三江源地区秋季典型多层层状云系的飞机观测分析

利用三江源地区一次机载粒子测量系统PMS(Particle Measuring Systems)的分层垂直探测资料,系统研究了该地区秋季典型多层层状云系的微物理特性,结果表明:(1)云系由4层云层组成,Cs(卷层云)和上层As(高层云)为冰云,下层As和Sc(层积云)为过冷混合态云。下层As的云粒子浓度和过冷水含量最大,Sc的云粒子尺寸及谱宽最大,且具有较明显的地区特性;(2)Sc(下层As及对流泡)中中值直径在3.5～18.5 μm(3.5～ 21.5 μm)之间的云粒子为液相,中值直径大于21.5 μm(24.5 μm)的云粒子为冰相;(3)混合态云中高过冷水区与低过冷水区云的粒子谱分布差异明显,Sc高过冷水区有较明显的淞附增长现象;(4)Sc、下层As云底、对流泡顶高过冷水区的云滴有效半径依次增加。Sc高过冷水区的过冷水含量比率均值及标准差为69.9±19.4%,且与过冷水含量存在一定的关联性;下层As云底高过冷水区的过冷水含量比率无明显变化,其均值及标准差为89.2±8.1%;(5)混合态云各高度层FSSP(前向散射粒子谱探头)平均粒子谱均为单峰型伽玛分布,混合态云和冰云各高度层2DC(二维灰度云粒子探头)平均粒子谱基本上都为负指数型分布。     

Shortwave cloud radiative forcing on major stratus cloud regions in AMIP-type simulations of CMIP3 and CMIP5 models

Cloud and its radiative effects are major sources of uncertainty that lead to simulation discrepancies in climate models. In this study, shortwave cloud radiative forcing (SWCF) over major stratus regions is evaluated for Atmospheric Models Intercomparison Project (AMIP)-type simulations of models involved in the third and fifth phases of the Coupled Models Intercomparison Project (CMIP3 and CMIP5). Over stratus regions, large deviations in both climatological mean and seasonal cycle of SWCF are found among the models. An ambient field sorted by dynamic (vertical motion) and thermodynamic (inversion strength or stability) regimes is constructed and used to measure the response of SWCF to large-scale controls. In marine boundary layer regions, despite both CMIP3 and CMIP5 models being able to capture well the center and range of occurrence frequency for the ambient field, most of the models fail to simulate the dependence of SWCF on boundary layer inversion and the insensitivity of SWCF to vertical motion. For eastern China, there are large differences even in the simulated ambient fields. Moreover, almost no model can reproduce intense SWCF in rising motion and high stability regimes. It is also found that models with a finer grid resolution have no evident superiority than their lower resolution versions. The uncertainties relating to SWCF in state-of-the-art models may limit their performance in IPCC experiments.     

Molecular line intensities as measures of cloud masses – I. Sensitivity of CO emissions to physical parameter variations

A reliable estimate of the molecular gas content in galaxies plays a crucial role in determining their dynamical and star-forming properties. However, H₂, the dominant molecular species, is difficult to observe directly, particularly in the regions where most molecular gas is thought to reside. Its mass is therefore commonly inferred by assuming a direct proportionality with the integrated intensity of the  ¹²CO( J = 1 → 0)  emission line, using a CO-to-H₂ conversion factor, X . Although a canonical value for X is used extensively in such estimates, there is increasing evidence, both theoretical and observational, that the conversion factor may vary by over an order of magnitude under conditions different from those of the local neighbourhood. In an effort to understand the influence of changing environmental conditions on the conversion factor, we derive theoretical estimates of X for a wide range of physical parameters using a photon-dominated region (PDR) time-dependent chemical model, benchmarking key results against those of an independent PDR code to ensure reliability. Based on these results, the sensitivity of the X factor to change in each physical parameter is interpreted in terms of the chemistry and physical processes within the cloud. In addition to confirming previous observationally derived trends, we find that the time-dependence of the chemistry, often neglected in such models, has a considerable influence on the value of the conversion factor.     

Helicoidal magneto-electron waves in interstellar molecular clouds

We investigate the evolution of the magnetic flux density in a magnetically supported molecular cloud driven by Hall and Ohmic components of the electric field generated by the flows of thermal electrons. Particular attention is given to the wave transport of the magnetic field in a cloud whose gas dynamics is dominated by electron flows; the mobility of neutrals and ions is regarded as heavily suppressed. It is shown that electromagnetic waves penetrating such a cloud can be converted into helicons – weakly damped, circularly polarized waves in which the densities of the magnetic flux and the electron current undergo coherent oscillations. These waves are interesting in their own right, because for electron magnetohydrodynamics the low-frequency helicoidal waves have the same physical significance as the transverse Alfvén waves do for a single-component magnetohydrodynamics. The latter, as is known, are considered to be responsible for the widths of molecular lines detected in dark, magnetically supported clouds. From our numerical estimates for the group velocity and the rate of dissipation of helicons it follows that a possible contribution of these waves to the broadening of molecular lines is consistent with the conditions typical of dark molecular clouds.     

Low velocity shock-cloud encounters I.

Shocks propagating in the interstellar medium (ISM) play an important role in the life of molecular clouds. Through a theoretical study of interaction between clouds and shocks we can understand, for example, the density distribution of observed molecular clouds and the first steps of star formation. The only way to study of interaction in detail is via a numerical hydrodynamical simulation. In this paper we present the first results of a hydrocode which is able to follow the processes after the collision between the cloud and shock front.Our main theoretical result is that the chemical processes (e.g. H₂ dissociation) can affect the dynamical processes significantly. Global parameters of the cloud are calculated for the comparision of the simulation and the observations.