Influence of the zone of weakness on dip angle and shear heating of subducted slabs

We study the importance of the zones of weakness and the pattern of downgoing flow in steady-state models of subducting lithosphere, which interacts mechanically and thermally with the ambient mantle. The non-linear system of governing equations consists of (i) the momentum equation in stream function formulation and (ii) the steady-state heat transfer equation including conduction and advection of heat and dissipation. A finite element method has been applied to this system. We consider the viscosity to be a non-linear function of both the temperature and the stream function. In steady-state two-dimensional (2D) flow, the stream function isolines follow material trajectories. They are used to follow the top of the subducting slab, which because of its possible increase in water content, is assumed to have a lower viscosity. The zone of weakness has been thus obtained in the self-consistent fashion since the stream function as well as the temperature are the output from our modeling and no a priori assumptions about the shape of the bending lithosphere are taken into account. It was shown that several orders decrease of viscosity in the zone of weakness is required to obtain the dip angle of about 45°. If the decrease of viscosity is not sufficient enough, the subducted slab either sinks almost vertically or does not exhibit a plate-like behavior. We have also demonstrated that shear heating can unrealistically increase at the zone of weakness for fast subductions if decrease of viscosity is underestimated.     

A new aspect of condensation theory

This paper examines the effects of the mixing of dry air into a cloud top from the point of view of the droplet spectra. It is shown theoretically that the resulting cycling of the air up and down in the cloud, as seems to be the essential mechanism by which cumuli have been diluted to their observed liquid water mixing ratio, can double the largest drop radius and generate cloud parcels containing drops of all sizes up to this maximum. These changes in the droplet distribution with size occur by a process which is not greatly influenced by the cloud condensation nuclei or the details of droplet growth since maritime like spectra can develop in continental type cumuli. It shows that large numbers of cloud condensation nuclei should not have much effect in inhibiting the rainforming process by reducing coalescence growth. On the contrary, the controlling parameters which determine precipitation efficiency and times seem to be those which control the mixing.     

东风带扰动影响西太平洋副热带高压短期东西向移动的热力强迫分析

利用NCEP/NCAR 1 000～10 hPa 2.5 °×2.5 °日平均再分析资料,分析2003年6月22—25日热带对流层上空东风带扰动影响西太平洋副热带高压（简称西太副高,下同）短期东西进退的热力强迫过程,并探讨了相应机制。结果表明:东风带扰动附近非绝热效应分布和强度的变化影响着西太副高东西向的运动;西太副高短期东西向移动有趋“冷”的趋势,即西太副高向非绝热加热减弱或者非绝热冷却增强方向移动;在西太副高突然东退前后,东风带扰动东、西侧的非绝热加热效应出现明显的变化,主要体现为东风带扰动东侧非绝热冷却效应增强和东风带扰动西侧非绝热冷却效应减弱东退的特征,而且在对流层300 hPa高度附近表现最为明显;在非绝热加热效应影响因子中,垂直输送项最为重要,其次为局地变化项,水平平流效应最不显著,因此,垂直输送作用和局地变化作用引起的非绝热效应的变化是影响西太副高突然东退的主要原因。      

Strength and stability of frictional sliding of gabbro gouge at elevated temperatures

To investigate the strength of frictional sliding and stability of mafic lower crust, we conducted experiments on oven-dried gabbro gouge of 1 mm thick sandwiched between country rock pieces (with gouge inclined 35° to the sample axis) at slip rates of 1.22 × 10^− 3 mm/s and 1.22 × 10^− 4 mm/s and elevated temperatures up to 615 °C. Special attention has been paid to whether transition from velocity weakening to velocity strengthening occurs due to the elevation of temperature.Two series of experiments were conducted with normal stresses of 200 MPa and 300 MPa, respectively. For both normal stresses, the friction strengths are comparable at least up to 510 °C, with no significant weakening effect of increasing temperature. Comparison of our results with Byerlee's rule on a strike slip fault with a specific temperature profile in the Zhangbei region of North China shows that the strength given by experiments are around that given by Byerlee's rule and a little greater in the high temperature range.At 200 MPa normal stress, the steady-state rate dependence a − b shows only positive values, probably still in the “run-in” process where velocity strengthening is a common feature. With a normal stress of 300 MPa, the values of steady-state rate dependence decreases systematically with increasing temperature, and stick-slip occurred at 615 °C. Considering the limited displacement, limited normal stress applied and the effect of normal stress for the temperatures above 420 °C, it is inferred here that velocity weakening may be the typical behaviour at higher normal stress for temperature above 420 °C and at least up to 615 °C, which covers most of the temperature range in the lower crust of geologically stable continental interior. For a dry mafic lower crust in cool continental interiors where frictional sliding prevails over plastic flow, unstable slip nucleation may occur to generate earthquakes.     

Finite element modeling of heating phenomena of cracks excited by high-intensity ultrasonic pulses

A three-dimensional thermo-mechanical coupled finite element model is built up to simulate the phenomena of dynamical contact and frictional heating of crack faces when the plate containing the crack is excited by high-intensity ultrasonic pulses. In the finite element model, the high-power ultrasonic transducer is modeled by using a piezoelectric thermal-analogy method, and the dynamical interaction between both crack faces is modeled using a contact-impact theory. In the simulations, the frictional heating taking place at the crack faces is quantitatively calculated by using finite element thermal-structural coupling analysis, especially, the influences of acoustic chaos to plate vibration and crack heating are calculated and analysed in detail. Meanwhile, the related ultrasonic infrared images are also obtained experimentally, and the theoretical simulation results are in agreement with that of the experiments. The results show that, by using the theoretical method, a good simulation of dynamic interaction and friction heating process of the crack faces under non-chaotic or chaotic sound excitation can be obtained.     

An improvement of the mass flux convection parameterization scheme and its sensitivity tests for seasonal prediction over China

A modified cumulus parameterization scheme, suitable for use in a seasonal forecast model, is presented. This parameterization scheme is an improvement of the mass flux convection scheme developed by Gregory and Rowntree (1989; 1990). This convection scheme uses a “bulk” cloud model to present an ensemble of convective clouds, and aims to represent shallow, deep, and mid-level convection. At present,this convection scheme is employed in the NCC T63L20 model (National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration). Simulation results with this scheme have revealed some deficiencies in the scheme,although to some extent, it improves the accuracy of the simulation. In order to alleviate the deficiencies and reflect the effect of cumulus convection in the actual atmosphere, the scheme is modified and improved.The improvements include (i) the full estimation of the effects of the large-scale convergence in the lower layer upon cumulus convection, (ii) the revision of the initial convective mass flux, and (iii) the regulation of convective-scale downdrafts. A comparison of the results obtained by using the original model and the modified one shows that the improvement and modification of the original convection scheme is successful in simulating the precipitation and general circulation field, because the modified scheme provides a good simulation of the main features of seasonal precipitation in China, and an analysis of the anomaly correlation eoetfieient between the simulation and the observations confirms the improved results.     

地基微波辐射计遥感人工触发闪电的观测研究

为了深入研究雷电产生的微波热辐射特征,从2016年初夏开始利用地基微波辐射计在中国气象局雷电野外科学实验基地开展了连续4年的观测实验,根据雷电热效应的特征,制定了观测方案,并为地基微波辐射计设置了“引雷观测模式”。结果表明,地基微波辐射计具有对雷电热效应产生响应的能力。2017—2019年,辐射计一共成功捕获了30次人工触发闪电,观测效率逐年增长,平均为71.4 %;微波亮温脉冲幅度的最大值约125 K。结合其中28次触发事件的雷电流数据,分析了亮温脉冲幅度和雷电流积分量之间的相关性,并发现了最大亮温脉冲幅度与总电流作用积分之间可能存在指数关系。根据亮温观测数据估算了雷电热效应的持续时间,平均约0.5 s,其中25次触发事件的雷电流热效应持续时间与雷电流持续时间变化较为一致,相关系数约0.73。     

中国严寒和寒冷地区城镇住宅采暖耗能影响因素分析——以吉林省为例

以吉林省为例,在假设历年采暖建筑物标准室温为18℃和不同建筑物热工特性相同的前提下,认为在一定建筑设计标准下,直接影响严寒和寒冷地区城镇住宅采暖耗能的因子主要有采暖强度、城镇人口数、人均住宅建筑面积.以1978年城镇人口数、城镇人均住宅建筑面积为经济资料的基准值,以1971～2000年采暖强度的30 a平均值作为气候条件的基准值,得到采暖耗能基准值,进而计算1979年开始的逐年采暖耗能变化值,得出无论气候变暖或变冷,由于城镇人口、人均住宅建筑面积不断增加,使各地采暖耗能增加.气候是目前为止唯一可以起到降低能耗作用的因子.     

西安东部夜间异常增温原因及其数值模式预报订正

利用陕西省气象监测站观测资料、NCEP/NCAR和ERA5全球再分析资料,对2019年12月10日凌晨西安东部一次夜间温度异常跃增过程进行深入分析.结果表明:①此次夜间增温过程发展迅速、局地性强、预报难度大.②500 hPa内蒙东部冷槽底后部干燥的西北气流和850 hPa干暖气团有利于产生大气下沉绝热增温.西安地区近地...     

The effects of asymmetric potential vorticity forcing on the instability of South Asia High and Indian summer monsoon onset

Based on the theory of potential vorticity(PV),the unstable development of the South Asia High(SAH)due to diabatic heating and its impacts on the Indian Summer Monsoon(ISM)onset are studied via a case diagnosis of 1998.The Indian Summer Monsoon onset in 1998 is related to the rapidly strengthening and northward moving of a tropical cyclone originally located in the south of Arabian Sea.It is demonstrated that the rapid enhancement of the cyclone is a consequence of a baroclinic development characterized by the phase-lock of high PV systems in the upper and lower troposphere.Both the intensification of the SAH and the development of the zonal asymmetric PV forcing are forced by the rapidly increasing latent heat released from the heavy rainfall in East Asia and South East Asia after the onsets of the Bay of Bengal(BOB)monsoon and the South China Sea(SCS)monsoon.High PV moves southwards along the intensified northerlies on the eastern side of the SAH and travels westwards on its south side,which can reach its northwest.Such a series of high PV eddies are transported to the west of the SAH continuously,which is the main source of PV anomalies in the upper troposphere over the Arabian Sea from late spring to early summer.A cyclonic curvature on the southwest of the SAH associated with increasing divergence,which forms a strong upper tropospheric pumping,is generated by the anomalous positive PV over the Arabian Sea on 355 K.The cyclone in the lower troposphere moves northwards from low latitudes of the Arabian Sea,and the upper-layer high PV extends downwards and southwards.Baroclinic development thus occurs and the tropical low-pressure system develops into an explosive vortex of the ISM,which leads to the onset of the ISM.In addition,evolution of subtropical anticyclone over the Arabian Peninsula is another important factor contributing to the onset of the ISM.Before the onset,the surface sensible heating on the Arabian Peninsula is very strong.Consequently the subtropical anticyclone which dominated the Arabian Sea in spring retreats westwards to the Arabian Peninsula and intensifies rapidly.The zonal asymmetric PV forcing develops gradually with high PV eddies moving southwards along northerlies on the eastern side of the anticyclone,and a high PV trough is formed in the middle troposphere over the Arabian Sea,which is favorable to the explosive barotropic development of the tropical cyclone into the vortex.Results from this study demonstrate that the ISM onset,which is different from the BOB and the SCS monsoon onset,is a special dynamical as well as thermodynamic process occurring under the condition of fully coupling of the upper,middle,and lower tropospheric circulations.