冬季北大西洋涛动极端异常变化与东亚冬季风

依据资料分析发现,冬季北大西洋涛动指数与冬季西伯利亚高压范围呈反向变化关系,冬季北大西洋涛动指数异常偏高（低）时期,30～50oN的亚洲大陆中部气压显著偏低（高）,致使冬季西伯利亚高压和东亚冬季风减弱（增强）以及亚洲大陆北部气温显著偏高（低）。冬季西伯利亚高压范围异常变化对北大西洋涛动没有显著的影响,其对北半球海平面气压、850 hPa温度的影响也明显要弱于北大西洋涛动的影响。     

Temperature and surface pressure anomalies in Israel and the North Atlantic Oscillation

Summary Teleconnections associated with changing patterns of temperature and pressure anomalies over Israel during the second half of the 20th century are investigated. Relatively high, statistically significant, correlation coefficients of −0.8 and +0.9 were found between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) Index anomalies and smoothed (5 year running mean) cool season temperature and surface pressure anomalies in Israel, respectively. A relatively high positive correlation, (r = 0.8) was also found between the NAO Index anomalies and smoothed geopotential height of the 1000 hPa pressure level, during the cool season at Bet Dagan radiosonde station located on the Israel Mediterranean coastal plain. Correlation coefficients between NAO Index anomalies and the higher standard pressure levels, 850 and 700 hPa, decrease gradually and become negative (not statistically significant) for the 500 hPa level. Received January 25, 2000/Revised March 6, 2001     

热带季节内振荡与北大西洋涛动年际变化的关系

运用K均值聚类法将冬季北大西洋及欧洲地区的天气流型分为4种不同的流型。研究了不同阶段8种不同位相的热带季节内振荡（MJO）与这4种流型的年际变化的关系。通过一系列的对比试验发现,K均值聚类法划分得到的不同位相的北大西洋涛动（NAO）的天数能很好地反映NAO指数;无论是在1978～1990年（简称为P1阶段）还是在1991～2010年（简称为P2阶段）,MJO第3（6）位相影响NAO正（负）位相;但在P1阶段存在NAO的位相转换,当MJO处于第1位相时,NAO由弱的负位相转换为正位相,当MJO处于第6位相时, NAO由正位相转换为负位相;而在P2阶段NAO并没有明显的位相转换,当MJO处于第1位相时,NAO由偶极子结构转换为波列结构。     

近45a冬季北大西洋涛动异常与我国气候的关系

利用1873－1995年的北半球海平面气压月平均资料，定义了北大西洋涛动指数。用近45a资料研究了北大西洋涛动与我国冬、夏季气候变化的关系。指出，北大西洋涛动异常变化与我国冬、夏季天气气候关系密切。强涛动年，冬季我国是偏暖、多雨的气候特征；夏季我国江淮之间地区气温明显偏低。还表明，强涛动年冬季，西太平洋副热带高压强度与西伯利亚高压及高空经向环流都明显偏弱，大气环流具有弱WA遥相关型、弱的东亚冬季风特征，对应的夏季环流特征与强东亚夏季风特征较接近。     

Present and historical climate variability in South West England

West Cornwall is the most south westerly part of mainland United Kingdom with a strong maritime climate. This paper analyses the earliest archived instrumental meteorological records collected in West Cornwall (SW England). Observations were obtained from the Met Office archive (Camborne 1957–2010; Culdrose 1985–2011), Trengwainton Garden (1940–2010), and from the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society, (data for Falmouth (1880–1952) and Helston (1843–1888)). Homogeneity tests were used (Levene and Brown-Forsythe tests) to exclude any trends not related to climate variability. The data exhibit trends in annual mean and maximum temperatures over the timescales analysed, and show a general temperature increase in the 20th and 21st century. Annual and seasonal temperature change was found to vary locally with strongly positive trends in autumn, spring and summer seasons. Trends in precipitation are positive only for the 19th century and only for one station. Correlation with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index gives negative results for precipitation data. However correlation with the NAO index is positive with temperature, especially in the winter season. Return period analysis shows a decrease in intensity and frequency of extreme precipitation events in the post-1975 period (Camborne and Trengwainton Garden stations). Climate change in the 20th century and future continued warming is likely to have major implications on biodiversity in this region.     

Relationship between the Late Spring NAO and Summer Extreme Precipitation Frequency in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

The relationship between the late spring North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the summer extreme precipitation frequency (EPF) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley (MLYRV) is examined using an NECP/NCAR reanalysis dataset and daily precipitation data from 74 stations in the MLYRV. The results show a significant negative correlation between the May NAO index and the EPF over the MLYRV in the subsequent summer. In positive EPF index years, the East Asian westerly jet shifts farther southward, and two blocking high positive anomalies appear over the Sea of Okhotsk and the Ural Mountains. These anomalies are favorable to the cold air from the mid-high latitudes invading the Yangtze River Valley (YRV). The moisture convergence and the ascending motion dominate the MLYRV. The above patterns are reversed in negative EPF index years. A wave train pattern that originates from the North Atlantic extends eastward to the Mediterranean and then moves to the Tibetan Plateau and from there to the YRV, which is an important link in the May NAO and the summer extreme precipitation in the MLYRV. The wave train may be aroused by the tripole pattern of the SST, which can explain why the May NAO affects the summer EPF in the MLYRV.     

Characteristics of autumn-winter extreme precipitation on the Norwegian west coast identified by cluster analysis

Extremely high autumn and winter precipitation events on the European west coast are often driven by low-pressure systems in the North Atlantic. Climate projections suggest the number and intensity of these events is likely to increase far more than the mean precipitation. In this study we investigate the autumn-winter extreme precipitation on the Norwegian west coast and the connection between its spatial distribution and sea level pressure (SLP) patterns using the k-means cluster analysis. We use three relatively high resolved downscalings of one global coupled model: the Arpège global atmospheric model (stretched grid with 35-km horizontal resolution over Norway) and the WRF-downscaled Arpège model (30 and 10-km) for the 30-year periods of 1961–1990 and 2021–2050. The cluster analysis finds three main SLP patterns responsible for extreme precipitation in different parts of the country. The SLP patterns found are similar to the NAO positive pattern known to strengthen the westerly flow towards European coast. We then apply the method to investigate future change in extreme precipitation. We find an increase in the number of days with extreme precipitation of 15, 39 and 35% in the two simulations (Arpège 35-km and WRF 30 and 10-km, respectively). We do not find evidence of a significant change in the frequency of weather patterns between the present and the future periods. Rather, it is the probability of a given weather pattern to cause extreme precipitation which is increased in the future, probably due to higher temperatures and an increased moisture content of the air. The WRF model predicts the increase in this probability caused by the most important SLP patterns to be >50%. The Arpège model does not predict such a significant change because the general increase in extreme precipitation predicted is smaller, probably due to its coarser resolution over ocean which leads to smoother representation of the low pressure systems.     

European Surface Pressure Patterns for Months with Outstanding Climatic Anomalies During the Sixteenth Century

Monthly mean surface pressure patterns in the European area are reconstructed for those winter and summer seasons of the 16th century with outstanding climatic anomalies being either widespread over Europe or remarkably intensive in some European regions. From the available documentary information about weather characteristics and their sequences, it proved possible to infer prevalent processes of lower tropospheric advection of typical air masses and to assess the position and strength of major surface pressure centres on a monthly scale. For comparison with modern pressure patterns, monthly mean sea level pressure (SLP) grids from the 20th century have been selected for seasons with similar climatic anomalies. There are broad coincidences between these pressure patterns of the 16th and the 20th centuries except for cold summer seasons. Finally, results from the 16th century are discussed in terms of circulation dynamics (different phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in winter, decreasing frequency of anticyclonic ridging in summer).     

近50年新疆气温和降水量变化及其与NAO指数的交叉小波谱分析

利用1961—2008年的逐日降水和气温资料,采用线性趋势、小波功率谱和交叉小波谱等方法分析了新疆降水和气温的变化,以及与北大西洋涛动(NAO)变化之间的关系。结果表明,近50年新疆存在降水增多和气温上升的趋势,有暖湿化现象,这与西北地区由暖干趋于暖湿的结论相一致。同时,新疆平均年降水量与NAO存在准2年和准6年周期,夏季降水量与NAO存在准3年和准5年周期,冬季降水量与NAO存在准3年周期。新疆年均气温与NAO存在准3年周期,夏季气温与NAO存在准3年周期,冬季气温与NAO存在准3年和准8年周期。新疆全年、冬季和夏季的降水与NAO的周期中,通过显著性检验的高值正相关大多集中在20世纪80年代;而气温与NAO的周期中,通过显著性检验的高值正相关也大多集中在80年代。     

Summer mean daily air temperature extremes in Central Spitsbergen

Summer mean daily temperature extremes in Svalbard Lufthavn (Central Spitsbergen) in the period 1975–2010 and daily pressure patterns and directions of air circulation conducive to their occurrence were analyzed. Positive (negative) extremes of daily mean temperatures in the summer were determined as higher (lower) than or equal to the value of the 90th (10th) percentile. The annual number of selected days shows a great year-to-year variability, although the annual number of extremely low mean daily temperature (≤1.3 °C) was decreasing in the 1976–2010 period, with a rate of about 4 days per decade. At the same time, the number of days with extremely high mean daily temperatures (≤8.2 °C) was increasing with a rate of about 2 days per decade. The summer pressure patterns and the air circulation conditions have an impact on the occurrence of the air mean daily temperature extremes. Namely, anticyclones spreading east to the Svalbard Archipelago, accompanied by the Icelandic Low, cause the air inflow from the southerly direction and positive mean daily temperature extremes. A cyclonal system spreading east or southeast towards the archipelago, together with a high-pressure ridge over the North Atlantic, indicates the northern air flow and negative mean daily temperature extremes in summer. The results obtained in this study prove that the summer air temperature in the Atlantic region of the Arctic is partly controlled by air circulation, and despite the intensity and stability of the summer cyclones and anticyclones being weaker than in the winter, their position strongly determines the occurrence of mean daily temperature extremes in the summer.     

近百年东亚冬季气温及其大气环流变化型态

利用最新20世纪近百年再分析气象资料,研究近百年东亚冬季气温变化型及其相关的大气环流型态.结果表明近百年内东亚冬季气温主要有两种变化型:第一是东亚西南与东北相反气温变化型,表现在40°N以南及105°E以西地区(西南地区)气温变化与40°N以北及105°E以东地区(东北地区)变化相反;第二是40°N以南气温一致变化型.与第一种气温变化型耦合的大气模态是500hPa欧亚型遥相关、西伯利亚高压及北大西洋涛动.当欧亚型遥相关负位相,北大西洋涛动正位相及西伯利亚高压减弱时,有利于蒙古和我国105° E以东的区域增温而我国西南地区和青藏高原降温,反之亦然.第二种气温变化型耦合大气模态是500hPa西太平洋型遥相关,北太平洋涛动.当西太平洋型遥相关及北太平洋涛动处于正位相时(北太平洋北负南正),东亚40°N以南地区增温,东亚40°N以北地区降温.耦合的大气模态的型态差异,影响各阶段气温的年际变化.近一百年中,欧亚型遥相关和北大西洋涛动在1984～2010期间的型态最显著,是20世纪80年代东亚显著增暖的原因之一.研究还发现20世纪中期后东亚气温的年际变化与极地环流的变化联系紧密,表现在西伯利亚高压范围东扩并与极地环流联系,也是近百年气温趋势上升的一个原因.     

Impacts of large-scale teleconnections on climate variability over Southwest Asia

The atmospheric low frequency variability at a regional or global scale is represented by teleconnection. Using monthly dataset of the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) for the period 1971–2016, the impacts of four large-scale teleconnection patterns on the climate variability over Southwest Asia are investigated. The large-scale features include the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the East Atlantic (EA) teleconnection patterns, as well as western tropical Indian Ocean (WTIO) sea surface temperature anomaly index. Results indicate that ENSO and EA are the first leading modes that explain variation of Southwest Asian precipitation, with positive (negative) anomalies during El Niño (La Niña) and the negative (positive) phase of EA. Variation of Southwest Asian near-surface temperature is most strongly related to WTIO index, with above-average (below-average) temperature during the positive (negative) phase of WTIO index, although the negative (positive) phase of NAO also favours the above-average (below-average) temperature. On the other hand, temperature (precipitation) over Southwest Asia shows the least response to ENSO (WTIO). ENSO and EA individually explain 13 percent annual variance of precipitation, while WTIO index explains 36 percent annual variance of near-surface temperature over Southwest Asia. Analysis of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis Interim (ERA-Interim) data indicated establishments of negative (positive) geopotential height anomalies in the middle troposphere over Southwest Asia during El Niño (La Niña) or the negative (positive) phase of NAO, EA and WTIO. The response of precipitation variability over Southwest Asia to NAO is opposite to that expected from the geopotential height anomalies, but the correlation between precipitation and NAO is not statistically significant. Due to predictability of large-scale teleconnections, results of this study are encouraging for improvement of the state-of-the-art seasonal prediction of the climate over Southwest Asia.     

Observed trends of heating and cooling degree-days in Xinjiang Province, China

The Mediterranean climate region on the west coast of the United States is characterized by wet winters and dry summers, and by high fire activity. The importance of synoptic-scale circulation patterns (ENSO, PDO, PNA) on fire-climate interactions is evident in contemporary fire data sets and in pre-Euroamerican tree-ring-based fire records. We investigated how interannual variability in two fire weather indices, the Haines index (HI) and the Energy Release Component (ERC), in the Mediterranean region of southern Oregon and northern California is related to atmospheric circulation and fire extent. Years with high and low fire weather index values corresponded to years with a high and low annual area burned, respectively. HI combines atmospheric moisture with atmospheric instability and variation in HI was more strongly associated with interannual variation in wildfire extent than ERC, which is based on moisture alone. The association between fire extent and HI was also higher for fires in southern Oregon than in northern California. In terms of synoptic-scale circulation patterns, years of high fire risk (i.e., increased potential for erratic fire behavior, represented by HI and ERC) were associated with positive winter PNA and PDO conditions, characterized by enhanced regional mid-tropospheric ridging and low atmospheric moisture. The time lag we found between fire risk potential and prior winter circulation patterns could contribute to the development of long-lead fire-climate forecasting.     

Teleconnection–extreme precipitation relationships over the Mediterranean region

The relationship between five teleconnection patterns (North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Arctic Oscillation (AO), East Atlantic/Western Russian (EAWR) pattern, Scandinavian (SCAND) pattern, and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)) and the frequency of occurrence of days (per month) with extreme precipitation in the Euro-Mediterranean region is investigated with National Centers for Environmental Prediction–National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis data. To quantify the teleconnection–precipitation relationships over the Euro-Mediterranean region, linear correlations are calculated between the monthly teleconnection indices for the five patterns and time series at each grid point of the monthly frequency of days with extreme precipitation, focusing on daily precipitation amounts that exceed a particular threshold value (a 90 % threshold is used). To evaluate dynamical processes, the teleconnection indices are also correlated with the frequencies of days with extreme values of dynamic tropopause pressure and precipitable water. The former quantity is used as a proxy for potential vorticity intrusions and the latter to identify regions of enhanced moisture. The results of this analysis indicates positive, statistically significant correlations between the NAO, AO, and SCAND indices and the frequency of extreme precipitation in the western Mediterranean; positive (negative) correlations between the EAWR index and the extreme precipitation frequency in the eastern (western) Mediterranean; and a positive correlation between the Niño3.4 index and the extreme precipitation frequency over the Iberian Peninsula and the Middle East. For all of the teleconnection patterns other than ENSO, the dynamic tropopause pressure correlation patterns resemble those for the precipitation. In contrast, similar precipitation and precipitable water correlation patterns are observed only for ENSO. These findings suggest that the teleconnections affect the interannual variation of the frequency of days with extreme precipitation over a large part of the Euro-Mediterranean region through their impact on the spatial distribution of regions with enhanced potential vorticity and air moisture.     

Decadal trends of main Eurasian oscillations and the Eastern Mediterranean precipitation

Summary ?The role of the two main European low-frequency oscillations – the East Atlantic/West Russian (EA/WR) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), in controlling the precipitation in the Eastern Mediterranean region is investigated based on the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis and the Israeli precipitation data for 1958–1998. The data on the EA/WR and NAO indices, received from the NCEP Climate Prediction Center, are also adapted. Composite mean sea level and precipitation anomaly patterns are constructed and analyzed. In addition to the widely investigated positive NAO trend, another, also positive EA/WR trend characterized atmospheric developments during the period. During NAO positive months, the EA/WR-associated positive SLP anomaly areas were shifted from the east Atlantic to southwest Europe. The areas were shifted to the north during the NAO-negative months and were located over central and northern Europe. This demonstrates that the use of fixed pressure NAO patterns may be not the optimum way to understand climate variability. Analysis of the NAO, EA/WR patterns, as well as that of their decadal trends, demonstrated a relationship between the main European oscillations and the EM precipitation. The results allow explanation of the observed reduction of the north Israeli precipitation by the EA/WR positive trend during the period. Received April 5, 2001; Revised February 14, 2002     

我国北方沙尘天气演变趋势及其气候成因分析

利用地面气象观测资料,分析了我国北方1954～2001年年、季沙尘天气发生日数的演变规律及其与主要气候要素,风速、相对湿度、降水、气温和干燥度的相关关系,用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料分析了冬春气压梯度的变化趋势。结果表明:近50年来,造成我国北方沙尘天气频率显著下降的直接自然原因是沙尘源区和发生区平均风速和大风日数的减少、主要沙尘源区降水量特别是春季及其前冬降水量的增加以及由于源区降水增加引起的大气和土壤湿润程度的改善。冬春季节气压梯度的减小是风速减小、进而导致沙尘日数减小的关键间接因素。     

Global changes in extreme events: regional and seasonal dimension

This study systematically analyzes the complete IPCC AR4 (CMIP3) ensemble of GCM simulations with respect to changes in extreme event characteristics at the end of the 21st century compared to present-day conditions. It complements previous studies by investigating a more comprehensive database and considering seasonal changes beside the annual time scale. Confirming previous studies, the agreement between the GCMs is generally high for temperature-related extremes, indicating increases of warm day occurrences and heatwave lengths, and decreases of cold extremes. However, we identify issues with the choice of indices used to quantify heatwave lengths, which do overall not affect the sign of the changes, but strongly impact the magnitude and patterns of projected changes in heatwave characteristics. Projected changes in precipitation and dryness extremes are more ambiguous than those in temperature extremes, despite some robust features, such as increasing dryness over the Mediterranean and increasing heavy precipitation over the Northern high latitudes. We also find that the assessment of projected changes in dryness depends on the index choice, and that models show less agreement regarding changes in soil moisture than in the commonly used ‘consecutive dry days’ index, which is based on precipitation data only. Finally an analysis of the scaling of changes of extreme temperature quantiles with global, regional and seasonal warming shows that much of the extreme quantile changes are due to a seasonal scaling of the regional annual-mean warming. This emphasizes the importance of the seasonal time scale also for extremes. Changes in extreme quantiles of temperature on land scale with changes in global annual mean temperature by a factor of more than 2 in some regions and seasons, implying large changes in extremes in several countries, even for the commonly discussed global 2°C-warming target.     

Trends and Variability in Sea Ice and Icebergs off the Canadian East Coast

ABSTRACT

Seasonal time series of sea-ice area or extent in several regions along the east coast of Canada were compiled from several sources for the period 1901 to 2013 and compared with an index of ice extent off southwest Greenland, iceberg season length south of 48°N, air temperature, and other climate indices. Trends in winter ice area and iceberg season length are significant over the past 100 years and 30 years. Variability of winter ice area and iceberg season length is associated with a combination of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) indices superimposed on a negative trend. Thus, large declines in ice area and iceberg season length in the 1920s and 1990s can be attributed to a decreasing NAO index and a shift to the positive phase of the AMO at the end of these decades. Ice extent in southern areas such as the Scotian Shelf is more strongly correlated with the Western Atlantic index than with the NAO. Ice area trends (in percent per decade) are larger in magnitude and account for twice as much of the variance in ice area for summer than for winter, with summer trends significant over 30-, 60- and 100-year periods. Sea-ice variability is generally consistent with air temperature variability in the various regions; in the 1930s, during the early twentieth-century warming period, ice anomalies were higher and temperature anomalies were lower along the coast of eastern Canada than along the coast of southwestern Greenland.     

Modulation of soil moisture–precipitation interactions over France by large scale circulation

How soil moisture affects precipitation is an important question—with far reaching consequences, from weather prediction to centennial climate change—, albeit a poorly understood one. In this paper, an analysis of soil moisture–precipitation interactions over France based on observations is presented. A first objective of this paper is to investigate how large scale circulation modulates soil moisture–precipitation interactions, thanks to a weather regime approach. A second objective is to study the influence of soil moisture not only on precipitation but also on the difference between precipitation and evapotranspiration. Indeed, to have a total positive soil moisture–precipitation feedback, the potential decrease in precipitation associated with drier soils should be larger than the decrease in evapotranspiration that drier soils may also cause. A potential limited impact of soil moisture on precipitation is found for some weather regimes, but its sign depends on large scale circulation. Indeed, antecedent dry soil conditions tend to lead to smaller precipitation for the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) regime but to larger precipitation for the Atlantic Low regime. This differential response of precipitation to soil moisture anomalies depending on large scale circulation is traced back to different responses of atmospheric stability. For all circulation regimes, dry soils tend to increase the lifted condensation level, which is unfavorable to precipitation. But for the negative phase of the NAO, low soil moisture tends to lead to an increase of atmospheric stability while it tends to lead to a decrease of stability for Atlantic Low. Even if the impact of soil moisture anomalies varies depending on large scale circulation (it is larger for Atlantic low and the positive phase of the NAO), dry soils always lead to a decrease in evapotranspiration. As the absolute effect of antecedent soil moisture on evapotranspiration is always much larger than its effects on precipitation, for all circulation regimes dry soil anomalies subsequently lead to positive precipitation minus evapotranspiration anomalies i.e. the total soil moisture feedback is found to be negative. This negative feedback is stronger for the Atlantic Low and the positive phase of the NAO regimes.     

Trends in extremes of temperature, dew point, and precipitation from long instrumental series from central Europe

For the analysis of trends in weather extremes, we introduce a diagnostic index variable, the exceedance product, which combines intensity and frequency of extremes. We separate trends in higher moments from trends in mean or standard deviation and use bootstrap resampling to evaluate statistical significances. The application of the concept of the exceedance product to daily meteorological time series from Potsdam (1893 to 2005) and Prague–Klementinum (1775 to 2004) reveals that extremely cold winters occurred only until the mid-20th century, whereas warm winters show upward trends. These changes were significant in higher moments of the temperature distribution. In contrast, trends in summer temperature extremes (e.g., the 2003 European heatwave) can be explained by linear changes in mean or standard deviation. While precipitation at Potsdam does not show pronounced trends, dew point does exhibit a change from maximum extremes during the 1960s to minimum extremes during the 1970s.