Interannual variability of Mascarene high and Australian high and their influences on summer rainfall over East Asia

Based on the reanalysis data from NCEP/NCAR and other observational data,interannual variability of Mascarene high(MH) and Australian high(AH) from 1970 to 1999 is examined.It is shown that interannual variability of MH is dominated by the Antarctic oscillation(AAO),when the circumpolar low in the high southern latitudes deepens,the intensity of MH will be intensified.On the other hand,AH is correlated by AAO as well as EI Nino and South Oscillation(ENSO),the intensity of AH will be intensified when EI Nino occurs.Both correlation analysis and case study demonstrate that summer rainfall over East Asia is closely related to MH and AH.When MH intensifies from boreal spring to summer (i.e.from austral autumn to winter),there is more rainfall over regions from the Yangtze River valley to Japan,in contrast,less rainfall is found over southern China and western Pacific to the east of Taiwan,and most of regions in mid-latitudes of East Asia.Compared with MH,the effect of AH on summer rainfall in East Asia is limited to localized regions,there is more rainfall over southern China with the intensification of AH.The results in this study show that AAO is a strong signal on interannual timescale,which plays an important role in summer rainfall over East Asia.This discovery is of real importance to revealingt the physical mechanism of interannual variability of East Asian summer monsoon and prediction of summer precipitation in China.     

江淮流域夏季降水异常及与全球中低纬海温异常关系的诊断研究

对1951－1999年中国夏季江淮流域降水异常与海温异常关系的分析表明,前期及同期各季节三大洋海表温度异常（SSTA）与长江流域降水异常的关系是非常显著的,而对淮河流域降水异常总体上的影响较小,前期冬季SSTA的影响显著区主要有：热带印度洋、黑潮、热带中东太平洋和大西洋,各关键区海温异常对亚洲夏季风的影响特征为：当前期冬季赤道印度洋、黑潮、赤道大西洋和热带东太平洋海表温度异常升高（降低）,当年夏季印度西南季风和东亚热带辐合带减弱（加强）,副热带高压位置偏南（北）,副热带辐合带加强（减弱）,长江流域易发生洪涝（干旱）,相关显著性分析表明,前冬赤道印度洋和黑潮区的海温异常对中国夏季降水的影响更为显著。     

Significant relationship between spring AO and the summer rainfall along the Yangtze River

The influence of spring AO on the summer rainfall along the Yangtze River is investigated. The long-term rainfall observations are filtered to remove the low-frequency variations longer than 10 years. The inter-annual components show a high correlation to AO in the last hundred years. The strongest correlation appears for May AO and summer rainfall with a value of -0.39, significant above the 99% confidence level. Associated with one standard deviation stronger May AO index, the rainfall over the Yangtze River to the southern Japan decreases by about 3%-9%, while, at the same time increases by about 3%-6% in the northern China and far-eastern Russia. The coherent changes in rainfall are significantly related to the East Asian summer jet stream in the upper troposphere. When there is stronger AO in spring, the jet stream tends to move polarward in summer, and leads the rainfall-belt to move northward too. That gives rise to a drier condition in the Yangtze River valley, wetter anomalies in northern China. This signal would be helpful for the summer rainfall prediction in China.     

1951—2014年淮河流域降水量时空变化特征

以1951—2014年淮河流域29个站点月降水量数据为研究对象,运用线性趋势、累积距平、小波分析及空间分析等方法,分析了降水量时间和空间变化特征.结果表明:(1)1951—2014年,年、春、夏和秋季降水量呈不显著减少趋势,冬季降水量则具有不显著增加趋势.(2)春、秋和冬季易发生旱涝灾害,夏季降水量变化控制年降水量变化.(3)年降水量具有准2a和6a振荡周期.(4)东南部年和四季降水量多于西北部,这与我国年和四季降水量分布模式一致.(5)空间上,年和四季降水量变率中,年和夏季最大,降水量减少区域呈半环状包围降水量增加区域;整个流域冬季降水量几乎没有变化.     

The strengthening East Asia summer monsoon since the early 1990s

Previous studies have documented a weakening tendency of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) since the end of the 1970s. In this study, we report that the EASM has been recovering since the early 1990s, although its strength is still less than in previous decades (averaged over the period 1965-1980). Following the recovery of the EASM, there has been a tendency in the last decade toward northward-moving rainbands and excessive rainfall in the Huaihe River valley (110°-120°E, 30°-35°N). There is evidence suggesting that the strengthening EASM since the early 1990s is linked to interdecadal change of land-sea thermal contrast.     

A physically-based statistical forecast model for the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley summer rainfall

A new approach to forecast the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley summer rainfall in June-August （JJA） is proposed in this paper. The year-to-year increment of the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley is forecasted and hence the summer precipitation could be predicted. In this paper, DY is defined as the difference of a variable between the current year and the preceding year （year-to-year increment）. YR denotes the seasonal mean precipitation rate of the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River Valley summer rainfall. After analyzing the atmospheric circulation anomalies in winter and spring that were associated with the DY of YR, six key predictors for the DY of YR have been identified. Then the forecast model for the DY of YR is established by using the multi-linear regression method. The predictors for the DY of YR are Antarctic Oscillation, the meridional wind shear between 850hPa and 200hPa over the Indo-Australian region, and so on. The prediction model shows a high skill for the hindcast during 1997-2006, with the average relative root mean square error is at 18%. The model can even reproduce the upward and downward trends of YR during 1984--1998 and 1998--2006. Considering that the current operational forecast models of the summer precipitation over the China region have the average forecast scores at 60%--70% and that the prediction skill for the middle-lower reaches of Yangtze River Valley summer precipitation remains quite limited up to now, thus this new approach to predict the year-to-year increment of the summer precipitation over the Yangtze River Valley （and hence the summer precipitation itself） has the potential to significantly increase the operational forecast skill of the summer precipitation.     

Decadal northward shift of the Meiyu belt and the possible cause

The feature of the decadal movement of the Meiyu belt and their association with East Asia atmospheric circulation for the period of 1979―2007 is examined in this study. It is shown that the Meiyu belt of China has a decadal shift in the late 1990s. There is a remarkable difference between the periods before and after 1999, with the Meiyu belt mainly located to the south of the Yangtze River valley before 1999, but afterward mainly located in the Huaihe River valley. At the same time, a distinctive tropospheric warming and stratospheric cooling trend is found in the mid-latitudes of East Asia, which causes the upper tropospheric pressure surfaces upward bulging and the tropoause elevated in the subtropics and associated widening of the subtropical area over East Asia. Accompanying the subtropics widening, the subtropical westerly jet over East Asia shifts northward and the East Asia tropical Hadley circulation expands poleward, which results in the northward shift of the Meiyu belt.     

Simulation of the future change of East Asian monsoon climate using the IPCC SRES A2 and B2 scenarios

In this paper, we applied the newest emission scenarios of the sulfur and greenhouse gases, i.e. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) A2 and B2 scenarios, to investigating the change of the East Asian climate in the last three decades of the 21st century with an atmosphere-ocean coupled general circulation model. The global warming enlarges the land-sea thermal contrast and, hence, enhances (reduces) the East Asian summer (winter) monsoon circulation. The precipitation from the Yangtze and Huaihe river valley to North China increases significantly. In particular, the strong rainfall increase over North China implies that the East Asian rainy area would expand northward. In addition, from the southeastern coastal area to North China, the rainfall would increase significantly in September, implying that the rainy period of the East Asian monsoon would be prolonged about one month. In July, August and September, the interannual variability of the precipitation enhances evidently over North China, meaning a risk of flooding in the future.     

淮河流域水污染治理的思考

目的分析淮河流域水污染更加严重的原因,提出消除水污染的建议。方法用环境经济学的外部性和产权理论进行分析。结果淮河流域水污染产生和更加严重的原因是淮河水资源利用过程中存在广泛的外部性和产权不明晰。结论建立统一的淮河流域水资源环境管理机构是防止淮河流域水污染更加严重的关键。     

Linkage between winter sea surface temperature east of Australia and summer precipitation in the Yangtze River valley and a possible physical mechanism

The relationship between winter sea surface temperature (SST) east of Australia and summer precipitation in the Yangtze River valley and a possibly related physical mechanism were investigated using observation data. It is found that winter SST east of Australia is correlated positively to summer precipitation in the Yangtze River valley. When the SST east of Australia becomes warmer in winter, the western Pacific subtropical high and the East Asian westerly jet tend to shift southward the following summer, concurrent with low-level southwesterly anomalies over eastern China. These conditions favor precipitation increase in the Yangtze River valley, whereas the opposite conditions favor precipitation decrease. The influence of winter SST east of Australia on East Asian summer atmospheric circulations may occur in two ways. First, by an anomalous SST signal east of Australia in winter that persists through the following summer, thus affecting East Asian atmospheric circulations via the inter-hemispheric teleconnection. Second, when the SST east of Australia is warmer in winter, higher SST appears simultaneously in the southwest Indian Ocean and subsequently develops eastward by local air-sea interaction. As a result, the SST in the Maritime Continent increases in summer, which may lead to an anomalous change in East Asian summer atmospheric circulations through its impact on convection.     

Moisture transport source／sink structure of the Meiyu rain belt along the Yangtze River valley

Based on the analyses of the moisture transport structure in the whole layer of the troposphere along the Yangtze River valley during draught/flood years using the NCEP reanalysis data, this paper reveals that there exists a key region with a “Large Triangle” shape of transporting moisture for the Tibetan Plateau to Meiyu Belt and its“source/sink” structure; discloses that the interannual variation of the whole budget of inflow and outflow of moisture through the boundaries of a “Large Triangle” key region has the in-phase characteristic. Then a moisture transport structure over the skirt of the plateau and a conceptual model on the “transfer post” of moisture transport in the area of the South China Sea-Tibetan Plateau-Yangtze River valley in summer are put forward in this paper: the anti-phase feature of whole layer moisture transport flow patterns of Yangtze River valley during drought/flooding years is exhibited using the computational scheme of whole layer moisture transport correlation vector fields; a comprehensive dynamic model and its physical diagram of the teleconnection source/sink structure of the moisture transport of the Meiyu rain belt have been made. It shows that the moisture transfer effect over the skirt of the plateau from the ocean (Indian Ocean, South China Sea and west North Pacific) led to a moisture confluence belt in the Yangtze River valley and the teleconnection moisture transport source/sink structure over the “Large Triangle” shape area in flooding years.     

The East Asian summer monsoon circulation anomaly index and its interannual variations

Based on the concept of East Asia-Pacific (EAP) teleconnection which influences East Asian summer monsoon, an index for East Asian summer monsoon circulation anomaly was defined and it was pointed out that this index can describle the interannual variation character of summer climate in East Asia, especially in the Yangtze River and Huaihe River Valley.     

The spring soil moisture and the summer rainfall in eastern China

The relation between the soil moisture in spring and the rainfall in summer in eastern China is investi- gated. Results show that the summer rainfall in eastern China is closely related to the spring soil moisture in the area from North China to the lower reaches of Yangtze River (NCYR). When spring soil moisture anomalies over NCYR are positive, the summer precipitation exhibits positive anomalies in Northeast China and the lower reaches of Yangtze River, and negative anomalies in southern China and North China. The higher soil moisture over NCYR cools land surface and reduces the land-sea tem- perature gradient, which weakens East Asian summer monsoon. The western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH) is located to the south and shifts westward, resulting in more rainfall in the lower reaches of Yangtze River and less in southern China and North China.     

淮河流域极端降水特征及不同重现期降水量估计

基于淮河流域25个气象站的逐日降水量资料,分析了极端日降水量、极端最大过程降水量和最大持续降水日数3个极端降水指标的时空变化特征,利用广义极值理论估算了重现期降水量.结果表明:在空间上,半湿润气候区有更强极端降水过程,而湿润气候区降水极端性偏小;在时间上,降水偏多的年代,极端降水量和极端降水过程更多,降水偏少的年代,极端降水指标数值偏小;重现期时间尺度存在临界点,在临界点以下,各站重现期降水量都会明显增大,超过临界点,淮河流域上游和南部重现期降水量变化很小,而中游、下游和北部重现期降水量增大明显.     

The northern annular mode: More zonal symmetric than the southern annular mode

Fan （2007） recently documented the zonal asymmetry of the Antarctic oscillation （AAO） in the austral winter. In this research, the zonal asymmetry of the northern annular mode, or the Arctic oscillation （AO）, in the interannual variability is studied for the boreal winter. It is shown that there is zonal asymmetry of the AO as well, similar to the case of the Antarctic oscillation （AAO）. However, the zonal asymmetry of the AO is considerably weaker than that of the AAO. This is far beyond the speculation, since the zonal asymmetry of the geography is larger in the Northern Hemisphere than the Southern Hemisphere. The Western and Eastern Hemispheres portions of the AO are correlated at 0.54 for 1959-1998, comparing with 0.23 for the case of the AAO. The authors also discussed the physical reason for this inter-hemispheric difference, and partly attributed it to the El Ni~o and Southern Oscillation （ENSO） cycle which may be represented by the SO index. It is indicated that the SO associated sea-level pressure （SLP） patterns are more zonal symmetric in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere than the Southern Hemisphere.     

2003年东亚夏季风活动的特点

利用2003年国家气象中心提供的再分析资料以及台站降水资料，诊断分析了2003我国东部地区汛期降水和东亚夏季风的活动特点，并对二者之间的联系进行讨论。结果表明：(1)2003年南海夏季风于5月第5候在南海南部建立。6月第1候全面爆发，比常年偏晚，南海夏季风强度也比常年偏弱；(2)该年夏季，副热带高压的一个显著特点是强度强、位置偏西，其中从6月下旬至7月中旬，副热带高压的位置稳定少变，其北脊线位25oN附近，且副高位置偏西，这导致了长江以南的犬部分地区高温少雨。这个阶段副热带高压西侧的南风气流将南海地区的水汽源源不断地输送到淮河流域，是淮河流域强降水过程水汽主要来源。     

Identifying the northernmost summer monsoon location in East Asia

An integrated index which can be used to indicate the advance of subtropical summer monsoon in East Asia has been proposed in this paper.The index was comhined by three variables including precipitation,wind and pseudo-equivalent potential tempera- ture.The northernmost summer monsoon location(NSML)was identified by using this index annually.It was found that the NSML ex- perienced an interdecadal shift in the period 1977—1979 based on the annual index analysis from 1961 to 2001.A comparison of the NSML with other four summer monsoon indices has also been made.The result showed that the NSML could well represent the interan- nual and interdecadal variability of summer monsoon precipitation in North China(beyond 35°N),while other four indices could well indi- cate the precipitation anomalies of East Asian summer monsoon along the Yangtze River valley(around 30°N).     

Characteristics of decadal-centennial-scale changes in East Asian summer monsoon circulation and precipitation during the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age and in the present day

Using meteorological observations, proxies of precipitation and temperature, and climate simulation outputs, we synthetically analyzed the regularities of decadal-centennial-scale changes in the summer thermal contrast between land and ocean and summer precipitation over the East Asian monsoon region during the past millennium; compared the basic characteristics of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) circulation and precipitation in the present day, the Little Ice Age (LIA) and the Medieval Warm Period (MWP); and explored their links with solar irradiance and global climate change. The results indicate that over the last 150 years, the EASM circulation and precipitation, indicated by the temperature contrast between the East Asian mainland and adjacent oceans, had a significant decadal perturbation and have been weaker during the period of rapid global warming over the past 50 years. On the centennial time scale, the EASM in the MWP was strongest over the past 1000 years. Over the past 1000 years, the EASM was weakest in 1450?C1570. When the EASM circulation was weaker, the monsoon rain belt over eastern China was generally located more southward, with there being less precipitation in North China and more precipitation in the Yangtze River valley; therefore, there was an anomalous pattern of southern flood/northern drought. From the 1900s to 1920s, precipitation had a pattern opposite to that of the southern flood/northern drought, with there being less precipitation in the Yangtze River valley and more precipitation in North China. Compared with the case for the MWP, there was a longer-time-scale southern flood/northern drought phenomenon in 1400?C1600. Moreover, the EASM circulation and precipitation did not synchronously vary with the trend of global temperature. During the last 150 years, although the annual mean surface temperature around the world and in China has increased, the EASM circulation and precipitation did not have strengthening or weakening trends. Over the past 1000 years, the weakest EASM occurred ahead of the lowest Northern Hemispheric temperature and corresponded to the weakest solar irradiance.     

青藏高原积雪异常对亚洲夏季风气候的影响

为了研究青藏高原积雪异常对亚洲夏季风气候的影响,从季风环流和季风降水等方面综合分析了高原积雪异常对气候的影响,并利用IAP 9L AGCM模式,对高原雪量进行了增加和减少的数值试验。从而提出高原多(少)雪年南亚夏季风偏弱(强),东亚夏季风反而偏强(弱)的新观点。高原积雪异常会导致高原上空大气垂直运动的扰动,扰动传播到下游致使我国长江流域和西太副高所在区域大气对流运动发生变化。高原多(少)雪,夏季我国南方的偏南风增强(减弱),有利于水汽从孟加拉湾和南海向我国大陆输送,但到长江流域时,由于偏南风存在较强(弱)的辐合,江淮流域偏涝(旱)。     

基于非平稳的淮河流域干旱时空演变特征研究

基于非平稳性标准化降水蒸散指数（non-stationary standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index，NSPEI）表征气象干旱程度，运用游程和Copula理论识别气象干旱特征演变规律，分析淮河流域干旱持续时间与烈度及干旱时间与强度的联合频率特征，并初步揭示干旱对植被覆盖度的影响．研究结果表明:1）淮河流域中部NSPEI较低，区域内68%的站点NSPEI呈上升趋势，淮河沿岸及其以南地区干旱程度增强；2）长历时、高强度的干旱事件主要集中在南部大别山区与蚌埠附近，高烈度干旱事件集中分布在中北部定陶附近，干旱事件历时集中在0.5~1.5个月，烈度基本<3，强度大多为10~30；3）干旱事件历时与烈度联合重现期低值（1.6 a）集中出现在信阳、蚌埠、菏泽附近地区，历时与强度联合重现期低值（1.7 a）同样集中出现在信阳、蚌埠站附近；4）1990—2015年淮河流域耕地面积减少2.01%，建设用地增加2.07%，土地利用类型变化集中在区域北部，区域内NDVI变化趋势通过95%显著性检验的面积仅占0.89%，植被覆盖度变化趋势不明显，干旱对其影响小．