Summer sea ice severity in Hudson Strait, 1751–1870

Annual indices of sea ice severity in Hudson Strait, for the period 1751 to 1870, are derived from written historical evidence contained in ships' log-books. These logs were all kept on Hudson's Bay Company ships sailing from London to the Company's trading posts. The log-books are homogeneous in nature and this property facilitates their numerical interpretation. The annual indices are subjected to face validity testing which indicates that they may plausibly be accepted as measures of sea ice severity. The results are examined in relation to the presentday behaviour of sea ice in Hudson Strait and they provide evidence that the summer severity of ice conditions is mainly determined by atmospheric circulation conditions.     

Modelling the sea ice-ocean seasonal cycle in Hudson Bay, Foxe Basin and Hudson Strait, Canada

The seasonal cycle of water masses and sea ice in the Hudson Bay marine system is examined using a three-dimensional coastal ice-ocean model, with 10 km horizontal resolution and realistic tidal, atmospheric, hydrologic and oceanic forcing. The model includes a level 2.5 turbulent kinetic energy equation, multi-category elastic-viscous-plastic sea-ice rheology, and two layer sea ice with a single snow layer. Results from a two-year long model simulation between August 1996 and July 1998 are analyzed and compared with various observations. The results demonstrate a consistent seasonal cycle in atmosphere-ocean exchanges and the formation and circulation of water masses and sea ice. The model reproduces the summer and winter surface mixed layers, the general cyclonic circulation including the strong coastal current in eastern Hudson Bay, and the inflow of oceanic waters into Hudson Bay. The maximum sea-ice growth rates are found in western Foxe Basin, and in a relatively large and persistent polynya in northwestern Hudson Bay. Sea-ice advection and ridging are more important than local thermodynamic growth in the regions of maximum sea-ice cover concentration and thickness that are found in eastern Foxe Basin and southern Hudson Bay. The estimate of freshwater transport to the Labrador Sea confirms a broad maximum during wintertime that is associated with the previous summers freshwater moving through Hudson Strait from southern Hudson Bay. Tidally driven mixing is shown to have a strong effect on the modeled ice-ocean circulation.     

Sensitivity of Hudson Bay Sea ice and ocean climate to atmospheric temperature forcing

A regional sea-ice?Cocean model was used to investigate the response of sea ice and oceanic heat storage in the Hudson Bay system to a climate-warming scenario. Projections of air temperature (for the years 2041?C2070; effective CO₂ concentration of 707?C950?ppmv) obtained from the Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM 4.2.3), driven by the third-generation coupled global climate model (CGCM 3) for lateral atmospheric and land and ocean surface boundaries, were used to drive a single sensitivity experiment with the delta-change approach. The projected change in air temperature varies from 0.8°C (summer) to 10°C (winter), with a mean warming of 3.9°C. The hydrologic forcing in the warmer climate scenario was identical to the one used for the present climate simulation. Under this warmer climate scenario, the sea-ice season is reduced by 7?C9?weeks. The highest change in summer sea-surface temperature, up to 5°C, is found in southeastern Hudson Bay, along the Nunavik coast and in James Bay. In central Hudson Bay, sea-surface temperature increases by over 3°C. Analysis of the heat content stored in the water column revealed an accumulation of additional heat, exceeding 3?MJ?m^?3, trapped along the eastern shore of James and Hudson bays during winter. Despite the stratification due to meltwater and river runoff during summer, the shallow coastal regions demonstrate a higher capacity of heat storage. The maximum volume of dense water produced at the end of winter was halved under the climate-warming perturbation. The maximum volume of sea ice is reduced by 31% (592?km3) while the difference in the maximum cover is only 2.6% (32,350?km²). Overall, the depletion of sea-ice thickness in Hudson Bay follows a southeast?Cnorthwest gradient. Sea-ice thickness in Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay is 50% thinner than in present climate conditions during wintertime. The model indicates that the greatest changes in both sea-ice climate and heat content would occur in southeastern Hudson Bay, James Bay, and Hudson Strait.     

Southern Hemisphere continental temperature responses to major volcanic eruptions since 1883 in CMIP5 models

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Although global and Northern Hemisphere temperature responses to volcanic forcing have been extensively investigated, knowledge of such responses over Southern...     

An assessment of the possible effects of volcanic eruptions on North American climate using tree-ring data, 1602 to 1900 A.D.

Seasonal and annual temperature reconstructions derived from western North American semi-arid site tree-ring chronologies are used to examine the possible spatial response of North American climate to volcanic eruptions within the period 1602 to 1900. Low-latitude eruptions appear to give the strongest response. Cooling of the annual average temperatures in the central and eastern United States is reconstructed to follow volcanic eruptions with warming in the western states. The magnitude and spatial extent of the reconstructed cooling and warming varies seasonally. The warming that occurs in the west is strongest and most extensive in winter while the cooling in the east is most marked in summer. These results are based on reconstructed climate records which contain error terms unrelated to climatic factors. The suggested pattern of response to volcanic forcing is, however, supported by four independent temperature/proxy temperature series within the area of the temperature reconstructions. Additional support is provided by three independent series lying outside the area which suggest that the temperature spatial response may extend to the north beyond the area covered by the tree-ring reconstructions.     

Variations in momentum,mass and heat fluxes due to changes in the sea surface temperature of Hudson Bay

Abstract

The atmospheric model of Danard et al. (1983) is used to investigate the changes in heat, mass and momentum fluxes at the air‐sea interface in Hudson Bay when the seasonal sea surface temperature is varied. Comparisons of model predictions with data from a meteorological buoy located 400 km offshore showed that the model predicted the variations in wind speed and air temperature fairly well but underestimated their magnitudes. In addition it provided offshore heat and mass fluxes for which no direct observations were available.

The most important parameter determining air‐sea fluxes is the temperature difference between air and water. This determines the stability and the degree of vertical convection of the air. In the spring the colder water stabilizes the air, which depresses vertical convection. This reduces wind stress and evaporation while increasing the heat flux into the water. During the fall, the opposite occurs. The sea surface temperature is thus buffered against man‐made changes. When the temperature is decreased, for example, as the result of hydroelectric development in surrounding watersheds, the heat flux into the water increases while the wind stress decreases. Both effects increase the sea surface temperature, opposing the initial decrease. A one‐degree depression of sea surface temperature in summer is slowly offset by increased heating and no noticeable change in temperature remains at the end of the fall.     

Albedo of coastal landfast sea ice in Prydz Bay,Antarctica: Observations and parameterization

The snow/sea-ice albedo was measured over coastal landfast sea ice in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica(off Zhongshan Station)during the austral spring and summer of 2010 and 2011. The variation of the observed albedo was a combination of a gradual seasonal transition from spring to summer and abrupt changes resulting from synoptic events, including snowfall, blowing snow, and overcast skies. The measured albedo ranged from 0.94 over thick fresh snow to 0.36 over melting sea ice. It was found that snow thickness was the most important factor influencing the albedo variation, while synoptic events and overcast skies could increase the albedo by about 0.18 and 0.06, respectively. The in-situ measured albedo and related physical parameters(e.g., snow thickness, ice thickness, surface temperature, and air temperature) were then used to evaluate four different snow/ice albedo parameterizations used in a variety of climate models. The parameterized albedos showed substantial discrepancies compared to the observed albedo, particularly during the summer melt period, even though more complex parameterizations yielded more realistic variations than simple ones. A modified parameterization was developed,which further considered synoptic events, cloud cover, and the local landfast sea-ice surface characteristics. The resulting parameterized albedo showed very good agreement with the observed albedo.     

Variability of Fram Strait sea ice export: causes, impacts and feedbacks in a coupled climate model

Analyses of a 500-year control integration of the global coupled atmosphere–sea ice–ocean model ECHAM5.0/MPI-OM show a high variability in the ice export through Fram Strait on interannual to decadal timescales. This variability is mainly determined by variations in the sea level pressure gradient across Fram Strait and thus geostrophic wind stress. Ice thickness anomalies, formed at the Siberian coast and in the Chukchi Sea, propagate across the Arctic to Fram Strait and contribute to the variability of the ice export on a timescale of about 9 years. Large anomalies of the ice export through Fram Strait cause fresh water signals, which reach the Labrador Sea after 1–2 years and lead to significant changes in the deep convection. The associated anomalies in ice cover and ocean heat release have a significant impact on air temperature in the Labrador Sea and on the large-scale atmospheric circulation. This affects the sea ice transport and distribution in the Arctic again. Sensitivity studies, simulating the effect of large ice exports through Fram Strait, show that the isolated effect of a prescribed ice/fresh water anomaly is very important for the climate variability in the Labrador Sea. Thus, the ice export through Fram Strait can be used for predictability of Labrador Sea climate up to 2 years in advance.     

近20 a驱动北极夏季迅速增暖和融冰的自然因素及过程

北极是全球气候系统平衡的重要一环,近20 a全球变暖现象中,北极迅速增温及融冰是最为引人关注的问题之一.人类影响无疑是过去几十年北极变暖背后的最主要的原因及驱动力,但气候系统的内在自然变率对北极的影响也不容忽视.本文指出,北极变暖的自然影响因子有一部分来源于热带太平洋东部海温的变化,热带太平洋通过由东部海温异常所驱动的...     

Climatic warming and increased summer aridity in Florida,U.S.A.

The impending trace-gas induced climatic warming is likely, at least in the near term, to result in a decrease in summertime convective activity in Florida, in turn producing a reduction in thunderstorm-derived precipitation. The phenomenon is expected to arise from the differential heating of continental land masses relative to the ocean resulting in a strengthening of the North Atlantic subtropical anticyclone. Precipitation shortfalls of 10–20% were recorded for some areas during Northern Hemispheric summer months a few tenths of a degree Celsius warmer than the normal for the period 1901–1980. Deficits somewhat greater than these may not be uncommon during a fullscale climatic warming depending on, among other factors, the rapidity of the warming. Precipitation resulting from tropical cyclones is not expected to have significant positive impact on the shortfall in the near term.     

夏季110°E附近的低空越赤道气流与西北太平洋台风活动

在西北太平洋赤道地区夏季有一支源自南半球的气流.这支位于110°E 附近的大尺度季风气流是过去研究中所提到的源自澳洲的越赤道气流与中国低空急流.低空越赤道气流的强度变化与台风的发生发展有联系.     

Modelling Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in the Hudson Bay Complex Using Bulk Heat Flux Parameterization: Sensitivity to Atmospheric Forcing,and Model Resolution

ABSTRACT

Sea surface temperature (SST) from four Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO) model simulations is analyzed to study the bulk flux parameterization to compute SST over the Hudson Bay Complex (HBC) for the summer months (August and September) from 2002 to 2009. The NEMO simulation was forced with two atmospheric forcing sets with different resolutions: the Coordinated Ocean-ice Reference Experiment, version 2 (COREv2), as the lower resolution and the Canadian Meteorological Centre’s Global Deterministic Prediction System Reforecasts (CGRF) as the higher resolution. The CGRF forcing is also implemented in the third and fourth runs using different runoff data and different NEMO resolutions (1/12° versus 1/4°). Results show that all four modelled SSTs followed observed SST patterns, with regional differences in SST bias between simulations with different atmospheric forcing. The SST differences are small between simulations forced with the same atmospheric forcing but with different model resolution or runoff. This implies that the model resolution and runoff have a small effect on the simulated SST in the HBC. Moreover, to better capture the effect of near-surface temperature (T_air) on simulated SST, we conducted three analyses using the Haney flux linearization formula. Results from these assessments did not indicate any direct influence on the model-simulated SSTs by T_air. Looking at the heat flux as a signature for SST showed that both averaged spatial distribution and time series of net heat flux produced by the three CGRF forcing simulations were higher than the net heat flux generated by the CORE 2 simulation. This was generally true for all four components of the total heat flux (sensible, latent, shortwave, and longwave) individually as well. Total heat flux in summer is governed by the shortwave heat flux, with values up to 120?W?m^?2 in August, and the longwave heat flux is the main contributor to the total heat flux differences. These heat flux differences lead to corresponding colder model SSTs for the CGRF runs and warmer SSTs for the CORE 2 simulations.     

Unprecedented low twentieth century winter sea ice extent in the Western Nordic Seas since A.D. 1200

We reconstructed decadal to centennial variability of maximum sea ice extent in the Western Nordic Seas for A.D. 1200–1997 using a combination of a regional tree-ring chronology from the timberline area in Fennoscandia and δ¹⁸O from the Lomonosovfonna ice core in Svalbard. The reconstruction successfully explained 59% of the variance in sea ice extent based on the calibration period 1864–1997. The significance of the reconstruction statistics (reduction of error, coefficient of efficiency) is computed for the first time against a realistic noise background. The twentieth century sustained the lowest sea ice extent values since A.D. 1200: low sea ice extent also occurred before (mid-seventeenth and mid-eighteenth centuries, early fifteenth and late thirteenth centuries), but these periods were in no case as persistent as in the twentieth century. Largest sea ice extent values occurred from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, during the Little Ice Age (LIA), with relatively smaller sea ice-covered area during the sixteenth century. Moderate sea ice extent occurred during thirteenth–fifteenth centuries. Reconstructed sea ice extent variability is dominated by decadal oscillations, frequently associated with decadal components of the North Atlantic Oscillation/Arctic Oscillation (NAO/AO), and multi-decadal lower frequency oscillations operating at ~50–120 year. Sea ice extent and NAO showed a non-stationary relationship during the observational period. The present low sea ice extent is unique over the last 800 years, and results from a decline started in late-nineteenth century after the LIA.     

北京地区闪电活动及其与强对流天气的关系

利用单站闪电定位系统Ｍ－ＬＤＡＲＳ监测１９９５～１９９７年夏季北京地区的闪电话动,分析结果表明,闪电频数的日变化与强对流天气发生有一定对应关系,不同类型的天气过程,如冰雹,暴雨发生时,闪电中地闪和云闪的比例有明显的差异,其中地闪中正,负闪和云闪中正,负闪的比例呈现一定的规律性。     

Heat,momentum and moisture budgets of the katabatic layer over the melting zone of the west Greenland ice sheet in summer

The budgets of momentum, heat and moisture of the atmospheric boundary layer overlying the melting zone of the west Greenland ice sheet during an 8-day period in summer are calculated. To do so, the governing budget equations are derived and presented in terms of vertically averaged quantities. Moreover, stationarity is assumed in the present study. Measurements collected during the GIMEX-91 experiment are used to calculate the contribution of the different terms in the equations to the budget.During summer, a well developed katabatic wind system is present over the melting zone of the Greenland ice sheet. The budgets show that advection in the katabatic layer is small for momentum, heat and humidity, when the horizontal length scale of the integration area is sufficiently large (>50 km). This indicates that in principle one-dimensional atmospheric models can be used to study the boundary layer over the melting zone of the Greenland ice sheet. The background stratification plays a crucial role in the heat and moisture budget. Vertical divergence of longwave radiation provides one-third and the turbulent flux of sensible heat the rest of the cooling of the boundary layer. Moisture is added to the boundary layer by evaporation which is a significant term in the moisture budget. Negative buoyancy (katabatic forcing) dominates the momentum budget in the downslope direction. Coriolis forcing is important, stressing the large spatial scale of the katabatic winds on the Greenland ice sheet.     

Seasonal climate information preserved in West Antarctic ice core water isotopes: relationships to temperature, large-scale circulation, and sea ice

As part of the United States’ contribution to the International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE), a network of precisely dated and highly resolved ice cores was retrieved from West Antarctica. The ITASE dataset provides a unique record of spatial and temporal variations of stable water isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δD) across West Antarctica. We demonstrate that, after accounting for water vapor diffusion, seasonal information can be successfully extracted from the ITASE cores. We use meteorological reanalysis, weather station, and sea ice data to assess the role of temperature, sea ice, and the state of the large-scale atmospheric circulation in controlling seasonal average water isotope variations in West Antarctica. The strongest relationships for all variables are found in the cores on and west of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide and during austral fall. During this season positive isotope anomalies in the westernmost ITASE cores are strongly related to a positive pressure anomaly over West Antarctica, low sea ice concentrations in the Ross and Amundsen Seas, and above normal temperatures. Analyses suggest that this seasonally distinct climate signal is due to the pronounced meridional oriented circulation and its linkage to enhanced sea ice variations in the adjacent Southern Ocean during fall, both of which also influence local to regional temperatures.     

A possible cause of the AO polarity reversal from winter to summer in 2010 and its relation to hemispheric extreme summer weather

In 2010, the Northern Hemisphere, in particular Russia and Japan, experienced an abnormally hot summer characterized by record-breaking warm temperatures and associated with a strongly positive Arctic Oscillation (AO), that is, low pressure in the Arctic and high pressure in the midlatitudes. In contrast, the AO index the previous winter and spring (2009/2010) was record-breaking negative. The AO polarity reversal that began in summer 2010 can explain the abnormally hot summer. The winter sea surface temperatures (SST) in the North Atlantic Ocean showed a tripolar anomaly pattern—warm SST anomalies over the tropics and high latitudes and cold SST anomalies over the midlatitudes—under the influence of the negative AO. The warm SST anomalies continued into summer 2010 because of the large oceanic heat capacity. A model simulation strongly suggested that the AO-related summertime North Atlantic oceanic warm temperature anomalies remotely caused blocking highs to form over Europe, which amplified the positive summertime AO. Thus, a possible cause of the AO polarity reversal might be the “memory” of the negative winter AO in the North Atlantic Ocean, suggesting an interseasonal linkage of the AO in which the oceanic memory of a wintertime negative AO induces a positive AO in the following summer. Understanding of this interseasonal linkage may aid in the long-term prediction of such abnormal summer events.     

2013年5月华南强降水与中国南海夏季风爆发

利用2013年"华南季风强降水外场试验与研究"的外场试验数据、美国NCEP FNL资料和卫星云顶黑体辐射温度资料,对2013年5月7—17日华南地区出现的两次强降水过程(7—12日和14—17日)中的高低空环流以及相关气象要素场的变化进行了对比分析。中国南海夏季风于5月第3候建立,两次过程分处于夏季风爆发前后。通过对比影响两次强降水过程的主要环流系统如南亚高压、高空副热带西风急流、500 hPa环流型、水汽来源等,指出影响两次强降水过程大尺度环流场之间的显著区别,说明南海季风爆发前后大尺度环流场对暴雨影响的典型差异。7—12日过程主要受北方锋面影响和南方暖湿气流辐合作用,导致华南地区出现南北两条雨带。14—17日过程则由于季风爆发后强的暖湿空气活动致使华南地区对流活跃,从而形成一条位于广东北部的雨带,此次过程强降水比第1次过程集中且对流性更强。两次降水过程的内在物理机制是一个准平衡态的热力适应过程,由于第2次过程降水更强,导致热源作用明显增强,动力向热力的适应过程也更显著。利用探空资料揭示出两次过程暖区暴雨大气热力和动力条件存在显著区别,7—12日南海季风爆发前的暖区暴雨主要受低层强垂直风切变导致的大气斜压不稳定影响;14—17日南海季风爆发后的暖区暴雨主要受高低空急流的强耦合作用影响。