Variable and Robust East Asian Monsoon Rainfall Response to El Nio over the Past 60 Years(1957–2016)

Severe flooding occurred in southern and northern China during the summer of 2016 when the 2015 super El Nio decayed to a normal condition. However, the mean precipitation during summer（June–July-August） 2016 does not show significant anomalies, suggesting that — over East Asia（EA） — seasonal mean anomalies have limited value in representing hydrological hazards. Scrutinizing season-evolving precipitation anomalies associated with 16 El Nio episodes during 1957–2016 reveals that, over EA, the spatiotemporal patterns among the four categories of El Nio events are quite variable, due to a large range of variability in the intensity and evolution of El Nio events and remarkable subseasonal migration of the rainfall anomalies. The only robust seasonal signal is the dry anomalies over central North China during the El Nio developing summer. Distinguishing strong and weak El Nio impacts is important. Only strong El Nio events can persistently enhance EA subtropical frontal precipitation from the peak season of El Nio to the ensuing summer, by stimulating intense interaction between the anomalous western Pacific anticyclone（WPAC） and underlying dipolar sea surface temperature anomalies in the Indo-Pacific warm pool, thereby maintaining the WPAC and leading to a prolonged El Nio impact on EA. A weak El Nio may also enhance the post-El Nio summer rainfall over EA, but through a different physical process： the WPAC re-emerges as a forced response to the rapid cooling in the eastern Pacific. The results suggest that the skillful prediction of rainfall over continental EA requires the accurate prediction of not only the strength and evolution of El Nio, but also the subseasonal migration of EA rainfall anomalies.

Empirical assessment of the role of the Sun in climate change using balanced multi-proxy solar records

The role of the Sun in climate change is hotly debated.Some studies suggest its impact is significant,while others suggest it is minimal.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC)supports the latter view and suggests that nearly 100%of the observed surface warming from 1850–1900 to 2020 is due to anthropogenic emissions.However,the IPCC’s conclusions are based solely on computer simulations made with global climate models(GCMs)forced with a total solar irradiance(TSI)record showing a low multi-decadal and secular variability.The same models also assume that the Sun affects the climate system only through radiative forcing–such as TSI–even though the climate could also be affected by other solar processes.In this paper I propose three“balanced”multi-proxy models of total solar activity(TSA)that consider all main solar proxies proposed in scientific literature.Their optimal signature on global and sea surface temperature records is assessed together with those produced by the anthropogenic and volcanic radiative forcing functions adopted by the CMIP6 GCMs.This is done by using a basic energy balance model calibrated with a differential multi-linear regression methodology,which allows the climate system to respond to the solar input differently than to radiative forcings alone,and to evaluate the climate’s characteristic time-response as well.The proposed methodology reproduces the results of the CMIP6 GCMs when their original forcing functions are applied under similar physical conditions,indicating that,in such a scenario,the likely range of the equilibrium climate sensitivity(ECS)could be 1.4℃to 2.8℃,with a mean of 2.1℃(using the HadCRUT5 temperature record),which is compatible with the low-ECS CMIP6 GCM group.However,if the proposed solar records are used as TSA proxies and the climatic sensitivity to them is allowed to differ from the climatic sensitivity to radiative forcings,a much greater solar impact on climate change is found,along with a significantly reduced radiative effect.In this case,the ECS is found to be 0.9–1.8℃,with a mean of around 1.3℃.Lower ECS ranges(up to 20%)are found using HadSST4,HadCRUT4,and HadSST3.The result also suggests that at least about 80%of the solar influence on the climate may not be induced by TSI forcing alone,but rather by other Sun-climate processes(e.g.,by a solar magnetic modulation of cosmic ray and other particle fluxes,and/or others),which must be thoroughly investigated and physically understood before trustworthy GCMs can be created.This result explains why empirical studies often found that the solar contribution to climate changes throughout the Holocene has been significant,whereas GCM-based studies,which only adopt radiative forcings,suggest that the Sun plays a relatively modest role.