Storm track sensitivity to sea surface temperature resolution in a regional atmosphere model

Woollings, Tim; Hoskins, Brian J.; Blackburn, Michael; Hassell, David; Hodges, Kevin I.

doi:10.1007/s00382-009-0554-3

Cited by 69 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Classical studies showed that these quasi-stationary waves were maintained by a combination of topographic and thermal forcing; see Held (1983, and references therein). Several recent studies (Brayshaw et al 2008;Nakamura et al 2008;Woollings et al 2010b;Liu et al 2013) have also considered the influence of a large-scale SST front on the tilted storm track across the NAB. These planetaryand basin-scale pictures emphasize the remote influence of zonal asymmetries in Northern Hemisphere topography and thermal forcing-like the Rockies, Himalayas, and land-ocean contrasts-or that of large-scale fronts, while our rectilinear, tilted-jet model highlights the potential role of regional, fairly small-scale thermal and mechanical driving by an SST front.…”

Section: B Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Luo et al (2012) recently summarized studies of NAO subannual variability. Woollings et al (2010a) showed that a good characterization of the changes in both strength and latitude of the jet stream's eddy-driven component requires the phase of the east Atlantic (EA) pattern in addition to the NAO; this pattern (Wallace and Gutzler 1981) consists of a pressure monopole over the North Atlantic with a center that lies between the two centers of the NAO dipole.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Interannual Variability in North Atlantic Weather: Data Analysis and a Quasigeostrophic Model

Feliks

Robertson

Ghil

2016

Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

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This paper addresses the effect of interannual variability in jet stream orientation on weather systems over the North Atlantic basin (NAB). The observational analysis relies on 65 yr of NCEP-NCAR reanalysis . The total daily kinetic energy of the geostrophic wind (GTKE) is taken as a measure of storm activity over the North Atlantic. The NAB is partitioned into four rectangular regions, and the winter average of GTKE is calculated for each quadrant. The spatial GTKE average over all four quadrants shows striking year-to-year variability and is strongly correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).The GTKE strength in the northeast quadrant is closely related to the diffluence angle of the jet stream in the northwest quadrant. To gain insight into the relationship between the diffluence angle and its downstream impact, a quasigeostrophic baroclinic model is used. The results show that an initially zonal jet persists at its initial latitude over 30 days or longer, while a tilted jet propagates meridionally according to the Rossby wave group velocity, unless kept stationary by external forcing.A Gulf Stream-like narrow sea surface temperature (SST) front provides the requisite forcing for an analytical steady-state solution to this problem. This SST front influences the atmospheric jet in the northwest quadrant: it both strengthens the jet and tilts it northward at higher levels, while its effect is opposite at lower levels. Reanalysis data confirm these effects, which are consistent with thermal wind balance. The results suggest that the interannual variability found in the GTKE may be caused by intrinsic variability of the thermal Gulf Stream front.

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Section: B Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interannual Variability in North Atlantic Weather: Data Analysis and a Quasigeostrophic Model

Feliks

Robertson

Ghil

2016

Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

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“…Minobe et al (2008; and Taguchi et al (2009) have recently discovered a close relationship between eddy activity and ocean fronts. Woollings et al (2010) argued that the temporal resolution of prescribed sea surface temperatures is important. Ensemble experiments could be performed with different sea surface temperature distributions as a surface BC for the RAM.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wintertime extratropical cyclone frequency around Japan

Inatsu

Terakura

2011

Clim Dyn

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Data analysis and regional atmospheric model (RAM) experiments revealed key factors in the control of wintertime cyclone passage routes from Northeast Asia to the western North Pacific. The cyclone routes were independent of the global flow pattern in the interannual variability, while cyclone growth closely agreed with linear baroclinic theory. The RAM experiments with a different lateral boundary condition composed of a combination of monthly mean and transient components also showed that the upstream eddies are important for the track route, but the background states are not. Additionally, the RAM experiments showed that the mean flow controlled the growth rate of cyclones.

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“…With the smoothed SST front, the frequency of explosive deepening events increases over the NEP, and this feature is similar to the storm-track response to Kuroshio Extension variability in O' Reilly and Czaja (2015). Conventionally used storm-track indices, such as the EGR, y 0 T 0 , and y 0 y 0 (Nakamura and Yamane 2010; Sampe et al 2010;Woollings et al 2010;Hotta and Nakamura 2011;Ogawa et al 2012;Iizuka et al 2013;Small et al 2014), are also examined. Figure 4a shows the EGR difference at 850 hPa between CNTL and SMTHK in January (EGRC 2 EGRS).…”

Section: Storm-track Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

Storm-Track Response to SST Fronts in the Northwestern Pacific Region in an AGCM

2017

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The storm-track response to sea surface temperature (SST) fronts in the northwestern Pacific region is investigated using an atmospheric general circulation model with a 50-km horizontal resolution. The following two experiments are conducted: one with 0.258 daily SST data (CNTL) and the other with smoothed SSTs over an area covering SST fronts associated with the Kuroshio, the Kuroshio Extension, the Oyashio, and the subpolar front (SMTHK). The storm track estimated from the local deepening rate of surface pressure (LDR) exhibits a prominent peak in this region in CNTL in January, whereas the storm-track peak weakens and moves eastward in SMTHK. Storm-track differences between CNTL and SMTHK are only found in explosive deepening events with LDR larger than 1 hPa h 21. A diagnostic equation of LDR suggests that latent heat release associated with large-scale condensation contributes to the storm-track enhancement. The SST fronts also affect the large-scale atmospheric circulation over the northeastern Pacific Ocean. The jet stream in the upper troposphere tends to meander northward, which is associated with positive sea level pressure (SLP) anomalies in CNTL, whereas the jet stream flows zonally in SMTHK. A composite analysis for the northwestern Pacific SLP anomaly suggests that frequent explosive cyclone development in the northwestern Pacific in CNTL causes downstream positive SLP anomalies over the Gulf of Alaska. Cyclones in SMTHK developing over the northeastern Pacific enhance the moisture flux along the west coast of North America, increasing precipitation in that region.

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Storm track sensitivity to sea surface temperature resolution in a regional atmosphere model

Cited by 69 publications

References 32 publications

Interannual Variability in North Atlantic Weather: Data Analysis and a Quasigeostrophic Model

Interannual Variability in North Atlantic Weather: Data Analysis and a Quasigeostrophic Model

Wintertime extratropical cyclone frequency around Japan

Storm-Track Response to SST Fronts in the Northwestern Pacific Region in an AGCM

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