Climate Change in the Subtropical Jetstream during 1950–2009

A study of six decades(1950–2009) of reanalysis data reveals that the subtropical jetstream(STJ) of the Southern(Northern) Hemisphere between longitudes 0°E and 180°E has weakened(strengthened) during both the boreal winter(January,February) and summer(July, August) seasons. The temperature of the upper troposphere of the midlatitudes has a warming trend in the Southern Hemisphere and a cooling trend in the Northern Hemisphere. Correspondingly, the north–south temperature gradient in the upper troposphere has a decreasing trend in the Southern Hemisphere and an increasing trend in the Northern Hemisphere, which affects the strength of the STJ through the thermal wind relation. We devised a method of isotach analysis in intervals of 0.1 m s-1in vertical sections of hemispheric mean winds to study the climate change in the STJ core wind speed, and also core height and latitude. We found that the upper tropospheric cooling of the Asian mid-latitudes has a role in the strengthening of the STJ over Asia, while throughout the rest of the globe the upper troposphere has a warming trend that weakens the STJ. Available studies show that the mid-latitude cooling of the upper troposphere over Asia is caused by anthropogenic aerosols(particularly sulphate aerosols) and the warming over the rest of the global mid-latitude upper troposphere is due to increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.     

Role of the subtropical westerly jet waveguide in a southern China heavy rainstorm in December 2013

An extreme rainstorm hit southern China during 13–17 December 2013, with a record-breaking daily rainfall rate, large spatial extent, and unusually long persistence. We examined what induced this heavy rainfall process, based on observed rainfall data and NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data through composite and diagnostic methods. The results showed that a Rossby waveguide within the subtropical westerly jet caused the event. The Rossby wave originated from strong cold air intrusion into the subtropical westerly jet over the eastern Mediterranean. With the enhancement and northward shift of the Middle East westerly jet, the Rossby wave propagated slowly eastward and deepened the India–Burma trough, which transported a large amount of moisture from the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea to southern China. Strong divergence in the upper troposphere, caused by the enhancement of the East Asian westerly jet, also favored the heavy rainfall process over Southeast China. In addition, the Rossby wave was associated with a negative-to-positive phase shift and enhancement of the North Atlantic Oscillation, but convergence in the eastern Mediterranean played the key role in the eastward propagation of the Rossby wave within the subtropical westerly jet.     

Meridional Propagation of the 30- to 60-day Variability of Precipitation in the East Asian Subtropical Summer Monsoon Region: Monitoring and Prediction

The meridional propagation of the 30- to 60-day intraseasonal variability (ISV) of precipitation in the East Asian subtropical summer monsoon (EASSM) region and its monitoring and prediction are investigated in the current study. Based on a multivariate empirical orthogonal function (MV-EOF) analysis of precipitation and relative vorticity at 700?hPa in East Asia, a bivariate index referred to as the EASSM-ISV index is designed using the two leading MV-EOF modes, with the objective of real-time monitoring of the 30- to 60-day variability of precipitation in the EASSM region. It is found that this index, with its eight phases, can explain the meridional propagation of the 30- to 60-day ISV in precipitation and circulation in the EASSM region. Based on a singular value decomposition technique, a statistical forecast model is developed in which the EASSM-ISV indices from the preceding five pentads are used to predict the indices in five pentads in the future. Meanwhile, the indices are used to predict the meridional propagation of the 30- to 60-day precipitation anomaly in the EASSM region. This model thus provides a useful tool for intraseasonal prediction of precipitation during the rainy season in China.     

Seasonal variation and flux of dissolved nutrients in the Danshuei Estuary, Taiwan: A hypoxic subtropical mountain river

Comprehensive bimonthly field surveys were carried out from September 2000 to June 2002 to study the seasonal dynamics and the inter-annual variability of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN; nitrate, nitrite and ammonium) and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) in a subtropical mountain river system, the Danshuei tributary, the largest urbanized estuarine system in Taiwan. The headwaters were found to be well aerated, saturated with oxygen, with low ambient DIN (<9 μM) and DIP (<0.2 μM) concentration. As the river flows through the city of Taipei, the river becomes hypoxic because re-aeration rates cannot keep up with elevated oxygen consumption, and the concentrations of DIP (7.53 μM) and DIN (390 μM) increase drastically. Conservative mixing was mostly observed for silicate while DIP and DIN mostly showed non-conservative removal characteristics. Silicate originates from weathering and erosion of bedrocks in the watershed, whereas nitrogen- and phosphorus-bearing nutrients come mainly from urban discharges. Ammonium is the predominant dissolved nitrogenous species, ranging from 10 to 1000 μM. The nutrient chemistry is complex and dynamic due to anthropogenic perturbations and reactions in the tidally mixed zone of strong redox gradients. On average, the annual loading rates of dissolved phosphate and dissolved inorganic nitrogen from the Danshuei River to the ocean are 0.1 and 3.2 Gmol/year, respectively, which represent 0.1% and 0.2% of the world's total river discharge of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphate.     

Verification of the wind-driven transport in the North Pacific subtropical gyre using gridded wind-stress products

Wind-stress products supplied by satellite scatterometers carried the European Remote-sensing Satellite (ERS) and QuikSCAT (QSCAT), together with numerical weather predictions from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) and the National Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) were used to estimate wind-driven transports of the North Pacific subtropical gyre. At 30°N, we compared the wind-driven transports with geostrophic transports calculated from World Ocean Database 2005. The wind-driven transports for QSCAT and NCEP are in good agreement with the geostrophic transport within reasonable error, except for a regional difference in the eastern part of the section. The difference in the eastern part suggests an anti-cyclonic deviation of the geostrophic transport, resulting from an anti-cyclonic anomalous flow in the surface layer. It is suggested that this anomalous flow is the Eastern Gyral, produced by the thermohaline process associated with the formation of the Eastern Subtropical Mode Water. To investigate the validity of QSCAT and NCEP data, we examined whether or not the Sverdrup transports for these products are consistent with the transport of the western boundary current estimated by past studies. The net southward transport, given by the sum of the Sverdrup transport for QSCAT and NCEP and the thermohaline transport, agrees well with the net northward transport of the western boundary current. From this result, together with the fact that the wind-driven transports for these products are in good agreement with the geostrophic transport, we conclude that the Sverdrup balance can hold in the North Pacific subtropical gyre.     

1997年影响南海的热带气旋异常活动特征及成因分析

统计分析了近30年(1976-2005)来影响南海的热带气旋特征,对1997年影响南海的热带气旋异常活动的成因作了进一步的分析.结果表明,El Nino发生后,西北太平洋生成的热带气旋以偏少为主,强度偏强,且热带气旋生成位置偏东,热带低压加强成为热带风暴的平均位置也较多年平均位置偏东;副热带高压强度和Nino 3.4区SST变化趋势基本一致,但副热带高压强度变化落后SST变化6个月左右.由于El Nino事件多发生于上半年,赤道中东太平洋Nino 3.4区SST偏高,当年冬季或次年春夏季往往副热带高压异常偏强;El Nino发生年的次年,暖水向西回涌,西太平洋海温逐渐恢复正常,副高强度偏强.     

秦巴山区马尾松林和油松林的空间分布及亚热带与暖温带界线划分

秦岭不仅是中国南北的地理分界线,也是中国亚热带和暖温带的气候分界线,在中国地理生态格局中占有重要的地位和作用。由于过渡带的复杂性、过渡性和异质性以及划分指标、研究目的的不同,学术界关于这一南北地理—生态分界线的具体位置一直有争论。为了进一步揭示秦巴山区过渡带的特征,明确中国南北地理—生态分界线的位置,本文选择马尾松（Pinus massoniana）林和油松（Pinus tabulaeformis）林这两类分别代表中国南方亚热带针叶林和北方温带针叶林的植被,结合研究区SRTM地形数据、气温和降水数据等,以年降水、最冷月（1月）气温、最热月（7月）气温和年均温为气候指标,详细分析了这两类植被在秦巴山区的空间分布及二者分界线处的气候条件。结果表明：① 马尾松林和油松林的分界线及相应位置的气候指标可以作为亚热带与暖温带界线划分的植被—气候指标之一。秦巴山区亚热带针叶林（马尾松林）与温带针叶林（油松林）的分界线位于伏牛山南坡至汉中盆地北缘一线（秦岭南坡）海拔1000~1200 m处;分界线处气候指标稳定：年降水750~1000 mm,年均温12~14 ℃,最冷月气温0~4 ℃,最热月气温22~26 ℃。② 通过综合的植被—气候指标来划分秦巴山区亚热带和暖温带的界线,能更科学地确定气候带分界线的位置及过渡带的特征,更全面地反映地表植被—气候格局的变化。此外,秦巴山区亚热带与暖温带的界线应该是由亚热带与暖温带针叶林分界线、阔叶林分界线、灌丛分界线等组成的一个过渡带。本文的研究结果为亚热带与暖温带划分指标的选取提供了一定的科学依据。     

定量诊断华南春旱的形成机理

华南地处气候年际变化很大的东亚季风区, 近年来秋冬春干旱灾害频繁, 尤其自20世纪90年代末以来的干旱灾害给华南工农业生产和人民日常生活造成严重的影响。华南地区春季降水多是偏南暖湿气流在华南抬升的结果, 为了全面而客观地查找华南春旱的主要成因, 本研究从建立在流体所有守恒定律的华南 (局地纬向平均) 经向环流数学模式入手, 在成功地模拟了导致华南春旱的华南地区(105°E～120°E纬向平均)经向环流后, 定量地诊断分析了各动力热力因子对该经向环流的贡献。结果表明, 激发华南地区下沉和30°N附近上升的距平经向环流的因子主要有: 反映位置偏北的锋面对流活动的潜热加热(由其激发的经向环流下沉支对华南地区总下沉运动贡献占56％)、反映西风带扰动的经向温度平流(占25％)和反映西风急流的纬向西风动量平流(占20％）。为了了解使锋面位置偏北的大气环流统计特征, 本研究还分析了华南春旱年(涝年)500 hPa位势高度距平(相对于1980～1999年平均)和华南春旱严重的1991年旱期(雨期)500 hPa位势高度场, 发现华南春旱(涝)时乌拉尔山阻塞高压偏强(弱）, 副热带高压偏西偏北 (偏东偏南）。对华南春旱严重的1991年乌拉尔山阻高与500 hPa位势高度距平场作相关分析发现, 西太平洋副高变化滞后乌拉尔山阻高变化2～6天。     

Response of the Intensity of Subtropical High in the Northern Hemisphere to Solar Activity

Using the intensity data of each northern subtropical high measured by monthly 500 hPa height charts for the recent 38 years (1954-1991), we calculate their correlations with the monthly sunspot number and monthly solar radio flux at 10.7 cm wave length, respectively. Through strict test, we further confirm a series of high correlations. Next, using a method called the non-integer (year) wave, the significant response of each subtropical high’s intensity to so-lar activity at its main period of 10.9-year length is found. Special attention is paid to that of the eastern Pacific high, the possible mechanism of such sensible response is also analysed.     

广西大范围暴雨气候异常对太平洋年代际涛动的响应

使用1961—2016年广西79个地面气象观测站逐日降水资料、美国国家海洋和大气管理局(NOAA)逐月太平洋年代际振荡(PDO)指数资料、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料、国家气候中心西太平洋副热带高压指数资料,利用相关和合成分析等方法研究广西大范围暴雨气候异常对PDO的响应。结果表明：广西大范围暴雨日数存在显著增多的突变新特征,对PDO有反位相变化的响应。当PDO处于冷位相时,对应着5—8月贝加尔湖阻塞高压和澳大利亚高压显著性偏强;索马里越赤道气流明显增强,与西太平洋副热带高压西侧边沿的东南风容易形成季风槽;形成从新几内亚岛东北部沿海到华南地区的低空风场为“反气旋-气旋-反气旋-气旋”波列传播,使广西大范围暴雨日数偏多。当PDO处于暖位相时,大气环流异常特征相反,广西大范围暴雨日数偏少。