ALBERT

Description: We investigate the daily variability of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) by projecting daily wind anomaly data onto the two major modes of an interannual multivariate Empirical Orthogonal Functions analysis. Mode 1, closely resembling the Pacific-Japan (PJ) pattern and referred to as PJ-mode, transits from positive to negative phase around mid-summer consistent with the Meiyu rains predominantly being an early summer phenomenon. Mode 2, which is influenced by the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and referred to as ISM-mode, peaks in late July and early August and is associated with rainfall farther north over China. We then analyze the relation between the intraseasonal variation of the EASM and the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) by analyzing circulation anomalies following MJO events. In the lower troposphere, the circulation anomalies associated with the MJO most strongly project on the PJ-mode. MJO phases 1-4 (5-8) favor the positive (negative) phase of the PJ-mode by favoring the anticyclonic (cyclonic) anomalies over the subtropical western North Pacific. In the upper troposphere, the circulation anomalies associated with the MJO project mainly on the ISM-mode.

Description: The features of 30-60-day convection oscillations over the subtropical western North Pacific (WNP) were investigated, along with the degree of tropical-subtropical linkage between the oscillations over the WNP during summer 1998. It was found that 30-60-day oscillations were extremely strong in that summer over both the subtropical and tropical WNP, providing a unique opportunity to study the behavior of subtropical oscillations and their relationship to tropical oscillations. Further analyses indicated that 30-60-day oscillations propagate westwards over the subtropical WNP and reach eastern China. In addition, 30-60-day oscillations in the subtropics are affected by those over the South China Sea (SCS) and tropical WNP through two mechanisms: (1) direct propagation from the tropics into the subtropics; and (2) a seesaw pattern between the tropics and subtropics, with the latter being predominant

Description: A large fraction of interannual variability of the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) can be described by the first two modes of a Multivariate Empirical Orthogonal Functions (MV-EOF) analysis of horizontal wind vectors in the lower and upper troposphere over the East Asian region. The first mode resembles the Pacific-Japan pattern and represents about 20% of the EASM interannual variance. The positive phase of the PJ-pattern is associated with anomalous anticyclonic flow over the tropical western North Pacific in the lower troposphere, leading to enhanced rainfall over the climatological East Asian rain band. Focusing on June/July/August and on the first MV-EOF mode (PJ-mode here) we investigate the relation between tropical intraseasonal variability, namely the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) and the EASM. The second MV-EOF mode had previously been found to be influenced mainly by the Indian Summer Monsoon and is not discussed in this presentation. First, it is found that the MJO modulates the intraseasonal variability of the PJ-pattern, in that early MJO phases, related to enhanced convective precipitation over the Indian Ocean, favour the positive phase of the PJ-mode and late MJO phases, related to enhanced convective precipitation over the Maritime Continent and the western tropical Pacific, favour the negative phase of the PJ-mode. Second, using a decomposition method introduced by Yoo, Feldstein and Lee (2011), we show that interannual variability of the MJO contributes about 11% to the interannual variability of the EASM. Thereby, interannual changes in the frequency of occurrence of the eight standard MJO phases are more important to the variability of the EASM than changes in the circulation patterns associated with the different MJO phases. Some discussion on the involved mechanisms will be given.

Description: The spatial pattern of the first mode of interannual variability associated with the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM), obtained from a multivariate Empirical Orthogonal Functions (MV-EOF) analysis, corresponds to the Pacific–Japan (PJ) pattern and is referred to as the PJ-mode. The present study investigates the interannual variation of the PJ-mode from the perspective of the intraseasonal timescale. In particular, the impact of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) on the interannual variation of the PJ-mode is investigated. The results show that the MJO has a significant influence on the interannual variation of the PJ-mode mainly in the lower troposphere (850 hPa) and that the former accounts for approximately 11% of the amplitude of the latter. The major part of the contribution comes from a change in frequency of the different phases of the MJO, especially that of MJO phase 6. This suggests that intraseasonal variation of the convection anomalies over the tropical eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans plays an important role in the interannual variation of the PJ-mode. In addition, MJO phase 7 also contributes to the interannual variability of the PJ-mode, in this case induced by both the change in frequency and the change in circulation anomalies associated with MJO phase 7.

Description: There is a zonally oriented teleconnection pattern over the high-latitude Eurasian continent, which is maintained through baroclinic energy conversion. In this study, we investigate the unique features of the maintenance mechanism of this teleconnection. It is found that the baroclinic energy conversion is most efficient in both the mid-troposphere and the lower troposphere, and that the baroclinic energy conversion in the lower troposphere is comparable to that in the mid-troposphere. Further results indicate that the basic state plays a crucial role in the baroclinic energy conversion. For both the mid and lower troposphere, the atmospheric stability is low and the Coriolis parameter is large over high-latitude Eurasia, favoring strong baroclinic energy conversion. Particularly, in the lower troposphere, the atmospheric stability exhibits a clear land-sea contrast, favoring baroclinic energy conversion over the continents rather than the oceans. Furthermore, in the lower troposphere, the in-phase configuration of the meridional wind and temperature anomalies, which results from the strong meridional gradient of mean temperature around the north edge of the Eurasian continent, also significantly contributes to baroclinic energy conversion. This study highlights the role of the basic state of temperature rather than zonal wind in maintaining the high-latitude teleconnection through baroclinic energy conversion.