Filament generation off the Strait of Gibraltar in response to Gap winds

We present a case study of the generation of a cold filament rooted off the southwestern edge of the Strait of Gibraltar (Atlantic side) during the summer of 2000. The event is successfully simulated using high-resolution atmospheric and oceanic numerical models. It is shown that a sharp filament may develop oceanwards with little modification of the Atlantic inflow into the Mediterranean, contrary to usual expectations. The filament is essentially driven by the surface layer response to Gap winds occurring during Levanter conditions. The easterly wind funnelling in the Strait generates a strong wind jet and intense wind curl which impacts the oceanic surface layer through Ekman pumping and mixing processes. The generation and fate of the filament is very similar to the Gulf of Tehuantepec case, where strong Gap wind events produce asymmetric deformation and erosion of the thermocline that tends to favour anticyclonic mesoscale circulations. Our observations and model results from both realistic and idealized experiments suggest that similar phenomena are present in the Gulf of Cadiz, but they are altered by the persisting Atlantic inflow, so that the response to Gap winds is not as dramatic.     

中国近海ASCAT风场反演结果验证分析

利用NCEP风场产品和dropsonde探测资料,对中国近海ASCAT全场和单点的风速反演精度进行验证分析.研究发现ASCAT反演风场与NCEP风场的风速、风向平均绝对偏差分别为2.06 m/s和21.98°;均方根误差分别为2.87 m/s和34.29°.两者风速反演精度较一致,风向误差相对偏大.ASCAT反演风场与dropsonde探测资料的风速、风向平均绝对偏差分别为1.55 m/s和3.43°;均方根误差分别为1.73 m/s和4.15°.ASCAT资料可以较好的反演台风风场.     

Diurnal wind and nonlinear interaction between inertial and tidal currents in the South China Sea during the passage of Typhoon Conson

Diurnal wind （DW） and nonlinear interaction between inertial and tidal currents near the Xisha Islands of the South China Sea （SCS） during the passage of Typhoon Conson （2010） are investigated using observational data and a damped slab model. It is found that the DWs, which are dominated by clockwise wind components, are prominent at our observational site. The DWs increase after the passage of the typhoon from 1 to about 4 m/s, which may be due to the decrease of the sea surface temperature caused by the passage of the typhoon. Kinetic energy spectra and bicoherence methods reveal nonlinear interactions between the inertial currents and the 2MK3 tidal constituent at our observational site. The slab damped model reproduces the inertial currents successfully induced by the total observed winds, and it is shown that the inertial currents induced by DWs are positively proportional to the DWs speed. Even though the observed inertial currents are distinct, the proportion of inertial currents induced by DWs to those induced by the total observed winds is just 0.7%/4% before/after the passage of typhoon. This shows that the inertial currents induced by the DWs are unimportant near the Xisha Islands during the typhoon season.     

Assimilation of GMS-5 satellite winds using nudging method with MM5

With the aid of Meteorological Information Composite and Processing System （MICAPS）, satellite wind vectors derived from the Geostationary Meteorological Statellite-5 （GMS-5） and retrieved by National Satellite Meteorology Center of China （NSMC） can be obtained. Based on the nudging method built in the fifth-generation Mesoscale Model （MM5） of Pennsylvania State University and National Center for Atmospheric Research, a data preprocessor is developed to convert these satellite wind vectors to those with specified format required in MM5. To examine the data preprocessor and evaluate the impact of satellite winds from GMS-5 on MM5 simulations, a series of numerical experimental forecasts consisting of four typhoon cases in 2002 are designed and implemented. The results show that the preprocessor can process satellite winds smoothly and MM5 model runs successfully with a little extra computational load during ingesting these winds, and that assimilation of satellite winds by MM5 nudging method can obviously improve typhoon track forecast but contributes a little to typhoon intensity forecast. The impact of the satellite winds depends heavily upon whether the typhoon bogussing scheme in MM5 was turned on or not. The data preprocessor developed in this paper not only can treat GMS-5 satellite winds but also has capability with little modification to process derived winds from other geostationary satellites.     

A NUMERICAL STUDY ON THE INFLUENCE OF WIND FIELDS AT UPPER LEVELS IN THE MEIYU PERIOD ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOW LEVEL JET AND MESOSCALE SYSTEMS*

Using a mesoscale model,a numerical study on a heavy rainfall case occurring in the Changjiang-Huaihe River Basin is made in this paper.The influence of the intensity of northeasterly wind in front of the Qinghai-Xizang high at upper level on the low level wind field and development of mesoscale systems as well as heavy rainfall is investigated.The model well reproduced the heavy rainfall process and the weather systems associated.And it indicates that the strong northeasterly flow around the high at upper troposphere will bring about not only the strengthening of low level southeasterly wind,but also the appearance of shear-line and mesoscale vortex at low level.The coupling of northerly wind at upper level and southerly wind at lower level constructs a vertical indirect circulation which is most favourable for the development of convective motions.Its ascending branch in the shear-line area is very strong and shows a pronounced mesoscale characteristic.     

Magnetized relativistic jets and long-duration GRBs from magnetar spin-down during core-collapse supernovae

We use ideal axisymmetric relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations to calculate the spin-down of a newly formed millisecond,   B ∼ 10¹⁵ G  , magnetar and its interaction with the surrounding stellar envelope during a core-collapse supernova (SN) explosion. The mass, angular momentum and rotational energy lost by the neutron star are determined self-consistently given the thermal properties of the cooling neutron star's atmosphere and the wind's interaction with the surrounding star. The magnetar drives a relativistic magnetized wind into a cavity created by the outgoing SN shock. For high spin-down powers  (∼10⁵¹–10⁵² erg s⁻¹)  , the magnetar wind is superfast at almost all latitudes, while for lower spin-down powers  (∼10⁵⁰ erg s⁻¹)  , the wind is subfast but still super-Alfvénic. In all cases, the rates at which the neutron star loses mass, angular momentum and energy are very similar to the corresponding free wind values (≲30 per cent differences), in spite of the causal contact between the neutron star and the stellar envelope. In addition, in all cases that we consider, the magnetar drives a collimated  (∼5–10°)  relativistic jet out along the rotation axis of the star. Nearly all of the spin-down power of the neutron star escapes via this polar jet, rather than being transferred to the more spherical SN explosion. The properties of this relativistic jet and its expected late-time evolution in the magnetar model are broadly consistent with observations of long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their associated broad-lined Type Ic SN.     

A study of a new retrieval algorithm for measurement of oceanic windvectors field using satellite microwave scatterometer

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导致区域性雷暴大风天气的云型分类及统计特征分析

利用2005—2011年的静止卫星、常规探空和重要天气报资料,文章选取了18次典型区域性雷暴大风过程,在分析500 hPa天气形势基础上对导致雷暴大风的强对流云型进行了分类分析,其发展过程可划分为初始、发展、成熟和消亡四个阶段。对静止卫星观测的定量特征分析表明,对流云团中IR1通道和水汽(WV)通道的亮温差基本为负值,其值的不断减小预示着强对流在持续发展;在监测和预报雷暴大风天气时,需要特别关注长椭圆形强对流云带的右侧和其右侧的孤立对流云团,尤其是TBB(红外亮度温度)低负值区、TBB高梯度区、IR1和WV通道亮温差值区及大梯度区均配合的区域。在定性分析的基础上对静止卫星IR1与WV通道的亮温特征进行了定量统计分析,获得了雷暴大风出现站点附近的红外亮温、水汽亮温、IR1与WV通道亮温差和红外亮温梯度的分布情况,结果发现大部分站点的雷暴大风天气出现在以下时段:红外亮温由急剧下降到平缓下降之间的过渡期;IR1与WV通道亮温差由迅速下降转为缓慢下降或稳定少变的时间点前后,且多数处于IR1和WV通道亮温差由正转负临近的时间段内;红外亮温梯度达到最大的时间点附近或开始下降的时候。