The interannual variability of mid-latitude meridional circulation and its teleconnection with Indian monsoon activity

The statistical relationship between the summer monsoon rainfall over all India, northwest India and peninsular India, onset dates of monsoon and the index of mid latitude, (35° to 70°N) meridional circulation at 500 hPa level over different sectors and hemisphere based on 19 years (1971–1989) data, have been examined. The results indicate that (i) the summer monsoon rainfalls over all India, northwest India and peninsular India show a significant inverse relationship with the strength of meridional index during previous January over sector 45°W to 90°E. (ii) The summer monsoon rainfalls over all India and peninsular India show a significant inverse relationship with the strength of meridional index during previous December over sector 90°E to 160°E, (iii) The summer monsoon rainfall over northwest India shows a significant direct relationship with the meridional index during previous May over sector 160°E to 45°W. Significant negative relationships are also observed between the meridional circulation indices of previous October (sector 3 and 4), previous December (sectors 1, 3 and 4), previous winter season (sector 3 and 4) and the onset dates of summer monsoon over India. The meridional circulation index thus can have some possible use for long range forecasting of monsoon rainfall over all India, northwest India and peninsular India, as well as the onset dates of monsoon.     

CONTOUR DYNAMICS FOR VORTEX MOTION INFLUENCED BY THE CORIOLIS FORCE*

The computational formulae are given for single-contour constant-value vortex motion influenced by the Coriolis force in the framework of contour dynamics,by which four numerical computations are performed,the result exhibiting their validity.     

环境场作用与西南低涡移动的初步分析

本文将西南低涡视为迭加在环境场上的一个扰动,把考虑环境场和非绝热作用下的次天气尺度扰动方程组写在一个简单斜压两层模式上,根据西南低涡的特点对方程组作一些近似处理,导得了反映低层(700hPa)西南低涡移动特征的移矢诊断方程。由此分析了影响西南低涡移动的主要因子,得出了一些定性结果。最后,利用移矢诊断方程作了低涡移动的实例计算分析,其结果与实况比较一致。     

Temporal changes in shear wave splitting after the M=5. 2 Shimian Earthquake

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A CASE OF MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE COMPLEX EVOLVING INTO A VORTEX

A case of mesoscale convective complex(MCC)which evolved into a vortex is documented in this paper.As theMCC entered into the dissipating phase,a well-defined spirally banded structure became visible in the satellite image.The blackbody temperature(TBB)of the residual cold-cloud-shield indicates the vortex existed in the layer from 400 to250 hPa.According to the upper air analysis,the upper level vortex was an anticyclone.The MCC-generated vortex wasvisualized in the satellite images because it was located in the subtropical high where the wind field was very weak.     

暴雨类冷涡与非暴雨类冷涡的合成对比分析

选择了８例典型的东北冷涡暴雨过程和８例典型的东北冷涡弱降水过程进行了合成对比分析，发现暴雨类冷涡其暴雨主要出现在冷涡的发展阶段，而非暴雨类冷涡的降水主要发生在冷涡的成熟阶段；暴雨类冷涡与其南侧的副热带低值系统联系密切，非暴雨类冷涡的这一特点不甚明显；暴雨类冷涡的两个降水中心分别出现在系统东侧偏南和南侧偏东一些的地，距系统中心大约３００－４００ｋｍ和７００－８００ｋｍ，这些区域处于低层辐合、高层辐菜     

A CASE OF MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE COMPLEX EVOLVING INTO A VORTEX*

A case of mesoscale convective complex(MCC) which evolved into a vortex is documented in this paper.As the MCC entered into the dissipating phase,a well-defined spirally banded structure became visible in the satellite image.The blackbody temperature(TBB) of the residual cold-cloud-shield indicates the vortex existed in the layer from 400 to 250 hPa.According to the upper air analysis,the upper level vortex was an anticyclone.The MCC-generated vortex was visualized in the satellite images because it was located in the subtropical high where the wind field was very weak.     

Hydrodynamical Modeling Of Oceanic Vortices

Mesoscale coherent vortices are numerous in the ocean.Though they possess various structures in temperature and salinity,they are all long-lived, fairly intense and mostly circular. Thephysical variable which best describes the rotation and the density anomaly associated with coherent vortices is potential vorticity. It is diagnostically related to velocity and pressure, when the vortex is stationary. Stationary vortices can be monopolar (circular or elliptical) or multipolar; their stability analysis shows thattransitions between the various stationary shapes are possible when they become unstable. But stable vortices can also undergo unsteady evolutions when perturbed by environmental effects, likelarge-scale shear or strain fields, -effect or topography. Changes in vortex shapes can also result from vortex interactions. such as the pairing, merger or vertical alignment of two vortices, which depend on their relative polarities and depths. Such interactions transfer energy and enstrophy between scales, and are essential in two-dimensional and in geostrophic turbulence. Finally, in relation with the observations, we describe a few mechanisms of vortex generation.     

Link between convection and meridional gradient of sea surface temperature in the Bay of Bengal

We use daily satellite estimates of sea surface temperature (SST) and rainfall during 1998–2005 to show that onset of convection over the central Bay of Bengal (88–92°E, 14–18°N) during the core summer monsoon (mid-May to September) is linked to the meridional gradient of SST in the bay. The SST gradient was computed between two boxes in the northern (88–92°E, 18–22°N) and southern (82–88°E, 4–8°N) bay; the latter is the area of the cold tongue in the bay linked to the Summer Monsoon Current. Convection over central bay followed the SST difference between the northern and southern bay (ΔT) exceeding 0.75°C in 28 cases. There was no instance of ΔT exceeding this threshold without a burst in convection. There were, however, five instances of convection occurring without this SST gradient. Long rainfall events (events lasting more than a week) were associated with an SST event (ΔT ≥ 0.75°C); rainfall events tended to be short when not associated with an SST event. The SST gradient was important for the onset of convection, but not for its persistence: convection often persisted for several days even after the SST gradient weakened. The lag between ΔT exceeding 0.75°C and the onset of convection was 0–18 days, but the lag histogram peaked at one week. In 75% of the 28 cases, convection occurred within a week of ΔT exceeding the threshold of 0.75°C. The northern bay SST, T _N , contributed more to ΔT, but it was a weaker criterion for convection than the SST gradient. A sensitivity analysis showed that the corresponding threshold for T _N was 29°C. We hypothesise that the excess heating (∼1°C above the threshold for deep convection) required in the northern bay to trigger convection is because this excess in SST is what is required to establish the critical SST gradient.     

The 1.5–5-day eastward waves in the upper stratosphere–mesosphere as observed by the Esrange meteor radar and the SABER instrument

Data of neutral meridional wind obtained by the meteor radar at Esrange and data of temperature and pressure measured by the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument on board the Thermosphere–Ionosphere–Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) spacecraft were studied with respect to a day-to-day atmospheric variability with periods ranging from 1.5 to 5 days. The detailed analysis was carried out for February 2004. Perturbations of the atmospheric parameters at the examined periods appeared mainly as eastward-propagating waves of zonal wavenumbers 1 and 2. We suggested that these waves excited by the jet instability on both flanks of the polar-night jet in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere interact nonlinearly with each other, and this interaction generates secondary waves. The radar observed both primary and secondary waves at mesospheric heights. The data analysis supports this suggestion. Under conditions of weaker instability observed in February 2003 the perturbations of atmospheric parameters of periods ranging from 1.5 to 5 days had smaller amplitudes at heights of the mesosphere than those in February 2004. It was found that the Eliassen-Palm fluxes calculated for the waves generated by the jet instability were mainly downward directed. This result suggests a possible dynamical influence of the mesospheric layers on the lower atmospheric levels.