scholarly journals Northern Hemispheric Trends of Pressure Indices and Atmospheric Circulation Patterns in Observations, Reconstructions, and Coupled GCM Simulations

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (19) ◽  
pp. 3968-3982 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. C. Raible ◽  
T. F. Stocker ◽  
M. Yoshimori ◽  
M. Renold ◽  
U. Beyerle ◽  
...  

Abstract The decadal trend behavior of the Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation is investigated utilizing long-term simulations with different state-of-the-art coupled general circulation models (GCMs) for present-day climate conditions (1990), reconstructions of the past 500 yr, and observations. The multimodel simulations show that strong positive winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) trends are connected with the underlying sea surface temperature (SST) and exhibit an SST tripole trend pattern and a northward shift of the storm-track tail. Strong negative winter trends of the Aleutian low are associated with SST changes in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) region and a westward shift of the storm track in the North Pacific. The observed simultaneous appearance of strong positive NAO and negative Aleutian low trends is very unlikely to occur by chance in the unforced simulations and reconstructions. The positive winter NAO trend of the last 50 yr is not statistically different from the level of internal atmosphere–ocean variability. The unforced simulations also show a strong link between positive SST trends in the ENSO region and negative Aleutian low trends. With much larger observed SST trends in the ENSO region, this suggests that the observed negative Aleutian low trend is possibly influenced by external forcing, for example, global warming, volcanism, and/or solar activity change.

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (19) ◽  
pp. 8281-8300
Author(s):  
Yang Liu ◽  
Shengping He

AbstractThis work investigates the nonsynchronous relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and winter European precipitation. The results indicate that the linkage between early-winter (November and December) NAO and the following January precipitation and atmospheric circulation over the North Atlantic and European sectors became statistically significant after the late 1980s. Before the late 1980s, January precipitation and atmospheric circulation are weakly correlated with early-winter NAO. After the late 1980s, by contrast, the positive phase of the early-winter NAO is generally followed by an anomalous meridional dipole pattern with barotropic structure over the North Atlantic, which provides conditions for more (less) precipitation south of Iceland (east of the Azores). Further analysis elucidates that this regime shift may be partly attributed to the change of early-winter NAO, which is concurrent with significant change in the intensity of the synoptic and low-frequency eddy interaction over the Atlantic–European sectors. Anomalous positive sea level pressure and geopotential height, along with zonal wind anomalies associated with a positive early-winter NAO over the North Atlantic, are more significant and extend more northeastward after the late 1980s, which may be induced by an intensified transient eddy feedback after the late 1980s, as well as the enhanced storm-track activity over the North Atlantic. Thus, early-winter NAO can induce significant ocean temperature anomalies in the North Atlantic after the late 1980s, which extend downward into the middle parts of the thermocline and persist until the following January to trigger NAO-like atmospheric circulation patterns. Analyses from the Community Earth System Model large ensemble simulations indicate the effects of internal climate variability on such a strengthened linkage.


Geografie ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dragan D. Milošević ◽  
Stevan M. Savić ◽  
Uglješa Stankov ◽  
Igor Žiberna ◽  
Milana M. Pantelić ◽  
...  

This paper examines temporal and spatial patterns of annual and seasonal maximum temperatures (Tmax) in Slovenia and their relationship with atmospheric circulation patterns. A significant increase in maximum temperature (Tmax; from 0.3°C to 0.5°C·decade-1) was observed throughout the country at the annual scale in the period 1963–2014. Significant positive trends are observed on all stations in summer (from 0.4°C to 0.7°C·decade-1) and spring (from 0.4°C to 0.6°C·decade-1). The results indicate significant correlations between the mean annual maximum temperature (Tmax) and the East Atlantic Oscillation (EA) (from 0.5 to 0.7), the Arctic Oscillation (AO) (from 0.4 to 0.7) and the Scandinavian Oscillation (SCAND) (from −0.3 to −0.4) throughout the country. A significant EA influence is observed in all seasons, while the AO influence is noticed in winter and spring, SCAND in spring and summer, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Mediterranean Oscillation (MO) in winter, the East Atlantic/Western Russia Oscillation (EA/WR) in summer and the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in autumn.


2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-656
Author(s):  
K. Grosfeld ◽  
G. Lohmann ◽  
N. Rimbu ◽  
K. Fraedrich ◽  
F. Lunkeit

Abstract. We investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of multidecadal climate variability in the North Atlantic realm, using observational data, proxy data and model results. The dominant pattern of multidecadal variability of SST depicts a monopolar structure in the North Atlantic during the instrumental period with cold (warm) phases during 1900–1925 and 1970–1990 (1870–1890 and 1940–1960). Two atmospheric general circulation models of different complexity forced with global SST over the last century show SLP anomaly patterns from the warm and cold phases of the North Atlantic similar to the corresponding observed patterns. The analysis of a sediment core from Cariaco Basin, a coral record from the northern Red Sea, and a long-term sea level pressure (SLP) reconstruction reveals that the multidecadal mode of the atmospheric circulation characterizes climate variability also in the pre-industrial era. The analyses of SLP reconstruction and proxy data depict a persistent atmospheric mode at least over the last 300 years, where SLP shows a dipolar structure in response to monopolar North Atlantic SST, in a similar way as the models' responses do. The combined analysis of observational and proxy data with model experiments provides an understanding of multidecadal climate modes during the late Holocene. The related patterns are useful for the interpretation of proxy data in the North Atlantic realm.


2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Grosfeld ◽  
G. Lohmann ◽  
N. Rimbu ◽  
K. Fraedrich ◽  
F. Lunkeit

Abstract. We investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of multidecadal climate variability in the North Atlantic realm, using observational data, proxy data and model results. The dominant pattern of multidecadal variability of SST depicts a monopolar structure in the North Atlantic during the instrumental period with cold (warm) phases during 1900–1925 and 1970–1990 (1870–1890 and 1940–1960). Two atmospheric general circulation models of different complexity forced with global SST over the last century show SLP anomaly patterns from the warm and cold phases of the North Atlantic similar to the corresponding observed patterns. The analysis of a sediment core from Cariaco Basin, a coral record from the northern Red Sea, and a long-term sea level pressure (SLP) reconstruction reveals that the multidecadal mode of the atmospheric circulation characterizes climate variability also in the pre-industrial era. The analyses of SLP reconstruction and proxy data depict a persistent atmospheric mode at least over the last 300 years, where SLP shows a dipolar structure in response to monopolar North Atlantic SST, in a similar way as the models' responses do. The combined analysis of observational and proxy data with model experiments provides an understanding of multidecadal climate modes during the late Holocene. The related patterns are useful for the interpretation of proxy data in the North Atlantic realm.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 4513-4524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff Willison ◽  
Walter A. Robinson ◽  
Gary M. Lackmann

Abstract Mesoscale condensational heating can increase the sensitivity of modeled extratropical cyclogenesis to horizontal resolution. Here a pseudo global warming experiment is presented to investigate how this heating-enhanced sensitivity to resolution changes in a warmer and thus moister atmosphere. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model with 120- and 20-km grid spacing is used to simulate current and future climates. It is found that the North Atlantic storm-track response to global warming is amplified at the higher model resolution. The most dramatic changes occur over the northeastern Atlantic, where resolution typical of current general circulation models (GCMs) results in a smaller global warming response in comparison with that in the 20-km simulations. These results suggest that caution is warranted when interpreting projections from coarse-resolution GCMs of future cyclone activity over the northeastern Atlantic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 1005-1023
Author(s):  
Daniel F. Balting ◽  
Monica Ionita ◽  
Martin Wegmann ◽  
Gerhard Helle ◽  
Gerhard H. Schleser ◽  
...  

Abstract. We investigate the climate signature of δ18O tree-ring records from sites distributed all over Europe covering the last 400 years. An empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis reveals two distinct modes of variability on the basis of the existing δ18O tree-ring records. The first mode is associated with anomaly patterns projecting onto the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and reflects a multi-seasonal climatic signal. The ENSO link is pronounced for the last 130 years, but it is found to be weak over the period from 1600 to 1850, suggesting that the relationship between ENSO and the European climate may not be stable over time. The second mode of δ18O variability, which captures a north–south dipole in the European δ18O tree-ring records, is related to a regional summer atmospheric circulation pattern, revealing a pronounced centre over the North Sea. Locally, the δ18O anomalies associated with this mode show the same (opposite) sign with temperature (precipitation). Based on the oxygen isotopic signature derived from tree rings, we argue that the prevailing large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns and the related teleconnections can be analysed beyond instrumental records.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 2063-2079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul C. Loikith ◽  
Anthony J. Broccoli

Abstract Circulation patterns associated with extreme temperature days over North America, as simulated by a suite of climate models, are compared with those obtained from observations. The authors analyze 17 coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation models contributing to the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Circulation patterns are defined as composites of anomalies in sea level pressure and 500-hPa geopotential height concurrent with days in the tails of temperature distribution. Several metrics used to systematically describe circulation patterns associated with extreme temperature days are applied to both the observed and model-simulated data. Additionally, self-organizing maps are employed as a means of comparing observed and model-simulated circulation patterns across the North American domain. In general, the multimodel ensemble resembles the observed patterns well, especially in areas removed from complex geographic features (e.g., mountains and coastlines). Individual model results vary; however, the majority of models capture the major features observed. The multimodel ensemble captures several key features, including regional variations in the strength and orientation of atmospheric circulation patterns associated with extreme temperatures, both near the surface and aloft, as well as variations with latitude and season. The results from this work suggest that these models can be used to comprehensively examine the role that changes in atmospheric circulation will play in projected changes in temperature extremes because of future anthropogenic climate warming.


2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soon-Il An ◽  
Jong-Seong Kug ◽  
Yoo-Geun Ham ◽  
In-Sik Kang

Abstract The multidecadal modulation of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) due to greenhouse warming has been analyzed herein by means of diagnostics of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) and the eigenanalysis of a simplified version of an intermediate ENSO model. The response of the global-mean troposphere temperature to increasing greenhouse gases is more likely linear, while the amplitude and period of ENSO fluctuates in a multidecadal time scale. The climate system model outputs suggest that the multidecadal modulation of ENSO is related to the delayed response of the subsurface temperature in the tropical Pacific compared to the response time of the sea surface temperature (SST), which would lead a modulation of the vertical temperature gradient. Furthermore, an eigenanalysis considering only two parameters, the changes in the zonal contrast of the mean background SST and the changes in the vertical contrast between the mean surface and subsurface temperatures in the tropical Pacific, exhibits a good agreement with the CGCM outputs in terms of the multidecadal modulations of the ENSO amplitude and period. In particular, the change in the vertical contrast, that is, change in difference between the subsurface temperature and SST, turns out to be more influential on the ENSO modulation than changes in the mean SST itself.


1995 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anatoly V. Lozhkin ◽  
Patricia M. Anderson

AbstractAlluvial, fluvial, and organic deposits of the last interglaciation are exposed along numerous river terraces in northeast Siberia. Although chronological control is often poor, the paleobotanical data suggest range extensions of up to 1000 km for the primary tree species. These data also indicate that boreal communities of the last interglaciation were similar to modern ones in composition, but their distributions were displaced significantly to the north-northwest. Inferences about climate of this period suggest that mean July temperatures were warmer by 4 to 8°C, and seasonal precipitation was slightly greater. Mean January temperatures may have been severely cooler than today (up to 12°C) along the Arctic coast, but similar or slightly warmer than present in other areas. The direction and magnitude of change in July temperatures agree with Atmospheric General Circulation Models, but the 126,000-year-B.P. model results also suggest trends opposite to the paleobotanical data, with simulated cooler winter temperatures and drier conditions than present during the climatic optimum.


2021 ◽  
Vol 299 ◽  
pp. 02011
Author(s):  
Youyong Xie ◽  
Xiefei Zhi

Previous studies indicated that the air quality was improved in Wuhan during COVID-19 lockdown. However, the impact of atmospheric general circulation on the changes of air quality has not been taken into account. The present study aims to discuss the improvement of air quality in Wuhan and its possible reasons during COVID-19 lockdown. The results showed that all air pollutants except O3 decreased in Wuhan during early 2020. The occurrence days of A, C, W and NW types’ circulation pattern during early 2020 are more than those during the same period of 1979-2020. The occurrence days of SW type’s circulation pattern is slightly less than those during early 1979-2020. With more occurrence days of these dominant atmospheric circulation patterns, the number of polluted days could rise in Wuhan during early 2020. Nevertheless, this scenario didn’t occur. The COVID-19 lockdown did improve the air quality in Wuhan during early 2020.


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