Distribution and Variation of Carbon Monoxide in the Tropical Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere

The authors examine the distribution and varia- tion of carbon monoxide （CO） in the tropics from the sur- face to the lower stratosphere. By analyzing space-borne microwave limb sounder （MLS） measurements, measure- ments of pollution in the troposphere （MOPITT） and mod- em-era retrospective analysis for research and applications （MERRA） meteorological products, and atmospheric chemistry and climate model intercomparison project （ACCMIP） surface emission inventories, the influences of atmospheric dynamics and surface emissions are investi- gated. The results show that there are four centers of highly concentrated CO mixing ratio over tropical areas in differ- ent seasons： two in the Northern Hemisphere and another two in the Southern Hemisphere. All of these centers cor- respond to local deep convective systems and mon- soons/anticyclones. The authors suggest that both deep convections and anticyclones affect CO in the tropical tro- posphere and lower stratosphere--the former helping to transport CO from the lower to the middle troposphere （or even higher）, and the dynamical uplift and isolation effects of the latter helping to build up highly concentrated CO in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere （UTLS）. Similarly, there are two annual surface emission peaks in- duced by biomass burning emissions： one from the North- ern Hemisphere and the other from the Southern Hemi- sphere. Both contribute to the highly concentrated CO mixing ratio and control the seasonal variabilities of CO in the UTLS, combining the effects of deep convections and monsoons. Results also show a relatively steady emission rate from anthropogenic sources, with a small increase mainly coming from Southeast Asia and lndia. These emis- sions can be transported to the UTLS over Tibet by the joint effort of surface horizontal winds, deep convections, and the Asian summer monsoon system.

Climatic characteristics of convective and stratiform precipitation over the Tropical and Subtropical areas as derived from TRMM PR

Climatic characteristics of convective and stratiform precipitation over the Tropical and Subtropical areas are investigated based on the measurements of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission's(TRMM) Precipitation Radar(PR) from 1998 to 2007.Results indicate that convective precipitation are distributed mainly over the Intertropical Convergence Zone(ITCZ),the South Pacific Convergence Zone(SPCZ),the Asian Monsoon Region,regions between the South America and the Mid-America,and the Tropical Africa where the frequencies lie between 1% and 2%.But in four seasons,total area fractions of convective precipitation frequencies less than 1% all exceed 85%.The frequencies of stratiform precipitation are much higher than those of convective precipitation,and total area fractions of stratiform precipitation frequencies >1% are over 55% during four seasons.However,frequencies of the two rain types show not only remarkable regionality,but also distinct seasonal variations.Conditional rain rates of convective precipitation range from 6 to 14 mm/h whereas those of stratiform precipitation are smaller than 4 mm/h.Meanwhile,rain tops of convective precipitation are higher than those of stratiform precipitation.The mean profiles of the two rain types show significant latitudinal dependency.And the seasonal variations of precipitation profiles are displayed mainly in the variations of rain tops.The frequencies and conditional rain rates of both rain types over ocean are higher than those over land,but rain tops are just the opposite.Moreover,the seasonal variations of both rain types over ocean are weaker than those over land because of the different stable states of underlying surfaces.

Seasonal variability in tropical and subtropical convective and stratiform precipitation of the East Asian monsoon

Seasonal variations in tropical and subtropical convective and stratiform precipitation of the East Asian monsoon are analyzed using 10-year (1998-2007) Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR) rain products (2A25). Datasets from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) 24 general circulation models (GCMs) are evaluated using TRMM PR rain products in terms of their ability to simulate convective and stratiform precipitation and their deficiencies. The results show that Asian monsoon convective and stratiform precipitation increases significantly after onset of the summer monsoon, but the percentage of convective precipitation clearly decreases over tropical areas while it increases in subtropical regions. The GCMs simulate well the seasonal variation in the contribution of Asian monsoon subtropical convective precipitation to the total rainfall; however, the simulated convective precipitation amount is high while the simulated stratiform precipitation amount is low relative to TRMM measurements, especially over the Asian monsoon tropical region. There is simultaneous TRMM-observed convective and stratiform precipitation in space and time, but GCMs cannot simulate this relationship between convective and stratiform precipitation, resulting in the deficiency of stratiform precipitation simulations.

Decadal changes of the wintertime tropical tropospheric temperature and their influences on the extratropical climate

A decadal change of the tropical tropospheric temperature （TT） was identified to occur in the winter of 1997. Compared with that in the former period （1979-1996）, the wintertime TT was significantly high over most of the tropical regions except over the tropical eastern Pacific during the latter period （1997-2014） because the sea surface temperature （SST） exhibited a decadal La Nifia-like pattern after 1997. The warm SST anomalies over the tropical western Pacific facilitated enhanced precipitation and increased heat release to the tropical atmosphere, leading to a warmer tropical tropo- sphere in the latter period. In addition to the mean TT values, the interannual variability of the tropical TT changed in 1997. The leading mode of the tropical TT explained 72.9 % of the total variance in the former period. It led to significant warming over midlatitude North America via a Pacific-North America （PNA）-like wave train and off the coast of East Asia via an anomalous lower-tropospheric anticyclone around the Philippines. The mode remained a similar pattern but explained 85.4 % of the total variance in the latter period, and its location was slightly westward-shifted compared with that in the former period. As a result, the structure of the PNA-like wave train changed, leading to anomalous warming over northwestern North America and enhanced precipitation over the southern North America. Meanwhile, the anomalous lower- tropospheric anticyclone around the Philippines shifted westward, leading to increased precipitation and regional warming over East Asia. The decadal changes of the leading mode of the tropical TT and its influences on the extratropical climate can be attributed to the changes of the tropical SST variability.