Reconstructing fluvial bar surfaces from compound cross‐strata and the interpretation of bar accretion direction in large river deposits

The interpretation of fluvial styles from the rock record is based for a significant part on the identification of different types of fluvial bars, characterized by the geometric relationship between structures indicative of palaeocurrent and surfaces interpreted as indicative of bar form and bar accretion direction. These surfaces of bar accretion are the boundaries of flood‐related bar increment elements, which are typically less abundant in outcrops than what would be desirable, particularly in large river deposits in which each flood mobilizes large volumes of sediment, causing flood‐increment boundary surfaces to be widely spaced. Cross‐strata set boundaries, on the other hand, are abundant and indirectly reflect the process of unit bar accretion, inclined due to the combined effect of the unit bar surface inclination and the individual bedform climbing angle, in turn controlled by changes in flow structure caused by local bar‐scale morphology. This work presents a new method to deduce the geometry of unit bar surfaces from measured pairs of cross‐strata and cross‐strata set boundaries. The method can be used in the absence of abundant flood‐increment bounding surfaces; the study of real cases shows that, for both downstream and laterally accreting bars, the reconstructed planes are very similar to measured bar increment surfaces.     

Occurrence,durée et intensité des précipitations simulées par deux modèles régionaux canadiens du climat sur la région du Maghreb

[Translated by the editorial staff] Simulating the precipitation regime of Northern Africa is challenging for regional climate models, particularly because of the strong spatial and temporal variability of rain events in the region. In this study we evaluate simulations conducted with two recent versions of regional climate models (RCM) developed in Canada: the CRCM5 and CanRCM4. Both are also used in the COordinated Regional Climate Downscaling EXperiment (CORDEX)-Africa. The assessment is based on the occurrence, duration, and intensity indices of daily precipitation in Maghreb during the fall and spring seasons from 1998 to 2008. We also examine the links between the North-Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index, weather systems, and the precipitation regime over the region. During the rainy season (September to February), the CRCM5 reproduces the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation adequately, as well as the occurrence of days with rain, while the CanRCM4 underestimates precipitation extremes. The study of links between weather systems and the precipitation regime shows that, along the Atlantic coast, precipitation (occurrence, intensity, and wet sequences) increases significantly with storm frequency in the fall. In winter, these links grow stronger going east, from the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean coast. The negative phases of the NAO index are statistically associated with the increase in rain intensity, extremes, and accumulation along the Atlantic coast in the fall. However, the link weakens in winter over these regions and strengthens along the Mediterranean coast as the precipitation frequency rises during negative phases of the NAO. Both RCMs generally reproduce the links between the NAO and the precipitation regime well, regardless of location.     

定量降水预报技术进展

对21世纪以来定量降水预报技术流程中的数值模式预报、统计后处理、检验评估和预报员作用4个方面的研究工作进行了归纳,主要进展包括:业务全球模式对于降水的预报能力持续提升,而发展高分辨率模式 (尤其是对流尺度模式) 和集合预报是提高定量降水预报精准化水平的主要途径,且将两者相结合以促进短期降水预报是发展趋势;统计后处理技术已发展到应用数据挖掘方法对海量预报数据中有效信息进行提取和集成,而再预报资料的出现将进一步促进统计后处理技术的发展;为解决评估精细化定量降水预报面临的新问题,多种新的检验技术得到发展和应用,如极端降水检验评分、空间检验技术及概率检验方法等;预报员在模式和后处理方法上能够提供的附加值越来越有限,但在预报流程中仍将处于核心地位,其角色将逐渐向帮助用户进行决策方向转变。文章指出,定量降水预报技术的发展所面临的挑战包括大气水汽观测及同化技术改进、暖区和复杂地形下暴雨预报等科学问题的解决。     

近54年阿勒泰地区夏季极端降水事件气候特征

本文采用阿勒泰地区7个国家级气象站近54a(1960～2013年)夏季(6～8月)的日有效降水量（20～20h降水量≥0.1mm）资料,用WMO推荐的百分位法计算了全地区过去54a夏季极端强降水的阈值、进一步分析了当地夏季时空分布特征及变化趋势,结果表明：阿勒泰地区夏季极端强降水阈值呈西部、南部小,北部、东部大,并且空间异常分布特征如下: 夏季以及夏季各月的极端强降水日数和强度均可总结出5种最主要模型;极端强降水量可总结出8种最主要模型;并且通过时间标准化序列分析各种模型都有对应的降水日数、量级、强度明显偏多（强）和偏少（弱）的时段。日数、量级、强度近54a来,除吉木乃略有下降以外,其余各县（市）均为增长趋势,尤其是北部、东部地区.同时上述三指标存在着显著的年代际和年纪尺度的周期变化,上世纪90年代和2010年至今为三个指标最多(强)的年代,而上世纪70年代为最少（最差）的年代.并通过周期分析（小波分析）可知,均有对应的显著变化周期。     

非均匀地表蒸散遥感研究综述

本文评述了目前常用的遥感估算地表蒸散方法,包括地表能量平衡模型、Penman-Monteith类模型、温度—植被指数特征空间方法、Priestley-Taylor类模型和其他方法。然而使用这些方法估算地表蒸散时会面临严重的尺度效应,而产生尺度效应的根本原因之一是地表异质性,在分析了非均匀下垫面对水热通量遥感反演造成的影响后,介绍了面积加权、校正因子补偿与温度降尺度3种尺度误差纠正方法;并从地面观测实验的角度简述了非均匀下垫面水热通量真实性检验的研究;最后探讨了将来建立更具时空代表性的非均匀下垫面地表蒸散遥感估算模型可能会面临的一些挑战。