scholarly journals Dynamics and Geometry of Extratropical Cyclones in the Upper Troposphere by a Neighbor Enclosed Area Tracking Algorithm

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (21) ◽  
pp. 8641-8653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaru Inatsu ◽  
Shotaro Amada
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Major Axis ◽  
Relative Vorticity ◽  
Tracking Algorithm ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Extratropical Cyclones ◽  
Background Flow ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
The Arctic Oscillation ◽  
Hemisphere Winter

Abstract This study shows that the morphological characteristics of upper-tropospheric extratropical eddies are closely related to the background flow in the Northern Hemisphere winter. Enclosed surfaces of 300-hPa relative vorticity are identified by using the neighbor enclosed area tracking algorithm, and the periphery of these surfaces are approximated by ellipses. Eddies are classified into five categories according to the approximate ellipse. Eddies having an oblateness of less than 0.6 are classified as near circle, or are otherwise classified as northeast–southwest (NE–SW), northwest–southeast (NW–SE), north–south, or west–east, according to the direction of the major axis. In the wintertime climatology, NE–SW-oriented cyclones are collocated with the jet stream, while NW–SE-oriented cyclones mostly reside north of the jet. In interannual variability, moreover, the frequency of NE–SW cyclones is slightly correlated with the Arctic Oscillation (AO) index, while the frequency of NW–SE cyclones is highly anticorrelated with the AO index. This is consistent with positive feedback between horizontally slanted eddies and background flow, as has been shown in many previous studies.

scholarly journals Influence of the Arctic Oscillation on the Vertical Distribution of Wintertime Ozone in the Stratosphere and Upper Troposphere over the Northern Hemisphere

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 2905-2919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiankai Zhang ◽  
Fei Xie ◽  
Wenshou Tian ◽  
Yuanyuan Han ◽  
Kequan Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Distribution ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Arctic Oscillation ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Eddy Transport ◽  
The Arctic Oscillation ◽  
The Vertical Distribution ◽  
Middle Stratosphere

The influence of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) on the vertical distribution of stratospheric ozone in the Northern Hemisphere in winter is analyzed using observations and an offline chemical transport model. Positive ozone anomalies are found at low latitudes (0°–30°N) and there are three negative anomaly centers in the northern mid- and high latitudes during positive AO phases. The negative anomalies are located in the Arctic middle stratosphere (~30 hPa; 70°–90°N), Arctic upper troposphere–lower stratosphere (UTLS; 150–300 hPa, 70°–90°N), and midlatitude UTLS (70–300 hPa, 30°–60°N). Further analysis shows that anomalous dynamical transport related to AO variability primarily controls these ozone changes. During positive AO events, positive ozone anomalies between 0° and 30°N at 50–150 hPa are related to the weakened meridional transport of the Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC) and enhanced eddy transport. The negative ozone anomalies in the Arctic middle stratosphere are also caused by the weakened BDC, while the negative ozone anomalies in the Arctic UTLS are caused by the increased tropopause height, weakened BDC vertical transport, weaker exchange between the midlatitudes and the Arctic, and enhanced ozone depletion via heterogeneous chemistry. The negative ozone anomalies in the midlatitude UTLS are mainly due to enhanced eddy transport from the midlatitudes to the latitudes equatorward of 30°N, while the transport of ozone-poor air from the Arctic to the midlatitudes makes a minor contribution. Interpreting AO-related variability of stratospheric ozone, especially in the UTLS, would be helpful for the prediction of tropospheric ozone variability caused by the AO.

scholarly journals Reversed impacts of the Arctic oscillation on the precipitation over the South China Sea and its surrounding areas in October and November

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianyun Dong ◽  
Wenjie Dong ◽  
Taichen Feng ◽  
Xian Zhu
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Arabian Sea ◽  
Arctic Oscillation ◽  
Wave Train ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
The Arctic Oscillation ◽  
Surrounding Areas

Abstract The reversed impacts of the Arctic oscillation (AO) on precipitation over the South China Sea and its surrounding areas (SCSA) in October and November during 1979–2014 are investigated. The correlation coefficients between AO and the precipitation in October and November are 0.44 and − 0.31, which are statistically significant at the 99% and 90% confidence levels, respectively. In October (November), the specific humidity exhibits obvious positive (negative) anomalies in the SCSA, and an upward (downward) airflow moving from ground to the upper troposphere (1000–150 hPa) between 10°N and 30°N (10°N and 20°N) is observed with more (less) cloud cover. Moisture budget diagnosis suggests that the precipitation’s increasing (decreasing) in October (November) mainly contributed by zonal moisture flux convergence (divergence). Furthermore, the Rossby wave guided by westerlies tends to motivate positive geopotential height in the upper troposphere over approximately 20°–30°N, 40°–80°E in October, which is accompanied by a stronger anticyclone in the Arabian Sea region. However, in November, the wave train propagating from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal is observed in the form of cyclones and anticyclones. Further analysis reveal that the AO in October may increase precipitation through the southern wave train (along the westerly jet stream from North Africa to the Middle East and South China). Moreover, air-sea interactions over the North Pacific might also generate horseshoe-shaped sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies characterized by positive SST in the central subtropical North Pacific surrounded by negative SST, which may affect the precipitation in the SCSA. Ensemble-mean results from CMIP6 historical simulations further confirm these relationships, and the models that can better simulate the observed positive geopotential height in the Arabian Sea present more consistent precipitation’s increasing over the SCSA in October.

Stratosphere–Troposphere Coupling and Links with Eurasian Land Surface Variability

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (21) ◽  
pp. 5335-5343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judah Cohen ◽  
Mathew Barlow ◽  
Paul J. Kushner ◽  
Kazuyuki Saito
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Planetary Wave ◽  
Vertical Component ◽  
Polar Vortex ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Wave Activity ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Surface Circulation ◽  
The Arctic Oscillation ◽  
Hemisphere Winter

Abstract A diagnostic of Northern Hemisphere winter extratropical stratosphere–troposphere interactions is presented to facilitate the study of stratosphere–troposphere coupling and to examine what might influence these interactions. The diagnostic is a multivariate EOF combining lower-stratospheric planetary wave activity flux in December with sea level pressure in January. This EOF analysis captures a strong linkage between the vertical component of lower-stratospheric wave activity over Eurasia and the subsequent development of hemisphere-wide surface circulation anomalies, which are strongly related to the Arctic Oscillation. Wintertime stratosphere–troposphere events picked out by this diagnostic often have a precursor in autumn: years with large October snow extent over Eurasia feature strong wintertime upward-propagating planetary wave pulses, a weaker wintertime polar vortex, and high geopotential heights in the wintertime polar troposphere. This provides further evidence for predictability of wintertime circulation based on autumnal snow extent over Eurasia. These results also raise the question of how the atmosphere will respond to a modified snow cover in a changing climate.

scholarly journals Empirical Mode Reduction in a Model of Extratropical Low-Frequency Variability

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 1859-1877 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Kondrashov ◽  
S. Kravtsov ◽  
M. Ghil
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Study ◽  
Singular Spectrum Analysis ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Reduced Model ◽  
The North ◽  
Low Frequency Variability ◽  
Intraseasonal Oscillations ◽  
The Arctic Oscillation ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

Abstract This paper constructs and analyzes a reduced nonlinear stochastic model of extratropical low-frequency variability. To do so, it applies multilevel quadratic regression to the output of a long simulation of a global baroclinic, quasigeostrophic, three-level (QG3) model with topography; the model's phase space has a dimension of O(104). The reduced model has 45 variables and captures well the non-Gaussian features of the QG3 model's probability density function (PDF). In particular, the reduced model's PDF shares with the QG3 model its four anomalously persistent flow patterns, which correspond to opposite phases of the Arctic Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation, as well as the Markov chain of transitions between these regimes. In addition, multichannel singular spectrum analysis identifies intraseasonal oscillations with a period of 35–37 days and of 20 days in the data generated by both the QG3 model and its low-dimensional analog. An analytical and numerical study of the reduced model starts with the fixed points and oscillatory eigenmodes of the model's deterministic part and uses systematically an increasing noise parameter to connect these with the behavior of the full, stochastically forced model version. The results of this study point to the origin of the QG3 model's multiple regimes and intraseasonal oscillations and identify the connections between the two types of behavior.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document