Cumulus cloud energetics as revealed in a numerical model of cloud dynamics: Part II. Computational results

A numerical model of atmospheric convection is used to investigate the effects of the birth, growth, and death of a cumulus cloud on the temporal and spatial characteristics of atmospheric energy content. Energy in the forms of latent and thermal enthalpy of water vapor, thermal enthalpy of dry air and of condensed liquid, and potential and kinetic energy is computed. Changes in the energy content and the vertical flux of energy are mapped in the vertical plane passing through the cloud axis and are summed horizontally and vertically over the domain to show the rearrangements.It is found that the relative importance of different forms of energy is a function of position with respect to the cloud. Energy related to the presence of water vapor accounts for most of the changes in the vicinity of the cloud. Convection tends to decrease the potential instability of the atmosphere, the amount of decrease being determined by the total energy released during condensation regardless of whether it falls as rain. The time for the departure from neutral stability to be reduced by 10 percent of its initial value is estimated to be about one hour.     

The sedimentary record of drifting ice (early Wisconsin Sunnybrook deposit) in an ancestral ice-dammed Lake Ontario, Canada

Outcrops of pebbly mud (diamict) at Scarborough in Southern Ontario, Canada (the so-called Sunnybrook ‘Till’) are associated with the earliest incursion of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) into mid-continent North America some 45,000 years ago. The Sunnybrook is a blanket-like deposit containing deepwater ostracodes and occurs conformably within a thick (100 m) succession of deltaic and glaciolacustrine facies that record water depth changes in a large proglacial lake. Contextual evidence (associated facies, sedimentary structures, deposit geometry and landforms) indicates a low energy depositional setting in an ice-dammed ancestral Lake Ontario in which scouring by floating ice masses was an important process. U-shaped, iceberg-cut scours (with lateral berms) up to 7 m deep, occur on the upper surface of the Sunnybrook and are underlain by ‘sub-scour’ structures that extend several meters below the scour base. Ice-rafted concentrations of clasts (‘clast layers’), grooved surfaces formed by floating ice glissading over a muddy lake floor (‘soft sediment striations’) and melanges of sand and mud mixed by grounding ice keels (‘ice keel turbates’) are present and are all well known from modern cold environments. The wider significance of this depositional model is that the LIS margin lay east of Scarborough and did not overrun Southern Ontario. This finding is in agreement with recent data from the Erie Basin of Canada, Ohio, and Indiana where deposits formerly correlated with the Sunnybrook (and thus implying an extensive early Wisconsin ice sheet) are now regarded as Illinoian. A speculative hypothesis is proposed that relates deposition of the Sunnybrook and two younger deposits of similar sedimentology, to surge-like instabilities of the southern LIS margin.     

Geomorphic controls on contaminant distribution along an ephemeral stream

Sediment‐borne contamination in a watershed can be highly variable as a result of ?uvial processes operating over a range of time scales. This study presents a detailed analysis of the distribution of one contaminant along an ephemeral stream after 55 years of sediment transport, deposition, and exchange by ?ash ?oods. Wastewater containing plutonium was discharged into the Pueblo Canyon watershed from 1945 until 1964, and plutonium concentrations in ?uvial deposits vary over ?ve orders of magnitude. These variations can be attributed to three primary factors: time since contaminant releases, particle‐size sorting, and mixing of sediment from different sources. The highest concentrations occur in ?ne‐grained sediment deposits near the source that date to the period of ef?uent releases, and concentrations are lower in younger deposits, in coarser‐grained deposits, and in deposits farther downstream. The spatial distribution of plutonium is strongly affected by longitudinal variations in the size of sediment deposits of different age. A major aggradation–degradation cycle in the lower canyon overlapped with the period of active ef?uent releases, and a signi?cant portion of the total plutonium inventory is contained within large coarse‐grained deposits below ?ll terraces that post‐date 1945. The spatial pattern of contamination is thus determined by the speci?c geomorphic history of the watershed, in addition to processes of mixing and sorting during transport that occur in all ?uvial systems. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Grayling Fingers region of Michigan: soils, sedimentology, stratigraphy and geomorphic development

This paper provides data on the landforms, soils, and sediments within a unique northern Michigan landscape known as the Grayling Fingers, and evaluates these data to develop various scenarios for the geomorphic development of this region. Composed of several large, flat-topped ridges that trend N–S, the physiography of the “Fingers” resembles a hand. Previously interpreted as “remnant moraines”, the Grayling Fingers are actually a Pleistocene constructional landscape that was later deeply incised by glacial meltwater. The sediments that comprise the Fingers form a generally planar assemblage, with thick (>100 m), sandy glacial outwash forming the lowest unit. Above the outwash are several meters of till that is remarkably similar in texture to the outwash below; thus, the region is best described as an incised ground moraine. Finally, a thin silty “cap” is preserved on the flattest, most stable uplands. This sediment package and the physiography of the Fingers are suggestive of geomorphic processes not previously envisioned for Michigan.Although precise dates are lacking, we nonetheless present possible sequences of geomorphic/sedimentologic processes for the Fingers. This area was probably a topographic high prior to the advance of marine isotope stage 2 (Woodfordian) ice. Much of the glacial outwash in the Fingers is probably associated with a stagnant, early Woodfordian ice margin, implying that this interlobate area remained ice-free and ice-marginal for long periods during stage 2. Woodfordian ice eventually covered the region and deposited 5–10 m of sandy basal till over the proglacial outwash plain. Small stream valleys on the outwash surface were palimpsested onto the till surface as the ice retreated, as kettle chains and as dry, upland valleys. The larger of these valleys were so deeply incised by meltwater that they formed the large, through-flowing Finger valleys. The silt cap that occupies stable uplands was probably imported into the region, while still glaciated. The Fingers region, a col on the ice surface, could have acted as a collection basin for silts brought in as loess or in superglacial meltwater. This sediment was let down as the ice melted and preserved only on certain geomorphically stable and fluvially isolated locations. This study demonstrates that the impact of Woodfordian ice in this region was mostly erosional, and suggests that Mississippi Valley loess may have indirectly impacted this region.     

Effects of model resolution and subgrid-scale physics on the simulation of precipitation in the continental United States

We analyze simulations of the global climate performed at a range of spatial resolutions to assess the effects of horizontal spatial resolution on the ability to simulate precipitation in the continental United States. The model investigated is the CCM3 general circulation model. We also preliminarily assess the effect of replacing cloud and convective parameterizations in a coarse-resolution (T42) model with an embedded cloud-system resolving model (CSRM). We examine both spatial patterns of seasonal-mean precipitation and daily time scale temporal variability of precipitation in the continental United States. For DJF and SON, high-resolution simulations produce spatial patterns of seasonal-mean precipitation that agree more closely with observed precipitation patterns than do results from the same model (CCM3) at coarse resolution. However, in JJA and MAM, there is little improvement in spatial patterns of seasonal-mean precipitation with increasing resolution, particularly in the southeast USA. This is because of the dominance of convective (i.e., parameterized) precipitation in these two seasons. We further find that higher-resolution simulations have more realistic daily precipitation statistics. In particular, the well-known tendency at coarse resolution to have too many days with weak precipitation and not enough intense precipitation is partially eliminated in higher-resolution simulations. However, even at the highest resolution examined here (T239), the simulated intensity of the mean and of high-percentile daily precipitation amounts is too low. This is especially true in the southeast USA, where the most extreme events occur. A new GCM, in which a cloud-resolving model (CSRM) is embedded in each grid cell and replaces convective and stratiform cloud parameterizations, solves this problem, and actually produces too much precipitation in the form of extreme events. However, in contrast to high-resolution versions of CCM3, this model produces little improvement in spatial patterns of seasonal-mean precipitation compared to models at the same resolution using traditional parameterizations.     

East Asian winter monsoon: results from eight AMIP models

 This study evaluates simulations of the East Asian winter monsoon in eight GCMs that participated in the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP). In addition to validating the mean state of the winter monsoon, the cold surge and its transient properties, which includes the frequency, intensity, preferred propagation tracks, and the evolution patterns of the surges, are examined. GCM simulated temporal distribution of the Siberian high and cold surges is also discussed. Finally, the forcing of the cold surges on the tropical surface wind and convection, along with their interannual variation is analyzed. The mean state of the winter monsoon is generally portrayed well in most of the models. These include the climatological position of the Siberian high, the 200 hPa divergent center, and the large-scale wind patterns at the surface and the 200 hPa. Models display a wide range of skill in simulating the cold surge and its transient properties. In some of the models, the simulated cold surge trajectory, intensity, frequency, propagation patterns and source regions are in general agreement with those from the observed. While in others, the models cannot adequately capture these observed characteristics. The temporal distribution of the Siberian high and cold surges were realistically reproduced in most GCMs. Most models were able to simulate the effect of the cold surges on the tropical surface wind, although a few models unrealistically generated subtropical southerly wind in the mid-winter. The relationship between cold surges and the tropical convection was not satisfactorily simulated in most models. The common discrepancies in the winter monsoon simulation can be attributed to many factors. In some models, the reason is directly related to the improper location of the large-scale convective center near the western Pacific. The satisfactory simulations of the monsoon circulation and the cold surges are partly due to the topographical characteristics of the East Asian continent, i.e., the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the oceans to the east. The correct simulation of the interannual variation of the surface wind near the South China Sea (SCS) and the maritime continent is a demanding task for most of the models. This will require adequate simulations of many aspects, including tropical convection, the Siberian cold dome, the extratropical-tropical linkage, and the air-sea interaction. The discrepancies noted here furnish a guide for the continuing improvement of the winter monsoon simulations. Improved simulations will lead to an adequate delineation of the surface wind and convection near the maritime continent, which is essential for portraying the winter monsoon forcing in a coupled model. Received: 10 March 1997/Accepted: 4 June 1997     

A thin film approach for producing mineral diffusion couples

Few diffusion coefficient values have been measured for silicate minerals at pertinent geologic conditions because of experimental restrictions. Until recently, analysis of diffusion couples was conducted principally with electron microprobes which have rather poor spatial resolution (micrometer scale). Ion microprobe analyses, however, eliminate many of the previous experimental restrictions; in depth profile mode they have excellent spatial resolution (tens of angstroms) and diffusion couples can be analyzed normal to the interface. Diffusion couples analyzed by ion microprobe must be well-defined and uniform; previous methods using solution precipitates to form the diffusion couples were heterogeneous and had limited success. A new approach, the thermal evaporation of²⁵MgO under high vacuum onto a crystalline substrate (oxide, silicate), produces a 1000 Å thick²⁵MgO _x (x<1) thin film. This method yields an excellent diffusion couple for low-temperature diffusion experiments. Diffusion anneal experiments using this approach for garnet provide a Mg self-diffusion coefficient ofD=0.60±0.09×10^–21 m²/s at 1000°C (logFO₂=–11.3,P=1 atm,X _Almandine=0.24).     

Morphology of Red Creek,Wyoming, an arid-region anastomosing channel system

Red Creek, in the Red Desert area of the Great Divide Basin, Wyoming, is an arid-region anastomosing stream. The narrow, deep, and sinuous main channel is flanked by anastomosing flood channels, or anabranches. Most anabranches are initiated at meander bends. The primary mechanism of anabranch initiation is avulsion during overbank floods. Anabranch enlargement occurs by headward erosion. Anabranches act as distributary channels during floods, when water and sediment from overbank flows are transported to and deposited on the floodplain via the anabranches. During periods of low discharges, the anabranches act as tributaries to the main channel, transporting runoff from the floodplain and surrounding hillslopes to the main channel of Red Creek. Aggradation is occurring in the main channel and on the floodplain throughout the study reach. Infilling of the main channel occurs primarily by lateral accretion, while the floodplain accretes vertically through deposition of overbank sediment from the main channel and anabranches. Infilling of the main channel may cause avulsion of the main channel into an anabranch. The abandoned main channel segment may then fill completely or act as an anabranch. Because lateral migration of channels is inhibited by the high cohesion of the silt and clay channel sediment, periodic avulsion is the primary form of lateral mobility in the system.     

Response of douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) to uraniferous groundwater in a small glaciated drainage, Northeastern Washington State

Douglas fir trees and associated soils were sampled from the slopes of a small ( 4 km²) drainage basin in northeastern Washington to investigate the biogeochemical response to locally uraniferous groundwater. Uranium is preferentially incorporated in needles and twigs compared to larger branches or the trunk. The U concentration in needle ash ranges from 0.2 to 5.8 μg g⁻¹ (ppm) and shows no correlation with the U concentration in associated soils. Rather, the distribution of anomalously uraniferous douglas fir (>1.0μg g⁻¹ U in needle ash) appears to be controlled by observed or readily inferred pathways of near-surface groundwater movement in the drainage. These pathways include: (1) general downslope movement of subsurface runoff; (2) increased flux of near-surface groundwater near the toe of an alluvial fan; and (3) emergence of uraniferous (100–150 ng ml⁻¹ [ppb] groundwater in the vicinity of a slope spring. The data also indicate the presence of near-surface uraniferous groundwater along a structurally controlled zone that parallels the north-south strike of the valley, and that includes the slope spring. The results suggest that biogeochemical sampling may be used to supplement more direct, but more limited, measurements of groundwater quality and flow regime in areas of near-surface contaminated groundwater.