Rossby wave breaking and blocking events associated with some atmospheric circulation regimes in the Northern Hemisphere based on a climate system model (PlaSim-ICMMG-1.0)

Abstract

Potential vorticity (PV) streamers and cutoffs are indicators of Rossby wave breaking (RWB) near the extratropical tropopause. The Rossby wave breaking forms an elongated high-PV stratospheric air tongue that extends to the equator and a tropospheric low PV air tongue that extends to the pole. There are two types of RWB: equatorward and poleward ones. Frequently, PV tongues stretch into narrow filaments, so-called PV streamers that split into PV cutoff vortices. Here the terms stratospheric PV streamer and cutoff refer to stratospheric features of isentropic surfaces (PV > 2 PVU; where 1 PVU = 10−6 K_kg−1 m2_s−1). In this paper, we study a configuration of the potential vortex field using model data. The main areas of RWB in winter and summer are shown. Atmospheric blocking events represent some of the most high-impact weather patterns in the mid-latitudes, but they have often been the cause of unsuccessful future climate projections. In this paper, we have examined the seasonal frequency of global blocking events in relation to a change in the mean EOF index based on some modeling results obtained by using a climate system model, PlaSim-ICMMG-1.0.