URBAN HEAT ISLAND AND URBAN HEALTH: EARLY AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES*

The nature and sources of early American understanding of an important form of human-induced climatic change, the urban heat island effect, are considered. Recognition and explanation of the phenomenon occured both earlier and more widely than is usually supposed. Interest stemmed not only from concerns that remain significant today, but from others that have been discarded, notably anticontagionist theories of the causation of disease.     

成都城市发展对气候影响的初步探讨

本文通过成都城市发展前后气候要素变化的对比分析,探索了城市化对成都市气候影响的基本规律,并用统计方法得出了城市“热岛”强度(△T,△Tmin)与城市人口总户数及建成区面积密切相关的客观事实,为改善和治理成都城市气候提供了一定的依据。     

A NEW CHALLENGE FOR CLIMATE STUDIES IN GEOGRAPHY

Greater emphasis is being placed on large-scale (synoptic and dynamic) climatology in geography. Concurrently, climatological research as a whole has evolved to view climate as a complex, integrated and interactive global system. In this context, we review new directions in large-scale climate studies in geography. We conclude that no matter at which climatic scale geographers are working, the new challenge is to integrate their research and teaching activities into a more holistic, global-systems approach while maintaining and improving their traditional strengths.     

HEATING DEGREE DAY RESEARCH IN ALBERTA: RESIDENTS CONSERVE NATURAL GAS

A high correlation exists between monthly population-weighted heating degree days (below 18C) and the use of natural gas per household for residential heating in Alberta for the period 1962–80. The use of natural gas for residential heating per household declines since 1973 following a sharp increase in gas prices.     

广州市“龙舟水”的时空分布特征分析

利用广州市5个国家气象观测站和122个区域自动气象站的逐日降水量监测数据,通过线性趋势分析、M-K检验、小波分析和主成分分析等统计办法,研究广州市“龙舟水”的时空分布特征,结果表明:(1)广州全市和花都近30年“龙舟水”雨量整体呈上升趋势,且花都上升趋势略高于广州平均,花都区“龙舟水”异常年与广州其它地区并不一定同步。(2)广州全市逐年“龙舟水”以7~9年周期为主,2007年以前有4年左右的小周期,之后存在2~3年周期,且特征趋于不明显,花都“龙舟水”雨量变化存在8~10年周期,2007年以前存在4~6年小周期,之后转变为3~4年小周期。(3)广州全市2005和2014年“龙舟水”雨量出现增多突变,2008年又出现了雨量减少的突变;花都“龙舟水”雨量在2014年出现雨量增加的突变,2017年“龙舟水”显著增加。(4)广州“龙舟水”雨量大值区主要位于北部偏东一带,从化和花都北部、白云南部、天河、番禺东部和南部、南沙北部降水年变化相对较为稳定,其余地区逐年变化幅度相对较大。(5)对广州逐年“龙舟水”标准化距平场作EOF分析结果表明,前4个模态解释方差共占91.2%,分别为全市一致偏多或偏少型、南北偶极型、南北向四极型、东西向三极型。     

A new global ocean hydrographic climatology

This report describes the main features of the recently published World Ocean Experiment–Argo Global Hydrographic Climatology. This climatology is based on profile data from ships, Argo floats, and sensors attached to marine mammals. As an important deviation from the widely used climatologies produced previously by the National Oceanographic Data Center, the spatial interpolation was performed on local potential density surfaces, so that no ‘artificial water masses’ were created. In addition to monthly fields of temperature and salinity, gridded maps of the upper mixed layer depth are now provided.     

Spatial variability of precipitation regimes over Turkey

Abstract

This study aims to predict the daily precipitation from meteorological data from Turkey using the wavelet—neural network method, which combines two methods: discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and artificial neural networks (ANN). The wavelet—ANN model provides a good fit with the observed data, in particular for zero precipitation in the summer months, and for the peaks in the testing period. The results indicate that wavelet—ANN model estimations are significantly superior to those obtained by either a conventional ANN model or a multi linear regression model. In particular, the improvement provided by the new approach in estimating the peak values had a noticeably high positive effect on the performance evaluation criteria. Inclusion of the summed sub-series in the ANN input layer brings a new perspective to the discussions related to the physics involved in the ANN structure.     

A multiple profile approach to the palynological reconstruction of Norse landscapes in Greenland's Eastern Settlement

Palynological research is increasingly revealing the landscape impacts of Norse colonisation in southern Greenland. Typically, although not exclusively, these studies are from depositional environments with highly localised pollen source areas close to fjord-side centres of medieval power. In contrast, this paper presents data from Vatnahverfi, an inland district of the Eastern Settlement, and explores the emergence of a cultural landscape through three pollen sequences at variable distances from Norse farms. Two are from mires with small pollen source areas close to (< 100 m) and distant from (≥ 1500 m) probable farming activities. The other provides a more regional signal of vegetation change, albeit one located close to a Norse settlement. Landnám is marked primarily through an increase in microscopic charcoal and the appearance of pollen from Rumex acetosella, although significant differences between profiles are noted. Close to Norse ruins, pollen productivity from grassland communities increases and woodland and scrub representation declines. Further from archaeological remains, palynologically inferred human activity is primarily characterised by decreased productivity, notably declining influx from woodland and scrub species, reflecting grazing herbivores or coppicing. Abandonment of Vatnahverfi is indicated from the late 14th to early 15th century AD.     

A CLIMATOLOGY OF DEEP CONVECTION OVER SOUTH CHINA AND THE ADJACENT WATERS DURING SUMMER

Due to the higher temporal and spatial resolution and the better integrality of long-term satellite infrared(IR) Brightness Temperature(TBB) data,a climatology of deep convection during summer over South China and the adjacent waters is presented in this paper based on the 1-hourly infrared IR TBB data during June-August of 1996-2007(except 2004).The results show that the geographic distribution of deep convection denoted by TBB ≤-52℃ over South China and the adjacent waters are basically consistent with previous statistical results based on surface thunderstorm observations and low-orbit satellite lightning observations.The monthly,ten-day,five-day and diurnal variations of deep convection in this region are focused on in this paper.There are 5 active deep-convection areas in June-August.The monthly variations of the deep convection are closely associated with the large-scale atmospheric circulations.The deep convection over the land areas of South China is more active in June while that over the South China Sea is more active in July and August.The development of deep convection is prominently intermittent and its period is about 3 to 5 five-day periods.However,the deep convection over the coastal areas in South China remains more active during summer and has no apparent intermittence.The ten-day and five-day variations of deep convection show that there are different variations of deep convection over different areas in South China and the adjacent waters.The tendency of deep convection over the land areas of South China is negatively correlated with that over the South China Sea.The diurnal variations of deep convection show that the sea-land breeze,caused by the thermal differences between land and sea,and the mountain-valley breeze,caused by the thermal differences between mountains and plains or basins,cause deep convection to propagate from sea to land in the afternoon and from land to sea after midnight,and the convection over mountains propagates from mountains to plains after midnight.The different diurnal variations of deep convection over different underlying surfaces show that not only there are general mountainous,marine and multi-peak deep convection,but also there is longer-duration deep convection over coastal areas and other deep convection triggered and maintained by larger-scale weather systems in South China during summer.     

The Significant Role of Radiosonde-measured Cloud-base Height in the Estimation of Cloud Radiative Forcing

The satellite-based quantification of cloud radiative forcing remains poorly understood, due largely to the limitation or uncertainties in characterizing cloud-base height (CBH). Here, we use the CBH data from radiosonde measurements over China in combination with the collocated cloud-top height (CTH) and cloud properties from MODIS/Aqua to quantify the impact of CBH on shortwave cloud radiative forcing (SWCRF). The climatological mean SWCRF at the surface (SWCRF_SUR), at the top of the atmosphere (SWCRF_TOA), and in the atmosphere (SWCRF_ATM) are estimated to be ?97.14, ?84.35, and 12.79 W m^?2, respectively for the summers spanning 2010 to 2018 over China. To illustrate the role of the cloud base, we assume four scenarios according to vertical profile patterns of cloud optical depth (COD). Using the CTH and cloud properties from MODIS alone results in large uncertainties for the estimation of SWCRF_ATM, compared with those under scenarios that consider the CBH. Furthermore, the biases of the CERES estimation of SWCRF_ATM tend to increase in the presence of thick clouds with low CBH. Additionally, the discrepancy of SWCRF_ATM relative to that calculated without consideration of CBH varies according to the vertical profile of COD. When a uniform COD vertical profile is assumed, the largest SWCRF discrepancies occur during the early morning or late afternoon. By comparison, the two-point COD vertical distribution assumption has the largest uncertainties occurring at noon when the solar irradiation peaks. These findings justify the urgent need to consider the cloud vertical structures when calculating the SWCRF which is otherwise neglected.