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Projected changes of wintertime synoptic‐scale transient eddy activities in the East Asian eddy‐driven jet from CMIP5 experiments
Author(s) -
Xiao Chuliang,
Zhang Yaocun
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl064641
Subject(s) - baroclinity , coupled model intercomparison project , environmental science , climatology , jet (fluid) , middle latitudes , climate model , atmospheric sciences , climate change , geology , mechanics , physics , oceanography
The wintertime East Asian eddy‐driven jet (EAEJ) responding to climate change in the 21st century is studied using model outputs from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5). Compared to the location displacement in oceanic eddy‐driven jets, the magnitude change of synoptic‐scale transient eddy activities, measured by eddy kinetic energy (EKE), is a more striking feature in EAEJ. An intensified EKE is projected unanimously by CMIP5 models, suggesting that potential strong winter storm events are likely to happen in East Asian midlatitude in a warming climate. The future change of EKE in EAEJ can be understood in terms of growing baroclinicity wave. The upper level EKE is highly correlated to the low‐level static stability, Brunt‐Väisälä frequency (BVF). CMIP5 models generally project an intensified upper evel EKE with a reduced low‐level BVF (ΔEKE ∝ −ΔBVF). Meanwhile, the enhancement of EKE is also constrained by its historical state (ΔEKE ∝ −EKE). Intermodel variabilities among CMIP5 models reveal a similar but weaker relationship between ΔBVF (or EKE) and ΔEKE, indicating relatively large model diversities and independencies among CMIP5 models.