Krzysztof Kożuchowski
Articles
Mediterranean cyclones, the atmospheric moisture content and precipitation in Poland
Geographia Polonica (2017) vol. 90, iss. 1, pp. 5-20 | 
Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.0075
Abstract
The article describes changes in the frequency and activity of cyclones moving from the Mediterranean Sea basin to the area of Central and Eastern Europe in the period 1958-2008. Furthermore, long-term trends in the amount of precipitation in Poland are analyzed, as well as the moisture content in the atmosphere over Poland related to the activity of Mediterranean cyclones. A relationship was observed between the amount of precipitation,the precipitable water in the atmosphere over Poland and the cyclone trajectories. In the analyzed period, the number of Mediterranean cyclones reaching Central and Eastern Europe decreased. Moreover, signs of decreasing activity of these cyclones were also noted. The average moisture content in the atmosphere over Poland also showed a downward trend. The precipitation totals associated with the activity of Mediterranean cyclones became lower, while the intensity of precipitation did not change significantly. Mediterranean cyclones are associated with high moisture content in the atmosphere. This surplus amounts to an averageof nearly 15%, and in periods with the highest precipitation it reaches ca. 40%. The maximum daily precipitation reaches nearly 8 times the value of the current moisture content in the atmosphere.
Keywords: Mediterranean cyclones, cyclone trajectories, precipitation, precipitable water, long-term trends, Poland
, Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Łódź Narutowicza 88, 90-139 Łódź: Poland
[kkozuchowski1@wp.pl], Department of Environment Dynamics and Bioclimatology, University of Łódź, Lipowa 81, 90-568 Łódź, Poland
Trends to changes in seasonal aspects of the climate in Poland
Geographia Polonica (2000) vol. 73, iss. 2, pp. 7-24 | Full text
Abstract
The study details the results of a search for changes in the annual rhythms for atmospheric pressure, air temperature and precipitation in Poland in the 19th and 20th cen-turies. In regard to atmospheric pressure, a reduction in the component amplitude of the annual cycle was noted. Values for annual amplitude of temperature exhibited a downward trend, as did data for the lengths of the seasons with temperatures below zero or in excess of 19°C. In turn, there was an upward trend for the duration of periods with temperatures several degrees above freezing or in the range 14-19°C. The most marked long-term upward trend to temperature was that noted for the five days 11-15 January, which have seen temperatures rise by as much as 4°C in the last decade. Annual courses for precipitation have demonstrated development of the half-year cyclical component responsible for relatively high winter pre-cipitation. Analysis of several time series has allowed for the deducing of decreasing con-tinentality of climate in Poland, a marked warming in the winter-spring period and a general weakening of seasonal contrasts regarding the climate.
Keywords: changes in air temperature and precipitation
[kkozuchowski1@wp.pl], Department of Environment Dynamics and Bioclimatology, University of Łódź, Lipowa 81, 90-568 Łódź, Poland
, Department of Environmental Dynamics and Bioclimatology, Faculty of Biology and Earth Science, University of Lodz Lipowa 81, 90-568 Łódź, Poland
[krzysztof.fortuniak@geo.uni.lodz.pl], Zakład Meteorologii i Klimatologii, Uniwersytet Łódzki, Lipowa 81, 90-568 Łódź, Poland
, Department of Meteorology and Climatology, Faculty of Biology and Earth Science, University of Lodz Lipowa 81, 90-568 Łódź, Poland