The impact of tropical western Pacific convection on the North Pacific atmospheric circulation during the boreal winter

In this study, we investigate the impact of atmospheric convection over the western tropical Pacific (100–145°E, 0–20°N) on the boreal winter North Pacific atmosphere flow by analyzing National Center for Environmental Prediction Reanalysis 1, Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature and Global Precipitation Climatology Project data. The western tropical Pacific convection is not only the main energy source driving the local Hadley and Walker circulations, but it also significantly influences North Pacific circulation, by modifying a mid-latitude Jet stream through the connection with the local Hadley circulation. On the one hand, this strong convection leads to a northward expansion of local Hadley cells simultaneous with a northward movement of the western North Pacific jet because of the close correlation between the Jet and Hadley circulation boundaries. On the other hand, this strong convection also intensifies tropical Pacific Walker circulation, which reduces the eastern Pacific sea surface temperature, resembling a La Nina state through the enhanced equatorial upwelling. The cooling of the eastern tropical Pacific has an inter-tropical convergence zone located further north; thus, the local Hadley circulation moves northward. As a result, the jet axis over the eastern North Pacific, which also corresponds to the boundary of the local Hadley circulation, moves to higher latitude. Consequently, this northward movement of the Jet axis over the North Pacific is reflected as a northwest–southeast dipole sea level pressure (SLP) pattern. The composite analysis of SLP over the North Pacific against the omega (Ω) (Pa/s) at 500 hPa over the western tropical Pacific actually reveals that this northwest-southeast dipole structure is attributed to the intensified tropical western Pacific convection, which pushes the Pacific Jet to the north. Finally we also analyzed south Pacific for the austral winter as did previously to North Pacific, and found that the results were consistent.     

The Asian Dust Aerosol Model 2 (ADAM2) with the use of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) obtained from the Spot4/vegetation data

The operational Asian Dust Aerosol Model (ADAM)1 in Korea Meteorological Administration has been modified to the ADAM2 model to be used as an operational forecasting model all year round not only in Korea but also in the whole Asian domain (70-160°E and 5-60°N) using the routinely available World Meteorological Organization (WMO) surface reporting data and the Spot/vegetation Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data for the period of 9 years from 1998 to 2006. The 3-hourly reporting WMO surface data in the Asian domain have been used to re-delineate the Asian dust source region and to determine the temporal variation of the threshold wind speed for the dust rise. The dust emission reduction factor due to vegetation in different surface soil-type regions (Gobi, sand, loess, and mixed soil) has been determined with the use of NDVI data. It is found that the threshold wind speed for the dust rise varies significantly with time (minimum in summer and maximum in winter) and surface soil types with the highest threshold wind speed of 8.0 m?s^?1 in the Gobi region and the lowest value of 6.0 m?s^?1 in the loess region. The statistical analysis of the spot/vegetation NDVI data enables to determine the emission reduction factor due to vegetation with the free NDVI value that is the NDVI value without the effect of vegetation and the upper limit value of NDVI for the dust rise in different soil-type regions. The modified ADAM2 model has been implemented to simulate two Asian dust events observed in Korea for the periods from 31 March to 2 April 2007 (a spring dust event) and from 29 to 31 December 2007 (a winter dust event) when the observed PM₁₀ concentration at some monitoring sites in the source region exceeds 9,000 μg m^?3. It is found that ADAM2 model successfully simulates the observed high dust concentrations of more than 8,000 μg m^?3 in the dust source region and 600 μg m^?3 in the downstream region of Korea. This suggests that ADAM2 has a great potential for the use of an operational Asian dust forecast model in the Asian domain.     

Direct shortwave radiative forcing of the Asian dust aerosol on dust emission

The physical processes of the feedback mechanism of direct shortwave radiative forcing of the Asian dust aerosol on dust emission has been examined using simulated results with the coupled (with dust shortwave radiative forcing) and the non-coupled model (without dust shortwave radiative forcing) based on the MM5 model and the Asian Dust Aerosol Model on 19 March 2002. The results indicate that a significant dust emission reduction occurs in the high dust concentration (HDC) region of the dust source region whereas an enhanced dust emission appears in the downstream of the dust source region. It is found that Asian dust aerosols raised during the daytime by the strong surface wind cause negative shortwave radiative flux near the surface, which in turn reduces the sensible heat flux causing the cooling of the air, thereby enhancing stable stratification. The dynamic adjustment of the negative radiative flux of the dust induces a positive pressure anomaly over the HDC region and a negative pressure anomaly toward the synoptic low pressure center, resulting in a dipole shape of pressure anomaly field near the surface. The associated secondary circulation of this pressure anomaly together with the reduction of turbulent intensity due to the reduced sensible heat flux reduces the low-level wind speed thereby reducing dust emission in the upstream of the HDC region of the dust source region (Region I), while enhancing the low-level wind speed in the downstream region (Region II), which in turn enhances dust emission. This enhanced dust emission is smaller than the emission reduction in the upstream, resulting in overall dust emission reduction during the daytime.     

A sensitivity analysis of Hortonian flow

We present a sensitivity analysis for infiltration excess (Hortonian) overland flow based on a classic laboratory experiment by Smith and Woolhiser [Smith RE, Woolhiser DA. Overland flow on an infiltrating surface. Water Resour Res 1971;7(4):899–913]. The model components of the compartment approach are comprised of a diffusive wave approximation to the Saint–Venant equations for overland flow, a Richards model for flow in the variably saturated zone, and an interface coupling concept that combines the two components. In the coupling scheme a hydraulic interface is introduced to allow the definition of an exchange flux between the surface and the unsaturated zone. The effects of friction processes, soil capillarity, hydraulic interface, and vertical soil discretization on both infiltration and runoff prediction are investigated in detail. The corresponding sensitivity analysis is conducted using a small-perturbation method. As a result the importance of the hydraulic processes and related parameters are evaluated for the coupled hydrosystem.     

Direct and semi-direct radiative effects of anthropogenic aerosols in the Western United States: Seasonal and geographical variations according to regional climate characteristics

The direct and semi-direct radiative effects of anthropogenic aerosols on the radiative transfer and cloud fields in the Western United States (WUS) according to seasonal aerosol optical depth (AOD) and regional climate are examined using a regional climate model (RCM) in conjunction with the aerosol fields from a GEOS-Chem chemical-transport model (CTM) simulation. The two radiative effects cannot be separated within the experimental design in this study, thus the combined direct- and semi-direct effects are called radiative effects hereafter. The CTM shows that the AOD associated with the anthropogenic aerosols is chiefly due to sulfates with minor contributions from black carbon (BC) and that the AOD of the anthropogenic aerosol varies according to local emissions and the seasonal low-level winds. The RCM-simulated anthropogenic aerosol radiative effects vary according to the characteristics of regional climate, in addition to the AOD. The effects on the top of the atmosphere (TOA) outgoing shortwave radiation (OSRT) range from ?0.2?Wm^?2 to ?1?Wm^?2. In Northwestern US (NWUS), the maximum and minimum impact of anthropogenic aerosols on OSRT occurs in summer and winter, respectively, following the seasonal AOD. In Arizona-New Mexico (AZNM), the effect of anthropogenic sulfates on OSRT shows a bimodal distribution with winter/summer minima and spring/fall maxima, while the effect of anthropogenic BC shows a single peak in summer. The anthropogenic aerosols affect surface insolation range from ?0.6?Wm^?2 to ?2.4?Wm^?2, with similar variations found for the effects on OSRT except that the radiative effects of anthropogenic BC over AZNM show a bimodal distribution with spring/fall maxima and summer/winter minima. The radiative effects of anthropogenic sulfates on TOA outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) and the surface downward longwave radiation (DLRS) are notable only in summer and are characterized by strong geographical contrasts; the summer OLR in NWUS (AZNM) is reduced (enhanced) by 0.52?Wm^?2 (1.14?Wm^?2). The anthropogenic sulfates enhance (reduce) summer DLRS by 0.2?Wm^?2 (0.65?Wm^?2) in NWUS (AZNM). The anthropogenic BC affect DLRS noticeably only in AZNM during summer. The anthropogenic aerosols affect the cloud water path (CWP) and the radiative transfer noticeably only in summer when convective clouds are dominant. Primarily shortwave-reflecting anthropogenic sulfates decrease and increase CWP in AZNM and NWUS, respectively, however, the shortwave-absorbing anthropogenic BC reduces CWP in both regions. Due to strong feedback via convective clouds, the radiative effects of anthropogenic aerosols on the summer radiation field are more closely correlated with the changes in CWP than the AOD. The radiative effect of the total anthropogenic aerosols is dominated by the anthropogenic sulfates that contribute more than 80% of the total AOD associated with the anthropogenic aerosols.     

A multimodel comparison of centennial Atlantic meridional overturning circulation variability

A mechanism contributing to centennial variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is tested with multi-millennial control simulations of several coupled general circulation models (CGCMs). These are a substantially extended integration of the 3rd Hadley Centre Coupled Climate Model (HadCM3), the Kiel Climate Model (KCM), and the Max Plank Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM). Significant AMOC variability on time scales of around 100?years is simulated in these models. The centennial mechanism links changes in the strength of the AMOC with oceanic salinities and surface temperatures, and atmospheric phenomena such as the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). 2 of the 3 models reproduce all aspects of the mechanism, with the third (MPI-ESM) reproducing most of them. A comparison with a high resolution paleo-proxy for Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) north of Iceland over the last 4,000?years, also linked to the ITCZ, suggests that elements of this mechanism may also be detectable in the real world.     

Classification of precipitation types using fall velocity-diameter relationships from 2D-video distrometer measurements

Fall velocity-diameter relationships for four different snowflake types (dendrite, plate, needle, and graupel) were investigated in northeastern South Korea, and a new algorithm for classifying hydrometeors is proposed for distrometric measurements based on the new relationships. Falling ice crystals (approximately 40 000 particles) were measured with a two-dimensional video disdrometer (2DVD) during a winter experiment from 15 January to 9 April 2010. The fall velocity-diameter relationships were derived for the four types of snowflakes based on manual classification by experts using snow photos and 2DVD measurements: the coefficients (exponents) for different snowflake types were 0.82 (0.24) for dendrite, 0.74 (0.35) for plate, 1.03 (0.71) for needle, and 1.30 (0.94) for graupel, respectively. These new relationships established in the present study (PS) were compared with those from two previous studies. Hydrometeor types were classified with the derived fall velocity-diameter relationships, and the classification algorithm was evaluated using 3× 3 contingency tables for one rain-snow transition event and three snowfall events. The algorithm showed good performance for the transition event: the critical success indices (CSIs) were 0.89, 0.61 and 0.71 for snow, wet-snow and rain, respectively. For snow events, the algorithm performance for dendrite and plate (CSIs = 1.0 and 1.0, respectively) was better than for needle and graupel (CSIs = 0.67 and 0.50, respectively).     

The variability of the East Asian summer monsoon and its relationship to ENSO in a partially coupled climate model

The variability of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) is studied using a partially coupled climate model (PCCM) in which the ocean component is driven by observed monthly mean wind stress anomalies added to the monthly mean wind stress climatology from a fully coupled control run. The thermodynamic coupling between the atmospheric and oceanic components is the same as in the fully coupled model and, in particular, sea surface temperature (SST) is a fully prognostic variable. The results show that the PCCM simulates the observed SST variability remarkably well in the tropical and North Pacific and Indian Oceans. Analysis of the rainfall-SST and rainfall-SST tendency correlation shows that the PCCM exhibits local air-sea coupling as in the fully coupled model and closer to what is seen in observations than is found in an atmospheric model driven by observed SST. An ensemble of experiments using the PCCM is analysed using a multivariate EOF analysis to identify the two major modes of variability of the EASM. The PCCM simulates the spatial pattern of the first two modes seen in the ERA40 reanalysis as well as part of the variability of the first principal component (correlation up to 0.5 for the model ensemble mean). Different from previous studies, the link between the first principal component and ENSO in the previous winter is found to be robust for the ensemble mean throughout the whole period of 1958–2001. Individual ensemble members nevertheless show the breakdown in the relationship before the 1980’s as seen in the observations.