Using the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis, Joint Typhoon Warning Center best track, and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission precipitation data, two long-lasting synoptic-scale wave trains in 2004 and 2006 are selected to investigate the atmospheric factors controlling the structures of westward-propagating synoptic-scale disturbances over the tropical western North Pacific. The essential difference between these two wave trains is found in their vertical structures. In 2004, the maximum perturbations occurred from the middle to lower troposphere with an equivalent barotropic structure; however, in 2006, they primarily occurred in the upper troposphere with a prominent tilt regarding height. Distinct configurations of the monsoon troughs, the tropical upper-tropospheric troughs (TUTT), and associated vertical wind shear caused such structural differences. In 2004, the TUTT shifted eastward, creating an easterly sheared environment to confine synoptic-scale waves in the lower troposphere. Then, the monsoon trough enhanced the wave activity through barotropic energy conversion in the lower troposphere. In contrast, while the TUTT shifted westward in 2006, synoptic-scale waves prevailed in the upper troposphere by the environmental westerly shear. Meanwhile, the disturbances developed in the upper troposphere through to the conversion of kinetic energy from the TUTT, exhibiting a top-heavy vertical structure. The coherent movement of the monsoon trough and the TUTT modulate the vertical structure and the development of the synopticscale waves.
Yamaguchi and Maeda (2020) The above paper was press released. (25 Aug. 2020)
Press release document (in Japanese)
Observed surface air temperature (SAT) warming at urban stations often contains both the signal of global warming and that of local urban heat island (UHI) effects; these signals are difficult to separate. In this study, an urban impact indicator (Uii) developed by the authors was modified to represent the extent to which the observed temperature from a given station was influenced by UHI effects. The Uii of a city was calculated by simplifying the city's shape to a circle. In addition, a modified Uii (MUii) was calculated by considering the realistic horizontal distribution of the urban land. We selected 45 urban stations in mainland China, along with an adjacent station for each to give a station pair. Background climate changes across each pair were near-homogeneous. Thus, differences in the trends of annual averaged daily mean SAT (Trendmean), maximum SAT (Trendmax), and minimum SAT (Trendmin) between the urban and adjacent stations (ΔTrend) could be mainly attributed to differences in MUii changes between the urban and adjacent stations (ΔMUii). Several linear regressions between ΔTrend and ΔMUii for the 45 station pairs were calculated to estimate UHI effects on Trendmean (UTmean), Trendmax (UTmax), and Trendmin (UTmin). The results showed that the mean MUii of the 45 urban stations increased from 0.06 to 0.35 during 1992–2013. Positive correlations between ΔMUii and ΔTrend for the 45 station pairs were significant at the 0.001 significance level (except for Trendmax). The average UTmean and UTmin of the 45 urban stations during 1954–2013 were approximately 0.05 and 0.11°C decade−1, respectively, accounting for 18 % and 31 % of the overall warming trends, respectively. The UTmin estimated in this study is about twice that of previous results based on regression equations between Uii and SAT trends.
Kawabata and Yamaguchi (2020): The above paper was chosen as a JMSJ Editor's Highlight. (13 Jul. 2020)
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