Articles | Volume 6, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-1119-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-1119-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
The role of topography, land and sea surface temperature on quasi-stationary waves in Northern Hemisphere winter: insights from CAM6 simulations
Cuiyi Fei
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Does he British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Rachel H. White
Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Does he British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Rachel H. White and Lualawi Mareshet Admasu
Weather Clim. Dynam., 6, 549–570, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-549-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-549-2025, 2025
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Mid-latitude atmospheric jet streams sometimes create "waveguides", which are thought to increase the chance of quasi-stationary waves – atmospheric circulation patterns that can lead to extreme weather events. We compare two methods of identifying atmospheric waveguides, finding that one method seems to be less impacted by the presence of waves and provides much stronger correlations with enhanced quasi-stationary waves, and recommend this method for future studies.
Christina Draeger, Valentina Radić, Rachel H. White, and Mekdes Ayalew Tessema
The Cryosphere, 18, 17–42, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-17-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-17-2024, 2024
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Our study increases our confidence in using reanalysis data for reconstructions of past glacier melt and in using dynamical downscaling for long-term simulations from global climate models to project glacier melt. We find that the surface energy balance model, forced with reanalysis and dynamically downscaled reanalysis data, yields <10 % difference in the modeled total melt energy when compared to the same model being forced with observations at our glacier sites in western Canada.
Erica Madonna, David S. Battisti, Camille Li, and Rachel H. White
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 777–794, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-777-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-777-2021, 2021
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The amount of precipitation over Europe varies substantially from year to year, with impacts on crop yields and energy production. In this study, we show that it is possible to infer much of the winter precipitation and temperature signal over Europe by knowing only the frequency of occurrence of certain atmospheric circulation patterns. The results highlight the importance of (daily) weather for understanding and interpreting seasonal signals.
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Short summary
Quasi-stationary Rossby waves, lasting weeks, can be linked to persistent extreme weather. The mechanisms of these quasi-stationary waves may be impacted by stationary forcings like topography, heating, and land surface. The presence of these forcings extends the duration of strong quasi-stationary wave events. Our climate model experiments give insights into the mechanisms of quasi-stationary waves, highlighting the importance of a combination of transient eddies and background flow conditions.
Quasi-stationary Rossby waves, lasting weeks, can be linked to persistent extreme weather. The...