一种新的ENSO循环负反馈机制

本文利用包含海洋表面边界层和大气辐合反馈过程的热带太平洋海气耦合异常模式的30年模拟结果，通过对模式ENSO循环演变特征和正负反馈机制的细致分析揭示出了ENSO循环形成的一种新的负反馈过程。指出:ENSO循环的正反馈机制是不稳定海气相互作用过程，且这一不稳定过程的发展在暖态中明显强于冷态；ENSO循环的负反馈机制在冷暖态中表现不同，在冷态消亡过程中，这种负反馈过程主要表现为暖的西传Rossby波经西边界反射产生的暖的东传Kelvin波来抑制冷位相不稳定发展的，但在暖态消亡过程中，不存在类似的纬向波作用过程，其负反馈过程主要表现为在海气耦合不稳定充分发展时伴随的赤道两侧冷水上翻过程的加强以及非线性过程的衰减作用共同抑制了不稳定的发展，并最终使系统从暖态恢复至冷态。本文得出的ENSO循环暖位相中的负反馈机制和近年来国外提出的“时滞振子”理论明显不同。     

Effects of the coupling process on shortwave radiative feedback during ENSO in FGOALS-g

气候模式对ENSO期间负的短波辐射反馈的模拟依然有挑战性,以往的研究主要侧重于大气或者海洋模式中具体物理过程的影响。为了探究耦合作用对其负反馈的效用,本研究分析对比了两个大气环流模式(GAMIL1和GAMIL2)以及相应的耦合模式(FGOALS-g1和FGOALS-g2)对ENSO的模拟,结果显示新旧两个版本的耦合作用对短波反馈的影响是不一样的,主要来源于云量反馈和动力学反馈的差异;通过对反馈的非线性过程的分析进一步揭示了新旧两个版本相反的耦合作用来自于它们对于厄尔尼诺和拉尼娜的不同相应。     

ENSO期间海洋性大陆典型地区闪电活动特征分析

利用星载闪电探测器(光学瞬变探测器(OTD)和闪电成像传感器(LIS))的观测资料,配合其他气象资料,对厄尔尼诺期间(1998年春季)和拉尼娜期间(1999年春季)海洋性大陆典型地区(11.25°S—3.75°N,96.25°—128.75°E)的闪电活动变化特征进行研究,分析了雷暴单体数目以及雷暴单体闪电率对闪电活动变化的影响,并通过对比厄尔尼诺年春季和拉尼娜年春季的大气环流形势、相对湿度、最大对流有效位能、对流风暴高度等气象要素,讨论闪电活动变化的原因。结果表明:(1)从ENSO期间雷暴单体密度和闪电密度的空间分布变化特征来看,厄尔尼诺年春季的闪电活动及雷暴活动均比拉尼娜年春季的多,并且,从闪电数目和雷暴单体数目的纬向平均、经向平均的年际变化可以发现在厄尔尼诺年春季闪电活动、雷暴活动有东伸南移的趋势。(2)在海洋性大陆典型地区,雷暴单体数目的变化是闪电数目变化的主要因子,而雷暴单体闪电率的变化是闪电数目变化的次要因子。(3)与1999年春季相比,1998年春季的副热带高压范围大、强度大;地面相对湿度大,高空相对湿度小,上下层湿度差异大,有利于对流发展;对流风暴高度较高,冰相粒子层厚度也较深厚,对流发展旺盛;最大对流有效位能大于300 J/kg的天数的空间分布极大值区域正好与闪电密度、雷暴单体密度的大值区域对应,雷电活动与对流有效位能值密切相关。     

Modelling mid-Holocene tropical climate and ENSO variability: towards constraining predictions of future change with palaeo-data

Palaeoclimate simulations provide an opportunity for climate model evaluation as well as having a potential role in assigning relative likelihood to different ensemble members in probabilistic climate change prediction, supplementing constraints provided by the instrumental record. Here we take some initial steps towards such an approach by performing ensemble experiments with the Hadley Centre HadCM3 model under pre-industrial and mid-Holocene (6,000 years before present) forcing conditions. We examine the changes in both mean tropical climate and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability, as palaeoclimate records suggest that ENSO amplitude was reduced in the mid-Holocene. Experiments are performed with perturbations to physical parameters in the atmosphere–surface component of the model, and with different implementations of heat and freshwater flux adjustments. Heat flux adjustments are required to stabilise model versions in which perturbations cause a net radiative imbalance. While we find broad agreement between different model versions in terms of changes in mean climate in the mid-Holocene, a detailed and quantitative comparison with the geographically-sparse palaeo-record is limited by systematic model biases. In the simulations without seasonally-varying flux adjustments there are modest reductions in ENSO amplitude of the order of 10–15%, lower than the range of reductions inferred from coral proxy records. We examine the mechanisms for these changes, and discuss the implications for the design of future ensemble experiments to formally quantify uncertainty in climate change predictions using palaeoclimate simulations.     

Enhanced seasonality of surface air temperature over China during the mid-Holocene

利用PMIP4多模式试验数据,作者量化了中全新世(距今约6000年)中国温度季节性变化.结果表明:相对于工业革命前期,所有16个模式一致模拟显示中全新世我国温度季节性(即夏季与冬季温差)增强,平均增幅9%;这与该时期轨道强迫引起的地表能量通量的季节对比变化密切相关,其中净短波辐射起主导作用,净长波辐射作用次之,感热和潜热为负贡献;与模拟不同,重建结果存在不确定性.     

ENSO influence on Europe during the last centuries

El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects climate not only in the Pacific region and the tropics, but also in the North Atlantic-European area. Studies based on twentieth-century data have found that El Niño events tend to be accompanied in late winter by a negative North Atlantic Oscillation index, low temperatures in northeastern Europe and a change in precipitation patterns. However, many questions are open, for example, concerning the stationarity of this relation. Here we study the relation between ENSO and European climate during the past 500 years based on statistically reconstructed ENSO indices, early instrumental station series, and reconstructed fields of surface air temperature, sea-level pressure, precipitation, and 500 hPa geopotential height. After removing years following tropical volcanic eruptions (which systematically mask the ENSO signal), we find a consistent and statistically significant ENSO signal in late winter and spring. The responses to El Niño and La Niña are close to symmetric. In agreement with studies using twentieth-century data only, the ENSO signal in precipitation is different in fall than in late winter. Moving correlation analyses confirm a stationary relationship between ENSO and late winter climate in Europe during the past 300 years. However, the ENSO signal is modulated significantly by the North Pacific climate. A multi-field cluster analysis for strong ENSO events during the past 300 years yields a dominant pair of clusters that is symmetric and represents the ‘classical’ ENSO effects on Europe.     

Variability of global lightning activity on the ENSO time scale

Global lightning activity has been studied on the ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) time scale based on recordings of the Earth's Schumann resonances at Nagycenk (NCK), Hungary as well as observations from the OTD (Optical Transient Detector) and the LIS (Lightning Imaging Sensor) satellites in space. Both the intensity and position of lightning activity vary on the ENSO time scale. The magnitude of the global variation in lightning flash rate is ~10% from La Niña to El Niño. In general, more lightning is observed in the tropical–extratropical land regions during warm, El Niño episodes, especially in Southeast Asia. Although oceanic lightning activity is a minor contributor to global lightning, an opposite behavior is observed in the Pacific and other oceanic regions. More lightning is present during cold, La Niña conditions than during the warm, El Niño episodes. The annual distribution of global lightning is slightly offset from the equator into the Northern Hemisphere due to the north–south asymmetry of the land/ocean area ratio. Schumann resonance intensity variations suggest a southward (equator-ward) shift and satellite observations support this and show in addition an eastward shift in the global position during warm, El Niño episodes. The greatest lightning contrast between warm El Niño and cold La Niña episodes has been identified at the latitudes of descending dry air in the Hadley circulation.     

An analysis on the physical process of the influence of AO on ENSO

The influence of the spring AO on ENSO has been demonstrated in several recent studies. This analysis further explores the physical process of the influence of AO on ENSO using the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data over the period 1958–2010. We focus on the formation of the westerly wind burst in the tropical western Pacific, and examine the evolution and formation of the atmospheric circulation, atmospheric heating, and SST anomalies in association with the spring AO variability. The spring AO variability is found to be independent from the East Asian winter monsoon activity. The spring AO associated circulation anomalies are supported by the interaction between synoptic-scale eddies and the mean-flow and its associated vorticity transportation. Surface wind changes may affect surface heat fluxes and the oceanic heat transport, resulting in the SST change. The AO associated warming in the equatorial SSTs results primarily from the ocean heat transport in the face of net surface heat flux damping. The tropical SST warming is accompanied by anomalous atmospheric heating in the subtropical north and south Pacific, which sustains the anomalous westerly wind in the equatorial western Pacific through a Gill-like atmospheric response from spring to summer. The anomalous westerly excites an eastward propagating and downwelling equatorial Kelvin wave, leading to SST warming in the tropical central-eastern Pacific in summer-fall. The tropical SST, atmospheric heating, and atmospheric circulation anomalies sustain and develop through the Bjerknes feedback mechanism, which eventually result in an El Niño-like warming in the tropical eastern Pacific in winter.     

近百年来的ENSO事件及其强度

利用Ｎｉｎｏ３区、ＮｉｎｏＣ区海表温度序列及两个ＳＯＩ序列,同时考虑ＳＳＴ和ＳＯＩ建立了１８６７～１９９８年季分辨率的ＥＮＳＯ指数序列。根据ＥＮＳＯ指数序列,并参考Ｗｒｉｇｈｔ的ＳＯＩ指数及其它资料。确认了１８６７～１９９８年ＥＮＳＯ事件,共确定出３２次暖事件（正ＳＳＴ、负ＳＯＩ）及３２次冷事件（负ＳＳＴ、正ＳＯＩ）。对每次事件的强度分强、中、弱三等进行了评估。虽然１９８２／１９８３年暖事件的峰值最高,但从整个事件的平均强度来看,１９９７／１９９８年的暖事件则是１３０多年来最强的一次。近２０年是暖事件的多发期。     

Fully coupled climate/dynamical vegetation model simulations over Northern Africa during the mid-Holocene

 The climate and vegetation patterns of the middle Holocene (6000 years ago; 6 ka) over Northern Africa are simulated using a fully-synchronous climate and dynamical vegetation model. The coupled model predicts a northward shift in tropical rainforest and tropical deciduous forest vegetation by about 5 degrees of latitude, and an increase in grassland at the present-day simulated Saharan boundaries. The northward expansion of vegetation over North Africa at 6 ka is initiated by an orbitally-induced amplification of the summer monsoon, and enhanced by feedback effects induced by the vegetation. These combined processes lead to a major reduction in Saharan desert area at 6 ka relative to present-day of about 50%. However, as shown in previous asynchronous modelling studies, the coupled climate/vegetation model does not fully reproduce the vegetation patterns inferred from palaeoenvironmental records, which suggest that steppe vegetation may have existed across most of Northern Africa. Orbital changes produce an intensification of monsoonal precipitation during the peak rainy season (July to September), whilst vegetation feedbacks, in addition to producing further increases in the peak intensity, play an important role in extending the rainy season from May/June through to November. The orbitally induced increases in precipitation are relatively uniform from west to east, in contrast to vegetation feedback-induced increases in precipitation which are concentrated in western North Africa. Annual-average precipitation increases caused by vegetation feedbacks are simulated to be of similar importance to orbital effects in the west, whilst they are relatively unimportant farther to the east. The orbital, vegetation and combined orbital and vegetation-induced changes in climate, from the simulations presented in this study, have been compared with results from previous modelling studies over the appropriate North African domain. Consequently, the important role of vegetation parametrizations in determining the magnitude of vegetation feedbacks has been illustrated. Further modelling studies which include the effects of changes in ocean temperature and changes in soil properties may be needed, along with additional observations, to resolve the discrepancy between model predictions of vegetation and palaeorecords for North Africa. Received: 15 June 1999 / Accepted: 14 December 1999     

Synergistic feedbacks between ocean and vegetation on mid- and high-latitude climates during the mid-Holocene

Simulations with the IPSL atmosphere–ocean model asynchronously coupled with the BIOME1 vegetation model show the impact of ocean and vegetation feedbacks, and their synergy, on mid- and high-latitude (>40°N) climate in response to orbitally-induced changes in mid-Holocene insolation. The atmospheric response to orbital forcing produces a +1.2 °C warming over the continents in summer and a cooling during the rest of the year. Ocean feedback reinforces the cooling in spring but counteracts the autumn and winter cooling. Vegetation feedback produces warming in all seasons, with largest changes (+1 °C) in spring. Synergy between ocean and vegetation feedbacks leads to further warming, which can be as large as the independent impact of these feedbacks. The combination of these effects causes the high northern latitudes to be warmer throughout the year in the ocean–atmosphere-vegetation simulation. Simulated vegetation changes resulting from this year-round warming are consistent with observed mid-Holocene vegetation patterns. Feedbacks also impact on precipitation. The atmospheric response to orbital-forcing reduces precipitation throughout the year; the most marked changes occur in the mid-latitudes in summer. Ocean feedback reduces aridity during autumn, winter and spring, but does not affect summer precipitation. Vegetation feedback increases spring precipitation but amplifies summer drying. Synergy between the feedbacks increases precipitation in autumn, winter and spring, and reduces precipitation in summer. The combined changes amplify the seasonal contrast in precipitation in the ocean–atmosphere-vegetation simulation. Enhanced summer drought produces an unrealistically large expansion of temperate grasslands, particularly in mid-latitude Eurasia.     

The role of ocean thermodynamics and dynamics in Asian summer monsoon changes during the mid-Holocene

Studies of climate change 6,000 years before present using atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) suggest the enhancement and northward shift of the summer Asian and African monsoons in the Northern Hemisphere. Although enhancement of the African monsoonal precipitation by ocean coupling is a common and robust feature, contradictions exist between analyses of the role of the ocean in the strength of the Asian monsoon. We investigated the role of the ocean in the Asian monsoon and sought to clarify which oceanic mechanisms played an important role using three ocean coupling schemes: MIROC, an atmosphere–ocean coupled general circulation model [C]; an AGCM extracted from MIROC coupled with a mixed-layer ocean model [M]; and the same AGCM, but with prescribed sea surface temperatures [A]. The effect of “ocean dynamics” is quantified through differences between experiments [C] and [M]. The effect of “ocean thermodynamics” is quantified through differences between experiments [M] and [A]. The precipitation change for the African and Asian monsoon area suggested that the ocean thermodynamics played an important role. In particular, the enhancement of the Asian monsoonal precipitation was most vigorous in the AGCM simulations, but mitigated in early summer in ocean coupled cases, which were not significantly different from each other. The ocean feedbacks were not significant for the precipitation change in late summer. On the other hand, in Africa, ocean thermodynamics contributed to the further enhancement of the precipitation from spring to autumn, and the ocean dynamics had a modest impact in enhancing precipitation in late summer.     

Cloud Radiative Feedbacks during the ENSO Cycle Simulated by CAMS-CSM

This study evaluated the simulated cloud radiative feedbacks(CRF) during the El Ni?o–Southern Oscillation(ENSO) cycle in the latest version of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences climate system model(CAMS-CSM). We conducted two experimental model simulations: the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project(AMIP), forced by the observed sea surface temperature(SST); and the preindustrial control(PIcontrol), a coupled run without flux correction. We found that both the experiments generally reproduced the observed features of the shortwave and longwave cloud radiative forcing(SWCRF and LWCRF) feedbacks. The AMIP run exhibited better simulation performance in the magnitude and spatial distribution than the PIcontrol run. Furthermore, the simulation biases in SWCRF and LWCRF feedbacks were linked to the biases in the representation of the corresponding total cloud cover and precipitation feedbacks. It is interesting to further find that the simulation bias originating in the atmospheric component was amplified in the PIcontrol run, indicating that the coupling aggravated the simulation bias.Since the PIcontrol run exhibited an apparent mean SST cold bias over the cold tongue, the precipitation response to the SST anomaly(SSTA) changes during the ENSO cycle occurred towards the relatively warmer western equatorial Pacific. Thus, the corresponding cloud cover and CRF shifted westward and showed a weaker magnitude in the PIcontrol run versus observational data. In contrast, the AMIP run was forced by the observational SST, hence representing a more realistic CRF. Our results demonstrate the challenges of simulating CRF in coupled models. This study also underscores the necessity of realistically representing the climatological mean state when simulating CRF during the ENSO cycle.     

A multi-model analysis of the role of the ocean on the African and Indian monsoon during the mid-Holocene

We investigate the role of the ocean feedback on the climate in response to insolation forcing during the mid-Holocene (6,000 year BP) using results from seven coupled ocean–atmosphere general circulation models. We examine how the dipole in late summer sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the tropical Atlantic increases the length of the African monsoon, how this dipole structure is created and maintained, and how the late summer SST warming in the northwest Indian Ocean affects the monsoon retreat in this sector. Similar mechanisms are found in all of the models, including a strong wind evaporation feedback and changes in the mixed layer depth that enhance the insolation forcing, as well as increased Ekman transport in the Atlantic that sharpens the Atlantic dipole pattern. We also consider changes in interannual variability over West Africa and the Indian Ocean. The teleconnection between variations in SST and Sahelian precipitation favor a larger impact of the Atlantic dipole mode in this region. In the Indian Ocean, the strengthening of the Indian dipole structure in autumn has a damping effect on the Indian dipole mode at the interannual time scale.     

Simulated changes in the relationship between tropical ocean temperatures and the western African monsoon during the mid-Holocene

Results from nine coupled ocean-atmosphere simulations have been used to investigate changes in the relationship between the variability of monsoon precipitation over western Africa and tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) between the mid-Holocene and the present day. Although the influence of tropical SSTs on the African monsoon is generally overestimated in the control simulations, the models reproduce aspects of the observed modes of variability. Thus, most models reproduce the observed negative correlation between western Sahelian precipitation and SST anomalies in the eastern tropical Pacific, and many of them capture the positive correlation between SST anomalies in the eastern tropical Atlantic and precipitation over the Guinea coastal region. Although the response of individual model to the change in orbital forcing between 6 ka and present differs somewhat, eight of the models show that the strength of the teleconnection between SSTs in the eastern tropical Pacific and Sahelian precipitation is weaker in the mid-Holocene. Some of the models imply that this weakening was associated with a shift towards longer time periods (from 3–5 years in the control simulations toward 4–10 years in the mid-Holocene simulations). The simulated reduction in the teleconnection between eastern tropical Pacific SSTs and Sahelian precipitation appears to be primarily related to a reduction in the atmospheric circulation bridge between the Pacific and West Africa but, depending on the model, other mechanisms such as increased importance of other modes of tropical ocean variability or increased local recycling of monsoonal precipitation can also play a role.     

Mechanism of Kelvin and Rossby waves during ENSO events

Summary ?The fields of sea-level height anomaly (SLHA) and surface zonal wind anomaly (SZWA) have been analyzed to investigate the typical evolution of spatial patterns during El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Sea surface temperature (SST) changes during ENSO events are represented as an irregular interplay of two dominant modes, low-frequency mode and biennial mode. Cyclostationary principal component (PC) time series of the former variables are regressed onto the PC time series of the two dominant SSTA modes to find the spatial patterns of SLHA and SZWA consistent with the two SSTA modes. The two regressed patterns of SLHA explain a large portion of SLHA total variability. The reconstruction of SLHA using only the two components reasonably depicts major ENSO events. Although the low-frequency component of SST variability is much larger than the biennial component, the former does not induce strong Kelvin and Rossby waves. The biennial mode induces much stronger dynamical ocean response than the low-frequency mode. Further decomposition of the SLHA modes into Kelvin and Rossby components shows how these two types of equatorial waves evolve during typical ENSO events. The propagation and reflection of these waves are clearly portrayed in the regressed patterns leading to a better understanding of the wave mechanism in the tropical Pacific associated with ENSO. A close examination suggests that the delayed action oscillator hypothesis is generally consistent with the analysis results reported here. Rossby wave development in the central Pacific in the initiation stage of ENSO and the subsequent reflection of Kelvin waves at the western boundary seems to be an important mechanism for further development of ENSO. The development of Kelvin waves forced by the surface wind in the far-western Pacific cannot be ruled out as a possible mechanism for the growth of ENSO. While Kelvin waves in the far-western Pacific serve as an intiation mechanism of ENSO, they also cause the termination of existing ENSO condition in the central and eastern Pacific, thereby leading to a biennial oscillation over the tropical Pacific. The Kelvin waves from the western Pacific erode the thermocline structure in the central Pacific preventing further devlopment of ENSO and ultimately terminating it. It should be emphasized that this wave mechanism is clear and active only in the biennial mode. Received August 15, 2001; revised March 6, 2002     

Rotational atmospheric circulation during North Atlantic-European winter: the influence of ENSO

The dominant variability modes of the North Atlantic-European rotational flow are examined by applying a principal component analysis (PCA/EOF) to the 200?hPa streamfunction mid-winter anomalies (Jan?CFeb monthly means). The results reveal that, when this norm is used, the leading mode (EOF1) does not correspond to the traditional North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO, which appears in our analysis as the second leading mode, EOF2) but is the local manifestation of the leading hemispheric streamfunction EOF. The regression of this regional mode onto the global SST field exhibits a clear El Ni?o signature, with no signal over the Atlantic, while the associated upper height anomalies resemble the Tropical/Northern Hemisphere (TNH) pattern. East of North America, this TNH-like wavetrain produces a meridional dipole-like pattern at lower levels. Although in some ways this pattern resembles the NAO (EOF2), the dynamics of these two modes are very different in that only EOF2 is associated with a latitudinal shift of the North Atlantic stormtrack. Thus, the choice of the streamfunction norm in the EOF analysis allows the separation of two different phenomena that can produce similar dipolar surface pressure anomalies over the North Atlantic but that have different impact on European climate. These two modes also differ on their contribution to variability at lower levels: while NAO-EOF2 is mostly confined to the North Atlantic, TNH-EOF1 has a more annular, global character. At upper levels NAO-EOF2 also produces a global pattern but with no annular structure, reminiscent of the ??circumglobal?? teleconnection.