A PRINCIPAL MODE OF CIRCULATION COVARIATION BETWEEN THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN HEMISPHERES AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH ENSO DURING BOREAL WINTER

By employing the singular value decomposition(SVD) analysis, we have investigated in the present paper the covariations between circulation changes in the Northern(NH) and Southern Hemispheres(SH) and their associations with ENSO by using the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis, the reconstructed monthly NOAA SST, and CMAP precipitation along with NOAA Climate Prediction Center(CPC) ENSO indices. A bi-hemispheric covariation mode(hereafter BHCM) is explored, which is well represented by the first mode of the SVD analysis of sea surface pressure anomaly(SLPA-SVD1). This SVD mode can explain 57.36% of the total covariance of SLPA. BHCM varies in time with a long-term trend and periodicities of 3—5 years. The long term trend revealed by SVD1 shows that the SLP increases in the equatorial central and eastern Pacific but decreases in the western Pacific and tropical Indian Ocean, which facilitates easterlies in the lower troposphere to be intensified and El Ni觡o events to occur with lower frequency. The spatial pattern of the BHCM looks roughly symmetric about the equator in the tropics, whereas it is characterized by zonal disturbances in the mid-latitude of NH and is highly associated with AAO in the mid-latitude of SH. On inter-annual time scales, the BHCM is highly correlated with ENSO. The atmosphere in both the NH and SH responds to sea surface temperature anomalies in the equatorial region, while the contemporaneous circulation changes in the NH and SH in turn affect the occurrence of El Ni觡o/La Ni觡a. In boreal winter, significant temperature and precipitation anomalies associated with the BHCM are found worldwide. Specifically, in the positive phase of the BHCM,temperature and precipitation are anomalously low in eastern China and some other regions of East Asia. These results are helpful for us to better understand interactions between circulations in the NH and SH and the dynamical mechanisms behind these interactions.

Differential Hydrocarbon Accumulation Controlled by Structural Styles along the Southern and Northern Tianshan Thrust Belt

The Kuqa and the Southern Junggar foreland thrust belts, which lie to the southern and northern Tianshan, respectively, were formed under a strong compressional tectonic setting. Due to the differential propagation and deformation under the control of the décollement horizon, the structural deformation styles differ in the Kuqa and Southern Junggar thrust belts. Imbricated stacking is developed in the Kuqa thrust belt, forming a piggyback imbricated pattern of faulted anticline and fault-block structural assemblage dominated by salt structures. In contrast, wedge-shaped thrusts are developed in Southern Junggar, mainly forming vertical laminated patterns of multi-wedge-structure stacks strongly influenced by the décollement horizons. The different deformation patterns and structural styles of the north and south of Tian Shan control the contrasting characteristics of hydrocarbon accumulation in the foreland thrust belts of the Kuqa and the Southern Junggar thrust belts, including the variance in the hydrocarbon trap types, pathway systems and hydrocarbon-bearing horizons. Proven by the hydrocarbon accumulation research and exploration achievements, recent exploration targets should focus on sub-salt piggyback imbricated structural patterns in the Kuqa and the deep laminated patterns in the Southern Junggar thrust belt.

ENSO-Independent Contemporaneous Variations of Anomalous Circulations in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres:The Polar-Tropical Seesaw Mode

Using the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis and the ENSO indices from the Climate Prediction Center over the period 1978-2014,we have investigated the contemporaneous circulation variations in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres by performing the singular value decomposition analysis of sea level pressure anomalies（SLPA） after the ENSO signal is regressed out.It is found that there exists a polar-tropical seesaw mode（PTSM） that characterizes with the out of phase fluctuations of SLPA between the polar and tropical regions in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in boreal winter.This PTSM explains 47.74%of the total covariance of SLPA and is almost independent of ENSO.It demonstrates a long-term trend and oscillation cycles of 2-3 and 4-6 yr.The long-term trend in PTSM indicates that the sea level pressure gradually decreases in the tropics and increases in the polar region with time.This PTSM looks roughly symmetric about the equator besides the seesaw pattern of SLPA between the tropics and polar region in each hemisphere.The disturbances in the geopotential height field in association with the PTSM shows baroclinic features in the tropics whereas equivalent barotropic features in the mid and high latitudes in the troposphere.The anomalous thermal forcing in the tropical region is possibly one of the factors facilitating the formation of this PTSM.Significant global precipitation and temperature anomalies related to the PTSM are observed.In the positive PTSM phase,precipitation and temperature are higher than normal in southern Europe and the Mediterranean and surrounding areas,but lower than normal in northern Europe and Siberia.Precipitation is higher than normal while temperature is lower than normal in Northeast Asia.Significant temperature and precipitation anomalies possibly occur in the regions of western China,northern India,parts of North America,parts of subtropical Africa,Maritime Continent,and Antarctic.These results are helpful for better understanding of the circulation variations and the mechanisms behind the interactions between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and the related winter climate anomalies over globe.

A Comparison of Polar Vortex Response to Pacific and Indian Ocean Warming

During recent decades, the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean has become increasingly warmer. Meanwhile, both the northern and southern hemispheric polar vortices （NPV and SPV） have exhibited a deepening trend in boreal winter. Although previous studies have revealed that the tropical Indian Ocean warming （IOW） favors an intensifying NPV and a weakening SPV, how the tropical Pacific Ocean warming （POW） influences the NPV and SPV remains unclear. In this study, a comparative analysis has been conducted through ensemble atmospheric general circulation model （AGCM） experiments. The results show that, for the Northern Hemisphere, the two warmings exerted opposite impacts in boreal winter, in that the IOW intensified the NPV while the POW weakened the NPV. For the Southern Hemisphere, both the IOW and POW warmed the southern polar atmosphere and weakened the SPV. A diagnostic analysis based on the vorticity budget revealed that such an interhemispheric difference in influences from the IOW and POW in boreal winter was associated with different roles of transient eddy momentum flux convergence between the hemispheres. Furthermore, this difference may have been linked to different strengths of stationary wave activity between the hemispheres in boreal winter.

Polar Vortex Response to Pacific Ocean Warming and Its Additive Nonlinearity with the Indian Ocean

A previous modeling study about Pacific Ocean warming derived polar vortex response signals, by subtracting those in the Indian Ocean warming experiments from those in the Indo-Pacific. This approach questions the resemblance of such an indirectly derived response to one directly forced by Pacific Ocean warming. This is relevant to the additive nonlinearity of atmospheric responses to separated Indian and Pacific Ocean forcing. In the present study, an additional set of ensemble experiments are performed by prescribing isolated SST forcing in the tropical Pacific Ocean to address this issue. The results suggest a qualitative resemblance between responses in the derived and additional experiments. Thus, previous findings about the impact of Indian and Pacific Ocean wanning are robust. This study has important implications for future climate change projections, considering the non-unanimous warming rates in tropical oceans in the 21st century. Nevertheless, a comparison of present direct-forced experiments with previous indirect-forced experiments suggests a significant additive nonlinearity between the Indian and Pacific Ocean warmings. Further diagnosis suggests that the nonlinearity may originate from the thermodynamic processes over the tropics.

Some Advances in Studies of the Climatic Impacts of the Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode

The Southern Hemisphere （SH） annular mode （SAM） is the dominant mode of atmospheric circulation in the SH extratropics. The SAM regulates climate in many regions due to its large spatial scale. Exploration of the climatic impacts of the SAM is a new research field that has developed rapidly in recent years. This paper reviews studies of the climatic impact of the SAM on the SH and the Northern Hemisphere （NH）, emphasizing linkages between the SAM and climate in China. Studies relating the SAM to climate change are also discussed. A general survey of these studies have been systematically investigated. On interannual shows that signals of the SAM in the SH climate scales, the SAM can influence the position of storm tracks and the vertical circulation, and modulate the dynamic and thermodynamic driving effects of the surface wind on the underlying surface, thus influencing the SH air-sea-ice coupled system. These influences generally show zonally symmetrical characteristics, but with local features. On climate change scales, the impacts of the SAM on SH climate change show a similar spatial distribution to those on interannual scales. There are also meaningful results on the relationship between the SAM and the NH climate. The SAM is known to affect the East Asian, West African, and North American summer monsoons, as well as the winter monsoon in China. Air-sea interaction plays an important role in these connections in terms of the storage of the SAM signal and its propagation from the SH to the NH. However, compared with the considerable knowledge of the impact of the SAM on the SH climate, the response of the NH climate to the SAM deserves further study, including both a deep understanding of the propagation mechanism of the SAM signal from the SH to the NH and the establishment of a seasonal prediction model based on the SAM.

Hwangryongsa reconsidered:A Korean mirror to the medieval Chinese Buddhist ritual-architectural transformation

This article investigates the one-century construction history of Silla’s state monastery Hwangryongsa,understanding its architectural transformation in relation to the changing ritual-spatial concept within the context of the medieval Sino-Korean cultural exchanges.The initial construction between 553 and 569,supervised by the Koguryŏe´migre´monk Hyeryang,followed the sixth-century Northern Chinese model to build Hwangryongsa as a dormitory-enclosed compound,in which the One-Hundred-Seat Assembly was enacted in the image hall as the earlier Chinese Buddhist tradition would do.This plan was soon altered under the increasing popularity of the newly developed Southern Chinese paradigm.An extensive reconstruction started in 574 for the purpose of imitating the Chen imperial performance of the One-Hundred-Seat Assembly at Taijidian compound of Jiankang palace,while the archaic,oddly-empty organization of the central image hall reveals a hidden connection between Hwangryongsa and Tongtaisi,the state monastery of the Liang and also the first Chinese monastery modeled after the Taijidian compound.Hwangryongsa was eventually transformed into a corridor-enclosed ceremonial courtyard fronted by three image halls and one nine-story pagoda by 645,and the transformation profoundly mirrored China’s medieval architectural reform of Buddhist ritual space between the sixth and seventh centuries.