Microscopic Analyses of Insoluble Particles in an Ice Core of ürümqi Glacier No. 1: Quantification of Mineral and Organic Particles

Insoluble particle concentration in ice cores is commonly analyzed as a proxy for varia-tions in atmospheric mineral dust (aerosol concentration). However, recent studies have revealed that the mineral dust is not only a constituent of the particles but that biogenic organic particles are also contained. We microscopically analyzed insoluble particles in a shallow ice core drilled on a mountain glacier, the ürümqi Glacier No. 1, in eastern Tienshan, China. We distinguished different morphologi-cal particles...     

Deposition Process of Dust Microparticles from Aerosol to Snow-Firn Pack on Glacier No. 1 in Eastern Tianshan Mountains, China

Samples were continuously collected from aerosol, fresh snow, and snow pits on Glacier No. 1 at Urumqi River source in eastern Tianshan (天山) Mountains. The deposition processes and the characteristics of mineral dust microparticles from aerosol to fresh snow, and then evolution to the snow pit were determined. Total dust microparticle concentration in the surface snow and aerosol showed a similar temporal variation trend, which was strongly associated with regional and local at-mospheric circulation in the ...     

Physico-chemical characteristics and environmental significance of snow deposition on Haxilegen glacier No.51 in Tian Shan, China

Snow chemistry on the glaciers of alpine regions is a good indicator of atmospheric environmental change.We examine snow chemistry in three snowpits at different altitudes on the Haxilegen Glacier No.51,in the Kuitun River source,Tian Shan,China,during July-September 2004 to 2007.We use correlation analysis,factor analysis and sea-salt tracing methods to examine the characteristics and sources of major ions and mineral dust particles in the snow.Results show that mineral dust particles and major ions in the snow pits vary seasonally.During the Asian dust period in springtime,the concentration of mineral dust particles and major ions deposited in snow is high,while the concentration is relatively low during the non-dust period of summer and autumn.This may be caused by dust storm activity in central Asia.The order of major ionic concentrations in the snow packs was determined to be Ca2+ > SO42-> NH4+ > NO3-> Cl-> Na+ > Mg2+ > K+.Ca2+ was the dominant cation;SO42- was the dominant anion.We find,with the exception of NO3-,that the variabilities of ionic concentrations are highly correlated.Results show that the glacier region was significantly affected by dust activity and anthropogenic source.The major ions,especially Na+,originate from dust sources of central Asia and from the Ocean,transported by the westerly winds.     

基于MODIS数据定量判识沙尘暴方法的对比研究

利用MODIS数据,结合具体实例,对比研究当前几种利用光谱特征定量判识沙尘暴的方法。从理论上剖析各方法的原理,分析其优劣,并提出一套新的算法的组合方式。研究结果表明,新的组合算法有不小的改进：①大大降低了单一算法在不同时间或地区图像中阈值取值不稳定的影响,减少了图像噪声造成的误判,增强了其通用性和稳定性;②明显减弱了太...     

The properties of convective storms in central Mexico: A radar and lightning approach

Radar data from Cerro Catedral (a peak close to Mexico City) were used to investigate the properties of convective storms over central Mexico, a region with complex orography. The spatial distribution shows a preference for storms to form and move to the west of radar, over a narrow band of high terrain. However, the storms with the higher volumes and echo-top heights tend to be located southwestward over lower terrain. Each radar feature was matched with the number of cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning produced inside it, as retrieved from the World Wide Lightning Location Network dataset. The storms in which lightning was detected, with an average of more than six lightning bolts, clearly outperform in size and intensity the group of storms in which lightning was not detected, and tend to lie over lower terrain. The sample of over 98 000 identified cells was divided into four elevation groups to look for elevation trends in the mean properties, as reported for other Mexican regions. While the number of storms per unit area increases with terrain height, the average values for properties related to both size (area, volume, echo-top height) and intensity (maximum reflectivity, number of CG bolts, height of maximum reflectivity, maximum height of 30 dBZ echo) decrease. These results could be related to the possible shallower warm-cloud depths over the higher elevations. The diurnal cycles of convection and lightning north of the radar show a nearly typical continental regime of precipitation in that zone, with maxima at 18:00 LT in both variables. However, south of the radar, a maximum in lightning activity occurs during late night and early morning, which is linked with the deeper nocturnal convection over the lower terrain in that zone.     

Storm‐dominated sedimentation in a protected basin fringed by coral reefs,Nara Inlet,Whitsunday Islands,Great Barrier Reef,Australia

Hydrodynamic data and samples of bed sediment were collected from Nara Inlet, a small incised embayment in the Whitsunday Islands, central Great Barrier Reef. Measured tidal currents in the inlet do not exceed 0.2 ms^–1 even at spring tides. Swell waves dominate much of the inner shelf of the Great Barrier Reef but are absent from in the inlet due to the presence of a fringing reef at the inlet mouth. On the silty sand floor of the inlet, particle size decreases towards the inlet head. Most of the bed is too coarse to be remobilised by fair‐weather wave and tides, and we predict that bedload sediment transport thresholds are only exceeded in the inlet during cyclones. The observed distribution of bed sediments is consistent with landward dispersal of sediment under storm conditions. Over 20 m of (presumably Holocene) sediments occurs in the inlet and the seismic character of the infill is consistent with the observed textural variation of the modern sediments. We infer that sediment accumulation on the floor of the inlet has been storm dominated throughout much of the Holocene.     

Hα emission objects in Circinus

We present a new survey for Hα emission objects in the Circinus cloud complex and introduce an efficient photometric method for detecting Hα emission via observations in a narrow‐band filter. The observed flux is compared to a blackbody fit of the continuum. Our search strategy reveals 20 stars with strong Hα emission (EW > 10 Å), eight of them being new detections. All Hα stars display infrared excess corroborating their youth. On the other hand, the region contains a number of infrared excess objects that do not show Hα emission. Our results support the picture that accretion – as witnessed by Hα emission – is a highly variable phenomenon. Therefore, Hα surveys can only trace the temporarily active objects. In contrast, infrared excess is a more robust tracer that reveals most of the population of young stellar objects in a star forming region. Our analysis of the general stellar content of the region yields a reliable distance of 450 pc for the Circinus cloud. Moreover, we find a ratio of total‐to‐selective extinction of R^V = 2.8 suggesting that smaller‐than‐normal dust grains may be present. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

沙漠地区春季近地层气象要素分布规律的观测研究

利用2005年1月至2006年4月朱日和地区20 m气象塔的风向、风速、气温、相对湿度的观测资料,分析沙漠地区春季近地层气象要素的分布规律。结果表明: 春季温度回升,风速最大,相对湿度最小,利于起沙,故沙尘天气频繁。风速满足幂指数率分布规律,并且幂指数m能够很好的反映出风速梯度的变化情况;在沙尘暴、扬沙、背景、浮尘的天气条件下,春季近地面层风速梯度依次增大,湍流动量、热量交换系数依次减小;风向以西南为主。浮尘、扬沙天气各气层平均增温率分别大于或小于同时段的背景大气;沙尘暴期间温度下降,平均降温率为0.61 ℃\5h-1。春季相对湿度的平均递减率(递增率)与平均增温率(降温率)的大小正相关。浮尘天气相对湿度的平均递减率大于同时段的背景大气;扬沙天气相对湿度的平均递减率小于同时段的背景大气;沙尘暴天气相对湿度增大,平均增大率为2.80%\5h-1。     

Seasonal variation in dust events and the causes of the variation in the Tarim Basin, China

We analyzed dust event occurrence and its seasonal distribution at 16 sites in the Tarim Basin,China.Although the overall frequency of dust events was the highest in spring in this region,its variation in other seasons could be classified into three patterns:(1) frequency of dust events in autumn > that in summer > that in winter(at the Kashi and Kuche sites);(2) frequency in summer > that in winter > that in autumn(at the Ruoqiang site);and(3) frequency in summer > that in autumn > that in winter(at all other areas of the Tarim Basin).The frequency of dust events and their seasonal variations in the Tarim Basin were mainly controlled by wind speed and locally available dust sources;the former was the key control when dust sources did not differ significantly.The seasonal variation in evaporation had a smaller,but still significant effect on the frequency of dust events.     

“7.17”西北夏季沙尘暴数值模拟

 对2005年7月17日发生在西北地区近20 a来夏季最强的沙尘暴过程进行了数值模拟研究,结果得到:①沙尘暴发生前,沙源处于高温控制下;②起沙是水平低涡和垂直涡叠加而成的一种类似于Benard对流泡的系统扫掠沙源的结果;③起沙主要发生在水平低涡移动方向的右部。