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An analysis on observed and simulated PNA associated atmospheric diabatic heating

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Abstract

This study examines the PNA associated atmospheric diabatic heating by linearly isolating the influence of ENSO. The analysis is based on the NCEP–NCAR and ERA-40 reanalyses and a 1,000-year-long integration of the CCCma coupled climate model. Both the vertically integrated and three-dimensional diabatic heating are examined. The Rossby wave sources in association with the PNA are also diagnosed. The PNA-related heating is confined outside the tropics and is dominated by anomalies in the eastern Pacific, with a north–south dipole structure in mid-latitudes and the northern subtropics. The heating anomalies change sign with height in mid-latitudes but have the same sign throughout the troposphere in the northern subtropics. Relatively weak heating anomalies also appear in mid-latitudes, downstream of the heating dipole over North America and the western North Atlantic. The heating anomalies are largely supported by the advections related to the mean state throughout the troposphere, and partially damped by the advections related to the eddy effect, particularly at the upper troposphere over the North Pacific. Broadly similar patterns are seen from the NCEP–NCAR and ERA-40 reanalyses. Yet anomalous heating centers are generally located at relatively lower troposphere for the ERA-40 with respect to the NCEP–NCAR. The tropical heating anomalies are rather weak, remarkably different from those related to ENSO variability. In addition, the Rossby wave source collocates with the atmospheric diabatic forcing in the mid-high latitudes over the PNA sector, and shows no forcing source in the tropics. The results demonstrate possible forcing in the mid-high latitudes, regardless of tropical heating for the PNA teleconnection. The modeled heating and wave forcing anomalies in association with the modeled PNA compare reasonably well with the reanalysis-based estimates, increasing confidence in the observational results. The analysis provides further evidence of the independence of the PNA on ENSO from the diabatic heating point of view.

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Acknowledgments

We greatly appreciate the work of G.J. Boer, G.M. Flato, D. Ramsden, C. Reader, W. Lee, and other colleagues at the CCCma in the production of the model results analyzed here. We thank B. Merryfield and Q. Teng for helpful comments on this study, and A. Krol for editing the manuscript. In addition, we would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive suggestions and advice, which considerably improved the original manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Climate Research Division, Environment Canada, 4905 Dufferin Street, Toronto, ON, M3H 5T4, Canada

    B. Yu, X. B. Zhang & A. Niitsoo

  2. Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada

    Y. M. Tang

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  1. B. Yu
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Correspondence to B. Yu.

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Yu, B., Tang, Y.M., Zhang, X.B. et al. An analysis on observed and simulated PNA associated atmospheric diabatic heating. Clim Dyn 33, 75–91 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-008-0432-4

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