Aerosols in Alaskan air masses

Results from measurements of the composition and size distribution of aerosol particles advected into central Alaska are reported. It is argued that the aerosol predominant in number, but not necessarily in mass, consists of submicron droplets of sulfuric acid. The major aerosol by mass in arctic air is a removal-resistant accumulation mode (radius 0.3 m) probably to large extent originating from pollution sources 10³ km upstream (mostly in central Eurasia) from the site in Alaska. The accumulation mode aerosol disappears when arctic air masses are replaced with relatively warmer air masses flowing in from the northern Pacific. The latter air mass systems have been strongly scavenged by clouds and precipitation associated with the Aleutian low pressure system and with forced orographic uplifting over the Alaska Mountain Range; nevertheless the Pacific air masses contain substantial (i.e., 500–1000 cm^-3) quantities of small (several hundredths of a micron in radius) particles. Arctic-derived air masses are enriched in large (i.e, 0.3 ) particles compared to Pacific Marine air masses, whereas the opposite trend is found for smaller, Aitken, particles. The smaller particles are found in greatest abundance in warmer air mass systems, presumably because of the relatively brief time since such air masses were last exposed to sunlight with attendant production of small particles from the gas phase.     

A Study Of The Atmospheric Boundary Layer Using Radon And Air Pollutants As Tracers

Concentrations of radon ²²²Rn andair pollutants, meteorological parametersnear the surface and vertical profiles of meteorological elements were measured atUchio (Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture, Japan) 12 km north from the coast ofthe Inland Sea of Japan. In the nighttime, the ²²²Rn concentration increased in the case of weak winds, but did not increase as much in the case of moderate or strong winds, as had been expected. In the daytime, the ²²²Rn concentrationheld at a slightly higher than average level for the period from sunrise to about 1100 JST. It is considered that this phenomenon is due to a period of morning calm, that is, a transition period from land breeze to sea breeze.NO, which is sensitive to traffic volume,brought information concerning advection.Oxidant concentrations,which reflect the availability of sunlight,acted in the reverse manner to ²²²Rnconcentrations. Thus, a set of ²²²Rn and air pollutants could provide useful information regarding the local conditions of the atmospheric boundary layer.     

Conditional analysis of temperature and humidity microfronts and ejection/sweep motions within and above a deciduous forest

A conditional sampling technique using a multilevel scheme was applied to the detection of temperature and humidity microfronts and organized ejection/sweep motions under different atmospheric stabilities. Data were obtained with seven triaxial sonic anemometer/thermometers and three Lyman-alpha hygrometers within and above a deciduous forest. Both temperature and humidity microfronts were identified in unstable cases, but only humidity microfronts could be detected under neutral conditions. Inverted temperature ramps occurred under slightly stable conditions. Occasionally, wave-like patterns appeared within the canopy, seemingly coupled with inverse ramps occurring above the forest. The frequency of occurrence of scalar microfronts appears to have no clear dependence on atmospheric stability, and averages 74–84 s per cycle with a mode of about 50 s per cycle. However, the strength of ejections and sweeps, shown by the vertical velocity averaged within structures, was reduced by increasing atmospheric stability. Structures identified under different stabilities show many similarities in their patterns of scalar ramps, and associated velocity and surface pressure. Profiles of short-term averaged longitudinal velocity at different times during the microfront passage show that the air within the canopy was retarded and an intensified shear above the canopy occurred prior to the passage of the microfront. Results from the present conditional analysis strongly suggest an important role of shear instability in the formation of canopy coherent structure.     

Observation of a Self-Limiting,Shear-Induced Turbulent Inversion Layer Above Marine Stratocumulus

High-resolution measurements of thermodynamic, microphysical, and turbulence properties inside a turbulent inversion layer above a marine stratocumulus cloud layer are presented. The measurements are performed with the helicopter-towed measurement payload Airborne Cloud Turbulence Observation System (ACTOS), which allows for sampling with low true air speeds and steep profiles through cloud top. Vertical profiles show that the turbulent inversion layer consists of clear air above the cloud top, with nearly linear profiles of potential temperature, horizontal wind speed, absolute humidity, and concentration of interstitial aerosol. The layer is turbulent, with an energy dissipation rate nearly the same as that in the lower cloud, suggesting that the two are actively coupled, but with significant anisotropic turbulence at the large scales within the turbulent inversion layer. The turbulent inversion layer is traversed six times and the layer thickness is observed to vary between 37 and 85 m, whereas the potential temperature and horizontal wind speed differences at the top and bottom of the layer remain essentially constant. The Richardson number therefore increases with increasing layer thickness, from approximately 0.2 to 0.7, suggesting that the layer develops to the point where shear production of turbulence is sufficiently weak to be balanced by buoyancy suppression. This picture is consistent with prior numerical simulations of the evolution of turbulence in localized stratified shear layers. It is observed that the large eddy scale is suppressed by buoyancy and is on the order of the Ozmidov scale, much less than the thickness of the turbulent inversion layer, such that direct mixing between the cloud top and the free troposphere is inhibited, and the entrainment velocity tends to decrease with increasing turbulent inversion-layer thickness. Qualitatively, the turbulent inversion layer likely grows through nibbling rather than engulfment.     

Changing growing season observed in Canada

It is theoretically interesting for climate change detection and practically important for agricultural producers to know whether climate change has influenced agroclimatic conditions and, if so, what the potential impacts are. We present analyses on statistical differences in means and variances of agroclimatic indices between three 30-year periods in the 20th century (i.e., 1911–1940, 1941–1970 and 1971–2000). We found many occurrences of statistically significant changes in means between pairs of the three 30-year periods. The findings consistently support agroclimatic trends identified from trend analysis as an earlier growing season start and an earlier end to spring frost (SF), together with an extended growing season, more frost-free days (FFD) and more available heat units were often found in the later 30-year periods as compared to the earlier ones. In addition, this study provides more detailed quantitative information than the trend signals for the practical interests of agricultural applications. Significant changes were detected for SF and FFD at a much larger percentage of stations between the latter two 30-year periods (1941–1970 vs. 1971–2000) as compared to the earlier two periods (1911–1940 vs. 1941–1970). In contrast, changes in variances of the selected agroclimatic indices were less evident than changes in their means, based on the percentage of stations showing significant differences. We also present new climate averages of the selected agroclimatic indices that can be useful for agricultural planning and management.     

Experimental peridotite–melt reaction at one atmosphere: a textural and chemical study

Sieve-textured clinopyroxene and spinel are common in mantle xenoliths and have been interpreted to be the result of partial melting, mantle metasomatism and host magma–xenolith reaction during transport. In this paper, we test the latter hypothesis with a series of reduced and oxidized experiments at 1,200 and 1,156°C at one atmosphere using a synthetic leucitite melt and discs of natural peridotite. Our results show that sieve texture development on clinopyroxene and spinel in mantle xenoliths is the result of a multistage reaction process. In the first step, orthopyroxene undergoes incongruent dissolution to produce a silica and alkali-rich melt together with olivine. As this melt migrates along grain boundaries it causes incongruent dissolution of clinopyroxene and spinel. The incongruent dissolution mechanism involves complete dissolution of the clinopyroxene or spinel followed by nucleation and growth of a secondary clinopyroxene or spinel once the reacting melt is saturated. The reaction of orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and spinel with infiltrated host magma results in a range of melt compositions that are very similar to those interpreted to be due to very small degrees of partial melting. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Biological soil crust development and its topsoil properties in the process of dune stabilization, Inner Mongolia, China

This study was undertaken at Horqin Sand Land, Inner Mongolia, Northern China. Field samples of biological soil crusts (BSCs) and underlying topsoil (0–5 cm under BSC) were taken in areas of different dune stabilization stages, and their physicochemical properties were analyzed, including particle size distribution, bulk density, organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and CaCO₃ content. The results revealed that semi-mobile dunes, semi-fixed dunes and fixed dunes had developed a physical crust, algae crust and moss crust, respectively. The thickness, hardness, water content, fine fraction and nutrient contents of BSCs were gradually increasing along the dune stabilization gradient. Meanwhile, BSC establishment and development enhanced the bulk density, silt and clay content, and nutrients of the topsoil under it, in an increasing tend from semi-mobile dune to fixed dune. Organic matter concentrations and other nutrients in the 0–5 cm topsoil layer under BSCs were significantly higher compared to unconsolidated soil (control). Moreover, there were strong significant positive correlations between topsoil and BSCs’ organic matter, total nitrogen, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, CaCO₃, and <0.05 mm particle content, suggesting that BSCs have an influence on some of the properties of the underlying topsoil.     

Large-eddy Simulation of Turbulent Flow across a Forest Edge. Part II: Momentum and Turbulent Kinetic Energy Budgets

Momentum and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budgets across a forest edge have been investigated using large-eddy simulation (LES). Edge effects are observed in the rapid variation of a number of budget terms across this vegetation transition. The enhanced drag force at the forest edge is largely balanced by the pressure gradient force and by streamwise advection of upstream momentum, while vertical turbulent diffusion is relatively insignificant. For variance and TKE budgets, the most important processes at the forest edge are production due to the convergence (or divergence) of the mean flow, streamwise advection, pressure diffusion and enhanced dissipation by canopy drag. Turbulent diffusion, pressure redistribution and vertical shear production, which are characteristic processes in homogeneous canopy flow, are less important at the forest transition. We demonstrate that, in the equilibrated canopy flow, a substantial amount of TKE produced in the streamwise direction by the vertical shear of the mean flow is redistributed in the vertical direction by pressure fluctuations. This redistribution process occurs in the upper canopy layers. Part of the TKE in the vertical velocity component is transferred by turbulent and pressure diffusion to the lower canopy levels, where pressure redistribution takes place again and feeds TKE back to the streamwise direction. In this TKE cycle, the primary source terms are vertical shear production for streamwise velocity variance and pressure redistribution for vertical velocity variance. The evolution of these primary source terms downwind of the forest edge largely controls the adjustment rates of velocity variances.     

The Effect of Wedge Structure on Displacement Subduction of Piedmont Thrust Structure: A Case Study of the Southern Margin of Junggar Basin

介于复活的天山造山带与稳定的准噶尔克拉通之间的准噶尔盆地南缘前陆冲断带,是印度板块与欧亚大陆碰撞的远距离效应产物,也是新近纪以来青藏高原隆升并向北推挤的直接结果.前陆冲断带吸收了来自造山带的水平缩短构造位移量后,克拉通一侧构造趋于稳定.准噶尔盆地南缘与世界上多数前陆冲断带构造地质特征相似,通过区域地震剖面的精细构造几何学和运动学解析,发现其中的楔形构造非常典型,是前陆冲断带内部冲断构造位移量消减的主要方式之一,控制着前陆冲断带分布范围和变形方式.准噶尔盆地南缘构造变形主要由南侧的天山造山带向北逆掩冲断,但是大部分冲断构造位移量是通过楔形构造反向传递后消减.紧邻天山北麓的齐古-喀拉扎-昌吉等构造带,山前深部的楔形体沿侏罗系西山窑组煤层向北扩展过程中,部分位移量沿构造楔顶部的反冲断层向南消减,并切割上覆地层形成第一排背斜带,另一部分位移量则继续向北传递,在断坡位置引发褶皱变形,形成霍-玛-吐第二排构造带和安集海-呼图壁第三排背斜带.准噶尔盆地南缘第二、三排构造带中-新生界内部发育多个小型的构造楔型体,这些互相叠置的楔型构造横向延伸不大,加大了构造变形的复杂性和构造圈闭识别的难度.     

楔形构造在山前冲断构造位移量消减中的作用

介于复活的天山造山带与稳定的准噶尔克拉通之间的准噶尔盆地南缘前陆冲断带,是印度板块与欧亚大陆碰撞的远距离效应产物,也是新近纪以来青藏高原隆升并向北推挤的直接结果。前陆冲断带吸收了来自造山带的水平缩短构造位移量后,克拉通一侧构造趋于稳定。准噶尔盆地南缘与世界上多数前陆冲断带构造地质特征相似,通过区域地震剖面的精细构造几何学和运动学解析,发现其中的楔形构造非常典型,是前陆冲断带内部冲断构造位移量消减的主要方式之一,控制着前陆冲断带分布范围和变形方式。准噶尔盆地南缘构造变形主要由南侧的天山造山带向北逆掩冲断,但是大部分冲断构造位移量是通过楔形构造反向传递后消减。紧邻天山北麓的齐古-喀拉扎-昌吉等构造带,山前深部的楔形体沿侏罗系西山窑组煤层向北扩展过程中,部分位移量沿构造楔顶部的反冲断层向南消减,并切割上覆地层形成第一排背斜带,另一部分位移量则继续向北传递,在断坡位置引发褶皱变形,形成霍-玛-吐第二排构造带和安集海-呼图壁第三排背斜带。准噶尔盆地南缘第二、三排构造带中-新生界内部发育多个小型的构造楔型体,这些互相叠置的楔型构造横向延伸不大,加大了构造变形的复杂性和构造圈闭识别的难度。