The relationship between the Asian-Pacific oscillation (APO) and the tropical cyclone frequency over the western North Pacific (WNP) in summer is preliminarily investigated through an analysis of ob- served data. The result has shown clearly that APO is significantly and positively correlated to the tropical cyclone frequency in the WNP. If APO is above (below) the normal in summer, more (less) tropical cyclones will tend to appear in the WNP. The present study also addresses the large-scale at- mospheric general circulation changes underlying the linkage between APO and the WNP tropical cy- clone frequency. It follows that a positive phase of summer APO is concurrent with weakened as well as northward and eastward located western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH), low-level convergence and high-level divergence, and reduced vertical zonal wind shear in the WNP, providing favorable envi- ronment for the tropical cyclone genesis, and thus more tropical cyclones will come into being, and vice versa.
ZHOU BoTao1, CUI Xuan2 & ZHAO Ping3 1 Laboratory for Climate Studies, National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing 100081, China
In this study, records from a 3-yr intensified observational experiment at eight stations along the hillside of Seqilashan over the southeastern Tibetan Plateau were analyzed and combined with records at 28 routine observation stations in the Chinese National Meteorological Station Network to investigate the influences of station location on the different diurnal rainfall variations between station records and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission （TRMM） data products. The results indicate that the diurnal variation of warm season rainfall is closely related to location of stations. The prevailing nocturnal rainfall peak in observations at routine stations can be largely attributed to the relatively lower location of the stations, which are mostly situated in valleys. The records at Seqilashan stations on hillsides revealed an evident diurnal afternoon peak of warm season rainfall, similar to that indicated by TRMM data. The different diurnal phases between valley and hillside stations are closely related to the orographically induced regional circulations caused by the complex topography over the Tibetan Plateau. The results of this study indicate that the prevailing nocturnal rainfall associated with the relatively lower location of routine observation stations can partially explain the diurnal rainfall variations between observation station records and TRMM data.
Using the monthly mean NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and the monthly rainfall observations at 160 rain gauge stations of China during 1961 1999, and based on major characteristics of the atmospheric circulation over East Asia and the western Pacific, a simple index for the East Asian subtropical summer monsoon （EASSM） is defined. The relationship between this index and summer rainfall in China and associated circulation features are examined. A comparison is made between this index and other monsoon indices. The results indicate that the index defined herein is reflective of variations of both the thermal low pressure centered in Siberia and the subtropical ridge over the western Pacific. It epitomizes the intensity of the EASSM and the variability of summer rainfall along the Yangtze River. Analysis shows that the Siberian low has a greater effect on the rainfall than the subtropical ridge, suggesting that the summer rainfall variability over the eastern parts of China is to a large extent affected by anomalies of the atmospheric circulation and cold air development in the midlatitudes. Taking into account of the effects of both the Siberian low and the subtropical ridge can better capture the summer rainfall anomalies of China. The index exhibits interannual and decadal variabilities, with high-index values occurring mainly in the 1960s and 1970s and low-index values in the 1980s and 1990s. When the EASSM index is low, the Siberian low and the subtropical ridge are weaker, and northerly wind anomalies appear at low levels over the midlatitudes and subtropics of East Asia, whereas southwesterly wind anomalies dominate in the upper troposphere over the tropics and subtropics of Asia and the western Pacific. The northerly wind anomalies bring about frequent cold air disturbances from the midlatitudes of East Asia, strengthening the convergence and ascending motions along the Meiyu front, and result in an increase of summer rainfall over the Yangtze River.
