CLIMATOLOGICAL LOW-FREQUENCY OSCILLATION OF OLR OVER THE MARITIME CONTINENT WITH ITS POSSIBLE LINKAGE TO SUMMER PRECIPITATION IN CHINA

Using the 1979-2009 NCEP/NACR reanalysis data and precipitation records in East China, research is performed of the climatological features of low-frequency oscillation (LFO) in OLR over the Maritime Continent (MC) as well as their associations with precipitation disturbance in the eastern part of China. Results suggest that in the MC there is significant climatological low-frequency oscillation (CLFO) in outgoing long-wave radiation (OLR), with the intraseasonal oscillation (30-60 days) being the strongest for April-September, and the MC acting as a high-value region of percentage contributions of low-frequency OLR variance. On the low-frequency time scale there occur four events of more intense active OLR during this time interval. In the January-April (May-August) phase, MC convection is relatively weak (vigorous). The CLFO makes pronounced eastward displacement at tropics, with phase propagation seen longitudinally, too. There occur low-frequency disturbance circulations similar to the EAP wavetrain or P-J teleconnection, starting from the MC via the South China Sea and the Philippines to the Yangtze valley of China. At different phases, the variation in the low-frequency circulations and heating fields shows that the rainfall disturbance in eastern China is likely to be under possible effects of the CLFO from the MC in April-September, and the low-frequency heating variation exhibits a meridional pattern as an EAP wavetrain or P-J teleconnection. As the OLR CLFO is in a peak (valley) phase the low-level divergence or convergence with the reversal at high levels over the MC is related to relatively feeble (robust) low frequency convection, thereby exciting an EAP or P-J wavetrain from the MC to the Sea of Japan. At the higher levels, the South-Asian high is eastward (westward) of normal due to effects of low-frequency cyclones (anticyclones), resulting in less (more) rainfall in the Jiangnan (areas in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze and to the south of the river) and Hetao (the Great Bend of Yellow River) areas, and increased (decreased) rainfall in SW China, Qinghai Plateau and Gansu. At the conversion phases, low-frequency convection becomes more active in parts of the MC, consequently exciting low-frequency wavetrain of cyclones-anticyclones-cyclones at low levels, making the South-Asian high southward of the mean, so that strong convergent zones emerge in the upper and middle Yangtze basins and Jilin of NE China, responsible for plentiful precipitation there in sharp contrast to the rainfall over the band between the Yellow and Huaihe Rivers and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. These results help understand in depth the climatological LFO characteristics and the phase-locked feature, thereby further improving our understanding of the causes of rainfall disturbances in different parts of the country.     

西北太平洋夏季风对中国长江流域夏季降水的影响

利用1979～2005年NCEP/NCAR的环流场再分析资料和降水资料, 通过对季风期降水、 大气环流、 水汽输送及低频振荡等方面的分析, 分别从时间和空间上分析了西北太平洋夏季风与中国长江流域夏季降水的联系。结果表明:(1) 西北太平洋夏季风与中国长江流域夏季降水存在显著的负相关关系, 在西北太平洋夏季风强盛时, 副热带高压异常偏北, 其西侧的偏南气流异常偏弱, 使得我国长江流域形成低层异常环流及水汽输送的辐散区, 从而造成长江流域夏季降水偏少; 而在西北太平洋夏季风减弱的年份, 西太平洋副高异常偏南偏西, 在长江流域以南地区形成异常偏强的偏南风水汽输送, 使得长江流域成为南、 北距平风的汇合区, 其上空对流活动异常活跃, 非常有利于长江流域的降水。 (2) 东亚局地Hadley垂直环流在强、 弱季风年也显著不同, 在强季风年里, Hadley局地环流异常偏弱, 长江流域上空出现的下沉运动距平, 使得该地区降水减弱, 而弱季风年则正好相反。 (3) 西北太平洋夏季风存在显著的气候平均的大气季节内振荡 (CISO), 在西北太平洋夏季风减弱时期, 长江流域降水同时受到源自热带西北太平洋西传CISO和源自热带印度洋东传CISO的共同影响, 可能造成了某种锁相关系, 从而造成降水偏多; 而在强季风年里长江流域只受由西太平洋西传的CISO的影响, 不容易激发降水。     

Spatiotemporal variability of drought and the potential climatological driving factors in the Liao River basin

Spatiotemporal characteristics of drought based on the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) in the Liao River basin (LRB) are investigated in this study. High autocorrelation in SPI seems to lend itself to drought prediction. Drought is becoming more frequent, widespread, and severe in the LRB during the past several decades. Major factors affecting drought in this basin are analysed by investigating relationship between SPI and several circulations including western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH), East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) and El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indices. Different correlation patterns between WPSH indices and SPI are obtained. Several significant positive correlations between the area, intensity of WPSH and SPI are observed in the west and the centre of the study area, while negative correlations are observed in the east. Reverse patterns are observed in the correlation between the ridge of westward longitude of WPSH and SPI. Corresponding lag‐correlation is dominated by positive correlations between the area, intensity of WPSH and SPI, and by negative correlation between the ridge of westward longitude of WPSH and SPI. EASM is mainly negative related with drought in the east of the LRB. Significant positive correlation between ENSO and SPI is mainly located in the east while negative correlation is located in west of the basin. Lag‐correlation (with lags of 1 to 12 months) between them is also investigated and results show that significant negative correlation is located in a broad area extending from the west to the centre of the basin, while less positive correlation is observed with the increase of lags. The possibility of employing general circulation models (GCMs) for drought prediction is discussed based on the above analyses. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

西部山区总辐射气候学计算及分布

根据西部山区太阳总辐射的实测资料分析，指出，西部山区总辐射的气候学计算必须考虑日照，水汽分布及海拔高度的影响。为此研制了适宜于西部山区的总辐射气候学计算公式Ｑ＝Ｑ０（ａ＋ｂｓ１＋ｃｓ１＾２），进而讨论了西部山区总辐射的时，空分布。     

中国土壤热通量的气候计算及其分布特征

根据北京等6个热平衡站的资料，通过5种方案计算比较得出土壤热通量Qs动的气候计算方法Qs＝2．826·△θs-20＋0．486·△T－0．777这里△θs-20、△T分别为土中5与20厘米温差和地一气温差．该式相关比为0．897，平均拟合误差1．4wm-2。据此计算全国215站的土中热交换量，并分析其时空变化，得出一些有意义的结果。     

Meteorological inventory of rain-on-snow events in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and satellite detection assessment using passive microwave data

The spatial and temporal distributions of rain-on-snow (ROS) events across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) remain poorly understood owing to their sporadic nature in time and space. This situation motivated the development of remote sensing detection algorithms. This paper uses a large meteorological dataset across the CAA to adapt an existing ROS-detection algorithm developed in a previous study by our group. Results highlight the spatial distribution and evolution of ROS occurrences reported since 1985 at 14 weather stations across the CAA. Results show that >600 ROS events were inventoried since 1985, for which >70% were classified as pure rain (liquid form) and 30% as mixed precipitation (solid/liquid). Of the pure rain events, 75% occurred during spring, 14% during fall, 8% during summer and <1% during winter. Such events can have significant impacts on ungulate grazing conditions through the creation of ice layers, causing serious problems for caribou calf survival, especially during the migration period. This paper introduces an adaptation for larger scale Arctic application of a detection algorithm (sensitivity analysis on the detection threshold) with an error of ~5%. The validation, however, remains limited due to a short study period and limited number of sites.     

On the Blocking Flow Patterns in the Euro–Atlantic Sector:A Simple Model Study

The flow patterns of Euro-Atlantic blocking events in winter are investigated by dividing the sector into three sub- regions： 60°-30°W （Greenland region）; 20°W-30°E [eastern Atlantic-Europe （EAE） region]; and 50°-90°E （Ural region）. It is shown that blocking events in winter are extremely frequent in the three sub-regions. Composite 500-mb geopotential height fields for intense and long-lived blocking events demonstrate that the blocking fields over Greenland and Ural regions exhibit southwest-northeast （SW-NE） and southeast-northwest （SE-NW） oriented dipole-type patterns, respectively, while the composite field over the EAE region exhibits an Ω-type pattern. The type of composite blocking pattern seems to be related to the position of the blocking region relative to the positive center of the climatological stationary wave （CSW） anomaly existing near 10°W.
The physical cause of why there are different composite blocking types in the three sub-regions is identified using a nonlinear multiscale interaction model. It is found that when the blocking event is in almost the same position as the positive CSW anomaly, the planetary-scale field can exhibit an Ω-type pattern due to the enhanced positive CSW anomaly. Neverthe- less, a SW-NE （SE-NW） oriented dipole-type block can occur due to the reduced positive CSW anomaly as it is farther in the west （east） of the positive CSW anomaly. The total fields of blocking in the three regions may exhibit a meandering flow comprised of several isolated anticyclonic and cyclonic vortices, which resembles the Berggren-Bolin-Rossby meandering jet type.     

珠海市暴雨天气的气候特征及影响形势分析

利用1962—2010年珠海市降雨资料和NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,应用小波分析、相关分析等统计方法,对珠海市暴雨天气气候特征及其影响系统进行分析。结果表明,珠海市白天发生暴雨的次数比夜间多,但夜间暴雨的雨量比白天大;大部分暴雨都出现在汛期,汛期暴雨具有次数多、雨量大的特点;暴雨占全年总降雨的比率越来越大,近阶段容易出现旱涝急转的气象灾害。普查分析得出,影响珠海市暴雨的天气形势可分为热带气旋型、锋面低槽型、低空急流型、高空槽和切变线型、辐合带北抬型、副高边缘和东风波型等。     

On the variability of vertical eddy heat flux in the upper ocean

Ocean eddies produce strong vertical heat flux (VHF) in the upper ocean, exerting profound influences on the climate and ecosystem. Currently, mooring array provides a standard way to estimate the eddy-induced VHF (EVHF) based on the adiabatic potential density equation. Apart from the validity of adiabatic assumption, it remains unclear to what extent the estimated EVHF at a single location within a limited time period is representative of its climatological mean value. In this study, we analyzed the above issue by systematically evaluating the variability of EVHF simulated by a 1-km ocean model configured over the Kuroshio Extension. It is found that the EVHF at a single location exhibits pronounced variability. Even averaged over one year that is comparable to the current maintenance capacity of mooring array, the EVHF still deviates significantly from its climatological mean value. For more than 49% of locations in our computational domain (31°–40°N, 149°–166°E), the discrepancy between the one-year mean EVHF and its climatological mean value at the peaking depth is larger than the climatological mean itself. The mesoscale eddies play a dominant role in the variability of EVHF but contribute little to the climatological mean EVHF; the opposite is true for submesoscale eddies. Our findings indicate that nested mooring array allowing for isolating the effects of submesoscale eddies will be useful to obtain climatological mean EVHF.