Stratospheric entry point for upper-tropospheric air within the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone

The Asian summer monsoon (ASM) anticyclone isolates upper-tropospheric air within the interior of the anticyclone from the outside. Forward trajectory simulations in previous studies have shown that much of the air within the ASM anticyclone can be trapped for up to two or three weeks, not only laterally but also vertically. Here, we investigate the locations of exit points for upper-tropospheric air trapped within the ASM anticyclone, especially the preferred tropopause-crossing locations, using a 3-dimensional trajectory model. Forward trajectory calculations show two-thirds of the air crosses the tropopause at the southern part of the anticyclone via upward diabatic transport. Furthermore, some air crosses at northern and eastern parts via isentropic shedding, but air crosses rarely through the center of the anticyclone. However, calculations also show that many stratospheric parcels within the anticyclone are traceable from the upper-tropospheric anticyclone. This implies they cannot break through the tropopause directly overhead but instead enter the stratosphere via other entry points.     

Role of ENSO in the interannual relationship between Tibetan Plateau winter snow cover and Northwest Pacific tropical cyclone genesis frequency

Previous studies have revealed a significantly negative correlation between prior winter snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau(TPSC) and tropical cyclone genesis frequency(TCF) over the western North Pacific(WNP) in the following typhoon season. This study revisited this relationship based on long-term observational data. The results showed that the interannual correlation between TCF over the WNP and TPSC experienced a shift in the early 1990 s. This correlation is significant during only 1993–2012 and is considerably weak during 1976–1992. The possible reasons causing the shift were examined further, and the results demonstrated that the central Pacific(CP) El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation(ENSO) has played a vital role in intensifying the interannual relationship between TCF over the WNP and TPSC since the early 1990 s. During 1993–2012, TPSC was negatively related to CP ENSO. When TPSC was higher than(lower than) normal, CP ENSO was often in its cold(warm) phase. Such a combination remarkably enhances the relationship of TPSC with the zonal land-sea thermal difference and thus with the summer monsoon over the WNP. Additionally, it enhances the modulation of TPSC on the dynamical environments controlling TCF. As a result, the linkage between TPSC and TCF was significantly strengthened in this period. In sharp contrast, due to the weak relationship between TPSC and ENSO followed by the weak modulation of TPSC on the summer monsoon over the WNP and the dynamical environment during 1976–1992, the linkage between TPSC and TCF was weak during this time period. The results from additional dynamical diagnostic analyses further showed that during 1993–2012 CP ENSO modulated the barotropic energy conversion of zonal winds over the WNP, contributing to the intensified relationship between TPSC and TCF. These results will improve seasonal forecasting of tropical cyclone activity over the WNP.     

Influence of atmospheric heat sources over the Tibetan Plateau and the tropical western North Pacific on the inter-decadal variations of the stratosphere-troposphere exchange of water vapor

This study investigates the Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange(STE) of water vapor,emphasizes its interdecadal variations over Asia in boreal summer,and discusses the influences of atmospheric heat sources over the Tibetan Plateau and the tropical western North Pacific(WNP) on them by using the Wei method with reanalysis data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF) for the years of 1958-2001.The climatology shows that the upward transport of water vapor across the tropopause in boreal summer is the most robust over the joining area of the South Asian Peninsula and Indian-Pacific Oceans(defined as AIPO).The upward transport over there can persistently convey the abundant water vapor into the stratosphere and then influence the distribution and variation of the stratospheric water vapor.The analysis shows that interdecadal variations of the water vapor exchange over the AIPO are significant,and its abrupt change occurred in the mid-1970s and the early 1990s.In these three periods,as important channels of the water vapor exchange,the effect of Bay of Bengal-East Asia as well as South China Sea was gradually weakening,while the role of the WNP becomes more and more important.Further studies show that atmospheric heat sources over the Tibetan Plateau and the WNP are two main factors in determining the interdecadal variations of water vapor exchange.The thermal influences over the Tibetan Plateau and the WNP have been greatly adjusted over the pass 44 years.Their synthesis influences the interdecadal variations of the water vapor exchange by changing the Asian summer monsoon,but their roles vary with time and regions.Especially after 1992,the influence of heat source over the Tibetan Plateau remarkably weakens,while the heat source over the WNP dominates the across-tropopause water vapor exchange.Results have important implications for understanding the transport of other components in the atmosphere and estimating the impact of human activities(emission) on global climate.     

风应力桥梁作用下热带太平洋和热带大西洋相互作用的数值试验

利用中等复杂程度热带大气和海洋模式研究了热带太平洋和大西洋SST通过风应力桥梁的相互作用.利用1958～1998年NCEP分析的海表面温度场（SST）强迫大气模式得到的表面风应力与NCEP分析的同期热通量共同驱动海洋模式,作为控制试验;和控制试验平行,但强迫大气模式的SST在某一海盆取为多年气候平均值的试验作为敏感性试验;比较控制试验与敏感性试验模拟,则可反映风应力桥梁作用下热带某海盆SST异常对其他海盆的影响.结果表明,热带某一海盆SST暖（冷）异常总是引起局地海盆表面西部西（东）风异常和东部东（西）风异常;热带太平洋SST暖（冷）异常导致的该海盆东部表面东（西）风异常可以扩展到热带大西洋,从而导致热带大西洋SST冷（暖）异常;热带大西洋SST暖（冷）异常导致的该海盆西部表面西（东）风异常可以扩展到热带太平洋,从而导致热带太平洋SST暖（冷）异常.     

Hindcasting of tropical cyclone winds and waves

Ocean Dynamics - This paper describes a series of hindcast simulations of 17 tropical cyclones over the northwest shelf region of Australia. Tropical cyclone track and vortex details were obtained...     

Sill dynamics and energy transformation in a jet fjord

A detailed set of observations are presented of the tidal forcing and basin response of Loch Etive, a jet-type fjordic system on the west coast of Scotland. The characteristics of the tidal jet observed during a spring tide are discussed in detail, and with reference to laboratory studies of Baines and Hoinka (1985). Although the system is categorized as a jet basin during spring tides (when the mode-1 densimetric Froude number exceeds 1) and a wave basin during neap tides (when the Froude number remains below 1), a mode-1 baroclinic wave response is observed throughout the spring/neap cycle. Of the total incident tidal energy, 16% is lost from the barotropic tide. The ratio between loss to bottom friction, barotropic form drag and baroclinic wave drag is estimated to be 1:4:1 (1:4:3.3) at springs (neaps). Despite this, during a spring tide, a 20-m amplitude baroclinic mode-1 wave is observed to propagate along the full length of the basin at a speed of 0.2 m s^–1, somewhat slower than the predicted linear mode-1 phase speed. A hydrographic section supports the implication of the dissipation of the baroclinic wave towards the loch head. The stratification of the upper layers is observed to decrease rapidly landward of the 40-m isobath, a possible signature of enhanced diapycnal mixing in the shallower reaches towards the loch head.Responsible Editor: Jens Kappenberg     

Important role of the ENSO combination mode in the maintenance of the anomalous anticyclone over the western North Pacific in boreal summer

Science China Earth Sciences - This study demonstrates the main physical mechanism for the maintenance of the western North Pacific (WNP) anomalous anticyclone (WNPAC) during the El Niño...     

Stemflow and throughfall in a tropical dry forest

The rainfall received by a small plot of tropical deciduous forest on sand dunes in Veracruz, Mexico, was partitioned into stemflow and throughfall components to determine whether funnelling by stemflow could reduce soil leaching by transmitting large volumes of water through vertical soil pathways beneath each stem. Although soil infiltration capacities were high, only a very small proportion of incoming rainfall was funnelled by canopy stems. This is attributed to the widely-branched morphology of mature trees. Smaller trees and shrubs were more effective funnellers of rainfall, and a crude estimate of the magnitude of stemflow in the understorey stratum in one rain event suggested a contribution approximately ten times that of canopy stemflow. However, even if augmented by the understorey stratum in this way, total stemflow is unlikely to have exceeded 10 per cent of gross precipitation, implying that it does not represent an important leaching-avoidance mechanism in this forest.     

Some querries concerning tropical cyclones and their origin

Summary The Author mentions some geographical data apparently neglected when one is considering the origin of a developing tropical cyclone.

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Résumé L'auteur avance quelques critiques au sujet de diverses techniques employées actuellement dans l'étude de l'origine des cyclones tropicaux.

     

Counteracting effects on ENSO induced by ocean chlorophyll interannual variability and tropical instability wave-scale perturbations in the tropical Pacific

Large perturbations in chlorophyll(Chl) are observed to coexist at interannual and tropical instability wave(TIW)scales in the tropical Pacific; at present, their combined effects on El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation(ENSO) through ocean biologyinduced heating(OBH) feedbacks are not understood well. Here, a hybrid coupled model(HCM) for the atmosphere and ocean physics-biogeochemistry(AOPB) in the tropical Pacific is adopted to quantify how ENSO can be modulated by Chl perturbations at interannual and...     

Nocturnal low-level jet over a shallow slope

A simple theory is presented for a nocturnal low-level jet (LLJ) over a planar slope. The theory extends the classical inviscid inertial-oscillation model of LLJs to include up- and downslope motion in the boundary layer within a stably stratified environment. The particular scenario considered is typical of LLJs over the Great Plains of the United States: southerly geostrophic wind over terrain that gently slopes down toward the east. First, an initial value problem for the coupled equations of motion and thermodynamic energy is solved for air parcels suddenly freed of a frictional constraint near sunset. The solution is an oscillation that takes, on the hodograph plane, the form of an ellipse having an eastward-oriented major axis and an eccentricity that increases with increasing stratification and slope angle. Next, the notion of a tilted residual layer (TRL) is introduced and used to relate initial (sunset) air parcel buoyancy to free-atmosphere stratification and thermal structure of the boundary layer. Application of the TRL-estimated initial buoyancy in the solution of the initial value problem leads to expressions for peak jet strength and the slope angle that maximizes the jet strength. Analytical results are in reasonable qualitative agreement with observational data.     

青藏高原地震活动特征及当前地震活动形势

青藏高原是我国现代构造活动和地震活动最强烈的地区,自有地震记录以来,在高原内记录到多达18次8级以上巨大地震和100余次7~7.9级地震,它们均发生在喜马拉雅板块边界构造带和板内断块区及其次级断块的边界活动构造带上.自1900年有地震仪器记录以来,青藏高原曾经历了3次地震活动丛集高潮,即1920-1937年,1947-1976年和1995-现在.在每次地震活动丛集期都形成以8级地震为核心的7级以上地震活动系列,它们分别是20世纪20-30年代的海原-古浪地震系列、50-70年代察隅-当雄地震系列和20世纪末期以来昆仑-汶川地震系列.每一个地震系列都有自己的主体活动区,最新的昆仑-汶川地震系列的主体活动区为巴颜喀喇断块.青藏高原地震活动高潮与全球Mw≥8.0巨大地震活动高潮紧密相关,昆仑-汶川地震系列与自2001年至今的全球最新地震活动高潮相对应,它们反映了两者的动力学联系.经过详细对比研究认为,它们至今均仍在延续之中,全球板块边界构造带8~9级地震和板内大陆断块区的7~8级地震都仍在连续发生.研究了全球和区域地震活动的相关关系及青藏高原地震活动的时空分布特征,指出了该区当前地震活动的总体形势,评价了其近期地震危险性,提出了加强地震监测的建议.     

High-level warmings and total ozone over a tropical region

The rocketsonde data obtained from the launchings made at Thumba (8°3215N, 76°5148E) during the winter period 1970–71, as already reported, have indicated that warmings of noticeable magnitude occurred at high levels (upper stratosphere and mesosphere) over this tropical station during the period mentioned. The mean monthly radiosonde temperatures of 50, 100 and 300 mb levels at Thumba (Trivandrum) and Delhi (28°35N, 77°12E) during the same period have also pointed out certain anomalies consistent with the warmings referred to above at Thumba. The radiosonde temperatures of the two stations, Thumba (Trivandrum) and Delhi, have now been examined, along with the values of total ozone, for the ten winter periods commencing from 1961–1962. The analysis has pointed out the possibility of high-level warmings also having occurred in the past over the Indian region during the winters of 1963–1964 and 1967–1968, which are also the periods when prominent warmings are definitely known to have occurred at higher latitudes. The behaviour of total ozone has been found to be different in the different years of the warmings. The features noticed have been presented and discussed.     

Problems of throughfall and interception assessment under tropical forest

An experiment set up in a highland area of northern Tanzania is described. The influence of skewness and great variability of throughfall data is illustrated. For heavy storms, the large standard errors make interception estimates unreliable. The techniques of analysis adopted have a considerable influence on throughfall and interception estimates.     

The processes of tropical semi-geostrophic adaptation

In tropical areas, when the zonal or meridional geostrophic equilibrium is destroyed, inertial gravity wave will be excited by ageostrophic motion, with the dispersion of the wave, a new zonal or meridional geostrophic balance will be established again, and it follows an invariant of semi-potential vorticity. Based on the invariant, it should be pointed out that the direction of the zonal or meridional semi-geostrophic adaptation depends mainly upon the meridional characteristic scale of initial disturbance. For the zonal (meridional) semi-geostrophic adaptation, if the zonal characteristic scale of initial disturbance is big (small) enough, then the adaptation process always represents the mutual adjustment between the pressure field and zonal (meridional) flow.     

青藏高原P波速度层析成像与岩石圈结构

利用中国西部地震台网的数据,通过体波层析成像反演了青藏高原及邻域的三维P波速度结构.根据地壳和上地幔的速度变化和构造特征,重点讨论了下地壳流动、地幔上涌、岩石圈减薄以及与藏北新生代火山岩和藏南裂谷系的关系等问题.分析表明,青藏高原中、下地壳平均速度偏低,低速区主要分布在拉萨和羌塘块体内部,随着深度的增加逐渐扩大到松潘—甘孜块体.上述低速区之间多被高速带分隔,暗示地壳中、下部的韧性变形被限制在特定的区域,不太适于产生贯穿整个青藏高原的大规模横向流动.此外,地幔上涌也并非普遍发生于整个青藏高原,而是集中在羌塘、松潘—甘孜以及喜马拉雅东构造结附近,导致上述区域的岩石圈地幔较薄,并且伴生火山活动和岩浆作用.此外,由于印度大陆岩石圈在向北俯冲,板片下沉过程中引起地幔上涌,热流物质有可能上升进入地壳,这一作用对藏北新生代火山岩和藏南裂谷系的形成以及中、下地壳的韧性变形产生了明显的影响.