Impact of Anthropogenic Heat Release on Regional Climate in Three Vast Urban Agglomerations in China简

We simulated the impact of anthropogenic heat release （AHR） on the regional climate in three vast city agglomerations in China using the Weather Research and Forecasting model with nested high-resolution modeling.Based on energy consumption and high-quality land use data,we designed two scenarios to represent no-AHR and current-AHR conditions.By comparing the results of the two numerical experiments,changes of surface air temperature and precipitation due to AHR were quantified and analyzed.We concluded that AHR increases the temperature in these urbanized areas by about 0.5℃-1℃,and this increase is more pronounced in winter than in other seasons.The inclusion of AHR enhances the convergence of water vapor over urbanized areas.Together with the warming of the lower troposphere and the enhancement of ascending motions caused by AHR,the average convective available potential energy in urbanized areas is increased.Rainfall amounts in summer over urbanized areas are likely to increase and regional precipitation patterns to be altered to some extent.     

The Observed and Simulated Major Summer Climate Features in Northwest China and Their Sensitivity to Land Surface Processes

Northwest China （NWC） is a typical arid and semi-arid region. In this study, the main summer climate features over NWC are presented and the performance of an atmospheric general circulation model （NCEP GCM/SSiB） over this region is evaluated. Satellite-derived vegetation products are applied in the model. Based on comparison with observational data and Reanalysis II data, the model generally captures major features of the NWC summer energy balance and circulation. These features include： a high surface tem- perature center dominating the planetary boundary layer; widespread descending motion; an anticyclone （cyclone） located in the lower and middle （upper） troposphere, covering most parts of central NWC; and the precipitation located mainly in the high elevation areas surrounding NWC.
The sensitivity of the summer energy balance and circulation over NWC and surrounding regions to land surface processes is assessed with specified land cover change. In the sensitivity experiment, the degradation over most parts of NWC, except the Taklimakan desert, decreases the surface-absorbed radiation and leads to weaker surface thermal effects. In northern Xinjiang and surrounding regions, less latent heating causes stronger anomalous lower-level anticyclonic circulation and upper-level cyclonic circulation, leading to less summer precipitation and higher surface temperature. Meanwhile, the dry conditions in the Hexi Corridor produce less change in the latent heat flux. The circulation change to the north of this area plays a domi- nant role in indirectly changing lower-level cyclonic conditions, producing more convergence, weaker vertical descending motion, and thus an increase in the precipitation over this region.     

Progress in Studies of the Precipitation Diurnal Variation over Contiguous China

This paper summarizes the recent progress in studies of the diurnal variation of precipitation over con- tiguous China. The main results are as follows. （1） The rainfall diurnal variation over contiguous China presents distinct regional features. In summer, precipitation peaks in the late afternoon over the south- ern inland China and northeastern China, while it peaks around midnight over southwestern China. In the upper and middle reaches of Yangtze River valley, precipitation occurs mostly in the early morning. Summer precipitation over the central eastern China （most regions of the Tibetan Plateau） has two diurnal peaks, i.e., one in the early morning （midnight） and the other in the late afternoon. （2） The rainfall diurnal variation experiences obvious seasonal and sub-seasonal evolutions. In cold seasons, the regional contrast of rainfall diurnal peaks decreases, with an early morning maximum over most of the southern China. Over the central eastern China, diurnal monsoon rainfall shows sub-seasonal variations with the movement of summer monsoon systems. The rainfall peak mainly occurs in the early morning （late afternoon） during the active （break） monsoon period. （3） Cloud properties and occurrence time of rainfall diurnal peaks are different for long- and short-duration rainfall events. Long-duration rainfall events are dominated by strat- iform precipitation, with the maximum surface rain rate and the highest profile occurring in the late night to early morning, while short-duration rainfall events are more related to convective precipitation, with the maximum surface rain rate and the highest profile occurring between the late afternoon and early night. （4） The rainfall diurnal variation is influenced by multi-scale mountain-valley and land-sea breezes as well as large-scale atmospheric circulation, and involves complicated formation and evolution of cloud and rainfall systems. The diurnal cycle of winds in the lower troposphere also contributes to the regional differences     

Chinese Contribution to CMIP5：An Overview of Five Chinese Models’Performances

An overview of Chinese contribution to Coupled Model Intercomparison Project-Phase 5 （CMIP5） is presented. The performances of five Chinese Climate/Earth System Models that participated in the CMIP5 pro ject are assessed in the context of climate mean states, seasonal cycle, intraseasonal oscillation, interan-nual variability, interdecadal variability, global monsoon, Asian-Australian monsoon, 20th-century historical climate simulation, climate change pro jection, and climate sensitivity. Both the strengths and weaknesses of the models are evaluated. The models generally show reasonable performances in simulating sea surface tem-perature （SST） mean state, seasonal cycle, spatial patterns of Madden-Julian oscillation （MJO） amplitude and tropical cyclone Genesis Potential Index （GPI）, global monsoon precipitation pattern, El Ni-no-Southern Oscillation （ENSO）, and Pacific Decadal Oscillation （PDO） related SST anomalies. However, the perfor-mances of the models in simulating the time periods, amplitude, and phase locking of ENSO, PDO time periods, GPI magnitude, MJO propagation, magnitude of SST seasonal cycle, northwestern Pacific mon-soon and North American monsoon domains, as well as the skill of large-scale Asian monsoon precipitation need to be improved. The model performances in simulating the time evolution and spatial pattern of the 20th-century global warming and the future change under representative concentration pathways pro jection are compared to the multimodel ensemble of CMIP5 models. The model discrepancies in terms of climate sensitivity are also discussed.     

An Overview of Nowcasting Development, Applications, and Services in the Hong Kong Observatory

The Hong Kong Observatory （HKO） has been developing a suite of nowcasting systems to support op- erations of the forecasting center and to provide a variety of nowcasting services for the general public and specialized users. The core system is named the Short-range Warnings of Intense Rainstorm of Localized Systems （SWIRLS）, which is a radar-based nowcasting system mainly for the automatic tracking of the movement of radar echoes and the short-range Quantitative Precipitation Forecast （QPF）. The differential, integral （or variational）, and object-oriented tracking algorithms were developed and integrated into the nowcasting suite. In order to predict severe weather associated with intense thunderstorms, such as high gust, hail, and lightning, SWIRLS was enhanced to SWIRLS-II by introduction of a number of physical models, especially the icing physics as well as the thermodynamics of the atmosphere. SWIRLS-Ⅱ was further enhanced with non-hydrostatic, high resolution numerical models for extending the forecast range up to 6h ahead. Meanwhile, SWIRLS was also modified for providing nowcasting services for aviation community and specialized users. To take into account the rapid development of lightning events, ensemble nowcasting techniques such as time-lagged and weighted average ensemble approaches were also adopted in the nowcasting system. Apart from operational uses in Hong Kong, SWIRLS/SWIRLS-Ⅱ was also exported to other places to participate in several international events such as the WMO/WWRP Forecast Demon- stration Project （FDP） during the Beijing 2008 Olympics Games and the Shanghai Expo 2010. Meanwhile, SWIRLS has also been transferred to various regional meteorological organizations for establishing their nowcasting infrastructure. This paper summarizes the history and the technologies of SWIRLS/SWIRLS-Ⅱ and its variants and the associated nowcasting applications and services provided by the HKO since the mid 1990s.     

Surface rainfall and cloud budgets associated with mei-yu torrential rainfall over eastern China during June 2011

Surface rainfall and cloud budgets associated with three heavy rainfall events that occurred over eastern China during the mei-yu season in June 2011 were analyzed using 2D cumulus ensemble model simulation data.Model domain mean rainfall showed three peaks in response to three prescribed ascending motion maxima,primarily through the mean moisture convergence during the torrential rainfall period.Prescribed ascending motion throughout the troposphere produced strong convective rainfall during the first （9 June） and third （17-18 June） rainfall events,whereas strong prescribed ascending motion in the mid and upper troposphere and weak subsidence near the surface generated equally important stratiform and convective rainfall during the second rainfall event （14 June）.The analysis of surface rainfall budgets reveals that convective rainfall was associated with atmospheric drying during the first event and moisture convergence during the third event.Both stratiform and convective rainfall responded primarily to moisture convergence during the second event.An analysis of grid data shows that the first and third mean rainfall maxima had smaller horizontal scales of the precipitation system than the second.     

The roles of different mechanisms related to the tide-induced fronts in the Yellow Sea in summer

In summer, the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass （YSCWM） is a stable water mass of low temperature lying at the bottom of the central Yellow Sea （YS）. It is fringed by some typical tidal fronts, which separate deep, stratified water on the offshore side from the well-mixed, shallow water on the inshore side. Three striking fronts--Subei Bank Front （SBF）, Shandong Peninsula Front （SPF）, and Mokpo Front （MKF; a front off the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula）--have been iden- tified by various studies from both satellite observations and model results. Tide plays an important role in the formation and maintenance of these fronts. However, it is still a matter of debate as to the roles these two kinds of mechanisms of upwelling and tidal mixing play, and how importance they are in the maintenance processes of the above three fronts. Basing a nested high-resolution model HYCOM （the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model）, this study focuses on the different mechanisms of tidal effects on the thermal fronts in the YS in summertime. Through comparative experiments with and without tidal forcing, the results indicate that the MKF is mainly driven by tide-induced upwelling. For the SPF, tidal mixing is the dominant factor, when lower cold water is stirred upwards along the sloping topography of the western YS. Meanwhile, the combined effect of upwelling and tidal mixing is the main cause of the formation of the SBF. Diagnostic analysis of thermal balance shows that horizontal nonlinear advection induced by strong tidal currents also contributes to the thermal balance of frontal areas.     

2013年夏季主雨带为啥眷恋北方

2013年夏天,我国暴雨有点怪：南下四川贫地,北上三江平原,就连革命圣地延安也得到格外的“青睐”与“昭恋”。这一连串的暴雨过程使新闻界也变得很不平静,整个夏季,“暴雨”“洪涝”“救火”充斥在各大媒体的头版头条     

天气如何影响空气质量？

空气质量与天气密切相关。风、降水等对污染物的扩散起到重要作用,从而影响空气质量。 风搬运污染物风是大气中污染物的搬运工。森林大火产生的浓烟及其他污染物都可能随风飘向远方,也有可能飘到我们的家门前。无风或者微风的天气中,污染物很难扩散,因此不断增多。     

趣谈史上台风之最

每年夏季是台风活动的活跃时期,一个接一个的台风在西太平洋上生成发展,并经常地登陆我国、韩国、日本和东南亚各阳,给陆地带来降水的同时也可能造成灾难。