Northern Hemisphere Stratospheric Polar Vortex Extremes in February under the Control of Downward Wave Flux in the Lower Stratosphere

Using ECWMF ERA-40 and Interim reanalysis data, the planetary wave fluxes associated with the February extreme stratospheric polar vortex were studied. Using the three-dimensional Eliassen-Palm (EP) flux as a measure of the wave activity propagation, the authors show that the unusual warm years in the Arctic feature an anomalous weak stratosphere-troposphere coupling and weak downward wave flux at the lower stratosphere, especially over the North America and North Atlantic (NANA) region. The extremely cold years are characterized by strong stratosphere-troposphere coupling and strong downward wave flux in this region. The refractive index is used to examine the conception of planetary wave reflection, which shows a large refractive index (low reflection) for the extremely warm years and a small refractive index (high reflection) for the extremely cold years. This study reveals the importance of the downward planetary wave propagation from the stratosphere to the troposphere for explaining the unusual state of the stratospheric polar vortex in February.     

A two-way stratosphere-troposphere coupling of submonthly zonal-mean circulations in the Arctic

This paper examines the dominant submonthly variability of zonally symmetrical atmospheric circula- tion in the Northern Hemisphere （NH） winter within the context of the Northern Annular Mode （NAM）, with particular emphasis on interactive stratosphere-troposphere processes. The submonthly variability is identified and measured using a daily NAM index, which concentrates primarily on zonally symmetrical circulation. A schematic lifecycle of submonthly variability is developed that reveals a two-way coupling pro- cess between the stratosphere and troposphere in the NH polar region. Specifically, anomalous tropospheric zonal winds in the Atlantic and Pacific sectors of the Arctic propagate upwards to the low stratosphere, disturbing the polar vortex, and resulting in an anomalous stratospheric geopotential height （HGT） that subsequently propagates down into the troposphere and changes the sign of the surface circulations. From the standpoint of planetary-scale wave activities, a feedback loop is also evident when the anoma- lous planetary-scale waves （with wavenumbers 2 and 3） propagate upwards, which disturbs the anomalous zonally symmetrical flow in the low stratosphere, and induces the anomalous HGT to move poleward in the low stratosphere, and then propagates down into the troposphere. This increases the energy of waves at wavenumbers 2 and 3 in the low troposphere in middle latitudes by enhancing the land-sea contrast of the anomalous HGT field. Thus, this study supports the viewpoint that the downward propagation of stratospheric NAM signals may not originate in the stratosphere.     

Overview of the Major 2012–2013 Northern Hemisphere Stratospheric Sudden Warming:Evolution and Its Association with Surface Weather

In this study, we analyzed the dynamical evolution of the major 2012–2013 Northern Hemisphere(NH)stratospheric sudden warming(SSW) on the basis of ERA-Interim reanalysis data provided by the ECMWF.The intermittent upward-propagating planetary wave activities beginning in late November 2012 led to a prominent wavenumber-2 disturbance of the polar vortex in early December 2012. However, no major SSW occurred. In mid December 2012, when the polar vortex had not fully recovered, a mixture of persistent wavenumber-1 and-2 planetary waves led to gradual weakening of the polar vortex before the vortex split on 7 January 2013. Evolution of the geopotential height and Eliassen-Palm flux between 500 and 5 hPa indicates that the frequent occurrence of tropospheric ridges over North Pacific and the west coast of North America contributed to the pronounced upward planetary wave activities throughout the troposphere and stratosphere. After mid January 2013, the wavenumber-2 planetary waves became enhanced again within the troposphere, with a deepened trough over East Asia and North America and two ridges between the troughs. The enhanced tropospheric planetary waves may contribute to the long-lasting splitting of the polar vortex in the lower stratosphere. The 2012–2013 SSW shows combined features of both vortex displacement and vortex splitting. Therefore, the anomalies of tropospheric circulation and surface temperature after the2012–2013 SSW resemble neither vortex-displaced nor vortex-split SSWs, but the combination of all SSWs.The remarkable tropospheric ridge extending from the Bering Sea into the Arctic Ocean together with the resulting deepened East Asian trough may play important roles in bringing cold air from the high Arctic to central North America and northern Eurasia at the surface.     

Overview of the Major 2012-2013 Northern Hemisphere Stratospheric Sudden Warming：Evolution and Its Association with Surface Weather

In this study, we analyzed the dynamical evolution of the ma jor 2012-2013 Northern Hemisphere （NH） stratospheric sudden warming （SSW） on the basis of ERA-Interim reanalysis data provided by the ECMWF. The intermittent upward-propagating planetary wave activities beginning in late November 2012 led to a prominent wavenumber-2 disturbance of the polar vortex in early December 2012. However, no major SSW occurred. In mid December 2012, when the polar vortex had not fully recovered, a mixture of persistent wavenumber-1 and -2 planetary waves led to gradual weakening of the polar vortex before the vortex split on 7 January 2013. Evolution of the geopotential height and Eliassen-Palm flux between 500 and 5 hPa indicates that the frequent occurrence of tropospheric ridges over North Pacific and the west coast of North America contributed to the pronounced upward planetary wave activities throughout the troposphere and stratosphere. After mid January 2013, the wavenumber-2 planetary waves became enhanced again within the troposphere, with a deepened trough over East Asia and North America and two ridges between the troughs. The enhanced tropospheric planetary waves may contribute to the long-lasting splitting of the polar vortex in the lower stratosphere. The 2012-2013 SSW shows combined features of both vortex displacement and vortex splitting. Therefore, the anomalies of tropospheric circulation and surface temperature after the 2012-2013 SSW resemble neither vortex-displaced nor vortex-split SSWs, but the combination of all SSWs. The remarkable tropospheric ridge extending from the Bering Sea into the Arctic Ocean together with the resulting deepened East Asian trough may play important roles in bringing cold air from the high Arctic to central North America and northern Eurasia at the surface.     

COUPLING PATTERNS OF AIR-SEA INTERACTION AT MIDDLE & LOWER LATITUDES AND THEIR INTERDECADAL OSCILLATION

Diagnostic studies have been done of the seasonal and interdecadal variations of the coupling patterns for the air-sea interactions in the northern pacific region.by using 500-hpa geotential hight field of the Northern Hemisphere and monthly mean SST field of northern Pacific Ocean(1951～1995) and with the aid of the Singular Value Decomposition(SVD) technique.The results show that:(1) The distribution patterns of SVD,which link with the E1 Nino(or La Nina) events,are important in the interaction between the atmosphere and ocean while the atmosphere,coupling with it ,varies like the PNA teleconnection does.The coupling of airsea interactions is the highest in the winter(January) ,specifically linking the E1 Nino event with the PNA pattern in the geopotential height field.Of the four seasons,summer has the poorest coupling when the 500-hPa geopotential height field corresponding to the La nina event displays patterns similar to the East Asian-Pacific one(PJ).The spring and autumn are both transitional and the coupling is less thght in the autumn than in the spring.(2) Significant changes have taken place around 1976 in the pattern of air-sea coupling,with the year‘s winter having intensified PNA pattern of 500-hPa winter geopotential height field,deepened Aleutian low that moves southeast and the summer following it having outstanding PJ pattern of 500-hPa geopotential height field,which is not so before 1976.     

Influence of Major Stratospheric Sudden Warming on the Unprecedented Cold Wave in East Asia in January 2021

An unprecedented cold wave intruded into East Asia in early January 2021 and led to record-breaking or historical extreme low temperatures over vast regions.This study shows that a major stratospheric sudden warming(SSW)event at the beginning of January 2021 exerted an important influence on this cold wave.The major SSW event occurred on 2 January 2021 and subsequently led to the displacement of the stratospheric polar vortex to the East Asian side.Moreover,the SSW event induced the stratospheric warming signal to propagate downward to the mid-to-lower troposphere,which not only enhanced the blocking in the Urals-Siberia region and the negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation,but also shifted the tropospheric polar vortex off the pole.The displaced tropospheric polar vortex,Ural blocking,and another downstream blocking ridge over western North America formed a distinct inverted omega-shaped circulation pattern(IOCP)in the East Asia-North Pacific sector.This IOCP was the most direct and impactful atmospheric pattern causing the cold wave in East Asia.The IOCP triggered a meridional cell with an upward branch in East Asia and a downward branch in Siberia.The meridional cell intensified the Siberian high and low-level northerly winds,which also favored the invasion of the cold wave into East Asia.Hence,the SSW event and tropospheric circulations such as the IOCP,negative phase of Arctic Oscillation,Ural blocking,enhanced Siberian high,and eastward propagation of Rossby wave eventually induced the outbreak of an unprecedented cold wave in East Asia in early January 2021.     

A Novel Identification of the Polar/Eurasia Pattern and Its Weather Impact in May

The Polar/Eurasia(POL) pattern was previously identified based on the empirical orthogonal function method and monthly mean data, in which the positive and negative phases are anti-symmetric in spatial distribution. This paper identifies the positive(POL+) and negative(POL-) phases of the POL pattern through applying a novel approach, i.e.,self-organizing maps, to daily 500-h Pa geopotential height fields in May over 1948–2017. The POL+, POL1-, and POL2-patterns defined by this method represent actual physical modes. The POL+ pattern features a wave train from the northeastern Atlantic/northern Europe via the subarctic regions of Eurasia to Lake Baikal. The POL1-pattern is characterized by a planetary-scale dipole pattern with a positive anomaly band over subarctic Eurasia and a negative anomaly band from central Asia to the Sea of Okhotsk. The anomaly centers of the POL2-pattern are basically antisymmetrical to those of the POL+ pattern. The POL+ pattern increases the blocking frequency over the northeastern Atlantic/northern Europe and northeastern Asia, where high-frequency transient eddies are highly recurrent in the north. Accordingly, precipitation increases apparently in the subarctic Asian continent and western Siberia, and decreases around Europe and Lake Baikal. A mimic wave train is also observed in the surface air temperature anomaly field. During the POL1-period, the blocking frequency is abnormally high over Eurasia, whereas high-frequency transient eddies are apparently suppressed over northern Eurasia. Correspondingly, significant precipitation deficits are observed in northern Eurasia. The POL1-pattern also causes a remarkable temperature increase in the subarctic seas of Eurasia and a considerable temperature drop in the midlatitude Asian continent. As the POL2-pattern prevails, the blocking frequency decreases over the North Atlantic/Europe but strengthens over the Asian continent. The POL2-pattern also causes wavelike anomalies of precipitation and surface air temperature over northern Eurasia.     

Different Impact of Central Pacific and Eastern Pacific El Nio on the Duration of Sudden Stratospheric Warming

The NCEP–NCAR reanalysis dataset and the Had ISST dataset(1959–2014) are used to analyze the impact of two types of El Nio events, i.e., eastern Pacific El Nio(EP-El Nio) and central Pacific El Nio(CP-El Nio) events, on the duration of major and minor sudden stratospheric warmings(SSWs) in Northern Hemisphere winter(November to February). Although the frequency of major and minor SSWs during different types of El Nio shows no distinct differences, the duration of both major and minor SSWs during CP-El Nio is shorter than that during EP-El Nio. The spatial distribution of geopotential height anomalies preceding major SSWs resembles the western Pacific(WP) teleconnection pattern, while the spatial distribution of geopotential height anomalies preceding minor SSWs bears similarity to the Pacific–North America(PNA)teleconnection pattern. An enhancement of the strength of both wavenumber 1 and wavenumber 2 is found before major SSWs. Before minor SSWs, wavenumber 1 is also strengthened, but wavenumber 2 is weakened. The analysis also reveals that EP-El Nio tends to induce positive phases of PNA and WP teleconnections, while CP-El Nio induces negative-phase WP teleconnection. As the positive phases of the PNA and WP teleconnections are related to the strengthening of wavenumber 1, EP-El Nio causes an enhancement of wavenumber 1 in the high-latitude upper troposphere and an enhancement of the upward wave flux in the high-latitude stratosphere, accompanied by a negative anomaly in Eliassen–Palm flux divergence in the subpolar stratosphere, which accounts for the longer SSW duration during EP-El Nio than during CP-El Nio.     

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.     

INFLUENCE OF THE BASIC FLOW IN THE TROPICS ON THE STATIONARY PLANETARY WAVES AT MIDDLE AND HIGH LATITUDES DURING THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WINTER

The relationship between the quasi-stationary planetary waves forced by topography and heat sourceduring the Northern Hemisphere winter is investigated by means of a quasi-geostrophic,34-level,sphericalcoordinate model with the Rayleigh friction,the Newtonian cooling and the horizontal eddy thermal diffu-sion.The calculated results show that when the basic flow is the westerly in the tropical stratosphere,theamplitude of quasi-stationary planetary wave for zonal wavenumber 2 at middle and high latitudes is largerduring the Northern Hemispheric winter;while when the basic flow is the easterly,it is smaller.This is inagreement with the observed results.The calculated results also show that influence of the basic flow in the tropical troposphere on the quasi-stationary planetary waves is larger than that of the basic flow in the tropical stratosphere on the quasi-stationary planetary waves.     

The Impact of the South Asia High Bimodality on the Chemical Composition of the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere

The South Asia High (SAH) is the dominant feature of the circulation in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) during the boreal summer,and the upper tropospheric anticyclonic circulation extends into the lower stratosphere.The preferred locations of the center of the SAH occur in two different regions,and the center can be located over the Iranian Plateau or over the Tibetan Plateau.This bimodality has an impact on the distribution of chemical constituents in the UTLS region.We analyzed water vapor (H 2 O),carbon monoxide (CO),and ozone (O 3) data derived from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and total column ozone data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI).For the Iranian Plateau mode of the SAH,the tropospheric tracers exhib-ited a positive anomaly over the Iranian Plateau and a negative anomaly over the Tibetan Plateau,whereas the stratospheric tracer exhibited a negative and a positive anomaly over the Iranian Plateau and the Tibetan Plateau,respectively.For the Tibetan Plateau mode,however,the distribution of the anomaly was the reverse of that found for the chemical species in the UTLS region.Furthermore,the locations of the extrema within the anomaly seemed to differ across chemical species.The anomaly extrema for H 2 O occurred in the vicinity of the SAH ridgeline,whereas CO and O 3 exhibited a northward shift of 4-8 degrees.These impacts of the variation in the SAH on the chemical constitutes in the UTLS region can be attributed in part to the dynamical structure delineated by the tro-popause field and the temperature field at 100 hPa.     

ANALYSES OF THE DYNAMIC EFFECTS ON WINTER CIRCULATION OF THE TWO MAIN MOUNTAINS IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE——Ⅱ.VERTICAL PROPAGATION OF PLANETARY WAVES

A linear,hemispheric and stationary spectral model with multilayers in the vertical was employed to simulate thevertical propagation of waves triggered by mountains.Results show that,in cooperation with the East Asia zonal meanflow,Tibetan Plateau can excite a strong wavenumber 1 perturbation in the stratosphere with its ridge and trough lo-cated over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans respectively.On the other hand,the stratospheric wavenumber 1 perturbationcaused by the mechanical forcing of the Rocky Mountains in cooperation with the North America zonal mean flow isvery weak.Calculations from observational data of the vertical profile of critical wavenumber for vertically propagatingwaves imply that the tropospheric wavenumber 1 perturbation can hardly penetrate the North America tropopause up-wards,whereas it can freely propagate through the East Asia tropopause into the stratosphere.Two-dimensional E-Pcross-sections obtained from both observational data and simulated results also demonstrate that waves excited by theRocky Mountains are refracted towards low latitudes in the troposphere during their upward propagation:whereas,inaddition to the above mentioned equatorward leaning branch,the wavenumber 1 and 2 planetary waves excited by theTibetan Plateau possess another branch which is refracted to high latitudes during upward propagation and penetratesthe tropopause into the stratosphere.It is therefore concluded that the difference in the horizontal and vertical wavepropagations in the two hemispheres is a result of the different dynamical forcing induced by the two main mountains inthe Northern Hemisphere.     

Variability of the Coupling Between Surface Air Temperature and Northern Annular Mode at Various Levels

This article focuses on the variability of the coupling between surface air temperature （SAT） and northern annular mode （NAM） at various levels. To measure the coupling intensity between the SAT and the NAM anomaly fields, the coupling index has been defined as the leading principal component of the partial least squares regression model of the SAT and NAM anomalies. Both a composite analysis and the coupling index have been used to reveal level-by-level and month-to-month variability of the coupling between the upper anomalous NAM and the SAT in the Northern Hemisphere. The major results are as follows： the January SAT anomaly is more strongly coupled with the January NAM anomaly at the middle-upper tropospheric levels than that at the other levels, while the same is true for the February SAT anomaly with the January NAM anomaly at the lower stratospheric levels. The January NAM anomaly at the middle- upper tropospheric levels is most strongly coupled with the January SAT anomaly, and the coupling intensity is successively reduced month by month and becomes trivial after April. The January NAM anomaly at the lower stratospheric levels is more strongly coupled with January, February and March SAT anomalies, but the coupling becomes trivial after April.     

TELECONNECTION BETWEEN INDIAN MONSOON AND EAST ASIAN CIRCULATION*

Correlation analysis identified that Indian summer rainfall and East Asian 500 hPa geopotential height field are significantly correlated.A teleconnection pattern between Indian monsoon and East Asian summer circulation (IEA pattern) was proposed.We suggested that the Pacific-Japan teleconnection pattern (PJ pattern) primarily influences the meridional position of the northwestern Pacific subtropical high (NPSH) in summer,while IEA pattern partly affects its zonal stretch or the anomaly of geopotential height field over China mainland.The numerical experiments imply that the IEA pattern has important impact on East Asian circulation and it can be stimulated by the SST anomaly of the Indian Ocean.We summarized that there are two ways,a directive way and a selective way,by which ENSO exerts impacts on East Asian summer monsoon.     

Planetary wave reflection and its impact on tropospheric cold weather over Asia during January 2008

Reflection of stratospheric planetary waves and its impact on tropospheric cold weather over Asia during January 2008 were investigated by applying two dimensional Eliassen-Palm （EP） flux and three-dimensional Plumb wave activity fluxes.The planetary wave propagation can clearly be seen in the longitude-height and latitude-height sections of the Plumb wave activity flux and EP flux,respectively,when the stratospheric basic state is partially reflective.Primarily,a wave packet emanating from Baffin Island/coast of Labrador propagated eastward,equatorward and was reflected over Central Eurasia and parts of China,which in turn triggered the advection of cold wind from the northern part of the boreal forest regions and Siberia to the subtropics.The wide region of Central Eurasia and China experienced extreme cold weather during the second ten days of January 2008,whereas the extraordinary persistence of the event might have occurred due to an anomalous blocking high in the Urals-Siberia region.     

Summer Asian-Pacific Oscillation and Its Relationship with Atmospheric Circulation and Monsoon Rainfall

Using the ERA-40 data and numerical simulations, this study investigated the teleconnection over the extratropical Asian-Pacific region and its relationship with the Asian monsoon rainfall and the climatological characteristics of tropical cyclones over the western North Pacific, and analyzed impacts of the Tibetan Plateau （TP） heating and Pacific sea surface temperature （SST） on the teleconnection. The Asian-Pacific oscillation （APO） is defined as a zonal seesaw of the tropospheric temperature in the midlatitudes of the Asian-Pacific region. When the troposphere is cooling in the midlatitudes of the Asian continent, it is warming in the midlatitudes of the central and eastern North Pacific; and vice versa. The APO also appears in the stratosphere, but with a reversed phase. Used as an index of the thermal contrast between Asia and the North Pacific, it provides a new way to explore interactions between the Asian and Pacific atmospheric circulations. The APO index exhibits the interannual and interdecadal variability. It shows a downward trend during 1958-2001, indicating a weakening of the thermal contrast, and shows a 5.5-yr oscillation period. The formation of the APO is associated with the zonal vertical circulation caused by a difference in the solar radiative heating between the Asian continent and the North Pacific. The numerical simulations further reveal that the summer TP heating enhances the local tropospheric temperature and upward motion, and then strengthens downward motion and decreases the tropospheric temperature over the central and eastern North Pacific. This leads to the formation of the APO. The Pacific decadal oscillation and El Nino/La Nina over the tropical eastern Pacific do not exert strong influences on the APO. When there is an anomaly in the summer APO, the South Asian high, the westerly jet over Eurasia, the tropical easterly jet over South Asia, and the subtropical high over the North Pacific change significantly, with anomalous Asian monsoon rainfall and tropical cyclon     

The interannual variation in monthly temperature over Northeast China during summer

The interannual variations of summer surface air temperature over Northeast China （NEC） were investigated through a month-to-month analysis from May to August. The results suggested that the warmer temperature over NEC is related to a local positive 500-hPa geopotential height anomaly for all four months. However, the teleconnection patterns of atmospheric circulation anomalies associated with the monthly surface air temperature over NEC behave as a distinguished subseasonal variation, although the local positive height anomaly is common from month to month. In May and June, the teleconnection pattern is characterized by a wave train in the upper and middle troposphere from the Indian Peninsula to NEC. This wave train is stronger in June than in May, possibly due to the positive feedback between the wave train and the South Asian rainfall anomaly in June, when the South Asian summer monsoon has been established. In July and August, however, the teleconnection pattern associated with the NEC temperature anomalies is characterized by an East Asia/Pacific （EAP） or Pacific/Japan （PJ） pattern, with the existence of precipitation anomalies over the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea. This pattern is much clearer in July corresponding to the stronger convection over the Philippine Sea compared to that in August.     

Simulation of the Effect of an Increase in Methane on Air Temperature

The infrared radiative effect of methane was analyzed using the 2D, interactive chemical dynamical radiative SOCRATES model of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Then, a sensitivity experi ment, with the methane volume mixing ratio increased by 10%, was carried out to study the influence of an increase of methane on air temperature. The results showed that methane has a heating effect through the infrared radiative process in the troposphere and a cooling effect in the stratosphere. However, the cooling effect of the methane is much smaller than that of water vapor in the stratosphere and is negligible in the mesosphere. The simulation results also showed that when methane concentration is increased by 10%, the air temperature lowers in the stratosphere and mesosphere and increases in the troposphere. The cooling can reach 0.2 K at the stratopause and can vary from 0.2-0.4 K in the mesosphere, and the temperature rise varies by around 0.001-0.002 K in the troposphere. The cooling results from the increase of the infrared radiative cooling rate caused by increased water vapor and O3 concentration, which are stimulated by the increase in methane in most of the stratosphere. The infrared radiation cooling of methane itself is minor. The depletion of O3 stimulated by the methane increase results indirectly in a decrease in the rate of so- lar radiation heating, producing cooling in the stratopause and mesosphere. The tropospheric warming is mainly caused by the increase of methane, which produces infrared radiative heating. The increase in H2O and O3 caused by the methane increase also contributes to a rise in temperature in the troposphere.     

Decadal variation of the Northern Hemisphere Annular Mode and its influence on the East Asian trough

We analyze the decadal variation of the stratosphere troposphere coupled system around the year 2000 by using the NCEP reanalysis-2 data.Specifically,the relationship between the Northern Hemisphere Annular Mode(NAM) and the tropospheric East Asian trough is investigated in order to find the effective stratospheric signals during cold air outbreaks in China.Statistical analyses and dynamic diagnoses both indicate that after 2000,increased stratospheric polar vortex disturbances occur and the NAM is mainly in negative phase.The tropospheric polar areas are directly affected by the polar vortex,and in the midlatitudes,the Ural blocking high and East Asian trough are more active,which lead to enhanced cold air activities in eastern and northern China.Further investigation reveals that under this circulation pattern,downward propagations of negative NAM index are closely related to the intensity variation of the East Asian trough.When negative NAM anomalies propagate down to the upper troposphere and reach a certain intensity(standardized NAM index less than 1),they result in apparent reinforcement of the East Asian trough,which reaches its maximum intensity about one week later.The northerly wind behind the trough transports cold air southward and eastward,and the range of influence and the intensity are closely associated with the trough location.Therefore,the NAM index can be used as a measure of the signals from the disturbed stratosphere to give some indication of cold air activities in China.