冬季北大西洋涛动对中国春季降水异常的影响

利用中国397个测站降水资料和NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,采用相关分析、合成分析等方法,研究了冬季北大西洋涛动(NAO)对我国春季降水的影响。结果表明,我国春季降水与前期冬季NAO关系密切,冬季NAO偏强(弱)时,我国东部南方地区春季降水偏多(少),北方地区春季降水偏少(多)。冬季NAO信号通过波列形式传播至东亚地区,使得春季东亚副热带急流和温带急流发生变化,冬季NAO偏强(弱)时,春季东亚副热带西风急流增强(减弱),温带急流减弱(增强)。进一步分析表明,冬季NAO异常会引起春季乌拉尔山高压脊和东亚大槽的变化,导致东亚对流层上层的温度发生变化,并由此产生经向温度梯度异常,这可能是NAO影响东亚高空急流的原因之一。春季东亚对流层上层的气温变冷(暖),使得东亚地区30°-40°N区域产生下沉(上升)运动,20°-30°N区域产生上升(下沉)运动,最终导致我国东部南方地区春季降水偏多(少)、北方地区春季降水偏少(多)。     

Possible Impact of the Summer North Atlantic Oscillation on Extreme Hot Events in China

This paper reveals that the summer North Atlantic Oscillation (SNAO) is closely related to the extreme hot event (EHE) variability in China during the period of 1979 2009, with a positive-phase (negative-phase) SNAO corresponding to less (more) EHEs in northern China. The summer circulation anomalies associated with the SNAO give further confirmation of the above relationship. In a positive-phase (negative-phase) SNAO year, there is an anomalous cyclone (anticyclone) over central East Asia, which can increase (decrease) the total cloud cover over this region. Such changes of the total cloud cover can then decrease (increase) the solar radiation reaching the surface, which is consequently unfavorable (favorable) to the formation of EHEs over northern China.     

A new prediction model for grain yield in Northeast China based on spring North Atlantic Oscillation and late-winter Bering Sea ice cover

Accurate estimations of grain output in the agriculturally important region of Northeast China are of great strategic significance for guaranteeing food security. New prediction models for maize and rice yields are built in this paper based on the spring North Atlantic Oscillation index and the Bering Sea ice cover index. The year-to-year increment is first forecasted and then the original yield value is obtained by adding the historical yield of the previous year. The multivariate linear prediction model of maize shows good predictive ability, with a low normalized root-mean-square error (NRMSE) of 13.9%, and the simulated yield accounts for 81% of the total variance of the observation. To improve the performance of the multivariate linear model, a combined forecasting model of rice is built by considering the weight of the predictors. The NRMSE of the model is 12.9% and the predicted rice yield explains 71% of the total variance. The corresponding cross-validation test and independent samples test further demonstrate the efficiency of the models. It is inferred that the statistical models established here by applying year-to-year increment approach could make rational prediction for the maize and rice yield in Northeast China before harvest. The present study may shed new light on yield prediction in advance by use of antecedent large-scale climate signals adequately.     

Influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on winter rainfall in Calabria (southern Italy)

Seasonal rainfall amounts, directly responsible for availability of water resources on a specified area, are strongly dependent on the climate system. In order to highlight some features of such dependence, generally circulation indexes based on the difference in the sea level pressure between two geographic areas are taken into account. In the present study, the relationships between winter rainfall series observed in the Calabria region (southern Italy) and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) have been analysed. Firstly, a correlation analysis between precipitation and the NAOI was performed. Subsequently, the influence of the different phases of the NAO on the winter precipitation has been detected by a composite analysis, and by identifying changes in the behaviour of the probability density functions (gamma distribution) fitted on monthly rainfall. The results evidence a clear link existing between the phases of the climatic index and the amount of winter rainfall.     

Weakening of Winter North Atlantic Oscillation Signal in Spring Precipitation over Southern China

In this study,the relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO)in winter(December–February)and the precipitation over southern China(SCP)in the following spring(March–May)was investigated.Results showed an interdecadal change,from strong to weak connection,in their connection.Before the early1980s,they were highly correlated,with a strong(weak)winter NAO followed by an increased(decreased)spring SCP.However,after the early 1980s,their relationship was weakened significantly.This unstable relationship may be linked to the climatological change of East Asian jet.Before the early 1980s,the wave train along the Asian jet propagated the NAO signal eastward to East Asia and affected local upper-tropospheric atmospheric circulation.A strong NAO in winter led to an anomalous anticyclonic circulation at the south side of 30 N in East Asia in spring,resulting in an increase of SCP.In contrast,after the early1980s,the wave train pattern along the Asian jet extended eastward due to strengthening of the climatological East Asian jet.Correspondingly,the NAO-related East Asian atmospheric circulations in the upper troposphere shifted eastward,thereby weakening the linkage between the spring SCP and the winter NAO.     

Impact of Preceding Summer North Atlantic Oscillation on Early Autumn Precipitation over Central China

This study examined the impact of the preceding boreal summer（June–August） North Atlantic Oscillation（NAO） on early autumn（September） rainfall over Central China（RCC）. The results show that a significant positive correlation exists between the preceding summer NAO and the early autumn RCC on the interannual timescale. In order to understand the physical mechanism between them, the role of ocean was investigated. It was found that the strong summer NAO can induce a tripole sea surface temperature anomaly（SSTA） in the North Atlantic; this SSTA pattern can persist until early autumn. The diagnostic analysis showed that the tripole SSTA pattern excites a downstream Atlantic-Eurasian（AEA） teleconnection, which contributes to an increase in RCC. The circulation anomalies related to SSTA caused by the weak NAO are opposite, so the RCC is less than normal. The results imply that the preceding summer NAO may be regarded as a forecast factor for the early autumn RCC.     

On non-linearities in a forced North Atlantic Oscillation

Large ensembles of simulations (ensemble size of 500 members) are performed using a simplified atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) in order to investigate the non-linearities in the response to composite sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly forcings that are constant in time. The SST composite corresponds to the observed anomaly associated with the atmospheric North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The integration length is 90 days for each ensemble (covering January, February and March). A non-linearity is found in the mean response to the SST-forcing, with the negative SST-NAO forcing leading to a stronger and more clear atmospheric NAO response. These non-linearities appear to be due to asymmetries in the heating anomalies induced by the SST-forcing and asymmetries in the transient eddy vorticity forcing. Further non-linearities are due to initial period dependences of the response to the same SST-forcing. As a consequence, a pre-existing negative atmospheric NAO is much more persistent due to SST-feedback than a positive NAO.     

北极涛动与北大西洋涛动的差异

根据北极涛动和北大西洋涛动指数的时间序列,选取两者差异较大的13个年份进行合成分析。结果表明：除北太平洋地区外,北极涛动与北大西洋涛动差异最显著的区域是西欧-地中海区域和亚洲东北部地区。北极涛动高指数阶段,对流层中层为纬向二波的驻波型,分别对应于极地-欧亚遥相关型和太平洋-北美遥相关型。同时,纬向平均纬向风偶极型使西风急流向极地偏移,与增强的中纬度经圈环流相互作用,引导对流层上层异常信号向下传播,形成高低空耦合机制。进一步分析发现,这种中纬度经圈环流异常和高低空耦合形势的差异主要表现在欧亚大陆地区;在北大西洋区域差异并不显著。     

Variations of winter precipitation over southeastern China in association with the North Atlantic Oscillation

The synoptic-scale winter precipitation variations over southeastern China (22°–32°N, 105°–125°E) and their association with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) during 1951–2007 are investigated in this paper. The variability of wintertime precipitation is characterized by meridional displacement of its maximum center. Two precipitation regimes, with maximum centers located over the Yangtze and Pearl River basins, are identified via cluster analysis. Time-lagged analyses suggest that the two precipitation regimes are connected with the decaying phases of positive NAO (NAO+) events of different amplitudes. A strong (medium) NAO+ event is defined as one when the maximum amplitude of the NAO index exceeds 1.0 (in the range of 0.7–1.0) for at least 4 consecutive days and drops to less than 0.3 within 7 days following the peak index. After the peak of a strong NAO+, southerly winds expand northward to the Yangtze River (about 30°N), a northeast–southwest-tilted trough migrates to east of Lake Baikal, and cold air intrudes into central eastern China; thus, precipitation is strengthened over the Yangtze River basin where warm and cold air masses converge. In comparison, during the decaying phase of medium NAO+ events, the southerly winds are relatively weak, and precipitation tends to be enhanced at lower latitudes (around 25°N). Further analysis indicates that downstream Rossby-wave propagation may account for the latitudinal expansion of the southerly wind anomalies over the eastern coastal area of China during the decaying phase of NAO+ events of different strengths.     

瞬变天气涡旋对北大西洋涛动的增强效应

使用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料计算了冬季北大西洋瞬变涡旋活动强度与北大西洋涛动(NAO)逐日指数的时间序列,结果发现:当涡旋活动强度出现峰值后会伴随NAO模态增强现象;而随着NAO的增强,涡旋能量同落.为了判断是否涡流相互作用将天气尺度的能量转换为低频尺度的能量,使用瞬变涡度通量来研究涡度与能量的传输.通过分析瞬变涡...     

Influence of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation on the winter climate of East China

The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation （AMO）, the multidecadal variation of North Atlantic sea surface temperature （SST）, exhibits an oscillation with a period of 65-80 years and an amplitude of 0.4℃. Observational composite analyses reveal that the warm phase AMO is linked to warmer winters in East China, with enhanced precipitation in the north of this region and reduced precipitation in the south, on multidecadal time scales. The pattern is reversed during the cold phase AMO. Whether the AMO acts as a forcing of the multidecadal winter climate of East China is explored by investigating the atmospheric response to warm AMO SST anomalies in a large ensemble of atmospheric general circulation model （AGCM） experiments. The results from three AGCMs are consistent and suggest that the AMO warmth favors warmer winters in East China. This influence is realized through inducing negative surface air pressure anomalies in the hemispheric-wide domain extending from the midlatitude North Atlantic to midlatitude Eurasia. These negative surface anomalies favor the weakening of the Mongolian Cold High, and thus induce a weaker East Asian Winter Monsoon.     

近45 a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.     

Interdecadal variations of cold air activities in Northeast China during springtime

Based on the daily mean temperature data of CN05.2 from 1961 to 2012, cold events (CEs) are first divided into two categories according to their duration: strong cold events (SCEs) and weak cold events (WCEs). Then, the characteristics of CEs, SCEs, and WCEs during springtime are investigated. The results indicate that in the pre-1990s epoch, ENSO and Arctic Oscillation events in the previous winter are closely related to SCEs in the following spring. The multidecadal variations of CEs, SCEs, and WCEs are obvious. The intensity trend for SCEs is significantly negative, but it seems less apparent for WCEs. Further analysis reveals that when both SCEs and WCEs occur, a typical East Asian trough in the 850- hPa wind field, whose northwesterly wind component invades Northeast China (NEC) and causes freezing days, can be found in every decade. For the SCEs, a cold vortex, with its center located over Okhotsk and northeasterly current affecting NEC, is found as an additional feature. For the WCEs, the cold vortex is located in Karafuto and its northwesterly airflow intrudes into NEC. As for the difference between SCEs and WCEs, the northwestern flow is weaker while the northeastern counterpart is stronger during the SCEs, in all decades. In the Takaya–Nakamura flux and divergence fields, for the SCEs, a divergence center exists over NEC; and over its downstream regions, a stronger divergence center appears, not like a wave train. However, the opposite is the case for the WCEs; moreover, the wave train appears clearly during the WCEs, which means that the wave energy can propagate and dissipate more easily during WCEs.     

The Influence of Arctic Sea Ice Concentration Perturbations on Subseasonal Predictions of North Atlantic Oscillation Events

The influence of Arctic sea ice concentration(SIC) on the subseasonal prediction of the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO) event is investigated by utilizing the Community Atmospheric Model version 4. The optimal Arctic SIC perturbations which exert the greatest influence on the onset of an NAO event from a lead of three pentads(15 days) are obtained with a conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation approach. Numerical results show that there are two types of optimal Arctic SIC perturbations for ea...     

The North Atlantic Oscillation and oceanic precipitation variability

Global North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) oceanic precipitation features in the latter half of the twentieth century are documented based on the intercomparison of multiple state-of-the-art precipitation datasets and the analysis of the NAO atmospheric circulation and SST anomalies. Most prominent precipitation anomalies occur over the ocean in the North Atlantic, where in winter a “quadrupole-like” pattern is found with centers in the western tropical Atlantic, sub-tropical Atlantic, high-latitude eastern Atlantic and over the Labrador Sea. The extent of the sub-tropical and high-latitude center and the amount of explained variance (over 50%) are quite remarkable. However, the tropical Atlantic center is probably the most intriguing feature of this pattern apparently linking the NAO with ITCZ variability. In summer, the pattern is “tripole-like” with centers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea/Baltic Sea and in the sub-polar Atlantic. In the eastern Indian Ocean, the correlation is positive in winter and negative in summer, with some link to ENSO variability. The sensitivity of these patterns to the choice of the NAO index is minor in winter while quite important in summer. Interannual NAO precipitation anomalies have driven similar fresh water variations in these “key” regions. In the sub-tropical and high-latitude Atlantic in winter precipitation anomalies have been roughly 15 and 10% of climatology per unit change of the NAO, respectively. Decadal changes of the NAO during the last 50 years have also influenced precipitation and fresh water flux at these time-scales, with values lower (higher) than usual in the high-latitude eastern North Atlantic (Labrador Sea) in the 1960s and the late 1970s, and an opposite situation since the early 1980s; in summer the North Sea/Baltic region has been drier than usual during the period 1965–1975 when the NAO was generally positive.     

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。     

Extending North Atlantic Oscillation reconstructions back to 1500

Monthly (1659–1995) and seasonal (1500–1658) North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) indices were estimated using instrumental and documentary proxy predictors from Eurasia. Uncertainty estimates were calculated for the reconstructions, and the variability of the 500-year winter NAO has been assessed. The late twentieth century NAO extremes are within the range of variability during earlier centuries.     

Subseasonal variability and predictability of the Arctic Oscillation/North Atlantic Oscillation in BCC_AGCM2.2

The subseasonal variability and predictability of the Arctic Oscillation/North Atlantic Oscillation (AO/NAO) is evaluated using a full set of hindcasts generated from the Beijing Climate Center Atmospheric General Circulation Model version 2.2 (BCC_AGCM2.2). It is shown that the predictability of the monthly mean AO/NAO index varies seasonally, with the highest predictability during winter (December–March) and the lowest during autumn (August–November), with respect to both observations and BCC_AGCM2.2 results. As compared with the persistence prediction skill of observations, the model skillfully predicts the monthly mean AO/NAO index with a one-pentad lead time during all winter months, and with a lead time of up to two pentads in December and January. During winter, BCC_AGCM2.2 exhibits an acceptable skill in predicting the daily AO/NAO index of ∼9 days, which is higher than the persistence prediction skill of observations of ∼4 days. Further analysis suggests that improvements in the simulation of storm track activity, synoptic eddy feedback, and troposphere–stratosphere coupling in the Northern Hemisphere could help to improve the prediction skill of subseasonal AO/NAO variability by BCC_AGCM2.2 during winter. In particular, BCC_AGCM2.2 underestimates storm track activity intensity but overestimates troposphere–stratosphere coupling, as compared with observations, thus providing a clue to further improvements in model performance.     

A new North Atlantic Oscillation index and its variability

A new North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, the NAOI, is defined as the differences of normalized sea level pressures regionally zonal-averaged over a broad range of longitudes 80°W-30°E. A comprehensive comparison of six NAO indices indicates that the new NAOI provides a more faithful representation of the spatial-temporal variability associated with the NAO on all timescales. A very high signal-to-noise ratio for the NAOI exists for all seasons, and the life cycle represented by the NAOI describes well the seasonal migration for action centers of the NAO. The NAOI captures a larger fraction of the variance of sea level pressure over the North Atlantic sector (20°-90°N, 80°W-30°E), on average 10% more than any other NAO index. There are quite different relationships between the NAOI and surface air temperature during winter and summer. A novel feature, however, is that the NAOI is significantly negative correlated with surface air temperature over the North Atlantic Ocean between 10°-25°N and