Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Integral Index of Atmospheric Blocking Activity in the Northern Hemisphere in Recent Decades

  • Published:
Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A new integral index is proposed for describing the total activity of atmospheric blocking over extended areas at different time intervals. The integral index, which characterizes the proportion of the area with atmospheric blocking in a particular region during a certain time interval, is used in two versions—one-dimensional and, more detailed, two-dimensional. Estimates of how strongly Russian regions and the Northern Hemisphere (NH) as a whole are exposed to atmospheric blockings in different seasons and on average for the year are obtained from reanalysis data for four decades (1979–2018). The highest values of the integral index, which depends on the frequency, duration, and size of atmospheric blockings, for Russia and the entire NH are estimated for the summer season. The largest interannual variability is observed in winter seasons. Significant differences in the coherence of interannual variations in the integral index for Russian regions and for the NH as a whole for different seasons were found using cross-wavelet analysis. Their coherence is significant for the longest (interdecadal) variations in the seasonal values of the integral index, except for spring seasons.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. D. F. Rex, “Blocking action in the middle troposphere and its effect on regional climate. Part II: The climatology of blocking action,” Tellus 2, 275–301 (1950).

    Google Scholar 

  2. H. Lejenas and H. Okland, “Characteristics of Northern Hemisphere blocking as determined from a long time series of observational data,” Tellus A 35, 350–362 (1983).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. A. M. Obukhov, M. V. Kurganskii, and M. S. Tatarskaya, “Dynamical conditions for the occurrence of draughts and other large-scale weather anomalies,” Meteorol. Gidrol., No. 10, 5–13 (1984).

  4. G. V. Gruza and L. V. Korovkina, “Seasonal features of the spatial distribution of blocking indices in the Northern Hemisphere, Meteorol. Gidrol., No. 3, 108–110 (1991).

  5. S. Tibaldi and F. Molteni, “On the operational predictability of blocking,” Tellus A, 42, 343–365 (1990).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. A. R. Hansen and A. Sutera, “A comparison between planetary-wave flow regimes and blocking,” Tellus A 45, 281–288 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. I. I. Mokhov and V. K. Petukhov, “Blockings and tendencies of their change,” Dokl. Earth Sci. 357 (8) 1485–1488 (1997).

    Google Scholar 

  8. A. R. Lupo, R. J. Oglesby, and I. I. Mokhov, “Climatological features of blocking anticyclones: A study of Northern Hemisphere CCM1 model blocking events in present-day and double CO2 concentration atmospheres,” Clim. Dyn. 13, 181–195 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. J. L. Pelly and B. J. Hoskins, “A new perspective on blocking,” J. Atmos. Sci. 60, 743–755 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. S. C. Scherer, M. Croci-Maspoli, C. Schwierz, and C. Appenzeller, “Two-dimensional indices of atmospheric blocking and their statistical relationship with winter climate patterns in the Euro-Atlantic region,” Int. J. Climatol. 26, 233–249 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. I. I. Mokhov, “Action as an integral characteristic of climatic structures: Estimates for atmospheric blockings,” Dokl. Earth Sci. 409 (6), 925–928 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. D. Barriopedro, R. Garcia-Herrera, A. R. Lupo, and E. Hernandez, “A climatology of Northern Hemisphere blocking,” J. Clim. 19, 1042–1063 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Y. Diao, J. Li, and D. Luo, “A new blocking index and its application: Blocking action in the Northern Hemisphere,” J. Clim. 19, 4819–4839 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. N. P. Shakina and A. R. Ivanova, “The blocking anticyclones: The state of studies and forecasting,” Russ. Meteorol. Hydrol. 35 (11), 721–730 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. I. I. Mokhov, M. G. Akperov, M. A. Prokof’eva, A. A. Timazhev, A. R. Lupo, and H. Le Treut, “Blockings in the Northern Hemisphere and Euro–Atlantic region: Estimates of changes from reanalysis data and model simulations,” Dokl. Earth Sci. 449 (2), 430–433 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. I. I. Mokhov, A. V. Timazhev, and A. R. Lupo, “Changes in atmospheric blocking characteristics within Euro-Atlantic region and Northern Hemisphere as a whole in the 21st century from model simulations using RCP anthropogenic scenarios,” Global Planet. Change 122, 265–270 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. E. A. Barnes, J. Slingo, and T. Woollings, “A methodology for the comparison of blocking climatologies across indices, models and climate scenarios,” Clim. Dyn 38, 2467–2481 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. I. I. Mokhov and A. V. Timazhev, “Model assessment of possible changes of atmospheric blockings in the Northern Hemisphere under RCP scenarios of anthropogenic forcings,” Dokl. Earth Sci. 460 (2), 63–67 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. A. D. Jensen, A. R. Lupo, I. I. Mokhov, M. G. Akperov, and D. D. Reynolds, “Integrated regional enstrophy and block intensity as a measure of Kolmogorov entropy,” Atmosphere 8 (12), 237 (2017). https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8120237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. I. I. Mokhov and A. V. Timazhev, “Atmospheric blocking and changes in its frequency in the 21st century simulated with the ensemble of climate models,” Russ. Meteorol. Hydrol. 44 (6), 369–377 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. M. C. Pinheiro, P. A. Ullrich, and R. Grotjahn, “Atmospheric blocking and intercomparison of objective detection methods: Flow field characteristics,” Clim. Dyn. 53 (7–8), 4189–4216 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. I. I. Mokhov, S. A. Sitnov, M. N. Tsidilina, and O. S. Voronova, “Relation between pyrogenic NO2 emissions from wildfires in Russia and atmospheric blocking events,” Atmos. Oceanic Opt. 34 (6), 503–506 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. I. I. Mokhov and A. V. Timazhev, “Integral index of blocking activity in the atmosphere of Northern Hemisphere during last decades,” in Research Activities in Earth System Modelling, Ed. by E. Astakhova (2020), pp. 15–16.

    Google Scholar 

  24. T.-C. Chen and J.-H. Yoon, “Interdecadal variation of the North Pacific wintertime blocking,” Mon. Weather Rev. 130, 3136–3143 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. F. Li, Y. J. Orsolini, H. Wang, Y. Gao, and S. He, “Atlantic multidecadal oscillation modulates the impacts of Arctic sea ice decline,” Geophys. Res. Lett. 45, 2497–2506 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. A. R. Lupo, A. D. Jensen, I. I. Mokhov, A. Timazhev, T. Eichler, and B. Efe, “Changes in global blocking character during recent decades,” Atmosphere 10 (2), 92 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10020092

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. I. I. Mokhov and A. V. Timazhev, “Frequency of summer atmospheric blockings in the Northern Hemisphere in different phases of El Niño and Pacific decadal and Atlantic multidecadal oscillations,” Izv., Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 58 (3), 199–207 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. J. A. Renwick and J. M. Wallace, “Relationships between North Pacific wintertime blocking, El Niño, and PNA pattern,” Mon. Weather Rev. 124, 2071–2076 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. E. B. Gledzer and A. M. Obukhov, “Quasi-biennial cyclicity as a parametric phenomenon in the climate system,” Izv. Akad. Nauk: Fiz. Atmos. Okeana 18 (11), 1154–1158 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  30. X. Pan, G. Wang, and P. Yang, “Introducing driving-force information increases the predictability of the North Atlantic Oscillation,” Atmos. Oceanic Sci. Lett. 12 (5), 329–336 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. I. I. Mokhov, V. G. Bondur, S. A. Sitnov, and O. S. Voronova, “Satellite monitoring of wildfires and emissions into the atmosphere of combustion products in Russia: Relation to atmospheric blockings,” Dokl. Earth Sci. 495 (2), 921–924 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 19-17-00240.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119017, Moscow, Russia

    I. I. Mokhov & A. V. Timazhev

  2. Moscow State University, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    I. I. Mokhov

Authors
  1. I. I. Mokhov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. V. Timazhev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to I. I. Mokhov.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Translated by N. Tretyakova

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mokhov, I.I., Timazhev, A.V. Integral Index of Atmospheric Blocking Activity in the Northern Hemisphere in Recent Decades. Izv. Atmos. Ocean. Phys. 58, 545–552 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433822060111

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001433822060111

Keywords:

Search

Navigation