The African rain forest vegetation and palaeoenvironments during late quaternary

This review paper presents first the main pollen results on the vegetation history of the rain forest during the late Quaternary.- The Lake Bosumtwi record (Ghana) shows the disappearance of rain forest from the base of the core (ca. 28 000 yr BP) to ca. 9000 yr BP. During this time interval the vegetation was of montane type with sparse clumps of trees. There is synchronism between montane vegetation disappearance and rain forest reappearance. This phenomenon occurred abruptly around 9000 yr BP.- The Lake Barombi Mbo record (West Cameroon) shows clearly that from ca. 24 000 yr BP until the present time, rain forest persisted with limited variations, and thus, this area represents a refuge area.From these data and other, one concludes that Afromontane vegetation extended to lowland during cool and humid phases.Other palaeoenvironmental data were obtained by diverse geological analyses of the lacustrine sediments. For Bosumtwi, the relatively precise reconstruction of lake-level fluctuations permitted several palaeoclimatic interpretations for the main Holocene phases.For Barombi Mbo, the evolution of total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TON) seems to be related mainly to temperature evolution. By comparison with present-day mountain environments, TOC and TON increase in cool environments, but decrease when warmth and humidity increase, as during Holocene time, because the recycling processes speed up in the topsoil. For the same period the alteration of the soils in the catchment produced a strong increase of kaolinite. All these change intervened ca. 9500 yr BP, which is a key date in tropical Africa.In conclusion, climatic correlations between equatorial and dry north tropical Africa illustrate how changes in the forest block must have important effects on adjacent climatic zones.     

Impact of vegetation feedback on the mid-Pliocene warm climate

Studying the vegetation feedback during warm periods of the past can lead to better understanding of those in the future.In this study,we conducted several simulations to analyze vegetation feedback during the mid-Pliocene warm period.The results indicate that the main features of vegetation change in the mid-Pliocene were a northward shift of needleleaf tree,an expansion of broadleaf tree and shrub,and a northward expansion of grass,as compared to the pre-industrial period.The global annual mean warming ratio caused by vegetation feedback was 12.1％,and this warming ratio was much larger in northern middle and high latitudes.The warming caused by vegetation change was directly related to the surface albedo change and was further amplified by snow/sea ice-albedo feedback.     

Spatial variability in UV radiation during the growing season across the continental USA

Summary ?A major limitation in predicting the ultraviolet-B irradiance on humans, plant leaves and flowers and aquatic organisms is the difficulty in estimating exposure. This study analyzes the spatial variability in the daily exposure of narrow band 300 nm and 368 nm and broadband 290–315 nm (UVB) solar radiation between twelve paired locations in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) UVB Climate Network over two summer growing seasons (May through August of 2000 and 2001). The spatial correlation of the UVB, 300 nm and 368 nm daily exposures between locations was approximately 0.7 to 0.8 for spacing distances of 100 km. The 300 nm daily exposure was typically more highly correlated between locations than the 368 nm daily exposure. Both the diffuse and direct beam components to the 300 nm daily exposure were similarly correlated with distance between locations. The 368 nm diffuse component of the daily exposures was less correlated with distance than the direct beam component, limiting the ability to interpolate daily exposures from measurement locations. In general the variability in daily exposures of UVB in the USDA UVB Climate Network is too large to interpolate daily exposures of solar radiation, with estimated 300 nm, 368 nm and broadband UVB errors at one-half the mean station spacing of the USDA Network of 22%, 21% and 16% respectively. More accurate interpolations of UVB exposure from this network will require either the incorporation of cloud cover variability from satellite imagery for daily exposure or the use of longer periods of accumulated exposure. Received May 14, 2002; revised October 25, 2002; accepted November 16, 2002     

Surface temperature in NW Europe during the Younger Dryas: AGCM simulation compared with temperature reconstructions

 During the Younger Dryas (YD) the climate in NW Europe returned to near-glacial conditions. To improve our understanding of climate variability during this cold interval, we compare an AGCM simulation of this climate, performed with the ECHAM model, with temperature reconstructions for NW Europe based on geological and paleoecological records. Maps for the mean winter, summer and annual temperature are presented. The simulated winters are consistent with reconstructions in the northern part of the study area. A strong deviation is noted in Ireland and England, where the simulation is too warm by at least 10 °C. It appears that the N Atlantic was cooler than prescribed in the YD simulation, including a southward expansion of the sea-ice margin. The comparison for the summer shows a too warm continental Europe in the simulation. Supposedly, these anomalously warm conditions are caused by the AGCM’s response to the prescribed increased summer insolation. The region of maximum summer cooling is similar in both the simulation and reconstruction, i.e., S Sweden. We suggest that this is due to the local cooling effect of the Scandinavian ice sheet. Compared to the present climate a considerable increase of the annual temperature range is inferred, especially for regions close to the Atlantic Ocean. Received: 20 November 1996 / Accepted: 8 July 1997     

Lidar measurements of the atmospheric entrainment zone and the potential temperature jump across the top of the mixed layer

Lidar measurements of the thickness of the atmospheric entrainment zone are presented. The measurements were obtained in central Illinois during 6 days of clear-air convection.A new method was developed to monitor the potential temperature jump across the entrainment zone. A single early morning temperature sounding and continuous lidar measurements of the mixed-layer height provide potential temperature jump values which agree well with in situ observations.Lidar measurements of the thickness of the entrainment zone normalized by mixed-layer depth are presented as a function of a convective Richardson number; these values show reasonable agreement with published laboratory results. The lidar observations span a wider range of mixed-layer depths and contain higher values of the normalized entrainment rate (dh/dt)/w _* than those observed in tank studies. Both lidar and tank results show that simple parcel theory does not properly predict entrainment-zone thickness. During this experiment which examined mostly high entrainment conditions, the normalized entrainment-layer thickness was linearly dependent on entrainment rate.     

Modelling atmospheric dispersal of the Chernobyl release across Europe

At the time of the Chernobyl accident little was known about the magnitude and time pattern of the release from the damaged reactor. This paper describes the detective work done in the weeks following the accident to assess the release and its dispersal across Europe; also calculations done since the USSR presentations in Vienna at the end of August 1986 and some estimates of longer term collective dose commitment. To conclude some general remarks are made about the implications of the Chernobyl accident for technical support in emergency procedures for any future nuclear accident.     

CO2 and Northern Hemisphere ice volume variations over the middle and late Quaternary

 The atmospheric CO₂ concentrations have been reconstructed over the past 600 ka based on regression between the Vostok CO₂ data and the SPECMAP oxygen isotope values. A lag of 4.5 ka (CO₂ preceding δ¹⁸O) gives the best results. A polynomial of order 5 explains 66% of the Vostok CO₂ variance over the last 220 ka. The Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet volume was simulated over the past 575 ka using the LLN 2-D model, forced by insolation and these statistically reconstructed atmospheric CO₂ concentrations. The simulated ice volume fluctuations resemble the deep-sea oxygen isotope variations. CO₂ of interglacial level is necessary for explaining both the interglacial at oxygen isotopic stage 11 and our present-day interglacial.     

湿大气的广义位温与干大气位温及饱和湿大气相当位温的比较

实际大气既非完全是干空气,也不是处处达到饱和的湿空气,而是处于含有水汽但又不饱和的湿空气状态。基于这样一种湿大气状态,在湿大气中广义位温定义的基础上,对不同暴雨类型的广义位温与干大气的位温及饱和湿大气的相当位温做了比较。对2003年江淮流域暴雨过程、2004年华北一次暴雨过程以及2006年碧利斯台风中的位温、相当位温和广义位温分布的对比分析表明:即使是在暴雨系统中,湿空气的相对湿度也不一定达到100%,饱和湿空气相当位温的引入条件不能完全满足。而广义位温的定义用一个表达式就可以表示出于大气、未饱和湿大气以及饱和湿大气这3种大气状态的位温,位温和相当位温则是广义位温的特殊情况。当大气比湿为零时,广义位温就变成位温;当大气比湿达到饱和后,广义位温就变成相当位温。除了可以衔接干大气位温和饱和湿大气的相当位温外,广义位温包含了水汽由干到湿再到饱和的变化过程,更好地体现了大气中水汽的实际分布和变化特征。     

西南地区近40a气温变化的时空特征分析

利用西南地区96个测站近40 a的月平均、月平均最高、月平均最低气温资料,采用主成分分析、旋转主成分分析、小波分析、Mann-Kendall等方法对西南地区气温变化的时空特征进行了分析.结果表明:西南地区年平均、年平均最高、年平均最低气温的空间变化均具有很好的整体一致性,反映了年平均和年平均最高气温在1960s到1980s中期经历了一个由暖变冷的过程后,1980s后期开始呈现明显上升趋势,而年平均最低气温从1970s就开始呈单调上升趋势.青藏高原东侧山脉走向对气温变化的东西差异具有十分明显的影响.气温的主要空间异常可分为4个敏感区.小波分析表明,西南地区气温整体变化在近40 a主要存在准8 a的周期,其中四川盆地东部的气温在整个时段存在准20 a和准8～9 a的周期.     

Orbital forcing and role of the latitudinal insolation/temperature gradient

Orbital forcing of the climate system is clearly shown in the Earths record of glacial–interglacial cycles, but the mechanism underlying this forcing is poorly understood. Traditional Milankovitch theory suggests that these cycles are driven by changes in high latitude summer insolation, yet this forcing is dominated by precession, and cannot account for the importance of obliquity in the Ice Age record. Here, we investigate an alternative forcing based on the latitudinal insolation gradient (LIG), which is dominated by both obliquity (in summer) and precession (in winter). The insolation gradient acts on the climate system through differential solar heating, which creates the Earths latitudinal temperature gradient (LTG) that drives the atmospheric and ocean circulation. A new pollen-based reconstruction of the LTG during the Holocene is used to demonstrate that the LTG may be much more sensitive to changes in the LIG than previously thought. From this, it is shown how LIG forcing of the LTG may help explain the propagation of orbital signatures throughout the climate system, including the Monsoon, Arctic Oscillation and ocean circulation. These relationships are validated over the last (Eemian) Interglacial, which occurred under a different orbital configuration to the Holocene. We conclude that LIG forcing of the LTG explains many criticisms of classic Milankovitch theory, while being poorly represented in climate models.     

Albedo changes, Milankovitch forcing, and late Quaternary climate changes in the central Andes

 Late Quaternary humidity changes resulted in substantial modifications of the land surface characteristics in the Altiplano of the Atacama Desert, central Andes. Reconstructions of surface albedo, top-of-atmosphere (TOA) albedo, and short-wave net radiation in the Andes of northern Chile for 20, 14, 10, 7 and 0 ka suggest that surface and TOA albedo increased substantially during periods of relatively humid environmental conditions (i.e., with large palaeolakes, glaciers and dense vegetation). The decrease of summer shortwave net radiation and seasonality during the late-glacial/early Holocene humid phase (14 to 10 ka) due to Earth’s surface and atmospheric characteristics added to the effect of orbitally driven negative deviations of Southern Hemisphere austral summer insolation and minimum seasonality at 20 °S. Therefore, in situ radiative forcing is, in contrast to the Northern Hemisphere tropics, not a suitable explanation for enhanced convective precipitation and, ultimately, humid climatic conditions. Our results suggest that late Quaternary humidity changes on the Altiplano reflect a collective response to (1) environmental changes in the source area of the moisture (e.g., re-expansion of the rain forest and increased release of latent heat over Amazonia and the Chaco, warm sea surface temperatures in the E Pacific) and, (2) large-scale circulation patterns and wave structures in the upper troposphere (strength and position of the Bolivian High, divergent flow stimulating convection over the Altiplano), or that they even reflect a response to (3) interhemispherical teleconnections. Received: 6 October 1997 / Accepted: 20 May 1998     

On the Spatial Distribution and Seasonal Variation of Lower-Troposphere Ozone over Europe

Surface ozone data from 25 Europeanlow-altitude sites and mountain sites located between79°N and 28°N were studied. The analysiscovered the time period March 1989–February 1993.Average summer and winter O₃ concentrations inthe boundary layer over the continent gave rise togradients that were strongest in the north-west tosouth-east direction and west-east direction, respectively. WintertimeO₃ ranged from 19 to 27 ppbover the continent, compared to about 32 ppb at thewestern border, while for summer the continentalO₃ values ranged between 39 and 56 ppb and theoceanic mixing ratios were around 37 ppb. In the lowerfree troposphere average wintertime O₃ mixingratios were around 38 ppb, with only an 8 ppbdifference between 28°N and 79°N. For summerthe average O₃ levels decreased from about 55 ppbover Central Europe to 32 ppb at 79°N. Inaddition, O₃ and O_x(= O₃ + NO₂)in polluted and clean air were compared. Theamplitudes of the seasonal ozone variations increasedin the north-west to south-east direction, while thetime of the annual maximum was shifted from spring (atthe northerly sites) to late summer (at sites inAustria and Hungary), which reflected the contributionof photochemical ozone production in the lower partsof the troposphere.     

Spatial gridding of daily maximum and minimum temperatures in Europe

We developed an operationally applicable land-only daily high-resolution (5?km?×?5?km) gridding method for station observations of minimum and maximum 2?m temperature (T _min/T _max) for Europe (WMO region VI). The method involves two major steps: (1) the generation of climatological T _min/T _max maps for each month of the year using block regression kriging, which considers the spatial variation explained by applied predictors; and (2) interpolation of transformed daily anomalies using block kriging, and combination of the resulting anomaly maps with climatological maps. To account for heterogeneous climatic conditions in the estimation of the statistical parameters, these steps were applied independently in overlapping climatic subregions, followed by an additional spatial merging step. Uncertainties in the gridded maps and the derived error maps were quantified: (a) by cross-validation; and (b) comparison with the T _min/T _max maps estimated in two regions having very dense temperature observation networks. The main advantages of the method are the high quality of the daily maps of T _min/T _max, the calculation of daily error maps and computational efficiency.     

Impact of non-outbreak insect damage on vegetation in northern Europe will be greater than expected during a changing climate

Background insect herbivory, in addition to insect outbreaks, can have an important long term influence on the performance of tree species. Since a projected warmer climate may favour insect herbivores, we use a dynamic ecosystem model to investigate the impacts of background herbivory on vegetation growth and productivity, as well as distribution and associated changes in terrestrial ecosystems of northern Europe. We used the GUESS ecosystem modelling framework and a simple linear model for including the leaf area loss of Betula pubescens in relation to mean July temperature. We tested the sensitivity of the responses of the simulated ecosystems to different, but realistic, degrees of insect damage. Predicted temperature increases are likely to enhance the potential insect impacts on vegetation. The impacts are strongest in the eastern areas, where potential insect damage to B. pubescens can increase by 4–5%. The increase in insect damage to B. pubescens results in a reduction of total birch leaf area (LAI), total birch biomass and birch productivity (Net Primary Production). This effect is stronger than the insect damage to leaf area alone would suggest, due to its second order effect on the competition between tree species. The model's demonstration that background herbivory may cause changes in vegetation structure suggests that insect damage, generally neglected by vegetation models, can change predictions of future forest composition. Carbon fluxes and albedo are only slightly influenced by background insect herbivory, indicating that background insect damage is of minor importance for estimating the feedback of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change.     

Influences of the interannual variability of vegetation LAI on surface temperature

通过两组模式的集合模拟,本论文研究了植被叶面积指数的年际变化对地表温度的影响。结果表明叶面积指数的年际变化的影响信号整体弱于大气变率的噪声。但是,就空间分布而言,热带地区的影响信号强于中高纬度地区。这主要是由于热带地区的叶面积指数通过影响地表蒸散发导致其与地表温度具有显著的线性关系。     

Spatial and temporal variability of urban tree canopy temperature during summer 2010 in Berlin, Germany

Trees form a significant part of the urban vegetation. Their meteorological and climatological effects at all scales in urban environments make them a flexible tool for creating a landscape oriented to the needs of an urban dweller. This study aims at quantifying the spatio-temporal patterns of canopy temperature (T _C) and canopy-to-air temperature difference (?T _C) in relation to meteorological conditions and tree-specific (physiological) and urban site-specific characteristics. We observed T _C and ?T _C of 67 urban trees (18 species) using a high-resolution thermal-infrared (TIR) camera and meteorological measurements in the city of Berlin, Germany. TIR images were recorded at 1-min intervals over a period of 2?months from 1st July to 31st August 2010. The results showed that ?T _C depends on tree species, leaf size and fraction of impervious surfaces. Average canopy temperature was nearly equal to air temperature. Species-specific maximum ?T _C varied between 1.9?±?0.3?K (Populus nigra), 2.9?±?0.3?K (Quercus robur), 3.2?±?0.5?K (Fagus sylvatica), 3.9?±?1.0?K (Platanus acerifolia), 4.6?±?0.2?K (Acer pseudoplatanus), 5.0?±?0.5?K (A. platanoides) and 5.6?±?1.1?K (A. campestre). We analysed ?T _C for a hot and dry period (A) and a warm and wet period (B). The range of species-specific ?T _C at noon was nearly equal, i.e. 4.4?K for period A and 4.2?K for period B. Trees surrounded by high fraction of impervious surfaces showed consistently higher ?T _C. Knowledge of species-specific canopy temperature and the impacts of urban structures are essential in order to optimise the benefits from trees in cities. However, comprehensive evaluation and optimisation should take the full range of climatological effects into account.     

温度初值确定之合理性与气压梯度力项的计算

本文讨论数值试验中两个基本问题:温度初值确定和气压梯度力的计算。首先比较几种利用静力方程差分解求温度初值方案所引起的误差,提出一种把等压面高度场插值与静力方程微分解结合起来求取等σ面温度初值的方法,结果表明用这种方法确定的温度初值及其水平分布和垂直递减率接近实测值。文章又讨论山脉地区气压梯度力计算问题,表明气压梯度力的计算精度不仅与计算方案有关,而且与温度初值有很大的关系。利用本文提出的方案得到的温度初值来计算气压梯度力,误差达到比较满意的精度。