基于TRMM卫星资料的渤海降水遥感估算研究

降水是全球能量平衡和水分循环中的关键要素,但海洋区域实时、准确的降水观测资料难以获取,因此,遥感卫星资料在海洋降水及全球能量和水分循环研究领域具有十分重要的应用前景。本文基于1998~2012年6个气象站点(岛屿或海岸带)的实测降水资料,评估TRMM(Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission)V7版本3B42、3B43两个降水产品对渤海降水量的估算精度,在此基础上,分析并揭示渤海区域年、季和月降水量的时空特征。结果表明:在日尺度,3B42产品对渤海降水量的估算效果总体较差,而在月、年尺度,3B42、3B43产品与实测降水量比较接近,而且,3B43产品的估算精度稍高;总体上,TRMM表现出低估降水的特点,且当实测月降水量大于300 mm时,这种特征尤为显著;1998~2012年,渤海年降水量表现出明显的年际丰枯变化特征,多年均值为631.6 mm;夏季降水量占年降水总量的62.0%,7月是降水量最丰富的月份;空间上,渤海中南部降水量相对较高,而近岸区域降水量相对较低;受大气环流等因素的影响,夏季降水量重心向西北方向偏移,冬季则向东南方向偏移。     

季风低压对台风生成影响的观测分析

选取2007年和2009年发生的4个季风低压个例, 利用FNL资料和CMORPH卫星反演的降水资料, 采用多尺度环流分析法, 对西北太平洋季风环流的多尺度特征进行了分析, 研究季风低压对台风生成的可能影响。分析发现:季风低压生成于季风槽中, 其天气尺度波列的气旋性环流中。虽然以季风槽为特点的低频环流为台风生成提供大尺度气候条件, 但是季风低压通过进一步提供较大的正相对涡度, 可以有效减小Rossby变形半径, 促进热带低压中中尺度对流系统的相互作用和合并, 有利于台风的生成。     

Taxonomic sufficiency for soft-bottom sublittoral mollusks assemblages in a tropical estuary, Guanabara Bay, Southeast Brazil

Guanabara Bay (GB) is considered to be one of the most polluted environments of the southern Brazilian coastline. This typical estuarine system is impacted by the heavy discharge of both industrial and domestic waste from the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area. The mollusc community structure and distribution was investigated between 2000 and 2001, using a three month sampling design of 38 stations, according to austral seasons. Species abundance was aggregated into progressively higher taxa matrices (genus, family, order) and were analysed using multivariate techniques. Mollusc distribution in GB varied significantly in space and time and was probably ruled by the organic enrichment effects of hypoxia and altered redox conditions coupled with prevailing patterns of circulation. Within the sectors of GB an increasing gradient in mollusc diversity and occurrence was observed, ranging from the azoic and impoverished stations in the inner sector to a well-structured community in terms of species composition and abundance inhabiting the outer sector. The non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) and cluster analysis showed similar results when species were aggregated into genera and families, while greater difference occurred at coarser taxonomic identification (order). The literature about taxonomic sufficiency has demonstrated that faunal patterns at different taxonomic levels tend to become similar with increased pollution. In Guanabara Bay, an analysis carried out solely at family level is perfectly adequate to describe the ecophysiological stress. Further aggregation to order level changed the perceived patterns of differences. However, a different taxonomic resolution can be chosen depending on the type of ecological patterns investigated.     

Late Quaternary glaciation and equilibrium-line altitudes of the Mayan Ice Cap, Guatemala, Central America

The Sierra los Cuchumatanes (3837 m), Guatemala, supported a plateau ice cap and valley glaciers around Montaña San Juan (3784 m) that totaled ∼ 43 km² in area during the last local glacial maximum. Former ice limits are defined by sharp-crested lateral and terminal moraines that extend to elevations of ∼ 3450 m along the ice cap margin, and to ca. 3000-3300 m for the valley glaciers. Equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs) estimated using the area-altitude balance ratio method for the maximum late Quaternary glaciation reached as low as 3470 m for the valley glaciers and 3670 m for the Mayan Ice Cap. Relative to the modern altitude of the 0°C isotherm of ∼ 4840 m, we determined ELA depressions of 1110-1436 m. If interpreted in terms of a depression of the freezing level during maximal glaciation along the modern lapse rate of − 5.3°C km^− 1, this ΔELA indicates tropical highland cooling of ∼ 5.9 to 7.6 ± 1.2°C. Our data support greater glacial highland cooling than at sea level, implying a high tropical sensitivity to global climate changes. The large magnitude of ELA depression in Guatemala may have been partially forced by enhanced wetness associated with southward excursions of the boreal winter polar air mass.     

Seismic and stratigraphic evidence for reef expansion and onset of aridity on the Northwest Shelf of Australia during the Pleistocene

Modern reef (the Great Barrier Reef and Ryukyu Reef) distribution in the Indo-Pacific region is strongly controlled by warm currents (East Australian and Kuroshio Currents) that radiate from the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool. The modern distribution of reefs (south of 15°S) on the Western Australian shelf is related to the presence of the warm Leeuwin Current. However, the age of the reefs south of 15°S, and hence their temporal relationship to the Leeuwin Current, has been largely unknown. Seismic and subsurface stratigraphic data show that reef growth and expansion on the Northwest Shelf of Australia began in the Middle Pleistocene (∼0.5 Ma). The oldest ooids in the region are approximately synchronous with reef growth. We suggest a two stage process for the spread of reefs to higher latitudes on the Western Australian coast; first an increase in Leeuwin Current activity at approximately 1 Ma brought warm waters and a tropical biota to the region; and second, increased aridity after ∼0.6 Ma led to a decline in clastic input and increased alkalinity, triggering ooid formation and reef expansion to higher latitudes associated with the switch to higher amplitude glacio-eustatic cycles at the end of the Middle Pleistocene Transition. The timing and mechanisms for reef expansion south along the Western Australian coast has implications for the origin of the Eastern Australian Middle Pleistocene Great Barrier Reef, the New Caledonia Barrier Reef and Japanese Ryukyu Reef systems.     

Trophic ecology and vertical patterns of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in zooplankton from oxygen minimum zone regions

The unique physical and biogeochemical characteristics of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) influence plankton ecology, including zooplankton trophic webs. Using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, this study examined zooplankton trophic webs in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP) OMZ. δ¹³C values were used to indicate zooplankton food sources, and δ¹⁵N values were used to indicate zooplankton trophic position and nitrogen cycle pathways. Vertically stratified MOCNESS net tows collected zooplankton from 0 to 1000 m at two stations along a north-south transect in the ETNP during 2007 and 2008, the Tehuantepec Bowl and the Costa Rica Dome. Zooplankton samples were separated into four size fractions for stable isotope analyses. Particulate organic matter (POM), assumed to represent a primary food source for zooplankton, was collected with McLane large volume in situ pumps.The isotopic composition and trophic ecology of the ETNP zooplankton community had distinct spatial and vertical patterns influenced by OMZ structure. The most pronounced vertical isotope gradients occurred near the upper and lower OMZ oxyclines. Material with lower δ¹³C values was apparently produced in the upper oxycline, possibly by chemoautotrophic microbes, and was subsequently consumed by zooplankton. Between-station differences in δ¹⁵N values suggested that different nitrogen cycle processes were dominant at the two locations, which influenced the isotopic characteristics of the zooplankton community. A strong depth gradient in zooplankton δ¹⁵N values in the lower oxycline suggested an increase in trophic cycling just below the core of the OMZ. Shallow POM (0–110 m) was likely the most important food source for mixed layer, upper oxycline, and OMZ core zooplankton, while deep POM was an important food source for most lower oxycline zooplankton (except for samples dominated by the seasonally migrating copepod Eucalanus inermis). There was no consistent isotopic progression among the four zooplankton size classes for these bulk mixed assemblage samples, implying overlapping trophic webs within the total size range considered.     

Decadal modes of sea surface salinity and the water cycle in the tropical Pacific Ocean: The anomalous late 1990s

Limitations in sea surface salinity (SSS) observations and timescale separation methods have led to an incomplete picture of the mechanisms of SSS decadal variability in the tropical Pacific Ocean, where the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) dominates. Little is known regarding the roles of the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) in the large-scale SSS variability over the tropical basin. A self-organizing map (SOM) clustering analysis is performed on the intrinsic mode function (IMF) maps, which are decomposed from SSS and other hydrological fields by ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), to extract their asymmetric features on decadal timescales over the tropical Pacific. For SSS, an anomalous pattern appeared during 1997 to 2004, a period referred to as the anomalous late 1990s, when strong freshening prevailed in large areas over the southwestern basin and moderate salinization occurred in the western equatorial Pacific. During this period, the precipitation and surface currents were simultaneously subjected to anomalous fluctuations: the precipitation dipole and zonal current divergence along the equator coincided with the SSS increase in the far western equatorial Pacific, while the weak zonal current convergence in the southwestern basin and large-scale southward meridional currents tended to induce SSS decreases there. The dominant decadal modes of SSS and sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Pacific both resemble the NPGO but occur predominantly during the negative and positive NPGO phases, respectively. The similarities between the NPGO and Central Pacific ENSO (CP-ENSO) in their power spectra and associated spatial patterns in the tropics imply their dynamical links; the correspondence between the NPGO-like patterns during negative (positive) phases and the CP La Niña (CP El Niño) patterns for SSS is also discussed.     

Measurements of net all-wave radiation at a tropical location,Ile-Ife,Nigeria

Hourly averaged net all-wave radiation data spanning a complete three-year period (2010-2012) at a meteorological station located inside the Obafemi Awolowo University campus in Ile-Ife (7.52° N, 4.52° E), Nigeria is presented in this study to investigate its diurnal and seasonal variations. Using a high-sensitivity four-component net radiometer, the data represents so far the most consistent and detailed information available for a tropical location in West Africa. From the dataset, hourly maxima of the net radiation occurred at 14:00 LT (GMT + 1), whose values increased considerably from 337.6 ± 146.4 Wm⁻² in July, which is the peak of the wet season, to 441.7 ± 82.4 Wm⁻² in March, the end of the dry season. April and October, both of which mark the beginning and end of the raining season at Ile-Ife have recorded the highest values of 584.7 and 612.2 Wm⁻², respectively. There was strong intra/inter-seasonal variation observed in the monthly mean values of the net radiation due mainly to the fluctuations in cloudiness and humidity. In the study area, the data indicated a net radiative heating taking place at the surface, whose annual trend follows a bimodal distribution. The present data supports the results published in earlier studies by other authors.     

The influence of large-scale circulations on the extremely inactive tropical cyclone activity in 2010 over the western North Pacific

This study attempts to understand why the frequency of tropical cyclones (TC) over the western North Pacific (WNP) was a record low during the 2010 season, by analyzing the effect of several large-scale factors. The genesis potential index (GPI) can represent, to some extent, the spatial distribution of formation in 2010. However, the GPI does not explain the extremely low TC frequency. No robust relationship between the TC number and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) was found. A comparison of the extreme inactive TC year 2010 and extreme active year 1994 was performed, based on the box difference index that can measure the quantitative difference of large-scale environmental factors. Dynamic factors were found to be important in differentiating TC formation over the WNP basin between 2010 and 1994. The remarkable difference of monsoon flows in the WNP basin between these two years may be the cause of the difference in TC formation. The unfavorable conditions for TC genesis in 2010 may have also been due to other large scale factors such as: (1) weak activity of the Madden-Julian Oscillation during the peak season; (2) warming of the sea surface temperature in the tropical Indian Ocean during the peak season, causing the development of an anticyclone over the WNP basin and associated with the westward motion of the monsoon trough, and (3) the phase change of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (more negative) and the two strong La Niña events that have evolved since 2006.     

Converting tropical rain forest to forest plantation in sabah,malaysia. Part I. Dynamics and net losses of nutrients in control catchment streams

Streamwatcr chemistry was monitored for five years in six streams in a paired catchment experiment in Mendolong, Sabah, Malaysia, including controls in rain forest and secondary vegetation after the [Borneo fire] of 1982–3 and comparing the effects of different ways of establishing forest plantations with Acacia mangium. Three catchments were covered with selectively logged lowland hill dipterocarp forest (W4-W6) and three (W1-W3) with secondary vegetation after forest fires. The control catchments, W3 and W6 reported in this paper, had no treatments applied. Reference monitoring at all streams was for 25 months and the total period of study reported here is 64 months. The soils in the catchments were mainly Orthic Acrisol in W3 and Gleyic Podsol in W6 and a mix of both soil types in the other catchments. Element baseflow concentrations were generally low and not significantly different from stormflow concentrations for all streams during the reference period. Concentrations were also generally consistently low for the two control streams during the whole period of measurement. Chemical inputs as wet deposition were low as a result of a high input from local convection. The rain forest on the Podsol had a tight nutrient circulation indicated by small net losses of macronutrients. The Podsol was found to have poorer conditions for soil mineralization and more surficial runoff, resulting in higher loads of S, C and N in the organic phases, with higher organic C/N ratio, in the discharge. Nitrogen was found to accumulate in both catchments. An almost double accumulation of N in W3 was attributed to a larger biomass accumulation continuing after the forest fire 3–8 years earlier. On the other hand, the Acrisol in W3 had much larger net losses of S, Si, K, Ca, Mg and Na. Most of differences could be attributed to differences in weathering between the soils and local mineralogical differences.