Nonlinear magneto-acoustic waves in the solar atmosphere

The weakly nonlinear evolution of quasi-isentropic magnetoacoustic waves in the solar atmosphere is analyzed. The plasma is assumed to be initially homogeneous, in thermal equilibrium and with a straight and homogeneous magnetic field frozen in. Additionally, the plasma is assumed to be cooled by the standard cooling function in the range of 10⁴ K<T<10⁷ K and heated by a mechanism which is proportional to the density and temperature. The range of temperature where the plasma is isentropically unstable, the e-folding time for thermal instability and the corresponding time and length-scale for wave breaking are found.     

Wave-mean flow interactions in the upper atmosphere

The nature of internal gravity waves is described with special emphasis on their ability to transport energy and momentum. The conditions under which these fluxes interact with the mean state of the atmosphere are described and the results are applied to various problems of the upper atmosphere, including the quasi-biennial oscillation, the heat budget of the thermosphere, the general circulation of the mesosphere, turbulence in the mesosphere, and even the 4-day circulation of the Venusian stratosphere.Gravity waves have long been recognized as an important element in the dynamics of the upper atmosphere - largely due to their very large amplitudes in this region. It is the implied purpose of this paper to convey some of the thinking that has gone on about the role of gravity waves in the large-scale circulation of the upper atmosphere. Insofar as gravity waves are now being identified as important entities in the lower atmosphere as well, it is possible that mechanisms identified in the upper atmosphere will prove relevant to the troposphere.Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow. Now at Harvard University.     

The role of shallow convection in the water and energy cycles of the atmosphere

The Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM4) is used to study the role of shallow convection in the hydrologic and energy cycles of the atmosphere. Sensitivity tests with AGCM4 show a marked effect of the parameterization of shallow convection in the model. In particular, including the parameterization of shallow convection produces considerably enhanced vertical mixing and decreased stratiform cloud amounts in the lower subtropical atmosphere over the oceans. The differences in simulated stratiform cloud amounts are associated with a change in the globally averaged outgoing shortwave radiative flux at the top of the atmosphere of about 11 W m⁻². Additionally, precipitation rates are considerably reduced for stratiform clouds and enhanced for convective clouds in the subtropics, if the parameterization of shallow convection is included in the model. Additional tests show that the simulated responses in cloud amounts and precipitation to the treatment of shallow convection are robust. Additional simulations with modified closures for deep convection and other changes to the treatment of convection in the model still lead to similar responses of the model results.     

Four-wave resonance in a forced-dissipative barotropic atmosphere

Summary This paper investigates four-wave resonance dynamics containing Ekman friction and diabatic heating. A general nonlinear low-frequency-period (LFP) solution is derived by a new time transformation from the equation of quasigeostrophic vorticity for the forced-dissipative barotropical atmosphere. The solution shows that the friction tends to prolong the LFP and the heating tends to shorten it. For a given time interval, because the effect of the friction exceeds that of the heating it is responsible for the LFP lengthening and v.v. The fact that frictional impact may be either stronger or weaker for a particular period of time leads to a longer or shorter LFP, suggesting a chaotic state of atmospheric motion. For statistical averaging on a long-term basis, however, the effects of both types are in balance so that the LFP is more or less fixed, thereby providing a new kind of physical mechanism for the predictability of climate on monthly/seasonal timescales. Furthermore, the extra-tropical quasi biweekly and 30–50 days oscillations are related to external forcing, and free Rossby wave quasi-resonance, respectively. For the first time it is found that the Ekman friction is able to excite explosive instability in a barotropical atmosphere. These results will be of use to the improvement of the two conclusions reported in Craik (1985).Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

大尺度海气相互作用和长期天气预报

在五十年代初,我国气象工作者就注意到西北太平洋特别是黑潮海域,海表温度的冷暖和我国东部地区讯期的旱涝有密切的关系。六十年代开始,大尺度海气相互作用的研究在国外普遍受到重视。解放以后在党的领导下,通过广大台站预报员和专业科研人员的努力,我国长期天气预报有较大的进展,但是,预报准确率和和预报时效仍不能满     

特定外源下的非线性Rossby椭圆余弦波和孤立波

本文讨论了在特定外源的条件下正压无辐散大气中存在的非线性Rossby椭圆余弦波和孤立波解,并求出了非线性波动的波速公式及其振幅与其它波参数间的诊断关系.证明了当不考虑外源时非线性波动的波速公式在振幅趋于零时即退化为通常的线性化的Rossby长波公式.     

Nonlinear interactions of spherical Rossby modes

Weakly nonlinear triad interactions between spherical Rossby harmonics are studied. Each of the harmonics has the form AP_n^m(sin θ)exp[i(mλ − σt)], where A is an amplitude and P_n^m is the associated Legendre function. Equations for the amplitudes are derived and resonance conditions are analysed. The resonance conditions differ substantially from the usual resonance conditions on a β-plane and include a Diophantine equation and a few inequalities for the integer wavenumbers n and m of the interacting modes. Particular analytical series of solutions to the resonance conditions are constructed, which show that modes with arbitrary large wavenumbers can participate in the interactions. A numerical study of the resonance conditions reveals that no more than 21% of the Rossby harmonics can participate in the triad interactions and that chains of the interacting triads soon break. Thus precise interactions (for which the resonance conditions hold exactly) do not result in any significant redistribution of energy over the spectrum. On the other hand, approximate interactions (for which the resonance conditions hold approximately) generate an intensive energy redistribution among short Rossby modes with typical scales much smaller than the Earth's radius. Thus the energy cascade is concentrated mainly in the short-wave part of the spectrum and is very weak in the large-scale domain. The efficiency of the triad interaction of Rossby modes with scales much smaller than the Earth's radius depends strongly on the existence of the so-called interaction latitude at which the local wave-vectors and frequencies of the interacting modes satisfy resonance conditions for plane Rossby waves on the β-plane approximating the neighbourhood of the latitude. If the interaction latitude exists, the interaction is intensive; in the opposite case, it is weak.     

大气中定常行星波的Eliassen-Palm通量与波折射指数的关系

本文研究了β平面近似下波作用量守恒,得到波作用通量——Eliaaen-Palm通量的一般形式.本文还利用WKBJ方法求得球面大气中定常行星波的Eliassen-Palm通量与波折射指数的关系. 本文还用一个准地转34层球坐标模式计算了冬季北半球地形与定常热源强迫所产生的定常行星波的Eliassen-Palm通量,证明了冬季受迫定常行星波在垂直及侧向传播中存在着两支波导,从而证明了理论上所得到的关系.     

On gravity wave-mean flow interactions in a three dimensional stratified atmosphere

By using multiple scale analysis method, two coupled models of gravity wave-mean flow interactions m a three-dimensional stratified atmosphere are derived. One model can be applied to the inertio-gravity wave-mean flow interactions in a global scale. The other one treats the meso-scale gravity wave forcing in a local region.     

Effects of increasing surface reflectivity on aerosol,radiation, and cloud interactions in the urban atmosphere

The online Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) is used to simulate the effects of albedo enhancement on aerosol, radiation, and cloud interactions in the Greater Montreal Area during the 2011 heat wave period. We used a 2-way nested approach to capture the full impacts of meteorological and photochemical reactions in the urban atmosphere. We conducted four sets of simulations with and without aerosol estimations and convective parameterizations to explore the aerosol interactions with radiation and cloud in the urban atmosphere. The direct, semi-direct, and indirect effects of aerosols are analyzed. The meteorological performance of the model indicates that the model slightly underpredicts air temperature, overpredicts wind speed, and underpredicts relative humidity. The chemical component of the model indicates that the model tends to underpredict fine particulate matters and overpredict ozone and nitrogen dioxide concentrations. The surface reflectivity of roofs, walls, and grounds is increased from 0.2 to 0.65, 0.60, and 0.45, respectively. Albedo enhancement led to a net decrease in radiative balance at solar noon by 25 W/m2, a decrease in daily air temperature by 0.5 °C, a reduction in water mixing ratio to 0.5 g/kg, and a decline in cloud coverage by 3% in the center part of the domain. Increasing urban albedo caused a decrease in planetary boundary layer height by 25 m. Albedo enhancement affords a decrease in temperature-sensitive photochemical reaction rates and thus reduces daily ozone concentrations by 3 ppb across the entire domain. The concentration of daily fine particulate matters decreased by 3 μg/m3 in the center part of the GMA during the 2011 heat wave period.     

Peculiarities of diurnal variations of the vertical gradient of the atmosphere refraction index in Eastern Russia

In this paper, diurnal variations of the vertical gradient of the atmosphere refraction index in the lower 300-m layer are computed and analysed in detail for a vast territory of Eastern Siberia and Far East of Russia by using 10-year observation data obtained at 32 aerological stations. In particular, it was found out that diurnal variation of the gradient is more diverse in summer and less diverse in fall. In the most north-easterly regions, unlike other climate zones where maximum gradient changes occur in summer and in winter, the greatest diurnal fluctuations of g _n are observed in spring. In the studied region, amplitudes of diurnal variations of g _n are significant and quite comparable with those of inter-seasonal oscillations of g _n .     

Interannual winter rainfall variability in SW South Africa and large scale ocean–atmosphere interactions

Summary The Southwestern Cape (SWC) region of South Africa is characterized by winter rainfall mainly via cold fronts and by substantial interannual variability. Evidence is presented that interannual variability in SWC winter rainfall is related to sea-surface temperature (SST) and sea-ice anomalies in the central South Atlantic and adjoining Southern Ocean and to large scale ocean–atmosphere interaction in this region. During wet winters, the jet is strengthened just upstream of the SWC and significant cyclonic anomalies extend from the SW Atlantic over the region. SST tends to be anomalously warm (cool) in the SW Atlantic and SE Atlantic (central South Atlantic) and sea-ice extent increased in the central South Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. These patterns favor increased cyclogenesis upstream, a more northward track of midlatitude depressions, local intensification near the SWC and enhanced rainfall. Roughly the reverse patterns occur during dry winters. Some preliminary results from atmospheric GCM experiments are presented which help support these findings. Received November 9, 2001 Revised December 28, 2001     

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。     

Advances in studies of the middle and upper atmosphere and their coupling with the lower atmosphere

Recent advances in studies of the middle and upper atmosphere and their coupling with the lower atmosphere in China are briefly reviewed. This review emphasizes four aspects: (1) Development of instrumentation for middle and upper atmosphere observation; (2) Analyses and observation of middle and upper atmosphere; (3) Theoretical and modeling studies of planetary wave and gravity wave activities in the middle atmosphere and their relation to lower atmospheric processes; (4) Study on the coupling between the stratosphere and the troposphere.     

大气中的季节内振荡

本文依据最新的分析研究结果,系统地讨论了大气中的季节内(30—60天)振荡。内容包括大气季节内振荡的全球分布特征;热带大气30—60天振荡的基本特征;中高纬度大气30—60天振荡;热带和中高纬度大气30—60天振荡的相互影响;以及大气季节内振荡的动力学机制。 本文不仅对热带大气30—60天振荡提出了一些新的研究结果,特别是关于中高纬度大气30—60天振荡的讨论,以及关于热带和中高纬度大气30—60天振荡主要通过低频波列相互联系和相互影响的研究,将使我们对大气季节内振荡有比较全面的认识。     

Blocking distributions in the atmosphere

The zonal momentum generation in forced stationary waves may exceed the requirement for momentum balance after long, if the waves do not change their patterns, This suggests that the changes in stationary wave patterns would be required by maintenance of momentum balance over the external forcings. It will be found that the low frequency anomalies like blocking regimes may produce reversed zonal momentum variations, if they happen in the observed centre areas. The zonal momentum balance in the stationary waves may be maintained effectively by alternation between the normal and blocking circulation regimes, Thus, from the point of long-term zonal momentum balance, we may explain the geographical distributions of the blocking centres and the seasonal variations in blocking areas and frequencies.