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The role of semiannual cycle in modulating seasonality changes of surface air temperature over China and its mechanism

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Abstract

Taking the semiannual cycle of surface air temperature (SAT) into account in fitting the finer structure of the seasonal cycle, this study reveals the specific role of the semiannual cycle in modulating variations of the season onsets and lengths for the first time. The time-varying amplitudes and phases of the annual and semiannual SAT cycle for the period 1964 to 2017 in China are extracted from daily observations based on harmonic analysis. The results show that the phase differences between the two harmonics remain essentially unchanged, while the amplitude ratio of the semiannual to annual harmonics tends to increase after 1988. This enhanced semiannual cycle together with the global warming and annual cycle changes jointly led to a much longer summer with an average speed of 7.45 days/10 years and shorter spring, autumn, and winter with speeds of − 2.43, − 1.63, and − 4.26 days/10 years, respectively. Such obvious asymmetry cannot be found in fitting seasonal cycles by only annual harmonics. The average absolute percentages of the linear trends of season onsets and lengths caused by the intensification of the semiannual cycle are 52.63% and 78.66%. It indicates that season onsets and length not only depend on the phase of annual and semiannual harmonic, but also highly related to the strength of semiannual cycle. The time evolutions of semiannual cycle strength in China are found to be significantly correlated to the meridional temperature advection. The anomalous stronger southward wind in December can result in colder temperature and hence intensify the semiannual component.

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All data that support the findings of this study are included within the article.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the Chinese Universities Scientific Fund, for China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) (Grant CUG2106108).

Funding

The work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) (Grant CUG2106108).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Atmospheric Science, CMA-CUG Joint Centre for Severe Weather and Climate and Hydro-geological Hazards, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Qimin Deng, Yuting Wang & Xin Tan

  2. Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Laboratory for Climate and Ocean- Atmosphere Studies, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Zuntao Fu

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  1. Qimin Deng
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  2. Yuting Wang
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  3. Xin Tan
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  4. Zuntao Fu
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Contributions

Q D conceived the study. Y W and Q D conducted the analysis. All authors interpreted and discussed the results and wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zuntao Fu.

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Deng, Q., Wang, Y., Tan, X. et al. The role of semiannual cycle in modulating seasonality changes of surface air temperature over China and its mechanism. Clim Dyn 61, 3353–3365 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-023-06748-0

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