Relation between total ozone and sub-tropical jet stream

This article investigates the relationship between total ozone and subtropical jet stream (STJ). Total ozone data have been obtained from the total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS) instrument on the Nimbus - 7 satellite and have been examined in conjunction with meteorological data in the region 90°- 160°E, 20° -50°N, i.e., the entrance region of the East Asian STJ from October 1982 to September 1983. The STJ marks the boundary between the high tropical tropopause (ca. 1000 hPa) and lower subtropical tropopause (ca. 200 hPa). In winter it has been found that the total ozone contours are almost parallel to the wind direction, and the horizontal gradient in total ozone increases as the wind speed strengthens. The STJ normally marks a steep gradient in total ozone but in spring anomalous patterns are seen sometimes with very small gradients across the jet. A particular study has been conducted of these events, which are associated with a layer of relatively low but still stratospheric potential vorticity (PV) at around 150 hPa (380K) on the poleward side of the jet. This appears to be consistent with a transfer of air from troposphere to stratosphere above the jet core in March and April.

Intensified Impact of Winter Arctic Oscillation on Simultaneous Precipitation Over the Mid–High Latitudes of Asia Since the Early 2000s

This study reveals an intensified impact of winter (November–February mean) Arctic Oscillation (AO) on simultaneous precipitation over the mid–high latitudes of Asia (MHA) since the early 2000s. The unstable relationship may be related to the changes in the tropospheric AO mode and the subtropical jet. Further analyses suggest that their changes may be attributable to the interdecadal changes in the stratospheric polar vortex. During 2002–2017, the anomalously weak stratospheric polar vortex is accompanied by intensified upward-propagating tropospheric planetary-scale waves anomalies. Subsequently, the stratospheric geopotential height anomalies over the North Atlantic high-latitudes propagate downward strongly, causing the changes in the tropospheric AO mode, that is, the positive height anomalies over the North Atlantic high-latitudes are stronger and extend southward, corresponding to the stronger and eastward extension of negative height anomalies over the North Atlantic mid-latitudes. Thus, the Rossby wave source anomalies over Baffin Bay and the Black Sea are strong, and correspondingly so too are their subsequently excited the Rossby waves anomalies. Meanwhile, the planetary-scale waves anomalies propagate weakly along the low-latitude waveguide, causing the intensified and southward shift of the subtropical jet. Therefore, the strong Rossby waves anomalies propagate eastward to the MHA. By contrast, during 1979–1999, the strong stratospheric polar vortex anomaly is accompanied by weak upward-propagating planetary-scale waves anomalies, resulting in weaker height anomalies over the North Atlantic mid–high latitudes. Consequently, the anomalous Rossby waves are weak. In addition, the subtropical jet weakens and shifts northward, which causes the Rossby waves anomalies to dominate over the North Atlantic, and thereby the impact of winter AO on simultaneous precipitation over the MHA is weak.

The Effect of Merging Subtropical Jet Stream and Polar Fronts Jet Stream on Heavy Rainfall in Southwest Asia

The purpose of this paper is to show the effect of high troposphere winds and currents on low troposphere events at sea level. For this study, precipitation data from atmospheric stations in South Asia and west of the Zagros Mountains were used. After preparing these data, 500 and 300 hectopascal level maps were used to interpret the weather conditions. Vertical transect flow maps were used to identify the position of the jet stream. The results showed that the merger of the polar front jet stream and the subtropical jet stream provide the conditions for accelerating atmospheric currents and reaching more humidity and stronger ascent conditions to South Asia. Jet streams merger have three major effects on low pressure. If the Jet stream vorticity is the same as the curvature vorticity, the low-pressure centers on the low level will be strengthened, otherwise they will weaken due to the opposite effects. The low pressure under the Jet stream divergence area helps to strengthen it. The difference in wind speed in the jet stream with low pressures, stranger low pressures in the low level.

Seasonal and regional signatures of ENSO in upper tropospheric jet characteristics from reanalyses

The relationship of upper tropospheric jet variability to El Niño / Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in reanalysis datasets is analyzed for 1979–2018, revealing robust regional and seasonal variability. Tropical jets associated with monsoons and the Walker circulation are weaker and the zonal mean subtropical jet shifts equatorward in both hemispheres during El Niño, consistent with previous findings. Regional and seasonal variations are analyzed separately for subtropical and polar jets. The subtropical jet shifts poleward during El Niño over the NH eastern Pacific in DJF, and in some SH regions in MAMand SON. Subtropical jet altitudes increase during El Niño, with significant changes in the zonal mean in the NH and during summer/fall in the SH. Though zonal mean polar jet correlations with ENSO are rarely significant, robust regional/seasonal changes occur: The SH polar jet shifts equatorward during El Niño over Asia and the western Pacific in DJF, and poleward over the eastern Pacific in JJA and SON. Polar jets are weaker (stronger) during El Niño in the western (eastern) hemisphere, especially in the SH; conversely, subtropical jets are stronger (weaker) in the western (eastern) hemisphere during El Niño in winter and spring; these opposing changes, along with an anticorrelation between subtropical and polar jet windspeed, reinforce subtropical/polar jet strength differences during El Niño, and suggest ENSO-related covariability of the jets. ENSO-related jet latitude, altitude, and windspeed changes can reach 4(3)°, 0.6(0.3) km, and 6(3) ms−1, respectively, for the subtropical (polar) jets.

A Moments View of Climatology and Variability of the Asian Summer Monsoon Anticyclone

A comprehensive investigation of the climatology of and interannual variability and trends in the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone (ASMA) is presented, based on a novel area and moments analysis. Moments include centroid location, aspect ratio, angle, and “excess kurtosis” (measuring how far the shape is from elliptical) for an equivalent ellipse with the same area as the ASMA. Key results are robust among the three modern reanalyses studied. The climatological ASMA is nearly elliptical, with its major axis aligned along its centroid latitude and a typical aspect ratio of ~5–8. The ASMA centroid shifts northward with height, northward and westward during development, and in the opposite direction as it weakens. New evidence finding no obvious climatological bimodality in the ASMA reinforces similar suggestions from previous studies using modern reanalyses. Most trends in ASMA moments are not statistically significant. ASMA area and duration, however, increased significantly during 1979–2018; the 1958–2018 record analyzed for one reanalysis suggests that these trends may have accelerated in recent decades. ASMA centroid latitude is significantly positively (negatively) correlated with subtropical jet core latitude (altitude), and significantly negatively correlated with concurrent ENSO; these results are consistent with and extend previous work relating monsoon intensity, ENSO, and jet shifts. ASMA area is significantly positively correlated with the MEI ENSO index two months previously. These results improve our understanding of the ASMA using consistently defined diagnostics of its size, geometry, interannual variability, and trends that have not previously been analyzed.

Are Cut-off Lows Simulated Better in CMIP6 Compared to CMIP5 ?

This is the first study to show the global Cut-off Low (COL) activity in 23 models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) and 17 models from Phase 6 (CMIP6). The COL historical simulations for the period 1979-2005 obtained from the CMIP5 and CMIP6 models and their ensembles are compared with the ERA5 reanalysis using an objective feature-tracking algorithm. The results show that the CMIP6 models simulate the spatial distribution of COLs more realistically than the CMIP5 models. Some improvements include reduced equatorward bias and underestimation over regions of high COL density. Reduced biases in CMIP6 are mainly attributed to the improved representation of the zonal wind due to the poleward shift of the subtropical jet streams. The CMIP5 models systematically underestimate the COL intensity as measured by the T42 vorticity at 250 hPa. In CMIP6, the intensity is still underestimated in summer, but overestimated in winter in part due to increased westerlies. The overestimation is enhanced by the finer spatial resolution models that identify more of the strong systems compared to coarser resolution models. Other aspects of COLs such as their temporal and lifetime distributions are modestly improved in CMIP6 compared to CMIP5. Finally, the predictive skill of climate models is evaluated using five variables and the Taylor diagram. We find that 10 out of the 15 best CMIP5-CMIP6 models belong to CMIP6, and this highlights the overall improvement compared to its predecessor CMIP5. Despite this, the use of the multi-model ensemble average seems to be better in simulating COLs than individual models.