A late Holocene winter monsoon record inferred from the palaeo-aeolian sand dune in the southeastern Mu Us Desert, northern China

The variation of the Asian winter monsoonal strength has seriously affected the climate and environmental conditions in the Asian monsoonal region, and even in marginal islands and the ocean in the East Asian region. However, relevant understanding remains unclear due to the lack of suitable geological materials and effective proxies in the key study areas. Here, we present a grain-size record derived from the palaeo-aeolian sand dune in the southeastern Mu Us Desert, together with other proxies and OSL dating, which reflect a relatively detailed history of the winter monsoon and abrupt environmental events during the past 4.2 ka. Our grain-size standard deviation model indicated that >224 μm content can be considered as an indicator of the intensity of Asian winter monsoon, and it shows declined around 4.2-2.1 ka, enhanced but unstable in 2.1-0.9 ka, and obviously stronger since then. In addition, several typical climate events were also documented, forced by the periodic variation of winter monsoonal intensity. These include the cold intervals of 4.2, 2.8, 1.4 ka, and the Little Ice Age (LIA), and relatively warm sub-phases around 3.0, 2.1, 1.8 ka, and the Medieval Warm Period (MWP), which were roughly accordant with the records of the aeolian materials, peat, stalagmites, ice cores, and sea sediments in various latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Combined with the previous progresses of the Asian summer monsoon, we preliminarily confirmed a millennial-scale anti-correlation of Asian winter and summer monsoons in the Late Holocene epoch. This study suggests that the evolution of the palaeo-aeolian sand dune has the potential for comprehending the history of Asian monsoon across the desert regions of the modern Asian monsoonal margin in northern China.     

Intraseasonal oscillation of the southwest monsoon over Sri Lanka and evaluation of its subseasonal forecast skill

斯里兰卡的雨季发生于5-9月间,主要受西南季风的控制.本文发现该地区的西南季风降水存在很强的次季节变率,主导周期为10-35天.降水的季节内变化与西传的异常气旋有关.进一步,利用S2S比较计划中欧洲中心的数值预报模式(ECMWF)提供的回报试验数据,评估了当今动力模式对斯里兰卡西南季风次季节变化的预报技巧.结果显示,对季风指数的预测技巧超过30天,而对降水指数的预测技巧大约两周,且模式的预报技巧具有明显的年际差异.分析表明,能否正确模拟出大尺度环流对热带对流的响应是影响斯里兰卡降水预测的重要因子.     

The Key Supply Source of Long-Distance Moisture Transport for the Extreme Rainfall Event on July 21, 2012 in Beijing

In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and meteorological observation data were used to research the long-distance moisture transport supply source of the extreme rainfall event that occurred on July 21, 2012 in Beijing. Recording a maximum rainfall amount of 460 mm in 24 h, this rainstorm event had two dominant moisture transport channels. In the early stage of the rainstorm, the first channel comprised southwesterly monsoonal moisture from the Bay of Bengal (BOB) that was directly transported to north China along the eastern edge of Tibetan Plateau (TP) by orographic uplift. During the rainstorm, the southwesterly moisture transport was weakened by the transfer of Typhoon Vicente. Moreover, the southeasterly moisture transport between the typhoon and western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) became another dominant moisture transport channel. The moisture in the lower troposphere was mainly associated with the southeasterly moisture transport from the South China Sea and the East China Sea, and the moisture in the middle troposphere was mainly transported from the BOB and Indian Ocean. The control experiment well reproduced the distribution and intensity of rainfall and moisture transport. By comparing the control and three sensitivity experiments, we found that the moisture transported from Typhoon Vicente and a tropical cyclone in the BOB both significantly affected this extreme rainfall event. After Typhoon Vicente was removed in a sensitivity experiment, the maximum 24-h accumulated rainfall in north China was reduced by approximately 50% compared with that of the control experiment, while the rainfall after removing the tropical cyclone was reduced by 30%. When both the typhoon and tropical cyclone were removed, the southwesterly moisture transport was enhanced. Moreover, the sensitivity experiment of removing Typhoon Vicente also weakened the tropical cyclone in the BOB. Thus, the moisture pump driven by Typhoon Vicente played an important role in maintaining and strengthening the tropical cyclone in the BOB through its westerly airflow. Typhoon Vicente was not only the moisture transfer source for the southwesterly monsoonal moisture but also affected the tropical cyclone in the BOB, which was a key supply source of long-distance moisture transport for the extreme rainfall event on July 21, 2012 in Beijing.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene Afromontane vegetation and headwater wetland dynamics within the Eastern Mau Forest,Kenya

The Mau Forest Complex is Kenya's largest fragment of Afromontane forest, providing critical ecosystem services, and has been subject to intense land use changes since colonial times. It forms the upper catchment of rivers that drain into major drainage networks, thus supporting the livelihoods of millions of Kenyans and providing important wildlife areas. We present the results of a sedimentological and palynological analysis of a Late Pleistocene–Holocene sediment record of Afromontane forest change from Nyabuiyabui wetland in the Eastern Mau Forest, a highland region that has received limited geological characterization and palaeoecological study. Sedimentology, pollen, charcoal, X-ray fluorescence and radiocarbon data record environmental and ecosystem change over the last ~16 000 cal a bp. The pollen record suggests Afromontane forests characterized the end of the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene with dominant taxa changing from Apodytes, Celtis, Dracaena, Hagenia and Podocarpus to Cordia, Croton, Ficus, Juniperus and Olea. The Late Holocene is characterized by a more open Afromontane forest with increased grass and herbaceous cover. Continuous Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Juncaceae vegetation currently cover the wetland and the water level has been decreasing over the recent past. Intensive agroforestry since the 1920s has reduced Afromontane forest cover as introduced taxa have increased (Pinus, Cupressus and Eucalyptus).     

西太平洋暖池海温和山西盛夏降水关系研究

利用1961—2016年山西盛夏(7—8月)平均降水和同期NOAA重构海温资料,分析了山西盛夏降水分别与赤道中东太平洋海温和西太平洋暖池海温相关性的变化。结果表明:山西盛夏降水和赤道中东太平洋海温之间呈现稳定的显著负相关;和西太平洋暖池海温呈现正相关,并在20世纪70年代末到80年代初之后相关性加强,通过了0.05显著性检验。进一步分析表明,这种西太平洋暖池海温对20世纪80年代以来山西盛夏降水指示意义加强的事实,主要体现在赤道中东太平洋海温偏冷的背景下。西太平洋暖池海温异常通过影响与山西盛夏降水密切相关的大气环流、季风槽位置和东亚夏季风,导致山西盛夏降水异常。盛夏赤道中东太平洋海温偏冷时,西太平洋暖池海温偏暖(冷),通过遥相关引起中高纬度大气欧亚—太平洋型遥相关(EUP)和负太平洋—日本(PJ)波列,通过影响季风槽位置偏西偏北(偏东偏南),引起西太平洋副热带高压偏北(南)和季风指数偏小(大),导致山西盛夏降水偏多(少)。     

SIMULATION OF TROPICAL CYCLONES OVER THE WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC AND LANDFALLING IN CHINA BY REGCM4

This study evaluates the performance of the regional climate model RegCM4 in simulating tropical cyclone (TC) activities over the Western North Pacific (WNP) and their landfalling in China. The model is driven by ERA-Interim boundary conditions at a grid spacing of 25 km, with the simulation period as 1991–2010. Results show that RegCM4 performs well in capturing the main structural features of observed TCs, and in simulating the genesis number and annual cycle of the genesis. The model reproduces the general pattern of the observed TC tracks and occurrence frequency. However, significant underestimation of the occurrence frequency as well as the TC intensity is found. Number of the landfalling TCs over China is also much less than the observed. Bias of the model in reproducing the large-scale circulation pattern and steering flow may contribute to the underestimated landfalling TC numbers.     

CONDITIONAL NONLINEAR OPTIMAL PERTURBATIONS: APPLICATION IN TROPICAL CYCLONE FORECASTS

Considering the feature of tropical cyclones (TCs) that strong positive vorticity exists in the lower layers of troposphere, this study proposed to use vorticity at 850 hPa as cost function to find the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation (CNOP), which was largely different from those previous studies using total energy of perturbed forecast variables. The CNOP was obtained by an ensemble-based approach. All of the sensitive areas determined by CNOP with vorticity at 850 hPa as cost function for the three cases were located over the TC core region and its vicinity. The impact of the CNOP-based adaptive observations on TC forecasts was evaluated with three cases via observational system simulation experiments (OSSEs). Results showed obvious improvements in TC intensity or track forecasts due to the CNOP-based adaptive observations, which were related to the main error source of the verification area, i.e., intensity error or location error.     

中国夏季风影响过渡区与其他地区蒸发皿蒸发量趋势相反的原因

夏季风影响过渡区是天气和气候的敏感区,随着全球和区域的变暖,该区域特殊的气候环境响应引起人们重点关注。以南昌、定西、乌鲁木齐作为夏季风影响区、夏季风影响过渡区以及非夏季风影响区的代表站,通过对比中国夏季风影响过渡区和其他地区50年来温度、日照时数、相对湿度、降水量、低云量、风速的变化趋势,以及分析各气象因子单独变化对蒸发皿蒸发量的影响,发现在夏季风影响过渡区各个气象因子的变化均使蒸发皿蒸发量增加,而在其他地区,只有温度变化会使蒸发皿蒸发量增加,其他各因子的变化均会造成蒸发皿蒸发量的下降。贡献度更直观的反映各气象因子对不同地区蒸发皿蒸发的作用。结果表明温度变化对夏季风影响过渡区蒸发皿蒸发变率的贡献最大,贡献度为48.93%。风速变化对夏季风影响区蒸发皿蒸发变率的贡献最大,贡献度为51.54%。降水变化对非夏季风影响区蒸发皿蒸发变率的贡献最大,贡献度为58.57%。此外,低云量的变化对夏季风影响过渡区、夏季风影响区和非夏季风影响区的贡献均达到20%以上。因此,不同地区影响蒸发皿蒸发的最主要的因子是不同的,但低云量对任何地区蒸发皿蒸发的影响都非常重要。     

热带气旋西行造成的远距离降雨特征分析

2018年7月27~28日凉山州地区出现了持续性的强降水天气过程,本文运用水平分辨率为1°×1°的NECP6小时再分析资料、新型监测资料及常规观测资料进行分析。发现此次过程不同于常规的降水过程,环流背景上受副高外围的东南气流和热带气旋形成的东风波倒槽共同作用形成的急流轴影响,为降水地提供充足的水汽和能量补充,从而形势上形成了热带气旋远距离降水,同时副热带高压的稳定维持也阻挡了高原上的低值系统快速东移,使得降水机制长时间停滞,对降水地造成影响。     

Seesaw Pattern of Rainfall Anomalies between the Tropical Western North Pacific and Central Southern China during Late Summer

It is well known that suppressed convection in the tropical western North Pacific(WNP) induces an anticyclonic anomaly,and this anticyclonic anomaly results in more rainfall along the East Asian rain band through more water vapor transport during summer, as well as early and middle summer. However, the present results indicate that during late summer(from mid-August to the beginning of September), the anomalous anticyclone leads to more rainfall over central southern China(CSC), a region quite different from preceding periods. The uniqueness of late summer is found to be related to the dramatic change in climatological monsoon flows: southerlies over southern China during early and middle summer but easterlies during late summer. Therefore, the anomalous anticyclone, which shows a southerly anomaly over southern China, enhances monsoonal southerlies and induces more rainfall along the rain band during early and middle summer. During late summer,however, the anomalous anticyclone reflects a complicated change in monsoon flows: it changes the path, rather than the intensity, of monsoon flows. Specifically, during late summers of suppressed convection in the tropical WNP, southerlies dominate from the South China Sea to southern China, and during late summers of enhanced convection, northeasterlies dominate from the East China Sea to southern China, causing more and less rainfall in CSC, respectively.