Study of dispersion of mass distribution of ultra-high energy cosmic rays using a surface array of muon and electromagnetic detectors

We consider a hypothetical observatory of ultra-high energy cosmic rays consisting of two surface detector arrays that measure independently electromagnetic and muon signals induced by air showers. Using the constant intensity cut method, sets of events ordered according to each of both signal sizes are compared giving the number of matched events. Based on its dependence on the zenith angle, a parameter sensitive to the dispersion of the distribution of the logarithmic mass of cosmic rays is introduced. The results obtained using two post-LHC models of hadronic interactions are very similar and indicate a weak dependence on details of these interactions.     

GRAPES_GFS中三维参考大气的研究：参考态构造和实际预报试验

GRAPES_GFS（Global Regional Assimilation and PrEdiction System, Global Forecast System）采用基于等温大气构造的一维参考大气,前期的研究工作已在GRAPES_GFS的动力框架中引入了三维参考大气,并通过一系列理想试验检验了新方法的正确性以及计算精度。本部分研究工作,主要针对实际资料的预报试验,对比分析了不同三维参考态给定方法的优劣,并采用气候平均法,进行夏季两个月的四维变分循环预报试验。检验结果显示,使用三维参考大气后,模式的综合预报性能得到了提升,对流层高度场、温度场的预报偏差有所减小,长期积分过程中模式质量损失较为严重的问题也得到了明显的缓解。另外,通过动能谱的对比也可以看到使用三维参考大气后,模式在高层的能量耗散明显较小,能谱变化与观测更加吻合。      

Simulation of coupled pelagic-benthic ecosystem of the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass

A one-dimensional coupled pelagic-benthic box model for the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass （YSCWM） is developed. The model is divided into three boxes vertically according to the depths of thermocline and euphotic layer. It simulates well the oligotrophic shelf ecosystem of the YSCWM considering effects of nutrients deposition and microbial loop. Main features of vertical structure of various variables in ecosystem of the YSCWM were captured and seasonal variability of the ecosystem was well reconstructed. Calculation shows that the contribution of microbial loop to the zooplankton can reach up to 60%. Besides, input of inorganic nutrients from atmospheric deposition is an important mechanism of production in upper layer of the YSCWM when stratified.     

Anthropogenic iodine-129 in seawater along a transect from the Norwegian coastal current to the North Pole

Variation in the concentrations of iodine-129 (129I, T1/2=15.7 Myr), a low-level radioactive component of nuclear fuel waste, is documented in surface waters and depth profiles collected during 2001 along a transect from the Norwegian Coastal Current to the North Pole. The surface waters near the Norwegian coast are found to have 20 times higher 129I concentration than the surface waters of the Arctic Ocean. The depth profiles of 129I taken in the Arctic Ocean reveal a sharp decline in the concentration to a depth of about 300-500 m followed by a weaker gradient extending down to the bottom. A twofold increase in the 129I concentration is observed in the upper 1000 m since 1996. Based on known estimates of marine transient time from the release sources (the nuclear reprocessing facilities at La Hague, France, and Sellafield, UK), a doubling in the 129I inventory of the top 1000 m of the Arctic Ocean is expected to occur between the years 2001 and 2006. As 129I of polar mixed layer and Atlantic layer of the Arctic Ocean is ventilated by the East Greenland Current into the Nordic Seas and North Atlantic Ocean, further dispersal and increase of the isotope concentration in these regions will be encountered in the near future.     

Climate during the last glacial maximum in the Wasatch and southern Uinta Mountains inferred from glacier modeling

Recent improvements in understanding glacial extents and chronologies in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains and other mountain ranges in the western U.S. call for a more detailed approach to using glacier reconstructions to infer paleoclimates than commonly applied AAR-ELA-ÄT methods. A coupled 2-D mass balance and ice-flow numerical modeling approach developed by [Plummer, M.A., Phillips, F.M., 2003. A 2-D numerical model of snow/ice energy balance and ice flow for paleoclimatic interpretation of glacial geomorphic features. Quaternary Science Reviews 22, 1389–1406] allows exploration of the combined effects of temperature, precipitation, shortwave radiation and many secondary parameters on past ice extents in alpine settings. We apply this approach to the Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains and the Lake Fork and Yellowstone Canyons in the south-central Uinta Mountains. Results of modeling experiments indicate that the Little Cottonwood glacier required more precipitation during the local Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) than glaciers in the Uinta Mountains, assuming lapse rates were similar to modern. Model results suggest that if temperatures in the Wasatch Mountains and Uinta Mountains were  6 °C to 7 °C colder than modern, corresponding precipitation changes were  3 to 2× modern in Little Cottonwood Canyon and  2 to 1× modern in Lake Fork and Yellowstone Canyons. Greater amounts of precipitation in the Little Cottonwood Canyon likely reflect moisture derived from the surface of Lake Bonneville, and the lake may have also affected the mass balance of glaciers in the Uinta Mountains.     

Monitoring Mongolia Gobi dust transport using OMI data

The characteristics of long-distance dust transport from Asia to the United States over the Pacific Ocean are statistically analyzed using OMI AI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument Aerosol Index) data during 2005–2007. The results show that there is a high correlation of AI (the correlation coefficients are as high as 0.83 in March, 0.62 in April and 0.54 in May) between the Mongolia Gobi Desert and the west coast region of the United States (40°–50°N, 120°–130°W), indicating a strong source-receptor area relationship. Through calculating the lag correlation coefficient of the dust propagation time, we determined that the dust propagation time from the Mongolia Gobi Desert to the west coast of the United States is about 6–7 days at the 99% confidence level.     

Origin and source regions of PM10 in the Eastern Mediterranean atmosphere

A set of daily PM₁₀ (n = 281) samples collected from April 2001 to April 2002 at a rural site (Erdemli), located on the coast of the Eastern Mediterranean, were analyzed applying Mass Closure (MC), absolute principal factor analysis (APFA) and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) to determine source contributions. The results from the three techniques were compared to identify the similarities and differences in the sources and source contributions. Source apportionment analysis indicated that PM₁₀ were mainly originated from natural sources (sea salt + crustal ≈ 60%) whilst secondary aerosols and residual oil burning accounted for approximately 20% and 10% of the total PM₁₀ mass, respectively. Calculations for sulfate showed that on average 8% and 12% of its total concentration were originated from sea salt and biogenic emissions, respectively. However, the contribution by biogenic emissions may reach up to a maximum of ~ 40% in the summer. Potential Source Contribution Function (PSCF) analysis for identification of source regions showed that the Saharan desert was the main source area for crustal components. For secondary aerosol components the analysis revealed one source region, (i.e. the south-Eastern Black Sea), whereas for residual oil, Western Europe and the western Balkans areas were found to be the main source regions.     

风廓线雷达估算大气返回信号功率方法研究

基于风廓线雷达大气返回信号功率谱中噪声电平的估算方法,统计分析了北京延庆对流层风廓线雷达（CFL-08）2006年10～12月的探测数据。对该频段风廓线雷达环境噪声的空间和时间变化进行了分析,观测期间环境噪声在5km以下随高度递减,10月的平均环境噪声大于11月、12月的平均分布。给出目前风廓线雷达用信噪比估算大气返回信号功率的两种方法,并对两种方法进行了环境噪声的剔除,经过修正后的大气返回信号功率输出结果趋于一致。     

A Parameterization of Dry Thermals and Shallow Cumuli for Mesoscale Numerical Weather Prediction

For numerical weather prediction models and models resolving deep convection, shallow convective ascents are subgrid processes that are not parameterized by classical local turbulent schemes. The mass flux formulation of convective mixing is now largely accepted as an efficient approach for parameterizing the contribution of larger plumes in convective dry and cloudy boundary layers. We propose a new formulation of the EDMF scheme (for Eddy Diffusivity\Mass Flux) based on a single updraft that improves the representation of dry thermals and shallow convective clouds and conserves a correct representation of stratocumulus in mesoscale models. The definition of entrainment and detrainment in the dry part of the updraft is original, and is specified as proportional to the ratio of buoyancy to vertical velocity. In the cloudy part of the updraft, the classical buoyancy sorting approach is chosen. The main closure of the scheme is based on the mass flux near the surface, which is proportional to the sub-cloud layer convective velocity scale w _*. The link with the prognostic grid-scale cloud content and cloud cover and the projection on the non- conservative variables is processed by the cloud scheme. The validation of this new formulation using large-eddy simulations focused on showing the robustness of the scheme to represent three different boundary layer regimes. For dry convective cases, this parameterization enables a correct representation of the countergradient zone where the mass flux part represents the top entrainment (IHOP case). It can also handle the diurnal cycle of boundary-layer cumulus clouds (EUROCS\ARM) and conserve a realistic evolution of stratocumulus (EUROCS\FIRE).     

AMIP模式对大气经向质量输送的模拟评估

从描述南、北半球间大气经向质量传输的角度人手,考察IPCC第4次评估报告提供的8个AMIP大气环流模式对越赤道质量通量输送的模拟性能。结果表明:NCAR、MPI和UKMO模式模拟出的越赤道整层大气质量通量与观测大体相一致;MIROC3模拟的整层大气质量通量年循环与观测结果相去甚远,尤其在夏季模拟出较强的虚假向北大气质量输送;IAP模拟的整层大气质量通量年循环方向与观测结果在7个月份中相反;把垂直大气分为4层.各模式对700 hPa以下(I_1)和300-70 hPa(I_3)两层质量通量的模拟能力普遍较好;对700-300 hPa层(I_2)质量通量模拟结果偏差较大;除MIROC3外,其余模式基本能够模拟出70-10 hPa(I_4)大气质量通量的季节变化.显然,不仅南、北半球间大气存在质量交换,越过其他纬度同样存在着经向大气质量输送,无论冬季、夏季还是年平均,各模式对越过其他纬度(60°S-60°N)经向大气质量输送的模拟结果与观测差异明显。整体权衡,UKMO_HADGEMl在模拟越赤道大气质量通量方面表现突出,MPI_ECHAM5模式优势较明显;NCAR、GISS和GFDL 3个模式在某些压力层内具有较好的模拟水平;MIROC模式对整层、700-300 hPa层的模拟能力较低,而对700 hPa以下层和300-70 hPa层的模拟水平较高;IAP_FGOALS和CNRM模式在模拟越赤道大气质量通量方面存在一定的不足.