On the misinterpretation of the North Atlantic Oscillation in CMIP5 models

The representation of the wintertime North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and its relationship with atmospheric blocking and the Atlantic jet stream is investigated in a set of CMIP5 models. It is shown that some state-of-the-art climate models are unable to correctly simulate the physical processes connected to the NAO. This is especially true for models with a strongly underestimated frequency of high-latitude blocking over Greenland. In these models the first empirical orthogonal function (EOF1) of the Euro-Atlantic sector can represent at least three different categories of dominant modes of variability associated with different prevalent regions of blocking occurrence and jet stream displacements. It is therefore possible to show that such “biased NAOs” are connected with different dynamical processes with respect to the canonical NAO seen in observations. Since the NAO is a widely used concept in scientific community, the consequent “dynamical misinterpretation” of the NAO that can result when climate models are analyzed may have important implications for the NAO-related studies. This may be especially relevant for the ones involving climate scenarios, since these modeled NAOs may react differently to greenhouse gas forcing.     

BCC模式对北半球阻塞高压的模拟偏差评估及原因

基于NCEP/NCAR、日本气象厅的JRA55以及欧洲中期预报中心（ECMWF）最新发布的ERA5三套逐日再分析资料数据,考察国家气候中心中等分辨率（约110 km）的气候系统模式BCC-CSM2-MR和单独大气模式BCC-AGCM3-MR对北半球中高纬度阻塞高压（阻高）的模拟能力。再分析数据分析结果表明:“北大西洋—欧洲地区”以及“北太平洋中部地区”分别为北半球阻高发生的最高频及次高频区域;冬春季为阻高高发季节,夏秋季阻高频率减少至冬春季的一半左右;ERA5再分析资料中各个季节的阻高频率均高于另两套资料结果,尤其在北太平洋地区。模拟评估结果显示,单独大气模式BCC-AGCM3-MR对北半球中高纬度阻高发生频率、空间分布和季节变化特征均有较好的模拟能力,其主要偏差表现为冬春欧亚大陆特别是乌拉尔山地区阻高频率偏高,而北大西洋地区阻高频率偏低;春季北太平洋阻高频率偏低。这与模式北半球高纬度地区500 hPa位势高度场气候态偏差有关。BCC-CSM2-MR耦合模式的阻高模拟偏差总体与大气模式类似。但耦合模式中冬季欧亚大陆特别是乌拉尔山地区阻高频率减小、北太平洋春季阻高频率增大,模拟偏差减小。同时,耦合模式能够再现夏季北太平洋东西阻高频率双峰值特征。因此,海气耦合过程有助于改善对欧亚及北太平洋地区阻高频率模拟。阻高频率年际变率受到气候系统内部变率不确定性的较大影响,这也是制约阻高预测水平的重要因素。     

Atmospheric blocking and its relation to jet changes in a future climate

The future changes of atmospheric blocking over the Euro-Atlantic sector, diagnosed from an ensemble of 17 global-climate simulations obtained with the ECHAM5/MPI-OM model, are shown to be largely explainable from the change of the 500 hPa mean zonal circulation and its variance. The reduction of the blocking frequency over the Atlantic and the increased frequency of easterly upper-level flow poleward of 60°N are well explained by the changes of mean zonal circulation. In winter and autumn an additional downstream shift of the frequency maximum is simulated. This is also seen in a subset of the CMIP5 models with RCP8.5. To explain this downstream shift requires the inclusion of the changing variance. It is suggested that the increased downstream variance is caused by the stronger, more eastward extending future jet, which promotes Rossby wave breaking and blocking to occur further downstream. The same relation between jet-strength and central-blocking longitude is found in the variability of the current climate.     

The influence of tropical sea surface temperatures and precipitation on north Pacific atmospheric blocking

Blocking is a major component of the extratropical climate and any changes in it would be a very important aspect of climate change there. Previous studies have shown that mid-latitude variability such as blocking is sensitive to tropical sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and to variations in tropical precipitation. Climate models exhibit a wide range of skill in representing blocking, with all models having deficiencies in certain respects. In addition, coupled climate models often exhibit significant biases in both tropical precipitation and tropical and extratropical SSTs. This suggests that tropical systematic biases in coupled climate models may influence the representation of blocking and its sensitivity to climate change. We examine the relationship between winter north Pacific blocking and tropical precipitation and tropical SSTs through the use of idealised SST anomaly experiments. We find that interannual variations in convection over the Maritime Continent and eastern equatorial Pacific regions both influence the central and eastern Pacific winter blocking frequency. In addition, systematic underestimation of tropical rainfall over the Maritime Continent region in climate models can lead to underestimation of time-mean winter Pacific blocking. Finally, the sign, magnitude and variability of tropical SST biases in a coupled model, and their associated effects on tropical precipitation, could influence its representation of northern hemisphere blocking, and thus affect its ability to represent this mode of remotely-forced mid-latitude variability. These results have important implications for model development.     

多套大气再分析资料的南亚高压强度变化特征及其与海表温度异常关系的比较分析

以往的研究中多采用NCE/NCAR再分析资料来讨论南亚高压的变化特征及其与海表温度的关系,鉴于其分析结果具有一定的片面性,本文采用ERA40、ERA—Interim、NCEWNCAR、NCEP—DOE和JRA．25五套再分析资料,以及应用全球、热带印度洋和热带大西洋1978--2008年逐月观测海表温度分别驱动NCARCAM5．1全球大气环流模式的数值模拟结果,比较了它们的夏季南亚高压强度变化特征及其与海表温度的关系。再分析资料问的比较结果表明,NCEWNCAR、NCEP—DOE两套再分析资料与ERA40、ERA—Interim、JRA-25三套再分析资料的南亚高压强度变化在20世纪70年代末至90年代初存在非常明显的差异,前两套再分析资料揭示的该时段南亚高压强度显著偏高,可能是不真实的,进而导致南亚高压强度与海表温度异常的关系与后三套再分析资料的结果差异明显。ERA40、ERA—Interim和JRA-25三套再分析资料和数值试验结果均表明,20世纪70年代末以后,夏季南亚高压强度异常与前期冬季、春季及同期夏季的热带印度洋海表温度异常关系持续密切,表明热带印度洋是影响夏季南亚高压强度变化的关键海区。当热带印度洋偏暖时,热带地区对流层温度增暖,南亚高压强度增强、面积增大、南扩、东伸西展,反之亦然。     

夏季东亚高空西风急流气候特征分析

利用NCEP/NCAR全球再分析风场资料定义了西风急流强度指数和位置指数,然后利用EOF方法对西风急流进行了进一步的分析,分析了高空西风急流的空间分布特征,从强度和位置两方面分析了西风急流与东亚环流及其与海温的关系。分析表明： EOF第一模态反映了东亚高空急流的位置指数,第二模态反映了高空急流的强度指数。东亚高空急流与对流层大气环流包括南亚高压,西太平洋副热带高压,东亚夏季风存在着密切关系,其气候变化与热带副热带东太平洋、印度洋海温密切相关。     

Application of blocking diagnosis methods to General Circulation Models. Part II: model simulations

A previously defined automatic method is applied to reanalysis and present-day (1950–1989) forced simulations of the ECHO-G model in order to assess its performance in reproducing atmospheric blocking in the Northern Hemisphere. Unlike previous methodologies, critical parameters and thresholds to estimate blocking occurrence in the model are not calibrated with an observed reference, but objectively derived from the simulated climatology. The choice of model dependent parameters allows for an objective definition of blocking and corrects for some intrinsic model bias, the difference between model and observed thresholds providing a measure of systematic errors in the model. The model captures reasonably the main blocking features (location, amplitude, annual cycle and persistence) found in observations, but reveals a relative southward shift of Eurasian blocks and an overall underestimation of blocking activity, especially over the Euro-Atlantic sector. Blocking underestimation mostly arises from the model inability to generate long persistent blocks with the observed frequency. This error is mainly attributed to a bias in the basic state. The bias pattern consists of excessive zonal winds over the Euro-Atlantic sector and a southward shift at the exit zone of the jet stream extending into in the Eurasian continent, that are more prominent in cold and warm seasons and account for much of Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian blocking errors, respectively. It is shown that other widely used blocking indices or empirical observational thresholds may not give a proper account of the lack of realism in the model as compared with the proposed method. This suggests that in addition to blocking changes that could be ascribed to natural variability processes or climate change signals in the simulated climate, attention should be paid to significant departures in the diagnosis of phenomena that can also arise from an inappropriate adaptation of detection methods to the climate of the model.     

Climatology and interannual variability of storm-tracks in the Euro-Atlantic sector: a comparison between ERA-40 and NCEP/NCAR reanalyses

An objective methodology is applied to ERA-40 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts 40-year Reanalysis) and NCEP/NCAR (National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research) reanalyses, to build two storm-track databases for the Euro-Atlantic sector (85°W–70°E; 20°N–75°N), spanning the period December 1958–March 2000. The technique uses the full temporal (6-hourly) and spatial resolutions (1.125° and 2.5° regular grids, for ERA-40 and NCEP/NCAR, respectively) available. It is shown that the strong discrepancies in the number of storms in each dataset (higher for ERA-40) result from differences in the resolution of the fields subject to the storm detecting/tracking algorithm, and also from the characteristics of the integration models and assimilation schemes used for each reanalysis. An intercomparison of ERA-40 and NCEP/NCAR storm-tracks is performed for spatial distribution, and main characteristics, of the overall cyclone population and of a class of severe storms—explosive cyclones. Despite the discrepancies in storm numbers, both reanalyses agree on the main cyclone activity areas (formation, minimum central pressure, and lysis). The most pronounced differences occur where subsynoptic systems are frequent, as these are better resolved by ERA-40 data. The interannual variability of cyclone counts, analysed per intensity classes and for different regions of the domain, reveals reasonable agreement between the two datasets on the sign of trends (generally positive in northern latitudes, and negative in the Azores-Mediterranean band), but discrepancies regarding their strength in the most southern areas, where the mismatches between ERA-40 and NCEP/NCAR detected lows are greatest. Submitted to Climate Dynamics in December 2004     

Assessment of atmosphere-ocean general circulation model simulations of winter northern hemisphere atmospheric blocking

An assessment of six coupled Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Models (AOGCMs) is undertaken in order to evaluate their ability in simulating winter atmospheric blocking highs in the northern hemisphere. The poor representation of atmospheric blocking in climate models is a long-standing problem (e.g. D’Andrea et?al. in Clim Dyn 4:385–407, 1998), and despite considerable effort in model development, there is only a moderate improvement in blocking simulation. A modified version of the Tibaldi and Molteni (in Tellus A 42:343–365, 1990) blocking index is applied to daily averaged 500?hPa geopotential fields, from the ERA-40 reanalysis and as simulated by the climate models, during the winter periods from 1957 to 1999. The two preferred regions of blocking development, in the Euro-Atlantic and North Pacific, are relatively well captured by most of the models. However, the prominent error in blocking simulations consists of an underestimation of the total frequency of blocking episodes over both regions. A more detailed analysis revealed that this error was due to an insufficient number of medium spells and long-lasting episodes, and a shift in blocking lifetime distributions towards shorter blocks in the Euro-Atlantic sector. In the Pacific, results are more diverse; the models are equally likely to overestimate or underestimate the frequency at different spell lengths. Blocking spatial signatures are relatively well simulated in the Euro-Atlantic sector, while errors in the intensity and geographical location of the blocks emerge in the Pacific. The impact of models’ systematic errors on blocking simulation has also been analysed. The time-mean atmospheric circulation biases affect the frequency of blocking episodes, and the maximum event duration in the Euro-Atlantic region, while they sometimes cause geographical mislocations in the Pacific sector. The analysis of the systematic error in time-variability has revealed a negative relationship between the high-frequency variability of the transient eddies in the areas affected by blocking and blocking frequency. The blocking responses to errors in the low-frequency variability are different according to the region considered; the amplitude of the low-frequency variability is positively related to the blocking frequency and persistence in the Euro-Atlantic sector, while no such consistency is observed in the Pacific.     

Influence of SST biases on future climate change projections

We use a quantile-based bias correction technique and a multi-member ensemble of the atmospheric component of NCAR CCSM3 (CAM3) simulations to investigate the influence of sea surface temperature (SST) biases on future climate change projections. The simulations, which cover 1977?C1999 in the historical period and 2077?C2099 in the future (A1B) period, use the CCSM3-generated SSTs as prescribed boundary conditions. Bias correction is applied to the monthly time-series of SSTs so that the simulated changes in SST mean and variability are preserved. Our comparison of CAM3 simulations with and without SST correction shows that the SST biases affect the precipitation distribution in CAM3 over many regions by introducing errors in atmospheric moisture content and upper-level (lower-level) divergence (convergence). Also, bias correction leads to significantly different precipitation and surface temperature changes over many oceanic and terrestrial regions (predominantly in the tropics) in response to the future anthropogenic increases in greenhouse forcing. The differences in the precipitation response from SST bias correction occur both in the mean and the percent change, and are independent of the ocean?Catmosphere coupling. Many of these differences are comparable to or larger than the spread of future precipitation changes across the CMIP3 ensemble. Such biases can affect the simulated terrestrial feedbacks and thermohaline circulations in coupled climate model integrations through changes in the hydrological cycle and ocean salinity. Moreover, biases in CCSM3-generated SSTs are generally similar to the biases in CMIP3 ensemble mean SSTs, suggesting that other GCMs may display a similar sensitivity of projected climate change to SST errors. These results help to quantify the influence of climate model biases on the simulated climate change, and therefore should inform the effort to further develop approaches for reliable climate change projection.     

Winter cloudiness variability in the Mediterranean region and its connection to atmospheric circulation features

The temporal and spatial variability of winter total cloud cover in southern Europe and the Mediterranean region and its connection to the synoptic-scale features of the general atmospheric circulation are examined for the period 1950–2005, by using the diagnostic and intrinsic NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis data sets. At first, S-mode factor analysis is applied to the time series of winter cloud cover, revealing five factors that correspond to the main modes of inter-annual variability of cloudiness. The linkage between each of the five factors and the atmospheric circulation is examined by constructing the 500 hPa and 1,000 hPa geopotential height anomaly patterns that correspond to the highest/lowest factor scores. Then, k-means cluster analysis is applied to the factor scores time series, classifying the 56 years into six distinct clusters that describe the main modes of spatial distribution of cloudiness. Eventually, canonical correlation analysis is applied to the factor scores time series of: (1) 500 and 1,000 hPa geopotential heights over Europe and the North Atlantic Ocean and (2) total cloud cover over southern Europe and the Mediterranean, in order to define the main centers of action in the middle and the lower troposphere that control winter cloudiness variability in the various sub-regions of the area under study. Three statistically significant canonical pairs are revealed, defining the main modes of atmospheric circulation forcing on cloudiness variability. North Atlantic oscillation and European blocking activity modulate the highest percentage of cloudiness variability. A statistically significant negative trend of winter cloudiness is found for central and southern Europe and the Mediterranean region. This negative trend is associated with the corresponding positive trends in NAO and European blocking activity.     

Spatial differences in seasonal variation of the upper-tropospheric jet stream in the Northern Hemisphere and its thermal dynamic mechanism

NCEP/NCAR reanalysis daily data from 1951 to 2008 are used in this study to reveal the spatial-asymmetric features in the seasonal variation of the upper-tropospheric jet stream (UTJS) and its thermal dynamic forcing mechanism. The jet occurrence percentage distribution of the UTJS demonstrates a spiral-like pattern in winter, but it is quasi-annular in summer. The jet occurrence percentage in the Eastern Hemisphere is larger than that in the Western Hemisphere, and its maximum area is located further south. The polar front jet stream (PJS) and subtropical jet stream (SJS) can be distinguished over the Northern Africa and Asian regions, whereas only one jet stream can be observed over the Western Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, a single peak pattern is found in the seasonal variation of the SJS occurrence frequency with the highest jet occurrence appearing in winter and the lowest in summer, while a double peak pattern is observed in the seasonal variation of the PJS occurrence, i.e., the jet occurrence reaches its peaks in autumn and spring for the PJS. Based on the thermal wind theory, air temperature gradient and atmospheric baroclinicity are calculated and compared with the jet occurrence variation to explore the thermal dynamic forcing mechanism for the UTJS variation. In addition, synoptic-scale transports of eddy heat and momentum are also calculated. The results indicate that the SJS variation is primarily determined by the air temperature gradient and atmospheric baroclinicity, while the PJS variation is under great influence of the transport of eddy heat and momentum over Northern Africa and East Asia. The UTJS variation over the area from 140E to 70W cannot be well individually explained by the air temperature gradient and atmospheric baroclinicity. Further analysis indicates that UTJS variation over this area is largely under control of combined effect of the transport of eddy heat and momentum as well as the atmospheric baroclinicity.     

夏季东亚高空急流与天气尺度波动的气候特征之间的联系

利用NCEP/NCAR逐日资料(1979~2003年),分析了东亚夏季高空急流和天气尺度波动气候特征之间的联系。通过分析急流与天气尺度波动活动量Q(用于描述某一时间段内天气尺度波动活动强弱程度)、热量涡动输送(V′T′)的关系,发现:在气候平均意义下,天气尺度波动活动量在6、8月较大,这意味着在这两个月中,天气尺度波动较为剧烈。这和急流的强度变化是相对应的,即强的天气尺度波动活动量对应着强的急流,弱的天气尺度波动活动量对应着弱的急流。热量涡动输送也表现出与天气尺度波动活动量类似的特征。年际变化上,夏季平均和6、7、8各月平均的热量涡动输送和急流强度都存在显著的正相关。对强、弱急流年份条件下热量涡动输送合成分析的结果表明:热量涡动输送偏南时,对应着强的急流;热量涡动输送偏北时,对应着弱的急流。以上的研究结果说明,在气候平均意义和年际变化上夏季东亚高空急流和天气尺度波动之间有着密切的联系。     

斯堪的纳维亚上空的臭氧亏损与北大西洋海温

利用TOMS臭氧资料和NCAR/NCEP再分析海温资料，分析研究了斯堪的纳维亚地区的臭氧亏损状况及其季节变化规律，指出在斯堪的纳维亚地区上空存在一个严重的臭氧亏损区。该臭氧亏损有明显的季节变化:冬季最强，夏季最弱。同时研究了北大西洋海温分布和季节变化，指出其与斯堪的纳维亚地区臭氧亏损有极好的负相关。因此，认为可以用北大西洋海温的季节变化来估计斯堪的纳维亚地区气候尺度的臭氧亏损变化。     

Behaviour of the winter North Atlantic eddy-driven jet stream in the CMIP3 integrations

A systematic analysis of the winter North Atlantic eddy-driven jet stream latitude and wind speed from 52 model integrations, taken from the coupled model intercomparison project phase 3, is carried out and compared to results obtained from the ERA-40 reanalyses. We consider here a control simulation, twentieth century simulation, and two time periods (2046–2065 and 2081–2100) from a twenty-first century, high-emission A2 forced simulation. The jet wind speed seasonality is found to be similar between the twentieth century simulations and the ERA-40 reanalyses and also between the control and forced simulations although nearly half of the models overestimate the amplitude of the seasonal cycle. A systematic equatorward bias of the models jet latitude seasonality, by up to 7°, is observed, and models additionally overestimate the seasonal cycle of jet latitude about the mean, with the majority of the models showing equatorward and poleward biases during the cold and warm seasons respectively. A main finding of this work is that no GCM under any forcing scenario considered here is able to simulate the trimodal behaviour of the observed jet latitude distribution. The models suffer from serious problems in the structure of jet variability, rather than just quantitiative errors in the statistical moments.     

Analysis of the present and future winter Pacific-North American teleconnection in the ECHAM5 global and RegCM3 regional climate models

We use the NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis (NCEP) and the MPI/ECHAM5 general circulation model to drive the RegCM3 regional climate model to assess the ability of the models to reproduce the spatiotemporal aspects of the Pacific-North American teleconnection (PNA) pattern. Composite anomalies of the NCEP-driven RegCM3 simulations for 1982–2000 indicate that the regional model is capable of accurately simulating the key features (500-hPa heights, surface temperature, and precipitation) of the positive and negative phases of the PNA with little loss of information in the downscaling process. The basic structure of the PNA is captured in both the ECHAM5 global and ECHAM5-driven RegCM3 simulations. The 1950–2000 ECHAM5 simulation displays similar temporal and spatial variability in the PNA index as that of NCEP; however, the magnitudes of the positive and negative phases are weaker than those of NCEP. The RegCM3 simulations clearly differentiate the climatology and associated anomalies of snow water equivalent and soil moisture of the positive and negative PNA phases. In the RegCM3 simulations of the future (2050–2100), changes in the location and extent of the Aleutian low and the continental high over North America alter the dominant flow patterns associated with positive and negative PNA modes. The future projections display a shift in the patterns of the relationship between the PNA and surface climate variables, which suggest the potential for changes in the PNA-related surface hydrology of North America.     

北极涛动与东亚冬季气候在年际尺度上的联系:准定常行星波的作用

利用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料和我国160站月平均气温资料,首先采用线性回归的方法分析了从1958至1998年40个冬季北极涛动(AO)与东亚气候异常的关系.结果表明,当AO处于正位相时,东亚地区200 hPa的急流明显北跳,东亚大槽显著减弱,而在中国的华北、东北到西伯利亚出现大范围的地表南风异常,使得低空从西伯利亚到我国的东北、华北以及韩国、日本有显著的暖异常; 而当AO处于负位相时,则往往出现相反的情形.进一步的相关和合成分析发现,准定常行星波活动可以在AO与东亚气候之间起到桥梁作用.AO可以通过影响中高纬平流层下层的西风强弱,进而影响到准定常行星波的垂直传播,使得对流层下层中高纬地区的行星波振幅发生变化,从而导致低层的西伯利亚高压和阿留申低压同时减弱或增强,最终导致东亚地区异常偏暖或偏冷; 其中低层中高纬地区纬向波数2的扰动对西伯利亚高压和阿留申低压的变化起了最主要的作用.作者提出的AO通过影响准定常行星波的活动而导致东亚气候异常的机理,不但强调了西伯利亚高压的贡献,而且特别从波动的意义上强调了阿留申低压的重要性.文中还讨论了值得进一步研究的有关问题.     

Atmospheric blocking: space-time links to the NAO and PNA

In the Northern hemisphere, regions characterized by an enhanced frequency of atmospheric blocking overlap significantly with those associated with the major extra-tropical patterns of large-scale climate variability—namely the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Pacific North American (PNA) pattern. There is likewise an overlap in the temporal band-width of blocks and these climate patterns. Here the nature of the linkage between blocks and the climate patterns is explored by using the ERA-40 re-analysis data set to examine (1) their temporal and spatial correlation and (2) the interrelationship between blocks and the NAO/PNA. It is shown that a strong anti-correlation exists between blocking occurrence and the phase of the NAO (PNA) in the North Atlantic (western North Pacific), and that there are distinctive inter-basin differences with a clear geographical (over North Atlantic) and quantitative (over North Pacific) separation of typical blocking genesis/lysis regions during the opposing phases of the climate patterns. An Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis points to a significant influence of blocking upon the NAO pattern (identifiable as the leading EOF in the Euro-Atlantic), and a temporal analysis indicates that long-lasting blocks are associated with the development of negative NAO/PNA index values throughout their life-time. In addition an indication of a cause-and effect relationship is set-out for the North Atlantic linkage.     

The atmospheric winter circulation during the Younger Dryas stadial in the Atlantic/European sector

The Younger Dryas (YD) stadial signified an interruption of the warming during the transition from the last glacial to the present interglacial. The mechanism responsible for this cooling is still uncertain, so valuable information concerning climate variability can be obtained by numerical simulation of the YD climate. We performed four experiments on the Younger Dryas climate with the Hamburg atmospheric general circulation model. Here we use the results of these experiments, which differed in prescribed boundary conditions, to characterize the atmospheric winter circulation during the YD stadial in the North Atlantic/European sector. The 10 year means of the following variables are presented: sea level pressure, 500 hPa geopotential heights and 200 hPa winds. In addition, we used daily values to calculate an index to assess the occurrence of blocking and strong zonal flow and to compute storm tracks. Our results show that the YD cooling in Europe was present with a strong and stable westerly circulation without blocking. This is in conflict with an earlier study suggesting frequent easterly winds over NW-Europe. In our experiments the sea-ice cover in the North Atlantic Ocean was the crucial factor forcing this specific YD circulation. Moreover, the jet stream over the North Atlantic was strengthened considerably, causing an enhanced cyclonic activity over the Eurasian continent. The YD winter circulation was different from the circulation found in most simulation studies on the Last Glacial Maximum, since no glacial anticyclones were present and no split of the jet stream occurred. Received: 1 November 1995 / Accepted: 29 May 1996     

Analysis of Precipitation Anomaly and a Failed Prediction During the Dragon-boat Rain Period in 2023

This study investigates the possible causes for the precipitation of Guangdong during dragon-boat rain period(DBRP) in 2022 that is remarkably more than the climate state and reviews the successes and failures of the prediction in2022. Features of atmospheric circulation and sea surface temperature(SST) are analyzed based on several observational datasets for nearly 60 years from meteorological stations and the NCEP/NCAR Global Reanalysis Data. Results show that fluctuation of the 200-h Pa weste...