A Preliminary Analysis of Features and Causes of the Snow Storm Event over the Southern Areas of China in January 2008

Four successive freezing rain/heavy snowfall processes occurred in the southern part of China from 11 January to 2 February 2008 （named ＂0801 Southern Snow Disaster＂ hereafter）, during which a large-scale blocking circulation lasted for a long time over the mid-high latitudes of the Euro-Asian continent. This severe event is featured with a broad spatial scale, strong intensity, long duration, and serious damage. During the event, the blocking situation in the mid-high latitudes maintained quasi-sationary, but weather systems in the lower latitudes were active. Abundant water vapor was supplied, and favorable weather conditions for ice storms were formed over the large areas across the southern part of China. The results in this paper demonstrate that the significant factors responsible for the abnormal atmospheric circulation and this severe event include： 1） the very active Arctic Oscillation （AO）, which helped the permanent maintenance of the planetary-scale waves; 2） the continuous transfer of negative vorticity from the upstream region around 50°E into the blocking area, which caused the blocking situation reinforced repeatedly and sustained for a long time; and 3） the active air currents south of the Tibetan Plateau, which ensured abundant moisture supply to the southern areas of China. The 0801 Southern Snow Disaster was accompanied by extremely severe icing. In this paper, the data from Cloud-Profile Radar onboard the satellite CloudSat are used to study the dynamic and microphysical features of this event. The results show that there existed a melting layer between 2 and 4 km, and ice particles could be found above this layer and in the layer near the ground surface. Surface temperature kept between -4℃ and 0℃ with relative humidity over 90%, which provided the descending supercooled waterdrops with favorable synoptic and physical conditions to form glaze and ice at the surface via freezing, deposition and/or accretion. Causes of the event might be, as a whole, traced back to the planetary-scale systems. The study on the polar vortex anomaly in this paper reveals that changes in the polar vortex in the stratosphere preceded those in the troposphere, especially in early December 2007, while the intensification of the polar vortex in the troposphere delayed dramatically until middle January and early February of 2008. This implies that changes in the polar vortex in the stratosphere may be a precursor of the ensuing severe event and a meaningful clue for extended forecasts of such a disaster.     

亚洲热带夏季风指数与中国南方降水的关系

利用1979-2013年夏季全球2.5°×2.5°逐日环流资料和中国气象站点降水观测资料,采用动力学因子(西南风)与热力学因子(Radiation Longwave covting,OLR)相结合定义了标准化的亚洲热带夏季风指数(Tropical Summer Monsoon Index,TSMI).结果 表明,该指数...     

南方地区暴雨频繁北方沙尘天气多现——2006年5月——

5月,全国平均降水量为77．4mm,比常年同期偏多10．4mm;平均气温为16．3℃,比常年同期偏高0．7℃。月内,我国南方地区暴雨天气频繁,局部地区暴雨洪涝引发泥石流、滑坡等灾害;北方多次出现大范围降水过程,西北东部、华北、黄淮等地旱情缓和或解除,但东北西部及内蒙古东部降水明显偏少,干旱持续或发展;台风珍珠在广东沿海登陆,初台登陆时间早,强度强,使广东、福建两省遭受较重损失;我国北方地区出现了6次沙尘天气过程,沙尘天气过程次数为近6年来同期最多;     

2013年我国南方持续性高温天气及副热带高压异常维持的成因分析

本文利用NCEP再分析资料和逐日台站观测资料研究了2013年夏季我国南方地区持续高温天气时期内西太平洋副热带高压（以下简称西太副高）的异常特征,指出西太副高西伸、北抬并异常维持是导致南方地区罕见高温天气发生的直接原因,探究了影响其异常的中高纬环流及热带系统的活动,特别是对该年夏季热带环流,包括越赤道气流、赤道辐合带（Intertropical Convergence Zone,简称ITCZ）的异常,以及登陆台风异常集中等情况作了进一步分析,为深入研究持续高温的成因提供了一定的基础。     

南方水稻复种指数变化对国家粮食产能的影响及其政策启示

中国南方地区水稻生产的变化对国家粮食安全具有重要影响。本文利用Landsat数据提取1990-2015年南方地区水稻种植制度分布及变化,并分析其对粮食产能的影响。结果表明：① 1990-2015年,水稻复种指数从148.3%下降到129.3%,双季稻改种单季稻（“双改单”）损失的播种面积为253.16万hm²,区域上以长江中下游地区变化最为突出。南方地区水稻种植制度整体呈现由北向南“双退单进”的变化格局;② 1990-2015年,“双改单”导致全国水稻产量减少6.1%,粮食产量减少2.6%。水稻主产区湖南省和江西省以及经济发展较好的浙江省因“双改单”水稻减产幅度较大,均超过13%;③ 充分利用“双改单”稻田的粮食产能相当于新增耕地223.3万hm²,为2001-2015年通过土地整治项目新增耕地总量的54%,是2016-2020年全国新增耕地规划目标的1.7倍,可节省约1674.4亿元新增耕地开垦费用。因此,与其追求低质量的“新”耕地,不如充分利用已有的高质量“旧”耕地,政府应转变耕地占补平衡的考核方式,将因提高复种指数增加的播种面积纳入补充指标。     

Heavy Rainfall Associated with a Monsoon Depression in South China: Structure Analysis

A heavy rainfall associated with the deepening of a monsoon depression happened in the summer of 2005. This process was first diagnostically analyzed and the 3D structure of the monsoon depression was discussed~ then this structure was compared with those of the monsoon depression in South Asia and the low vortex in the Meiyu front. The results showed that the heavy rainfall directly resulted from a monsoon depression in South China~ and the large-scale environment provided a favorable background for the deepening of the monsoon depression. The 3D structure of the monsoon depression was as follows. In the horizontal direction, there existed a convective cloud band to the south of the monsoon depression, which lay in a convectively instable area, with a relatively strong ascending motion in the mid and low levels of the troposphere, and the ascending motion matched well with a moist tongue, a convergence area, and a band of positive vorticity in the mid and low levels of the troposphere. In the vertical direction, the depression had an obviously cyclonic circulation in the mid and low levels of the troposphere, but no circulation from above 300 hPa. The monsoon depression corresponded to convergence and positive vorticity in the low levels, but to divergence and negative vorticity in the upper levels. The upward draft of the depression could reach the upper levels of the troposphere in the west of the depression, while the descending motion lay in the east. There was a low-level jet to the south of the depression, while the upper-level jet was not obvious. The depression was vertically warm in the upper levels and cold in the low levels, and the axis of the depression tilted southeastward with height, whose characteristics were different not only from the monsoon depression in South Asia but also from the low vortex in the Meiyu front.     

Impacts of El Nino-Southern Oscillation events on China＇s rice production

This paper aims to demonstrate the relationships between ENSO and rice production of Jiangxi province in order to identify the reason that ENSO might have little effect on Chinese rice production. Using a data set with measures of Jiangxi’s climate and rice production, we find the reason that during 1985 and 2004 ENSO’s well correlated with rainfall did not promote Chinese rice production. First, the largest effects of ENSO mostly occur in the months when there is no rice in the field. Second, there is almost no temperature effect. Finally, the monthly distribution of rainfall is almost the same in ENSO and neutral years because the largest effects are during months when there is the least rain. In addition, due to the high irrigation share and reliable and effective irrigation facilities of cultivated land, China’s rice production is less climate-sensitive.     

全国大部气温偏高 南方局地强对流频繁——2007年4月——

2007年4月，全国平均气温为11．1℃，比常年同期偏高0．9℃。月内气温起伏变化较大。全国平均月降水量为41．2mm，较常年同期略偏少。与常年同期相比，华北大部、黄淮、西北东部及南疆等地月降水量偏少，西北中北部及云南、西藏大部等地降水偏多。月内，南方部分地区频繁遭受局地雷雨、大风、冰雹等强对流天气袭击，其中广东、广西、四川、重庆、贵州等地受灾严重；