Author(s)

Yu Gu¹, Xiaomeng Shi^2*, Jilin Sun¹

¹Physical Oceanography Laboratory, Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction and Climate Laboratory, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
²Qingdao Engineering Technology Research Center for Meteorological Disaster Prevention, Qingdao Meteorological Bureau, Qingdao, China.

NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data, the Arctic Oscillation (AO) index and the atmospheric visibility (Vis) data at 134 sites in eastern China (ECN) are used to investigate the possible influence of AO on the wintertime weather and Vis over ECN. A higher relative humidity (RH, compared with the normal year) is identified over ECN in the winters with a positive phase of AO, and the wind anomaly is generally inshore in the coast areas of China. All these processes are consistent with Vis degradation over ECN. On the contrary, in the winters with a negative phase of AO, a lower RH can be identified over ECN, and the wind anomaly is generally offshore, which is favorable for Vis improvement.

The Arctic Oscillation, Eastern China, Winter, Atmospheric Visibility

Gu, Y. , Shi, X. and Sun, J. (2017) Possible Influence of Arctic Oscillation on Winter Visibility over Eastern China. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 5, 56-62. doi: 10.4236/gep.2017.58006.