On the disappearance of the imf sector structure effect in the lower atmosphere in 1974–1977

1974–1977. aum n mun ma nu mau nam aum n, a¶rt;a anu aum amumu, m, m a¶rt;am u u am, nmu uam. ¶rt;am uuu nuu m uu.     

Secular non-random variations of cosmogenic carbon-14 in the terrestrial atmosphere

The time dependence of the¹⁴C content of bristlecone pine wood samples dated by their tree rings and grown during the last 8000 years was examined. The¹⁴C values as measured by the La Jolla Radiocarbon Laboratory were used for the investigation.Two different smoothing techniques were used for constructing values for equal time intervals. In this manner the introduction of regularities, that could have resulted from applied mathematical techniques, could be excluded.There is good evidence for non-random features in the power spectrum, in particular for a 200-year periodicity.The regularities in the power spectrum are further indications supporting the assumption that the¹⁴C variations reflect a property of the sun.     

Variations in the parameters of thunderstorm electromagnetic signals on paths over earthquake regions

The specific features of a method for radiosounding the lower ionosphere over earthquake epicenters using LF electromagnetic signals of thunderstorm sources (atmospherics) have been considered. The effects of shallow-focus earthquakes with magnitudes larger than 4.0 and their precursors manifest themselves in amplitude characteristics of atmospherics. It has been assumed that variations in the signal characteristics are related to disturbances in the lower ionosphere. According to the results of azimuthal scanning, cross-sectional dimensions of disturbed regions, as a rule, correspond to the dimensions of the first two Fresnel zones for signals at a frequency of 10 kHz. Azimuthal scanning also indicated that the positions of disturbed regions during and before earthquakes could have a certain dynamics and differ from the projection onto the earthquake epicenter. The ratio of the amplitudes of electric and magnetic signal components, in the variations of which seismic effects before earthquakes can also be observed, has been considered. An analysis of the ratio makes it possible to increase the probability of predicting earthquakes when using the characteristics of the electromagnetic signals of lightning discharges as an additional method of complex monitoring of disturbances in the lower ionosphere caused by seismic processes.     

Solar forcing on antarctic terrestrial climate: A study by means of GPS observations

With a view to difficulties with explaining the physical mechanism of solar forcing on the Earth’s climate, we applied a new approach of determining and quantifying an influence of solar-related events on water vapor variability by correlating the total electron content (TEC) and precipitable water vapor (PWV), both derived from ground-based GPS observations. In this study, ionospheric TEC and atmospheric PWV values are employed as solar activity and terrestrial climate parameters, respectively. Three-year GPS data at five stations in Antarctica are analyzed on a daily mean basis. Results show significant correlation between TEC and PWV differences during storms-affected days. The high correlation between the daily mean values of TEC and PWV, both of which follow the seasonal signals and subsisting downward trend, suggests an influence of solar activity on climate variability in Antarctica. These quantities are determined by changes of the upper-atmosphere level, which varies in conformity with the zenith angle of the Sun.     

Evidence of geomagnetic storm effects in the lower atmosphere: A case study

Disturbances produced by geomagnetic storms in the higher regions of the Earth’s atmosphere, such as in the ionospheric F2 region and in the lower ionosphere, are relatively better known than those produced at lower altitudes, where the effects of geomagnetic storms have been little studied. During magnetically perturbed conditions, some changes in pressure and temperature at high latitudes have been observed, from the surface level to heights of around 30 km, but there are no morphological studies and/or patterns of behavior. Moreover, the physical mechanisms are still unknown and what exists is a matter of controversy. Thus, the aim of this paper is to contribute to the vertical profile of the effects of geomagnetic storms as observed in the lower sectors of the atmosphere. For that, we study the variations of two atmospheric parameters (temperature and wind speed) during an intense geomagnetic storm (minimum Dst = −300 nT), at heights between about 6 km and 20 km. The data used were obtained from weather balloon flights carried out at low, mid and mid-high latitudes in different longitudinal sectors of the northern hemisphere, which took place twice per day: 00:00 and 12:00 UT. Small, but statistically significant changes in temperature and in zonal component of the neutral winds are observed at mid-high latitudes, which can be linked to short-term geomagnetic forcing. However, the results show different atmospheric response to the geomagnetic storm in the different longitudinal sectors at tropospheric and stratospheric levels, which suggests a regional character of the geomagnetic storms effects at tropospheric levels.     

Planetary waves in coupling the lower and upper atmosphere

The purpose of the paper is to answer the question if planetary waves (PW) are capable of propagating into the thermosphere. First the simplest vertical structure equation of the classic tidal theory accounting for a realistic vertical temperature profile is considered. Analysis and simulation show that the well-known normal atmospheric modes (NM), which are trapped in the lower and middle atmosphere, exhibit a wave-like vertical structure with a large vertical wavelength in the thermosphere. Moreover, the reflection of these modes from the vertical temperature gradient in the lower thermosphere causes appearance of the wave-energy upward flux in the middle atmosphere, and in a linearized formulation this flux is constant above the source region. To investigate a possibility of the NM forcing by stratospheric vacillations and to consider the propagation of different PW up to the heights of the upper thermosphere, a set of runs with a mechanistic Middle and Upper Atmosphere Model has been performed. The results of the simulation show that quasi-stationary and longer-period PW are not able to penetrate into the thermosphere. The shorter-period NM and ultra-fast Kelvin wave propagate up to the heights of the lower thermosphere. However, above about 150 km they are strongly suppressed by dissipative processes. The role of the secondary waves (nonmigrating tides) arising from nonlinear interaction between the primary migrating tides and quasi-stationary PW is discussed. We conclude that PW are not capable of propagating directly up to the heights of the ionospheric F2 region. It is suggested that other physical processes (for instance, the electrostatic field perturbations) have to be taken into account to explain the observed PW-like structures in ionospheric parameters.     

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...     

Variational assimilation of meteorological observations in the lower atmosphere: A tutorial on how it works

Data assimilation combines atmospheric measurements with knowledge of atmospheric behavior as codified in computer models, thus producing a “best” estimate of current conditions that is consistent with both information sources. The four major challenges in data assimilation are: (1) to generate an initial state for a computer forecast that has the same mass-wind balance as the assimilating model, (2) to deal with the common problem of highly non-uniform distribution of observations, (3) to exploit the value of proxy observations (of parameters that are not carried explicitly in the model), and (4) to determine the statistical error properties of observing systems and numerical model alike so as to give each information source the proper weight. Variational data assimilation is practiced at major meteorological centers around the world. It is based upon multivariate linear regression, dating back to Gauss, and variational calculus. At the heart of the method is the minimization of a cost function, which guarantees that the analyzed fields will closely resemble both the background field (a short forecast containing a priori information about the atmospheric state) and current observations. The size of the errors in the background and the observations (the latter, arising from measurement and non-representativeness) determine how close the analysis is to each basic source of information. Three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) assimilation provides a logical framework for incorporating the error information (in the form of variances and spatial covariances) and deals directly with the problem of proxy observations. 4DVAR assimilation is an extension of 3DVAR assimilation that includes the time dimension; it attempts to find an evolution of model states that most closely matches observations taken over a time interval measured in hours. Both 3DVAR and, especially, 4DVAR assimilation require very large computing resources. Researchers are trying to find more efficient numerical solutions to these problems. Variational assimilation is applicable in the upper atmosphere, but practical implementation demands accurate modeling of the physical processes that occur at high altitudes and multiple sources of observations.     

Lead-210 in the North Pacific and the transport of terrestrial material through the atmosphere

²¹⁰Pb in the surface water of the North Pacific was extensively determined. The results showed that the highest concentrations of²¹⁰Pb of 19 ± 3dpm/100kg were found in the northern mid-latitudes around 30°N, but longitudinal variation across the North Pacific was not observed. The mean residence time of²¹⁰Pb in the surface water up to 100 m in depth is calculated to be 230 days. In the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere,²¹⁰Pb may be transported by the prevailing westerly wind of a higher speed than 15 m/sec, likely the jet stream.     

Detection of nitric acid and nitric oxides in the terrestrial atmosphere in the middle-infrared spectral region

A proposal for combined space and ground-based observations of the vertical distributions and the column densities of nitric acid and nitric oxide concentrations in the earths atmosphere is discussed. We focus on the aspects that are particular to the idea of correlative measurements: geometrical considerations, simulations of the solar absorption spectra in the middle-infrared region corresponding to the different observational geometries, and the associated retrieval methods. These studies are done specifically for the Belgian-French experiment MIRAS (MIR Infrared Atmospheric Spectrometer) onboard the Russian Space Station MIR and correlative ground-based FTIR measurements in the Tatra mountains.     

Influence of small-scale heterogeneities on contaminant transport in fractured crystalline rock

We present a sequence of purely advective transport models that demonstrate the influence of small-scale geometric inhomogeneities on contaminant transport in fractured crystalline rock. Special weight is placed on the role of statistically generated variable fracture apertures. The fracture network geometry and the aperture distribution are based on information from an in situ radionuclide retardation experiment performed at Grimsel test site (Swiss Alps). The obtained breakthrough curves are fitted with the advection dispersion equation and continuous-time random walks (CTRW). CTRW is found to provide superior fits to the late-arrival tailing and is also found to show a good correlation with the velocity distributions obtained from the hydraulic models. The impact of small-scale heterogeneities, both in fracture geometry and aperture, on transport is shown to be considerable.     

Study of spatial and temporal structure of long-term effects of solar activity and cosmic ray variations on the lower atmosphere circulation

The spatial and temporal structure of the effects of solar activity (SA) and galactic cosmic ray (GCR) flux variations on the lower atmosphere circulation has been studied based on NCEP/NCAR reanalysis archive for 1948–2006 and MSLP (Climatic Research Unit, UK) data for 1873–2000. It has been shown that the GCR effects on pressure variations are characterized by a strong latitudinal and regional dependence, which is determined by specific features of the tropospheric circulation in the studied regions. The distribution of the correlation coefficients for mean yearly values of atmospheric pressure with the GCR flux intensity is closely related to the position of the main climatological fronts. The periodic (∼60 years) changes in the correlation sign of the pressure at high and middle latitudes with Wolf numbers have been revealed. It has been suggested that the changes of the sign of SA/GCR effects on atmospheric pressure are caused by the changes of the macrocirculation epochs, which, in turn, may be related to large-scale processes on the Sun.     

Solar activity and cosmic rays: Influence on cloudiness and processes in the lower atmosphere (in memory and on the 75th anniversary of M.I. Pudovkin)

The works by M.I. Pudovkin and his group devoted to studies of the influence of cosmic ray fluxes modulated by solar activity variability on the processes in the lower atmosphere and climatic parameters are briefly analyzed. The issues to be addressed for the solution of the problem are identified.     

Fluctuations of total electron content in the ionosphere as deduced from measurements by single-frequency GPS receivers

Using an ionospheric diagnostic technique developed by the authors and single-frequency GPS receivers, we obtained the first results of these diagnostics. In particular, we show that the ionosphere is characterized by large-scale periodic processes with frequencies of 3–5 mHz.     

The influence of seasonal signals on the estimation of the tectonic motion in short continuous GPS time-series

Most GPS time-series exhibit a seasonal signal that can have an amplitude of a few millimetres. This seasonal signal can be removed by fitting an extra sinusoidal signal with a period of one year to the GPS data during the estimation of the linear trend.However, Blewitt and Lavallée (2002) showed that including an annual signal in the estimation process still can give a larger linear trend error than the trend error estimated from data from which the annual signal has been removed by other means. They assumed that the GPS data only contained white noise and we extend their result to the case of power-law plus white noise which is known to exist in most GPS observations. For the GPS stations CASC, LAGO, PDEL and TETN the difference in trend error between having or not having an annual signal in the data is around ten times larger when a power-law plus white noise model is used instead of a pure white noise model. Next, our methodology can be used to estimate for any station how much the accuracy of the linear trend will improve when one tries to subtract the annual signal from the GPS time-series by using a physical model.Finally, we demonstrate that for short time-series the trend error is more influenced by the fact that the noise properties also need to be estimated from the data. This causes on average an underestimation of the trend error.     

Prediction of carbon exchanges between China terrestrial ecosystem and atmosphere in 21st century

The projected changes in carbon exchange between China terrestrial ecosystem and the atmosphere and vegetation and soil carbon storage during the 21st century were investigated using an atmos-phere-vegetation interaction model (AVIM2). The results show that in the coming 100 a, for SRES B2 scenario and constant atmospheric CO2 concentration, the net primary productivity (NPP) of terrestrial ecosystem in China will be decreased slowly, and vegetation and soil carbon storage as well as net ecosystem productivity (NEP) will also be decreased. The carbon sink for China terrestrial ecosystem in the beginning of the 20th century will become totally a carbon source by the year of 2020, while for B2 scenario and changing atmospheric CO2 concentration, NPP for China will increase continuously from 2.94 GtC·a?1 by the end of the 20th century to 3.99 GtC·a?1 by the end of the 21st century, and vegetation and soil carbon storage will increase to 110.3 GtC. NEP in China will keep rising during the first and middle periods of the 21st century, and reach the peak around 2050s, then will decrease gradually and approach to zero by the end of the 21st century.     

Effect of resonance phenomena on the wave structure of the middle atmosphere

Based on data of the optical measurements performed at Orbita observatory, Almaty (76°55′ E, 43°15′ N), it has been established that the region of LF oscillations in the range of periods from 0.5 to 2.5 h includes the components composed of the heterodyne frequencies of two oscillations. It has been indicated that the origination of these harmonics can be interpreted when solving the linear problem of a resonance behavior of acoustic gravity waves under the action of diurnal variations in the solar radiation intensity, and the heterodyne frequencies appear due to the effect of acoustic gravity wave enhancement in an acoustically active medium.     

夏季北极平流层大气基本结构特征

北极地区(60°N~90°N)平流层纬向风和气压场有明显的季节变化,不同高度层季节变化的时间有差异.北极平流层从冬至夏,季节转换从上向下推进,从夏至冬,季节转换从下向上推进.以20 hPa为例,平均而言,4月上旬以前,北极被极涡控制;4月中旬北极地区高压的势力开始超过低压,5月上旬,北极高压正式建立;7月份达到最强,8月份开始减弱,8月底结束.北极高压中心位置随时间的变化可分为北美型、欧亚型和过渡型三种.平流层下层,气压场和风场的结构与平流层中上层有明显不同,而且南亚高压与北极高压连在一起;从垂直结构看,北极高压从上至下与100 hPa的南亚高压连在一起,高压中心轴线是倾斜的.