Sensitivity of the thermohaline circulation in coupled oceanic GCM — atmospheric EBM experiments

We analyze the sensitivity of the oceanic thermohaline circulation (THC) regarding perturbations in fresh water flux for a range of coupled oceanic general circulation — atmospheric energy balance models. The energy balance model (EBM) predicts surface air temperature and fresh water flux and contains the feedbacks due to meridional transports of sensible and latent heat. In the coupled system we examine a negative perturbation in run-off into the southern ocean and analyze the role of changed atmospheric heat transports and fresh water flux. With mixed boundary conditions (fixed air temperature and fixed surface fresh water fluxes) the response is characterized by a completely different oceanic heat transport than in the reference case. On the other hand, the surface heat flux remains roughly constant when the air temperature can adjust in a model where no anomalous atmospheric transports are allowed. This gives an artificially stable system with nearly unchanged oceanic heat transport. However, if meridional heat transports in the atmosphere are included, the sensitivity of the system lies between the two extreme cases. We find that changes in fresh water flux are unimportant for the THC in the coupled system.     

On the freshwater forcing and transport of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation

The 'conveyor belt' circulation of the Atlantic Ocean transports large amounts of heat northward, acting as a heating system for the northern North Atlantic region. It is widely thought that this circulation is driven by atmospheric freshwater export from the Atlantic catchment region, and that it transports freshwater northward to balance the loss to the atmosphere. Using results from a simple conceptual model and a global circulation model, it is argued here that the freshwater loss to the atmosphere arises mainly in the subtropical South Atlantic and is balanced by northward freshwater transport in the wind-driven subtropical gyre, while the thermohaline circulation transports freshwater southward. It is further argued that the direction of freshwater transport is closely linked to the dynamical regime and stability of the 'conveyor belt': if its freshwater transport is indeed southward, then its flow is purely thermally driven and inhibited by the freshwater forcing. In this case the circulation is not far from Stommel's saddle-node bifurcation, and a circulation state without NADW formation would also be stable. Received: 10 February 1996 / Accepted: 30 May 1996     

The impact of sub-grid scale sea-ice inhomogeneities on the performance of the atmospheric general circulation model ECHAM3

Leads and polynyas have a great impact on the energy budget of the polar ocean and atmosphere. Since atmospheric general circulation models are not able to resolve the spatial scales of these inhomogeneities, it is necessary to include the effect of fractional sub-grid scale sea-ice inhomogeneities on climate by a suitable parametrization. In order to do this we have divided each model grid-cell into an ice-covered and an ice-free part. Nevertheless, a numerical model requires effective transports representative for the whole grid-box. A simple procedure would be to use grid averages of the surface parameters for the calculation of the surface fluxes. However, as the surface fluxes are non-linearly dependent on the surface properties, the fluxes over ice and open water should be calculated separately according to the individual surface-layer structure of each surface type. Then these local fluxes should be averaged to obtain representative fluxes. Sensitivity experiments with the Hamburg atmospheric general circulation model ECHAM3 clearly show that a subgrid scale distribution of sea ice is a dominant factor controlling the exchange processes between ocean and atmosphere in the Arctic. The heat and water vapour transports are strongly enhanced leading to a significant warming and moistening of the polar troposphere. This affects the atmospheric circulation in high- and mid-latitudes; e.g. the stationary lows are modified and the transient cyclonic activity over the subpolar oceans is reduced. A pronounced impact of sub-grid scale sea-ice distribution on the model climate can only be obtained when the non-linear behaviour of the surface exchange processes is considered by a proper, physically based, averaging of the surface fluxes. A simple linear averaging of surface parameters is not sufficient. Received: 13 September 1994 / Accepted: 25 July 1995     

大气探测高技术及应用研究进展

大气探测技术是支撑大气科学,特别是大气物理和大气环境学科发展的重要基础,其主要任务是发展新的探测和试验手段、原理和方法,为认识大气运动以及大气中各种物理、化学、生物过程的基本规律及其与周围环境的相互作用提供技术手段和方法。除了充分利用国内外已有的成熟技术和产品对大气科学发展提供支持外,大气探测还存在一系列科学与技术问题需要研究和开发,这也是大气探测科学与高技术的前沿。本文从强对流和降水探测技术、雷电探测技术、云特性探测技术、臭氧和气溶胶等大气成分探测技术、地基GPS观测反演大气和海洋参数、大气与环境综合探测平台六个方面综述近五年来中国科学院大气物理研究所在地面大气探测高技术研发、实验观测及相关研究领域所取得的一些主要进展,并对未来发展进行展望。     

夏秋季节天气系统对边界层内大气中PM10浓度分布和演变过程的影响

边界层内的气压场直接影响区域性的大气环境质量,天气系统的变化与边界层气压场形势直接相关。根据2000～2006年大气环境监测资料的日均值和日增(减)量分布图,同时对夏秋季节主要的天气系统,副热带高压和台风进行耦合诊断分析,得出西太平洋高压和台风的时空演变对我国环境质量有十分重要的影响,这种影响主要是形成的高压均压场对污染物有累积效应,也出现污染物的汇聚,而其周边流场对区域污染物有输送作用。此外,天气系统的降水分布又对大气污染物有清除的作用。而且天气形势演变的空间和周期性形成了大气环境的区域性和过程性等复杂的特征。本文选择典型个例,进行剖析研究。在地面高压或500 hPa高度上5880 gpm等高线控制区内,造成大范围的静稳型区域性污染物的增量过程。在副高周边地区的雨区内经常是PM10的谷值期。夏秋季节台风近周边和远周边的影响区,经常是PM10峰值或较重污染物浓度出现区域。     

The simulation of SST, sea ice extents and ocean heat transports in a version of the Hadley Centre coupled model without flux adjustments

Results are presented from a new version of the Hadley Centre coupled model (HadCM3) that does not require flux adjustments to prevent large climate drifts in the simulation. The model has both an improved atmosphere and ocean component. In particular, the ocean has a 1.25° × 1.25° degree horizontal resolution and leads to a considerably improved simulation of ocean heat transports compared to earlier versions with a coarser resolution ocean component. The model does not have any spin up procedure prior to coupling and the simulation has been run for over 400 years starting from observed initial conditions. The sea surface temperature (SST) and sea ice simulation are shown to be stable and realistic. The trend in global mean SST is less than 0.009 °C per century. In part, the improved simulation is a consequence of a greater compatibility of the atmosphere and ocean model heat budgets. The atmospheric model surface heat and momentum budget are evaluated by comparing with climatological ship-based estimates. Similarly the ocean model simulation of poleward heat transports is compared with direct ship-based observations for a number of sections across the globe. Despite the limitations of the observed datasets, it is shown that the coupled model is able to reproduce many aspects of the observed heat budget. Received: 1 October 1998 / Accepted: 20 July 1999     

Low-frequency variability of the arctic climate: the role of oceanic and atmospheric heat transport variations

Changes in meridional heat transports, carried either by the atmosphere (HTRA) or by the ocean (HTRO), have been proposed to explain the decadal to multidecadal climate variations in the Arctic. On the other hand, model simulations indicate that, at high northern latitudes, variations in HTRA and HTRO are strongly coupled and may even compensate each other. A multi-century control integration with the Max Planck Institute global atmosphere-ocean model is analyzed to investigate the relative role of the HTRO and HTRA variations in shaping the Arctic climate and the consequences of their possible compensation. In the simulation, ocean heat transport anomalies modulate sea ice cover and surface heat fluxes mainly in the Barents Sea/Kara Sea region and the atmosphere responds with a modified pressure field. In response to positive HTRO anomalies there are negative HTRA anomalies associated with an export of relatively warm air southward to Western Siberia and a reduced inflow of heat over Alaska and northern Canada. While the compensation mechanism is prominent in this model, its dominating role is not constant over long time scales. The presence or absence of the compensation is determined mainly by the atmospheric circulation in the Pacific sector of the Arctic where the two leading large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns determine the lateral fluxes with varying contributions. The degree of compensation also determines the heat available to modulate the large-scale Arctic climate. The combined effect of atmospheric and oceanic contributions has to be considered to explain decadal-scale warming or cooling trends.     

荒漠绿洲边界层结构的数值模拟

陆-气相互作用和中小尺度天气系统的研究中,水平不均匀边界层和水平不均匀地表的强迫作用都是重要的物理过程.本文用已建立的陆面过程与大气边界层耦合模式(BLCM),较详细地研究了草地周围为荒漠(半沙漠)的地表植被不均匀而造成的边界层结构特征和局地环流及其昼夜变化.通过边界层顶影响自由大气不同尺度的运动.模式结果揭示出最强的上升和下沉运动是发生在荒漠-草地间动力和热力不连续的界面附近,且呈现出不对称性.     

The global heat balance: heat transports in the atmosphere and ocean

The heat budget has been computed locally over the entire globe for each month of 1988 using compatible top-of-the-atmosphere radiation from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment combined with European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts atmospheric data. The effective heat sources and sinks (diabatic heating) and effective moisture sources and sinks for the atmosphere are computed and combined to produce overall estimates of the atmospheric energy divergence and the net flux through the Earth's surface. On an annual mean basis, this is directly related to the divergence of the ocean heat transport, and new computations of the ocean heat transport are made for the ocean basins. Results are presented for January and July, and the annual mean for 1988, along with a comprehensive discussion of errors. While the current results are believed to be the best available at present, there are substantial shortcomings remaining in the estimates of the atmospheric heat and moisture budgets. The issues, which are also present in all previous studies, arise from the diurnal cycle, problems with atmospheric divergence, vertical resolution, spurious mass imbalances, initialized versus uninitialized atmospheric analyses, and postprocessing to produce the atmospheric archive on pressure surfaces. Over land, additional problems arise from the complex surface topography, so that computed surface fluxes are more reliable over the oceans. The use of zonal means to compute ocean transports is shown to produce misleading results because a considerable part of the implied ocean transports is through the land. The need to compute the heat budget locally is demonstrated and results indicate lower ocean transports than in previous residual calculations which are therefore more compatible with direct ocean estimates. A Poisson equation is solved with appropriate boundary conditions of zero normal heat flux through the continental boundaries to obtain the ocean heat transport. Because of the poor observational data base, adjustments to the surface fluxes are necessary over the southern oceans. Error bars are estimated based on the large-scale spurious residuals over land of 30 W m^–2 over 1000 km scales (10¹² m²). In the Atlantic Ocean, a northward transport emerges at all latitudes with peak values of 1.1±0.2 PW (1 standard error) at 20 to 30°N. Comparable values are achieved in the Pacific at 20°N, so that the total is 2.1±0.3 PW. The peak southward transport is at 15 to 20°S of 1.9±0.3 PW made up of strong components from both the Pacific and Indian Oceans and with a heat flux from the Pacific into the Indian Ocean in the Indonesian throughflow. The pattern of poleward heat fluxes is suggestive of a strong role for Ekman transports in the tropical regions.     

Climate sensitivity to changes in solar insolation in a simple coupled climate model

A simple coupled ocean, atmosphere and sea-ice model is presented. The idealised model consists of a zonally averaged land and ocean strip of constant angular width extending from pole to pole. The meridional energy transport in the ocean is modelled by contributions from the large scale thermohaline overturning cells and from horizontal diffusive fluxes. The atmospheric meridional energy transports are parametrised as diffusive fluxes in addition to advective transports in the Hadley domain. This parametrisation resolves the equatorward moisture transport as well as the poleward transport of potential energy in the upper branch of the Hadley circulation. The model reproduces the annual averaged meridional energy transports in the climate system with a small number of free model parameters. The basic feedbacks between the three climatic components are studied by investigating the model's sensitivity towards reductions in the solar insolation. It is found that the meridional energy transport in the ocean does not amplify the ice albedo feedback. This has important implications for modelling the climate sensitivity in atmosphere-only models, as these would exaggerate the sensitivity to changes in the solar insolation if their parametrisations of the meridional energy transport are constrained by surface temperatures. The role of the dependence of the atmospheric transports on the meridional temperature gradient is shown to have a significant influence on the sensitivity on the coupled model, and the inclusion of seasonal cycles greatly increase the models sensitivity. The Hadley circulation does significantly alter the strength of the ice-albedo feedback in the coupled model. The idealised configuration of the model makes it a useful tool for studying the feedbacks in the ocean-atmosphere-sea ice system in the context of the "Snowball Earth" hypothesis.     

Mean annual poleward energy transports by the oceans in the southern hemisphere

A survey is made of the published estimates of the components of the poleward flux of energy by the atmosphere in the Southern Hemisphere in order to determine the total atmospheric transport. Together with recent measurements by satellite of the Earth's radiation budget this allows a new estimate of the required poleward energy transport by the oceans in the Southern Hemisphere for mean annual conditions. Results show that the ocean and atmosphere each contribute similar amounts for 0–30°S and that the ocean probably also transports about one third of the total at 60°S. The latter is in contrast to similar latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere where the ocean transport is negligible, but consistent with the different distribution of land and sea in the two hemispheres.     

Energy transports by ocean and atmosphere based on an entropy extremum principle. Part II: Two-dimensional transports

Summary The maximum entropy production (MEP) principle used in Part J has been extended to separate the two-dimensional required energy transports determined from Nimbus 7 satellite net radiation measurements into atmospheric and oceanic components. In terms of the meridional component of the ocean transport vectors, results show northward ocean transports throughout the entire Atlantic ocean from southern hemisphere high latitudes to northern hemisphere polar regions, southward transports throughout the entire Indian Ocean, and poleward transports separated at approximately 10°S in the Pacific Ocean. The ocean transport patterns are consistent with well-known features concerning heat transport within the three ocean basins. However, uncertainty remains in the magnitudes of the transports. Because of the large remaining discrepancies between published estimates based on direct measurements and indirect estimates derived from energy budget methods, assessing the accuracy of the magnitudes is difficult, although there is evidence that the limited model resolution leads to synergistic biases in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. In terms of the crossmeridional energy transport component, results suggest that most of the net energy transfer in the tropics takes place within the ocean. In the southern hemisphere high latitudes, the Pacific and Indian Oceans export heat cross-meridionally to the Atlantic Ocean through the passages below Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, although the magnitudes of these inter-ocean heat exchanges are small. Another important aspect of the southern hemisphere results is that poleward transports are dominated by the atmospheric component with strong zonal asymmetry. By contrast, in the northern hemisphere, atmospheric transports over the ocean are generally weaker than the corresponding southern hemisphere terms, indicating that the northern hemisphere oceans are relatively more effective in transferring heat poleward. Finally, poleward atmospheric transports over the continental areas exceed those over the ocean at equivalent latitudes as a result of the generally greater energy deficits over the land areas.With 7 Figures     

Effects of atmospheric dynamics and ocean resolution on bi-stability of the thermohaline circulation examined using the Grid ENabled Integrated Earth system modelling (GENIE) framework

We have used the Grid ENabled Integrated Earth system modelling (GENIE) framework to undertake a systematic search for bi-stability of the ocean thermohaline circulation (THC) for different surface grids and resolutions of 3-D ocean (GOLDSTEIN) under a 3-D dynamical atmosphere model (IGCM). A total of 407,000 years were simulated over a three month period using Grid computing. We find bi-stability of the THC despite significant, quasi-periodic variability in its strength driven by variability in the dynamical atmosphere. The position and width of the hysteresis loop depends on the choice of surface grid (longitude-latitude or equal area), but is less sensitive to changes in ocean resolution. For the same ocean resolution, the region of bi-stability is broader with the IGCM than with a simple energy-moisture balance atmosphere model (EMBM). Feedbacks involving both ocean and atmospheric dynamics are found to promote THC bi-stability. THC switch-off leads to increased import of freshwater at the southern boundary of the Atlantic associated with meridional overturning circulation. This is counteracted by decreased freshwater import associated with gyre and diffusive transports. However, these are localised such that the density gradient between North and South is reduced tending to maintain the THC off state. THC switch-off can also generate net atmospheric freshwater input to the Atlantic that tends to maintain the off state. The ocean feedbacks are present in all resolutions, across most of the bi-stable region, whereas the atmosphere feedback is strongest in the longitude–latitude grid and around the transition where the THC off state is disappearing. Here the net oceanic freshwater import due to the overturning mode weakens, promoting THC switch-on, but the atmosphere counteracts this by increasing net freshwater input. This increases the extent of THC bi-stability in this version of the model. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Correlation of studies of surface-level carbon monoxide concentrations and sodar-observed thermal structures

Measured concentration levels of carbon monoxide present in the atmosphere near the ground surface have been studied in relation to atmospheric stability inferred from acoustic sounder vis-à-vis the density of motor-vehicular traffic responsible for the emission of carbon monoxide gas. It has been seen that concentration levels of carbon monoxide during peak traffic hours depend on the prevailing stability of the atmosphere. The need for continuous monitoring of atmospheric stability at a place using acoustic sounder to assess air quality has been emphasized.     

1982—83年厄尼诺年夏季大气涡旋活动及其物理量输送特征

本文采用ECMWF/WMO格点资料分析了1982—83厄尔尼诺年夏季北半球大气定常涡旋和瞬变涡旋活动及其动量、热量、水汽的输送特征和静止涡的E—P通量,结果表明:厄尔尼诺事件发生前后,北半球夏季大气涡旋活动有很大差异;厄尔尼诺结束后,北半球大气的定常涡旋活动明显增强,其动量、热量和水汽的向北输送异常加强,结果使太平洋等地热带高层东风减弱,副热带西风急流增强,副热带高压加强,以及东亚等地降水异常增多。本文的研究有助于理解热带海温强烈增暖对出现异常大气环流影响的物理机制。      

一维地气耦合模式及其在内蒙草原的应用

本文以内蒙草原大气边界层观测资料为基础，利用一个一维土壤一植被一大气模式对大气和地表进行耦合模拟。其中，地面过程采用ＮＰ８９模式进行模拟，大气湍流参数化采用二阶闭合。运用观测与前人的研究成果对模拟结果的合理性进行验证，对比表明模式较好地解决了地表与大气的耦合，成功地对地表平坦的草原下垫面大气边界层进行模拟。分析表明，在半干旱内蒙草原草的生长季后期雨季８月，潜热通量占主导地位，最大可超过感热２５０Ｗ／ｍ２；在内蒙高原云的作用比较明显，影响不可忽略，模式对云的作用比较敏感。     

南海海域海-气耦合模式及其数值模拟试验

在ＮＣＡＲ区域气候模式ＲｅｇＧＭ２和普林斯顿海洋模式ＰＯＭ基础上发展适用于区域海－气相互作用研究的区域海－气耦合模式,模式采用同步耦合、海洋模式将海表温度提供给大气模式,大气模式为海洋模式提供太阳短波辐射、感热能量、潜热通量。海洋与大气模式每１５ｍｉｎ交换一次通量。耦合过程没有使用通量校正。使用该模式对中国南海区域１９９５年５－７月大气和海洋进行了模拟试验,将模拟结果与ＣＯＡＤＳ通量强迫的模拟结果     

关于大气系统中的熵演化方程——答“‘大气中的耗散结构与对流运动’一文商榷”

本文从三个方面回答了文[1]中提出的一些问题.阐述了熵平衡方程在大气科学中的具体应用与一般抽象描述的不同,并指出应从事物发展和演变的物理过程上辩证地去理解大气系统中熵演化方程的具体含意,最后还对与物理概念有关的数学问题作了讨论.     

湿空气动热力学理论及应用研究进展

回顾了湿空气热动力学的研究进展,对未饱和湿大气、饱和湿大气及非均匀饱和湿大气的动热力方程、能量方程、连续方程等进行了梳理,指出饱和湿空气动量方程与非均匀饱和湿空气动量方程的最大区别在于对凝结过程的处理不同。饱和湿大气中,由于大气均是饱和的,由饱和造成的水凝物可处处出现,不能区分真正发生水汽凝结的区域。而非均匀饱和湿空气中,凝结发生与相对湿度的幂次方有关(即与凝结概率函数的分布有关),在相对湿度较小的区域不会出现水汽凝结,凝结区与非凝结区可自动区别,其描述的凝结过程与实际大气更接近。同时,总结了湿大气水汽凝结饱和非均匀分布的动热力物理量在高影响天气分析中的应用,最后讨论了未来推进湿空气动力学研究需重点考虑的一个内容。