Can Adaptive Observations Improve Tropical Cyclone Intensity Forecasts?简

In order to investigate whether adaptive observations can improve tropical cyclone （TC） intensity forecasts,observing system simulation experiments （OSSEs） were conducted for 20 TC cases originating in the western North Pacific during the 2010 season according to the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation （CNOP） sensitivity,using the fifth version of the PSU/NCAR mesoscale model （MM5） and its 3DVAR assimilation system.A new intensity index was defined as the sum of the number of grid points within an allocated square centered at the corresponding forecast TC central position,that satisfy constraints associated with the Sea Level Pressure （SLP）,near-surface horizontal wind speed,and accumulated convective precipitation.The higher the index value is,the more intense the TC is.The impacts of the CNOP sensitivity on the intensity forecast were then estimated.The OSSE results showed that for 15 of the 20 cases there were improvements,with reductions of forecast errors in the range of 0.12％-8.59％,which were much less than in track forecasts.The indication,therefore,is that the CNOP sensitivity has a generally positive effect on TC intensity forecasts,but only to a certain degree.We conclude that factors such as the use of a coupled model,or better initialization of the TC vortex,are more important for an accurate TC intensity forecast.     

Impacts of the Lowest Model Level Height on Tropical Cyclone Intensity and Structure简

Variable thicknesses in the lowest half-ηmodel level （LML） are often used in atmospheric models to compute surface diagnostic fields such as surface latent and sensible heat fluxes.The effects of the LML on simulated tropical cyclone （TC）evolution were investigated in this study using the Weather Research and Forecasting （WRF） model.The results demonstrated notable influences of the LML on TC evolution when the LML was placed below 12 m.The TC intensification rate decreased progressively with a lowering of the LML,but its ultimate intensity change was relatively small.The maximum 10-m winds showed different behavior to minimum sea level pressure and azimuthally-averaged tangential winds,and thus the windpressure relationship was changed accordingly by varying the LML.The TC circulation was more contracted in association with a higher LML.Surface latent heat fluxes were enhanced greatly by elevating the LML,wherein the wind speed at the LML played a dominant role.The changes in the wind speed at the LML were dependent not only on their profile differences,but also the different heights they were taken from.Due to the enhanced surface heat fluxes,more intense latent heat release occurred in the eyewall,which boosted the storm＇s intensification.A higher LML tended to produce a stronger storm,and therefore the surface friction was reinforced,which in turn induced stronger boundary layer inflow together with increased diabatic heating.     

A Relocation-based Initialization Scheme to Improve Track-forecasting of Tropical Cyclones简

A relocation procedure to initialize tropical cyclones was developed to improve the representation of the initial conditions and the track forecast for Panasonic Weather Solutions Tropical Operational Forecasts. This scheme separates the vortex perturbation and environment field from the first guess, then relocates the initial vortex perturbations to Lhe observed position by merging them with the environment field. The relationships of wind vector components with stream function and velocity potential are used for separating the vortex disturbance from first guess. For the separation of scalars, a low-pass Barnes filter is employed. The irregular-shaped relocation area corresponding to the specific initial conditions is determined by mapping the edge of the vortex radius in 36 directions.Then, the non-vortex perturbations in the relocation area are removed by a two-pass Barnes filter to retain the vortex perturbations, while the variable fields outside the perimeter of the modified vortex are kept ide.ntical to the original first guess. The potential impacts of this scheme on track forecasts were examined for three hurricane cases in the 2011-12 hurricane season. The experimental results demonstrate that the initialization scheme is able to effectively separate the vortex field from the environment field and maintain a relatively balanced and accurate relocated first guess. As the initial track error is reduced, the following track forecasts are considerably improved. The 72-h average track forecast error was redu,~ed by 32.6% for the cold-start cases, and by 38.4% when using the full-cycling data assimilation because of the accumulatedL improvements from the initialization scheme.     

Decadal Variations of Intense Tropical Cyclones over the Western North Pacific during 1948–2010简

Using Joint Warning Typhoon Center （JTWC） best track data during the period 1948-2010, decadal and interdecadal changes of annual category 4 and 5 tropical cyclone （TC） frequency in the western North Pacific basin were examined. By allowing all of the observed TCs in the JTWC dataset to move along the observed TC tracks in a TC intensity model, the annual category 4 and 5 TC frequency was simulated. The results agreed well with observations when the TC intensity prior to 1973 was adjusted based on time-dependent biases due to changes in measurement and reporting practices. The simulated and adjusted time series showed significant decadal （12-18 years） variability, while the interdecadal （18-32 years） variability was found to be statistically insignificant. Numerical simulations indicated that changes in TC tracks are the most important factor for the decadal variability in the category 4 and 5 TC frequency in the western North Pacific basin, while a combined effect of changes in SST and vertical wind shear also contributes to the decadal variability. Further analysis suggested that the active phase of category 4 and 5 TCs is closely associated with an eastward shift in the TC formation locations, which allows more TCs to follow a longer journey, favoring the development of category 4 and 5 TCs. The active phase corresponds with the SST warming over the tropical central and eastern Pacific and the eastward extension of the monsoon trough, thus leading to the eastward shift in TC formation locations.     

An Assessment of Improvements in Global Monsoon Precipitation Simulation in FGOALS-s2简

The performance of Version 2 of the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model （FGOALS-s2） in simulat ing global monsoon precipitation （GMP） was evaluated. Compared with FGOALS-sl, higher skill in simulating the annual modes of climatological tropical precipitation and interannual variations of GMP are seen in FGOALS-s2. The simulated domains of the northwestern Pacific monsoon （NWPM） and North American monsoon are smaller than in FGOALS-s 1. The main deficiency of FGOALS-s2 is that the NWPM has a weaker monsoon mode and stronger negatiw,＇ pattern in spring-fall asymmetric mode. The smaller NWPM domain in FGOALS-s2 is due to its simulated colder SST over the western Pacific warm pool. The relationship between ENSO and GMP is simulated reasonably by FGOALS-s2. However, the simulated precipitation anomaly over the South African monsoon region-South Indian Ocean during La Nina years is opposite to the observation. This results mainly from weaker warm SST anomaly over the maritime continent during La Nifia years, leading to stronger upper-troposphere （lower-troposphere） divergence （convergence） over the Indian Ocean, and artificial vertical as cent （descent） over the Southwest Indian Ocean （South African monsoon region）, inducing local excessive （deficient） rainfall. Comparison between the historical and pre-industrial simulations indicated that global land monsoon precipitation changes from 1901 to the 1970s were caused by internal variation of climate system. External forcing may have contributed to the increasing trend of the Australian monsoon since the 1980s. Finally, it shows that global warming could enhance GMR especially over the northern hemispheric ocean monsoon and southern hemispheric land monsoon.     

Dynamic and Numerical Study of Waves in the Tibetan Plateau Vortex简

In terms of its dynamics, The Tibetan Plateau Vortex （TPV） is assumed to be a vortex in the botmdary layer forced by diabatic heating and friction. In order to analyze the basic characteristics of waves in the vortex, the governing equations for the vortex were established in column coordinates with the balance of gradient wind. Based on this, the type of mixed waves and their dispersion characteristics were deduced by solving the linear model. Two numerical simulations with triple-nested domains--one idealized large-eddy simulation and one of a TPV that took place on 14 August 2006---were also carried out. The aim of the simulations was to validate the mixed wave deduced from the governing equations. The high-resolution model output data were analyzed and the results showed that the tangential flow field of the TPV in the form of center heating was cyclonic and convergent in the lower levels and anticyclonic and divergent in the upper levels. The simulations also showed that the vorticity of the vortex is uneven and might have shear flow along the radial direction. The changing vorticity causes the formation and spreading of vortex Rossby （VR） waves, and divergence will cause changes to the n~otion of the excitation and evolution of inertial gravity （IG） waves. Therefore, the vortex may contain what we call mixed ：inertial gravity-vortex Rossby （IG-VR） waves. It is suggested that some strongly developed TPVs should be studied in the future, because of their effects on weather in downstream areas.     

Stationary Wave Activity Associated with the East Asian Winter Monsoon Pathway简

The pathway of the East Asian winter monsoon（EAWM） that usually leads to the out-of-phase pattern of surface air temperature between northern and southern East Asia is an important feature in the variability of the EAWM besides its strength.Using the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts 40-year（ERA40） reanalysis dataset,this study investigates the pathway-related stationary wave activity to explore the mechanism of the interannual variations in the EAWM pathway.It reveals that when the southern pathway of the EAWM is strong,the phase of the climatological stationary wave tends to be shifted westward significantly in both the horizontal and vertical directions by an anomalous wavenumber 2 pattern at mid-latitudes,whereas the changes are relatively small in the subtropics.The horizontal changes in the stationary wave phase facilitate a north-south-oriented East Asian trough in the middle troposphere that eventually produces the strong southern pathway of the EAWM.The vertical changes in the stationary wave,in contrast,feature a westward-tilted phase line with height over the North Pacific,indicating enhanced upward propagation of waves into the stratosphere.This result suggests that the phase of stationary waves at mid-latitudes dominate the interannual variations in the EAWM pathway.Moreover,it supports our previous interpretation of the possible role of the North Pacific sea surface temperature（SST） in the EAWM pathway variability.It also implies that the excitation of anomalous mid-latitude stationary waves may be the key in the response of the EAWM pathway to the North Pacific SST.     

Mean Flow–Storm Track Relationship and Rossby Wave Breaking in Two Types of El-Nino简

The features of large-scale circulation, storm tracks and the dynamical relationship between them were examined by investigating Rossby wave breaking （RWB） processes associated with Eastern Pacific （EP） and Central Pacific （CP） E1-Nifio. During EP E1-Nino, the geopotential height anomaly at 500 hPa （Z500） exhibits a Pacific-North America （PNA） pattern. During CP EI-Nifio, the Z500 anomaly shows a north positive-south negative pattern over the North Pacific. The anomalous distributions of baroclinicity and storm track are consistent with those of upper-level zonal wind for both EP and CP EI-Nino, suggesting impacts of mean flow on storm track variability. Anticyclonic wave breaking （AWB） oczurs less frequently in EP EI-Nino years, while cyclonic wave breaking （CWB） occurs more frequently in CP EI-Nino years over the North Pacific sector. Outside the North Pacific, more CWB events occur over North America during EP Ei-NiNo. When AWB events occur less frequently over the North Pacific during EP EI-Nino, Z500 decreases locally and the zonal wind is strengthened （weakened） to the south （north）. This is because AWB events reflect a monopoie high anomaly at the centroid of breaking events. When CWB events occur more frequently over the North Pacific under CP EI-Nino conditions, and over North America under EP EI-Nino condition, Z500 increases （decreases） to the northeast （southwest）, since CWB events are related to a northeast-southwest dipole Z500 anomaly. The anomalous RWB events act to invigorate and reinforce the circulation anomalies over the North Pacific-North America region linked with the two types of EI-Nino.     

Impacts of Four Types of ENSO Events on Tropical Cyclones Making Landfall over Mainland China Based on Three Best-track Datasets简

Impacts of EI Nino Modoki （ENM）, La Nina Modoki （LNM）, canonical EI Nifio （CEN） and canonical La Nifia （CLN） on tropical cyclones （TCs） that made landfall over mainland China during 1951-2011 are analysed using best-track data from China, the USA and Japan. Relative to cold phase years （LNM and CLN）, landfalling TCs in warm years （ENM and CEN） have a farther east genesis location, as well as longer track lengths and durations, both in total and before landfall. ENM demonstrates the highest landfall frequency, most northerly mean landfall position, and shortest after-landfall sustainability （track length and duration）, which indicate a more frequent and extensive coverage of mainland China by TCs, but with shorter after-landfall influence. CEN has low landfall frequency and the most southerly mean landfall location. LNM has the most westerly genesis location, being significantly farther west than the 1951-2011 average and leading to short mean track lengths and durations both in total or before landfall, all of which are significantly shorter than the 1951-2011 average. Variations in the low-level wind anomaly, vertical wind shear, mid-level relative humidity, steering flow, the monsoon trough and the western Pacific subtropical high （WPSH） can to some extent account for the features of frequency, location, track length and duration of landfalling TCs. Since ENSO Modoki is expected to become more frequent in the near future, the results for ENSO Modoki presented in this paper are of particular significance.     

Interference of the East Asian Winter Monsoon in the Impact of ENSO on the East Asian Summer Monsoon in Decaying Phases简

The variability of the East Asian winter monsoon （EAWM） can be divided into an ENSO-related part （EAWMEN） and an ENSO-unrelated part （EAWMres）.The influence of EAWMres on the ENSO-East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） relationship in the decaying stages of ENSO is investigated in the present study.To achieve this,ENSO is divided into four groups based on the EAWMres：（1） weak EAWMres-E1Ni（n）o （WEAWMres-EN）; （2） strong EAWMres-E1Ni（n）o （SEAWMresEN）; （3） weak EAWMres-La Ni（n）a （WEAWMres-LN）; （4） strong EAWMres-La Ni（n）a （SEAWMres-LN）.Composite results demonstrate that the EAWMres may enhance the atmospheric responses over East Asia to ENSO for WEAWMres-EN and SEAWMres-LN.The corresponding low-level anticyclonic （cyclonic） anomalies over the western North Pacific （WNP） associated with El Ni（n）o （La Ni（n）a） tend to be strong.Importantly,this feature may persist into the following summer,causing abundant rainfall in northern China for WEAWMres-EN cases and in southwestern China for SEAWMres-LN cases.In contrast,for the SEAWMres-EN and WEAWMres-LN groups,the EAWMres tends to weaken the atmospheric circulation anomalies associated with E1 Ni（n）o or La Ni（n）a.In these cases,the anomalous WNP anticyclone or cyclone tend to be reduced and confined to lower latitudes,which results in deficient summer rainfall in northern China for SEAWMres-EN and in southwestern China for WEAWMres-LN.Further study suggests that anomalous EAWMres may have an effect on the extra-tropical sea surface temperature anomaly,which persists into the ensuing summer and may interfere with the influences of ENSO.     

季风涡旋影响西北太平洋台风生成初步分析

西北太平洋对流层低层大尺度低频环流季风涡旋与台风生成有密切的关系。利用时间滤波方法将季风涡旋和台风环流从逐日台风风场中分离出来,对两次季风涡旋活动个例分析发现,气旋初始扰动都首先出现在季风涡旋中心东部,一次季风涡旋活动可以伴随着一个或几个热带气旋的生成。通过进一步分析2000—2009年季风涡旋活动与热带气旋的生成关系发现,虽然季风涡旋的定义与环流强度和持续时间有关,但是热带气旋的生成位置大多数分布在季风涡旋的中心和东部,这可能与季风涡旋的Rossby波能量频散有关。     

Re-examination of tropical cyclone formation in monsoon troughs over the western North Pacific

The monsoon trough(MT) is one of the large-scale patterns favorable for tropical cyclone(TC) formation over the western North Pacific(WNP). This study re-examines TC formation by treating the MT as a large-scale background for TC activity during May–October. Over an 11-year(2000–10) period, 8.3 TC formation events on average per year are identified to occur within MTs, accounting for 43.1% of the total TC formation events in the WNP basin. This percentage is much lower than those reported in previous studies. Further analysis indicates that TC formation events in monsoon gyres were included at least in some previous studies. The MT includes a monsoon confluence zone where westerlies meet easterlies and a monsoon shear line where the trade easterlies lie north of the monsoon westerlies. In this study, the large-scale flow pattern associated with TC formation in the MT is composited based on the reference point in the confluence zone where both the zonal and meridional wind components are zero with positive vorticity. While previous studies have found that many TCs form in the confluence zone, the composite analysis indicates that nearly all of the TCs formed in the shear region, since the shear region is associated with stronger low-level relative vorticity than the confluence zone. The prevailing easterly vertical shear of zonal wind and barotropic instability may also be conducive to TC formation in the shear region, through the development of synoptic-scale tropical disturbances in the MT that are necessary for TC formation.     

Influence of monsoon over the warm pool on interannual variation on tropical cyclone activity over the western North Pacific

The relationship between the interannual variation in tropical cyclone （TC） activity over the western North Pacific （WNP） and the thermal state over the warm pool （WP） is examined in this paper. The results show that the subsurface temperature in the WP is well correlated with TC geographical distribution and track type. Their relation is linked by the East Asian monsoon trough. During the warm years, the westward-retreating monsoon trough creates convergence and vorticity fields that are favorable for tropical cyclogenesis in the northwest of the WNP, whereas more TCs concentrating in the southeast result from eastward penetration of the monsoon trough during the cold years. The steering flows at 500 hPa lead to a westward displacement track in the warm years and recurving prevailing track in the cold years.
The two types of distinct processes in the monsoon environment triggering tropical cyclogenesis are hypothesized by composites centered for TC genesis location corresponding to two kinds of thermal states of the WP. During the warm years, low-frequency intraseasonal oscillation is active in the west of the WNP such that eastward-propagating westerlies cluster TC genesis in that region. In contrast, during the cold years, the increased cyclogenesis in the southeast of the WNP is mainly associated with tropical depression type disturbances transiting from equatorially trapped mixed Rossby gravity waves. Both of the processes may be fundamental mechanisms for the inherent interannual variation in TC activity over the WNP.     

东风急流对孟加拉湾热带气旋Nargis初始涡旋形成的影响

利用NCEP-CFSR(National Centers for Environmental Prediction Climate Forecast System Reanalysis)再分析资料和WRF模式,研究了2008年4月孟加拉湾热带气旋Nargis的初始涡旋的形成过程。结果表明:受到印度洋赤道西风急流爆发及其伴随的东传MJO事件的影响,Nargis的初始扰动生成于苏门答腊岛北部地区。另外,源于中纬度地区经南海进入孟加拉湾的东风急流(4月22—25日)对Nargis初始扰动发展到热带低压起到了重要的作用。东风急流及其携带的冷空气使得孟加拉湾东部海洋向大气输送的感热通量迅速增加,低层大气的有效位能通过非绝热加热获得能量,并向总动能转化,从而近海表涡旋性环流得到增长,Nargis初始扰动向西北移动并最终发展为热带低压。数值试验结果进一步证实了东风急流对Nargis初始涡旋生成的作用,如果没有东风急流的出现,Nargis初始扰动将不能北上发展成为热带低压。     

华东沿海地形对登陆热带气旋运动影响的理想数值研究

利用中尺度数值模式设计一组高分辨率理想试验,采用位涡趋势方法定量诊断分析热带气旋在登陆我国华东沿海地形时,其运动发生的精细化变化以及不同因子的贡献。结果表明,平地的存在使得登陆热带气旋移速相对更快,当华东沿海地形存在时,热带气旋移速显著增大,这种增速现象主要是由于平地和地形所引起的非对称气流以及相应的引导气流变化所致,这很可能是导致预报路径误差的一个重要原因。平地试验中,陆地在热带气旋低层激发出中小尺度的非对称气流,与之不同的是,实际地形的加入激发出更大尺度并且更强的非对称偏南气流。位涡趋势方法的诊断结果表明,非引导效应总体而言对热带气旋运动贡献较小,这是因为这些因子相互抵消,但在不同的垂直层次上,不同的非引导因子贡献存在明显的差异。     

Simulated sensitivity of tropical cyclone track to the moisture in an idealized monsoon gyre

In this study, the sensitivity of tropical cyclone (TC) track to the moisture condition in a nearby monsoon gyre (MG) is investigated. Numerical simulations reveal that TC track is highly sensitive to the spatial distribution of relative humidity (RH). In an experiment conducted with higher (lower) RH in the eastern (western) semicircle of an MG, the TC experiences a sharp northward turning. In contrast, when the RH pattern is reversed, the simulated TC does not show a sharp northward turning. The RH distribution modulates the intensity and structure of both the TC and MG, so that when the TC is initially embedded in a moister environment, convection is enhanced in the outer core, which favors an expansion of the outer core size. A TC with a larger outer size has greater beta-effect propagation, favoring a faster westward translational speed. Meanwhile, higher RH enhances the vorticity gradient within the MG and promotes a quicker attraction between the TC and MG centers through vorticity segregation process. These cumulative effects cause the TC to collocate with the MG center. Once the coalescence process takes place, the energy dispersion associated with the TC and MG is enhanced, which rapidly strengthens southwesterly flows on the eastern flanks. The resulting steering flow leads the TC to take a sharp northward track.     

一次热带气旋过程对出梅影响的数值模拟研究

采用中尺度数值模式WRF对2001年江淮梅雨期热带气旋(Tropical Cyclone,TC)进行数值模拟,研究TC"飞燕"对梅雨结束过程的影响。结果表明,模式能够较好地模拟出"飞燕"的路径与强度演变,并能够较为精确地再现梅雨后期的降水强度和落区。对比分析消除"飞燕"影响的敏感性数值试验结果发现,"飞燕"影响梅雨的机制在于:随着其向东北向移动,西太平洋副热带高压北抬,东亚高、低空急流强度均有所减弱,低空切变辐合变弱,梅雨锋强度减弱,使得来自西南方向的水汽输送减少,造成假相当位温梯度和湿位涡倾斜项减小,垂直上升运动明显削弱,降水中断,导致梅雨结束。而消除"飞燕"影响后,梅雨后期降水仍然较多,梅雨期将有所延长。     

Vertical Structure of Beta Gyres and Its Effect on Tropical Cyclone Motion

ＶｅｒｔｉｃａｌＳｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅｏｆＢｅｔａＧｙｒｅｓａｎｄＩｔｓＥｆｆｅｃｔｏｎＴｒｏｐｉｃａｌＣｙｃｌｏｎｅＭｏｔｉｏｎＴｉａｎＹｏｎｇｘｉａｎｇ（田永祥）ａｎｄＬｕｏＺｈｅｘｉａｎ（罗哲贤）（ＮａｍｉｎｇＩｎｓｔｉｔｕｔｅｏｆＭｅｔｅｏｒｏｌ...     

提高模式分辨率后热带气旋生成迟缓的原因分析

利用目前国际上最先进的中尺度WRF模式模拟热带气旋生成,网格分辨率从9 km增加到3 km,3 km网格中积云参数化方案不起作用,依靠微物理方案来模拟对流尺度系统特征,模式中热带气旋的生成过程变得迟缓。当低压扰动发展到一定程度后再加入3 km网格,生成过程有加快趋势。本研究针对该现象进行分析。结果表明:只用微物理方案使低层(950～700 hPa)风速的垂直切变减小,不利于对流发展;切变减小主要是由于动量垂直输送项的差异所致。在加入细网格的6 h内,低层对流尺度(减去区域平均)的动量垂直输送量平均增加了一倍,某些时刻达到了5倍以上;动量混合增加是由于微物理方案模拟的垂直速度增加所致。此外,只用微物理方案导致对流有效位能迅速被消耗。低层垂直切变和对流有效位能的减小都不利于对流发展,从而导致热带气旋生成发展过程迟缓。本研究表明,目前WRF中的微物理方案在模拟热带气旋生成过程中的对流发展时仍然存在问题。     

2010年和1998年西北太平洋热带气旋频数异常与东亚夏季风系统的关联性分析

利用西北太平洋编号台风资料、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料和NOAA向外长波辐射(outgoing longwave radiation,OLR)资料等,选取西北太平洋热带气旋频数异常偏少的2010年和1998年,诊断分析ENSO事件及其东亚夏季风环流异常与热带气旋频数异常的关系,给出东亚夏季风系统部分成员影响热带气旋频数的天气学图像:由春入夏,赤道东太平洋海温异常偏暖,赤道哈得来环流偏强,沃克环流偏弱;西太平洋副热带高压异常强大,位置偏西;季风槽位置偏南,东西向不发展;南海、西太平洋越赤道气流偏弱;异常热源和水汽汇偏南,南海和菲律宾以东地区对流活动受到抑制,热带对流活跃区位于赤道以南;热带气旋生成个数明显偏少,位置偏西。