A Study on the Development of the Sustained Changma in 2007

Abstract: In 2007, just after the recession of the Changma, anomalously long rainy period (from July 30 to August 15) occurred in Korea. To identify the cause of the sustained rainy period, we performed synoptic analysis and the associated air motions. The behavior of each air parcel trajectory associated with atmospheric motion was then investigated. As a result, three particular phenomena occurring at latitudes lower than 40 o N were discovered. First, a mass of relatively cold air, referred to as E, made a deep intrusion from 20 o N to 60 o N. Second, this intrusion was accompanied by another mass of air called dE. It was colder and drier than E and originated from the mid-troposphere over the tropical ocean. Third, dE and E rotated clockwise three times over a period of 17 days over the Northwestern Pacific and blocked the westerly waves imbedded in the zonal flow from propagating. Two additional phenomena were observed at latitudes higher than 40 o N. First, the cold core system, while approaching from the west with low geopotential values at its center, was stagnated over Shanxi China. It enhanced the northward intrusion of dE and E, and then diminished. The subsequent low system showed similar evolution as the first one. Second, a warm core anticyclone was formed over Lake Baikal, blocking the westerlies for 13 days and contributed to the persistent northward incursion of warm moist air. Moreover, a horizontally extended intrusion of upper level clouds from the tropics to 50 o N, which may be interpreted as a tropical plume, was found around the end of the period (from August 12 to 15, 2007) with successive tropical nights over Korea