Analysis of the Dominant Spatial Patterns of Summer Precipitation and Circulation Characteristics in Northwest China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
liwei liu ◽  
guoyang lu ◽  
dong wei ◽  
danhua li ◽  
xing wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Height Field ◽  
Main Mode ◽  
The North ◽  
Circulation Characteristic ◽  
The North Atlantic

<p>In recent years, the summer rainfall shows an increasing trend in Northwest China. Based on the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data, the RESST data from NOAA and the precipitation data from 351 meteorological observation stations in Northwest China from 1981-2018, the dominant modes of summer precipitation anomalies, the corresponded circulation characteristic and the main influence systems were analyzed by diagnostic methods. There were three dominant EOF modes about summer rainfall, the first one showed the same anomaly in whole region, the second showed a inverse pattern between the east and west, and the third showed the opposite anomaly between the south and north. The variance contribution of the first mode accounted for 20% and the first mode was represented as the primary mode in the subsequent analysis. The high impact region of circulation which affected the precipitation in Northwest China was the middle and high latitudes area of Eurasia and the subtropical area: for the first mode’s positive phase, the 500hPa height field showed a "+ - +" distribution in the middle latitude of Eurasia, while on the 200hPa wind field, there was an anticyclone near the Ural and a cyclone near Lake Baikal, it also has an anticyclone on the Chinese mainland, this configuration will facilitates the strengthening of westerly jets. The tropical Pacific and the North Atlantic are the main external forcing signals of the circulation pattern: SST characteristics showed that the negative phase of the North Atlantic SST Tripole in spring, from winter of the previous year to summer of the current year, SST of the equatorial Middle East Pacific developed from warm to cold. The distribution of 500 hPa height field corresponding to the main mode of summer precipitation in Northwest China is similar to that of EU remote correlation type. An index(I<sub>Hgt</sub>) was defined to reflect circulation patterns in mid-latitude and subtropical regions, when the index is positive/negative, most of the precipitation in northwest China is more/less. After 2000, the correlation between the two increased significantly. Given the performance of the I<sub>Hgt</sub> index in describing the summer precipitation, it could be used as a good indicator in the monitoring and prediction of the summer precipitation in Northwest China.</p>

scholarly journals Changes to the North Atlantic Subtropical High and Its Role in the Intensification of Summer Rainfall Variability in the Southeastern United States

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 1499-1506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenhong Li ◽  
Laifang Li ◽  
Rong Fu ◽  
Yi Deng ◽  
Hui Wang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Subtropical High ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
North Atlantic Subtropical High ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract This study investigates the changes of the North Atlantic subtropical high (NASH) and its impact on summer precipitation over the southeastern (SE) United States using the 850-hPa geopotential height field in the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis, the 40-yr European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA-40), long-term rainfall data, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) model simulations during the past six decades (1948–2007). The results show that the NASH in the last 30 yr has become more intense, and its western ridge has displaced westward with an enhanced meridional movement compared to the previous 30 yr. When the NASH moved closer to the continental United States in the three most recent decades, the effect of the NASH on the interannual variation of SE U.S. precipitation is enhanced through the ridge’s north–south movement. The study’s attribution analysis suggested that the changes of the NASH are mainly due to anthropogenic warming. In the twenty-first century with an increase of the atmospheric CO2 concentration, the center of the NASH would be intensified and the western ridge of the NASH would shift farther westward. These changes would increase the likelihood of both strong anomalously wet and dry summers over the SE United States in the future, as suggested by the IPCC AR4 models.

A Record of Holocene Climate Change from Lake Geochemical Analyses in Southeastern Arabia

2006 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian G. Parker ◽  
Andrew S. Goudie ◽  
Stephen Stokes ◽  
Kevin White ◽  
Martin J. Hodson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Lake Level ◽  
Lacustrine Sediments ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
The North ◽  
Holocene Climate Change ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Geochemical Analyses

AbstractLacustrine sediments from southeastern Arabia reveal variations in lake level corresponding to changes in the strength and duration of Indian Ocean Monsoon (IOM) summer rainfall and winter cyclonic rainfall. The late glacial/Holocene transition of the region was characterised by the development of mega-linear dunes. These dunes became stabilised and vegetated during the early Holocene and interdunal lakes formed in response to the incursion of the IOM at approximately 8500 cal yr BP with the development of C3 dominated savanna grasslands. The IOM weakened ca. 6000 cal yr BP with the onset of regional aridity, aeolian sedimentation and dune reactivation and accretion. Despite this reduction in precipitation, the lake was maintained by winter dominated rainfall. There was a shift to drier adapted C4 grasslands across the dune field. Lake sediment geochemical analyses record precipitation minima at 8200, 5000 and 4200 cal yr BP that coincide with Bond events in the North Atlantic. A number of these events correspond with changes in cultural periods, suggesting that climate was a key mechanism affecting human occupation and exploitation of this region.

Summer Rainfall Seesaw between Hetao and the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River and Its Relationship with the North Atlantic Oscillation

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (17) ◽  
pp. 6629-6643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dachao Jin ◽  
Zhaoyong Guan
Keyword(s):  
Rossby Wave ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Yangtze River ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

Using the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis and other observational datasets, the authors have investigated the relationship of summer rainfall variations between the Hetao region of northern China and the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River (MLRYR). The results have demonstrated that rainfall in Hetao varies out of phase with that in MLRYR on the interannual time scales. This phenomenon is referred to as the Hetao–Yangtze rainfall seesaw (HYRS). An HYRS index is defined to reveal both spatial and temporal features of HYRS. It is found that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) affects the HYRS. In years when the NAO is in its positive phase, anomalous divergences in the lower troposphere and anomalous convergences in the upper troposphere are observed in regions of the Mediterranean and eastern Europe. The anomalous convergences in the upper troposphere occur as the positive Rossby wave source excites a circumglobal teleconnection (CGT) in the midlatitudes, exhibiting the eastward propagation of Rossby wave energy along the Asian jet. Meanwhile, the Eurasian–Pacific (EUP) teleconnection also affects the HYRS. Influenced mainly by the CGT pattern, the circulations over Hetao and MLRYR are consequently perturbed. The atmosphere over Hetao converges anomalously in the lower troposphere and diverges anomalously in the upper troposphere, facilitating more than normal rainfall there. At the same time, the atmosphere over MLRYR diverges anomalously in the lower troposphere and converges anomalously in the upper troposphere, resulting in more than normal summer rainfall in MLRYR. In this way, the north–south rainfall seesaw is formed. This NAO-induced rainfall seesaw is potentially useful for summer rainfall predictions in both MLRYR and the Hetao region of northern China.

Reply to “Comments on ‘Changes to the North Atlantic Subtropical High and Its Role in the Intensification of Summer Rainfall Variability in the Southeastern United States’”

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 683-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenhong Li ◽  
Laifang Li ◽  
Rong Fu ◽  
Yi Deng ◽  
Hui Wang
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Subtropical High ◽  
North Atlantic Subtropical High ◽  
The North ◽  
Westward Movement ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Potential Impact

Abstract Recently Diem questioned the western ridge movement of the North Atlantic subtropical high (NASH) reported in a 2011 paper of Li et al. This reply shows more analysis that further strengthens the conclusions originally put forth by Li et al. Diem’’s analysis of the trend in the western ridge of the NASH was based on the data over a 30-yr period (1978–2007), whereas the main conclusions in Li et al. were drawn according to the data over a 60-yr period (1948–2007). Over the last 60 years, the NASH has shown a significant trend of westward movement, the meridional movement of the western ridge of the NASH has enhanced in the recent three decades, and the potential impact of global warming cannot be ruled out in an attempt to explain these changes of the NASH.

scholarly journals The Quasi-Biweekly Oscillation of Summer Rainfall in Southern China and Its Relationship With the Geopotential Height Anomaly Over the North Atlantic Ocean

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Huang ◽  
Xinyu Yin ◽  
Suxiang Yao
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Geopotential Height ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Height Anomaly ◽  
Geopotential Height Anomaly ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

Summer precipitation in East Asia has significant quasi-biweekly (10–30-day) oscillation characteristics. By using gauge-based precipitation and ERA-Interim reanalysis data, the basic mode of the quasi-biweekly oscillation of summer precipitation in East Asia and the related circulation from 1979 to 2012 were analyzed. It was found that the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and its south in China were among the key areas for the 10- to 30-day oscillation of summer precipitation. After selecting typical summer precipitation events with 10- to 30-day oscillation characteristics in key areas and conducting composite analysis, it is found that in the dry (wet) phase of quasi-biweekly precipitation in southern China, it is controlled by quasi-biweekly anticyclone (cyclone) at 500 hPa above the key area. During the evolution of quasi-biweekly precipitation, the ridge of the Northwest Pacific Subtropical High is located between 20 and 22°N latitude, and there is no significant variability in the large-scale background circulation. Furthermore, composite analysis of the precursory signal at 500 hPa during quasi-biweekly precipitation in southern China found that there was an obvious quasi-biweekly geopotential height anomaly over the North Atlantic Ocean almost 30 days before the peak day of quasi-biweekly precipitation. While the quasi-biweekly geopotential height anomaly at 500 hPa in the North Atlantic propagates eastward, it also leads the cold air to transport southward. Cold air from high latitudes and warm air from low latitudes converge in southern China, which affects the quasi-biweekly oscillation of precipitation. Hysteresis synthesis of precipitation based on 500 hPa geopotential height’s quasi-biweekly oscillation events over the North Atlantic Ocean comes to almost the same conclusion. Therefore, the 500 hPa geopotential height quasi-biweekly anomaly in the North Atlantic may have important prediction significance for an extended-range forecast of summer rainfall in China.

Impacts of the North Atlantic Subtropical High on Daily Summer Precipitation over the Conterminous United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Zorzetto ◽  
Laifang Li
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Daily Rainfall ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Subtropical High ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
North Atlantic Subtropical High ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The Impact

AbstractBy modulating the moisture flux from ocean to adjacent land, the North Atlantic Subtropical High (NASH) western ridge significantly influences summer-season total precipitation over the Conterminous United States (CONUS). However, its influence on the frequency and intensity of daily rainfall events over the CONUS remains unclear. Here we introduce a Bayesian statistical model to investigate the impacts of the NASH western ridge position on key statistics of daily-scale summer precipitation, including the intensity of rainfall events, the probability of precipitation occurrence, and the probability of extreme values. These statistical quantities play a key role in characterizing both the impact of wet extremes (e.g., the probability of floods) and dry extremes. By applying this model to historical rain gauge records (1948-2019) covering the entire CONUS, we find that the western ridge of the NASH influences the frequency of rainfall as well as the distribution of rainfall intensities over extended areas of the CONUS. In particular, we find that the NASH ridge also modulates the frequency of extreme rainfall, especially that over part of the Southeast and upper Midwest. Our analysis underlines the importance of including the NASH western ridge position as a predictor for key statistical rainfall properties to be used for hydrological applications. This result is especially relevant for projecting future changes in daily rainfall regimes over the CONUS based on the predicted strengthening of the NASH in a warming climate.

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