This paper summarizes the research results obtained by Chinese scientists and/or through international collaborations in 2006—2008.Specifically,this paper focus on the research fields in the middle and upper atmosphere,including developments in facilities and instruments,and the advancements in scientific issues.
Based on the ERA-40 reanalysis data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the output of ECHAM5/MPI-OM, this study investigated the interactions between the quasi-stationary planetary wave (SPW) and mean flow, and their responses to El Ni o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events in the northern hemispheric stratosphere. Results show that the activity of SPW is the strongest in winter, when the SPW propagates along the polar waveguide into the stratosphere and along the low-latitude waveguide to the subtropical tropopause. The analysis of three dimensional SPW structure indicates that the main sources of SPW activity are located over the Eurasian continent and the North Pacific north of 45°N. On the one hand, the two waveguides of the SPW reflect the influence of mean flow on the propagation of the SPW. On the other hand, the upward propagating SPW can interact with the stratospheric mean flow, leading to deceleration of the zonal mean westerly. Furthermore, the SPW exhibits clear responses to ENSO events. During El Ni o winters, the SPW in the stratosphere tends to propagate more upward and poleward. Its interactions with mean flow can induce a dipole pattern in zonal mean zonal winds, with accelerated westerly winds at low-middle latitudes and decelerated westerly winds at high latitudes. The ECHAM5/MPI-OM model reproduces the climatology of the SPW well. Although the simulated SPW is slightly weaker than the observations in the stratosphere, the model's performance has significant improvements compared with other GCMs used in previous studies. However, there are still some problems in the responses of the SPW to ENSO in the model. Although the model reproduces the responses of both the amplitude and the SPW-mean flow interactions to ENSO well in the troposphere, the stratospheric responses are quite weak. Therefore, further studies are needed to improve the simulation of the stratospheric atmospheric circulation and related dynamical processes.
Defining the intensity of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) with a simple index has been a difficult task. This paper elaborates on the meanings of 18 existing EAWM strength indices and classifies them into four categories: low level wind indices, upper zonal wind shear indices, east-west pressure contrast indices, and East Asian trough indices. The temporal/spatial performance and prediction potential of these indices are then analyzed for the 1957-2001 period. It reveals that on the decadal timescale, most indices except the east-west pressure contrast indices can well capture the continuous weakening of the EAWM around 1986. On the interannual timescale, the low level wind indices and East Asian trough indices have the best predictability based on knowledge of the El Nio-Southern Oscillation and Arctic Oscillation, respectively. All the 18 existing indices can well describe the EAWM-related circulation, precipitation, and lower tropospheric air temperature anomalies. However, the variations of surface air temperature over large areas of central China cannot be well captured by most indices, which is possibly related to topographic effects. The results of this study may provide a possible reference for future studies of the EAWM.
