Search

Arctic cyclones are unique low pressure systems in the Arctic, which are different from the tropical cyclones and the mid-latitude cyclones. The axisymmetric structures of two major Arctic cyclones which appeared in June 2008 and August 2012 are examined based on the cylindrical coordinate system around the Arctic cyclone. The result demonstrates that the Arctic cyclone has a deep barotropic cyclonic circulation, a secondary circulation in the troposphere, a downdraft at the lower stratosphere, a coupling of a warm core at the lower stratosphere and a cold core in the troposphere, and a deep tropopause folding over the cyclone center. The horizontal scale of the Arctic cyclone reaches 5000 km in diameter which is one of the largest cyclones found on the Earth. Note that the cyclone of June 2008 appears showing axisymmetric cyclonic circulations at the surface level. The cyclone of 2012 is characterized by the structure change from the cold core to the warm core at the lower stratosphere, indicating a shift from the ordinary baroclinic cyclone to the typical Arctic cyclone. Although additional studies are needed, a schematic diagram of the Arctic cyclone is proposed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characteristics of cyclones (frequency, intensity and size) and their changes in the Arctic region in a warmer climate have been analyzed with the use of the HIRHAM regional climate model simulations with SRES-A1B anthropogenic scenario for the twenty first century. The focus was on cyclones for the warm (April-September) and cold (October-March) seasons. The present-day cyclonic characteristics from HIRHAM simulations are in general agreement with those from ERA-40 reanalysis data. Differences noted for the frequency of cyclones are related with different spatial resolution in the model simulations and reanalysis data. Potential future changes in cyclone characteristics at the end of the twenty first century have been analyzed. According to the model simulations, the frequency of cyclones is increasing in warm seasons and decreasing in cold seasons for a warmer climate in the twenty first century, but these changes are statistically insignificant. Noticeable changes were detected for the intensity and size of cyclones for the both seasons. Significant increase was found for the frequency of weak cyclones during cold season. Further, a general increase in the frequency of small cyclones was calculated in cold seasons, while its frequency decreases in warm seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Atmosphere -- Ocean (Taylor & Francis Ltd) is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The ozone budget inside the middle stratospheric polar vortex (24-36 km) during the 2002-2003 Arctic winter is studied by analyzing Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) satellite data. A comprehensive global chemical transport model (Model for Ozone and Related Chemical Tracers, MOZART-3) is used to analyze the observed variation in polar vortex ozone during the stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) events. Both MIPAS measurement and MOZART-3 calculation show that a pronounced increase (26-28 DU) in the polar vortex ozone due to the SSW events. Due to the weakening of the polar vortex, the exchange of ozone mass across the edge of the polar vortex increases substantially and amounts to about 3.0×10 kg according to MOZART-3 calculation. The enhanced downward transport offsets about 80% of polar vortex ozone mass increase by horizontal transport. A 'passive ozone' experiment shows that only ∼55% of the vertical ozone mass flux in February and March can be attributed to the variation in vertical transport. It is also shown that the enhanced downward ozone above ∼32 km should be attributed to the springtime photochemical ozone production. Due to the increase of air temperature, the NO reaction rate increases by 40%-80% during the SSW events. As a result, NO catalytic cycle causes another 44% decrease in polar vortex ozone compared to the net ozone changes due to dynamical transport. It is also shown that the largest change in polar vortex ozone is due to horizontal advection by planetary waves in January 2003. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial and temporal distributions of marine cold air outbreaks (MCAOs) over the northern North Atlantic have been investigated using re-analysis data for the period from 1958 to 2007. MCAOs are large-scale outbreaks of cold air over a relatively warm ocean surface. Such conditions are known to increase the severity of particular types of hazardous mesoscale weather phenomena. We used a simple index for identifying MCAOs: the vertical potential temperature gradient between the sea surface and 700 hPa. It was found that atmospheric temperature variability is considerably more important than the sea surface temperature variability in governing both the seasonal and the inter-annual variability of MCAOs. Furthermore, a composite analysis revealed that a few well-defined and robust synoptic patterns are evident during MCAOs in winter. Over the Labrador and Irminger Seas the MCAO index was found to have a correlation of 0.70 with the North Atlantic Oscillation index, while over the Barents Sea a negative correlation of 0.42 was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]