Observational relationship of sea surface temperatures and precedent soil moisture with summer precipitation in the U.S. Great Plains

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 884-893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Meng ◽  
Steven M. Quiring
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Sea Surface Temperatures ◽  
Surface Temperatures ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The U.S

Decadal change in summer precipitation over the east of Northwest China and its associations with atmospheric circulations and sea surface temperatures

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shasha Shang ◽  
Gaofeng Zhu ◽  
Ruolin Li ◽  
Jie Xu ◽  
Juan Gu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Vapor Transport ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Water Vapor Transport ◽  
Northwest Pacific ◽  
Sea Surface Temperatures ◽  
Surface Temperatures ◽  
Decadal Variations

<p>As global warming has progressed, precipitation patterns over arid Northwest China have undergone significant change. In this study, changes in summer (JJA) precipitation over the eastern part of Northwest China (ENWC) from 1980 to 2014 were investigated using the China gridded monthly precipitation dataset (CN05.1). The results showed that summer precipitation over the ENWC experienced a decadal wet-to-dry shift in 1998. Westerlies played an important role in the upper atmospheric levels in terms of water vapor transport; the decadal variations in summer precipitation were principally controlled by the water vapor input from the ENWC's western boundary. In addition, the decadal variations in summer precipitation in the ENWC appear to be associated with a meridional teleconnection around 110°E and a zonal pattern over 45–60°N in the lower troposphere. These two teleconnections led to cyclonic anomalies in the ENWC and enhanced water vapor transport into the ENWC, resulting in above-normal precipitation during the 1989–1998 decadal period. Further, the warmer (colder) sea surface temperatures (SSTs) observed in the tropical Eastern Pacific correspond to the southward (northward) displacement of the Asian jet stream and a negative (positive) phase of the Silk Road pattern, resulting in a wet (dry) ENWC. Moreover, the SST anomalies in the North Atlantic and Northwest Pacific may affect summer precipitation over the ENWC via a zonal teleconnection in the middle troposphere. Details about the results will be presented in the conference.</p>

scholarly journals Rising Mediterranean Sea Surface Temperatures Amplify Extreme Summer Precipitation in Central Europe

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Volosciuk ◽  
Douglas Maraun ◽  
Vladimir A. Semenov ◽  
Natalia Tilinina ◽  
Sergey K. Gulev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Sea Surface Temperatures ◽  
Surface Temperatures

scholarly journals Implications of North Atlantic Sea Surface Salinity for Summer Precipitation over the U.S. Midwest: Mechanisms and Predictive Value

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 3143-3159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laifang Li ◽  
Raymond W. Schmitt ◽  
Caroline C. Ummenhofer ◽  
Kristopher B. Karnauskas
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Moisture Flux ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Sea Surface Salinity ◽  
Southern United States ◽  
Surface Salinity ◽  
The U.S

Abstract Moisture originating from the subtropical North Atlantic feeds precipitation throughout the Western Hemisphere. This ocean-to-land moisture transport leaves its imprint on sea surface salinity (SSS), enabling SSS over the subtropical oceans to be used as an indicator of terrestrial precipitation. This study demonstrates that springtime SSS over the northwestern portion of the subtropical North Atlantic significantly correlates with summertime precipitation over the U.S. Midwest. The linkage between springtime SSS and the Midwest summer precipitation is established through ocean-to-land moisture transport followed by a soil moisture feedback over the southern United States. In the spring, high SSS over the northwestern subtropical Atlantic coincides with a local increase in moisture flux divergence. The moisture flux is then directed toward and converges over the southern United States, which experiences increased precipitation and soil moisture. The increased soil moisture influences the regional water cycle both thermodynamically and dynamically, leading to excessive summer precipitation in the Midwest. Thermodynamically, the increased soil moisture tends to moisten the lower troposphere and enhances the meridional humidity gradient north of 36°N. Thus, more moisture will be transported and converged into the Midwest by the climatological low-level wind. Dynamically, the increases in soil moisture over the southern United States enhance the west–east soil moisture gradient eastward of the Rocky Mountains, which can help to intensify the Great Plains low-level jet in the summer, converging more moisture into the Midwest. Owing to these robust physical linkages, the springtime SSS outweighs the leading SST modes in predicting the Midwest summer precipitation and significantly improves rainfall prediction in this region.

scholarly journals On the Relationship between North Atlantic Sea Surface Temperatures and U.S. Hurricane Landfall Risk

2009 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Dailey ◽  
Gerhard Zuba ◽  
Greta Ljung ◽  
Ioana M. Dima ◽  
Jayanta Guin
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Physical Analysis ◽  
Sea Surface Temperatures ◽  
Surface Temperatures ◽  
Complete Life Cycle ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The U.S

Abstract In the recent literature, considerable attention has been paid to the relationship between climate signals and tropical cyclone activity. Much of the research has focused on Atlantic Ocean basin activity while less attention has been given to landfall frequency and the geographic distribution of risk to life and property. However, recent active seasons like 2004 and 2005 and the resulting damage and economic loss have generated significant interest in the relationship between climate and landfall risk. This study focuses on sea surface temperatures (SST) and examines modulation of landfall activity occurring in anomalously warm-SST seasons. The objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of warmer ocean conditions on U.S. landfall risk. The study is broken into two parts–—statistical and physical. The statistical analysis categorizes historical hurricane seasons as either warm or cool and then estimates shifts in landfall frequency under these two climate modes. The analysis is carried out for overall U.S. landfall risk and then for logical subregions along the U.S. coastline. The climatological behavior for warm-SST conditions is developed across the intensity spectrum, from weak tropical storms to major hurricanes, using wind speed as an intensity measure. The analysis suggests that landfall risk is sensitive to SST conditions but that sensitivity varies by region and intensity. The uncertainty associated with these estimates is discussed. The physical analysis is carried out to understand better why landfall risk is not affected uniformly along the U.S. coastline and to reinforce the reasonability of the statistical results. The study involves a detailed examination of the complete life cycle of historical storms. Results indicate that storms making landfall along the East Coast have different genesis and intensification characteristics relative to storms making landfall along the Gulf Coast. As SSTs warm, the genesis pattern shifts, greatly influencing regional landfall risk. Further, hurricane landfalls may react not only to warm-SST conditions, but also to the effect of ocean temperature anomalies on the atmosphere’s general circulation. There are implications that complex feedback mechanisms play a role in modulating the probability of landfall, especially from certain parts of the Atlantic basin. Such physical theories provide added confidence in statistical estimates of elevated risk for certain breeds of tropical cyclones.

scholarly journals Sensitivity of summer precipitation to tropical sea surface temperatures over East Asia in the GRIMs GMP

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (9) ◽  
pp. 1824-1831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eun-Chul Chang ◽  
Sang-Wook Yeh ◽  
Song-You Hong ◽  
Renguang Wu
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Sea Surface Temperatures ◽  
Surface Temperatures ◽  
Tropical Sea

scholarly journals Natural variability of the Keetch - Byram Drought Index in the Hawaiian Islands

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Dolling ◽  
Pao-Shin Chu ◽  
Francis Fujioka
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Drought Index ◽  
Hawaiian Islands ◽  
Natural Variability ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Daily Maximum ◽  
Sea Surface Temperatures ◽  
Atmospheric Circulations ◽  
Surface Temperatures ◽  
Maximum Temperatures

The Hawaiian Islands experience damaging wildfires on a yearly basis. Soil moisture or lack thereof influences the amount and flammability of vegetation. Incorporating daily maximum temperatures and daily rainfall amounts, the Keetch–Byram Drought Index (KBDI) estimates the amount of soil moisture by tracking daily maximum temperatures and rainfall. A previous study found a strong link between the KBDI and total area burned on the four main Hawaiian Islands. The present paper further examines the natural variability of the KBDI. The times of year at which the KBDI is highest, representing the highest fire danger, are found at each of the 27 stations on the island chain. Spectral analysis is applied to investigate the variability of the KBDI on longer time scales. Windward and leeward stations are shown to have different sensitivities to large-scale climatic fluctuations. An El Niño signal displays a strong relationship with leeward stations, when examined with a band-pass filter and with a composite of standardized anomalies. Departure patterns of atmospheric circulations and sea surface temperatures over the North Pacific are investigated for composites of extremely high KBDI values when fire risk is high. The winter, spring, and fall show anomalous surface anticyclonic circulations, surface divergence, and subsidence over the islands for the upper quartile of KBDI. The winter, spring, and fall composites of equatorial sea surface temperatures for the upper quartile of KBDI are investigated for possible links to atmospheric circulations. These analyses are an effort to allow fire managers some lead time in predicting future fire risks.

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