Mean Flow–Storm Track Relationship and Rossby Wave Breaking in Two Types of El-Nino简

The features of large-scale circulation, storm tracks and the dynamical relationship between them were examined by investigating Rossby wave breaking （RWB） processes associated with Eastern Pacific （EP） and Central Pacific （CP） E1-Nifio. During EP E1-Nino, the geopotential height anomaly at 500 hPa （Z500） exhibits a Pacific-North America （PNA） pattern. During CP EI-Nifio, the Z500 anomaly shows a north positive-south negative pattern over the North Pacific. The anomalous distributions of baroclinicity and storm track are consistent with those of upper-level zonal wind for both EP and CP EI-Nino, suggesting impacts of mean flow on storm track variability. Anticyclonic wave breaking （AWB） oczurs less frequently in EP EI-Nino years, while cyclonic wave breaking （CWB） occurs more frequently in CP EI-Nino years over the North Pacific sector. Outside the North Pacific, more CWB events occur over North America during EP Ei-NiNo. When AWB events occur less frequently over the North Pacific during EP EI-Nino, Z500 decreases locally and the zonal wind is strengthened （weakened） to the south （north）. This is because AWB events reflect a monopoie high anomaly at the centroid of breaking events. When CWB events occur more frequently over the North Pacific under CP EI-Nino conditions, and over North America under EP EI-Nino condition, Z500 increases （decreases） to the northeast （southwest）, since CWB events are related to a northeast-southwest dipole Z500 anomaly. The anomalous RWB events act to invigorate and reinforce the circulation anomalies over the North Pacific-North America region linked with the two types of EI-Nino.     

Wave-Breaking Features of Blocking over Central Siberia and Its Impacts on the Precipitation Trend over Southeastern Lake Baikal

Precipitation over southeastern Lake Baikal features a significant decreasing trend in July and August over 1979–2018 and is closely related to blocking occurrence over central Siberia(45°–70°N,75°–115°E).This study investigates the formation and maintenance of anticyclonic and cyclonic wave-breaking(AWB and CWB)blocking events and their climate impacts on precipitation in the southeastern Lake Baikal area.Both AWB and CWB blocking events are characterized by a cold trough deepening from the sub-Arctic region and a ridge amplifying toward its north over central Siberia,as well as an evident Rossby wave train over midlatitude Eurasia.For AWB blocking events,the ridge and trough pair tilts clockwise and the wave train exhibits a zonal distribution.In contrast,ridge and trough pair associated with CWB blocking events leans anticlockwise with larger-scale,meridional,and more anisotropic signatures.Moreover,the incoming Rossby wave energy associated with CWB blocking events is more evident than for AWB blocking events.Therefore,CWB blocking events are more persistent.AWB blocking events produce more extensive and persistent precipitation over the southeastern Lake Baikal area than CWB blocking events,in which moderate above-normal rainfall is seen in the decaying periods of blockings.A significant decreasing trend is found in terms of AWB blocking occurrence over central Siberia,which may contribute to the downward trend of precipitation over southeastern Lake Baikal.     

Interannual Fluctuations of Surface Air Temperature over North America and Its Relationship to the North Pacific SST Anomaly

The characteristics of interannual fluctuations of the surface air temperature over North America are investigated by using the surface air temperature data of 130 stations during 1941 through 1980. It is found that the surface air temperature bears about ten-year time scale oscillation over the southeastern and northwestern North America and along the west coast of the United States, and it has the characteristics of quasibiennial oscillation over the eastern North America. The ten-year scale oscillation of the surface air temperature is related to that of the sea surface temperature (SST) of North Pacific through the PNA pattern atmospheric circulation anomaly over North Pacific through North America. It is shown that the North Pacific SST has a closer association with the surface air temperature over North America than the central and eastern equatorial Pacific SST. The characteristics of the seasonal variations of the relationship between the North Pacific SST and the surface air temperature over No     

Contrasting the Skills and Biases of Deterministic Predictions for the Two Types of El Nio

The tropical Pacific has begun to experience a new type of El Nio, which has occurred particularly frequently during the last decade, referred to as the central Pacific(CP) El Nio. Various coupled models with different degrees of complexity have been used to make real-time El Nio predictions, but high uncertainty still exists in their forecasts. It remains unknown as to how much of this uncertainty is specifically related to the new CP-type El Nio and how much is common to both this type and the conventional Eastern Pacific(EP)-type El Nio. In this study, the deterministic performance of an El Nio–Southern Oscillation(ENSO) ensemble prediction system is examined for the two types of El Nio. Ensemble hindcasts are run for the nine EP El Nio events and twelve CP El Nio events that have occurred since 1950. The results show that(1) the skill scores for the EP events are significantly better than those for the CP events, at all lead times;(2) the systematic forecast biases come mostly from the prediction of the CP events; and(3) the systematic error is characterized by an overly warm eastern Pacific during the spring season, indicating a stronger spring prediction barrier for the CP El Nio. Further improvements to coupled atmosphere–ocean models in terms of CP El Nio prediction should be recognized as a key and high-priority task for the climate prediction community.     

Synchronous Characteristics of Precipitation Extremes in the Yangtze and Murray–Darling River Basins and the Role of ENSO

The floods caused by the extreme precipitation in the Yangtze River basin(YRB) and Murray–Darling River basin(MDRB), the largest basins in China and Australia, have significant impacts on the society and regional economies.Based on the spatial–temporal analysis of the daily precipitation extremes(DPEs) during 1982–2016, we found that for both basins, the whole-basin-type DPEs have the highest proportion and a synchronous DPE interannual variation characteristic exists in the two basins, with the 3-yr running correlation coefficient of the annual DPE days(DPEDs) reaching almost 0.7(significant at the 0.01 level). The El Ni?o–Southern Oscillation(ENSO), which is one of the most significant climate disturbance factors in the world, plays an important role in modulating the variability of the DPEs in the two basins. Singular value decomposition(SVD) analysis revealed that both the YRB and the MDRB's whole-basin-type DPEs are closely coupled with the procedure that the preceding winter eastern Pacific(EP)-type El Ni?o faded to a central Pacific(CP)-type La Ni?a. This means that the DPEs in the YRB and MDRB may synchronously occur more frequently when the above process occurs. Owing to the atmosphere–ocean interaction from the east–west dipole sea surface temperature(SST) anomaly pattern, the atmospheric circulation disturbance exhibits a pattern in which the equatorial eastern Pacific region is a mass source anomaly with a higher pressure,drier air, and weaker convection, while the equatorial western Pacific region is a mass sink anomaly with a lower pressure, wetter air, and stronger convection. Moreover, two wave trains that originated from the tropical western Pacific were found to extend to the YRB and MDRB. The interaction between the wave train's interphase dynamics and water vapor transport disturbance results in the ascent conditions and enhanced water vapor transport, which leads to the synchronous occurrence of DPEs in the YRB and MDRB on an interannual scale.     

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC CONDITIONS BEFORE THE OCCURRENCE OF TWO TYPES OF EL NIO EVENTS

The atmospheric and oceanic conditions before the onset of EP El Ni?o and CP El Ni?o in nearly 30 years are compared and analyzed by using 850 hPa wind, 20℃ isotherm depth, sea surface temperature and the Wheeler and Hendon index. The results are as follows: In the western equatorial Pacific, the occurrence of the anomalously strong westerly winds of the EP El Ni?o is earlier than that of the CP El Ni?o. Its intensity is far stronger than that of the CP El Ni?o. Two months before the El Ni?o, the anomaly westerly winds of the EP El Ni?o have extended to the eastern Pacific region, while the westerly wind anomaly of the CP El Ni?o can only extend to the west of the dateline three months before the El Ni?o and later stay there. Unlike the EP El Ni?o, the CP El Ni?o is always associated with easterly wind anomaly in the eastern equatorial Pacific before its onset. The thermocline depth anomaly of the EP El Ni?o can significantly move eastward and deepen. In addition, we also find that the evolution of thermocline is ahead of the development of the sea surface temperature for the EP El Ni?o. The strong MJO activity of the EP El Ni?o in the western and central Pacific is earlier than that of the CP El Ni?o. Measured by the standard deviation of the zonal wind square, the intensity of MJO activity of the EP El Ni?o is significantly greater than that of the CP El Ni?o before the onset of El Ni?o.     

Different Impact of Central Pacific and Eastern Pacific El Nio on the Duration of Sudden Stratospheric Warming

The NCEP–NCAR reanalysis dataset and the Had ISST dataset(1959–2014) are used to analyze the impact of two types of El Nio events, i.e., eastern Pacific El Nio(EP-El Nio) and central Pacific El Nio(CP-El Nio) events, on the duration of major and minor sudden stratospheric warmings(SSWs) in Northern Hemisphere winter(November to February). Although the frequency of major and minor SSWs during different types of El Nio shows no distinct differences, the duration of both major and minor SSWs during CP-El Nio is shorter than that during EP-El Nio. The spatial distribution of geopotential height anomalies preceding major SSWs resembles the western Pacific(WP) teleconnection pattern, while the spatial distribution of geopotential height anomalies preceding minor SSWs bears similarity to the Pacific–North America(PNA)teleconnection pattern. An enhancement of the strength of both wavenumber 1 and wavenumber 2 is found before major SSWs. Before minor SSWs, wavenumber 1 is also strengthened, but wavenumber 2 is weakened. The analysis also reveals that EP-El Nio tends to induce positive phases of PNA and WP teleconnections, while CP-El Nio induces negative-phase WP teleconnection. As the positive phases of the PNA and WP teleconnections are related to the strengthening of wavenumber 1, EP-El Nio causes an enhancement of wavenumber 1 in the high-latitude upper troposphere and an enhancement of the upward wave flux in the high-latitude stratosphere, accompanied by a negative anomaly in Eliassen–Palm flux divergence in the subpolar stratosphere, which accounts for the longer SSW duration during EP-El Nio than during CP-El Nio.     

Nonlinearity Modulating Intensities and Spatial Structures of Central Pacific and Eastern Pacific El Nio Events

This paper compares data from linearized and nonlinear Zebiak–Cane model, as constrained by observed sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA), in simulating central Pacific(CP) and eastern Pacific(EP) El Nio. The difference between the temperature advections(determined by subtracting those of the linearized model from those of the nonlinear model),referred to here as the nonlinearly induced temperature advection change(NTA), is analyzed. The results demonstrate that the NTA records warming in the central equatorial Pacific during CP El Nio and makes fewer contributions to the structural distinctions of the CP El Nio, whereas it records warming in the eastern equatorial Pacific during EP El Nio, and thus significantly promotes EP El Nio during El Nio–type selection. The NTA for CP and EP El Nio varies in its amplitude,and is smaller in CP El Nio than it is in EP El Nio. These results demonstrate that CP El Nio are weakly modulated by small intensities of NTA, and may be controlled by weak nonlinearity; whereas, EP El Nio are significantly enhanced by large amplitudes of NTA, and are therefore likely to be modulated by relatively strong nonlinearity. These data could explain why CP El Nio are weaker than EP El Nio. Because the NTA for CP and EP El Nio differs in spatial structures and intensities, as well as their roles within different El Nio modes, the diversity of El Nio may be closely related to changes in the nonlinear characteristics of the tropical Pacific.     

Three-Dimensional Structure and Low-Level Features of the North Pacific Storm Track from 1999 to 2005

A storm track is a region in which synoptic eddy activities are statistically most prevalent and intense. At daily weather charts, it roughly corresponds to the mean trajectories of cyclones and anticyclones. In this paper, the recent QuikSCAT （Quick Scatterometer） satellite sea winds data with a 0.5°×0.5° horizontal resolution, and the NCEP （National Centers for Environmental Prediction） 10-m height Gaussian grid wind data and pressure-level reanalysis data, are employed to document the spatial structure of the North Pacific storm track in winter （January） and summer （July） from 1999 to 2005. The results show that in winter the North Pacific storm track is stronger, and is located in lower latitudes with a distinct zonal distribution. In summer, it is weaker, and is located in higher latitudes. Based on the horizontal distributions of geopotential height variance at various levels, three-dimensional schematic diagrams of the North Pacific storm track in winter and summer are extracted and presented. Analyses of the QuikSCAT wind data indicate that this dataset can depict the low-level storm track features in detail. The double storm tracks over the Southern Oceans found by Nakamura and Shimpo are confirmed. More significantly, two new pairs of low-level storm tracks over the North Pacific and the North Atlantic are identified by using this high-resolution dataset. The pair over the North Pacific is focused in this paper, and is named as the ＂subtropical storm track＂ and the ＂subpolar storm track＂, respectively. Moreover, statistical analyses of cyclone and anticyclone trajectories in the winters of 1999 to 2005 reveal as well the existence of the low-level double storm tracks over the North Pacific.     

An Isentropic Mass Circulation View on the Extreme Cold Events in the 2020/21 Winter

Three extreme cold events successively occurred across East Asia and North America in the 2020/21 winter.This study investigates the underlying mechanisms of these record-breaking persistent cold events from the isentropic mass circulation(IMC)perspective.Results show that the midlatitude cold surface temperature anomalies always co-occurred with the high-latitude warm anomalies,and this was closely related to the strengthening of the low-level equatorward cold air branch of the IMC,particularly along the climatological cold air routes over East Asia and North America.Specifically,the two cold surges over East Asia in early winter were results of intensification of cold air transport there,influenced by the Arctic sea ice loss in autumn.The weakened cold air transport over North America associated with warmer northeastern Pacific sea surface temperatures(SSTs)explained the concurrent anomalous warmth there.This enhanced a wavenumber-1 pattern and upward wave propagation,inducing a simultaneous and long-lasting stronger poleward warm air branch(WB)of the IMC in the stratosphere and hence a displacement-type Stratospheric Sudden Warming(SSW)event on 4 January.The WB-induced increase in the air mass transported into the polar stratosphere was followed by intensification of the equatorward cold branch,hence promoting the occurrence of two extreme cold events respectively over East Asia in the beginning of January and over North America in February.Results do not yield a robust direct linkage from La Ni?a to the SSW event,IMC changes,and cold events,though the extratropical warm SSTs are found to contribute to the February cold surge in North America.     

Impact of Surface Sensible Heating over the Tibetan Plateau on the Western Pacific Subtropical High: A Land–Air–Sea Interaction Perspective

The impact of surface sensible heating over the Tibetan Plateau(SHTP) on the western Pacific subtropical high(WPSH)with and without air–sea interaction was investigated in this study. Data analysis indicated that SHTP acts as a relatively independent factor in modulating the WPSH anomaly compared with ENSO events. Stronger spring SHTP is usually followed by an enhanced and westward extension of the WPSH in summer, and vice versa. Numerical experiments using both an AGCM and a CGCM confirmed that SHTP influences the large-scale circulation anomaly over the Pacific, which features a barotropic anticyclonic response over the northwestern Pacific and a cyclonic response to the south. Owing to different background circulation in spring and summer, such a response facilitates a subdued WPSH in spring but an enhanced WPSH in summer. Moreover, the CGCM results showed that the equatorial low-level westerly at the south edge of the cyclonic anomaly brings about a warm SST anomaly(SSTA) in the equatorial central Pacific via surface warm advection.Subsequently, an atmospheric Rossby wave is stimulated to the northwest of the warm SSTA, which in turn enhances the atmospheric dipole anomalies over the western Pacific. Therefore, the air–sea feedbacks involved tend to reinforce the effect of SHTP on the WPSH anomaly, and the role of SHTP on general circulation needs to be considered in a land–air–sea interaction framework.     

Impacts of two types of El Niño on atmospheric circulation in the Southern Hemisphere

Based on NCEP/NCAR （National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmo- spheric Research） reanalysis data from 1979 to 2010, the impacts of two types of E1 Nino on atmospheric circulation in the Southern Hemisphere （SH） are analyzed. It is shown thaL when a warming event occurs in the equatorial eastern Pacific （EP E1 Nino）, there is a negative sea level pressure （SLP） anomaly in the east- ern Pacific and a positive one in the western Pacific. Besides, there exists a negative anomaly between 40°S and 60°S and a positive anomaly to the south of 60°S. When a warming event in the central Pacific （CP E1 Nino） occurs, there appears a negative SLP anomaly in the central Pacific and a positive SLP anomaly in the eastern and western Pacific, but the SLP anomalies are not so evident in the SH extratropics. In particular, the Pacific-South America （PSA） pattern induced by the CP E1 Nino is located more northwestward, with a weaker anomaly compared with the EP E1 Nino. This difference is directly related with the different position of heating centers associated with the two types of E1 Nino events. Because the SST anomaly associated with CP E1 Nino is located more westward than that associated with EP El Nino, the related heating center tends to move westward and the response of SH atmospheric circulation to the tropical heating changes accordingly, thus exciting a different position of the PSA pattern. It is also noted that the local meridional cell plays a role in the SH high latitudes during EP E1 Nino. The anomalous ascending motion due to the enhancement of convection over the eastern Pacific leads to an enhancement of the local Hadley cell and the meridional cell in the middle and high latitudes, which in turn induces an anomalous descending motion and the related positive anomaly of geopotential height over the Amundsen-Bellingshausen Sea.     

Circulation Characteristics of Persistent Cold Spells in Central–Eastern North America

The circulation patterns of persistent cold weather spells with durations longer than 10 days in central–eastern North America(United States and Canada; 32°–52°N, 95°–65°W) are investigated by using NCEP reanalysis data from 1948 to 2014. The criteria for the persistent cold spells are:(1) three-day averaged temperature anomalies for the regional average over the central–eastern United States and Canada must be below the 10th percentile, and(2)such extreme cold spells must last at least 10 days. The circulation patterns associated with these cold spells are examined to find the common signals of these events. The circulation anomaly patterns of these cold spells are categorized based on the El Ni?o–Southern Oscillation, Arctic Oscillation(AO), and other climate indices. The atmospheric circulation patterns that favor the cold spells are identified through composites of geopotential height maps for the cold spells. Negative AO phases favor persistent cold spells. Phases of sea surface temperature(SST) modes that are associated with warm SSTs in the eastern extratropical Pacific also favor persistent cold events in the study region.Stratospheric polar vortex breakdown alone is not a good predictor for the regional extreme cold spells in central–eastern North America. The meridional dispersions of quasi-stationary Rossby waves in the Pacific–North America sector in terms of cut-off zonal wavenumber modulated by background flow are analyzed to provide insight into the difference in evolution of the cold spells under different mean AO phases. The waveguide for AO 1 is in a narrow latitudinal band centered on 40°N, whereas the waveguide for AO –1 is in a broader latitudinal band from 40° to 65°N. The circulation patterns and lower boundary conditions favorable for persistent cold spells identified by this study can be a stepping-stone for improving winter subseasonal forecasting in North America.     

THE COUPLED MODE BETWEEN THE KUROSHIO REGION MARINE HEATING ANOMALY AND THE NORTH PACIFIC ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION IN WINTERTIME

Using monthly reanalysis data of the National Center for Environmental Research/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) and Objectively Analyzed Air–Sea Heat Flux (OAFlux) gathered during the winter, singular vector decomposition (SVD) analysis was conducted to reveal the coupled mode between the Kuroshio marine heating anomaly and the geopotential height at 500 hPa (Z500) over the North Pacific. The first SVD mode showed that when the northern Kuroshio marine heating anomaly was positive, the Z500 in the central and western sections of the North Pacific was anomalously low. By composing the meteorological field anomalies in the positive (or negative) years, it has been revealed that while the Aleutian Low deepens (or shallows), the northwesterly wind overlying the Kuroshio strengthens (or weakens) and induces the near-surface air to be cool (or warm). Furthermore, this increases (or decreases) the upward heat flux anomaly and cools (or warms) the sea surface temperature (SST) accordingly. In the vicinity of Kuroshio and its downstream region, the vertical structure of the air temperature along the latitude is baroclinic; however, the geopotential height is equivalently barotropic, which presents a cool trough (or warm ridge) spatial structure. The divergent wind and vertical velocities are introduced to show the anomalous zonal circulation cell. These are characterized by the rising (or descending) air in the central North Pacific, which flows westward and eastward toward the upper troposphere, descends (or rises) in the Kuroshio and in the western section of North America, and then strengthens (or weakens) the mid-latitude zonal cell (MZC).     

A Possible Mechanism for Winter Sea Ice Decline over the Bering Sea and Its Relationship with Cold Events over North America

In this study, the mechanism for the sea ice decline over the Bering Sea and its relationship with cold events over North America are investigated based on the daily ERA-Interim data during the winter(December–February) of1979–2016. The results show that the sea ice decline over western(eastern) Bering Sea is mainly contributed by(1)the strengthened southerly(southeasterly) wind near the surface, which possibly pushes the sea ice to move northward, and(2) the intensified downward infrared radiation(IR), which is closely related to the local increasing surface air temperature(SAT) and the intensified moisture convergence mostly induced by the anomalous southeasterly wind associated with an anticyclonic anomaly over the Alaska Bay. During the sea ice decline over the Bering Sea, a cold SAT anomaly is simultaneously found over North America. It is proved that the occurrence of such a cold event is driven by the atmospheric internal variation, but not the forcing of sea ice decline over the Bering Sea. This study deepens our understanding of sea ice decline and its relationship with contemporary cold events in winter.     

Optimal Precursor Perturbations of El Ni?o in the Zebiak-Cane Model for Different Cost Functions

Optimal precursor perturbations of El Ni?o in the Zebiak-Cane model were explored for three different cost functions. For the different characteristics of the eastern-Pacific(EP) El Ni?o and the central-Pacific(CP) El Ni?o, three cost functions were defined as the sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA) evolutions at prediction time in the whole tropical Pacific, the Ni?o3 area, and the Ni?o4 area. For all three cost functions, there were two optimal precursors that developed into El Ni?o events, called Precursor I and Precursor Ⅱ. For Precursor Ⅰ, the SSTA component consisted of an east-west(positive-negative) dipole spanning the entire tropical Pacific basin and the thermocline depth anomaly pattern exhibited a tendency of deepening for the whole of the equatorial Pacific. Precursor I can develop into an EP-El Ni?o event, with the warmest SSTA occurring in the eastern tropical Pacific or into a mixed El Ni?o event that has features between EP-El Ni?o and CP-El Ni?o events. For Precursor Ⅱ, the thermocline deepened anomalously in the eastern equatorial Pacific and the amplitude of deepening was obviously larger than that of shoaling in the central and western equatorial Pacific. Precursor Ⅱ developed into a mixed El Ni?o event. Both the thermocline depth and wind anomaly played important roles in the development of Precursor Ⅰ and Precursor Ⅱ.     

Sensitivity Difference in the Extratropical Atmosphere to Two Types of El Nio Events

A comparison of sensitivity in extratropical circulation in the Northern Hemisphere(NH)and Southern Hemisphere(SH)is conducted through observational analyses and diagnostic linear model experiments for two types of El Nio events,the traditional El Nio with the strongest warmth in the eastern tropical Pacific(EP El Nio)and the El Nio Modoki with the strongest warmth in the central tropical Pacific(CP El Nio).It is shown that CP El Nio favors the occurrence of a negative-phase Northern Annular Mode(NAM),while EP El Nio favors that of the Pacific-North American(PNA)pattern.In SH,both EP and CP El Nio induce a negative phase Southern Annular Mode(SAM).However,the former has a greater amplitude,which is consistent with the stronger sea surface temperature(SST)warmth.The difference in the two types of El Nio events in NH may originate from the dependence of heating-induced extratropical response on the location of initial heating,which may be associated with activity of the stationary wave.In SH,the lack of sensitivity to the location of heating can be associated with weaker activity of the stationary wave therein.     

The Role of the Kuroshio in the Winter North Pacific Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction： Comparison of a Coupled Model and Observations

A comparative study between the output of the Flexible Global Climate Model Version 1.0 (FGCM- 1.0) and the observations is performed. At 500 hPa, the geopotential height of FGCM is similar to the observations, but in the North Pacific the model gives lower values, and the differences are most significant over the northern boundary of the Pacific. In a net heat flux comparison, the spatial patterns of the two are similar in winter, but more heat loss appears to the east of Japan in FGCM than in COADS. On the interannual timescale, strong (weak) Kuroshio transports to the east of Taiwan lead the increasing (decreasing) net heat flux, which is centered over the Kuroshio Extension region, by 1–2 months, with low (high) pressure anomaly responses appearing at 500 hPa over the North Pacific (north of 25N) in winter. The northward heat transport of the Kuroshio is one of the important heat sources to support the warming of the atmosphere by the ocean and the formation of the low pressure anomaly at 500 hPa over the North Pacific in winter.     

Association between Tropical Convection and Boreal Wintertime Extratropical Circulation in 1982／83 and 1988／89

Boreal wintertime extratropical circulation is studied in relation to the tropical convection during the 1982/83 El Nino and 1988/89 La Nina. The anomaly structure of 1982/83 and 1988/89 over the extratropics reveals remarkably different features as the longitudinal tropical forcing region changes. The Rossby wave source (Positive) shows the largest maximum over East Asia in both years due to the persistent heating from the western Pacific warm pool area. However, the sink term shows contrasting features over the subtropics and extratropics between the two years. In the El Nino year, enhanced tropical convection over the eastern Pacific produces the Rossby wave sink at 10?N and shifted eastward over the North Pacific, while in the La Nina year, the sink area is shifted westward over the North Pacific. The contrasting features between the two events in mean-eddy interaction appears especially over the downstream area of the East Asian Jet. The extension (retraction) of the meanflow eastward (westward) to     

Modulation of the Aleutian–Icelandic Low Seesaw and Its Surface Impacts by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation

Early studies suggested that the Aleutian–Icelandic low seesaw(AIS) features multidecadal variation. In this study, the multidecadal modulation of the AIS and associated surface climate by the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation(AMO) during late winter(February–March) is explored with observational data. It is shown that, in the cold phase of the AMO(AMO|-),a clear AIS is established, while this is not the case in the warm phase of the AMO(AMO|+). The surface climate over Eurasia is significantly influenced by the AMO's modulation of the Aleutian low(AL). For example, the weak AL in AMO|-displays warmer surface temperatures over the entire Far East and along the Russian Arctic coast and into Northern Europe,but only over the Russian Far East in AMO|+. Similarly, precipitation decreases over central Europe with the weak AL in AMO|-, but decreases over northern Europe and increases over southern Europe in AMO|+.The mechanism underlying the influence of AMO|-on the AIS can be described as follows: AMO|-weakens the upward component of the Eliassen–Palm flux along the polar waveguide by reducing atmospheric blocking occurrence over the Euro–Atlantic sector, and hence drives an enhanced stratospheric polar vortex. With the intensified polar night jet, the wave trains originating over the central North Pacific can propagate horizontally through North America and extend into the North Atlantic, favoring an eastward-extended Pacific–North America–Atlantic pattern, and resulting in a significant AIS at the surface during late winter.