Forced Rossby Wave Research Articles

Resonant Forcing by Solar Declination of Rossby Waves at the Tropopause and Implications in Extreme Precipitation Events and Heat Waves—Part 2: Case Studies, Projections in the Context of Climate Change

Based on the properties of Rossby waves at the tropopause resonantly forced by solar declination in harmonic modes, which was the subject of a first article, case studies of heatwaves and extreme precipitation events are presented. They clearly demonstrate that extreme events only form under specific patterns of the amplitude of the speed of modulated airflows of Rossby waves at the tropopause, in particular period ranges. This remains true even if extreme events appear as compound events where chaos and timing are crucial. Extreme events are favored when modulated cold and warm airflows result in a dual cyclone-anticyclone system, i.e., the association of two joint vortices of opposite signs. They reverse over a period of the dominant harmonic mode in spatial and temporal coherence with the modulated airflow speed pattern. This key role could result from a transfer of humid/dry air between the two vortices during the inversion of the dual system. Finally, focusing on the two period ranges 17.1–34.2 and 8.56–17.1 days corresponding to 1/16- and 1/32-year period harmonic modes, projections of the amplitude of wind speed at 250 mb, geopotential height at 500 mb, ground air temperature, and precipitation rate are performed by extrapolating their amplitude observed from January 1979 to March 2024. Projected amplitudes are regionalized on a global scale for warmest and coldest half-years, referring to extratropical latitudes. Causal relationships are established between the projected amplitudes of modulated airflow speed and those of ground air temperature and precipitation rate, whether they increase or decrease. The increase in the amplitude of modulated airflow speed of polar vortices induces their latitudinal extension. This produces a tightening of Rossby waves embedded in the polar and subtropical jet streams. In the context of climate change, this has the effect of increasing the efficiency of the resonant forcing of Rossby waves from the solar declination, the optimum of which is located at mid-latitudes. Hence the increased or decreased vulnerability to heatwaves or extreme precipitation events of some regions. Europe and western Asia are particularly affected, which is due to increased activity of the Arctic polar vortex between longitudes 20° W and 40° E. This is likely a consequence of melting ice and changing albedo, which appears to amplify the amplitude of variation in the period range 17.1–34.2 days of poleward circulation at the tropopause of the Arctic polar cell.

Dust-storm forcing of Rossby waves on Mars

Off-nadir measurements by the Mars Climate Sounder are an underutilized source of information about planetary-scale waves and their role in the climate. More than 8 Mars years of data is currently available. The data set is used here to investigate a pair of waves whose vertical structure is well aligned with the off-nadir contribution function of the A3 channel. Both waves have a zonal wavenumber of 1 and a large amplitude in the high-latitude, winter-season, westerly jet. One is an eastward-traveling free wave with a period of 15–20 sols; it recurs annually in the north, appearing in most years in a roughly 50-sol span that ends near the winter solstice. The other is a forced Rossby wave that alternates between the north and the south, emerging at the autumnal equinox and subsiding at the vernal equinox. It is stationary with respect to the surface in the south and quasi-stationary in the north. A-type and C-type regional dust storms cause a conspicuous increase in the amplitude of the northern forced wave through their effect on the meridional overturning circulation. The dust-storm enhancement of the overturning circulation is initially confined in longitude, as determined by the spatial distribution of dust in the southern hemisphere at the start of the storm. The amplification of the forced wave is a consequence of this zonal asymmetry. The wave amplitude increases rapidly at the start of each dust storm and returns to its pre-storm level 10–15 sols later when the distribution of dust becomes zonally uniform. A detailed description of the forced wave is obtained from the OpenMARS reanalysis, whose reliability is confirmed by comparisons with the off-nadir measurements. During the early stage of the A and C storms, the wave amplitude exceeds 3 km in geopotential height and the center of the polar vortex is displaced from the pole. In addition, the northern forced wave exhibits a pre-winter-solstice phase reversal whose origin is not known.

Subseasonal Great Plains Rainfall via Remote Extratropical Teleconnections: Regional Application of Theory‐Guided Causal Networks

AbstractLong‐range U.S. summer rainfall prediction skill is low. Monsoon variability, especially over the West North Pacific Monsoon (WNPM) and/or East Asian Monsoon (EAM) region, can influence U.S. Great Plains hydroclimate variability via a forced Rossby wave response. Here, we explored subseasonal monsoon variability as a source of predictability for Great Plains rainfall. The boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (BSISO) is related to Great Plains convection and Great Plains low‐level jet (LLJ) anomalies as well as a cross‐Pacific wave train. Using a causal effect network, we found that the time between BSISO‐related geopotential height anomalies and Great Plains rainfall anomalies is about 2 weeks; therefore, BSISO convection may be a valuable forecast of opportunity for subseasonal prediction of Great Plains convection anomalies. More specifically, causal link patterns/maps revealed that the above‐normal weekly EAM rainfall, rather than WNPM rainfall or general geopotential height activity over the East Asia, was causally linked to Great Plains LLJ strengthening and active Great Plains convection the following week.

A Review of the Role of the Oceanic Rossby Waves in Climate Variability

In this paper, the role of oceanic Rossby waves in climate variability is reviewed, as well as their dynamics in tropical oceans and at mid-latitudes. For tropical oceans, both the interactions between equatorial Rossby and Kelvin waves, and off-equatorial Rossby waves are privileged. The difference in the size of the basins induces disparities both in the forcing modes and in the dynamics of the tropical waves, which form a single quasi-stationary wave system. For Rossby waves at mid-latitudes, a wide range of periods is considered, varying from a few days to several million years when very-long-period Rossby waves winding around the subtropical gyres are hypothesized. This review focuses on the resonant forcing of Rossby waves that seems ubiquitous: the quasi-geostrophic adjustment of the oceans favors natural periods close to the forcing period, while those far from it are damped because of friction. Prospective work concentrates on the resonant forcing of dynamical systems in subharmonic modes. According to this new concept, the development of ENSO depends on its date of occurrence. Opportunities arise to shed new light on open issues such as the Middle Pleistocene transition.

The Role of Tropical Mean-State Biases in Modeled Winter Northern Hemisphere El Niño Teleconnections

AbstractThe role of tropical mean-state biases in El Niño–Southern Oscillation teleconnections in the winter Northern Hemisphere is examined in coupled general circulation models from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). The main North Pacific teleconnection pattern, defined here by the strengths of the anomalous Kuroshio anticyclone and North Pacific cyclone, is linked to two anomalous Rossby wave sources that occur during El Niño: a negative source over East Asia and a positive source to the west of the North Pacific. Errors in the teleconnection pattern in models are associated with spatial biases in mean atmospheric ascent and descent and the strength of the corresponding forcing of Rossby waves via suppressed or enhanced El Niño precipitation responses in the tropical western North Pacific (WNP) and the equatorial central Pacific (CP). The WNP El Niño precipitation response is most strongly linked to the strength of the Kuroshio anticyclone and the CP El Niño precipitation response is most strongly linked to the strength of the North Pacific cyclone. The mean state and corresponding El Niño precipitation response can have seemingly distinct biases. A bias in the WNP does not necessarily correspond to a bias in the CP, suggesting that improvement of biases in both tropical WNP and equatorial CP regions should be considered for an accurate teleconnection pattern.

Relation between the interannual variability in the stratospheric Rossby wave forcing and zonal mean fields suggesting an interhemispheric link in the stratosphere

Abstract. Focusing on the interannual variabilities in the zonal mean fields and Rossby wave forcing in austral winter, an interhemispheric coupling in the stratosphere is examined using reanalysis data: the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2). In the present study, the Eliassen–Palm (EP) flux divergence averaged over the latitude and height regions of 50–30∘ S and 0.3–1 hPa, respectively, are used as a proxy of the Rossby wave forcing, where the absolute value of the EP flux divergence is maximized in the winter in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). The interannual variabilities in the zonal mean temperature and zonal wind are significantly correlated with the SH Rossby wave forcing in the stratosphere in both the SH and Northern Hemisphere (NH). The interannual variability in the strength of the poleward residual mean flow in the SH stratosphere is also correlated with the strength of the wave forcing. This correlation is significant even around the Equator at an altitude of 40 km and at NH low latitudes of 20–40 km. The temperature anomaly is consistent with this residual mean flow anomaly. The relation between the cross-equatorial flow and the zonal mean absolute angular momentum gradient (M‾y) is examined in the meridional cross section. The M‾y around the Equator at the altitude of 40 km is small when the wave forcing is strong, which provides a pathway for the cross-equatorial residual mean flow. These results indicate that an interhemispheric coupling is present in the stratosphere through the meridional circulation modulated by the Rossby wave forcing.

Southern Martian winter weather associated with baroclinic topography forced Rossby waves: analysing by Global Mars Multiscale Model

Meteorological and physical results from the Global Mars Multiscale Model (GM3) are used for investigating the impact of zonally asymmetric topography on atmospheric temperature and wind structures of Martian southern winter weather associated with the forced topographical Rossby waves. Analysis of the numerical simulations reveals significant thermal and wind patterns at the southern mid and high latitudes during southern winter due to the impact of asymmetric topography. This study shows the presence of warm air advection at southern high latitudes mostly around the cryptic regions controls by a warm ridge and the cold air advection at mid-latitudes is around the Hellas and Argyre basins associated with two cold troughs. Also, there is large temperature advection fluctuation around $50^{\circ}\mbox{S}$ causing by topographical aspects of Hellas and Argyre basins rather than flat topography simulation. This is associated with the baroclinicity structure causing by topography in Martian mid-latitudes. This can act to moderate the temperature field in the Martian southern hemisphere weather during wintertime because of the wind pattern structures. Also, the winter time south zonal westerly jet stream analysis shows the development of disturbances structure (meandering) in the north side of the jet dependent of longitudinal structure of Martian southern topography with a wave-like pattern below the Hellas and Argyre basins. Also, the vertical structure of the zonal wind shows the appearance of a vertical wind shear around $78^{\circ}\mbox{S}$ with smoothly tilting to the higher altitudes associated with the baroclinic structure of the southern Martian winter weather associated with the baroclinic forced topography Rossby waves.

Middle East and Southwest Asia Daily Precipitation Characteristics Associated with the Madden–Julian Oscillation during Boreal Winter

The spatial and temporal evolution of Middle East and southwest Asia (MESW) precipitation characteristics and the associated atmospheric circulation during times in which tropical eastern Indian Ocean precipitation is either enhanced or reduced associated with the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is assessed. Using multiple estimates of both the observed precipitation and the MJO during 1981–2016, the evolution of MESW precipitation characteristics throughout November–April is examined in terms of monthly precipitation accumulation on precipitation days, the number of precipitation days, and the number of extreme precipitation days. MJO phases 2–4, during which eastern Indian Ocean precipitation is enhanced, and MJO phases 6–8, during which eastern Indian Ocean precipitation is reduced, are related, with significant decreases and increases in the number of precipitation days across MESW, respectively. The patterns of precipitation-day changes between MJO phases undergo noteworthy spatial and temporal evolutions across the boreal cold season that are influenced by the interaction between Rossby wave forcing by the MJO and seasonal changes in both the upper-level jet and moisture over the region. During December–January, the changes in precipitation days are found primarily over northern MESW, while during February–March, the changes in precipitation days are found primarily over southern MESW. Although the results identify an important sensitivity in the number of precipitation days over the MESW related to the MJO, the same sensitivity is not apparent in terms of the number of extreme precipitation days and, in particular, the amount of precipitation on a precipitation day.

On the physical interpretation of the lead relation between Warm Water Volume and the El Niño Southern Oscillation

The Warm Water Volume (WWV), a proxy for the equatorial Pacific heat content, is the most widely used oceanic precursor of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The standard interpretation of this lead relation in the context of the recharge oscillator theory is that anomalous easterlies during, e.g. La Nina, favour a slow recharge of the equatorial band that will later favour a transition to El Nino. Here we demonstrate that WWV only works as the best ENSO predictor during boreal spring, i.e. during ENSO onset, in both observations and CMIP5 models. At longer lead times, the heat content in the western Pacific (WWVW) is the best ENSO predictor, as initially formulated in the recharge oscillator theory. Using idealised and realistic experiments with a linear continuously stratified ocean model, and a comprehensive wave decomposition method, we demonstrate that spring WWV mostly reflects the fast Kelvin wave response to wind anomalies early in the year, rather than the longer-term influence of winds during the previous year. WWV is hence not an adequate index of the slow recharge invoked in the recharge oscillator. The WWVW evolution before spring is dominated by forced Rossby waves, with a smaller contribution from the western boundary reflection. WWVW can be approximated from the integral of equatorial wind stress over the previous ~ 10 months, thus involving a longer-term time scale than WWV main time scale (~ 3 months). We hence recommend using WWVW rather than WWV as an index for the slow recharge before the spring predictability barrier.

Upgradient and Downgradient Potential Vorticity Fluxes Produced by Forced Rossby Waves. Part II: Parameter Sensitivity and Physical Interpretation

AbstractWe examine the potential vorticity (PV) flux produced by forced Rossby waves in a two-layer quasigeostrophic model, using a perturbation analysis. Rossby waves are excited by external forcing applied to the upper layer. The southward PV flux is produced in the lower layer by the higher-order Rossby waves that are excited by nonlinear wave–wave interactions, whereas the northward PV flux is produced in the upper layer. The direction of the PV flux is consistent with that obtained by an eddy-resolving model of the wind-driven circulation in previous studies. The southward PV flux is produced in a wide parameter range comparable to the eddy-resolving model. The basic features of the PV flux remain unchanged even in the limit of weak stratification. In this limit, stratification has nearly no effect on the flow, except that it isolates the lower layer from the direct effects of external forcing. The mechanism of the southward PV flux is explained using basic features of the barotropic Rossby waves and does not depend on details of the model. Furthermore, the resonant triad interaction of Rossby waves does not affect the PV flux. Stratification weakens or strengthens the PV flux depending on the horizontal scale of the external forcing.

The influence of orographic Rossby and gravity waves on rainfall

Orography is known to influence winter precipitation in Asia and the Indo‐Pacific Ocean by mechanically forcing winds, but the dynamics involved in the precipitation response are incompletely understood. This study investigates how two types of orographically forced oscillatory motions alter time‐mean winds and precipitation. The quasi‐geostrophic omega equation is used together with previous ideas of ‘downward control’ to develop a simple theory of the spatial distribution and amplitude of the vertical motion response to orographically forced stationary Rossby waves and gravity wave drag in a precipitating atmosphere. This theory is then used to understand the response of the boreal winter atmosphere to realistic Asian orography in a global numerical model that includes representations of moist processes and unresolved gravity wave drag. We isolate the effects of the orographically forced stationary Rossby wave and the gravity wave drag by incremental addition of wave sources in this model. The peak precipitation response to the forced Rossby wave is about a factor of three larger than that of the gravity wave drag, but the wave drag response has a distinct spatial structure that dominates in some regions. Both the Rossby wave and the gravity wave drag perturb precipitation in areas distant from orography, producing shifts in the equatorial intertropical convergence zone, an increase in precipitation over southern Asia, and drying in much of northern Asia.

A note on free and forced Rossby wave solutions: The case of a straight coast and a channel

The free Rossby wave (RW) solutions in an ocean with a straight coast when the offshore wavenumber of incident (l1) and reflected (l2) wave are equal or complex are discussed. If l1=l2 the energy streams along the coast and a uniformly valid solution cannot be found; if l1,2 are complex it yields the sum of an exponentially decaying and growing (away from the coast) Rossby wave. The channel does not admit these solutions as free modes.If the wavenumber vectors of the RWs are perpendicular to the coast, the boundary condition of no normal flow is trivially satisfied and the value of the streamfunction does not need to vanish at the coast. A solution that satisfies Kelvin's theorem of time-independent circulation at the coast is proposed.The forced RW solutions when the ocean's forcing is a single Fourier component are studied. If the forcing is resonant, i.e. a free Rossby wave (RW), the linear response will depend critically on whether the wave carries energy perpendicular to the channel or not. In the first case, the amplitude of the response is linear in the direction normal to the channel, y, and in the second it has a parabolic profile in y. Examples of these solutions are shown for channels with parameters resembling the Mozambique Channel, the Tasman Sea, the Denmark Strait and the English Channel. The solutions for the single coast are unbounded, except when the forcing is a RW trapped against the coast. If the forcing is non-resonant, exponentially decaying or trapped RWs could be excited in the coast and both the exponentially “decaying” and exponentially “growing” RW could be excited in the channel.

The role of the tropical West Pacific in the extreme Northern Hemisphere winter of 2013/2014

AbstractIn the 2013/2014 winter, the eastern U.S. was exceptionally cold, the Bering Strait region was exceptionally warm, California was in the midst of drought, and the UK suffered severe flooding. It has been suggested that elevated sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the tropical West Pacific (TWPAC) were partly to blame due to them producing a Rossby wave train that propagated into the extratropics. We find that seasonal forecasts with the tropical atmosphere relaxed toward a reanalysis give 2013/2014 winter mean anomalies with strong similarities to those observed in the Northern Hemisphere, indicating that low‐latitude anomalies had a role in the development of the extremes. Relaxing just the TWPAC produces a strong wave train over the North Pacific and North America in January, but not in the winter mean. This suggests that anomalies in this region alone had a large influence but cannot explain the extremes through the whole winter. We also examine the response to applying the observed TWPAC SST anomalies in two atmospheric general circulation models. We find that this does produce winter mean anomalies in the North Pacific and North America resembling those observed and that the tropical forcing of Rossby waves due to the applied SST anomalies appears stronger than that in reanalysis, except in January. Therefore, both experiments indicate that the TWPAC influence was important, but the true strength of the TWPAC influence is uncertain. None of the experiments indicate a strong systematic impact of the TWPAC anomalies on Europe.

Dynamics of Vortex Rossby Waves in Tropical Cyclones, Part 2: Nonlinear Time‐Dependent Asymptotic Analysis on a β‐Plane

Vortex Rossby waves in cyclones in the tropical atmosphere are believed to play a role in the observed eyewall replacement cycle, a phenomenon in which concentric rings of intense rainbands develop outside the wall of the cyclone eye, strengthen and then contract inward to replace the original eyewall. In this paper, we present a two‐dimensional configuration that represents the propagation of forced Rossby waves in a cyclonic vortex and use it to explore mechanisms by which critical layer interactions could contribute to the evolution of the secondary eyewall location. The equations studied include the nonlinear terms that describe wave‐mean‐flow interactions, as well as the terms arising from the latitudinal gradient of the Coriolis parameter. Asymptotic methods based on perturbation theory and weakly nonlinear analysis are used to obtain the solution as an expansion in powers of two small parameters that represent nonlinearity and the Coriolis effects. The asymptotic solutions obtained give us insight into the temporal evolution of the forced waves and their effects on the mean vortex. In particular, there is an inward displacement of the location of the critical radius with time which can be interpreted as part of the secondary eyewall cycle.

Seasonal SSH Variability of the Northern South China Sea

AbstractThe seasonal response of sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) to wind stress curl (WSC) in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) and the Kuroshio intrusion through the Luzon Strait is analyzed using observations and models. The dominant response to WSC is through simple Ekman pumping, while effects of β appear as the weaker second empirical orthogonal function mode. The Luzon Strait intrusion is shown to be largely deterministic using a model forced by realistic wind in the North Pacific Ocean, and it contributes significantly to the SSH variability in the NSCS. The WSC accounts for 62%, while intrusion 38% of the total forcing, but the latter alters the forced Rossby wave response. Without the intrusion, westward propagation is too fast, resulting in incorrect balance and erroneous annual SSH variability in the NSCS.

Some exact expressions for the temporal evolution of long Rossby waves on a beta-plane

Some exact expressions are derived to describe the temporal evolution of forced Rossby waves in a two-dimensional beta-plane configuration where the background flow has constant zonal-mean velocity. The meridional length scale of the problem is assumed to be small relative to the zonal length scale and so the long-wave limit of zero aspect ratio is taken. In the case where the background flow velocity is zero, an exact solution is obtained in terms of generalized hypergeometric functions. A late-time asymptotic approximation is obtained and it shows that the solution oscillates with time and its amplitude goes to zero in the limit of infinite time. In the case of a non-zero background flow velocity, the solution is evaluated using two different procedures which give two equivalent expressions in terms of different generalized hypergeometric functions. The late-time asymptotic behaviour is investigated and it is found that the solution approaches a steady state in the limit of infinite time.We also derive a solution in the form of an asymptotic series expansion for the more general situation where a Rossby wave packet is generated by a zonally-localized boundary condition comprising a continuous spectrum of wavenumbers or Fourier modes. The exact solutions found here can be used as leading-order solutions in weakly-nonlinear analyses and other studies involving more realistic configurations for time-dependent Rossby waves or wave packets.

Wind-Driven Seasonal Cycle of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

Abstract The dynamical processes governing the seasonal cycle of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) are studied using a variety of models, ranging from a simple forced Rossby wave model to an eddy-resolving ocean general circulation model. The AMOC variability is decomposed into Ekman and geostrophic transport components, which reveal that the seasonality of the AMOC is determined by both components in the extratropics and dominated by the Ekman transport in the tropics. The physics governing the seasonal fluctuations of the AMOC are explored in detail at three latitudes (26.5°N, 6°N, and 34.5°S). While the Ekman transport is directly related to zonal wind stress seasonality, the comparison between different numerical models shows that the geostrophic transport involves a complex oceanic adjustment to the wind forcing. The oceanic adjustment is further evaluated by separating the zonally integrated geostrophic transport into eastern and western boundary currents and interior flows. The results indicate that the seasonal AMOC cycle in the extratropics is controlled mainly by local boundary effects, where either the western or eastern boundary can be dominant at different latitudes, while in the northern tropics it is the interior flow and its lagged compensation by the western boundary current that determine the seasonal AMOC variability.

The Lower-Stratospheric Response to 11-Yr Solar Forcing: Coupling to the Troposphere–Ocean Response

Abstract The origin of the tropical lower-stratospheric response to 11-yr solar forcing and its possible coupling to a troposphere–ocean response is investigated using multiple linear regression (MLR) analyses of stratospheric ozone and temperature data over the 1979–2009 period and tropospheric sea level pressure (SLP) data over the 1880–2009 period. Stratospheric MLR results, comparisons with simulations from a chemistry–climate model, and analyses of decadal variations of meridional eddy heat flux indicate that the tropical lower-stratospheric response is produced mainly by a solar-induced modulation of the Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC), with a secondary contribution from the Hadley circulation in the lowermost stratosphere. MLR analyses of long-term SLP data confirm previous results indicating a distinct positive response, on average, during the northern winter season in the North Pacific. The mean response in the Northern Hemisphere resembles a positive Arctic Oscillation mode and can also be characterized as “La Niña–like,” implying a reduction of Rossby wave forcing, a weakening of the BDC, and an increase in tropical lower-stratospheric ozone and temperature near solar maxima. However, MLR analyses of different time periods show that the Pacific SLP response is not always present during every cycle; it was most clearly detected mainly during the ~1938–93 period when 11-yr solar variability was especially strong. During the 1979–93 period, the SLP response was strongly present when the lower-stratospheric responses were large. But during the 1994–2009 period, the SLP response was much less significant and the lower-stratospheric responses were weak, supporting the hypothesis that the lower-stratospheric and surface climate responses are dynamically coupled.

Relaxing the Tropics to an ‘observed’ state: analysis using a simple baroclinic model

AbstractThe technique of relaxation of the tropical atmosphere towards an analysis in a month‐season forecast model has previously been successfully exploited in a number of contexts. Here it is shown that when tropical relaxation is used to investigate the possible origin of the observed anomalies in June–July 2007, a simple dynamical model is able to reproduce the observed component of the pattern of anomalies given by an ensemble of ECMWF forecast runs. Following this result, the simple model is used for a range of experiments on time‐scales of relaxation, variables and regions relaxed based on a control model run with equatorial heating in a zonal flow.A theory based on scale analysis for the large‐scale tropics is used to interpret the results. Typical relationships between scales are determined from the basic equations, and for a specified diabatic heating a chain of deductions for determining the dependent variables is derived. Different critical time‐scales are found for tropical relaxation of different dependent variables to be effective. Vorticity has the longest critical time‐scale, typically 1.2 days. For temperature and divergence, the time‐scales are 10 hours and 3 hours, respectively. However not all the tropical fields, in particular the vertical motion, are reproduced correctly by the model unless divergence is heavily damped. To obtain the correct extra‐tropical fields, it is crucial to have the correct rotational flow in the subtropics to initiate the Rossby wave propagation from there. It is sufficient to relax vorticity or temperature on a time‐scale comparable or less than their critical time‐scales to obtain this. However if the divergent advection of vorticity is important in the Rossby Wave Source then strong relaxation of divergence is required to accurately represent the tropical forcing of Rossby waves. Copyright © 2012 Royal Meteorological Society

Anomalous climatic conditions associated with the El Niño Modoki during boreal winter of 2009

The winter months from December 2009 to February 2010 witnessed extreme conditions affecting lives of millions of people around the globe. During this winter, the El Nino Modoki in the tropical Pacific was a dominant climatic mode. In this study, exclusive impacts of the El Nino Modoki are evaluated with an Atmospheric General Circulation Model. Sensitivity experiments are conducted by selectively specifying anomalies of the observed sea surface temperature in the tropical Pacific. Observed data are also used in the diagnostics to trace the source of forced Rossby waves. Both the observational results and the model simulated results show that the heating associated with the El Nino Modoki in the central tropical Pacific accounted for most of the anomalous conditions observed over southern parts of North America, Europe and over most countries in the Southern Hemisphere viz. Uruguay. Unlike those, the model-simulated results suggest that the anomalously high precipitation observed over Australia and Florida might be associated with the narrow eastern Pacific heating observed during the season.