Preliminary results of atmospheric acoustic sounding at Calgary

Operation of a monostatic acoustic sounder on the campus of The University of Calgary for the period March to September, 1976, has provided data on the atmospheric boundary layer over Calgary. The formation and dissipation of the nocturnal temperature inversion layer leaves a clear signature in the sounder records. A trend is discerned in which the nocturnal layer tends to form at sunset, whereas convective instability is established some 2–3 hours after sunrise. Comparison of sounder records with an extensive set of radiosonde temperature profiles has shown that the height of the inversion layer can be determined reliably when a single, dark, ground-based return is visible on the sounder charts. On many occasions, however, the sounder detects multiple structures in the atmosphere. In these cases, it is difficult to establish a systematic correspondence of the turbulent structure as observed in the sounder records with the temperature profile as observed by the radiosonde.     

强对流天气对O3和CO的垂直输送作用

利用ACTIVE（aerosol and chemical transport in tropical convection）试验资料,取2006年1月20日澳大利亚北部达尔文岛附近发生的一次飑线强对流天气的AE17航次和2006年1月27日无对流天气的AE21航次飞行路径中的探测资料,对澳大利亚达尔文地区夏季风盛行期间发生的有无强对流发生时O₃和CO浓度垂直分布变化进行对比,考察强对流性天气发生对O₃和CO浓度垂直输送作用。深对流云内强烈的垂直上升运动将O₃和CO等化学气体携带输送至对流层上部并在对流层顶堆积,从而在对流层上部产生浓度峰值。当有强对流发生,飞机进入对流云上层时,O₃浓度和CO浓度升高,O₃和CO浓度变率增大,在对流层上部浓度出现峰值;当飞机飞出对流云时,O₃和CO浓度相对较低,在对流云外出现谷值。在无对流发生的条件下O₃和CO浓度相对较小,浓度变率也较小,无峰值产生。分析表明:O₃和CO浓度分布不仅与强对流的垂直输送作用关系密切,且与气象要素垂直和水平分布以及动力输送过程密切相关。     

Mean turbulent properties of the stable boundary layer observed during the “coast” experiment

An acoustic Doppler sounder has been used to document the behaviour of the stable atmospheric boundary layer during the “Coast” experiment, in April-May, 1983, on a homogeneous terrain near the Dutch coast. It has been shown that kaimal's model of the spectrum of velocity in the stable surface layer can be applied and that surface-layer parameterization can be used in the whole stable surface layer. Velocity spectra have been computed between .0005 c.p.s. and .1 c.p.s. and for the stability range for z/L between 0 and 10. It is to be noted that the information has been obtained using only sodar data.     

Simultaneous acoustic sounder measurements at two locations

The application of air quality models requires a knowledge of the meteorological structure of the lower atmosphere. This information can be obtained by the use of acoustic sounders, or airborne sondes. Such studies were carried out at the Athabasca Oil Sands area, Alberta, Canada, during summer and winter seasons. Two acoustic sounders were operated simultaneously at two topographically different locations 4 km apart. The sounding data were supplemented by meteorological observations from minisondes and a tethersonde at one location. The majority of the sounder data from both locations showed turbulent, thin layers often associated with the presence of inversion layers, particularly in the winter season. The data exhibited a number of features common to this type of topography. Both sounder echoes were characterized by a wavy structure indicating a vertical oscillation in the height of the echoes. Although agreeing in general, the data had a few differences especially close to the ground. To determine whether the return of the sounder signal was related to the actual atmospheric structure, the sounder records were compared with local temperature measurements. The result shows good agreement between the different systems.     

Studies of the Marine Boundary Layer at Tarapur

Simultaneous observations were made of the Marine Boundary Layer at Tarapur, a site near Bombay on the sea coast, by acoustic sounder and instrumented tower. The meteorological tower was used to sense wind and temperature at various levels up to a height of 120 m while the acoustic sounder was used to examine the thermal structure of the boundary layer up to a height of 700 m. Data recorded for the year 1982 have been analysed.Analysis of the data shows that while the normal structures of thermal echoes and shear echoes represent the mixing depth of the atmospheric boundary layer, the often observed elevated layers are due to sea breeze reversals with their base giving a measure of the depth of the sea-breeze circulation during the day. A sea breeze has been detected during both spring (March to May) and autumn (October to December) months. The onset times are around 1000 hr during spring months and around noon during the autumn period, the height of development being respectively up to 500 and 350 m. The capability of the sodar to detect the base and thickness of the sea breeze, is clearly revealed.     

A quantitative comparison between acoustic sounder returns and the direct measurement of atmospheric temperature fluctuations

Results are presented which show that reasonably accurate estimates of the atmospheric temperature structure paparmeter C _T ² can be derived from the returns of a monostatic acoustic sounder in both stable and convective atmospheric conditions.     

利用测温声雷达回波图估算大气扩散的一种参数化方法

本文提出了一种基于湍流扩散统计理论的利用声雷达回波图估算大气扩散参数的新方法。这种新方法,仅需要从声雷达回波图上读出边界层结构的信息并取得常规地面测风资料,即可利用参数化公式进行计算,不需进行Pasquill稳定度分类。 所应用的参数化公式用外场观测资料进行了检验,表明公式计算结果与观测值比较符合。这种方法计算得到的扩散参数也与P-G扩散曲线进行了比较。     

Planetary boundary-layer turbulence studies from acoustic echo sounder and in-situ measurements

Clear-air plume and wave-like structures are revealed in the atmospheric boundary layer by combined acoustic remote sensing and meteorological tower measurements. The magnitude of turbulent production and dissipation plus properties of velocity and temperature spectra determined from the tower measurements are well correlated with phenomena indicated by the acoustic sounder. Interpretation of either set of records is greatly enhanced by the other. For example, the onset of a sudden burst of turbulent production from the tower measurements may correspond to plume passage or breaking of stable waves recorded by the acoustic echo sounder.     

Acoustic sounder observations from an elevated location

Details of the top of the atmospheric boundary layer obtained using an acoustic sounder at the summit of an 847 m mountain are presented.     

A new method of quantifying aerosol concentrations in atmosphere

Africa is one of the sources of biomass burning emissions. It is estimated that about 6 million tons of fuel per day is consumed in the southern hemisphere. Biomass burning has an important contribution on aerosol particle concentrations in the atmosphere. Efforts have been made to conduct research in Gaborone to monitor the concentration of atmospheric aerosol particles. These studies were mainly confined to measurement of concentration of aerosol particles and establishing a relation with determinants such as carbon dioxide concentration, biomass burning, and precipitation among others. However, very little seems to have been done in relating the empirical data to levels of aerosol concentrations through a mathematical model. In this paper an objective criterion of classifying levels of aerosol concentrations in terms of their severity is provided. A mathematical model for severity levels is built. Furthermore, two indices, namely, an index of dispersion when applied to the observed annual data indicated that intensity of atmospheric aerosol are on increase in the city of Gaborone, Botswana, and an index of drift which establishes that aerosol severity states showed larger drift during the year 2006–2007 than in the year 2007–2008.     

Oceanic transport and storage of carbon emissions

Using a global carbon cycle model (GLOCO) that considers seven terrestrial biomes, surface and deep ocean layers based on the HILDA model and a single mixed atmosphere, we analyzed the response of atmospheric CO₂ concentration and oceanic DIC and DOC depth profiles to additions of carbon to the atmosphere and ocean. The rate of transport of carbon to the deepest oceanic layers is rather insensitive to the atmosphereic-ocean surface gas exchange coefficient over a wide range, hence discrepancies between researchers on the precise global average value of this coefficient do not significantly affect predictions of atmospheric response to anthropogenic inputs. Upwelling velocity, on the other hand, amplifies oceanic response by increasing primary production in the upper ocean layers, resulting in a larger flux into DOC and sediments and increased carbon storage; experiments to reduce the uncertainty in this parameter would be valuable.The location of the carbon addition, whether it is released in the atmosphere or in the middle of the oceanic thermocline, has a significant impact on the maximum atmospheric CO₂ concentration (pCO₂) subsequently reached, suggesting that oceanic burial of a significant fraction of carbon emissions (e.g. via clathrate hydrides) may be an important management option for limiting pCO₂ buildup. Our analysis indicates that the effectiveness of ocean burial decreases asymptotically below about 1000 m depth. With a constant emissions scenario (at 1990 levels), pCO₂ at year 2100 is reduced from 501 ppmv considering all emissions go to the atmosphere, to 422 ppmv with ocean burial at a depth of 1000 m of 50% of the fossil fuel emissions. An alternative scenario looks at stabilizing pCO₂ at 450 ppmv; with no ocean burial of fossil fuel emissions, the rate of emissions has to be cut drastically after the year 2010, whereas oceanic burial of 2 GtC/yr allows for a smoother transition to alternative energy sources.     

A method of carbon monoxide emission forecast in Moscow

Proposed is a method of operational forecast of carbon monoxide distribution in Moscow based on the data on the power and distribution of its sources. Described is a method of computation of carbon monoxide emission to the atmosphere based on the data on its concentration. It is demonstrated that the emissions computed by this method can be used as the input data for chemistry transport models. Carried out is a number of numerical experiments with the COSMO-ART model. The results of model simulations are in good agreement with the observational data. The developed method of computation of carbon monoxide emissions enables to realize the operational short-range forecast of its concentration.     

Smoke haze over the European part of Russia in the summer of 2016: A link to wildfires in Siberia and atmospheric circulation anomalies

The mechanism of smoke haze formation over the European part of Russia (EPR) in the summer of 2016 is analyzed using satellite measurements, ground-based observations, reanalysis data, and trajectory modeling. The analysis reveals that smoke in the atmosphere over EPR with the aerosol optical depth increase up to 3 was caused by the long-range transport of combustion products from Siberian wildfires. The increase in the concentration of smoke aerosol in the atmosphere over EPR was accompanied by the increase in the concentration of carbon monoxide in the air. The long-range atmospheric transport of the products of pyrogenic emission from east to west for a distance up to 5000 km with the speed of 5–6 m/s predominantly occurred in the lower troposphere. The peculiarities of tropospheric circutation over Northern Eurasia in July 2016 are identified which were responsible for the transport of combustion products in the troposphere for thousands of kilometers in the direction opposite to the westerlies that prevail in the mid-latitudes.     

MEASUREMENT OF CARBON MONOXIDE COLUMN CONTENT AND OTHER ATMOSPHERIC TRACE GASES FROM INFRARED SPECTRA*

The measurement of column content of carbon monoxide,methane,and other atmospheric traces gases as well as aerosols has been conducted during the fall of 1992 and 1997,using an infrared spectrometer of moderate resolution in the cooperation of the Laboratory for Middle Atmosphere and Global Environment Observation(LAGEO),Institute of Atmospheric Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,with the Institute of Atmospheric Physics,Russian Academy of Sciences.The variation characteristics of atmospheric CO column content in Beijing area are presented.The analysis of the measurement shows that the CO column concentration of 0.10 mg cm^-2 can be considered as the background over Beijing area.and the concentration as high as 0.75 mg cm^-2 was observed under some unfavorable meteorological situations.     

Atmospheric waves observed in the planetary boundary layer using an acoustic sounder and a microbarograph array

Acoustic sounder and microbarograph records of atmospheric waves propagating in the planetary boundary layer over Table Mountain, Colorado, are presented and compared. The two observing techniques are complementary in that the array provides wave amplitude, horizontal phase speed, direction, and wavelength, while the sounder provides a detailed picture of temporal changes in the structure of the lowermost kilometer or so of the Earth's atmosphere.     

Measurements of level-crossing statistics of concentration fluctuations in plumes dispersing in the atmospheric surface layer

The statistics of level crossings and local extremes in concentration fluctuations in plumes dispersing in the atmosphere have been investigated. A set of concentration fluctuation tracer experiments has been utilized to measure the statistical propertics of the upcrossing interval (inter-arrival time between consecutive concentration bursts), excursion duration (persistence or width of concentration bursts), and concentration amplitude (difference between the maximum and minimum concentrations between successive upcrossings) with respect to a range of concentration crossing levels. In particular, the effect of downwind distance and atmospheric stratification on the level-crossing statistics has been studied in detail. It is shown that the effect of increasing atmospheric stability on level-crossing statistics is similar to the effect of increasing distance from the source in the sense that level-crossing statistics of concentration fluctuations in stable stratification resemble those in neutral stratification, but at a greater downwind distance. It is also found that the distribution of the interval between consecutive upcrossings of a concentration level, as well as the duration of an excursion across a concentration level, can be approximated by a lognormal distribution, whereas the distribution of the concentration amplitude is best characterized by a gamma distribution. Some implications of these results for the modeling of level-crossing statistics of concentration fluctuations are discussed.     

Convective plumes in the atmospheric boundary layer as observed with an acoustic Doppler sodar

The vertical velocity field and the convective plumes in the atmospheric boundary layer have been observed during morning hours with the acoustic Doppler sounder of the C.R.P.E. A method for plume determination using acoustic soundings in the well-mixed layer is presented. Using Telford's 1970 and Manton's 1975 models, a comparison is made between the predictions of the models and the plume properties as observed by the Doppler sodar. The mean plume velocity is found to be parabolic. It is shown, restricting Monin and Obukhov similarity to conditions inside plumes and using only vertical velocity within plumes, that the observed convective plumes carry nearly sixty percent of the sensible heat flux at the top of the surface layer.     

Estimation of abl Parameters Using the Vertical Velocity Measurements of an Acoustic Sounder

The friction velocity, the surface heat flux and the height of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) are important parameters. In this work, vertical velocity variance ( _w ² ) and wind velocity structure parameter (C _v ² ) profiles estimated by acoustic sounder measurements are used, along with similarity relations, to estimate these parameters in the unstable Atmospheric Boundary Layer and the friction velocity in the stable one. The data were collected by two acoustic sounders with different height range and resolution under various atmospheric conditions (stability) and at two experimental sites in different terrain. The C _v ² profiles are estimated using gate difference of the vertical velocity measurements and the assumption of local isotropy. The vertical velocity data are corrected for the significant effects of noisy measurements and sampling volume averaging on the _w ² and C _v ² estimations using original techniques that are presented in this work. The results of the similarity method using acoustic sounder data are compared against estimates of the corresponding atmospheric parameters obtained from direct measurements. The comparison confirms the ability of the method to provide reasonably accurate estimates of these parameters especially in the middle of the day.     

Effect of increasing CO2 on the stratospheric level of CO and O3

Production and destruction processes of carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone (O3) are examined in the light of increasing amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). It is found that doubling of CO2 will increase the stratospheric concentration of CO and will have positive effect on O3 concentration.     

Atmospheric chemistry of carbon disulphide

The oxidation of carbon disulphide has been studied under conditions which are likely to pertain in the atmosphere. The quantum yield for direct photo-oxidation of CS₂ in air at 1 atm pressure, using near UV radiation was 0.012, with OCS as a major product. The rate coefficient (k ₁) for the reaction of OH with CS₂, was determined from measurements of OCS formation in the near UV photolysis of HONO?CS₂?O₂?N₂ mixtures. k ₁ was dependent on oxygen concentration rising from ≤4×10^-14 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1 at O₂≤15 Torr to (2.0±1.0)×10^-12 cm³ molecule^-1 s^-1 at 1 atm air and 300 K. Equimolar amounts of carbonyl sulphide and sulphur dioxide were the major reaction products. The concentration of carbon disulphide in the ambient atmosphere was measured and the concentration to be expected in the background atmosphere was estimated. Rate and concentration data were used to show that carbon disulphide oxidation represents a major source for atmospheric carbonyl sulphide. It can also serve as an alternate source for atmospheric sulphur dioxide in addition to that produced from hydrogen sulphide and dimethyl sulphide. A consideration of atmospheric concentrations and rate data for these trace sulphur gases suggests that the natural sulphur budget is much smaller than the yearly amounts of sulphur dioxide emitted from anthropogenic sources.