Resonant Forcing by Solar Declination of Rossby Waves at the Tropopause and Implications in Extreme Precipitation Events and Heat Waves—Part 2: Case Studies, Projections in the Context of Climate Change

• Published in: Atmosphere Vol. 15; no. 10; p. 1226
• Main Author: Pinault, Jean-Louis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2024
• Subjects: Air flow; Air temperature; Albedo; Amplitude; Amplitudes; Anticyclones; Atmospheric pressure; Case studies; Causes of; Climate change; Cyclones; Declination; Dry air; Dynamic height; Environmental aspects; extreme precipitation events; Extreme weather; Geopotential; Geopotential height; harmonic modes; Heat; Heat waves; heatwaves; Hot weather; Identification and classification; Jet stream; Latitude; Measurement; Planetary waves; Polar vortex; Precipitation; Precipitation rate; resonant forcing; Rossby waves; Solar radiation; Subtropical jet stream; Tropopause; Vortices; Wind speed; France; Eurasia; United States > US; North America; Europe; China; Arctic region
• DOI: 10.3390/atmos15101226
• ISSN: 2073-4433

Based on the properties of Rossby waves at the tropopause resonantly forced by solar declination in harmonic modes, which was the subject of a first article, case studies of heatwaves and extreme precipitation events are presented. They clearly demonstrate that extreme events only form under specific patterns of the amplitude of the speed of modulated airflows of Rossby waves at the tropopause, in particular period ranges. This remains true even if extreme events appear as compound events where chaos and timing are crucial. Extreme events are favored when modulated cold and warm airflows result in a dual cyclone-anticyclone system, i.e., the association of two joint vortices of opposite signs. They reverse over a period of the dominant harmonic mode in spatial and temporal coherence with the modulated airflow speed pattern. This key role could result from a transfer of humid/dry air between the two vortices during the inversion of the dual system. Finally, focusing on the two period ranges 17.1–34.2 and 8.56–17.1 days corresponding to 1/16- and 1/32-year period harmonic modes, projections of the amplitude of wind speed at 250 mb, geopotential height at 500 mb, ground air temperature, and precipitation rate are performed by extrapolating their amplitude observed from January 1979 to March 2024. Projected amplitudes are regionalized on a global scale for warmest and coldest half-years, referring to extratropical latitudes. Causal relationships are established between the projected amplitudes of modulated airflow speed and those of ground air temperature and precipitation rate, whether they increase or decrease. The increase in the amplitude of modulated airflow speed of polar vortices induces their latitudinal extension. This produces a tightening of Rossby waves embedded in the polar and subtropical jet streams. In the context of climate change, this has the effect of increasing the efficiency of the resonant forcing of Rossby waves from the solar declination, the optimum of which is located at mid-latitudes. Hence the increased or decreased vulnerability to heatwaves or extreme precipitation events of some regions. Europe and western Asia are particularly affected, which is due to increased activity of the Arctic polar vortex between longitudes 20° W and 40° E. This is likely a consequence of melting ice and changing albedo, which appears to amplify the amplitude of variation in the period range 17.1–34.2 days of poleward circulation at the tropopause of the Arctic polar cell.