Relationship between stable isotope ratios and drop size distribution in tropical rainfall

We carried out simultaneous measurements of drop size distribution (DSD) and stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions (??¹⁸O and ??D) of rain at the National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), Gadanki (13.5°N, 79.2°E), southern India, during September?COctober 2006, with the aim of understanding microphysical processes leading to rain formation. The MST radar at NARL was operated continuously during rain events, while rain samples were collected at very short time intervals (<1?h), to capture small changes (>0.2?? and >2??) in their ??¹⁸O and ??D. The slope of the local meteoric water line (??D?C??¹⁸O line), was 8.07?±?0.47, similar to that of global meteoric water line, confirming that the precipitation occurred under isotopic equilibrium, and was unaffected by some anomalous process; further, the evaporation of rain drops at the cloud base was insignificant. Whenever the isotopic variations were larger during a rain event (>2??) there was a significant negative correlation between the ??¹⁸O and DSD. The possible explanation is that larger drops are mostly associated with convective rather than stratiform rain, and ¹⁸O (and D) depletion in convective rain is relatively more. Bin-resolved microphysical models incorporating water isotopologues could benefit by considering drop size spectra, which could improve the match with stable isotope observations of precipitation.     

Spring-summer temperatures since AD 1780 reconstructed from stable oxygen isotope ratios in white spruce tree-rings from the Mackenzie Delta,northwestern Canada

High-latitude δ¹⁸O archives deriving from meteoric water (e.g., tree-rings and ice-cores) can provide valuable information on past temperature variability, but stationarity of temperature signals in these archives depends on the stability of moisture source/trajectory and precipitation seasonality, both of which can be affected by atmospheric circulation changes. A tree-ring δ¹⁸O record (AD 1780–2003) from the Mackenzie Delta is evaluated as a temperature proxy based on linear regression diagnostics. The primary source of moisture for this region is the North Pacific and, thus, North Pacific atmospheric circulation variability could potentially affect the tree-ring δ¹⁸O-temperature signal. Over the instrumental period (AD 1892–2003), tree-ring δ¹⁸O explained 29 % of interannual variability in April–July minimum temperatures, and the explained variability increases substantially at lower-frequencies. A split-period calibration/verification analysis found the δ¹⁸O-temperature relation was time-stable, which supported a temperature reconstruction back to AD 1780. The stability of the δ¹⁸O-temperature signal indirectly implies the study region is insensitive to North Pacific circulation effects, since North Pacific circulation was not constant over the calibration period. Simulations from the NASA-GISS ModelE isotope-enabled general circulation model confirm that meteoric δ¹⁸O and precipitation seasonality in the study region are likely insensitive to North Pacific circulation effects, highlighting the paleoclimatic value of tree-ring and possibly other δ¹⁸O records from this region. Our δ¹⁸O-based temperature reconstruction is the first of its kind in northwestern North America, and one of few worldwide, and provides a long-term context for evaluating recent climate warming in the Mackenzie Delta region.     

Forced response of the East Asian summer rainfall over the past millennium: results from a coupled model simulation

The centennial?Cmillennial variation of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) precipitation over the past 1000?years was investigated through the analysis of a millennium simulation of the coupled ECHO-G model. The model results indicate that the centennial?Cmillennial variation of the EASM is essentially a forced response to the external radiative forcing (insolation, volcanic aerosol, and green house gases). The strength of the response depends on latitude; and the spatial structure of the centennial?Cmillennial variation differs from the interannual variability that arises primarily from the internal feedback processes within the climate system. On millennial time scale, the extratropical and subtropical precipitation was generally strong during Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and weak during Little Ice Age (LIA). The tropical rainfall is insensitive to the effective solar radiation forcing (insolation plus radiative effect of volcanic aerosols) but significantly responds to the modern anthropogenic radiative forcing. On centennial time scale, the variation of the extratropical and subtropical rainfall also tends to follow the effective solar radiation forcing closely. The forced response features in-phase rainfall variability between the extratropics and subtropics, which is in contrast to the anti-correlation on the interannual time scale. Further, the behavior of the interannual?Cdecadal variation in the extratropics is effectively modulated by change of the mean states on the millennial time scale, suggesting that the structure of the internal mode may vary with significant changes in the external forcing. These findings imply that on the millennial time scale, (a) the proxy data in the extratropical EA may more sensitively reflect the EASM rainfall variations, and (b) the Meiyu and the northern China rainfall provide a consistent measure for the EASM strength.     

A case study on a strong tropical disturbance and record heavy rainfall in Hat Yai, Thailand during the winter monsoon

The evolutionary process and structural characteristics of the atmospheric circulation and synoptic situation which caused the record heavy rainfall with a precipitation amount of 550 mm in Hat Yai,Thailand from 20 to 23 November 2000 is studied. In the study, the modern three dimensional observational data were collected as completely as possible, and detailed analyses were made. It is revealed that the colds urges of the Asian winter monsoon that originate from Siberia can arrive at the lower latitudes, including South Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, cause strong heavy rainfall there, and interact with weather systems in the near-equatorial regions of the Southern Hemisphere. This is strongly supported by Chinese scientist‘s original finding in 1930s. The strong convective cloud clusters in the above areas are generated by the direct influence of the cold surges, and are related with the South China Sea disturbances in the lowe rtroposphere. The maximum of the convergence of total moisture flux near South Thailand in the situation under study implies that the water vapour supply is abundant and very favorable to the occurrence of the heavy rainfall. The release of latent heat enhances the Hadley Circulation also. The feedback of the strong severe weather on climate indeed exists, and there are pronounced interactions between the multi-scale systems and between both hemispheres.     

Multifractal analysis of 1-min summer rainfall time series from a monsoonal watershed in eastern China

Multifractal analysis can provide parameters associated with different scales of rainfall, which may be useful for setting up parsimonious downscaling models of rainfall, or for revealing climate-specific properties. Time series of rain rate with 1-min resolution collected from ten stations over a monsoon watershed in eastern China were used to study the multifractal properties. The power spectra estimated by fast Fourier transform (FFT) and discrete Haar wavelet transform (DWT) showed three scaling regimes: the sub-hourly scaling regime with β?≈?1.2, the scaling regime from 1 h to 1 day with β close to 0.6, and the low-frequency spectra plateau with β?≈?0.1. From the hyperbolic tails of exceeding probability distributions, the estimated values of parameter q _c are in 2–2.5, which were consistent with the critical order of K(q) curves. The statistical moments display two main scaling regimes: the high-frequency regime from 3 min to 5 days and the scaling regime beyond 5 days. The scales of 5–10 days seem a transitional regime. The reason that the regimes, revealed by the power spectra, disagree with the statistical moments may be that both FFT and DWT power spectra have limited abilities of analyzing low-frequency scaling but are sensitive to the properties in high-frequency scales. The H values estimated for the regime of sub-hourly scales are larger than 0.4, and the values for the regime 1 h–1 day are close to 0.1. For the low-frequency scales beyond 1 day, negative H is obtained by DWT power spectra. The parameters of universal multifractal models were also estimated. The values of α for the scaling range of 1 min–5 days are 0.486?±?0.047, and for the low-frequency scaling range, its values are 0.808?±?0.323. For the high- and low-frequency scaling ranges, the values of C ₁ are 0.5 and 0.169, respectively, which is different from the values for daily rainfall series collected at the same rain gages.     

Spatial and temporal variability of summer rainfall over Ethiopia from observations and a regional climate model experiment

The spatial and temporal variability of rainfall over Ethiopia during the summer (JJAS) season is studied using observations (both station and satellite based) and model simulation data. The simulation dataset is generated using the fourth version of the International Center for Theoretical Physics Regional Climate Model (RegCM4) for the period 1989–2005. Ethiopia is first divided into 12 homogeneous regions using criteria including rotated empirical orthogonal function (REOF), spatial correlation, seasonal cycles, and topographical features. Spatially averaged observed and simulated rainfall time series are then generated and analyzed for each region. Standardized rainfall anomalies of the observations and the simulated data are highly correlated over the northern, western, northeastern, central, and southwestern regions, while a weak correlation is found over the border regions of the country. The dominant modes of rainfall variability are identified using REOF, while time–frequency variations of different dominant modes are described by wavelet analysis. The first leading patterns of rainfall and upper wind (averaged between 100 and 300 hPa) are highly correlated and exhibit similar features between simulation and observations over the northern, western, southwestern, and eastern regions of Ethiopia. The second loading pattern of rainfall and the first loading pattern of low-level wind (averaged between 850 and 1,000 hPa) exhibit a dipole structure across the southwestern and northeastern regions of the country. The dominant signals in the first rotated principal component (RPC) of rainfall and upper level wind fields show a period of 4–5 and 2–3 years, while the dominant signals in the second RPC show a period of 2–3 years at a 0.05 significance level. The correlations of significant RPCs across gauge, gridded, and model rainfall fields with that of low and upper level winds show the presence of a significant relationship (correlation exceeding ～0.6). Overall, the RegCM4 shows a good performance in simulating the spatial and temporal variability of precipitation over Ethiopia.     

2006年盛夏一次强对流天气的环境与诊断分析

对2006年8月2日出现在陕西境内一次罕见的强对流天气过程分析,发现:强对流天气发生在高空冷涡与冷锋云系后部的晴空区,远距离的台风作用不能忽视;700 hPasθe的水平分布显示其强对流天气发生在东北—西南向的Ω形状高能舌轴线的右侧;500 hPa散度场上负的散度区对预报未来降雹有一定的指示意义,而700 hPa的涡度分布特征显示对未来天气系统发展趋势代表性较好。     

两次超强厄尔尼诺事件海温异常与次年中国东部夏季降水特征对比

利用NOAA逐月海表温度(SST)资料,NCEP/NCAR风场、高度场和比湿再分析资料和国家信息中心提供的753站逐日降水资料,对比分析了1997/1998年和2015/2016年两次强厄尔尼诺事件的海温异常分布特征、次年中国东部夏季降水以及环流异常特征,结果表明:1)2015/2016的厄尔尼诺事件是自1950年以来持续时间最长,强度最强的一次事件,日界线附近的海温较1997/1998年的偏高。2)1997/1998年厄尔尼诺事件次年华南西部、江南北部到长江流域、黄淮北部到华北南部以及我国东北地区降水较常年偏多。而2015/2016年厄尔尼诺事件次年降水范围和强度相对较小,强雨带主要分布在长江流域一带、黄淮地区和华北一带及河套北部。3)1997/1998年事件次年夏季西北太平洋副热带高压强盛,位置偏西,脊线偏南,向上垂直质量输送异常偏强、高低层水平风场配合以及水汽通量异常辐合偏强均有利于长江流域一带以及我国东北地区降水产生,而2015/2016年事件次年的副高相对偏弱,且脊线位置偏北、偏东,水平、垂直异常环流和水汽偏弱,因此降水范围和程度较1997/1998年的偏弱。从海温分布型和次年对我国东部夏季降水造成的影响上看,2015/2016年的超强厄尔尼诺事件有别于传统东部型事件。     

近50年珠江流域降水时空特征分析

为了更深入揭示珠江流域水资源状况,利用珠江流域内1961-2008年48个台站逐日降水资料,探讨了珠江流域年降水时空特征,并对典型年份的气候背景场进行了分析.结论表明:相对来说,珠江流域东部年均降水多而降水日数少,西部一些地区降水量少而降水日数较多,从总体上来看近10 a来流域内年降水总量波动较大.进一步讨论了珠江流域典型降水年份中降水事件的差异,发现强降水年的降水量多来自于大雨以上级别的强降水.从全年来看,强降水年有来自于孟加拉湾和南海异常的偏南风水汽输送,流域内并伴随有异常水汽辐合中心;弱降水年则水汽输送减弱,且存在水汽辐散中心;由于年降水总量近80％来自于夏半年(4-9月),登陆到流域内热带气旋偏多也是导致降水增加的原因之一,登陆的热带气旋主要来自于西北太平洋;夏半年西太平洋副热带高压偏西有利于把海上的水汽送到流域内,弱降水年则恰好相反.     

淮北夏半年大风预报方法的建立及检验

利用T639业务数值模式预报场和大风观测资料,分别采用I_W雷暴大风指数和多个对流指数方法,计算相对应的指标值,建立淮北市夏半年大风预报方法,得到淮北市大风的短期预报结果,并对2011年的预报应用情况进行检验。结果表明：基于T639业务数值模式的I_W大风指数与多指标的叠加,实现夏半年定量和定性的大风预报。将多种不稳定指标与T639数值模式相结合的叠加预报,当4个指标中有3个满足条件时预报淮北有大风出现,否则没有大风;I_W大风指数的风速预报与实际极大风速较为接近。两种预报方法对淮北市的大风预报具有较好的指导作用,多数大风天气能够预报准确,但是容易空报,不太容易漏报。     

近５０a江淮地区６—７月降水特征分析

用江淮地区147个气象站1956—2005年逐日降水资料,结合NCEP/NCAR 850 hPa风场再分析资料以及ERSST海温资料,对江淮地区夏季6—7月降水时空及其相关的海温特征进行了诊断分析。结果表明:江淮地区一致性偏多或偏少分布是6—7月降水的主要模态;从长期趋势来看,江淮地区6—7月降水表现为显著的增加趋势,另外近50a来,该区6—7月降水主要以年代际振荡为主;前期春季(3—5月)及其同期夏季(6—7月)中国邻近海域海表温度以及850 hPa风场同江淮地区夏季6—7月降水存在着显著的关系。     

Indian summer monsoon rainfall predictability and variability associated with Northwest Pacific circulation in a suit of coupled model hindcasts

The Northwest Pacific (NWP) circulation (subtropical high) is an important component of the East Asian summer monsoon system. During summer (June–August), anomalous lower tropospheric anticyclonic (cyclonic) circulation appears over NWP in some years, which is an indicative of stronger (weaker) than normal subtropical high. The anomalous NWP cyclonic (anticyclonic) circulation years are associated with negative (positive) precipitation anomalies over most of Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) region. This indicates concurrent relationship between NWP circulation and convection over the ISMR region. Dry wind advection from subtropical land regions and moisture divergence over the southern peninsular India during the NWP cyclonic circulation years are mainly responsible for the negative rainfall anomalies over the ISMR region. In contrast, during anticyclonic years, warm north Indian Ocean and moisture divergence over the head Bay of Bengal-Gangetic Plain region support moisture instability and convergence in the southern flank of ridge region, which favors positive rainfall over most of the ISMR region. The interaction between NWP circulation (anticyclonic or cyclonic) and ISMR and their predictability during these anomalous years are examined in the present study. Seven coupled ocean–atmosphere general circulation models from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Climate Center and their multimodel ensemble mean skills in predicting the seasonal rainfall and circulation anomalies over the ISMR region and NWP for the period 1982–2004 are assessed. Analysis reveals that three (two) out of seven models are unable to predict negative (positive) precipitation anomalies over the Indian subcontinent during the NWP cyclonic (anticyclonic) circulation years at 1-month lead (model is initialized on 1 May). The limited westward extension of the NWP circulation and misrepresentation of SST anomalies over the north Indian Ocean are found to be the main reasons for the poor skill (of some models) in rainfall prediction over the Indian subcontinent. This study demonstrates the importance of the NWP circulation variability in predicting summer monsoon precipitation over South Asia. Considering the predictability of the NWP circulation, the current study provides an insight into the predictability of ISMR. Long lead prediction of the ISMR associated with anomalous NWP circulation is also discussed.     

A study of influencing systems and moisture budget in a heavy rainfall in low latitude plateau in China during early summer

Analysis of a heavy rainfall in a lower latitude plateau and characteristics of water vapor transportation have been conducted by using conventional data and denser surface data. The results show： （1） the heavy rainfall was caused by a series of mesoscale systems under favorable large-scale conditions when the warm moister air and cold air interacted with each other. At the same time, the coupling between the upper- and lower-level jets was revealed. It is also found that there exists some different characteristics among the main influencing systems of heavy rainfalls in Yunnan, such as the Indian-Myanmar trough and the path of the cold air, compared with those in East and South China. （2） The interaction between mesoscale convergence lines near the ground may be a possible triggering mechanism for the occurrence of mesoscale systems, and the dynamical and thermal dynamical structure of the mesoscale systems was very obvious. The convergence lines may relate closely to the terrain of Yunnan, China. （3） The computation of the water vapor budget reveals that the primary source of water vapor supply for heavy rainfall was in the Bay of Bengal. In this case, the water vapor could be transported into Yunnan even though the amount of water vapor was less than that in the lower troposphere in East and South China. In addition, the analysis for three-dimensional air parcel trajectories better revealed and described the source location and the transportation of water vapor to Yunnan.     

山区地形对暴雨的影响

利用常规气象观测资料、卫星云图、多普勒天气雷达资料、区域自动气象站资料与NECP/NCAR 1°×1°逐6 h全球再分析资料,对2016年7月3—4日梵净山东南侧暖区特大暴雨的中尺度系统演变与环境场特征进行了分析。结果表明：（1）该过程暴雨发生在副热带高压西北侧高空槽区、低层暖切变南侧、低空急流左前端及高空200 hPa分流辐散区,主要影响系统为500 hPa高空槽和850 hPa暖切变线,地面无明显冷空气影响,属贵州暖区极端暴雨。（2）此次暖区暴雨是由4个对流云团连续影响直接造成,强降雨出现在对流云团中心附近及其后侧云顶亮温（T_BB）等值线梯度大值区。（3）暴雨由积状云为主的混合降水回波造成;暖云层和湿层深厚、低层水汽输送充沛、异常偏低的自由对流高度（LFC）和抬升凝结高度（LCL）及中等强度“瘦高”型对流有效位能分布,是形成高效率降水的有利环境条件。（4）梵净山对水汽向北输送具有阻挡作用,使水汽通量大值带和水汽辐合中心集中在其东南侧;边界层偏东风在山前转向南流与南来偏南气流在暴雨区形成东西向稳定中尺度辐合线,对流在辐合线附近触发、合并、加强和东移是造成特大暴雨的重要原因;迎风坡和喇叭口地形的中小尺度动力强迫有利于边界层水汽输送和抬升凝结。

     

Temporal trends in the stable isotope composition of precipitation: a comparison between the eastern Mediterranean and central Europe

Stable isotopes in precipitation are recognized as a major tool for tracking the water cycle. The development of gridded datasets is a solution to the need for high-resolution isotopic data. The lack of measurement though, dictates the use of ??long-term average?? isotopic values, usually, calculated from short time series, of unequal durations and, sometimes, not even referring to the same time period. Thus, the influence of possible trends, that might be present in the isotopic data, should be accounted for. In the present work, we investigated the existence of temporal trends in the isotopic composition of precipitation of central Europe and eastern Mediterranean. Nine stations were selected, having time series extending over at least a 20-year-long period and fulfilling certain data completeness criteria. Possible trends were detected for three overlapping 20-year periods (1961?C1980, 1971?C1990, and 1981?C2000) using linear regression, the Mann?CKendall test, and a partial Mann?CKendall test, to compensate for the influence of meteorological parameters. We found that very few cases present statistically significant trends. There is significant variability of the observed trends, both on a seasonal and on a station basis, in the central Europe and the eastern Mediterranean area alike. Overall, the insignificance of the observed isotopic trends, and the lack of any coherent spatial and temporal patterns, seems to be supporting the current practice for estimating the long-term average isotopic composition of precipitation.     

A diagnostic study of heavy rainfall in karachi due to merging of a mesoscale low and a diffused tropical depression during South Asian summer monsoon

This paper presents the results of a diagnostic study of a typical case of very heavy rainfall during the South Asian summer monsoon when a mesoscale low in a desert climate merged with a diffused tropical depression. The former low was located over Pakistan‘s desert region and the latter depression originated over the Bay of Bengal. Surface and NCEP reanalysis data supported by satellite and radar images were incorporated in the diagnosis. The relationship between the heavy precipitation process and large-scale circulations such as monsoon trough, subtropical high, westerly jet, low level jet and water vapor transport were investigated to further understand the mechanism of this peculiar interaction. It was found that: (1) the mesoscale low developed as a result of cold air advection aloft from northern latitudes and strong convection over the region of humidity convergence on 24 July 2003 over the lndian Rajistan area. (2) On the same day, a low that formed over the Bay of Bengal was transformed into a monsoon depression and moved westward to the mesoscale low which existed over southwest India and the adjoining southeastern parts of Pakistan. (3) Initially, the mesoscale low received moisture supply from both the Bay of Bengal as well as the Arabian Sea, whereas the Bay of Bengal maintained the continuous supply of moisture to the monsoon depression. (4) After the depression crossed central India, the Bay‘s moisture supply was cut off and the Arabian Sea became the only source of moisture to both the closely located systems. On 27 July, both of the systems merged together and the merger resulted in a heavy downpour in the Karachi metropolitan and in its surroundings. (5) With the intensification as well as the southeastward extensionof the subtropical high and the shift of the monsoon trough axis from southwest-west to northeast-east,the monsoon depression moved southwestward. In this situation, there existed a very favourable condition for a merger of the two systems in the presence of cross-latitude influence. (6) A number of convective cloud clusters were developed and organized in the mesoscale low. Probably, interactions existed among the multi-scale systems.