Abstract
The simulation characteristics of the seasonal evolution of subtropical anticyclones in the Northern Hemisphere are documented for the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land Systemmodel, Spectral Version 2 (FGOALS-s2), developed at the State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, the Institute of Atmospheric Physics. An understanding of the seasonal evolution of the subtropical anticyclones is also addressed. Compared with the global analysis established by the European Centre for Medium-Range Forecasts, the ERA-40 global reanalysis data, the general features of subtropical anticyclones and their evolution are simulated well in both winter and summer, while in spring a pronounced bias in the generation of the South Asia Anticyclone(SAA) exists. Its main deviation in geopotential height from the reanalysis is consistent with the bias of temperature in the troposphere. It is found that condensation heating (CO) plays a dominant role in the seasonal development of the SAA and the subtropical anticyclone over the western Pacific (SAWP) in the middle troposphere. The CO biases in the model account for the biases in the establishment of the SAA in spring and the weaker strength of the SAA and the SAWP from spring to summer. CO is persistently overestimated in the central-east tropical Pacific from winter to summer, while it is underestimated over the area from the South China Sea to the western Pacific from spring to summer. Such biases generate an illusive anticyclonic gyre in the upper troposphere above the middle Pacific and delay the generation of the SAA over South Asia in April. In midsummer, the simulated SAA is located farther north than in the ERA-40 data owing to excessively strong surface sensible heating (SE) to the north of the Tibetan Plateau. Whereas, the two surface subtropical anticyclones in the eastern oceans during spring to summer are controlled mainly by the surface SE over the two continents in the Northern Hemisphere, which are simulated reasonably well, albeit with their centers shifted westwards owing to the weaker longwave radiation cooling in the simulation associated with much weaker local stratiform cloud. Further improvements in the related parameterization of physical processes are therefore identified.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bao, Q., and Coauthors, 2013: The flexible global oceanatmosphere-land system model, spectral version 2: FGOALS-s2. Adv. Atmos. Sci., doi: 10.1007/s00376-012-2113-9.
Charney, J. G., and A. Eliassen, 1949: A numerical method for predicting the perturbations of the middle latitude westerlies. Tellus, 1, 38–54.
Charney, J. G., and J. Shukla, 1981: Predictability of Monsoons. Monsoon Dynamics, J. Lighthill and R. P. Pearce, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 99–109.
Collins, W. D., and Coauthors, 2006: The community climate system model, version 3 (CCSM3). J. Climate, 19, 2122–2143.
Duan, A. M., G. X. Wu, and X. Y. Liang. 2008: In-fluence of the Tibetan Plateau on the summer climate patterns over East Asia in the IAP/LASG SAMIL model. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 25, 518–528, doi: 10.1007/s00376-008-0518-2.
Gill, A. 1980: Some simple solutions for heat-induced tropical circulation. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 106(449), 447–462.
Hoskins, B. J., 1987: Diagnosis of forced and free variability in the atmosphere. Atmospheric and Oceanic Variability, H. Cattle, Ed., James Glaisher House, Bracknell, 57–73.
Hoskins, B. J., 1991: Towards a PV-θ view of the general circulation. Tellus A, 43, 27–35.
Li, J., 2001: Atlas of Climate of Global Atmospheric Circulation I. Climatological Mean State. China Meteorological Press, Beijing, 279pp. (in Chinese)
Liu, B. Q., J. H. He, and L. J. Wang, 2009: Characteristics of the South Asia High establishment processes above the Indo-China Peninsula from April to May and their possible mechanism. Chinese J. Atmos. Sci., 33(6), 1319–1332. (in Chinese)
Liu, H., and G. X. Wu, 1997: Impacts of land surface on climate of July and onset of summer monsoon: A study with an AGCM plus SSiB. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 14, 289–308.
Liu, H. L., X. H. Zhang, W. Li, Y. Q. Yu, and R. C. Yu, 2004a: An eddy-permitting oceanic general circulation model and its preliminary evaluations. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 21, 675–690.
Liu, H. L., P. F. Lin, Y. Q. Yu, and X. H. Zhang, 2012: The baseline evaluation of LASG/IAP climate system ocean model (LICOM) version 2.0. Acta Meteorologica Sinica, 26(3), 318–329.
Liu, Y. M., G. X. Wu, H. Liu, and P. Liu, 1999: Spatially inhomogeneous diabatic heating and its impacts on the formation and variation of subtropical anticyclone, III. Convective condensation heating and the subtropical anticyclone over South Asia and Northwest Pacific. Acta Meteorologica Sinica, 57(5), 525–538.
Liu, Y. M., G. X. Wu, H. Liu, and P. Liu, 2001: Dynamical effects of condensation heating on the subtropical anticyclones in the Eastern Hemisphere. Climate Dyn., 17, 327–338.
Liu, Y. M. G. X. Wu, and R. C. Ren, 2004b: Relationship between the subtropical anticyclone and diabatic heating. J. Climate, 17, 682–698.
Liu, Y. M., B. J. Hoskins, and M. Blackburn, 2007: Impact of Tibetan orography and heating on the summer flow over Asia. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan, 85B, 1–19.
Newell, R. E., D. G. Vincent, T. G. Dopplick, D. Ferruza, and J. W. Kidson, 1970: The energy balance of the global atmosphere. The Global Circulation of the Atmosphere, G. A. Corby, Eds., Royal Meteorological Society, London, 42–90.
Onogi, K., and Coauthors, 2007: JRA-25: Japanese 25-year re-analysis. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 131, 3259–3268.
Qian, Y., Q. Zhang, Y. Yao, and X. Zhang, 2002: Seasonal variation and heat preference of the South Asia High. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 19(5), 821–836.
Rodwell, M. J., and B. J. Hoskins, 2001: Subtropical anticyclones and monsoons. J. Climate, 14, 3192–3211.
Saha, K., 2010: Tropical Circulation Systems and Monsoons. Springer-Verlag, 324pp.
Uppala, S. M., and Coauthors, 2005: The ERA-40 reanalysis. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 131, 2961–3012.
Wang, J., Y. M. Liu, G. X. Wu, Q. Bao, B. He, and X. Wang, 2012: Performances of SAMIL (AGCM) on the global heating and the East Asian summer monsoon. Chinese J. Atmos. Sci., 36(1), 63–76. (in Chinese)
Wang, X. C., Q. Bao, K. Liu, G. X. Wu, and Y. M. Liu, 2011: Features of rainfall and latent heating structure simulated by two convective parameterization schemes. Sci. China (Earth), 54(11), 1779–1788.
Wang, Z. Z., R. C. Yu, Q. Bao, T. J. Zhou, G. X. Wu, Y. M. Liu, and P. F. Wang, 2007: A comparison of the atmospheric circulations simulated by the FGOALSs and SAMIL. Chinese J. Atmos. Sci., 32, 1–12. (in Chinese)
Wu, G., and Y. Liu, 2000: Thermal adaptation, overshooting, dispersion and subtropical anticyclone, I: Thermal adaptation and overshooting. Chinese J. Atmos. Sci., 24, 433–446. (in Chinese)
Wu, G., and Y. Liu, 2003: Summertime quadruplet heating pattern in the subtropics and the associated atmospheric circulation. Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, 1201, doi: 10.1029/2002GL016209.
Wu, G. X., J. F. Chou, Y. M. Liu, and J. H. He, 2002: Dynamics of the Formation and Variation of Subtropical Anticyclones. Science Press, Beijing, 314pp. (in Chinese)
Wu, G., and Coauthors, 2007: The influence of the mechanical and thermal forcing of the Tibetan Plateau on the Asian climate. J. Hydrometeorology, 8(4), 770–789.
Wu, G., Y. Liu, X. Zhu, W. Li, R. Ren, A. Duan, and X. Liang, 2009: Multi-scale forcing and the formation of subtropical desert and monsoon. Ann. Geophys., 27(9), 3631–3644.
Wu, T., P. Liu, Z. Wang, Y. Liu, R. Yu, and G. Wu, 2003: The performance of atmospheric component model (R42L9) of GOALS/LASG. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 20(5), 726–742.
Yeh, T. C., 1950: The circulation of the high troposphere over China in the winter of 1945–1946. Tellus, 2, 173–183.
Yu, J. J., Y. M. Liu, and G. X. Wu, 2011: An analysis of the diabatic heating characteristic of atmosphere over the Tibetan Plteau in winter I: Climatology. Acta Meteorologica Sinica, 69(1), 79–88.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, Y., Hu, J., He, B. et al. Seasonal evolution of subtropical anticyclones in the climate system model FGOALS-s2. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 30, 593–606 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-012-2154-0
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-012-2154-0