Hydrological cycle and water balance estimates for the megadune–lake region of the Badain Jaran Desert,China

The hydrology and water balance of megadunes and lakes have been investigated in the Badain Jaran Desert of China. Field observations and analyses of sand layer water content, field capacity, secondary salt content, and grain size reveal 3 types of important natural phenomenon: (a) vegetation bands on the leeward slope of the megadunes reflect the hydrological regime within the sandy vadose zone; (b) seepage, wet sand deposits, and secondary salt deposits indicate the pattern of water movement within the sandy vadose zone; (c) zones of groundwater seeps and descending springs around the lakes reflect the influence of the local topography on the hydrological regime of the megadunes. The seepage exposed on the sloping surface of the megadunes and gravity water contained within the sand layer confirm the occurrence of preferential flow within the vadose zone of the megadunes. Alternating layers of coarse and fine sand create the conditions for the formation of preferential flows. The preferential flows promote movement of water within the sand layer water that leads to deep penetration of water within the megadunes and ultimately to the recharging of groundwater and lake water. Our results indicate that a positive water balance promotes recharge of the megadunes, which depends on the high permeability of the megadune material, the shallow depth of the surface sand layer affected by evaporation, the occurrence of rainfall events exceeding 15 mm, and the sparse vegetation cover. Water balance estimates indicate that the annual water storage of the megadunes is about 7.5 mm, accounting for only 8% of annual precipitation; however, the shallow groundwater per unit area under the megadunes receives only 3.6% of annual precipitation, but it is still able to maintain a dynamic balance of the lake water. From a water budget perspective, the annual water storage in the megadunes is sufficient to serve as a recharge source for lake water, thereby enabling the long‐term persistence of the lakes. Overall, our findings demonstrate that precipitation is a significant component of the hydrological cycle in arid deserts.     

On the relationship between historical land‐use change and water availability: the case of the lower Tarim River region in northwestern China

Natural ecosystems in the region of the lower Tarim River in northwestern China strongly deteriorated since the 1950s due to an expanding desertification. As a result, the downstream Tarim River reaches became permanently dry land. This historical evolution in land‐use change is typically the result of the anthropogenic impact on natural ecosystems. On the basis of a spatially distributed hydrological catchment model bidirectionally linked with a fully hydrodynamic MIKE11 river model, land‐use changes characterized by historical changes in leaf area index (LAI) of vegetation, as well as the evolution of irrigated surface areas, can be causally related to changes in water resources (groundwater storage and surface water resources). An increased surface area of irrigated (agricultural) land, together with a majority of inefficient irrigation methods, did lead to a strong increase of water resources consumption of the farmlands located in the upper Tarim River area. Evidently, this evolution influenced available water resources downstream in the Tarim basin. As a result, farmland has been gradually relocated to the upstream regions. This has led to reduced flows from the upper Tarim stream, which subsequently accelerated the dropping of the groundwater level downstream in the basin. This study moreover demonstrates that land surface biomass changes (cumulative LAI) along the lower Tarim River are strongly related to the changes in groundwater storage. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Precipitation variability assessment of northeast China: Songhua River basin

Variability in precipitation is critical for the management of water resources. In this study, the research entropy base concept was applied to investigate spatial and temporal variability of the precipitation during 1964–2013 in the Songhua River basin of Heilongjiang Province in China. Sample entropy was applied on precipitation data on a monthly, seasonally, annually, decade scale and the number of rainy days for each selected station. Intensity entropy and apportionment entropy were used to calculate the variability over individual year and decade, respectively. Subsequently, Spearman’s Rho and Mann–Kendall tests were applied to observe for trends in the precipitation time series. The statistics of sample disorder index showed that the precipitation during February (mean 1.09, max. 1.26 and min. 0.80), April (mean 1.12, max. 1.29 and min. 0.99) and July (mean 1.10, max. 1.20 and min. 0.98) contributed significantly higher than those of other months. Overall, the contribution of the winter season was considerably high with a standard deviation of 0.10. The precipitation variability on decade basis was observed to increase from decade 1964–1973 and 1994–2003 with a mean value of decadal apportionment disorder index 0.023 and 0.053, respectively. In addition, the Mann–Kendall test value (1.90) showed a significant positive trend only at the Shangzhi station.     

Phase transition of the Pacific decadal oscillation and decadal variation of the East Asian summer monsoon in the 20th century

This paper focuses on the relationship between the phase transition of the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) and decadal variation of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) in the twentieth century. The first transition occurred in the 1940s, with an enhanced SST in the North Pacific and reduced SST in the tropical eastern Pacific and South Indian Ocean. In agreement with these SST changes, a higher SLP was found in most parts of the Pacific, while a lower SLP was found in the North Pacific and most parts of the Indian Ocean. In this case, the EASM was largely enhanced with a southerly anomaly in the lower troposphere along the east coast of China. Correspondingly, there was less rainfall in the Yangtze River valley and more rainfall in northern and southern China. An opposite change was found when the PDO reversed its phase in the late 1970s. In the tropical Indian Ocean and western Pacific, however, the SST was enhanced in both the 1940s and 1970s. As a result, the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) tended to extend westward with a larger magnitude in the 1970s. The major features were reasonably reproduced by an atmospheric general circulation model (IAP AGCM4.0) prescribed with observed SST and sea ice. On the other hand, the westward extension of the WPSH was exaggerated in the 1970s, while it was underestimated in the 1940s. Besides, the spatial pattern of the simulated summer rainfall in eastern China tended to shift southward compared with the observation.     

台风莫拉菲(2009)登陆前后电荷结构演变的模拟研究

利用中尺度起电放电模式以及卫星和闪电定位等观测资料,对比分析了台风莫拉菲（2009）在登陆前后以及衰亡阶段的电荷结构及形成。结果表明：莫拉菲在登陆前存在近海加强过程,加强中逐渐形成清晰的台风眼并伴随眼壁区闪电活动的多发。眼壁区对流在近海加强阶段呈现正的三极性电荷结构,主负电荷区位于-25℃——10℃层,其上下各有一个正电荷区。而在台风达到最大强度后呈现负的偶极性电荷结构,仅存在云中部的负电荷区和下部的正电荷区。眼壁区对流的电荷结构同台风强度变化密切相关而不受登陆直接影响。在台风发展的不同阶段,外螺旋雨带对流主要表现为正的三极性或正的偶极性电荷结构,之前的研究一般认为外雨带对流只能呈现正的偶极性电结构。外雨带三极性电结构的形成可以类似于眼壁区三极性结构的形成,也存在其他形成机制,即在霰粒子与冰晶组成的正偶极性电荷结构下存在一个由雹粒子组成的正电荷区,从而形成正的三极性电荷结构。台风衰亡阶段对流主要表现负的偶极性电荷结构,对流活动较弱,类似于陆地雷暴消散阶段的特性。不同类型的电荷结构所对应对流的相对强度也在文内进行了讨论。     

Is the interdecadal variation of the summer rainfall over eastern China associated with SST?

The present study examined the major features of the interdecadal variation of the summer rainfall over eastern China (IVRC) and the possible association with sea surface temperature (SST). We noted that the first leading mode of IVRC (accounting for nearly half of the total variance and with maximum loading for the summer rainfall anomalies over South China) may be not forced by SST. On the other hand, the second and third leading modes [accounting for 17.1 and 13.6 % of the total variance and mainly associated with the summer rainfall anomalies over the Yangtze River valley (YRV) and North China, respectively] in some extent are forced by SST anomalies. These observational results are confirmed by atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) simulations forced by observed SST. By eliminating the internal dynamical process driven rainfall though ensemble mean, the simulations further suggest an overall enhancement of the intensity of IVRC in the corresponding ensemble mean, especially in the YRV and North China regions, but not in South China. That implies the different role of SST in driving IVRC over different regions.     

Characteristics of the two active stages of lightning activity in two hailstorms

Two hailstorms that occurred in Beijing and Tianjin, respectively, are investigated, based mainly on the total lightning data observed by the System d’Alerte Fondre par Interferometric Radioelecctrique (SAFIR3000), the cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning data of a CG lightning location system, and the echo data of a Doppler radar. Both hailstorms exhibited two lightning frequency peaks: the first was before the hailfall and the second was after the hailfall, with the second peak greater than the first. The dominant polarity of the CG lightning was positive in the stage around the first frequency peak, but changed to negative in the stage around the second frequency peak. The evolution of radar echoes and the height distribution of lightning radiation sources are explored, revealing that both hailstorms had stronger convection and the main positive charge occurred at mid levels during the stage around the first frequency peak. However, whilst the Beijing hailstorm experienced the enhancement of convection, with the main positive charge at upper levels around the second frequency peak, the Tianjin hailstorm generated its second frequency peak during the period when the convection kept weakening and the main positive charge dropped to mid–lower levels. Through evaluation of the radar parameters, we investigate the mechanisms responsible for the second stage of active lightning discharge. Furthermore, the lightning activity exhibited a close relationship with radar echo parameters and hailfall. Lightning jump signals were found before the hailfall and were associated with the change ratio of the 40-dBZ echo volume above the ?15°C level, which demonstrates the application value of lightning data in severe weather warning.     

青藏高原闪电和降水气候特征及时空对应关系

基于1998—2013年的TRMM (tropical rainfall measuring mission) 数据,分析青藏高原闪电活动与降水气候特征及时空对应关系,结果表明:青藏高原 (简称高原) 的闪电活动中心在高原中部和东北部,中部最大闪电密度达到6.2 fl·km-2·a-1;但高原降水最活跃的区域是东南部,年降水量超过800 mm。闪电活动和降水随月份均呈现出先西进再东退的特征,但高原东北部强闪电活动区位置几乎不变化。在固定区域闪电和降水月变化具有一致性,活跃期出现在5—9月,呈单峰结构,除西部和东南部外,闪电与降水峰值月份吻合。结合TRMM降水特征 (简称PFs) 资料研究单个闪电表征降水量 (rainyield per flash,RPF) 的空间分布特征表明,闪电活动可以作为高原深对流的指示因子,而RPF可以有效表征深对流系统在整个降水系统中的比例。高原中西部和东北部深对流系统在整个降水系统中的比例最大,而在高原东南部最小,高原东南部的降水更多由暖云降水系统贡献。