Impacts of the extratropical North Pacific on boreal summer Arctic circulation

北极夏季大气环流的一个显着特征是以北冰洋为中心的异常反气旋环流,与北极增暖存在紧密的联系.先前的研究已将其形成的潜在机制与早春欧亚融雪,热带太平洋海表温度异常联系起来.本研究发现北极夏季反气旋环流异常与春季副热带北太平洋海表温度异常(SSTA)存在显着联系,表明副热带北太平洋与北极之间存在遥相关.该SSTA的特点是北太平洋中纬度地区有暖的SSTA,,周围有明显的冷SSTA,类似于太平洋年代际振荡(PDO)的负位相,但热带地区没有明显的信号(本研究称之为类负位相PDO),5月份,这种类负位相PDO可以激发从白令海传播到北极的罗斯贝波,导致北极出现反气旋环流异常.这种反气旋环流异常可以持续到夏季.同时,这种类负位相PDO的SSTA可以持续到夏季,并在夏季引起白令海上空的低压异常.这种低层的低压异常会导致异常的上升运动,并引起高层的辐散异常,从而进一步加剧夏季北极对流层上层的反气旋环流异常。这种反气旋环流异常可迫使北极上空出现异常绝热下沉运动,导致北极出现显著的绝热加热.于是,北极上空出现显著的暖异常,其暖中心位于北极对流层中部。数值模拟试验证实了5月份类负位相PDO的SSTA与夏季北极反气旋环流异常之间的联系.

Teleconnection between Sea Ice in the Barents Sea in June and the Silk Road,Pacific–Japan and East Asian Rainfall Patterns in August

In contrast to previous studies that have tended to focus on the influence of the total Arctic sea-ice cover on the East Asian summer tripole rainfall pattern, the present study identifies the Barents Sea as the key region where the June sea-ice variability exerts the most significant impacts on the East Asian August tripole rainfall pattern, and explores the teleconnection mechanisms involved. The results reveal that a reduction in June sea ice excites anomalous upward air motion due to strong near-surface thermal forcing, which further triggers a meridional overturning wave-like pattern extending to midlatitudes.Anomalous downward motion therefore forms over the Caspian Sea, which in turn induces zonally oriented overturning circulation along the subtropical jet stream, exhibiting the east–west Rossby wave train known as the Silk Road pattern. It is suggested that the Bonin high, a subtropical anticyclone predominant near South Korea, shows a significant anomaly due to the eastward extension of the Silk Road pattern to East Asia. As a possible descending branch of the Hadley cell, the Bonin high anomaly ultimately triggers a meridional overturning, establishing the Pacific–Japan pattern. This in turn induces an anomalous anticyclone and cyclone pair over East Asia, and a tripole vertical convection anomaly meridionally oriented over East Asia. Consequently, a tripole rainfall anomaly pattern is observed over East Asia. Results from numerical experiments using version 5 of the Community Atmosphere Model support the interpretation of this chain of events.

Air–Sea Coupling Enhances the East Asian Winter Climate Response to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation

A simple air-sea coupled model, the atmospheric general circulation model （AGCM） of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction coupled to a mixed-layer slab ocean model, is employed to investigate the impact of air-sea coupling on the signals of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation （AMO）. A regional coupling strategy is applied, in which coupling is switched off in the extratropical North Atlantic Ocean but switched on in the open oceans elsewhere. The coupled model is forced with warm-phase AMO SST anomalies, and the modeled responses are compared with those from parallel uncoupled AGCM experiments with the same SST forcing. The results suggest that the regionally coupled responses not only resemble the AGCM simulation, but also have a stronger intensity. In comparison, the coupled responses bear greater similarity to the observational composite anomaly. Thus, air-sea coupling enhances the responses of the East Asian winter climate to the AMO. To determine the mechanism responsible for the coupling amplification, an additional set of AGCM experiments, forced with the AMO-induced tropical SST anomalies, is conducted. The SST anomalies are extracted from the simulated AMO-induced SST response in the regionally coupled model. The results suggest that the SST anomalies contribute to the coupling amplification. Thus, tropical air-sea coupling feedback tends to enhance the responses of the East Asian winter climate to the AMO.

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.

A New Method for Predicting the Decadal Component of Global SST

A simple approach that considers both internal decadal variability and the effect of anthropogenic forcing is developed to predict the decadal components of global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) for the three decades 2011-2040. The internal decadal component is derived by harmonic wave expansion analyses based on the quasiperiodic evolution of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), as obtained from observational SST datasets. Furthermore, the external decadal component induced by anthropogenic forcing is assessed with a second-order fit based on the ensemble of projected SSTs in the experiments with multiple coupled climate models associated with the third Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3) under the Intergovernmental Panels on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Reports on Emissions Scenario (SRES) A1B. A validation for the years from 2002 to 2010 based on a comparison of the predicted and the observed SST and their spatial correlation, as well as the root mean square error (RMSE), suggests that the approach is reasonable overall. In addition, the predicted results over the 50°S-50°N global band, the Indian Ocean, the western Pacific Ocean, the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, and the North and the South Atlantic Ocean are presented.

Simulation by CMIP5 Models of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and Its Climate Impacts

This study focuses on the climatic impacts of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation （AMO） as a mode of internal vari- ability. Given the difficulties involved in excluding the effects of external forcing from internal variation, i.e., owing to the short record length of instrumental observations and historical simulations, we assess and compare the AMO and its related climatic impacts both in observations and in the ＂Pre-industrial＂ experiments of models participating in CMIP5. First, we evaluate the skill of the 25 CMIP5 models＇ ＂Historical＂ simulations in simulating the observational AMO, and find there is generally a considerable range of skill among them in this regard. Six of the models with higher skill relative to the other models are selected to investigate the AMO-related climate impacts, and it is found that their ＂Pre-industrial＂ simulations capture the essential features of the AMO. A positive AMO favors warmer surface temperature around the North Atlantic, and the Atlantic ITCZ shifts northward leading to more rainfall in the Sahel and less rainfall in Brazil. Furthermore, the results confirm the existence of a teleconnection between the AMO and East Asian surface temperature, as well as the late withdrawal of the Indian summer monsoon, during positive AMO phases. These connections could be mainly caused by internal climate variability. Opposite patterns are true for the negative phase of the AMO.

Arctic Sea Ice and Eurasian Climate:A Review

The Arctic plays a fundamental role in the climate system and has shown significant climate change in recent decades,including the Arctic warming and decline of Arctic sea-ice extent and thickness. In contrast to the Arctic warming and reduction of Arctic sea ice, Europe, East Asia and North America have experienced anomalously cold conditions, with record snowfall during recent years. In this paper, we review current understanding of the sea-ice impacts on the Eurasian climate.Paleo, observational and modelling studies are covered to summarize several major themes, including： the variability of Arctic sea ice and its controls; the likely causes and apparent impacts of the Arctic sea-ice decline during the satellite era,as well as past and projected future impacts and trends; the links and feedback mechanisms between the Arctic sea ice and the Arctic Oscillation/North Atlantic Oscillation, the recent Eurasian cooling, winter atmospheric circulation, summer precipitation in East Asia, spring snowfall over Eurasia, East Asian winter monsoon, and midlatitude extreme weather; and the remote climate response（e.g., atmospheric circulation, air temperature） to changes in Arctic sea ice. We conclude with a brief summary and suggestions for future research.

What Determines the Amplitude of ENSO Events?

In this paper, the dynamic effect of oceanic upwelling on the intensity of El Nio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is studied using a simple coupled model (Zebiak-Cane Model). The term balance analysis in the temperature variability equation shows that the anomalous upwelling of the mean vertical temperature gradient and the mean advection of the anomalous meridional temperature gradient are the two of most important factors that determine the intensity of ENSO events, in which the "vertical oceanic heat flux" in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) is the primary influencing factor. The lag correlation between "vertical heat flux (VHF)" and ENSO intensity shows that the highest correlation occurs when the former leads the latter by one to two weeks. The VHF is positively correlated with the background thermocline strength in the EEP, and an increase of both could result in strong ENSO variability. Comparison of the forced and coupled experiments suggests that the coupled process can affect both the intensity and frequency of ENSO.

Weaker connection between the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and Indian summer rainfall since the mid-1990s

以前的研究表明在50-60年的时间尺度上,北大西洋多年代际振荡(AMO)对印度夏季降水(ISMR)有重要的调制作用。在观测和模式研究中AMO和ISMR均存在显著的正相关关系。但是,上世纪90年代中期之后,器测资料显示二者的关系变得不显著,甚至表现出相反的位相关系。这表明二者的关系减弱了。这个研究探讨了AMO-ISMR关系减弱的可能物理机制。研究显示印度洋-热带西太平洋海温的显著增暖可能是原因之一。这个增暖使得欧亚大陆和印度洋之间的对流层温度梯度减弱,以及印度次大陆和印度洋之间的海陆热力差异减弱,从而减弱ISMR。