Mountain range specific analog weather forecast model for northwest Himalaya in India

Mountain range specific analog weather forecast model is developed utilizing surface weather observations of reference stations in each mountain range in northwest Himalaya (NW-Himalaya). The model searches past similar cases from historical dataset of reference observatory in each mountain range based on current situation. The searched past similar cases of each mountain range are used to draw weather forecast for that mountain range in operational weather forecasting mode, three days in advance. The developed analog weather forecast model is tested with the independent dataset of more than 717 days (542 days for Pir Panjal range in HP) of the past 4 winters (2003–2004 to 2006–2007). Independent test results are reasonably good and suggest that there is some possibility of forecasting weather in operational weather forecasting mode employing analog method over different mountain ranges in NW-Himalaya. Significant difference in overall accuracy of the model is found for prediction of snow day and no-snow day over different mountain ranges, when weather is predicted under snow day and no-snow day weather forecast categories respectively. In the same mountain range, significant difference is also found in overall accuracy of the model for prediction of snow day and no-snow day for different areas. This can be attributed to their geographical position and topographical differences. The analog weather forecast model performs better than persistence and climatological forecast for day-1 predictions for all the mountain ranges except Karakoram range in NW-Himalaya. The developed analog weather forecast model may help as a guidance tool for forecasting weather in operational weather forecasting mode in different mountain ranges in NW-Himalaya.     

Cultural climatology and the representation of sky, atmosphere, weather and climate in selected art works of Constable, Monet and Eliasson

The visual turn presents new challenges and methodologies for the pursuit of geography as we seek to communicate our ideas and understanding within and beyond the discipline. This paper attempts to show the potential importance of visual culture within a field that we may call cultural climatology. Cultural climatology seeks to explore the dialectic between society and atmosphere, weather and climate at a variety of temporal and spatial scales. A new visual approach to cultural climatology is presented as a possible way of stimulating conversations across the divide between the social and physical sciences. Images and visualisation assert their presence in the understanding, modelling and communication of many nature/culture debates, highlighting a need both for visual literacy across geography, and for social and physical scientists to share their visual methodologies. Cultural climatologists, like other scientists, need visual methodologies for both the critical construction and deconstruction of the images they wish to present and with which they are confronted. To illustrate the importance of visual literacy for cultural climatologists this paper introduces a sample of works from three artists: Constable, Monet and Eliasson. It shows how an exploration of their work (via a theory of pictures) could help to provide: firstly a methodology for understanding the cultural symbolism of skies and weather; secondly an assessment of the urban atmosphere in London at the turn of the 20th century and thirdly an example of the effective representation of atmosphere, weather and climate involving public participation and understanding. Lessons learned from deconstructing these works of art will then be used to suggest improvements in the visualisation of weather in the production and consumption of weather forecasts (thus, picturing theory).     

登陆台风对安阳降水的影响及其预报

在分析1966－1995年安阳区域夏季登陆台风的不同环流形势基础上，利用历史天气图资料及安阳区域实况要素资料，找出台风登陆后安阳区域产生的不同天气的预防指标，并分类建立了预报方程。     

The impact of weather variations on maize yields and household income: Income diversification as adaptation in rural China

Climate change is threatening global food production and could potentially exacerbate food insecurity in many parts of the world. China is the second largest maize producer. Variations in maize yields in China are likely to have major implications for food security in the world. Based on longitudinal data of 4861 households collected annually between 2004 and 2010, we assess the impact of weather variations on maize yields in the two main producing regions in China, the Northern spring maize zone and the Yellow-Huai Valley summer maize zone. We also explore the role of adaptation, by estimating the response of Chinese farmers in both regions, in particular in terms of income diversification. With the use of household and time fixed effects, our estimates relate within-household variations in household outcomes (maize yields, net income, land and input use) to within-location variations in weather conditions. Temperature, drought, wet conditions, and precipitations have detrimental effects on maize yields in the two maize zones. The impact is stronger in the Northern spring maize zone where one standard deviation in temperature and drought conditions decreases maize yields by 1.4% and 2.5%, respectively. Nonetheless, such impact does not seem to translate into a significant fall in total net income. Adaptation seems to be key in explaining such a contrast in the Northern spring maize zone where the largest impact is estimated. On the contrary, we find a lower impact in the other region, the Yellow-Huai Valley summer maize zone but such impact is likely to intensify. The lack of adaptation observed in that region results into detrimental impacts on net farm and total income. Enhancing adaptative behaviors among Chinese farmers even further is likely to be key to future food security in China and in the rest of the world.     

翡翠贻贝足丝器的组织结构观察

用光镜和电镜技术初步探讨了翡翠贻贝Ｐｅｒｎａｖｉｒｉｄｉｓ足丝器（Ｂｙｓｓａｌａｐｐｒａｔｕｓ）的三大组成部分之间的空间结构关系，着重观察足丝柄部发生器（ＢＳＧ）的片层结构，揭示小片具有典型的胶原原纤维电镜特征。此外，通过足丝丝部的表面结构观察，发现可用众多的突起来解释足丝表面对放射性碘的强机械吸附作用；利用足丝丝部横切片，计算出其长径约１０５μｍ，短径约４０μｍ。     

“Natural cycles” in lay understandings of climate change

This article analyses lay understandings of climate change elicited through a longitudinal population-based survey of climate change, place and community among 1162 residents in the Hunter Valley, Southeast Australia. We explore how older residents in contrasting rural and coastal geographic areas perceive climate change information in terms of culturally relevant meanings and values, lived experiences and emotional responses to seasonal cycles, temperature fluctuations and altered landscapes. Thematic analysis of comments given by 467 interviewees to an open-ended question identified a significant subset for whom the concepts of “nature” and “science” express competing views about changing climatic conditions. For them, the idea of “natural cycles” is a significant cultural construct that links nature and humans through time in a way that structures stable and resilient understandings of environmental change, drawing on established cosmological frameworks for contemplating the future in relation to the past. In contrast to other studies that postulate scepticism and denial as individuals’ fear management strategies in the face of climate change threat, we found that the natural cycles view is founded on a reassuring deeper conviction about how nature works, and is linked to other pro-environmental values not commonly found in sceptical groups. It is a paradox of natural cycles thinking that it rejects the anthropocentrism that is at the heart of science-based environmentalism. By contrast, it places humans as deeply integrated with nature, rather than operating outside it and attempting with uncertain science to control something that is ultimately uncontrollable.     

Sensitivity of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to downscaling ratios and storm types in rainfall simulation

Accurate information of rainfall is needed for sustainable water management and more reliable flood forecasting. The advances in mesoscale numerical weather modelling and modern computing technologies make it possible to provide rainfall simulations and forecasts at increasingly higher resolutions in space and time. However, being one of the most difficult variables to be modelled, the quality of the rainfall products from the numerical weather model remains unsatisfactory for hydrological applications. In this study, the sensitivity of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is investigated using different domain settings and various storm types to improve the model performance of rainfall simulation. Eight 24‐h storm events are selected from the Brue catchment, southwest England, with different spatial and temporal distributions of the rainfall intensity. Five domain configuration scenarios designed with gradually changing downscaling ratios are used to run the WRF model with the ECMWF 40‐year reanalysis data for the periods of the eight events. A two‐dimensional verification scheme is proposed to evaluate the amounts and distributions of simulated rainfall in both spatial and temporal dimensions. The verification scheme consists of both categorical and continuous indices for a first‐level assessment and a more quantitative evaluation of the simulated rainfall. The results reveal a general improvement of the model performance as we downscale from the outermost to the innermost domain. Moderate downscaling ratios of 1:7, 1:5 and 1:3 are found to perform better with the WRF model in giving more reasonable results than smaller ratios. For the sensitivity study on different storm types, the model shows the best performance in reproducing the storm events with spatial and temporal evenness of the observed rainfall, whereas the type of events with highly concentrated rainfall in space and time are found to be the trickiest case for WRF to handle. Finally, the efficiencies of several variability indices are verified in categorising the storm events on the basis of the two‐dimensional rainfall evenness, which could provide a more quantitative way for the event classification that facilitates further studies. It is important that similar studies with various storm events are carried out in other catchments with different geographic and climatic conditions, so that more general error patterns can be found and further improvements can be made to the rainfall products from mesoscale numerical weather models. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于预测的双线偏振天气雷达数据无损压缩算法

随着双线偏振天气雷达技术的发展,雷达提供的探测参量越来越多,数据精度不断提高。探测性能提升使得天气雷达数据量急剧增长,数据存储和传输是雷达网络化应用中需要解决的重要问题。数据压缩算法用于减小传输和存储的数据量,但通用的数据压缩算法并未充分考虑双线偏振天气雷达数据的特点。文中提出适用于双线偏振天气雷达数据压缩算法（DPRC）,使用径向预测减小天气雷达数据相关性,实现了天气雷达基数据的高效无损压缩。使用CSU-CHILL雷达数据和双线偏振改造后的CINRAD SA雷达对DPRC的算法性能进行评估,试验结果表明,DPRC较通用的压缩算法压缩率更高,适用于高分辨率双线偏振雷达数据无损压缩。      

基于SWAN雷达拼图产品在暴雨过程中的对流云降水识别及效果检验

本文基于SWAN雷达拼图产品,选取了组合反射率因子、组合反射率因子水平梯度、回波顶高及垂直累积液态水含量作为识别参数,采用模糊逻辑法对暴雨过程中的对流云与层状云降水进行了分类试验,对发生在重庆的12次区域性暴雨天气过程分类结果进行了验证。并以ADTD地闪资料作为对流云降水的实况观测数据,分别采用了四种不同半径的空间匹配与四种不同时间匹配方式对识别出的对流云降水产品进行了定量检验。检验结果显示:随着空间匹配半径的增大,正确率明显提高,而6 min地闪相对于6 min拼图产品提前6、3、0 min及滞后3 min四种时间匹配方式,其正确率变化很小。对于12次暴雨过程的总体评分较高,检验方法具有清楚的物理意义,在不同的时空匹配方式下的评分结果符合实际情况,同时说明对流云与层状云降水分类效果较好,也是对对流云降水识别定量检验的一次探索。     

福建周宁水库地面暖云人工增雨作业效果分析

利用2012年4月至2013年8月期间在福建省周宁水库开展的地面烟炉暖云人工增雨试验资料,结合区域对比试验方法对每次暖云人工增雨作业进行效果评估,探讨暖云人工增雨的作业效果。结果表明：周宁水库开展地面暖云人工增雨作业的平均增雨量为51 mm;在西南暖湿气流影响下的暖云增雨效果最明显;采用多点及多时次暖云人工增雨作业方式,有利于提高人工增雨的作业效果。通过作业效果分析,地面烟炉暖云人工增雨技术适合于南方山区。