Tropospheric Precursors and Stratospheric Warmings

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (24) ◽  
pp. 6562-6572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judah Cohen ◽  
Justin Jones
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Energy Flux ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Stratospheric Warming ◽  
Sea Level Pressure ◽  
Winter Climate ◽  
Level Pressure ◽  
The North ◽  
Tropospheric Circulation ◽  
The North Pacific

Abstract Many tropospheric Arctic Oscillation (AO) events are preceded by stratospheric AO events and even earlier in time by anomalous upward energy flux associated with Rossby waves in the troposphere. This study identifies lower-tropospheric circulation anomalies that precede large AO events in both the troposphere and stratosphere and the anomalous upward energy flux. Compositing analysis of stratospheric warming events identifies regional tropospheric precursors, which precede stratospheric warmings. The tropospheric precursor is found to vary when compositing over polar vortex displacements and splits separately. Prior to vortex displacements the main anomaly sea level pressure center of the tropospheric precursor is located across northwest Eurasia and is associated with the Siberian high. Prior to vortex splits a similar anomaly center is identified in the tropospheric precursor but is weaker and appears to be more strongly related to a shift in the storm tracks. Differences in the sea level pressure anomalies in the North Atlantic and the North Pacific are also observed when comparing the precursors prior to vortex displacements and splits. Identification of a unique tropospheric precursor to stratospheric warming and subsequent tropospheric AO events can help to improve understanding troposphere–stratosphere coupling. Furthermore, the observational evidence presented here can be compared with model simulations of winter climate variability and lead to potential model improvements.

scholarly journals New Insights into Annual and Semiannual Cycles of Sea Level Pressure

2012 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 1347-1355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ge Chen ◽  
Chengcheng Qian ◽  
Caiyun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Boreal Winter ◽  
Sea Level Pressure ◽  
Level Pressure ◽  
The North ◽  
Dominant Feature ◽  
The One ◽  
The North Pacific

Sea level pressure (SLP) acts, on the one hand, as a “bridge parameter” to which geophysical properties at the air–sea interface (e.g., wind stress and sea surface height) are linked, and on the other hand, as an “index parameter” by which major atmospheric oscillations, including the well-known Southern Oscillation, are defined. Using 144 yr (1854–1997) of extended reconstructed SLP data, seasonal patterns of its variability are reinvestigated in detail. New features on fundamental structure of its annual and semiannual cycles are revealed in two aspects. First, the spatiotemporal patterns of yearly and half-yearly SLPs are basically determined by a network of “amphidromes,” which are surrounded by rotational variations. Fourteen cyclonic and anticyclonic annual SLP amphidromes (half each and often in pair) are found in the global ocean, while the numbers of the two types of semiannual amphidrome are 11 and 9, respectively. The second dominant feature in SLP variability is the pattern of oscillation or seesaw for both annual and semiannual components. At least eight oscillation zones are identified for the annual cycle, which can be categorized into a boreal winter mode and an austral winter mode. As for the semiannual cycle, the seesaw pattern is geographically divided into three regimes: the North Pacific regime, the North Atlantic regime, and the Southern Ocean regime. These findings serve as a new contribution to characterizing and understanding the seasonality of the global ocean–atmosphere system.

scholarly journals The Victoria mode in the North Pacific linking extratropical sea level pressure variations to ENSO

2015 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruiqiang Ding ◽  
Jianping Li ◽  
Yu-heng Tseng ◽  
Cheng Sun ◽  
Yipeng Guo
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Sea Level Pressure ◽  
Level Pressure ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Pacific

scholarly journals Impact of the Stratosphere on the Winter Tropospheric Teleconnections between ENSO and the North Atlantic and European Region

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 1223-1238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Cagnazzo ◽  
Elisa Manzini
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Stratospheric Warming ◽  
Sudden Stratospheric Warming ◽  
Sea Level Pressure ◽  
Level Pressure ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract The possible role of stratospheric variability on the tropospheric teleconnection between El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the North Atlantic and European (NAE) region is addressed by comparing results from two ensembles of simulations performed with an atmosphere general circulation model fully resolving the stratosphere (with the top at 0.01 hPa) and its low-top version (with the top at 10 hPa). Both ensembles of simulations consist of nine members, covering the 1980–99 period and are forced with prescribed observed sea surface temperatures. It is found that both models capture the sensitivity of the averaged polar winter lower stratosphere to ENSO in the Northern Hemisphere, although with a reduced amplitude for the low-top model. In late winter and spring, the ENSO response at the surface is instead different in the two models. A large-scale coherent pattern in sea level pressure, with high pressures over the Arctic and low pressures over western and central Europe and the North Pacific, is found in the February–March mean of the high-top model. In the low-top model, the Arctic high pressure and the western and central Europe low pressure are very much reduced. The high-top minus low-top model difference in the ENSO temperature and precipitation anomalies is that North Europe is colder and the Northern Atlantic storm track is shifted southward in the high-top model. In addition, it has been found that major sudden stratospheric warming events are virtually lacking in the low-top model, while their frequency of occurrence is broadly realistic in the high-top model. Given that this is a major difference in the dynamical behavior of the stratosphere of the two models and that these events are favored by ENSO, it is concluded that the occurrence of sudden stratospheric warming events affects the reported differences in the tropospheric ENSO–NAE teleconnection. Given that the essence of the high-top minus low-top model difference is a more annular (or zonal) pattern of the anomaly in sea level pressure, relatively larger over the Arctic and the NAE regions, this interpretation is consistent with the observational evidence that sudden stratospheric warmings play a role in giving rise to persistent Arctic Oscillation anomalies at the surface.

scholarly journals Future changes in Beijing haze events under different anthropogenic aerosol emission scenarios

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 7499-7514
Author(s):  
Lixia Zhang ◽  
Laura J. Wilcox ◽  
Nick J. Dunstone ◽  
David J. Paynter ◽  
Shuai Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Anthropogenic Aerosol ◽  
Sea Level Pressure ◽  
Level Pressure ◽  
The North ◽  
Aerosol Emission ◽  
Circulation Patterns ◽  
The North Pacific

Abstract. Air pollution is a major issue in China and one of the largest threats to public health. We investigated future changes in atmospheric circulation patterns associated with haze events in the Beijing region and the severity of haze events during these circulation conditions from 2015 to 2049 under two different aerosol scenarios: a maximum technically feasible aerosol reduction (MTFR) and a current legislation aerosol scenario (CLE). In both cases greenhouse gas emissions follow the Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 (RCP4.5). Under RCP4.5 with CLE aerosol the frequency of circulation patterns associated with haze events increases due to a weakening of the East Asian winter monsoon via increased sea level pressure over the North Pacific. The rapid reduction in anthropogenic aerosol and precursor emissions in MTFR further increases the frequency of circulation patterns associated with haze events, due to further increases in the sea level pressure over the North Pacific and a reduction in the intensity of the Siberian high. Even with the aggressive aerosol reductions in MTFR periods of poor visibility, represented by above-normal aerosol optical depth (AOD), still occur in conjunction with haze-favorable atmospheric circulation. However, the winter mean intensity of poor visibility decreases in MTFR, so that haze events are less dangerous in this scenario by 2050 compared to CLE and relative to the current baseline. This study reveals the competing effects of aerosol emission reductions on future haze events through their direct contribution to pollutant source and their influence on the atmospheric circulation. A compound consideration of these two impacts should be taken in future policy making.

The North Pacific Climate Transitions of the Winters of 1976/77 and 1988/89

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 1170-1183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang-Wook Yeh ◽  
Yune-Jung Kang ◽  
Yign Noh ◽  
Arthur J. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Sea Level Pressure ◽  
Level Pressure ◽  
The North ◽  
Sst Variability ◽  
Transition Project ◽  
Climate Transition ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
The North Pacific

Abstract This paper examines characteristic changes in North Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) variability during the boreal winter (December–February) for two subperiods (1956–88 and 1977–2009) during which the 1976/77 and the 1988/89 climate transitions occurred. It is found that the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO)-like SST variability plays a dominant role in the 1976/77 climate transition, while both the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO)-like and PDO-like SST variability contribute to the 1988/89 climate transition. Furthermore, the leading mode changes from PDO-like SST variability during the period 1956–88 to NPGO-like SST variability during the period 1977–2009, indicative of an enhancement of NPGO-like SST variability since 1988. Changes in sea level pressure across the 1976/77 climate transition project strongly onto the Aleutian low pressure system. But sea level pressure changes across the 1988/89 climate transition project primarily onto the North Pacific Oscillation, which is associated with remote changes in the Arctic Oscillation over the polar region as well. This contributes to enhancing the NPGO-like SST variability after 1988. The authors also analyze the output from an ensemble of Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere (TOGA) experiments in which the observed SSTs are inserted only at grid points in the tropics between 20°S and 20°N. The results indicate that the changes in the North Pacific atmosphere in the 1976/77 climate transition are mostly due to the tropics, whereas those in the 1988/89 climate transition are not.

scholarly journals Decadal Shift of NAO-Linked Interannual Sea Level Variability along the U.S. Northeast Coast

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (13) ◽  
pp. 4981-4989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica S. Kenigson ◽  
Weiqing Han ◽  
Balaji Rajagopalan ◽  
Yanto ◽  
Mike Jasinski
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Sea Level Pressure ◽  
Level Pressure ◽  
The North ◽  
Decadal Shift ◽  
Nao Index ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Northeast Coast

Recent studies have linked interannual sea level variability and extreme events along the U.S. northeast coast (NEC) to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), a natural internal climate mode that prevails in the North Atlantic Ocean. The correlation between the NAO index and coastal sea level north of Cape Hatteras was weak from the 1960s to the mid-1980s, but it has markedly increased since around 1987. The causes for the decadal shift remain unknown. Yet understanding the abrupt change is vital for decadal sea level prediction and is essential for risk management. Here we use a robust method, the Bayesian dynamic linear model (DLM), to explore the nonstationary NAO impact on NEC sea level. The results show that a spatial pattern change of NAO-related winds near the NEC is a major cause of the NAO–sea level relationship shift. A new index using regional sea level pressure is developed that is a significantly better predictor of NEC sea level than is the NAO and is strongly linked to the intensity of westerly winds near the NEC. These results point to the vital importance of monitoring regional changes of wind and sea level pressure patterns, rather than the NAO index alone, to achieve more accurate predictions of sea level change along the NEC.

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