A revised method of presenting wavenumber–frequency power spectrum diagrams that reveals the asymmetric nature of tropical large-scale waves

The popular method of presenting wavenumber–frequency power spectrum diagrams for studying tropical large-scale waves in the literature is shown to give an incomplete presentation of these waves. The so-called “convectively coupled Kelvin (mixed Rossby-gravity) waves” are presented as existing only in the symmetric (anti-symmetric) component of the diagrams. This is obviously not consistent with the published composite/regression studies of “convectively coupled Kelvin waves,” which illustrate the asymmetric nature of these waves. The cause of this inconsistency is revealed in this note and a revised method of presenting the power spectrum diagrams is proposed. When this revised method is used, “convectively coupled Kelvin waves” do show anti-symmetric components, and “convectively coupled mixed Rossby-gravity waves (also known as Yanai waves)” do show a hint of symmetric components. These results bolster a published proposal that these waves should be called “chimeric Kelvin waves,” “chimeric mixed Rossby-gravity waves,” etc. This revised method of presenting power spectrum diagrams offers an additional means of comparing the GCM output with observations by calling attention to the capability of GCMs to correctly simulate the asymmetric characteristics of equatorial waves.     

顺序扫描 ICP-AES法测定高纯石墨灰分中14种杂质金属元素的方法研究

本文研究了快速测定石墨灰分中14种杂质元素Al,Ca,Cd,Co,Cr,Cu,Fe,Mg,Mn,Mo,Ni,Ti,V,Zn的分析方法,以满足提纯石墨研究工作对快速了解石墨提纯效果的要求.依据测定样品中各元素的含量情况,实验选择14种元素的分析线.运用ICP-AES谱线轮廓图功能,消除常量元素产生的基体背景干扰.运用干扰系数法进行测定结果校正,并对ICP-AES测定灰分中14种元素的检出线、精密度、准确度进行了测定.结果显示,本方法分析石墨灰分中杂质元素能够满足提纯石墨研究工作的要求.     

Reduction of the thermocline feedback associated with mean SST bias in ENSO simulation

Associated with the double Inter-tropical convergence zone problem, a dipole SST bias pattern (cold in the equatorial central Pacific and warm in the southeast tropical Pacific) remains a common problem inherent in many contemporary coupled models. Based on a newly-developed coupled model, we performed a control run and two sensitivity runs, one is a coupled run with annual mean SST correction and the other is an ocean forced run. By comparison of these three runs, we demonstrated that a serious consequence of this SST bias is to severely suppress the thermocline feedback in a realistic simulation of the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation. Firstly, the excessive cold tongue extension pushes the anomalous convection far westward from the equatorial central Pacific, prominently diminishing the convection-low level wind feedback and thus the air-sea coupling strength. Secondly, the equatorial surface wind anomaly exhibits a relatively uniform meridional structure with weak gradient, contributing to a weakened wind-thermocline feedback. Thirdly, the equatorial cold SST bias induces a weakened upper-ocean stratification and thus yields the underestimation of the thermocline-subsurface temperature feedback. Finally, the dipole SST bias underestimates the mean upwelling through (a) undermining equatorial mean easterly wind stress, and (b) enhancing convective mixing and thus reducing the upper ocean stratification, which weakens vertical shear of meridional currents and near-surface Ekman-divergence.     

Multi-scale climate variability of the South China Sea monsoon: A review

This review recapitulates climate variations of the South China Sea (SCS) monsoon and our current understanding of the important physical processes responsible for the SCS summer monsoon's intraseasonal to interannual variations. We demonstrate that the 850 hPa meridional shear vorticity index (SCSMI) can conveniently measure and monitor SCS monsoon variations on a timescale ranging from intraseasonal to interdecadal. Analyses with this multi-scale index reveal that the two principal modes of intraseasonal variation, the quasi-biweekly and 30–60-day modes, have different source regions and lifecycles, and both may be potentially predicted at a lead time longer than one-half of their corresponding lifecycles. The leading mode of interannual variation is seasonally dependent: the seasonal precipitation anomaly suddenly reverses the sign from summer to fall, and the reversed anomaly then persists through the next summer. Since the late 1970s, the relationship between the SCS summer monsoon and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has significantly strengthened. Before the late 1970s, the SCS summer monsoon was primarily influenced by ENSO development, while after the late 1970s, it has been affected mainly in the decaying phase of ENSO. The year of 1993 marked a sudden interdecadal change in precipitation and circulation in the SCS and its surrounding region. Over the past 60 years, the SCS summer monsoon's strength shows no significant trend, but the SCS winter monsoon displays a significant strengthening tendency (mainly in its easterly component and its total wind speed). A number of outstanding issues are raised for future studies.     

The role of shallow convection in promoting the northward propagation of boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - By conducting idealized experiments in a general circulation model (GCM) and in a toy theoretical model, we test the hypothesis that shallow convection (SC) is...     

印度洋海气相互作用对热带夏季大气环流气候态的影响

利用分辨率较高的SINTEX-F(Scale INTeraction EXperiment-FRCGC) 海气耦合模式, 进行多组长时间积分模拟和理想试验, 分析研究热带印度洋海气耦合对夏季大气环流气候态的影响。主要结果有: (1) 热带印度洋海气相互作用使热带东印度洋产生明显的东风变化, 使热带中西太平洋赤道北部产生气旋性切变变化。 (2) 印度洋海气相互作用对大气环流气候态的影响绝大部分由于大气对海气相互作用的响应存在年际变化正负距平不对称性造成, 这种年际变化不对称性包括正偶极子与负偶极子的不对称、 海盆宽度正异常与海盆宽度负异常的不对称。 (3) 年际和季节内两种时间尺度海气相互作用对印度洋关键区大气环流平均态都有影响, 约各占60%、 40%; 季节内尺度海气相互作用对太平洋近赤道区大气环流平均态有重要影响; 年际尺度海气相互作用对太平洋赤道外地区大气环流平均态有重要影响。热带印度洋年际尺度、 季节内尺度海气相互作用对大气环流气候态的影响, 都存在年际变化以及年际变化正负距平不对称性。这两种尺度海气相互作用主要通过年际变化正负距平不对称性而对大气环流平均态产生影响。     

Major modes of short-term climate variability in the newly developed NUIST Earth System Model (NESM)

A coupled earth system model(ESM) has been developed at the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology(NUIST) by using version 5.3 of the European Centre Hamburg Model(ECHAM), version 3.4 of the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean(NEMO), and version 4.1 of the Los Alamos sea ice model(CICE). The model is referred to as NUIST ESM1(NESM1). Comprehensive and quantitative metrics are used to assess the model's major modes of climate variability most relevant to subseasonal-to-interannual climate prediction. The model's assessment is placed in a multi-model framework. The model yields a realistic annual mean and annual cycle of equatorial SST, and a reasonably realistic precipitation climatology, but has difficulty in capturing the spring–fall asymmetry and monsoon precipitation domains. The ENSO mode is reproduced well with respect to its spatial structure, power spectrum, phase locking to the annual cycle, and spatial structures of the central Pacific(CP)-ENSO and eastern Pacific(EP)-ENSO; however, the equatorial SST variability,biennial component of ENSO, and the amplitude of CP-ENSO are overestimated. The model captures realistic intraseasonal variability patterns, the vertical-zonal structures of the first two leading predictable modes of Madden–Julian Oscillation(MJO), and its eastward propagation; but the simulated MJO speed is significantly slower than observed. Compared with the T42 version, the high resolution version(T159) demonstrates improved simulation with respect to the climatology, interannual variance, monsoon–ENSO lead–lag correlation, spatial structures of the leading mode of the Asian–Australian monsoon rainfall variability, and the eastward propagation of the MJO.     

Effects of air�Csea coupling on the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillations over the tropical Indian Ocean

The effects of air?Csea coupling over the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) on the eastward- and northward-propagating boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (BSISO) are investigated by comparing a fully coupled (CTL) and a partially decoupled Indian Ocean (pdIO) experiment using SINTEX-F coupled GCM. Air?Csea coupling over the TIO significantly enhances the intensity of both the eastward and northward propagations of the BSISO. The maximum spectrum differences of the northward- (eastward-) propagating BSISO between the CTL and pdIO reach 30% (25%) of their respective climatological values. The enhanced eastward (northward) propagation is related to the zonal (meridional) asymmetry of sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA). A positive SSTA appears to the east (north) of the BSISO convection, which may positively feed back to the BSISO convection. In addition, air?Csea coupling may enhance the northward propagation through the changes of the mean vertical wind shear and low-level specific humidity. The interannual variations of the TIO regulate the air?Csea interaction effect. Air?Csea coupling enhances (reduces) the eastward-propagating spectrum during the negative Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) mode, positive Indian Ocean basin (IOB) mode and normal years (during positive IOD and negative IOB years). Such phase dependence is attributed to the role of the background mean westerly in affecting the wind-evaporation-SST feedback. A climatological weak westerly in the equatorial Indian Ocean can be readily reversed by anomalous zonal SST gradients during the positive IOD and negative IOB events. Although the SSTA is always positive to the northeast of the BSISO convection for all interannual modes, air?Csea coupling reduces the zonal asymmetry of the low-level specific humidity and thus the eastward propagation spectrum during the positive IOD and negative IOB modes, while strengthening them during the other modes. Air?Csea coupling enhances the northward propagation under all interannual modes due to the persistent westerly monsoon flow over the northern Indian Ocean.     

Moisture structure of the quasi-biweekly mode revealed by AIRS in western Pacific

Using Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) humidity profiles, rainfall from the Tropical Rainfall Mea- suring Mission (TRMM) Global Precipitation Index (GPI), Quick Scatterometer (QSCAT) satellite-observed surface winds, and SST from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for NASA's Earth Observing System (AMSR E), we analyzed the structure of the summer quasi-biweekly mode (QBM) over the western Pacific in 2003-2004. We find that the signal of 10-20-day oscillations in the western Pacific originates fro...