Modulating synoptic scale convective activity and boundary layer dissipation in the IPESD models of the Madden–Julian oscillation

A self-contained derivation of the IPESD models [Majda, A.J., Klein, R., 2003. Systematic multi-scale models for the tropics. J. Atmos. Sci. 60, 393–408] governing synoptic and planetary scale tropical flows is provided. This derivation demonstrates the analytic tractability of the model and the effect of zonally and meridionally tilted synoptic scale heating on the forcing of planetary scale flows through upscale momentum and temperature fluxes. Exploiting the analytic tractability of the models, different aspects of the planetary scale forcing are traced to meridional and vertical tilts in the synoptic scale heating profile. Variants of the archetypal IPESD models for the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) presented in Majda and Biello [Majda, A.J., Biello, J.A., 2004. A multi-scale model for tropical intraseasonal oscillations. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 101, 4736–4741; Biello, J.A., Majda, A.J., 2005. A new multi-scale model for the Madden–Julian oscillation. J. Atmos. Sci. 62, 1694–1721] are studied. In addition to vertically tilted synoptic scale heating, the models discussed herein incorporate upscale zonal momentum flux due to meridional flux convergence arising from meridionally tilted heating. The effect of a boundary layer momentum drag at the base of the free troposphere is also systematically incorporated into the IPESD models. Both meridional tilts and lower boundary layer drag are shown to meridionally confine the MJO westerly wind burst and drive a planetary scale barotropic flow. Meridionally tilted heating can also greatly strengthen the wind burst at the base of the troposphere and modify its vertical profile. The competing effects of meridionally tilted, and off-equatorial heating can also significantly weaken the MJO winds. Appendices are provided which discuss generalizations and a solution algorithm for the IPESD models.     

The Early 19th Century Climate of the Bahamas and a Comparison with 20th Century Averages

Two weather records kept at Nassau, Bahamas, from 1811 to 1837, and from 1838 to 1845, respectively, are analyzed and compared to 20th century reference periods. The average annual temperature of the period is 24.2°C (±0.65°C), which is 0.4°C lower than 1961–1990 and 0.1°C lower than 1901–1920, the coolest period in the 20th century. Cold periods occurred from 1812–1819 and 1835–1839. A warmer phase prevailed between these two episodes and another warm episode occurred in 1840–1842. Temperature fell after the volcanic eruptions of Tambora (April, 1815) and Coseguina (January, 1835). The maximum cooling after Tambora is estimated at 1.0°C (±0.56°) and after Coseguina is estimated at 0.4°C (±0.56°). The post-Tambora cooling is in line with previous estimates (Robock, personal communication). The 1810s were a period of extreme drought at Nassau and are unequalled in later years. Rainfall frequency was below contemporary (1812–1837) averages from 1812–1820 and 1836–1837 but was above average from 1821–1835. Moist (dry) periods occurred almost simultaneously with warm (cool) periods. The months of October, November, and April show the greatest (negative) deviations in precipitation frequency. Gale force winds were 85% more frequent than from 1901–1960. Much of this increase took place in the months of September through November and represents an increase in tropical cyclone frequency in the Nassau area above that of 1901–1960. Resultant winds show a tendency towards greater northerly components than in the 20th century, especially during the winter months. The increase in northerly wind components, temperatures below the 20th-century average, and reduction in rainfall frequency in the winter half of the year indicates a synoptic situation in which high pressure was more frequent over the southeast North American continent.     

Synoptic aspects of wet and dry conditions in central Australia: observations and GCM simulations for 1 × CO2 and 2 × CO2 conditions

Synoptic climatological patterns that produce anomalous wet conditions in central Australia during the period from September to April have been studied. The analysis was done by using observed daily rainfall data at a number of stations, wind and mean sea level pressure from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere (TOGA) data from 1985 to 1991, and the CSIRO 9-level (CSIR09) global climate model (GCM) simulated data for 1 × CO₂ and 2 × CO₂ experiments. On the basis of rainfall values above 99.5 percentile in observed and simulated data, wet days have been selected to study the synoptic-scale weather systems that produce anomalous wet events in central Australia. As the vast majority of days in central Australia are dry, the same number of days with no rainfall for both observed and simulated conditions have been selected randomly. The observed synoptic climatological patterns have been compared with the results of the control simulation of CSIRO9. A comparison between CSIRO9 simulated synoptic patterns and observed synoptic patterns reveals that the model fairly well captures the synoptic climatological characteristics which produce anomalous wet and contrasting dry weather conditions during the period from September to April. Under enhanced greenhouse experiments, the main features of the synoptic patterns are intensified both for wet and dry conditions, which result in an increase in extreme weather conditions, an increase in rainfall intensity, a spatial expansion of the heavy rainfall region during wet days, and an expansion of the dry area during dry days. During anomalous wet conditions, the low pressure area is intensified, monsoonal winds and southeasterlies are strengthened and strong wind shear over tropical Australia is simulated. During this condition, the monsoon shear line moves poleward particularly over the Northern Territory. In contrast, during dry conditions, the anticyclonic circulation over the continent is strengthened.     

Along-Coast Features of Bora-Related Turbulence

The along-coast, offshore turbulence structure of the Bora flow that occurred on 7 November 1999 during the Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP) Intensive Observation Period 15 is examined. In this analysis we employ the aircraft and dropsonde data obtained over the Adriatic Sea, where the turbulence structure is determined by estimating turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and its dissipation rate along the flight legs. The turbulence characteristics of Bora in the lee of the Dinaric Alps is greatly influenced by the mesoscale Bora flow structure over the Adriatic Sea, which in the cross-wind direction features an interchange of jets and wakes related to mountain gaps and peaks. In order to establish the origin of turbulence, the Weather Research and Forecasting—Advanced Research WRF (WRF-ARW) numerical model is used and its results are compared to the measurements. All five TKE-prediction parametrization schemes available in the model show reasonable agreement with the measured values. Since these parametrization schemes do not have horizontal advection included, they suggest that the along-flight structure of the Bora turbulence is principally generated by the local vertical wind shear. Further evidence is needed to support this hypothesis.     

Nonlinear kinetic energy interactions and their contributions to the growth and decay of atmospheric waves in the lower troposphere during summer monsoon, 1979

Summary Lower tropospheric (1000–500) hPa kinetic energy (KE), temporal variations of KE and nonlinear KE transfer of rotational and divergent flows and energy conversion between them, partitioning further into stationary and transient components in the Fourier spectral domain and the mechanism for the evolution of significant transient waves for the month July 1979 in the latitudinal belt 10° S–30° N are studied.Divergent zonal and eddy KE show their maxima at the lowest level 1000 hPa. Lower tropospheric monsoon motion provides a non-divergent level close to 850 hPa. The daily flow patterns bear little resemblence to the climatology over tropics at 500 hPa. Although the transient mode of synoptic scale waves is stronger than that of planetary scale waves they are comparable. Analysis of energetics over global tropics can get signature of transient activities embedded in the large scale system. Summer momentum flux in the lower troposphere is essentially associated with stationary planetary and transient synoptic scale waves. Waves 1, 3 and 6 are the most preferred transient waves. Divergent to rotational KE conversion is the most dominating mechanism for the maintenance of planetary and synoptic scale waves. All categories of waves contribute towards the maintenance of zonal flows. The primary source of energy for transient synoptic scale waves is the transient divergent rotational KE transfer whereas the interaction between zonal stationary and transient wave is likely to be secondary source. Transient KE and all transient interactions, stationary KE and all stationary interactions are found to be strongest at 500 hPa and 850 hPa respectively. Growth and decay of transient waves 1 and 3 are mainly controlled by divergent-rotational KE conversions whereas those of transient wave 6 are controlled by KE transfer due to zonal-wave interaction.With 13 Figures     

A comparative study of observed and GCM-simulated turbulent surface fluxes at the positions of Atlantic weatherships

If oceanic models are to be driven with transient atmospheric input, data from standard daily analyses or from an atmospheric GCM simulation can be used. The question arises whether these “FF-data” (FF = field forcing) are appropriate to be used as a realistic oceanic forcing in the form of wind stress and turbulent heat fluxes.A series of different FF-data sets is compared with respective “LF-data” (LF = local forcing) derived from in situ weathership observations. We believe these LF data to be the most accurate and reliable long year maritime time series. The study is restricted to 8 Atlantic weatherships and January conditions and to fields obtained with the Hamburg University GCM or derived from analyses of the German Weather Service (DWD).It turns out that DWD based FF data sets are suitable only if long year mean values are required. In general, the interannual and synoptic scale variability is too small for all FF data sets. With respect to the windstress, the empirical formulae to obtain the surface wind (from the sea level pressure field) together with the usage of a windspread dependent drag coefficient yield the best though still unsatisfying results. The approach using generalized similarity theory gives worse results with respect to the synoptic scale and interannual variability.The GCM simulated data set is systematically biased over wide regions which is partly due to a shift in the model's quasistationary Icelandic Low and an increased temperature at the model's lowest level. The transients are simulated at some positions even poorer than those analysed by the DWD, but at other positions superior though still weaker than the LF data's.     

Increasing Growing-Season Length in Illinois during the 20th Century

Using daily minimum air-temperature (T_min) data from the state of Illinois, the dates of spring and fall freezes – and the resulting growing-season length – are examined for trends during theperiod 1906–1997. Of the stations in the Daily Historical Climate Network, mostshow trends toward earlier spring freezes; however, trends in fall freezes are not consistent over the station network. Although the time series are highly variable (noisy), results suggest that the growing-season length in Illinois became roughly one week longer during the 20thcentury. To examine how changing freeze-date statistics relate to changing air-temperature probability distributions, percentiles of T_min formoving 10-year periods were analyzed for trends during the typical times for spring and fall freezes in Illinois (i.e., the months of April and October). The lower portion of the April probability distribution shows substantially larger warming (0.5–0.7 ° C/100 yrs) than the upper portion of the distribution (0.2–0.3 ° C/100 yrs), suggesting that although cold events are warming during April, warm events are not warming as fast. Conversely, the lower portion of the October probability distribution shows modest cooling in T_min (–0.2 ° C/100yrs for the 10th percentile), while middle and upper portions of the distribution show very large rates of cooling (up to –1.5 ° C/100 yrs for the 40th–70th percentiles). Analysis ofthe entire probability distribution provides a more-comprehensive perspective on climatic change than does the traditional focus on central tendency.     

Pre-monsoon surface pressure and summer monsoon rainfall over India

Summary The relationship between the surface air pressure field during the pre-monsoon months and the Indian summer monsoon rainfall is analysed using climate data from 105 stations situated in Eurasia between 0°–60° N and 20°–100° E. Moreover, grid-point data for the whole northern hemisphere are used. Pressure during April over an area around 50° N and 35° E is found to show a significant negative correlation with the subsequent monsoon rainfall. During May the pressure over a large part of the study area south of 40° N shows a significant correlation with its highest value in the heat low region over Pakistan. It is assumed that monitoring of pressure variations over this region may be useful in predicting monsoon rainfall, particularly the rainfall during the first half of the season. Certain limitations of the climate data in this region are also discussed.With 5 Figures     

1979—2013年ERA-Interim资料的青藏高原低涡活动特征分析

为了更好地了解青藏高原多尺度地形的动力作用,并为改良数值模式中地形的表示方法奠定基础,通过采用2010年青藏高原西南部6个地面台站的观测资料以及4种不同分辨率的分析(再分析)资料,分别估算了冈底斯山及整个青藏高原主体范围内的地表气压拖曳,得出了青藏高原可能存在的拖曳类型,并且分析了青藏高原气压拖曳的一些特征。得出如下主要结论:由罗斯贝波产生的波动拖曳作为行星尺度的拖曳对青藏高原地区总拖曳的贡献最大;同时,青藏高原范围内存在着大量与天气过程密切相关的天气尺度的拖曳;对于冈底斯山对气流的中尺度动力作用的进一步分析可知,夏季基本全为气流分离,冬季500 hPa以下为气流分离,500—200 hPa为气流分离和波动破碎的混合区,而200 hPa以上的平流层则为重力波的产生及其破碎区域;冈底斯山地区的地表气压拖曳主要集中在3000—5000 m高度,并且,冈底斯山总拖曳的方向近乎与山脊垂直;地表气压和地形高度资料的分辨率越高,所能分辨出的更小波长的气压拖曳也越多,估算出的高原主体范围内的拖曳值也越大;变压梯度和地形梯度是影响气压拖曳的基本因子,但地形梯度对拖曳的影响最终是通过气压梯度来实现的。     

Tropospheric warming and changes in weather variability over the Northern Hemisphere during the period 1967–1991

Summary The relationship between global circulation, temperature distribution and weather variability as a mechanism of meridional heat exchange over the northern hemisphere has been examined for the period 1967–1991 using analysis data from the German Weather Service. From geopotential heights five parameters, relating to different climatic features, were computed. The data were filtered using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to omit the random noise. The time series of amplitudes for the Principal Patterns were investigated with respect to their linear trends and extreme events.The period 1967–1991 is characterised by a transition from a relatively cool period-beginning in the early 1960s-to a warmer one. The strongest warming took place at different latitudes in the Atlantic and the Pacific section, respectively. Due to the warming the meridional temperature gradient and the geostrophic zonal wind intensified. Strengthened baroclinic conditions reinforced the activities on the synoptic scale and the meridional eddy heat flux. The results corroborate the hypothesis that the enlarged synoptic activity is responsible for the accumulated occurrences of extreme midlatitude storms over the Atlantic and Europe within the last few years and, therefore, that the observation of more frequent deep cyclones is neither random nor due to improved observation techniques.With 6 Figures     

Ice Storm ’98 in Southcentral Canada and Northeastern United States: A Climatological Perspective

Summary Dubbed Ice Storm ’98, an extreme weather event characterized by two synoptic systems in succession dropped about 70–100 mm (in terms of water equivalent) of freezing precipitation over southeastern Ontario, southwestern Quebec and northeastern New York during a 6-day period from January 5 to 10 in 1998. Individually, the two synoptic systems were not dramatically more extreme in freezing precipitation than other major freezing rain events (4 since 1961) which occurred in the past over the affected area. Some regions in the target area, however, were impacted more by the second system. Based on an analysis of the 500 hPa vorticity field during the ’98 event, we suggest that the 1997/98 El Ni?o had a role in creating a flow environment conducive to the rapid formation of the second synoptic system. In contrast, other major freezing rain events in the last 30 years involved only one synoptic system per event lasting no more than 3 days, and producing 20–50 mm of precipitation. We have also found that, 3 out of 4 past major freezing rain events since 1958 were associated with the positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Consistent with this usual past association between the NAO and a major freezing rain event, Ice Storm ’98 also occurred when the phase of the NAO was positive. Analysis of these 3 past and the ’98 events also indicates an apparent connection between the positive phase of the NAO and the northern Quebec high pressure system, which is an essential synoptic feature of a major freezing rain occurrence over the southcentral region of Canada. As measured by their respective indices, the maximum positive NAO state leads the maximum northern Quebec high by about 2 days (5 days in the ’98 event). There is some suggestive evidence to indicate that the persistence of the northern Quebec high pressure system is connected to the persistence of the positive phase of the NAO. Received January 17, 2000     

Meteorological and synoptic aspects of the formation and evolution of the Novorossiysk Bora

The genetic and synoptic classifications of the Novorossiysk Bora are created using the data of daily observations at the Novorossiysk meteorological station and other available synoptic information. Obtained are the quantitative criteria of these classifications, and on this base worked out are the basic scenarios of the generation and evolution of this dangerous phenomenon on the Black Sea coast of Russia. According to the genetic classification, the Bora was divided into four types: frontal, air-mass, monsoon, and gravity. Quantitative criteria worked out for each type can be used for the more accurate forecast of this destructive phenomenon near Novorossiysk. According to the synoptic classification, four classes were distinguished: Azores, North Atlantic, Siberian, and Arctic.     

Near-surface heating in the arabian sea during the pre-onset regime of MONEX-79

Summary During the pre-onset regime of MONEX-79, the short period (1–2 weeks) time series measurements of surface meteorological elements, vertical profiles of temperature (BT) and salinity (Nansen casts) made from 5 former USSR and 2 Indian research vessels were utilised to investigate the observed near-surface heating rates at a few selected locations in the Arabian Sea. The influence of local surface heat fluxes on the upper ocean heat content variability is explored. The associated synoptic scale variability in the thermohaline structure of the upper layers is presented. The efficacy of a simple Kraus-Turner type one dimensional numerical model in simulating the observed variability of mixed layer heating rates is evaluated.With 7 Figures     

Characteristics of the winter boundary layer over the African Plateau: 26 ° S

Characteristics of the winter boundary layer over the (elevation 1600 m) in the vicinity of Johannesburg, 26 ° S, 29 ° E, are described in relation to air pollution potential by means of doppler sounder observations and background climatological data. Regional mean winds for the 800 h Pa level show that the winter boundary layer is dominated by a cell of high pressure over the Limpopo River Valley to the northeast of Johannesburg. To the south of Johannesburg, westerly circumpolar flow is prevalent and encroaches onto the plateau during the passage of frontal perturbations. Doppler sounder wind and turbulence profiles, averaged for the months of August 1984 and June 1985, are presented to establish a boundary-layer climatology. Diurnally averaged doppler sounder profiles for both months revealed a very consistent convective/day — stable/night cycle in the very dry winter conditions. A sharp radiation inversion formed just after sunset up to the 150–200 m level and grew in depth to reach 300 m on average near sunrise. The inversion caused a reduction in frictional drag and the formation of nocturnal low level jet during westerly encroachment. A case study is evaluated to determine the detailed structure of the low level jet near Johannesburg. The thermal wind plays a role in the nocturnal acceleration; mechanisms for its development and maintenance are explored. Additional work is presented on the synoptic cycle and its influence on air pollution dispersion over the African Plateau.     

Synoptic comparison of cold events in winter and summerin Melbourne and Perth

Summary  Unseasonably cold weather episodes have the potential to cause dislocation to many aspects of society, regardless of the season in which they occur. In this work we devise a method for quantitatively identifying extreme cold events in such a way that it is not biased to the winter season (as is usual in most other studies). We have applied this method to the daily maximum temperatures (over the period January 1972 to June 1991) in the southern Australian cities of Melbourne and Perth. We identify 10 cold events in winter and summer for the cities. Analyses were performed to determine the synoptic environment in which these events occurred. The most common synoptic type in these samples was the ‘classic’, which is characterised by, amongst other factors, the passage of a cold front over the city on the day of the outbreak, and the transport of air from subantarctic latitudes. Melbourne recorded five such events in summer and six in winter, while seven and eight occurred in the two seasons for Perth. The circulation features and characteristics of other synoptic types identified with these episodes is also examined. The mean synoptic anomalies which are coincident with these cold events are analysed. For both cities and seasons there is a ‘high-low’ anomalous dipole in the regional MSLP pattern, with the high located in the ‘upstream’ quadrant from the anomalous cyclone. Having said this, the relative importance of the two features of the dipole in being associated with the cold event strongly depended on the city and season under consideration. The research shows that the regional structures associated with cold events in Melbourne and Perth bear some similarity, but also display a number of significant differences. These differences are associated partly with the different climatological and synoptic settings in which these cities find themselves, and the nature of their seasonality. Received October 10, 1999/Revised April 7, 2000     

Magnitude and Frequency of Flooding in the Tagus Basin (Central Spain) over the Last Millennium

A relational database using Access, and an interface based on a Geographical Information System (GIS) with ArcView program, were created to allow spatial-temporal analysis of documentary flood data collected for the Tagus basin (Central Spain). High flood frequencies were registered in the periods: AD 1160–1210 (3%), 1540–1640 (11%; peak at 1590–1610), 1730–1760 (5%), 1780–1810 (4%), 1870–1900 (19%), 1930–1950 (17%) and 1960–1980 (12%). Flood magnitudes of those documentary events were estimated at four sites (Aranjuez, Toledo, Talavera and Alcántara) along the Tagus River using HEC-RAS Computer program, matching the calculated water surface profiles with historical references of flood stage. The largest floods took place during the periods AD 1168–1211 (Toledo and Talavera), AD 1658–1706 (Talavera), AD 1870–1900, and AD 1930–1950 (Aranjuez, Toledo, Talavera and Alcántara). The temporal distribution of flood magnitude and frequency is discussed within the context of climatic variability experienced by the Iberian Peninsula. Although flood producing mechanisms of Atlantic and Mediterranean basins of the Iberian Peninsula are related to different, independent atmospheric patterns, there is a clear coincidence between most periods showing high flood frequencies. These periods of high flooding seem to correspond to the initial and final decades of periods with climate deterioration described at the continental scale. This suggests that climatic variability over the last millennium has induced a response in hydrological extremes (positive or negative), irrespective of the flood-producing mechanism.     

Numerical modelling of Bora winds

Summary The Bora winds are produced by cold stable air which pours over the Dinaric Alps, often producing intense winds along the Adriatic Coast. Although the flow appears qualitatively similar to the hydraulic flow described by the shallow-water equations, there are certain significant differences: the cold low-level air is continuously stratified and a critical layer in the winds typically occurs near the inversion which caps the cold pool of air. Through two-dimensional numerical mountain wave simulations, we investigate the extent to which hydraulic theory can be used to describe the Bora winds. We analyze the structure of the Bora flow derived from aircraft observations collected during the ALPEX field phase on 15 April 1982 and compare it with a numerical simulation initialized from upstream sounding data. By varying the environmental sounding in our simulations, we find that for this case, neither the critical layer nor the inversion layer play a fundamental dynamical role in generating the strong winds along the lee slope. Instead, the wave overturning which occurs beneath the inversion appears to be the most important factor in producing the strong response. This overturning produces shooting flow over the lee slope and strongly resembles the hydraulic flow which occurs both in shallow water theory and in simulations in which over-turning is suppressed. We believe the hydraulic jump-like mechanism producing the strong Bora slope winds is fundamentally similar to the underlying mechanism which produces the intense winds along the lee slope of the Rocky Mountains. This occurs despite significant differences in the character of the larger scale flow in these two situations.

---

Numerische Modellierung der Bora

Zusammenfassung Die Borawinde entstehen durch kalte, stabile Luft, die über die Dinarischen Alpen fließt und dabei oft heftige Winde entlang der adriatischen Küste erzeugt. Obwohl die Strömung der mit Hilfe der Seichtwassergleichungen beschriebenen hydraulischen Strömung qualitativ ähnlich ist, gibt es bestimmte, signifikante Unterschiede: die kalte, bodennahe Luft ist kontinuierlich geschichtet und charakteristischerweise befindet sich eine kritische Windschicht nahe der Inversion, die den Kältesee abschließt. Mittels zweidimensionaler, numerischer Gebirgswellensimulationen untersuchen wir, in welchem Ausmaß die hydraulische Theorie zur Beschreibung von Borawinden herangezogen werden kann. Wir analysieren die Struktur der Boraströmung, die während der ALPEX-Meßphase am 15. April 1982 vom Flugzeug aus beobachtet wurde, und vergleichen sie mit einer numerischen Situation, die mit Daten aus einer Sondierung im Anströmgebiet initialisiert wird. Durch Variieren der Sondierung in den Simulationen haben wir herausgefunden, daß in diesem Fall weder die kritische noch die Inversionsschicht eine fundamentale dynamische Rolle bei der Entstehung der heftigen Winde entlang des leeseitigen Hanges spielen. Stattdessen scheint die umschlagende Welle unterhalb der Inversion der wichtigste Faktor bei der Erzeugung dieser heftigen Reaktion zu sein. Dieses Umschlagen erzeugt eine sehr schnelle Strömung über dem leeseitigen Hang und gleicht damit stark der hydraulischen Strömung, die sowohl in der Seichtwassertheorie vorkommt, als auch in Simulationen, in denen das Umschlagen unterdrückt wird. Wir glauben, daß der dem hydraulic jump ähnliche Mechanismus, der die heftigen Borahangwinde hervorruft, grundsätzlich dem Mechanismus gleicht, der die heftigen Winde entlang der leeseitigen Hänge der Rocky Mountains erzeugt. Und das, obwohl signifikante Unterschiede in den Eigenschaften der großräumigen Strömung in diesen beiden Situationen bestehen.

---

---

With 12 Figures     

Heuristic considerations pertaining to hailstone size distributions in the plain of Friuli-Venezia Giulia

In this work, the hailstone size distributions at the ground in the plain of Friuli-Venezia Giulia are presented, as revealed through a network of polystyrene pads (hailpads), managed by volunteers, which has been active since 1988. The aim of this work is to highlight possible differences in the diurnal and seasonal behavior of hail at the ground, both from Friuli-Venezia Giulia and other countries, in order to improve the knowledge of this meteorological phenomenon.In the comparison between different countries, differences are found between the yearly size distributions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and those of North-East Colorado, measured during the National Hail Research Experiment (NHRE). The size distributions obtained in South West France and in Friuli-Venezia Giulia are quite similar and they are slightly different from those of the Grossversuch experiment.In the comparison between different periods of the year, relevant differences are found between April and May and the other months. In particular, thunderstorms are less efficient in producing big hailstones during the former months. The most prolific month in producing hailstones is June, followed by September. This feature is interpreted as due to a form of synergy between the frequency of the synoptic forcing of storms and the amount of available energy at the ground.Analyzing the size distributions at different times of the day, the greatest differences are found in the intervals [00–06] and [06–12] in local time (respectively, [22–04] and [04–10] in UTC). These differences cannot be ascribed to the melting of the hailstones during their fall.     

Winter Arctic Amplification at the synoptic timescale, 1979–2018, its regional variation and response to tropical and extratropical variability

We investigate winter Arctic Amplification (AA) on synoptic timescales and at regional scales using a daily version of the Arctic Amplification Index (AAI) and examine causes on a synoptic scale. The persistence, frequency and intensity of high AAI events show significant increases over the Arctic. Similarly, low AAI events are decreasing in frequency, persistence and intensity. In both cases, there are regional variations in these trends, in terms of significance and timing. Significant trends in increasing persistence, frequency and intensity of high AAI events in winter are concentrated in the period 2000–2009, with few significant trends before and after this. There are some decreases in sea-ice concentration in response to synoptic-scale AA events and these AA events can contribute to the decadal trends in AA found in other studies. A sectoral analysis of the Arctic indicates that in the Beaufort–Chukchi and East Siberian–Laptev Seas, synoptic scale high AAI events can be driven by tropical teleconnections while in other Arctic sectors, it is the intrusion of moisture-transporting synoptic cyclones into the Arctic that is most important in synoptic-scale AA. The presence of Rossby wave breaking during high AAI events is indicative of forcing from lower latitudes, modulated by variations in the jet stream. An important conclusion is that the increased persistence, frequency and intensity of synoptic-scale high AAI events make significant contributions to the interannual trend in AA.

     

Convective Redistribution of Ozone and Oxides of Nitrogen in the Troposphere over Europe in Summer and Fall

The fluxes of ozone and NO_x out of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) over Europe are calculated in a mesoscale chemical transport model (MCT) and compared with the net chemical production or destruction of ozone and the emissions of precursors within the ABL for two 10 days' periods which had quite different synoptic situations and levels of photochemical activity (1–10 July 1991 (JUL91) and 26 October–4 November 1994 (ON94)). Over the European continent, about 8% of the NO_x emissions were brought from the ABL to the free troposphere as NO_x, while about 15% of the NO_x emissions were brought to the free troposphere as NO_y–NO_x, i.e. as PAN or HNO₃. The convection dominates over the synoptic scale vertical advection as a transport mechanism both for NO_x and NO_y out of the boundary layer in the summertime high pressure situation (JUL91), while in the fall situation (ON94) the convective part was calculated to be the smallest. NO_x was almost completely transformed to NO_y–NO_x or removed within the ABL. Also for NO_y the major part of the atmospheric cycle is confined to the ABL both for JUL91 and ON94. The vertical transport time out of the ABL is of the order of 100h both for the total model domain and over the European continent. The net convective exchange of ozone from the ABL is not a dominant process for the amount of ozone in the ABL averaged over 10 days and the whole domain, but convection reduces the maximum ozone concentration in episodes significantly. The ozone producing efficiency of NO_x is calculated to increase with height to typically 15–20 in the upper half of the troposphere from around 5 in the ABL, but in the middle free troposphere the concentration of NO_x is often too low to cause net chemical formation of ozone there.