A radar transparent layer in a temperate valley glacier: Bench Glacier,Alaska

Radar surveys of Bench Glacier, Alaska, collected over five field seasons between 2002 and 2006 reveal a surface layer of radar transparent ice in this temperate valley glacier. The transparent layer covers the up‐glacier half of the ablation zone and is defined by a distinct lack of the radar scattering events considered typical of temperate ice. Radar scattering ice underlies the transparent zone, and extends to the surface elsewhere on the glacier. We observed the layering in constant offset radar surveys conducted with characteristic frequencies ranging from 5 MHz to 100 MHz. The radar transparent layer extends from the surface to 20 m depth on average, but up to 50 m in some places. Bench Glacier's transparent layer appears similar to the cold surface layer of polythermal glaciers, however, observations in over 50 boreholes on Bench Glacier suggest there is no cold ice corresponding to the radar transparent layer. We conclude that spatially extensive radar‐transparent layers normally used to identify cold ice in polythermal glaciers are present in some temperate glaciers. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

雷达用于地震预测的基础实验研究

为将雷达技术应用于地震预测,在实验室对花岗岩等不同岩性的27个岩石试样进行了加压实验观测研究,使用的雷达测量仪器是美国HP公司生产的专用RSC测量系统,观测8mm,2cm,3cm和5cm四个雷达波段,在加压的过程中自动连续测量岩石试样的雷达波反射强度随压力的变化,实验表明：反映岩石试样微波反射特性的雷达波反射强度随压力变化而变化,在实验的27个岩石试样中,无一例外,只是在不同试样、不同波段或不同极化方式的实验中存在变化幅度和趋势的差异. 岩石试样反射波强度的相对变化量为百分之几到百分之十几,花岗岩的最大变化量达到202%(113号试样),砂岩的最大变化量达到279%(212号试样). 实验结果为将雷达技术应用于地震预测、岩体及岩土工程稳定性监测和稳定性评价提出了实验依据,奠定了物理基础.     

东南极内陆格罗夫山地区冰厚及冰下地形特征

中国第30次南极科学考察队格罗夫山分队(CHINARE30, 2013-2014年)利用雪地车载深层探冰雷达在东南极格罗夫山地区开展了测线总长度超过200 km大范围、高分辨率的冰厚及冰下地形调查, 获得了哈丁山北部和萨哈罗夫岭与阵风悬崖之间详细的冰厚及冰下地形特征. 通过对雷达数据分析表明, 哈丁山北部区域平均冰厚为580 m, 最大冰厚超过1 000 m, 出现在该区域的东北方向, 而东南方向冰厚相对较小; 萨哈罗夫岭与阵风悬崖之间区域的平均冰厚为610 m, 最大冰厚超过1 100 m, 该区域槽谷发育十分成熟, 槽谷形态近似呈U型. 通过对雷达剖面影像的筛选和分析, 推测在格罗夫山地区可能存在2个液态冰下湖泊.     

Impact of Doppler Radar Wind in Simulating the Intensity and Propagation of Rainbands Associated with Mesoscale Convective Complexes Using MM5-3DVAR System

Pre-monsoon rainfall around Kolkata (northeastern part of India) is mostly of convective origin as 80% of the seasonal rainfall is produced by Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCS). Accurate prediction of the intensity and structure of these convective cloud clusters becomes challenging, mostly because the convective clouds within these clusters are short lived and the inaccuracy in the models initial state to represent the mesoscale details of the true atmospheric state. Besides the role in observing the internal structure of the precipitating systems, Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) provides an important data source for mesoscale and microscale weather analysis and forecasting. An attempt has been made to initialize the storm-scale numerical model using retrieved wind fields from single Doppler radar. In the present study, Doppler wind velocities from the Kolkata Doppler weather radar are assimilated into a mesoscale model, MM5 model using the three-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVAR) system for the prediction of intense convective events that occurred during 0600 UTC on 5 May and 0000 UTC on 7 May, 2005. In order to evaluate the impact of the DWR wind data in simulating these severe storms, three experiments were carried out. The results show that assimilation of Doppler radar wind data has a positive impact on the prediction of intensity, organization and propagation of rain bands associated with these mesoscale convective systems. The assimilation system has to be modified further to incorporate the radar reflectivity data so that simulation of the microphysical and thermodynamic structure of these convective storms can be improved.     

多普勒雷达资料动态定量估测台风小时降水量的研究

在充分考虑传统的最优化方法和概率配对法优缺点的基础上,使用一种改进的最佳窗概率配对法计算Z-I关系中的系数A和b,得到了雷达测得的基本反射率因子Z和雨量计实时测到的小时降水量I的动态关系.利用温州多普勒雷达体扫资料和浙江省自动雨量站资料,使用该方法对"海棠"(Haitang)和"麦莎"(Matsa)两个台风分别进行了动态计算,得到了不同系数的Z-I关系,进而对两个台风的小时降水量进行了定量估测.使用变分技术对估测的小时降水量进行了校准.结果表明,不同台风Z-I关系的系数差别较大,因而造成台风小时降水量的很大不同.使用雷达基本反射率来估测台风小时降水量,能够清楚表现出台风的螺旋雨带和其中的中小尺度雨团,估测的台风小时降水量与实况基本接近.经过变分校准的估测降水量可以较好地表现出台风雨带与地面中尺度流场动力结构的对应关系.误差统计分析表明,变分校准后的估测台风小时降水量要明显好于变分校准前的估测台风小时降水量.变分校准法既保留了雷达估测台风小时降水量的分布特征,又使估测的台风小时降水雨量与实况的误差明显减小.     

THE STATISTIC RELATION BETWEEN LIGHTNING AND CINRAD DOPPLER RADAR ECHOES IN CENTRAL GUANGDONG

Based on the CINRAD Doppler radar data in Guangzhou and the lightning data in 2004 by power suppliers of Guangdong, statistical study is done by overlaying lightning’s position on radar’s echo. The result shows the followings. The concentrated period in which more negative lightning occurred at the middle levels (2 – 14 km), where radar echo was moderate (12 – 45 dBz), rather than at the low levels with the weakest echoes or at high levels with the strongest echoes. At levels 3 – 11 km, where the radar echo was between 10 dBz and 35 dBz, the area of negative lightning was much larger in central Guangdong than in the rest of the province. At levels 0.5 – 7 km where the radar echoes were between 44 dBz and 51 dBz, the probability for a point to have negative lightning varies from 0.4 to 0.7.     

山西省多普勒雷达非降水回波应用研究

本文研究了多普勒天气雷达速度图上非降水回波（不包括地物回波）的空间结构，并对太原雷达站业务运行以来多普勒天气雷达观测到的“非降水回波”的速度特征进行了深入、系统的分析。发现由大气湍流和云滴后向散射所致的非降水回波，虽然强度很弱，但其速度回波却代表了环境风的三维结构，对临近预报有5h～7h的提前量，为临近预报提供了一种新的有效手段。     

宁波非气象雷达回波的人工智能识别及滤波

统计分析2003—2006年宁波雷达的非气象杂波, 影响杂波主要为地物杂波, 包括普通地物杂波 (NP杂波) 和异常地物杂波 (AP杂波) ; 并分析这些杂波在反射率因子、径向速度、谱宽产品上不连续的离散状分布等特征。基于以上特征及传统杂波识别的经验而设计出一种近似模拟人眼模糊识别的稳定安全的多维线性近似的杂波识别及其过滤算法, 在 190 个个例测试中大都效果较好, 尤其在 150 km 以内, 能够在确保降水数据完整、准确的基础上有效过滤非气象杂波。     

Development and behaviour of a radar-based operational tool for hailstorms identification

Hailstorms are a common meteorological phenomenon in Spain which causes substantial economic damage especially in spring and summer. During 2000 and 2001, a radar-based application for convective monitoring was developed at STAP (Forecasting and Analysis Techniques Department); in order to improve this nowcasting tool, it is needed to include an advanced procedure to estimate the presence of hail as a complementary module in the operational application. A preliminary study, carried out during 2001, showed that the Waldvogel technique, VIL (vertical integrated liquid) density and the hail detection algorithm (HDA) are the methodologies which proved more accurate in our latitudes.Throughout the spring and summer of 2001, all available information about hail events (time, place and hail size) and about storms without hail was used for tuning an experimental module to detect severe and non-severe hailstorms, taking into account the selected algorithms. During 2002, further information about storms was gathered in order to assess the behaviour of the developed hail module. Afterwards, a new module calibration was carried out with the information of the complete storms data set of 2001 and 2002. With this new calibration, the hail module became an operational tool during the spring and summer of 2003. Currently, the verification of the operational module using the data from the storms in 2003 is being elaborated. The aim of this work is to put forward the calibration procedure carried out, the verification results of 2002, and the performance of the hail estimate module in selected cases during 2003 in Spain.     

Application of Radar Reflectivity Factor in Initializing Cloud-Resolving Mesoscale Model. Part Ⅱ: Numerical Simulation Experiments

Microphysics elements and vertical velocity retrieved were incorporated using the nudging method into the initial data assimilation of GRAPES (Global/Regional Assimilation and Prediction System) model.Simulation experiments indicated that nudging technique was effective in forcing the model forecast gradually consistent to the observations, yielding the thermodynamically and dynamically balanced analysis field. As viewed from the simulation results, water vapor is vital to precipitation, and it is a governing factor for the amount and duration of precipitation. The initial cloud water, rain water, and vertical velocity determine the strength distribution of convection and precipitation at the beginning time of forecast; the horizontal wind field steers the motion of the mesoscale weather system embedded in and impacts the position of precipitation zone to a large extent. The simulation experiments show that the influence of the initial retrieval data on prediction weakens with the increase of forecast time, and within the first hour of forecast, the retrieval data have an important impact on the evolution of the weather system, but its influence becomes trivial after the first three hours. Changing the nudging coefficient and the integral time-spacing of numerical model will bring some influences to the results. Herein only one radar reflectivity was used, the radar observations did not cover the whole model domain, and some empirical parameters were used in the retrieval method, therefore some differences still lie between simulation and observation to a certain extent, and further studies on several aspects are expected.