Spatial process and data models: Toward integration of agent-based models and GIS

The use of object-orientation for both spatial data and spatial process models facilitates their integration, which can allow exploration and explanation of spatial-temporal phenomena. In order to better understand how tight coupling might proceed and to evaluate the possible functional and efficiency gains from such a tight coupling, we identify four key relationships affecting how geographic data (fields and objects) and agent-based process models can interact: identity, causal, temporal and topological. We discuss approaches to implementing tight integration, focusing on a middleware approach that links existing GIS and ABM development platforms, and illustrate the need and approaches with example agent-based models.     

A parametric study on the impact of satellite attitude errors on GOCE gravity field recovery

In the recent design of the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite mission, the gravity gradients are defined in the gradiometer reference frame (GRF), which deviates from the actual flight direction (local orbit reference frame, LORF) by up to 3–4°. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of uncertainties in the knowledge of the gradiometer orientation due to attitude reconstitution errors on the gravity field solution. In the framework of several numerical simulations, which are based on a realistic mission configuration, different scenarios are investigated, to provide the accuracy requirements of the orientation information. It turns out that orientation errors have to be seriously considered, because they may represent a significant error component of the gravity field solution. While in a realistic mission scenario (colored gradiometer noise) the gravity field solutions are quite insensitive to small orientation biases, random noise applied to the attitude information can have a considerable impact on the accuracy of the resolved gravity field models.     

GGM02 – An improved Earth gravity field model from GRACE

A new generation of Earth gravity field models called GGM02 are derived using approximately 14 months of data spanning from April 2002 to December 2003 from the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE). Relative to the preceding generation, GGM01, there have been improvements to the data products, the gravity estimation methods and the background models. Based on the calibrated covariances, GGM02 (both the GRACE-only model GGM02S and the combination model GGM02C) represents an improvement greater than a factor of two over the previous GGM01 models. Error estimates indicate a cumulative error less than 1 cm geoid height to spherical harmonic degree 70, which can be said to have met the GRACE minimum mission goals. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at     

Global height datum unification: a new approach in gravity potential space

The problem of “global height datum unification” is solved in the gravity potential space based on: (1) high-resolution local gravity field modeling, (2) geocentric coordinates of the reference benchmark, and (3) a known value of the geoid’s potential. The high-resolution local gravity field model is derived based on a solution of the fixed-free two-boundary-value problem of the Earth’s gravity field using (a) potential difference values (from precise leveling), (b) modulus of the gravity vector (from gravimetry), (c) astronomical longitude and latitude (from geodetic astronomy and/or combination of (GNSS) Global Navigation Satellite System observations with total station measurements), (d) and satellite altimetry. Knowing the height of the reference benchmark in the national height system and its geocentric GNSS coordinates, and using the derived high-resolution local gravity field model, the gravity potential value of the zero point of the height system is computed. The difference between the derived gravity potential value of the zero point of the height system and the geoid’s potential value is computed. This potential difference gives the offset of the zero point of the height system from geoid in the “potential space”, which is transferred into “geometry space” using the transformation formula derived in this paper. The method was applied to the computation of the offset of the zero point of the Iranian height datum from the geoid’s potential value W ₀=62636855.8 m²/s². According to the geometry space computations, the height datum of Iran is 0.09 m below the geoid.     

不同辐射传输方案对中尺度降水影响的对比分析

在MM5非静力稳定中尺度气象模式中引进了建立在δ-4流近似和相关-k分布基础上的对云水、雨水、冰晶和霰的辐射特性进行详细描述的辐射传输方案。新建立的辐射传输方案和MM5中原有的辐射传输方案在华南暴雨中的模拟结果相互比较，并与天气实况的对比表明:辐射在中尺度暴雨中起着重要的作用；辐射传输方案对云辐射特性描述的准确程度对于地面降水影响是明显的；不同的辐射传输方案对地面降水的影响存在较大的差异，并且这些差异在白天比在夜间明显；辐射传输过程对地面降水影响的差异主要表现在降水中心上，而对降水的地理分布改变很小；相对而言，不同的辐射传输方案之间对短波描述的差异对地面降水的影响明显，而对长波描述差异的影响不大；新辐射传输方案能够在一定程度上改进MM5对中尺度降水的模拟能力。     

大气热力学的若干新发展

对自20世纪80年代以来的大气热力学发展进行了综合评述, 阐述了如城市热岛效应、全球增暖等非传统大气热力学问题; 基于大气非平衡态热力学的非线性理论, 提出应发展突显热力学作用的数值模式, 并阐述其必要性和可能性。     

人造热带气旋垂直结构问题初探

在人造热带气旋中引入了倾斜垂直结构，并将其用于西折后9806号热带气旋登陆路径的数值模拟。结果表明：应用该方案所得到的模拟结果优于应用正压结构的人造热带气旋方案的模拟结果要准确。因此，此类热带气旋的预报中，其初始涡旋可采用倾斜垂直结构，从而提出改进热带气旋初始涡旋的一种新思路。若对其作进一步研究、推广，则具有广阔的业务应用前景。     

Effects of detailed soil spatial information on watershed modeling across different model scales

Hydro-ecological modelers often use spatial variation of soil information derived from conventional soil surveys in simulation of hydro-ecological processes over watersheds at mesoscale (10–100 km²). Conventional soil surveys are not designed to provide the same level of spatial detail as terrain and vegetation inputs derived from digital terrain analysis and remote sensing techniques. Soil property layers derived from conventional soil surveys are often incompatible with detailed terrain and remotely sensed data due to their difference in scales. The objective of this research is to examine the effect of scale incompatibility between soil information and the detailed digital terrain data and remotely sensed information by comparing simulations of watershed processes based on the conventional soil map and those simulations based on detailed soil information across different simulation scales. The detailed soil spatial information was derived using a GIS (geographical information system), expert knowledge, and fuzzy logic based predictive mapping approach (Soil Land Inference Model, SoLIM). The Regional Hydro-Ecological Simulation System (RHESSys) is used to simulate two watershed processes: net photosynthesis and stream flow. The difference between simulation based on the conventional soil map and that based on the detailed predictive soil map at a given simulation scale is perceived to be the effect of scale incompatibility between conventional soil data and the rest of the (more detailed) data layers at that scale. Two modeling approaches were taken in this study: the lumped parameter approach and the distributed parameter approach. The results over two small watersheds indicate that the effect does not necessarily always increase or decrease as the simulation scale becomes finer or coarser. For a given watershed there seems to be a fixed scale at which the effect is consistently low for the simulated processes with both the lumped parameter approach and the distributed parameter approach.     

东亚南亚夏季降水对海温异常响应的数值模拟

利用IAP AGCM-Ⅱ大气环流模式，模拟了赤道中太平洋地区海温异常对东亚和南亚夏季（6～8月）降水的影响。结果表明：当1～4月该海温呈正异常时，中南半岛和我国东部降水将明显偏多，孟加拉湾附近降水偏少；而该海温呈负异常时，则我国华中和孟加拉湾附近降水偏多；对以上海温异常最敏感处为中南半岛和孟加拉湾附近地区，其中前者降水与该海温异常呈正相关，后者则呈负相关；该海温异常还会在中高纬地区激发出强迫波列。     

FLAC数值模拟软件及其在地学中的应用

FLAC是以拉格朗日差分法为基础的一种数值模拟应用软件,主要用于岩土力学工程。近年地质学家将其应用到地质构造和块体运动学、动力学研究中,以证实或证伪地球学家们提出的相关地球动力学模型。本文初步介绍了FLAC应用软件的基本原理、使用方法以及它在国内外地质学上的几个应用实例。