Impact of Surface Potential Vorticity Density Forcing over the Tibetan Plateau on the South China Extreme Precipitation in January 2008. Part Ⅱ:Numerical Simulation

The surface air convergence on the eastern flank of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) can increase the in situ surface potential vorticity density (PVD). Since the elevated TP intersects with the isentropic surfaces in the lower troposphere, the increased PVD on the eastern flank of TP thus forms a PVD forcing to the intersected isentropic surface in the boundary layer. The influence of surface PVD forcing over the TP on the extreme freezing rain/snow over South China in January 2008 is investigated by using numerical experiments based on the Finite-volume Atmospheric Model of the IAP/LASG (FAMIL). Compared with observations, the simulation results show that, by using a nudging method for assimilating observation data in the initial flow, this model can reasonably reproduce the distribution of precipitation, atmospheric circulation, and PVD propagation over and downstream of the TP during the extreme winter precipitation period. In order to investigate the impact of the increased surface PVD over the TP on the extreme precipitation in South China, a sensitivity experiment with surface PVD reduced over the TP region was performed. Compared with the control experiment, it is found that the precipitation in the TP downstream area, especially in Southeast China, is reduced. The rainband from Guangxi Region to Shandong Province has almost disappeared. In the lower troposphere, the increase of surface PVD over the TP region has generated an anomalous cyclonic circulation over southern China, which plays an important role in increasing southerly wind and the water vapor transport in this area;it also increases the northward negative absolute vorticity advection. In the upper troposphere, the surface PVD generated in eastern TP propagates on isentropic surface along westerly wind and results in positive absolute vorticity advection in the downstream areas. Consequently, due to the development of both ascending motion and water vapor transport in the downstream place of the TP, extremely heavy precipitation occurs over southern China. Thereby, a new mechanism concerning the influence of the increased surface PVD over the eastern TP slopes on the extreme weather event occurring over southern China is revealed.     

Progress in Research of Stratosphere-Troposphere Interactions： Application of Isentropic Potential Vorticity Dynamics and the Effects of the Tibetan Plateau

This paper reviews recent progress in understanding isentropic potential vorticity （PV） dynamics during interactions between the stratosphere and troposphere, including the spatial and temporal propagation of circulation anomalies associated with the winter polar vortex oscillation and the mechanisms of stratosphere- troposphere coupling in the global mass circulation framework. The origins and mechanisms of interannual variability in the stratospheric circulation are also reviewed. Particular attention is paid to the role of the Tibetan Plateau as a PV source （via its thermal forcing） in the global and East Asian atmospheric circulation. Diagnosis of meridional isentropic PV advection over tile Tibetan Plateau and East Asia indicates that the distributions of potential temperature and PV over the east flank of the Tibetan Plateau and East Asia favor a downward and southward isentropic transport of high PV from the stratosphere to the troposphere. This transport manifests the possible influence of the Tibetan Plateau on the dynamic coupling between the stratosphere and troposphere during summer, and may provide a new framework for understanding the climatic effects of the Tibetan Plateau.     

IMPACT OF AIR-SEA INTERACTION ON THE GENESIS OF TROPICAL INCIPIENT VORTEX OVER SOUTH CHINA SEA: A CASE STUDY

Based on 6-hourly sensible heat flux and latent heat flux from the NCEP Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) and circulation data from the Japanese 25-year Reanalysis (JRA-25), the initial developing process of tropical cyclone Mindulle (1005) in 2010 has been diagnosed to reveal the impact of air-sea interaction over the South China Sea (SCS) on the genesis of its incipient vortex. The results show that the incipient vortex first occurred east of the Luzon Island on 0000 UTC 20 August, suggesting that the topographic forcing of the Luzon Island for easterly winds over the western Pacific might be one of the factors responsible for the formation of the incipient vortex. During the formation stage of the incipient vortex, strong southeasterlies over the SCS caused warm water of the middle and eastern SCS to flow toward the Luzon Island due to Ekman transport resulting from wind stress, leading to an increase of the sea surface temperature and sensible heat flux into the atmosphere. Although the anomalous sensible heating favored surface pressure to reduce, it was not conducive to the increase of local vorticity associated with the vortex above the heating area because, according to the atmospheric thermal adaptation theory, the anticyclonic vorticity would be created in the lower troposphere due to the decreased vertical gradient of the sensible heating. However, the ascending motions occurred over the eastern area of the anomalous sensible heating due to the augmentation of the vorticity advection with increasing height, causing water vapor to condense in the middle and upper troposphere. In turn, cyclonic vorticity was generated in the lower troposphere due to the increased vertical gradient of the condensation latent heating, resulting in the formation and further growth of the incipient vortex. Therefore, the vorticity creation due to the condensation heating played a dominant role during the subsequent enhancing stage of the incipient vortex.     

Recent Progress in the Impact of the Tibetan Plateau on Climate in China

Studies of the impacts of the Tibetan Plateau （TP） on climate in China in the last four years are reviewed. It is reported that temperature and precipitation over the TP have increased during recent decades. From satellite data analysis, it is demonstrated that most of the precipitation over the TP is from deep convection clouds. Moreover, the huge TP mechanical forcing and extraordinary elevated thermal forcing impose remarkable impacts upon local circulation and global climate. In winter and spring, stream flow is deflected by a large obstacle and appears as an asymmetric dipole, making East Asia much colder than mid Asia in winter and forming persistent rainfall in late winter and early spring over South China. In late spring, TP heating contributes to the establishment and intensification of the South Asian high and the abrupt seasonal transition of the surrounding circulations. In summer, TP heating in conjunction with the TP air pump cause the deviating stream field to resemble a cyclonic spiral, converging towards and rising over the TP. Therefore, the prominent Asian monsoon climate over East Asia and the dry climate over mid Asia in summer are forced by both TP local forcing and Eurasian continental forcing.
Due to the longer memory of snow and soil moisture, the TP thermal status both in summer and in late winter and spring can influence the variation of Eastern Asian summer rainfall. A combined index using both snow cover over the TP and the ENSO index in winter shows a better seasonal forecast.
On the other hand, strong sensible heating over the Tibetan Plateau in spring contributes significantly to anchor the earliest Asian monsoon being over the eastern Bay of Bengal （BOB） and the western Indochina peninsula. Qualitative prediction of the BOB monsoon onset was attempted by using the sign of meridional temperature gradient in March in the upper troposphere, or at 400 hPa over the TP. It is also demonstrated by a numerical experiment and theoretical study that the heating over the TP lea     

Influence of the Tibetan Plateau on the Summer Climate Patterns over Asia in the IAP/LASG SAMIL Model

A series of numerical experiments are carried out by using the Spectral Atmospheric Model of State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics/Institute of Atmospheric Physics （SAMIL） to investigate how the Tibetan Plateau （TP） mechanical and thermal forcing affect the circulation and climate patterns over subtropical Asia. It is shown that, compared to mechanical forcing, the thermal forcing of TP plays a dominant role in determining the large-scale circulation in summer. Both the sensible heating and the latent heating over TP tend to generate a surface cyclonic circulation and a gigantic anticyclonic circulation in the mid- and upper layers, whereas the direct effect of the latter is much more significant. Following a requirement of the time-mean quasi-geostrophic vorticity equation for large-scale air motion in the subtropics, convergent flow and vigorous ascending motion must appear to the east of TP. Hence the summer monsoon in East China is reinforced efficiently by TP. In contrast, the atmosphere to the west of TP is characterized by divergent flow and downward motion, which induces the arid climate in Mid-Asia.     

IMPACTS OF UPPER-LEVEL COLD VORTEX ON THE RAPID CHANGE OF INTENSITY AND MOTION OF TYPHOON MERANTI (2010)

Typhoon Meranti originated over the western North Pacific off the south tip of the Taiwan Island in 2010.It moved westward entering the South China Sea,then abruptly turned north into the Taiwan Strait,got intensified on its way northward,and eventually made landfall on Fujian province.In its evolution,there was a northwest-moving cold vortex in upper troposphere to the south of the Subtropical High over the western North Pacific(hereafter referred to as the Subtropical High).In this paper,the possible impacts of this cold vortex on Meranti in terms of its track and intensity variation is investigated using typhoon best track data from China Meteorological Administration,analyses data of 0.5×0.5 degree provided by the global forecasting system of National Centers for Environmental Prediction,GMS satellite imagery and Taiwan radar data.Results show as follows:(1)The upper-level cold vortex was revolving around the typhoon anticlockwise from its east to its north.In the early stage,due to the blocking of the cold vortex,the role of the Subtropical High to steer Meranti was weakened,which results in the looping of the west-moving typhoon.However,when Meranti was coupled with the cold vortex in meridional direction,the northerly wind changed to the southerly at the upper level of the typhoon;at the same time the Subtropical High protruded westward and its southbound steering flow gained strength,and eventually created an environment in which the southerly winds in both upper and lower troposphere suddenly steered Meranti to the north;(2)The change of airflow direction above the typhoon led to a weak vertical wind shear,which in return facilitated the development of Meranti.Meanwhile,to the east of typhoon Meranti,the overlapped southwesterly jets in upper and lower atmosphere accelerated its tangential wind and contributed to its cyclonic development;(3)The cold vortex not only supplied positive vorticity to the typhoon,but also transported cold advection to its outer bands.In conjunction with the warm and moist air masses at the lower levels,the cold vortex increased the vertical instability in the atmosphere,which was favorable for convection development within the typhoon circulation,and its warmer center was enhanced through latent heat release;(4)Vertical vorticity budget averaged over the typhoon area further shows that the intensification of a typhoon vorticity column mainly depends on horizontal advection of its high-level vorticity,low-level convergence,uneven wind field distribution and its convective activities.     

The Persistent Heavy Rainfall over Southern China in June 2010：Evolution of Synoptic Systems and the Effects of the Tibetan Plateau Heating

This study investigates influencing weather systems for and the effect of Tibetan Plateau （TP）’s surface heating on the heavy rainfall over southern China in June 2010, focusing on the four persistent heavy rainfall events during 14-24 June 2010. The ma jor weather systems include the South Asian high, midlatitude trough and ridge, western Pacific subtropical high in the middle troposphere, and shear lines and eastward-moving vortices in the lower troposphere. An ensemble of convection-permitting simulations （CTL） is carried out with the WRF model for these rainfall events, which successfully reproduce the observed evolution of precipitation and weather systems. Another ensemble of simulations （SEN） with the surface albedo over the TP and its southern slope changed artificially to one, i.e., the surface does not absorb any solar heating, otherwise it is identical to CTL, is also performed. Comparison between CTL and SEN suggests that the surface sensible heating of TP in CTL significantly affects the temperature distributions over the plateau and its surroundings, and the thermal wind adjustment consequently changes atmospheric circulations and properties of the synoptic systems, leading to intensified precipitation over southern China. Specifically, at 200 hPa, anticyclonic and cyclonic anomalies form over the western and eastern plateau, respectively, which enhances the southward cold air intrusion along the eastern TP and the divergence over southern China;at 500 hPa, the ridge over the northern plateau and the trough over eastern China are strengthened, the southwesterly flows along the northwestern side of the subtropical high are intensified, and the positive vorticity propagation from the plateau to its downstream is also enhanced significantly;at 850 hPa, the low-pressure vortices strongly develop and move eastward while the southwesterly low-level jet over southern China strengthens in CTL, leading to increased water vapor convergence and upward motion over the precipitation region.     

Relationship Between Upper-Ocean Heat Content in the Tropical Indian Ocean and Summer Precipitation in China

An analysis of the Ishii ocean heat content(OHC) in the tropical Indian Ocean from the surface to 700-m depth shows that the OHC changes dramatically on the interannual timescale in the Indian Ocean.The first mode of empirical orthogonal function(EOF1) of the OHC shows that there is a strong air-sea interaction pattern in the Indian Ocean with a positive(negative) loading in the east and a negative(positive) loading in the west.This seesaw oscillation pattern influences the summer precipitation in China with a North-South reversed distribution.Composite analysis shows that during a positive(negative) OHC episode,an anomalous cyclonic(anticyclonic) circulation over the western Pacific and South China weakens(enhances) the monsoonal northward flow in the lower troposphere;meanwhile,anomalous meridional circulation connects the descending(ascending) branch over the Southeast Indian Ocean and the ascending(descending) branch in South China as well as a descending(ascending) branch over North China.Analysis of the mechanism behind these features suggests that(1) the accumulation of OHC-induced vorticity is related to the wave activity over the mid-latitudes and that(2) the meridional teleconnection induced by the Indo-Pacific air-OHC interaction appears over East Asia and the western Pacific.Both of these patterns can cause summer precipitation anomalies in China.     

Analysis on Anomalous Precipitation in Southern China During Winter Monsoons

The winters of 1997/1998 and 1998/1999,corresponding to El Ni(?)o and La Ni(?)a episodes,respectively, were two typical rain-abundant and-scarce seasons for the southern China.In order to understand the cause of the anomalous precipitation during the two winters,a comparative analysis technique has been employed to investigate the differences in general circulation and moisture transportation between the two seasons. The results show that the abundant rainfall during the winter of 1997/1998 was associated with the ENSO warm episode event,eastward shifted weak westerly trough/ridge,weakened East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM),strengthened subtropical high,and presented two anti-cyclonic circulations over Hokkaido and the Philippine Sea,respectively,as well as one cyclonic circulation over the Yangtze River Basin in the anomalous wind fields of the lower troposphere.During the rain-scarce winter,however,the patterns of equatorial sea surface temperature anomalies and the circulation systems both in upper and lower levels were nearly the opposite of those during the rain-abundant winter.It has also been discovered that the water vapor over southern China during the winters came mainly from the southwesterly flow ahead of troughs in the southern branch of westerlies and the turning flow over the South China Sea-Indo-China Peninsula area;and the moisture transportation channels varied significantly with regard to height.The intensified flow in the southern branch of westerlies and the anti-cyclonic circulation anomaly over the Philippine Sea during the winter of 1997/1998 were favorable for moisture transportation to mainland China,however the two moisture transportation streams were dramatically weakened during the winter of 1998/1999 due to weak westerly flow and the dominance of a cold high system in the lower level over the southeast coast of China.Such a significant inter-annual change of moisture transportation is a key factor resulting in the obvious difference in precipitation between the two winters.     

Large-scale Circulation Control of the Occurrence of Low-level Turbulence at Hong Kong International Airport

This study identifies the atmospheric circulation features that are favorable for the occurrence of low-level turbulence at Hong Kong International Airport [below 1600 feet(around 500 m)]. By using LIDAR data at the airport, turbulence and nonturbulence cases are selected. It is found that the occurrence of turbulence is significantly related to the strength of the southerly wind at 850 h Pa over the South China coast. On the other hand, the east–west wind at this height demonstrates a weak relation to the occurrence. This suggests that turbulence is generated by flow passing Lantau Island from the south. The southerly wind also transports moisture from the South China Sea to Hong Kong, reducing local stability. This is favorable for the development of strong turbulence. It is also noted that the strong southerly wind during the occurrence of low-level turbulence is contributed by an anomalous zonal gradient of geopotential in the lower troposphere over the South China Sea. This gradient is caused by the combination of variations at different timescales. These are the passage of synoptic extratropical cyclones and anticyclones and the intraseasonal variation in the western North Pacific subtropical high. The seasonal variation in geopotential east of the Tibetan Plateau leads to a seasonal change in meridional wind, by which the frequency of low-level turbulence is maximized in spring and minimized in autumn.     

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SEASONAL TRANSITION OF EAST ASIAN MONSOON CIRCULATION AND ASIAN-PACIFIC THERMAL FIELD AND POSSIBLE MECHANISMS

The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis, CMAP rainfall and Hadley Centre sea surface temperature (SST) datasets are used to investigate the relationship between the seasonal transition of East Asian monsoon and Asian-Pacific thermal contrast, together with the possible causes. Based on the 250 hPa air temperature over two selected key areas, the Asian-Pacific thermal difference (APTD) index is calculated. Results show that the APTD index is highly consistent with the Asian-Pacific Oscillation (APO) index defined by Zhao et al., in terms of different key areas in different seasons. Moreover, the time point of the seasonal transition of the Asian-Pacific thermal contrast can be well determined by the APTD index, indicative of seasonal variation in East Asian atmospheric circulation from winter to summer. The transition characteristic of the circulation can be summarized as follows. The continental cold high at lower tropospheric level moves eastward to the East China Sea and decreases rapidly in intensity, while the low-level northerlies turn to southerlies. At middle tropospheric level, the East Asia major trough is reduced and moves eastward. Furthermore, the subtropical high strengthens and appears near Philippines. The South Asia high shifts from the east of Philippines to the west of Indochina Peninsula, and the prevailing southerlies change into northerlies in upper troposphere. Meanwhile, both the westerly and easterly jets both jump to the north. The seasonal transition of atmospheric circulation is closely related to the thermal contrast, and the possible mechanism can be concluded as follows. Under the background of the APTD seasonal transition, the southerly wind appears firstly at lower troposphere, which triggers the ascending motion via changing vertical shear of meridional winds. The resultant latent heating accelerates the transition of heating pattern from winter to summer. The summer heating pattern can further promote the adjustment of circulation, which favors the formation and strengthening of the low-level southerly and upper-level northerly winds. As a result, the meridional circulation of the East Asian subtropical monsoon is established through a positive feedback between the circulation and thermal fields. Moreover, the time point of this seasonal transition has a significant positive correlation with the SST anomalies over the tropical central-eastern Pacific Ocean, providing a basis for the short-term climate prediction.     

LARGE SCALE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT

The large-scale environmental conditions for thunderstorm development have been studied with 40 selected synoptic processes during 1972-1983. It is shown that the thunderstorms in eastern China can be divided into two types: pre-trough and post-trough. The convective instability before the pre-trough thunderstorms is established primarily by the dry and moist differential advection and that before the post-trough thunderstorms by the cold and warm differential advection. The subsynoptic scale circulation has direct effects on the establishment and release of instability. The pre-trough thunderstorms occur in the overlapping region of the ascending motion in the upper baroclinic waves and the ascending branch of the low-level jet strong wind core circulation and the post-trough thunderstorms occur in the lower convergent region below the ascending branch of the jet-front circulation. The effect of the lower dry and warm lids, the coupling of the low-and upper-level jets and the dry advection in the middl     

Progress in the study on the formation of the summertime subtropical anticyclone

The studies in China on the formation of the summertime subtropical anticyclone on the climate timescale are reviewed. New insights in resent studies are introduced. It is stressed that either in the free atmosphere or in the planetary boundary, the descending arm of the Hadley cell cannot be considered as a mechanism for the formation of the subtropical anticyclone. Then the theories of thermal adaptation of the atmosphere to external thermal forcing and the potential vorticity forcing are developed to understand the formation of the subtropical anticyclone in the three-dimensional domain. Numerical experiments are designed to verify these theories. Results show that in the boreal summer, the formation of the strong South Asian High in the upper troposphere and the subtropical anticyclone over the western Pacific in the middle and lower troposphere is, to a great extent, due to the convective latent heating associated with the Asian monsoon, but affected by orography and the surface sensible heating over the continents.On the other hand, the formation of the subtropical anticyclone at the surface over the northern Pacific and in the upper troposphere over North America is mainly due to the strong surface sensible heating over North America, but affected by radiation cooling over the eastern North Pacific. Moreover, in the real atmosphere such individual thermal forcing is well organized. By considering the different diabatic heating in synthesis, a quadruple heating pattern is found over each subtropical continent and its adjacent oceans in summer. A distinct circulation pattern accompanies this heating pattern. The global summer subtropical heating and circulation may be viewed as “mosaics” of such quadruplet heating and circulationpatterns respectively. At last, some important issues for further research in understanding and predicting the variations of the subtropical anticyclone are raised.     

Improved Wind and Precipitation Forecasts over South China Using a Modified Orographic Drag Parameterization Scheme

To improve the wind and precipitation forecasts over South China, a modified orographic drag parameterization(OP) scheme that considers both the gravity wave drag(GWD) and the mountain blocking drag(MBD) effects was implemented in the Global/Regional Assimilation and Prediction System Tropical Mesoscale Model(GRAPES-TMM). Simulations were performed over one month starting from 1200 UTC19 June 2013. The initial and lateral boundary conditions were obtained from the NCEP global forecast system output. The simulation results were compared among a control(CTL) experiment without the OP scheme, a GWDO experiment with the OP scheme that considers only the GWD effect, and an MBD experiment with the modified OP scheme(including both GWD and MBD). The simulation with the modified OP scheme successfully captured the main features of precipitation, including its distribution and intensity,and improved the wind circulation forecast in the lower troposphere. The modified OP scheme appears to improve the wind forecast by accelerating the ascending air motion and reinforcing the convergence in the rainfall area. Overall, the modified OP scheme exerts positive impacts on the forecast of large-scale atmospheric fields in South China.     

Simulation of the radiative effect of black carbon aerosols and the regional climate responses over China

As part of the development work of the Chinese new regional climate model (RIEMS), the radiative process of black carbon (BC) aerosols has been introduced into the original radiative procedures of RIEMS,and the transport model of BC aerosols has also been established and combined with the RIEMS model.Using the new model system, the distribution of black carbon aerosols and their radiative effect over the China region are investigated. The influences of BC aerosole on the atmospheric radiative transfer and on the air temperature, land surface temperature, and total rainfall are analyzed. It is found that BC aerosols induce a positive radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere (TOA), which is dominated by shortwave radiative forcing. The maximum radiative forcing occurs in North China in July and in South China in April. At the same time, negative radiative forcing is observed on the surface. Based on the radiative forcing comparison between clear sky and cloudy sky, it is found that cloud can enforce the TOA positive radiative forcing and decrease the negative surface radiative forcing. The responses of the climate system in July to the radiative forcing due to BC aerosols are the decrease in the air temperature in the middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang River and Huaihe area and most areas of South China, and the weak increase or decrease in air temperature over North China. The total rainfall in the middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang River area is increased, but it decreased in North China in July.     

DIAGNOSTIC ANALYSIS OF THE RE-INTENSIFICATION OF HIGOS IN SOUTHERN CHINA AFTER LANDFALL

The NCEP Global Data Assimilation System analysis of grid data, satellite products of Naval Research Laboratory, conventional meteorological data and observations of automatic weather stations in Guangdong province were used together with environmental conditions, atmospheric circulation, and physical characteristics to diagnose the cause and mechanism of the intensification of tropical cyclone Higos in Southern China. The results showed that favorable environmental conditions of high temperature, humidity of the underlying surface, strong upper divergence, weak vertical wind shear, and the persistence of a southwest jet stream beside the southern Higos were the necessary ingredients that contributed to the maintenance of intensity and re-intensification of Higos. The sinking intrusion of cold air from the lower troposphere was the critical condition for its intensification over land. The frontal genesis caused by weak cold air increased the lower tropospheric convergence and updraft, and the condensation latent heat released by heavy rains promoted convergence. From this positive feedback process, Higos obtained an increasing of positive vorticity and re-intensified over land. The re-intensification was due not only to the build-up of wind and the reduction of pressure but also to the simultaneous warm-up of its warm core.     

Performance Evaluation of the GRAPES Model in Wind Simulations Over South China

In the present study, the performance of the GRAPES model in wind simulation over south China was assessed. The simulations were evaluated by using surface observations and two sounding stations in south China. The results show that the GRAPES model could provide a reliable simulation of the distribution and diurnal variation of the wind. It showed a generally overestimated southerly wind speed especially over the Pearl River Delta region and the south of Jiangxi Province as well as the coastal region over south China. GRAPES also exhibited a large number of stations with the opposite surface wind directions over the east of Guangxi and the south of Jiangxi during the nocturnal- to-morning period, as well as an overall overestimation of surface wind over the coastal regions during the afternoon. Although GRAPES could simulate the general evolutional characteristics of vertical wind profile, it underestimated wind speed above 900 hPa and overestimated wind speed below 900 hPa. Though the parameterization scheme of gravity wave drag proved to be an effective method to alleviate the systematic deviation of wind simulation, GRAPES still exhibited large errors in wind simulation, especially in the lower and upper troposphere.     

Air Temperature Changes over the Tibetan Plateau and Other Regions in the Same Latitudes and the Role of Ozone Depletion

Using radiosonde and satellite observations, we investigated the trends of air temperature changes over the Tibetan Plateau （TP） in comparison with those over other regions in the same latitudes from 1979 to 2002. It is shown that Over the TP, the trends of air temperature changes in the upper troposphere to lower stratosphere were out of phase with those in the lower to middle troposphere. Air temperature decreased and a decreasing trend appeared in the upper troposphere to lower stratosphere. The amplitude of the annual or seasonal mean temperature decreases over the TP was larger than that over the whole globe. In the lower to middle troposphere over the TP, temperature increased, and the increasing trend was stronger than that over the non-plateau regions in the same latitudes in the eastern part of China. Meanwhile, an analysis of the satellite observed ozone data in the same period of 1979-2002 shows that over the TP, the total ozone amount declined in all seasons, and the ozone depleted the most compared with the situations in other regions in the same latitudes. It is proposed that the difference between the ozone depletion over the TP and that over other regions in the same latitudes may lead to the difference in air temperature changes. Because of the aggravated depletion of ozone over the TP, less （more） ultraviolet radiation was absorbed in the upper troposphere to lower stratosphere （lower to middle troposphere） over the TP, which favored a stronger cooling in the upper troposphere to lower stratosphere, and an intenser heating in the lower to middle troposphere over the TP. Therefore, the comparatively more depletion of ozone over the TP is possibly a reason for the difference between the air temperature changes over the TP and those over other regions in the same latitudes.     

Influence of the Asian-Pacific Oscillation on Spring Precipitation over Central Eastern China

The linkage between the Asian-Pacific oscillation(APO)and the precipitation over central eastern China in spring is preliminarily addressed by use of the observed data.Results show that they correlate very well,with the positive(negative)phase of APO tending to increase(decrease)the precipitation over central eastern China.Such a relationship can be explained by the atmospheric circulation changes over Asia and the North Pacific in association with the anomalous APO.A positive phase of APO,characterized by a positive anomaly over Asia and a negative anomaly over the North Pacific in the upper-tropospheric temperature,corresponds to decreased low-level geopotential height(H)and increased high-level H over Asia,and these effects are concurrent with increased low-level H and decreased high-level H over the North Pacific.Meanwhile,an anticyclonic circulation anomaly in the upper troposphere and a cyclonic circulation anomaly in the lower troposphere are introduced in East Asia,and the low-level southerly wind is strengthened over central eastern China.These changes provide advantageous conditions for enhanced precipitation over central eastern China.The situation is reversed in the negative phase of APO,leading to reduced precipitation in this region.     

A Comparison of Precipitation Distribution of Two Landfalling Tropical Cyclones during the Extratropical Transition

The precipitation distributions associated with two landfalling tropical cyclones(TCs) during extratropical transition(ET) were examined in this study.Their distinction is that the bulk of precipitation fell to the left of the TC track in one TC and to the right in the other.The analyses indicate that,for the TC Haima(2004) case,accompanied by the approach of a deep midlatitude trough throughout the depth of the troposphere,the warm and moist air advection by the southeasterly flow north of TC was favorable for warm advection and frontogenesis to the northwest of the TC.Due to the steepening of equivalent potential temperature(θ e),the air-parcel uplift along the θ e surface,in collaboration with thermally direct circulation related to frontogenesis,led to enhanced precipitation northwest of the TC.In contrast,for TC Matsa(2005) embedded within a moister environment,a weak midlatitude trough was situated at the mid-upper level.The convection was triggered by the conditional instability at the lower level and then sustained by dynamic forcing at the mid-upper level so that the heavy precipitation occurred to the northeast of TC.For the two TC cases,the precipitation enhancement was also linked to the upper-level anomalous divergence associated with the jet-related forcing on the right side of the jet entrance.From the quasigeostrophic perspective,the advection of geostrophic absolute vorticity by the thermal wind most likely served as an indication reflecting the displacement of the vertical motion relative to the center of the TC.