On geoengineering with sulphate aerosols in the tropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere

This paper is in response to the Editorial Essay by Crutzen and the Editorial Comment by Cicerone in the August 2006 issue of Climatic Change. We reprise the evidence from atmospheric nuclear weapon testing in the 1950s and 1960s which is salient to the mooted maintenance of an artificial sulphate aerosol layer in the lower stratosphere, including a hitherto and now posthumous unpublished analysis of the ¹⁸⁵W Hardtack data. We also review recent investigations by ourselves, which have considerable bearing on some relevant questions concerning meteorological dynamics, aerosol chemistry and physics and the photodissociation of stratospheric sulphuric acid.     

Sensitivity of the warm core of tropical cyclones to solar radiation

To investigate the impacts of solar radiation on tropical cyclone (TC) warm-core structure (i.e., the magnitude and height), a pair of idealized simulations are conducted by specifying different strengths of solar shortwave radiation. It is found that the TC warm core is highly sensitive to the shortwave radiative effect. For the nighttime storm, a tendency for a more intense warm core is found, with an elevated height compared to its daytime counterpart. As pointed out by previous studies, the radiative cooling during nighttime destabilizes the local and large-scale environment and thus promotes deep moist convection, which enhances the TC's intensity. Due to the different inertial stabilities, the diabatic heating in the eyewall will force different secondary circulations. For a strong TC with a deeper vertical structure, this promotes a thin upper-level inflow layer. This inflow carries the lower stratospheric air with high potential temperature and descends adiabatically in the eye, resulting in significant upper-level warming. The Sawyer-Eliassen diagnosis further confirms that the height of the maximum temperature anomaly is likely attributable to the balance among the forced secondary circulations.     

Modelling radiation quantities and photolysis frequencies in the troposphere

STAR (System for Transfer of Atmospheric Radiation) was developed to calculate accurately and efficiently the irradiance, the actinic flux, and the radiance in the troposphere. Additionally a very efficient calculation scheme to computer photolysis frequencies for 21 different gases was evolved. STAR includes representative data bases for atmospheric constituents, especially aerosol particles. With this model package a sensitivity study of the influence of different parameter on photolysis frequencies in particular of O₃ to Singlet D oxygen atoms, of NO₂, and of HCHO was performed. The results show the quantitative effects of the influence of the solar zenith angle, the ozone concentration and vertical profile, the aerosol particles, the surface albedo, the temperature, the pressure, the concentration of NO₂, and different types of clouds on the photolysis frequencies.Notation I _A(, ) actinic flux - I _H(, ) irradiance - L(, , , ) radiance - wavelength - azimuth angle - cosine of zenith angle - _s cosine of solar zenith angle - optical depth - _s scattering coefficient - _c extinction coefficient - _o single scattering albedo - p _mix mixed phase function - g _mix mixed asymmetry factor - J _gas photolysis frequency     

On the evaluation of temperature trends in the tropical troposphere

A series of model experiments with the coupled Max-Planck-Institute ECHAM5/OM climate model have been investigated and compared with microwave measurements from the Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) and re-analysis data for the period 1979?C2008. The evaluation is carried out by computing the Temperature in the Lower Troposphere (TLT) and Temperature in the Middle Troposphere (TMT) using the MSU weights from both University of Alabama (UAH) and Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) and restricting the study to primarily the tropical oceans. When forced by analysed sea surface temperature the model reproduces accurately the time-evolution of the mean outgoing tropospheric microwave radiation especially over tropical oceans but with a minor bias towards higher temperatures in the upper troposphere. The latest reanalyses data from the 25?year Japanese re-analysis (JRA25) and European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasts Interim Reanalysis are in very close agreement with the time-evolution of the MSU data with a correlation of 0.98 and 0.96, respectively. The re-analysis trends are similar to the trends obtained from UAH but smaller than the trends from RSS. Comparison of TLT, computed from observations from UAH and RSS, with Sea Surface Temperature indicates that RSS has a warm bias after 1993. In order to identify the significance of the tropospheric linear temperature trends we determined the natural variability of 30-year trends from a 500?year control integration of the coupled ECHAM5 model. The model exhibits natural unforced variations of the 30?year tropospheric trend that vary within ±0.2?K/decade for the tropical oceans. This general result is supported by similar results from the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) coupled climate model. Present MSU observations from UAH for the period 1979?C2008 are well within this range but RSS is close to the upper positive limit of this variability. We have also compared the trend of the vertical lapse rate over the tropical oceans assuming that the difference between TLT and TMT is an approximate measure of the lapse rate. The TLT?CTMT trend is larger in both the measurements and in the JRA25 than in the model runs by 0.04?C0.06?K/decade. Furthermore, a calculation of all 30?year TLT?CTMT trends of the unforced 500-year integration vary between ±0.03?K/decade suggesting that the models have a minor systematic warm bias in the upper troposphere.     

Sensitivity of the upper ocean temperature and circulation in the equatorial Pacific to solar radiation penetration due to phytoplankton

Solar radiation penetration in the upper ocean is strongly modulated by phytoplankton, which impacts the upper ocean temperature structure, especially in the regions abundant with phytoplankton. In the paper, a new solar radiation penetration scheme, based on the concentration of chlorophyll-a, was introduced into the LASG/IAP （State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics/Institute of Atmospheric Physics） Climate system Ocean Model （LICOM）. By comparing the simulations using this new scheme with those using the old scheme that included the constant e-folding attenuation depths in LICOM, it was found that the sea surface temperature （SST） and circulation in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific were both sensitive to the amount of phytoplankton present. Distinct from other regions, the increase of chlorophyll-a concentration would lead to SST decrease in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. The higher chlorophyll-a concentration at the equator in comparison to the off-equator regions can enlarge the subsurface temperature gradient, which in turn strengthens the upper current near the equator and induces an enhancing upwelling. The enhancing upwelling can then lead to a decrease in the SST in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. The results of these two sensitive experiments testify to the fact that the meridional gradient in the chlorophyll-a concentration can result in an enhancement in the upper current and a decrease in the SST, along with the observation that a high chlorophyll-a concentration at the equator is one of the predominant reasons leading to a decrease in the SST. This study points out that these results can be qualitatively different simply because of the choice of the solar radiation penetration schemes for comparison. This can help explain previously reported contradictory conclusions.     

Long-range transport of carbon monoxide from tropical ground to upper troposphere: a case study for South East Asia in October 1997

High concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) were observed in October 1997 at the upper troposphere of the western tropical Pacific. Transport from the potential sources of CO due to biomass burnings in the tropics was investigated by using a global chemical transport model (CTM) driven by assimilated meteorological data provided from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). A CTM evaluation simulation using water vapor showed that the amount of vertical transport of moisture by large-scale flow was consistent with the precipitation predicted at the convective zone. A series of CTM simulations using 10-day emission periods of an artificial material with lifetime of 60 days indicated that vertical lifting of surface air at the Indonesian archipelago occurred in the concentrated convections west of Sumatra Island. No evidence was found that CO from the Amazon region or Africa significantly contributed to high concentrations in the western tropical Pacific. Transport formed a large-scale anvil below the tropopause by rapid vertical transport and by divergence flow. The average time required for the transport from Kalimantan and Sumatra Island to the point of high CO concentration was about 15 days. High concentrations at an altitude of 10 km in the Southern Hemisphere were transported by large-scale subsidence from the upper tropospheric maximum, which was presumably produced from the sources at Kalimantan and Sumatra Island. Estimated emissions of CO in September and October from Kalimantan and Sumatra were substantially larger than the previous estimates. Omission of chemical reaction was a possible problem for the overestimate, but not significant. The possible problems in the transport were incorrect CTM transport due to insufficient horizontal (2.5×2.5°) and vertical resolution of the CTM, and to inaccuracy in the wind fields at the upper part of the troposphere and a divergent flow pattern in the upper part of the troposphere.     

Principal oscillation pattern analysis of the 30- to 60-day oscillation in the tropical troposphere

The Principal Oscillation Pattern technique is used to derive an index of the 30- to 60-day oscillation in the tropical troposphere. In the 200-mb equatorial velocity potential field, one dominant pair of POPS is found. Its properties compare very well with the properties of the oscillation identified in previous studies. In particular, a good correlation between the time evolution of the POP coefficients and area-averaged outgoing long-wave radiation (ORL) is found. The POPS are derived from a 2-year subinterval of the whole 5-year data set. This leaves independent data for subsequent verification. The patterns and their characteristic numbers are almost unchanged if the whole data set is analysed. Also, the analysis is insensitive to changes of the analysis area: if the analysis is limited to 90°-longitude equatorial sectors, the signal is also identified and its patterns are consistent with the patterns derived from the full data set. Interestingly, the signal is best defined in the eastern hemisphere. The POPS may be used to derive associated correlation patterns of other quantities in winter and summer separately. The path of the oscillation has a marked annual cycle: in northern winter it migrates from the Indian Ocean across northern Australia into the region of the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) and in northern summer it moves from the Indian Ocean across South Asia along the intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) to South America. The POP coefficient may be seen as a bivariate index of the state (phase and strength) of the 30- to 60-day oscillation. Since the POP technique incorporates a prediction equation for the phase of the POP coefficients, the POP model allows for the prediction of the complex amplitude of the oscillation. In a sequence of forecast experiments, of which about two-thirds used independent data, the POP forecasts were found to be useful in about half of all cases for lead times of several days. The correlation and RMS skills were calculated for the POP forecast and for persistence. The POP forecast appears to be considerably better with respect to both measures. The correlation skill scores 60% after 7 days. The POP forecast is most skillful in northern winter and if strong signals are present with minima of velocity potential in the eastern hemisphere.     

Different response of North Pacific storm tracks in the upper and lower troposphere to jet strength

The midwinter suppression of North Pacific storm tracks (NPSTs) reflects that the linear relationship between the NPST and baroclinicity breaks in winter. Based on the reanalysis data during the cold seasons of 1979–2019 and a tracking algorithm, this study analyzes the eddy growth process and shows that an enhanced upper-tropospheric jet favors the generation of upper-level eddies on the northeast side of the Pacific jet, but increasingly suppresses the generation of those in the Northwest Pacific. The upper-level eddies generated upstream of the jet core are unable to grow sufficiently throughout the whole cold season, and only those generated downstream of the jet core can grow normally and constitute the main body of the upper-level NPST. By contrast, the main lower-level eddy genesis area and growth area coincide with the baroclinic zone, with the genesis number and local growth rate increasing with the baroclinicity.摘要北太平洋风暴轴的深冬抑制表明风暴轴强度与斜压性之间的线性关系在冬季破裂. 本研究基于1979–2019年冷季的再分析数据和拉格朗日跟踪算法, 对比分析了高低层扰动的具体生长过程. 结果表明太平洋急流的增强有利于高层扰动在急流核东北侧产生, 但却抑制其在西北太平洋的生成. 在急流核上游产生的高层扰动在整个冷季都无法充分发展, 只有在急流核下游产生的高层扰动才能正常生长且它们是构成高层太平洋风暴轴的主体. 相比之下, 低层扰动的生成区和生长区都与斜压区重合, 并且它们的生成数量和局部增长率随着斜压性的增强而增强.     

上对流层/下平流层水物质分布与输送特征

基于Aura卫星微波临边探测仪（MLS）探测的水汽、冰水含量和温度等资料,对比分析了夏季亚洲季风区与北美季风区、暖池区以及伊朗高原上对流层/下平流层水汽、冰水含量以及水物质总含量（水汽和冰水含量之和）的分布特征,并探讨了不同区域水汽的输送过程。结果表明：在215-83 hPa高度上水物质总含量在亚洲季风区均出现了高值中心,且亚洲季风区水物质总含量明显大于北美季风区;在215 hPa高度水汽对水物质总含量起主要的贡献,而到了147-83 hPa高度,冰水含量与水汽对水物质总含量的贡献大致相当,亚洲季风区上对流层/下平流层水汽的高值中心揭示了反气旋对水汽的隔离作用。水汽混合比在147 hPa和100 hPa高度不同的概率密度分布反映出不同高度影响水汽输送的不同因素。北半球冬季暖池区100 hPa上空温度极低,水汽混合比峰值概率仅为2 ppmv;而在147 hPa高度上,亚洲季风区频繁的深对流使得大量水汽被输送到对流层上层,这是亚洲季风区水汽概率“长尾”分布的主要原因。在100 hPa和147 hPa高度,冰水含量主要集中在小值,可能是由冰晶粒子消耗水汽而增长到一定尺度后沉降造成的。     

Global photosynthetically active radiation and its relationship with global solar radiation in the Eastern Mediterranean basin

Summary ?The relationship between global photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and global solar radiation is studied with a 2-year data archive of hourly values H_PAR and H_SW of these irradiances obtained at Athalassa, Cyprus. These data are used to determine the temporal variability of H_PAR and its dependence on sky conditions. The seasonal variation of the ratio H_PAR/H_SW obtained from daily data ranges from 0.456 (during summer) to 0.451 (during winter) with an annual mean value of 0.454. The ratio increases from 0.454 to 0.467 (daily values) or from 0.460 to 0.501 (hourly values), as sky conditions change from clear to overcast. Finally, the effect of aerosol content on the H_PAR/H_SW ratio is found to incur substantial changes in the PAR fraction. Received June 27, 2001; revised April 17, 2002; accepted May 18, 2002     

太阳辐射各因子的变化对太阳紫外辐射的影响

利用北京地区１９９０年太阳分光辐射的观测资料，计算了影响太阳紫外辐射的各因子的变化所引起的太阳紫外辐射的变化。当臭氧、水汽、气溶胶分别减少５％时，到达地面的太阳紫外辐射将分别增加０．８４％、０．２７％和１．９０％。在分析太阳紫外辐射的变化趋势时，应当全面考虑各个因子的影响。     

通过影响高度多路径质量控制改进热带对流层低层GPS掩星资料同化效果

与观测气象、电离层和气候的GPS卫星计划COSMIC-1相比,COSMIC-2有更大功率的GPS接收天线,高2倍的采样率(100 Hz),小3倍的轨道倾角(24°)。因此,COSMIC-2和未来小卫星将为热带地区提供前所未有的大量无线电掩星观测资料。因为热带对流层低层水汽含量高,折射率有局地大梯度,违背大气球对称性假定,造成影响多路径现象,所以热带地区的掩星资料同化具有较大挑战性。本文首先利用之前研究中提出的影响参数多路径质量控制方法,去除热带对流层低层弯角模拟中出现影响参数多路径现象的资料,然后使用有限射线长度二维(2D)路径追踪观测算子和一维(1D)Abel变换观测算子,进行GPS弯角资料同化。结果表明,如果射线路径限制在离近地面点±300~400 km的水平距离以内,有限射线长度2D路径追踪观测算子得到的弯角模拟与2D射线追踪观测算子得到的弯角廓线之差不仅无偏,而且其标准差远比1D Abel的弯角模拟精度高。此外,无论采用1D Abel变换还是有限射线长度2D路径追踪观测算子来模拟弯角,影响参数多路径质量控制方案都能进一步改进GPS掩星弯角资料同化和预报精度。     

2001-2012年北京市空气污染指数节气分布及其与气象要素的关系

利用2001年1月1日-2012年12月31日北京市空气污染指数资料和地面气象观测数据,对北京市API的节气变化特征及其与气象因子在节气尺度上的相关关系进行统计分析。结果表明：2001-2012年北京市春季和冬季分别以清明和小雪节气API最高,空气质量最差;立秋节气API最低,空气质量最好。春分至霜降节气空气首要污染物是PM₁₀,SO₂作为首要污染物出现在立冬~大寒和立春~惊蛰节气,小寒达到最大。温度、风速和相对湿度是影响北京空气质量主要气象因子,立春~谷雨主要受气压影响,立冬~大寒受相对湿度和日照时数影响较大,立夏~霜降与平均气温和最低气温显著相关,风速主要影响春秋节气。     

The partitioning of nitrogen oxides in the lower Arctic troposphere during spring 1988

Surface observations of several nitrogen oxides in the Canadian high Arctic during the period March-April 1988 are reported. These include data on NO₂, the inorganic nitrates HNO₃ and particulate nitrate, and the organic nitrates PAN and C₃–C₇ alkyl-nitrates. It is found that the organic nitrates make up 70–80% of the sum of the measured nitrogen oxides. Based on concurrently measured sulphur oxides, the period of observation was divided into two halves with the first half representing less polluted, more aged air than the second. The preponderance of the organic nitrates was less in the first period than the second. In contrast, there was little difference in the inorganic nitrates and NO₂ concentrations. The dominant inorganic nitrate shifted from particulate nitrate in the first period towards gaseous HNO₃ in the second. No correlation between the nitrates (inorganic or organic) and O₃ was observed; although some indication of a positive correlation between NO₂ and O₃ has been reported earlier (Bottenheimet al., 1990). Possible explanations for these observations are proposed. A survey of other potential nitrogen oxides that may be present in the Arctic air but not measured in these experiments suggests that the nitrogen oxides not measured here constitute a minor fraction of the total reactive nitrogen (NO _y ).Paper submitted to the 7th International Symposium of the Commission for Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution on the Chemistry of the Global Atmosphere held in Chamrousse, France, from 5 to 11 September 1990.     

A regional modeling study of the diurnal cycle in the lower troposphere in the south-eastern tropical Pacific

We examine the influence of the South-American land-mass and its mountains on the significant cyclic diurnal and semidiurnal components of the average circulation in the adjacent area of the southeastern tropical Pacific (SEP). Our approach is based on a number of numerical simulations with the regional atmospheric model weather research and forecasting forced by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction’s final analysis operational analysis data. In the control simulation the model domain covers the SEP and a large part of South America. In several sensitivity experiments the domain is reduced to progressively exclude continental areas. We find that the mean diurnal cycle is sensitive to model domain in ways that reveal the existence of different contributions originating from the Chilean and Peruvian land-masses. The experiments suggest that diurnal variations in circulations and thermal structures over the SEP (mainly forced by local insolation) are influenced by convection over the Peruvian sector of the Andes cordillera, while the mostly dry mountain-breeze circulations force an additional component that results in semi-diurnal variations near the coast. A series of numerical tests, however, reveal sensitivity of the simulations to the choice of vertical grid, limiting the possibility of solid quantitative statements on the amplitudes and phases of the diurnal and semidiurnal components across the domain.     

Evaluation and estimation of daily global solar radiation from the estimated direct and diffuse solar radiation

Active layer plays a key role in regulating the dynamics of hydrothermal processes and ecosystems that are sensitive to the changing climate in permafrost regions. However, little is known about the hydrothermal dynamics during freeze-thaw processes in permafrost regions with different vegetation types on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). In the present study, the freezing and thawing processes at four sites (QT01, 03, 04, and 05) with different vegetation types on the QTP was analyzed. The results indicated that the impact on the soil water and heat during the summer thawing process was markedly greater than that during the autumn freezing process. Furthermore, the thermal-orbit regression slopes for all sites exhibited a homologous variation as the depth increased, with the slowest attenuation for the meadow sites (QT01 and QT03) and a slightly faster attenuation for the desert steppe site (QT05). The air and ground surface temperatures were similar in winter, but the ground surface temperature was significantly higher than the air temperature in summer in the radiation-rich environment at all sites on the QTP. The results also indicated that the n-factors were between 0.36 and 0.55 during the thawing season, and the annual mean temperature near the permafrost table was between − 1.26 and − 1.84 °C. In the alpine desert steppe region, the thermal conditions exhibited to show a warming trend, with a current permafrost table temperature of − 0.22 °C. The annual changing amplitude of the ground temperature at the permafrost table was different for different vegetation types.     

The interannual variation of medium-range oscillation characteristics in the upper troposphere over the subtropical region

By using the power spectrum analysis, the interannual variation of medium-range oscillation charac-teristics in the upper troposphere over the subtropical region in China during June-August, 1966－1981 is studied. The quasi-two and quasi-one week oscillations are the two major oscillations generally existing in the subtropical region, and their intensities have obvious quasi-triennial variation period. These medium-range oscillation characteristics are closely related to the South Asian high, and in some degree to the summer precipitation in China. The quasi-two week oscillation is probably a display of the inherent oscillation of the south Asian high itself, and the quasi-one week oscillation is probably that of the forced oscillation from westerly disturbances.     

Deep convective cloud scales and direct adjustment of upper troposphere moisture in TWP environment

Summary A conceptually simple model based on cloud geometry is proposed to explain direct adjustment of moisture by convective clouds. The model is tested using deep convective cloud geometry and changes in upper tropospheric humidity in the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) during TOGACOARE. The model and the data emphasize the importance of clouds larger than a General Circulation Model (GCM) grid box in drying the upper topospheric environment and in sub grid scale clouds in moistening the upper topospheric environment. The convective cloud sizes and changes in moisture are shown to be linked to precipitation rates. The change from clouds that moisten to clouds that dry the environment occurs when the average cloud size in 6.8×10⁴ km² or rain rate of 2.1 mm hr^–1. In a study of moisture change in the sub cloud layer due to convection, Barnes and Garstang (1982) demonstrated that precipitation rates greater than 2 mm hr^–1 resulted in drying. The critical rain rates above which environmental drying occurs is similar for both upper tropospheric regions and the sub cloud. The similarity of the rain rates indicates that the model concepts maybe used to explain direct adjustment of moisture under a variety of conditions.With 12 Figures     

全球闪电活动与对流层上部NO及O3的相关性分析

为了解闪电对对流层上部微量气体的贡献,利用全球水资源和气候中心(GHRC)提供的1995年4月—2006年6月的闪电卫星格点资料,以及高层大气研究卫星(UARS)上的卤素掩星试验(HALOE)1991年10月—2005年11月的观测资料,分析了全球闪电与对流层上部NO和O3体积分数的时空分布特征及其相关性。结果表明:全球闪电12、1、2月集中在南半球,6—8月集中在北半球,全球闪电的季节分布与NO、O3类似;NO体积分数在350 h Pa附近达到最大,该高度的南半球NO体积分数变化范围为7×10-12~11×10-12、北半球为3×10-12~17×10-12;450~300 h Pa,北半球夏季O3体积分数呈明显增加趋势,且同一高度上夏季的值比年平均值大25%左右,南半球夏季O3体积分数高于冬季,但差异并不大。结论进一步证明了闪电与对流层上部NO及O3的密切关系,也为研究全球气候变化提供有力证据。