Potential and equivalent-potential temperature patterns at cold fronts with pre-frontal foehn

Summary The separation of potential temperature and equivalent-potential temperature patterns at cold fronts with pre-frontal foehn is explained by means of conceptual considerations and discussed with reference to observations and numerical simulations. It is shown that foehn increases the potential temperature north of the Alps but does not necessarily affect the equivalent-potential temperature. As a consequence potential temperature and equivalent-potential temperature may form different structures and generate zones of large gradients at different locations even if no diabatic heat conversions are present.With 5 Figures     

Influence of the Madden Julian Oscillation on precipitation and surface air temperature in South America

The regional influence of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) on South America is described. Maps of probability of weekly-averaged rainfall exceeding the upper tercile were computed for all seasons and related statistically with the phase of the MJO as characterized by the Wheeler–Hendon real-time multivariate MJO (RMM) index and with the OLR MJO Index. The accompanying surface air temperature and circulation anomalies were also calculated. The influence of the MJO on regional scales along with their marked seasonal variations was documented. During December–February when the South American monsoon system is active, chances of enhanced rainfall are observed in southeastern South America (SESA) region mainly during RMM phases 3 and 4, accompanied by cold anomalies in the extratropics, while enhanced rainfall in the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) region is observed in phases 8 and 1. The SESA (SACZ) signal is characterized by upper-level convergence (divergence) over tropical South America and a cyclonic (anticyclonic) anomaly near the southern tip of the continent. Impacts during March–May are similar, but attenuated in the extratropics. Conversely, in June–November, reduced rainfall and cold anomalies are observed near the coast of the SACZ region during phases 4 and 5, favored by upper-level convergence over tropical South America and an anticyclonic anomaly over southern South America. In September–November, enhanced rainfall and upper-level divergence are observed in the SACZ region during phases 7 and 8. These signals are generated primarily through the propagation of Rossby wave energy generated in the region of anomalous heating associated with the MJO.     

Intercomparisons of upper air and surface winds in an urban region

During the Regional Air Pollution Study (RAPS), winds in the St. Louis region were recorded by surface stations (hourly averages) and by multiple upper air releases (on-the-hour). This study analyzes differences (1) between upper air and surface resultant winds, (2) among upper air winds at 4 sites, and (3) among surface winds at 25 sites. The extensive data set provides a statistical basis for indicating the representativeness of individual observations, and the results show considerable variation between simultaneously-measured winds determined by alternate means. Based on Gaussian plume dispersion, the spatial variations in wind direction are translated into expected departures between predictions and observations of pollutant concentrations. Inaccurate specification of winds in air quality simulation models is likely to be a substantial contributor to differences between short-term predictions and observations on an urban scale.On assignment from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U. S. Department of Commerce.     

Influence of air temperature on the river runoff in winter (the Aldan river catchment case study)

Influence of air temperature and ice cover thickness on the Aldan catchment rivers runoff in the wintertime is analysed. It was revealed, that decrease in the river ice cover thickness in warm winters leads to increasing discharge capacity of river channels, which causes increasing river runoff. A regional relationship which describes correlation between the runoff depletion rate and the air temperature sums in the first half of winter and the ice cover accumulation intensity was obtained.     

Wintertime winds in and around the Ulaanbaatar metropolitan area in the presence of a temperature inversion

Temperature inversions are frequently observed in mountainous urban areas and can cause severe air pollution problems especially in wintertime. This study investigates wintertime winds in and around the Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, metropolitan area in the presence of a temperature inversion using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with the Seoul National University Urban Canopy Model (SNUUCM). Ulaanbaatar is located in complex terrain and in a nearly east-west-oriented valley. A wintertime scenario with clear skies, weak synoptic winds, and a temperature inversion under the influence of a Siberian high-pressure system is selected. Local winds are weak in the presence of the temperature inversion. In the daytime, weak mountain upslope winds develop, up-valley winds appear to be stronger in the urban area than in the surrounding areas, and channeling winds are produced in the main valley. The bottom of the temperature inversion layer rises up in the urban area, and winds below the bottom of the temperature inversion layer strengthen. In the nighttime, mountain downslope winds and down-valley winds develop. Urban effects in the presence of the temperature inversion are examined by comparing the results of simulations with and without the city. It is shown that in the daytime the urban area acts to elevate the bottom of the temperature inversion layer and weaken the strength of the temperature inversion layer. Winds east of the city weaken in the afternoon and down-valley winds develop later in the simulation with the city.     

Long-term summer temperature reconstruction inferred from tree-ring records from the Eastern Carpathians

The first 1,000 year long Carpathian tree-ring width chronology was established based on living and subfossil stone pine (Pinus cembra L.) samples from an upper timberline forest located in Calimani Mts. (Romania). Tree-ring data were standardized using the regional curve standardization method in order to preserve the low and medium frequency climate signals. The de-trended index strongly correlates with summer mean temperature both at annual and decadal scales. The Calimani summer mean temperature anomalies were reconstructed for the period ad 1163-2005 applying the rescaling method. This new climate proxy from the Carpathians shows similar fluctuations to other North Hemispheric temperature reconstructions, but with periods of distinct differences. The fingerprint of Little Ice Age in the Calimani area is visible between ad 1370 and 1630 followed by lagged cold decades in ad 1820 and 1840. The recent warming is evident only after the 1980s in our reconstruction.     

The surface layer on the leeside of the Alps during foehn

Summary This paper describes and documents the meteorological conditions which occur in association with a cold surface layer on the northern lee side of the Alps during foehn. A climatological study using four years' rawinsonde data shows that during many foehn events a weak advection from the east occurs in the cold surface layer beneath the southerly foehn flow. Three cases of foehn in the northern Alps were studied using data taken by instrumented aircraft. The analysis of various vertical soundings between the baseline of the Alps and Munich indicate that the cold surface layer is eroded up to 50 km north of the baseline but that further north, the foehn has not touched the ground. The analysis of data taken in the urban plume west of Munich shows that the pollution is trapped by the inversion in the cold air leading to high levels of air pollution west of Munich.With 13 Figures     

Influence of vegetation cover change on the summer air temperature trend in the Pannonian Basin from 2002 to 2011

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The aim of this study is to examine the impact of the regional vegetation change on the seasonal surface air temperature and is performed using the...     

Climate-Induced Variability of Sea Level in Stockholm： Influence of Air Temperature and Atmospheric Circulation

This study is focused on climate-induced variation of sea level in Stockholm during 1873-1995. After the effect of the land uplift, is removed, the residual is characterized and related to large-scale temperature and atmospheric circulation. The residual shows an overall upward trend, although this result depends on the uplift rate used. However, the seasonal distribution of the trend is uneven. There are even two months （June and August） that show a negative trend. The significant trend in August may be linked to fresh water input that is controlled by precipitation. The influence of the atmospheric conditions on the sea level is mainly manifested through zonal winds, vorticity and temperature. While the wind is important in the period January-May, the vorticity plays a main role during June and December. A successful linear multiple-regression model linking the climatic variables （zonal winds, vorticity and mean air temperature during the previous two months） and the sea level is established for each month. An independent verification of the model shows that it has considerable skill in simulating the variability.     

Observations of foehn onset in the Southern Alps, New Zealand

Summary Local scale windfield and air mass characteristics during the onset of two foehn wind events in an alpine hydro-catchment are presented. Grounding of the topographically modified foehn was found to be dependent on daytime surface heating and topographic channelling of flow. The foehn front was observed to advance down-valley until the valley widened significantly. The foehn wind appeared to decouple from the surface downstream of the accelerated flow associated with the valley constriction, and to be lifted above local thermally generated circulations including a lake breeze. Towards evening, the foehn front retreated up valley in response to reduced surface heating and the intrusion into the study area of a deep and cool air mass associated with a regional scale mountain-plain circulation. Differences in the local windfield observed during both case study events reflect the importance of different thermal and dynamic forcings on airflow in complex terrain. These are the result of variation in surface energy exchanges, channelling and blocking of airflow. Observations presented here have both theoretical and applied implications with regard to forecasting foehn onset, wind hazard management, recreational activities and air quality management in alpine settings. Received January 23, 2001 Revised October 17, 2001     

On the effect of a foehn on cold fronts in the vicinity of the Alps

The present note discusses physical mechanisms which may contribute to cold air channelling close to the Alps. This involves the modification of the prefrontal air by the warm foehn air and of the postfrontal air by blocking effects resulting in an increase in precipitation. Additionally the influence of a sloping surface in the vicinity of the orography is considered. The problems are discussed in term of a north-south-oriented cold front behaving as an atmospheric gravity current propagating along the east-west oriented Alps.     

Small-scale dynamics of the south foehn in the lower Wipp Valley

Summary In this paper, very-high-resolution numerical simulations are presented to analyze the small-scale dynamics of the foehn in the lower Wipp Valley and the adjacent parts of the Inn Valley. This region was one of the target areas for foehn observations during the Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP). Our simulations consider two MAP cases that markedly differed in the depth of the foehn flow. To isolate the dynamical effect of the key orographic features in the Wipp Valley region, we performed sensitivity experiments with different topography modifications. These involve lowering or even removing the Nordkette range, which constitutes the northern side wall of the east–west-oriented Inn Valley, and closing the Stubai Valley, which is the northernmost and largest tributary of the Wipp Valley. A comparison with surface and lidar observations indicates that our present model resolution of 467 m significantly improves the realism of the simulations compared to a resolution of 800 m, as used in a previous study. The Nordkette is found to have a twofold impact on the dynamics of foehn breakthrough into the Inn Valley. In reality, this mountain chain deflects part of the southerly foehn current coming from the Wipp Valley into the perpendicularly oriented Inn Valley. Our sensitivity tests indicate that this flow deflection tends to accelerate the foehn breakthrough into the Inn Valley, while upstream blocking effects induced by the Nordkette act to slow down the process of foehn breakthrough. The flow pattern in the Wipp Valley reveals that the upstream effects of the Nordkette are not quite far-reaching. The amplitude of the gravity waves over the lower Wipp Valley gets somewhat reduced by these upstream effects, but the overall flow pattern remains largely unaffected. Closing the Stubai Valley also has a minor effect of the wave structure and tends to reduce the cross-valley variability of the foehn flow in the lower Wipp Valley.     

Urbanization effects on the air temperature rise in Saudi Arabia

We study the possible effects of urbanization on the rise of air temperature in Saudi Arabia for the period 1981–2010. The effects of variations in elevation and marine temperature on the air temperature trend are also investigated. Surface air temperature data are analyzed for 24 sites which are mostly located at the airports across the country. The population data for the current (2010) and earlier (2004 and 1992) censuses are used for the nearest cities where the observation sites are located. A national average is calculated using two different approaches (simple averaging and weighted according to area for 1985–2010 when all stations are available) which gives trends of 0.60 and 0.51 °C/decade respectively, both significant at the 99 % level. We find no link between the temperature increase and population increase nor with elevation at the 24 sites which are mostly located in the urban effected area but not at the city centers. This suggests that the rise in air temperature is not likely due to urbanization changes resulting from the population increases.     

Slope and free air temperature in the Inn valley

Summary Hourly screen temperatures were collected over a four-year period for six stations from the Inn valley floor (580 masl) up the Nordketten slope toHafelekar (2260 masl). In this paper, we develope methods for correcting the observed screen temperatures, converting them into temperatures of the free valley atmosphere. Because of the combined effects of the screen and the slope layer, slope temperatures are, on average, too cold at night and too warm in the daytime.A correction function modelled after the daily march of solar radiation works well for all stations except theHungerburg. Temperatures there are, on average, up to 2.5°C too cold on clear nights, compared to the valley atmosphere, and too warm by up to 1.8°C in the daytime. A modified correction function was derived for the Hungerburg site.The suitability of the correction functions is checked by various, mostly indirect methods, the most important of which utilizes statistics of the daily range of temperature. As a final, integral check on our correction scheme, we compute vertical averages of these daily ranges, obtaining excellent agreement with mean daily ranges derived barometrically from hourly pressure recordings atInnsbruck andHafelekar.With 7 Figures     

Dependence of energy consumption on air temperature in Moscow

The dependence of energy consumption on air temperature for every day of the period from 1990 to 2015 is for the first time studied for mid-latitudes using the long-term observational data of the Moscow State University Meteorological Observatory. It is demonstrated that this dependence is generally descending in the Moscow region: energy consumption decreases as air temperature rises. At the same time, the energy consumption increase slows down due to energy saving in case of severe frosts, whereas the opposite trend is manifested in case of abnormally hot weather, that is, the energy consumption increase along with the air temperature rise due to additional consumption for air conditioning. The optimum temperature for energy saving is 18°C. The relationship between energy consumption and air humidity characteristics is analyzed. There is almost no link with relative humidity, while in the link with the partial pressure of water vapor, the dependence of the latter on air temperature is reflected indirectly.     

Long-term variations in surface air pressure and surface air temperature in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes

The spatiotemporal variability of surface air pressure and surface air temperature in the Northern Hemisphere troposphere in 1990-2014 is described. In 2005 the low-frequency component (LFC) of average air temperature in January averaged over the latitude zone of 32.5°-67.5° N has stopped its increase that lasted for 35 years (from 1970). The LFC of air temperature in July has continued growing since 1975 (for 39 years). The anomalies of air pressure and air temperature for thirty-year periods and the dynamics of LFC of air temperature and air pressure in the atmospheric centers of action are analyzed.     

基于气温和体感温度的中国南方地区供暖必要性分析

利用1961—2017年中国各省市701个完整时间序列逐日气象资料的台站数据,以《民用建筑供暖通风与空气调节设计规范》(GB50736—2012)中的供暖标准为指标,采用滑动5 d平均方法,从气温和体感温度两种角度,分析了中国南方地区省市供暖的必要性.结果表明:从气温计算的采暖期看,江苏省、安徽省北部、四川省西部、贵州...     

东海区风场降尺度模拟影响因子研究

基于中尺度WRF模式,采用NCEP FNL最终分析资料作为初始场和侧边界条件,以2009年为例,对中国东海区风场进行了动力降尺度研究,旨在检验WRF模式长期积分的动力降尺度能力,并考察动力降尺度方法在东海区的适用情况,为东海区多年时间尺度的风场降尺度研究提供参考。结果表明,3种不同积分方式模拟的风场均能较好地描述东海区风场的季节变化,且整体在冬季的模拟,要优于夏季的模拟。5DAY试验模拟效果最优,其他两组试验稍差。说明每5 d更新一次初始场的积分方式能够最好地描述东海区风场。每10 d更新一次初始场比起1 a连续积分模拟效果并无优势,连续长期积分模拟虽会导致系统误差累积,但定期更新初始场的方法并不一定能有效改善东海区风场的模拟效果。对于加入谱逼近方案的3种积分方式模拟的风场,每10 d更新一次初始场的试验对加入谱逼近方案响应最为明显。但就总体试验效果,5DAYS试验模拟效果仍然是最好的。加入谱逼近方案使得1 a连续积分这种积分方式模拟效果变差。由此说明,加入谱逼近方案后,采用5 d更新一次初始场的方式驱动,每次积分时间较短,初始场的作用还较强,故其改善效果不如10 d更新一次初始场;对于1 a连续积分,谱逼近方案使得初始场的改变导致了连续积分的误差积累增大。     

The temperature of the sea-surface in the region of the Aegean and its relation to air temperature

Summary In this study the annual course of the air and sea-surface temperature in the Aegean sea is examined and a possibly existing relation between these two meteorological parameters is sought.To do this the monthly values of both elements for the period 1971–1975 were cross-correlated. It was found that in general the observed delay of the maximum and minimum values of the temperature of the sea was of the order of one month.With 1 Figure