Quasi-resonant circulation regimes and hemispheric synchronization of extreme weather in boreal summer

Quasi-resonant circulation regimes and hemispheric synchronization of extreme weather in boreal summer [1]

The recent decade has seen an exceptional number of boreal summer weather extremes, some causing massive damage to society. There is a strong scientific debate about the underlying causes of these events. We show that high-amplitude quasi-stationary Rossby waves, associated with resonance circulation regimes, lead to persistent surface weather conditions and therefore to midlatitude synchronization of extreme heat and rainfall events. Since the onset of rapid Arctic amplification around 2000, a cluster of resonance circulation regimes is observed involving wave numbers 7 and 8. This has resulted in a statistically significant increase in the frequency of high-amplitude quasi-stationary waves with these wave numbers. Our findings provide important insights regarding the link between Arctic changes and midlatitude extremes.

Publication Date:

11/07/2014

Author(s): Dim Coumou [2], Vladimir Petoukhov [3], Stefan Rahmstorf & et al [4]

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [5]

pp:

1-6

Tags: