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This paper scrutinizes the zonal oscillation of the western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH) via diagnosing its two extreme phases, which are defined by the top 10% strongest (positive phase) and the weakest (negative phase) WNPSH index (WNPSHI) days during summers in 1979–2016. Key findings include the following: a tripole pattern consisting of intensified (weakened) precipitation over the Maritime Continent and the East Asian summer monsoon regions, and suppressed (strengthened) precipitation over the western North Pacific summer monsoon region during positive (negative) WNPSH phases; a westward movement of WNPSH-induced precipitation anomalies that subsequently affects eastern China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula at different time lags; an OLR–vorticity pattern explained by atmospheric responses to thermal sources is suggested to drive the oscillation; and the competitive interaction of local air–sea feedbacks, especially during the positive phase. In addition, moderate-to-strong positive correlations between the WNPSHI and the Niño-3.4 index are found on 1–2-, 2–3-, and 3–6-yr time scales; both exhibit decadal shifts to a higher-frequency mode, suggesting the intensification of both the zonal WNPSH oscillation and the ENSO under the changing climate and their close interdecadal association. A nonlinear quasi-biennial WNPSH–ENSO relationship is identified: the positive (negative) WNPSH phase sometimes occurs during 1) a decaying El Niño (La Niña) in the preceding summer/autumn, and/or 2) a developing La Niña (El Niño) in the current summer/autumn. A full ENSO transition from moderate-to-strong El Niño to La Niña is often seen during the positive phase, offering potential in predicting ENSO events and extreme WNPSH phases and thereby the summer monsoon rainfall in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing characteristics of lake ice phenology over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are investigated using historical satellite retrieved datasets during 2002–15 in this study. The results indicate that the freezing process mainly starts in December, and the ice melting process generally occurs in April for most lakes. However, the changes in lake ice phenology have varied depending on the location in recent years, with delayed break-up dates and prolonged ice durations in the southern TP, but no consistent changes have occurred in the lakes in the northern TP. Further analysis presents a close connection between the variation in the lake ice break-up date/ice duration over the southern TP and the winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The positive NAO generally excites an anomalous wave activity that propagates southward from the North Atlantic to North Africa and, in turn, strengthens the African–Asian jet stream at its entrance. Because of the blocking effect of the TP, the enhanced westerly jet can be divided into two branches and the south branch flow can deepen the India–Myanmar trough, which further strengthens the anomalous cyclonic circulation and water vapor transport. Therefore, the increased water vapor transport from the northern Indian Ocean to the southern region of the TP can increase the snowfall over this region. The increased snow cover over the lake acts as an insulating layer and lowers the lake surface temperature in the following spring by means of snow–ice feedback activity, resulting in a delayed ice break-up date and the increased ice duration of the lakes over the southern TP in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent observed climate trends result from a combination of external radiative forcing and internally generated variability. To better contextualize these trends and forecast future ones, it is necessary to properly model the spatiotemporal properties of the internal variability. Here, a statistical model is developed for terrestrial temperature and precipitation, and global sea level pressure, based upon monthly gridded observational datasets that span 1921–2014. The model is used to generate a synthetic ensemble, each member of which has a unique sequence of internal variability but with statistical properties similar to the observational record. This synthetic ensemble is combined with estimates of the externally forced response from climate models to produce an observational large ensemble (OBS-LE). The 1000 members of the OBS-LE display considerable diversity in their 50-yr regional climate trends, indicative of the importance of internal variability on multidecadal time scales. For example, unforced atmospheric circulation trends associated with the northern annular mode can induce winter temperature trends over Eurasia that are comparable in magnitude to the forced trend over the past 50 years. Similarly, the contribution of internal variability to winter precipitation trends is large across most of the globe, leading to substantial regional uncertainties in the amplitude and, in some cases, the sign of the 50-yr trend. The OBS-LE provides a real-world counterpart to initial-condition model ensembles. The approach could be expanded to using paleo-proxy data to simulate longer-term variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the relationship of South China Sea (SCS) precipitation to tropical Indo-Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) during April-June (AMJ), which is the transition season from spring to summer. It is revealed that SCS rainfall anomalies in AMJ are influenced by SST anomalies in the equatorial Pacific (EP), tropical Indian Ocean (TIO), and western North Pacific (WNP). Three types of SST-influenced cases are obtained based on different combinations of SST anomalies in the above three regions. When same-sign EP and TIO SST anomalies are accompanied by opposite WNP SST anomalies, both anomalous cross-equatorial flows from the southwestern TIO induced by negative SST anomalies there and an anomalous Walker circulation forced by negative EP SST anomalies contribute to enhanced convection over the SCS and the surrounding regions with additional contribution from positive WNP SST anomalies via a Rossby wave-type response. In the cases of combined effects of EP and WNP SST anomalies, above-normal SST in the WNP is a direct cause of above-normal SCS rainfall though the WNP SST anomalies are induced by EP SST forcing. In the cases of combined impacts of TIO and EP SST anomalies, the accompanying coastal Sumatra SST anomalies contribute to the SCS rainfall variability via an anomalous cross-equatorial vertical circulation. The negative SST anomalies near the Sumatra coast induce descent over the southeastern TIO and ascent over the SCS and WNP. Model experiments with an atmospheric model confirm the impacts of southern TIO and EP SST anomalies on AMJ rainfall variation over the SCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]