Increased Interannual Variability in the Dipole Mode of Extreme High-temperature Events over East China during Summer after the Early 1990s and Associated Mechanisms

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-51

Abstract The dominant mode of the interannual variability in the frequency of extreme high-temperature events (FEHE) during summer over eastern China showed a dipole mode with reversed anomalies of FEHE over northeastern and southern China. This study found that the interannual variability of this dipole mode underwent an interdecadal increase after the early 1990s. The anomalous atmospheric circulation responsible for the FEHE dipole mode was associated with the air-sea interaction over the western tropical Pacific and North Atlantic. Due to the weakened correlation between the SST in the tropical Pacific and in the Indian Ocean after the early 1990s, a meridional atmospheric wave train induced by the anomalous SST around the Maritime continent (MCSST) was intensified during 1994–2013, which was also contributed by the increased interannual variability of MCSST. However, under the influence of the anomalous SST in the Indian Ocean concurrent with the anomalous MCSST, the meridional wave train was weakened and contributed less to the dipole mode during 1972–1993. In addition, the dipole mode was associated with the atmospheric wave trains at middle-high latitude, which were different during the two periods and related to different air-sea interaction in the North Atlantic. The interannual variability of the dipole mode induced by the associated SST anomalies in the North Atlantic during 1994–2013 was significantly larger than that during 1972–1993. Therefore, the interannual variability of the dipole mode was increased after the early 1990s.

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Zhao ◽  
Ningfang Zhou ◽  
Shangfeng Chen

Observational and reanalysis data show that the surface air temperature (SAT) over most parts of Europe in June of 2019 broke the highest temperature on record. In this study, we investigate the factors for the formation of this record-breaking high temperature over Europe, focusing on the role of atmospheric circulation anomalies. A strong anomalous anticyclone appeared over Europe, with a quasi-barotropic vertical structure. On one hand, the downward motion anomalies associated with this anomalous anticyclone led to less cloud cover and an increase in downward shortwave radiation, which contributed to the SAT warming over Europe. On the other hand, southerly wind anomalies to the west side of the anomalous anticyclone also resulted in SAT warming via carrying warmer and wetter air northward from lower latitudes. The formation of the anticyclonic anomaly over Europe in June of 2019 was closely related to an atmospheric wave train propagating eastward from the mid-high latitudes of the North Atlantic to Eurasia. The atmospheric wave train over the North Atlantic–Eurasia region is suggested to be mainly related to the Atlantic–Eurasia teleconnection pattern. Further analysis indicates that a decrease in the local soil moisture over Europe may also have escalated the surface temperature warming through a positive land–atmosphere feedback.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob John Stuivenvolt Allen ◽  
Simon S.-Y. Wang ◽  
Yoshimitsu Chikamoto ◽  
Jonathan D.D. Meyer ◽  
Zachary F. Johnson ◽  
...  

Abstract Explosive cyclones (ECs), defined as developing extratropical cyclones that experience pressure drops of at least 24 hPa in 24 hours, are impactful weather events which occur along highly populated coastal regions in the eastern United States. These storms occur due to a combination of atmospheric and surface processes, such as jet stream intensification and latent heat release at the ocean surface. Even though previous literature has elucidated the role of these processes in EC formation, the sources of interannual variability that impact seasonal EC frequency are not well known. To analyze the sources of interannual variability, we track cases of ECs and dissect them into two spatial groups: those that formed near the east coast of North America (coastal) and those in the North Central Atlantic (high latitude). The frequency of high-latitude ECs is strongly correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation, a well-known feature, whereas coastal EC frequency exhibits a growing relationship with an atmospheric wave-train emanating from the North Pacific in the last 30 years. This wave-train pattern of alternating high-and-low pressure resulted in resulted in heightened upper-level divergence and baroclinic instability along the east coast of North America. Using a coupled model experiment, we show that the tropical Pacific Ocean is the main driver of this atmospheric wave train and the subsequent enhancement seasonal baroclinic instability in the North Atlantic.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (17) ◽  
pp. 7255-7274
Author(s):  
Shangfeng Chen ◽  
Renguang Wu ◽  
Wen Chen ◽  
Kai Li

AbstractThis study reveals a pronounced out-of-phase relationship between surface air temperature (SAT) anomalies over northeast Eurasia in boreal winter and the following summer during 1980–2017. A colder (warmer) winter over northeast Eurasia tends to be followed by a warmer (cooler) summer of next year. The processes for the out-of-phase relation of winter and summer SAT involve the Arctic Oscillation (AO), the air–sea interaction in the North Atlantic Ocean, and a Eurasian anomalous atmospheric circulation pattern induced by the North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies. Winter negative AO/North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)-like atmospheric circulation anomalies lead to continental cooling over Eurasia via anomalous advection and a tripolar SST anomaly pattern in the North Atlantic. The North Atlantic SST anomaly pattern switches to a dipolar pattern in the following summer via air–sea interaction processes and associated surface heat flux changes. The summer North Atlantic dipolar SST anomaly pattern induces a downstream atmospheric wave train, including large-scale positive geopotential height anomalies over northeast Eurasia, which contributes to positive SAT anomalies there via enhancement of downward surface shortwave radiation and anomalous advection. Barotropic model experiments verify the role of the summer North Atlantic SST anomalies in triggering the atmospheric wave train over Eurasia. Through the above processes, a colder winter is followed by a warmer summer over northeast Eurasia. The above processes apply to the years when warmer winters are followed by cooler summers except for opposite signs of SAT, atmospheric circulation, and SST anomalies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 3575-3595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shangfeng Chen ◽  
Renguang Wu ◽  
Wen Chen ◽  
Shuailei Yao

The present study reveals a marked enhancement in the relationship between Eurasian winter and spring atmospheric interannual variability since the early 1990s. Specifically, the dominant mode of winter Eurasian 500-hPa geopotential height anomalies, with same-sign anomalies over southern Europe and East Asia and opposite-sign anomalies over north-central Eurasia, is largely maintained to the following spring after the early 1990s, but not before the early 1990s. The maintenance of the dominant atmospheric circulation anomaly pattern after the early 1990s is associated with a triple sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly pattern in the North Atlantic that is sustained from winter to the subsequent spring. This triple SST anomaly pattern triggers an atmospheric wave train over the North Atlantic through Eurasia during winter through spring. Atmospheric model experiments verify the role of the triple SST anomaly in maintaining the Eurasian atmospheric circulation anomalies. By contrast, before the early 1990s, marked SST anomalies related to the winter dominant mode only occur in the tropical North Atlantic during winter and they disappear during the following spring. The triple SST anomaly pattern after the early 1990s forms in response to a meridional atmospheric dipole over the North Atlantic induced by a La Niña–like cooling over tropical Pacific, and its maintenance into the following spring may be via a positive air–sea interaction process over the North Atlantic. Results of this analysis suggest a potential source for the seasonal prediction of the Eurasian spring climate.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (19) ◽  
pp. 6513-6532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhang Chen ◽  
Renguang Wu ◽  
Zhibiao Wang

Abstract The present study investigates the impacts of the North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies on the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) variability. It is found that the northern component of the EAWM variability is associated with a dipole pattern of preceding summer North Atlantic SST anomalies during 1979–2016. The processes linking preceding summer North Atlantic SST to EAWM include the North Atlantic air–sea interactions and atmospheric wave train triggered by the North Atlantic SST anomalies. Atmospheric wind anomalies in the preceding spring–summer result in the formation of a dipole SST anomaly pattern through surface heat flux changes. In turn, the induced SST anomalies provide a feedback on the atmosphere, modifying the location and intensity of anomalous winds over the North Atlantic. The associated surface heat flux anomalies switch the North Atlantic SST anomaly distribution from a dipole pattern in summer to a tripole pattern in the following winter. The North Atlantic tripole SST anomalies excite an atmospheric wave train extending from the North Atlantic through Eurasia to East Asia in winter, resulting in anomalous EAWM. However, the relationship of the northern component of EAWM to preceding summer North Atlantic SST anomalies is weak before the late 1970s. During 1956–76, due to weak air–sea interaction over the North Atlantic, no obvious tripole SST anomaly pattern is established in winter. The atmospheric wave train in winter is located at higher latitudes, leading to a weak connection between the northern component of EAWM and the preceding summer North Atlantic dipole SST anomaly pattern.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 5111-5126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shangfeng Chen ◽  
Renguang Wu ◽  
Wen Chen ◽  
Kaiming Hu ◽  
Bin Yu

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiuzheng Zhang ◽  
Haiming Xu ◽  
Jing Ma ◽  
Jiechun Deng

Interannual variability of cyclones that are generated over the eastern Asian continent and passed over the Yellow, Bohai, and East China seas (YBE cyclones) in spring is analyzed using reanalysis datasets for the period of 1979–2017. Possible causes for the variability are also discussed. Results show that the number of YBE cyclones exhibits significant interannual variability with a period of 4–5 years. Developing cyclones are further classified into two types: rapidly developing cyclones and slowly developing cyclones. The number of rapidly developing cyclones is highly related to the underlying sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies (SSTA) and the atmospheric baroclinicity from Lake Baikal to the Japan Sea. The number of slowly developing cyclones, however, is mainly affected by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in the preceding winter (DJF); it works through the upper-level jet stream over Japan and the memory of ocean responses to the atmosphere. Positive NAO phase in winter is associated with the meridional tripole pattern of SSTA in the North Atlantic Ocean, which persists from winter to the following spring (MAM) due to the thermal inertia of the ocean. The SSTA in the critical mid-latitude Atlantic region in turn act to affect the overlying atmosphere via sensible and latent heat fluxes, leading to an increased frequency of slowly developing cyclones via exciting an anomalous eastward-propagating Rossby wave train. These results are confirmed by several numerical simulations using an atmospheric general circulation model.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (10) ◽  
pp. 4315-4332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huixin Li ◽  
Shengping He ◽  
Yongqi Gao ◽  
Huopo Chen ◽  
Huijun Wang

AbstractBased on the long-term reanalysis datasets and the multivariate copula method, this study reveals that the frequency of summer hot drought events (SHDEs) over northeastern China (NEC) shows interdecadal variations during 1925–2010. It is revealed that the summer sea surface temperature (SST) over the North Atlantic has a significant positive correlation with the frequency of SHDEs over NEC on the decadal time scale, indicating a potential influence of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO). Further analyses indicate that during the positive phases of the AMO, the warming SST over the North Atlantic can trigger a stationary Rossby wave originating from the North Atlantic, which splits into two wave trains propagating along two different routes. One is a zonally orientated wave train that resembles the Silk Road pattern, whereas the other is an arching wave train that resembles the polar–Eurasian pattern. A negative (positive) phase of the Silk Road pattern (polar–Eurasian pattern) may result in the weakened westerly wind along the jet stream, the downward vertical motion, and the anomalous positive geopotential center over NEC, providing favorable conditions for precipitation deficiency and high temperature and resulting in increased SHDEs. Thus, the Silk Road pattern and the polar–Eurasian pattern serve as linkages between the AMO and SHDEs over northeastern China in summer on the interdecadal time scale. Model simulations from CAM4 perturbed with warmer SST in the North Atlantic show precipitation deficiency and high temperature conditions over northeastern China in summer, supporting the potential impacts of the North Atlantic SST on SHDEs over northeastern China. The results suggest that the phase of the AMO should be taken into account in the decadal prediction of SHDEs over northeastern China in summer.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 329
Author(s):  
Albenis Pérez-Alarcón ◽  
José C. Fernández-Alvarez ◽  
Rogert Sorí ◽  
Raquel Nieto ◽  
Luis Gimeno

The combined effect of the sea surface temperature (SST) and the North Atlantic subtropical high-pressure system (NASH) in the interannual variability of the genesis of tropical cyclones (TCs) and landfalling in the period 1980–2019 is explored in this study. The SST was extracted from the Centennial Time Scale dataset from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and TC records were obtained from the Atlantic Hurricane Database of the NOAA/National Hurricane Center. The genesis and landfalling regions were objectively clustered for this analysis. Seven regions of TC genesis and five for landfalling were identified. Intercluster differences were observed in the monthly frequency distribution and annual variability, both for genesis and landfalling. From the generalized least square multiple regression model, SST and NASH (intensity and position) covariates can explain 22.7% of the variance of the frequency of TC genesis, but it is only statistically significant (p < 0.1) for the NASH center latitude. The SST mostly modulates the frequency of TCs formed near the West African coast, and the NASH latitudinal variation affects those originated in the Lesser Antilles arc. For landfalling, both covariates explain 38.7% of the variance; however, significant differences are observed in the comparison between each region. With a statistical significance higher than 90%, SST and NASH explain 33.4% of the landfalling variability in the archipelago of the Bahamas and central–eastern region of Cuba. Besides, landfalls in the Gulf of Mexico and Central America seem to be modulated by SST. It was also found there was no statistically significant relationship between the frequency of genesis and landfalling with the NASH intensity. However, the NASH structure modulates the probability density of the TCs trajectory that make landfall once or several times in their lifetime. Thus, the NASH variability throughout a hurricane season affects the TCs trajectory in the North Atlantic basin. Moreover, we found that the landfalling frequency of TCs formed near the West Africa coast and the central North Atlantic is relatively low. Furthermore, the SST and NASH longitude center explains 31.6% (p < 0.05) of the variance of the landfalling intensity in the archipelago of the Bahamas, while the SST explains 26.4% (p < 0.05) in Central America. Furthermore, the 5-year moving average filter revealed decadal and multidecadal variability in both genesis and landfalling by region. Our findings confirm the complexity of the atmospheric processes involved in the TC genesis and landfalling.


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