scholarly journals The Positive North Atlantic Oscillation with Downstream Blocking and Middle East Snowstorms: Impacts of the North Atlantic Jet

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1853-1876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao Yao ◽  
Dehai Luo ◽  
Aiguo Dai ◽  
Steven B. Feldstein
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Zonal Wind ◽  
Negative Temperature ◽  
Southeastern Europe ◽  
Temperature Anomalies ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Jet

Abstract A recent study revealed that cold winter outbreaks over the Middle East and southeastern Europe are caused mainly by the northeast–southwest (NE–SW) tilting of European blocking (EB) associated with the positive-phase North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO+). Here, the North Atlantic conditions are examined that determine the EB tilting direction, defined as being perpendicular to the dipole anomaly orientation. Using daily reanalysis data, the NAO+ events are classified into strong (SJN) and weak (WJN) North Atlantic jet types. A composite analysis shows that the EB is generally stronger and located more westward and southward during SJN events than during WJN events. During SJN events, the NAO+ and EB dipoles exhibit NE–SW tilting, which leads to strong cold advection and large negative temperature anomalies over the Middle East and southeastern Europe. In contrast, northwest–southeast (NW–SE) tilting without strong negative temperature anomalies over the Middle East is seen during WJN events. A nonlinear multiscale interaction model is modified to investigate the physical mechanism through which the North Atlantic jet (NAJ) affects EB with the NAO+ event. It is shown that, when the NAJ is stronger, an amplified EB event forms because of enhanced NAO+ energy dispersion. For a strong (weak) NAJ, the EB tends to occur in a relatively low-latitude (high latitude) region because of the suppressive (favorable) role of intensified (reduced) zonal wind in high latitudes. It exhibits NE–SW (NW–SE) tilting because the blocking region corresponds to negative-over-positive (opposite) zonal wind anomalies. The results suggest that the NAJ can modulate the tilting direction of EB, leading to different effects over the Middle East.

scholarly journals The North Atlantic Oscillation and the North Atlantic Jet Variability: Precursors to NAO Regimes and Transitions

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 3763-3787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dehai Luo ◽  
Jing Cha
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Zonal Wind ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Wind Condition ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
North Atlantic Jet

Abstract In this paper, precursors to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and its transitions are investigated to understand the dynamical cause of the interdecadal NAO variability from dominant negative (NAO−) events during 1950–77 (P1) to dominant positive (NAO+) events during 1978–2010 (P2). It is found that the phase of the NAO event depends strongly on the latitudinal position of the North Atlantic jet (NAJ) prior to the NAO onset. The NAO− (NAO+) events occur frequently when the NAJ core prior to the NAO onset is displaced southward (northward), as the situation within P1 (P2). Thus, the northward (southward) shift of the NAJ from its mean position is a precursor to the NAO+ (NAO−) event. This finding is further supported by results obtained from a weakly nonlinear model. Furthermore, the model results show that, when the Atlantic mean zonal wind exceeds a critical strength under which the dipole anomaly prior to the NAO onset is stationary, in situ NAO− (NAO+) events, which are events not preceded by opposite events, can occur frequently during P1 (P2) when the Atlantic storm track is not too strong. This mean zonal wind condition is easily satisfied during P1 and P2. However, when the Atlantic storm track (mean zonal wind) prior to the NAO onset is markedly intensified (weakened), the NAO event can undergo a transition from one phase to another, especially in a relatively strong background westerly wind, the Atlantic storm track has to be strong enough to produce a phase transition.

A Stochastic Model for the Spatial Structure of Annular Patterns of Variability and the North Atlantic Oscillation

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 2102-2118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin P. Gerber ◽  
Geoffrey K. Vallis
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Zonal Wind ◽  
Stochastic Models ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Eof Analysis ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The One ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

Abstract Meridional dipoles of zonal wind and geopotential height are found extensively in empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis and single-point correlation maps of observations and models. Notable examples are the North Atlantic Oscillation and the so-called annular modes (or the Arctic Oscillation). Minimal stochastic models are developed to explain the origin of such structure. In particular, highly idealized, analytic, purely stochastic models of the barotropic, zonally averaged zonal wind and of the zonally averaged surface pressure are constructed, and it is found that the meridional dipole pattern is a natural consequence of the conservation of zonal momentum and mass by fluid motions. Extension of the one-dimensional zonal wind model to two-dimensional flow illustrates the manner in which a local meridional dipole structure may become zonally elongated in EOF analysis, producing a zonally uniform EOF even when the dynamics is not particularly zonally coherent on hemispheric length scales. The analytic system then provides a context for understanding the existence of zonally uniform patterns in models where there are no zonally coherent motions. It is also shown how zonally asymmetric dynamics can give rise to structures resembling the North Atlantic Oscillation. Both the one- and two-dimensional results are manifestations of the same principle: given a stochastic system with a simple red spectrum in which correlations between points in space (or time) decay as the separation between them increases, EOF analysis will typically produce the gravest mode allowed by the system’s constraints. Thus, grave dipole patterns can be robustly expected to arise in the statistical analysis of a model or observations, regardless of the presence or otherwise of a dynamical mode.

The Positive North Atlantic Oscillation with Downstream Blocking and Middle East Snowstorms: The Large-Scale Environment

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (16) ◽  
pp. 6398-6418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dehai Luo ◽  
Yao Yao ◽  
Aiguo Dai ◽  
Steven B. Feldstein
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Composite Analysis ◽  
Cold Temperatures ◽  
Frequency Wave ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Tilted Dipole

Abstract In this study, the atmospheric conditions for the December 2013 Middle East snowstorm are examined from a case study perspective and by performing a composite analysis of extreme winter events from 1950 to 2013 using reanalysis data. It is revealed that this snowstorm arises from the occurrence of an omega (Ω)-type European blocking (EB) with a strong downstream trough that is associated with a southward-displaced positive-phase North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO+) event. In the anomaly field, the EB exhibits a northeast–southwest (NE–SW)-tilted dipole structure. The Ω-type EB transports cold air into the Middle East and produces snowfall within the trough over the Middle East. The composite analysis shows that the location of cold temperatures depends strongly on the tilting direction and strength of the EB dipole anomaly. The NE–SW [northwest–southeast (NW–SE)]-tilted EB dipole occurs with a southward (northward)-displaced NAO+ event. The NE–SW-tilted EB dipole anomaly is associated with an arching-type low-frequency wave train that spans the North Atlantic, Europe, and the Middle East. This tilting has the most favorable structure for cold air outbreaks over the Middle East and southeastern Europe because this tilting leads to an intense downstream trough over this region. In contrast, a NW–SE-tilted EB dipole anomaly leads to cold temperatures over northwestern Africa and southwestern Europe. The analyses herein also suggest that a strong jet over the North Atlantic may be a precursor for a southward-displaced NAO+ event that is usually associated with an Ω-type EB with a NE–SW-tilted dipole in the anomaly height field that favors a cold air outbreak over the Middle East.

The Relationship between the North Atlantic Jet and Tropical Convection over the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (23) ◽  
pp. 6100-6113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiacan Yuan ◽  
Steven B. Feldstein ◽  
Sukyoung Lee ◽  
Benkui Tan
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Zonal Wind ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Western Pacific Ocean ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Jet ◽  
Precipitation Events

Abstract Boreal winter jet variability over the North Atlantic is investigated using 40-yr European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Re-Analysis (ERA-40) data, where the variability is defined by the first EOF of the zonal wind on seven vertical levels. The principal component time series of this EOF is referred to as the jet index. A pattern correlation analysis indicates that the jet index more accurately describes intraseasonal North Atlantic zonal wind variability than does the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). A series of composite calculations of the jet index based on events of intraseasonal convective precipitation over the tropical Indian and western Pacific Oceans reveals the following statistically significant relationships: 1) negative jet events lead enhanced Indian Ocean precipitation, 2) positive jet events lag enhanced Indian Ocean precipitation, 3) positive jet events lead enhanced western Pacific Ocean precipitation, and 4) negative jet events lag enhanced western Pacific Ocean precipitation. These intraseasonal relationships are found to be linked through the circumglobal teleconnection pattern (CTP). Implications of the sign of the CTP being opposite to that of the jet index suggest that relationships 1 and 3 may arise from cold air surges associated with the CTP over these oceans. On interdecadal time scales, a much greater increase in the frequency of precipitation events from 1958 to 1979 (P1) to 1980 to 2001 (P2) was found for the Indian Ocean relative to the western Pacific Ocean. This observation, combined with relationships 2 and 4, leads to the suggestion that this change in the frequency of intraseasonal Indian Ocean precipitation events may make an important contribution to the excitation of interdecadal variability of the North Atlantic jet.

scholarly journals Influence of the North Atlantic oscillation on the atmospheric levels of benzo[a]pyrene over Europe

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Jiménez-Guerrero ◽  
Nuno Ratola
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Pattern ◽  
North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
The South ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

AbstractThe atmospheric concentration of persistent organic pollutants (and of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, in particular) is closely related to climate change and climatic fluctuations, which are likely to influence contaminant’s transport pathways and transfer processes. Predicting how climate variability alters PAHs concentrations in the atmosphere still poses an exceptional challenge. In this sense, the main objective of this contribution is to assess the relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index and the mean concentration of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP, the most studied PAH congener) in a domain covering Europe, with an emphasis on the effect of regional-scale processes. A numerical simulation for a present climate period of 30 years was performed using a regional chemistry transport model with a 25 km spatial resolution (horizontal), higher than those commonly applied. The results show an important seasonal behaviour, with a remarkable spatial pattern of difference between the north and the south of the domain. In winter, higher BaP ground levels are found during the NAO+ phase for the Mediterranean basin, while the spatial pattern of this feature (higher BaP levels during NAO+ phases) moves northwards in summer. These results show deviations up to and sometimes over 100% in the BaP mean concentrations, but statistically significant signals (p<0.1) of lower changes (20–40% variations in the signal) are found for the north of the domain in winter and for the south in summer.

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