Response of the Diurnal Cycle of Summer Rainfall to Large‐Scale Circulation and Coastal Upwelling at Hainan, South China

2019 ◽  
Vol 124 (7) ◽  
pp. 3702-3725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Shi ◽  
Qinbo Cai ◽  
Lingyu Dong ◽  
Xinyu Guo ◽  
Dongxiao Wang
2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 2852-2868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroki Ichikawa ◽  
Tetsuzo Yasunari

Abstract High-resolution Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) rainfall data for six wet seasons (December–March) were used to investigate the time and space structure of the diurnal cycle of rainfall over and around New Guinea, a major island of the Maritime Continent. The diurnal cycle shows a systematic modulation associated with intraseasonal variability in the large-scale circulation pattern, with regimes associated with low-level easterlies or westerlies over the island. Lower-tropospheric easterly (westerly) wind components correspond to periods of inactive (active) convection over the islands that are associated with the passage of intraseasonal atmospheric disturbances such as the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). A striking feature is the diurnal rainfall that develops over the central mountain ranges in the evening and propagates toward the southwest (northeast) of the island with an inferred phase speed of about 2–3 m s−1 under low-level easterly (westerly) flow. In the case of the easterly regime, diurnal rainfall is strongly concentrated over the southwestern part of the island, inhibited from spreading offshore southwest of New Guinea. Under the westerly regime, in contrast, the rainfall area spread far and wide along the low-level westerlies from the island toward the Pacific Ocean. Significant offshore rainfall propagation extending from the island appears during the night over the north-northeastern coast and moves with a phase speed of about 7–8 m s−1, reaching the open ocean the following day. Possible processes for controlling the variability in diurnal rainfall through the interaction between large-scale circulation and previously denoted complex local circulation over the island are discussed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 1622-1647 ◽  
Author(s):  
James H. Ruppert ◽  
Richard H. Johnson

Abstract Atmospheric soundings, radar, and air–sea flux measurements collected during Dynamics of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (DYNAMO) are employed to study MJO convective onset (i.e., the transition from shallow to deep convection) in the tropical Indian Ocean. The findings indicate that moistening of the low–midtroposphere during the preonset stage of the MJO is achieved by simultaneous changes in the convective cloud population and large-scale circulation. Namely, cumuliform clouds deepen and grow in areal coverage as the drying by large-scale subsidence and horizontal (westerly) advection wane. The reduction of large-scale subsidence is tied to the reduction of column radiative cooling during the preonset stage, which ultimately links back to the evolving cloud population. While net column moistening in the preonset stage is tied to large-scale circulation changes, a new finding of this study is the high degree to which the locally driven diurnal cycle invigorates convective clouds and cumulus moistening each day. This diurnal cycle is manifest in a daytime growth of cumulus clouds (in both depth and areal coverage) in response to oceanic diurnal warm layers, which drive a daytime increase of the air–sea fluxes of heat and moisture. This diurnally modulated convective cloud field exhibits prominent mesoscale organization in the form of open cells and horizontal convective rolls. It is hypothesized that the diurnal cycle and mesoscale cloud organization characteristic of the preonset stage of the MJO represent two manners in which local processes promote more vigorous daily-mean column moistening than would otherwise occur.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruidan Chen ◽  
Zhiping Wen ◽  
Riyu Lu

Abstract South China experiences extreme heat (EH) most frequently in eastern China. This study specifically explores the large-scale circulation anomalies associated with long-lived EH events in south China. The results show that there is an anomalous cyclone (anticyclone) and active (inactive) convection over south China (the western Pacific) before the EH onset; then, an anticyclone develops and moves northwestward and dominates over south China on the onset day. The anomalous anticyclone maintains its strength over south China and then diminishes and is replaced by another cyclone migrating from the western Pacific after the final day of the EH event. Consequently, the temperature increases over south China around the onset day and is anomalously warm for approximately 10 days on average and then decreases shortly thereafter. The fluctuating anomalies over south China and the western Pacific are intimately related to two intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) modes, namely, the 5–25- and 30–90-day oscillations, which originate from the tropical western Pacific and propagate northwestward. The 5–25-day oscillation is vital to triggering and terminating EH, accounting for approximately half of the original temperature and circulation anomaly transitions. The 30–90-day oscillation favors the persistent warming during EH events, accounting for approximately one-third of the original prolonged warming and anticyclonic anomaly. This result suggests that different ISO modes play crucial roles at different stages of the events. Moreover, a higher annual frequency of long-lived EH days in south China is associated with the transition phase from El Niño to La Niña. It is suggested that both medium-range and interannual forecasting of long-lived EH in south China are possible.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Yahya Darmawan ◽  
Huang-Hsiung Hsu ◽  
Jia-Yuh Yu

This study aims to explore the contrasting characteristics of large-scale circulation that led to the precipitation anomalies over the northern parts of Sumatra Island. Further, the impact of varying the Asian–Australian Monsoon (AAM) was investigated for triggering the precipitation variability over the study area. The moisture budget analysis was applied to quantify the most dominant component that induces precipitation variability during the JJA (June, July, and August) period. Then, the composite analysis and statistical approach were applied to confirm the result of the moisture budget. Using the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Anaysis Interim (ERA-Interim) from 1981 to 2016, we identified 9 (nine) dry and 6 (six) wet years based on precipitation anomalies, respectively. The dry years (wet years) anomalies over the study area were mostly supported by downward (upward) vertical velocity anomaly instead of other variables such as specific humidity, horizontal velocity, and evaporation. In the dry years (wet years), there is a strengthening (weakening) of the descent motion, which triggers a reduction (increase) of convection over the study area. The overall downward (upward) motion of westerly (easterly) winds appears to suppress (support) the convection and lead to negative (positive) precipitation anomaly in the whole region but with the largest anomaly over northern parts of Sumatra. The AAM variability proven has a significant role in the precipitation variability over the study area. A teleconnection between the AAM and other global circulations implies the precipitation variability over the northern part of Sumatra Island as a regional phenomenon. The large-scale tropical circulation is possibly related to the PWC modulation (Pacific Walker Circulation).


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