Radiosonde observations of high-latitude planetary waves in the lower atmosphere

The characteristics of high-latitude planetary waves (PWs) in the troposphere and lower stratosphere (TLS) are studied by using the data from radiosonde observations during 1998 to 2006 at three Alaskan stations in USA (Nome, 64.50°N, 165.43°W; McGrath, 62.97°N, 155.62°W; Fairbanks, 64.82°N, 147.87°W). It is found that strong PWs exist in two regions. One is around tropopause, and the other is in the polar night jet (PNJ) in winter. The PW activities are rather intermittent, and their lifetimes are no longe...     

Statistics of gravity waves in the lower stratosphere over Beijing based on high vertical resolution radiosonde

Atmospheric gravity waves, with small to medium scales, prevail in the atmosphere and have global ef- fects. Many researches show that gravity waves are the main source that causes the variation of wind and temperature field in the stratosphere, and that the break-up of upward propagating gravity waves is the dominant sources of small scale turbulent and mixing processes in the middle atmosphere. Theories and ob- servations indicate that the redistribution of momen- tum, caused by the generati…     

利用COSMIC掩星资料研究对流层/下平流层大气比湿对ONI指数的响应

本文利用2006年6月至2014年6月COSMIC掩星观测的水汽廓线, 分析了对流层/下平流层(TLS)比湿信号对ENSO的响应.在数据处理中, 将COSMIC掩星水汽廓线计算得到的全球比湿数据内插为1000~30 hPa区间水平分辨率为5°×5°的三维格网, 在各等压面上求取各格网点去除年/月际信号后的比湿月异常值.然后在对比湿月异常时间序列低通滤波的基础上, 进行经验正交分解(EOF)得到比湿主成分, 并对该主成分信号进行二项式平滑; 接下来将平滑后的主成分信号与反映ENSO活动的ONI指数进行相关处理, 得到各等压面主成分信号相对于ONI指数的相关系数及对应的时间延迟.论文分析了包括Niño-3.4的5个代表性区域的TLS比湿异常主成分信号, 结果表明:在各区域, 采用本文先低通滤波再EOF分解的处理方法获得的TLS比湿异常主成分信号与ONI指数均有很强相关性, 对流层相关系数绝对值达0.8以上, 低平流层高于0.7, 在300~200 hPa的上对流层达到峰值; 各等压面上比湿异常主成分信号相对于ONI指数的时间延迟不尽相同, 在对流层中比湿异常主成分信号普遍滞后于ONI指数1~6个月; 在各区域, 比湿异常主成分与ONI指数相关系数绝对值达到最大的等压面都接近250 hPa, 最大相关系数绝对值均达到0.9以上.进一步对全球250 hPa等压面比湿异常主成分与ONI指数相关性的分析表明:两者强相关的区域主要集中在热带; 在这些强相关区域, 比湿异常主成分相对于ONI主要表现为滞后, 且相关系数越大, 相应的时间延迟越短.

     

A note on the Aitken nuclei and ion flow measurements in the lower stratosphere

In the light of new measurements of small aerosol particles in the lower stratosphere, some of the old investigations—which were only published in part in scientific journals—are reviewed and compared. The discussion focuses on whether the Aitken nuclei (AN) size distribution up to 20 km can be described by Junge’s or log-normal density functions and under what circumstances one can find a bimodal distribution of these particles. The ion flow in correlated to the stratospheric pollution (intercept with the jet aircraft, volcanic activity) and is, in mean, directly proportional to the aircraft altitude in the undisturbed lower stratosphere. Note: The GCCPR, Univ. Missouri at Rolla, reports quoted in the article can be obtained from the author.     

A spatially distributed model for the assessment of land use impacts on stream temperature in small urban watersheds

Stream temperatures in urban watersheds are influenced to a high degree by changes in landscape and climate, which can occur at small temporal and spatial scales. Here, we describe a modelling system that integrates the distributed hydrologic soil vegetation model with the semi‐Lagrangian stream temperature model RBM. It has the capability to simulate spatially distributed hydrology and water temperature over the entire network at high time and space resolutions, as well as to represent riparian shading effects on stream temperatures. We demonstrate the modelling system through application to the Mercer Creek watershed, a small urban catchment near Bellevue, Washington. The results suggest that the model was able to produce realistic streamflow and water temperature predictions that are consistent with observations. We use the modelling construct to characterize impacts of land use change and near‐stream vegetation change on stream temperatures and explore the sensitivity of stream temperature to changes in land use and riparian vegetation. The results suggest that, notwithstanding general warming as a result of climate change over the last century, there have been concurrent increases in low flows as a result of urbanization and deforestation, which more or less offset the effects of a warmer climate on stream temperatures. On the other hand, loss of riparian vegetation plays a more important role in modulating water temperatures, in particular, on annual maximum temperature (around 4 °C), which could be mostly reversed by restoring riparian vegetation in a fairly narrow corridor – a finding that has important implications for management of the riparian corridor. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simple method using climatic variables to estimate canopy temperature,sensible and latent heat fluxes in a winter wheat field on the North China Plain

Estimation of evapotranspiration from a crop field is of great importance for detecting crop water status and proper irrigation scheduling. The Penman–Monteith equation is widely viewed as the best method to estimate evapotranspiration but it requires canopy resistance, which is very difficult to determine in practice. This paper presents a simple method simplified from the Penman–Monteith equation for estimating canopy temperature (T_c). The proposed method is a biophysically‐sound extended version of that proposed by Todorovic. The estimated canopy temperature is used to calculate sensible heat flux, and then latent heat flux is calculated as the residual of the surface energy balance. An eddy covariance (EC) system and an infrared thermometer (IRT) were installed in an irrigated winter wheat field on the North China Plain in 2004 and 2005, to measure T_c, and sensible and latent heat fluxes were used to test the modified Todorovic model (MTD). The results indicate that the original Todorovic model (TD) severely underestimates T_c and sensible heat flux, and hence severely overestimates the latent heat flux. However, the MTD model has good capability for estimating T_c, and gives acceptable results for latent heat flux at both half‐hourly and daily scales. The MTD model results also agreed well with the evapotranspiration calculated from the measured T_c. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.