Possible sources of forecast errors generated by the global/regional assimilation and prediction system for landfalling tropical cyclones. Part I: Initial uncertainties

This paper investigates the possible sources of errors associated with tropical cyclone (TC) tracks forecasted using the Global/Regional Assimilation and Prediction System (GRAPES). The GRAPES forecasts were made for 16 landfalling TCs in the western North Pacific basin during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, with a forecast length of 72 hours, and using the default initial conditions (“initials”, hereafter), which are from the NCEP-FNL dataset, as well as ECMWF initials. The forecasts are compared with ECMWF forecasts. The results show that in most TCs, the GRAPES forecasts are improved when using the ECMWF initials compared with the default initials. Compared with the ECMWF initials, the default initials produce lower intensity TCs and a lower intensity subtropical high, but a higher intensity South Asia high and monsoon trough, as well as a higher temperature but lower specific humidity at the TC center. Replacement of the geopotential height and wind fields with the ECMWF initials in and around the TC center at the initial time was found to be the most efficient way to improve the forecasts. In addition, TCs that showed the greatest improvement in forecast accuracy usually had the largest initial uncertainties in TC intensity and were usually in the intensifying phase. The results demonstrate the importance of the initial intensity for TC track forecasts made using GRAPES, and indicate the model is better in describing the intensifying phase than the decaying phase of TCs. Finally, the limit of the improvement indicates that the model error associated with GRAPES forecasts may be the main cause of poor forecasts of landfalling TCs. Thus, further examinations of the model errors are required.     

Anomalous Western Pacific Subtropical High during Late Summer in Weak La Nia Years: Contrast between 1981 and 2013

Both 1981 and 2013 were weak La Niña years with a similar sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the tropical Pacific, yet the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) during August exhibited an opposite anomaly in the two years. A comparison indicates that, in the absence of a strong SST anomaly in the tropics, the cold advection from Eurasian high latitudes and the convection of the western Pacific warm pool play important roles in influencing the strength and position of the WPSH in August. In August 1981, the spatial pattern of 500 hPa geopotential height was characterized by a meridional circulation with a strong ridge in the Ural Mountains and a deep trough in Siberia, which provided favorable conditions for cold air invading into the lower latitudes. Accordingly, the geopotential height to the north of the WPSH was reduced by the cold advection anomaly from high latitudes, resulting in an eastward retreat of the WPSH. Moreover, an anomalous cyclonic circulation in the subtropical western Pacific, excited by enhanced warm pool convection, also contributed to the eastward retreat of the WPSH. By contrast, the influence from high latitudes was relatively weak in August 2013 due to a zonal circulation pattern over Eurasia, and the anomalous anticyclonic circulation induced by suppressed warm pool convection also facilitated the westward extension of the WPSH. Therefore, the combined effects of the high latitude and tropical circulations may contribute a persistent anomaly of the WPSH in late summer, despite the tropical SST anomaly being weak.     

Sources of anthropogenic fire ignitions on the peat-swamp landscape in Kalimantan,Indonesia

Fire disturbance in many tropical forests, including peat swamps, has become more frequent and extensive in recent decades. These fires compromise a variety of ecosystem services, among which mitigating global climate change through carbon storage is particularly important for peat swamps. Indonesia holds the largest amount of tropical peat carbon globally, and mean annual CO₂ emissions from decomposition of deforested and drained peatlands and associated fires in Southeast Asia have been estimated at ∼2000 Mt y-1. A key component to understanding and therefore managing fire in the region is identifying the land use/land cover classes associated with fire ignitions. We assess the oft-asserted claim that escaped fires from oil palm concessions and smallholder farms near settlements are the primary sources of fire in a peat-swamp forest area in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, equivalent to around a third of Kalimantan's total peat area. We use the MODIS Active Fire product from 2000 to 2010 to evaluate the fire origin and spread on the land use/land cover classes of legal, industrial oil palm concessions (the only type of legal concession in the study area), non-forest, and forest, as well as in relation to settlement proximity. We find that most fires (68–71%) originate in non-forest, compared to oil palm concessions (17%–19%), and relatively few (6–9%) are within 5 km of settlements. Moreover, most fires started within oil palm concessions and in close proximity to settlements stay within those boundaries (90% and 88%, respectively), and fires that do escape constitute only a small proportion of all fires on the landscape (2% and 1%, respectively). Similarly, a small proportion of fire detections in forest originate from oil palm concessions (2%) and within close proximity to settlements (2%). However, fire ignition density in oil palm (0.055 ignitions km⁻²) is comparable to that in non-forest (0.060 km-2 ignitions km-²), which is approximately ten times that in forest (0.006 ignitions km⁻²). Ignition density within 5 km of settlements is the highest at 0.125 ignitions km⁻². Furthermore, increased anthropogenic activity in close proximity to oil palm concessions and settlements produces a detectable pattern of fire activity. The number of ignitions decreases exponentially with distance from concessions; the number of ignitions initially increases with distance from settlements, and, around from 7.2 km, then decreases with distance from settlements. These results refute the claim that most fires originate in oil palm concessions, and that fires escaping from oil palm concessions and settlements constitute a major proportion of fires in this study region. However, there is a potential for these land use types to contribute substantially to the fire landscape if their area expands. Effective fire management in this area should therefore target not just oil palm concessions, but also non-forested, degraded areas where ignitions and fires escaping into forest are most likely to occur.     

Validation of MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields for monitoring deforestation and forest degradation: two cases in Mexico

This study assesses whether MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields percent tree cover (PTC) data can detect deforestation and forest degradation. To assess the usefulness of PTC for detecting deforestation, we used a data set consisting of eight forest and seven non-forest categories. To evaluate forest degradation, we used data from two temperate forest types in three conservation states: primary (dense), secondary (moderately degraded) and open (heavily degraded) forest. Our results show that PTC can differentiate temperate forest from non-forest categories (p = 0.05) and thus suggests PTC can adequately detect deforestation in temperate forests. In contrast, single-date PTC data does not appear to be adequate to detect forest degradation in temperate forests. As for tropical forest, PTC can partially discriminate between forest and non-forest categories.     

Forest fragmentation in Massachusetts,USA: a town-level assessment using Morphological spatial pattern analysis and affinity propagation

Forest fragmentation has been studied extensively with respect to biodiversity loss, disruption of ecosystem services, and edge effects although the relationship between forest fragmentation and human activities is still not well understood. We classified the pattern of forests in Massachusetts using fragmentation indicators to address these objectives: 1) characterize the spatial pattern of forest fragmentation in Massachusetts towns using Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA); and (2) identify regional trends using archetypal towns in relation to town history, geography and socioeconomic characteristics. Six fragmentation indicators were calculated using MSPA for each town to represent patterns and processes of fragmentation. We then used these indicators and the proportion of forested land to group towns across Massachusetts with similar patterns of fragmentation. Six representative towns typify different types of forest fragmentation, and illustrate the commonalities and differences between different fragmentation types. The objective selection of representative towns suggests that they might be used as the target of future studies, both in retrospective studies that seek to explain current patterns and in analyses that predict future fragmentation trends.     

基于随机森林模型的云南元阳梯田地形因子分析

为探究地形因子对梯田空间分布的影响,以云南元阳梯田坝达流域为研究区,运用GeoEye-1遥感卫星数据(2010年,1 m分辨率)和数字高程模型(20 m分辨率),提取梯田空间分布信息以及海拔高程、地形坡度、地形坡向、地面曲率、高程变异系数、地形起伏度、地面粗糙度、地表切割度、到水系距离9个地形因子。采用随机森林(Random Forest)方法建模,结合ROC曲线和AUC值对模型进行精度评价,根据随机置换残差均方减少量和因子作用曲线,探讨地形因子对梯田分布的影响规律。研究结果表明:该流域内梯田总面积1 158395 hm2,模型AUC值为0.947,海拔高度因子的随机置换残差均方减少量为38814,到水系距离因子为199.77,地面坡向因子为80.26,三者占总值的73.45%。由此可见,元阳梯田的空间分布主要受海拔高度、到水系距离、地面坡向3类地形因子的影响,其因子曲线表明梯田分布与地形因子间呈非线性关系。     

珠江流域降水集中度时空变化特征及成因分析

基于珠江流域内43个常规气象站点1960~2012年的逐日降水资料,计算了流域内各站点长期降水集中度(LCI)和逐年降水集中度(ACI);采用Mann-Kendall趋势检验法和Sen’s坡度检验法检测ACI时间上的变化趋势;同时采用反距离权重插值法(IDW)对LCI的区域特征和ACI的变化趋势进行空间插值以分析降水集中度的时空分布规律;采用随机森林(RF)算法对降水集中度的影响因子进行重要度分析。结果表明:(1)珠江流域逐年降水集中度ACI的年际变化不明显,东南部呈上升趋势,西北部呈下降趋势;(2)珠江流域西北部长期降水集中度LCI值偏小,即降水分布较平均;东南部长期降水集中度LCI值偏大,即降水较集中,表明该地区降水极值情况发生的几率相对较高,该空间分布趋势可能是受距离海洋的远近及海拔的影响;(3)众多气候影响因子中,东亚夏季季风(EASMI)对珠江流域的降水集中度影响最明显。     

Population genetic diversity and structure of a dominant tropical seagrass,Cymodocea rotundata,in the Western Pacific region

Cymodocea rotundata is an ecologically important tropical pioneer seagrass species distributed in the Indo‐Pacific region. The population genetic diversity and structure of this species were analysed at 46 sites spanning the Philippines, Ryukyu Islands (northern limit) and Hainan Island, by using microsatellite simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Analyses revealed the persistence of C. rotundata likely relies on local population dynamics and fitness influenced by environmental gradients, with sexual reproduction prevalent in the Philippines while the Ryukyu and Hainan populations were predominantly established by clonal spread. Analysis of molecular variance showed significant genetic differentiation (P < 0.001) among three geographic regions: the Philippines, Ryukyu and Hainan. Furthermore, the mean fixation index value was very high (F_ST = 0.36), indicating poor dispersal potential or limited gene flow. Allelic richness and heterozygosity of C. rotundata was comparable in the Philippines and Ryukyu Islands populations. More private alleles were found in the Philippines and excess heterozygotes in the Ryukyu Islands. STRUCTURE analysis revealed that the Ryukyu and Hainan populations were mosaics of admixed alleles of individuals from the Philippines. An assignment test suggested that recruitment occurs from the Northeast Philippines to Ryukyu Islands. These results suggest that the Philippine populations are tropical seagrass hotspots and perhaps the origin of the populations in the Ryukyu and Hainan Islands. This scenario is most likely driven by the Kuroshio Current and island integration events during plate tectonic activities. The Philippine Archipelago is considered of high importance for conservation objectives and management plan of seagrasses. Likewise, the Ryukyu Islands are also important in terms of conserving regional diversity because locally adapted genotypes have important evolutionary potential in the face of environmental change.     

海洋上层暖水在热带气旋迅速增强中的作用:基于台风威马逊(1409)的个例研究

在登陆海南岛之前,台风威马逊在南海北部从热带风暴级别迅速增强成为超强台风。观测数据的分析结果显示,海洋上层的异常暖水在威马逊的迅速增强过程中扮演了重要的角色。威马逊期间,南海北部的海表面温度相比于气候态海表面温度暖很多。这部分异常暖水为威马逊提供了更多的能量,从而导致了威马逊的迅速增强。数值模拟结果进一步证明,南海北部的暖水在台风威马逊的迅速增强过程中起重要作用。如果没有这团异常暖水的影响,威马逊只增强25 hPa,仅为有暖水影响条件下增强程度的58.1%。     

北大西洋大青鲨渔业生物学初步研究

大青鲨(Prionace glauca)是金枪鱼延绳钓渔业中最主要的兼捕鱼种之一,作为海洋生物链的顶端物种对海洋生态系统的稳定性和多样性起到了重要作用。作者根据中国金枪鱼渔业科学观察员在北大西洋海域(3°~55°N,15°~40°W)采集的2 112尾大青鲨数据,按不同性别对其渔业生物学特征进行初步研究。结果表明:雌、雄大青鲨的优势叉长组分别为180~220 cm、190~230 cm,雄性叉长均值显著大于雌性,雌、雄性比符合1︰1;大青鲨叉长-全长、尾凹长-全长的线性关系分别为L_F=0.8008L_T+7.3361,L_P=0.7576L_T–1.8479;北大西洋热带海域(3°~13°N)兼捕的大青鲨群体组成以大个体为主(180~240 cm),冰岛附近海域(48°~51°N)兼捕的大青鲨群体组成以小个体为主(100~210 cm);大青鲨叉长和质量关系式为W_R=7×10~(–6)L_F~(2.9994);大青鲨肝脏为性腺的发育提供能量,成熟个体的肝质量指数显著小于未成熟个体;热带海域兼捕的大青鲨以性成熟个体为主(96.9%),冰岛海域兼捕的大青鲨以未成熟个体居多(77.1%);50%雌性性成熟个体对应的叉长为178.7 cm,50%雄性性成熟个体对应叉长为173.6 cm;雌性怀仔大青鲨的叉长与其怀仔数量线性关系为L_S=0.419×L_F–49.7(R~2=0.3905),幼仔雌雄性比符合1︰1;胃含物中以沙丁鱼和鱿鱼出现频率最高。作者的研究有助于更好地了解北大西洋大青鲨的生物学特征,为区域性渔业管理组织评估大青鲨种群资源状态提供数据参考。