涛动的低频变化特征

本文主要利用小波分析方法研究北极涛动(AO)和北大西洋涛动(NAO)的低频变化和周期特征。结果表明:AO在1965年以前有准两年周期振荡,1975年后转为准8 a周期和准16 a周期;NAO也存在相似的周期转变,但其准8 a周期出现在60年代末到1976年前后,并且没有明显的准16 a周期;AO和NAO准8 a周期的交叉小波能谱在1975年前后达到极大值,这与北半球气候突变时间基本吻合。另外,AO和NAO模态的北大西洋中心在1975年后表现出不同程度的东移,AO中心移到地中海地区,且太平洋中心明显增强,使其纬向对称的环形模态较突变前更显著。     

北极涛动的年代际变化及其气候影响

北极涛动(Arctic Oscillation,AO)是北半球热带外地区大气环流变率的主导模态,对北半球以及区域尺度气温变化具有重要影响.AO可在没有外强迫条件下通过d波流相互作用形成,因此它被认为是全球气候系统内部变率的重要组成部分.研究年代际尺度上AO的变化及其气候影响,可加深对当前北半球气候变化规律的物理理解,也...     

The NPO/ NAO and interdecadal climate variation in China

This article discusses the interannual variation of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and North Pacific Oscillation (NPO), its relationship with the interdecadal climate variation in China which is associated with the climate jump in the Northern Hemisphere in the 1960’s, using the data analyses. It is clearly shown that both the amplitudes of the NAO and NPO increase obviously in the 1960’s and the main period of the oscillations changes from 3-4 years before the 1960’s to 8-15 years after the 1960’s. Therefore, interdecadal climate variation in China or the climate jump in the 1960’s is closely related to the anomalies of the NAO and NPO.     

Natural forcing of climate during the last millennium: fingerprint of solar variability

The variability of the climate during the last millennium is partly forced by changes in total solar irradiance (TSI). Nevertheless, the amplitude of these TSI changes is very small so that recent reconstruction data suggest that low frequency variations in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and in the thermohaline circulation may have amplified, in the North Atlantic sector and mostly in winter, the radiative changes due to TSI variations. In this study we use a state-of-the-art climate model to simulate the last millennium. We find that modelled variations of surface temperature in the Northern Hemisphere are coherent with existing reconstructions. Moreover, in the model, the low frequency variability of this mean hemispheric temperature is found to be correlated at 0.74 with the solar forcing for the period 1001?C1860. Then, we focus on the regional climatic fingerprint of solar forcing in winter and find a significant relationship between the low frequency TSI forcing and the NAO with a time lag of more than 40?years for the response of the NAO. Such a lag is larger than the around 20-year lag suggested in other studies. We argue that this lag is due, in the model, to a northward shift of the tropical atmospheric convection in the Pacific Ocean, which is maximum more than four decades after the solar forcing increase. This shift then forces a positive NAO through an atmospheric wave connection related to the jet-stream wave guide. The shift of the tropical convection is due to the persistence of anomalous warm SST forcing the anomalous precipitation, associated with the advection of warm SST by the North Pacific subtropical gyre in a few decades. Finally, we analyse the response of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation to solar forcing and find that the former is weakened when the latter increases. Changes in wind stress, notably due to the NAO, modify the barotropic streamfunction in the Atlantic 50?years after solar variations. This implies a wind-driven modification of the oceanic circulation in the Atlantic sector in response to changes in solar forcing, in addition to the variations of the thermohaline circulation.     

Arctic Oscillation and Antarctic Oscillation in Internal Atmospheric Variability with an Ensemble AGCM Simulation

In this study, we investigated the features of Arctic Oscillation （AO） and Antarctic Oscillation （AAO）, that is, the annular modes in the extratropics, in the internal atmospheric variability attained through an ensemble of integrations by an atmospheric general circulation model （AGCM） forced with the global observed SSTs. We focused on the interannual variability of AO/AAO, which is dominated by internal atmospheric variability. In comparison with previous observed results, the AO/AAO in internal atmospheric variability bear some similar characteristics, but exhibit a much clearer spatial structure： significant correlation between the North Pacific and North Atlantic centers of action, much stronger and more significant associated precipitation anomalies, and the meridional displacement of upper-tropospheric westerly jet streams in the Northern/Southern Hemisphere. In addition, we examined the relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation （NAO）/AO and East Asian winter monsoon （EAWM）. It has been shown that in the internal atmospheric variability, the EAWM variation is significantly related to the NAO through upper-tropospheric atmospheric teleconnection patterns.     

北方涛动同北半球温带大气环流的遥相关(一)——基本结构

本文利用1951—1980年逐季的平均值资料(共120个季)讨论了北方涛动和与其相联系的北太平洋海温与北半球海平面气压场、500hPa位势高度场遥相关的基本结构,并与南方涛动和赤道东太平洋海温的结果进行了对比分析.发现北太平洋Namias海区和加利福尼亚海流区海温的变化与北方涛动具有很密切的联系;北方涛动和这两个海区的海温同北半球中高纬度大气环流特别是PNA型和NAO型环流异常存在明显的遥相关关系;南方涛动和赤道太平洋海温同WP型或NPO型环流异常关系比较密切,而与PNA型和NAO型的关系不如北方涛动和Namias海区及加利福尼亚海流区海温的显著.     

北半球环状模波流相互作用动力学研究进展

总结了国内外学者对于北半球环状模（NAM：Northern Hemisphere Annular Mode）及其活动中心形成原因的研究成果。主要从NAM的天气、气候影响,波流相互作用原理对NAM形成的解释,NAM在北太平洋、北大西洋和北极3个区域活动中心的天气尺度波和行星尺度波活动等方面论述。NAM在对流层的变化与天气尺度波有关,北太平洋和北大西洋两个活动中心是天气尺度波活跃的区域,其峰值区表现为风暴轴,其中北大西洋天气尺度波破碎过程会使得NAM指数急剧变化。NAM在平流层的变化和准定常行星波关系密切,冬季准定常行星波会上传并与高纬平流层纬向流发生相互作用,从而引起北极极涡发生改变。准定常行星波将NAM 3个活动中心有机联系起来：对流层准定常行星波的纬向传播会影响北太平洋风暴轴的位置,而风暴轴的变化会影响下游北大西洋波破碎过程,同时准定常行星波的上传可以影响极涡活动。     

Year-to-Year and interdecadal variability in the activity of intraseasonal fluctuations in the Northern Hemisphere wintertime circulation

Summary Interannual variability in the activity of fluctuations with subseasonal time scales is investigated based upon observed data of the extratropical Northern Hemisphere circulation over the recent 38 winters. Their activity is represented in the root mean square (RMS) field of filtered geopotential height in which the fluctuations with time scales between 10 days and a season are retained. The singular value decomposition (SVD) was applied to the covariance matrix between the seasonal mean and RMS fields for the 500-hPa height.The leading SVD mode for the north Pacific represents the strong relationship between the polarity of the Pacific/North American (PNA) pattern in the seasonal-mean anomalies and the amplitude of a meridionally-oriented dipole-like oscillation within the season. It tends to be more active when the seasonal-mean jet stream is strongly diffluent over the central Pacific than when the jet is extended zonally across the Pacific. The leading SVD mode for the north Atlantic is indicative of stronger intraseasonal fluctuations near Greenland in the presence of anticyclonic seasonal-mean anomalies associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).The intraseasonal variability in the extratropics is strongly correlated with the underlying sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies, and that in the north Pacific also exhibits significant but rather weak correlation with SST anomalies in the equatorial Pacific. The activity of the atmospheric intraseasonal fluctuations is found to be modulated in accordance with interdecadal variability in the seasonal-mean circulation and SST.On leave from Department of Earth & Planetary Physics, University of Tokyo.With 12 Figures     

The Relationship between the Wintertime Blocking over Greenland and the Sea Ice Distribution over North Atlantic

The sea-ice concentration in the Northern Hemisphere, 500 hPa height, sea-level pressure and 1000-500 hPa thickness of monthly mean data are examined for the period 1953-1989, with emphasis on the winter season.Relationships between large-scale patterns of atmospheric variability and sea-ice variability are investigated, making use of the correlation method. The analysis is conducted for the Atlantic sectors. In agreement with earlier studies based upon monthly mean data on sea-ice concentration, the strongest sea-ice pattern is composed of a dipole with opposing centers of action in the Davis Straits / Labrador Sea region and the Greenland and Barents Seas. Its temporal variability is strongly coupled to the atmospheric North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The relationship between the two patterns is strongest with the atmosphere leading the ocean. The polarity of the NAO is associated with Greenland blocking episodes, during which the influence of the atmosphere is strong enough to temporarily halt the c     

The internal climate variability of HadCM3, a version of the Hadley Centre coupled model without flux adjustments

We examine the internal climate variability of a 1000?year long integration of the third version of the Hadley Centre coupled model (HadCM3). The model requires no flux adjustment, needs no spin up procedure prior to coupling and has a stable climate in the global mean. The principal aims are (1) to validate the internal climate variability against observed climate variability, (2) to examine the model for any periodic modes of variability, (3) to use the model estimate of internal climate variability to asses the probability of occurrence of observed trends in climate variables, and (4) to compare HadCM3 with the previous version of the Hadley Centre model, HadCM2. The magnitude and frequency characteristics of the variability of the global mean surface temperature of HadCM3 on annual to decadal time scales is in good agreement with the observations. Observed upward trends in temperature over the last 20?years and longer are inconsistent with the internal variability of the model. The simulated spatial pattern of surface temperature variability is qualitatively similar to that observed, although there is an overestimation of the land temperature variability and regional errors in ocean temperature variability. The model simulates an El Niño Southern Oscillation with an irregular 3–4?year cycle, and with a teleconnection pattern which is much more like the observations than was found in HadCM2. The interdecadal variability of the model ocean in the tropical Pacific, North Pacific and North Atlantic is broadly similar to that in the real world with none of the simulated patterns having any periodic behaviour. HadCM3 simulates an Arctic Oscillation/North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in Northern Hemisphere winter which has a spatial pattern consistent with the observations in the Atlantic region, but has too much teleconnection with the North Pacific. The recent observed upward trend in the NAO index is inconsistent with the model internal variability. The variability of the simulated zonal mean atmospheric temperature shows some marked differences to the observed zonal mean temperature variability, although the comparison is confounded by the sparse observational network and its possible contamination by a climate change signal.     

Physical mechanisms of European winter snow cover variability and its relationship to the NAO

Annual snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased in the past two decades, an effect associated with global warming. The regional scale changes of snow cover during winter, however, vary significantly from one region to another. In the present study, snow cover variability over Europe and its connection to other atmospheric variables was investigated using Cyclostationary Empirical Orthogonal Function (CSEOF) analysis. The evolution of atmospheric variables related to each CSEOF mode of snow cover variability was derived via regression analysis in CSEOF space. CSEOF analysis clearly shows that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is related to European snow cover, particularly in January and February. A negative NAO phase tends to result in a snow cover increases, whereas a positive NAO phase results in snow cover decreases. The temporal changes in the connection between the NAO and European snow cover are explained by time-dependent NAO-related temperature anomalies. If the NAO phase is negative, the temperature is lower in Europe and snow cover increases; by contrast, when the NAO phase is positive, the temperature is higher and snow cover decreases. Temperature and snow cover variations in Europe are associated with the thermal advection by anomalous wind by NAO. CSEOF analysis also shows an abrupt increase of snow cover in December and January and a decrease in February and March since the year 2000, approximately. This abrupt change is associated with sub-seasonal variations of atmospheric circulation in the study region.     

Reconstructed Northern Hemisphere annual temperature since 1671 based on high-latitude tree-ring data from North America

Annual Northern Hemisphere surface temperature departures for the past 300 yr were reconstructed using eleven tree-ring chronologies from high-latitude, boreal sites in Canada and Alaska, spanning over 90 degrees of longitude. This geographic coverage is believed to be adequate for a useful representation of hemispheric-scale temperature trends, as high northern latitudes are particularly sensitive to climatic change. We also present a reconstruction of Arctic annual temperatures. The reconstructions show a partial amelioration of the Little Ice Age after the early 1700's, an abrupt, severe renewal of cold in the early 1800's and a prolonged wanning since approximately 1840. These trends are supported by other proxy data. Similarities and differences between our Northern Hemisphere reconstruction and other large-scale proxy temperature records depend on such factors as the data sources, methods, and degree of spatial representation. Analyses of additional temperature records, as they become available, are needed to determine the degree to which each series represents fluctuations for the entire hemisphere. There appear to be relationships between trends observed in our Northern Hemisphere reconstruction and certain climatic forcing functions, including solar fluctuations, volcanic activity and atmospheric CO₂. In particular, our reconstruction supports the hypothesis that the global warming trend over the past century of increasing atmospheric CO₂ has exceeded the recent level of natural variability of the climate system.Of Columbia University Department of Geological Sciences.     

Marine proxy evidence linking decadal North Pacific and Atlantic climate

Decadal- to multidecadal variability in the extra-tropical North Pacific is evident in 20th century instrumental records and has significant impacts on Northern Hemisphere climate and marine ecosystems. Several studies have discussed a potential linkage between North Pacific and Atlantic climate on various time scales. On decadal time scales no relationship could be confirmed, potentially due to sparse instrumental observations before 1950. Proxy data are limited and no multi-centennial high-resolution marine geochemical proxy records are available from the subarctic North Pacific. Here we present an annually-resolved record (1818–1967) of Mg/Ca variations from a North Pacific/Bering Sea coralline alga that extends our knowledge in this region beyond available data. It shows for the first time a statistically significant link between decadal fluctuations in sea-level pressure in the North Pacific and North Atlantic. The record is a lagged proxy for decadal-scale variations of the Aleutian Low. It is significantly related to regional sea surface temperature and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index in late boreal winter on these time scales. Our data show that on decadal time scales a weaker Aleutian Low precedes a negative NAO by several years. This atmospheric link can explain the coherence of decadal North Pacific and Atlantic Multidecadal Variability, as suggested by earlier studies using climate models and limited instrumental data.     

中国冬季气温季节内变率特征及环流分析

利用中国冬季逐日平均气温均方差作为气温季节内变率指标,分析其变化特征并探讨引起季节内变率异常的环流背景。结果表明,中国冬季气温季节内变率总体呈减弱趋势,对气候增暖趋势响应明显,其年代际变化和东亚冬季风年代际转折时间相吻合。当气温季节内变率异常偏强时,冬季平均环流场上呈类似准正压结构,平流层极涡偏弱,对流层中高纬呈类似斯堪的纳维亚遥相关型分布,低层西伯利亚高压偏强,北大西洋涛动(NAO)为负位相;NAO同我国东部气温变率联系密切,进一步分析揭示出NAO是通过影响西伯利亚高压的高频变化来作用于气温季节内变率。最后,通过提取天气—次季节—季节不同时间尺度上的大气环流内部变率,发现在各个尺度上,气温季节内变率均受西伯利亚高压和东亚冷涡的调控作用;尤其在天气尺度上,阿留申低压频繁波动及上游欧洲脊的稳定少动与气温变率有密切联系,季节尺度上欧亚阻塞高压和鄂霍次克海阻塞高压异常对气温变率有显著影响。     

Temporal structures of the North Atlantic Oscillation and its impact on the regional climate variability

In this study, the temporal structure of the variation of North Atlantic Oscillation （NAO） and its impact on regional climate variability are analyzed using various datasets. The results show that blocking formations in the Atlantic region are sensitive to the phase of the NAO. Sixty-seven percent more winter blocking days are observed during the negative phase compared to the positive phase of the NAO. The average length of blocking during the negative phase is about 11 days, which is nearly twice as long as the 6-day length observed during the positive phase of the NAO. The NAO-related differences in blocking frequency and persistence are associated with changes in the distribution of the surface air temperature anomaly, which, to a large extent, is determined by the phase of the NAO. The distribution of regional cloud amount is also sensitive to the phase of the NAO. For the negative phase, the cloud amounts are significant, positive anomalies in the convective zone in the Tropics and much less cloudiness in the mid latitudes. But for the positive phase of the NAO, the cloud amount is much higher in the mid-latitude storm track region. In the whole Atlantic region, the cloud amount shows a decrease with the increase of surface air temperature. These results suggest that there may be a negative feedback between the cloud amount and the surface air t.emperature in the Atlantic region.     

Scenary forecasts of air temperature variations for the regions of the Russian Federation up to 2030 using the empirical stochastic climate models

It is demonstrated that the results of the climate modeling cannot be directly used to forecast the regional climate changes on the territory of the Russian Federation for one-three decades due to the strong influence of the natural long-period climatic variability associated with the processes in the ocean-atmosphere system in the North Atlantic. A model is proposed of the temperature variations in the regions of the Russian Federation including the variations of the global temperature and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index. An empirical dynamic-stochastic model with external radiation impacts is used for the global temperature. Different scenarios of concentration variations of the radiation-active atmospheric components and NAO are considered. It is demonstrated that depending on the accepted hypothesis concerning the type of the expected NAO variations (natural fluctuations or the result of anthropogenic impacts) and on the scenario of concentration variations of the sulfate aerosols and methane, the average annual temperature variations on the territory of the Russian Federation between 2007 and 2030 may amount from 0.81 to 1.90°C. The estimates of temperature variations for the main physiographic regions of the Russian Federation are obtained.     

Cold-season atmospheric response to the natural variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

The influence of the natural variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) on the atmosphere is studied in multi-centennial simulations of six global climate models, using Maximum Covariance Analysis (MCA). In all models, a significant but weak influence of the AMOC changes is found during the Northern Hemisphere cold-season, when the ocean leads the atmosphere by a few years. Although the oceanic pattern slightly varies, an intensification of the AMOC is followed in all models by a weak sea level pressure response that resembles a negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The signal amplitude is typically 0.5?hPa and explains about 10% of the yearly variability of the NAO in all models. The atmospheric response seems to be due primarily due to an increase of the heat loss along the North Atlantic Current and the subpolar gyre, associated with an AMOC-driven warming. Sea-ice changes appear to be less important. The stronger heating is associated to a southward shift of the lower-tropospheric baroclinicity and a decrease of the eddy activity in the North Atlantic storm track, which is consistent with the equivalent barotropic perturbation resembling the negative phase of the NAO. This study thus provides some evidence of an atmospheric signature of the AMOC in the cold-season, which may have some implications for the decadal predictability of climate in the North Atlantic region.     

气候噪声和气候系统的分维

根据相空间嵌入定理，按照Grassberger和Procaccia提出的计算分数维的方法，利用近百年来南、北半球地面气温资料，估算了气候吸引子的分数维，计算结果表明:气候吸引子的分数维南半球为3.3～3.7，北半球为3.2～3.7。它提供了气候吸引子的自相似结构的基本信息，表明模似气候系统最少需要4个独立变量。另外，还讨论了气候噪声对估算维数的影响。     

下边界条件对北极涛动影响的数值模拟研究

利用NCAR大气模式CAM3.0探讨了包括山脉和海陆分布等下边界条件对北极涛动(AO)或北半球环状模(NAM)形成的影响.主要进行了控制试验和两个地形敏感性数值试验,对比了控制试验结果与资料分析结果.控制试验和NCEP/NCAR资料分析结果对比指出,CAM3.0模式能够较好地模拟出AO的水平环状结构和垂直相当正压结构.在去除山脉的敏感性试验中发现,AO中纬度北太平洋和北大西洋两个活动中心的强度、范围和位置发生变化.在水球敏感性试验中发现,AO两个大洋上的活动中心被环绕极地主活动中心的环状结构代替.两个敏感性试验共同表明,AO是大气内部某种过程作用的结果,它的存在本身不取决于下边界条件的改变.山脉和海陆分布主要影响的是AO的具体形态.通过控制试验和两个敏感性试验对比,又分析了准定常波和瞬变波对AO的影响.去除山脉和海陆分布热力差异共同强迫的准定常波,AO纬向平均纬向风高纬地区平流层异常最大值活动中心消失,这表明在平流层准定常波和纬向平均流的相互作用与AO活动关系密切.在只有对流层瞬变波作用时,AO仍然存在,表明准定常波不是AO存在的必要条件.平流层准定常波与平均流的相互作用和对流层瞬变波与平均流的相互作用与AO形成之间的具体关系有待通过E-P通量诊断进一步确定.