Impacts of Aerosol Loading on Surface Precipitation from Deep Convective Systems over North Central Mongolia

The impacts of aerosol loading on surface precipitation from mid-latitude deep convective systems are examined using a bin microphysics model. For this, a precipitation case over north central Mongolia, which is a high-altitude inland region, on 21 August 2014 is simulated with aerosol number concentrations of 150, 300, 600, 1200, 2400, and 4800 cm^?3. The surface precipitation amount slightly decreases with increasing aerosol number concentration in the range of 150–600 cm^?3, while it notably increases in the range of 600–4800 cm^?3 (22% increase with eightfold aerosol loading). We attempt to explain why the surface precipitation amount increases with increasing aerosol number concentration in the range of 600–4800 cm^?3. A higher aerosol number concentration results in more drops of small sizes. More drops of small sizes grow through condensation while being transported upward and some of them freeze, thus increasing the mass content of ice crystals. The increased ice crystal mass content leads to an increase in the mass content of small-sized snow particles largely through deposition, and the increased mass content of small-sized snow particles leads to an increase in the mass content of large-sized snow particles largely through riming. In addition, more drops of small sizes increase the mass content of supercooled drops, which also leads to an increase in the mass content of large-sized snow particles through riming. The increased mass content of large-sized snow particles resulting from these pathways contributes to a larger surface precipitation amount through melting and collision-coalescence.     

Statistical and dynamical characteristics of the urban heat island intensity in Seoul

The statistical and dynamical characteristics of the urban heat island (UHI) intensity in Seoul are investigated for non-precipitation days and precipitation days using 4-year surface meteorological data with 1-h time intervals. Furthermore, the quantitative influence of synoptic pressure pattern on the UHI intensity is examined using a synoptic condition clustering method. The statistical analysis shows that the daily maximum UHI intensity in Seoul for non-precipitation days is strongest in autumn (4.8°C) and weakest in summer (3.5°C). The daily maximum UHI intensity is observed around midnight in all seasons except in winter when the maximum occurrence frequency is found around 08 LST. This implies that anthropogenic heating contributes to the UHI in the cold season. The occurrence frequency of the UHI intensity has a negatively skewed distribution for non-precipitation days but a positively skewed distribution for precipitation days. The amplitude of the heating/cooling rate and the difference in the heating/cooling rate between the urban and rural areas are smaller in all seasons for precipitation days than for non-precipitation days, resulting in weaker UHI intensities for precipitation days. The urban cool island occurs very often in the daytime, with an occurrence frequency being 77% of the total non-precipitation days in spring. The analysis of the impact of large-scale dynamical forcing shows that the daily maximum UHI intensity varies with synoptic pressure pattern, ranging from ?22% in spring to 28% in summer relative to the seasonal mean daily maximum UHI intensity. Comparison of the UHI intensity calculated using station-averaged temperatures to that based on the conventional two-station approach indicates that local effects on the UHI intensity are minimized by using multiple-station data. Accordingly, an estimation of the UHI intensity using station-averaged temperatures for both urban and rural areas is suggested.     

Estimation of anthropogenic heat emission in the Gyeong-In region of Korea

The anthropogenic heat emission in the Gyeong-In region of Korea in 2002 is estimated based on the energy consumption statistics data. The energy consumption over the region is categorized into four energy sectors: electricity use, transportation, point sources, and area sources. The estimated annual mean anthropogenic heat emissions in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi are found to be 55, 53, and 28 W m^?2, respectively. A major contributing energy sector to anthropogenic heat emission in the Gyeong-In region is area sources including the residential, commercial, and small industrial sectors, which account for 40% of the total heat emission from the three administrative districts, and transportation and electricity use follow. The distributions of the annual, monthly, and hourly mean anthropogenic heat emission for all energy sectors are presented in the 0.01° longitude × 0.01° latitude grid domain. The presently estimated anthropogenic heat emission data can be used in mesoscale meteorological and environmental modeling in the Gyeong-In region.     

Daily maximum urban heat island intensity in large cities of Korea

Summary This study investigates the characteristics of the daily maximum urban heat island (UHI) intensity in the six largest cities of South Korea (Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju, and Busan) during the period 1973–2001. The annually-averaged daily maximum UHI intensity in all cities tends to increase with time, but the rate of increase differs. It is found that the average annual daily maximum UHI intensity tends to be smaller in coastal cities (Incheon and Busan) than in inland cities (Daejeon, Daegu, and Gwangju), even if a coastal city is larger than an inland city.A spectral analysis shows a prominent diurnal cycle in the UHI intensity in all cities and a prominent annual cycle in coastal cities. A multiple linear regression analysis is undertaken in order to relate the daily maximum UHI intensity to the maximum UHI intensity on the previous day (PER), wind speed (WS), cloudiness (CL), and relative humidity (RH). In all cities, the PER variable is positively correlated with the daily maximum UHI intensity, while WS, CL, and RH variables are negatively correlated with it. The most important variable in all cities is PER, but the relative importance of the other three variables differs depending on city. The total variance explained by the multiple linear regression equation ranges from 29.9% in Daejeon to 44.7% in Seoul. A multidimensional scaling analysis performed with a correlation matrix obtained using the daily maximum UHI intensity data appears to distinguish three city groups. These groupings are closely connected with distances between cities. A multidimensional scaling analysis undertaken using the normalized regression coefficients obtained from the multiple linear regression analysis distinguishes three city groups. Notably, Incheon and Busan form one group, whose points in the two-dimensional space are very close. The results of a cluster analysis performed using the multivariate data of PER, WS, RH, and CL are consistent with those of the multidimensional scaling analysis. The analysis results in this study indicate that the characteristics of the UHI intensity in a coastal city are in several aspects different from those in an inland city.     

Some aspects of internal gravity waves in the multicell-type convective system

Summary Some aspects of internal gravity waves in the multicell-type convective system are examined using a linear theory and a nonlinear numerical model. The basic-state wind is assumed to increase linearly with height and then remain constant.In the theoretical part, the two-dimensional, linear, steady-state response of a stably stratified atmosphere to specified cooling representing the evaporative cooling of falling precipitation in the subcloud layer is analytically considered. It is shown that there exist an updraft on the upstream side of the cooling and a downdraft on the downstream side. As the wind shear increases enough, the magnitude of the updraft decreases. This is because a large portion of the specified cooling is used to compensate for the positive vorticity associated with the positive wind shear and accordingly the effective cooling necessary to produce perturbations is reduced.In the numerical part, a two-dimensional version of the ARPS (Advanced Regional Prediction System) that is a nonhydrostatic, compressible model with detailed physical processes is employed. Results from the dry simulation, in which the steady cooling is specified in the model, show that the simulated quasi-steady field resembles the linear, steady-state solution field because the nonlinearity factor of thermally-induced waves in this case is small. For the moist simulation, the quasi-steady perturbations obtained from the dry simulation are used as initial conditions. It is shown that gravity waces can effectively initiate convection even with small amplitude and that updraft at the head of the density current somewhat resembles the linear, steady-state response of a stably straified flow to the specified cooling. The updraft, that is, forced internal gravity waves, at the head of the density current is responsible for the initiation of consecutive convective cells that move downstream and develop as a main convective cell. This study suggests that internal gravity waves play a major role in the initiation of consecutive convective cells in the multicell-type convective system and hence in its maintenance.     

Theoretical calculations of interactions between urban breezes and mountain slope winds in the presence of basic-state wind

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Many big cities around the world are located near mountains. In city-mountain regions, thermally and topographically forced local winds are produced and they...     

Coherent Flow Structures and Pollutant Dispersion in a Street Canyon

Boundary-Layer Meteorology - Coherent flow structures and pollutant dispersion in a spanwise-long street canyon are investigated using a parallelized large-eddy-simulation model. Low- and...     

Physical experiments to investigate the effects of street bottom heating and inflow turbulence on urban street-canyon flow

The effects of street bottom heating and inflow turbulence on urban street-canyon flow are experimentally investigated using a circulating water channel. Three experiments are carried out for a street canyon with a street aspect ratio of 1. Results from each experiment with bottom heating or inflow turbulence are compared with those without bottom heating and appreciable inflow turbulence. It is demonstrated that street bottom heating or inflow turbulence increases the intensity of the canyon vortex. A possible explanation on how street bottom heating or inflow turbulence intensifies the canyon vortex is given from a fluid dynamical viewpoint.     

Present state and historical changes of trace metal pollution in Kaoping coastal sediments, southwestern Taiwan

Surface and gravity-cored sediments were collected from the Kaoping coastal area off southwestern Taiwan to determine particle size, organic carbon, trace metal concentration and enrichment factor (EF), 210Pb dating, and 206Pb/207Pb ratio for determining present and historical metal pollution. Surface distributions of trace metals ranged from 0.02 to 0.13 mg/kg for Cd (EF: 0.16-1.65), from 35 to 189 mg/kg for Cr (EF: 0.85-2.92), from 25 to 64 mg/kg for Ni (EF: 0.53-2.38), from 10 to 32 mg/kg for Pb (EF: 1.20-4.94), and from 29 to 129 mg/kg for Zn (EF: 1.18-3.50). Trace metal concentrations correlate closely with distributions of mud (<63 microm) and organic carbon which accumulate largely around river mouths and within the Kaoping Canyon. With the exception of Cd, Cr and Ni in certain areas with rather coarse sediments, metals were generally elevated above the baseline levels over the studied area. Metals were also relatively enriched in areas with high contents of mud and organic carbon. Sedimentation rates derived from the excess 210Pb data in core sediments sampled from the canyon illustrate metal pollution beginning around 1970 that is corresponding to the booming time of economic growth in Taiwan. Meanwhile, the status of Pb pollution in core sediments is verified by an inversed correlation between 206Pb/207Pb ratios and Pb concentrations. Anthropogenic Pb and other metals in the studied area were apparently derived primarily from the Kaoping River and accumulated around the river mouth and within the Kaoping Canyon. The Kaoping Canyon appears to act as a major sink for river borne trace metals.