Teleconnection between Winter Arctic Oscillation and Southeast Asian Summer Monsoon in the Pre-Industry Simulation of a Coupled Climate Model

A 600-year pre-industrial simulation with Bergen Climate Model(BCM)Version 2 is used to investigate the linkage between winter Arctic Oscillation(AO)and the Southeast Asian summer monsoon(SEASM)on the inter-decadal timescale.The results indicate an in-phase relationship between the AO and SEASM with periods of approximately 16–32 and 60–80 years.During the positive phase of winter AO,an anomalous surface anti-cyclonic atmosphere circulation appears over North Pacific in winter.The corresponding anomalies in ocean circulation and surface heat flux,particularly the latent and sensible heat flux,resemble a negative Pacific Decadal Oscillation(PDO)-like sea surface temperature(SST)pattern.The AO-associated PDO-like winter SST can persist into summer and can therefore lead to inter-decadal variability of summer monsoon rainfall in East and Southeast Asia.

Association of Indian Ocean ITCZ Variations with the Arctic Oscillation during Boreal Winter

In this study,the authors analyzed the associations between the Arctic Oscillation(AO)and the tropical Indian Ocean(TIO)intertropical convergence zone(ITCZ)in boreal winter for the period 1979–2009.A statistically significant AO-TIO ITCZ linkage was found.The ITCZ vertical air motion is significantly associated with the AO,with upward(downward)air motion corresponding to the positive(negative)AO phase.The Arabian Sea anticyclone plays a crucial role in linking the AO and the TIO ITCZ.The Arabian Sea vorticity is strongly linked to high-latitude disturbances in conjunction with jet stream waveguide effects of disturbance trapping and energy dispersion.During positive(negative)AO years,the Arabian Sea anticyclone tends to be stronger(weaker).The mean vorticity over the Arabian Sea,averaged from 850hPa to 200 hPa,has a significant negative correlation with AO(r=0.63).The anomalous anticyclone over the Arabian Sea brings stronger northeastern winds,which enhance the ITCZ after crossing the equator and result in greater-than-normal precipitation and minimum outgoing long-wave radiation.

Estimation of aerosol properties over the Chinese desert region with MODIS AOD assimilation in a global model

A Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter assimilation system has been implemented into an aerosol-coupled global nonhydrostatic model to simulate the aerosol mass concentration and aerosol optical properties of 3 desert sites(Ansai, Fukang, Shapotou) in northwestern China. One-month experiment results of April 2006 reveal that the data assimilation can correct the much overestimated aerosol surface mass concentration, and has a strong positive effect on the aerosol optical depth(AOD) simulation, improving agreement with observations. Improvement is limited with the?ngstr€om Exponent(AE) simulation, except for much improved correlation coefficient and model skill scores over the Ansai site. Better agreement of the AOD spatial distribution with the independent observations of Terra(Deep Blue) and Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer(MISR) AODs is obtained by assimilating the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) AOD product, especially for regions with AODs lower than 0.30. This study confirms the usefulness of the remote sensing observations for the improvement of global aerosol modeling.

Statistical Reconstruction of the Antarctic Oscillation Index Based on Multiple Proxies

Based on multiple proxies from the Southern Hemisphere, an austral summer (December-January-February: DJF) Antarctic Oscillation Index (AAO) since 1500 A.D. was reconstructed with a focus on interannual to interdecadal variability (<50 a). By applying a multivariate regression method, the observational AAO-proxy relations were calibrated and cross-validated for the period of 1957 89. The regressions were employed to compute the DJF-AAO index for 1500 1956. To verify the results, the authors checked the explained variance (r 2 ), the reduction of error (RE), and the standard error (SE). Cross-validation was performed by applying a leave-one-out validation method. Over the entire reconstruction period, the mean values of r 2 , RE, and SE are 59.9%, 0.47, and 0.67, respectively. These statistics indicate that the DJF-AAO reconstruction is relatively skillful and reliable for the last ～460 years. The reconstructed AAO variations on the interannual and interdecadal timescales compare favorably with those of several shorter sea level pressure (SLP)-based AAO indices. The leading periods of the DJF-AAO index over the last 500 years are ～2.4, ～2.6, ～6.3, ～24.1, and ～37.6 years, all of which are significant at the 95% level as estimated by power spectral analysis.