Climate Dynamics: Why Does Climate Vary?

• Publisher: American Geophysical Union
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 216
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series.

Climate Dynamics: Why Does Climate Vary? presents the major climate phenomena within the climate system to underscore the potency of dynamics in giving rise to climate change and variability. These phenomena include deep convection over the Indo-Pacific warm pool and its planetary-scale organization: the Madden-Julian Oscillation, the monsoons, the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and the low-frequency variability of extratropical circulations. The volume also has a chapter focusing on the discussion of the causes of the recent melting of Arctic sea ice and a chapter devoted to the discussion of the causes of recent changes in the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones. On each topic, the basic material of climate dynamics is covered to aid the understanding of the forefront research, making the volume accessible to a broad spectrum of readers.

The volume highlights include

• Diabatic and nonlinear aspects of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation
• Causes of sea ice melting in the Arctic
• Impact of global warming on tropical cyclone activity
• Origins of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation
• Causes of climate variability of Asian monsoons

The volume will be of particular interest to graduate students and young researchers in atmospheric and oceanic sciences and related disciplines such as geology and geography. The book will also be a good read for those who have a more general interest in the Earth's climate and why it varies.

Content:

✦ Table of Contents

Title Page
......Page 3
Copyright
......Page 4
CONTENTS......Page 5
Preface
......Page 6
Introduction......Page 8
References......Page 9
1. INTRODUCTION......Page 10
2. GLOBAL CONVECTIVE ORGANIZATION......Page 11
3. CONTROLS ON MOIST CONVECTION......Page 12
4. FUNDAMENTALS OF MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE ORGANIZATION......Page 13
5. MULTISCALE ORGANIZATION OF TROPICAL CONVECTION......Page 21
6. MULTISCALE CONVECTIVE ORGANIZATION IN NUMERICAL MODELS......Page 22
8. DISCUSSION......Page 26
9. CONCLUSIONS......Page 28
REFERENCES......Page 29
1.Introduction......Page 34
2.Structures and Mechanisms of the Northward Propagation of BSISO......Page 38
2.1 BSISO Meridional-Vertical Structures......Page 39
2.2 Mechanisms for the Northward Propagation......Page 41
3. Processes Determining the QB and LF Variability of the Indian Monsoon......Page 43
4.Pacific?East Asia Teleconnection......Page 49
5. Tropospheric Biennial Oscillations in the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool......Page 51
6.Concluding Remarks......Page 53
References......Page 55
1. INTRODUCTION......Page 59
2. ANNUAL CYCLE......Page 60
3. EL NIÑO AND LA NIÑA......Page 62
4. ENSO IN THE PAST CLIMATES......Page 67
REFERENCES......Page 68
2. Some Stochastic Theory......Page 71
3. Application to Tropical Sea Surface Temperatures......Page 75
4. Forecasts of Tropical SST......Page 77
5. Summary and Discussion......Page 78
References......Page 80
1. INTRODUCTION......Page 84
2. THEORETICAL ADVANCES......Page 86
3. RECENT ELEVATION OF ENSO ACTIVITY......Page 97
4. ENSO IN THE PAST CLIMATES......Page 98
5. POSSIBLE PROBLEMS WITH IPCC MODELS......Page 100
6. FINAL REMARKS......Page 103
REFERENCES......Page 106
1. Introduction......Page 109
2. Spatial and Temporal Structure of ENSO in Some of the IPCC-AR4 Models......Page 110
3. What is the Underlying ENSO Dynamics in the Models?......Page 115
4. What Determines the ENSO Period in the Climate Models?......Page 122
5. Conclusions......Page 124
References......Page 125
1. Introduction......Page 127
2. Mean Upper Ocean Climate......Page 129
3. SST Tendency Surface Heat Budget......Page 130
4.1 Stochastic Forcing......Page 132
4.3 “ The Reemergence Mechanism?......Page 134
4.4 Dynamic Ocean Process......Page 135
4.5 Midlatitude Air-Sea Interaction......Page 137
4.6 Tropical-Extratropical Interactions......Page 138
5.2 Mechanisms for the PDO......Page 141
6. Beyond the PDO......Page 146
References......Page 147
1. Introduction......Page 153
2.1 Summertime Planetary Waves, Subtropical Anticyclones, and Land-sea Thermal Contrasts......Page 156
2.2 Wintertime Planetary Waves, Storm Tracks, and Subtropical Anticyclones......Page 161
3.1 Large-scale Equivalent Barotropic Anomalies Over the Ocean Basins in Winter......Page 165
4. Summary and Discussion......Page 176
References......Page 178
1. Description of Arctic Sea Ice......Page 184
2.1 Heat Exchange......Page 185
2.2 Freshwater Exchange......Page 186
3. Observed Sea Ice Trends......Page 187
5. Potential for Abrupt Sea Ice Change......Page 189
6. Conclusions......Page 191
References......Page 192
Introduction......Page 195
Intensity, ACE, and PDI......Page 196
Annual Number of Intense TCs......Page 197
Interannual Variations......Page 204
Summary and Discussion......Page 205
References......Page 206
AGU Category Index......Page 208
Index......Page 209