By breaking down atmospheric variables into temporal climatologies and anomalies, this book demonstrates that all weather extremes and climatic events are directly associated with the anomaly component of atmospheric motion. We can use the anomaly-based synoptic chart and dynamical parameters to objectively describe these extremes and events. The conception and differences of weather, climate and general circulation tend to confuse us, because there are no clear physical definitions available for them.

Weather extremes such as heat waves, cold surges, freezing rains, heavy rains, severe drought, unusual storm tracks, and tornados are common on our planet's surface. Climatic events such as Arctic warming and declining sea ice have become hot topics in recent years. An approach based on breaking down total variables into temporal climatologies and anomalies can be used to identify general circulation, analyze climatic anomalies and forecast weather extremes. Accordingly, this book will appeal to students, teachers and forecasters in the field of weather and climate alike.

Presents an approach decomposing atmospheric variable into as temporal climatology and anomaly Elucidates weather, climate and general circulation as well as their anomalies for students, teachers, researchers and forecasters Contributes the fact that there is a fourth meridional-mean circulation in the Arctic where climate is warming Proposes the anomaly-based synoptic chart that can describe the location of weather extremes Developes an anomaly-based dynamical model which can predict all unusual tropical cyclone tracks Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext

Weihong Qian is currently a Professor at Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics, Peking University. He has lectured two courses, Synoptic Meteorology for undergraduate and Global Climate System for postgraduate, since 2000. He has published three teaching materials including Synoptic Meteorology in 2004, Global Climate System in 2008, and Principles of Medium to Extended Range Weather Forecasts in 2012. His research activities are mainly devoted to identifying natural change with multiple tempo-spatial scales, forecasting weather extremes and climatic anomalies. In 2011, he has successfully applied two patents for the applications of the anomaly-based approach on synoptic charts and medium-ranged forecast. Using current reanalysis products and climate model simulations, he has discovered the Arctic cell and the Antarctic cell in 2015 beside well-known the Hadley, Ferrell and Polar cells. He proposed the anomaly-based synoptic chart which has advantages over the traditional synoptic chart to locate surface weather extremes. He and his students developed an anomaly-based dynamical model which can predict all unusual tropical cyclone tracks in short-term period. By using the decomposition method, he and his students published 10 research papers in international journals in 2016. His method is applicable to all weather extremes. He also published Atlas of Climate Change and China Extreme Climate Events in 2011, Atlas of Anomalous Circulations Associated with Regional Heavy Rainfall in China in 2013, and Typhoon Turning Atlas in 2014. He is also interested in the popularization of science, and wrote a book Who is driving climate change? in 2011.

Inhalt
Weather and climate.- Wind and general circulation.- Spatial patterns and time scales of climatic state.- Global monsoon.- Waves and vortices.- Regional convective events.- Heat waves and cold events.- Unusual tropical cyclons.- Circulation and climatic anomalies.- Low-frequency oscillations.