Relationship between extensive and persistent extreme cold events in China and stratospheric circulation anomalies
Journal Title: Satellite Oceanography and Meteorology - Year 2016, Vol 1, Issue 1
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between the extensive and persistent extreme cold events (EPECEs) in China and geopotential height anomalies in the stratosphere using daily mean fields of outgoing long wave radiation (OLR) produced by the NCAR and daily atmospheric circulations produced by the NCEP/NCAR. The OLR composite analysis for the EPECE in China demonstrates that the negative OLR height anomalies (cold air) originated from Siberia influence China progressively from north to south. The largest negative OLR height anomaly (cooling event) occurs in the region to the north of the Nanling Mountains. This suggests that the OLR height anomalies can be used to represent the temporal and spatial characteristics of extreme low temperatures and cold air activities in winter in China. The composite analysis of large-scale atmospheric circulations during the EPECE reveals characteristic evolutions of stratospheric and tropospheric circulations during the extreme cold event. We demonstrate the important role of atmospheric circulation anomalies in the outbreak and dissipation of the EPECE in China. We also demonstrate that significant perturbations in the stratospheric circulation occur more than 10 days prior to the outbreak of the EPECE, with positive height anomalies in the Arctic stratosphere. These positive anomalies propagate downward from the stratosphere and affect the formation and development of the high pressure ridge in the middle troposphere over the Ural Mountains. Significant changes also occur in the atmospheric circulation in the mid-latitude stratosphere. These changes propagate downward from the stratosphere and strengthen the low pressure trough in the troposphere in the region to the east of Lake Balkhash and Lake Baikal. Therefore, the changes in the stratospheric circulation during the EPECE in China occur prior to changes in the tropospheric circulation and are very useful for predicting extreme wintertime cold temperatures in China.
Authors and Affiliations
Hui Yang, Xinrong Chen and Gui-Ying Yang
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP678939
- DOI -
- Views 163
- Downloads 0
Response of the tropical Pacific Ocean to wind changes related to global warming from simulations with an ocean general circulation model
A suite of numerical experiments is implemented with an ocean general circulation model (OGCM) to examine the roles of wind stress and wind speed for oceanic changes in the tropical Pacific under global warming. In parti...
Water clarity patterns in South Florida coastal waters and their linkages to synoptic-scale wind forcing
Temporal variability in water clarity for South Florida’s marine ecosystems was examined through satellite-derived light attenuation (Kd coefficients, in the context of wind- and weather patterns. Reduced water clarity a...
Global positioning system application for monitoring of the engineering infrastructure facility safety
Oil and gas companies need to ensure continuous operation of critical equipment, no matter how remote. This means knowing exactly where your fleets and equipment are, how they are performing and identifying problems as t...
Seagrass distribution changes in Swan Lake of Shandong Peninsula from 1979 to 2009 inferred from satellite remote sensing data
Seagrass and associated bio-resources are very important for swan’s overwintering in Swan Lake in Rongcheng of Shandong Peninsula of China. The seagrass distribution changes, which are usually affected by the regional hu...
Using CloudSat observations to evaluate cloud top heights from convection parameterization
How high convective clouds can go is of great importance to climate. Cloud ice and liquid water that detrain near the top of convective cores are important for the formation of anvil clouds and thus impact cloud radiativ...