西北太平洋与南海热带气旋活动季节变化的差异及可能原因

利用1945~2011年美国联合台风预警中心(JTWC)西北太平洋热带气旋资料,研究了南海(5°N~25°N,110°E~120°E)与西北太平洋(5°N~25°N,120°E~180°)热带气旋生成位置、生成频数、强度和持续时间的季节变化差异及其成因。从热带气旋路径穿越经度带频数的角度,探讨了ENSO对气旋活动年际变化的影响。结果表明,南海热带气旋活动显著地受季风调控。在南海冬季风作用下,1~4月热带气旋生成于10°N以南且频数较少、强度较弱,这主要是低层气旋式相对涡度和弱东风切变区偏南造成的。相反,受夏季风影响,6~9月是热带气旋生成最多、最频繁的季节,大都生成于南海北部17°N附近。在5月(10月)的季节转换期,生成位置大幅度北进(南撤)且生成频数显著增加(减少),取决于风速垂直切变及中层的相对湿度的急剧转变。11、12月两海域热带气旋生成于10°N以南主要归因于其上空中层大气相对湿度较北部偏大。在西北太平洋,热带气旋生成的季节变化没有南海显著,只在7月有一次明显的变化,7~10月是热带气旋活动的"盛期"。在强度上,西北太平洋大部分区域全年均为弱东风切变,因此热带气旋以台风为主且持续时间长;但南海多为热带风暴。ENSO事件使得不同季节热带气旋生成区域和气旋路径地理位置发生显著变化。在El Nio事件期间,穿越南海所在经度带路径频数为负距平,而西北太平洋经度带为正距平;在La Nia事件期间,情况相反。     

Multi-stage onset of the summer monsoon over the western North Pacific

 The climatological summer monsoon onset displays a distinct step wise northeastward movement over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific (WNP) (110°–160°E, 10°–20°N). Monsoon rain commences over the South China Sea-Philippines region in mid-May, extends abruptly to the southwestern Philippine Sea in early to mid-June, and finally penetrates to the northeastern part of the domain around mid-July. In association, three abrupt changes are identified in the atmospheric circulation. Specifically, the WNP subtropical high displays a sudden eastward retreat or quick northward displacement and the monsoon trough pushes abruptly eastward or northeastward at the onset of the three stages. The step wise movement of the onset results from the slow northeastward seasonal evolution of large-scale circulation and the phase-locked intraseasonal oscillation (ISO). The seasonal evolution establishes a large-scale background for the development of convection and the ISO triggers deep convection. The ISO over the WNP has a dominant period of about 20–30 days. This determines up the time interval between the consecutive stages of the monsoon onset. From the atmospheric perspective, the seasonal sea surface temperature (SST) change in the WNP plays a critical role in the northeastward advance of the onset. The seasonal northeastward march of the warmest SST tongue (SST exceeding 29.5 °C) favors the northeastward movement of the monsoon trough and the high convective instability region. The seasonal SST change, in turn, is affected by the monsoon through cloud-radiation and wind-evaporation feedbacks. Received: 19 October 1999 / Accepted: 5 June 2000     

西北太平洋热带气旋潜势分布和年际变率的数值模拟

热带气旋潜势指数是定量表征影响热带气旋生成的大尺度环境条件指标,在不能显式模拟热带气旋的气候系统模式中,常被作为热带气旋的代用指标。基于中国科学院大气物理研究所大气科学和地球流体力学数值模拟国家重点实验室发展的AGCM GAMIL2.0模式在历史海温驱动下的积分结果,评估了该模式对热带气旋潜势气候态、季节循环和年际变率的模拟能力。并分别从影响热带气旋潜势分布的热力因子(相对湿度、热带气旋最大风速)和动力因子(垂直风切变、绝对涡度、垂直抬升速度)的角度,讨论了造成热带气旋潜势模拟误差的原因。结果表明,在西北太平洋地区,模式能够合理再现热带气旋潜势的气候态分布,但由于GAMIL2.0模拟的相对湿度偏大且向东延伸,造成了热带气旋潜势大值区较之再分析资料偏大且偏东10°。由于GAMIL2.0模拟的季风槽位置偏北偏强,导致模拟的热带气旋潜势季节循环北进偏早而南退偏晚。在年际变化方面,GAMIL2.0能合理模拟出热带气旋潜势在ENSO正负位相东西反向的变化特征,但位于20°—30°N的加强和减弱区的分界线偏西,这与模拟的垂直速度和相对湿度的模拟误差有关,进一步分析表明,这是由于模拟中ENSO事件期间的西北太平洋异常上升中心比观测偏西且偏强造成的。     

Effects of the East Asian summer monsoon on tropical cyclone genesis over the South China Sea on an interdecadal time scale

Tropical cyclone (TC) genesis over the South China Sea (SCS) during 1965-2004 was analyzed.The locations of TC genesis display evident seasonal changes,with the mean position of formation situated nort...     

Delayed Seasonal Transition of Tropical Wave Activity in the CMIP3 Global Climate Models

This study evaluates the seasonal cycle of the activity of convectively coupled equatorial waves(CCEWs),including mixed Rossby-gravity(MRG) and tropical depression-type(TD-type) waves,based on the twentieth century experiments of 18 global climate models(GCMs) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3(CMIP3).The ensemble result of the 18 GCMs shows that the observed seasonal cycle of MRG and TD-type wave activity cannot be well reproduced.The seasonal transition of wave activity from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere is delayed from April in the observations to May in the simulations,indicating that the simulated active season of tropical waves in the northern hemisphere is delayed and shortened.This delayed seasonal transition of tropical wave activity is associated with a delayed seasonal transition of simulated mean precipitation.The mean precipitation in April and May shows a double-ITCZ problem,and the horizontal resolution is important to the delayed seasonal transition of wave activity.Because of the coincident seasonal cycle of MRG and TD-type wave activity and tropical cyclone(TC) geneses,the delayed seasonal transition of wave activity may imply a similar problem of TC genesis in the GCMs,namely,a delayed and shortened TC season in the northern hemisphere.     

Tropical Cyclone Genesis Potential Index over the Western North Pacific Simulated by LASG/IAP AGCM

Tropical cyclone genesis potential index(GPI) is a useful metric for gauging the performance of global climate models in the simulation of tropical cyclone(TC) genesis.The performance of LASG/IAP AGCM GAMIL2.0 in the simulation of GPI over the western North Pacific(WNP) is assessed in this paper.Since GPI depends on large scale environmental factors including low-level vorticity at 850 hPa,relative humidity at 700 hPa,vertical wind shear between 850 and 200 hPa,maximum potential intensity(MPI),and vertical velocity,the bias of GPI simulation is discussed from the perspective of thermal and dynamical factors.The results are compared with the ECMWF reanalysis data(ERA40).The analyses show that both the climatological spatial pattern and seasonal cycle of GPI over the WNP are reasonably simulated by GAMIL2.0,but due to the overestimation of relative humidity,the simulated GPI extends to 170°E,about 10°east to that in the reanalysis data.It is demonstrated that the bias in the simulation of monsoon trough,which is about 5°north to the reanalysis,leads to an overestimation of GPI during May-June and September-October,but an underestimation during July-August.Over the WNP,the response of GPI to ENSO is well captured by GAMIL2.0,including the eastward(westward) shift of TC genesis location during El Nin o(La Nin a) years.However,the anomalous convective center associated with El Nin o shifts westward about 20°in comparison to ERA40,which leads to the biases in both vertical velocity and relative humidity.These eventually result in the westward deflection of the boundary between the positive and negative GPI centers along 20°-30°N.The results from this study provide useful clues for the future improvement of GAMIL2.0.     

A comparison of PMIP2 model simulations and the MARGO proxy reconstruction for tropical sea surface temperatures at last glacial maximum

Results from multiple model simulations are used to understand the tropical sea surface temperature (SST) response to the reduced greenhouse gas concentrations and large continental ice sheets of the last glacial maximum (LGM). We present LGM simulations from the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project, Phase 2 (PMIP2) and compare these simulations to proxy data collated and harmonized within the Multiproxy Approach for the Reconstruction of the Glacial Ocean Surface Project (MARGO). Five atmosphere–ocean coupled climate models (AOGCMs) and one coupled model of intermediate complexity have PMIP2 ocean results available for LGM. The models give a range of tropical (defined for this paper as 15°S–15°N) SST cooling of 1.0–2.4°C, comparable to the MARGO estimate of annual cooling of 1.7 ± 1°C. The models simulate greater SST cooling in the tropical Atlantic than tropical Pacific, but interbasin and intrabasin variations of cooling are much smaller than those found in the MARGO reconstruction. The simulated tropical coolings are relatively insensitive to season, a feature also present in the MARGO transferred-based estimates calculated from planktonic foraminiferal assemblages for the Indian and Pacific Oceans. These assemblages indicate seasonality in cooling in the Atlantic basin, with greater cooling in northern summer than northern winter, not captured by the model simulations. Biases in the simulations of the tropical upwelling and thermocline found in the preindustrial control simulations remain for the LGM simulations and are partly responsible for the more homogeneous spatial and temporal LGM tropical cooling simulated by the models. The PMIP2 LGM simulations give estimates for the climate sensitivity parameter of 0.67°–0.83°C per Wm⁻², which translates to equilibrium climate sensitivity for doubling of atmospheric CO₂ of 2.6–3.1°C.     

Future changes in tropical cyclone activity in the North Indian Ocean projected by high-resolution MRI-AGCMs

New and previous versions of the high-resolution 20- and 60-km-mesh Meteorological Research Institute atmospheric general circulation models are used to investigate potential future changes in tropical cyclone (TC) activity in the North Indian Ocean (NIO). Fifteen ensemble experiments are performed under the International Panel on Climate Change A1B scenario. Most of the ensemble future (2075–2099) experiments do not project significant future changes in the basin-scale TC genesis number; however, they commonly show a substantial increase (by 46 %) in TC frequency over the Arabian Sea and a decrease (by 31 %) in the Bay of Bengal. Projected future changes in TC genesis frequency show a marked seasonal variation in the NIO: a significant and robust reduction during the pre-monsoon season, an increase during the peak-monsoon season, and a westward shift during the post-monsoon season. Several large-scale thermodynamic and dynamical parameters are analysed to elucidate the physical mechanism responsible for the future changes in TC activity; this analysis reveals a seasonal dependence of the relative contribution of these parameters to the projected future changes in TC genesis frequency.     

2010年西北太平洋与南海热带气旋活动异常的成因分析

利用中国气象局热带气旋（TC）资料、NCEP/NCAR 再分析资料和美国 NOAA 向外长波辐射（OLR）等资料,分析了2010年西北太平洋（WNP）及南海（SCS）热带气旋活动异常的可能成因,讨论了同期大气环流配置和海温外强迫对TC生成和登陆的动力和热力条件的影响。结果表明,2010年生成TC频数明显偏少,生成源地显著偏西,而登陆TC频数与常年持平。导致7～10月TC频数明显偏少的大尺度环境场特征为：副热带高压较常年异常偏强、西伸脊点偏西,季风槽位置异常偏西,弱垂直风切变带位置也较常年偏西且范围偏小,南亚高压异常偏强,贝加尔湖附近对流层低高层均为反气旋距平环流,这些关键环流因子的特征和配置都不利于 TC 在WNP的东部生成。影响TC活动的外强迫场特征为：2010年热带太平洋经历了El Ni?o事件于春末夏初消亡、La Ni?a事件于7月形成的转换;7～10月,WNP海表温度维持正距平,140°E以东为负距平且对流活动受到抑制;暖池次表层海温异常偏暖,对应上空850 hPa为东风距平,有利于季风槽偏西和TC在WNP的西北侧海域生成。WNP海表温度和暖池次表层海温的特征是2010年TC生成频数偏少、生成源地异常偏西的重要外强迫信号。有利于7～10月热带气旋西行和登陆的500 hPa风场特征为：北太平洋为反气旋环流距平,其南侧为东风异常,该东风异常南缘可到25°N,并向西扩展至中国大陆地区;南海和西北太平洋地区15°N以南的低纬也为东风异常;在这样的风场分布型下,TC容易受偏东气流引导西行并登陆我国沿海地区。这是2010年生成TC偏少但登陆TC并不少的重要环流条件。     

Intense tropical cyclogenesis over the northwest Australian region in 1998/1999: Causal factors

Summary The 1998/99 tropical cyclone (TC) season over northwest Australia was notable for an above average number of TCs (seven compared to five on average) and a number of unusually intense TCs making landfall (three category 5 TCs). The active 1998/99 TC season is attributed here to a combination of a number of broad-scale features over the south east Indian Ocean and the Australian region, with identifiable precursors favoring tropical cyclogenesis. These precursors include: below normal MSLP, abnormally warm ocean temperatures, above average relative humidity in the low- to mid-tropospheric levels and weak wind shears in the genesis region under study, that is, between 10° S to 20° S and 105° E to 135° E. These favorable conditions first appeared as early as August 1998. The appearance of favorable conditions so far ahead of the TC season indicates that they are the likely cause of the enhanced TC activity rather than simply an effect. Although the season as a whole was an active one, strong intra-seasonal variability was evident in that there were two named TCs in December 1998, forming within three days of each other. Only one formed in January 1999 and none in February. By contrast, in March and April 1999, TC activity was enhanced once again, with four named TCs, three of which attained category 5 status. The importance of the above-mentioned precursors in favoring tropical cyclogenesis during the 1998/99 season is discussed in terms of seasonal time scales of the preceding spring and down to synoptic and mesoscale time scales ranging from several days to 48 hours or less. Received October 5, 2001 Revised December 28, 2001     

GFDL_RegCM对21世纪西北太平洋热带气旋活动的情景预估

首先评估了GFDL模式对西北太平洋热带气旋(TC)环境热力及动力因子的模拟性能,再利用夏威夷大学国际太平洋研究中心高分辨率区域气候模式( IPRC-RegCM),进行降尺度研究西北太平洋TC活动特征,在此基础上预估21世纪全球变暖背景下(A1B)西北太平洋TC活动的主要特点.结果显示,在西北太平洋TC活动区,GFDL控制试验的海平面温度(SST)比ERSST偏低.与NCEP/NCAR再分析资料相比,GFDL模拟的1980-1999年大尺度环流平均场表现为:副高脊线平均位置近乎一致,西伸脊点偏东,强度偏弱,面积偏小；季风槽槽线的范围偏小,强度偏弱；水平风垂直切变值在南海及菲律宾群岛海域偏小,而在160°E～170°W的20°N以南偏强.与NCEP/NCAR强迫的模拟结果相比,GFDL强迫得到的TC源地频数在南海偏少,菲律宾群岛以东海域偏多,两者的季节及年际变化特征相似.路径频数在南海北部和我国华南沿岸显著偏多.AlB情景下,西北太平洋TC生成数目将增加一倍,生成源地偏北且同时向东部洋而扩展,路径频数增多主要发生在20°N以北的中东部洋面上,移经西北太平洋西部的TC频数减少,由此影响我国的TC将减少.TC频数的季节分布发生较大变化,最多的月份在10月.TC平均强度增强,最大强度在10月增加最多,这与10月SST的增加和环境风切变的减小均为最大值有密切的关系.     

On the ability of the regional climate model RIEMS to simulate the present climate over Asia

A continuous 10-year simulation in Asia for the period of 1 July 1988 to 31 December 1998 was conducted using the Regional Integrated Environmental Model System (RIEMS) with NCEP Reanalysis II data as the driving fields. The model processes include surface physics state package (BATS 1e), a Holtslag explicit planetary boundary layer formulation, a Grell cumulus parameterization, and a modified radiation package (CCM3). Model-produced surface temperature and precipitation are compared with observations from 1001 meteorology stations distributed over Asia and with the 0.5 × 0.5 CRU gridded dataset. The analysis results show that: (1) RIEMS reproduces well the spatial pattern and the seasonal cycle of surface temperature and precipitation; (2) When regionally averaged, the seasonal mean temperature biases are within 1–2C. For precipitation, the model tends to give better simulation in winter than in summer, and seasonal precipitation biases are mostly in the range of ?12%–50%; (3) Spatial correlation coefficients between observed and simulated seasonal precipitation are higher in north of the Yangtze River than in the south and higher in winter than in summer; (4) RIEMS can well reproduce the spatial pattern of seasonal mean sea level pressure. In winter, the model-simulated Siberian high is stronger than the observed. In summer, the simulated subtropical high is shifted northwestwards; (5) The temporal evolution of the East Asia summer monsoon rain belt, with steady phases separated by more rapid transitions, is reproduced.     

Principal component analysis of satellite-observed outgoing long-wave radiation during the monsoon period (June–September) over India

Summary In this study, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has been used to identify the major modes of the outgoing long-wave radiation data for the period (1979–2002) during the Indian monsoon period (June–September), using seasonal mean values over the Indian region covering 143 grid points (5° N–35° N and 70° E–95° E at 2.5° Longitude–Latitude intervals. The five principal components explain up to 98.0% of the total variance. The first principal component explains 60% of the total variance with a pronounced variation in the outgoing long-wave radiation over the region 10° N to 25° N. It appears that the major reason for the monsoon variability is the intensity and associated fluctuations in the two major semi-permanent seasonal systems. This is largely indicative of strong seasonal shift of the major area of cloudiness associated with convergence zone. The second principal component explaining 20% of the total variance exhibits higher positive component loadings along 25° N and east of 80° E. The possible reason for this could be the synoptic systems such as monsoon depression/lows over the north bay and trough/vortices off the west-coast in the Arabian sea.     

Climate variation and prediction of rapid intensification in tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific

Summary One of the greatest challenges in tropical weather forecasting is the rapid intensification (RI) of the tropical cyclone (TC), during which its one-minute maximum sustained wind speed increases at least 30 knots per 24 hours. Here we identify and elucidate the climatic conditions that are critical to the frequency and location of the RI on annual, intraseasonal, and interannual time scales. Whereas RI and formation share common environmental preferences, we found that the percentage of TCs with RI varies annually and from year to year. In August, only 30% of TC actually experiences RI, in contrast to the annual maximum of 47% in November. The proportion of RI in July–September is higher during El Ni?o years (53%) than the corresponding one in the La Ni?a years (37%). Three climate factors may contribute to the increase in the proportion of RI: the southward shift in the monthly or seasonal mean location of the TC formation, the increase in the low-level westerly meridional shear vorticity, and the decrease in northerly vertical shear. When the mean latitude of TC formation increases, the mixed-layer heat content decreases while TC’s inertial stability increases; both are more detrimental to the RI than to TC formation because the RI requires large amount of latent heat energy being extracted efficiently from the ocean mixed layer and requires accelerated low-level radial inflow that carries latent heat reaching the inner core region. We further demonstrate that the RI frequency in the Philippine Sea and South China Sea can be predicted 10 to 30 days in advance based on the convective anomalies in the equatorial western Pacific (5° S–5° N, 130°–150° E) on intraseasonal time scale. The Ni?o 3.4 SSTA in June is a potential predictor for the peak TC season (July–September) RI activity in the southeast quadrant of the western North Pacific (0–20° N, 140–180° E). The RI is an essential characteristic of category 4 and 5 hurricanes and super typhoons because all category 4 and 5 hurricanes in the Atlantic basin and 90% of the super typhoons in the western North Pacific experience at least one RI process in their life cycles. Over the past 40 years, the annual total of RI in the western North Pacific shows pronounced interdecadal variation but no significant trend. This result suggests that the number of supper typhoons has no upward trend in the past 40 years. Our results also suggest that when the mean latitude, where the tropical storms form, shifts southward (either seasonally or from year to year) the proportion of super typhoon or major hurricane will likely increase. This shift is determined by large scale circulation change rather than local SST effects. This idea differs from the current notion that increasing SST can lead to more frequent occurrence of category 4 or 5 hurricanes through local thermodynamics. Corresponding author’s address: Bin Wang, Department of Meteorology, University of Hawaii, 2525 Correa Rd., Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA (also visiting professor at the Ocean University of China)     

Bayesian multi-model projection of climate: bias assumptions and interannual variability

Current climate change projections are based on comprehensive multi-model ensembles of global and regional climate simulations. Application of this information to impact studies requires a combined probabilistic estimate taking into account the different models and their performance under current climatic conditions. Here we present a Bayesian statistical model for the distribution of seasonal mean surface temperatures for control and scenario periods. The model combines observational data for the control period with the output of regional climate models (RCMs) driven by different global climate models (GCMs). The proposed Bayesian methodology addresses seasonal mean temperatures and considers both changes in mean temperature and interannual variability. In addition, unlike previous studies, our methodology explicitly considers model biases that are allowed to be time-dependent (i.e. change between control and scenario period). More specifically, the model considers additive and multiplicative model biases for each RCM and introduces two plausible assumptions (“constant bias” and “constant relationship”) about extrapolating the biases from the control to the scenario period. The resulting identifiability problem is resolved by using informative priors for the bias changes. A sensitivity analysis illustrates the role of the informative prior. As an example, we present results for Alpine winter and summer temperatures for control (1961–1990) and scenario periods (2071–2100) under the SRES A2 greenhouse gas scenario. For winter, both bias assumptions yield a comparable mean warming of 3.5–3.6°C. For summer, the two different assumptions have a strong influence on the probabilistic prediction of mean warming, which amounts to 5.4°C and 3.4°C for the “constant bias” and “constant relation” assumptions, respectively. Analysis shows that the underlying reason for this large uncertainty is due to the overestimation of summer interannual variability in all models considered. Our results show the necessity to consider potential bias changes when projecting climate under an emission scenario. Further work is needed to determine how bias information can be exploited for this task.     

西北太平洋季风槽的季节和年际变化特征及其与热带气旋生成大尺度环境因子的联系

利用ERA-Interim再分析资料分析了夏秋季西北太平洋季风槽的气候特征以及季节和年际变化特征及其对西北太平洋热带气旋和台风(TCs)生成大尺度环境因子的影响。研究结果表明了西北太平洋季风槽有很明显的季节变化,在6~7月,季风槽和强对流活动区在5°N~15°N的南海和西北太平洋西侧上空,并逐渐东伸;到了8~9月,季风槽和强对流活动区向北移动、并向东扩展,一般位于10°N~20°N的南海和西北太平洋西侧、中部上空,有的年份可东伸到西北太平洋东侧,强度加强;到了10~11月,季风槽迅速减弱,并成为涡旋,强对流活动区也向南移和向西收缩。同时,研究还表明了西北太平洋季风槽有明显的年际变化。在季风槽强的年份,季风槽和强对流活动区可以从南海经西北太平洋西侧和中部东伸到西北太平洋的东侧上空;而在季风槽弱的年份,季风槽和强对流活动区主要位于南海和西北太平洋西侧和中部上空,季风槽强度的年际变化对它的季节变化也有重要影响。此外,研究还表明了随着季风槽的季节和年际变化,西北太平洋TCs生成的大尺度环境因子分布也发生很明显的变化。     

ENERGY BALANCE IN 40－50 DAY PERIODIC OSCILLATION OVER THE ASIAN SUMMER MONSOON REGION DURING THE 1979 SUMMER

Based on calculations of data from FGGE Level III b, a discussion is made of the energy balance in the 40－50 day periodic oscillation over the Asian monsoon region during the 1979 summer. It is found that the main source of 40－50 day periodic perturbation is the monsoon region extending from central South Asia to Southeast Asia. In the upper layer over the North Pacific subtropical area (10－20oN, 150oE－150oW) pres-sure work turns into kinetic energy that maintains 40－50 day periodic perturbation associated with the variation in position and intensity of the mid-Pacific trough. The mean energy budget in the three-dimensional space (0－30oE, 30oE－150oW, 100－1000 hPa) indicates that the 40－50 day periodic perturbation transports kinetic energy to a seasonal mean and a transient perturbation wind field.     

The ability of general circulation models to simulate tropical cyclones and their precursors over the North Atlantic main development region

The ability of General Circulation Models (GCMs) to generate Tropical Cyclones (TCs) over the North Atlantic Main Development Region (MDR; 10–20°N, 20–80°W; Goldenberg and Shapiro in J Clim 9:1169–1187, 1996) is examined through a subset of ocean–atmosphere coupled simulations from the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 (CMIP3) multimodel data set and a high-resolution (0.5°) Sea Surface Temperature (SST)-forced simulation from the Australian Conformal-Cubic Atmospheric Model GCM. The results are compared with National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP-2) and European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts Re-Analysis (ERA-40) reanalyses over a common period from 1980 to 1998. Important biases in the representation of the TC activity are encountered over the MDR. This study emphasizes the strong link in the GCMs between African Easterly Waves (AEWs) and TC activity in this region. However, the generation of AEWs is not a sufficient condition alone for the models to produce TCs. Precipitation over the Sahel, especially rainfall over the Fouta Djallon highlands (cf. Fig.?1), is playing a role in the generation of TCs over the MDR. The influence of large-scale fields such as SST, vertical wind shear and tropospheric humidity on TC genesis is also examined. The ability of TC genesis indices, such as the Genesis Potential Index and the Convective Yearly Genesis Potential, to represent TC activity over the MDR in simulations at low to high spatial resolutions is analysed. These indices are found to be a reasonable method for comparing cyclogenesis in different models, even though other factors such as AEW activity should also be considered.     

西北太平洋热带气旋频数的气候变化及其与环境要素间的联系

使用Emanuel和Nolan完善的潜在生成指数(GPI)的计算方法,利用美国联合台风警报中心提供的热带气旋(TC)资料和欧洲中期数值天气预报中心提供的全球ERA-40再分析资料,比较了1970-2001年西北太平洋海域的TC生成频数和GPI的气候特征,分析了包含于GPI中的环境要素对西北太平洋TC频数年代际变化空间分布的影响.结果表明:GPI能近似地表述西北太平洋TC频数的季节变化和空间分布.各环境要素对TC、较弱类TC和较强类TC生成频数的影响有显著差异,相对湿度随着TC强度的增强而减弱,风速垂直切变则相反.西北太平洋TC频数年代际变化空间分布的正异常主要分布于130°E以东,(15°N,140°E)附近最大的正异常频数中心主要受绝对涡度和相对湿度正异常变化的影响;负的风速垂直切变和正的相对湿度异常变化引起了(10～15°N,160°E)附近的TC频数正异常.     

通用地球系统模式对亚洲夏季风降水的模拟能力评估

通过与观测/再分析资料和参加第五次耦合模式比较计划(CMIP5)的模式模拟结果进行对比,评估了通用地球系统模式(CESM,1.0.3版本)对亚洲夏季风降水的模拟能力。结果表明:CESM能够合理地模拟出亚洲夏季风降水的气候平均态,但与其他CMIP5模式模拟结果类似,对中国东南地区降水模拟偏少,而对中国西部高原地区降水模拟偏多;CESM可以再现亚洲季风区降水冬弱夏强、雨带北进南退的季节变化特征,其模拟偏差具有区域性和季节性差异;从EOF分析结果来看,CESM能够模拟出亚洲夏季风降水的时空变化特征,且能较好地抓住亚洲夏季风降水与厄尔尼诺-南方涛动(El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation,简称ENSO)的相关关系。总的说来,CESM对亚洲夏季风降水的模拟是合理的,模拟水平与4个最好的CMIP5模式相当。