The Greening of Baltimore's Asphalt Schoolyards

Asphalt was becoming an integral part of the urban American landscape by the end of the nineteenth century. Not only was it emerging as the preferred alternative for street paving, its promoters were endorsing it for other purposes as well. Although Baltimore was not in the vanguard when it came to adopting asphalt for road surfaces, it soon followed the trend. Like other cities, it too found other applications for this versatile petroleum product, including the paving of playgrounds and schoolyards. Despite low maintenance costs, widespread use of asphalt as a recreational surface started to meet resistance in Baltimore during the 1960s. Fifty years later, stringent storm‐water runoff requirements are causing city officials to rethink how they deploy asphalt in an urban setting. In an effort to meet these new requirements, while at the same time improve recreational opportunities for school children, an alliance of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private developers has developed a strategy to remove asphalt from schoolyards—one that may serve as a model for other cities facing financial and sustainability challenges similar to those of Baltimore.     

2009年中国一次沙尘暴过程中的水汽变化特征及WRF回报

通过对2009年4月22日至25日发生在甘肃、宁夏、内蒙古的一次沙尘暴观测和模拟回报试验,分析了沙尘暴过程中水汽及水热的变化特征,检验了天气研究和预报模式（WRF）对沙尘暴过程的模拟能力。结果表明,WRF能较好地再现出沙尘暴过程中水汽变化的基本特征。沙尘暴发生前,地面感热明显增加,大气中水汽明显减少。在沙尘暴过程中,扩散作用和气溶胶的凝结作用影响水汽的变化,而水汽的垂直方向变化较小;高空云水和云冰含量异常偏小,低层大气的温度和水汽含量下降。热力诊断的结果表明,沙尘暴过程中,由于水汽的相变,在600～800 hPa高度处,水汽凝结产生的视热源的加热率高达6 ℃·d-1,表明非绝热加热作用在沙尘暴的维持和发展起着重要的作用。     

An analysis of intra-event precipitation variability for the United States (1980–2010)

Hourly precipitation data were collected from 143 first-order US weather stations during the period from 1980 to 2009 to assess the internal distribution of precipitation events lasting at least three hours. A total of 46,595 individual precipitation events were identified and evaluated using the mean, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis, and the number of peaks occurring within an event. Mean event duration is longest along the West and Northwest coasts, the Mid-South, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast; while shorter-duration events are more frequent in the Rocky Mountains, the Southwest, and the Great Plains. Mean event precipitation and standard deviation are greatest along the Gulf Coast and decrease inland. Precipitation events are positively skewed, indicating that more precipitation tends to occur earlier in the event. The most positively-skewed events are also located in regions flanking the Gulf of Mexico, while less-skewed events are common in the Northwest and Rocky Mountain regions. Event kurtosis is negative throughout the entire USA, with the highest negative values generally west of the Front Range, where cyclonic development and transition produce more evenly distributed precipitation within storms. Intra-event precipitation maxima were also evaluated, with western Florida and the desert Southwest having the greatest number per event.     

南极中山站与北京地磁中心台1991年3月24日磁暴的变化特征

本文分析了１９９１年３月２４日急始型磁暴的变化特征。分析表明，南极极隙区与中低纬区磁暴形态差异很大。中山站地磁台的磁暴急始为ＳＣ＊型，无明显磁暴主相，它是由一组强烈的磁亚暴所组成。北京地磁中心台的磁暴急始为ＳＣ型，磁暴主相持续时间较短，变化较大。这次磁暴是由磁暴前太阳黑子相对数增多、３月２２日２２ｈ４６ｍＵＴ有３ｂ级耀斑爆发等一系列太阳活动所引起的     

中国西北部“4.5”沙尘暴过程中尺度低压的数值模拟

利用改进型ＰＳＵ／ＮＣＡＲ中尺度数值模式（ＭＭ４标准版），取模式水平格距４０ｋｍ，４６×６１网格，垂直方向ａ取１５层，即从地面到模式顶（１００ｈＰａ），σ＝０．０、０．１、０．２、０．３、０．４、０．５、０．６、０．７、０．７８、０．８４、０．８９、０．９３、０．９６、０．９８、０．９９、１．００，采用ＮＣＡＲ的３０＇×３０＇地形资料，以常规观测资料作为初始场，较好地模拟了此次沙尘暴过程的海平面气压的演变和分布，特别是张掖、柴达本盆地以及敦煌附近的三个中低压。同时，模拟了张掖中低压与蒙古冷高压之间的甘肃河西沙尘暴东大风。敏感性试验表明，沙尘暴中低压的形成发展主要是受于物理过程制约；沙尘暴中尺度系统的研究与暴雨中尺度系统的研究是有区别的，积云对流参数化并不是特别重要，在设计研究沙尘暴的数值模式中，应当合理地处理其他的热力、动力过程及大气外强迫源的作用。模式水平格距、地形真实程度对模拟中低压的位置、中心强度有重要贡献；下垫面变化中低压强度有一定影响。张掖热低压的形成发展主要是在有利的环境形势下，特殊地势起了重要作用，表现为直接动力强迫和间接热力强迫。     

晚冰期以来大柴旦盐湖沉积记录的古气候演变及其尘暴事件

本文选择大柴旦盐湖DCD03沉积剖面柱硼镁石矿层下伏土黄色淤泥质粉砂层为研究对象,基于AMS ₁₄C年代学、岩性地层学、矿物学以及地球化学等研究方法,旨在探讨土黄色湖相淤泥质粉砂沉积记录的尘暴事件,以及重建晚冰期以来西风环流显著影响区的水文气候变化。研究结果表明,DCD03沉积剖面的淤泥质粉砂样品粒度频率曲线呈现为双峰态,主峰(均值10 μm)反映了河流作用携带入湖的细粒组分,次峰(﹥32 μm)则反映了风力作用以及河流作用等携带入湖的粗粉砂粒组分。大于64 μm的砂砾组分可能代表外源风尘物质的输入,由尘暴天气携带入湖。大柴旦地区晚冰期以来依次出现了博令和阿勒罗德暖期(12.94~12.17 cal. ka BP)、新仙女木冷期(12.17~11.37 cal. ka BP)、不稳定的早全新世气候(11.37~8.64 cal. ka BP)以及趋于偏冷干的中全新世早期(8.64~7.39 cal. ka BP)。     

地面加热对沙尘暴数值模拟结果的影响研究

利用沙尘数值预报模式并针对2002年3月18—20日典型沙尘暴过程,模拟研究了地面热通量对沙尘暴的影响及其机制。结果发现,沙尘天气数值预报模式较准确地模拟了本次沙尘暴过程。模式对白天地面加热强度和夜间地面冷却强度均有一定程度的高估。地面热通量能够使沙尘暴明显增强,同时也通过导致地面风速、层结稳定度、地面摩擦速度产生明显的日变化,进而导致沙尘暴强度的日变化。地面热通量影响地面风速的方式是导致混合层形成,从而有利于产生高空动量下传。另外,沙尘暴发生时地面热通量主要影响地面和行星边界层中的天气要素,随时间推移地面热通量能够持续影响上升运动强度,且这一影响从边界层逐渐向上扩展到自由大气,并达到500 hPa以上。     

February floods in the lower North Island, 2004: Catastrophe – causes and consequences

Abstract: The February 2004 Manawatu floods in New Zealand were the result of a naturally occurring, although unusual, storm. Up to 300 mm of rain fell on the already saturated ground of the lower North Island over two days, generating substantial and rapid runoff from catchment slopes. Rivers rose quickly, inundating unprotected farmland and properties and in places breaching stopbanks. There was widespread slope failure in the hill country of the lower North Island, affecting an area of ca. 7500 km². Slopes under scrub, plantation forest and native bush were not as badly affected as those under pasture, where slopes typically failed by shallow translational landsliding. Flooding caused catastrophic channel change in a number of small to medium sized channel systems in the upland fringes. Whilst the occurrence of landsliding and channel changes during an extreme event such as this is natural, the intensity of both landsliding and channel erosion was exacerbated by human activity within the catchments.     

一次沙尘暴过程TSP质量浓度的连续观测和分析

采用大流量大气采集器对2001年4月6~7日特强沙尘暴期间内蒙古阿拉善左旗、包头、呼和浩特、四子王旗、集宁、化德、二连浩特、苏尼特右旗等地大气中TSP浓度进行了连续观测并结合天气资料进行了分析。结果表明,此次沙尘暴过程中,TSP浓度的绝对值大,变化幅度也大,最小值为1.896 mg·m-3,最大值为52.153 mg·m-3,平均值为13.399 mg·m-3。各地TSP浓度变化的时序反映了沙尘暴的影响范围和移动状况的变化,TSP浓度绝对值的变化反映了沙尘暴强度的变化,从开始的较小值逐渐增至最大值,最后再回落到较低水平。内蒙古西部沙尘暴主要源于蒙古国的远距离输送,局地起沙对中部沙尘暴形成具有重要贡献。本次过程TSP浓度最大值达到空气污染程度最为严重的城市冬季TSP浓度极值的10~50倍,表明沙尘天气导致的空气污染远大于一切人为排放源造成的污染。     

兰州市2001年沙尘气溶胶质量浓度的特征分析

 分析了2001年沙尘暴期间兰州与靠近沙尘源区的武威的沙尘浓度和粒径分布特征,并运用对数正态分布规律拟合了沙尘粒径的分布。通过对比武威、皋兰和兰州沙尘暴期间沙尘浓度的变化以及武威与兰州的沙尘粒径分布特征,揭示了河西走廊沙漠对兰州市沙尘暴的影响。