scholarly journals The Role of Extratropical Cyclones and Fronts for Southern Ocean Freshwater Fluxes

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (16) ◽  
pp. 6205-6224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Papritz ◽  
Stephan Pfahl ◽  
Irina Rudeva ◽  
Ian Simmonds ◽  
Harald Sodemann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Extratropical Cyclones ◽  
Freshwater Flux ◽  
Freshwater Fluxes ◽  
South Indian ◽  
The Pacific

Abstract In this study, the important role of extratropical cyclones and fronts for the atmospheric freshwater flux over the Southern Ocean is analyzed. Based on the Interim ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim), the freshwater flux associated with cyclones is quantified and it is revealed that the structure of the Southern Hemispheric storm track is strongly imprinted on the climatological freshwater flux. In particular, during austral winter the spiraliform shape of the storm track leads to a band of negative freshwater flux bending toward and around Antarctica, complemented by a strong freshwater input into the midlatitude Pacific, associated with the split storm track. The interannual variability of the wintertime high-latitude freshwater flux is shown to be largely determined by the variability of strong precipitation (>75th percentile). Using a novel and comprehensive method to attribute strong precipitation uniquely to cyclones and fronts, it is demonstrated that over the Southern Ocean between 60% and 90% of the strong precipitation events are due to these synoptic systems. Cyclones are the dominant cause of strong precipitation around Antarctica and in the midlatitudes of the Atlantic and the Pacific, while in the south Indian Ocean and the eastern Atlantic fronts bring most of the strong precipitation. A detailed analysis of the spatial variations of intense front and cyclone precipitation associated with the interannual variability of the wintertime frequency of cyclones in the midlatitude and high-latitude branches of the Pacific storm track underpins the importance of considering both fronts and cyclones in the analysis of the interannual variability of freshwater fluxes.

Intraseasonal-to-Interannual Variability of South Indian Ocean Sea Level and Thermocline: Remote versus Local Forcing

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 602-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie L. Trenary ◽  
Weiqing Han
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Ekman Pumping ◽  
Remote Forcing ◽  
South Indian ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Thermocline Variability

Abstract The relative importance of local versus remote forcing on intraseasonal-to-interannual sea level and thermocline variability of the tropical south Indian Ocean (SIO) is systematically examined by performing a suite of controlled experiments using an ocean general circulation model and a linear ocean model. Particular emphasis is placed on the thermocline ridge of the Indian Ocean (TRIO; 5°–12°S, 50°–80°E). On interannual and seasonal time scales, sea level and thermocline variability within the TRIO region is primarily forced by winds over the Indian Ocean. Interannual variability is largely caused by westward propagating Rossby waves forced by Ekman pumping velocities east of the region. Seasonally, thermocline variability over the TRIO region is induced by a combination of local Ekman pumping and Rossby waves generated by winds from the east. Adjustment of the tropical SIO at both time scales generally follows linear theory and is captured by the first two baroclinic modes. Remote forcing from the Pacific via the oceanic bridge has significant influence on seasonal and interannual thermocline variability in the east basin of the SIO and weak impact on the TRIO region. On intraseasonal time scales, strong sea level and thermocline variability is found in the southeast tropical Indian Ocean, and it primarily arises from oceanic instabilities. In the TRIO region, intraseasonal sea level is relatively weak and results from Indian Ocean wind forcing. Forcing over the Pacific is the major cause for interannual variability of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) transport, whereas forcing over the Indian Ocean plays a larger role in determining seasonal and intraseasonal ITF variability.

scholarly journals Intraseasonal and Interannual Variability in North American Storm Tracks and Its Relationship to Equatorial Pacific Variability

2013 ◽  
Vol 141 (10) ◽  
pp. 3610-3625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin M. Grise ◽  
Seok-Woo Son ◽  
John R. Gyakum
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
North American ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Extratropical Cyclones ◽  
The North ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Cyclone Tracks ◽  
Lagrangian Tracking ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

Abstract Extratropical cyclones play a principal role in wintertime precipitation and severe weather over North America. On average, the greatest number of cyclones track 1) from the lee of the Rocky Mountains eastward across the Great Lakes and 2) over the Gulf Stream along the eastern coastline of North America. However, the cyclone tracks are highly variable within individual winters and between winter seasons. In this study, the authors apply a Lagrangian tracking algorithm to examine variability in extratropical cyclone tracks over North America during winter. A series of methodological criteria is used to isolate cyclone development and decay regions and to account for the elevated topography over western North America. The results confirm the signatures of four climate phenomena in the intraseasonal and interannual variability in North American cyclone tracks: the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Pacific–North American pattern (PNA), and the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). Similar signatures are found using Eulerian bandpass-filtered eddy variances. Variability in the number of extratropical cyclones at most locations in North America is linked to fluctuations in Rossby wave trains extending from the central tropical Pacific Ocean. Only over the far northeastern United States and northeastern Canada is cyclone variability strongly linked to the NAO. The results suggest that Pacific sector variability (ENSO, PNA, and MJO) is a key contributor to intraseasonal and interannual variability in the frequency of extratropical cyclones at most locations across North America.

Drivers of biases in the extratropical storm tracks in CMIP6

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Priestley ◽  
Duncan Ackerley ◽  
Jennifer Catto ◽  
Kevin Hodges ◽  
Ruth McDonald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Storm Tracks ◽  
Extratropical Cyclones ◽  
Ocean Coupling ◽  
Coupled Climate Models ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Impact

<p>Extratropical cyclones are the leading driver of the day-to-day weather variability and wintertime losses for Europe. In the latest generation of coupled climate models, CMIP6, it is hoped that with improved modelling capabilities come improvements in the structure of the storm track and the associated cyclones. Using an objective cyclone identification and tracking algorithm the mean state of the storm tracks in the CMIP6 models is assessed as well as the representation of explosively deepening cyclones. Any developments and improvements since the previous generation of models in CMIP5 are discussed, with focus on the impact of model resolution on storm track representation. Furthermore, large-scale drivers of any biases are investigated, with particular focus on the role of atmosphere-ocean coupling via associated AMIP simulations and also the influence of large-scale dynamical and thermodynamical features.</p>

scholarly journals Spatial hydrochemical structure in surface waters of the Southern ocean between Africa and Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 328-347
Author(s):  
K. V. Artamonova ◽  
I. A. Gangnus ◽  
L. A. Dukhova ◽  
V. V. Maslennikov ◽  
N. A. Lavinen
Keyword(s):  
Surface Layer ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Hydrochemical Characteristics ◽  
The South ◽  
The North ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Subantarctic Front

Some hydrochemical characteristics and, first of all, the main nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen, silicon) can be used as markers for distinguishing different types of water masses and positions of the main fronts of the Southern Ocean. The seasonal and interannual variability of these characteristics also reflects the character of biological processes in the surface layer of the ocean, which is important for assessing biological productivity. The aim of this study was to analyze the main features of the spatial distribution of hydrochemical characteristics in the surface layer in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean sectors of the Southern Ocean between the Subantarctic Front and the shores of Antarctica and assess their seasonal (spring–autumn) and interannual variability for the observation period from 2008 to 2020. We describe the surface nutrient concentrations between Africa and Antarctica along the transects that cross the Subantarctic Front (SAF) in the north, the Polar Frontal Zone (PFS), Polar Front (PF) and Antarctic Zone water in the south. The findings revealed an increase in dissolved oxygen and nutrients towards the south. Nitrates changed values within the SAF from 15 μM to 24 μM, whereas values from 1.2 μM to 1.7 μM were observed for phosphates. Silicate increased considerably within the Polar Front, from 6.6 μM to 20.8 μM. An analysis was carried out of the seasonal and interannual variability of the hydrochemical conditions in the surface layer of the Southern Ocean. The interannual variability of the nutrients was determined by the spatial variability of the main fronts of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and the intensity of the largescale Weddell Gyre (WG). Since 2017, there has been an increase in the meridional transfer of waters: in the Antarctic Summer 2017–2018, there was a spreading of high-nutrient WG waters toward the north, and in the Summer 2019–2020, the low-nutrient waters anomaly was transferred far to the south (up to 60°S).According to the data obtained, the seasonal dynamics of the nutrients in the surface layer of the Southern Ocean was rather weakly expressed. An exception is the high-latitude waters of the Cooperation and Davis Seas, where maximum seasonal variability of the hydrochemical characteristics was observed. The highest rate of nutrient consumption was observed in the coastal area of the Cooperation Sea near the fast ice edge from mid–December to early January and reached 3.2 μM per day for silicate, 1.8 μM per day for nitrates, and 0.12 μM per day for mineral phosphorus. The results of the long-term monitoring of the hydrochemical conditions in the Cooperation Sea made it possible to distinguish conditionally “warm” years with early vegetation (at the end of December) and intensive consumption of nutrients by phytoplankton, and “cold” years, when the formation of high-latitude “oases” in December–January was not observed.

Role of the Low-Frequency Deformation Field on the Explosive Growth of Extratropical Cyclones at the Jet Exit. Part I: Barotropic Critical Region

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 1965-1981 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Rivière ◽  
A. Joly
Keyword(s):  
Critical Region ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sudden Change ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Deformation Field ◽  
Extratropical Cyclones ◽  
Exit Region

Abstract By using new theoretical results on perturbation growth in spatially and temporally complex quasigeostrophic flows, this paper investigates the role of the large-scale deformation field on extratropical cyclones and especially on their explosive growth in the jet-exit region. Theoretical ideas are tested by decomposing the atmospheric flow into a high- and a low-frequency part and by analyzing four-dimensional variational data assimilation (4DVAR) reanalysis data of the Fronts and Atlantic Storm-Track Experiment (FASTEX) during February 1997 as well as reanalysis data for the end of December 1999. Regions where the low-frequency deformation magnitude is greater than the absolute value of the low-frequency vorticity are shown to correspond to regions where synoptic disturbances at the same level tend to be located. These regions in the upper troposphere are intrinsically related to the horizontal inhomogeneities of the low-frequency large-scale upper-tropospheric jet but cannot be detected by looking separately at the deformation or vorticity. Transitions from one such large-scale region to the next furthermore can be accompanied by a sudden change of the dilatation axes orientation: this combination defines a barotropic critical region (BtCR). Reasons why a BtCR is a specific place where barotropic development is likely to occur are exposed. Two very differently located BtCR regions in two apparently similar zonal-like weather regimes are shown to be the preferred regions where synoptic eddies tend to cross the jet from the south to the north. BtCRs are also special regions where constructive association between barotropic and baroclinic processes is favored, indeed constrained to cooperate. This is illustrated through the detailed analysis of the last growth stage of Intensive Observation Period 17 (IOP17) of FASTEX. It happens precisely around a BtCR area located in the jet-exit region. Two processes explain this IOP17 development; one involves the barotropic generation rate resulting from the low crossing the BtCR and the other one is baroclinic interaction, which is strongly maintained far away from the baroclinicity maximum because of the new favorable baroclinic configuration resulting from the first process.

scholarly journals Reply

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (19) ◽  
pp. 5192-5194 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Penny ◽  
G. H. Roe ◽  
D. S. Battisti
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Central Pacific Ocean ◽  
Recent Comment ◽  
Full Dataset ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Midwinter Suppression

Penny et al. recently showed that the midwinter suppression in storminess over the western and central Pacific Ocean is due to a reduction in the number and amplitude of “seed” disturbances entering the Pacific storm track from midlatitude Asia. In this reply, the authors strengthen the conclusions that were originally put forth and show that the apparent departure from this behavior presented in a recent comment originates in the commenters having undersampled the full dataset of interannual variability. It is shown that when the Pacific storm track is only weakly “seeded” by an upstream source, as is common during winter and uncommon during fall and spring, it is likely to be weaker than average, and this reduction is highly statistically significant and the amplitude compares well with the midwinter suppression.

scholarly journals Intraseasonal variability of wind waves in the western South Atlantic: the role of cyclones and the Pacific South-American pattern

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalton Kei Sasaki ◽  
Carolina Barnez Gramcianinov ◽  
Belmiro Castro ◽  
Marcelo Dottori
Keyword(s):  
Time Scales ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Extreme Values ◽  
Wind Waves ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
Extratropical Cyclones ◽  
South American ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Cyclone Genesis

Abstract. Extratropical cyclones are known to generate extreme significant wave height (swh) values in the western South Atlantic (wSA), which are highly influenced by intraseasonal scales. This work aims to investigate the importance of intraseasonal time scales (30–180 days) in the regional wave climate and its atmospheric forcing. The variability is explained by analyzing the storm track modulation due to westerlies winds. These winds present time-scales and spatial patterns compatible with the intraseasonal component of the Pacific South–American (PSA) patterns. The analysis are made using ECMWF’s ERA5 from 1979 to 2019 and a database of extratropical cyclones based on the same reanalysis. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of the 10 m zonal wind and swh are used to assess the westerlies and waves regime in the wSA. The EOF1 of u10 presented a core centred at 45° W and 40° S, while the EOF2 is represented by two cores organized into a see-saw pattern with a center between 30° S–40° S and another to the south of 40° S. Composites of cyclone genesis and track densities, and swh fields were calculated based on the phases of both EOFs. In short, EOF phases presenting cores with a positive (negative) u10 anomaly provides a favorable (unfavorable) environment for cyclone genesis and track densities and, therefore, positive (negative) swh anomalies. The modulation of the cyclones track are significant for extreme values of the swh. The spatial patterns of the EOFs of u10 are physically and statistically consistent with 200 hPa and 850 hPa geopotential height signals from the Pacific, indicating the importance of the remote influence of the PSA patterns over the wSA.

When during Their Life Cycle Are Extratropical Cyclones Attended by Fronts?

2018 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Schemm ◽  
Michael Sprenger ◽  
Heini Wernli
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Baroclinic Instability ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Extratropical Cyclones ◽  
Historical Discourse ◽  
Identification Schemes ◽  
The North ◽  
Surface Front ◽  
The North Pacific

Abstract For nearly a century, the study of atmospheric dynamics in the midlatitudes has presented dichotomic perspectives on one of its focal points: the birth and life cycle of cyclones. In particular, the role of fronts has driven much of the historical discourse on cyclogenesis. In the 1910s–20s, the Bergen School of Meteorology postulated that cyclogenesis occurs on a preexisting front. This concept was later replaced by the baroclinic instability paradigm, which describes the development of a surface front as a consequence of the growing cyclone rather than its cause. However, there is ample observational evidence for cyclogenesis on well-marked fronts (frontal-wave cyclones) as well as for cyclogenesis in the absence of fronts in broader baroclinic zones. Thus, after a century of research on the link between extratropical cyclones and fronts, this study has the objective of climatologically quantifying their relationship. By combining identification schemes for cyclones and fronts, the fraction of cyclones with attendant fronts is quantified at all times during the cyclones’ life cycle. The storm-track regions over the North Atlantic are dominated by cyclones that form on preexisting fronts. Over the North Pacific, the result more strongly depends on the front definition. Cyclones that acquire their fronts during the life cycle dominate over the continents and in the Mediterranean. Further, cyclones that develop attendant fronts during their life cycle typically do so around the time they attain maximum intensity. At the time of cyclolysis, at least 40% of all cyclones are still associated with a front. The number of occluded fronts at lysis has not been considered.

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