冬季北极海冰面积异常与中国气温变化之间的年际关系

利用1957-2001年冬季的北极海冰资料、中国160站气温资料以及NCEP再分析的大气环流资料分析了冬季北极海冰面积异常与中国气温变化之间的年际关系.过去44年来,北极海冰面积总体上具有减小趋势(鄂霍次克海是例外,那里海冰面积有增加趋势),相应地北极涛动趋于增强,我国大部分地区趋于增暖.叠加这种趋势变化之上的是年际变化.在年际时间尺度上,冬季海冰变化的主要空间型表现为格陵兰海和白令海的海冰异常总是和鄂霍次克海、巴伦支海东部、喀拉海(新地岛附近)以及哈得孙湾的海冰异常符号相反,并且与500 hPa高度场上的EU和WP型遥相关对应.当冬季格陵兰海和白令海的海冰异常偏少,而鄂霍次克海、巴伦支海东部、喀拉海(新地岛附近)以及哈得孙湾的海冰异常偏多时,西伯利亚高压和阿留申低压都偏弱,冬季风减弱,东亚西风增强,我国冬季大部分地区温度升高;反之亦然.     

Arctic sea ice bordering on the North Atlantic and interannual climate variations

Variations of winter Arctic sea ice bordering on the North Atlantic are closely related to climate variations in the same region. When winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index is positive (negative) anomaly phase, Icelandic Low is obviously deepened and shifts northwards (southwards). Simultaneously, the Subtropical High over the North Atlantic is also intensified, and moves northwards (southwards). Those anomalies strengthen (weaken) westerly between Icelandic Low and the Subtropical High, and further result in positive (negative) sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the mid-latitude of the North Atlantic, and increase (decrease) the warm water transportation from the mid-latitude to the Barents Sea, which causes positive (negative) mixed-layer water temperature anomalies in the south part of the Barents Sea. Moreover, the distribution of anomaly air temperature clearly demonstrates warming (cooling) in northern Europe and the subarctic regions (including the Barents Sea) and cooling (warming) in Baffin Bay/Davis Strait. Both of distributions of SST and air temperature anomalies directly result in sea ice decrease (increase) in the Barents/Kara Seas, and sea ice increase (decrease) in Baffin Bay/Davis Strait. :     

Interdecadal variations of the East Asian winter surface air temperature and possible causes

Using the NCEP/NCAR and JRA-25 monthly analysis data from 1979 to 2011, this paper analyzes the interdecadal variations of winter (Dec.–Feb.) mean surface air temperature (SAT) over East Asia by means of the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis method. Two dominant modes were extracted, with the leading mode basically depicting a sign consistent SAT variation and the second mode describing a meridional dipole structure between the northern and southern parts of East Asia. These two modes can explain more than 60% of the variance. The leading mode is closely related to the intensity of Siberian high and the East Asian winter monsoon. The second mode exhibits a notable interdecadal shift in the late 1990s, with a turning point around 1996/1997. Winter SAT in the northern (southern) part of East Asia tends to be cooler (warmer) since the late 1990. Winter sea level pressure (SLP) differences between 1997–2011 and 1979–1996 show negative (positive) anomalies over southern (northern) Eurasia. At 500-hPa, an anomalous blocking high occurs over northern Eurasia, while a cyclone anomaly appears over northern East Asia. In addition, the upper-level East Asian jet stream tends to shift northward and become stronger after the late 1990. Indeed, the interdecadal shift of winter SAT over East Asia is dynamical consistent with changes of the large-scale atmospheric circulation in the late 1990s. The result indicates that previous autumn sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Northern Indian Ocean and the western North Pacific Ocean, as well as sea ice concentration (SIC) in the northern Eurasia marginal seas and the Beaufort Sea also experienced obvious changes in the late 1990s. In particular, the interdecadal shifts of both SST in the North Atlantic Ocean and SIC in the Arctic Ocean and its marginal seas are well coherent with that of the winter SAT over East Asia. The results indicate that the interdecadal shift of East Asian winter SAT may be related to changes in the North Atlantic SST and the Arctic SIC in the late 1990s.     

The East Asian winter monsoon: re-amplification in the mid-2000s

Based on several reanalysis and observational datasets,this study demonstrates that the East Asian winter monsoon(EAWM)recovered from its weak epoch and reamplified in the mid-2000s.Accordingly,East Asia has experienced more cold winters and significant negative surface air temperature anomalies during the recent strong EAWM epoch spanning the period 2004–2012.The associated cooling was mainly located over inland northern East Asia with a west–east orientation.The cooling generally coincided with negative winter temperature trends in eastern Eurasia in the last two decades,possibly contributing to the observed regional cooling trend when the global mean temperature is still trending up.Enhanced wintertime blocking activity around the Ural mountain region and diminished Arctic sea ice concentration in the previous September are suggested to be the responsible internal atmospheric process and external driver for the recent re-amplification of the EAWM,respectively.     

The leading correlation of the winter Aleutian Low with surface air temperature during the subsequent summer over the Arctic and its possible mechanism

The variations of surface air temperature(SAT)over the Arctic are closely related to global climate change.Based on reanalysis datasets and a newly defined Aleutian Low intensity index,we found a good correlation between intensity of winter Aleutian Low and the SAT over the Arctic during the subsequent summer.Explanations were given using correlation analysis,composite analysis,and singular value decomposition methods.When intensity of winter Aleutian Low was weaker,sea surface temperature appeared higher in the North Pacific in the subsequent spring and summer,resulting in mean meridional circulation anomalies and 500 hPa geopotential height anomalies in spring and summer.Anomalous upward motion in mid-latitudes and downward motion in high latitudes(Ferrel cell weakening)transported the warmer air to the north from lower layer to the upper layer followed by increases in the SAT over the Arctic.Anomalous downward motion over about 75°N also caused consequent adiabatic warming and contributed to inhibit the heat transportation from surface to upper layer.Negative 500 hPa geopotential height anomalies existed in mid-latitudes and positive anomalies existed in high latitudes.The pattern(low-in-south and high-in-north)benefited from increasing the inflow volume flux of the Bering Strait,which also made the SAT over the Arctic increase.The results of this study reveal the process that the summer SAT over the Arctic was modulated by interannual variability of intensity of winter Aleutian Low.     

Spring surface cooling trend along the East Asian coast after the late 1990s

This paper presents the surface cooling trend observed in spring along East Asia coast after the late 1990s, in contrast to the global warming trend. This surface cooling trend is comprehensible as it agrees well with the cooling of sea surface temperature (SST) in the northwestern Pacific and the weakening of 300 hPa East Asian jet (EAJ) during spring. Moreover, this cooling phenomenon has been shown to be related to the rapid decline of Arctic sea ice cover (SIC) in previous autumns. The Arctic SIC signals in previous autumns can continue in spring and act as enhanced moisture sources that support the increased snow cover in Siberia during spring. The increased Siberian snow cover possibly favors the southward invasion of cold air masses via strong radiative cooling and large-scale descending motion, which may contribute indirectly to the reduction of temperature in East Asia. In addition, three climate models that can reproduce well the East Asian spring surface cooling observed in the past predicted uncertainty in the spring temperature projection in the next decade.     

Arctic warming aloft is data set dependent

Arctic sea ice and snow on land have retreated polewards at an alarming pace in the past few decades. Such retreat locally amplifies surface warming through a positive feedback, which causes the Arctic surface to warm faster than the rest of the globe. In contrast, ice and snow retreat causes little warming in the atmosphere above when the stable winter atmosphere inhibits vertical heat exchange. We therefore find surprising the recent report by Graversen et al. in which they claim that recent Arctic atmospheric warming extends far deeper into the atmosphere than expected, and can even exceed the surface warming during the polar night. Using a different data set, we show that there is much less warming aloft in winter, consistent with the recent retreat of ice and snow, as well as recent changes in atmospheric heat transport.     

2007年冬季西伯利亚高压季节内变化对云南气温的影响

应用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料中风场、温度场、气压场和位势高度场资料,以及云南96个站点的气温资料,分析2007年冬季西伯利亚高压的季节内变化特征,及对云南2007年冬季气温的影响.结果表明:2007年冬季云南平均气温和西伯利亚高压均具有显著的10～20 d和30～60 d振荡特征.冬季的4次强降温过程主要受云南平均气温10～20 d振荡的控制,而其30～60 d振荡则是提供大的背景场.2007年冬季,云南平均气温与西伯利亚高压存在超过95%显著性检验的滞后负相关关系,其中滞后18 d左右时负相关值最大.分析4次强降温过程前期的大气环流背景可知,当西伯利亚高压30～60 d振荡处于负位相时,大气10～20 d振荡环流表现出西伯利亚高压发展、盛期、南压和减弱4个时期,后期云南的降温受高压盛期和南压的影响大;而当西伯利亚高压处于30～60 d振荡的正位相时,大气10～20 d振荡环流特征表现为阻塞高压持续维持、冷空气持续向南传播的特征,导致后期云南降温持续时间久,降温幅度大.可见,影响云南地区冷空气的强弱不仅与西伯利亚高压30～60 d振荡有关,与10～20 d振荡也有直接的关系.     

Arctic Oscillation influence on daily temperature variance in winter over China

The relationship between the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and daily temperature variance of 150 Chinese stations are investigated in the present study for wintertime (1 November through 31 March) in the period of 1954--2001. Resuits show that the temperature variance significantly decreases during the high AO years,and increases in low AO cases. A key factor connecting them is the Siberian High,particularly the high-frequency fluctuations of the High.Within the seasonal time scale, the frequency of low-temperature extremes (daily temperature anomaly below-2σ,σ is the standard deviation of daily temperature for a given winter and a given station) displays an odd relation to the variance: a larger (smaller) variance is found to be associated with smaller (greater) frequency of low-temperature events. That is due to the non-normal distribution of the temperatures, and also influenced by the phases of AO. During the last 50 years or so, AO experiences a significant increasing trend, meanwhile the variance of daily sea level pressure (SLP) in the central region of Siberian High has decreased at a rate of-10.7%/10 a. These result in a significant weakening of the daily temperature variance in China with a trend of -4.1%/10 a, and a significant increase in the intra-seasonal low-temperature extremes at a rate of 0.16d/10 a.     

January temperature anomalies over Northeast China and precursors

This paper analyzes the large-scale atmospheric circulation characteristics of anomalous cases of January temperatures that occurred in Northeast China during 1960-2008 and precursory oceanic conditions.The January monthly mean surface air temperature(SAT) anomalies and the duration of low temperature are used to define temperature anomaly cases.The anomalous cyclonic circulation over northeast Asia strengthens the northerly flow in cold Januarys,while the anomalous anticyclonic circulation weakens the northerly flow in the warm Januarys.The negative(positive) North Pacific sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA) and increased(decreased) sea ice concentration in the Barents-Kara seas in the preceding month are probably linked to the cyclonic(anticyclonic) circulation pattern over northeast Asia in the cold(warm) cases.Further analyses indicate that the preceding oceanic conditions play distinct roles in the SAT anomalies over Northeast China on different time scales.Strong relationships exist between North Pacific SSTA and the SAT in Northeast China on the interannual time scale.On the other hand,the sea ice concentration is more closely associated with the interdecadal variations of SAT in Northeast China.     

宁夏冬季气温变化与大气环流异常的关系

利用1961~2015年冬季(12月到次年2月)宁夏20个气象站月平均气温资料,NCEP/NCAR发布的500 h Pa位势高度场和海平面气压场,200 h Pa、850 h Pa风场月平均再分析资料,运用线性倾向估计、M-K法及合成分析等方法,在研究宁夏冬季平均气温的年际变化及年代际变化特征的基础上,分突变前后的冷、暖期时段进一步分析大气环流场不同影响因子与宁夏冬季气温异常的关系,揭示宁夏冬季气温异常的成因。结果表明:(1)宁夏冬季平均气温由冷变暖的趋势非常显著,在1985年之前为冷期,1985年以后为暖期;冬季平均气温年代际变化在20世纪增暖趋势显著,21世纪后上升趋势趋于平缓。(2)不仅500 h Pa位势高度场的乌拉尔山高压脊和西太平洋副高是影响宁夏冬季气温异常的主要系统,海平面气压场的西伯利亚高压也是影响宁夏冬季气温异常的关键系统;高低空的偏北气流和偏南暖湿气流异常流场也对宁夏冬季气温变化造成一定影响。     

High interannual variability of sea ice thickness in the Arctic region

Possible future changes in Arctic sea ice cover and thickness, and consequent changes in the ice-albedo feedback, represent one of the largest uncertainties in the prediction of future temperature rise. Knowledge of the natural variability of sea ice thickness is therefore critical for its representation in global climate models. Numerical simulations suggest that Arctic ice thickness varies primarily on decadal timescales owing to changes in wind and ocean stresses on the ice, but observations have been unable to provide a synoptic view of sea ice thickness, which is required to validate the model results. Here we use an eight-year time-series of Arctic ice thickness, derived from satellite altimeter measurements of ice freeboard, to determine the mean thickness field and its variability from 65 degrees N to 81.5 degrees N. Our data reveal a high-frequency interannual variability in mean Arctic ice thickness that is dominated by changes in the amount of summer melt, rather than by changes in circulation. Our results suggest that a continued increase in melt season length would lead to further thinning of Arctic sea ice.     

Changing Arctic Ocean freshwater pathways

Freshening in the Canada basin of the Arctic Ocean began in the 1990s and continued to at least the end of 2008. By then, the Arctic Ocean might have gained four times as much fresh water as comprised the Great Salinity Anomaly of the 1970s, raising the spectre of slowing global ocean circulation. Freshening has been attributed to increased sea ice melting and contributions from runoff, but a leading explanation has been a strengthening of the Beaufort High--a characteristic peak in sea level atmospheric pressure--which tends to accelerate an anticyclonic (clockwise) wind pattern causing convergence of fresh surface water. Limited observations have made this explanation difficult to verify, and observations of increasing freshwater content under a weakened Beaufort High suggest that other factors must be affecting freshwater content. Here we use observations to show that during a time of record reductions in ice extent from 2005 to 2008, the dominant freshwater content changes were an increase in the Canada basin balanced by a decrease in the Eurasian basin. Observations are drawn from satellite data (sea surface height and ocean-bottom pressure) and in situ data. The freshwater changes were due to a cyclonic (anticlockwise) shift in the ocean pathway of Eurasian runoff forced by strengthening of the west-to-east Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation characterized by an increased Arctic Oscillation index. Our results confirm that runoff is an important influence on the Arctic Ocean and establish that the spatial and temporal manifestations of the runoff pathways are modulated by the Arctic Oscillation, rather than the strength of the wind-driven Beaufort Gyre circulation.     

Reconstructed changes in Arctic sea ice over the past 1,450 years

Arctic sea ice extent is now more than two million square kilometres less than it was in the late twentieth century, with important consequences for the climate, the ocean and traditional lifestyles in the Arctic. Although observations show a more or less continuous decline for the past four or five decades, there are few long-term records with which to assess natural sea ice variability. Until now, the question of whether or not current trends are potentially anomalous has therefore remained unanswerable. Here we use a network of high-resolution terrestrial proxies from the circum-Arctic region to reconstruct past extents of summer sea ice, and show that-although extensive uncertainties remain, especially before the sixteenth century-both the duration and magnitude of the current decline in sea ice seem to be unprecedented for the past 1,450 years. Enhanced advection of warm Atlantic water to the Arctic seems to be the main factor driving the decline of sea ice extent on multidecadal timescales, and may result from nonlinear feedbacks between sea ice and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. These results reinforce the assertion that sea ice is an active component of Arctic climate variability and that the recent decrease in summer Arctic sea ice is consistent with anthropogenically forced warming.     

High temperatures in the Late Cretaceous Arctic Ocean

To understand the climate dynamics of the warm, equable greenhouse world of the Late Cretaceous period, it is important to determine polar palaeotemperatures. The early palaeoceanographic history of the Arctic Ocean has, however, remained largely unknown, because the sea floor and underlying deposits are usually inaccessible beneath a cover of floating ice. A shallow piston core taken from a drifting ice island in 1970 fortuitously retrieved unconsolidated Upper Cretaceous organic-rich sediment from Alpha ridge, a submarine elevated feature of probable oceanic origin. A lack of carbonate in the sediments from this core has prevented the use of traditional oxygen-isotope palaeothermometry. Here we determine Arctic palaeotemperatures from these Upper Cretaceous deposits using TEX86, a new palaeothermometer that is based on the composition of membrane lipids derived from a ubiquitous component of marine plankton, Crenarchaeota. From these analyses we infer an average sea surface temperature of approximately 15 degrees C for the Arctic Ocean about 70 million years ago. This calibration point implies an Equator-to-pole gradient in sea surface temperatures of approximately 15 degrees C during this interval and, by extrapolation, we suggest that polar waters were generally warmer than 20 degrees C during the middle Cretaceous (approximately 90 million years ago).     

北冰洋海平面变化的观测和研究现状

回顾北冰洋海平面观测和研究现状,总结了北冰洋海平面变化特征和变化机制。北冰洋海平面季节变化受海冰生消、蒸发降水和陆地径流季节变化的影响,由比容变化主导;年际到年代际海平面变化受北极涛动影响显著,可用风场异常导致的淡水分布来解释。盐比容变化是深水洋盆海平面变化的主导因素,由之引起的质量变化控制陆架海域和北冰洋平均的海平面变化。近期波弗特环流区域海平面上升极快,与波弗特高压持续增强及淡水积聚有关。气候变暖会导致北冰洋海平面持续上升。海冰快速减退和格陵兰岛冰川融化对北冰洋海平面变化的影响有待深入研究。数据的短缺和观测的不确定性目前仍然制约北冰洋海平面变化的研究工作,高分辨率数值模拟有望成为未来研究的重要工具。     

Reduction of the East Asian winter monsoon interannual variability after the mid-1980s and possible cause

The East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) consists of subsystems such as the Siberian high, Aleutian low, East Asian trough, low-level northerly wind and high-level East Asian jet stream. It is revealed that the interannual variation of the EAWM-related atmospheric circulation has exhibited an obvious weakening since the mid-1980s. During 1956-1980, significant negative correlations between the EAWM and sea surface temperature are observed in the oceans along the east coast of East Asia, accompanied by significant positive correlations in the western Warm Pool. However, the significant interannual relationship in the previous period is found to have been disrupted during 1986-2010. Further analysis reveals that the Arctic Oscillation after the mid-1980s tends to suppress the interannual variability of the EAWM. In addition, it was found that the large-scale warming after the mid-1980s is favorable to reduce the land-sea thermal contrast variability on both the interdecadal and interannual time scales.     

Vertical structure of recent Arctic warming

Near-surface warming in the Arctic has been almost twice as large as the global average over recent decades-a phenomenon that is known as the 'Arctic amplification'. The underlying causes of this temperature amplification remain uncertain. The reduction in snow and ice cover that has occurred over recent decades may have played a role. Climate model experiments indicate that when global temperature rises, Arctic snow and ice cover retreats, causing excessive polar warming. Reduction of the snow and ice cover causes albedo changes, and increased refreezing of sea ice during the cold season and decreases in sea-ice thickness both increase heat flux from the ocean to the atmosphere. Changes in oceanic and atmospheric circulation, as well as cloud cover, have also been proposed to cause Arctic temperature amplification. Here we examine the vertical structure of temperature change in the Arctic during the late twentieth century using reanalysis data. We find evidence for temperature amplification well above the surface. Snow and ice feedbacks cannot be the main cause of the warming aloft during the greater part of the year, because these feedbacks are expected to primarily affect temperatures in the lowermost part of the atmosphere, resulting in a pattern of warming that we only observe in spring. A significant proportion of the observed temperature amplification must therefore be explained by mechanisms that induce warming above the lowermost part of the atmosphere. We regress the Arctic temperature field on the atmospheric energy transport into the Arctic and find that, in the summer half-year, a significant proportion of the vertical structure of warming can be explained by changes in this variable. We conclude that changes in atmospheric heat transport may be an important cause of the recent Arctic temperature amplification.     

从船侧倾斜拍摄图像中提取海冰密集度的方法

为消除提取海冰密集度时因摄影镜头倾斜造成图像变形可能引起的误差,基于摄影测量学原理,对倾斜拍摄引起的图像变形进行修正,建立从倾斜拍摄的图像中提取海冰密集度的精确方法和相应的简化算法.以2006年德国南极威德尔海冬季考察中获取的图像为例,讨论了现场观测时的系统标定方法和不同算法的计算结果.对比分析验证了图像变形修正的必要性,说明简化算法能够同时保证海冰密集度计算的精度和效率.     

Subtropical Arctic Ocean temperatures during the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum

The Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum, approximately 55 million years ago, was a brief period of widespread, extreme climatic warming, that was associated with massive atmospheric greenhouse gas input. Although aspects of the resulting environmental changes are well documented at low latitudes, no data were available to quantify simultaneous changes in the Arctic region. Here we identify the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum in a marine sedimentary sequence obtained during the Arctic Coring Expedition. We show that sea surface temperatures near the North Pole increased from 18 degrees C to over 23 degrees C during this event. Such warm values imply the absence of ice and thus exclude the influence of ice-albedo feedbacks on this Arctic warming. At the same time, sea level rose while anoxic and euxinic conditions developed in the ocean's bottom waters and photic zone, respectively. Increasing temperature and sea level match expectations based on palaeoclimate model simulations, but the absolute polar temperatures that we derive before, during and after the event are more than 10 degrees C warmer than those model-predicted. This suggests that higher-than-modern greenhouse gas concentrations must have operated in conjunction with other feedback mechanisms--perhaps polar stratospheric clouds or hurricane-induced ocean mixing--to amplify early Palaeogene polar temperatures.