Sea-breeze scaling from numerical model simulations,part II: Interaction between the sea breeze and slope flows

Numerical model simulations of sea-breeze circulations in the presence of idealized topography are subjected to dimensional analysis in order to capture the dynamics of the sea-breeze circulation combined with an upslope-flow circulation. A secondary objective is to reconcile previous results based on observations. The analysis is based on a scaling analysis of sea-breeze speed, depth and volume flux. This study is motivated by the fact that the literature of sea breezes interacting with upslope flows is generally qualitative. Results show clear scaling regimes and strong interaction between the two thermally driven circulations. We distinguish three regimes, depending on slope length, slope angle, stability and surface heat flux. The first and third regimes obey the scaling laws of pure sea-breeze scaling. The second regime shows a significant decrease in the scaled volume flux relative to pure sea-breeze scaling. Dynamical relations in the second regime show a strong influence on the circulation of upslope stable air advection.     

Seasonal variations in pCO2 and its controlling factors in surface seawater of the northern East China Sea

Surface partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂), temperature, salinity, nutrients, and chlorophyll a were measured in the East China Sea (ECS; 31°30′–34°00′N to 124°00′–127°30′E) in August 2003 (summer), May 2004 (spring), October 2004 (early fall), and November 2005 (fall). The warm and saline Tsushima Warm Current was observed in the eastern part of the survey area during four cruises, and relatively low salinity waters due to outflow from the Changjiang (Yangtze River) were observed over the western part of the survey area. Surface pCO₂ ranged from 236 to 445 μatm in spring and summer, and from 326 to 517 μatm in fall. Large pCO₂ (values >400 μatm) occurred in the western part of the study area in spring and fall, and in the eastern part in summer. A positive linear correlation existed between surface pCO₂ and temperature in the eastern part of the study area, where the Tsushima Warm Current dominates; this correlation suggests that temperature is the major factor controlling surface pCO₂ distribution in that area. In the western part of the study area, however, the main controlling factor is different and seasonally complex. There is large transport in this region of Changjiang Diluted Water in summer, causing low salinity and low pCO₂ values. The relationship between surface pCO₂ and water stability suggests that the amount of mixing and/or upwelling of CO₂-rich water might be the important process controlling surface pCO₂ levels during spring and fall in this shallow region. Sea–air CO₂ flux, based on the application of a Wanninkhof [1992. Relationship between wind speed and gas exchange over the ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research 97, 7373–7382] formula for gas transfer velocity and a set of monthly averaged satellite wind data, were −5.04±1.59, −2.52±1.81, 1.71±2.87, and 0.39±0.18 mmol m⁻² d⁻¹ in spring, summer, early fall, and fall, respectively, in the northern ECS. The ocean in this study area is therefore a carbon sink in spring and summer, but a weak source or in equilibrium with the atmosphere in fall. If the winter flux value is assumed to have been the mean of autumnal and vernal values, then the northern ECS absorbs about 0.013 Pg C annually. That result suggests that the northern ECS is a net sink for atmospheric CO₂, a result consistent with previous studies.     

The global distribution of gravity wave energy in the lower stratosphere derived from GPS data and gravity wave modelling: Attempt and challenges

Five years of global temperatures retrieved from radio occultations measured by Champ (Challenging Minisatellite Payload) and SAC-C (Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas-C) are analyzed for gravity waves (GWs). In order to separate GWs from other atmospheric variations, a high-pass filter was applied on the vertical profile. Resulting temperature fluctuations correspond to vertical wavelengths between 400 m (instrumental resolution) and 10 km (limit of the high-pass filter). The temperature fluctuations can be converted into GW potential energy, but for comparison with parameterization schemes GW momentum flux is required. We therefore used representative values for the vertical and horizontal wavelength to infer GW momentum flux from the GPS measurements. The vertical wavelength value is determined by high-pass filtering, the horizontal wavelength is adopted from a latitude-dependent climatology. The obtained momentum flux distributions agree well, both in global distribution and in absolute values, with simulations using the Warner and McIntyre parameterization (WM) scheme. However, discrepancies are found in the annual cycle. Online simulations, implementing the WM scheme in the mechanistic COMMA-LIM (Cologne Model of the Middle Atmosphere—Leipzig Institute for Meteorology) general circulation model (GCM), do not converge, demonstrating that a good representation of GWs in a GCM requires both a realistic launch distribution and an adequate representation of GW breaking and momentum transfer.     

2006年1月漯河市暴雪天气过程的诊断分析

利用常规探空和地面资料以及NCEP再分析资料,对2006年1月漯河暴雪过程进行了诊断分析,结果表明:高空阶梯槽的形成和维持,为这次强降雪过程提供了有利的环流背景,中低空低涡切变线是主要影响系统;冷平流的持续使近地面层气温降至0℃以下,有利于雪的形态维持;高层辐散与低层辐合的耦合,使上升运动加强;低空急流输送了充沛的水汽,大气中水汽处于饱和状态有利于提高降水的转化率。     

积云对流参数化方案对大气含水量及降水的影响

中国科学院大气物理研究所大气科学和地球流体力学数值模拟国家重点实验室所发展的高分辨率全球大气环流谱模式SAMIL, 自从发展成R42L26新版本之后, 显示出对全球气候基本态的模拟能力, 但模式对流层低层以及热带地区整层偏干, 且对热带地区的降水模拟存在“双赤道辐合带”这一普遍误差, 在赤道地区以及北半球中纬度降水偏少, 而在拉丁美洲降水偏多。敏感性试验表明这些误差是相互联系的。通过将700 hPa以下的相对湿度趋近于“观测资料”的试验显示模拟的降水误差减小了。据此, 对Tiedtke 积云对流参数化方案中的浅对流部分进行修改, 增加了浅对流的侧向混合的卷入以及卷出率, 并减小了对流方案中的云水[CD*2]雨水的转换率, 将其耦合到模式中。积分结果表明, 修改后的方案明显改进了湿度和温度场的模拟, 对降水的模拟能力有了很大的提高, 基本消除了“双赤道辐合带”现象。     

The Effect of Relative Sunspot Numbers,Solar Flare Numbers and Variable Component of 10.7 cm Solar Flux on The Seasonal Variation of 6300 Å Line Intensity at Calcutta

The paper presents the seasonal variation of 6300 Å line intensity at Calcutta with relative sunspot number, solar flare number and variable component of 10.7 cm solar flux. A study has been made and important results have been obtained which are as follows. (i) Intensity of 6300 Å line shows periodic variation with relative sunspot number, solar flare number and variable component of 10.7 cm solar flux during the period 1984–1986 which is the secondary peak of the descending phase of 21st solar cycle. (ii) 6300 Å line intensity at Cachoeira Paulista station, taken by Sahai et al. (1988), also shows periodic variation with solar parameters during the period 1978–1980 which is the peak phase of the solar cycle. (iii) A possible explanation of such a type of variation is also presented.     

Effects Of Changing Surface Heat Flux On Atmospheric Boundary-Layer Flow Over Flat Terrain

We examine the unsteady response of a neutral atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) of depth h and friction velocity u _* when a uniform surface heat flux is applied abruptly or decreased rapidly over a time scale t<inf>θ</inf> less than about h /(10u _*). Standard Monin–Obukhov (MO) relationships are used for the perturbed eddy viscosity profile in terms of the changes to the heat flux and mean shear. Analytical solutions for changes in temperature, mean wind and shear stress profile are obtained for the surface layer, when there are small changes in h /|L_MO| over the time scale t_MO~|L _MO|/(10u_*) (where L _MO and t _MO are the length and time scales, respectively). They show that a maximum in the wind speed profile occurs at the top of the thermal boundary layer for weak surface cooling, i.e. a wind jet, whereas there is a flattening of the profile and no marked maximum for weak surface heating. The modelled profiles are approximately the same as those obtained from the U.K. Met Office Unified Model when operating as a mesoscale model at 12-km horizontal resolution. The theoretical model is modified when strong surface heating is suddenly applied, resulting in a large change in h /|L _MO| (>>1), over the time scale t _MO. The eddy structure is predicted to change significantly and the addition of convective turbulence increases the shear turbulence at the ground. A low-level wind jet can form, with convective turbulence adding to the mean momentum of the flow. This was verified by our laboratory experiment and direct numerical simulations. Additionally, it is shown that the effects of Coriolis acceleration diminish (rather than as suggested in the literature, amplify) the formation of the wind jets in the situations considered here. Hence, only when the surface heat flux changes over time scales greater than 1/f (where f is the Coriolis parameter) does the ABL adjust monotonically between its equilibrium states. These results are also applicable to the ABL passing over spatially varying surface heat fluxes.     

Length Scales of Scalar Diffusion in the Convective Boundary Layer: Laboratory Observations

A laboratory study of scalar diffusion in the convective boundary layer has found results that are consistent with a 1999 large-eddy simulation (LES) study by Jonker, Duynkerke and Cuijpers. For bottom-up and top-down scalars (introduced as ‘infinite’ area sources of passive tracer at the surface and inversion, respectively) the dominant length scale was found to be much larger than the length scale for density fluctuations, the latter being equal to the boundary-layer depth h. The variance of the normalized passive scalar grew continuously with time and its magnitude was about 3–5 times larger for the top-down case than for the bottom-up case. The vertical profiles of the normalized passive scalar variance were found to be approximately constant through the convective boundary layer (CBL) with a value of about 3–8c_*² for bottom-up and 10–50c_*² for top-down diffusion. Finally, there was some evidence of a minimum in the variance and dominant length scale for scalar flux ratios (top-down to bottom-up flux) close to −0.5. All these convection tank results confirm the LES results and support the hypothesis that there is a distinct difference in behaviour between the dynamic and passive variables in the CBL.     

A Modelling Approach For Optimizing Flight Patterns In Airborne Meteorological Measurements

A method is presented for selecting the optimal flight patterns for airbornemeteorological measurements in various flow situations. The method is basedon systematic utilisation of mesoscale model fields. Flow overan Arctic sea-ice boundary zone is modelled, and it is assumed that the mesoscale model fields represent the true state of the atmosphere, and that each possible flight pattern yields a different sample of the true fields. A plan for the basic structure of the flight pattern is assumed, and then the unexplained variance, i.e., the difference between the true variance and the sample variance, of a quantity of interest is calculated for a variety of possible flight patterns. Different target quantities are considered, such as wind speed, air temperature, and the turbulent fluxesof momentum and sensible heat. The optimal flight pattern is defined byminimisation of the unexplained variance, and often depends on the quantitywe are interested in. For sawtooth patterns, the optimal flight pattern was sensitive to the maximum ascent angle of the aircraft. In flight patterns designed for turbulence measurements, the optimal pattern was different for the unexplained variance of the turbulent fluxes and for the unexplained total heat content of the convective layer.     

Parameterization and Micrometeorological Measurement of Air–Sea Gas Transfer

Because of the combination of smallconcentrations and/or small fluxes, the determinationof air–sea gas fluxes presents unusual measurementdifficulties. Direct measurements (i.e., eddycorrelation) of the fluxes are rarely attempted. Inthe last decade, there has been an intense scientificeffort to improve measurement techniques and to placebulk parameterizations of gas transfer on firmertheoretical grounds. Oceanic tracer experiments,near-surface mean concentration profiles, eddyaccumulation, and direct eddy covariance methods haveall been used. Theoretical efforts have focusedprimarily in the realm of characterizing the transferproperties of the oceanic molecular sublayer. Recentmajor field efforts organized by the U.S.A. (GASEX-98) andthe European Union (ASGAMAGE) have yielded atmospheric-derivedresults much closer to those from oceanographicmethods. In this paper, we review the physical basisof a bulk-to-bulk gas transfer parameterization thatis generalized for solubility and Schmidt number. Wealso discuss various aspects of recent sensor andtechnique developments used for direct measurementsand demonstrate experimental progress with resultsfrom ASGAMAGE and GASEX-98. It is clear that sensornoise, sensitivity, and cross talk with other speciesand even ship motion corrections still need improvement foraccurate measurements of trace gas exchange over theocean. Significant work remains to resolve issuesassociated with the effects of waves, bubbles, andsurface films.