A Perspective on the Evolution of Atmospheric Blocking Theories:From Eddy-Mean flow Interaction to Nonlinear Multiscale Interaction

In this paper,we first review the research advancements in blocking dynamics and highlight the merits and drawbacks of the previous theories of atmospheric blocking.Then,the dynamical mechanisms of atmospheric blocking are presented based on a nonlinear multi-scale interaction(NMI)model.Previous studies suggested that the eddy deformation(e.g.,eddy straining,wave breaking,and eddy merging)might lead to the formation and maintenance of atmospheric blocking.However,the results were speculative and problematic because the previous studies,based on the time-mean eddy-mean flow interaction model,cannot identify the causal relationship between the evolution of atmospheric blocking and the eddy deformation.Based on the NMI model,we indicate that the onset,growth,maintenance,and decay of atmospheric blocking is mainly produced by the spatiotemporal evolution of pre-existing upstream synoptic-scale eddies,whereas the eddy deformation is a concomitant phenomenon of the blocking formation.The lifetime of blocking is mainly determined by the meridional background potential vorticity gradient(PVy)because a small PVyfavors weak energy dispersion and strong nonlinearity to sustain the blocking.But the zonal movement of atmospheric blocking is associated with the background westerly wind,PVy,and the blocking amplitude.Using this NMI model,a bridge from the climate change to sub-seasonal atmospheric blocking and weather extremes might be established via examining the effect of climate change on PVy.Thus,it is expected that using the NMI model to explore the dynamics of atmospheric blocking and its change is a new direction in the future.

Revisiting the Climatology of Atmospheric Blocking in the Northern Hemisphere

In addition to the occurrence of atmospheric blocking, the climatology of the characteristics of blocking events, including duration, intensity, and extension, in four seasons over the Northern Hemisphere was analyzed for the period 1950-2009. The seasonality and spatial variations of these characteristics were studied according to their longitudinal distributions. In general, there were sharp discrepancies in the blocking characteristics between winter and summer, and these differences were more prominent over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The blocking not only occurred more frequently but also underwent stronger amplification in winter; likewise, the blocking occurred less frequently and underwent weaker amplification in summer. There are very strong interrelationships among different blocking characteristics, suggesting that they are supported by similar physical factors. In addition, the relationship between blocking over different regions and East Asian circulation was examined. Ural-Siberia is a major blocking formation region in all seasons that may exert a downstream impact on East Asia. The impact is generally weak in summer, which is due to its lower intensity and smaller duration. However, the extratropical circulation over East Asia in summer can be disturbed persistently by the frequent occurrence of blocking over the Asian continent or the Western Pacific. In particular, the blocking frequency over the Western Pacific significantly increased during the study period. This climatological information provides a background for studying the impact of blocking on East Asian circulation under both present and future climate conditions.

Regional Atmospheric Blocking in the Drought Periods in Ukraine

The conditions for regional circulation of the atmosphere in the periods of severe droughts in Ukraine are described by two circulation indexes. In analogy with experimental index EBI （European Blocking Index） for the Eastern Atlantic and Western Europe is proposed a new index ECBI （European Continental Blocking Index）, which describes the blocking of zonal flow over the European continent. The obtained time series of the ECBI for the spring-summer seasons with the severe droughts in Ukraine were analyzed. Katz circulation index was used for the estimating of intensity of the meridional atmospheric processes during the same droughts. It is shown that there registered a high frequency of blocking processes which was accompanied by positive phases of ECBI and an increase in the meridional component of an atmospheric flow over the region of Europe. In years with droughts in average 60% consecutive pentads were with a positive value of ECBI, mostly in April to May. The absolute maximum duration of blocking was the 10 consecutive pentads and observed in 1963. The high positive values of the ECBI and Katz index were connected with strong anomalies in seasonal and monthly fields of wind over territory of Eastern Europe. A close relationship between the ECBI and the Katz index was obtained, which allowed to determine the critical value of the Katz index for the beginning of blocking situation,

NONLINEAR SCHRODINGER EQUATION IN THE ROTATIONAL BAROTROPIC ATMOSPHERE AND ATMOSPHERIC BLOCKING

In this paper,the WKB method is used to obtain the nonlinear Schrdinger equation satisfied by nonlinear Rossby wave in the rotational barotropic atmosphere.It is found that the nonlinear Schrdinger equation has an envelope solitary wave solution under the condition 1≤m≤2(m the zonal wavenumber),and the phase speed of envelope solitary Rossby wave in the atmosphere is related to the square of its amplitude linearly,that is,the larger the amplitude of envelope solitary Rossby wave,the smaller its propagation speed.Farthermore, the blocking high and cut-off low pressures which are consistent with the observations of blocking in the atmo- sphere are obtained by calculating envelope solitary Rossby wave,and the blocking structures persist more than five days,the results demonstrate that the envelope solitary Rossby wave is a possible mechanism about the formation,maintenance and breakout of blocking in the atmosphere.

New analytical solitary and periodic wave solutions for generalized variable-coefficients modified KdV equation with external-force term presenting atmospheric blocking in oceans

In this study,the generalized modified variable-coefficient KdV equation with external-force term(gvcmKdV)describing atmospheric blocking located in the mid-high latitudes over ocean is studied for integrability property by using consistent Riccati expansion solvability and the necessary integrability conditions between the function coefficients are obtained.Moreover,several new solutions have been constructed for the gvcmKdV.Additionally,the classical direct similarity reduction method is used to re-duce the gvcmKdV to a nonlinear ordinary differential equation.Building on the solutions given in the previous literature for the reduced equation,many novel solitary and periodic wave solutions have been obtained for the gvcmKdV.

Variable Coefficient KdV Equation and the Analytical Diagnoses of a Dipole Blocking Life Cycle

A variable coefficient Korteweg de Vries （VCKdV） system is derived by considering the time-dependent basic flow and boundary conditions from the well-known Euler equation with an earth rotation term. The analytical solution obtained from the VCKdV equation can be successfully used to explain fruitful phenomena in fluid and other physical fields, for instance, the atmospheric blocking phenomena. In particular, a diploe blocking case happened during 9 April 1973 to 18 April 1973 read out from the National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research （NCEP/NCAR） reanalysis data is well described by the analytical solution.

Extreme Cold Events in North America and Eurasia in November-December 2022: A Potential Vorticity Gradient Perspective

From 17 November to 27 December 2022, extremely cold snowstorms frequently swept across North America and Eurasia. Diagnostic analysis reveals that these extreme cold events were closely related to the establishment of blocking circulations. Alaska Blocking(AB) and subsequent Ural Blocking(UB) episodes are linked to the phase transition of the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO) and represent the main atmospheric regimes in the Northern Hemisphere. The downstream dispersion and propagation of Rossby wave packets from Alaska to East Asia provide a large-scale connection between AB and UB episodes. Based on the nonlinear multi-scale interaction(NMI) model, we found that the meridional potential vorticity gradient(PVy) in November and December of 2022 was anomalously weak in the mid-high latitudes from North America to Eurasia and provided a favorable background for the prolonged maintenance of UB and AB events and the generation of associated severe extreme snowstorms. However, the difference in the UB in terms of its persistence,location, and strength between November and December is related to the positive(negative) NAO in November(December). During the La Ni?a winter of 2022, the UB and AB events are related to the downward propagation of stratospheric anomalies, in addition to contributions by La Ni?a and low Arctic sea ice concentrations as they pertain to reducing PVyin mid-latitudes.

The Role of Topography and Diabatic Heating in the Formation of Dipole Blocking in the Atmosphere

In this paper, the nonlinear stationary waves forced by topography and diabatic heating are investigated. It is pointed out that (1) the nonlinear interaction of different stationary waves forced only by topography might form dipole blocking in the atmosphere, this might explain the dipole blocking appeared in the Pacific and Atlantic regions; (2) the dipole blocking could not be caused by the nonlinear interaction of the different stationary waves forced by the diabatic heating alone; (3) the nonlinear interaction of the diffferent stationary waves forced by both topography and diabatic heating could initiate dipole blocking in the atmosphere. In winter, the dipole blocking mainly occurs in the west regions of the Pacific and the Atlantic, and the heat source over the western part of the two oceans is advantageous to the formation of dipole blocking in the west of two oceans. However, in summer, the dipole blocking could be formed in the east part of the two oceans, and the heat source over the eastern part of two continents is favourable for the formation of dipole blocking in the east regions of two oceans.

Temporal Structures of the North Atlantic Oscillation and Its Impact on the Regional Climate Variability

In this study, the temporal structure of the variation of North Atlantic Oscillation （NAO） and its impact on regional climate variability are analyzed using various datasets. The results show that blocking formations in the Atlantic region are sensitive to the phase of the NAO. Sixty-seven percent more winter blocking days are observed during the negative phase compared to the positive phase of the NAO. The average length of blocking during the negative phase is about 11 days, which is nearly twice as long as the 6-day length observed during the positive phase of the NAO. The NAO-related differences in blocking frequency and persistence are associated with changes in the distribution of the surface air temperature anomaly, which, to a large extent, is determined by the phase of the NAO. The distribution of regional cloud amount is also sensitive to the phase of the NAO. For the negative phase, the cloud amounts are significant, positive anomalies in the convective zone in the Tropics and much less cloudiness in the mid latitudes. But for the positive phase of the NAO, the cloud amount is much higher in the mid-latitude storm track region. In the whole Atlantic region, the cloud amount shows a decrease with the increase of surface air temperature. These results suggest that there may be a negative feedback between the cloud amount and the surface air t.emperature in the Atlantic region.

Relationship between zonal position of the North Atlantic Oscillation and Euro-Atlantic blocking events and its possible effect on the weather over Europe

The North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO) exhibited a marked eastward shift in the mid-1970 s. Observations show that the extreme weather events in Europe have emerged frequently in the past decades. In this paper, based upon the daily NAO index, we have calculated the frequency of in-situ NAO events in winter during 1950-2011 by defining the Eastern-type NAO(ENAO) and Western-type NAO(WNAO) events according to its position at the east(west) of 10°W. Then, the composites of the blocking frequency, temperature and precipitation anomalies for different types of NAO events are performed. Results show that the frequency of Euro-Atlantic blocking events is distributed along the northwest-southeast(southwest-northeast) direction for the negative(positive) phase. Two blocking action centers in Greenland and European continent are observed during the negative phase while one blocking action center over south Europe is seen for the positive phase. The action center of blocking events tends to shift eastward as the NAO is shifted toward the European continent. Moreover, the eastern-type negative phase(ENAO) events are followed by a sharp decline of surface air temperature over Europe(especially in central, east, and south Europe), which have a wider and stronger impact on the weather over European continent than the western-type negative phase(WNAO) events do. A double- branched structure of positive precipitation anomalies is seen for the negative phase event, besides strong positive precipitation anomalies over south Europe for ENAO event. The eastern-type and western-type positive phase(ENAO+ and WNAO+) can lead to warming over Europe. A single-branched positive precipitation anomaly dominant in central and north Europe is seen for positive phase events.