Identifying Lagrangian fronts with favourable fishery conditions

Lagrangian fronts (LFs) in the ocean are defined as boundaries between surface waters with strongly different Lagrangian properties. They can be accurately detected in a given velocity field by computing synoptic maps for displacements of synthetic tracers and other Lagrangian indicators. We use Pacific saury catch and location data for a number of commercial fishery seasons in the region of the northwest Pacific with one of the richest fishery in the world. It is shown statistically that the saury fishing grounds with maximal catches are not randomly distributed over the region but located mainly along the sharp LFs where productive cold waters of the Oyashio Current, warmer waters of the southern branch of the Soya Current, and waters of warm-core Kuroshio rings converge. Computation of those fronts in altimetric geostrophic velocity fields both in the years with the First and Second Oyashio Intrusions shows that in spite of different oceanographic conditions LF locations may serve as good indicators of potential fishing grounds. Possible biophysical reasons for saury aggregation near sharp LFs are discussed. We propose a mechanism for effective export of nutrient rich waters based on stretching of material lines in the vicinity of hyperbolic objects in the ocean. The developed method, based on identifying LFs in any velocity fields, is quite general and may be applied to find potential fishing grounds for the other pelagic fish.     

The roles of different mechanisms related to the tide-induced fronts in the Yellow Sea in summer

In summer, the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass （YSCWM） is a stable water mass of low temperature lying at the bottom of the central Yellow Sea （YS）. It is fringed by some typical tidal fronts, which separate deep, stratified water on the offshore side from the well-mixed, shallow water on the inshore side. Three striking fronts--Subei Bank Front （SBF）, Shandong Peninsula Front （SPF）, and Mokpo Front （MKF; a front off the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula）--have been iden- tified by various studies from both satellite observations and model results. Tide plays an important role in the formation and maintenance of these fronts. However, it is still a matter of debate as to the roles these two kinds of mechanisms of upwelling and tidal mixing play, and how importance they are in the maintenance processes of the above three fronts. Basing a nested high-resolution model HYCOM （the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model）, this study focuses on the different mechanisms of tidal effects on the thermal fronts in the YS in summertime. Through comparative experiments with and without tidal forcing, the results indicate that the MKF is mainly driven by tide-induced upwelling. For the SPF, tidal mixing is the dominant factor, when lower cold water is stirred upwards along the sloping topography of the western YS. Meanwhile, the combined effect of upwelling and tidal mixing is the main cause of the formation of the SBF. Diagnostic analysis of thermal balance shows that horizontal nonlinear advection induced by strong tidal currents also contributes to the thermal balance of frontal areas.     

滇黔静止锋减弱北抬期间环流特征分析

采用2010—2021年深秋初冬时节（11—12月）ECMWF细网格2 m温度预报资料,以及实况地面气压场、综合观测资料、卫星资料与NCEP/NCAR提供的FNL再分析资料,对滇黔静止锋减弱北抬期间贵州境内84个国家观测站72 h内逐日最高温、最低温进行检验评估。结果发现,滇黔静止锋活动期间相对于平均状态,其预报准确率均显著降低而平均均方根误差明显增加,其中2014年ECMWF预报准确率不足20%,几乎丧失预报能力。为此,以2014年发生的19次滇黔静止锋减弱北抬个例进行合成分析,发现各层环流和要素场特征较平均状态均发生了明显变化。主要表现为：200 hPa上,静止锋摆动期间较平均状态急流入口有所东移,其南北界区域总体变窄,急流中心平均强度由65.0 m/s下降到60.0 m/s;500 hPa上,中高纬两槽一脊形势变得更加不明显,冷空气势力减弱,环流纬向度增大;要素场上,相对平均状态,0℃线均位于600 hPa附近,中低层气温呈现明显增温状态,700~850 hPa逆温状态变弱甚至消散,在低层风场上表现为南风增强、涡度增大。因此,当滇黔静止锋发生减弱北抬时,其环流和要素场特征相对平均状态均发生强度和位置上的变化,在预报工作中,可以此特征判断静止锋是否减弱北抬,更好地进行地方预报与服务。     

一次华北气旋造成北京特大暴雪天气过程分析

利用北京延庆站和海淀站风廓线产品、微波辐射计产品、北京市雷达产品(南郊和车道沟)、北京市58个称重雨量站观测资料、FY-2E卫星云图、常规气象资料综合分析2012年11月3到4日北京暴雪天气过程。分析表明：降水相态(雨、雪)由华北气旋的锋面性质和锋面位置决定;过程雨雪量由气旋的强度、持续时间和水汽通道维持时间决定;风廓线和微波辐射计产品资料在雨雪开始时间、雨雪相态转换方面有明显的指示性作用。     

Three steps of serpentinization in an eclogitized oceanic serpentinization front (Lanzo Massif – Western Alps)

The Lanzo peridotite massif is a fragment of oceanic lithosphere generated in an ocean–continent transition context and eclogitized during alpine collision. Despite the subduction history, the massif has preserved its sedimentary oceanic cover, suggesting that it may have preserved its oceanic structure. It is an exceptional case for studying the evolution of a fragment of the lithosphere from its oceanization to its subduction and then exhumation. We present a field and petrological study retracing the different serpentinization episodes and their impact on the massif structure. The Lanzo massif is composed of slightly serpentinized peridotites (<20% serpentinization) surrounded by an envelope of foliated serpentinites (100% serpentinization) bordered by oceanic metabasalts and metasedimentary rocks. The limit between peridotites and serpentinites defines the front of serpentinization. This limit is sharp: it is marked by the presence of massive serpentinites (80% serpentinization) and, locally, by dykes of metagabbros and mylonitic gabbros. The deformation of these gabbros is contemporaneous with the emplacement of the magma. The presence of early lizardite in the peridotites testifies that serpentinization began during the oceanization, which is confirmed by the presence of meta‐ophicarbonates bordering the foliated serpentinite envelope. Two additional generations of serpentine occur in the ultramafic rocks. The first is a prograde antigorite that partially replaced the lizardite and the relict primary minerals of the peridotite during subduction, indicating that serpentinization is an active process at the ridge and in the subduction zone. Locally, this episode is followed by the deserpentinization of antigorite at peak P–T (estimated in eclogitized metagabbros at 2–2.5 GPa and 550–620 °C): it is marked by the crystallization of secondary olivine associated with chlorite and/or antigorite and of clinopyroxene, amphibole and chlorite assemblages. A second antigorite formed during exhumation partially to completely obliterating previous textures in the massive and foliated serpentinites. Serpentinites are an important component of the oceanic lithosphere generated in slow to ultraslow spreading settings, and in these settings, there is a serpentinization gradient with depth in the upper mantle. The seismic Moho limit could correspond to a serpentinization front affecting the mantle. This partially serpentinized zone constitutes a less competent level where, during subduction and exhumation, deformation and fluid circulation are localized. In this zone, the reaction kinetics are increased and the later steps of serpentinization obliterate the evidence of this progressive zone of serpentinization. In the Lanzo massif, this zone fully recrystallized into serpentinite during alpine subduction and collision. Thus, the serpentinite envelope represents the oceanic crust as defined by geophysicists, and the sharp front of serpentinization corresponds to an eclogitized seismic palaeo‐Moho.     

Holocene migration of oceanic front systems over the Conrad Rise in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean

There has been limited previous research about Holocene climate variability in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean. Here we examine centennial‐scale changes in diatom assemblages and stable isotopic ratios since 10 000 cal a BP in a high‐accumulation‐rate sediment core from the Conrad Rise. Although abundances of dominant diatom taxa (Fragilariopsis kerguelensis and Thalassiothrix antarctica) are comparatively constant, relative abundances of secondary taxa fluctuate. Before c. 9900 cal a BP, winter sea‐ice and cold water covered the Conrad Rise. Following deglaciation the sea‐ice retreated from the Conrad Rise, lagging that of the Atlantic and eastern Indian Sectors by about 1500 a. The Polar Front moved southward during the early Holocene optimum and north Antarctic Zone waters covered the Conrad Rise for about 650 a. After 9300 cal a BP, solar insolation strongly influenced sea surface temperature and primary productivity in the Southern Ocean. In the high‐latitude Indian Sector, productivity increased 1500 a after the onset of late Holocene neoglaciation. Periodic δ¹⁸O and cold‐water diatom taxa spikes (at intervals of 200 and 300–500 a, respectively) occurred after 9300 cal a BP, probably associated with solar activity. Fluctuations in short‐term sea surface temperature and cold‐water taxa are synchronous with changes in δD observed in an east Antarctic ice core. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of water retention curve hysteresis on the stability of unsaturated soil slopes

Hysteresis is a common feature exhibited in hydraulic properties of an unsaturated soil. The movement of wetting front and the hysteresis effect are important factors which impact the shear strength of the unsaturated soil and the mechanics of shallow landslides. These failures are mainly triggered by the deepening of the wetting front accompanied by a decrease in matric suction induced by infiltration. This research establishes a method for determining a stability analysis of unsaturated infinite soil slopes, integrating the influence of infiltration and the water retention curve hysteresis. Furthermore, the present stability analysis method including the infiltration model and the advanced Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion calculates the variations of the safety factor (FS) in accordance with different slope angle, depth and hydrological processes. The experimentally measured data on the effect of hysteresis are also carried out for comparison. Numerical analyses, employing both wetting and drying hydraulic behaviour of unsaturated soil, are performed to study the difference in soil‐water content as observed in the experiments. The simulating approximations also fully responded to the experimental data of sand box. The results suggest that the hysteresis behaviour affect the distribution of soil‐water content within the slope indeed. The hysteresis made the FS values a remarkable recovery during the period of non‐rainfall in a rainfall event. The appropriate hydraulic properties of soil (i.e. wetting or drying) should be used in accordance with the processes that unsaturated soil actually experience. This method will enable us to acquire more accurate matric suction head and the unsaturated soil‐shear strength as it changes with the hysteretic flow, in order to calculate into the stability analysis of shallow landslides. An advanced understanding of the process mechanism afforded by this method is critical to realizing a reliable and appropriate design for slope stabilization. It also offers some immediate reference information to the disaster reduction department of the government. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fire‐induced changes in soil water repellency increased fingered flow and runoff rates following the 2004 Huelva wildfire

Water repellency (WR) from fire‐affected soils can affect infiltration processes and increase runoff rates. We investigated the effects of fire‐induced changes in soil WR and the related soil hydrological response after one of the largest wildfires in Spain in recent years. The vertical distribution of WR in soil profiles was studied under oak and pine forests and the wetting pattern was analysed after rainfall simulations (85 mm h^?1 during 60 min). After burning, the persistence of WR in soils under oaks increased in the upper 0–5 cm of soil in comparison with pre‐fire WR, but no significant changes were observed under pines. After a fire, WR was stronger and the thickness of the water‐repellent layer increased in soils under pines in the upper 0–16 cm of soil. The hydrophobic layer was thinner under oaks, where no strong to extremely water‐repellent samples were observed below 12 (in burnt soils) and 8 cm (in unburnt soils). Uniform wetting was observed through soil depth in burnt and unburnt soils under oaks, as a consequence of the prevailing matrix flux infiltration. Water was mostly stored in the upper few centimetres and soil became rapidly saturated, favouring a continuous rise in the runoff rate during the experiments. Moisture profiles under pines showed a heterogeneous wetting pattern, with highly irregular wetting fronts, as a result of wettable and water‐repellent three‐dimensional soil patches. In this case, runoff rates on burnt plots increased in relation to unburnt plots, but runoff generation reached a steady state after 25–30 min of simulated rainfall at an intensity of 85 mm h^?1. Rainfall water infiltrated over a small part of the ponded area, where the vertical pressure of the water column overcame the WR. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2011年长江中下游旱涝急转及汛期暴雨的对流条件研究

利用ERA-Interim及雨量和土壤水分观测资料,对比诊断了2011年5—6月长江中下游梅汛前极旱期急转为梅汛期洪涝的极端天气事件的对流条件（水汽、不稳定、抬升作用）差异及特征,并研究条件性湿位涡垂直通量（CMF）指数与暴雨之间的定量关系。结果表明:在极旱期,干冷的东北气流控制,西太平洋副热带高压偏东,低层水汽通量弱且以偏北风输送为主,中低层为下沉气流,无低空急流,等θ_se线稀疏,边界层抬升机制缺乏,是干旱加剧的主要因子;在梅汛期,西南气流增强,西太平洋副热带高压西伸,低层气流在长江地区辐合,低层水汽通量增加且转为西南和东南风输送为主,伴随高低空急流耦合和深厚的上升运动,等θ_se线密集形成梅雨锋,增强不稳定暖湿空气强迫抬升和垂直输送,造成暴雨频发,引起区域性洪涝。暴雨中心600 hPa以下为负湿位涡的不稳定层,对流不稳定与条件性对称不稳定共同作用是强降水发生的不稳定机制。CMF指数与旱涝变化、暴雨过程演变非常一致,在极旱（梅汛）期,CMF指数低（高）,变化平缓（剧烈）,CMF指数在暴雨开始时逐步剧增,结束时迅速减小。      

近30a台湾非台风暴雨研究回顾

从1987年开始,台湾暴雨研究进入一个新纪元,由早期定性描述分析进入定量计算与模拟,其中包括新观测设施的建设与数值天气预报系统的建立。近年来,随着全球气候变暖,台湾极端降雨事件有所增加,其中不少极端降雨事件是由非台风暴雨所致,往往给当地社会经济和人民生命财产造成严重影响,这就迫切需要不断提高强降雨定量预报业务水平。本文通过对近30 a台湾在非台风暴雨研究发展方面取得的主要进展的回顾,重点介绍了台湾气象部门为了提高强降雨定量预报业务水平所做出的努力,同时对未来台湾非台风暴雨研究规划与方向作了简要介绍。