Snow water content estimation from measured snow temperature

The vertical temperature profiles of snow and sea ice have been measured in the Arctic during the 2nd Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition in 2003(CHINARE2003).The high-resolution temperature profile in snow is solved by one-dimensional heat transfer equation.The effective heat diffusivity,internal heat sources are identified.The internal heat source refers to the penetrated solar radiation which usually warms the lower part of the snow layer in summer.By temperature gradient analysis,the zero level can be clarified quantitatively as the boundary of the dry and wet snow.According to the in situ time series of vertical temperature profile,the time series of water content in snow is obtained based on an evaluation method of snow water content associated with the snow and ice physical parameters.The relationship of snow water content and snow temperature and temporal-spatial distribution of snow water content are presented     

Spatial-temporal characters of Antarctic sea ice variation

1　Introduction Nowadaysglobalclimatechangehasbeenanimportantissueintheworld.Antarctic areaisjustthekeyandsensitiveregion,fromwhichscientistsaretryingtheirbesttofind theomenofglobalclimatechange.Andfortherevolvingglobalatmosphere,PolarRegions arecoldsource.TheoceanicandatmosphericconditionofPolarRegionsisimportantto globalatmosphericcirculationandclimatechange.Antarcticareaisoneofthecoldsources ofglobalearth atmospheresystem,whileequatorialareaisitsmainheatsource(seeZhou andLuetal.1996).…     

The sensitivity of numerical simulation to vertical mixing parameterization schemes: a case study for the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass

The vertical mixing parameterization scheme,by providing the effects of some explicitly missed physical processes and more importantly closing the energy budgets,is a critical model component and therefore imposes significant impacts on model performance.The Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass(YSCWM),as the most striking and unique phenomenon in the Yellow Sea during summer,is dramatically affected by vertical mixing process during its each stage and therefore seriously sensitive to the proper choice of parameterization scheme.In this paper,a hindcast of YSCWM in winter of 2006 was implemented by using the Regional Ocean Modeling System(ROMS).Three popular parameterization scheme s,including the level2.5 Mellor-Yamada clo sure(M-Y 2.5),Generic Length Scale clo sure(GL S) and K-Profile Parameterization(KPP),were tested and compared with each other by conducting a series of sensitivity model experiments.The influence of different parameterization scheme s on modeling the YSCWM was then carefully examined and assessed based on these model experiments.Although reasonable thermal structure and its seasonal variation were well reproduced by all schemes,considerable differences could still be found among all experiments.A warmer and spatially smaller simulation of YSCWM,with very strong the rmocline,appeared in M-Y 2.5 experiment,while a spatially larger YSCWM with shallow mixed layer was found in GLS and KPP schemes.Among all the experiments,the discrepancy,indicated by core temperature,appeared since spring,and grew gradually by the end of November.Additional experiments also confirmed that the increase of background diffusivity could effectively weaken the YSCWM,in either strength or coverage.Surface wave,another contributor in upper layer,was found responsible for the shrinkage of YSCWM coverage.The treatment of wave effect as an additional turbulence production term in progno stic equation was shown to be more superior to the strategy of directly increasing diffusivity for a coastal region.     

Links between Arctic sea ice and extreme summer precipi- tation in China：an alternative view

Potential links between the Arctic sea-ice concentration anomalies and extreme precipitation in China are explored. Associations behind these links can be explained by physical interpretations aided by...     

A coupled multi-category sea ice model and POM for Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea

An overview of the seasonal variation of sea-ice cover in Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea is given. A coupled ice-ocean model, CECOM, has been developed to study the seasonal variation and associated ice-ocean processes. The sea-ice component of the model is a multi-category ice model in which mean concentration and thickness are expressed in terms of a thickness distribution function. Ten categories of ice thickness are specified in the model. Sea ice is coupled dynamically and thermodynamically to the Princeton Ocean Model. Selected results from the model including the seasonal variation of sea ice in Baffin Bay, the North Water polynya and ice growth and melt over the Labrador Shelf are presented.     

Spatio-temporal Variation of Arctic Sea Ice in Summer from 2003 to 2013

The variation in Arctic sea ice has significant implications for climate change due to its huge influence on the global heat balance. In this study, we quantified the spatio-temporal variation of Arctic sea ice distribution using Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer(AMSR-E) sea-ice concentration data from 2003 to 2013. The results found that, over this period, the extent of sea ice reached a maximum in 2004, whereas in 2007 and 2012, the extent of summer sea ice was at a minimum. It declined continuously from 2010 to 2012, falling to its lowest level since 2003. Sea-ice extent fell continuously each summer between July and mid-September before increasing again. It decreased most rapidly in September, and the summer reduction rate was 1.35 × 10~5 km~2/yr, twice as fast as the rate between 1979 and 2006, and slightly slower than from 2002 to 2011. Area with 90% sea-ice concentration decreased by 1.32 × 10~7 km~2/yr, while locations with 50% sea-ice concentration, which were mainly covered by perennial ice, were near the North Pole, the Beaufort Sea, and the Queen Elizabeth Islands. Perennial Arctic ice decreased at a rate of 1.54 × 10~5 km~2 annually over the past 11 years.     

Antarctica Sea-ice Oscillation and Its Possible Impact on Monsoon of South Sea

Antarctic sea-ice oscillation index with a seesaw pattern is defined using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis girds data of monthly Antarctica sea-ice concentration from 1979 to 2002. The relationships between the index of winter and the summer precipitations in China as well as the onset date of the summer East Asia monsoon are presented. The study result shows that the grids of correlation coefficients passed 5% confidence level between Antarctic sea-ice oscillation index and Antarctic sea-ice concentration are more than 1/3 of all grids of Antarctica sea-ice, that means the index can represent 1/3 sea-ice area. The winter index has a significant correlation with abnormal summer (June-August) precipitation in China. The area of positive correlation lies in the Yangtze River basin and its south, and that of negative correlation lies mainly in the north of Yangtze River basin. While the winter index is positive (negative), the onset date of South China Sea monsoon is earlier (later), with a probability of 79% (80%). Consequently, a conceptual model is given in term of discussing the possible process between the winter Antarctic sea ice and the monsoon precipitation in China.     

Investigation of the thermodynamic processes of a floe-lead system in the central Arctic during later summer

Thermodynamic processes of a system involving a floe and a small lead in the central Arctic were investigated during the ice-camp period of the third Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition from 20 to 28 August, 2008. The measurements included surface air temperatures above the floe, spectral albedo of the lead, seawater temperatures in the lead and under the ice cover, and the lateral and bottom mass balance of the floe. The surface air temperature at 1.15 m remained below 0℃ throughout the observation period and sea ice had commenced its annual cycle of growth in response to autumn cooling during the study. The surface of the lead was frozen by 23 August, after which the spectral albedo of the thin-ice-covered lead in the band of 320-950 nm was 0.46 ±0.03, the seawater temperatures both in the lead and under the ice cover, as well as the vertical seawater-temperature gradient in the lead decreased gradually, and the oceanic heat under the ice was maintained at a low level approaching 0 W/m2. By the end of the measurement, the thickness of the investigated floe had reached its annual minimum, while the lateral of the floe was still in the melting phase, with a mean melting rate of 1.0 ±0.3 cm/d during the measurement, responding to an equivalent latent heat flux of 21 ±6 W/m2. The lateral melting of the floe had made a more significant contribution to the sea-ice mass balance than the surface and bottom melting in the end of August.     

Supercooled water in austral summer in Prydz Bay, Antarctica

Supercooled water with temperatures below freezing point,was identified from hydrographic data obtained by Chinese and Australian expeditions to Prydz Bay,Antarctica,during the austral summer.The study shows that most supercooled waters occurred at depths of 63-271 m in the region north of the Amery Ice Shelf(AIS) front.The maximum supercooling was 0.16°C below the in-situ freezing point.In temperature and salinity ranges of-2.14--1.96°C and 34.39-34.46,respectively,the water was colder and fresher than peripheral shelf water.The supercooled water had less variability in the vertical profiles compared to shelf water.Based on analysis of their thermohaline features and spatial distribution,as well as the circulation pattern in Prydz Bay,we conclude that these supercooled waters originated from a cavity beneath the AIS and resulted from upwelling just outside of the AIS front.Water emerging from the ice shelf cools to an extremely low temperature(about-2.0°C) by additional cooling from the ice shelf,and becomes buoyant with the addition of melt water from the ice shelf base.When this water flows out of the ice shelf front,its upper boundary is removed,and thus it rises abruptly.Once the temperature of this water reaches below the freezing point,supercooling takes place.In summer,the seasonal pycnocline at-100 m water depth acts as a barrier to upwelling and supercooling.The upwelling of ice shelf outflow water illuminates a unique mid-depth convection of the polar ocean.     

COUPLED PHYSICAL-ECOLOGICAL MODELLING OF THE CENTRAL PART OF JIAOZHOU BAY I. PHYSICAL MODELLING

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Analyses of structure of planetary boundary layer in ice camp over Arctic ocean

The vertical structure of Planetary boundary layer over Arctic floating ice is presented by using about 50 atmospheric profiles and relevant data sounded at an ice station over Arctic Ocean from 22 August to 3 September,2003.It shows that the height of the convective boundary layer in day is greater than that of the stability boundary layer in night.The boundary layer can be described as vertical structures of stability,instability and multipling The interaction between relative warm and wet down draft air from up level and cool air of surface layer is significant,which causes stronger wind shear,temperature and humidity inversion with typical wind shear of 10 m/s/100 m,intensity of temperature inversion of 8 ℃/100 m.While the larger pack ice is broken by such process,new ice free area in the high latitudes of arctic ocean.The interactions between air/ice/water are enhanced.The fact helps to understanding characteristics of atmospheric boundary layer and its effect in Arctic floating ice region.     

Using genetic algorithms to calibrate a dimethylsulfide production model in the Arctic ocean

The global climate is intimately connected to changes in the polar oceans. The variability of sea ice coverage affects deep-water formations and large-scale thermohaline circulation patterns. The polar radiative budget is sensitive to sea-ice loss and consequent surface albedo changes. Aerosols and polar cloud microphysics are crucial players in the radiative energy balance of the Arctic Ocean. The main biogenic source of sulfate aerosols to the atmosphere above remote seas is dimethylsulfide (DMS). Recent research suggests the flux of DMS to the Arctic atmosphere may change markedly under global warming. This paper describes climate data and DMS production (based on the five years from 1998 to 2002) in the region of the Barents Sea (30–35°E and 70–80°N). A DMS model is introduced together with an updated calibration method. A genetic algorithm is used to calibrate the chlorophyll-a (CHL) measurements (based on satellite SeaWiFS data) and DMS content (determined from cruise data collected in the Arctic). Significant interannual variation of the CHL amount leads to significant interannual variability in the observed and modeled production of DMS in the study region. Strong DMS production in 1998 could have been caused by a large amount of ice algae being released in the southern region. Forcings from a general circulation model (CSIRO Mk3) were applied to the calibrated DMS model to predict the zonal mean sea-to-air flux of DMS for contemporary and enhanced greenhouse conditions at 70–80°N. It was found that significantly decreasing ice coverage, increasing sea surface temperature and decreasing mixed-layer depth could lead to annual DMS flux increases of more than 100% by the time of equivalent CO₂ tripling (the year 2080). This significant perturbation in the aerosol climate could have a large impact on the regional Arctic heat budget and consequences for global warming.     

湖南电网严重冰灾天气成因分析

为研究2005年初和2008年初2次造成湖南电网严重冰灾的低温雨雪冰冻天气过程的成因,利用NCEP1°×1°全球再分析资料、地面常规气象观测资料及环流特征指数资料对过程期间高中低三层的水平和垂直结构进行了诊断分析,并分析了两次冰冻天气过程中各项环流特征指数与气温的相关性,结果表明:副高强度持续偏强,中层有暖层存在,850hPa与700hPa有明显的逆温层,700hPa强劲的西南急流,850hPa南北温差锋区的建立和维持,异常强大的冷高压长时间控制是造成两次冰灾过程的主要原因;地面降水、相对湿度、日平均气温、日最低气温、风向风速均与电线覆冰直径有关,温度垂直结构、环流指数和地形也与冰冻有一定关系。     

Snow and sea ice thermodynamics in the Arctic： Model validation and sensitivity study against SHEBA data

Evolution of the Arctic sea ice and its snow cover during the SHEBA year were simulated by applying a high-resolution thermodynamic snow/ice model （HIGHTSI）. Attention was paid to the impact of albedo on snow and sea ice mass balance, effect of snow on total ice mass balance, and the model vertical resolution. The SHEBA annual simulation was made applying the best possible external forcing data set created by the Sea Ice Model Intercomparison Project. The HIGHTSI control run reasonably reproduced the observed snow and ice thickness. A number of albedo schemes were incorporated into HIGHTSI to study the feedback processes between the albedo and snow and ice thickness. The snow thickness turned out to be an essential variable in the albedo parameterization. Albedo schemes dependent on the surface temperature were liable to excessive positive feedback effects generated by errors in the modelled surface temperature. The superimposed ice formation should be taken into account for the annual Arctic sea ice mass balance.     

均质地层非稳态热传导特征分析

基于在均质地层场地内进行的热响应试验,此文通过对地埋管热响应试验观测孔不同深度地温数据与稳态温度场理论分析特征对比,从时间和空间两方面总结了非稳态下均质岩体内竖直地埋管周围的热传导特征。分析发现:该次试验竖直地埋管排热过程中周围地层非稳态地温场的分布特征与根据公式求得的均质无限大介质中线热源排热形成的稳态地温场分布在空间分布形态上有一致性;持续排热工况下竖直地埋管的影响半径为一动态数值,与排热持续时间相关性较大。     

Reconstruction of the Ice Age glaciation in the southern slopes of Mt. Everest, Cho Oyu, Lhotse and Makalu (Himalaya) (Part 1)

In the Khumbu-and Khumbakarna Himalaya an ice stream network and valley glacier system has been reconstructed for the last glacial period (Würmian, Last Ice Age, Isotope stage 4–2, 60–18 Ka BP, Stage 0) with glaciogeomorphological and sedimentological methods. It was a part of the glacier system of the Himalaya and has communicated across transfluence passes with the neighbouring ice stream networks toward the W and E. The ice stream network has also received inflow from the N, from a Tibetan ice stream network, by the Kyetrak-Nangpa-Bote Koshi Drangka (Valley) in the W, by the W-Rongbuk glacier valley into the Ngozumpa Drangka (Valley), by the Central Rongbuk glacier valley into the Khumbu Drangka (Valley) and by the antecedent Arun Nadi transverse-valley in the E of the investigation area. The ice thickness of the valley glacier sections, the surface of which was situated above the snow-line, amounted to 1000–1450 m. The most extended parent valley glaciers have been measured approx. 70 km in length (Dudh Koshi glacier), 67 km (Barun-Arun glacier) and 80 km (Arun glacier). The tongue end of the Arun glacier has flowed down to c. 500 m and that of the Dudh Koshi glacier to c. 900 m asl. At heights of the catchment areas of 8481 (or 8475) m (Makalu), i.e., 8848 (or 8872) m (Mt. Everest, Sagarmatha, Chogolungma) this is a vertical distance of the Ice Age glaciation of c. 8000 m. The steep faces towering up to 2000 m above the névé areas of the 6000–7000 m-high surfaces of the ice stream network were located 2000–5000 m above the ELA. Accordingly, their temperatures were so low, that their rock surfaces were free of flank ice and ice balconies. From the maximum past glacier extension up to the current glacier margins, 13 (altogether 14) glacier stages have been differentiated and in part 14C-dated. They were four glacier stages of the late glacial period, three of the neoglacial period and six of the historical period. By means of 130 medium-sized valley glaciers the corresponding ELA-depressions have been calculated in comparison with the current courses of the orographic snow-line. The number of the glacier stages since the maximum glaciation approx. agrees with that e.g. in the Alps and the Rocky Mountains since the last glacial period. Accordingly, it is interpreted as an indication of the Würmian age (last glacial period) of the lowest ice margin positions. The current climatic, average glacier snow-line in the research area runs about 5500 m asl. The snow-line depression (ELA) of the last glacial period (Würm) calculated by four methods has run about 3870 m asl, so that an ELA-depression of c. 1630 m has been determined. This corresponds to a lowering of the annual temperature by c. 8, i.e., 10°C according to the specific humid conditions at that time.     

Simulation of landslide run-out by considering frictional heating and thermal pressurization

Some of the remarkable characteristics of natural landslides, such as surprisingly long travel distances and high velocities, have been attributed to the mechanisms of frictional heating and thermal pressurization. In this work, this mechanism is combined with a depth-averaged model to simulate the long runout of landslides in the condition of deformation. Some important factors that influence frictional heating and thermal pressurization within the shear zone are further considered, including velocity profile and pressurization coefficient. In order to solve the coupled equations, a combined computational method based on the finite volume method and quadratic upwind interpolation for convective kinematics scheme is proposed. Several numerical tests are performed to demonstrate the feasibility of the computational scheme, the influence of thermal pressurization on landslide run-out, and the potential of the model to simulate an actual landslide.     

基于NSIDC海冰产品的FY北极海冰数据集优化

北极海冰对全球气候起着非常重要的调制作用,海冰范围是海冰监测的基本参数。近40年,北极地区持续变暖,北极海冰显著减少,进而引发北极自然环境恶化、北半球极端天气频发、全球海平面上升等一系列环境和气候问题。准确获取北极海冰范围及其演变趋势,确定海冰变化对全球气候系统的响应,是研究和预测全球气候变化趋势的关键之一。HasISST和OISST海冰数据集在海冰监测中应用最为广泛,可为北极地区长时间序列海冰变化研究提供基础数据,但这2套数据集空间分辨率相对较低,应用于北极关键区对中国气候响应研究方面存在很大的局限,为解决这一问题和弥补国内海冰监测微波遥感数据的空白,2011年6月27日,国家卫星气象中心（National Satellite Meteorological Center, NSMC）发布了FY（Fengyun, FY）北极海冰数据集,该数据集利用搭载在FY卫星上的微波成像仪（Microwave Radiation Imager, MWRI）数据,使用Enhance NASA Team算法制作,该算法利用前向辐射传输模型模拟北极地区4种海表类型（海水、新生冰、一年冰和多年冰）在不同大气条件下MWRI辐射亮温,进而得到每种大气条件下0~100%的海冰覆盖度查找表（海冰覆盖度每次增加1%）,通过观测值与模拟值的比对得到海冰覆盖度,由该数据集计算得到的北极海冰范围在大部分区域与实际情况相符。该产品虽已进行通道间匹配误差修正和定位精度偏差订正,但由于其搭载的微波成像仪（Microwave Radiation Imager, MWRI）天线长度有限,造成传感器探测到的地物回波信号相对较弱,难以区分海冰和近岸附近的陆地,影响了该数据集的精度和应用。为解决这一问题,本文基于美国冰雪中心（National Snow and Ice Data Center, NSIDC）发布的海冰产品对FY海冰数据集进行优化,NSIDC产品利用判断矩阵对海岸线附近的像元进行识别,并对误差像元进行不同程度的修正,由NSIDC产品计算得到的北极海冰范围与实际情况更为符合。数据集优化大大提高了FY海冰数据集的精度,研究结果表明,优化后FY海冰数据集与NSIDC产品相关系数高达0.9997,且二者日、月、年平均最大海冰范围偏差仅为3.5%、1.9%、0.9%,且FY海冰数据集优化过程对其较好的空间分异特征无明显影响。该数据集可正确地反映北极海冰范围及其变化情况,且海岸线附近海冰的分布情况更准确,可为北极海冰变化研究提供可靠的基础数据。     

A sub-surface eddy at inertial current layer in the Canada Basin,Arctic Ocean

An Arctic Ocean eddy in sub-surface layer is analyzed in this paper by use of temperature,salinity and current profiles data obtained at an ice camp in the Canada Basin during the second Chinese Arctic Expedition in summer of 2003.In the vertical temperature section,the eddy shows itself as an isolated cold water block at depth of 60 m with a minimum temperature of-1.5℃,about 0.5℃ colder than the ambient water.Isopycnals in the eddy form a pattern of convex,which indicates the eddy is anticyclonic.Although maximum velocity near 0.4 m s-1 occurs in the current records observed synchronously,the current pattern is far away from a typical eddy.By further analysis,inertial frequency oscillations with amplitudes comparable with the eddy velocity are found in the sub-surface layer currents.After filter the inertial current and mean current,an axisymmetric current pattern of an eddy with maximum velocity radius of 5 km is obtained.The analysis of the T-S characteristics of the eddy core water and its ambient waters supports the conclusion that the eddy was formed on the Chukchi Shelf and migrated northeastward into the northern Canada Basin.