Variations of the Atlantic and Pacific Blocking Anticyclones and Their Correlation in the Northern Hemisphere

Blocking is a large-scale, mid-latitude atmospheric anticyclone that splits the westerly into two jets and has a profound effect on local and regional climates. This study examined the seasonal, interannual, and decadal variability of the Atlantic and Pacific blocking anticyclones in the Northern Hemisphere based on the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) reanalysis data between 1958 and 1999. The preferred blocking region during these forty-two years was located over the Atlantic. Most blocking anticyclones over the Atlantic occurred in spring, while most of those over the Pacific occurred in winter. Similar two-to four-year and eleven-year oscillations were found for both the Atlantic and Pacific blocks by using wavelet analysis. The dominant mode for the Pacific blocks is decadal variation, while for the Atlantic blocks the predominant one is interannual variation with a period of about three years. The frequencies of the Pacific and Atlantic blocks varied almost in phase on interannual time scales except during the period of 1965-1977, and frequencies were out of phase on decadal time scale throughout the forty-two years.     

An aftereffect of global warming on tropical Pacific decadal variability

Studies have shown that global warming over the past six decades can weaken the tropical Pacific Walker circulation and maintain the positive phase of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation(IPO).Based on observations and model simulations,another afteref fect of global warming on IPO is found.After removing linear trends(global warming signals)from observations,however,the tropical Pacific climate still exhibited some obvious dif ferences between two IPO negative phases.The boreal winter(DJF)equatorial central-eastern Pacific sea surface temperature(SST)was colder during the 1999–2014 period(P2)than that during 1961–1976(P1).This diff erence may have been a result of global warming nonlinear modulation of precipitation;i.e.,in the climatological rainy region,the core area of the tropical Indo-western Pacific warm pool receives more precipitation through the"wet-get-wetter"mechanism.Positive precipitation anomalies in the warm pool during P2 are much stronger than those during P1,even after subtracting the linear trend.Corresponding to the dif ferences of precipitation,the Pacific Walker circulation is stronger in P2 than in P1.Consequent easterly winds over the equatorial Pacific led to a colder equatorial eastern–central Pacific during P2.Therefore,tropical Pacific climate dif ferences between the two negative IPO phases are afteref fects of global warming.These afteref fects are supported by the results of coupled climate model experiments,with and without global warming.     

Influence of the Eastern Indian Ocean Warm Pool Variability on the Spring Precipitation in China

The relationship between the variability of the Eastern India Ocean Warm Pool （EIWP） and the spring precipitation in China is studied in the paper based on an analysis of the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation （SODA） Sea Surface Temperature （SST） data, the reanalysis data of monthly grid wind field at 925 hPa with a resolution of 2.5^＊ latitude and longitude from the National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research （NCEP/NCAR）, and the monthly mean rainfall data from 160 observational stations in China. The results show that there is a strong correlation between the EIWP variability and the spring precipitation in China. The area, volume and intensity indices of the EIWP are negatively correlated with the spring precipitation in southwestern China, while they are positively correlated with the spring precipitation in the rest of China, especially in the northeast. For this correlation between the EIWP variability and the spring precipitation in China, it is found that the correlative relationship is mainly connected with the variations of the moisture transport by the warm air flow, which is under the influence of the EIWP variability, into the inland of China in spring. Two causative factors may influence this transport. One is the variation of the moisture transport carried by the warm air flow from the Arabian Sea influenced by the EIWP variability. The other is the variation of the equator-crossing flow （70^＊-90^＊E） influenced by the EIWP anomaly in the previous winter which exerts its effect on the moist warm air transported from the Southern Hemisphere. The position and intensity of the Western North Pacific Subtropical High （WNPSH） variability caused by EIWP variation also influence the spring precipitation in China.     

Influence of summer monsoon on asymmetric bimodal pattern of tropical cyclogenesis frequency over the Bay of Bengal

The influence of summer monsoon on tropical cyclone (TC) genesis over the Bay of Bengal (BoB) is explored using an empirical genesis potential (GP) index. The annual cycle of cyclogenesis frequency over the BoB shows an asymmetric bimodal pattern with the maximum genesis number appearing in late October and the second largest in early May. The two peaks correspond to the withdrawal and onset of the BoB summer monsoon, respectively. The semimonthly GP index calculated without TC days over the BoB is consistent with TC genesis frequency, indicating that the index captures the monsoon-induced changes in the environment that are responsible for the seasonal variation of TC genesis frequency. Of the four environmental variables (i.e., low-level vorticity, mid-level relative humidity, potential intensity, and vertical wind shear) that enter into the GP index, the potential intensity makes the largest contribution to the bimodal distribution, followed by vertical wind shear due to small wind speed during the summer monsoon onset and withdrawal. The difference in TC genesis frequency between autumn and late spring is mainly owing to the relative humid-ity difference because a divergence (convergence) of horizontal moisture flux associated with cold dry northerlies (warm wet wester-lies) dominates the BoB in late spring (autumn).     

Does the Asian monsoon modulate tropical cyclone activity over the South China Sea?

To investigate whether the Asian monsoon influences tropical cyclone (TC) activity over the South China Sea (SCS), TCs (including tropical storms and typhoons) over the SCS are analyzed using the Joint Typhoon Warning Center dataset from 1945 to 2009. Results show an increasing trend in the frequencies of TC-all (all TCs over the SCS) and TY-all (all typhoons over the SCS), due mainly to an increase in the number of TCs moving into the SCS after development elsewhere. Little change is seen in the number of TCs that form in the SCS. The results of wavelet analysis indicate that the frequency of typhoons (TY) shows a similar oscillation as that of TCs, i.e., a dominant periodicity of 8-16 years around the 1970s for all TC activity, except for TC-mov (TCs that moved into the SCS from the western North Pacific). To examine the relationship between typhoon activity and the summer monsoon, a correlation analysis was performed that considered typhoons, TCs, and five monsoon indexes. The analysis reveals statistically significant negative correlation between the strength of the Southwest Asian summer monsoon and typhoon activity over the SCS, which likely reflects the effect of the monsoon on TC formation in the western North Pacific (WNP) and subsequent movement into the SCS. There is a statistically significant negative correlation between TY-loc (typhoons that developed from TCs formed over the SCS) and the South China Sea summer monsoon and Southeast Asian summer monsoon.     

The link between interannual variation of the South China Sea summer monsoon onset and summer precipitation in Shandong Province

Relationship between the onset date of South China Sea (SCS) summer monsoon and the summer rainfall in Shandong Province was examined by comprehensive analysis to establish a conceptual model of the link. If the summer monsoon occurs earlier, the 500 hPa level would induce the teleconnection of Eurasian pattern in the summer (June-August), which indicates that the western Pacific subtropical high is displaced northward further than usual, the Siberian high is intensified and the Okhotsk low is deepened. Under such circumstance, Shandong, located in the west side of the subtropical high and in front of the mid-Siberia high, would be expected to have a wet summer because it is quite possible for cold and warm air to meet and interact with each other in Shandong. Statistical analysis revealed that the 500 hPa anomalies over Korea and Japan were sensitive to the SCS monsoon onset date and very important to precipitation in Shandong, and that the convective activities over the deep water basin in the SCS in 24-26 pentads significantly influenced the position of the ridge line of the western Pacific subtropical high. These findings yielded better understanding of the causative mechanisms involved in the precipitation generation, so that the knowledge gained can possibly be applied for long-lead forecast.     

Historical temporal variation in precipitation over Western Himalayan Region: 1857-2006

This study has examined the temporal variation in monthly, seasonal annual precipitation over the Western Himalayan Region(WHR) and the influence of global teleconnections, like the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO) and Southern Oscillation(SO) Indices on seasonal annual precipitation. The Mann–Kendall non-parametric test is applied for trend detection and the Pettitt–Mann–Whitney test is used to detect possible shift. Maximum entropy spectral analysis is applied to find the periodicity in annual seasonal precipitation. The study shows a non-significant decreasing trend in annual precipitation over WHR for the period 1857-2006. However, in seasonal precipitation, a significant decreasing trend is observed in monsoon and a significant increasing trend in post-monsoon season during the same period. The significant decrease in monsoon precipitation may be due to weakening of its teleconnection with NAO as well as SO Indices mainly during last three decades. It is observed that the probable change of year in annual monsoon precipitation over WHR is 1979. The study also shows significant periodicities of 2.3-2.9 years and of 3.9-4.7 years in annual seasonal precipitation over WHR.     

Analysis of the Leading Modes of Autumn Precipitation over the Yangtze River Basin

Based on daily precipitation data from 109 stations in the Yangtze River Basin(YRB) over the past 36 years(1980 – 2015),the Empirical Orthogonal Function(EOF) is employed to analyze changes in autumn precipitation. We used the monthly mean reanalysis datasets of atmospheric circulation and sea surface temperature(SST) to investigate the possible causes of the two leading modes, based on which the predictive equations were constructed and tested. The results of the EOF analysis show that the variance contribution of the first mode is 31.07%, and the spatial distribution shows a uniform variation over the whole region. The variance contribution of the second mode is 15.02%, and the spatial distribution displays a north-south dipole pattern in the YRB. The leading mode shows a dominant interannual variation, which is mainly due to the West Pacific subtropical high and anticyclones over the Philippine islands. The SST field corresponds to the positive phase of the eastern Pacific El Ni?o and the tropical Indian Ocean dipole. The second mode may be related to the Indian Ocean-East Asian teleconnection and early withdrawal of the summer monsoon.The SST field corresponds to a weaker central Pacific El Ni?o. Through a stepwise regression analysis, SST anomalies in some areas during summer show a good predictive effect on the autumn precipitation mode in the YRB region.     

The Different Effects of Sea Surface Temperature and Aerosols on Climate in East Asia During Spring

In this study, we used the NCAR CAM3.0 model to study the climate effects of both decadal global Sea Surface Temperature(SST) changing and the increasing aerosol concentration in East Asia in boreal spring. In the decadal SST changing experiment, a prominent sea surface cyclone anomaly occurred west of the Northwest Pacific warming SST. The cyclone anomaly is conductive to anomalous rising motion and more rainfall over the Northwest Pacific and southeast coast areas of China, but less rainfall in central China. Caused by the only aerosol concentration increasing, the change of climate in East Asia is totally different from that induced by the regime shift of SST around 1976/77 with the same model. The sulfate and black carbon aerosol concentrations were doubled respectively and synchronously in East Asia(20?–50?N, 100?–150?E) to investigate the climate effects of these two major aerosol types in three experiments. The results show that, in all three aerosol concentration changing experiments, the rainfall during boreal spring increases in North China and decreases in central China. It's worth noting that in the DTWO experiment, the rainfall diminishes in central China while it increases in the north and southeast coast areas of China, which is similar to observations. From the vertical profile between 110?E and 120?E, it is found that sulfate and black carbon aerosols first change the temperature of lower troposphere owing to their direct radiative effect, and then induce secondary meridional circulation anomaly through the different dynamic mechanisms involved, and at last generate precipitation and surface temperature anomalous patterns mentioned above.     

The IOD-ENSO precursory teleconnection over the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean: dynamics and long-term trends under global warming

The dynamics of the teleconnection between the Indian Ocean Dipole(IOD) in the tropical Indian Ocean and El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation(ENSO) in the tropical Pacific Ocean at the time lag of one year are investigated using lag correlations between the oceanic anomalies in the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean in fall and those in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean in the following winter-fall seasons in the observations and in high-resolution global ocean model simulations. The lag correlations suggest that the IOD-forced interannual transport anomalies of the Indonesian Throughflow generate thermocline anomalies in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean, which propagate to the east to induce ocean-atmosphere coupled evolution leading to ENSO. In comparison, lag correlations between the surface zonal wind anomalies over the western equatorial Pacific in fall and the Indo-Pacific oceanic anomalies at time lags longer than a season are all insignificant, suggesting the short memory of the atmospheric bridge. A linear continuously stratified model is used to investigate the dynamics of the oceanic connection between the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. The experiments suggest that interannual equatorial Kelvin waves from the Indian Ocean propagate into the equatorial Pacific Ocean through the Makassar Strait and the eastern Indonesian seas with a penetration rate of about 10%–15% depending on the baroclinic modes. The IOD-ENSO teleconnection is found to get stronger in the past century or so. Diagnoses of the CMIP5 model simulations suggest that the increased teleconnection is associated with decreased Indonesian Throughflow transports in the recent century, which is found sensitive to the global warming forcing.The dynamics of the teleconnection between the Indian Ocean Dipole(IOD)in the tropical Indian Ocean and El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation(ENSO)in the tropical Pacific Ocean at the time lag of one year are investigated using lag correlations between the oceanic anomalies in the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean in fall and those in the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean in the following winter-fall seasons in the observations and in high-resolution global ocean model simulations.The lag correlations suggest that the IOD-forced interannual transport anomalies of the Indonesian Throughflow generate thermocline anomalies in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean,which propagate to the east to induce ocean-atmosphere coupled evolution leading to ENSO.In comparison,lag correlations between the surface zonal wind anomalies over the western equatorial Pacific in fall and the Indo-Pacific oceanic anomalies at time lags longer than a season are all insignificant,suggesting the short memory of the atmospheric bridge.A linear continuously stratified model is used to investigate the dynamics of the oceanic connection between the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans.The experiments suggest that interannual equatorial Kelvin waves from the Indian Ocean propagate into the equatorial Pacific Ocean through the Makassar Strait and the eastern Indonesian seas with a penetration rate of about 10%–15%depending on the baroclinic modes.The IOD-ENSO teleconnection is found to get stronger in the past century or so.Diagnoses of the CMIP5 model simulations suggest that the increased teleconnection is associated with decreased Indonesian Throughflow transports in the recent century,which is found sensitive to the global warming forcing.