Anomalous Western Pacific Subtropical High during El Niño Developing Summer in Comparison with Decaying Summer

The anomalous behavior of the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) in El Niño developing summer is studied based on the composite results of eight major El Niño events during 1979-2013. It is shown that the WPSH tends to retreat eastwards with weak intensity during the developing summer. The anomaly exhibits an intraseasonal variation with a weaker anomaly in June and July and a stronger anomaly in August, indicating that different underlying physical mechanisms may be responsible for the anomalous WPSH during early and late summer periods. In June and July, owing to the cold advection anomaly characterized as a weak northerly anomaly from high latitudes, geopotential height in East Asia is reduced and the WPSH tends to retreat eastwards slightly. By contrast, enhanced convection over the warm pool in August makes the atmosphere more sensitive to El Niño forcing. Consequently, a cyclonic anomaly in the western Pacific is induced, which is consistent with the seasonal march of atmospheric circulation from July to August. Accordingly, geopotential height in the western Pacific is reduced significantly, and the WPSH tends to retreat eastwards remarkably in August. Different from the developing summer, geopotential height in the decaying summer over East Asia and the western Pacific tends to enhance and extend northwards from June to August consistently, reaching the maximum anomaly in August. Therefore, the seasonal march plays an important role in the WPSH anomaly for both the developing and decaying summer.     

Simulation and Projection of the Western Pacific Subtropical High in CMIP5 Models

This work examined the performance of 26 coupled climate models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 （CMIP5） in the simulation of the present-day temporal variability and spatial pattern of the western Pacifi c subtropical high （WPSH）. The results show that most models are able to capture the spatial distribution and variability of the 500-hPa geopotential height and zonal wind fi elds in the western subtropical Pacifi c, but with underestimated mean intensity of the WPSH. The underestimation may be associated with the cold bias of sea surface temperature in the tropical Indian and western Pacifi c oceans in the models. To eliminate the impact of the climatology biases, the climatology of these models is replaced by that of the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis in the verifi cation, and the models reproduce the WPSH’s enhancement and westward extension after the late 1970s. According to assessment of the simulated WPSH indices, it is found that some models （CNRM-CM5, FGOALS-g2, FIO-ESM, MIROC-ESM, and MPI-ESM-P） are better than others in simulating WPSH. Then, the ensemble mean of these better models is used to pro ject the future changes of WPSH under three representative concentration pathway scenarios （RCP8.5, RCP4.5, and RCP2.6）. The WPSH enlarges, strengthens, and extends westward under all the scenarios, with the largest linear growth trend projected in RCP8.5, smallest in RCP2.6, and in between in RCP4.5;while the ridge line of WPSH shows no obvious long-term trend. These results may have implications for the attribution and prediction of climate variations and changes in East Asia.     

2014年5月大气环流和天气分析

2014年5月环流特征如下:北半球极涡成准圆形绕级分布,中心强度为524 dagpm,较气候平均的强度偏强4~6dagpm,北半球高纬500 hPa位势高度呈4波型分布,我国中东部大部地区受偏西气流控制,多短波槽活动;副热带高压较常年明显偏西偏北,南方地区出现多次强降水天气过程。另外,南海季风爆发较常年同期明显偏晚。5月全国平均气温为全国平均气温16.5℃,较常年同期(16.2℃)偏高0.3℃;全国平均降水量73.8 nm,较常年同期(69.5 mm)略偏多6.2%。月内,我国主要天气特点是:华南江南暴雨频发,华北黄淮出现极端高温。     

2014年9月大气环流和天气分析

2014年9月环流特征如下：北半球高纬地区极涡为单极型,中高纬地区呈6波型分布,西北太平洋副热带高压与常年同期相当,9月全国平均降水量为80.7 mm,比常年同期（65.3 mm）偏多23.6%;全国9月平均气温为17.1℃,较常年同期（16.6℃）偏高0.5℃。 月内共有6次强降水过程,四川盆地东北部、陕西中南部、河南等地共有113站发生极端连续降水日数事件,陕西中南部、山西西南部、河南西部和四川东北部等地共有96站发生极端连续降水量事件。月内,台风海鸥和凤凰先后登陆我国;华西地区、黄淮大部、华北西南部等地出现持续降雨过程;甘肃、陕西及河南等地前期气象干旱得到解除。     

天津春季气候特征及2013年春季影响因子分析

利用1974-2012年天津12个气象站的降水、气温资料及NCEP／NCAR再分析资料等,采用经验函数正交分解（EOF）和相关分析等统计方法,对天津春季的气候特征及主要影响因子进行分析。结果表明：1）天津春季降水空间分布主要有全市一致型和南北反位相型2种分布型,其总方差贡献接近90％,2013年春季为全市一致型。2）东亚冬季风、北极涛动（AO）和西太平洋副高是天津春季气候的主要影响因子。3）2013年,东亚冬季风偏强,AO冬、春持续负位相,春季西太平洋副高偏弱、偏东,均指示天津2013年春季降水偏少、气温偏低的可能性大。     

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.     

Impact of the Subtropical High on the Extratropical Transition of Tropical Cyclones over the Western North Pacific

Recent publications have investigated the interactions between the extratropical transitions （ETs） of tropical cyclones （TCs） and midlatitude circulations; however, studies of ET events have rarely considered the relationship between the storm and the nearby subtropical high. The TC best-track data provided by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center-Tokyo Typhoon Center of the Japan Meteorology Agency are used in conjunction with the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data to discuss the potential effects of the subtropical high on ETs over the western North Pacific basin. When the western Pacific subtropical high （WPSH） is weakened and withdrawn toward the east, more TCs follow recurving paths and the midlatitude trough activity is intensified. These changes lead to enhanced ET activity. By contrast, when the WPSH strengthens and extends westward, the number of TCs that follow direct westward paths increases and the midlatitude trough is relatively inactive. These conditions lead to reduced occurrences of ET cases. Abnormal activity of the WPSH should be considered as an important factor in determining ET activity.