Year aridity index patterns in northwest China and the relationship to summer North Atlantic sea surface temperature

Aim to linking the variability of drought in northwest China to the oceanic influence of North Atlantic SSTs at the background of global warming and at the regional climate change shifting stages, year aridity index variations in northwest China and summer North Atlantic sea surface temperature （SST） variations are examined for the 44 a period of 1961-2004 using singular value decomposition （SVD） analysis. Results show that the SST anomalies （SSTA）in the North Atlantic in summer reflected three basic models. The first SVD mode of SST pattern shows a dipole - like variation with the positive center located at southwest and negative center at northeast of extratropical North Atlantic. And it strongly relates to the positive trend in AI variation in northwest China. The second coupled modes display the coherent positive anomalies in extratropical North Atlantic SST and the marked opposite trend of AI variability between north and south of Xinjiang. In addition, the lag correlation analysis of the first mode of SSTA and geopotential heights at 500 hPa variations also shows that the indication of the former influencing the latter configuration, which result in higher air temperature and less precipitation when the SSTA in the North Atlantic Ocean in summer motivated Eurasian circulation of EA pattern, further to influence the wet - dry variations in northwest China by the ocean-to - atmosphere forcing.     

Equivalent dry model air and summer monsoon over Eastern Asia

The saturated moist air with temperature T, pressure P and specific humidity q may be considered as an equivalent dry model air with temperature T* and pressure P under the condition of constant enthalpy. The features of the equivalent dry model air are described and the diagnostic analyses for the summer monsoon over Eastern Asia are examined. Results show that there are obvious baroclinicity features of equivalent temperature, i. e., wet baroclinicity, with a strong gradient belt of equivalent temperature for a time scale mean about 30 days in summer monsoon region and it is in accord with the confluence belt of the warmer air and colder air expressed by equivalent temperature; the mean updraft was observed at its warmer part of that region and downdraft at its colder part; the vertical shear of horizontal wind vector between 150 hPa and 850 hPa is related to the mass field expressed by mean equivalent temperature in that layer.These seem to indicate that the wet baroclinicity in summer monsoon region     

南海沿海季节性海平面异常变化特征及成因分析

Based on sea level, air temperature, sea surface temperature(SST), air pressure and wind data during 1980–2014,this paper uses Morlet wavelet transform, Estuarine Coastal Ocean Model(ECOM) and so on to investigate the characteristics and possible causes of seasonal sea level anomalies along the South China Sea(SCS) coast. The research results show that:(1) Seasonal sea level anomalies often occur from January to February and from June to October. The frequency of sea level anomalies is the most in August, showing a growing trend in recent years. In addition, the occurring frequency of negative sea level anomaly accounts for 50% of the total abnormal number.(2) The seasonal sea level anomalies are closely related to ENSO events. The negative anomalies always occurred during the El Ni?o events, while the positive anomalies occurred during the La Ni?a(late El Ni?o) events. In addition, the seasonal sea level oscillation periods of 4–7 a associated with ENSO are the strongest in winter, with the amplitude over 2 cm.(3) Abnormal wind is an important factor to affect the seasonal sea level anomalies in the coastal region of the SCS. Wind-driven sea level height(SSH) is basically consistent with the seasonal sea level anomalies. Moreover, the influence of the tropical cyclone in the coastal region of the SCS is concentrated in summer and autumn, contributing to the seasonal sea level anomalies.(4) Seasonal variations of sea level, SST and air temperature are basically consistent along the coast of the SCS, but the seasonal sea level anomalies have no much correlation with the SST and air temperature.     

东海沿海季节性海平面异常成因

Based on the analysis of sea level, air temperature, sea surface temperature(SST), air pressure and wind data during 1980–2013, the causes of seasonal sea level anomalies in the coastal region of the East China Sea(ECS) are investigated. The research results show:(1) sea level along the coastal region of the ECS takes on strong seasonal variation. The annual range is 30–45 cm, larger in the north than in the south. From north to south, the phase of sea level changes from 140° to 231°, with a difference of nearly 3 months.(2) Monthly mean sea level(MSL)anomalies often occur from August to next February along the coast region of the ECS. The number of sea level anomalies is at most from January to February and from August to October, showing a growing trend in recent years.(3) Anomalous wind field is an important factor to affect the sea level variation in the coastal region of the ECS. Monthly MSL anomaly is closely related to wind field anomaly and air pressure field anomaly. Wind-driven current is essentially consistent with sea surface height. In August 2012, the sea surface heights at the coastal stations driven by wind field have contributed 50%–80% of MSL anomalies.(4) The annual variations for sea level,SST and air temperature along the coastal region of the ECS are mainly caused by solar radiation with a period of12 months. But the correlation coefficients of sea level anomalies with SST anomalies and air temperature anomalies are all less than 0.1.(5) Seasonal sea level variations contain the long-term trends and all kinds of periodic changes. Sea level oscillations vary in different seasons in the coastal region of the ECS. In winter and spring, the oscillation of 4–7 a related to El Ni?o is stronger and its amplitude exceeds 2 cm. In summer and autumn, the oscillations of 2–3 a and quasi 9 a are most significant, and their amplitudes also exceed 2 cm. The height of sea level is lifted up when the different oscillations superposed. On the other hand, the height of sea level is fallen down.     

南半球热带外气候变量与两种ENSO的联系

This study uses the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis(CFSR) to investigate the responses of the Southern Hemisphere(SH) extratropical climate to two types of El Ni?o–Southern Oscillation(ENSO)—the eastern Pacific(EP) type and the central Pacific(CP) type in different seasons. The responses are denoted by the anomalies of climate variables associated with one-standard-deviation increase in the Ni?o3 or Ni?o4 index. The results show that in austral spring the differences in the ENSO-related anomaly(ERA) patterns of atmospheric circulation between the EP ENSO period(1979–1998) and CP ENSO period(1999–2010) are mainly associated with the change in the ENSO-PSA2 relationship. Such differences affect the ERA fields of surface air temperature and mixed layer temperature, and finally result in significant differences in sea-ice concentration anomalies in the Atlantic sector. In austral summer, significant correlation exists between the variations of SAM and both of the variations of Ni?o3 and Ni?o4 in 1979–1998, while the correlation between SAM and Ni?o4 disappears in 1999–2010. For all seasons, the strength of the climate ERAs depend on if there are close relationship between ENSO and the major climate variation modes of the SH extratropics. For the climate variables, the ERA patterns of surface air temperature are generally controlled by surface wind anomalies and mirrored by the mixed layer temperature anomalies. The mixed layer depth anomalies are primarily modulated by surface heat flux anomalies and occasionally by anomalous wind. There are strikingly strong anomalies of surface heat flux in the autumn of 1979–1998 related to the Ni?o3 variation, the period when there is only significant correlation between ENSO and PSA2. There are no evidence that the SH extratropical climate variability induced by Ni?o3 variations are stronger in the EP-ENSO period, and that variability induced by Ni?o4 variations are stronger in the CP-ENSO period.     

气候模式和再分析数据中北冰洋中层水再现能力的评估

The simulations of the Arctic Intermediate Water in four datasets of climate models and reanalyses, CCSM3, CCSM4, SODA and GLORYS, are analyzed and evaluated. The climatological core temperatures and depths in both CCSM models exhibit deviations over 0.5°C and 200 m from the PHC. SODA reanalysis reproduces relatively reasonable spatial patterns of core temperature and depth, while GLORYS, another reanalysis, shows a remarkable cooling and deepening drift compared with the result at the beginning of the dataset especially in the Eurasian Basin(about 2°C). The heat contents at the depth of intermediate water in the CCSM models are overestimated with large positive errors nearly twice of that in the PHC. To the contrary, the GLORYS in 2009 show a negative error with a similar magnitude, which means the characteristic of the water mass is totally lost. The circulations in the two reanalyses at the depth of intermediate water are more energetic and realistic than those in the CCSMs, which is attributed to the horizontal eddy-permitting resolution. The velocity fields and the transports in the Fram Strait are also investigated. The necessity of finer horizontal resolution is concluded again. The northward volume transports are much larger in the two reanalyses, although they are still weak comparing with mooring observations. Finally, an investigation of the impact of assimilation is done with an evidence of the heat input from assimilation. It is thought to be a reason for the good performance in the SODA, while the GLORYS drifts dramatically without assimilation data in the Arctic Ocean.     

2007和2012年北极最小海冰范围空间分布不同的原因分析

Satellite records show the minimum Arctic sea ice extents(SIEs) were observed in the Septembers of 2007 and2012, but the spatial distributions of sea ice concentration reduction in these two years were quite different.Atmospheric circulation pattern and the upper-ocean state in summer were investigated to explain the difference.By employing the ice-temperature and ice-specific humidity(SH) positive feedbacks in the Arctic Ocean, this paper shows that in 2007 and 2012 the higher surface air temperature(SAT) and sea level pressure(SLP)accompanied by more surface SH and higher sea surface temperature(SST), as a consequence, the strengthened poleward wind was favorable for melting summer Arctic sea ice in different regions in these two years. SAT was the dominant factor influencing the distribution of Arctic sea ice melting. The correlation coefficient is –0.84 between SAT anomalies in summer and the Arctic SIE anomalies in autumn. The increase SAT in different regions in the summers of 2007 and 2012 corresponded to a quicker melting of sea ice in the Arctic. The SLP and related wind were promoting factors connected with SAT. Strengthening poleward winds brought warm moist air to the Arctic and accelerated the melting of sea ice in different regions in the summers of 2007 and 2012. Associated with the rising air temperature, the higher surface SH and SST also played a positive role in reducing summer Arctic sea ice in different regions in these two years, which form two positive feedbacks mechanism.     

The effects of horizontal advection on the spring bloom of phytoplankton in the central Southern Huanghai Sea

An algal bloom is defined as a relatively rapid increase in the biomass of phytoplankton in an aquatic system. During 30 March to 24 April 2007, a cruise was conducted in the central Southern Huanghai Sea to investigate the spring bloom processes. The spatial and temporal variations of phytoplankton are discussed based on the in-situ observations and simultaneous remote sensing data. The explosive algal blooming varied quickly in temporal and spatial scales, due to the highly patchy distribution. Data obtained at the 2 anchor stations (BM1 and BM2) were analyzed in the present study. Horizontal advection is speculated to be responsible for the abrupt decrease in the concentration of chlorophyll-a at stations BM1 and BM2. At station BM2, the intermediate high chlorophyll-a concentration, coinciding with the low temperature, was found to be advected from the inshore colder water mass located to the east of the site.     

Intercomparison of GPS radiosonde soundings during the eastern tropical Indian Ocean experiment

Temperature and relative humidity profiles derived from two China-made global positioning system（GPS） radiosondes（GPS-TK and CF-06-A） during the east tropical Indian Ocean（ETIO） experiment were compared with Vaisala RS92-SGP to assess the performances of China-made radiosondes over the tropical ocean.The results show that there have relative large biases in temperature observations between the GPSTK and the RS92-SGP in the low troposphere,with a warm bias of greater than 2 K in the day and a cooling bias of 0.6 K at night.The temperature differences of the CF-06-A were small in the troposphere both in daytime and nighttime,and became large peak-to-peak fluctuations in the stratosphere.The intercomparison of the relative humidity showed that the CF-06-A had large random errors due to the limitation of sensors and the lack of correction scheme,and the GPS-TK had large systematic biases in the low troposphere which might be related to the temperature impact.GPS height measurements are clearly suitable for China-made radiosonde systems operation.At night,the CF-06-A and the GPS-TK could provide virtual potential temperature and atmospheric boundary layer height measurements of suitable quality for both weather and climate research.As a result of the intercomparison experiment,major errors in the Chinamade radiosonde systems were well indentified and subsequently rectified to ensure improving accuracy for historical and future radiosondes.     

Spatio-temporal analysis of the melt onset dates over Arctic sea ice from 1979 to 2017

The melt onset dates(MOD) over Arctic sea ice plays an important role in the seasonal cycle of sea ice surface properties, which impacts Arctic surface solar radiation absorbed by the ice-ocean system. Monitoring interannual variations in MOD is valuable for understanding climate change. In this study, we investigated the spatio-temporal variability of MOD over Arctic sea ice and 14 Arctic sub-regions in the period of 1979 to 2017 from passive microwave satellite data. A set of mathematical and ...     

北极冬季季节性海冰双模态特征分析

近年来北极海冰快速变化,北极中央区边缘正由以多年冰为主转为季节性海冰为主。通过对北极冬季季节性海冰的EOF分解发现,2002-2012年期间北极季节性海冰变化的前两模态主要体现为2005年和2007年的季节性海冰距平。其中第二模态主要体现了北极海冰在2005年的一种极端变化,而第一模态不仅体现了北极海冰在2007年的变化,还体现了北极季节性海冰的从负位相到正位相的转变。通过比较发现,在研究时段北极季节性海冰最主要的变化发生在北极太平洋扇区,在2007年,冬季季节性海冰距平发生位相转变,2007-2010年一直维持正位相,北极太平洋扇区冬季季节性海冰保持显著正距平。太平洋扇区表面温度最大异常也发生在2007年,从大气环流来看,2007年之后波弗特海区异常高压有利于夏季太平洋扇区海冰的减少,而西风急流的减弱有利于夏季波弗特海区异常高压的维持,结合夏季海冰速度,顺时针的冰速分布有利于海冰离开太平洋扇区,因而会导致冬季太平洋扇区季节性海冰转为正距平并且从2007年一直维持到2010年。     

Structure of temperature variability in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere

The spatial structure of surface air temperature (SAT) anomalies in the extratropical latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) during the 20th century is studied from the data obtained over the period 1892–1999. The expansion of the mean (over the winter and summer periods) SAT anomalies into empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) is used for analysis. It is shown that variations in the mean air temperature in the Arctic region (within the latitudes 60°–90°N) during both the winter and summer periods can be described with a high accuracy by two spatial orthogonal modes of variability. For the winter period, these are the EOF related to the leading mode of variability of large-scale atmospheric circulation in the NH, the North Atlantic Oscillation, and the spatially localized (in the Arctic) EOF, which describes the Arctic warming of the mid-20th century. The expansion coefficient of this EOF does not correlate with the indices of atmospheric circulation and is hypothetically related to variations in the area of the Arctic ice cover that are due to long-period variations in the influx of oceanic heat from the Atlantic. On the whole, a significantly weaker relation to the atmospheric circulation is characteristic of the summer period. The first leading variability mode describes a positive temperature trend of the past decades, which is hypothetically related to global warming, while the second leading EOF describes a long-period oscillation. On the whole, the results of analysis suggest a significant effect of natural climatic variability on air-temperature anomalies in the NH high latitudes and possible difficulties in isolating an anthropogenic component of climate changes.     

Arctic sea ice cover in connection with climate change

Recently published studies on key issues in the evolution of Arctic sea ice cover are reviewed and attempts to answer disputable questions are made in the research part of the work. It is shown that climate warming, manifested in an increase in the surface air temperature, and reduction in the ice cover develop with a high degree of agreement in summer. Based on this fact, anomalies of the September ice-cover area have been retrieved from 1900. They show a significant decrease in the 1930–1940s, which is almost twice as low as in 2007–2012. The influence of fluctuations in the flow of warm and salty Atlantic water is noted in variations in the winter maximum of the ice-cover area in the Barents Sea. An accelerated positive trend has been ascertained for the air temperature in late autumn–early winter in 1993–2012 due to an increase in the open water area in late summer. Inherent regularities of the ice-cover-area variability made it possible to develop a prediction of the monthly values of sea-ice extent with a head time from 6 months to 2 years. Their strong correlation with summer air temperature is used to estimate the onset of summer ice clearance in the Arctic.     

The Pacific Decadal Oscillation

The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) has been described by some as a long-lived El Niño-like pattern of Pacific climate variability, and by others as a blend of two sometimes independent modes having distinct spatial and temporal characteristics of North Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) variability. A growing body of evidence highlights a strong tendency for PDO impacts in the Southern Hemisphere, with important surface climate anomalies over the mid-latitude South Pacific Ocean, Australia and South America. Several independent studies find evidence for just two full PDO cycles in the past century: “cool” PDO regimes prevailed from 1890–1924 and again from 1947–1976, while “warm” PDO regimes dominated from 1925–1946 and from 1977 through (at least) the mid-1990's. Interdecadal changes in Pacific climate have widespread impacts on natural systems, including water resources in the Americas and many marine fisheries in the North Pacific. Tree-ring and Pacific coral based climate reconstructions suggest that PDO variations—at a range of varying time scales—can be traced back to at least 1600, although there are important differences between different proxy reconstructions. While 20th Century PDO fluctuations were most energetic in two general periodicities—one from 15-to-25 years, and the other from 50-to-70 years—the mechanisms causing PDO variability remain unclear. To date, there is little in the way of observational evidence to support a mid-latitude coupled air-sea interaction for PDO, though there are several well-understood mechanisms that promote multi-year persistence in North Pacific upper ocean temperature anomalies.     

Seasonal variability in Atlantic Water off Spitsbergen

A combination of 2-year-long mooring-based measurements and snapshot conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) observations at the continental slope off Spitsbergen (81°30′N, 31°00′E) is used to demonstrate a significant hydrographic seasonal signal in Atlantic Water (AW) that propagates along the Eurasian continental slope in the Arctic Ocean. At the mooring position this seasonal signal dominates, contributing up to 50% of the total variance. Annual temperature maximum in the upper ocean (above 215 m) is reached in mid-November, when the ocean in the area is normally covered by ice. Distinct division into ‘summer’ (warmer and saltier) and ‘winter’ (colder and fresher) AW types is revealed there. Estimated temperature difference between the ‘summer’ and ‘winter’ waters is 1.2 °C, which implies that the range of seasonal heat content variations is of the same order of magnitude as the mean local AW heat content, suggesting an important role of seasonal changes in the intensity of the upward heat flux from AW. Although the current meter observations are only 1-year long, they hint at a persistent, highly barotropic current with little or no seasonal signal attached.     

Influence of the ocean surface temperature and sea ice concentration on regional climate changes in Eurasia in recent decades

Numerical experiments with the ECHAM5 atmospheric general circulation model have been performed in order to simulate the influence of changes in the ocean surface temperature (OST) and sea ice concentration (SIC) on climate characteristics in regions of Eurasia. The sensitivity of winter and summer climates to OST and SIC variations in 1998–2006 has been investigated and compared to those in 1968–1976. These two intervals correspond to the maximum and minimum of the Atlantic Long-Period Oscillation (ALO) index. Apart from the experiments on changes in the OST and SIC global fields, the experiments on OST anomalies only in the North Atlantic and SIC anomalies in the Arctic for the specified periods have been analyzed. It is established that temperature variations in Western Europe are explained by OST and SIC variations fairly well, whereas the warmings in Eastern Europe and Western Siberia, according to model experiments, are substantially (by a factor of 2–3) smaller than according to observational data. Winter changes in the temperature regime in continental regions are controlled mainly by atmospheric circulation anomalies. The model, on the whole, reproduces the empirical structure of changes in the winter field of surface pressure, in particular, the pressure decrease in the Caspian region; however, it substantially (approximately by three times) underestimates the range of changes. Summer temperature variations in the model are characterized by a higher statistical significance than winter ones. The analysis of the sensitivity of the climate in Western Europe to SIC variations alone in the Arctic is an important result of the experiments performed. It is established that the SIC decrease and a strong warming over the Barents Sea in the winter period leads to a cooling over vast regions of the northern part of Eurasia and increases the probability of anomalously cold January months by two times and more (for regions in Western Siberia). This effect is caused by the formation of the increased-pressure region with a center over the southern boundary of the Barents Sea during the SIC decrease and an anomalous advection of cold air masses from the northeast. This result indicates that, to estimate the ALO actions (as well as other long-scale climatic variability modes) on the climate of Eurasia, it is basically important to take into account (or correctly reproduce) Arctic sea ice changes in experiments with climatic models.     

对地球系统模式FIO-ESM同化实验中北极海冰模拟的评估

本文评估了地球系统模式FIO-ESM(First Institute of Oceanography-Earth System Model)基于集合调整Kalman滤波同化实验对1992-2013年北极海冰的模拟能力。结果显示:尽管同化资料只包括了全球海表温度和全球海面高度异常两类数据,而并没有对海冰进行同化,但实验结果能很好地模拟出与观测相符的北极海冰基本态和长期变化趋势,卫星观测和FIO-ESM同化实验所得的北极海冰覆盖范围在1992-2013年间的线性变化趋势分别为-7.06×105和-6.44×105 km2/(10a),同化所得的逐月海冰覆盖范围异常和卫星观测之间的相关系数为0.78。与FIO-ESM参加CMIP5(Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5)实验结果相比,该同化结果所模拟的北极海冰覆盖范围的长期变化趋势和海冰密集度的空间变化趋势均与卫星观测更加吻合,这说明该同化可为利用FIO-ESM开展北极短期气候预测提供较好的预测初始场。     

Meridional mass and energy fluxes in the vicinity of the Arctic border

The air exchange between the Arctic and midlatitude regions is one of the processes forming the climate of the whole Northern Hemisphere. Analysis of the wind regime in the vicinity of the Arctic border (70° N) at the boundary between the 20th and 21st (1997–2004) centuries showed significant changes in the conditions of a meridional air transport between the Arctic and midlatitude regions as compared to the previous years (1960–1990). In this study, the wind fluxes of mass and heat (internal) and kinetic energies are estimated without consideration for turbulent and convective processes. The importance of spatial, seasonal, and interannual variations in wind velocity and air temperature in the formation of these fluxes is analyzed. It is shown that, during the period 1997–2004, an advective transport of energy from the northern latitudes occurred in the lower 6-km tropospheric layer at 70° N latitude over almost a whole year. Only in spring (April) did the wind fluxes bring heat energy from the south. The total amount of both heat and kinetic energies transported from the Arctic region in this way during a year is comparable to the mean amount of these energies contained in the whole atmosphere over the area bounded by 70° N latitude. The current spatial and temporal distributions of wind velocity and meridional mass and energy fluxes, which are presented in this study, may serve as additional information for interpreting data obtained from different on-site measurements in Arctic regions.