Observations Of Nocturnal Drainage Flow In A Shallow Gully

The formation of cold air drainage flows in a shallow gully is studied during CASES-99 (Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study). Fast and slow response wind and temperature measurements were obtained on an instrumented 10-m tower located in the gully and from a network of thermistors and two-dimensional sonic anemometers, situated across the gully. Gully flow formed on clear nights even with significant synoptic flow. Large variations in surface temperature developed within an hour after sunset and in situ cooling was the dominant factor in wind sheltered locations. The depth of the drainage flow and the height of the down-gully wind speed maximum were found to be largest when the external wind speed above the gully flow is less than 2 m s^-1. The shallow drainage current is restricted to a depth of a few metres, and is deepest when the stratification is stronger and the external flow is weaker. During the night the drainage flow breaks down, sometimes on several occasions, due to intermittent turbulence and downward fluxes of heat and momentum. The near surface temperature may increase by 6 ° C in less than 30 min due to the vertical convergence of downward heat flux. The mixing events are related to acceleration of the flow above the gully flow and decreased Richardson number. These warming events also lead to warming of the near surface soil and reduction of the upward soil heat flux. To examine the relative importance of different physical mechanisms that could contribute to the rapid warming, and to characterize the turbulence generated during the intermittent turbulent periods, the sensible heat budget is analyzed and the behaviour of different turbulent parameters is discussed.     

Atmospheric Surface-Layer Processes During the Total Solar Eclipse Of 11 August 1999

The central path of the total solar eclipse (TSE) of 11 August 1999 mostly passedthrough a region of active monsoon in India, with the eclipse ending around localsunset. Measurements in the surface layer (SL) were carried out close to the eclipseaxis at Akola (20°42' N, 77°2' E) in central India. The globalradiation flux reaching the surface vanishes around totality at 1803:24 (LT), followedby a small recovery before again dipping to zero at sunset. The temperatures in the SL, and subsoil at 50-mm depth, show a local minimum with a lag of about 10 min after the second contact, whereas the lag appears to vanish when the temperature series is detrended. The SL exhibits near-neutral, though generally stable, conditions from about 1500 hr itself due to heavy cloud cover followed by the eclipse-induced cooling of the surface. The wind component across the eclipse axis vanishes at totality, the wind vector aligning with the azimuth of the traversing moon shadow. The deceleration of the mean flow can be due to the combined effect of the colder surface and downward heat flux, where the locally altered horizontal temperature gradients may cause, as in this instance, the cessation of the cross flow.The oscillations in temperature and wind that show significant peaks, around 90–100 min as well as the semi-period of the eclipse near 60 min, persist for several hours past the eclipse event. A fresh analysis of the published data on the TSE of 7 March 1970 shows spectral peaks in the temperature nearly coincident with those already reported from the surface pressure records. The oscillations in the SL fields during the two TSE events are very similar implying that the source mechanism is also likely to be the same in both the cases.     

The Production of Methanol by Flowering Plants and the Global Cycle of Methanol

Methanol has been recognised as an important constituent of the background atmosphere, but little is known about its overall cycle in the biosphere/atmosphere system. A model is proposed for the production and emission to the atmosphere of methanol by flowering plants based on plant structure and metabolic properties, particularly the demethylation of pectin in the primary cell walls. This model provides a framework to extend seven sets of measurements of methanol emission rates to the global terrestrial biosphere. A global rate of release of methanol from plants to the atmosphere of 100 Tg y^–1 is calculated. A separate model of the global cycle of methanol is constructed involving emissions from plant growth and decay, atmospheric and oceanic chemical production, biomass burning and industrial production. Removal processes occur through hydroxyl radical attack in the atmosphere, in clouds and oceans, and wet and dry deposition. The model successfully reproduces the methanol concentrations in the continental boundary-layer and the free atmosphere, including the inter-hemispheric gradient in the free atmosphere. The model demonstrates a new concept in global biogeochemistry, the coupling of plant cell growth with the global atmospheric concentration of methanol. The model indicates that the ocean provides a storage reservoir capable of holding at least 66 times more methanol than the atmosphere. The ocean surface layer reservoir essentially buffers the atmospheric concentration of methanol, providing a physically based smoothing mechanism with a time constant of the order of one year.     

Aerosol climatology for the planetary boundary layer derived from regular lidar measurements

Regular aerosol extinction and backscatter measurements using a UV Raman Lidar have been performed for almost 3 years in Hamburg in the frame of the German Lidar Network. A set of 92 aerosol extinction and 164 aerosol backscatter profiles has been used for statistical investigations. Mean values and variances of the aerosol extinction and backscatter in the boundary layer have been calculated. Large fluctuations during the whole year have been found. The measured aerosol extinction over Hamburg shows a seasonal cycle with highest values in early fall and a second less prominent peak in spring.An analysis of the data using back trajectories showed a dependence of the aerosol extinction on the origin of the air mass. The residence time of the air mass over industrialized areas was found to be an important parameter for the measured aerosol extinction at Hamburg. However, only a small part of the total variability could be explained by the air mass origin.For 75 cases of aerosol extinction measurements under cloud-free conditions, the aerosol backscatter profile and therefore, the lidar ratio as a function of altitude could be determined. Winter measurements of the lidar ratio are often close to model results for maritime aerosol, the summer measurements are close to the model results for urban or continental aerosols.The high quality of the data has been proven by intercomparisons with other lidar systems and with star photometer measurements of the aerosol optical depth during the Lindenberg Aerosol Characterization Experiment (LACE'98) field campaign.     

Formation of a shelfbreak front by freshwater discharge

The circulation and transport of freshwater generated by an idealized buoyant source is studied using a three-dimensional primitive equation model. Freshwater enters the continental shelf, turns anticyclonically and moves downstream in the direction of Kelvin wave propagation. In the region close to the source, the flow reaches an equilibrium in the bottom boundary layer so that freshwater does not spread offshore any further. This offshore equilibrium distance increases as we move downstream until the freshwater is able to feel the presence of the shelfbreak. A shelfbreak front forms and the shelfbreak prevents any further offshore spreading of freshwater in the bottom boundary layer.Two complimentary mechanisms are responsible for the slow cross-shelf migration of freshwater and subsequent trapping of shelfbreak fronts: bottom stress and topographic changes. The shelfbreak creates an active, dynamic process preventing leakage from the continental shelf region to the slope region. However, the dynamical process that traps the front to the shelfbreak is still unclear.The location of the shelfbreak front depends on four dimensionless parameters: scaled inlet volume transport, scaled breadth, scaled “diffusivity” and scaled shelf width. We develop empirical relations for predicting the location of the frontal bottom intersection, given these parameters.     

基于MAPGIS的1∶50万土地利用数据库系统设计与实现

土地利用资料是国家重要的基础地理资料 .针对全国土地利用数据进行建库管理会对国家建设起到重要的作用 .以MAPGIS为基础 ,按照一定的设计原则提出系统总体上应有的数据编辑、查询、统计等六大模块及其主要的功能 .详细说明了在MAPGIS平台的支持下全国土地利用数据库的数据组织方式 ,以及外部属性与图形数据的关联方式、图库中图元的B+ 树索引的结构、数据检索、输出流程等关键技术问题的解决方案 .     

沙漠化:从圈层耦合到全球变化

从沙漠化概念提出伊始 ,沙漠化成因机理的研究就一直成为学术界关注的焦点。沙漠化过程究竟有多少是由自然因素所致 ,多少是由人类活动所为 ,诸因素与沙漠化之间有何内在关系 ,沙尘天气发生发展过程及其诱因等 ,当属地球系统科学应解决的难题。文章从全球变化的角度 ,将沙漠系统视作一种类生命的非线性动力系统 ,指出沙漠化源于地球表层系统各圈层之间复杂的相关与耦合作用 :气候变化是控制沙漠进退的首要因素 ;陆表水持续亏损则是导致干旱、半干旱地区沙漠化发展的直接原因 ;岩石圈构造运动塑造了不同的地形地貌单元 ,奠定了沙漠分布的地理格局 ;人类的不当活动和气候变化引起的生物生产力的衰退及土地覆盖的破坏 ,造成了现代沙漠化的快速扩张。     

Counting chronology and climate records with about 1000 annual layers of a Holocene stalagmite from the Water Cave in Liaoning Province, China

One active stalagmite from the Water Cave in Liaoning Province contains growth layers of three sizes. Based on thermal ionization mass spectrometry 230Th dating, we found that middle size layers are annual layers, with each middle layer consisting of one narrow dark layer and a wide bright layer. The small layers within middle layers are sub-annual layers and the large layers are multi-year layers. Based on the layer-counting method, we established a high-resolution time scale for layer thickness. Our results reveal two dramatic century-scale climate cycles over the past 1000 years in this region.     

中朝地台东北缘地区的地震层析成像

根据中朝地台东北缘地区 (东经 1 1 7°0 0′— 1 2 6°0 0′ ,北纬 36°0 0′— 44°0 0′) 1 980— 1 997年的 380 0 0余条P波走时数据 ,利用正交投影法重建了该区地壳和上地幔的三维速度结构 .通过分析及同人工地震测深剖面的详细对比 ,证明了成像结果的可靠性 .结果表明 :中朝地台东北缘地区地壳上地幔介质存在显著的横向不均匀性 ,直至 1 2 0km深度处依然明显 ;地壳上部的速度图像清楚地反映了不同岩石单元的分布与该区不同性质的基岩分布基本吻合 ;从上、中地壳的速度图像中发现了研究区存在海城、朝阳、义县、丹东南、唐山等几个低速异常区(即速度逆反层区 ) ,其中海城、唐山、朝阳等地区的壳内低速层已由深地震测深资料所证实 ;研究区陆地发生的几次强震均发生于壳内低速层上方的高速脆性介质内 ,而渤海发生的强震 ,此现象不明显 ,但都发生于横向介质速度显著突变的位置 ;在地壳不同深度上发现了普兰店至山海关横跨渤海的北西向低速异常带 ;地震层析二维速度图像与深地震测深资料的对比表明 ,研究区利用地震层析成像技术 ,在一定条件下可以获得与人工地震测深相似的效果