Weakening of Interannual Variability in the Summer East Asian Upper-tropospheric Westerly Jet since the Mid-1990s

In this study,we found that the intensity of interannual variability in the summer upper-tropospheric zonal wind has significantly weakened over Northeast Asia and the subtropical western North Pacific(WNP) since the mid-1990s,concurrent with the previously documented decrease of the westerly jet over North China and Northwest China.Corresponding to this weakening of zonal wind variability,the meridional displacement of the East Asian westerly jet(EAJ) manifested as the leading mode of zonal wind variability over the WNP and East Asia(WNP-EA) before the mid-1990s but not afterward.The energetics of the anomalous pattern associated with the meridional displacement of the EAJ suggests that barotropic energy conversion,from basic flow to anomalous patterns,has led to the weakening of the variability in the EAJ meridional displacement and to a change in the leading dominant mode since the mid-1990s.The barotropic energy conversion efficiently maintained the anomalies associated with the variability in the EAJ meridional displacement during 1979-1993 but acted to dampen the anomalies during 1994-2008.A further investigation of the energetics suggests that the difference in the patterns of the circulation anomaly associated with either the first leading mode or the meridional displacement of the EAJ,i.e.,a southwest-northeast tilted pattern during 1979-1993 and a zonally oriented pattern during 1994-2008,has contributed greatly to the change in barotropic energy conversion.     

Decadal Changes in Climatological Intraseasonal Fluctuation of Subseasonal Evolution of Summer Precipitation over the Korean Peninsula in the mid-1990s

Decadal changes in the subseasonal evolution and the phase-locked climatological intraseasonal fluctuation of summertime rainfall over the Korean Peninsula before and after the mid-1990s are investigated.The activity and the migration speed of the monsoon rain band over the East Asian region are altered in the recent decade,resulting in the drier conditions in late spring and the earlier onset of Changma.In early August when a climatological monsoon break was clear in the earlier decade,the precipitation has increased dramatically with a meridional coherency.The response to the enhanced convection over the South China Sea and southeastern China provides a favorable condition for more precipitation in early August through the changes in moisture transport and tropical cyclone passage.     

Recent climate variation in the Bering and Chukchi Seas and its linkages to large-scale circulation in the Pacific

The thermal state of the Bering Sea exhibits interdecadal variations, with distinct changes occurred in 1997–1998. After the unusual thermal condition of the Bering Sea in 1997–1998, we found that the recent climate variability (1999–2010) in the Bering Sea is closely related to Pacific basin-scale atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns. Specifically, warming in the Bering and Chukchi Seas in this period involves sea ice reduction and stronger oceanic heat flux to the atmosphere in winter. The atmospheric response to the recent warming in the Bering and Chukchi Seas resembles the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) pattern. Further analysis reveals that the recent climate variability in the Bering and Chukchi Seas has strong covariability with large-scale climate modes in the Pacific, that is, the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation and the central Pacific El Niño. In this study, physical connections among the recent climate variations in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, the NPO pattern and the Pacific large-scale climate patterns are investigated via cyclostationary empirical orthogonal function analysis. An additional model experiment using the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Atmospheric Model, version 3, is conducted to support the robustness of the results.     

Interdecadal changes in interannual variability of the global monsoon precipitation and interrelationships among its subcomponents

The interdecadal and the interannual variability of the global monsoon (GM) precipitation over the area which is chosen by the definition of Wang and Ding (Geophys Res Lett 33: L06711, 2006) are investigated. The recent increase of the GM precipitation shown in previous studies is in fact dominant during local summer. It is evident that the GM monsoon precipitation has been increasing associated with the positive phase of the interdecadal Pacific oscillation in recent decades. Against the increasing trend of the GM summer precipitation in the Northern Hemisphere, its interannual variability has been weakened. The significant change-point for the weakening is detected around 1993. The recent weakening of the interannual variability is related to the interdecadal changes in interrelationship among the GM subcomponents around 1993. During P1 (1979–1993) there is no significant interrelationship among GM subcomponents. On the other hand, there are significant interrelationships among the Asian, North American, and North African summer monsoon precipitations during P2 (1994–2009). It is noted that the action center of the interdecadal changes is the Asian summer (AS) monsoon system. It is found that during P2 the Western North Pacific summer monsoon (WNPSM)-related variability is dominant but during P1 the ENSO-related variability is dominant over the AS monsoon region. The WNPSM-related variability is rather related to central-Pacific (CP) type ENSO rather than the eastern-Pacific (EP) type ENSO. Model experiments confirm that the CP type ENSO forcing is related to the dominant WNPSM-related variability and can be responsible for the significant interrelationship among GM subcomponents.     

The influences of interannual stratification variability and wind stress forcing on ENSO before and after the 1976 climate shift

In order to understand the change in oceanic variability associated with the climate shift of the mid-1970s, we analyze the contribution of momentum forcing to the leading baroclinic modes over the tropical Pacific using Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA, version 2.0.2) for the period of 1958–1997. Specifically, we look at the statistical relationship between the wind projection coefficients and climate indices and attempt to provide a physical explanation for the observed changes. It is found that the wind stress projection coefficients according to the oceanic baroclinic modes are different in terms of their magnitude and phase in the tropical Pacific, reflecting a specific forcing associated with each mode before and after the 1976 climate shift. Compared to that before the 1970s, the first baroclinic mode is had a greater effect on the interannual sea surface temperature due to equatorial wave dynamics, and there was an increased delayed response of the second baroclinic mode variability to the interannual atmospheric forcing after the late 1970s. This reflects changes in ENSO feedback processes associated with the climate shift. Our analysis further indicates that, after the late 1970s, there was a decrease in the wind stress forcing projecting onto the Ekman layer, which is associated with increased mixed-layer depth. This result suggests that the changes in the ENSO properties before and after the late 1970s are largely associated with the changes in the way in which the wind stress forcing is dynamically projected onto the surface layer of the tropical Pacific Ocean over interannual timescales.     

What drives the global summer monsoon over the past millennium?

The global summer monsoon precipitation (GSMP) provides a fundamental measure for changes in the annual cycle of the climate system and hydroclimate. We investigate mechanisms governing decadal-centennial variations of the GSMP over the past millennium with a coupled climate model’s (ECHO-G) simulation forced by solar-volcanic (SV) radiative forcing and greenhouse gases (GHG) forcing. We show that the leading mode of GSMP is a forced response to external forcing on centennial time scale with a globally uniform change of precipitation across all monsoon regions, whereas the second mode represents internal variability on multi-decadal time scale with regional characteristics. The total amount of GSMP varies in phase with the global mean temperature, indicating that global warming is accompanied by amplification of the annual cycle of the climate system. The northern hemisphere summer monsoon precipitation (NHSMP) responds to GHG forcing more sensitively, while the southern hemisphere summer monsoon precipitation (SHSMP) responds to the SV radiative forcing more sensitively. The NHSMP is enhanced by increased NH land–ocean thermal contrast and NH-minus-SH thermal contrast. On the other hand, the SHSMP is strengthened by enhanced SH subtropical highs and the east–west mass contrast between Southeast Pacific and tropical Indian Ocean. The strength of the GSMP is determined by the factors controlling both the NHSMP and SHSMP. Intensification of GSMP is associated with (a) increased global land–ocean thermal contrast, (b) reinforced east–west mass contrast between Southeast Pacific and tropical Indian Ocean, and (c) enhanced circumglobal SH subtropical highs. The physical mechanisms revealed here will add understanding of future change of the global monsoon.     

Combined effect of the East Atlantic/West Russia and Western Pacific teleconnections on the East Asian winter monsoon

This study investigates the individual effects of the East Atlantic/West Russia (EATL/WRUS) and Western Pacific (WP) teleconnection patterns and their combined effect on the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM). The contributions of the respective EATL/WRUS and WP teleconnection patterns to the EAWM are revealed by removing the dependence on the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) using a linear regression, which are named as N_EATL/WRUS and N_WP, respectively. This is because the EATL/WRUS (WP) is closely linked to the Arctic (tropics) region. A significant increase (decrease) in temperature over East Asia (EA) corresponding to a weak (strong) EAWM is associated with the N_EATL/WRUS and N_WP teleconnection patterns during the positive (negative) phases. In order to examine impacts of these two teleconnections on the EAWM, three types of effects are reconstructed on the basis of ± 0.5 standard deviation: 1) Combined effect, 2) N_EATL/WRUS effect, and 3) N_WP effect. The positive N_EATL/WRUS teleconnection induces to a weakened Siberian High and a shallow EA trough at the mid-troposphere through wave propagation, leading to the weak EAWM. During the positive N_WP pattern, warm air from the tropics flows toward the EA along western flank of an anomalous anticyclone over the North Pacific that is relevant to the meridional shift of the Aleutian Low. When the two mid-latitude teleconnections have the in-phase combination, the increase in temperature over EA appears to be more pronounced than the individual effects by transporting warm air from tropics via strong southeasterly wind anomalies induced by anomalous zonal pressure gradient between the Siberian High and Aleutian Low. Therefore, the impact of the mid-latitude teleconnections on the EAWM becomes robust and linearly superimposed, unlike a nonlinear in-phase combined effect of the AO and ENSO.     

Source of low frequency modulation of ENSO amplitude in a CGCM

We study the relationship between changes in equatorial stratification and low frequency El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) amplitude modulation in a coupled general circulation model (CGCM) that uses an anomaly coupling strategy to prevent climate drifts in the mean state. The stratification is intensified at upper levels in the western and central equatorial Pacific during periods of high ENSO amplitude. Furthermore, changes in equatorial stratification are connected with subsurface temperature anomalies originating from the central south tropical Pacific. The correlation analysis of ocean temperature anomalies against an index for the ENSO modulation supports the hypothesis of the existence of an oceanic “tunnel” that connects the south tropical Pacific to the equatorial wave guide. Further analysis of the wind stress projection coefficient onto the oceanic baroclinic modes suggests that the low frequency modulation of ENSO amplitude is associated with a significant contribution of higher-order modes in the western and central equatorial Pacific. In the light of these results, we suggest that, in the CGCM, change in the baroclinic mode energy distribution associated with low frequency ENSO amplitude modulation have its source in the central south tropical Pacific.     

The change in the East Asian summer monsoon simulated by the MIROC3.2 high-resolution coupled model under global warming scenarios

In order to investigate changes in the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) under the global warming, the MIROC3.2 (hires) coupled general circulation model (CGCM) developed by the Center for Climate System Research is utilized. The outputs of MIROC3.2 (hires) model have been analyzed using two scenarios; the 20th Century Climate in Coupled Models (20C3M) scenario and the Special Reports for Emissions Scenarios A1B (SRES A1B). Eight Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) models are also analyzed to compare model performances. It is shown that the simulation skill of MIROC3.2 (hires) for the EASM is relatively superior to these IPCC CGCMs. It has been found that the intensified rain band and the extended duration of the EASM are anticipated with MIROC3.2 (hires) under the global warming in well accordance with previous studies. Especially, the precipitation due to the cumulus convection is predicted to increase more significantly than the precipitation by the large-scale condensation. Due to the increased land-sea thermal contrast in summer under the global warming, water vapor fluxes in the lower troposphere are enhanced. Consequently, the convective instability may be strengthened and thus it leads to the increase of precipitation by cumulus convection. Moreover, the upper tropospheric circulations associated with the EU pattern would lead to the larger interannual variability of precipitation over the EASM region in the future warm climate. In addition, it is found that the relationship between the sea surface temperature over the tropical Pacific Ocean in the wintertime and the summer rainfall over the East Asia may be weakened, suggesting that the predictability of the EASM might become more difficult under the global warming.     

The 30–60-day oscillation in the East Asian summer monsoon and its time-dependent association with the ENSO

Based on 30–60-day oscillation in the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM), the relationship between its northward propagation and ENSO (El Niño and Southern Oscillation) was investigated. To explicitly describe the 30–60-day monsoonal evolution, an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis was carried out on the temporal-latitude section of the longitudinal average for 115°E–120°E. The principal 30–60-day EASM mode captures a northward propagation of well-organized intraseasonal oscillation (NISO). Using the associated time series of the first mode, we found a significant lagged correlation between interannual variability of the NISO and ENSO. Its lagged correlations with NINO indices have a quasi-biennial (QB) characteristic through the preceding summer and the concurrent summer. Their relationship was found by the regression analysis relating the low-level circulation to the ocean temperature. The western North Pacific anticyclone and the anticyclone-induced easterly vertical wind shear anomalies induce the dynamical linkage between the NISO and QB-type ENSO. It is shown that the NISO is more closely tied with QB-type ENSO in its phase than in its amplitude, and may be connected to the anomalous easterly wind and the eastward evolution of an oceanic Kelvin wave, which is associated with abrupt ENSO transition. The predictability on ENSO and NISO is examined through the canonical correlation analysis.