Response of Atmospheric Low-frequency Wave to Oceanic Forcing in the Tropics

1. IntroductionInvestigations about atmospheric LFW have been a focus of research since Madden andJulian/s outstanding analysis works (1971, 1972). Many dynamical and thermal mechanisms(Chao et al., 1996; Fu et al., 1998; Hendon et al., 1998; Krishnamurti et al., 1988; Lau andChan, 1988) have been advised to explain LFW. Among them are oceanic effects, such as SSTeffect, thermal forcing and others. Usually atmosphere and ocean are taken as a coupled system, which is used to explain ENS…     

Sea level,climate change and coastal evolution in Morar,northwest Scotland

Analyses of geomorphologically contrasting sites in Morar, NW Scotland, describe the forcing mechanisms of coastal change. Isolation basins (i.e. basins behind rock sills and now isolated from the sea following isostatic uplift) accumulated continuous marine and freshwater sediments from c.12 to 2 ka BP. Raised dune, marsh and wetland sites register breaching, migration and stability of dunes from c. 9 to 2 ka BP. High-resolution methods designed to address issues of macroscale and microscale sea-level changes and patterns of storminess include 1-mm sampling for pollen, dinocyst and diatom analyses, infra-red photography, X-ray photography and thin-section analysis. The data enhance the record of relative sea-level change for the area. Major phases of landward migration of the coast occurred during the period of low sea-level rise in the mid-Holocene as the rate of rise decreased from c. 3 to < 1 mm/year. Relative sea-level change controls the broad pattern of coastal evolution at each site; local site-specific factors contribute to short-term process change. There is no record of extreme events such as tsunami. Within a system of dynamic metastable equilibrium, the Holocene records show that site-specific factors determine the exact timing of system breakdown, e.g. dune breaching, superimposed on regional sea-level rise. The global average sea-level rise of 3 to 6 mm/yr by AD 2050 predicted by IPCC would only partly be offset in the Morar area by isostatic uplift of about 1 mm/yr. A change from relative sea-level fall to sea-level rise, in areas where the regional rate of uplift no longer offsets global processes, is a critical factor in the management of coastal resources.     

探讨气候变化的新热点:大气气溶胶的气候效应

气溶胶的气候效应是近年来研究的热点问题。针对这一问题已开展过许多观测研究和模式研究。但是由于气溶胶问题的复杂性以及对气溶胶的观测历史短,至今尚缺少全球范围的气溶胶系统观测资料,所以目前气溶胶的辐射强迫仍是个很不确定的量。这直接影响对全球气候变化的预测。目前国内外正在加强这方面的研究工作,并且有了一些初步的结果。概述了近期国内外对气溶胶的气候效应的研究状况及结果,介绍了今后国际上将要在这一领域开展的研究工作。     

SOUTHERN BOUNDARY FORCING RELATIVE TO GENESIS, MAINTENANCE AND OSCILLATION OF A SUBTROPICAL HIGH*

A nonlinear critical layer and a Kelvin cat's eye excited thereupon are simulated through four schemes in the context of a nonlinear quasi-geostrophic barotropic vorticity equation model with forced stationary wave acting along the southern boundary to investigate effects of tropical steady forcing on the genesis,maintenance and oscillation of a subtropical high(STH).Evidence suggests that the southern forcing is responsible for the planetary quasi-steady anticyclonic Kelvin cat's eye-form flow field inside the nonlinear critical layer,with the eye shifting,vigor and shape changing quite similar to the behaviors of a summer STH,in striking contrast to the northern stationary forcing.As such,the southern boundary-caused cat's eye is likely to be an even more important mechanism for STH genesis and evolution.In addition,a physical mechanism is introduced for quasi-steady planetary wave moving through the critical layer at subtropical latitudes.     

中国地区大气气溶胶辐射强迫及区域气候效应的数值模拟

利用太阳直接辐射日总量和日照时数等多年观测资料,反演了中国地区大气气溶胶0.75 μm光学厚度的年、月平均值,分析了我国大气气溶胶状况的时空分布特征。据此,在中国区域气候模式中考虑气溶胶的辐射影响,模拟中国地区气溶胶直接辐射强迫的大小及气候响应的季节变化特征。计算结果表明: 我国大气气溶胶光学厚度多年平均分布状况是以四川盆地为大值中心向四周减少;长江中下游武汉附近和南疆盆地为另两个大值中心;青藏高原为气溶胶低值区;我国绝大部分地区春季气溶胶光学厚度值最大,各地气溶胶光学厚度最小值出现的季节则有所不同。气溶胶辐射强迫介于-5.3～-13 W/m2之间;辐射强迫具有春、夏季大,秋、冬季小,冬季南方偏大,夏季北方偏大的特征。气溶胶辐射强迫的分布与其光学厚度的分布基本一致。由于气溶胶的影响,中国大陆地区地面气温均有所下降,四川盆地到长江中下游地区以及青藏高原北侧到河套地区降温最为明显,分别可达-0.4℃和-0.5℃。气候响应具有明显的季节特征。地面气温的变化除与辐射强迫的大小有关外,还受大气环流的影响。     

中国地区气溶胶的辐射强迫及其气候响应试验

根据国内测定的排放因子数据和国家、部委及各省市统计年鉴公布的排放源数据,得到的中国大陆的1°×1°网格精度的SO2的排放分布,计算了中国地区人为扰动气溶胶的辐射强迫。应用近期开发的二维能量平衡模式计算了由该种气溶胶所引起的中国地区地面温度变化。模式结果表明,最大辐射强迫和最大地面温度变化都集中在中国的沿海和四川地区。最大辐射强迫达3 W/m2。     

A multiproxy climate record from a raised bog in County Fermanagh,Northern Ireland: a critical examination of the link between bog surface wetness and solar variability

A proxy climate record from a raised bog in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is presented. The record spans the interval between 2850 cal. yr BC and cal. yr AD 1000 and chronological control is achieved through the use of tephrochronology and ¹⁴C dating, including a wiggle‐match on one section of the record. Palaeoclimatic inferences are based on a combination of a testate amoebae‐derived water table reconstruction, peat humification and plant macrofossil analyses. This multiproxy approach enables proxy‐specific effects to be identified. Major wet shifts are registered in the proxies at ca. 1510 cal. yr BC, 750 cal. yr BC and cal. yr AD 470. Smaller magnitude shifts to wetter conditions are also recorded at ca. 380 cal. yr BC, 150 cal. yr BC, cal. yr AD 180, and cal. yr AD 690. It is hypothesised that the wet shifts are not merely local events as they appear to be linked to wider climate deteriorations in northwest Europe. Harmonic analysis of the proxies illustrates statistically significant periodicities of 580, 423–373, 307 and 265 years that may be related to wider Holocene climate cycles. This paper illustrates how the timing of climate changes registered in peat profiles records can be precisely constrained using tephrochronology to examine possible climatic responses to solar forcing. Relying on interpolated chronologies with considerable dating uncertainty must be avoided if the climatic responses to forcing mechanisms are to be fully understood. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of wind-induced near-inertial oscillations in a mixed layer near the east coast of Korea in the East/Japan Sea

Using a simple damped slab model,it was possible to show that a local wind induced 88%(15 of 17)of the near-inertial oscillations(NIO)observed in the mixed layer near the east coast of Korea from 1999 to 2004.The model,however,overestimated the energy level in about two-thirds of the simulated cases,because the slab model was forced with winds whose characteristic period was shorter than the damping time scale of the model at 1.5 d.At the observation site,due to typhoons and orographic effects,high-frequency wind forcing is quite common,as is the overestimation of the energy level in the slab model results.In short,a simple slab model with a damping time-scale of about 1.5 d would be enough to show that the local wind was the main energy source of the near-inertial energy in this area,but the model could not be used to accurately estimate the amount of the work done by the wind to the mixed layer.     

Radiative forcing over China due to albedo change caused by land cover change during 1990–2010

Land cover change affects surface radiation budget and energy balance by chang- ing surface albedo and further impacts the regional and global climate. In this article, high spatial and temporal resolution satellite products were used to analyze the driving mechanism for surface albedo change caused by land cover change during 1990-2010. In addition, the annual-scale radiative forcing caused by surface albedo changes in China＇s 50 ecological regions were calculated to reveal the biophysical mechanisms of land cover change affecting climate change at regional scale. Our results showed that the national land cover changes were mainly caused by land reclamation, grassland desertification and urbanization in past 20 years, which were almost induced by anthropogenic activities. Grassland and forest area decreased by 0.60% and 0.11%, respectively. The area of urban and farmland increased by 0.60% and 0.19%, respectively. The mean radiative forcing caused by land cover changes during 1990-2010 was 0.062 W/m2 in China, indicating a warming climate effect. However, spatial heterogeneity of radiative forcing was huge among different ecological regions. Farmland conversing to urban construction land, the main type of land cover change for the urban and suburban agricultural ecological region in Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan region, caused an albedo reduction by 0.00456 and a maximum positive radiative forcing of 0.863 WIm2, which was presented as warming climate effects. Grassland and forest conversing to farmland, the main type of land cover change for the temperate humid agricultural and wetland ecological region in Sanjiang Plain, caused an albedo increase by 0.00152 and a maximum negative radiative forcing of 0.184 W/m2, implying cooling climate effects.