Improved Analyses and Forecasts With AIRS Temperature Retrievals Using the Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter

In this paper we investigate the impact of the Atmospheric Infra-Red Sounder (AIRS) temperature retrievals on data assimilation and the resulting forecasts using the four-dimensional Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF) data assimilation scheme and a reduced resolution version of the NCEP Global Forecast System (GFS). Our results indicate that the AIRS temperature retrievals have a significant and consistent positive impact in the Southern Hemispheric extratropics on both analyses and forecasts, which is found not only in the temperature field but also in other variables. In tropics and the Northern Hemispheric extratropics these impacts are smaller, but are still generally positive or neutral.     

A Preliminary Study on the Polar Climate Predictability

Studies have revealed that predictability of the atmospheric general circulation is generally high in the tropics throughout the year and that there is some predictability in the Northern extra-tropical winter at-mospheric circulation through some patterns of tele connection. Predictability of the general circulation at the polar regions has still remained as a ‘cold’ topic and little has been known about this question. Based on a preliminary study on the predictability by using the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) general circulation model, it is found that the SST-related predictability of the Southern winter lower atmospheric circulation in Antarctica is reasonably high and that there is some predictability in the 500 hPa and 200 hPa geopotential height fields over Europe and the Okhotsk Sea region during the Northern winter. It is sug-gested that more researches on this issue based on data analysis and model simulations are needed to obtain better understanding.     

Subseasonal Prediction of Early-summer Northeast Asian Cut-off Lows by BCC-CSM2-HR and GloSea5

Northeast Asian cut-off lows are crucial cyclonic systems that can bring temperature and precipitation extremes over large areas. Skillful subseasonal forecasting of Northeast Asian cut-off lows is of great importance. Using two dynamical forecasting systems, one from the Beijing Climate Center(BCC-CSM2-HR) and the other from the Met Office(GloSea5),this study assesses simulation ability and subseasonal prediction skill for early-summer Northeast Asian cut-off lows. Both models are shown to have...     

ESTIMATION OF OBSERVATION IMPACT WITH AN ENSEMBLE SENSITIVITY METHOD

The ensemble based forecast sensitivity to observation method by Liu and Kalnay is applied to the SPEEDY-LETKF system to estimate the observation impact of three types of simulated observations. The estimation results show that all types of observations have positive impact on short-range forecast. The largest impact in Northern Hemisphere is produced by rawinsondes, followed by satellite retrieved profiles and cloud drift wind data, which in Southern Hemisphere is produced by satellite retrieved profiles, rawinsondes and cloud drift wind data. Satellite retrieved profiles influence more on the Southern Hemisphere than on the Northern Hemisphere due to few observations from rawinsondes in the Southern Hemisphere. At the level of 200 to 300 hPa, the largest impact is attributed to wind observations from rawinsondes and cloud drift wind.     

RELATIONSHIPS OF SOUTHERN-OSCILLATION AND OTHER LARGE-SCALE FEATURES WITH BAY OF BENGAL CYCLONES DURING THE POST-MONSOON SEASON

Relationships of three Southern Oscillations and a few other large-scale atmospheric indices, like Stratospheric Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, Northern Hemispheric surface air temperature, 50 hPa subtropical ridge position, Indian monsoon rainfall, with the movement and formation of the tropical cyclones over the Bay of Bengal during the post-monsoon season are examined. In general, these relationships are not very satisfactory. However, there is some indication that the low phase of the Southern Oscillation is associated with lower mean latitude of the tracks of cyclones.     

A Comparison of Polar Vortex Response to Pacific and Indian Ocean Warming

During recent decades,the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean has become increasingly warmer.Meanwhile,both the northern and southern hemispheric polar vortices(NPV and SPV)have exhibited a deepening trend in boreal winter.Although previous studies have revealed that the tropical Indian Ocean warming(IOW)favors an intensifying NPV and a weakening SPV,how the tropical Pacific Ocean warming(POW) influences the NPV and SPV remains unclear.In this study,a comparative analysis has been conducted through ensemble atmospheric general circulation model(AGCM)experiments.The results show that,for the Northern Hemisphere,the two warmings exerted opposite impacts in boreal winter,in that the IOW intensified the NPV while the POW weakened the NPV.For the Southern Hemisphere,both the IOW and POW warmed the southern polar atmosphere and weakened the SPV.A diagnostic analysis based on the vorticity budget revealed that such an interhemispheric difference in influences from the IOW and POW in boreal winter was associated with different roles of transient eddy momentum flux convergence between the hemispheres.Furthermore,this difference may have been linked to different strengths of stationary wave activity between the hemispheres in boreal winter.     

Large Scale Aspects of India-China Summer Monsoon Rainfall

This study investigates the dominant modes of variability in monthly and seasonal rainfall over the India-China region mainly through Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis. The EOFs have shown that whereas the rainfall over India varies as one coherent zone, that over China varies in east-west oriented bands. The influence of this banded structure extends well into India.Relationship of rainfall with large scale parameters such as the subtropical ridge over the Indian and the western Pacific regions, Southern Oscillation, the Northern Hemispheric surface air temperature and stratospheric winds have also been investigated. These results show that the rainfall over the area around 40°N, 110°E over China is highly related with rainfall over India. The subtropical ridge over the Indian region is an important predictor over India as well an over the northern China region. '     

A NUMERICAL STUDY FOR MECHANISM OF THE EFFECT OF NORTHERN SUMMER ARCTIC ICE COVER ON THE GLOBAL SHORTRANGE CLIMATE CHANGE

In terms of nine-layer global spectral model involving fuller parameterization of physical process,with arhomboidal truncation at wavenumber 15,experiments are conducted by virtue of two numerical schemes,one withlong-range mean coverage of Arctic ice,and the other with supercooled water at the same temperature as the ice,fol-lowed by an analysis of the difference field simulated by the two schemes.Results show that(1)the impact of Arctic iceon the northern short-range climate is realized through the change in polar ice coverage to cause local temperaturechange in the polar region to set up gradient difference in temperature from north to south,thus affecting the atmospher-ic circulations and,on the other hand,two trains of two-dimensional Rossby waves excited by the atmospheric heatsource anomaly have impacts on the Northern Hemisphere(NH)extratropical region,one of which is similar to the JPteleconnection pattern first presented by Nitta(1987);(2)The significant impact of Arctic ice anomaly on the southernshort-range climate change is accomplished with the aid of the anomaly of the equatorial heat source that excites a two-dimensional Rossby wavetrain propagating along a great circle route into the Southern Hemisphere(SH)extratropics,and the cross-equatorial propagation of the NH wavetrain also has effects on the SH atmosphere.Simulation indicatesthat with the 15-day integration the Arctic ice exerts an influence mainly on the NH and when the model atmosphere isgetting stabilized,the effect is dominantly on the SH short-range climate change.     

NUMERICAL STUDY ON INFLUENCE OF QINGHAI-XIZANG (TIBETAN) PLATEAU ON SEASONAL TRANSITION OF GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION

It is a worthwhile attempt to address the role of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau in the seasonal transition of general circulation from a global prospective. In this paper, the CCM1 (R15L7)-LNWP spectral model is used to study the influences of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau on the seasonal transfer of the general circulation, with the objective analysis form the State Meteorological Center for March 17, 1996 as the initial field. A mid-level heating source in regions on the same latitudes is shown to cause a warming center of 224 K to form on the level of 200 hPa that warms up the atmosphere by more than 7 K and a drop of temperature by about 6 K on most of the 200-hPa layer over the Antarctic continent, with the largest negative center being-8.28 K. It is favorable to the deepening and widening of the polar vortexes in the course of transition from summer to winter. The topographic effect of the plateau plays a vital role in forming and maintaining the mean troughs and ridges of the atmospheric circulation in Northern Hemisphere such that it strengthens (weakens) the south-north positive gradient of temperature on the northern (southern) side of the latitude zone in which the plateau sits and increases the north-south gradient of temperature near 30°N. The seasonal transition is thus favored so that the bulk travel of global westerly at the middle latitudes and the formation of Asian monsoon in early summer are made possible. In the equatorial and low-latitude areas where the geopotential is increased, the effect of the plateau terrain is also evident in that it is favorable for the northern withdrawal of the tropical high ridge in Southern Hemisphere and the northern shift of the subtropical high in Northern Hemisphere. In addition, the effect also helps increase the polar easterly over the Southern Hemisphere and weaken the low zone at 500 hPa. It acts as an increasing factor for the polar vortex around the Ross Sea and contributes to the genesis of the Somali Jet on the equator.     

Overview of the Major 2012-2013 Northern Hemisphere Stratospheric Sudden Warming：Evolution and Its Association with Surface Weather

In this study, we analyzed the dynamical evolution of the ma jor 2012-2013 Northern Hemisphere （NH） stratospheric sudden warming （SSW） on the basis of ERA-Interim reanalysis data provided by the ECMWF. The intermittent upward-propagating planetary wave activities beginning in late November 2012 led to a prominent wavenumber-2 disturbance of the polar vortex in early December 2012. However, no major SSW occurred. In mid December 2012, when the polar vortex had not fully recovered, a mixture of persistent wavenumber-1 and -2 planetary waves led to gradual weakening of the polar vortex before the vortex split on 7 January 2013. Evolution of the geopotential height and Eliassen-Palm flux between 500 and 5 hPa indicates that the frequent occurrence of tropospheric ridges over North Pacific and the west coast of North America contributed to the pronounced upward planetary wave activities throughout the troposphere and stratosphere. After mid January 2013, the wavenumber-2 planetary waves became enhanced again within the troposphere, with a deepened trough over East Asia and North America and two ridges between the troughs. The enhanced tropospheric planetary waves may contribute to the long-lasting splitting of the polar vortex in the lower stratosphere. The 2012-2013 SSW shows combined features of both vortex displacement and vortex splitting. Therefore, the anomalies of tropospheric circulation and surface temperature after the 2012-2013 SSW resemble neither vortex-displaced nor vortex-split SSWs, but the combination of all SSWs. The remarkable tropospheric ridge extending from the Bering Sea into the Arctic Ocean together with the resulting deepened East Asian trough may play important roles in bringing cold air from the high Arctic to central North America and northern Eurasia at the surface.     

The Relationship between the El Ni ?no/La Ni ?na Cycle and the Transition Chains of Four Atmospheric Oscillations. Part II: The Relationship and a New Approach to the Prediction of El Ni ?no

ABSTRACT The authors explored the connection and transition chains of the Northern Oscillation （NO） and the North Pacific Oscilla tion （NPO）, the Southern Oscillation （SO）, and the Antarctic Oscillation （AAO） on the interannual timescale in a companion paper. In this study, the connection between the transition chains of the four oscillations （the NO and NPO, the SO and AAO） and the El Nifio/La Nifia cycle were examined. It was found that during the transitions of the four oscillations, alternate anticyclonic/cyclonic correlation centers propagated from the Western Pacific to the Eastern Pacific along both sides of the equator. Between the anticyclonic/cyclonic correlation centers, the zonal wind anomalies also moved eastwardly, favoring the advection of sea surface temperature anomalies from the tropical Western Pacific to the Eastern Pacific. When the anti cyclonic anomalies arrived in the Eastern Pacific, the positive phase of NO/SO and La Nifia were established and vice versa. Thus, in 4-6 years, with an entire transition chain of the four oscillations, an E1 Nifio/La Nifia cycle completed. The eastward propagation of the covarying anomalies of the sea level pressure, zonal wind, and sea surface temperature was critical to the transition chains of the four oscillations and the cycle of E1 Nifio/La Nifia. Based on their close link, a new empirical prediction method of the timing of E1 Nifio by the transition chains of the four oscillations was proposed. The assessment provided confidence in the ability of the new method to supply information regarding the long-term variations of the ocean and atmosphere in the tropical Pacific.     

INFLUENCE OF THE BASIC FLOW IN THE TROPICS ON THE STATIONARY PLANETARY WAVES AT MIDDLE AND HIGH LATITUDES DURING THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WINTER

The relationship between the quasi-stationary planetary waves forced by topography and heat sourceduring the Northern Hemisphere winter is investigated by means of a quasi-geostrophic,34-level,sphericalcoordinate model with the Rayleigh friction,the Newtonian cooling and the horizontal eddy thermal diffu-sion.The calculated results show that when the basic flow is the westerly in the tropical stratosphere,theamplitude of quasi-stationary planetary wave for zonal wavenumber 2 at middle and high latitudes is largerduring the Northern Hemispheric winter;while when the basic flow is the easterly,it is smaller.This is inagreement with the observed results.The calculated results also show that influence of the basic flow in the tropical troposphere on the quasi-stationary planetary waves is larger than that of the basic flow in the tropical stratosphere on the quasi-stationary planetary waves.     

Overview of the Major 2012–2013 Northern Hemisphere Stratospheric Sudden Warming:Evolution and Its Association with Surface Weather

In this study, we analyzed the dynamical evolution of the major 2012–2013 Northern Hemisphere(NH)stratospheric sudden warming(SSW) on the basis of ERA-Interim reanalysis data provided by the ECMWF.The intermittent upward-propagating planetary wave activities beginning in late November 2012 led to a prominent wavenumber-2 disturbance of the polar vortex in early December 2012. However, no major SSW occurred. In mid December 2012, when the polar vortex had not fully recovered, a mixture of persistent wavenumber-1 and-2 planetary waves led to gradual weakening of the polar vortex before the vortex split on 7 January 2013. Evolution of the geopotential height and Eliassen-Palm flux between 500 and 5 hPa indicates that the frequent occurrence of tropospheric ridges over North Pacific and the west coast of North America contributed to the pronounced upward planetary wave activities throughout the troposphere and stratosphere. After mid January 2013, the wavenumber-2 planetary waves became enhanced again within the troposphere, with a deepened trough over East Asia and North America and two ridges between the troughs. The enhanced tropospheric planetary waves may contribute to the long-lasting splitting of the polar vortex in the lower stratosphere. The 2012–2013 SSW shows combined features of both vortex displacement and vortex splitting. Therefore, the anomalies of tropospheric circulation and surface temperature after the2012–2013 SSW resemble neither vortex-displaced nor vortex-split SSWs, but the combination of all SSWs.The remarkable tropospheric ridge extending from the Bering Sea into the Arctic Ocean together with the resulting deepened East Asian trough may play important roles in bringing cold air from the high Arctic to central North America and northern Eurasia at the surface.     

NUMERICAL EXPERIMENTS FOR THE IMPACT OF ANTARCTIC ICE COVER AND SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE ON CLIMATE VARIABILITY

By using a three-level atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM),we have completed severalnumerical experiments to study the impacts of sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) and antarctic icecover anomaly (AICA) during 1981—1983 on climate variability.The results show that during the ElNino period of 1982—1983 the impact of SSTA overrides that of AICA.SSTA mainly affects equatorialzonal circulation and produces PNA wave train,and SE-NW wave train in East Asia to influence theweather of China.AICA produces west-east anomalous vortex streets in the middle latitudes of bothhemispheres and affects the intensity of the polar vortex of Southern Hemisphere.     

THE ADVANCES IN OPERATIONAL NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION AT NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL CENTER IN CHINA

Since 1982, several modifications in the operational model in National Meteorological Center(NMC) of China have been made, such as the adoption of the lateral boundary condition formulated byHovermal, Shuman's economic time difference scheme in the 5-layer Northern Hemispheric Model,and the replacement of the convective adjustment scheme by Kuo's cumulus parameterization scheme1974) in the 5-layer FLM. Owing to these modifications, both the objective and subjective verificationsof the prediction show that the accuracy of operational NWP has been significantly improved.Finally, applications of NWP Products are briefly summarized and future prospects are given.     

The Role of the Solar Cycle in the Relationship Between the North Atlantic Oscillation and Northern Hemisphere Surface Temperatures

The North Atlantic Oscillation （NAO） is one of the leading modes of climate variability in the Northern Hemisphere. It has been shown that it clearly relates to changes in meteorological variables, such as surface temperature, at hemispherical scales. However, recent studies have revealed that the NAO spatial pattern also depends upon solar forcing. Therefore, its effects on meteorological variables must vary depending upon this factor. Moreover, it could be that the Sun affects climate through variability patterns, a hypothesis that is the focus of this study. We find that the relationship between the NAO/AO and hemispheric temperature varies depending upon solar activity. The results show a positive significant correlation only when solar activity is high. Also, the results support the idea that solar activity influences tropospheric climate fluctuations in the Northern Hemisphere via the fluctuations of the stratospheric polar vortex .     

THE TROPICAL VERY LOW-FREQUENCY OSCILLATION ON INTERANNUAL SCALE

This is a review on the studies of tropical very low-frequency oscillation (VLFO) on interannual scale, mainly on the recent researches undertaken by Chinese scientists which are not well known outside of the country.This paper summarizes the basic features of VLFO in the tropics, the characteristic time and spacial structure of oscillation, especially the new concept of Low Latitude Oscillation consisted of two components: the well-known Southern Oscillation (SO) and the so-called Northern Oscillation (NO). A large number of evidences have been provided to illustrate the relationship between VLFO in tropics and the climate variation in China, such as the long-term variation of north Pacific high, the frequency of typhoon and the cyclone over the East China Sea, the summer monsoon rainfall in Yangtze valley basin and the cold summer disaster in Northeast China, and so on. Finally throw some lights on the nature of VLFO on interannual scale.     

OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF MERIDIONAL VARIATION OF UV-B RADIATION DURING VOYAGES TO THE ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC REGIONS

Based on 1999-2000 observations made by the first Arctic and sixteenth Antactic scientificvoyages,a study is undertaken about the meridional surface UV-B (B band ultraviolet rays)variations in 75°N-70°S.It is mitigated as a function of latitudes and marked by lower radiationaveraged over the Northern Hemisphere (NH) than over the Southern Hemisphere (SH),with itsdaily course basically similar to that of total radiation.Around polar summer noon hours (localtime) and where ice albedo is maximum,the strongest UV-B irradiance on the surfaceperpendicular to sun's beams as found at equatorial latitudes is measured sometimes.In the areasnear Zhongshan Station the increase of surface UV-B radiation shows a close relation to thedecrease of ozone in the higher atmosphere but it has a less intimate relation with its concentrationat ground.     

Impact of the Preceding Boreal Winter Southern Annular Mode on the Summertime Somali Jet

One of the major high-latitude circulation systems in the Southern Hemisphere is the Southern Annular Mode（SAM）. Its effect on the Somali Jet（SMJ）, which connects the Southern and Northern hemispheres, cannot be ignored. The present reported results show that time series of both the Southern Annular Mode Index（SAMI） during the preceding winter and the summertime Somali Jet intensity Index（SMJI） display a significant increasing trend and have similar interdecadal variation. The latter was rather strong around 1960, then became weaker up to the mid-1980 s, before starting to strengthen again. The lead-lag correlations of monthly mean SAMI with the following summertime SMJI showed significant positive correlations in November, December, and January. There are thus connections across two seasons between the SAM and the SMJ. The influence of the winter SAM on the summer SMJ was explored via analyses of SST anomalies in the Southern Indian Ocean. During strong（weak） SAM/SMJ years, the SST east of Madagascar is colder（warmer） while the SST west of Australia is warmer（colder）, corresponding to the positive（negative） Southern Indian Ocean Dipole-like（SIODL） event. Subsequently, the SIODL excites an anticyclone located over the Arabian Sea in summer through air-sea coupling from winter to summer, which causes an increase in the summer SMJ intensity. The anticyclone/high branch of the SAM over the Southern Hemisphere subtropics and the cyclone/low over the east coast of Madagascar play an important role in the formation of Southern Indian Ocean ＂bridge＂ from winter to summer.     

Sensitivity Difference in the Extratropical Atmosphere to Two Types of El Nio Events

A comparison of sensitivity in extratropical circulation in the Northern Hemisphere(NH)and Southern Hemisphere(SH)is conducted through observational analyses and diagnostic linear model experiments for two types of El Nio events,the traditional El Nio with the strongest warmth in the eastern tropical Pacific(EP El Nio)and the El Nio Modoki with the strongest warmth in the central tropical Pacific(CP El Nio).It is shown that CP El Nio favors the occurrence of a negative-phase Northern Annular Mode(NAM),while EP El Nio favors that of the Pacific-North American(PNA)pattern.In SH,both EP and CP El Nio induce a negative phase Southern Annular Mode(SAM).However,the former has a greater amplitude,which is consistent with the stronger sea surface temperature(SST)warmth.The difference in the two types of El Nio events in NH may originate from the dependence of heating-induced extratropical response on the location of initial heating,which may be associated with activity of the stationary wave.In SH,the lack of sensitivity to the location of heating can be associated with weaker activity of the stationary wave therein.