The present study reveals the changes in the characteristics of cold surges over East Asia associated with the Arctic Oscillation (AO). Based on circulation features, cold surges are grouped into two general types: wave train and blocking types. The blocking type of cold surge tends to occur during negative AO periods, that is, the AO-related polarity of the blocking type. However, the wave train type is observed during both positive and negative AO periods, although the wave train features associated with negative AO are relatively weaker. The cold surges during negative AO are stronger than those during positive AO in terms of both amplitude and duration. The cold surges during positive AO in which the extent of effect is confined to inland China passes through East Asia quickly because of weaker Siberian high and Aleutian low, leading to short duration of these cold surges. In contrast, the cold surge during negative AO, characterized by a well-organized anticyclone-cyclone couplet with high pressure over continental East Asia and low pressure over Japan, brings continuous cold air into the entire East Asian region for more than one week with long-lasting cold advection. It is also found that the tracks of the cold surges during negative AO tend to occur more frequently over Korea and Japan and less frequently over China, compared with those during positive AO. The tracks are related to a west-east dipole structure of the ratio of rain conversion to snow according to AO phase, resulting in freezing precipitation or snowfall events over inland China (Korea and Japan) are likely to occur more frequently during the positive (negative) AO periods.

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[1] In the winter of 2009-2010, frequent and long-lasting cold weather affected Korea. Four major cold surges and several heavy snowfall events were observed, including a record-breaking event on 4 January 2010. These four cold surges had distinct properties with regard to their relationships to the phases of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), suggesting the possible influences of the AO and MJO on the cold surges and heavy snowfalls. The four cold surges were of two distinct types: the wave train type and the blocking type, which were differentiated by their mechanisms. With regard to the relationships of the cold surges to the AO, three cold surges occurred during a strongly negative AO period, which lasted for more than 1 month. The Siberian High expanded from the Arctic high-pressure region to East Asia during the negative AO period. A cold surge occurred during a positive AO, with the expansion of the Siberian High across the Eurasian continent. An MJO-induced circulation, corresponding to strong tropical convection over the tropical Indian Ocean, seems to have reinforced the cold surges over East Asia. In addition, the active local Hadley circulation modulated by a convection center over the Indian Ocean tends to enhance midlatitude synoptic disturbances across East Asia and provides favorable conditions for upward motion over the region. In short, the effects of the AO and MJO, along with the existing low-level moisture supply, contributed to heavy snowfalls associated with strong cold surges over Korea during the winter of

This study examines the potential impact of vegetation feedback on the changes in the diurnal temperature range (DTR) due to the doubling of atmospheric CO 2 concentrations during summer over the Northern Hemisphere using a global climate model equipped with a dynamic vegetation model. Results show that CO 2 doubling induces significant increases in the daily mean temperature and decreases in DTR regardless of the presence of the vegetation feedback effect. In the presence of vegetation feedback, increase in vegetation productivity related to warm and humid climate lead to (1) an increase in vegetation greenness in the mid-latitude and (2) a greening and the expansion of grasslands and boreal forests into the tundra region in the high latitudes. The greening via vegetation feedback induces contrasting effects on the temperature fields between the mid-and high-latitude regions. In the mid-latitudes, the greening further limits the increase in T max more than T min , resulting in further decreases in DTR because the greening amplifies evapotranspiration and thus cools daytime temperature. The greening in high-latitudes, however, it reinforces the warming by increasing T max more than T min to result in a further increase in DTR from the values obtained without vegetation feedback. This effect on T max and DTR in the high latitude is mainly attributed to the reduction in surface albedo and the subsequent increase in the absorbed insolation. Present study indicates that vegetation feedback can alter the response of the temperature field to increases in CO 2 mainly by affecting the T max and that its effect varies with the regional climate characteristics as a function of latitudes.

The self-loosening process of a bolted joint consists of two distinct stages. The early stage of self-loosening is due to the cyclic plastic deformation of the materials. The second stage of self-loosening is characterized by the backing off of the nut. The current work is concentrated on an experimental investigation of the second stage self-loosening. Over one hundred bolted joints with M12×1.75 bolts and nuts were experimentally tested using a specially designed testing apparatus. The experiments mimicked two plates jointed by a bolt and a nut and were subjected to cyclic transverse shear loading. During an experiment, the relative displacement between the two clamped plates, denoted by δ, was a controlling parameter. For a given preload, the relationship between, Δδ/2, the amplitude of the relative displacement between the two clamped plates, and, NL, the number of loading cycles to loosening followed a pattern similar to a fatigue curve. There existed an endurance limit below which self-loosening would not persist. A larger preload resulted in a larger endurance limit. However, a large preload increased the possibility for the bolt to fail in fatigue. The results suggest that the use of a regular nut is superior to the use of a flange nut in terms of self-loosening resistance.