Russian Meteorology and Hydrology 

About: Russian Meteorology and Hydrology is an academic journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Environmental science & Precipitation. It has an ISSN identifier of 1068-3739. Over the lifetime, 1704 publications have been published receiving 7278 citations.

The fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change: Working group II contribution

Abstract: Basic results of IPCC Working Group II, derived in the process of the work at the Fourth Assessment Report, are considered in brief. The results are given in conformity with the Summary for Policymakers adopted at the Plenary Meeting of Working Group II in Brussels on April 6, 2007. The authors’ comments on some results connected with the key vulnerable elements of natural and socioeconomic systems are given in the conclusion.

Weather and Climate Anomalies in Russian Regions Related to Global Climate Change

Abstract: Possible mechanisms for the formation of significant weather and climate anomalies in Russia in recent years and their relation to global climate change and natural quasicyclic processes are discussed. Extreme Russian heat wave in 2010, the Amur River flood in 2013, and extreme cold winters are analyzed. All these events were associated with the formation of long-lived blocking anticyclones whose frequency increase can be expected under conditions of global warming. To link such events with the global warming, the effects related to regional and global climatically significant natuial quasicyclic processes should be taken into account. They include the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and El Nino—Southern Oscillation.

The blocking anticyclones: the state of studies and forecasting

Abstract: In connection with analysis of anomalous weather in summer of 2010, the state-of-the-art is reviewed of climatology of the blocking anticyclones, of mechanism for their onset and persistence, as well as possibilities of their forecasting. The main results are quoted on occurrence frequency, intensity, and duration of blockings and on their connection with features of general circulation of the atmosphere in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. As the primary cause of the blocking formation, nonlinear instability of the Rossby waves is considered with intense energy exchange with planetary waves and with synoptic-scale eddies. Mathematical means have been developed to investigate the energy exchange on the real data of objective analysis (reanalysis). This approach can be applied to analyze causes of anomalous duration of the summer blocking. From the point of view of forecasting, blockings do not differ much from other atmospheric pressure systems. Namely, within the framework of medium-range forecasting, the blocking onset, under condition of its absence in the initial fields, can be predicted with a projection of several days; also, the ensemble forecasts are generally more successful than those obtained with any single model. The blocking duration and decay can be predicted successfully within the medium-range forecasting.

The improved estimation for the effective supply of productive moisture considering the hysteresis of soil water-retention capacity

Abstract: The improved method for estimating the effective supply of productive moisture in soil is based on soil-hydrological indices. The estimation is carried out using the software based on the mathematical model with physically interpreted parameters. The model is developed in the framework of the concepts of capillarity and lognormal distribution of effective pore radii and describes the main and scanning curves of the hysteresis of soil water-retention capacity. The presented example demonstrates the advantage of the improved method that enables minimizing water wastage at crop irrigation.

The Arctic Oscillation and its impact on temperature and precipitation in Northern Eurasia in the 20th Century

Abstract: Presented is the review of the modern knowledge of the Arctic Oscillation (AO). Demonstrated is the relation of air temperature and precipitation in Northern Eurasia to this dominant type of wintertime atmospheric variability at northern extratropical latitudes. It is demonstrated that AO is a result of the coupling between the troposphere and stratosphere. The attention is paid to the long-range forecasting of AO index and to the factors complicating the forecasting. Given are the new results of the authors’ research. Used is the wintertime AO index computed by the authors from the 20th Century Reanalysis dataset. The high- and low-frequency components of AO index variability and the periods of statistically significant trends are analyzed using the 112-year series (1901-2012). Demonstrated is the key impact of wintertime AO phase on the anomalies of air temperature and precipitation in Northern Eurasia at the time scale of years and decades. This impact is manifested in the northern part of Northern Eurasia in the prevalence of warmer and wetter winters at the positive AO phase and of colder and drier winters at the negative AO phase. The precipitation anomalies of opposite sign prevail in the southern part of Northern Eurasia. It is demonstrated that the winter AO phase affects the terms of the springtime air temperature transition to positive values.