Dynamics of the Leeuwin Current: Part 2. Impacts of mixing,friction, and advection on a buoyancy-driven eastern boundary current over a shelf

The boundary currents over the Western Australian continental shelf and slope consist of the poleward flowing Leeuwin Current (LC) and the equatorward flowing Leeuwin Undercurrent (LUC). Key properties of the LC are its poleward strengthening, deepening to the south, and shelfbreak intensification. The alongshore flow reverses direction below about 300 m, forming the LUC at greater depths. To investigate the processes that cause these features, we obtain solutions to an idealized, regional ocean model of the South Indian Ocean. Solutions are forced by relaxing surface density to a prescribed, meridionally varying density profile ρ^*(y) with a timescale of δt. In addition, vertical diffusion is intensified near the ocean surface. This diffusion establishes the minimum thickness over which density is well-mixed. We define this thickness as the “upper layer”. Solutions are obtained with and without a continental shelf and slope off Western Australia and for a range of values of δt and mixing parameters. Within this upper layer, there is a meridional density gradient that balances a near-surface, eastward geostrophic flow. The eastward current downwells near the eastern boundary, leading to westward flow at depth. The upper layer's meridional structure and zonal currents crucially depend on coastal processes, including the presence of topography near the eastern boundary. Kelvin waves inhibit the upper layer from deepening at the coast. Rossby waves propagate the coastal density structure offshore, hence modifying the interior currents. A comparison of the solutions with or without a continental shelf and slope demonstrate that topographic trapping of Rossby waves is a necessary process for maintaining realistic eastern boundary current speeds. Significant poleward speeds occur only onshore of where the upper layer intersects the slope, that is, at a grounding line. Its poleward transport increases when surface-enhanced vertical mixing is applied over a greater depth. When the timescale δt is sufficiently short, the poleward current is nearly barotropic. The current's spatial structure over the shelf is controlled by horizontal mixing, having the structure of a Munk layer. Increasing vertical diffusion deepens the upper layer thickness and strengthens the alongshore current speed. Bottom drag leads to an offshore flow along the bottom, reducing the net onshore transport and weakening the current's poleward acceleration. When δt is long, poleward advection of buoyancy forms a density front near the shelf break, intensifying poleward speeds near the surface. With bottom drag, a bottom Ekman flow advects density offshore, shifting the jet core offshore of the shelf break. The resulting cross-shelf density gradient reverses the meridional current's direction at depth, leading to an equatorward undercurrent.     

Surface currents and equatorial thermocline in a coupled upper ocean-atmosphere GCM

The Oregon State University coupled upper ocean-atmosphere GCM is evaluated in terms of the simulated winds, ocean currents and thermocline depth variations. Although the zonal wind velocities in the model are underestimated by a factor of about three and the zonal current velocities are underestimated by a factor of about five, the model is seen to qualitatively simulate the major features of the gyral scale currents, and the phases of the seasonal variation of the principal equatorial currents are in reasonable agreement with observations. The simulated tropical currents are dominated by Ekman transport and the eastern boundary currents do not penetrate far enough equatorward, while the western boundary currents do not penetrate far enough poleward. The subtropical trade wind belt and the mid-latitude westerlies are displaced equatorward of observations; hence, the mid-latitude eastward currents, principally the Kuroshio-North Pacific Drift and the Gulf Stream-North Atlantic Current are displaced equatorward. In spite of these shortcomings the surface current simulation of this two-layer upper ocean model is comparable with that of other ocean GCMs of coarse resolution. The coupled model successfully simulates the deepening of the thermocline westward across Pacific as a consequence of the prevailing Walker circulation. The region of most intense simulated surface forcing is located in the western Pacific due to a southwestward displacement of the northeast trade winds relative to observations; hence the equatorial Pacific is dominated by eastward propagation of thermocline depth variations. The excessively strong Ekman divergence and upwelling in the western Pacific cools the local warm pool, while incorrectly simulated westerlies in the eastern Pacific suppress upwelling and inhibit cooling from below. These features reduce the simulated trans-Pacific sea-surface temperature gradient, weakening the Walker circulation and the anomalies associated with the simulated Southern Oscillation. Offprint requests to: KR Sperber     

Impact of remote forcing,model resolution and bathymetry on predictions of currents on the shelf

Impacts of remote forcing, model resolution and bathymetry on current predictions at two moorings located on the shelf of the Monterey Bay area are investigated. We consider three Monterey Bay model configurations which differ in resolution and bathymetry representation, and we specify open boundary conditions for these three configurations from two larger scale models, which have different accuracy in the representation of the remote forcing (in the form of poleward propagating along the coast coastally-trapped Kelvin type waves).Comparisons of correlations between observed and model currents as well as visual comparisons show that the most critical element in reproducing currents on the shelf is accurate representation of the remote forcing. Our results also show that accurate representation of bathymetry is the second most critical factor in reproducing observed currents.     

On the relation between surface wind and pressure gradient,especially in lower latitudes

Observations show that the angle between surface wind and isobar increases equatorward in low latitudes while the ratio of surface to geostrophic wind speed decreases. With the use of Southern Hemisphere winter fields of surface pressure and temperature over the oceans, and Rossby number similarity theory (including the effects of baroclinicity) in several different forms, the expected latitudinal variation of the angle and ratio has been computed. A check has also been made of mean ATEX and BOMEX data. It appear that the variations with latitude are probably mainly due to baroclinicity. With this factor taken into account, similarity theory fairly adequately explains the observations.A recently proposed form of similarity theory based on the assumption of very strong momentum mixing in the boundary layer was also tested. It predicts the equatorward increase of the angle, even without baroclinicity. Quantitatively the results of the test are not in good agreement with observation. However, the strong convective mixing assumed in the theory does not generally occur over the oceans, and this test must be regarded as inconclusive.     

Role of the Tibetan Plateau thermal forcing in the summer climate patterns over subtropical Asia

The mechanism of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) thermal forcing in influencing the summer climate patterns over subtropical Asia is investigated by means of NCEP/NCAR reanalysis diagnosis. Results show that since the TP is a huge elevated heating source with the strongest heating in the surface layers in summer, the thermal adaptation results in a shallow cyclonic circulation near the surface and a deep anticyclonic circulation above it. According to the steady barotropic vorticity equation for large scales, airflow must converge in the lower layers and diverge in the higher layers over the eastern side of the TP. However, the western side of the TP is characterized by a reversed structure, i.e., divergence in lower layers but convergence in higher layers. Hence, pumping and sucking processes bring in upward and downward movement over the east and west sides of the TP, respectively. Such a circulation is embedded in the large-scale circulation that is forced by the Eurasian continental heating. Because the TP together with Iran Plateau are located at the central and eastern parts of the continent, and, because the orography-induced circulation is in phase with the continental scale circulation, the role of the TP thermal forcing is to intensify the East Asian monsoon to its east and the dry and hot desert climate in mid-Asia to its west. The summertime thermal forcing of the Rockies and Andes can generate similar circulations along the two subtopics as the TP does since they are located near the western coasts. But, the lower troposphere poleward flow that is induced by orographic thermal forcing does not coincide with the poleward flows over the eastern coastal region that is induced by continental heating and the monsoon rainfall in North and South America is not as strong as in East Asia. However, the equatorward flow and the associated subsidence induced by the two mountain ranges along the western coasts of both North and South America are in phase with those induced by continental heating. These contribute to the formation of the stable low stratus clouds and strong long-wave radiative cooling over the eastern subtropical Pacific regions just off the western coast of the continent.     

Nonlinear western boundary current flow near a corner

This paper analyses a western boundary current striking a solid boundary. Interest is concentrated on the case where inertial effects are sufficient to modify the flow from its ‘Stommel-layer’ form with Ekman friction relatively unimportant in the interior. It is shown that, beyond a critical inflow speed, a complicated system of four asymptotic regions forms near the corner, turning some of the flow along the blocking boundary and then returning it westwards to rejoin the western boundary current. A comparison with the results of a simple ocean model shows that many of the features in that flow can be explained through the asymptotic theory.     

Impacts of the MJO in the Indian Ocean and on the Western Australian coast

The large sea surface temperature variations induced by the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) on the northwest shelf of Australia and the remote influence of the MJO on the subtropical Western Australian coast are explored using the POAMA Ensemble Ocean Data Assimilation System reanalyses (PEODAS) for the period 1980–2010. The focus here is during the November–April extended summer season when the impacts of the MJO on and along the west coast of Australia are greatest. The MJO is well known to force equatorial Kelvin and Rossby waves in the Indian Ocean, and these are well depicted in the PEODAS reanalyses. When the downwelling Kelvin waves (forced by the westerly-convective phase of the MJO) reach the Indonesian region at the eastern boundary of the Indian Ocean, a coastally trapped Kelvin wave appears to propagate southeast along the Indonesian coastline. At the same time, the suppressed convection/easterly phase of the MJO arrives in the eastern Indian Ocean, with increased heat flux into the ocean due to reduced latent heat flux and increased insolation. The coastally trapped Kelvin waves do not appear to get onto the Western Australian coast. Rather, the increased heat flux and Ekman-induced downwelling onto the northwest (NW) coast in the suppressed/easterly phase of the MJO drive an increase in sea surface temperature on the NW Australian shelf. The piling up of warm water and associated sea level rise on the NW shelf is then communicated down the Western Australian coast as a coastally trapped wave, resulting in an increase in the Leeuwin current. Thus we conclude that the MJO signal in sea level along the west coast of Australia does not result from transmission of equatorial waves onto the Western Australian coast, but rather a southward-propagating coastal trapped wave that is directly forced on the NW shelf through Ekman-induced vertical advection and surface heat fluxes in the easterly phase of the MJO. Additionally, subtropical coastal sea level variability is reinforced locally via a teleconnection of the MJO to the local meridional wind off the southwest Australian coast. Considering the capability to predict the MJO to about 4 weeks lead time plus the 2 weeks taken for the MJO signal on the NW shelf to influence sea level at Fremantle, the use of MJO forecasts in management of the Western Australian marine environment should be considered for future application.     

Interannual and interdecadal oscillation patterns in sea level

Relative sea-level height (RSLH) data at 213 tide-gauge stations have been analyzed on a monthly and an annual basis to study interannual and interdecadal oscillations, respectively. The main tools of the study are singular spectrum analysis (SSA) and multi-channel SSA (M-SSA). Very-low-frequency variability of RSLH was filtered by SSA to estimate the linear trend at each station. Global sea-level rise, after postglacial rebound corrections, has been found to equal 1.62±0.38 mm/y, by averaging over 175 stations which have a trend consistent with the neighboring ones. We have identified two dominant time scales of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability, quasi-biennial and low-frequency, in the RSLH data at almost all stations. However, the amplitudes of both ENSO signals are higher in the equatorial Pacific and along the west coast of North America. RSLH data were interpolated along ocean coasts by latitudinal intervals of 5 or 10 degrees, depending on station density. Interannual variability was then examined by M-SSA in five regions: eastern Pacific (25°S–55°N at 10° resolution), western Pacific (35°S–45°N at 10°), equatorial Pacific (123°E–169°W, 6 stations), eastern Atlantic (30°S, 0°, and 30°N–70°N at 5°) and western Atlantic (50°S–50°N at 10°). Throughout the Pacific, we have found three dominant spatio-temporal oscillatory patterns, associated with time scales of ENSO variability; their periods are 2, 2.5–3 and 4–6 y. In the eastern Pacific, the biennial mode and the 6-y low-frequency mode propagate poleward. There is a southward propagation of low-frequency modes in the western Pacific RSLH, between 35°N and 5°S, but no clear propagation in the latitudes further south. However, equatorward propagation of the biennial signal is very clear in the Southern Hemisphere. In the equatorial Pacific, both the quasi-quadrennial and quasi-biennial modes at 10°N propagate westward. Strong and weak El Niño years are evident in the sea-level time series reconstructed from the quasi-biennial and low-frequency modes. Interannual variability with periods of 3 and 4–8 y is detected in the Atlantic RSLH data. In the eastern Atlantic region, we have found slow propagation of both modes northward and southward, away from 40–45°N. Interdecadal oscillations were studied using 81 stations with sufficiently long and continuous records. Most of these have variability at 9–13 and some at 18 y. Two significant eigenmode pairs, corresponding to periods of 11.6 and 12.8 y, are found in the eastern and western Atlantic ocean at latitudes 40°N–70°N and 10°N–50°N, respectively.     

Behaviour of the winter North Atlantic eddy-driven jet stream in the CMIP3 integrations

A systematic analysis of the winter North Atlantic eddy-driven jet stream latitude and wind speed from 52 model integrations, taken from the coupled model intercomparison project phase 3, is carried out and compared to results obtained from the ERA-40 reanalyses. We consider here a control simulation, twentieth century simulation, and two time periods (2046–2065 and 2081–2100) from a twenty-first century, high-emission A2 forced simulation. The jet wind speed seasonality is found to be similar between the twentieth century simulations and the ERA-40 reanalyses and also between the control and forced simulations although nearly half of the models overestimate the amplitude of the seasonal cycle. A systematic equatorward bias of the models jet latitude seasonality, by up to 7°, is observed, and models additionally overestimate the seasonal cycle of jet latitude about the mean, with the majority of the models showing equatorward and poleward biases during the cold and warm seasons respectively. A main finding of this work is that no GCM under any forcing scenario considered here is able to simulate the trimodal behaviour of the observed jet latitude distribution. The models suffer from serious problems in the structure of jet variability, rather than just quantitiative errors in the statistical moments.     

On the Ningaloo Niño/Niña

Using both observational and reanalysis data, evolution processes of a regional climate phenomenon off Western Australia named recently “Ningaloo Niño (Niña)” are studied in detail. It is also shown that the Ningaloo Niño (Niña) has significant impacts on the precipitation over Australia. The Ningaloo Niño (Niña), which is associated with positive (negative) sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and atmospheric anomalies off the western coast of Australia, peaks during austral summer and is classified into two types based on the difference in the evolution process. The first type called a locally amplified mode develops through an intrinsic unstable air–sea interaction off the western coast of Australia; an anomalous cyclone (anticyclone) generated by positive (negative) SST anomalies forces northerly (southerly) alongshore wind anomalies, which induce coastal downwelling (upwelling) anomalies, and enhance the positive (negative) SST anomalies further. The second type called a non-locally amplified mode is associated with coastally trapped waves originating in either the western tropical Pacific, mostly related to El Niño/Southern Oscillation, or the northern coast of Australia. Positive (negative) SST anomalies in both modes are associated with an anomalous low (high) off the western coast of Australia. The sea level pressure (SLP) anomalies in the locally amplified mode are regionally confined with a cell-like pattern and produce a sharp offshore pressure gradient along the western coast of Australia, whereas those in the non-locally amplified mode tend to show a zonally elongated pattern. The difference is found to be related to conditions of the continental SLP modulated by the Australian summer monsoon and/or the Southern Annular Mode.     

耦合模式中潮汐对北大西洋模拟的影响研究

将8个主要平衡分潮加入到耦合模式中,对比研究潮汐对北大西洋模拟影响。由于潮汐的引入,模式模拟SST在北大西洋中纬度区域偏差显著减小,高纬度区域SST降温明显。SST模拟的改变使潮汐试验的海表净热通量模拟误差下降了约30%,但高纬度海冰显著增加。模式中引入潮汐对北大西洋上层环流,尤其是西边界流的路径模拟改进显著,这是SST及海表净热通量模拟改变的主要原因。同时,北大西洋上层和深层西边界流在潮汐的作用下,都表现出环流减弱的特点,这也使得大西洋经向翻转环流在26.5°N处上层2 km的输送减弱,与观测数据更为接近。较弱的大西洋经向翻转环流导致海洋热量在中低纬度聚集而无法输送到高纬度区域,这是造成潮汐试验模拟的海温在中低纬度偏高、高纬度偏低的原因,较弱的热输送也同时导致了潮汐试验中北半球海冰面积增加。     

有地形坡度的非线性Kelvin行波

提出了一个考虑地形坡度的非线性Kelvin行波解的模型，在假定了地形坡度沿山脉走向不变而仅在垂直于山脉走向的方向有改变的情况下，求得了该模型的解析解，这有助于加深对沿海山地捕获波的认识。文中还将该解与经典情形(即侧边界取为垂直刚壁而底面为水平)的解作了比较，发现前者的波速与扰动振幅均较后者要小，这与我国东南沿海武夷山区的沿海山地捕获波的情况相一致。     

基于微波探测资料的全球大气亮温长期变化趋势研究

本文使用1978—2013年美国大气海洋局NOAA研发的STAR V3.0版本的MSU/AMSUA逐月亮温格点数据,引入集合经验模式分解(EEMD)方法,研究了高空大气亮温的非线性变化趋势,尤其注重亮温气候趋势的时间演变特征,并与传统线性回归(CLR)方法做了对比研究。结果表明,在全球对流层增温、平流层降温的大背景下,基于EEMD的亮温非线性趋势演变特征表现为:近10 a对流层中、高层全球平均增暖趋势放缓,甚至出现轻微的降温趋势;北半球对流层增暖首先出现在北极,随后向低纬度方向延伸。北极对流层增暖向上影响高层大气,最高可以扩展到平流层低层。南半球对流层中低纬度地区受北半球大气影响也出现增温。另外,近10 a南极地区出现显著的独立增温现象。平流层变冷北半球最早从中纬度地区开始发生,变冷逐渐增强的同时向极地和低纬度两侧扩张。南极上空平流层大气早期也出现显著变冷,然而随着2000年以后南极大范围增暖,平流层变冷逐渐转移到中低纬地区。     

Nocturnal offshore precipitation near the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula

While nocturnal offshore precipitation, which produces rain cells and bands, has been studied in tropical areas, few studies have analyzed the occurrence of this phenomenon at higher latitudes. Using radar reflectivity, nocturnal rainfall in the western Mediterranean area has been detected near the coast of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. More than 50 events have been recorded since 2009. MM5 mesoscale simulations of some of the recorded events allow us to establish that the most likely causes for these precipitation events are: (1) the interaction between cold air masses conducted by drainage and katabatic winds, and (2) a wetter and warmer synoptic wind. Two different episodes are presented: one in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, caused by stratiform clouds, which occurred at the mouths of three rivers; the other case, produced by convective clouds, occurred at the southern Iberian Peninsula and was caused by the drainage winds flowing down from some mountain ranges located close to the coast.     

Tropical–extratropical climate interaction as revealed in idealized coupled climate model experiments

Tropical–extratropical climate interactions are studied by idealized experiments with a prescribed 2°C SST anomaly at different latitude bands in a coupled climate model. Instead of focusing on intrinsic climate variability, this work investigates the mean climate adjustment to remote external forcing. The extratropical impact on tropical climate can be as strong as the tropical impact on extratropical climate, with the remote sea surface temperature (SST) response being about half the magnitude of the imposed SST change in the forcing region. The equatorward impact of extratropical climate is accomplished by both the atmospheric bridge and the oceanic tunnel. About two-thirds of the tropical SST change comes from the atmospheric bridge, while the remaining one-third comes from the oceanic tunnel. The equatorial SST increase is first driven by the reduced latent heat flux and the weakened poleward surface Ekman transport, and then enhanced by the decrease in subtropical cells’ strength and the equatorward subduction of warm anomalies. In contrast, the poleward impact of tropical climate is accomplished mainly by the atmospheric bridge, which is responsible for extratropical temperature changes in both the surface and subsurface. Sensitivity experiments also show the dominant role of the Southern Hemisphere oceans in the tropical climate change. CCR contribution number 829; DAS-PKU contribution number 002.     

北半球冬季温带反气旋活动的统计特征

利用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,通过客观判定和追踪反气旋的方法统计分析了1948~2013年北半球冬季温带反气旋的时空分布、周期和生命史等气候特征。结果表明,北半球冬季温带反气旋主要活动在东北太平洋、北大西洋、北美落基山脉东部和加拿大、美国东部、欧洲、亚洲中部和东亚地区。太平洋和大西洋上反气旋的生成区分布较分散,于大洋西部生成,在中、东部达到成熟期,最后主要在大洋东部和大陆西岸消亡。大西洋上反气旋消亡区域的大值区从大西洋中部到欧洲西海岸呈西南—东北带状分布,而太平洋上的反气旋消亡区域的两个大值区独立分布。大陆上反气旋多生成于较高纬度和极地地区,主要向东、向东南方移动。北半球各区域反气旋数均具有显著的2~3年周期变化特征,欧亚地区则具有显著的16~18年周期的年代际变化特征。除了欧亚大陆,其他三个区域的反气旋偏强时,其运动轨迹偏北。北美地区反气旋越强,其运动的纬度范围越大;而欧亚大陆反气旋越强,其运动的纬度范围越小。生命史越长的反气旋数比例越少,只有不到10%的反气旋生命史超过一周。     

冬季与北大西洋涛动相关Rossby波列传播特征及对下游气候的影响

利用再分析数据,以在北半球冬季与北大西洋涛动(North Atlantic Oscillation,NAO)相关的向下游传播的准定常波列在欧洲地区是否发生反射为标准,将1957/1958年至2001/2002年这45个冬季分为高纬型和低纬型两类冬季,分别简称为在H型和L型冬季。在H(L)型冬季,和NAO相联系的向下游传播的Rossby波列主要沿高纬度(低纬度)路径传播。对比了在两种类型冬季NAO与同期大气环流、近地面温度(Surface Air Temperature,SAT)、海表面温度(Sea Surface Tempertaure,SST)和降水的关系。结果表明:大气环流方面,在H型冬季,300 hPa位势高度异常在西-西伯利亚和中-西伯利亚西部与NAO呈现正相关,而在L型冬季300 hPa位势高度异常在亚洲东海岸(约40°N)和北太平洋呈现正相关,在H型冬季与NAO相关的经向风异常在中纬度形成波列,而在L型冬季与NAO相关的经向风异常在副热带形成波列;SAT方面,在H型冬季SAT异常在欧亚大陆腹地高纬度地区与NAO呈现正相关,而在L型冬季与NAO相关的SAT异常在欧亚大陆腹地的高纬度地区相对较弱,但NAO造成的SAT异常可以扩展到亚洲东北部;降水方面,H型冬季与L型冬季主要区别在中国南方,在H型冬季降水异常与NAO的关系相对较弱,而在L型冬季降水异常与NAO呈现正相关关系;SST方面,同期SST异常在北大西洋中纬度海域与NAO呈现正相关,而在L型冬季与NAO相关的SST异常在北大西洋中纬度地区相对较弱,在北大西洋北部和南部较强。总体而言,在H型和L型冬季,NAO具有不同下游影响。     

A Lagrangian Study of the Three-Dimensional Transport of Boundary-Layer Tracers in an Idealised Baroclinic-Wave Life-Cycle

The role of baroclinic-wave driven chemical transport is examined using the framework of a Lagrangiantrajectory model.The Lagrangian motion of transported trace gases are closely monitored through labelledboundary-layer tracers binned accordingto their latitudinal locations.From a set of 14-day Lagrangian paths, the mechanistically liftedsubtropical boundary-layer tracers track along tilted poleward paths, whilethe subsiding high-latitude tracers track along tilted equator-ward paths.The most significantmovements of tracers occur between days 6 and8. The vertical and latitudinal displacements during this time interval are3 km and 15° latitude. During a baroclinic-wave life-cycle,boundary-layertracers can either ascend vertically from 1 km to 7 km or descend to thesurface, while they arelatitudinally transported from 37° to 73° and from 45° to near 15° during the poleward and equator-ward motions,respectively.Vertical mixing of tracers occurs vigorously at mid-latitudes, where more than50%, by day 7, and a maximum of 70%, between days 9 and 10, of the boundary layer tracers have beentransported intothe free troposphere during the baroclinic-wave life-cycle.A clear 3D picture emerges from a Lagrangian analysis.Each time the tracer travels equator-ward, it descends, whilewhen it travels poleward, it ascends.Almost all of the low latitude tracers show tilted upward and poleward paths,while high latitude tracersshows downward tilted and equator-ward path.The maximum vertical displacement between poleward andequator-ward tracers are shown in mid-latitudes.Two types of the tilted upward and poleward paths are generally seen in thelatitude-height projections:anti-clockwise and clockwise paths.Both types of path transport tracers upward, however, the anti-clockwise pathsdeliver tracersequator-ward, while the clockwise paths deliver tracers poleward.Hence, whenlow latitude warm air arrives at mid-latitude, it can pick up enhanced tracerconcentrationand carry them on either poleward or equator-ward.     

地理经纬双向过渡带和复杂地形下气候的过渡性和特异性 ——以宜昌市为例

宜昌处在我国地形第二、第三级阶梯的过渡地带,又位于我国南北过渡带秦巴山地南麓的中低纬度过渡带,长江中上游结合部,山地河谷平原并存,地形复杂,垂直高差大。气候资料分析和文献调研表明,宜昌天气气候因特殊地理环境具有过渡性和特异性：（1）年平均气温主要随地形高度递减,年总降水量主要随纬度升高减小。（2）年暴雨日数、连阴雨天数,在中西部随纬度升高而递减,等值线近似纬向排列;东部随地形升高而递增,等值线近似经向排列。（3）山地平原过渡带地形的阻挡滞留、辐合抬升等对极端短时强降水有明显加强作用,这种作用在秦岭与黄淮过渡带、太行山与华北平原过渡带有相似的天气气候效应。（4）宜昌位于江淮梅雨的西界、华西秋雨的东界,具有天气气候“分水岭”特征。（5）宜昌是暴雨雨团、西南涡移动的主要通道之一。     

2009/2010年北半球冬季异常低温分析

分析了2009/2010年冬季(2009年12月1日至2010年2月28日,简称09/10年冬季)北半球地面气温异常特征及同期的水平与垂直环流场的异常结构。结果表明地面气温的异常呈现出带状的分布,表现为在低纬度为正异常、中纬度负异常及高纬度正异常的"正负正"的分布特征,最大的降温区在欧亚大陆和美国东部,其中局部的降温超过了-4℃。09/10年冬季北半球中纬度的地面气温相比过去15年冬季的平均值下降了近1℃,而在欧亚大陆的局部地区降温超过了-8℃。水平环流场的异常特征为:海平面气压和位势高度均表现为高纬度正异常而中纬度负异常的"北高南低"的分布特征,与此同时,中纬度出现气旋式的异常环流而高纬出现反气旋式的异常环流,这种分布形势在高低层表现得较为一致。经圈环流异常特征为:费雷尔环流减弱,中纬度出现异常的上升运动而高纬度出现异常的下沉运动,与此同时,中纬度对流层气温降低,而低纬度和高纬度的对流层气温升高,副热带急流增强,而极地急流减弱。09/10年冬季北半球环流的异常特征与北半球环状模(NAM)负位相时的极为相似。对多年冬季北半球地面气温和NAM指数进行合成和相关分析,结果表明当NAM处于正(负)位相时,北半球中纬度地面气温出现正(负)异常带,并且在欧亚大陆和美国东部最为显著,局部升温(降温)的幅度达到2℃。在热带外地区,经向温度平流是控制温度局地变化的关键因子。NAM影响北半球地面气温的物理机制分析表明,NAM主要是通过影响经向温度平流来影响北半球中纬度气温的。当NAM为正位相时,北半球费雷尔环流加强,中纬度带和高纬度带发生大气质量的交换,海平面气压场表现为中纬度异常高压而高纬度异常低压的"南高北低"的分布特征,中纬度地表出现异常的南风,进而经向暖平流加强,最终导致中纬度地面气温升高,NAM负位相年时与之相反。这个结果揭示了NAM作为自然变率对中纬度地面气温的调控作用。