Regional and synoptic-scale features associated with inactive periods of the summer monsoon over south china(1)

This paper presents an observational study of the physical processes responsible for the inactive period (break) of the summer monsoon over South China (SC). The break of the monsoon is defined by using the rainfall data over Hong Kong Meteorological parameters provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) for the period 1985-1990 are examined. Daily values of each parameter for the six years are then composited each day for the period of 5 days before to 1 day after the break. It is found that several days before the break, changes opposite to those occurred during the onset and active periods begin to take place. This suggests that a feedback mechanism is present which tends to restore the atmosphere to a more stable state. This mechanism may be initiated by the formation of convective clouds during the onset and active periods. These clouds then reduce the solar radiation to the ground, leading to a gradual drop in the temperature. This drop, together with the cooling of the atmosphere due to the large amounts of rainfall, causes the pressure over the SC region to become higher, which in turn induces a westward extension of the subtropical ridge. The decrease in temperature over SC may also shift the location of the heat source to the west, which leads to a concomitant westward shift of the convergence of the southerlies and results in less moisture-laden air reaching the SC region. The atmosphere then becomes unfavourable for heavy convection and therefore a break starts.     

Influence of rock mass strength on the erosion rate of alpine cliffs

Collapse of cliff faces by rockfall is a primary mode of bedrock erosion in alpine environments and exerts a first‐order control on the morphologic development of these landscapes. In this work we investigate the influence of rock mass strength on the retreat rate of alpine cliffs. To quantify rockwall competence we employed the Slope Mass Rating (SMR) geomechanical strength index, a metric that combines numerous factors contributing to the strength of a rock mass. The magnitude of cliff retreat was calculated by estimating the volume of talus at the toe of each rockwall and projecting that material back on to the cliff face, while accounting for the loss of production area as talus buries the base of the wall. Selecting sites within basins swept clean by advancing Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) glaciers allowed us to estimate the time period over which talus accumulation occurred (i.e. the production time). Dividing the magnitude of normal cliff retreat by the production time, we calculated recession rates for each site. Our study area included a portion of the Sierra Nevada between Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe. Rockwall recession rates determined for 40 alpine cliffs in this region range from 0·02 to 1·22 mm/year, with an average value of 0·28 mm/year. We found good correlation between rockwall recession rate and SMR which is best characterized by an exponential decrease in erosion rate with increasing rock mass strength. Analysis of the individual components of the SMR reveals that joint orientation (with respect to the cliff face) is the most important parameter affecting the rockwall erosion rate. The complete SMR score, however, best synthesizes the lithologic variables that contribute to the strength and erodibility of these rock slopes. Our data reveal no strong independent correlations between rockwall retreat rate and topographic attributes such as elevation, aspect, or slope angle. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal periodicities in the Venus atmosphere

A search was made for periodic fluctuations in the thermal brightness temperatures recorded by the Pioneer Venus orbiter's infrared radiometer. Data were averaged in 10 × 10° latitude-longitude bins for each of the 72 days the instrument was in operation. This time series of thermal brightness temperatures was then analyzed to determine the amplitude of fluctuations at periods from 2 to 64 days at four levels in the atmosphere (at the cloud tops and at approximately 70, 80, and 90 km). The amplitude of such fluctuations is small at equatorial latitudes and increases to a maximum at 60–70° latitude at most altitudes. The period of the highest amplitude fluctuation is 5.3±0.4 days (at all altitudes) except at 70–80°, where a 2.9-day period which appears to correspond to the polar dipole dominates the cloud-top channel. The amplitude of the periodic fluctuations is a maximum at the cloud tops, decreasing to a minimum at the 80-km channel, and increasing again at the 90-km channel.     

建筑物对城市通风自净能力影响的数值试验

应用城市气候数值模式,分别计算了三栋6层住宅楼和一栋20层住宅楼两类建筑形式影响下的风场,以及在此风场中街道汽车尾气的浓度分布。计算结果表明在总建筑面积基本相同的情况下,高层建筑周围环境的通风自净能力要优于多层建筑。     

An investigation into the correlations among GNSS observations and their impact on height and zenith wet delay estimation for medium and long baselines

Most stochastic modelling techniques neglect the correlations among the raw un-differenced observations when forming the variance–covariance matrix of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations. Some methods were developed to model these correlations. One such method is the Minimum Norm Quadratic Unbiased Estimator (MINQUE). Studies have shown that MINQUE improves ambiguity resolution, and ultimately, the positioning solution in short baselines. However, its effect in cases of processing with longer baselines and on the estimation of zenith wet delay (ZWD) is somewhat unknown. In this paper, a comparison between the impact of neglecting the correlations among the observations using an elevation-angle-dependent model (EADM) and modelling the correlations using MINQUE on height determination and ZWD for medium and long baselines is carried out. The initial testing was carried out across two Australian GNSS stations with a medium-length baseline throughout a three-week campaign. The results showed that using MINQUE did not resolve the coordinate, height and wet delay components as accurately as the EADM. The results were further verified with two long-baseline campaigns whereby EADM was also able to provide better wet delay estimates. The coordinate results were, however, mixed. Overall, the study concluded that the inclusion of the correlations among the observations, in general, do not improve the resolution of the coordinate and wet delay estimates.     

Water vapor sources associated with the early summer precipitation over China

This study investigates the water vapor sources for the early summer precipitation over China in association with the Asian summer monsoon, based on the sensitivity experiments performed by a regional climate model for the year 1998. It is found that the northern South China Sea (NSCS) is an important region for the early summer precipitation over China, particularly the south China region. The evaporative water vapor flux or sea surface temperature over the NSCS could significantly affect the southwesterly water vapor transport towards the NSCS. This in turn may significantly change the water vapor transport from the NSCS to China and so changes the precipitation there. The results of the experiments also show that the precipitation over China does not particularly depend on the water vapor transports from some distant sources by the large-scale flows. Most of the required water vapor could be obtained from the ocean within the monsoon region. The results suggest that the water vapor transport over China is basically a combination of the southeasterly water vapor transport associated with the north Western Pacific subtropical high and the southwesterly water vapor transport associated with the Indian summer monsoon. Without the latter, the early summer precipitation over China could be reduced by up to half of the original amount.     

孟加拉湾季风爆发对南海季风爆发的影响Ⅱ:数值试验

通过数值试验研究了孟加拉湾季风爆发期间该地区旺盛的对流凝结加热对南海季风爆发和副热带高压“撤出”南海的影响,结果证明在孟加拉湾地区引入模拟的对流凝结潜热使该地区出现了强烈的上升运动,引起了孟加拉湾季风的爆发。同时由于对凝结加热的非对称Rossby响应,在南海北部导致西风出现和增强及垂直上升运动。因低层水汽平流的共同作用下,在南海北部引起了对流的发展。而正是南海北部的凝结加热促使南海地区温度经向梯度逆转,使副热带高压脊面的倾斜从冬季型转为夏季型,即低层的副热带高压减弱南移。最后当对流在南海地区发展起来时,副热带高压移出南海地区。