Characteristics of Lightning Discharges and Electric Structure of Thunderstorm

Progresses in the research on physical processes of lightning discharge and electric structure of thunderstorm in the last decade in China have been reviewed. By using the self-developed lightning detecting and locating techniques with high temporal and spatial resolution, the characteristics and parameters of lightning discharge in some representative areas in China have been obtained. Observations on lightning activity were conducted for the first time in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in 2002-2005, and the special characteristics of the thunderstorm and lightning activity in the plateau were revealed. The lightning spectra in the band of visible light were recorded, and the spectral lines were identified in detail with introduction of modern theories of atomic structure. The techniques on artificially altitude triggered lightning and related measurements under a harsh electromagnetic environment have been well developed. Evidences of bi-directional leader propagation were observed by means of optics and VHF radiation during the triggered lightning discharges. Some lightning protection devices have been tested using the artificial lightning triggering techniques. In addition, the correlation between lightning activities and weather and climate was preliminarily studied.     

Development and Propagation of Equatorial Waves

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Evolution and Frontogenesis of an Imbalanced Flow —the Influence of Vapor Distribution and Orographic Forcing

1.InttoductionIftheinitialfieldsarenotingeostrophicbalance,theadjustmentandevolutionwilloccurinthestratifiedfluid,andthefrontogenesiswilloccurundersuitableconditions.ThisaspectwasfirstinvestigatedbyRossby(1938),followedbymanyscientists(Blumen,1972;Gill,1976,1982;VanHeijst,1985;BossandThompson,1985;On,1984,1986;McWilliams,1988;Middleton,1987;Glendening,1993;BlumenandWu,1995;WuandBlumen,1995;Grimshaw1998;Blumen,1998;etc.).Intheseresearches,theenergyconversionratioy=AEk/BE,isaninterestin…     

Study and Demonstration of Precipitation Enhancement Techniques

The project is the 6th subproject of the National Basic Theoretical Research Project "Research on the Techniques of Water Safety Support," which is chaired by the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences and participated by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (Chinese Academy of Sciences), the Meteorological Bureau of Qinghai Province, and the Meteorological Bureau of Henan Province. It started at the end of 2001.     

Effect of Nonlinear Dynamic Process on Formation and Breakdown of Blocking

With the L-P approximate method(variation of parameter method), a barotropic channel model in β-plane is used to study the effect of nonlinear interaction between two waves with different scales on the formation of blocking. The approximate analytical solution, which can describe the process of the blocking formation, maintenance and breakdown, has been obtained by using the method of aproximate expansion. The importance of nonlinear interaction between two waves with different scales is stressed in the solution. The result suggests that the nonlinear interaction is the main dynamic process of the blocking formation. Some required conditions of blocking formation are also discussed.     

Influence of Vertical Eddy Diffusivity Parameterization on Daily and Monthly Mean Concentrations of O3 and NOy

Two parameterization schemes for vertical eddy diffusivity were utilized to investigate their impacts on both the daily and monthly mean concentrations of ozone and NOy, which are the major fractions of the sum of all reactive nitrogen species, i.e., NOy=NO＋NO2＋HNO3＋PAN. Simulations indicate that great changes in the vertical diffusivity usually occur within the planetary boundary layer （PBL）. Daily and monthly mean concentrations of NOy are much more sensitive to changes in the vertical diffusivity than those of ozone and ozone and NOy levels only at or in （relatively） clean sites and areas, where long-range transport plays a crucial role, display roughly equivalent sensitivity. The results strongly suggest that a widely-accepted parameterization scheme be selected and the refinement of the model＇s vertical resolution in the PBL be required, even for regional and long-term studies, and ozone only being examined in an effort to judge the model＇s performance be unreliable, and NOy be included for model evaluations.     

How Does the Partitioning of Evapotranspiration and Runoff between Different Processes Affect the Variability and Predictability of Soil Moisture and Precipitation？

Water stored as part of the land surface is lost to evapotranspiration and runoff on different time scales,and the partitioning between these time scales is important for modeling soil water in a climate model.Different time scales are imposed on evapotranspiration primarily because it is derived from different reservoirs with different storage capacities, from the very rapid evaporation of canopy stores to the slow removal by transpiration of rooting zone soil moisture. Runoff likewise ranges in time scale from rapid surface terms to the slower base-flow. The longest time scale losses of water determine the slow variation of soil moisture and hence the longer time scale effects of soil moisture on precipitation. This paper shows with a simple analysis how shifting the partitioning of evapotranspiration between the different reservoirs affects the variability of soil moisture and precipitation. In particular, it is concluded that a shift to shorter time scale reservoirs shifts the variance of precipitation from that which is potentially predictable to unpredictable.     

Effect of the Interaction of Different Scale Vortices on the Structure and Motion of Typhoons

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Physicochemistry and Mineralogy of Storm Dust and Dust Sediment in Northern China

Dust sediments collected from 1995 to 1998 in Beijing, Dunhuang, Inner Mongolia, Kashi, the Kunlun Mountains, Lanzhou, Ningxia, the Taklimakan Desert, and Xi‘an, China, were characterized in terms of their physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties. Most aerosols and dust analysed ranged in texture from silty clay to clay loam. Their median particle diameters (Mds) generally ranged between 5 to 63μm,coinciding with those of loess from central China and the finest sand from northwestern China. The dust sediments were characterized by a predominance of SiO2 and Al2O3, followed by K2O. Their SiO2/Al2O3and K2O/SiO2 molar ratios ranged from 5.17 to 8.43 and from 0.009 to 0.0368, respectively. The mass concentration spectrum during a dust storm showed a single peak, rather than the triple peak generally observed under clear sky conditions. The dominant minerals were chlorite, illite, calcite, and dolomite.These physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties were consistent with those of aeolian soils and loess in western and central China. The results suggest that aerosols and fine-gained fractions of dust sediments collected in northern China are mainly composed of soil material transported from the arid and semiarid regions of China and Mongolia by prevailing winds. The rate of deposition and properties of dust falling on eastern China were strongly influenced by meteorological conditions, season, latitude, longitude, and altitude of the sampling sites.     

Study of Effects of Beta Term and Nonlinear Advection on the Structure of Tropical Cyclones

The effects of the Beta term on the typhoon structure are examined within the linear framework in terms of an analytical method of 2-D Fourier representation and numerical experiments by a Beta-plane quasi-geostrophic barotropic model. Results show that the joint effects of the difference of Rossby phase velocities and the dispersion of typhoon energy keep the maximum wind velocity reasonably evolving rather than irrestrictively increasing. On the one hand, the nonlinear advection accelerates typhoon vortex damping, and on the other, the high pressure system formed downstream due to energy dispersion makes it easy to maintain.     

Analysis of Indian Monsoon and Associated Low-Level Circulation in 1980 and 1981

In this paper, Indian monsoon of 1980 and 1981 is analysed based on the seasonal and half-month averaged data of 850 hPa of ECMWF analysis. The results show that Indian monsoon is related to Somali jet, the low-latitude easterlies and the mid-latitude westerlies over southern Indian Ocean, which are associated with the stationary wave of Southern Hemisphere. The forces affecting on the low-level flow are diagnosed, which display the relationship between Indian monsoon and the associated low-level flow.     

Dependence of Hurricane Intensity and Structures on Vertical Resolution and Time-Step Size

In view of the growing interests in the explicit modeling of clouds and precipitation, the effects of varying vertical resolution and time-step sizes on the 72-h explicit simulation of Hurricane Andrew (1992) are studied using the Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU/NCAR) mesoscale model (i.e., MM5) with the finest grid size of 6 km. It is shown that changing vertical resolution and time-step size has significant effects on hurricane intensity and inner-core cloud/precipitation, but little impact on the hurricane track. In general, increasing vertical resolution tends to produce a deeper storm with lower central pressure and stronger three-dimensional winds, and more precipitation. Similar effects, but to a less extent, occur when the time-step size is reduced. It is found that increasing the low-level vertical resolution is more efficient in intensifying a hurricane, whereas changing the upper-level vertical resolution has little impact on the hurricane intensity. Moreover, the use of a thicker surface layer tends to produce higher maximum surface winds. It is concluded that the use of higher vertical resolution,a thin surface layer, and smaller time-step sizes, along with higher horizontal resolution, is desirable to model more realistically the intensity and inner-core structures and evolution of tropical storms as well as the other convectively driven weather systems.     

Multi-Model Ensemble Projection of Precipitation Changes over China under Global Warming of 1.5 and 2℃with Consideration of Model Performance and Independence

A weighting scheme jointly considering model performance and independence(PI-based weighting scheme)is em-ployed to deal with multi-model ensemble prediction of...     

The Measurement and Analysis of Antarctic Ozone at Zhongshan Station of 1993

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Numerical Simulation of the Evolution of Snow Cover and Its Sensitivity Experiments

By using Comprehensive Land Surface Model (CLSM), three snow cases, i.e., France Col de Porte 1993/1994, 1994/1995 and BOREAS SSA-OJP 1994/1995, were simulated. The simulated results were compared with the observations to examine the capability of the model to describe the evolutions of snow cover under two different land cover conditions. Several sensitivity experiments were performed to investigate the effects of the parameterization schemes of some snow cover internal processes and vegetation on the model results. Results suggest that the CLSM simulates the basic processes of snow cover accurately and describes the features of snow cover evolutions reasonably, indicating that the model has the potential to model the processes related to the snow cover evolution. It is also found that the different parameterization schemes of the snowfall density and snow water holding capacity have significant effects on the simulation of snow cover. The estimation of snowfall density mainly impacts the simulated snow depth, and the underestimation (overestimation) of the snowfall density increases (decreases) the snow depth simulated significantly but with little effect on the simulated snow water equivalent (SWE). The parameterization of the snow water holding capacity plays a crucial role in the evolution of snow cover, especially in the ablation of snow cover. Larger snow water holding capacity usually leads to larger snow density and heat capacity by storing more liquid water in the snow layer, and makes the temperature of snow cover and the snow ablation vary more slowly. To a smaller snow water holding capacity, contrary is the case. The results also show that the physical processes related to the snow cover variation are different, which are dependent on the vegetation existed. Vegetation plays an important role in the evolution of soil-snow system by changing the energy balance at the snow-soil surface. The existence of vegetation is favorable to the maintenance of snow cover and delays the increase of underlying soil temperature.     

The Present Status and Future of Research of the East Asian Monsoon

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Reappraisal of Asian Summer Monsoon Indices and the Long-Term Variation of Monsoon

The Webster and Yang monsoon index (WYI)-the zonal wind shear between 850 and 200 hPa was calculated and modified on the basis of NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. After analyzing the circulation and divergence fields of 150-100 and 200 hPa, however, we found that the 200-hPa level could not reflect the real change of the upper-tropospheric circulation of Asian summer monsoon, especially the characteristics and variation of the tropical easterly jet which is the most important feature of the upper-tropospheric circulation. The zonal wind shear U850-U(150 100) is much larger than U850-U200, and thus it can reflect the strength of monsoon more appropriately. In addition, divergence is the largest at 150 hPa rather than 200 hPa, so 150 hPa in the upper-troposphere can reflect the coupling of the monsoon system. Therefore, WYI is redefined as DHI, i.e., IDH=U850* - U(150 100)*, which is able to characterize the variability of not only the intensity of the center of zonal wind shear in Asia, but also the monsoon system in the upper and lower troposphere. DHI is superior to WYI in featuring the long-term variation of Asian summer monsoon as it indicates there is obvious interdecadal variation in the Asian summer monsoon and the climate abrupt change occurred in 1980. The Asian summer monsoon was stronger before 1980 and it weakened after then due to the weakening of the easterly in the layer of 150-100 hPa, while easterly at 200 hPa did not weaken significantly. After the climate jump year in general, easterly in the upper troposphere weakened in Asia, indicating the weakening of summer monsoon; the land-sea pressure difference and thermal difference reduced, resulting in the weakening of monsoon; the corresponding upper divergence as well as the water vapor transport decreased in Indian Peninsula, central Indo-China Peninsula, North China, and Northeast China, indicating the weakening of summer monsoon as well. The difference between NCEP/NCAR and ERA-40 reanalysis data in studying the intensity and long-term variation of Asian summer monsoon is also compared in the end for reference.     

Historical and potential changes of precipitation and temperature of Alberta subjected to climate change impact: 1900–2100

We investigated changes to precipitation and temperature of Alberta for historical and future periods. First, the Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope were used to test for historical trends and trend magnitudes from the climate data of Alberta, respectively. Second, the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) (A1B, A2, and B1) of CMIP3 (Phase 3 of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project), projected by seven general circulation models (GCM) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for three 30 years periods (2020s, 2050s, and 2080s), were used to evaluate the potential impact of climate change on precipitation and temperature of Alberta. Third, trends of projected precipitation and temperature were investigated, and differences between historical versus projected trends were estimated. Using the 50-km resolution dataset from CANGRD (Canadian Grid Climate Data), we found that Alberta had become warmer and somewhat drier for the past 112 years (1900–2011), especially in central and southern Alberta. For observed precipitation, upward trends mainly occurred in northern Alberta and at the leeward side of Canadian Rocky Mountains. However, only about 13 to 22 % of observed precipitation showed statistically significant increasing trends at 5 % significant level. Most observed temperature showed significant increasing trends, up to 0.05 °C/year in DJF (December, January, and February) in northern Alberta. GCMs’ SRES projections indicated that seasonal precipitation of Alberta could change from ?25 to 36 %, while the temperature would increase from 2020s to 2080s, with the largest increase (6.8 °C) in DJF. In all 21 GCM-SRES cases considered, precipitation in both DJF and MAM (March, April, and May) is projected to increase, while temperature is consistently projected to increase in all seasons, which generally agree with the trends of historical precipitation and temperature. The SRES A1B scenario of CCSM3 might project more realistic future climate for Alberta, where its water resources can become more critical in the future as its streamflow is projected to decrease continually in the future.