Spatiotemporal Distributions of δD in Atmospheric Water Vapor Based on TES Data During 2004-2009

The spatial and temporal distributions of the stable isotopes such as HD16O (or 1H2H16O, or HDO) andH218O in atmospheric water vapor are related to evaporation in source places, vapor condensation duringtransport, and vapor convergence and divergence, and thus provide useful information for investigation andunderstanding of the global water cycle. This paper analyzes spatiotemporal variations of the content of iso-tope HDO (i.e., δD), in atmospheric water vapor, namely, δDv, and the relationship of δDv with atmospherichumidity and temperature at different levels in the troposphere, using the HDO and H2O data retrievedfrom the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) at seven pressure levels from 825 to 100 hPa. Theresults indicate that δDv has a clear zonal distribution in the troposphere and a good correspondence withatmospheric precipitable water. The results also show that δDv decreases logarithmically with atmosphericpressure and presents a decreasing trend from the equator to high latitudes and from lands to oceans. Sea-sonal changes of δDv exhibit regional differences. The spatial distribution and seasonal variation of δDvin the low troposphere are consistent with those in the middle troposphere, but opposite situations occurfrom the upper troposphere to the lower stratosphere. The correlation between δDv and temperature has asimilar distribution pattern to the correlation between δDv and precipitable water in the troposphere. Thestable isotope HDO in water vapor (δDv), compared with that in precipitation (δDp), is of some differencesin spatial distribution and seasonal variation, and in its relationship with temperature and humidity, in-dicating that the impacts of stable isotopic fractionation and atmospheric circulation on the two types ofstable isotopes are different.     

Spatiotemporal change in the climatic growing season in Northeast China during 1960–2009

Daily mean air temperatures from 81 meteorological stations in Northeast China were analyzed for the spatiotemporal change of the climatic growing season during the period 1960–2009. Our results showed that latitude strongly influenced the spatial patterns of the mean start (GSS), end (GSE), and length (GSL) of the growing season. For the area studied, a significant increasing trend in GSL during 1960–2009 was detected at a significance level of 0.01, especially after the early 1980s. The area-average GSL has extended 13.3 days during the last 50 years, mainly due to the advanced GSS evident in the spring (7.9 days). The variations of GSS and GSE were closely correlated with the monthly mean temperature (T _mean) of April and October, respectively, while GSL was closely related to the monthly minimum temperatures (T _min) of spring (March to April) and autumn (September to October). The distributions of the trends in growing season parameters (GSS, GSE, and GSL) showed great spatial variability over Northeast China. Significant relationships between altitude and the trend rates of the GSS and GSL were detected, while geographic parameters had little direct effect on the change in GSE. This extended growing season may provide favorable conditions for agriculture and forest, and improve their potential production.     

Simulated Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Climate Change in China during the Han Dynasty(1–200 A.D.)

In this study,a 2000-year simulation forced by transient,external forcings is carried out with the Community Earth System Model.The authors investigate the spatiotemporal features of climate change in the Han Dynasty(1–200 A.D.)using the empirical orthogonal function(EOF)method.The leading EOF mode of the annua mean temperature anomalies shows a uniform variation of temperature over the whole of China,while the second EOF mode indicates opposite variations of temperature between western and eastern China.For the annual mean precipitation anomalies,the first EOF mode indicates a meridional dipole pattern over eastern China,with increased(decreased)precipitation to the south of the Yangtze River and decreased(increased)precipitation to the north.The leading mode of the 850 h Pa winds and sea level pressure in summer exhibits a southwesterly(northeasterly)anomaly over South China,which is associated with a strengthened(reduced)meridional sea level pressure gradient.Compared to reconstructions,the model can capture the majority of features of climate changes in the Han Dynasty,though it underestimates the magnitude.     

Changes in temporal concentration property of summer precipitation in China during 1961–2010 based on a new index

Based on the property of entropy, a new index Q was defined to measure the temporal concentration property of summertime daily rainfall in China, based on daily precipitation data collected at 553 observation stations in China during 1961–2010. Furthermore, changes in the temporal concentration property of summer precipitation in China were investigated. The results indicate that the regions with larger Q values were located in most parts of Northwest China and the north of the Yellow River, where daily precipitation tended to become temporally concentrated during the study period. On the contrary, smaller Q values were found in eastern Tibetan Plateau, southeastern Northwest China, and most parts of Southwest and South China. The most obvious increasing trend of Q index was found in South China and most parts of Southwest China, where precipitation showed a temporal concentration trend. However, a decreasing trend of Q index was found in Northwest China, the Tibetan Plateau, and the north of the Huaihe River. Variations of the Q index and the summer rainfall total during 1961–2010 in China both exhibited an increasing trend, implying larger temporal variability in rainfall attributes. It is illustrated that the summer precipitation in general became more temporally concentrated with more intense rainfall events and wetter days.     

Spatiotemporal variations in rainfall erosivity during the period of 1960–2011 in Guangdong Province,southern China

Rainfall erosivity, which shows a potential risk of soil loss caused by water erosion, is an important factor in soil erosion process. In consideration of the critical condition of soil erosion induced by rainfall in Guangdong Province of southern China, this study analyzed the spatial and temporal variations in rainfall erosivity based on daily rainfall data observed at 25 meteorological stations during the period of 1960–2011. The methods of global spatial autocorrelation, kriging interpolation, Mann–Kendall test, and continuous wavelet transform were used. Results revealed that the annual rainfall erosivity in Guangdong Province, which spatially varied with the maximum level observed in June, was classified as high erosivity with two peaks that occur in spring and summer. In the direction of south–north, mean annual rainfall erosivity, which showed significant relationships with mean annual rainfall and latitude, gradually decreased with the high values mainly distributed in the coastal area and the low values mainly occurring in the lowlands of northwestern Guangdong. Meanwhile, a significant positive spatial autocorrelation which implied a clustered pattern was observed for annual rainfall erosivity. The spatial distribution of seasonal rainfall erosivity exhibited clustering tendencies, except spring erosivity with Moran’s I and Z values of 0.1 and 1.04, respectively. The spatial distribution of monthly rainfall erosivity presented clustered patterns in January–March and July–October as well as random patterns in the remaining months. The temporal trend of mean rainfall erosivity in Guangdong Province showed no statistically significant trend at the annual, seasonal, and monthly scales. However, at each station, 1 out of 25 stations exhibited a statistically significant trend at the annual scale; 4 stations located around the Pearl River Delta presented significant trends in summer at the seasonal scale; significant trends were observed in March (increasing trends at 3 stations), June (increasing trends at 4 stations located in the Beijiang River Basin), and October (decreasing trends at 4 stations) at the monthly scale. In accordance with the mean annual rainfall over Guangdong Province, the mean annual rainfall erosivity showed two significant periodicities of 3–6 and 10–12 years at a confidence level of 95 %. In conclusion, the results of this study provide insights into the spatiotemporal variation in rainfall erosivity in Guangdong Province and support for agrolandscape planning and water and soil conservation efforts in this region.     

Spatiotemporal Variability of Surface Wind Speed during 1961–2017 in the Jing–Jin–Ji Region,China

Wind speed variations are influenced by both natural climate and human activities. It is important to understand the spatial and temporal distributions of wind speed and to analyze the cause of its changes. In this study, data from 26 meteorological stations in the Jing–Jin–Ji region of North China from 1961 to 2017 are analyzed by using the Mann–Kendall(MK) test. Over the study period, wind speed first decreased by-0.028 m s-1 yr-1(p 0.01) in1961–1991, and then increased by 0.002 m s1-yr1-(p 0.05) in 1992–2017. Wind speed was the highest in spring(2.98 m s-1), followed by winter, summer, and autumn. The largest wind speed changes for 1961–1991 and1992–2017 occurred in winter(-0.0392 and 0.0065 m s-1 yr1-, respectively); these values represented 36% and 58%of the annual wind speed changes. More than 90.4% of the wind speed was concentrated in the range of 1–5 m s-1,according to the variation in the number of days with wind speed of different grades. Specifically, the decrease in wind speed in 1961–1991 was due to the decrease in days with wind speed of 3–5 m s-1, while the increase in wind speed in 1992–2017 was mainly due to the increase in days with wind speed of 2–4 m s-1. In terms of driving factors,variations in wind speed were closely correlated with temperature and atmospheric pressure, whereas elevation and underlying surface also influenced these changes.     

Time changes of atmospheric precipitation in Russia from the corrected data during 1936–2000

Homogeneous time series of atmospheric precipitation with corrected systematic errors of measurements at 100 stations in Russia for the period of 1936–2000 are obtained. Combined effects are considered of all kinds of systematic errors of standard network precipitation-measuring instruments (the raingauge with the Nifer shield and the Tret’yakov raingauge) on the measured precipitation totals. Comparative analysis is carried out of the measured and corrected long-term mean characteristics of precipitation amounts (annual totals, warm and cold season totals, and different types of precipitation). On the basis of the obtained archives of precipitation homogeneous time series, linear trends are estimated for the period under consideration with estimation of their statistical significance. Schematic charts are plotted and analyzed of time changes in the annual precipitation amounts and in the amounts of different types of precipitation.     

Spatial and temporal changes in vapor pressure deficit and their impacts on crop yields in China during 1980–2008

Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) is a widely used measure of atmospheric water demand. It is closely related to crop evapotranspiration and consequently has major impacts on crop growth and yields. Most previous studies have focused on the impacts of temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation on crop yields, but the impact of VPD is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the spatial and temporal changes in VPD and their impacts on yields of major crops in China from 1980 to 2008. The results showed that VPD during the growing period of rice, maize, and soybean increased by more than 0.10 kPa (10 yr)^–1 in northeastern and southeastern China, although it increased the least during the wheat growing period. Increases in VPD had different impacts on yields for different crops and in different regions. Crop yields generally decreased due to increased VPD, except for wheat in southeastern China. Maize yield was sensitive to VPD in more counties than other crops. Soybean was the most sensitive and rice was the least sensitive to VPD among the major crops. In the past three decades, due to the rising trend in VPD, wheat, maize, and soybean yields declined by more than 10.0% in parts of northeastern China and the North China Plain, while rice yields were little affected. For China as a whole, the trend in VPD during 1980–2008 increased rice yields by 1.32%, but reduced wheat, maize, and soybean yields by 6.02%, 3.19%, and 7.07%, respectively. Maize and soybean in the arid and semi-arid regions in northern China were more sensitive to the increase in VPD. These findings highlight that climate change can affect crop growth and yield through increasing VPD, and water-saving technologies and agronomic management need to be strongly encouraged to adapt to ongoing climate change.     

On the regional distributions of background carbon monoxide concentrations observed in East Asia during 1991–2008

The carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations observed at Mt. Waliguan in China (WLG), Ulaan Uul in Mongolia (UUM), Tae-ahn Peninsula in Korea (TAP) and Ryori in Japan (RYO) were analysed between 1991 and 2008. The average annual concentration of CO, a toxic air pollutant, was the highest at TAP (235±44 ppb), followed by RYO (169±35 ppb), UUM (154±27 ppb) and WLG (138±24 ppb). These data obtained in East Asia were also compared with CO data from Mauna Loa, Hawaii. CO tends to be highest in spring and lowest in summer in East Asia, with the exception of WLG. TAP had the highest CO concentrations in all seasons compared with WLG, UUM and RYO, and displays a wide short-term variability in concentration. This is caused by large-scale air pollution owing to its downwind location, close to continental East Asia. CO concentrations observed at TAP were analysed as follows: according to the origin of the isentropic backward trajectory and its transport passage; as continental background airflows (CBG); regionally polluted continental airflows (RPC); oceanic background airflows (OBG); and partly perturbed oceanic airflows (PPO). The high concentrations of CO at TAP are because of the airflow originating from the East Asian continent, rather than the North Pacific. RPCs, which pass through eastern China, appear to have high CO concentrations in spring, autumn and winter. It is noteworthy that the overall trend at TAP does not show an increase despite the fact that energy use in China approximately doubled from 1991 to 2008. OBGs, however, are affected by North Pacific air masses with low CO concentrations in summer.     

Improvement of the Mellor–Yamada–Nakanishi–Niino Planetary Boundary-Layer Scheme Based on Observational Data in China

The Mellor–Yamada–Nakanishi–Niino (MYNN) planetary boundary-layer (PBL) scheme is a second-order turbulence closure model that is an improved version of the Mellor–Yamada scheme based on large-eddy simulation data. It simulates PBL structure and evolution well, particularly over the ocean surface. However, when used with various underlying surfaces in China, the scheme overestimates the turbulent momentum flux and the sensible heat flux. Based on observations of surface fluxes in China, we attempt to improve the MYNN model by modifying the parameters and representation of the turbulence scale. Closure constants and empirical expressions in the diagnostic equation are chosen first, and an additional component of the turbulent heat flux is considered in the potential temperature prognostic equation to improve the surface heat-flux modelling. The modified MYNN scheme is incorporated into a three-dimensional mesoscale model and is evaluated using various underlying surface observations. Amelioration of the surface turbulent fluxes is confirmed at five observational sites in China over different land-use types.     

Changes of precipitation and extremes and the possible effect of urbanization in the Beijing metropolitan region during 1960–2012 based on homogenized observations

Daily precipitation series at 15 stations in the Beijing metropolitan region (BMR) during 1960-2012 were homogenized using the multiple analysis of series for homogenization method, with additional adjustments based on analysis of empirical cumulative density function (ECDF) regarding climate extremes. The cumulative density functions of daily precipitation series, the trends of annual and seasonal precipitation, and summer extreme events during 1960-2012 in the original and final adjusted series at Beijing station were comparatively analyzed to show the necessity and efficiency of the new method. Results indicate that the ECDF adjustments can improve the homogeneity of high-order moments of daily series and the estimation of climate trends in extremes. The linear trends of the regional-mean annual and seasonal (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) precipitation series are -10.16, 4.97, -20.04, 5.02, and -0.11 mm (10 yr)-1, respectively. The trends over the BMR increase consistently for spring/autumn and decrease for the whole year/summer; however, the trends for winter decrease in southern parts and increase in northern parts. Urbanization affects local trends of precipitation amount, frequency, and intensity and their geographical patterns. For the urban-influenced sites, urbanization tends to slow down the magnitude of decrease in the precipitation and extreme amount series by approximately -10.4% and -6.0%, respectively; enhance the magnitude of decrease in precipitation frequency series by approximately 5.7%; reduce that of extremes by approximately -8.9%; and promote the decreasing trends in the summer intensity series of both precipitation and extremes by approximately 6.8% and 51.5%, respectively.     

Spatiotemporal variations of potential evapotranspiration and aridity index in relation to influencing factors over Southwest China during 1960–2013

This study investigated the spatial–temporal patterns and trends of potential evapotranspiration (ET₀) and aridity index (AI) over Southwest China during 1960–2013 based on daily temperature, precipitation, wind speed, sunshine duration, total solar radiation, and relative humidity data from 108 meteorological stations. The Penman–Monteith model, Mann–Kendall (M–K) test, moving t test, and Morlet wavelet method were used. The results indicated that ET₀ and AI across the region displayed decreasing trends, but the former was significant. After 2000, regionally average trends in ET₀ and AI increased rapidly, indicating that droughts increased over Southwest China in recent years. Spatially, the changes of ET₀ and AI were dissimilar and not clustered, either. Temporally, both ET₀ and AI displayed obvious abrupt change points over different timescales and that of AI was during the winter monsoon period. Significant periodic variations with periods of 27, 13, and 5 years were found in ET₀, but only of 13 and 5 years existed in AI. Correlation analysis revealed that the sunshine duration and wind speed were the dominant factors affecting ET₀ and that AI showed strong negative correlation with precipitation. The findings of this study enhance the understanding of the relationship between climate change and drought in Southwest China, while the mechanism controlling the variation in drought requires further study.     

Relative humidity history on the Batang–Litang Plateau of western China since 1755 reconstructed from tree-ring δ18O and δD

We measured the annual variation in the stable isotopes of oxygen (δ¹⁸O) and hydrogen (δD) in tree rings of Abies georgei on the Batang–Litang Plateau of western China. Although correlations between tree-ring δ¹⁸O and δD are relatively weak in semi-arid regions, we found a strong correlation between the δ¹⁸O and δD time series from 1755 to 2009 under the wetter environment. Tree-ring δ¹⁸O and δD time series are both significantly and negatively correlated with moisture conditions from June to August, including relative humidity and total precipitation, respectively, from 1960 to 2009. Considering the difference in low-frequency domain between the two isotopes, the relative humidity histories from June to August, reconstructed separately from the tree-ring δ¹⁸O and δD data with instrumental climate data, reveal a persistent drying trend since 1850s, especially since the early 1970s. There is an obvious offset of reconstructed relative humidity from tree-ring δ¹⁸O and δD in the period 1755–1820, despite the strong similarity in their 21-year moving averages. The decreased relative humidity since the 1850s may be associated with the thermal contrast between the sea surface temperature of the Indian Ocean and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, which determines the strength of moisture transfer via the Indian summer monsoon.     

Multi-scheme corrected dynamic–analogue prediction of summer precipitation in northeastern China based on BCC_CSM

Based on summer precipitation hindcasts for 1991–2013 produced by the Beijing Climate Center Climate System Model (BCC_CSM), the relationship between precipitation prediction error in northeastern China (NEC) and global sea surface temperature is analyzed, and dynamic–analogue prediction is carried out to improve the summer precipitation prediction skill of BCC_CSM, through taking care of model historical analogue prediction error in the real-time output. Seven correction schemes such as the systematic bias correction, pure statistical correction, dynamic–analogue correction, and so on, are designed and compared. Independent hindcast results show that the 5-yr average anomaly correlation coefficient (ACC) of summer precipitation is respectively improved from –0.13/0.15 to 0.16/0.24 for 2009–13/1991–95 when using the equally weighted dynamic–analogue correction in the BCC_CSM prediction, which takes the arithmetical mean of the correction based on regional average error and that on grid point error. In addition, probabilistic prediction using the results from the multiple correction schemes is also performed and it leads to further improved 5-yr average prediction accuracy.     

Spatiotemporal variability of drought on a short–medium time scale in the Calabria Region (Southern Italy)

The study analyses spatial and temporal patterns of drought in an area with a wide range of precipitation characteristics (the Calabria region in southern Italy) during the period 1921?C2007. The short-time (2, 3 and 6?months) Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) was estimated to analyse drought especially from the agricultural point of view. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the SPI to assess the spatial variability of drought. During the period of observation, moderate to severe drought occurred at a frequency of almost 13?% in wet seasons (autumn and winter). Almost half of the region was affected by drought in the years 1981?C1990 when the area experienced its most severe drought. Although the spatial patterns of drought estimated by PCA were logical and consistent with precipitation distribution, very complex patterns were observed for all the time scales looked at. The high fragmentation of the maps obtained makes them of limited value, and caution is recommended in classifying the region into homogeneous areas.