STUDY ON THE VARIATION IN THE CONFIGURATION OF SUBTROPICAL ANTICYCLONE AND ITS MECHANISM DURING SEASONAL TRANSITION-PART Ⅱ:SEASONAL TRANSITION INDICES OVER THE ASIAN MONSOON REGION

Based on the studies in Part Ⅰ (see Mao et al.2003),this paper further examines the relationship between the Asian summer monsoon onset and variation in meridional position of the warm temperature ridge with a zonal orientation in mid-upper troposphere.During the Asian monsoon bursting consequentially over the Bay of Bengal,South China Sea,and South Asia,in addition to the reversal of winds in the lower and upper troposphere and deep convection before and after the onset,the atmospheric meridional temperature gradient (MTG) in the vicinity of the ridge-surface of subtropical high (WEB defined in Part Ⅰ) exhibits a significant reversal.Since the establishment of temperature structure with higher over north than over south of the WEB in the mid-upper troposphere (200-500 hPa) characterizes the collective essential that the Asian summer monsoon bursts over different areas,the MTG in mid-upper troposphere,based on the thermodynamics associated with the seasonal transition,should be a reasonable index to measure the Asian monsoon onset.The definition for onset date is proposed,and the time series of onset date for different sections are determined.As compared with the onset dates determined by other indices such as 850-hPa zonal wind and OLR.correlation analyses indicate that the 850-hPa zonal wind is only regional index,but the MTG index is applicable universally to the Asian monsoon regime.     

Seasonal and Diurnal Variation of Surface Ozone and a Preliminary Analysis of Exceedance of its Critical Levels at a Semi-arid Site in India

The mixing ratios of surface O₃ were measured at St. John's College, Agra, an urban and traffic influenced area for the period of 2000–2002. The monthly averaged O₃ mixing ratios ranged between 8 to 40 ppb with an annual average of 21 ppb. Strong diurnal and seasonal variations in O₃ mixing ratios were observed throughout the year except for monsoon season. The mixing ratios of O₃ follow the surface temperature cycle and solar radiation (r = 0.72 and r = 0.65 with temperature and solar radiation, respectively). Concentrations were higher with winds associated with NE and NW direction indicating the impact of pollution sources on surface O₃ concentration. Exceedance of ozone critical level was calculated using the AOT 40 index and found to be 840 ppb.h and 2430 ppb.h for summer and winter seasons, respectively. The present O₃ exposures are lower than the critical level of O₃ and suggest that the present level of O₃ does not have any impact on reduction in crop yields.     

多年冻土地区建筑物地基的热稳定性技术

Thermal stabilization of soils (including freezing of thawed soils and cooling of permafrost) is known to be the effective method providing stable support for buildings and structures in cold regions.Seasonal thermo-stabilizers (STS) are mainly used in construction. The predicted climate warming because of natural and man-caused factors determines wide application of STS in permafrost regions. A STS transfers heat from its underground part (evaporator) to the aerial part (condenser) owing to natural temperature difference between them during a cold season. We have been working out and manufacturing different types of two-phase, vapor-liquid STS. Aluminum alloys are used in our STS to prevent corrosion and to increase their efficiency. They are successfully used in the northern regions of Western Siberia, in particular, at the railway Obskaya Bovanenkovo. The paper presents some technical parameters of new STS, the results of their experimental study and computer simulation, as well as experience features.     

Space-time mapping of soil salinity using probabilistic bayesian maximum entropy

The mapping of saline soils is the first task before any reclamation effort. Reclamation is based on the knowledge of soil salinity in space and how it evolves with time. Soil salinity is traditionally determined by soil sampling and laboratory analysis. Recently, it became possible to complement these hard data with soft secondary data made available using field sensors like electrode probes. In this study, we had two data sets. The first includes measurements of field salinity (EC_a) at 413 locations and 19 time instants. The second, which is a subset of the first (13 to 20 locations), contains, in addition to EC_a, salinity determined in the laboratory (EC_2.5). Based on a procedure of cross-validation, we compared the prediction performance in the space-time domain of 3 methods: kriging using either only hard data (HK) or hard and mid interval soft data (HMIK), and Bayesian maximum entropy (BME) using probabilistic soft data. We found that BME was less biased, more accurate and giving estimates, which were better correlated with the observed values than the two kriging techniques. In addition, BME allowed one to delineate with better detail saline from non-saline areas.     

Variographic analysis of tropical forest cover from multi-scale remotely sensed imagery

Tropical forest mapping is one of the major environmental concerns at global and regional scales in which remote sensing techniques are firmly involved. This study examines the use of the variogram function to analyse forest cover fragmentation at different image scales. Two main aspects are considered here: (1) analysis of the spatial variability structure of the forest cover observed at three different scales using fine, medium and coarse spatial resolution images; and (2) the study of the relationship between rescaled images from the finest spatial resolution and those of the medium and coarse spatial resolutions. Both aspects are analysed using the variogram function as a basic tool to calculate and interpret the spatial variability of the forest cover. An example is presented for a Brazilian tropical forest zone using satellite images of different spatial resolutions acquired by Landsat TM (30 m), Resurs MSU (160 m) and ERS ATSR (1000 m). The results of this study contribute to establishing a suitable spatial resolution of remotely sensed data for tropical forest cover monitoring.     

Comparisons on seasonal and annual variations of δ~(18)O in precipitation

interpretationofpaleoclimaticrecordsinicecore(Dansgaardetal.,1969;Rozanskietal.,1997;Yao,1999;Thompsonetal.,2000).SincethefirstdeepicecorewasdrilledinGreenlandin1966(Dansgaardetal.,1969),hundredsoficecoreswereobtainedsuccessivelyfromicesheetsinAntarcticaandArctic,andmountainglaciersatmid-highlatitudes,fundedbynumerousresearchprogramsonglobalclimateandenvironmentalchange.Theseicecoresprovideuniqueandvaluablefirst-handinformationinrecoveringglobalpaleoenvironmentalrecordsandforecastingfuturecl…     

Spatial variability and pattern analysis of soil properties in Dehui city, Jilin province

1IntroductionSoil nutrient, as the synthetic results under the influence of various anthropogenic activities and the factors such as climate and topography, etc., possesses certain spatial distribution characteristics, and certain structural and stochastic characteristics. The study of the differences existing in different parts of the region lays the foundation for adjusting all management measures and all material input capacities and for gaining the maximal economic benefit. Presently, the …     

Targeting seasonal climate forecasts for integration into household level decisions: the case of smallholder farmers in Lesotho

Seasonal climate forecasts have been promoted as a means to increase the resilience of marginal groups in Africa. The manifestations of this are still to be seen. This paper argues that successful dissemination and adoption of the forecast requires an in-depth profile of the characteristics and needs of user groups. The case study of a mountainous village in southern Lesotho is used to highlight the decisions which one group of marginal users – smallholder farmers – might make in response to the forecast. A participatory role-play exercise explores what information households presently receive and how new climate forecast information could be integrated into seasonal decision making. Results show that there are a number of low-input options available to these farmers for responding to the forecast. Adoption, however, is going to require repeated exposure to the forecast in conjunction with forecast development that is suited to users' needs. The case study is linked back to the larger scale by suggesting paths that seasonal climate forecast development could take if it is to contribute to improving livelihood sustainability among marginal groups.     

Seasonal Variation of the East Asian Subtropical Westerly Jet and Its Association with the Heating Field over East Asia

The structure and seasonal variation of the East Asian Subtropical Westerly Jet （EAWJ） and associations with heating fields over East Asia are examined by using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Obvious differences exist in the westerly jet intensity and location in different regions and seasons due to the ocean-land distribution and seasonal thermal contrast, as well as the dynamic and thermodynamic impacts of the Tibetan Plateau. In winter, the EAWJ center is situated over the western Pacific Ocean and the intensity is reduced gradually from east to west over the East Asian region. In summer, the EAWJ center is located over the north of the Tibetan Plateau and the jet intensity is reduced evidently compared with that in winter. The EAWJ seasonal evolution is characterized by the obvious longitudinal inconsistency of the northward migration and in-phase southward retreat of the EAWJ axis. A good correspondence between the seasonal variations of EAWJ and the meridional differences of air temperature （MDT） in the mid-upper troposphere demonstrates that the MDT is the basic reason for the seasonal variation of EAWJ. Correlation analyses indicate that the Kuroshio Current region to the south of Japan and the Tibetan Plateau are the key areas for the variations of the EAWJ intensities in winter and in summer, respectively. The strong sensible and latent heating in the Kuroshio Current region is closely related to the intensification of EAWJ in winter. In summer, strong sensible heating in the Tibetan Plateau corresponds to the EAWJ strengthening and southward shift, while the weak sensible heating in the Tibetan Plateau is consistent with the EAWJ weakening and northward migration.     

Soil respiration in tropical seasonal rain forest in Xishuangbanna, SW China

With the static opaque chamber and gas chromatography technique, from January 2003 to January 2004 soil respiration was investigated in a tropical seasonal rain forest in Xishuangbanna, SW China. In this study three treatments were applied, each with three replicates: A (bare soil), B (soil+litter), and C (soil+litter+seedling). The results showed that soil respiration varied seasonally, low from December 2003 to February 2004, and high from June to July 2004. The annual average values of CO2 efflux from soil respiration differed among the treatments at 1% level, with the rank of C (14642 mgCO2· m-2. h-1)＞B (12807 mgCO2· m-2. h-1)＞A (9532 mgCO2· m-2. h-1). Diurnal variation in soil respiration was not apparent due to little diurnal temperate change in Xishuangbanna. There was a parabola relationship between soil respiration and soil moisture at 1% level. Soil respiration rates were higher when soil moisture ranged from 35% to 45%. There was an exponential relationship between soil respiration and soil temperature (at a depth of 5cm in mineral soil) at 1% level. The calculated Q1o values in this study,ranging from 2.03 to 2.36, were very near to those of tropical soil reported. The CO2 efflux in 2003was 5.34 kgCO2· m-2. a-1 from soil plus litter plus seedling, of them 3.48 kgCO2· m-2. a-1 from soil (accounting for 62.5%), 1.19 kgCO2· m-2. a-1 from litter (22.3%) and 0.67 kgCO2·m-2. a-1 from seedling (12.5%).