Reconstructed light extinction coefficients using chemical compositions of PM<Subscript>2.5</Subscript> in winter in Urban Guangzhou,China

The objective of this study was to reconstruct light extinction coefficients (b ext ) according to chemical composition components of particulate matter up to 2.5 μm in size (PM 2.5 ). PM 2.5 samples were collected at the monitoring station of the South China of Institute of Environmental Science (SCIES, Guangzhou, China) during January 2010, and the online absorbing and scattering coefficients were obtained using an aethalometer and a nephelometer. The measured values of light absorption coefficient by particle (b ap ) and light scattering coefficient by particle (b sp ) significantly correlated (R 2 > 0.95) with values of b ap and b sp that were reconstructed using the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) formula when RH was <70%. The measured b ext had a good correlation (R 2 > 0.83) with the calculated b ext under ambient RH conditions. The result of source apportionment of b ext showed that ammonium sulfate [(NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 ] was the largest contributor (35.0%) to b ext , followed by ammonium nitrate (NH 4 NO 3 , 22.9%), organic matter (16.1%), elemental carbon (11.8%), sea salt (4.7%), and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 , 9.6%). To improve visibility in Guangzhou, the effective control of secondary particles like sulfates, nitrates, and ammonia should be given more attention in urban environmental management.     

Mesoscale Vortex Generation and Merging Process： A Case Study Associated with a Post-Landfall Tropical Depression

An observational analysis of satellite blackbody temperature (TBB) data and radar images suggests that the mesoscale vortex generation and merging process appeared to be essential for a tropical-depression-related heavy rain event in Shanghai, China. A numerical simulation reproduced the observed mesoscale vortex generation and merging process and the corresponding rain pattern, and then the model outputs were used to study the related dynamics through diagnosing the potential vorticity (PV) equation. The t...     

Origin of ice diapirism, true polar wander, subsurface ocean, and tiger stripes of Enceladus driven by compositional convection

We consider the scenario in which the presence of ammonia in the bulk composition of Enceladus plays a pivotal role in its thermochemical evolution. Because ammonia reduces the melting temperature of the ice shell by 100 K below that of pure water ice, small amounts of tidal dissipation can power an “ammonia feedback” mechanism that leads to secondary differentiation of Enceladus within the ice shell. This leads to compositionally distinct zones at the base of the ice shell arranged such that a layer of lower density (and compositionally buoyant) pure water ice underlies the undifferentiated ammonia-dihydrate ice layer above. We then consider a large scale instability arising from the pure water ice layer, and use a numerical model to explore the dynamics of compositional convection within the ice shell of Enceladus. The instability of the layer can easily account for a diapir that is hemispherical in scale. As it rises to the surface, it co-advects the warm internal temperatures towards the outer layers of the satellite. This advected heat facilitates the generation of a subsurface ocean within the ice shell of Enceladus. This scenario can simultaneously account for the origin of asymmetry in surface deformation observed on Enceladus as well as two global features inferred to exist: a large density anomaly within the interior and a subsurface ocean underneath the south polar region.     

TNOs are Cool: A Survey of the Transneptunian Region

Over one thousand objects have so far been discovered orbiting beyond Neptune. These trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) represent the primitive remnants of the planetesimal disk from which the planets formed and are perhaps analogous to the unseen dust parent-bodies in debris disks observed around other main-sequence stars. The dynamical and physical properties of these bodies provide unique and important constraints on formation and evolution models of the Solar System. While the dynamical architecture in this region (also known as the Kuiper Belt) is becoming relatively clear, the physical properties of the objects are still largely unexplored. In particular, fundamental parameters such as size, albedo, density and thermal properties are difficult to measure. Measurements of thermal emission, which peaks at far-IR wavelengths, offer the best means available to determine the physical properties. While Spitzer has provided some results, notably revealing a large albedo diversity in this population, the increased sensitivity of Herschel and its superior wavelength coverage should permit profound advances in the field. Within our accepted project we propose to perform radiometric measurements of 139 objects, including 25 known multiple systems. When combined with measurements of the dust population beyond Neptune (e.g. from the New Horizons mission to Pluto), our results will provide a benchmark for understanding the Solar debris disk, and extra-solar ones as well.     

Kīlauea,Hawai’i,puts on a ‘once‐in‐a‐century’ show

Kīlauea is the youngest of five basaltic shield volcanoes on the island of Hawai’i. It is located to the south‐east of the much larger Mauna Loa volcano, and rose above sea level about 100 ka ago. Kīlauea is one of the most monitored, and arguably the best understood volcanoes on Earth, providing scientists with a good understanding of its current eruption, in which magma rises from depth and is stored beneath its 4 × 3.2 km summit caldera in an underground reservoir. The reservoir is connected to a lava lake within a crater called Halema’uma’u, which is situated on the floor of the caldera. When magma drains from the summit area it travels in underground conduits and emerges on the flanks of the volcano at a rift zone, where it erupts through fissures. The magma is sometimes stored in other reservoirs along the way. This link between summit magma storage and fissure eruptions on the flanks has occurred thousands of times at many Hawai’ian volcanoes. The current eruptive episode is, however, a ‘once‐in‐a‐century’ show, because it is the first time since 1924 that fissure‐fed lava flow eruptions have been accompanied by significant explosive eruptions within Halema’uma’u Crater. This gives scientists a unique opportunity to use modern methods to understand exactly how such hazardous explosions happen at Kīlauea, a volcano that receives about 2 million visitors a year.     

Microphysical Characteristics of Extreme-Rainfall Convection over the Pearl River Delta Region,South China from Polarimetric Radar Data during the Pre-summer Rainy Season

During the pre-summer rainy season, heavy rainfall occurs frequently in South China. Based on polarimetric radar observations, the microphysical characteristics and processes of convective features associated with extreme rainfall rates(ERCFs) are examined. In the regions with high ERCF occurrence frequency, sub-regional differences are found in the lightning flash rate(LFR) distributions. In the region with higher LFRs, the ERCFs have larger volumes of high reflectivity factor above the freezin...     

Effects of Dropsonde Data in Field Campaigns on Forecasts of Tropical Cyclones over the Western North Pacific in 2020 and the Role of CNOP Sensitivity

Valuable dropsonde data were obtained from multiple field campaigns targeting tropical cyclones, namely Higos,Nangka, Saudel, and Atsani, over the western North Pacific by the Hong Kong Observatory and Taiwan Central Weather Bureau in 2020. The conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation(CNOP) method has been utilized in real-time to identify the sensitive regions for targeting observations adhering to the procedure of real-time field campaigns for the first time. The observing system experiments...     

The behavior of total lightning activity in severe Florida thunderstorms

The development of a new observational system called LISDAD (Lightning Imaging Sensor Demonstration and Display) has enabled a study of severe weather in central Florida. The total flash rates for storms verified to be severe are found to exceed 60 fpm, with some values reaching 500 fpm. Similar to earlier results for thunderstorm microbursts, the peak flash rate precedes the severe weather at the ground by 5–20 min. A distinguishing feature of severe storms is the presence of lightning ‘jumps' — abrupt increases in flash rate in advance of the maximum rate for the storm. The systematic total lightning precursor to severe weather of all kinds — wind, hail, tornadoes — is interpreted in terms of the updraft that sows the seeds aloft for severe weather at the surface and simultaneously stimulates the ice microphysics that drives the intracloud lightning activity.     

基于风廓线雷达观测的台风“天兔”边界层演变特征研究

垂直探测台风边界层特征对于认清台风结构具有重要意义。基于1319号台风“天兔”途经的三个边界层风廓线雷达站的观测资料,结合探空数据,本文分析了“天兔”的边界层径向、切向风特征,结果表明：1）最大切向风速出现在眼区附近,在“天兔”稳定维持为强台风级别期间,最大切向风速基本稳定在1800 m高度左右,随着登陆后强度的迅速减弱,最大切向风速减弱、最大切向风速垂直范围缩小;2）最大风速所在高度和台风入流层顶高基本相近,大于依据理查森数或位温梯度所判断出的边界层高度,而基于信噪比（SNR）或其梯度所判断的混合层高度时常偏低;3）“天兔”登陆前边界层高度可以达到2100 m以上,在台风级别及以上时,各站观测到的边界层高度变化不大,基本在1200～1600 m之间,登陆后随着台风强度的减弱,边界层高度迅速减小。