Interaction between Planetary-Scale Diffluent Flow and Synoptic-Scale Waves During the Life Cycle of Blocking

In this paper, a new transient forced quasi-resonant triad interaction theory in a beta channel is proposed to investigate the interaction between planetary-scale diffluent flow composed of zonal wavenumbers 1-3 and synoptic-scale waves produced continuously by a synoptic-scale vorticity source fixed upstream of an incipient blocking region during the life cycle of blocking. It is shown that the superposition of initial three Rossby waves for zonal wavenumbers 1 （monopole）, 2 （dipole）, and 3 （monopole）, which permit triad quasi-resonance, can represent an incipient blocking event. The synoptic-scale eddies may act to amplify the incipient blocking and to excite a blocking circulation with a strong meander, whose flow pattern depends on the initial amplitudes of the planetary waves and both the intensity and location of preexisting synoptic-scale waves. The onset （decay） of the planetary-scale split-flow blocking is mainly represented by a strong increase （decrease） in the amplitude of the zonal wavenumber 2 component, having a dipole meridional structure related to the preexisting synoptic-scale eddies. The typical persistence time of the model blocking was of about 20 days, consistent with observations of blocking patterns. In our model, isolated asymmetric dipole blocking is formed by synoptic-scale waves. The instantaneous fields of total streamfunctions exhibit a remarkable resemblance to the synoptic maps observed during the life cycle of blocking. During the onset stage, the synoptic-scale waves are enhanced and split into two branches around the blocking region due to the feedback of the amplified blocking, in agreement with the observed changes of synoptic-scale waves in real blocking events. In addition, a diagnostic case study of blocking is presented to confirm the forced quasi-resonant triad interaction theory proposed here.

DOA estimation method for wideband signals by block sparse reconstruction

For the direction of arrival（DOA） estimation,traditional sparse reconstruction methods for wideband signals usually need many iteration times.For this problem,a new method for two-dimensional wideband signals based on block sparse reconstruction is proposed.First,a prolate spheroidal wave function（PSWF） is used to fit the wideband signals,then the block sparse reconstruction technology is employed for DOA estimation.The proposed method uses orthogonalization to choose the matching atoms,ensuring that the residual components correspond to the minimum absolute value.Meanwhile,the vectors obtained by iteration are back-disposed according to the corresponding atomic matching rules,so the extra atoms are abandoned in the course of iteration,and the residual components of current iteration are reduced.Thus the original sparse signals are reconstructed.The proposed method reduces iteration times comparing with the traditional reconstruction methods,and the estimation precision is better than the classical two-sided correlation transformation（TCT）algorithm when the snapshot is small or the signal-to-noise ratio（SNR） is low.

Blocking Features for Two Types of Cold Events in East Asia

Cold air outbreaks（CAOs）always hit East Asia during boreal winter and have significant impacts on human health and public transport.The amplitude and route of CAOs are closely associated with blocking circulations over the Eurasian continent.Two categories of CAOs are recognized,namely,the ordinary cold wave events（CWEs）and the extensive and persistent extreme cold events（EPECEs）,with the latter having even stronger impacts.The blocking features associated with these two types of CAOs and their differences are investigated in this study on the intraseasonal timescale.What these two CAOs do have in common is that they are both preceded by the intensification and recurrence of a blocking high over the midlatitude North Atlantic.The difference between these events is primarily reflected on the spatial scale and duration of the corresponding blocking high.During the CWEs,blocking occurs around the Ural Mountains,and exhibits a regional feature.The resulting cold air temperature persists for only up to 8 days.In contrast,during the EPECEs,the blocking region is quite extensive and is not only confined around the Ural Mountains but also extends eastward into Northeast Asia in a southwest–northeast orientation.As a result,the cold air tends to accumulate over a large area and persists for a much longer time.The blocking activity is primarily induced by an increased frequency and eastward extension of the synoptic anticyclonic Rossby wave breaking（AWB）.Compared with the CWEs,characterized by a regional and short-lived synoptic AWB frequency,the EPE-CEs tend to be accompanied by more recurrent and eastward extensions of the synoptic AWB.

The Large Scale Circulation of the Snow Disaster in Southern China in the Beginning of 2008

This study analyzed the heaviest snowfalls or icy-rainfalls occurring in southern China from January to the beginning of February 2008.The results are summarized as follows：the disaster was induced by the persistent front of warm/cold air masses in southern China,which displayed an interaction between the weather systems in higher and lower latitudes.There was an adjustment for circulation at hemisphere scale during mid January by a variation of sign of the Arctic Oscillation（AO）index from negative to positive.The long lasting precipitation well coincided with a blocking situation centered near 80°E from mid January to the beginning of February.A diagnostic analysis indicates that stationary waves with an energy dispersion accompanying the blocking high propagated from upstream region in high latitudes to the south of the Yangtze River,which formed a maintaining energy source for the cyclonic circulation in situ.This resulted in that the large mass of cold air in high latitudes could not easily invade into the south but slowly shifted southward.On the other hand,the sea surface temperature（SST）over the warm pool of the western Pacific increased with a new history record due to the effect of the strong La Nina episode,which also blocked the cold air mass from the north.The blocking high collapsed around 30 January and the energy source for the local cyclonic circulation was cut off.Thus,the precipitation in southern China ceased after 1 February.