赤道高频纬向风强迫对ENSO事件强度的影响

ENSO强度的影响因子是一个具有争议性的问题.作者探讨了一种理想的赤道高频纬向风强迫对ENSO强度的影响.将该问题转化为一类关于模式参数扰动的非线性最优化问题;基于所用的理论ENSO模式,研究了赤道高频纬向风强迫在调制ENSO强度中的角色.结果表明,对于E1 Ni(n)o和La Ni(n)a事件,存在两类外强迫,一类促进E1 Ni(n)o事件的发展却抑制La Ni(n)a事件的发展,另一类则抑制E1 Ni(n)o而促进La Ni(n)a事件的发展.这两类外强迫的主要区别在于初始相位的不同.相位决定了外强迫对ENSO事件是促进的还是抑制的,而外强迫的振幅和周期则决定了外强迫影响ENSO强度的大小.这些外强迫主要是通过海洋波动对斜温层深度的调节来影响ENSO事件的强度的.     

The End-to-End Attribution Problem: From Emissions to Impacts

When a damaging extreme meteorological event occurs, the question often arises as to whether that event was caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The question is more than academic, since people affected by the event will be interested in recurring damages if they find that someone is at fault. However, since this extreme event could have occurred by chance in an unperturbed climate, we are currently unable to properly respond to this question. A solution lies in recognising the similarity with the cause-effect issue in the epidemiological field. The approach there is to consider the changes in the risk of the event occurring as attributable, as against the occurrence of the event itself. Inherent in this approach is a recognition that knowledge of the change in risk as well as the amplitude of the forcing itself are uncertain. Consequently, the fraction of the risk attributable to the external forcing is a probabilistic quantity. Here we develop and demonstrate this methodology in the context of the climate change problem.     

Semi-diurnal wind variation in the friction layer above the tropical ocean

Conventional theory predicts that in the layer of frictional influence, the semi-diurnal forcing by pressure-gradient oscillations should produce responses in air motion which show reduced amplitude and phase-leading, in comparison with frictionless conditions in the free troposphere. Wind-profile data obtained by anemometers on a floating mast during the ‘1965-Atlantic Meteor Expedition’ at an anchor station in the SE-trade-wind regime near the equator showed that the amplitude of the west component at the 4-m level practically equalled the fr ictionless value, while other measurements gave evidence of frictional effects, such as phase-leading, and vertical shear from 1 to 10 m. The observed wind response is explained by dynamic coupling as a consequence of forcing by the horizontal pressure gradient oscillation and resulting semi-diurnal variation of surface stress and therefore of eddy diffusivity.     

Storm Surges in the Strait of Georgia Simulated with a Regional Model

The Strait of Georgia is a large, semi-enclosed body of water between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia connected to the Pacific Ocean via Juan de Fuca Strait at the south and Johnstone Strait at the north. During the winter months, coastal communities along the Strait of Georgia are at risk of flooding caused by storm surges, a natural hazard that can occur when a strong storm coincides with high tide. This investigation produces storm surge hindcasts using a three-dimensional numerical ocean model for the Strait of Georgia and the surrounding bodies of water (Juan de Fuca Strait, Puget Sound, and Johnstone Strait) collectively known as the Salish Sea. The numerical model employs the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean architecture in a regional configuration. The model is evaluated through comparisons of tidal elevation harmonics and storm surge with observations. Important forcing factors contributing to storm surges are assessed. It is shown that surges entering the domain from the Pacific Ocean make the most significant contribution to surge amplitude within the Strait of Georgia. Comparisons between simulations and high-resolution and low-resolution atmospheric forcing further emphasize that remote forcing is the dominant factor in surge amplitudes in this region. In addition, local wind patterns caused a slight increase in surge amplitude on the mainland side of the Strait of Georgia compared with Vancouver Island coastal areas during a major wind storm on 15 December 2006. Generally, surge amplitudes are found to be greater within the Strait of Georgia than in Juan de Fuca Strait.     

Studying Resonance Oscillations in the Eastern Part of the Posyet Bay

The field experiment with the installation of autonomous pressure gages in the Troitsa and Vityaz’ bays was held for studying the specific features of free surface oscillations in the Posyet Bay (the Sea of Japan). The interpretation and joint analysis of measurement data allowed obtaining the datasets of spatiotemporal parameters for free oscillations calculated using the spectral-difference model and for forced oscillations in the form of the response to the forcing with the periods of 10–50 minutes in the numerical model of shallow water with the difference approximation on the irregular triangular grid. The position of peaks on the model resonance curves and the values of frequencies of free oscillations are consistent with the position of clearly pronounced peaks of the energy spectrum from field data. This indicates the possibility of significant resonance enhancement of the amplitude of oscillations by periodic wind effects and incoming wave effects.     

Wind‐driven inertial oscillations of large spatial coherence

Abstract

Inertial oscillations in current records collected from May to September, 1977, at ten mooring sites 20–300 km apart in the semi‐enclosed sea off northwest British Columbia are analysed. Near‐surface oscillations were wind‐driven, clockwise rotary and circularly polarized; near‐bottom oscillations at depths of 155–330 m were clockwise rotary, less than 10% of near‐surface amplitudes, highly elliptical and poorly correlated with surface winds. In the open southwest sector of the region, near‐surface spectra possessed well‐defined peaks centred roughly 3.5% above the local inertial frequency (f), whereas spectra for the semi‐enclosed northern sector had broad peaks centred at f. The peak spectral frequency at the southeast corner of the mooring array was 6.5% below f and is linked to a Doppler shift by mean flow advection of comparatively high wavenumber inertial oscillations. A particularly vigorous wind‐generated surface “event” in mid‐June was coherent to 99% confidence over a distance of 300 km and persisted for more than 8 days at most locations and 11 days at a mooring at the edge of the continental shelf. (Typical durations for single wave groups were ～2 1/2 days.) This event, together with a similar less energetic event in August, was due to quasi‐resonant forcing by frontal winds associated with sequences of regularly spaced, eastward travelling extratropical cyclones. Estimated inertial wavelengths ranged from 300–700 km over the main portion of the sea to 85–95 km in the southeast corner.     

Relative roles of the equatorial upper ocean zonal current and thermocline in determining the timescale of the tropical climate system

Summary In this study, it is demonstrated that the amplitude of the equatorial upper-ocean zonal current anomaly induced by the fast-varying wind forcing (shorter than a year) is much greater than that induced by the slowly varying wind forcing (longer than 2 year), and the center of maximum zonal current anomaly shifts from the central Pacific to the western Pacific with an increase in the timescale of wind forcing. As a result, the zonal advective feedback (the zonal advection of mean sea surface temperature by anomalous current) in a slowly varying climate system becomes weaker and barely induces a low-frequency mode such as El Niño-Southern Oscillation. On the other hand, both amplitude and zonal location of the maximum thermocline anomaly are little changed by the change in the timescale of wind forcing – confined at the strong equatorial upwelling region of the eastern Pacific. Accordingly, the thermocline feedback (the vertical advection of anomalous subsurface temperature by the mean upwelling) is more favorable to generate a low-frequency mode.The relative roles of these two feedbacks are further explored under the coupled-system context. The eigen analysis of the stripped-down version of an intermediate ocean-atmosphere coupled model shows that by altering the regime space from the weakly coupled to the strongly coupled, the dominant process that leads the leading eigen mode changes from the zonal advective feedback to the thermocline feedback, and at the same time the frequency of the leading mode also changes from the high-frequency to the low-frequency. It implies that each feedback tends to favor the different timescale coupled mode.     

新疆百里风区强风中尺度特征分析

大尺度环流背景和天山山脉大地形共同作用形成新疆百里风区，其风力之大居全疆九大风区之首。为进一步研究百里风区强风中尺度特征及其与局地地形的关系，选取2018年5月6—8日百里风区强风天气过程，使用WRF模式进行中尺度模拟分析，形成以下结论：天山两侧气压梯度力驱动下冷空气翻越天山，经色皮山口狭管效应和过山波水跃下沉接力加速，在背风坡上空形成强风区，强风区接地形成百里风区地面大风；大风过程中，七角井盆地地形强迫引发有限振幅重力波，背风坡上空大风区之上的临界层吸收上层能量并向下传递，增大了大风区的风速，使得低空大风区的接地更加充分。低空大气稳定层结的强度与大风强度相对应。     

Nonlinear three- wave interaction among barotropic rossby waves in a large- scale forced barotropic flow

In this paper, the coupling equations describing nonlinear three-wave interaction among Rossby waves including the forcing of an external vorticity source are obtained. Under certain conditions, the coupling equations with a constant amplitude forcing, the stability analysis indi-cates that when the amplitude of the external forcing increases to a certain extent, a pitchfork bifurcation occurs. Also, it is shown from numerical results that the bifurcation can lead to chaotic behavior of “strange” attractor. For the obtained three-variable equation, when the amplitude of modulated external forcing gradually increases, a period-doubling bifurcation is found to lead to chaotic behavior. Thus, in a nonlinear three-wave coupling model in the large-scale forced barotropic atmospheric flow, chaotic behavior can be observed. This chaotic behavior can explain in part 30-60-day low-frequency oscillations observed in mid-high latitudes.     

Spatio‐temporal variability in a mid‐latitude ocean basin subject to periodic wind forcing

Abstract

The mid‐latitude ocean's response to time‐dependent zonal wind‐stress forcing is studied using a reduced‐gravity, 1.5‐layer, shallow‐water model in two rectangular ocean basins of different sizes. The small basin is 1000 km × 2000 km and the larger one is 3000 km × 2010 km; the aspect ratio of the larger basin is quite similar to that of the North Atlantic between 20°N and 60°N. The parameter dependence of the model solutions and their spatio‐temporal variability subject to time‐independent wind stress forcing serve as the reference against which the results for time‐dependent forcing are compared.

For the time‐dependent forcing case, three zonal‐wind profiles that mimic the seasonal cycle are considered in this study: (1) a fixed‐profile wind‐stress forcing with periodically varying intensity; (2) a wind‐stress profile with fixed intensity, but north–south migration of the mid‐latitude westerly wind maximum; and (3) a north–south migrating profile with periodically varying intensity. Results of the small‐basin simulations show the intrinsic variability found for time‐independent forcing to persist when the intensity of the wind forcing varies periodically. It thus appears that the physics behind the upper ocean's variability is mainly controlled by internal dynamics, although the solutions’ spatial patterns are now more complex, due to the interaction between the external and internal modes of variability. The north–south migration of wind forcing, however, does inhibit the inertial recirculation; its suppression increases with the amplitude of north–south migration in the wind‐stress forcing.

Model solutions in the larger rectangular basin and at smaller viscosity exhibit more realistic recirculation gyres, with a small meridional‐to‐zonal aspect ratio, and an elongated eastward jet; the low‐frequency variability of these solutions is dominated by periodicities of 14 and 6–7 years. Simulations performed in this setting with a wind‐stress profile that involves seasonal variations of realistic amplitude in both the intensity and the position of the atmospheric jet show the seven‐year periodicity in the oceanic circulation to be robust. The intrinsic variability is reinforced by the periodic variations in the jet's intensity and weakened by periodic variations in the meridional position; the two effects cancel, roughly speaking, thus preserving the overall characteristics of the seven‐year mode.     

QBO-like Oscillations Induced by Local Thermal Forcing

A zonal-vertical two-dimensional equatorial model is used to study the possibility that the long period oscillation of the zonal mean flow occurring in the lower equatorial stratosphere (QBO) is caused by local thermal ac-tivities at the tropical tropopause. The model successfully reproduces QBO-like oscillations of the zonal mean flow, suggesting that the local heating or cooling at the tropical tropopause is probably the main reason of QBO’s genera-tion. The analysis of the dependence of the oscillation on the wave fencing indicates that the oscillation is not sensible to the forcing scale. The model can reproduce QBO-like oscillations with any forcing scale if the fencing period and amplitude take appropriate values, proving that the internal gravity waves generated by local thermal source take much important roles in QBO.     

Characteristics of nocturnal low-level jets over Ulsan airport

We analyzed wind profiler data collected over Ulsan airport during the period from 2008 to 2009 to examine the characteristics of low level jets (LLJs). The Ulsan airport is located within the narrow valley with north-south axis. The frequency analysis results indicates that the nearly 19% of the total nocturnal periods have the presence of jets and LLJ occurrence rate is high in winter (32%) and low in summer (10%). The mode in the wind speed histogram is 4?C6 m s^?1. A majority of jet occurs below 100 m (about 77.8 m) above ground. The predominant wind direction of jet is northerly. In order to examine the favorable conditions for LLJ formation of Ulsan airport, we investigated temperature difference between valley and plain at the surface and synoptic wind direction and speed at 850 hPa. Our results show that air temperature in the valley is lower than over the plain during the nighttime, indicating the existence of thermal forcing for along-valley wind. Under a significant temperature difference along the valley, westerly wind speed at 850 hPa is slightly weaker on LLJs event night than no event night, indicating weaker north-south large-scale pressure gradient on LLJ event night. The magnitude of northerly wind at 850 hPa is much stronger on event night than no event night, implying higher downward transfer of northerly wind on event night. Our findings suggest that jet formation over Ulsan airport is related to the strong northerly wind at 850 hPa in the presence of thermal forcing due to temperature contrast between valley and plain.     

两类El Ni?o事件盛期南大洋海冰异常的对比分析

基于1979～2017年数据,利用回归方法和线性模式试验,分析了两类El Ni?o事件（东部型EP和中部型CP）盛期（12月至2月）南大洋海冰异常的差异及其可能机制。结果表明,两类事件期间尽管海冰异常定性上类似,但强度和位置存在明显差异:在罗斯海和阿蒙森海,两类事件期间海冰均偏少,但 EP期间海冰减少范围更大,振幅更强;在威德尔海,两类事件期间海冰均偏多,但EP期间增多更明显,而且位置相对CP期间偏西偏北。造成这种差异的主要因素是两类事件期间海温异常强度的不同:EP期间对应的海温偏东偏强,其激发的类太平洋—南美型（PSA）模态在南极边缘海的异常高压中心强度更大、范围更广,使得罗斯海区域为东北风异常控制,有利海冰向高纬输送,海冰范围进而减少;而威德尔海区域则是异常偏南风控制,使得海冰向北输送,有利于威德尔海南部海冰范围减少,北部海冰范围增大。相比之下,CP事件期间,赤道中东太平洋的暖海温异常偏于中太平洋且强度弱,其激发的类PSA在南极边缘的异常高压偏弱,使得动力作用引起阿蒙森海的海冰减少和威德尔海海冰增加偏弱。进一步的分析表明,CP事件期间威德尔海海冰增多还与该区域更早时间（11月份）的海冰增多,及随后海冰—太阳反照率的正反馈效应有关。本研究结果显示两类事件期间海冰异常的强度和位置的差异,与两类事件期间赤道中东太平洋SSTA强度和位置的差异,二者有很好的对应关系,相比前人的合成分析结果（CP期间海冰异常强于EP期间）,物理上更为合理。     

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

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

Analysis and Simulation of the Stratospheric Quasi-zero Wind Layer over Korla,Xinjiang Province,China

The stratospheric quasi-zero wind layer (QZWL) is a transition region with low zonal wind speeds in the lower stratosphere at an altitude of ~20 km. The zonal wind direction above the QZWL layer is opposite to that below the QZWL layer and the north–south wind component is small. The atmospheric wind field near the stratospheric QZWL is an important factor affecting the flight altitude and dynamic control of stratospheric airships. It is therefore necessary to study the stratospheric QZWL to provide better environmental information for these aircraft. High-resolution radiosonde data were used to analyze the characteristics of the stratospheric QZWL over Korla, Xinjiang Province, China. A weak wind layer in which the wind direction suddenly reversed from westerly to easterly was observed at ~20 km in the lower stratosphere, characteristic of the stratospheric QZWL. The Weather Research and Forecasting model was used to simulate the profiles of the horizontal wind speed and direction over Korla. The forcing effect of each diagnostic term in the equation on the zonal wind speed was analyzed. The results showed that the advection term was the dominant factor forcing the zonal wind speed. The wave term had a secondary forcing role, although the forcing effect of the wave term on the zonal wind speed was significant in some regions.     

Response of the meridional overturning circulation to variable buoyancy forcing in a double hemisphere basin

We consider how a highly idealized double-hemisphere basin responds to a zonally constant restoring surface temperature profile that oscillates in time, with periods ranging from 0.5 to 32,000 years. In both hemispheres, the forcing is similar but can be either in phase or out of phase. The set-up is such that the Northern Hemisphere always produces the densest waters. The model’s meridional overturning circulation (MOC) exhibits a strong response in both hemispheres on decadal to multi-millennial timescales. The amplitude of the oscillations reaches up to 140% of the steady-state maximum MOC and exhibits resonance-like behaviour, with a maximum at centennial to millennial forcing periods. When the forcing is in phase between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, there is a marked decrease in the amplitude of the MOC response as the forcing period is increased beyond the resonance period. In this case the resonance-like behaviour is identical to the one we found earlier in a single-hemisphere model and occurs for the same reasons. When the forcing is out of phase between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the amplitude of the MOC response is substantially greater for long forcing periods (millennial and longer), particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. This increased MOC amplitude occurs because for an out of phase forcing, either the northern or the southern deep water source is always active, leading to generally colder bottom waters and thus greater stratification in the opposite hemisphere. This increased stratification in turn stabilises the water column and thus reduces the strength of the weaker overturning cell. The interaction of the two hemispheres leads to response timescales of the deep ocean at half the forcing period. Our results suggest a possible explanation for the half-precessional time scale observed in the deep Atlantic Ocean palaeo-temperature record.     

Multiple instabilities and modes of glacial rhythmicity in the plio-Pleistocene: a general theory of late Cenozoic climatic change

It has been noted that several distinct modes of glacial oscillation have existed during the past few million years, ranging from low-amplitude, high-frequency oscillations in the early Pliocene, through relatively high amplitude, predominantly near-40 ky period, oscillations in the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene, to the major near-100 ky period oscillations of the late Pleistocene. In addition to other plausible mechanisms suggested previously to explain aspects of this multirhythmic phenomenon, we now illustrate another possible contributor to this type of behavior based on the hypothesis that the slow-response climatic system is bistable and that two kinds of internal instability may be operative along with externally imposed forcing due to earth-orbital (Milankovitch) radiation changes and slow, tectonically-induced changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide. These two instabilities have been discussed previously: one is due to positive feedback in the global carbon cycle leading to near-100 ky free oscillations of the ice sheets, and the other is due to the potential for ice-calving catastrophes associated with bedrock variations that can lead to oscillations of a period near 40 ky, independent of obliquity forcing. Within the framework of a dynamical model containing the possibility for these two instabilities, as well as for stable modes, we show (1) how Milankovitch radiative changes or stochastic forcing influencing ice sheets can induce aperiodic (chaotic) transitions between the possible stable and unstable modes, and more significantly, (2) how progressive, long-term, tectonically-induced, changes in carbon dioxide, acting in concert with earth-orbital radiative variations in high Northern Hemisphere latitudes, can force systematic transitions between the modes. Such systematic changes can result in an ice mass chronology for the past 5 My that is qualitatively similar to the observed record of global ice mass. In essence, we have constructed a minimum dynamical model of the late Cenozoic climatic changes, containing what are believed to be the main physical factors determining these changes: ice mass, bedrock depression, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, deep ocean thermohaline state, Milankovitch radiation forcing, and slow tectonically-induced carbon dioxide forcing. This model forms the basis for a coherent theory for the complex climatic events of this long period.     

Centennial oscillations in an ocean-ice coupled model

Irregular centennial oscillations, with a spectral peak at 106 years, were obtained from an ocean-ice coupled model for the North Atlantic with realistic coastline and bottom topography. The model’s thermohaline circulation is forced by mixed boundary conditions, i.e., a Haney-type relaxation condition for temperature, but an equivalent virtual salt flux condition for salinity. All forcing fields are taken from the observed monthly mean climatological wind stress and buoyancy fluxes. The oscillations appeared in the form of a surface-intensified tripole in both the sea surface temperature and salinity fields located in the vicinity of the Labrador Sea. The oscillations involve a delicate interplay between heat and fresh water advection by meridional overturning circulation, horizontal gyres, vertical convection, and the seasonal cycle. The oscillations are primarily control?led by the salinity component of the circulation; however, sea ice plays a minor role in driving the oscillations observed in the model. On the other hand, a regular seasonal cycle in the forcing fields is an important ingredient for the centennial oscillations.     

Analysis of effects of constant wind on the velocity of currents and seiche oscillations in the Azov Sea level

Physical regularities of free oscillations of the Azov Sea level induced after the cessation of long-lasting action of wind are analyzed. Spatial characteristics of seiche oscillations, the position of nodal lines, and the velocity of induced currents are simulated with the three-dimensional nonlinear barotropic hydrodynamic model. It was found that in the coastal zone the maximum amplitude of these oscillations is comparable with the value of storm surges. It is demonstrated that seiches make essential contribution to the variability of velocity of currents.     

Surface pulses in the lower St. Lawrence Estuary

Abstract

Temperature, salinity, sea level and meteorological data from the ‘couplage entre les processus physiques et biogéochimiques’ (COUPPB) study of 1990 were examined to determine the forcing of fresh water pulses in the lower St. Lawrence Estuary. Anchor stations, during and after the passage of a pulse event, indicated that profound changes occurred in the hydrography at the head of the Laurentian Channel. A factor analysis of rotated eigenmodes of surface temperature and salinity indicated three co‐varying groups ‐ the first, on the north shore of the river, the second, on the south slope of the Laurentian Channel and the third in the middle of the estuary. A multivariate regression was used to relate salinity and temperature variations to forcing variates. It was found that sea level elevation and local winds accurately predicted fluctuations on the north shore. Salinity and temperature fluctuations on the south shore were best explained by propagation. In the middle of the estuary, salinity fluctuations were only weakly explained by propagation while temperature fluctuations could not be predicted by any of the forcing variates.