Use of detrital foods and assimilation of nitrogen by coastal detritivores

Two killifish common in east coast U.S.A. salt marshes,Cyprinodon variegatus Lacepede andFundulus heteroclitus Walbaum, differ in their ability to assimilate nitrogen from and grow on detritus.C. variegatus grew on a diet of detritus ofSpartina alterniflora Loisel, whileF. heteroclitus did not. In addition, when the fish were fed¹⁵N-labeledS. alterniflora detritus,¹⁵N:¹⁴N ratios inC. variegatus were higher than were ratios inF. heteroclitus. Therefore, even though both species ingest large amounts of detritus,C. variegatus makes more effective use of this portion of its diet. These dietary differences are corroborated by anatomical differences that suggest thatC. variegatus should make better use of detrital or plant tissues thanF. heteroclitus. In the label experiment, the degree of label in both fish was directly proportional to the degree of label in the food treatments. In previously published experiments designed to compare plant substrate with attached microbes as nitrogen sources for detritivores, %¹⁵N incorporated by a polychaete was also directly proportional to %¹⁵N in the detrital food. Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish between plant substrate and microbes as nitrogen sources for this detritivore.     

Issues in characterizing heterogeneity and connectivity in non-multiGaussian media

The performances of kriging, stochastic simulations and sequential self-calibration inversion are assessed when characterizing a non-multiGaussian synthetic 2D braided channel aquifer. The comparison is based on a series of criteria such as the reproduction of the original reference transmissivity or head fields, but also in terms of accuracy of flow and transport (capture zone) forecasts when the flow conditions are modified. We observe that the errors remain large even for a dense data network. In addition some unexpected behaviours are observed when large transmissivity datasets are used. In particular, we observe an increase of the bias with the number of transmissivity data and an increasing uncertainty with the number of head data. This is interpreted as a consequence of the use of an inadequate multiGaussian stochastic model that is not able to reproduce the connectivity of the original field.     

Propagation of the Rossby waves on two dimensional rectangular grids

Summary A simple two-dimensional quasi-geostrophic linearized model of the atmosphere is used to investigate the behaviour of the quasi-geostrophic modes for five horizontal rectangular grids. Numerical expressions for frequencies of Rossby waves for all grids are evaluated. It was found that the B and C grids produce only negative frequencies as well as the continuous case. The D grid has negative and zero frequencies. Finally, it was found that the A and E grids produce positive frequencies and eastward moving Rossby waves.With 2 Figures     

Gridded Croatian climatology for 1961–1990

In climatology, one of the most important pieces of information about the climate of a place or a region is information about the Climatological Normals (CLINO)—the average values of meteorological elements for a 30-year period. This kind of information usually comes in tables and is available for different observation sites from national meteorological services or from World Meteorological Organisation publications. The key issue, then, becomes how to interpolate these values over the entire area of interest to get reliable and accurate estimates (maps) of climatic elements. Here, the regression kriging framework has been applied for mapping of 20 climatological parameters for the 1961–1990 period for the 56,594 km² of Croatian territory, with a resolution of 1 km. In total, 152 main and climatological and 567 precipitation-measuring stations have been used in the analysis. Extensive pre-processing of metadata on station co-ordinates has been done, as well as completion of missing monthly averages. The final results are 20 climatological maps available in high resolution together with error maps and accuracy assessment measures.     

The extreme value distribution of 5-min rainfall data at Belgrade

Summary For practical applications both the parent distribution of rainfall intensities and the distribution of their annual maxima are of interest. The relationship between these two distributions cannot be obtained from classical extreme value theory because of seasonal variation and serial correlation in the data. Mathematical results for the distribution of maxima in m-dependent sequences are presented to illustrate the effect of local dependence on the extreme value distribution. The average number of exceedances in a cluster is an important parameter in the relationship between the parent and the extreme value distribution. For 5-min rainfall data from Belgrade, quantiles of the annual maxima are overestimated by about 10 mm h^–1 if the effect of serial correlation is ignored. This bias can easily be removed by taking the local clustering of large rainfall intensities in a rainy spell into account.With 4 Figures     

An upgraded version of the Eta model

Upgrades implemented over a number of years in an open source version of the Eta model, posted at the CPTEC web site http://etamodel.cptec.inpe.br/, are summarized and examples of benefits are shown. The version originates from the NCEP’s Workstation Eta code posted on the NCEP web site http://www.emc.ncep.noaa.gov/mmb/wrkstn_eta, which differs from the NCEP’s latest operational Eta by having the WRF-NMM nonhydrostatic option included. Most of the upgrades made resulted from attention paid to less than satisfactory performance noted in several Eta results, and identification of the reasons for the problem. Others came from simple expectation that including a feature that is physically justified but is missing in the code should help. The most notable of the upgrades are the introduction of the so-called sloping steps, or discretized shaved cells topography; piecewise-linear finite-volume vertical advection of dynamic variables; vapor and hydrometeor loading in the hydrostatic equation, and changes aimed at refining the convection schemes available in the Eta. Several other modifications have to do with the calculation of exchange coefficients, conservation in the vertical diffusion, and diagnostic calculation of 10-m winds. Several examples showing improved performance resulting from the dynamics changes are given. One includes a case of unrealistically low temperatures in several mountain basins generated by a centered vertical advection difference scheme’s unphysical advection from below ground, removed by its replacement with a finite-volume scheme. Another is that of increased katabatic winds in the Terra Nova Bay Antarctica region. Successful forecast of the severe downslope zonda wind case in the lee of the highest peaks of the Andes is also shown, and some of the recent successful verification results of the use of the upgraded model are pointed out. The code is used at numerous places, and along with setup information it is available for outside users at the CPTEC Eta web site given above.     

Numerical case study of the Altai-Sayan lee cyclogenesis over East Asia

Summary Climatological studies show that the Altai-Sayan lee side is one of the major cyclogenesis areas in the Northern Hemisphere. In case of the Altai-Sayan lee cyclogenesis, the surface cyclone is generated when a primary cyclone is swept north of the mountains. In the mid-troposphere, a trough develops and finally turns into a cutoff low within 48 h. The main synoptic features are similar to those of Alpine cyclogenesis. Numerical simulations are performed to assess the effect of different representation of orography on the Altai-Sayan cyclogenesis. Two experiments are performed, a step-mountain (ETA) and an envelope orography (SGM) experiment. The ETA experiment produced the cyclogenesis in a way similar to that in the analysis both at the surface and at mid-troposphere. The SGM experiment failed in the simulation of the upper cutoff low. The difference in predicted pressure between the ETA and the SGM experiment shows a dipolar structure suggesting that the blocking effect of the mountains is essential in the development of the Altai-Sayan lee cyclogenesis.With 7 Figures     

Examination of physical processes of convective cell evolved from a MCS — Using a different model initialization

The present study is focused on examination of the physical processes of convective cell evolved from a MCS occurred on 4 November 2011 over Genoa, Italy. The Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts (QPF) have been performed using WRF v3.6 model under different configurations and cloud permitting simulations. The results indicate underestimation of the amount of precipitation and spatial displacement of the area with a peak 24-h accumulated rainfall in (mm). Our main objective in the research is to test the cloud model ability and performance in simulation of this particular case. For that purpose a set of sensitivity experiments under different model initializations and initial data have been conducted. The results also indicate that the merging process apparently alters the physical processes through low- and middle-level forcing, increasing cloud depth, and enhancing convection. The examination of the microphysical process simulated by the model indicates that dominant production terms are the accretion of rain by graupel and snow, probabilistic freezing of rain to form graupel and dry and wet growth of graupel. Experiment under WRF v3.6 model initialization has shown some advantage in simulation of the physical processes responsible for production and initiation of heavy rainfall compared to other model runs. Most of the precipitation came from ice-phase particles-via accretion processes and the graupel melting at temperature T₀ ≥ 0°C. The rainfall intensity and accumulated rainfall calculated by the model closely reflect the amount of rainfall recorded. Thus, the main benefit is to better resolve convective showers or storms which, in extreme cases, can give rise to major flooding events. In such a way, this model may become major contributor to improvements in weather analysis and small-scale atmospheric predictions and early warnings of such subscale processes.     

Spectral analysis of the “Koshava” wind

Summary “Koshava” is a gusty wind of changeable intensity, blowing from a south-easterly direction, over Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. It is caused by the interaction between the synoptic circulation and the orography of the Carpathian and the Balkan mountains. This paper analyzes wind data measured at the Belgrade-Observatory during the longest period of consecutive days of “Koshava” which occurred from 14 January to 13 February 1972. Mean hourly wind speed data has been examined using spectral analysis. The power spectra are calculated using autocorrelation spectral analysis, the multi-taper method and wavelet transform. The maximum of which is about 122 h (5 days) corresponds to the time span of synoptic processes.