REVIEWS ON THE STUDY OF THE SUBTROPICAL ANTICYCLONE AND NEW INSIGHTS ON SOME FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS

The studies on the subtropical anticyclone are reviewed.It is pointed out that some traditional concepts in this field are inadequate and need to be re-considered.These include the relationships between the eastern Pacific subtropical anticyclone and the western Pacific subtropical anticyclone,the vertically sinking motion and the formation of the subtropical anticyclone,the anomalous heating in the tropical area and the anomalies of the subtropical anticyclone,and the western Pacific subtropical anticyclone and its surrounding systems etc.Some important issues for further studies in understanding and predicting the variations of the subtropical anticyclone are raised.These include the circulation interactions among different latitudes,the roles of the Tibetan Plateau,the relative importance of internal forcing and external forcing in different time scales,the nonlinear processes along the ridges of subtropical anticyclone and the constrain of the conservation of angular momentum.