kSZ from patchy reionization: The view from the simulations

We present the first calculation of the kinetic Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (kSZ) effect due to the inhomogeneus reionization of the universe based on detailed large-scale radiative transfer simulations of reionization. The resulting sky power spectra peak at ℓ = 2000–8000 with maximum values of [ℓ(ℓ + 1)C_ℓ/(2π)]_max  4–7 × 10 ⁻¹³. The scale roughly corresponds to the typical ionized bubble sizes observed in our simulations, of 5–20 Mpc. The kSZ anisotropy signal from reionization dominates the primary CMB signal above ℓ = 3000. At large-scales the patchy kSZ signal depends only on the source efficiencies. It is higher when sources are more efficient at producing ionizing photons, since such sources produce larger ionized regions, on average, than less efficient sources. The introduction of sub-grid gas clumping in the radiative transfer simulations produce significantly more power at small-scales, but has little effect at large-scales. The patchy reionization kSZ signal is dominated by the post-reionization signal from fully-ionized gas, but the two contributions are of similar order at scales ℓ  3000 − 10⁴, indicating that the kSZ anisotropies from reionization are an important component of the total kSZ signal at these scales.     

虚拟参考站技术中对流层误差建模方法研究

大气折射误差和轨道误差是制约长距离RTK精度的主要因素。虚拟参考站技术利用多个基准站的观测数据来建立大气延迟误差和轨道误差模型,以削弱这些误差的影响。在分析测站高程对对流层延迟建模精度影响的基础上,提出7种含高程影响因子的对流层误差建模模型,并通过两个实例,分析比较这几种对流层建模模型的精度和适用条件。最后,分析和讨论建议模型用于实时动态定位的精度,得出一些有益的结论。     

2011年包头初雪天气过程分析

利用Micaps常规资料,对2011年1月2—4日包头地区冬季首次降雪过程进行了分析。结果显示：此次降雪过程是受高空短波槽和地面倒槽共同影响所致,低空有充沛的水汽输送,并与西路小槽引导的冷空气在河套地区交汇;低空河套以东地区有强烈的辐合上升运动,有利于此次降雪天气过程的发生、发展。     

淮北地区2010年4月异常低温气候特征及成因分析

利用1961—2010年NCEP/NCAR再分析资料和4月淮北地区气温资料,用累积距平(CA)法、合成分析法对淮北地区气温的时空分布特征以及2010年4月淮北地区持续冷气候背景进行分析。文章分析了淮北地区4月冷、暖年的大气环流异常及要素场的空间分布特征。结果表明:淮北地区4月气温的年代际变化特征明显,在1990年前后发生了突变。贝加尔湖南部,100°E以东的华北地区中低层的冷空气活动与淮北地区4月气温高低存在很好的相关性,该地中低层冷空气强(弱),淮北地区4月气温低(高)。冷暖年,乌拉尔山暖脊、东亚大槽、西伯利亚高压等差异显著,说明以上是影响淮北地区4月气温异常的关键系统。另据分析,El Nino与淮北地区4月气温异常也具有很好的相关性。     

大气本底站反应性气体观测数据处理系统功能设计及实现

基于反应性气体多年观测的较为成熟的数据处理和质量控制方法,采用模块化功能结构设计,通过应用Visual Studio开发平台并结合MAP WinGIS等空间和时间显示控件,对反应性气体观测数据处理系统进行了设计和开发.系统实现了观测数据在空间和时间上的可视化显示,实际业务应用表明,具有良好的人机交互和数据处理能力,具备一定的数据统计分析功能.实现了对大气本底站反应性气体观测数据的统一管理和综合处理,已成为大气成分观测数据质量控制业务系统的一个重要组成部分.     

基于SPOT 5图像的岩溶地貌单元自动提取方法

通过对峰林、峰丛和岩溶洼地3者的地理特征和影像特征的研究,基于遥感图像本底值提出了能有效反映目标特征的遥感指数——植被指数、土壤亮度指数、图像主成分变换第1主成分值及地形数据等,并构建了遥感指数的集成计算法,建立了遥感自动提取模型.指数集成运算法能够有效地增大峰丛、峰林与其他地物之间的光谱差异,使这些岩溶地貌单元的灰度值高于其他地物,从而利于岩溶地貌单元提取阈值的自动选取.基于构建的遥感自动提取模型先提取了峰丛、峰林信息,并在此基础上提取了岩溶洼地信息.经实验研究表明,该方法具有较高的提取精度和效率.     

上甸子本底站气溶胶散射系数变化特征的初步分析

根据上甸子大气成分本底站从2004～2006年的连续观测数据,分析了区域大气粒子光散射系数的变化特点,以了解本底地区大气气溶胶粒子的基本特征.卜甸子地区3年数据比较表明,散射系数平均水平较低,但在2006年有所升高,主要表现在受春季沙尘天气的影响,污染次数增多.其次,散射系数日变化规律表现为白大低夜间高,午后出现最低值,此变化与大气层结的日变化趋势一致.从季节变化看,冬季和春季的散射系数相对较低,而夏季和秋季的值较高,这与气象条件及内外源的影响都有关系.天气对粒子变化的影响表现为,晴天无云时的大气状况有利于污染物的重直输送,散射系数远远低于阴天时的数值.另一方面,风向对本底站粒子浓度影响也较明显.来自东北东方向的空气较干净,散射系数值通常较低,而西南西风向通常会引起散射系数值的增大,说明位于西南方向上的北京等城镇的污染输送对上甸子本底站的大气状况有一定影响.最后,通过拟和散射系数小时平均值出现频率曲线,对上甸子地区本底浓度值作了初步估算,其范围在10~20 Mm~(-1).     

山东2009年10月降水气候背景及前期海温与大气环流特征

利用1951—2009年北半球500hPa高度、北太平洋海温、环流特征量、降水等资料,采用相关分析、合成分析、经验函数正交分解(EOF)、子波分析等多种统计技术,对影响山东2009年10月降水趋势的各种因素进行分析和研究。结果表明:山东10月降水大致存在3种降水分布型;在不同时间尺度的气候背景上,2009年10月山东基本处于一个少雨或由少雨向多雨转换的气候阶段;2009年春季加利福尼亚冷流的减弱,2009年6月开始的厄尔尼诺事件及6月起西太平洋副高持续的偏强、偏西、正常或偏南状态,各种指标均指示山东10月降水偏少的可能性大,预测与实况基本吻合。     

Signals from the epoch of cosmological recombination – Karl Schwarzschild Award Lecture 2008

The physical ingredients to describe the epoch of cosmological recombination are amazingly simple and well‐understood. This fact allows us to take into account a very large variety of physical processes, still finding potentially measurable consequences for the energy spectrum and temperature anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). In this contribution we provide a short historical overview in connection with the cosmological recombination epoch and its connection to the CMB. Also we highlight some of the detailed physics that were studied over the past few years in the context of the cosmological recombination of hydrogen and helium. The impact of these considerations is two‐fold: (i) The associated release of photons during this epoch leads to interesting and unique deviations of the CosmicMicrowave Background (CMB) energy spectrum from a perfect blackbody, which, in particular at decimeter wavelength and the Wien part of the CMB spectrum, may become observable in the near future. Despite the fact that the abundance of helium is rather small, it still contributes a sizeable amount of photons to the full recombination spectrum, leading to additional distinct spectral features. Observing the spectral distortions from the epochs of hydrogen and helium recombination, in principle would provide an additional way to determine some of the key parameters of the Universe (e.g. the specific entropy, the CMB monopole temperature and the pre‐stellar abundance of helium). Also it permits us to confront our detailed understanding of the recombination process with direct observational evidence. In this contribution we illustrate how the theoretical spectral template of the cosmological recombination spectrum may be utilized for this purpose. We also show that because hydrogen and helium recombine at very different epochs it is possible to address questions related to the thermal history of our Universe. In particular the cosmological recombination radiation may allow us to distinguish between Compton y ‐distortions that were created by energy release before or after the recombination of the Universe finished. (ii) With the advent of high precision CMB data, e.g. as will be available using the PLANCK Surveyor or CMBPOL, a very accurate theoretical understanding of the ionization history of the Universe becomes necessary for the interpretation of the CMB temperature and polarization anisotropies. Here we show that the uncertainty in the ionization history due to several processes, which until now were not taken in to account in the standard recombination code RECFAST, reaches the percent level. In particular He II → He I recombination occurs significantly faster because of the presence of a tiny fraction of neutral hydrogen at z ∼ 2400. Also recently it was demonstrated that in the case of H I Lyman α photons the timedependence of the emission process and the asymmetry between the emission and absorption profile cannot be ignored. However, it is indeed surprising how inert the cosmological recombination history is even at percent‐level accuracy. Observing the cosmological recombination spectrum should in principle allow us to directly check this conclusion, which until now is purely theoretical. Also it may allow to reconstruct the ionization history using observational data (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)