Westerly wind events,diurnal cycle and central Pacific El Niño warming

In the past three decades, the strongest central Pacific (CP) El Niño event was observed in 2009–2010 by satellites. When intensity of this CP El Niño reached its maximum, large diurnal variations of sea surface temperature (SST) were also observed from tropical atmosphere ocean moorings in the central equatorial Pacific. Solar radiation in the equatorial central Pacific is larger than 140 W/m², which leads to the amplitude of diurnal cycle of SST primarily determined by large-scale wind patterns. Intraseasonal westerly wind events (WWEs) can lead to an eastward displacement of the warm pool and also can weaken the trade winds in central Pacific. When the occurrence of equatorial WWEs is more than 20 days in a month, monthly mean wind speed in central equatorial Pacific has high possibility of wind speed less than 3 m/s, thus has pronounced diurnal cycle of SST. The diurnal cycle of SST will rectify daily mean SST. Reduced mixing at the base of the mixed layer and suppression of entrainment due to the accumulated effect of diurnal cycle may lead to warmer SST in the following month. This study suggests the occurrence of more diurnal SST events may contribute to the increasing intensity of the CP El Niño events.     

Tropical–Mid-Latitude Interactions: Case Study of an Inland-Penetrating Atmospheric River During a Major Winter Storm Over North America

ABSTRACT

A detailed analysis is performed on an inland-penetrating atmospheric river (AR) driven by and coupled to a Colorado cyclone in the first week of February 2016. This winter weather system was initiated by a trough of low pressure moving across the Rocky Mountains from the California coast. The low-level jet ahead of the trough was capable of extracting water vapour from the Gulf of Mexico to feed a cyclone on the lee side of the Rocky Mountaains, and the jet stream eventually transformed into a powerful AR. The warm, moist flow from the south produced a narrow band of heavy precipitation along the major axis of the AR across the central and eastern United States and generated significant freezing rain in parts of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada as the AR flowed over the warm front. It is suggested that, in an operational weather forecasting and warning environment, ARs can be easily identified by using the vertically integrated horizontal water vapour transport, and the major AR contribution to heavy precipitation can be estimated from the horizontal moisture convergence. It is demonstrated that the AR analysis in this case can assist operational meteorologists in understanding and conceptualizing winter storm development and the associated high-impact weather pattern. The operational predictability of this winter storm and its possible teleconnection with the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) are also investigated. Our lagged composite analysis reveals that a statistically significant increase in water vapour transport from the Gulf of Mexico over the North American continent could occur about 10–20 days after the MJO-related convection anomaly reaches the tropical Indian Ocean.     

Modulation of Convectively Coupled Kelvin Wave Activity in the Tropical Pacific by ENSO

The influence of El Nio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the convectively coupled Kelvin waves over the tropical Pacific is investigated by comparing the Kelvin wave activity in the eastern Pacific (EP) El Nio, central Pacific (CP) El Nio, and La Nia years, respectively, to 30-yr (1982-2011) mean statistics. The convectively coupled Kelvin waves in this study are represented by the two leading modes of empirical orthogonal function (EOF) of 2-25-day band-pass filtered daily outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), with the estimated zonal wavenumber of 3 or 4, period of 8 days, and eastward propagating speed of 17 ms-1 . The most significant impact of ENSO on the Kelvin wave activity is the intensification of the Kelvin waves during the EP El Nios. The impact of La Nia on the reduction of the Kelvin wave intensity is relatively weaker, reflecting the nonlinearity of tropical deep convection and the associated Kelvin waves in response to ENSO sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies. The impact of the CP El Nio on the Kelvin waves is less significant due to relatively weaker SST anomalies and smaller spatial coverage. ENSO may also alter the frequency, wavelength, and phase speed of the Kelvin waves. This study demonstrates that low-frequency ENSO SST anomalies modulate high-frequency tropical disturbances, an example of weather-climate linkage.     

1970—2018年秦岭南北冷季降雪量时空变化及其影响因素

基于72个气象站点逐日观测数据,对1970/1971—2018/2019年秦岭南北冷季（11月~次年5月）降水类型（降雪、降雨和雨夹雪）进行识别;重点关注降雪时空变化特征,探讨降雪与气温、湿球温度的响应关系;依据“夏季-秋季-冬季”Niño 3.4区海温异常状态,细化4种不同发展过程的厄尔尼诺-南方涛动（ENSO）事件,分析降雪异常与不同ENSO事件的对应关系。结果表明：① 相比气候平均态（1970—2000年）,1990—2018年,秦岭南坡（山地暖温带）降雪量下降了3.1 mm,基本与关中平原降雪量（17.1 mm）持平;② 空间趋势上,低海拔河谷地带降雪量以年代波动为主,山地高海拔地区为降雪下降区;③ 秦岭高山地区气温或湿球温度每升高1.0℃,降雪量分别下降23.1 mm和24.3 mm;从地带性角度分析,由北向南气温或湿球温度每升高1.0℃,秦岭南北降雪量分别下降3.0 mm和2.8 mm;④ 当厄尔尼诺/拉尼娜持续型发生时,关中平原降雪异常偏多;当拉尼娜发展型发生时,秦岭山地和大巴山区降雪异常偏少。当厄尔尼诺发展型发生时,秦岭南北降雪异常呈现“东西分异”,秦岭山地东部和关中平原为降雪异常偏少区。     

基于ERA5再分析数据的中国邻近海域极端波高特征分析

极端波浪对沿海地区基础设施有着深远的影响,了解它们的变化规律是进行海岸带风险分析和灾害预防的基础。文章基于欧洲中期天气预报中心(European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting,ECMWF)第五代再分析数据集(ECMWF reanalysis v5,ERA5),对中国邻近海域1979~2018年间极端波高展开时空特征分析,并统计了40 a厄尔尼诺系数,利用广义极值分布(generalized extreme value,GEV)函数探究了近40 a厄尔尼诺现象对我国海域极端波高的影响,结果显示:统计1979~2018年整个研究区域前2%极端波浪年均值在6~10 m间浮动,且整体趋势递增,在四季趋势变化中,春夏极端波高增长趋势较秋冬高,且波动明显,在年际极端波高变化趋势中有较大波动时大多伴随着厄尔尼诺或是拉尼娜现象的发生,结合厄尔尼诺现象对GEV分布中位置参数的影响分布图和极端波高年、季节际趋势变化分布图,厄尔尼诺现象影响大的地区极端波高大多呈现增长趋势,表明厄尔尼诺现象对极端波高有较高影响。     

Response of Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus) to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation in the Yellow Sea over the past 400 a

Quantitative identification of long-term changes in the abundance of Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus) in the Yellow Sea is particularly important for understanding evolutionary processes of the Yellow Sea ecosystem. Unfortunately, the driving mechanisms of climate variability on the anchovy are still unclear due to the lack of long-term observational data. In this study, we used the fish scale deposition rate in the central Yellow Sea to reconstruct the time series of the anchovy stock over the past 400 a. On this basis, we further explored the impacts of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) on the anchovy. Our results show that the anchovy stock is positively correlated with the PDO on a decadal time scale. In addition, anchovy abundance was relatively high during 1620–1860 AD (the Little Ice Age, LIA), though in a state of constant fluctuation; anchovy abundance maintained at a relatively low level after ~1860 AD. In particular, followed by overfishing since the 1980s, the anchovy stock has declined sharply. Based on these findings, we infer that fluctuations of the anchovy stock may be regulated by basin-scale “atmosphere–ocean” interactions. Nevertheless, the role of overfishing should not be ignored.     

Spatial and temporal variability of flood seasonality in Wales

High‐magnitude floods across Europe within the last decade have resulted in the widespread reassessment of flood risk; this coupled with the introduction of the Water Framework Directive (2000) has increased the need for a detailed understanding of seasonal variability in flood magnitude and frequency. Mean day of flood (MDF) and flood seasonality were calculated for Wales using 30 years of gauged river‐flow records (1973–2002). Noticeable regional variations in timing and length of flood season are evident, with flooding occurring earlier in small catchments draining higher elevations in north and mid‐west Wales. Low‐altitude regions in West Wales exposed to westerly winds experience flooding during October–January, while large eastern draining catchments experience later flooding (January–February). In the northeast and mid‐east regions December–January months experience the greatest number of floods, while the southeast has a slightly longer flood season (December–February), with a noticeable increase in January floods. Patterns obtained from MDF data demonstrate their effectiveness and use in analysing regional patterns in flood seasonality, but catchment‐specific determinants, e.g. catchment wetness, size and precipitation regime are important factors in flood seasonality. Relatively strong correlations between precipitation and flood activity are evident in Wales, with a poorer relationship between flooding and weather types and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Does the Agulhas Current amplify global temperatures during super‐interglacials?

Future projections of climate suggest our planet is moving into a ‘super‐interglacial’. Here we report a global synthesis of ice, marine and terrestrial data from a recent palaeoclimate equivalent, the Last Interglacial (ca. 130–116 ka ago). Our analysis suggests global temperatures were on average ～1.5°C higher than today (relative to the AD 1961–1990 period). Intriguingly, we identify several Indian Ocean Last Interglacial sequences that suggest persistent early warming, consistent with leakage of warm, saline waters from the Agulhas Current into the Atlantic, intensifying meridional ocean circulation and increasing global temperatures. This mechanism may have played a significant positive feedback role during super‐interglacials and could become increasingly important in the future. These results provide an important insight into a future 2°C climate stabilisation scenario. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Effect of Tide on the Global Climate Change

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