Moist Enthalpy Research Articles

Agricultural Irrigation Exacerbates Humid Heat Stress in the Mid‐Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

AbstractMassive irrigation across eastern China (EC) could reduce extreme heat by altering energy and water budgets. However, the irrigation effect on increasing humidity has often been missed, especially in humid regions, leaving its effect and mechanism on extreme humid heat (EHH) poorly characterized. We analyzed assemblies of observations and performed regional simulations with more detailed irrigation scheme to explore the irrigation impacts and potential mechanisms on EHH. We find that irrigation in EC, despite having a cooling effect of about 0.2–0.6C, leads to an increase of about 0.4–0.8C in EHH, with a more intense impact on the Middle‐Lower Yangtze Plain (MLYP) by 0.9C. Cooling effect induced by increased latent heat fluxes through irrigation contributes to air deposition, which lowers boundary layer height, raises near‐surface moist enthalpy, and ultimately exacerbates the EHH. Results mechanistically emphasized irrigation impacts on EHH and highlighted the necessity of improving irrigation modeling reality.

Hysteresis of European summer precipitation under a symmetric CO2 ramp-up and ramp-down pathway

This study investigates the mechanism of the hysteresis of European summer mean precipitation in a CO2 removal (CDR) simulation. The European summer mean precipitation exhibits robust hysteresis in response to the CO2 forcing; after decreasing substantially (∼40%) during the ramp-up period, it shows delayed recovery during the ramp-down period. We found that the precipitation hysteresis over Europe is tied to the hysteresis in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). During the ramp-down period, an anomalous high surface pressure circulation prevails over Europe. The anomalous high pressure system is a baroclinic response of the atmosphere to strong North Atlantic cooling associated with a weakened AMOC. This anomalous circulation suppresses summertime convective activity over the entire Europe by decreasing near-surface moist enthalpy in Central and Northern Europe while increasing lower free-tropospheric temperature in Southern Europe. Our findings underscore the need to understand complex interactions in the Earth system for reliable future projections of regional precipitation change under CDR scenarios.

On the persistence and related mechanisms for day–night compound humid heat extremes in the Northern Hemisphere

Hot extremes pose adverse impacts on human health and ecosystem, leading to aggravated damage when they combine high-humidity and occur in the both daytime and nighttime. Although considerable studies have focused on hot extremes, understandings about day–night Compound humid heat (quantified by Moist Enthalpy) Extremes (CMEEs) are still lacking. This work investigates their frequency, linear trends and temporal persistence in the Northern Hemisphere, and two typical vulnerable regions are selected as Central Europe (CE) and the Arabian Peninsula (AP), both exhibiting high frequency and positive trends, but with contrasting persistence, which is quantified by the bivariate Dynamical System method. Results reveal their regional dependence and physical processes: the dual importance of sensible and latent heat in CE is attributed to the combination of an anomalous anticyclone and evaporation, whereas the dominance of latent heat in AP is largely owing to the convective precipitation. CMEEs in AP can be further divided into two groups with distinct persistence, and this disparity actually depends on the preceding precipitation duration and its associated water vapor supply.

The contrast responses of August precipitation over Northeast China to strong and moderate developing El Niño

Northeast China (NEC), which is identified as China's largest granary, has the biggest interannual variability in precipitation in August, which is low on predictive skill. El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the prime source of climate predictability and its temporal evolution is critical to improving the forecasting of summer NEC precipitation. At present, the impacts of a developing-ENSO on August NEC precipitation are unclear. Hence, this study investigates the complex relationship between a developing-ENSO and NEC precipitation in August. The results show that a strong (moderate) developing-El Niño can lead to positive (negative) August precipitation anomalies over NEC, while a neutral ENSO or La Niña have a weak influence on NEC August precipitation. Specifically, a strong developing-El Niño can cause cyclonic/southerly anomalies over NEC by stimulating northwestward wave propagation in the lower troposphere and Circumglobal Teleconnection (CGT) in the upper troposphere. While in a moderate developing-El Niño, the opposite CGT results in anticyclonic/northerly anomalies over NEC; and the warming Indian Ocean associated with the moderate developing-El Niño could excite Pacific-Japan patten. Consequently, southerly (northerly) anomalies can generate positive (negative) anomalous advection of climatological moist enthalpy in a strong (moderate) developing-El Niño, which then contributes to ascending (descending) motion and positive (negative) precipitation anomalies. However, in the neutral ENSO and La Niña phases, the zonal or weak meridional wind anomalies cannot exert a great influence on NEC precipitation in August. The complex relationship between August precipitation over NEC and developing ENSO can be well reproduced by numerical simulations, which demonstrate the robustness of the proposed physical mechanism.

Influence of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation on Winter Temperatures and Precipitation Over the Southern Tibetan Plateau

AbstractWe used observational data and a long‐term piControl simulation from the Community Earth System Model Version 2 to investigate the influence of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) on the winter climate over the Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that changes in the phase of the PDO have a significant effect on winter temperatures and precipitation over the southern Tibetan Plateau. Changes in the sea surface temperature (SST) during the positive PDO can weaken the Walker circulation and increase the SST in the Indian Ocean. Our analyses of the moist static energy showed that warming of the tropical troposphere over the Indian Ocean caused by the increased SST has resulted in the horizontal advection of anomalous moist enthalpy by the climatological zonal winds, which was responsible for anomalous ascending motion over the Tibetan Plateau. The additional moisture budget suggests that enhanced vertical motion contributes to the increase in winter precipitation and related total cloud cover over the Tibetan Plateau, leading to the increase of snow depth. The increased total cloud cover and snow depth, in turn, reduces net surface shortwave radiation. The surface air temperature of the Tibetan Plateau is then decreased as a result of the reduction in the net surface shortwave radiation. The PDO therefore has an important modulating role in the interdecadal variability of the winter climate over the Tibetan Plateau. We therefore need to focus on changes in the PDO in research related to the decadal prediction of the climate over the Tibetan Plateau.

Irrigated Agriculture Significantly Modifies Seasonal Boundary Layer Atmosphere and Lower-Tropospheric Convective Environment

Abstract Modification of grasslands into irrigated and nonirrigated agriculture in the Great Plains resulted in significant impacts on weather and climate. However, there has been lack of observational data–based studies solely focused on impacts of irrigation on the PBL and convective conditions. The Great Plains Irrigation Experiment (GRAINEX), conducted during the 2018 growing season, collected data over irrigated and nonirrigated land uses over Nebraska to understand these impacts. Specifically, the objective was to determine whether the impacts of irrigation are sustained throughout the growing season. The data analyzed include latent and sensible heat flux, air temperature, dewpoint temperature, equivalent temperature (moist enthalpy), PBL height, lifting condensation level (LCL), level of free convection (LFC), and PBL mixing ratio. Results show increased partitioning of energy into latent heat relative to sensible heat over irrigated areas while average maximum air temperature was decreased and dewpoint temperature was increased from the early to peak growing season. Radiosonde data suggest reduced planetary boundary layer (PBL) heights at all launch sites from the early to peak growing season. However, reduction of PBL height was much greater over irrigated areas than over nonirrigated croplands. Relative to the early growing period, LCL and LFC heights were also lower during the peak growing period over irrigated areas. Results note, for the first time, that the impacts of irrigation on PBL evolution and convective environment can be sustained throughout the growing season and regardless of background atmospheric conditions. These are important findings and applicable to other irrigated areas in the world. Significance Statement To meet the ever-increasing demand for food, many regions of the world have adopted widespread irrigation. The High Plains Aquifer (HPA) region, located within the Great Plains of the United States, is one of the most extensively irrigated regions. In this study, for the first time, we have conducted a detailed irrigation-focused land surface and atmospheric data collection campaign to determine irrigation impacts on the atmosphere. This research demonstrates that irrigation significantly alters lower atmospheric characteristics and creates favorable cloud and convection development conditions during the growing season. The results clearly show first-order impacts of irrigation on regional weather and climate and hence warrant further attention so that we can minimize negative impacts and achieve sustainable irrigation.

Different mechanisms of air temperature anomalies in the Yangtze River between early and late summer

The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (MLRYR) exhibit notable interannual variability in seasonal-mean air temperature amid ongoing global warming. This study elucidates the specific mechanisms governing anomalous air temperatures during early (June) and late summer (July to August) in the MLRYR. Early summer temperatures arise from anomalous sinking driven by negative anomalies in moist enthalpy advection in the lower troposphere, as a response to warm sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in the tropical western Pacific. This induces a low-level cyclone anomaly over Southeast Asia, reducing specific humidity and determining anomalous vertical motion over the MLRYR. In contrast, late summer temperatures are induced by mid-upper tropospheric descending anomalies over the MLRYR. The combined influence of SSTA in the western Pacific and North Atlantic sustains warmer air by reinforcing a barotropic anticyclone over North China through a mid-latitude wave train. Subsequent anomalous negative potential vorticity advection in the upper troposphere strengthens sinking motion over the MLRYR. The seasonal evolution of the East Asian summer monsoon and SSTA is pivotal in the distinct mechanisms governing warmer air temperatures over the MLRYR. While numerical experiments capture general features, the regulation of SSTA is subject to uncertainty due to the atmospheric intrinsic patterns. This research distinguishes predictability sources of air temperature anomalies over the MLRYR between early and late summer, emphasizing the combined influence of SSTA beyond the ENSO domain on East Asian climate.

Resilience of Amazon rainfall to CO2 removal forcing

Over the Amazon region, rainfall-induced changes to CO2 pathways significantly impact humans and multiple ecosystems. Its resilience is of vital importance, and idealized CO2 removal experiments indicate that declining trends in rainfall amounts are irreversible and exhibit a deficiency when the CO2 concentration returns to the pre-industrial level. The irreversible decline in Amazon rainfall is mainly due to the weakened ascent, further led by two main causes. (1) Enhanced tropospheric warming and a wetter atmospheric boundary layer over the tropics during CO2 removal generate a strong meridional gradient of temperature and specific humidity; driven by prevailing northeasterly winds, negative moist enthalpy advection occurs, which in turn weakens the ascent over the Amazon and results in anomalous drought. (2) The enhanced radiative cooling of atmospheric column. Driven by the negative lapse-rate feedback, the outgoing longwave radiative flux increases in the clear-sky atmosphere. As a result, the anomalous diabatic descent generates to maintain the energy balance of the atmospheric column. This result implies that the symmetric removal of CO2 does not guarantee full recovery of regional precipitation.

Impact of May atmospheric latent heating over the Southeast Asian low-latitude highlands on interannual variability in the Meiyu onset date

The Yangtze-Huai River Basin (YHRB) is an economically developed area and one of the most densely populated regions in China. Based on ERA5 reanalysis and Meiyu monitoring data, this study investigates the relationship between interannual variability in atmospheric latent heating (LH) over the Southeast Asian low-latitude highlands (SEALLH) during early summer and the Meiyu onset date (MOD) in the YHRB. The mean MOD is 9 June, with a quasi-6-year interannual oscillation period. A stronger early summer LH over the SEALLH coincides with earlier MOD; below 500 hPa, LH increases with height and drives an anomalous southwesterly airflow from the Bay of Bengal (BOB) to the SEALLH via β effects. Circulation over the western North Pacific (WNP) is dominated by an anomalous anticyclone, causing the WNP subtropical high (WNPSH) to extend westward and northward. Continuous positive LH anomalies over the SEALLH cause anomalous southwesterly winds to transport moist enthalpy air masses from low latitudes into the YHRB, resulting in abnormal convergence there. Favorable dynamic and thermal conditions drive enhanced precipitation over the YHRB, eventually leading to a MOD that is 13 days earlier than that during periods when early summer LH is relatively weak over the SEALLH. This result potentially supports our capacity to predict the Meiyu in the YHRB.

Diagnosis of Warm-Sector Heavy Rainfall with Warm Shear in the Yangtze–Huaihe Coastal Areas from the Perspective of Moist Static Energy

Based on the Climate Precipitation Center Morphing (CMORPH) precipitation data and the fifth-generation ECMWF reanalysis (ERA5) data, moist static energy (MSE) diagnosis for 14 cases of southerly warm-sector heavy rainfall with warm shear (WSWR) along the Yangtze-Huaihe coastal area (YHCA) was conducted. The results indicate that the vertically integrated MSE tendency peaks before the precipitation reaches its maximum. This suggests a rapid MSE accumulation leading up to precipitation onset, with moist enthalpy advection dominantly influencing this increase. The vertical advection of MSE is negative, suggesting that upward motions and rainfall play a crucial role in consuming MSE. Vertical integrated MSE budget analysis for the nine cases of nocturnal rain shows that moist enthalpy advection was the primary contributor, driven mainly by meridional latent energy advection. Scale analysis shows that the combination of meridional disturbance wind and the mean specific humidity field results in pronounced meridional latent energy advection. For the five cases of non-nocturnal rain, the net energy flux was dominant before the onset of precipitation, primarily driven by clear-sky net shortwave radiation (SWCS). The meridional internal energy advection also makes a substantial contribution. The scale analysis indicates that the combined effects of the meridional disturbance wind and the average temperature field lead to significant meridional internal energy advection.

Regimes of Soil Moisture–Wet-Bulb Temperature Coupling with Relevance to Moist Heat Stress

Abstract Human heat stress depends jointly on atmospheric temperature and humidity. Wetter soils reduce temperature but also raise humidity, making the collective impact on heat stress unclear. To better understand these interactions, we use ERA5 to examine the coupling between daily average soil moisture and wet-bulb temperature (Tw) and its seasonal and diurnal cycle at global scale. We identify a global soil moisture–Tw coupling pattern with both widespread negative and positive correlations in contrast to the well-established cooling effect of wet soil on dry-bulb temperature. Regions showing positive correlations closely resemble previously identified land–atmosphere coupling hotspots where soil moisture effectively controls surface energy partition. Soil moisture–Tw coupling varies seasonally closely tied to monsoon development, and the positive coupling is slightly stronger and more widespread during nighttime. Local-scale analysis demonstrates a nonlinear structure of soil moisture–Tw coupling with stronger coupling under relatively dry soils. Hot days with high Tw values show wetter-than-normal soil, anomalous high latent and low sensible heat flux from a cooler surface, and a shallower boundary layer. This supports the hypothesis that wetter soil increases Tw by concentrating surface moist enthalpy flux within a shallower boundary layer and reducing free-troposphere-air entrainment. We identify areas of particular interest for future studies on the physical mechanisms of soil moisture–heat stress coupling. Our findings suggest that increasing soil moisture might amplify heat stress over large portions of the world including several densely populated areas. These results also raise questions about the effectiveness of evaporative cooling strategies in ameliorating urban heat stress. Significance Statement The purpose of this study is to provide a global picture of the relationship between soil moisture anomalies and a heat stress metric that includes the joint effects of temperature and humidity. This is important because a better understanding of this relationship will help improve the prediction of extreme heat stress events and inform strategies for ameliorating heat stress. We find a widespread positive correlation between soil moisture and heat stress, in contrast to studies relying on temperature alone. This raises the possibility that, over much of the world, and in the most populous regions, strategies like irrigation or “greening” that can reduce temperature might be ineffective or even harmful in reducing heat stress with humidity incorporated.

Thermodynamic and dynamic effects of anomalous dragon boat water over South China in 2022

In 2022, persistent extreme precipitation events occurred during the Dragon Boat Water (DBW) period (May to June) over South China, with rainfall-breaking historical extremes at many stations. In this study, the relative importance of the thermodynamic and dynamic effects on this anomalous event was explored through budget equations of moisture and moist static energy (MSE). The moisture budget analysis suggests that the thermodynamic effect contributes to the precipitation anomaly by less than 10% through the advection of abnormal moisture by mean horizontal and vertical motion. However, the dynamic effect, associated with the mean moisture advection by anomalous vertical motion, makes the largest contribution. This seems to imply that the increase in water vapor due to global warming does not play a critical role in this extreme event. Nevertheless, further analysis of the MSE budget equation reveals that the anomalous vertical motion is governed by both the dynamical effect of atmospheric circulation changes and the thermodynamic effect of atmospheric thermal state changes. The thermodynamic effect, which accounts for 47.21% of the total effect (sum of the thermodynamic and dynamic effects), is caused by anomalous moist enthalpy (mainly dry enthalpy) advection due to the mean horizontal motion. In contrast, the dynamical effect is related to the warm and humid air advection caused by the anomalous southwest wind caused by the anomalous anticyclone over the northwest Pacific. Simultaneously, the anomalous northeast wind brings dry cold air, resulting in the convergence of cold and warm air over the Pearl River basin and persistent heavy rainfall events. The results of this study provide valuable insights into the direct and indirect physical mechanisms leading to anomalous DBW period over South China in 2022.

Formation Mechanism of the ENSO-Independent Summer Western North Pacific Anomalous Anticyclone

Abstract The western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone (WNPAC) is the key circulation modulating the East Asian summer climate. In this study, the formation mechanism of the summer WNPAC that is independent of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is investigated. Although ENSO has a significant relationship with WNPAC, except for the super El Niño years, the WNPAC index remains almost unchanged after removing ENSO’s impact, suggesting the possibility of other origins of the WNPAC apart from ENSO. An Atlantic-to-Pacific two-step mechanism is proposed for the formation of ENSO-independent summer WNPAC. In boreal spring, diabatic heating induced by the positive sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) over the tropical Atlantic could stimulate a stationary equivalent barotropic Rossby wave train that travels across the Eurasian continent and ends in the tropical North Pacific. At the end of the Rossby wave train, the lower-level anomalous anticyclone advects negative moist enthalpy into the equator, which suppresses the local convection over the tropical North Pacific and equatorial central Pacific, and thus triggers the lower-level equatorial easterly anomaly to its west. During boreal summer, the lower-level easterly anomaly leads to the zonal dipole SSTA pattern with a negative center in the tropical central Pacific and a positive one in the Maritime Continent. Then, this dipole SSTA pattern over the Pacific exerts a relaying effect that further reinforces and westward shifts the dipole convection anomaly pattern, generating the WNPAC as a Gill-type response. This study underpins the independent role of Atlantic oceanic forcing through the extratropical route in the formation of ENSO-independent summer WNPAC. Significance Statement By linearly removing ENSO’s impact on summer monthly sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs), this study explores the sources of summer western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone (WNPAC) apart from ENSO. It is found that the high correlation between WNPAC and ENSO largely depends on the super El Niño events, and the origin of the ENSO-independent WNPAC is rooted in the tropical Atlantic oceanic forcing. The positive tropical Atlantic SSTAs in spring can independently induce atmospheric teleconnection from the North Atlantic to the North Pacific through the extratropical route, which triggers anomalous easterlies over the equatorial Pacific via suppressed local convection caused by the dry air advection over the North Pacific. The equatorial easterlies enhance the dipole anomalous SST and convection pattern over the Maritime Continent and tropical western/central Pacific in summer, which finally stimulates the WNPAC. The result emphasizes the independent role of tropical Atlantic SSTAs in the formation of summer WNPAC, thus providing a new perspective for the seasonal prediction of East Asian summer climate.

Different mechanisms for the extremely hot central-eastern China in July–August 2022 from a Eurasian large-scale circulation perspective

In July and August of 2022, unprecedented and long-lasting heatwaves attacked central and eastern China (CEC); and the most affected area was in the Yangtze River (YR) basin. The extreme heatwaves and associated drought and wildfire had significant social impacts, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Observational analysis indicates that the heatwaves were regulated by anomalous anticyclone in the mid-upper troposphere over northern CEC. Specifically, the easterly anomalies at the southern flank of the anticyclone caused air isentropic sliding and transported low moist enthalpy (cold and dry) air to the YR basin, contributing to anomalous sinking motions and extreme heatwaves. In comparison, heatwaves were more serious in August than in July due to stronger upper-level anomalous anticyclone and associated easterlies. Importantly, different mechanisms were responsible for the heatwaves in the two months. In July, the relatively weaker anticyclonic anomaly over northern CEC was dominated by the forcing of diabatic heating over northwestern South Asia (NWSA), corresponding with the record-breaking rainfall in and around Pakistan. In August, a powerful anticyclonic condition for the CEC heatwaves originated from an extreme silk road pattern (SRP), superposing the effect of NWSA diabatic heating due to persistent downpour. We notice that another upstream anticyclonic node in the SRP also created heatwaves in Europe. Therefore, the CEC extreme heat was actually associated with other concurrent extremes over the Eurasian continent through large-scale atmospheric teleconnections in 2022.

The Physical Processes Dominating the Impact of the Summer North Atlantic Oscillation on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau Summer Rainfall

Abstract The summer North Atlantic Oscillation (SNAO), an important climate signal in regulating the interannual variability of Tibetan Plateau (TP) summer rainfall, is closely related to a meridional precipitation dipole pattern between the southeastern and northeastern TP. In this study, based on diagnoses of observations and multiple realizations of the CESM2 historical simulation, we find that there are fundamental differences between the formation processes dominating the SNAO-related summer rainfall anomaly in the southeastern and northeastern TP. An atmospheric moisture budget analysis reveals that the anomalous vertical (horizontal) moisture advection makes the largest contribution to the southeastern (northeastern) TP summer rainfall anomaly. During the negative phase of SNAO, the increased precipitation in the southeastern TP is related to the anomalous ascending flows, which are driven by two processes according to the moist static energy budget. The first is the southward shift of the subtropical westerly jet stream, which produces positive anomalous zonal advection of the climatological moist enthalpy in the upper-middle troposphere over the southeastern TP. The second is related to the enhanced transport of anomalous warm moist air to the south of TP, which produces positive anomalous meridional advection of anomalous moist enthalpy into the lower troposphere over the southeastern TP under the control of climatological monsoonal meridional circulations. This positive moist enthalpy advection enhances the atmospheric moist static energy and facilitate enhanced local convection. For the northeastern TP, the decreased precipitation is dominated by negative anomalous horizontal moisture advections due to the SNAO-induced equivalent-barotropic anomalous cyclone near the eastern edge of the TP.

Role of the Climatological North Pacific High in the North Tropical Atlantic–ENSO Connection

Abstract Observational and climate model analysis showed that the anomalous sea surface temperature in the north tropical Atlantic (NTA) in boreal spring can trigger El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the subsequent winter. Similarly, the climate models participating in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) are known to reasonably simulate the NTA effect. Nevertheless, the strengths of the NTA effect on ENSO among the climate models are also diverse. In this light, we revisited the possible causes that contributed to the different NTA effects on ENSO in the CMIP5 climate models. We found that the strength of the NTA triggering ENSO in the climate model tended to be proportional to the intensity of the climatological subtropical North Pacific high system in boreal spring. The stronger climatological subtropical North Pacific high accompanied enhanced trade wind, precipitation reduction, and cold sea surface temperature over the subtropics. Under these conditions, the moist static energy feedback process, also known as the moist enthalpy advection mechanism, effectively operated around the Pacific intertropical convergence zone. That is, the NTA-induced signals in the subtropical North Pacific readily intruded into the deep tropical Pacific with the aid of the feedback processes, leading to an ENSO event. Consistent with the CMIP5 analysis results, the observed NTA effect on ENSO became stronger during the decades when the climatological North Pacific subtropical high intensified, underpinning the importance of climatology in the subtropical North Pacific in the NTA–ENSO connection.

Kelvin and Rossby Wave Contributions to the Mechanisms of the Madden–Julian Oscillation

The Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a large-scale tropical weather system that generates heavy rainfall over the equatorial Indian and western Pacific Oceans on a 40–50 day cycle. Its circulation propagates eastward around the entire world and impacts tropical cyclone genesis, monsoon onset, and mid-latitude flooding. This study examines the mechanism of the MJO in the Lagrangian atmospheric model (LAM), which has been shown to simulate the MJO accurately, and which predicts that MJO circulations will intensify as oceans warm. The LAM MJO’s first baroclinic circulation is projected onto a Kelvin wave leaving a residual that closely resembles a Rossby wave. The contribution of each wave type to moisture and moist enthalpy budgets is assessed. While the vertical advection of moisture by the Kelvin wave accounts for most of the MJO’s precipitation, this wave also exports a large amount of dry static energy, so that in total, it reduces the column integrated moist enthalpy during periods of heavy precipitation. In contrast, the Rossby wave’s horizontal circulation builds up moisture prior to the most intense convection, and its surface wind perturbations enhance evaporation near the center of MJO convection. Surface fluxes associated with the Kelvin wave help to maintain its circulation outside of the MJO’s convectively active region.

Maintenance of Western North Pacific Anomalous Anticyclone in Boreal Summer by Wind-Induced Moist Enthalpy Advection Mechanism

Abstract The western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone (WNPAC) is the most important interannual circulation anomaly over the western Pacific warm pool. It can persist from boreal winter to the following summer and has great impacts on the East Asian monsoon. The maintenance of the WNPAC in boreal summer was explained by Ekman divergence anomalies over the western North Pacific (WNP) induced by the equatorial easterly Kelvin waves from the tropical Indian Ocean and the Maritime Continent. In this study, we propose a new mechanism for the maintenance of the WNPAC in the season, which we refer to as the “wind-induced moist enthalpy advection” (WIMEA) mechanism. Warm anomalies over the tropical Indian Ocean enhance local deep convection and thus excite atmospheric easterly Kelvin waves to the east. Climatological moist enthalpy decreases eastward over the WNP due to the local northward extension of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) with the establishment of the WNP summer monsoon. Hence, the easterly anomalies transport low moist enthalpy (dry) air westward to the WNP. The induced negative moist enthalpy advection anomalies drive downward motion anomalies and thus suppress deep convection over the WNP under the constraint of the moist static energy budget balance. This moist teleconnection mechanism does not rely on Ekman processes. Numerical experiments using a dry linear baroclinic model indicate that the WIMEA and the conventional Kelvin wave–induced Ekman divergence mechanism have nearly equal relative contributions to the maintenance of the summer WNPAC, with the former mainly driven by the enhanced convection over the tropical Indian Ocean, while the latter is driven by that over the Maritime Continent.

The early Oligocene establishment of modern topography and plant diversity on the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

Quantifying the interactions between topography, climate and plant diversity within one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, remains elusive due to few reliable quantitative paleoelevation reconstructions, precise geological age constraints and well-preserved plant fossils. The Lühe Basin, on the southeastern margin of Tibetan Plateau has yielded abundant plant fossils with a U-Pb age of 33–32 Ma, providing an opportunity to estimate the elevation of this region and plant diversity at that time. Fossil leaf physiognomy was used to reconstruct the paleoclimate and the paleoelevation of the basin was derived from moist enthalpy. The results show that the Lühe Basin, had attained it's present elevation (1.7 ± 0.9 km) by the early Oligocene and, compared to now, experienced a humid subtropical climate with a wetter dry season and lower precipitation seasonality in an overall wetter precipitation regime (1748.5 ± 606 mm). This was accompanied by a greater seasonal range in temperature, although the mean annual temperature (14.9 ± 2.3 °C) was similar to that of today (15.6 °C). Combined with previous studies, we conclude that the appearance of the modern flora across the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau had started by the early Oligocene, corresponding with the establishment of modern topography at that time. • The Lühe flora dominated by Fagaceae and Betulaceae is similar to modern vegetation around the fossil locality. • The Lühe Basin had attained its present elevation (1.7 ± 0.9 km) by the early Oligocene. • The topography and modern flora in the SE margin of Tibetan Plateau had been established by the early Oligocene.

Drying tendency over the southern slope of the Tibetan Plateau in recent decades: role of a CGT-like atmospheric change

A significant drying tendency over the southern slope of the Tibetan Plateau (SSTP) in summer (especially in July–September) during 1980–2018 is identified in this study. Moisture budget analysis reveals that the drying tendency is dominated by a decreased vertical moisture advection due to weakened upward motion, which is mainly resulted from an anticyclonic trend appeared over the northeastern TP. This anomalous anticyclone can weaken the upper-tropospheric divergence pumping over the SSTP. In addition, moist static energy diagnosis indicates that the southern branch of the anomalous anticyclone advects low moist enthalpy air into the SSTP, which also suppresses local upward motion and convection. Moreover, the anticyclonic trend over the northeastern TP is found not a local phenomenon, but is rather associated with the large-scale atmospheric change in the middle latitudes that shows a circumglobal teleconnection (CGT)-like pattern. Our results highlight that the long-term CGT-like trend of atmospheric circulation plays a crucial role in triggering the drying tendency over the SSTP in recent decades.