Atmospheric circulation cells associated with anomalous East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) were studied using the 1948/49 to 2002/03 NCEP/NCAR reanalysis and NCAR CAM3 AGCM simulations with monthly global sea surface temperatures from 1950 to 2000. Several atmospheric cells in the Pacific [i.e., the zonal Walker cell (ZWC) in the tropic, the Hadley cell in the western Pacific (WPHC), the midlatitude zonal cell (MZC) over the central North Pacific, and the Hadley cell in the eastern Pacific (EPHC)] are associated with anomalous EAWM. When the EAWM is strong, ZWC, WPHC, and MZC are enhanced, as opposed to EPHC. The anomalous enhanced ZWC is characterized by air parcels rising in the western tropical Pacific, flowing eastward in the upper troposphere, and descending in the tropical central Pacific before returning to the tropical western Pacific. The enhanced MZC has characteristics opposite those of the enhanced ZWC in the central North Pacific. The anomalous WPHC shows air parcels rising in the western Pacific, as in the case of ZWC, followed by flowing northward in the upper troposphere and descending in the west North Pacific, as in the case of the enhanced MZC before returning to the western tropical Pacific. The anomalous EPHC is opposite in properties to the anomalous WPHC. Opposite characteristics are found during the weak EAWM period. The model simulations and the observations show similar characteristics and indicate the important role of sea surface temperature. A possible mechanism is proposed to link interannual variation of EAWM with the central-eastern tropical Pacific sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA).
By using the NCEP/NCAR pentad reanalysis data from 1968 to 2009, the variation characteristics of Middle East jet stream(MEJS) and its thermal mechanism during seasonal transition are studied. Results show that the intensity and south-north location of MEJS center exhibit obvious seasonal variation characteristics. When MEJS is strong, it is at 27.5°N from the 67 th pentad to the 24 th pentad the following year; when MEJS is weak, it is at 45°N from the 38 th pentad to the 44 th pentad. The first Empirical Orthogonal Function(EOF) mode of 200-hPa zonal wind field shows that MEJS is mainly over Egypt and Saudi Arabia in winter and over the eastern Black Sea and the eastern Aral Sea in summer. MEJS intensity markedly weakens in summer in comparison with that in winter. The 26th-31 st pentad is the spring-summer transition of MEJS, and the 54th-61 st pentad the autumn-winter transition. During the two seasonal transitions, the temporal variations of the 500-200 hPa south-north temperature difference(SNTD) well match with 200-hPa zonal wind velocity, indicating that the former leads to the latter following the principle of thermal wind. A case analysis shows that there is a close relation between the onset date of Indian summer monsoon and the transition date of MEJS seasonal transition. When the outbreak date of Indian summer monsoon is earlier than normal, MEJS moves northward earlier because the larger SNTD between 500-200 hPa moves northward earlier, with the westerly jet in the lower troposphere over 40°-90°E appearing earlier than normal, and vice versa.
