Abstract
This study analyzes the variability of northern Eurasian snow cover (SC) in autumn and the impacts of atmospheric circulation changes. The region of large SC variability displays a southward shift from September to November, following the seasonal progression of the transition zones of surface air temperature (SAT). The dominant pattern of SC variability in September and October features a zonal distribution, and that in November displays an obvious west–east contrast. Surface air cooling and snowfall increase are two factors for larger SC. The relative contribution of SAT and snowfall changes to SC, however, varies with the region and depends upon the season. The downward longwave radiation and atmospheric heat advection play important roles in SAT changes. Anomalous convergence of water vapor flux contributes to enhanced snowfall. The changes in downward longwave radiation are associated with those in atmospheric water content and column thickness. Changes in snowfall and the transport of atmospheric moisture determine the atmospheric moisture content in September and October, and the snowfall appears to be a main factor for atmospheric moisture change in November. These results indicate that atmospheric circulation changes play an important role in snow variability over northern Eurasia in autumn. Overall, the coupling between autumn Eurasian snow and atmospheric circulation may not be driven by external forcing.
摘要
欧亚中高纬度雪盖的变化能影响印度夏季风和东亚夏季气候变异. 秋季欧亚雪盖对冬季北极涛动这一北半球重要气候系统的变化可能是一个贡献因子. 因此,研究秋季欧亚地区雪盖的变化及其因子对理解随后季节欧亚的气候变异会有重要帮助. 香港中文大学的叶坤辉博士和大气物理研究所的吴仁广教授近年来致力于研究秋季欧亚地区雪盖变异,以提高对欧亚积雪变化的因子和其对冬季北极涛动影响的理解. 他们的研究表明,降雪和地面气温对欧亚积雪的变化都有贡献. 其影响的途径和重要性在不同地区是不一样的. 进一步分析揭示伴随的表面热通量和大气环流变化. 大气中的水汽输送和其辐合辐散对于降雪和长波辐射的变化有重要作用. 向下的异常长波辐射和异常风温度平流共同引起表面温度的变化. 他们的研究结果说明大气环流和与之相联系的地面状况变化是秋季欧亚积雪变化的基本因子. 这使得秋季欧亚积雪异常和其气候影响的预报变得复杂.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Allen, R. J., and C. S. Zender, 2011: Forcing of the arctic oscillation by Eurasian snow cover. J. Climate, 24(24), 6528–6539, doi: 10.1175/2011JCLI4157.1.
Bamzai, A. S., and J. Shukla, 1999: Relation between Eurasian snow cover, snow depth, and the Indian summer monsoon: An observational study. J. Climate, 12, 3117–3132, doi: 10.1175/1520-0442(1999)012<3117:RBESCS>2.0.CO;2.
Barnett, T. P., L. Dümenil, U. Schlese, E. Roeckner, and M. Latif, 1989: The effect of Eurasian snow cover on regional and global climate variations. J. Atmos. Sci., 46(5), 661–686, doi: 10.1175/1520-0469(1989)046<0661:TEOESC>2.0.CO;2.
Barnston, A. G., and R. E. Livezey, 1987: Classification, seasonality and persistence of low-frequency atmospheric circulation patterns. Mon. Wea. Rev., 115, 1083–1126.
Brodzik, M., and R. Armstrong, 2013: Northern Hemisphere EASE-Grid 2.0 Weekly Snow Cover and Sea Ice Extent, Version 4. NASA DAAC at the National Snow and Ice Data Center-Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Chen, L. T., and R. G. Wu, 2000: Interannual and decadal variations of snow cover over Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and their relationships to summer monsoon rainfall in China. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 17(1), 18–30, doi: 10.1007/s00376-000-0040-7.
Clark, M. P., M. C. Serreze, and D. A. Robinson, 1999: Atmospheric controls on Eurasian snow extent. International Journal of Climatology, 19, 27–40, doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0088 (199901)19:1<27::AID-JOC346>3.0.CO;2-N.
Cohen, J., and D. Rind, 1991: The effect of snow cover on the climate. J. Climate, 4(7), 689–706, doi: 10.1175/1520-0442 (1991)004<0689:teosco>2.0.co;2.
Cohen, J., and D. Entekhabi, 1999: Eurasian snow cover variability and Northern Hemisphere climate predictability. Geophys. Res. Lett., 26(3), 345–348, doi: 10.1029/1998GL900321.
Cohen, J., and D. Entekhabi, 2001: The influence of snow cover on Northern Hemisphere climate variability. Atmosphere-Ocean, 39(1), 35–53, doi: 10.1080/07055900.2001.9649665.
Cohen, J., J. C. Furtado, J. Jones, M. Barlow, D. Whittleston, and D. Entekhabi, 2014: Linking Siberian snow cover to precursors of stratospheric variability. J Climate, 27, 5422–5432, doi: 10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00779.1.
Dash, S. K., G. P. Singh, M. S. Shekhar, and A. D. Vernekar, 2005: Response of the Indian summer monsoon circulation and rainfall to seasonal snow depth anomaly over Eurasia. Climate Dyn., 24, 1–10, doi: 10.1007/s00382-004-0448-3.
Fasullo, J., 2004: A stratified diagnosis of the Indian monsoon–Eurasian snow cover relationship. J. Climate, 17, 1110–1122, doi: 10.1175/1520-0442(2004)017<1110:ASDOTI>2.0.CO;2.
Gong, G., D. Entekhabi, and J. Cohen, 2003: Modeled Northern Hemisphere winter climate response to realistic Siberian snow anomalies. J. Climate, 16(23), 3917–3931, doi: 10.1175/1520-0442(2003)016<3917:MNHWCR>2.0.CO;2.
Gong, G., D. Entekhabi, and J. Cohen, 2004: Orographic constraints on a modeled Siberian snow tropospheric stratospheric teleconnection pathway. J. Climate, 17(6), 1176–1189, doi: 10.1175/1520-0442(2004)017<1176:OCOAMS> 2.0.CO;2.
Gutzler, D. S., and R. D. Rosen, 1992: Interannual variability of wintertime snow cover across the Northern Hemisphere. J. Climate, 5, 1441–1447, doi: 10.1175/1520-0442(1992)005<1441:IVOWSC>2.0.CO;2.
Hay, L. E., M. P. Clark, R. L. Wilby, W. J. Gutowski, G. H. Leavesley, Z. Pan, R. W. Arritt, and E. S. Takle, 2002: Use of regional climate model output for hydrologic simulations. Journal of Hydrometeorology, 3, 571–590.
Henderson, G. R., and D. J. Leathers, 2010: European snow cover extent variability and associations with atmospheric forcings. International Journal of Climatology, 30, 1440–1451, doi: 10.1002/joc.1990.
Henderson, G. R., D. J. Leathers, and B. Hanson, 2013: Circulation response to Eurasian versus north American anomalous snow scenarios in the northern hemisphere with an AGCM coupled to a slab ocean model. J. Climate, 26, 1502–1515, doi: 10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00465.1.
Iijima, Y., K. Masuda, and T. Ohata, 2007: Snow disappearance in Eastern Siberia and its relationship to atmospheric influences. International Journal of Climatology, 27, 169–177, doi: 10.1002/joc.1382.
Kim, Y., K.-Y. Kim, and B.-M. Kim, 2013: Physical mechanisms of European winter snow cover variability and its relationship to the NAO. Climate Dyn., 40, 1657–1669, doi: 10.1007/s00382-012-1365-5.
Kobayashi, S. Y., and Coauthors, 2015: The JRA-55 reanalysis: General specifications and basic characteristics. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan, 93(1), 5–48, doi: 10.2151/jmsj.2015-001.
Kripalani, R. H., S. V. Singh, A. D. Vernekar, and V. Thapliyal, 1996: Empirical study on Nimbus-7 snow mass and Indian summer monsoon rainfall. International Journal of Climatology, 16, 23–24.
Kripalani, R. H., and A. Kulkarni, 1999: Climatology and variability of historical Soviet snow depth data: Some new perspectives in snow–Indian monsoon teleconnections. Climate Dyn., 15, 475–489, doi: 10.1007/s003820050294.
Kripalani, R. H., B.-J. Kim, J.-H. Oh, and S.-E. Moon, 2002: Relationship between Soviet snow and Korean rainfall. International Journal of Climatology, 22, 1313–1325, doi: 10.1002/joc.809.
McCabe, G., and D. Wolock, 2010: Long-term variability in northern hemisphere snow cover and associations with warmer winters. Climatic Change, 99, 141–153.
Morinaga, Y., S.-F. Tian, and M. Shinoda, 2003: Winter snow anomaly and atmospheric circulation in Mongolia. International Journal of Climatology, 23, 1627–1636, doi: 10.1002/joc.961.
Popova, V., 2007: Winter snow depth variability over northern Eurasia in relation to recent atmospheric circulation changes. International Journal of Climatology, 27, 1721–1733, doi: 10.1002/joc.1489.
Robinson, D. A., K. F. Dewey, and R. R. Heim Jr., 1993: Global snow cover monitoring: An update. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 74, 1689–1696.
Saito, K., J. Cohen, and D. Entekhabi, 2001: Evolution of atmospheric response to early-season Eurasian snow cover anomalies. Mon. Wea. Rev., 129(11), 2746–2760, doi: 10.1175/1520-0493(2001)129<2746:EOARTE>2.0.CO;2.
Saito, K., and J. Cohen, 2003: Correction to “The potential role of snow cover in forcing interannual variability of the major Northern Hemisphere mode”. Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, 1302, doi: 10.1029/2002GL016341.
Seager, R., Y. Kushnir, J. Nakamura, M. Ting, and N. Naik, 2010: Northern Hemisphere winter snow anomalies: ENSO, NAO and the winter of 2009/10. Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L14703, doi: 10.1029/2010GL043830.
Ueda, H., M. Shinoda, and H. Kamahori, 2003: Spring northward retreat of Eurasian snow cover relevant to seasonal and interannual variations of atmospheric circulation. International Journal of Climatology, 23, 615–629, doi: 10.1002/joc.903.
Vicente-Serrano, S. M., M. Grippa, T. Le Toan, and N. Mognard, 2007: Role of atmospheric circulation with respect to the interannual variability in the date of snow cover disappearance over northern latitudes between 1988 and 2003. J. Geophys. Res., 112, D08108, doi: 10.1029/2005JD006571.
Wu, B. Y., K. Yang, and R. H. Zhang, 2009: Eurasian snow cover variability and its association with summer rainfall in China. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 26, 31–44, doi: 10.1007/s00376-009-0031-2.
Wu, R. G., and B. P. Kirtman, 2007: Observed relationship of spring and summer East Asian rainfall with winter and spring Eurasian snow. J. Climate., 20(7), 1285–1304, doi: 10.1175/JCLI4068.1.
Yasunari, T., A. Kitoh, and T. Tokioka, 1991: Local and remote responses to excessive snow mass over Eurasia appearing in the northern spring and summer climate—a study with the MRI·GCM. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan, 69(4), 473–487.
Ye, K. H., R. G. Wu, and Y. Liu, 2015: Interdecadal change of Eurasian snow, surface temperature, and atmospheric circulation in the late 1980s. J. Geophys. Res., 120, 2738–2753, doi: 10.1002/2015JD023148.
Ye, K. H., and N.-C. Lau, 2016: Influences of surface air temperature and atmospheric circulation on winter snow cover variability over Europe. International Journal of Climatology, doi: 10.1002/joc.4868.
Zhang, Y. S., T. Li, and B. Wang, 2004: Decadal change of the spring snow depth over the Tibetan Plateau: The associated circulation and influence on the East Asian summer monsoon. J. Climate, 17, 2780–2793.
Zuo, Z. Y., R. H. Zhang, B. Y. Wu, and X. Y. Rong, 2012: Decadal variability in springtime snow over Eurasia: Relation with circulation and possible influence on springtime rainfall over China. International Journal of Climatology, 32, 1336–1345, doi: 10.1002/joc.2355.
Acknowledgements
RW is supported by the National Key Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2014CB953902) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41530425, 41275081 and 41475081). We would like to thank the NSIDC, the Met Office Hadley Center, the CRU (University of East Anglia, UK), and the Japan Meteorological Agency, for providing data. We are grateful to Prof. Gabriel LAU for his comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ye, K., Wu, R. Autumn snow cover variability over northern Eurasia and roles of atmospheric circulation. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 34, 847–858 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-017-6287-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-017-6287-z
Key words
- Autumn Eurasian snow cover
- surface air temperature
- surface heat fluxes
- atmospheric circulation
- water vapor transport