Links between Arctic sea ice and extreme summer precipi- tation in China：an alternative view

Potential links between the Arctic sea-ice concentration anomalies and extreme precipitation in China are explored. Associations behind these links can be explained by physical interpretations aided by...     

The Second Decadal Leading Mode of East Asian Summer Monsoon Rainfall

The first decadal leading mode of East Asian summer rainfall （EASR） is characterized by rainfall anomalies along the East Asian subtropical rain belt. This study focuses on the second decadal leading mode （2DLM）, accounting for 17.3% of rainfall decadal vari- ance, as distinct from the other two neighboring modes of EAMR, based on the state-of-the-art in-situ rainfall data. This mode is characterized by a South-China-wet-Huaihe- River-dry pattern, and is dominated by a quasi-30-yr pe- riod. Further analysis reveals the 2DLM corresponds to an enhanced lower-level monsoon jet, an eastward extension of the western North Pacific subtropical high, and a weakened East Asian upper-level westerly jet flow. The Tibetan Plateau surface temperature and Pacific Decadal Oscillation （PDO） are closely linked with the 2DLM. The regressed SST pattern indicates the PDO-like pattern of sea surface temperature anomalies may have a telecon- nection relationship with the 2DLM of EASR.     

基于卫星高度计的北极海冰厚度变化研究

A modified algorithm taking into account the first year(FY) and multiyear(MY) ice densities is used to derive a sea ice thickness from freeboard measurements acquired by satellite altimetry ICESat(2003–2008). Estimates agree with various independent in situ measurements within 0.21 m. Both the fall and winter campaigns see a dramatic extent retreat of thicker MY ice that survives at least one summer melting season. There were strong seasonal and interannual variabilities with regard to the mean thickness. Seasonal increases of 0.53 m for FY the ice and 0.29 m for the MY ice between the autumn and the winter ICESat campaigns, roughly 4–5 month separation, were found. Interannually, the significant MY ice thickness declines over the consecutive four ICESat winter campaigns(2005–2008) leads to a pronounced thickness drop of 0.8 m in MY sea ice zones. No clear trend was identified from the averaged thickness of thinner, FY ice that emerges in autumn and winter and melts in summer. Uncertainty estimates for our calculated thickness, caused by the standard deviations of multiple input parameters including freeboard, ice density, snow density, snow depth, show large errors more than 0.5 m in thicker MY ice zones and relatively small standard deviations under 0.5 m elsewhere. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis is implemented to determine the separate impact on the thickness estimate in the dependence of an individual input variable as mentioned above. The results show systematic bias of the estimated ice thickness appears to be mainly caused by the variations of freeboard as well as the ice density whereas the snow density and depth brings about relatively insignificant errors.     

海冰对北极海冰边缘区大洋光学观测的影响评估

Diffuse attenuation coefficient(DAC) of sea water is an important parameter in ocean thermodynamics and biology, reflecting the absorption capability of sea water in different layers. In the Arctic Ocean, however, sea ice affects the radiance/irradiance measurements of upper ocean, which results in obvious errors in the DAC calculation. To better understand the impacts of sea ice on the ocean optics observations, a series of in situ experiments were carried out in the summer of 2009 in the southern Beaufort Sea. Observational results show that the profiles of spectral diffuse attenuation coefficients of seawater near ice cover within upper surface of 50 m were not contaminated by the sea ice with a solar zenith angle of 55°, relative azimuth angle of 110°≤φ≤115° and horizontal distance between the sensors and ice edge of greater than 25 m. Based on geometric optics theory, the impact of ice cover could be avoided by adjusting the relative solar azimuth angle in a particular distance between the instrument and ice. Under an overcast sky, ice cover being 25 m away from sensors did not affect the profiles of spectral DACs within the upper 50 m either. Moreover, reliable spectral DACs of seawater could be obtained with sensors completely covered by sea ice.     

Decadal modes of sea surface salinity and the water cycle in the tropical Pacific Ocean: The anomalous late 1990s

Limitations in sea surface salinity (SSS) observations and timescale separation methods have led to an incomplete picture of the mechanisms of SSS decadal variability in the tropical Pacific Ocean, where the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dominates. Little is known regarding the roles of the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) in the large-scale SSS variability over the tropical basin. A self-organizing map (SOM) clustering analysis is performed on the intrinsic mode function (IMF) maps, which are decomposed from SSS and other hydrological fields by ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), to extract their asymmetric features on decadal timescales over the tropical Pacific. For SSS, an anomalous pattern appeared during 1997 to 2004, a period referred to as the anomalous late 1990s, when strong freshening prevailed in large areas over the southwestern basin and moderate salinization occurred in the western equatorial Pacific. During this period, the precipitation and surface currents were simultaneously subjected to anomalous fluctuations: the precipitation dipole and zonal current divergence along the equator coincided with the SSS increase in the far western equatorial Pacific, while the weak zonal current convergence in the southwestern basin and large-scale southward meridional currents tended to induce SSS decreases there. The dominant decadal modes of SSS and sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Pacific both resemble the NPGO but occur predominantly during the negative and positive NPGO phases, respectively. The similarities between the NPGO and Central Pacific ENSO (CP-ENSO) in their power spectra and associated spatial patterns in the tropics imply their dynamical links; the correspondence between the NPGO-like patterns during negative (positive) phases and the CP La Niña (CP El Niño) patterns for SSS is also discussed.     

Western Arctic Cyclones and Equilibrium between the Atmospheric Boundary Layer and the Sea Surface

The data-collection campaign for the 2008 International Polar Year–Circumpolar Flaw Lead System Study saw the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Amundsen, a research icebreaker, overwinter in high-concentration unconsolidated sea ice in Amundsen Gulf. Environmental monitoring continued into the open-water season. During this period, the Amundsen registered five relatively deep mean sea-level pressure minima (less than 100?kPa). Three were selected for further analysis based on season and the nature of the underlying ocean or sea-ice surface: (1) a winter pressure minimum over unconsolidated sea ice, (2) a spring pressure minimum which likely contributed to the break-up of the sea-ice cover on Amundsen Gulf, and (3) a summer pressure minimum over open water. The characteristics of these pressure minima and the impact of their passage on the atmospheric boundary layer and on the sea-ice cover as they crossed Amundsen Gulf were examined. Several features were revealed by the analysis. (1) The winter and summer pressure minima were migratory cyclones accompanied by Arctic frontal waves with characteristics very similar to the polar frontal waves associated with the migratory cyclones found at more southerly latitudes, whereas the spring pressure minimum was attributed to an Arctic frontal trough of low pressure with the cyclonic centre remaining south of the Gulf. (2) The passage of the frontal-wave cyclone in winter and the frontal trough of low pressure in spring disrupted the equilibrium that had been established during more settled periods between the atmospheric boundary layer and the mosaic surface (leads, polynyas, and sea ice); however, equilibrium was quickly re-established. (3) In summer, the thermal structure of the lower atmospheric boundary layer persisted through the passage of the frontal-wave cyclone over the open-water surface. (4) The passage of the frontal-wave cyclone in winter and the frontal trough of low pressure in spring modified the mesoscale sea-icescape.     

气候变化对冰冻圈国家领土博弈的地缘影响

冰冻圈变化的自然过程影响着国家领土博弈地缘关系的建构。基于人地关系思想,以变化-影响-适应为主线建立气候变化影响下冰冻圈国家领土博弈的研究框架,分析自然因素对冰冻圈地缘结构的塑造和对冰冻圈国家身份-利益的建构,以及极地海权、陆权和其他地区领土博弈所形成的双多边地缘关系。研究结果：① 冰冻圈领土博弈地缘结构初步形成。理念层面,自然要素成为气候政治的力量之一,冰冻圈领土博弈体现出传统地缘逻辑;空间层面,气候变化释放极地、高山等新运筹空间,北极、南极成为大国博弈焦点;物质层面,极地海权和陆权利益是大国博弈的主要目标。② 冰冻圈国家身份-利益影响其冰冻圈地缘政治行为,其身份认同的客观基础之一是在冰冻圈分布结构的相对位置。③ 冰冻圈国家领土博弈地缘关系有“趋利”“避害”两类。“利”指为赢得极地海权、陆权,气候变化下西方大国和地区大国开始争夺南北极200海里外大陆架权属,加强极地实质性“硬、软存在”战略布局,美国和丹麦强化格陵兰岛北极战略支点作用;“害”指冰冻圈灾害引起的跨境气候移民等国家利益受损问题。     

Earthquake, strong tide and global low temperature

＂La Madre＂ is a kind of upper atmospheric air current, and occurs as ＂warm phase＂ and ＂cold phase＂ in the sky of Pacific Ocean alternately. There exists this phenomenon, called ＂Oscillation Decade in the Pacific＂ （ODP）, for 20 - 30 years. It is concerned with 60 year cycle of the tides. Lunar oscillations explain an intriguing 60-year cycle in the world＇s temperature. Strong tides increase the vertical mixing of water in the oceans, drawing cold ocean water from the depths to surface, where it cools the atmosphere above. The first strong seismic episode in China was from 1897 to 1912; the second to the fifth was the in 1920-1937, 1946-1957, 1966-1980, 1991-2002, tsrectruely. The alternative boundaries of＂La Madre＂ warm phase and cold phase were in 1890, 1924, 1946 and 2000, which were near the boundaries of four strong earthquakes. It indicated the strong earthquakes closedly related with the substances＇ motion of atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere, the change of gravity potential, and the exchange of angular momentum. The strong earthquakes in the ocean bottom can bring the cool waters at the deep ocean up to the ocean surface and make the global climate cold. the earthquake, strong tide and global low temperature are close inrelntion for each othen.