The conductivity of the air and other electrical parameters in relation to meteorological elements and air pollution in Athens

Summary The annual and diurnal variation of the conductivity near the ground at Athens, based on long-term data, are presented. The diurnal double oscillation is a characteristic of the atmospheric electric climate of Athens. In addition, the influence of air pollution due to smoke and sulfur dioxide and of wind speed (as an element affecting the dispersion of pollulants) on large ion concentration and on conductivity has been examined. The air pollution, which is often severe in Athens area, results in decreasing conductivity and increasing large ion concentration, while the influence of wind speed is also pronounced. The results justify the use of conductivity as a pollution index. Finally the plausible influence of air temperature and relative humidity and of their rate of change on air electrical conductivity, has been examined. The results are ambiguous and depending on the season, especially for relative humidity.With 3 Figures     

Relationships of photosynthetically active radiation and shortwave irradiance

Summary Hourly measurements of solar irradiance in the wave band excluding photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and solar irradiance (SI) were made over a 12-month period at the National Observatory of Athens, for obtaining the ratios of PAR to SI. These irradiance ratios exhibit dependence on sky conditions, with slightly larger values being observed under cloudy skies and seasonal variations, attributable to changes in local air mass climatology. The highest values have been obtained during the growing season (April–September). The mean annual value of 0.473 observed for the irradiance ratio in the PAR band compares favorably with values reported in the literature for different locations over a wide geographical area.With 2 Figures     

Parameterizing turbulent diffusion through the joint probability density

The convective mass flux parameterization often used in meteorological modeling expresses the vertical flux of a transported scalar as proportional to the product of the difference in mean values of the scalar in updrafts and downdrafts and their characteristic velocity. The proportionality factor is a constant to be specified. We show that this proportionality factor also appears in the relaxed eddy accumulation technique of Businger and Oncley. That associates the surface-layer flux of a scalar with the product of the standard deviation of vertical velocity and the mean concentration difference between updrafts and downdrafts.We show that this constant (b) is determined uniquely by the joint probability density (jpd) of vertical velocity and the scalar. Using large-eddy simulation, we generate this jpd for a conservative scalar diffusing through a convective boundary layer. It has quite different forms in top-down and bottom-up diffusion geometries. The bottom-up jpd is fairly well represented by a jointly Gaussian form and implies b ~ 0.6, in good agreement with the surface-layer value reported by Businger and Oncley. The top-down jpd is strikingly non-Gaussian and gives b ~ 0.47. Updrafts carry the bulk of the scalar flux - 70% in the bottom-up case, 60% in the top-down case.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Thermal comfort of man in different urban environments

Summary On July 29, 1985, a hot summer day, biometeorological measurements were performed simultaneously in three different urban structures within the city of Munich and in the trunk space of a nearby tall spruce forest. Based on the results of these experiments the following thermophysiologically relevant biometeorological indices were calculated: Predicted mean vote, skin wettedness and physiologically equivalent temperature. These three indices are derived from different models for the human energy balance. They allow the assessment of the thermal components of the microclimates at the selected sites with regard to application in urban planning. The results quantitatively show the great heat stress in the urban structure street canyon, exposed to south, whereas in the trunk space of the tall spruce forest there is nearly an optimal climate even on hot summer days. Between these extremes the results for street canyon, exposed to north show a little higher heat load than for backyard with trees.

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Zusammenfassung An einem heißen Sommertag, dem 29. Juli 1985, wurden in drei Stadtstrukturen in München und im Stammraum eines nahegelegenen Fichtenhochwaldes zeitgleich biometeorologische Messungen durchgeführt. Mit den Meßergebnissen wurden folgende thermophysiologisch relevante biometeorologische Indizes berechnet: Predicted mean vote, Hautbenetzungsgrad und physiologisch äquivalente Temperatur. Diese drei Indizes beruhen auf verschiedenen Modellen zur menschlichen Energiebilanz. Mit den drei Indizes wurden die thermischen Komponenten der Mikroklimate an den ausgewählten Meßplätzen im Hinblick auf Stadtplanungsaufgaben bewertet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen quantitativ die relativ große Hitzebelastung bei der Stadtstruktur Straßenschlucht, nach Süd exponiert, während im Stammraum des Fichtenhochwaldes selbst an heißen Sommertagen nahezu optimale Bedingungen herrschen. Zwischen diesen Extremen liegen die Ergebnisse für die anderen Meßplätze, wobei für Straßenschlucht, nach Nord exponiert die Wärmebelastung etwas höher als für Innenhof mit Bäumen ist.

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With 6 Figures     

Periodicity of annual precipitation in different climate regions of Croatia

Summary The periodicity of a 100-year series of annual precipitation over Croatia has been studied by means of power spectrum analysis at 3 stations representing the different climatic regions of Croatia. The annual precipitation variance spectra in the continental lowland (Osijek) and at the north East Adriatic coast (Crikvenica) can be fitted by Markov white noise continuum, but in the transitional region between the Dinaric Alps and the Pannonian lowland (Zagreb-Gri) a non-white noise continuum is necessary. Quasi-periodic oscillations appear in two spectra ranges: short (2.2 and 4.7 years) and medium (25.0 and 33.3 years). These results are compared with those of other authors for other parts of the Europe.With 2 Figures     

Effects of heat and water vapor transport on eddy covariance measurement of CO2 fluxes

Flux densities of carbon dioxide were measured over an arid, vegetation-free surface by eddy covariance techniques and by a heat budget-profile method, in which CO₂ concentration gradients were specified in terms of mixing ratios. This method showed negligible fluxes of CO₂, consistent with the bareness of the experimental site, whereas the eddy covariance measurements indicated large downward fluxes of CO₂. These apparently conflicting observations are in quantitative agreement with the results of a recent theory which predicts that whenever there are vertical fluxes of sensible or latent heat, a mean vertical velocity is developed. This velocity causes a mean vertical convective mass flux (= _cw for CO₂, in standard notation). The eddy covariance technique neglects this mean convective flux and measures only the turbulent flux _c w. Thus, when the net flux of CO₂ is zero, the eddy covariance method indicates an apparent flux which is equal and opposite to the mean convective flux, i.e., _c w = – _c w. Corrections for the mean convective flux are particularly significant for CO₂ because _cw and _c w are often of similar magnitude. The correct measurement of the net CO₂ flux by eddy covariance techniques requires that the fluxes of sensible and latent heat be measured as well.     

Surface-Layer Fluxes in Stable Conditions

Micrometeorological tower data from the Microfronts experiment are analyzed. Scale-dependencies of the flux and flux sampling error are combined to automatically determine Reynolds turbulence cut-off time scales for computing fluxes from time series. The computed downward heat flux at the 3 m height averaged over nine nights with 7.3 hours each night is 20% greater than the downward heat flux computed at the 10 m height. In contrast, there is only a 1.2% difference between 3 m and 10 m heat fluxes averaged over daytime periods, and there is less than a 2% difference between 3 m and 10 m momentum fluxes whether averaged over nighttime or daytime periods.Stability functions, M(z/L) and H(z/L) are extended to z/L up to 10, where z is the observational height and L is the Obukhov length. For 0.01 < z/L < 1 the estimated functions generally agree with Businger-Dyer formulations, though the H estimates include more scatter compared to the M estimates. For 1 < z/L < 10, the flux intermittency increases, the flux Richardson number exceeds 0.2, and the number of flux samples decreases. Nonetheless the estimates of the stability function M based on 3-m fluxes are closer to the formula proposed by Beljaars and Holtslag in 1991 while the M functions based on 10-m fluxes appears to be closer to the formula proposed by Businger et al. in 1971. The stability function H levels off at z/L = 0.5.     

Reactions of alkoxy radicals under atmospheric conditions: The relative importance of decomposition versus reaction with O2

The reactions of alkoxy radicals determine to a large extent the products formed during the atmospheric degradations of emitted organic compounds. Experimental data concerning the decompositions, 1,5-H shift isomerizations and reactions with O₂ of several classes of alkoxy radicals are inconsistent with literature estimations of their absolute or relative rate constants. An alternative, although empirical, method for assessing the relative importance under atmospheric conditions of the reactions of alkoxy radicals with O₂ versus decomposition was derived. This estimation method utilizes the differences in the heats of reaction, (H)=(H_{decomposition}–H_{O 2 reaction}), between these two reactions pathways. For (H)[22–0.5(H_{O 2 reaction})], alkoxy radical decomposition dominates over the reaction with O₂ at room temperature and atmospheric pressure of air, while for (H)[25-0.5(H_{O 2 reaction})], the O₂ reaction dominates over decomposition (where the units of H are in kcal mol^–1). The utility and shortcomings of this approach are discussed. It is concluded that further studies concerning the reactions of alkoxy radicals are needed.     

Numerical Simulation of Strongly Stratified Flow Over a Three-Dimensional Hill

A numerical study of stably stratified flow over a three-dimensional hill is presented. Large-eddy simulation is used here to examine in detail the laboratory experimental flows described in the landmark work of Hunt and Snyder about stratified flow over a hill. The flow is linearly stratified and U/Nh is varied from 0.2 to 1.0. Here N and U are the buoyancy frequency and freestream velocity respectively, and h is the height of the hill. The Reynolds number based on the hill height is varied from 365 to 2968. The characteristic flow patterns at various values of U/Nh have been obtained and they are in good agreement with earlier theoretical and experimental results. It is shown that the flow field cannot be predicted by Drazin's theory when recirculation exists at the leeside of the hill even at UNh 1. The wake structure agrees well with a two-dimensional wake assumption when U/Nh 1 but lee waves start to influence the wake structure as U/Nh increases. The dividing-streamline heights obtained in the simulation are in accordance with experimental results and Sheppard's formula. The energy loss along the dividing streamline due to friction/turbulence approximately offsets the energy gained from pressure field. When lee waves are present, linear theory always underestimates the amplitude and overestimates the wavelength of three-dimensional lee waves. The simulated variations of drag coefficients with the parameterK (=ND/ U) are qualitatively consistent with experimental data and linear theory. Here D is the depth of the tank.     

Recurrence statistics of concentration fluctuations in plumes within a near-neutral atmospheric surface layer

This study examines the statistical properties of the concentration derivative, , for a dispersing plume in a near-neutrally stratified atmospheric surface layer. Towards this goal, the probability density function (pdf) of , and the conditional pdf of given a fixed concentration level, , have been measured. These pdfs are found to be modeled well by a generalizedq-Gaussian (gqG) distribution with intermittency exponent,q, equal to 0.3 and 3/4, respectively. These results highlight the strong intermittency effect (patchiness) of the small-scale concentration eddy structures in the plume. The distribution of time intervals between successive high peaks in the squared derivative process, x², is found to be well approximated by a power-law distribution, implying that occurrences of these high peaks are much more clustered than would be predicted by a Poisson or shot-noise process. The results are used to improve models for the joint pdf of and , and for the expected number of upcrossings per unit time interval of a fixed concentration level that have been proposed by Kristensenet al. (1989). The predictions of the improved models are in accord with observations, and suggest that the intercorrelation between and must be explicitly incorporated if good estimates of the upcrossing intensity are to be obtained.     

A study of the sensitivity of bare soil evaporation schemes to soil surface wetness,using the coupled soil moisture and surface temperature prediction model,BARESOIL

Summary The performance of evaporation schemes with and approach and their combination within resistance representation of evaporation from bare soil surface is discussed. For this purpose nine schemes, based on different functions of or , on the ratio of the volumetric soil moisture content and its saturated value are used.The quality of the chosen schemes has been evaluated using the results of time integration by the coupled soil moisture and surface temperature prediction model, BARESOIL, using in situ data. A sensitivity analysis was made using two sets of data derived from the volumetric soil moisture content of the top soil layer. One with values below the wilting point (0.17 m³m^–3) and the second with values above 0.20m³m^–3. Data sets were obtained at the experimental site Rimski anevi, Yugoslavia, from the bare surface of a chernozem soil.With 4 Figures     

Three million years of monsoon variability over the northern Sahara

We present a 3 million year record of aeolian dust supply into the eastern Mediterranean Sea, based on hematite contents derived from magnetic properties of sediments from Ocean Drilling Program Site 967. Our record has an average temporal resolution of 400 years. Geochemical data validate this record of hematite content as a proxy for the supply of aeolian dust from the Sahara. We deduce that the aeolian hematite in eastern Mediterranean sediments derives from the eastern Algerian, Libyan, and western Egyptian lowlands located north of the central Saharan watershed (21°N). In corroboration of earlier work, we relate dust flux minima to penetration of the African summer monsoon front to the north of the central Saharan watershed. This would have enhanced soil humidity and vegetation cover in the source regions, in agreement with results from green Sahara climate models. Our results indicate that this northward monsoon penetration recurred during insolation maxima throughout the last 3 million years. As would be expected, this orbital precession-scale mechanism is modulated on both short (100-kyr) and long (400-kyr) eccentricity time scales. We also observe a strong expression of the 41-kyr (obliquity) cycle, which we discuss in terms of high- and low-latitude mechanisms that involve Southern Hemisphere meridional temperature contrasts and shifts in the latitudes of the tropics, respectively. We also observe a marked increase in sub-Milankovitch variability around the mid-Pleistocene transition (0.95 Ma), which suggests a link between millennial-scale climate variability, including monsoon dynamics, and the size of northern hemisphere ice sheets.     

On the cumulative frequency distributions ofk-day period amounts of precipitation for any station in The Netherlands,while k≧30

Summary A simple method of representing cumulative frequency distributions ofk-day period amounts of precipitation (30k1800), deduced from observations at Hoofddorp during 87 years and from observations at Winterswijk during 73 years, by means of cumulative Poisson distributions, had been developed. Poisson's constant appeared to depend linearly onk only, while the Poisson unitq appeared to be only proportional to the annual variation.In this paper it is shown that the representation of observed cumulative frequency distributions with the aid of Poisson distributions is true for any station in The Netherlands in the interval 30k1800. A map with isopleths of -values fork=360 presents a simple picture, so that for any station an -value fork=360 can be estimated. For the process of representation the meank-day period amount of precipitation is also necessary. This value may be obtained from a map for each of the 12 months, each map covered with isohyetal lines, which give a distribution of the monthly precipitation.

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Zusammenfassung Es wurde eine Methode entwickelt, um in einfacher Weise Summenfunktionen vonk-tägigen Niederschlagsmengen (30k1800), welche aus Beobachtungen in Hoofddorp während 87 Jahren und in Winterswijk während 73 Jahren angestellt worden sind, durch kumulative Poissonsche Häufigkeitsverteilungen darzustellen. Dabei ergab sich, daß die Poissonsche Konstante nur linear vonk abhängig ist, während die Poissonsche Einheitq sich als proportional zum Jahresgang erwies.In der vorliegenden Untersuchung wird nun gezeigt, daß die Darstellung der beobachteten kumulativen Häufigkeitsverteilungen mit Hilfe von Poisson-Verteilungen für irgendeine Station in den Niederlanden im Bereich von 30k1800 gültig ist. Eine Karte mit Isoplethen der -Werte fürk=360 ergibt ein einfaches Bild, aus dem für jede beliebige Station ein -Wert fürk=360 abgelesen werden kann. Für eine solche Darstellung muß auch die Niederschlagsmenge derk-tägigen Perioden bekannt sein; diese Werte erhält man aus monatlichen Isohyeten-Karten, die die monatliche Niederschlagsverteilung wiedergeben.

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Résumé On avait développé une méthode pour représenter d'une façon simple les distributions des sommes cumulées dek jours (30k1800) des quantités de précipitations déduites des observations faites à Hoofddorp pendant 87 ans et à Winterswijk pendant 73 ans. On avait démontré que la constante de Poisson ne dépend dek que linéairement et que l'unité de Poissonq est proportionnelle à la variation annuelle.De la présente étude ressort que, dans l'intervalle de 30k1800, la représentation des distributions des fréquences cumulées observées au moyen des formules de Poisson est valable pour une station quelconque aux Pays-Bas. Une carte d'isoplèthes de la valeur pourk=360 donne une image suffisamment simple pour que la valeur d'une station quelconque aux Pays-Bas puisse être déterminée sans difficulté. Pour une telle représentation il faut connaître également les moyennes des quantités des périodes dek jours de la précipitation. Ces valeurs peuvent se déduire de cartes mensuelles des isohyètes moyennes.

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With 1 Figure

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Dedicated to Dr.Anders K. Ångström on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

Bioaccumulation of Cobalt in Parmelia sulcata

Six locations across mainland Portugal were selected for exposing Parmelia sulcata, for a one-year period (8 months for one site), with simultaneous measurement of total (dry + wet) deposition (one-month periods). The exposed lichens and the total (dry + wet) deposition were analysed for cobalt contents by INAA (instrumental neutron activation analysis) and ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy), respectively. The designated wet deposition was evaluated through the collected water volume; the designated dry deposition was assessed after the (dried) residual mass of the wet deposition. An excellent agreement between Co contents in exposed lichens and the cumulative (1) Co contents in the dry deposition, (2) dry deposition, and (3) wet deposition has been found for the locations with alternate drought and precipitation months, high dry deposition, and high Co contents in the latter. Continuous rainfall was found to hinder the Co accumulation in the lichen due to its release from the lichen and/or lower Co contents in the dry deposition. At three locations, P. sulcata Co contents, after subtraction of the background (before exposure), equalled or exceeded the Co contents in the cumulative dry deposition at the end of the exposure time. The optimal exposure period for this species likely depends on the exposure conditions.     

An observational aircraft-based study of sea-breeze frontogenesis

In the summer of 1988/89 flights were carried out in the Coorong coastal area of South Australia to investigate sea-breeze fronts. The flights yielded data sets of the structure of the fronts in the cross-frontal direction with a spatial resolution of approximately 3 m. The study is focused on the budgets of sensible and latent heat in the vicinity of the front and on frontogenesis/frontolysis processes which are closely related to budget considerations.The frontogenesis relationships and the budgets were established on a 2 km length scale by low-pass filtering of the space series. As the wind components were measured with high accuracy, all processes which determine frontogenesis could be evaluated and are displayed in x,z-cross-sections: these are the confluence, shear and diabatic effects, all of which play a role in q/x-, q/z-, /x- as well as /z-frontogenesis. A detailed analysis is given for two different states of frontal development. The presented results shed much light on the governing physical processes in the frontal region with strong emphasis on the effects of confluence-generated updrafts, on shear instabilities causing bulges and clefts in the frontal surface as well as producing the elevated frontal head, and on processes related to differential heating and moistening.     

Estimation of the Monin-Obukhov similarity functions from a spectral model

From measured one-dimensional spectra of velocity and temperature variance, the universal functions of the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory are calculated for the range –2 z/L + 2. The calculations show good agreement with observations with the exception of a range –1 z/L 0 in which the function _m , i.e., the nondimensional mean shear, is overestimated. This overestimation is shown to be caused by neglecting the spectral divergence of a vertical transport of turbulent kinetic energy. The integral of the spectral divergence over the entire wave number space is suggested to be negligibly small in comparison with production and dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy.Notation a,b,c contants (see Equations (–4)) - C_i constants i=u, v, w, (see Equation (5) - k_me,k_mT peak wave numbers of 3-d moel spectra of turbulent kinetic energy and of temperature variance, respectively - k_mi peak wave numbers of 1-d spectra of velocity components i=u, v, w and of temperature fluctuations i= - k_sb, k_c characteristics wave numbers of energy-feeding by mechanical effects being modified by mean buoyancy, and of convective energy feeding, respectively - L Monin-Obukhov length - % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXafv3ySLgzGmvETj2BSbqefm0B1jxALjhiov2D% aebbfv3ySLgzGueE0jxyaibaiiYdd9qrFfea0dXdf9vqai-hEir8Ve% ea0de9qq-hbrpepeea0db9q8as0-LqLs-Jirpepeea0-as0Fb9pgea% 0lrP0xe9Fve9Fve9qapdbaqaaeGacaGaaiaabeqaamaabaabcaGcba% Gabeivayaaraaaaa!3C5B!\[{\rm{\bar T}}\] difference of mean temperature and mean potential temperature - T* Monin-Obukhov temperature scale - velocity of mean flow in positive x-direction - u* friction velocity - u, v, w components of velocity fluctuations - z height above ground - von Kármanán constant - temperature fluctuation - _m nondimensional mean shear - _H nondimensional mean temperature gradient - nondimensional rate of lolecular dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy - _D nondimensional divergence of vertical transports of turbulent linetic energy     

Trace gas exchange at the air/water interface: Measurements of mass accommodation coefficients

A liquid jet of 90 m diameter and variable length has been utilized to determine absorption rates and, hence, mass accommodation coefficients , of atmospheric trace gases. The compounds investigated are HCl (0.01), HNO₃ (0.01), N₂O₅ (0.005), peroxyacetyl nitrate (>0.001), and HONO (0.005). It is concluded that the absorption of these trace gases by liquid atmospheric water is not significantly retarded by interfacial mass transport. The strengths and limitations of the liquid jet technique for measuring mass accommodation coefficients are explored.     

Flux-profile Relationships for Wind Speed and Temperature in the Stable Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Wind and temperature profiles in the stable boundary layer were analyzed in the context of MoninObukhov similarity. The measurements were made on a 60-m tower in Kansas during October 1999 (CASES-99). Fluxprofile relationships, obtained from these measurements in their integral forms, were established for wind speed and temperature. Use of the integral forms eliminates the uncertainty and accuracy issues resulting from gradient computations. The corresponding stability functions, which were nearly the same for momentum and virtual sensible heat, were found to exhibit different features under weakly stable conditions compared to those under strongly stable conditions. The gradient stability functions were found to be linear, namely _m = 1+ 5.8 and _h = 1 + 5.4 up to a limit of the MoninObukhov stability parameter = 0.8; this is consistent with earlier findings. However, for stronger stabilities beyond a transition range, both functions were observed gradually to approach a constant, with a value of approximately 7. To link these two distinct regimes, a general but pliable functional form with only two parameters is proposed for the stability functions, covering the entire stability range from neutral to very stable conditions.     

On Trajectory Curvature as a Selection Criterion for Valid Lagrangian Stochastic Dispersion Models

Recently Wilson and Flesch (Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 84, 411-426, 1997) suggested that the average increment d z to the orientation = arctan(w/u) of the Lagrangian velocity-fluctuation vector can be used to distinguish the better Lagrangian stochastic models within the well-mixed class. Here it is demonstrated that the specification of d z constitutes neither a sufficient or universally applicable criterion to distinguish the better Lagrangian stochastic models within the well-mixed class. The hypothesis made by Wilson and Flesch that Lagrangian stochastic models with /P_E irrotational are zero-spin models, having d z=0, is proven     

Les bilans énergétiques approchés en variables λ, ϕ,p ett

Résumé L'auteur montre comment il faut déduire les formes approchées des bilans énergétiques des mouvements atmosphériques en variables , ,p ett de leurs formes générales exactes. Il a tenu compte de la variabilité de la pression à la surface du globe.

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Summary It is shown how the approximate energy equations of atmospheric motions expressed with the independent variables , ,p andt must bederived from their exact general form. The variability of surface pressure has been taken into account.

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Zusammenfassung Es wird gezeigt, wie sich Näherungsformeln der Energiebilanzen der atmosphärischen Bewegungsvorgänge durch die unabhängigen Variablen , ,p undt von ihrer exakten Formulierung ableiten lassen; dabei wird der Veränderlichkeit des Luftdrucks an der Erdoberfläche Rechnung getragen.