This study examines the changes of an interdecadal circulation over the Asian continent to find cause of the surface warming in Siberia from 1958 to 2004. According to our study, there is a coherency between a long-term change of sea surface temperature in the Indian Ocean and the rapid increase of air temperature in Siberia since 1976/1977. In this study, we suggest that mean wind field changes induced by the positive sea surface temperature anomalies of the Indian Ocean since 1976/1977 are caused of inter-decadal variations in a large-scale circulation over the Asian continent. It also indicates that the inter-decadal circulation over the Asian continent is accompanied with warm southerly winds near surface, which have significantly contributed to the increase of surface temperature in Siberia. These southerly winds have been one of the most dominant interdecadal variations over the Asian continent since 1976/1977. In addition, we investigated the long-term trend mode of 850 hPa geopotential height data over the Asian continent from the Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis for 1958-2004. In result, we found that there was an anomalously high pressure pattern over the Asian continent, it is called 'the Asian High mode'. It is thus suggested that the Asian High mode is another response of interdecadal changes of large-scale circulations over the Asian continent.

The interdecadal variation of wintertime blocking frequency over the Siberia (60˚E-140˚E) is examined using the ECMWF/NCEP-NCAR re-analysis data for the period 1958-2006. The wintertime blocking frequency over the Siberia significantly decreased for the period 1986-2006, compared to the period 1958-1985, which is mainly due to the anomalous circulation of 500-hPa geopotential height field. During the period 1986-2006, there was enhancement in both the anomalous cyclonic flow over the western Siberia and the anomalous anticyclonic flow over the east Asia. These anomalous circulation patterns, which might be associated with changes in surface temperatures over the Asian continent, are suspected to playa possibly important role as an obstacle to the formation of blocking flow over the Siberia.

To test the correlation between grain shape and growth behavior we prepared WC-TiC-Co samples with rounded (Ti, W)C grains and faceted WC grains. The growth of rounded (Ti, W)C grains was normal. In contrast, the growth of faceted WC grains was abnormal or suppressed depending on the initial size of WC particles. These observations were explained using growth theories of crystals in a liquid and were also confirmed by a simulation using their growth equations. The present results thus demonstrate that the growth behavior of carbide grains in a liquid is governed only by their shape, irrespective of the presence of another phase.