Beiträge zu einer elektrischen Tornadotheorie

Zusammenfassung Ein VorschlagB. Vonneguts, elektrische Tornadotheorien wieder in Betracht zu ziehen, wird aufgegriffen und es wird gezeigt, daß die Gewittertheorie mit der elektromagnetischen Induktion als Grundlage auch auf das Tornadoproblem anwendbar ist. Dadurch finden nicht nur mehrere Eigenschaften des Tornados eine zwanglose Erklärung, vielmehr wird darüber hinaus auch die Wahrscheinlichkeit der Brauchbarkeit der Gewittertheorie bedeutend erhöht. Das beste Argument für die Wirksamkeit der elektromagnetischen Induktion dürfte in der Beobachtung einer rhombusförmigen, mehrere Tornados erzeugenden Gewitterwolke zu sehen sein, die durch das Raumgitter einer Dipolwolke befriedigend erklärt werden kann.Summary Following a suggestion byB. Vonnegut to reconsider electrical torando theories, the author shows that the thunderstorm theory based on electromagnetic induction is also applicable to the tornado problem. Several characteristics of the tornado are easily explained, adding evidence of the validity of the thunderstorm theory. The strongest argument in favour of the effectiveness of electromagnetic induction may be considered the observation of a rhomb-shaped thunderstorm cloud which generated several tornadoes. Such a cloud can be explained by the spacial distribution of its dipole elements.

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Résumé L'auteur se réfère à la proposition deB. Vonnegut de reconsidérer la théorie électrique des tornades. Il démontre que la théorie des orages, basée sur l'induction électro-magnétique, est également applicable au problème des tornades. Non seulement on explique aisément par ce moyen plusieurs propriétés des tornades, mais encore la probabilité de la valeur d'application de la théorie des orages en est sensiblement renforcée. Le meilleur argument en faveur de l'activité de l'induction électro-magnétique est certes l'observation d'un nuage d'orage en losange qui engendra plusieurs tornades. Cette formation peut s'expliquer de façon satisfaisante par la grille spaciale d'un nuage en dipole.

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Dem Gedenken an Priv.-Doz. Dr.Fritz Rossmann gewidmet.     

Unique isoprene oxidation products demonstrate chlorine atom chemistry occurs in the Houston,Texas urban area

As part of the 2000 Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS), we studied the isoprene oxidation process under ambient conditions to discern the presence of chlorine atom (Cl) chemistry in the Houston, Texas urban area. By measuring chloromethylbutenone (CMBO) and an isomer of chloromethylbutenal (CMBA), we clearly observed sixteen episodes of active Cl chemistry during the 24-day experiment. Estimated median Cl concentration during each of these episodes was between the detection limit of ~10² atoms cm⁻³ and 50 _{- 30} ^{+ 70} ×10⁴ 50_{ - 30}^{ + 70} \times {10^4} atoms cm⁻³. Cl concentration during all the episodes averaged 7.6 _{- 2.0} ^{+ 4.7} ×10⁴ 7.6_{ - 2.0}^{ + 4.7} \times {10^4} atoms cm⁻³ and thus amounted to less than 3% of the OH concentration during the same periods. During the episodes, the fraction of oxidation chemistry initiated by Cl ranged from 3–43% and was strongly dependent on the quantity and type of hydrocarbons present in the atmosphere. Because of its intermittent presence and low concentration, Cl is not a broadly influential oxidant in the Houston, Texas urban area.     

The influence of air-sea interaction on the development and motion of a tropical cyclone: Numerical experiments with a triply nested model

Summary Tropical cyclone (TC)—ocena feedbacks are studied using a coupled tropical cyclone-ocean model consisting of an eightlayer triply-nested movable grid model of a TC and a three-layer primitive equation ocean model. The numerical results indicate that the TC-ocean interaction influences intensities, structures, and the trajectories of tropical cyclones. Two possible mechanisms, barotropic and baroclinic, influencing TC tracks under TC-ocean interaction are suggested. The barotropic mechanism is related to the changes of the vertically averaged TC structure, induced by the TC-ocean coupling. The baroclinic mechanism is related to the asymmetry of the condensation heating within the TC caused by the asymmetry of heat and moisture fluxes at the sea surface. This asymmetry arises due to the asymmetry in sea surface cooling relative to the storm center. The experiments indicate that the influence of TC-ocean interaction on the TC tracks is the greatest for the case of a zero background flow. In the case of a non-zero background flow the sensitivity of storm tracks to the coupling with the ocean decreases. It is found that the influence of the ocean coupling on the TC track is quite sensitive to the method of convective heating parameterization in the TC model. The TC-ocean interaction also results in a change of the amount and spatial distribution of precipitation.     

Airborne radar and in-situ observations of a shallow stratus with drizzle

Observations were made of a shallow stratus of upslope origin using an aircraft equipped with insitu probes and with a vertically-pointing radar of 3-mm wavelength. A cloud layer of 300 m thickness was found below the inversion; an additional layer of 100 m thickness was located within the inversion. The coldest temperature within the cloud was -2°C and the cloud contained no ice particles. Drizzle drops up to 180 Am were present in both cloud layers.The observations reveal precipitation and air motion structures of approximately 1 km horizontal dimensions. The origin of this organization appears to be weak convection. In addition, mixing played an important role in forming the cloud droplet and drizzle drop size distributions.     

Spectra of temperature derivatives in the atmospheric surface layer

Measured spectra ofθ _x,θ _y,θ _z, the derivatives of temperature in streamwise, lateral and vertical directions, respectively, indicate that the spectral densities ofθ _z andθ _y are nearly similar but significantly different from the spectral density ofθ _x. The high-frequency parts of the three spectra satisfy, in a qualitative sense, local isotropy requirements. In the high-frequency end of the inertial subrange, the relative behaviour of spectra ofθ _x,θ _y andθ _z is also consistent with local isotropy.     

Effect of cold-air advection on internal boundary-layer development over warm oceanic currents

Field experiments have shown that an internal boundary layer (IBL) can develop when the wind blows perpendicularly from the cold-water side of a warm oceanic current to the warmer side. The height of this IBL downwind from the thermal front as computed by an equation originally developed by Venkatram is in excellent agreement with observations.     

Assessment of hydrological alterations on wandering beetle assemblages (coleoptera: Carabidae and Tenebrionidae) in coastal wetlands of arid Mediterranean systems

Changes in wandering beetle assemblages (Carabidae and Tenebrionidae) of different habitats situated in coastal wetlands of a Mediterranean arid area (Mar Menor, SE Spain) were analysed in 1984, 1992 and 2003 by pitfall trapping. Over two decades, the increase in irrigated lands at watershed scale led to rising water tables in the Mar Menor wetlands, which affected their beetle communities. These hydrological changes caused an increase in the carabid population, particularly in the sites most affected by flooding, where halobionts and halophiles, which were practically absent in 1984 and 1992, had become dominant by 2003. In contrast, tenebrionid assemblages simplified with time and by 2003 were dominated by one or two generalist species.     

Characteristics of precipitation in northern Mauritania and its links with sea surface temperature

This paper deals with the periodic fluctuation of precipitation at three meteorological stations (Atar, Chenguitti, and Akjoujt) in the Adrar and Inchiri provinces in northern Mauritania and its links with sea surface temperature (SST). Trends for these three meteorological stations were evaluated using the Mann–Kendall (MK) nonparametric test, regression analysis, and autocorrelation for persistence analysis. The MK test showed a significant decreasing trend for Akjoujt and an insignificant trend for the other rainfall time series. However, the decreasing linear regression trends were highly significant for the different time series. On the other hand, persistence analysis indicated the presence of a linear Markov type. The cycles found by power spectrum analysis ranged from 0.5 years to about 11 years. The possibility of a connection between precipitation in this region and sunspot numbers was suggested. SST of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea have significant cross-correlations with precipitation in the study area. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation effect was found to be marginal.