Response of vegetation NDVI to climatic extremes in the arid region of Central Asia: a case study in Xinjiang,China

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Observed data showed the climatic transition from warm-dry to warm-wet in Xinjiang during the past 30 years and will probably affect vegetation...     

Trends in thermal discomfort indices over western coastal cities of India

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The present research aimed at analyzing temporal trends in thermal discomfort indices for a period of 46 years from 1969 to 2014 over western coastal...     

The thermal comfort and its changes in the 31 provincial capital cities of mainland China in the past 30 years

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The thermal comfort and its changes in the 31 provincial capital cities of mainland China in the past 30 years were comprehensively evaluated using...     

Australian blocking impacts on ocean surface waves

Climate Dynamics - We assess the impact of split-flow blocking in the Australian region on global ocean wind waves using 30 years of high-resolution wave data from the CAWCR wave model...     

Sunshine duration and its variability in the main ridge of the Karkonosze Mountains in relation to with atmospheric circulation

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Sunshine duration analysis was based on a series of measurements spanning the period from 1901 to 2014 for Śnieżka (1603 m a.s.l.)...     

Circulation structures leading to propagating and non-propagating heavy summer rainfall in central North China

Climate Dynamics - Using 30 years of hourly rain gauge records and reanalysis data, this paper reveals two types of heavy summer rainfall in central North China (CNC): the lasting mountain...     

Ocean–atmosphere coupled processes in the tropical Indian Ocean region prior to Indian summer monsoon onset over Kerala

Climate Dynamics - The present study examines atmosphere–ocean interaction before MOK using various observational data sets during the last 35 years (1982–2016). The analyses...     

UV attenuation in the cloudy atmosphere

Ultraviolet (UV) energy absorption plays a very important role in the Earth–atmosphere system. Based on observational data for Beijing, we suggest that some atmospheric constituents utilize or transfer UV energy in chemical and photochemical (C&P) reactions, in addition to those which absorb UV energy directly. These constituents are primarily volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from both vegetative and anthropogenic sources. The total UV energy loss in the cloudy atmosphere for Beijing in 1990 was 78.9 Wm⁻². This attenuation was caused by ozone (48.3 Wm⁻²), other compounds in the atmosphere (26.6 Wm⁻²) and a scattering factor (4.0 Wm⁻²). Our results for a cloudy atmosphere in the Beijing area show that the absorption due to these other compounds occurs largely through the mediation of water vapor. This fraction of energy loss has not been fully accounted for in previous models. Observations and previous models results suggest that 1) a cloudy atmosphere absorbs 25∼30 Wm⁻² more solar shortwave radiation than models predict; and 2) aerosols can significantly decrease the downward mean UV-visible radiation and the absorbed solar radiation at the surface by up to 28 and 23 Wm⁻², respectively. Thus, quantitative study of UV and visible absorption by atmospheric constituents involved in homogeneous and heterogeneous C&P reactions is important for atmospheric models.     

Near-surface air temperature lapse rates in Xinjiang,northwestern China

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Lapse rates of near-surface (2 m) air temperature are important parameters in hydrologic and climate simulations, especially for the mountainous areas...     

The effect of the variability of wind forcing on ENSO simulation in an OGCM: case of canonical and protracted event

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - This study is an attempt to understand the onset and the evolution of canonical (typical length ~ 18–24 months; CE) and protracted...     

Recent Wyoming temperature trends,their drivers,and impacts in a 14,000-year context

Wyoming provides more fossil fuels to the remainder of the United States than any other state or country, and its citizens remain skeptical of anthropogenic influences on their climate. However, much of the state including Yellowstone National Park and the headwaters of several major river systems, may have already been affected by rising temperatures. This paper examines the historic climate record from Wyoming in the context of ∼14,000-year temperature reconstructions based on fossil pollen data. The analysis shows that 24 of 30 U.S. Historical Climatology Network records from the state show an increase in the frequency of unusually warm years since 1978. Statewide temperatures have included 15 years (50%) from 1978 to 2007 that were greater than 1σ above the mean annual temperature for 1895–1978. The frequent warm years coincide with a reduction in the frequency of extremely low (<−20°C) January temperatures, and are not well explained by factors such as solar irradiance and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Linear regressions require inclusion of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations to explain the multi-decadal temperature trends. The observed warming is large in Yellowstone National Park where 21 years (70%) from 1978 to 2007 were greater than 1σ above the 1895–1978 mean; the deviation from the mean (>1°C) is greater than any time in the past 6,000 years. Recent temperatures have become as high as those experienced from 11,000 to 6,000 years ago when summer insolation was >6% higher than today and when regional ecosystems experienced frequent severe disturbances.     

The role of short-wave troughs on the formation and development of sea-effect snowbands in the western Black Sea

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The short waves (less than 6000&nbsp;km) embedded within the long waves and the resulting short-wave troughs have an effect on the sea-effect snow (SES)....     

Statistical adjustment,calibration and downscaling of seasonal forecasts: a case-study for Southeast Asia

Climate Dynamics - The present paper is a follow-on of the work presented in&nbsp;Manzanas et al. (Clim Dyn 53(3–4):1287–1305, 2019) which provides a comprehensive intercomparison...     

Impacts of Boundary-Layer Structure and Turbulence on the Variations of PM2.5 During Fog–Haze Episodes

Boundary-Layer Meteorology - The precise cause of PM2.5 (fine particular matter with a diameter smaller than 2.5&nbsp;μm) explosive growth and the contribution of intermittent turbulence...     

A 10-year study of background surface ozone concentrations on the island of Gozo in the Central Mediterranean

A 10-year study of surface ozone mixing ratios in the Central Mediterranean was conducted based on continuous ozone measurements from 1997 to 2006 by a background regional Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) station on the island of Gozo. The mean annual maximum mixing ratio is of the order of 66 ppbv in April–May with a broad secondary maximum of 64 ppbv in July–September. No long-term increase or decrease in the background level of surface ozone could be observed over the last 10 years. This is contrary to observations made in the Eastern Mediterranean, where a slow decrease in the background ozone mixing ratio was observed over the past 7 years. Despite the very high average annual ozone mixing ratio exceeding 50 ppbv—in fact, the highest average background ozone mixing ratio ever measured in Europe—, the diurnal O _{3 max}/O _{3 min} index of <1.40 indicates that the island of Gozo is a good site for measuring background surface ozone. However, frequent photosmog events from June to September during the past 10 years with ozone mixing ratios exceeding 90 ppbv indicate that the Central Mediterranean is prone to long-range transport of air pollutants from Europe by northerly winds. This was particularly evident during the so-called “August heatwave” of the year 2003 when the overall ozone mixing ratio was 4.6 ppbv higher than the average of all other 9 months of August since 1997. Air mass back-trajectory analysis of the August 2003 photosmog episodes on Gozo confirmed that ozone pollution originated from the European continent. Regression analysis was used to analyse the 10-year data set in order to model the behaviour of the ozone mixing ratio in terms of the meteorological parameters of wind speed, relative humidity, global radiation, temperature, month of year, wind sector, atmospheric pressure, and time of day (predictors). Most of these predictors were found to significantly affect the ozone mixing ratios. From March to November, the monthly average of the AOT40 threshold value for the protection of crops and vegetation against ozone was constantly exceeded on Gozo during the past 10 years.     

Correction to: The contributions of fronts,lows and thunderstorms to southern Australian rainfall

Climate Dynamics - In the original published version of the paper, the figures reported in Sect.&nbsp;4 relating the proportion of rainfall in southern Australia that is due to each of the...     

Changes of western European heat wave characteristics projected by the CMIP5 ensemble

Climate Dynamics - We investigate heat waves defined as periods of at least 3 consecutive days of extremely high daily maximum temperature affecting at least 30&nbsp;% of western Europe. This...     

Composition and sources of organic matter in atmospheric PM10 over a two year period in Beijing, China

The solvent-extractable organic compounds of atmospheric PM₁₀ samples, collected over two years beginning in 2003 at urban and suburban sites of Beijing, were characterized using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The elemental carbon (EC) contents were determined and ranged from 4.3 to 42 μg m^− 3. Organic compounds in total extracts were identified and included unresolved complex mixture (UCM) and series of n-alkanes, n-alkanols, n-alkanoic acids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); saccharides, alkanedioic acids, steroids, and other biomarkers and source tracers. The seasonal variations of their relative abundances are discussed. The abundance order for the major molecular classes in the particulate organic matter (POM) was the following: UCM > saccharides > n-alkanoic acids >n-alkanes > n-alkanols > PAHs > hydroxy-PAHs > other biomarker tracers. Based on the genetic significance of the molecular tracers, the dominant sources of POM are proposed for the two sampling sites. The emissions from fossil fuel use (both coal and petroleum products), biomass combustion, other pyrolysis sources, higher plant wax, and secondary products contribute > 98.0% of the POM mass. The fossil fuel use (average = 65% of POM) is the largest contributor and derives mainly from vehicular traffic.     

Synoptic Features of the Second Meiyu Period in 1998 over China

1. IntroductionThe Meiyu, translated as plum rain, is a majorannual rainfall event over the Yangtze River Basin inChina and southern Japan in June and July. Theheavy rainfall is mainly caused by a quasi-stationaryfront, known as the Meiyu front, extended from east-ern China to southern Japan (Tao, 1958; Matsumotoet al., 1971; Akiyama, 1990; Gao et al, 1990). Studiesof Zhang and Zhang (1990) and Chen et al. (1998)pointed that the Meiyu front is one of the most signif-icant circulation s…     

Climatic trends in the Amazonian area of Ecuador: Classical and multifractal analyses

The climate evolution and change in the Amazonian area is very important at least at a continental scale involving Latin America where more than 550 million people live. The objective of the present study was to investigate, from an environmental perspective, the climatic trends in the Amazonian area of continental Ecuador. We performed both classical and multifractal analyses of these trends on four climatic variables (maximum and minimum temperature, evaporation and evaporation/precipitation ratio). Data were collected from Puyo meteorological station, Pastaza Province, Ecuador. Data sets covered 31 years (from January 1974 to September 2005). Each time series consisted of 380 months.Piecewise regression analyses with breaking point showed two regimes with a cutoff ranging from t = 80 months (maximum and minimum temperature) to t = 133 months for the evaporation pattern (determination coefficient ≥ 0.979) while the multifractal analyses showed an increasing complexity within each climatic variable. All the considered climatic variables showed an increase since 1974 to approximately 1985. After that some type of smoother increase was observed.