Air-sea System Research Articles

Role of the Boreal Autumn Antarctic Oscillation in Controlling the Winter Frequency of Severe Pollution Events in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region, China

AbstractThe Antarctic Oscillation (AAO), which is the main mode of extratropical circulation in the Southern Hemisphere, also has a substantial effect on the Northern Hemisphere climate. We investigated the influence of the early AAO on the frequency of late severe pollution events (SPEF) in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region (SPEFBTH) of China during winter. The results show that the winter (December–January–February) SPEFBTH is negatively correlated with the AAO from the previous autumn (August–September–October). The controlling mechanism can be briefly described as follows: the autumn AAO is positively correlated with the mid‐latitude sea surface temperature (SST) in the South Atlantic Ocean. The SST preserves the autumn anomaly signal into the following winter. This anomalous SST regulates changes in the tropical western Indian Ocean–Intertropical Convergence Zone (IN–ITCZ) via air–sea coupling. Subsequently, as a response to the IN–ITCZ anomalies, anomalous wave trains are excited in the upper troposphere from the tropical western Indian Ocean to East Asia. In addition, the local meridional circulation is modulated; therefore, the circulation field and other meteorological elements favorable for the SPEFBTH appear and exacerbate the SPEFBTH. This study describes a new physical mechanism for the pathway of the AAO influence on subsequent SPEFBTH and finds a predictable source in the Southern Hemisphere air–sea system.

Enhanced dataset of global marine isoprene emissions from biogenic and photochemical processes for the period 2001–2020

Abstract. Isoprene is a crucial non-methane biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) that exhibits the largest emissions globally. It is chemically reactive in the atmosphere and serves as the primary source of generating secondary organic aerosols (SOA) in terrestrial and remote marine regions. However, a comprehensive estimation of marine isoprene emissions is currently lacking. Here we built a module to present a 20-year (2001–2020) global hourly dataset for marine isoprene emissions, including phytoplankton-generated biological emissions (BIO emissions) and photochemistry-generated emissions in the sea surface microlayer (SML emissions) based on the latest advancements in biological, physical, and chemical processes, with high spatial resolutions. Our dataset suggests the annual global marine isoprene emissions amount to 1.097±0.009 Tg yr−1. Among these, the BIO emissions are 0.481±0.008 Tg yr−1 while SML emissions contribute 0.616±0.003 Tg yr−1. The ability of this module to estimate marine isoprene emissions was evaluated through comparison with a series of observations of marine isoprene concentrations and emission fluxes. The annual total isoprene emissions across the tropical ocean show a declining trend from 2001 to 2020. Most ocean regions exhibit a 1-year emission period, whereas a significant intraseasonal period is found in the tropical ocean. This dataset can be employed as input for the simulation of marine SOA formation in earth system models. This work provides the foundation for further studies into the impact of the air–sea system on marine SOA formation and its climate effect. The DOI link for the dataset is https://doi.org/10.11888/Atmos.tpdc.300521 (Cui and Zhu, 2023).

Distributed edge-based event-triggered optimal formation control for air-sea heterogeneous multiagent systems

This paper addresses the optimal formation control problem for a class of air-sea heterogeneous multiagent systems with external disturbances and model uncertainties. Multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and multiple unmanned surface vessels (USVs) are considered in this system. First, a distributed adaptive state compensator is designed for each agent to estimate the state information of the virtual leader. This compensator is equipped with an edge-based event-triggered scheme to reduce the amount of communication for each edge. Second, a reinforcement learning-based optimal formation controller with the appointed-time prescribed performance is designed to obtain the formation configuration for an air-sea system. This method not only optimizes the formation controller but also ensures the steady-state accuracy and stabilization time. Additionally, an event-triggered mechanism is proposed to reduce the number of optimal formation controller communications. A self-structuring actor-critic neural network and a self-structuring radial basis function neural network are also proposed to solve the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation and approximate the uncertainty, respectively. It can constantly adjust the number of neurons, eventually obtaining an optimal number. Finally, it is proven by Lyapunov theory that all signals are semiglobally uniform and eventually bounded, and the simulation results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the scheme.

Impact of ENSO on Wintertime Land Surface Variables in Northern Hemisphere Extratropics: Role of Atmospheric Moisture Processes

Abstract El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the strongest interannual signature in the tropical air–sea system and can affect global atmospheric variables, but ENSO’s climatic impact on land surface variables such as skin temperature, snow cover, and soil moisture that can serve as seasonal climate predictors remains relatively little known. Here we examine ENSO’s impact on the three land surface variables in Northern Hemisphere extratropics by regression analysis, using a combination of ERA5 reanalysis, GLDAS, satellite-based observations, and CESM2 simulations. Our results show that during El Niño winters anomalous land surface warming occurs in Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes, accompanied by snow cover reduction, especially in northern North America and eastern Europe, while anomalous cooling occurs in southern North America and the Tibetan Plateau, accompanied by increased snow cover. Meanwhile, increased soil moisture is observed in southern North America, central Asia, and southeast China. Further analysis indicates that atmospheric moisture processes dominate the formation of the land surface anomalies, for which the changes in water vapor and precipitation induced by the ENSO-related large-scale atmospheric teleconnection are critical. The anomalous land surface warming in midlatitudes mainly results from the increased downward longwave radiation due to the increase of water vapor, whereas the physical pathway causing water vapor anomalies is different over North America and Eurasia. Controlled by ENSO-induced changes in atmospheric circulation and moisture transport, anomalous precipitation explains most of the snow cover and soil moisture anomalies, which play a certain role in shaping the skin temperature anomalies in some regions through snow–albedo feedback and evaporation, respectively.

Occurrence of microplastics in the seawater and atmosphere of the South China Sea: Pollution patterns and interrelationship

Microplastic (MP) pollution is a serious global environmental problem, particularly in marine ecosystems. However, the pollution patterns of MPs in the ocean and atmosphere, particularly the sea-air interrelationship, remain unclear. Therefore, the abundance, distribution patterns, and sources of MPs in the seawater and atmosphere of the South China Sea (SCS) were comparatively investigated. The results showed that MPs were prevalent in the SCS with an average abundance of 103.4 ± 98.3 items/m3 in the seawater and 4.62 ± 3.60 items/100 m3 in the atmosphere. The spatial analysis indicated that the pollution patterns of seawater MPs were mainly determined by land-based discharge and sea surface currents, whereas atmospheric MPs were predominantly determined by air parcel trajectory and wind conditions. The highest MP abundance of 490 items/m3 in seawater was found at a station near Vietnam with current vortices. However, the highest MP abundance of 14.6 items/100 m3 in the atmosphere was found in air parcels with low-speed southerly winds from Malaysia. Similar MP compositions (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and polyethylene) were observed in the two environmental compartments. Furthermore, similar MP characteristics (e.g., shape, color, and size) in the seawater and atmosphere of the same region suggested a close relationship between the MPs in the two compartments. For this purpose, cluster analysis and calculation of the MP diversity integrated index were performed. The results showed an obvious dispersion between the two compartment clusters and a higher diversity integrated index of MPs in seawater than in the atmosphere, thus implying higher compositional diversity and more complex sources of MPs in seawater relative to the atmosphere. These findings deepen our understanding of MP fate and patterns in the semi-enclosed marginal sea environment and highlight the potential interrelationship of MPs in the air-sea system.

Effects of Sea Spray on Large-Scale Climatic Features over the Southern Ocean

Abstract The Southern Ocean, characterized by strong westerly winds and a rough sea state, exhibits the most pronounced sea spray effects. Sea spray ejected by ocean surface waves enhances heat and water exchange at the air–sea interface. However, this process has not been considered in current climate models, and the influence of sea spray on the coupled air–sea system remains largely unknown. This study incorporated a parameterization of the sea spray influence on latent and sensible heat fluxes into the First Institute of Oceanography Earth System Model version 2.0 (FIO-ESM v2.0), a climate model coupled with an ocean surface waves component. The results indicate that the spray-mediated enthalpy flux accounted for over 20%–50% of the total value. Sea spray promoted ocean evaporation and heat transport, resulting in air and ocean surface cooling and strengthened westerly winds. Furthermore, a moist and stable atmosphere favored an increase in cloud fraction over the Southern Ocean, particularly low-level clouds. Increased clouds reflected downward shortwave radiation and reduced solar radiation absorption at the surface. At present, the climate models participating in phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) still suffer notable deficiencies in reasonably reproducing the climatological features of the Southern Ocean, including warm SST and underestimated clouds biases with more absorbed shortwave radiation. Our results suggest that consideration of sea spray effects is a feasible solution to mitigate these common biases and enhance the confidence in simulations and predictions with climate models.

Diagnosis of ENSO-related precipitation changes during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries using reanalyses and two multi-model clusters

Changes in El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-related precipitation anomalies during the twentieth century are poorly known. The ENSO-related precipitation anomalies over the tropical Pacific Ocean are projected to shift eastward during the twenty-first century. However, intermodel diversity in simulating and projecting these changes has not been fully studied. Understanding such diversity is vital for providing robust projections of future changes in the ENSO-related precipitation. Here, we use an approach that can cleanly separate ENSO signals from long-term variations to study multi-decadal and centennial changes of ENSO-related precipitation anomalies during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in two precipitation reanalyses and two groups of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models. The two precipitation reanalyses disagree in the multi-decadal changes during the twentieth century: precipitation anomalies in the twentieth century global circulation reanalysis indicates zonal shifts of the positive and negative ENSO-related precipitation anomalies, whereas reconstructed precipitation derived from observations suggests an intensification of the anomalies. Most members of the ensemble of 20 CMIP5 models project significant strengthening or zonal shift in ENSO-related precipitation during the twenty-first century, which is almost entirely influenced by changes in the ENSO-related circulation from a moisture budget analysis. The ‘good-ENSO’ group with stronger ENSO atmospheric feedbacks projects an intensification of ENSO-related precipitation anomalies over the eastern-central equatorial Pacific, as a result of strengthened deep convection anomalies in the middle to upper troposphere above. This increased variability of convection is driven by a warmer SST mean state of the central-eastern Pacific Ocean. The underperforming group that simulates colder equatorial SSTs, weaker atmospheric feedbacks, and more westward extended ENSO-related precipitation anomalies, exhibits both strong intensification and eastward shift of the entire ENSO-related air–sea interactive system and the related precipitation over the western-central Pacific during the twenty-first century, in correspondence with a mean-state SST warming in the entire equatorial Pacific. Our clustered results suggest that the changes of ENSO-related precipitation are closely tied with the historical simulation of structure of the ENSO-related air–sea system and the projection of changes in the mean-state SST under global warming.

Understanding Key Roles of Two ENSO Modes in Spatiotemporal Diversity of ENSO

AbstractEl Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events exhibit a diversity of amplitudes, spatial patterns, and life cycles, with the main ENSO periods concentrated in the 3–7-yr [low-frequency (LF)] and 2–3-yr [quasi-biennial (QB)] bands. In this study, the spatiotemporal diversity of ENSO is quantitatively examined by extracting the two ENSO modes, namely, the LF and QB components of ENSO, from the traditional Niño-3.4 index and connecting them with the spatial types of ENSO. El Niño events can be regrouped as the QB-dominated central-Pacific ENSO-like (QB-CP), LF-dominated eastern-Pacific ENSO-like (LF-EP), and LF-dominated mixing (LF-mixing) types. La Niña events with vague spatial patterns can also have the same categorization. The QB-CP and LF-EP El Niño types both have a high-amplitude QB component. Meanwhile, the former is less affected by its powerless LF component, but the latter is controlled by its strong LF component. Ocean dynamics of the two El Niño types are distinct from each other. The thermocline feedback dominates the growth of the two El Niño types and contributes to the phase transition of the LF-EP type, while the zonal advective feedback is of increasing importance in the QB-CP El Niño and mainly contributes to the phase transitions of the two El Niño types. Additionally, the LF-mixing type with ambiguous spatial features and complex life cycles is distinguished from the other two types. These results indicate that the two ENSO modes coexist in the tropical Pacific air–sea system, and their combination with changing amplitude is the key to explaining the spatiotemporal diversity of ENSO.

A coupled modeling study of mechanical and thermodynamical air-ocean interface processes under sea storm conditions

The interaction mechanisms between the lower part of the atmosphere and the ocean surface comprise of a complicated issue with many parameters to be studied. Heat, moisture and momentum exchanges in the air-sea system exert a significant role on both lower atmosphere and sea state conditions.Working towards the understanding of how wave characteristics link the atmosphere with the ocean, an atmospheric model is fully coupled with a wave spectral model. The RAMS/ICLAMS atmospheric model is integrated with the WAM wave spectral model under the OASIS-MCT coupler. The combined modeling system utilizes schemes for ocean surface roughness and sea spray droplet thermodynamics.A series of sensitivity tests related to midlatitude cyclones is performed to examine the associated effects of sea state and sea spray impact on wave conditions and lower atmosphere. Under increased wind conditions, sea drag is enhanced as illustrated in the case of the two-way coupling simulations. In addition, increased values of roughness length were traced in near-shore areas in the case of expressions that employ wave parameters such as the wave age. The magnitude and the role of energy yield from sea water droplets depend on the prevailing weather conditions. Sea spray fluxes are amplified in areas with intensified surface winds that also results in an increase of the total heat fluxes. This induces a moistening of the near surface air, an effect in stability profile and an increase of wind speed. The most noticeable impact on marine layer structure emerged close to the first hundred meters. The study revealed an enrichment of the description of the air-sea system through the transition of information between the different models.

A Review of Research on Tropical Air-Sea Interaction, ENSO Dynamics, and ENSO Prediction in China

Remarkable progress has been made in observations, theories, and simulations of the ocean-atmosphere system, laying a solid foundation for the improvement of short-term climate prediction, among which Chinese scientists have made important contributions. This paper reviews Chinese research on tropical air-sea interaction, ENSO dynamics, and ENSO prediction in the past 70 years. Review of the tropical air-sea interaction mainly focuses on four aspects: characteristics of the tropical Pacific climate system and ENSO; main modes of tropical Indian Ocean SSTs and their interactions with the tropical Pacific; main modes of tropical Atlantic SSTs and inter-basin interactions; and influences of the mid-high-latitude air-sea system on ENSO. Review of the ENSO dynamics involves seven aspects: fundamental theories of ENSO; diagnosis and simulation of ENSO; the two types of ENSO; mechanisms of ENSO initiation; the interactions between ENSO and other phenomena; external forcings and teleconnections; and climate change and the ENSO response. The ENSO prediction part briefly summarizes the dynamical-statistical methods used in ENSO prediction, as well as the operational ENSO prediction systems and their applications. Lastly, we discuss some of the issues in these areas that are in need of further study.

North-south difference of water mass properties across the Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Two field observations were conducted around the Lembeh Strait in September 2015 and 2016, respectively. Evidences indicate that seawater around the Lembeh Strait is consisted of North Pacific Tropical Water (NPTW), North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW), North Pacific Tropical Intermediate Water (NPTIW) and Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW). Around the Lembeh Strait, there exist some north-south differences in terms of water mass properties. NPTIW is only found in the southern Lembeh Strait. Water mass with the salinity of 34.6 is only detected at 200–240 m between NPTW and NPTIW in the southern Lembeh Strait, and results from the process of mixing between the saltier water transported from the South Pacific Ocean and the lighter water from the North Pacific Ocean and Sulawesi Sea. According to the analysis on mixing layer depth, it is indicated that there exists an onshore surface current in the northern Lembeh Strait and the surface current in the Lembeh Strait is southward. These dramatic differences of water masses demonstrate that the less water exchange has been occurred between the north and south of Lembeh Strait. In 2015, the positive wind stress curl covering the northern Lembeh Strait induces the shoaling of thermocline and deepening of NPIW, which show that the north-south difference of airsea system is possible of inducing north-south differences of seawater properties.

Application study of monthly precipitation forecast in Northeast China based on the cold vortex persistence activity index

This paper introduces three quantitative indicators to conduct research for characterizing Northeast China cold vortex persistence activity: cold vortex persistence, generalized “cold vortex,” and cold vortex precipitation. As discussed in the first part of paper, a hindcast is performed by multiple regressions using Northeast China precipitation from 2012 to 2014 combination with the previous winter 144 air-sea system factors. The results show that the mentioned three cold vortex index series can reflect the spatial and temporal distributions of observational precipitation in 2012–2014 and obtain results. The cold vortex factors are then added to the Forecast System on Dynamical and Analogy Skills (FODAS) to carry out dynamic statistical hindcast of precipitation in Northeast China from 2003 to 2012. Based on the characteristics and significance of each index, precipitation hindcast is carried out for Northeast China in May, June, July, August, May–June, and July–August. It turns out that the Northeast Cold Vortex Index Series, as defined in this paper, can make positive corrections to the FODAS forecast system, and most of the index correction results are higher than the system’s own correction value. This study provides quantitative index products and supplies a solid technical foundation and support for monthly precipitation forecast in Northeast China.

A note on ocean surface drift with application to surface velocities measured with HF Radar

The ocean drift current consists of a (local) pure drift current generated by the interaction of wind and waves at the sea surface, to which the surface geostrophic current is added vectorially. We present (a) a similarity solution for the wave boundary layer (which has been validated through the prediction of the 10-m drag law), from which the component of pure drift current along the direction of the wind (and hence the speed factor) can be evaluated from the 10-m wind speed and the peak wave period, and (b) a similarity solution for the Ekman layers of the two fluids, which shows that under steady-state neutral conditions the pure drift current lies along the direction of the geostrophic wind, and has a magnitude 0.034 that of the geostrophic wind speed. The co-existence of these two similarity solutions indicates that the frictional properties of the coupled air-sea system are easily evaluated functions of the 10-m wind speed and the peak wave period, and also leads to a simple expression for the angle of deflection of the pure drift current to the 10 m wind. The analysis provides a dynamical model for global ocean drift on monthly and annual time scales for which the steady-state neutral model is a good approximation. In particular, the theoretical results appear to be able to successfully predict the mean surface drift measured by HF Radar, which at present is the best technique for studying the near surface velocity profile.

The 2009 summer low temperature in northeast china and its association with prophase changes of the air-sea system

Under the background of global warming, summer (JJA) low temperature events in Northeast China had not occurred for about 15 yr since 1994, but one such event took place in 2009. By using the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data, the 100-yr station temperature data at Harbin and Changchun, and the Hadley Center sea surface temperature (SST) data, this paper intends to reveal the cause, circulation background, and influencing factors of this event. Analysis of both horizontal and vertical circulations of a low-value system over Northeast China in summer 2009 during the low temperature event shows that anomalous activities of the Northeast China cold vortex (NECV) played the most direct role. A decadal cooling trend of — 0.8°C (10 yr)−1 over 1999–2008 at Changchun and Harbin was found, which is obviously out-of-phase with the linear warming trend (0.2°C (10 yr)−1) over 1961–2000 for Northeast China in response to the global warming. The previous winter North Pacific polar vortex (NPPV) area index, significantly positively related to the observed summer temperatures of Harbin and Changchun, was also in a significantly declining tendency. These provide favorable decadal backgrounds for the 2009 low temperature event. Different from the average anomaly field of 500-hPa height for summer 1994–2008 in Northeast China, in the summer of 2009, the Arctic Oscillation (AO) showed a strong negative phase distribution, and significant negative height anomalies dominated Northeast Asia, Aleutian Islands, and North Atlantic. Furthermore, the negative phase of North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) in the winter of 2008 was obviously strong, and it maintained in the spring of 2009. Meanwhile, the SSTA in the equatorial eastern-central Pacific Ocean in the winter of 2008 showed a La Nina phase, but the strength of the La Nina weakened obviously in the spring of 2009. The abnormally strong activities of NECV in June and July of 2009 were related to the disturbances of stationary waves that replaced the original ultra-long waves over the North Pacific region in April and May 2009. The singular value decomposition (SVD) and harmonic analysis results suggest that the anomalous phase of NPO is an important precursor for summer temperature variations over Northeast China, and also a stable planetary-scale component that can be extracted from the atmospheric circulation in addition to the chaotic components on the synoptic scale.

Three-dimensional air–sea interactions investigated with bilayer networks

We introduce bilayer networks in this paper to study the coupled air–sea systems. Results show that the framework of bilayer networks is powerful for studying the statistical topology structure and dynamics in the fields of ocean and atmosphere. Based on bilayer networks, the inner and cross interactions of the sea surface temperature (SST) field and the height field are displayed, and the main three-dimensional air–sea interaction pattern is identified. The formation of the main pattern can be explained by the “gearing between the Indian and Pacific Ocean (GIP)” model; therefore, the pattern existence can be confirmed reliably. Furthermore, lead–lag analysis reveals the trigger processes of the “GIP”. That is, the anomalies of the tropical mid-eastern Pacific Ocean SST (TMEPO-SST) appear first; then, through the Walker circulation, the 850-hPa geopotential height over the Pacific Islands responds to the anomalies of the TMEPO-SST 2 months later; finally, the tropical Indian Ocean SST (TIO-SST) responds to the anomalies of the height 1 month later through the Asian monsoon circulation. Therefore, the impacts of the TMEPO-SST to the TIO-SST show 3 months later through the air–sea interactions between the components of the main three-dimensional air–sea interaction mode. The new framework uncovers already-known as well as other novel features of the air–sea systems and general circulation. The application of complex network theory and methodology to understand the complex interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere is promising.

Collective behaviour of climate indices in the North Pacific air—sea system and its potential relationships with decadal climate changes

A climate network of six climate indices of the North Pacific air—sea system is constructed during the period of 1948–2009. In order to find out the inherent relationship between the intrinsic mechanism of climate index network and the important climate shift, the synchronization behaviour and the coupling behaviour of these indices are investigated. Results indicate that climate network synchronization happened around the beginning of the 1960s, in the middle of the 1970s and at the beginnings of the 1990s and the 2000s separately. These synchronization states were always followed by the decrease of the coupling coefficient. Each synchronization of the network was well associated with the abrupt phase or trend changes of annually accumulated abnormal values of North Pacific sea-surface temperature and 500-hPa height, among which the one that happened in the middle of the 1970s is the most noticeable climate shift. We can also obtain this mysterious shift from the first mode of the empirical orthogonal function of six indices. That is to say, abrupt climate shift in North Pacific air—sea system is not only shown by the phase or trend changes of climate indices, but also might be indicated by the synchronizing and the coupling of climate indices. Furthermore, at the turning point of 1975, there are also abrupt correlation changes in the yearly mode of spatial degree distribution of the sea surface temperature and 500-hPa height in the region of the North Pacific, which further proves the probability of climate index synchronization and coupling shift in air—sea systems.

Estimating parameters of air-sea oscillator with MCMC method

The Markov chain Monte Carlo （MCMC） method is used to estimate the unknown parameters of air-sea oscillator system, which is a model of Eastern Pacific sea surface temperature （SST）. Firstly，the posterior probability density function for unknown parameters of air-sea oscillator system is deduced with the Bayesian formula. Secondly， the Adaptive Metropolis algorithm is used to construct the Markov Chains of unknown parameters. And the converged samples are used to calculate the mathematic expectation. The results of numerical experiments show that parameters estimated by the new method have high precision and the noise is filtered effectively from the observations.

Interdecadal variability of the tropospheric biennial oscillation in the western North Pacific

The observed tropospheric biennial oscillation (TBO) in the western North Pacific (WNP) monsoon region has an interdecadal variability with a period of 40–50 yr. That suggests a weaker effect of the TBO on the East Asia followed by a stronger one. A simple analytic model was designed to investigate the mechanism of the interdecadal variability of the TBO. The results indicated that a local TBO air-sea system not only supports the TBO variability in the WNP monsoon region but also produces an interdecadal variability of the TBO.

Short timescale air-sea coupling in the tropical deep convective regime

The relationship between surface rainfall rate and sea-surface temperature (SST) over tropical cloudy areas is revisited, and associated air-sea interaction processes are investigated based on hourly grid simulation data over cloudy areas from a two-dimensional coupled ocean-cloud resolving atmosphere model. A cloud-weighted data analysis shows that surface evaporation flux decreases with increasing SST and is one order of magnitude smaller than the residual between moisture convergence and condensation, playing a negligible role in moisture budget. Moisture convergence determines the surface rainfall rate by determining vapor condensation and deposition rates. Ocean mixed-layer thermal budget shows that the atmospheric surface flux is a major process responsible for SST variation while thermal advection and thermal entrainment play a secondary role. The results indicate that atmospheric impacts on the ocean are important whereas oceanic impacts on the atmosphere are not, in the tropical air-sea system, on short timescales. Thus, the relationship between surface rainfall rate and SST over tropical cloudy areas is not physically important. Further estimates indicate that the surface evaporation flux and residual between moisture convergence and condensation could have the same order of magnitude in daily-mean moisture budget.

On the decadal and interdecadal variability in the Pacific Ocean

The Pacific decadal and interdecadal oscillation (PDO) has been extensively explored in recent decades because of its profound impact on global climate systems. It is a long-lived ENSO-like pattern of Pacific climate variability with a period of 10–30 years. The general picture is that the anomalously warm (cool) SSTs in the central North Pacific are always accompanied by the anomalously cool (warm) SSTs along the west coast of America and in the central east tropical Pacific with comparable amplitude. In general, there are two classes of opinions on the origin of this low-frequency climate variability, one thinking that it results from deterministically coupled modes of the Pacific ocean-atmosphere system, and the other, from stochastic atmospheric forcing. The deterministic origin emphasizes that the internal physical processes in an air-sea system can provide a positive feedback mechanism to amplify an initial perturbation, and a negative feedback mechanism to reverse the phase of oscillation. The dynamic evolution of ocean circulation determines the timescale of the oscillation. The stochastic origin, however, emphasizes that because the atmospheric activities can be thought as having no preferred timescale and are associated with an essentially white noise spectrum, the ocean response can manifest a red peak in a certain low frequency range with a decadal to interdecadal timescale. In this paper, the authors try to systematically understand the state of the art of observational, theoretical and numerical studies on the PDO and hope to provide a useful background reference for current research.