ON TEMPERATURE CHANGES OF SHANGHAI AND URBANIZATION IMPACTS

To understand how temperature varies in urban Shanghai under the background of global climate change and how it is affected by urbanization, the Shanghai temperature responses to global warming were analyzed, and then the temperature trends of urban and suburb stations under different climatic backgrounds were obtained. The urbanization effects on temperature were studied by comparing urban stations to suburb stations, the relationship between urbanization variables and temperature components were obtained, and observation data of surface and high level were combined to assess the contribution of urbanization effect. In the last part of the paper, the cause of urbanization effects on temperature was discussed. The results indicated: The long term change trend of Shanghai annual mean temperature is 1.31/100a from 1873 to 2004, the periods of 1921 – 1948 and 1979 – 2004 are warmer, and the 1979 – 2004 period is the warmest; compared to suburb stations, the representative urban station has slower decreases in the cool period and faster increases in the warm one; the urban and suburb temperatures have distinct differences resulting from urbanization and the differences are increasing by the year, with the difference of mean temperature and minimum temperature being the greatest in fall and that of maximum temperature being the largest in summer between the urban and suburban areas. The urbanization process accelerates the warming speed, with the minimum temperature being the most obvious; the urbanization effect contributes a 0.4°C increase in 1980s and 1.1°C in 1990s to the annual mean temperature.     

韶关市春季低温阴雨天气分析和预报

对1965～2004年韶关市的春季低温阴雨日数进行统计分析,结果表明,韶关市的低温阴雨年平均日数在8～14d,大部分都是湿冷型。1965—1972年韶关低温阴雨日数偏多,1973～1981年偏少,1982-1996年偏多,1997年以后偏少。韶关市逐年的平均低温阴雨日数有4个明显的周期,分别为2．5、3．5、8．3和13．9年。     

我国逐日降水量格点化方法

国家气象信息中心(NMIC)和美国大气海洋局气候预测中心合作开发了"中国逐日格点降水量实时分析系统(V1.0)",并已在NMIC投入业务试运行。该系统基于我国2419个国家级地面气象站日降水量观测(08:00—08:00,北京时)数据,采用"基于气候背景场"的最优插值方法,实时生成空间分辨率为0.5°×0.5°的格点化日降水量资料。通过对汛期典型区域和单站降水过程的对比分析表明:该格点化产品的精度较高,能准确捕捉并再现每一次降水过程。误差分析表明:约91%的数据绝对误差小于1.0 mm/d。该产品在定量分析天气实况、检验天气气候模式精度、检验卫星产品精度等方面有应用前景。     

The importance of moisture distribution for the growth and energetics of mid-latitude systems

A primitive equation model is used to study the sensitivity of baroclinic wave life cycles to the initial latitude-height distribution of humidity. Diabatic heating is parametrized only as a consequence of condensation in regions of large-scale ascent. Experiments are performed in which the initial relative humidity is a simple function of model level, and in some cases latitude bands are specified which are initially relatively dry. It is found that the presence of moisture can either increase or decrease the peak eddy kinetic energy of the developing wave, depending on the initial moisture distribution. A relative abundance of moisture at mid-latitudes tends to weaken the wave, while a relative abundance at low latitudes tends to strengthen it. This sensitivity exists because competing processes are at work. These processes are described in terms of energy box diagnostics. The most realistic case lies on the cusp of this sensitivity. Further physical parametrizations are then added, including surface fluxes and upright moist convection. These have the effect of increasing wave amplitude, but the sensitivity to initial conditions of relative humidity remains. Finally, control and doubled CO₂ life cycles are performed, with initial conditions taken from the time-mean zonal-mean output of equilibrium GCM experiments. The attenuation of the wave resulting from reduced baroclinicity is more pronounced than any effect due to changes in initial moisture.     

Exploring fog as a supplementary water source in Namibia

Namibia is an arid country where many rural and urban centres depend on ephemeral rivers for their water supply. These water sources are, however, limited and display seasonal salinisation. Fog occurs along the coast and extends for some distance inland, and it could be used as a source of drinking water. Data on groundwater salinisation and fog deposition were collected at villages of the indigenous communities and at the Gobabeb Training and Research Centre (GTRC) in the Central Namib Desert. Fog collection experiments were done with Standard Fog Collectors (SFCs) and 1-m² fog collectors made from the Raschel mesh that is used in SFCs from 1996 onwards. The results indicate that fog occurs throughout the year and that it has low major ion concentrations (chemical composition). The period of high fog deposition coincides with that of high groundwater salinity and would suit mixing of the two waters to provide water of good drinking quality to people in these areas. In conclusion, fog is a viable source of water in the Namib and could supplement traditional sources in rural settlements and perhaps also in urban water supply schemes in this region as in other parts of the world where it is used as a source of drinking water.

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Six years of dew observations in the Negev Desert, Israel

Dew measurements taken at the desert site of Sede Boker for nearly 6 years are analysed. The instrument used is a Hiltner-type dew balance. Several parameters describing various aspects of dew formation are discussed. The total monthly amount of dew and the distribution of the number of dew nights per month shows two maxima (in September and in December–January) and two minima (in April and November). The average dew deposit per dew night behaves differently: the most striking feature of this quantity is the appearance of distinct summer and winter regimes, with the winter having more dew per dew night. With respect to the total monthly dew hours, the year appears to be divided in half: first, the 6 months from August to January, with an average of 145 h per month, and second, the 6 months from February to June, with 80 h per month. The average duration of dew per dew night appears to follow very closely the length of the night: there is a clear maximum of dew duration in December (9·7 h) and a clear minimum in July (5·5 h). Finally, the rate of dew accumulation is found to have a distinct dry season regime and a winter, rainy season regime.     

一个混合型热带海洋-大气耦合模式I.模式构成及热带太平洋气候态模拟

本工作发展了一个用于研究热带海洋大气系统相互作用和ＥｌＮｉｎ～ｏ／ＳｏｕｔｈｅｒｎＯｓ－ｃｉｌａｔｉｏｎ动力过程的混合型（ｈｙｂｒｉｄ）耦合模式，其中的大气部分为一个由一阶斜压模表示的自由大气和混合行星边界层所组成的简单热带大气模式（区域为热带太平洋：１２０°Ｅ～８０°Ｗ，３０°Ｎ～３０°Ｓ；水平分辨率为２°×２°），海洋部分为大气物理研究所高分辨率自由表面热带太平洋环流模式（经纬圈方向水平分辨率分别为１°和２°，垂直方向分为不等距的１４层）。两模式间的耦合是这样进行的：简单大气模式计算出海表风应力，热通量由松弛公式计算，淡水通量（蒸发与降水之差）由观测资料给定，它们一起作为海洋环流模式（ＯＧＣＭ）的强迫场；而ＯＧＣＭ计算出海表温度（ＳＳＴ），在其以外地区给定观测到的气候海表温度或陆地温度，作为大气模式的边界条件。本文给出采用逐日、同步耦合方案时模式对热带太平洋气候态模拟结果，表明未采用任何通量修正（ｆｌｕｘｅｓｃｏｒｒｅｃｔｉｏｎ），耦合模式未出现气候漂移（ｃｌｉｍａｔｅｄｒｉｆｔ）现象，并且非常逼真地再现了热带太平洋气候态，特别是海表风场及相伴随的辐合带和降水、海表温度和流场及它们的季节变化。文中还进行     

盆地气象学及其一些概念

就盆地气象学的某些问题进行了讨论。     

Atmosphere,Weather, and Baseball: How Much Farther Do Baseballs Really Fly at Denver's Coors Field?

This article tests the widely held assumption that batted baseballs travel 10 percent farther in Denver than in major‐league ballparks at sea level. An analysis of (1) National League fly‐ball‐distance data for 1995–1998, (2) the micrometeorology of Coors Field, and (3) weather dynamics along the Colorado front range shows that the assumed elevation enhancement of fly‐ball distance has been greatly overestimated due to prevailing weather conditions in downtown Denver. We conclude that the record number of home runs at Coors Field must be attributed as much to the personnel of the Colorado Rockies team and the effects of mile‐high elevation on the act of pitching a baseball as to the effect of low air density on fly‐ball distance.     

An Urban Surface Exchange Parameterisation for Mesoscale Models

A scheme to represent the impact of urban buildings on airflow in mesoscale atmospheric models is presented. In the scheme, the buildings are not explicitly resolved, but their effects on the grid-averaged variables are parameterised. An urban quarter is characterised by a horizontal building size, a street canyon width and a building density as a function of height. The module computes the impact of the horizontal (roof and canyon floor) and vertical (walls) surfaces on the wind speed, temperature and turbulent kinetic energy. The computation of the shortwave and longwave radiation, needed to compute the temperature of the urban surfaces, takes into account the shadowing and radiation trapping effects induced by the urban canyons. The computation of the turbulent length scales in the TKE equation is also modified to take into account the presence of the buildings.The parameterisation is introduced into a mesoscale model and tested in a bidimensional case of a city over flat terrain. The new parameterisation is shown to be able to reproduce the most important features observed in urban areas better than the traditional approach which is based only on the modification of the roughness length, thereby retaining the Monin–Obukhov similarity theory. The new surface exchange parameterisation is furthermore shown to have a strong impact on the dispersion characteristics of air pollutants in urban areas.