Past Millennium Contrasting Hydroclimate Patterns Between Monsoonal Northern China and Arid Central Asia: a Modeling Study

Widely distributed proxy records show that there were out-of-phase behaviors of moisture change between arid central Asia (ACA) and monsoonal northern China during the Little Ice Age (LIA) and Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA). We examined spatial pattern differences between the MCA and LIA to identify contrasting patterns of summer precipitation variability, and to diagnose explanatory mechanisms through the analysis of a 1000-year global climate model simulation driven by natural and anthropogenic forcing. The results show that the model was able to roughly produce the general features of MCA-LIA hydroclimatic spatial differences between monsoonal northern China and ACA, with a relatively wet MCA found in monsoonal northern China and a relatively dry MCA found in ACA. A further analysis of associated circulations shows that increased summer precipitation in monsoonal northern China was caused by the strengthening of summer monsoon, while the decline in summer precipitation in ACA was caused by an anomalous northward displacement of the subtropical westerly jet stream. Our analyses suggest that both effective solar forcing and El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) may produce these contrasting patterns of precipitation between monsoonal northern China and ACA. Due to a change in the probability of ENSO phases at the centennial time scale found in our experiments may be attributed to solar irradiances, higher effective solar irradiances during the MCA relative to those of the LIA may have been the ultimate forcing mechanism for the simulated precipitation differences between the MCA and LIA.     

Regional-scale surface air temperature and East Asian summer monsoon changes during the last millennium simulated by the FGOALS-gl climate system model

The spatial patterns and regional-scale surface air temperature （SAT） changes during the last millennium,as well as the variability of the East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） were simulated with a low-resolution version of Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land-Sea-ice （FGOALS-gl） model.The model was driven by both natural and anthropogenic forcing agents.Major features of the simulated past millennial Northern Hemisphere （NH） mean SAT variations,including the Medieval Climate Anomaly （MCA）,the Little Ice Age （LIA） and the 20th Century Warming （20CW）,were generally consistent with the reconstructions.The simulated MCA showed a global cooling pattern with reference to the 1961-90 mean conditions,indicating the 20CW to be unprecedented over the last millennium in the simulation.The LIA was characterized by pronounced coldness over the continental extratropical NH in both the reconstruction and the simulation.The simulated global mean SAT difference between the MCA and LIA was 0.14°C,with enhanced warming over high-latitude NH continental regions.Consistencies between the simulation and the reconstruction on regional scales were lower than those on hemispheric scales.The major features agreed well between the simulated and reconstructed SAT variations over the Chinese domain,despite some inconsistency in details among different reconstructions.The EASM circulation during the MCA was stronger than that during the LIA The corresponding rainfall anomalies exhibited excessive rainfall in the north but deficient rainfall in the south.Both the zonal and meridional thermal contrast were enhanced during the MCA.This temperature anomaly pattern favored a stronger monsoon circulation.     

Interannual Climate Variability Change during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age in PMIP3 Last Millennium Simulations

In this study, we analyzed numerical experiments undertaken by 10 climate models participating in PMIP3(Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project Phase 3) to examine the changes in interannual temperature variability and coefficient of variation(CV) of interannual precipitation in the warm period of the Medieval Climate Anomaly(MCA) and the cold period of the Little Ice Age(LIA). With respect to the past millennium period, the MCA temperature variability decreases by 2.0% on average over the globe, and most of the decreases occur in low latitudes. In the LIA, temperature variability increases by a global average of 0.6%, which occurs primarily in the high latitudes of Eurasia and the western Pacific. For the CV of interannual precipitation, regional-scale changes are more significant than changes at the global scale, with a pattern of increased(decreased) CV in the midlatitudes of Eurasia and the northwestern Pacific in the MCA(LIA). The CV change ranges from-7.0% to 4.3%(from -6.3% to 5.4%), with a global average of -0.5%(-0.07%) in the MCA(LIA).Also, the variability changes are considerably larger in December–January–February with respect to both temperature and precipitation.     

基于PMIP3和CMIP5模拟结果的过去千年特征时段北极涛动的变率特征及成因分析

利用参与第三次古气候模式评估比较计划（Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project Phase III,PMIP3）过去千年气候模拟试验以及参与第五次耦合模式评估比较计划（Paleoclimate Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5,CMIP5）全强迫历史情景试验的9个地球系统模式模拟试验结果,对过去千年3个特征时段（中世纪气候异常期、小冰期和现代暖期）北极涛动（Arctic Oscillation, AO）的变率及成因进行了分析。通过与NCEP再分析资料的对比发现,模式能够较好地模拟出AO的空间模态及年际变化周期,且大部分模式能够模拟出过去50年AO的增强趋势。过去千年3个特征时段中,不同模式对中世纪气候异常期AO位相的模拟并不一致,但大部分模式显示小冰期AO基本呈现负位相,而现代暖期则表现为显著的正位相,与重建结果一致。基于多模式集合平均的机制分析表明,中世纪气候异常期北极地区海平面气压变化不显著,小冰期北极地区海平面气压显著偏正,现代暖期海平面气压显著偏负,这与现代暖期北极温度偏高而小冰期北极温度偏低有关。过去千年中,小冰期和现代暖期的AO变率分别受自然外强迫和人为外强迫的影响。     

Tropical Pacific – mid-latitude teleconnections in medieval times

Terrestrial and marine late Holocene proxy records from the western and central US suggest that climate between approximately 500 and 1350 a.d. was marked by generally arid conditions with episodes of severe centennial-scale drought, elevated incidence of wild fire, cool sea surface temperatures (SSTs) along the California coast, and dune mobilization in the western plains. This Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) was followed by wetter conditions and warming coastal SSTs during the transition into the “Little Ice Age” (LIA). Proxy records from the tropical Pacific Ocean show contemporaneous changes indicating cool central and eastern tropical Pacific SSTs during the MCA, with warmer than modern temperatures in the western equatorial Pacific. This pattern of mid-latitude and tropical climate conditions is consistent with the hypothesis that the dry MCA in the western US resulted (at least in part) from tropically forced changes in winter NH circulation patterns like those associated with modern La Niña episodes. We examine this hypothesis, and present other analyses showing that the imprint of MCA climate change appears in proxy records from widely distributed regions around the planet, and in many cases is consistent with a cool medieval tropical Pacific. One example, explored with numerical model results, is the suggestion of increased westerlies and warmer winter temperatures over northern Europe during medieval times. An analog technique for the combined use of proxy records and model results, Proxy Surrogate Reconstruction (PSR), is introduced.     

Rates of change in the European palynological record of the last 13 000 years and their climatic interpretation

Rates of change of pollen spectra throughout Europe during the last 13 000 years have been calculated. The overall mean rate of change curve shows peaks corresponding to known times of rapid palaeoenvironmental change between 13 000 and 12000y BP, and between 10 000 and 9000 y BP. These peaks are strongest in the north and west of Europe. As in eastern North America (Jacobson et al. 1987), highest rates of change are recorded during the last millennium. At this time the changes of greatest magnitude are in areas of Europe with winter climate conditions strongly influenced by the North Atlantic. It is hypothesized that the overall pattern of Holocene climate change in Europe, and especially the changes of the last millennium, result from changes in the North Atlantic that have most strongly influenced winter conditions in western Europe.Contribution to Clima Locarno — Past and Present Climate Dynamics; Conference September 1990, Swiss Academy of Sciences — National Climate Program     

耦合模式ICM模拟的近千年气候特征

利用中国科学院大气物理研究所季风系统研究中心发展的气候模式(Integrated Climate Model,ICM)开展了近千年气候模拟试验,考察了模式对过去千年温度和大气涛动变化的模拟,并分析了全球季风百年到千年尺度的变化。结果表明:模式对百年尺度气候变率有较好的模拟能力,900~1200年北半球平均表面温度偏高,1500~1800年温度偏低,模拟的北半球、南半球平均表面温度都呈现出了19世纪至2000年的快速增暖。模式对大气涛动百年尺度变化的模拟与重建资料存在较大的不同。全球季风在850~1050年、1150~1200年和1300~1420加强,在1210~1300年和1600~1850年减弱。1875~2000年全球季风指数呈直线上升趋势。中世纪气候异常期(MWP)季风强度在全球大部分季风区域增加,小冰期(LIA)则相反。20世纪暖期(PWP)全球季风强度显著增加,其中赤道西太平洋增加超过1 mm/d。     

A reconstruction of extratropical Indo-Pacific sea-level pressure patterns during the Medieval Climate Anomaly

Subtropical and extratropical proxy records of wind field, sea level pressure (SLP), temperature and hydrological anomalies from South Africa, Australia/New Zealand, Patagonian South America and Antarctica were used to reconstruct the Indo-Pacific extratropical southern hemisphere sea-level pressure anomaly (SLPa) fields for the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA ~700–1350 CE) and transition to the Little Ice Age (LIA 1350–1450 CE). The multivariate array of proxy data were simultaneously evaluated against global climate model output in order to identify climate state analogues that are most consistent with the majority of proxy data. The mean SLP and SLP anomaly patterns derived from these analogues illustrate the evolution of low frequency changes in the extratropics. The Indo-Pacific extratropical mean climate state was dominated by a strong tropical interaction with Antarctica emanating from: (1) the eastern Indian and south-west Pacific regions prior to 1100 CE, then, (2) the eastern Pacific evolving to the central Pacific La Niña-like pattern interacting with a +ve SAM to 1300 CE. A relatively abrupt shift to –ve SAM and the central Pacific El Niño-like pattern occurred at ~1300. A poleward (equatorward) shift in the subtropical ridge occurred during the MCA (MCA–LIA transition). The Hadley Cell expansion in the Australian and Southwest Pacific, region together with the poleward shift of the zonal westerlies is contemporaneous with previously reported Hadley Cell expansion in the North Pacific and Atlantic regions, and suggests that bipolar climate symmetry was a feature of the MCA.     

The role of forcing and internal dynamics in explaining the “Medieval Climate Anomaly”

Proxy reconstructions suggest that peak global temperature during the past warm interval known as the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA, roughly 950–1250 AD) has been exceeded only during the most recent decades. To better understand the origin of this warm period, we use model simulations constrained by data assimilation establishing the spatial pattern of temperature changes that is most consistent with forcing estimates, model physics and the empirical information contained in paleoclimate proxy records. These numerical experiments demonstrate that the reconstructed spatial temperature pattern of the MCA can be explained by a simple thermodynamical response of the climate system to relatively weak changes in radiative forcing combined with a modification of the atmospheric circulation, displaying some similarities with the positive phase of the so-called Arctic Oscillation, and with northward shifts in the position of the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio currents. The mechanisms underlying the MCA are thus quite different from anthropogenic mechanisms responsible for modern global warming.     

中亚干旱区降水准两年周期振荡及突变特征

依据东英吉利大学气候研究中心（CRU）1930-2009年0.5°×0.5°分辨率的月降水量及NCEP/NCAR 1948-2009年2.5°×2.5°分辨率再分析逐月位势高度资料,分析了中亚干旱区年降水和季节降水的准两年周期振荡（TBO）特征和突变的时空变化及其可能影响机制。结果发现,中亚干旱区降水具有显著的TBO特征,其I区(哈萨克斯坦西区)、II区(哈萨克斯坦东区)、IV区（吉尔吉斯斯坦区）的年降水TBO相对具有连续性,而III区（中亚平原区）和V区（伊朗高原区）大致以20世纪60-70年代为分界点,存在相反变化。对季节降水而言,除II区年降水的TBO信号主要由夏季的变化决定,其他分区年降水TBO主要由冬季决定。降水突变分析发现,中亚干旱区降水的突变与TBO信号变化有很好的一致性,突变点上降水周期都有向TBO的跃变。另外,对整个亚洲中部干旱区而言,中亚干旱区西部降水突变发生在20世纪50年代初,东部于60年代末发生突变,新疆自80年代末出现气候转型,时间间隔为20年左右。季风区和受西风环流控制的亚洲内陆干旱区降水尽管都表现出TBO基本特征,但其控制因子可能有很大差异,对流层中上层的西风强度TBO可能是导致亚洲中部干旱区降水TBO的重要因子。     

亚洲中部干旱气候研究综述与机理分析

综述了亚洲中部干旱气候若干研究进展,并对亚洲中纬度干旱区形成机理进行了深入分析。依据大尺度气候分类法将全球陆地划分为季风、地中海及西风带气候区,分别对应于年内季节循环中多雨—高温的同位相、反位相及不相关等类型水—热配置特征。亚洲中部干旱区南北部分属地中海和西风带气候区,其不同水—热位相配置又对应于不同的水汽通量及其散度等特征。研究揭示了欧亚大陆中部干旱区形成于降水不足且季节性水—热配置不当,起因于大气环流平均槽脊季节变化引起的大气动力—热力配置,其根源是海陆热力差异及大地形对大气环流强迫的结果。本文还讨论了季风区与非季风区之间平均气流水汽散度的季节性互动,以及行星尺度上不同气候区之间平均气流与瞬变涡动水汽散度之间的配置等问题。     

ENSO与中国夏季降水的联系:冬季QBO的调制作用

使用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料、中国气象局台站降水资料和GPCC降水资料,系统研究了在冬季平流层准两年振荡(Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, QBO)调制下,厄尔尼诺-南方涛动(El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation, ENSO)不同阶段与中国夏季降水的可能联系。根据两者的位相和强度,可将它们的配置分为QBO西风/El Ni?o、QBO西风/La Ni?a、QBO东风/El Ni?o、QBO东风/La Ni?a。研究结果表明,在年际时间尺度上,ENSO和QBO无显著相关关系。冬季QBO西风位相时,El Ni?o发展年夏季,我国整体偏旱,而华南偏涝;衰减年夏季,华南、华东北部偏旱,东北、长江流域偏涝。La Ni?a发展年夏季,我国东部降水异常呈负-正-负的三极分布;衰减年夏季,东南沿海偏涝。冬季QBO东风位相时,El Ni?o发展年夏季,长江以北偏旱;衰减年夏季,我国东部降水异常呈负-正-负的三极分布。La Ni?a发展年夏季,江淮和华南南部偏旱;衰减年夏季,我国东部沿海偏涝。ENSO是影响我国夏季降水异常的重要因子,而QBO的调制作用在ENSO衰减年夏季更为显著。相比冬季QBO东(西)风位相,QBO西(东)风位相时El Ni?o (La Ni?a)期间赤道西太平洋负(正)海温异常更强,衰减年夏季位于西太平洋的异常下沉(上升)运动和印度洋的异常上升(下沉)运动更强更深厚,西太平洋副热带高压范围更大(小),南亚高压更偏东(西)。      

Crop modelling: towards locally relevant and climate-informed adaptation

A gap between the potential and practical realisation of adaptation exists: adaptation strategies need to be both climate-informed and locally relevant to be viable. Place-based approaches study local and contemporary dynamics of the agricultural system, whereas climate impact modelling simulates climate-crop interactions across temporal and spatial scales. Crop-climate modelling and place-based research on adaptation were strategically reviewed and analysed to identify areas of commonality, differences, and potential learning opportunities to enhance the relevance of both disciplines through interdisciplinary approaches. Crop-modelling studies have projected a 7–15% mean yield change with adaptation compared to a non-adaptation baseline (Nature Climate Change 4:1–5, 2014). Of the 17 types of adaptation strategy identified in this study as place-based adaptations occurring within Central America, only five were represented in crop-climate modelling literature, and these were as follows: fertiliser, irrigation, change in planting date, change in cultivar and area cultivated. The breath and agency of real-life adaptation compared to its representation in modelling studies is a source of error in climate impact simulations. Conversely, adaptation research that omits assessment of future climate variability and impact does not enable to provide sustainable adaptation strategies to local communities so risk maladaptation. Integrated and participatory methods can identify and reduce these sources of uncertainty, for example, stakeholder’s engagement can identify locally relevant adaptation pathways. We propose a research agenda that uses methodological approaches from both the modelling and place-based approaches to work towards climate-informed locally relevant adaptation.     

高低空急流和水汽凝结过程对锢囚锋环流演变的影响

文中利用包括湍流摩擦耗散的原始方程模式研究了高空西风急流、低空南风急流和水汽凝结过程对锢囚锋环流时间演变和降水强度变化的影响 ,计算结果表明 ,水汽凝结过程与高空西风急流或低空南风急流的共同作用对锢囚锋环流的演变起非常重要的作用 ,能在锢囚锋区形成强中尺度深对流系统 ,与干大气中高空西风急流对锢囚锋环流的作用远大于低空南风急流的情况相反 ,在存在水汽凝结过程的湿大气中 ,低空南风急流对锢囚锋的影响远大于高空西风急流 ,它产生的降水过程时间更长 ,降水强度更大 ,降水范围更广 ,是锢囚锋区产生强中尺度降水的重要因子。     

Sensitivity of sea ice to wind-stress and radiative forcing since 1500: a model study of the Little Ice Age and beyond

Three different reconstructed wind-stress fields which take into account variations of the North Atlantic Oscillation, one general circulation model wind-stress field, and three radiative forcings (volcanic activity, insolation changes and greenhouse gas changes) are used with the UVic Earth System Climate Model to simulate the surface air temperature, the sea-ice cover, and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) since 1500, a period which includes the Little Ice Age (LIA). The simulated Northern Hemisphere surface air temperature, used for model validation, agrees well with several temperature reconstructions. The simulated sea-ice cover in each hemisphere responds quite differently to the forcings. In the Northern Hemisphere, the simulated sea-ice area and volume during the LIA are larger than the present-day area and volume. The wind-driven changes in sea-ice area are about twice as large as those due to thermodynamic (i.e., radiative) forcing. For the sea-ice volume, changes due to wind forcing and thermodynamics are of similar magnitude. Before 1850, the simulations suggest that volcanic activity was mainly responsible for the thermodynamically produced area and volume changes, while after 1900 the slow greenhouse gas increase was the main driver of the sea-ice changes. Changes in insolation have a small effect on the sea ice throughout the integration period. The export of the thicker sea ice during the LIA has no significant effect on the maximum strength of the AMOC. A more important process in altering the maximum strength of the AMOC and the sea-ice thickness is the wind-driven northward ocean heat transport. In the Southern Hemisphere, there are no visible long-term trends in the simulated sea-ice area or volume since 1500. The wind-driven changes are roughly four times larger than those due to radiative forcing. Prior to 1800, all the radiative forcings could have contributed to the thermodynamically driven changes in area and volume. In the 1800s the volcanic forcing was dominant, and during the first part of the 1900s both the insolation changes and the greenhouse gas forcing are responsible for thermodynamically produced changes. Finally, in the latter part of the 1900s the greenhouse gas forcing is the dominant factor in determining the sea-ice changes in the Southern Hemisphere.

An Assessment of CAMS-CSM in Simulating Land–Atmosphere Heat and Water Exchanges

The Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences (CAMS) has been devoted to developing a climate system model (CSM) to meet demand for climate simulation and prediction for the East Asian region. In this study, we evaluated the performance of CAMS-CSM in regard to sensible heat flux (H), latent heat flux (LE), surface temperature, soil moisture, and snow depth, focusing on the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project experiment, with the aim of participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6. We systematically assessed the simulation results achieved by CAMS-CSM for these variables against various reference products and ground observations, including the FLUXNET model tree ensembles H and LE data, Climate Prediction Center soil moisture data, snow depth climatology data, and Chinese ground observations of snow depth and winter surface temperature. We compared these results with data from the ECMWF Interim reanalysis (ERA-Interim) and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS). Our results indicated that CAMS-CSM simulations were better than or comparable to ERAInterim reanalysis for snow depth and winter surface temperature at regional scales, but slightly worse when simulating total column soil moisture. The root-mean-square differences of H in CAMS-CSM were all greater than those from the ERA-Interim reanalysis, but less than or comparable to those from GLDAS. The spatial correlations for H in CAMS-CSM were the lowest in nearly all regions, except for North America. CAMS-CSM LE produced the lowest bias in Siberia, North America, and South America, but with the lowest spatial correlation coefficients. Therefore, there are still scopes for improving H and LE simulations in CAMS-CSM, particularly for LE.     

Characteristics of Turbulent Transfer during Episodes of Heavy Haze Pollution in Beijing in Winter 2016/17

We analyzed the structure and evolution of turbulent transfer and the wind profile in the atmospheric boundary layer in relation to aerosol concentrations during an episode of heavy haze pollution from 6 December 2016 to 9 January 2017. The turbulence data were recorded at Peking University’s atmospheric science and environment observation station. The results showed a negative correlation between the wind speed and the PM_2.5 concentration. The turbulence kinetic energy was large and showed obvious diurnal variations during unpolluted (clean) weather, but was small during episodes of heavy haze pollution. Under both clean and heavy haze conditions, the relation between the non-dimensional wind components and the stability parameter z/L followed a 1/3 power law, but the normalized standard deviations of the wind speed were smaller during heavy pollution events than during clean periods under near-neutral conditions. Under unstable conditions, the normalized standard deviation of the potential temperature σ _θ /|θ_*| was related to z/L, roughly following a –1/3 power law, and the ratio during pollution days was greater than that during clean days. The three-dimensional turbulence energy spectra satisfied a –2/3 power exponent rate in the high-frequency band. In the low-frequency band, the wind velocity spectrum curve was related to the stability parameters under clear conditions, but was not related to atmospheric stratification under polluted conditions. In the dissipation stage of the heavy pollution episode, the horizontal wind speed first started to increase at high altitudes and then gradually decreased at lower altitudes. The strong upward motion during this stage was an important dynamic factor in the dissipation of the heavy haze.     

高低空急流与水汽凝结过程对暖锋环流演变的影响

利用包括水汽凝结过程的原始方程模式模拟了高空西风急流和低空南风急流中暖锋环流的演变以及凝结的发生。计算结果显示,水汽凝结过程对暖锋环流有非常重大的作用,是暖锋锋区产生强中尺度深对流的重要机制。与干模式大气中高空西风急流对暖锋环流的影响远大于低空南风急流的结论相反,在含有水汽凝结过程的湿大气中,低空南风急流的作用远大于高空西风急流,它是暖锋锋区中产生强中尺度降水的更重要因子;高低空急流的共同作用,对湿暖锋锋区中多重中尺度雨带的形成具有重要作用。     

A model study of the Little Ice Age and beyond: changes in ocean heat content,hydrography and circulation since 1500

The Earth System Climate Model from the University of Victoria is used to investigate changes in ocean properties such as heat content, temperature, salinity, density and circulation during 1500 to 2000, the time period which includes the Little Ice Age (LIA) (1500–1850) and the industrial era (1850–2000). We force the model with two different wind-stress fields which take into account the North Atlantic Oscillation. Furthermore, temporally varying radiative forcings due to volcanic activity, insolation changes and greenhouse gas changes are also implemented. We find that changes in the upper ocean (0–300 m) heat content are mainly driven by changes in radiative forcing, except in the polar regions where the varying wind-stress induces changes in ocean heat content. In the full ocean (0–3,000 m) the wind-driven effects tend to reduce, prior to 1700, the downward trend in the ocean heat content caused by the radiative forcing. Afterwards no dynamical effect is visible. The colder ocean temperatures in the top 600 m during the LIA are caused by changes in radiative forcing, while the cooling at the bottom is wind-driven. The changes in salinity are small except in the Arctic Ocean. The reduced salinity content in the subsurface Arctic Ocean during the LIA is a result from reduced wind-driven inflow of saline water from the North Atlantic. At the surface of the Arctic Ocean the changes in salinity are caused by changes in sea–ice thickness. The changes in density are a composite picture of the temperature and salinity changes. Furthermore, changes in the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) are caused mainly by a varying wind-stress forcing; the additional buoyancy driven changes due to the radiative forcings are small. The simulated MOC is reduced during the LIA as compared to the industrial era. On the other hand, the ventilation rate in the Southern Ocean is increased during the LIA.     

Atmospheric circulation variability in the North-Atlantic-European area since the mid-seventeenth century

Based on monthly mean sea level pressure grids objectively reconstructed by Luterbacher et al. variations of dynamical modes of the atmospheric circulation for January and July are described by novel indices for running 31-year periods between 1659 and 1999. These indices reflect the continuous evolution of the atmospheric circulation not only with regard to frequency changes of major dynamical modes but also in terms of internal changes within each mode concerning both dynamic (vorticity, intensity) and climatic properties (Central European temperature and precipitation during occurrence of each mode, respectively). Results indicate the great importance of within-mode variations: the zonal circulation mode in January, varying in frequency with long-term cycles, primarily changed its dynamic and climatic properties (towards higher indices) during the transition from the Little Ice Age to modern conditions between 1800 and 1930. Within the Russian High mode of January a change in preference from easterly to westerly patterns above Central Europe occurred around 1850. For July, a striking frequency maximum of the westerly mode at the end of the eighteenth century coincided with a period of marked summer warmth in Central Europe due to negative/positive deviations in vorticity/temperature during occurrence of this mode. The long-term evolution in July indicates a general increase of anticyclonic conditions strengthening during the last 50 years towards a unique phenomenon within the last centuries. The strong increase in the winter-time westerly circulation during the last decades, however, does not appear extraordinary in view of the low-frequency variations of this mode.