Role of Ozone Deposition in the Occurrence of the Spring Maximum

Abstract

A hypothesis has been formulated on the basis of experimental data presented in this article. According to the hypothesis, occurrence of the spring surface ozone maximum at mid-latitudes results from a delay in snow-cover melt. The data were collected at ozone stations in Minsk (Belarus) and Preila (Lithuania). Because the measurements of surface ozone concentration are quite different, despite the close proximity of the stations, a conclusion can be drawn about the significant influence of meteorological parameters on measurements. In addition to a rather subjective and poorly defined parameter—time of snow melt—the difference between the average March temperature and a climatological mean may be treated as a criterion for the presence or absence of the spring ozone maximum.     

2015年1月大气环流和天气分析

2015年1月大气环流主要特征为：北半球极涡呈偶极型分布,中心气压均较常年偏低。欧亚中高纬环流呈三波型,以纬向环流为主;西太平洋副热带高压和南支槽的强度接近常年平均水平。1月全国平均气温为-3.1℃,较常年同期（-5.0℃）偏高1.9℃,为1961年以来同期最高。全国平均降水量14.4 mm,较常年同期(13.2 mm)偏多气候中心原数据为9.0,但计算为9.1,但分布极不均匀,西南地区、西北地区和华南南部降水偏多,而华北至江南一带则明显偏少,北京等地几乎无降水。月内仅在上旬出现了1次全国范围中等强度冷空气过程,而降水过程有5次。上旬后期,云南等地出现了创历史极值的强雨雪天气,气象干旱得到有效缓解。月末中东部地区出现入冬以来最大范围雨雪过程,贵州等地出现冻雨。中东部月内共出现3次大范围雾 霾天气。     

2013年湖北省两次降雪过程对比分析

利用常规观测资料、NCEP再分析资料、微波辐射计及多普勒雷达等资料对2013年2月7—8日干雪过程、2月18—19日湿雪过程,从水汽、不稳定、动力及温湿层结方面进行对比分析,得出如下结论：（1）2月7—8日的干雪过程水汽层次浅薄,水汽输送支仅为700 hPa弱西南气流;2月18—19日的湿雪过程水汽充沛,水汽输送支为700 hPa强西南急流和850 hPa 东南气流。（2）干雪过程低层冷平流强,层结稳定。湿雪过程低层暖平流强,冷暖交汇使大气不稳定度增加。（3）干雪过程中弱暖湿气流沿深厚冷空气垫爬升,动力辐合位于中高层,次级环流的形成减弱上升运动。湿雪过程中弱冷空气楔入到强暖湿气流底部,迫使其抬升,形成深厚上升运动区,次级环流的形成增强上升运动。（4）干雪过程整层温度<0℃,700 hPa出现冷性逆温层,-10℃层位于925 hPa附近,水汽密度、液态水含量、整层水汽含量较小;湿雪过程700 hPa出现暖性逆温层,-10℃层位于500 hPa附近,水汽密度、液态水含量、整层水汽含量较大。在上述研究的基础上给出了干、湿雪形成的三维物理模型,该模型从温湿（风）垂直层结上面体现出了干、湿雪形成的主要环境背景差异,对于干、湿雪预报具有一定的参考价值。     

Influence of canopy density on snow distribution in a temperate mountain range

We analyse spatial variability and different evolution patterns of snowpack in a mixed beech–fir stand in the central Pyrenees. Snow depth and density were surveyed weekly along six transects of contrasting forest cover during a complete accumulation and melting season; we also surveyed a sector unaffected by canopy cover. Forest density was measured using the sky view factor (SVF) obtained from digital hemispherical photographs. During periods of snow accumulation and melting, noticeable differences in snow depth and density were found between the open site and those areas covered by forest canopy. Principal component analysis provided valuable information in explaining these observations. The results indicate a high variability in snow accumulation within forest areas related to differences in canopy density. Maximum snow water equivalent (SWE) was reduced by more than 50% beneath dense canopies compared with clearings, and this difference increased during the melting period. We also found significant temporal variations: when melting began in sectors with low SVF, most of the snow had already thawed in areas with high SVF. However, specific conditions occasionally produced a different response of SWE to forest cover, with lower melting rates observed beneath dense canopies. The high values of correlation coefficients for SWE and SVF (r > 0·9) indicate the reliability of predicting the spatial distribution of SWE in forests when only a moderate number of observations are available. Digital hemispherical photographs provide an appropriate tool for this type of analysis, especially for zenith angles in the range 35–55 . Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Long‐term change of seasonal snow cover and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim River basin,northwestern China

Spatio‐temporal variation of snow depth in the Tarim River basin has been studied by the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) based on the data collected by special sensor microwave/imager (SSM/I) and scanning multichannel microwave radiometer (SMMR) during the period from 1979 to 2005. The long‐term trend of snow depth and runoff was presented using the Mann‐Kendall non‐parametric test, and the effects of the variations of snow depth and climatic factors on runoff were analysed and discussed by means of the regression analysis. The results suggested that the snow depth variation on the entire basin was characterised by four patterns: all consistency, north–south contrast, north‐middle‐south contrast and complex. The first pattern accounting 39·13% of the total variance was dominant. The entire basin was mainly affected by one large‐scale weather system. However, the spatial and temporal differences also existed among the different regions in the basin. The significant snow depth changes occurred mainly in the Aksu River basin with the below‐normal snow depth anomalies in the 1980s and the above‐normal snow depth anomalies in the 1990s. The long‐term trend of snow depth was significant in the northwestern, western and southern parts of the basin, whereas the long‐term trend of runoff was significant in the northwestern and northeastern parts. The regression analysis revealed that the runoff of the rivers replenished by snow melt water and rainfall was related primarily to the summer precipitation, followed by the summer temperature or the maximum snow depth in the cold season. Our results suggest that snow is not the principal factor that contributes to the runoff increase in headstreams, although there was a slow increase in snow depth. It is the climatic factors that are responsible for the steady and continuous water increase in the headstreams. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microstructural characterization of firn

In this paper, we use a scanning electron microscope (SEM) coupled with X‐ray spectroscopy and electron back‐scattered diffraction patterns to examine firn in cores retrieved by the United States International Trans‐Antarctic Scientific Expedition. From grain boundary grooves we were able to see where the previously existing snow crystals were joined, and can determine grain sizes. From the SEM images, the porosity and the surface area per unit volume of the pores were measured. Finally, we have shown that we can determine the microchemistry of impurities in firn and demonstrated that we can determine the orientations of the firn crystals. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An approach to using snow areal depletion curves inferred from MODIS and its application to land surface modelling in Alaska

Snowcover areal depletion curves inferred from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) are validated and then applied in NASA's catchment‐based land surface model (CLSM) for numerical simulations of hydrometeorological processes in the Kuparuk River basin (KRB) of Alaska. The results demonstrate that the MODIS snowcover fraction f derived from a simple relationship in terms of the normalized difference snow index compares well with Landsat values over the range 20 ≤ f ≤ 100%. For f < 20%, however, MODIS 500 m subpixel data underestimate the amount of snow by up to 13% compared with Landsat at spatial resolutions of 30 m binned to equivalent 500 m pixels. After a bias correction, MODIS snow areal depletion curves during the spring transition period of 2002 for the KRB exhibit similar features to those derived from surface‐based observations. These results are applied in the CLSM subgrid‐scale snow parameterization that includes a deep and a shallow snowcover fraction. Simulations of the evolution of the snowpack and of freshwater discharge rates for the KRB over a period of 11 years are then analysed with the inclusion of this feature. It is shown that persistent snowdrifts on the arctic landscape, associated with a secondary plateau in the snow areal depletion curves, are hydrologically important. An automated method is developed to generate the shallow and deep snowcover fractions from MODIS snow areal depletion curves. This provides the means to apply the CLSM subgrid‐scale snow parameterization in all watersheds subject to seasonal snowcovers. Improved simulations and predictions of the global surface energy and water budgets are expected with the incorporation of the MODIS snow data into the CLSM. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Snow-induced thermal variations around a single conifer tree

The influence of trees on the ground thermal regime is important to the overall winter energy exchange in a snow-covered, forested watershed. In this work, spatial zones around a single conifer tree were defined and examined for their controls on the snow cover, snow-ground interface temperatures and frozen ground extent. A large white spruce (Picea glauca), approximately 18 m tall with a crown diameter of 7.5 m and located in northern Vermont, was the subject of this study. The tree was instrumented with thermistors to measure the snow-ground interface temperature between the tree trunk and 6 m from the tree into undisturbed snow. Four distinct zones around the conifer are defined that affect the snow distribution characteristics: adjacent to the trunk; the tree well; the tree crown perimeter; and the unaffected area away from the tree. At the time of peak snow accumulation and during the ablation season, snow depth and density profiles were measured. The area beneath the canopy accumulated 34% of the snow accumulated in the undisturbed zone. By the end of the ablation season, the depth of snow under the canopy had decreased to 18% of the undisturbed snow depth. The tree and branch characteristics of spruce in this temperate climate resulted in a different snow depth profile compared with previous empirical relationships around a single conifer. A new relationship is presented for snow distribution around conifer trees that has the ability to better fit data from a variety of conifer types than previously published relationships. Less snow beneath the canopy led to colder snow-ground interface temperatures than measured in undisturbed snow. The depth of frozen ground in the different zones was modelled using a simple analytical solution that showed deeper frost penetration in the tree well than beneath the undisturbed snow.