Impacts of multi-scale solar activity on climate. Part I: Atmospheric circulation patterns and climate extremes

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 867-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hengyi Weng

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 13843-13890 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Peña ◽  
L. Schulte ◽  
A. Badoux ◽  
M. Barriendos ◽  
A. Barrera-Escoda

Abstract. The higher frequency of severe flood events in Switzerland in recent decades has given fresh impetus to the study of flood patterns and their possible forcing mechanisms, particularly in mountain environments. This paper presents an index of summer flood damage that considers severe and catastrophic summer floods in Switzerland between 1800 and 2009, and explores the influence of solar and climate forcings on flood frequencies. In addition, links between floods and low-frequency atmospheric circulation patterns are examined. The flood damage index provides evidence that the 1817–1851, 1881–1927, 1977–1990 and 2005–present flood clusters occur mostly in phase with palaeoclimate proxies. The cross-spectral analysis documents that the periodicities detected in the coherency and phase spectra of 11 (Schwabe cycle) and 104 years (Gleissberg cycle) are related to a high frequency of flooding and solar activity minima, whereas the 22 year cyclicity detected (Hale cycle) is associated with solar activity maxima and a decrease in flood frequency. The analysis of atmospheric circulation patterns shows that Switzerland lies close to the border of the summer principal mode: the Summer North Atlantic Oscillation. The Swiss river catchments situated on the centre and southern flank of the Alps are affected by atmospherically unstable areas defined by the positive phase of the Summer North Atlantic Oscillation pattern, while those basins located in the northern slope of the Alps are predominantly associated with the negative phase of the pattern. Furthermore, a change in the low-frequency atmospheric circulation pattern related to the major floods occurred over the period from 1800 to 2009: the Summer North Atlantic Oscillation persists in negative phase during the last cool pulses of the Little Ice Age (1817–1851 and 1881–1927 flood clusters), whereas the positive phases of SNAO prevail during warmer climate of the last four decades (flood clusters from 1977 to present).





Author(s):  
Mohammad Saeed Najafi ◽  
B. S. Sarraf ◽  
A. Zarrin ◽  
A. A. Rasouli




2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1075-1084 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Stewart ◽  
T. Bradwell ◽  
J. Bullard ◽  
S. J. Davies ◽  
N. Golledge ◽  
...  


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2145-2155 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Pringle ◽  
D. D. Stretch ◽  
A. Bárdossy

Abstract. Wave climates are fundamental drivers of coastal vulnerability; changing trends in wave heights, periods and directions can severely impact a coastline. In a diverse storm environment, the changes in these parameters are difficult to detect and quantify. Since wave climates are linked to atmospheric circulation patterns, an automated and objective classification scheme was developed to explore links between synoptic-scale circulation patterns and wave climate variables, specifically wave heights. The algorithm uses a set of objective functions based on wave heights to guide the classification and find atmospheric classes with strong links to wave behaviour. Spatially distributed fuzzy numbers define the classes and are used to detect locally high- and low-pressure anomalies. Classes are derived through a process of simulated annealing. The optimized classification focuses on extreme wave events. The east coast of South Africa was used as a case study. The results show that three dominant patterns drive extreme wave events. The circulation patterns exhibit some seasonality with one pattern present throughout the year. Some 50–80% of the extreme wave events are explained by these three patterns. It is evident that strong low-pressure anomalies east of the country drive a wind towards the KwaZulu-Natal coastline which results in extreme wave conditions. We conclude that the methodology can be used to link circulation patterns to wave heights within a diverse storm environment. The circulation patterns agree with qualitative observations of wave climate drivers. There are applications to the assessment of coastal vulnerability and the management of coastlines worldwide.



2022 ◽  
pp. 1-41

Abstract The interannual variation of springtime extreme precipitation (SEP) days in North China (NC) and their reliance on atmospheric circulation patterns are studied by using the continuous daily record of 396 rain gauges and the fifth generation of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts atmospheric reanalysis during 1979–2019. The SEP days are defined as the days when at least 10% of rain gauges in NC record daily precipitation no less than 10.5 mm. Results show that the number of SEP days shows large interannual variability but no significant trend in the study period. Using the objective classification method of the obliquely rotated principal analysis in T-mode, we classify the atmospheric circulation into five different patterns based on the geopotential height at 700 hPa. Three circulation patterns all have fronts and are associated with strong southerly wind, leading to 88% of SEP days in NC. The strong southerly wind may provide moisture and dynamic forcing for the frontal precipitation. The interannual variation of SEP days is related with the number of the three above-mentioned dominant circulation patterns. Further analysis shows that the West Pacific pattern could be one of the possible climate variability modes related to SEP days. This study reveals that the daily circulation pattern may be the linkage between SEP days and climate variability modes in NC.



Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1584
Author(s):  
Ivana Tošić ◽  
Suzana Putniković ◽  
Milica Tošić ◽  
Irida Lazić

In this study, extremely warm and cold temperature events were examined based on daily maximum (Tx) and minimum (Tn) temperatures observed at 11 stations in Serbia during the period 1949–2018. Summer days (SU), warm days (Tx90), and heat waves (HWs) were calculated based on daily maximum temperatures, while frost days (FD) and cold nights (Tn10) were derived from daily minimum temperatures. Absolute maximum and minimum temperatures in Serbia rose but were statistically significant only for Tx in winter. Positive trends of summer and warm days, and negative trends of frost days and cold nights were found. A high number of warm events (SU, Tx90, and HWs) were recorded over the last 20 years. Multiple linear regression (MLR) models were applied to find the relationship between extreme temperature events and atmospheric circulation. Typical atmospheric circulation patterns, previously determined for Serbia, were used as predictor variables. It was found that MLR models gave the best results for Tx90, FD, and Tn10 in winter.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Guo ◽  
Laura J. Wilcox ◽  
Massimo Bollasina ◽  
Steven T. Turnock ◽  
Marianne T. Lund ◽  
...  

Abstract. Despite local emission reductions, severe haze events remain a serious issue in Beijing. Previous studies have suggested that both greenhouse gas increases and aerosol decreases are likely to increase the frequency of weather patterns conducive to haze events. However, the combined effect of atmospheric circulation changes and aerosol and precursor emission changes on Beijing haze remains unclear. We use the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) to explore the effects of aerosol and greenhouse gas emission changes on both haze weather and Beijing haze itself. We confirm that the occurrence of haze weather patterns is likely to increase in future under all SSPs, and show that even though aerosol reductions play a small role, greenhouse gas increases are the main driver, especially during the second half of the 21st century. However, the severity of the haze events decreases on decadal timescales by as much as 70 % by 2100. The main influence on the haze itself is the reductions in local aerosol emissions, which outweigh the effects of changes in atmospheric circulation patterns. This demonstrates that aerosol reductions are beneficial, despite their influence on the circulation.



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