Paleoclimate changes during the last 100,000 yr from a record in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest region and interhemispheric comparison

A long terrestrial record, Colônia CO-3, from the Atlantic rainforest region in Brazil (23°52′S, 46°42′20 W, 900 m a.s.l.) registrates variations in the forest expansion during the last 100,000 yr. The 780-cm depth core was analyzed at 2-cm intervals and arboreal pollen frequencies were compared to nearby speleothem stable isotope records and neighboring marine records from the tropical Atlantic. To evaluate regional versus global climate forcing, our record was compared with Greenland and Antarctic ice-core records. These comparisons suggest that changes in temperature seen in polar latitudes relate to moisture changes: e.g., to changes in the length of the dry season, in tropical and subtropical latitudes during glacial as well as interglacial times. These climatic changes result from changes in the frequency of polar air incursions to these latitudes inducing a permanent cloud cover and precipitation. This is an important result that should help define paleoclimatic features in the Southern Hemisphere for the last glaciation.     

12,000-Year, preliminary results of the stable nitrogen and carbon isotope record from the Empakai Crater lake sediments, Northern Tanzania

The stable isotope compositions of organic carbon and nitrogen, the contents of organic carbon and nitrogen and C/N ratios for two cores recovered from the Empakai Crater at water depths of 11 and 20 m are used to document climatic changes in northern Tanzania. Eight ¹⁴C AMS dates determined on total organic matter (OM) indicate that the sedimentation rate in this lake is about 30 cm/ka for the late Pleistocene to early Holocene period. There are differences in the δ¹³C values of organic carbon between the two cores, which may be a result of differences in location from the present shoreline and of different water depths. In the deeper-water core the δ¹³C values show a general downcore decrease to the base of the core with a sharp change to lower values of about 4‰ at a depth of 100 cm (8.7 ka). The general trend of downcore decrease in ¹³C values can be attributed either to a systematic decrease in the relative proportion of C₄ type of OM, owing to an increase in precipitation and change in vegetation cover from grassland to forest, or to utilization of isotopically enriched carbon during photosynthesis. The δ¹⁵N values show a general downcore increase with again a sharp change of about 5‰ to lower values at about 8.7 ka. A sharp change of about 5‰ and 4‰ to more depleted values at a depth of 100 cm of both ¹⁵N and ¹³C, respectively, suggests either hiatus or abrupt change in climatic condition from wetter conditions to drier conditions. There is enhanced preservation of OM in the lake as depicted by high mean values of organic carbon and nitrogen at both sites.     

山西芦芽山地区树木年轮记录的1676 AD以来5～7月温度变化

在山西芦芽山地区采取了符合国际树轮库要求的油松样本,通过交叉定年和应用区域生长模型,建立长度为328 a的标准宽度年表.根据RCS序列所揭示的气候低频变化特征,确定1676 AD以来夏季温度可划分为两个时段:1676—1865 AD和1866—2003 AD.在1676—1865 AD时期,夏季温度变化主要表现为“冷强暖弱”,其中1710—1720s为最冷时段.1866—2003 AD时期,夏季温度呈现出“总体持续变暖,冷暖交替频繁”的变化特征.     

胶州湾北部滨海湿地分布特征及质量评价

以胶州湾北部滨海湿地为研究区域,运用RS和GIS技术提取湿地信息,研究时空变化特征,建立湿地定量评价系统,并对湿地质量进行分析。研究表明,自1997年到2007年,该地湿地类型变化较大,沿岸湿地退化现象严重,人为活动影响增大,非湿地面积大量增加,湿地质量不断下降。     

北疆积雪深度和积雪日数的变化趋势

 选取新疆北疆20个站1961-2006年积雪及稳定积雪日数、最大积雪深度资料,同时选择冬季降水量和气温稳定通过0℃以下的日数作为积雪的影响因子,分析了46 a来北疆积雪的变化趋势。结果表明：46 a来最大积雪深度呈显著增加趋势,平均年增长0.8%,其变化与冬季降水量增加有关,呈正相关;积雪日数和稳定积雪日数也呈稍增加趋势,增加主要发生在1960-1980年代,1990年代以来有所减少,其变化与气温稳定通过0℃以下的日数呈显著正相关。     

南、北半球环状模月内活动的主要时间尺度

基于“大气环状活动带” 的概念, 利用逐日再分析资料对南、 北半球环状模 (简称SAM、 NAM) 的季节活动特征及月内活动的主要时间尺度 (Submonthly timescales) 进行了研究, 结果表明, NAM具有冬季强、 夏季弱的年循环特征, 而SAM则表现出明显的准半年循环特征。并且, 逐年的功率谱分析进一步显示: NAM的月内活动的主要时间尺度以准1周和准2周为主, 且它们具有共生性, 准3周为相对次要的周期; 而SAM的月内活动周期与NAM相似, 准2周和准1周较强, 准3周次之。NAM和SAM的月内活动在不同特征时间尺度上的空间特征及其时间演变值得进一步研究。     

北大西洋飓风频次与西半球的南极涛动的联系

To examine the zonal asymmetry of the Antarctic oscillation （AAO）, different portions of the AAO from June to October （JJASO） in the interannual variability of the Atlantic tropical hurricanes number （ATHN） are documented in this research. It follows that the AAO in the Western Hemisphere （AAOWH） is positively correlated with the ATHN, at 0.36 during the period of 1871-1998 and 0.42 during the period of 1949-98. After removing the linear regressions on the Southern Oscillation Index （SOI） in all time series, the above correlation coefficients are 0.25 and 0.30, respectively. The underlying mechanisms are studied through analyses of the atmospheric general circulation variability associated with the AAOWH. It turns out that the positive （negative） phase of JJASO AAOWH corresponds with several factors： decreased （increased） vertical zonal wind shear magnitude, low-level anomalous convergence （divergence）, high-level anomalous divergence （convergence）, and warmed （cooled） sea surface temperature in the tropical Atlantic. Therefore, the positive （negative） phase of JJASO AAOWH is favorable （unfavorable） to the tropical hurricane genesis.     

Rainfall yield characteristics of electrical storm observed in the Spanish Basque Country area during the period 1992–1996

This paper is focused on the study of rainfall yield characteristics of electrical storms observed over the Northern Iberian Peninsula during 1992–1996. To this aim Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) method have been used. The SOM method is a group of artificial neural networks based on the topological properties of the human brain. Results clearly suggest that there exist three different meteorological patterns that are linked to the characteristics of electrical events found in the study area. In winter, most of the electrical events are formed under oceanic advection (NW air fluxes). On these cases, mean rainfall yield estimates reach values of 700 10⁴ m³ per cloud to ground lightning flash (CG flash). During summer most frequent electrical storms are associated to local instability shooting by surface heating with advection of humidity coming from the Iberian Peninsula. Under these meteorological situations, rain is scarcer if compared with oceanic events but lightning CG counts reach the maximum values found in the area (about 10 CG counts per 20 × 20 km² and day) giving this way the smallest rainfall yield with a mean value of 15 10⁴ m³ per CG flash. Iberian air fluxes associated with cold air in upper parts of the atmosphere represent the third meteorological pattern found. This pattern is most common in spring and autumn but is not unusual in the rest of the seasons. In those cases mean rainfall yield in the area is about 150 10⁴ m³ per CG flash. In all electrical episodes K instability index is greater than 15 °C but in the most lightning producing events, this index reaches in the area values greater than 24 °C. PCA results pointed out that there exists a relationship between rain and CG counts expressed by the first principal component computed from standardized data. However, we must notice that no event is solely linked to this axis, since a seasonal influence which decreases lightning production when rain increases is always present. Results found are of great interest for short term forecasting of flashfloods in mountainous areas like the Spanish Basque Country region.     

北非地区海-陆热力差异与夏季江淮流域旱涝的关系

基于NCEP/NCAR月均再分析资料和中国743站降水资料,根据夏季江淮流域51 a(1954-2004年)区域旱涝指数的年代际变化特征,确定北非地区作为研究的关键区.分析发现,关键区的地表温度异常在冬季具有较好的持续性,冬季北大西洋涛动是导致这种异常持续性的重要原因之一.通过对前冬北非地区地表温度和夏季江淮流域降水的SVD分析发现:当北非大陆地区偏冷,其西北侧的海区偏暖时,江淮流域夏季的降水将整体偏多;反之,江淮流域夏季的降水整体偏少.进一步研究发现,北非地区海陆地表温度异常的对比,要比其中单一海洋或陆地区域的异常对夏季江淮流域的旱涝有更好的指示能力.文中定义了一个海陆热力差异指数来表征这种地表温度异常的对比程度,该指数和夏季江淮流域旱涝指数呈较好的正相关关系,并且对夏季江淮流域极端旱涝年份也有较好的指示,认为该指数可以作为一个指示江淮流域整体旱涝事件的预报因子.     

Consistency of observed winter precipitation trends in northern Europe with regional climate change projections

Often it is claimed that the recent changes in northern European climate are at least partly anthropogenic even though a human influence has not yet been successfully detected. Hence we investigate whether the recent changes are consistent with regional climate change projections. Therefore, trends in winter (DJF) mean precipitation in northern Europe are compared to human induced changes as predicted by a set of four regional climate model simulations. The patterns of recent trends and predicted changes match reasonably well as indicated by pattern correlation and the similarity is very likely not random. However, the model projections generally underestimate the recent change in winter precipitation. That is, the signal-to-noise ratio of the anthropogenic precipitation change is either rather low or the presently used simulations are significantly flawed in their ability to project changes into the future. European trends contain large signals related to the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), of which a major unknown part may be unrelated to the anthropogenic signal. Therefore, we also examine the consistency of recent and projected changes after subtracting the NAO signal in both the observations and in the projections. It turns out that even after the removal of the NAO signal, the pattern of trends in the observations is similar to those projected by the models. At the same time, the magnitude of the trends is considerably reduced and closer to the magnitude of the change in the projections.