Atmospheric ultrafine aerosol number concentration and its correlation with vehicular flow at two sites in the western Himalayan region: Kullu-Manali,India

The concentration of ultrafine aerosol particles of aitken and nucleation mode having size in the range of 1–20 nm was monitored with water-based Condensation Particle Counter. The monitoring was carried out from midnight-to-midnight in every alternate day on a fortnightly basis to represent summer, monsoon and winter (autumn) seasons of 2008 at Mohal (1154 m amsl) and Kothi (2530 m amsl) in Kullu-Manali area of the northwestern Himalayan region of India. The results indicate that diurnal pattern has faint bimodal structure with two peaks, one in morning and the other in evening at both the sites but it is not as distinct as found in plains. There is rather a constant particle density pattern of large magnitude consistent with vehicular movement from morning till evening. The monthly 24 h average particle density gradually picks up from January, increases rapidly in summer months and then decreases in monsoon season at Mohal but at Kothi it keeps on rising from April to October with a slight more increase in September. The particle density is more in summer than in monsoon season at Mohal, a trend opposite to plains. It may be due to the development of warm thermal layer on valley floor while a cold layer develops along snowy hilltops in winter leading to convection of fine particle up the slopes of valley during daytime. At Kothi, the trend is same as it is in continental plains but opposite to Mohal. The relatively more value of particle density in September and October at both the sites may be due to month long International Kullu Dussehra fair in the valley. The vehicular survey conducted agrees well with entire study period averaged diurnal variations and monthly 24 h averaged value of fine particle density. The average value of ultrafine particle density at each hour of a day for entire study period is 20369 ± 1230 Ncm^− 3 and 14389 ± 1464 Ncm^− 3 at Mohal and Kothi sites, respectively. The comparison with earlier results shows a significant increase indicating impact of vehicular onslaught on pure air of this hilly region.     

Characteristics of spectral aerosol optical depths over India during ICARB

Spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements, carried out regularly from a network of observatories spread over the Indian mainland and adjoining islands in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, are used to examine the spatio-temporal and spectral variations during the period of ICARB (March to May 2006). The AODs and the derived Ångström parameters showed considerable variations across India during the above period. While at the southern peninsular stations the AODs decreased towards May after a peak in April, in the north Indian regions they increased continuously from March to May. The Ångström coefficients suggested enhanced coarse mode loading in the north Indian regions, compared to southern India. Nevertheless, as months progressed from March to May, the dominance of coarse mode aerosols increased in the columnar aerosol size spectrum over the entire Indian mainland, maintaining the regional distinctiveness. Compared to the above, the island stations showed considerably low AODs, so too the northeastern station Dibrugarh, indicating the prevalence of cleaner environment. Long-range transport of aerosols from tshe adjoining regions leads to remarkable changes in the magnitude of the AODs and their wavelength dependencies during March to May. HYSPLIT back-trajectory analysis shows that enhanced long-range transport of aerosols, particularly from the west Asia and northwest coastal India, contributed significantly to the enhancement of AOD and in the flattening of the spectra over entire regions; if it is the peninsular regions and the island Minicoy are more impacted in April, the north Indian regions including the Indo Gangetic Plain get affected the most during May, with the AODs soaring as high as 1.0 at 500 nm. Over the islands, the Ångström exponent (α) remained significantly lower (～1) over the Arabian Sea compared to Bay of Bengal (BoB) (～1.4) as revealed by the data respectively from Minicoy and Port Blair. Occurrences of higher values of α, showing dominance of accumulation mode aerosols, over BoB are associated well with the advection, above the boundary layer, of fine particles from the east Asian region during March and April. The change in the airmass to marine in May results in a rapid decrease in α over the BoB.     

Lidar observation of aerosol stratification in the lower troposphere over Pune during pre-monsoon season of 2006

Lidar observations of aerosol vertical distributions in the lower troposphere along with observations of horizontal and vertical winds from collocated UHF radar (Wind Profiler) over a tropical Indian station, Pune during the pre-monsoon season (March–May) of 2006 as part of an ISRO-GBP national campaign (ICARB) have been examined. Lidar vertical profiles showed high aerosol concentrations in the surface layers and a subsequent gradual decrease with height. Results showed the presence of an elevated stratified aerosol layer around 2000–3500m height which persisted throughout the months of March and April. Observed strong vertical gradients in both horizontal and vertical winds in the lower troposphere seem to be a possible cause for the formation of elevated aerosol layers. Further, high daytime temperatures accompanied by dry conditions at the surface help to enhance the aerosol loading in the lower layers over this location.     

Atmospheric aerosol characteristics retrieved using ground based solar extinction studies at Mohal in the Kullu valley of northwestern Himalayan region,India

Aerosol parameters are measured using a ground-based Multi-wavelength Radiometer (MWR) at Mohal (31.90°N, 77.11°E, 1154 m amsl) in the Kullu valley during clear sky days of a seasonal year. The study shows that the values of spectral aerosol optical depths (AODs) at 500 nm and the Ångstrom turbidity coefficient ‘β’ (a measure of columnar loading in atmosphere) are high (0.41 ± 0.03, 0.27 ± 0.01) in summer, moderate (0.30 ± 0.03, 0.15 ± 0.03) in monsoon, low (0.19 ± 0.02, 0.08 ± 0.01) in winter and lowest (0.18 ± 0.01, 0.07 ± 0.01) in autumn, respectively. The Ångstrom wavelength exponent ‘α’ (indicator of the fraction of accumulation-mode particles to coarse-mode particles) has an opposite trend having lowest value (0.64 ± 0.06) in summer, low (0.99 ± 0.10) in monsoon, moderate (1.20 ± 0.15) in winter and highest value (1.52 ± 0.03) in autumn. The annual mean value of AOD at 500 nm, ‘α’ and ‘β’ are 0.24 ± 0.01, 1.06 ± 0.09 and 0.14 ± 0.01, respectively. The fractional asymmetry factor is more negative in summer due to enhanced tourists’ arrival and also in autumn months due to the month-long International Kullu Dussehra fair. The AOD values given by MWR and satellite-based moderate resolution imaging spectro-radiometer have good correlation of 0.76, 0.92 and 0.97 on diurnal, monthly and seasonal basis, respectively. The AODs at 500 nm as well as ‘β’ are found to be highly correlated, while ‘α’ is found to be strongly anti-correlated with temperature and wind speed suggesting high AODs and turbidity but low concentration of fine particles during hot and windy days. With wind direction, the AOD and ‘β’ are found to be strongly anti-correlated, while ‘α’ is strongly correlated.     

1961 - 2016年秦岭山区冷季积雪日数变化特征及其影响因子

根据1961 - 2016年秦岭地区32个气象站点的气温、 降水及积雪等相关数据, 运用REOF、 M-K检验和小波分析等方法, 对秦岭地区冷季积雪日数的时空变化和影响因子进行分析。结果表明： 秦岭地区冷季多年平均积雪日数表现为北坡比南坡积雪日数多。在全球气候变暖的背景下, 海拔越高积雪日数减少的越多。秦岭冷季积雪日数呈现显著减少的趋势, 5个区的积雪日数年代际变化特征显著, 在20世纪末到21世纪初发生了由积雪日数偏多到偏少的突变。各区冷季积雪日数的周期变化主要集中在10 ~ 20 a, 秦岭南坡同时也显示了较为明显的4 a左右的周期变化。西北太平洋海温阶段性增暖是导致秦岭冷季积雪日数减少的外强迫因素。秦岭地区冷季平均气温的显著增暖和冷季降水量的显著减少直接造成积雪日数的减少。秦岭冷季积雪日数减少的突变要比气温增暖的突变大约滞后4 ~ 7 a。     

Evaluating the impact of climate change in threshold values of thermodynamic indices during pre-monsoon thunderstorm season over Eastern India

Natural Hazards - The present study analyses thermodynamic indices variation over three sites of eastern Indian region: Bhubaneswar, Kolkata and Ranchi, associated with pre-monsoon thunderstorms...     

Space-based monitoring of severe flooding of a southern state in India during south-west monsoon season of 2018

Kerala, a southern state of India, experienced a severe flooding due to multi-day extreme rain events during July and August months of 2018. This disaster was one of the worst floods to hit the state and resulted in heavy losses of lives and property. Natural Disaster Management Authority of India reported that 483 people lost their lives and more than 50 lakhs population were affected severely. This short communication focuses on examining this flood event using satellite remote sensing. It is reported that Kerala received an excess of about 56% rainfall during July and August from multi-day extreme rainfall episodes. Few regions of Kerala received the rainfall in the range of 270–300 mm on August 14 and 15. Hourly rainfall events in the excess of 25 mm have also been reported during heavy rainy days. The present study reports that multi-day heavy rainy events during July and August brought an accumulated rainfall of about 1600 mm, which resulted in extreme flooding over Kerala.

     

Aircraft measurements of aerosol black carbon from a coastal location in the north-east part of peninsular India during ICARB

During the Integrated Campaign for Aerosols, gases and Radiation Budget (ICARB) over India, high-resolution airborne measurements of the altitude profiles of the mass concentrations (M_B) of aerosol black carbon (BC) were made off Bhubaneswar (BBR, 85.82°E, 20.25°N), over northwest Bay of Bengal, in the altitude region upto 3 km. Such high-resolution measurements of altitude profiles of aerosols are done for the first time over India. The profiles showed a near-steady vertical distribution of MB modulated with two small peaks, one at 800m and the other at ～2000m. High resolution GPS (Global Positioning System) sonde (Vaisala) measurements around the same region onboard the research vessel Sagar Kanya (around the same time of the aircraft sortie) revealed two convectively well mixed layers, one from ground to ～700m with an inversion at the top and the other extends from 1200m to ～2000m with a second inversion at ～2200m and a convectively stable region in the altitude range 700–1200m. The observed peaks in the M_B profile are found to be associated with these temperature inversions. In addition, long-range transport from the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and deserts lying further to the west also influence the vertical profile of BC. Latitudinal variation of MB showed a remarkable land ocean contrast at the 500m altitude (within the well mixed region) with remarkably lower values over oceans, suggesting the impact of strong sources over the mainland. However, above the ABL (at 1500m), the latitudinal variations were quite weak, and this appears to be resulting from the impact of long-range transport. Comparison of the altitude profiles of M_B over BoB off BBR with those obtained during the earlier occasion over the inland stations of Hyderabad and Kanpur showed similarities above ～500m, with M_B remaining around a steady value of ～1 μg m^?3. However, large differences are seen within the ABL. Even though the observed M_B values are not unusually high, their near constancy in the vertical column will have important implications to radiative forcing.     

Studies on aerosol properties during ICARB-2006 campaign period at Hyderabad,India using ground-based measurements and satellite data

Continuous and campaign-based aerosol field measurements are essential in understanding fundamental atmospheric aerosol processes and for evaluating their effect on global climate, environment and human life. Synchronous measurements of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), Black Carbon (BC) aerosol mass concentration and aerosol particle size distribution were carried out during the campaign period at tropical urban regions of Hyderabad, India. Daily satellite datasets of DMSP-OLS were processed for night-time forest fires over the Indian region in order to understand the additional sources (forest fires) of aerosol. The higher values in black carbon aerosol mass concentration and aerosol optical depth correlated well with forest fires occurring over the region. Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol index (AI) variations showed absorbing aerosols over the region and correlated with ground measurements.     

Measurements of carbon dioxide and heat fluxes during monsoon-2011 season over rural site of India by eddy covariance technique

An increase in carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations in the atmosphere due to anthropogenic activities is responsible for global warming and hence in recent years, CO₂ measurement network has expanded globally. In the monsoon season (July–September) of year 2011, we carried out measurements of CO₂ and water vapour (H₂O) concentrations along with wind and air temperature over a tropical site in south-east India having rural topography. To collect these observations, the instrumentations used were the sonic anemometer for wind and temperature, and the open path H₂O/CO₂ infrared gas analyzer for CO₂ and H₂O concentrations. Using these observations, we explored the diurnal variability of CO₂ flux along with sensible and latent heat. The CO₂ flux was positive during night-time and negative during daytime and in phase with convective instability. The CO₂ flux relationships with the meteorological parameters such as wind speed, temperature and heat fluxes have been analysed. The seasonal (monsoon) half hour mean of CO₂ flux which was ?3.55 μmol m^???2 s^???1 indicated the experimental site as a CO₂ sink region (net seasonal uptake). An increase in CO₂ concentrations during weekends was not observed due to unavailability of heavy vehicular traffic.     

Arrested charnockite formation in southern India and Sri Lanka

Arrested prograde charnockite formation in quartzofeldspathic gneisses is widespread in the high-grade terrains of southern India and Sri Lanka. Two major kinds of orthopyroxene-producing reactions are recognized. Breakdown of calcic amphibole by reaction with biotite and quartz in tonalitic/granitic gray gneiss produced the regional orthopyroxene isograd, manifest in charnockitic mottling and veining of mixed-facies exposures, as at Kabbal, Karnataka, and in the Kurunegala District of the Sri Lanka Central Highlands. Chemical and modal analyses of carefully chosen immediately-adjacent amphibole gneiss and charnockite pairs show that the orthopyroxene is produced by an open system reaction involving slight losses of CaO, MgO and FeO and gains of SiO₂ and Na₂O. Rb and Y are depleted in the charnockite. Another kind of charnockitization is found in paragneisses throughout the southern high-grade area, and involves the reaction of biotite and quartz±garnet to produce orthopyroxene and K-feldspar. Although charnockite formation along shears and other deformation zones at such localities as Ponmudi, Kerala is highly reminiscent of Kabbal, close pair analyses are not as suggestive of open-system behavior. This type of charnockite formation is found in granulite facies areas where no prograde amphibole-bearing gneisses exist and connotes a higher-grade reaction than that of the orthopyroxene isograd. Metamorphic conditions of both Kabbaltype and Ponmudi-type localities were 700°–800° C and 5–6 kbar. Lower P(H₂O) in the Ponmudi-type metamorphism was probably the definitive factor.CO₂-rich fluid inclusions in quartz from the Kabbaltype localities support the concept that this type of charnockite formation was driven by influx of CO₂ from some deep-seated source. The open-system behavior and high oxidation states of the metamorphism are in accord with the CO₂-streaming hypothesis. CO₂-rich inclusions in graphitebearing charnockites of the Ponmudi type, however, commonly have low densities and compositions not predictable by vapor-mineral equilibrium calculations. These inclusions may have suffered post-metamorphic H₂ leakage or some systematic contamination.Neither the close-pair analyses nor the fluid inclusions strongly suggest an influx of CO₂ drove charnockite formation of the Ponmudi type. The possibility remains that orthopyroxene and CO₂-rich fluids were produced by reaction of biotite with graphite without intervention of fluids of external origin. Further evidence, such as oxygen isotopes, is necessary to test the CO₂-streaming hypothesis for the Ponmudi-type localities.     

Distribution ofVibrio parahaemolyticus in Chesapeake Bay during the summer season

The distribution ofVibrio parahaemolyticus in Chesapeake Bay during the warmer weather of the summer months was examined. This species was found throughout the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, even in areas of very low salinity. Counts of this species ranged from 0.04 per 100 ml to 46 per 100 ml in the water column and 2.03 to ≥2.4×10³ per 100 cc of sediment. A variety of physical, chemical and bacteriological properties associated with the incidence and distribution ofV. parahaemolyticus were examined and salinity was found to be the major influence among the factors examined. Correlation and regression analysis showed that the population size of this species increased with increasing salinity in the estuary.     

Spatio-temporal variability in remotely sensed surface soil moisture and its relationship with precipitation and evapotranspiration during the growing season in the Loess Plateau,China

The distribution and variability of surface soil moisture at regional scales is still poorly understood in the Loess Plateau of China. Spatial and temporal dynamics of surface soil moisture is important due to its impact on vegetation growth and its potential feedback to atmospheric and hydrologic processes. In this study, we analyzed surface soil moisture dynamics and the impacts of precipitation and evapotranspiration on surface soil moisture using remote sensing data during the growing season in 2011 for the Loess Plateau, which contain surface soil moisture, precipitation, vegetation index and evapotranspiration. Results indicate that the areas with low surface soil moisture are mainly located in the semi-arid region. Under dry surface soil moisture, evapotranspiration temporal persistence has a higher positive correlation (0.537) with surface soil moisture temporal persistence, and evapotranspiration is very sensitive to surface soil moisture. But under wet surface soil moisture regime, surface soil moisture temporal persistence has a higher negative correlation (?0.621) with evapotranspiration temporal persistence. Correlation of surface soil moisture and monthly precipitation, evapotranspiration and vegetation index illustrated that precipitation was a significant factor influencing surface soil moisture spatial variance. The correlation coefficients between monthly surface soil moisture and precipitation was varied in different climatic regions, which was 0.304 in arid, 0.364 in semi-arid, 0.490 in transitional and 0.300 in semi-humid regions. Surface soil moisture is more sensitive to precipitation, evapotranspiration, in transitional regions between dry and wet climates.     

An unusual diagenetic structure in the Precambrian banded iron formation (BIF) of Orissa,India, and its interpretation

An unusual type of late diagenetic tectonic and compaction structure simulating boudinage phenomena is described and documented from the Precambrian banded iron formation (BIF) of Orissa, India. The structure was seemingly initiated by the development of tension cracks in the hydroplastic stage followed by rotation and imbrication of the segments of the iron (magnetite) bands. The tension cracks were subsequently filled up by finely crystalline diagenetic quartz veins.     

全过程沉降量预测的Logistic生长模型及其适用性研究

地基的全过程沉降量与时间的关系呈S形曲线,可用Logistic生长模型来描述。目前应用的Logistic生长模型,较少考虑模型的适用范围和预测精度等问题。结合工程实例,比较了模型参数估计的三种方法,研究结果表明,采用非线性回归法估计模型参数,可取得较好的预测效果;根据混沌理论,研究了模型的适用范围和预测性能。Logistic生长模型的动态行为由参数a(瞬时沉降速率)决定,当参数a的取值范围在[0, 2]之内,该模型预测的最终沉降量是稳定的。     

全过程沉降量预测的Logistic生长模型及适用性研究

地基的全过程沉降量与时间的关系呈S形曲线，可用Logistic生长模型来描述。目前应用的Logistic生长模型，较少考虑模型的适用范围和预测精度等问题。结合工程实例，比较了模型参数估计的三种方法，研究结果表明，采用非线性回归法估计模型参数，可取得较好的预测效果；根据混沌理论，研究了模型的适用范围和预测性能。Logistic生长模型的动态行为由参数α(瞬时沉降速率)决定，当参数α的取值范围在[0，2]之内，该模型预测的最终沉降量是稳定的。     

Atmospheric boundary layer characteristics during the BOBMEX-Pilot experiment

The atmospheric boundary layer characteristics observed during the BOBMEX-Pilot experiment are reported. Surface meteorological data were acquired continuously through an automatic weather monitoring system and manually every three hours. High resolution radiosondes were launched to obtain the vertical thermal structure of the atmosphere. The study area was convectively active, the SSTs were high, surface air was warm and moist, and the surface air moist static energy was among the highest observed over the tropical oceans. The mean sea air temperature difference was about 1.25‡C and the sea skin temperature was cooler than bucket SST by 0.5‡C. The atmospheric mixed layer was shallow, fluctuated in response to synoptic conditions from 100 m to 900 m with a mean around 500 m.     

Mg-metasomatism of oceanic gabbros and its control on Ti-clinohumite formation during eclogitization

In the high-pressure meta-ophiolites of Western Liguria (Italy), serpentinized ultramafites host bodies of eclogite, metarodingite and Ti-clinohumite ± Ti-chondrodite-bearing rocks. The latter contain relics of augite, ilmenite and apatite, which suggest derivation from pristine Fe-Ti-rich gabbros. The composition of relict mantle clinopyroxene in the host serpentinites indicates primary depleted peridotite compositions. Compared with their inferred protoliths, the Ti-clinohumite dikelets and the host serpentinites display significant changes in their major and trace element concentrations, indicating element exchange between the two rock systems. In particular, the Fe-Ti-rich gabbros were depleted in CaO and FeO and were strongly enriched in MgO. Analogous compositional variations are shown by altered gabbros enclosed in serpentinized peridotites from the obducted ophiolite sequences of the Northern Apennine. This evidence suggests that the observed Mg-enrichment recorded by the Ti-clinohumite metagabbros occurred in oceanic environments as the result of diffusive exchange between ultramafites and gabbros in presence of fluids related to serpentinization of the ultramafic country rocks. Alteration of the gabbro and concomitant Mg-uptake mostly caused extensive chloritization of the igneous plagioclase. Survival of igneous ilmenite and augite and their reaction with the hydrothermal chlorite during high-pressure metamorphism produced the observed Ti-clinohumite and Ti-chondrodite assemblages. The data presented thus indicate that crystallization of Ti-clinohumite assemblages was facilitated by a stage of oceanic alteration leading to Mg-enrichment of original Fe-Ti-rich gabbros. We suggest that during alteration, Mg-metasomatism occurred prior to rodingitization and was related to the earlier stages of peridotite serpentinization. Survival of oceanic chemical heterogeneities in the Ti-clinohumite rocks, indicates that element mobility during high-pressure recrystallization of these rocks was on a limited scale. This allowed preservation of their pre-subduction alteration features. Received: 13 July 1998 / Accepted: 3 November 1998