Search

This study discusses the interannual variation of spring precipitation in Northeast China (NECSP) from 1980 to 2016 and its relationship with Arctic sea ice based on observation data and numerical experiments. The observed results reveal that the leading mode of NECSP mainly exhibits a homogenous pattern with a significant interannual variation. The NECSP has a significant negative correlation with the preceding winter Barents Sea ice concentration (BSIC) at the interannual scale. In the preceding winter, the decreased BSIC resulted in positive geopotential height anomalies over the polar region, which could weaken the polar vortex and westerly winds, forming a cyclonic anomaly indirectly over West Siberia. The circulation anomalies resulted in a zonal dipole pattern of preceding winter snow water equivalent (SWE) anomalies in the mid‐high latitudes of Eurasia with less SWE over Eastern Europe and more SWE over West Siberia. The SWE anomalies in winter could persist to the subsequent spring and facilitate more precipitation over Northeast China (NEC) by local thermal processes affecting circulation anomalies over Eurasia. On the other hand, the negative preceding winter BSIC anomalies can persist to spring, increasing the NECSP by strengthening the cyclonic anomalies over NEC. In this study, the response of the atmosphere to the thermal effect of SWE is further verified by using the linear baroclinic model (LBM). The response of NECSP to BSIC loss is tested by using the Community Atmosphere Model version 5.3 (CAM5.3). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial patterns of precipitation anomalies in eastern China during both warm and cold periods over the past 2000 years were studied. Four warm periods (AD 650-750, AD 1000-1100, AD 1190-1290, and AD 1900-2000) and five cold periods (AD 440-540, AD 780-920, AD 1390-1460, AD 1600-1700, and AD 1800-1900) were selected on a centennial timescale, referring to the synthesized temperature changes over China and Northern Hemisphere. The regional differences in precipitation were analysed and compared using a data set consisting of the grades in severity of floods and droughts as derived from Chinese historical documents. The results showed that there has been no fixed spatial pattern of precipitation anomalies during either cold or warm periods in eastern China over the past 2000 years. For the most of warm periods, there existed coherence of spatial pattern with dry condition only occurred over north of the Yangtze River, and the consistent spatial patterns were found between the periods 650-750 and 1190-1290, 650-750, and 1000-1100. For the cold periods, the precipitation showed various spatial patterns, and similarities were only presented in the two periods of 1600-1700 and 1800-1900 featured by meridional distribution. Comparing the spatial patterns between cold and warm periods, inverse pattern of 440-540 and 1900-2000 over the most study area can be detected, but similar pattern was also found between the periods 1800-1900 and 1900-2000, and 1600-1700 and 1900-2000. Our results implicated that the relationship between temperature and spatial pattern of precipitation anomaly has high complexity, which would be of significance to understanding the spatial pattern of precipitation in the future climate change study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]