scholarly journals Rapid transport of East Asian pollution to the deep tropics

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 3565-3573 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Ashfold ◽  
J. A. Pyle ◽  
A. D. Robinson ◽  
E. Meneguz ◽  
M. S. M. Nadzir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Atmospheric Dispersion ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Meridional Transport ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
The North ◽  
Westerly Winds ◽  
Modelling Environment ◽  
Cold Surges

Abstract. Anthropogenic emissions from East Asia have increased over recent decades. These increases have led to changes in atmospheric composition as far afield as North America under the prevailing westerly winds. Here we show that, during Northern Hemisphere (NH) winter, pollution originating in East Asia also directly affects atmospheric composition in the deep tropics. We present observations of marked intra-seasonal variability in the anthropogenic tracer perchloroethene (C2Cl4) collected at two locations in Borneo (117.84° E, 4.98° N and 118.00° E, 4.22° N) during the NH winter of 2008/2009. We use trajectories calculated with the Numerical Atmospheric-dispersion Modelling Environment to show that the observed enhancements in C2Cl4 mixing ratio are caused by rapid meridional transport, in the form of "cold surges", from the relatively polluted East Asian land mass. In these events air masses can move from ~35° N to Borneo in 4 days. We then present data from the Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate reanalysis which suggest that air masses high in C2Cl4 may also contain levels of the pollutants carbon monoxide and ozone that are approximately double the typical "background" levels in Borneo. In addition to strengthening the meridional transport from the north, cold surges can enhance convection in Southeast Asia, and further trajectory calculations indicate that the polluted air masses can subsequently be lifted to the tropical upper troposphere. This suggests a potentially important connection between midlatitude pollution sources and the very low stratosphere.

scholarly journals Rapid transport of East Asian pollution to the deep tropics

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 30705-30726
Author(s):  
M. J. Ashfold ◽  
J. A. Pyle ◽  
A. D. Robinson ◽  
M. S. M. Nadzir ◽  
S. M. Phang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Meridional Transport ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Westerly Winds ◽  
Land Mass ◽  
Cold Surges ◽  
Rapid Transport

Abstract. Anthropogenic emissions from East Asia have increased over recent decades, and under the prevailing westerly winds, these increases have led to changes in atmospheric composition as far afield as North America. Here we show that, during Northern Hemisphere (NH) winter, pollution originating in East Asia also directly affects atmospheric composition in the deep tropics. We present observations of marked intra-seasonal variability in the anthropogenic tracer perchloroethene (C2Cl4) collected at two locations in Borneo during the NH winter of 2008/09. We use the NAME trajectory model to show that the observed enhancements in C2Cl4 mixing ratio are caused by rapid meridional transport, in the form of "cold surges", from the relatively polluted East Asian land mass. In these events air masses can move across > 30° of latitude in 4 days. We then present data from the Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate reanalysis which suggests that air masses high in C2Cl4 may also contain levels of the pollutants carbon monoxide and ozone that are approximately double the typical "background" levels in Borneo. Convection in Southeast Asia can be enhanced by cold surges, and further trajectory calculations indicate that the polluted air masses can subsequently be lifted to the tropical upper troposphere. This suggests a potentially important connection between mid-latitude pollution sources and the very low stratosphere.

scholarly journals Seasonal Variations of the Synoptic-Scale Transient Eddy Activity and Polar Front Jet over East Asia

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 3222-3233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuejuan Ren ◽  
Xiuqun Yang ◽  
Cuijiao Chu
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Seasonal Variations ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Transient Eddy ◽  
Synoptic Scale ◽  
Wind Fields ◽  
The North ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Polar Front Jet

Abstract Seasonal variations of the synoptic-scale transient eddy activity (STEA) and the jet streams over East Asia are examined through analysis of the 40-yr European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA-40) data. Extracted from the 6-hourly upper-level wind fields, the distribution of the jet core numbers exhibits a distinct geographical border for the East Asian subtropical jet (EASJ) and the East Asian polar front jet (EAPJ) at the latitudes of the northern Tibetan Plateau (TP). In the cool seasons, two branches of the STEA and low-level baroclinicity exist over the East Asian landmass, accompanied by the two-jet state of the EASJ and EAPJ. In the warm seasons, a single jet pattern of the EASJ along the north flank of the TP is accompanied by the weakened STEA over the mid- to high latitudes of East Asia. Further analysis shows two distinct features of the seasonal variations of the STEA over East Asia, compared with that over the North Pacific. First, during the transitional period of April–June, the main STEA band over East Asia migrates northward dramatically, in conjunction with the EAPJ shifting in the same direction. Second, both the upper-level STEA and the lower-level baroclinicity poleward of the TP are prosperous in spring. The relationship between the STEA, baroclinicity, vertical wind shear, and static stability in the EAPJ region in different seasons is further investigated. It is found that in addition to the time-mean wind fields, the rapid increase in the sensible heat flux poleward side of the TP region in spring and the associated boundary layer processes are partially responsible for the spring prosperity of the local baroclinicity and the STEA.

Variability and changes of the stratospheric large scale circulation and possible consequences for ozone streamer events

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Küchelbacher Lisa ◽  
Laux Dominik ◽  
Michael Bittner
Keyword(s):  
Wind Shear ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Meridional Wind ◽  
Spectral Model ◽  
Solar Cycles ◽  
Meridional Transport ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
The North ◽  
Mode Decomposition

<p>Planetary waves (PW) dominate the meridional Brewer-Dobson circulation in the stratosphere and therewith, the large-scale mass transport of ozone. As PW break, ozone poor air masses are irreversibly mixed into mid-latitudes. Due to the disproportionate warming of the North Pole, an increase in PW activity (PWA) is expected. This should also have consequences for ozone streamer events.</p><p>We derived the PWA of ERA 5 and Interim Reanalysis temperature from ground level up the mesosphere. We identify Ozone-streamer events with a statistical based approach on the basis of total column concentration measured by GOME-2. We deconvoluted the time series of the PWA and the ozone-streamer events with the empirical mode decomposition method (EMD). Moreover, we developed a simple spectral model of the meridional wind shear on the basis of PW. This model serves as a measure of the atmospheric instability in the stratosphere.</p><p>As we deconvolute the PWA with the EMD we find signatures of QBO, ENSO and solar cycles and quantify their contributions. As PW dominate the circulation in the stratosphere, it appears to be a coherent consequence that ozone streamers are modulated on the same time scales as the PWA.With the spectral model of the meridional wind shear we find regions in the atmosphere, where PW are most likely to break. As a result there is an increased meridional transport of air masses, in particular of ozone. This is why ozone streamers occur most frequently at the transition zones from ocean to continent; strongest from North Atlantic to Europe. Moreover, we find significant long-term trends of the PWA in the stratosphere. Due to the increase of the PWA in the stratosphere, ozone streamer events are likely to occur more often in the future.</p>

scholarly journals Genetic studies of human diversity in East Asia

2007 ◽  
Vol 362 (1482) ◽  
pp. 987-996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Zhang ◽  
Bing Su ◽  
Ya-ping Zhang ◽  
Li Jin
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
The North ◽  
Asian Populations ◽  
Genetic Diversity And Structure

East Asia is one of the most important regions for studying evolution and genetic diversity of human populations. Recognizing the relevance of characterizing the genetic diversity and structure of East Asian populations for understanding their genetic history and designing and interpreting genetic studies of human diseases, in recent years researchers in China have made substantial efforts to collect samples and generate data especially for markers on Y chromosomes and mtDNA. The hallmark of these efforts is the discovery and confirmation of consistent distinction between northern and southern East Asian populations at genetic markers across the genome. With the confirmation of an African origin for East Asian populations and the observation of a dominating impact of the gene flow entering East Asia from the south in early human settlement, interpretation of the north–south division in this context poses the challenge to the field. Other areas of interest that have been studied include the gene flow between East Asia and its neighbouring regions (i.e. Central Asia, the Sub-continent, America and the Pacific Islands), the origin of Sino-Tibetan populations and expansion of the Chinese.

scholarly journals Impact of Stratospheric Sudden Warming on East Asian Winter Monsoons

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quanliang Chen ◽  
Luyang Xu ◽  
Hongke Cai
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Planetary Waves ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Reanalysis Dataset ◽  
Stratospheric Sudden Warming ◽  
The North ◽  
Tropospheric Circulation ◽  
The North Pacific

Fifty-two Stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) events that occurred from 1957 to 2002 were analyzed based on the 40-year European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis dataset. Those that could descent to the troposphere were composited to investigate their impacts on the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM). It reveals that when the SSW occurs, the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) are both in the negative phase and that the tropospheric circulation is quite wave-like. The Siberian high and the Aleutian low are both strengthened, leading to an increased gradient between the Asian continent and the North Pacific. Hence, a strong EAWM is observed with widespread cooling over inland and coastal East Asia. After the peak of the SSW, in contrast, the tropospheric circulation is quite zonally symmetric with negative phases of AO and NPO. The mid-tropospheric East Asian trough deepens and shifts eastward. This configuration facilitates warming over the East Asian inland and cooling over the coastal East Asia centered over Japan. The activities of planetary waves during the lifecycle of the SSW were analyzed. The anomalous propagation and the attendant altered amplitude of the planetary waves can well explain the observed circulation and the EAWM.

scholarly journals Distinct effects of winter monsoon and westerly circulation on dust aerosol transport over East Asia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liu Yang ◽  
Zhengguo Shi ◽  
Hui Sun ◽  
Xiaoning Xie ◽  
Xiaodong Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Lower Layer ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Asian Dust ◽  
Winter Monsoon ◽  
Dust Aerosol ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Particle Sizes ◽  
Westerly Jet ◽  
Westerly Winds

Abstract The transport of dust aerosol in East Asia is affected by the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) and westerly circulation both for modern and geological periods. There are obvious seasonal changes in the intensity and range of EAWM and westerly jet; however, their impacts and relative contributions to East Asian dust transmission are still unclear. In this study, we use Regional Climate Model 4 (RegCM4) to simulate the changes in the East Asian dust cycle under present conditions, assessing the effects of EAWM and westerly jet on dust transport. The results show that the dust at the upper level is mainly transported by the westerly circulation, while that of the lower layer is mainly transported by the EAWM. In March, the westerly jet is located on the south side of the Tibet Plateau and the high-level dust aerosol is transmitted eastward to the northern Pacific. Low-level dust is transmitted to the southeastern China with the influence of EAWM. With the northward shift of the westerly jet, the control range of the westerly winds increases in May and their correlations are weakened. In contrary, the impact of EAWM on the lower layer dust is enhanced. Due to the strengthened interaction between the westerly winds and the EAWM, they can both affect the middle-level dust transmission. The effect of EAWM is sensitive to the dust particle sizes. Under the action of EAWM, fine-grained dust is transmitted far away, while coarse-grained dust is limited to the vicinity of the source area. Once the dust is carried to the westerly layer, the influence of westerly winds on the transmission of different particle sizes dust is similar.

scholarly journals Inter-annual variation of aerosol pollution in East Asia and its relation with strong/weak East Asian winter monsoon

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Xie ◽  
Lei Shu ◽  
Tijian Wang ◽  
Da Gao ◽  
Shu Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Annual Variation ◽  
East Asian Winter Monsoon ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Northerly Wind ◽  
Asian Winter Monsoon ◽  
The North ◽  
Change Pattern ◽  
Aerosol Pollution

Abstract. Aerosol has become one of the major air pollutants in East Asia, and its spatial distribution can be affected by the East Asian monsoon circulation. By means of the observational analysis and the numerical simulation, the inter-annual variation of wintertime aerosol pollution in East Asia and its association with strong/weak East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) are investigated in this study. Firstly, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer/Aerosol Optical Depth (MODIS/AOD) records during 2000–2013 are analyzed to reveal the inter-annual variation characteristics of aerosols. It is found that there is an increasing trend of AOD in East Asia over the last decade, implying the increasing aerosol loading in this region. The areas with obvious increasing AOD cover the Sichuan Basin (SCB), the North China Plain, and most of the Middle-Lower Yangtze River Plain in China. Secondly, the EAWM index (EAWMI) based on the characteristic of circulation are calculated to investigate the inter-annual variations of EAWM. The National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data are used in EAWMI calculation and meteorological analysis. Nine strong and thirteen weak EAWM years are identified from 1979 to 2014. In these strong EAWM years, the sea-land pressure contrast increases, the East Asian trough strengthens, and the northerly wind gets anomalous over East Asia. More cold air masses are forced to move southward by strengthened wind field and make cool. In the weak EAWM years, however, the situation is totally on the opposite. Finally, the effects of strong/weak EAWM on the distribution of aerosols in East Asia are discussed. It is found that the northerly wind strengthens (weakens) and transports more (less) aerosols southward in strong (weak) EAWM years, resulting in higher (lower) AOD in the north and lower (higher) AOD in the south. The long-term weakening trend of EAWM may potentially increase the aerosol loading. Apart from the changes in aerosol emissions, the weakening of EAWM should be another cause that results in the increase of AOD over the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region and SCB but the decrease of AOD over the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. Using the Regional Climate-Chemistry coupled Model System (RegCCMS), we further prove that the intensity of EAWM has great impacts on the spatial distribution of aerosols. In strong (weak) EAWM years, there is a negative (positive) anomaly in the air column content of aerosol, with a reduction (increment) of −80 (25) mg m−2. The change pattern of aerosol concentrations in lower troposphere is different from that at 500 hPa, which is related with the different change pattern of meteorological fields in EAWM circulation at different altitude. More obvious changes occur in lower atmosphere, the change pattern of aerosol column content in different EAWM years is mainly decided by the change of aerosols in lower troposphere.

scholarly journals Asian Jet Waveguide and a Downstream Extension of the North Atlantic Oscillation

2004 ◽  
Vol 17 (24) ◽  
pp. 4674-4691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Wave Train ◽  
East Asian ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
Asian Jet Waveguide

Abstract Anomalous atmospheric fields associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) are analyzed on interannual and intraseasonal time scales in order to examine the extent to which the NAO is a regional phenomenon. Analyses on the interannual time scale reveal that the NAO signal is relatively confined to the Euro–Atlantic sector in December while it extends toward East Asia and the North Pacific in February. The difference is most clearly seen in the meridional wind anomaly, which shows a wave train along the Asian jet, collocated with an anomalous vorticity source near the jet entrance. Diagnoses using a linear barotropic model indicate that this wave train is interpreted as quasi-stationary Rossby waves trapped on the Asian jet waveguide, and effectively excited by the anomalous upper-level convergence over the Mediterranean Sea. It is found that, when the NAO accompanies the Mediterranean convergence (MC) anomaly, most frequently seen in February, the NAO indeed has a much wider horizontal structure than the classical picture, rather similar to the Arctic Oscillation. In such cases interannual variability of the NAO is tied to the East Asian climate variability such that the positive NAO tends to bring a surface warming over East Asia. Similar results are obtained from an analysis of individual NAO events based on low-pass-filtered daily fields, which additionally identified that the downstream extension occurs at the decay stage of the NAO event and the MC anomaly appears to be induced by the Ekman pumping associated with the NAO. The signal of the MC anomaly can be detected even at 5 days before the peak of the NAO, suggesting that the NAO influence to East Asia is predictable to some extent; therefore, monitoring the developing NAO event is useful to the medium-range weather forecast in East Asian countries.

scholarly journals Contributions of Different Combinations of the IPO and AMO to the Concurrent Variations of Summer East Asian Jets

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (18) ◽  
pp. 7967-7982
Author(s):  
Xiucheng Xiao ◽  
Danqing Huang ◽  
Ben Yang ◽  
Jian Zhu ◽  
Peiwen Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Active Regions ◽  
Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation ◽  
Atmospheric Model ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Boreal Winter ◽  
Multilinear Regression ◽  
The North

ABSTRACTHuang et al. recently reported that opposite phases of the interdecadal Pacific oscillation (IPO) and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) can affect the shift of the East Asian polar front jet (EAPJ) and the East Asian subtropical jet (EASJ) in the boreal winter. To give a full image of the relationship among the IPO, AMO, and concurrent variation of jets throughout the whole year, this study investigates the changes in summer jets response to the combinations of the IPO and AMO, and mostly focuses on the quantitative analysis in the role of the IPO and AMO. Both of the diagnostic analysis and atmospheric model simulations confirm that combinations of the negative phase of the IPO (“−IPO”) and the positive phase of the AMO (“+AMO”) can significantly enhance the EAPJ and reduce the EASJ in the summer, via the meridional temperature gradient and the Eady growth rate, and vice versa in the “+IPO −AMO” combination. The reanalysis data show that this relationship is particularly evident between the periods of 1999–2014 and 1979–98. Based on the simulations, the multilinear regression has indicated that −IPO plays a more important role than +AMO, particularly for the reduced EASJ. We have further revealed two pathways of the stationary Rossby wave activity anomaly, eastward from the North Atlantic to East Asia along 60°N and westward from the North Pacific to East Asia along 40°N. The two activities are associated with anomalous anticyclone along the active regions between EAPJ and EASJ, and therefore affect the jet variations.

scholarly journals Cold Surge Pathways in East Asia and Their Tropical Impacts

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-170
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rais Abdillah ◽  
Yuki Kanno ◽  
Toshiki Iwasaki ◽  
Jun Matsumoto
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Far East ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Cold Surge ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
The North ◽  
Synoptic Conditions ◽  
Cold Surges ◽  
Tropical Weather ◽  
The Tropics

AbstractCold surge occurrences are one of the robust features of winter monsoon in East Asia and are characterized by equatorward outbreaks of cold air from the high latitudes. Beside greatly affecting weather variability across the Far East, cold surges are of importance for Southeast Asian countries because they can propagate far to the tropics and excite convective activities. However, the tropical responses highly depend on the downstream pathways of the surges. To better understand how cold surges influence tropical weather, we investigate 160 cold surges identified using a quantitative approach during 40 winters from 1979/80 to 2018/19, and then classify them into several groups based on their prominent pathways. At the midlatitudes, we find two groups: one for surges that show clear equatorward propagation of cold air to lower latitudes and the other for surges that turn eastward and bring cold air to the North Pacific. These groups arise due to the strength difference of the Siberian high expansion controlled by cold air blocking near the Tibetan Plateau. The tropical impact is evident in the former group. We perform further classification on this group and find four types of surges based on their pathways in the low latitudes: 1) South China Sea (SCS) surges, 2) Philippines Sea (PHS) surges, 3) both SCS and PHS surges, and 4) blocked surges. They exhibit distinct precipitation signatures over the Maritime Continent, which are driven by interactions between the surges and the pre-existing synoptic conditions over the tropics, particularly the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO).

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