Alkaline phosphatase activity and its relationship to inorganic phosphorus in the transition zone of the North-western African upwelling system

The enzymatic activity of alkaline phosphatase (APA) was studied in the transition zone between the African upwelling system and the open ocean waters of the Canary Islands region. This region is recurrently dominated by the presence of upwelling filaments that may transport nutrient-enriched waters out into the open ocean before nutrients become exhausted by plankton. Turnover rates by APA were generally low in the whole region, but detectable in all the measurements carried out. On average, turnover rates were higher in the upwelling stations, and APA in those waters seemed to be mainly generated by heterotrophic bacteria to supply easily assimilable organic C. APA outside the upwelling area showed an inverse hyperbolic relationship with increasing phosphate, suggesting the presence of both constitutive and Pi-inducible APA. In these offshore waters, a threshold of 0.1 μM of phosphate could be defined for the regulatory function of Pi on APA. Thus, APA in nutrient-poor waters seemed to be induced to compensate for Pi-deficiency. Turnover rates in the filaments showed basal (probably constitutive) levels, whereas they increased in the surrounding waters, where phosphate concentration presumably did not satisfy plankton P-demands. The fertilising effect of the filaments and associated cyclonic eddies extended to at least 175 km offshore, where basal alkaline phosphatase activities were still found. The magnitude of this effect depends probably on the intensity of upwelling events and the degree of recirculation of filament water back to the coastal jet.     

The shedding of mesoscale anticyclonic eddies from the Alaskan Stream and westward transport of warm water

The south-flowing waters of the Kamchatka and Oyashio Currents and west-flowing waters of the Alaskan Stream are key components of the western sub-Arctic Pacific circulation. We use CTD data, Argo buoys, WOCE surface drifters, and satellite-derived sea-level observations to investigate the structure and interannual changes in this system that arise from interactions among anticyclonic eddies and the mean flow. Variability in the temperature of the upstream Oyashio and Kamchatka Currents is evident by warming in mesothermal layer in 1994–2005 compared to 1990–1991. A major fraction of the water in these currents is derived directly from the Alaskan Stream. The stream also sheds large anticyclonic (Aleutian) eddies, averaging approximately 300 km in diameter with a volume transport significant in comparison with that of the Kamchatka Current itself. These eddies enclose pools of relatively warm and saline water whose temperature is typically 4 °C warmer and salinity is 0.4 greater than that of cold-core Kamchatka eddies in the same density range. Aleutian eddies drift at approximately 1.2 km d⁻¹ and retain their distinctive warm and salty characteristics for at least 2 years. Selected westward pathways during 1990–2004 are identified. If the shorter northern route is followed, Aleutian eddies remain close to the stream and persist sufficiently long to carry warm and saline water directly to the Kamchatka Current. This was observed during 1994–1997 with substantial warming of the waters in the Kamchatka Current and upstream Oyashio. If the eddies take a more southern route they detach from the stream but can still contribute significant quantities of warm and saline water to the upstream Oyashio, as in 2004–2005. However, the eddies following this southern route may dissipate before reaching the western boundary current region.     

Surface circulation of the Levantine Basin: Comparison of model results with observations

The eastern Mediterranean (Levantine Basin) hydrography and circulation are investigated by comparing the results of a high-resolution primitive equation model with observations. After a 10-year integration, the model is able to reproduce the major water masses and the circulation patterns of the eastern Mediterranean. Comparisons with the POEM hydrographical observations show good agreement. The vertical distribution of the water masses matches that of the observations quite well in terms of monthly mean. The model surface circulation is in agreement with circulation schemes derived from recent observations. Some well-known mesoscale features of the upper thermocline circulation are also realistically reproduced. In agreement with satellite observations, the model shows that high-energy mesoscale eddies dominate the upper thermocline circulation in the southern and the central parts of the Levantine Basin. Most of the Atlantic Water follows the north African coast and forms a strong coastal jet near the Libyan coast rather than forming the Mid-Mediterranean Jet described by several authors. The sub-basin circulation shows a strong seasonal signal. A strong and stable current flows along the isobaths in winter, becoming weaker and with more meanders in summer. The mesoscale eddies throughout the whole basin are more energetic in summer than in winter.     

不同辐射传输方案对中尺度降水影响的对比分析

在MM5非静力稳定中尺度气象模式中引进了建立在δ-4流近似和相关-k分布基础上的对云水、雨水、冰晶和霰的辐射特性进行详细描述的辐射传输方案。新建立的辐射传输方案和MM5中原有的辐射传输方案在华南暴雨中的模拟结果相互比较，并与天气实况的对比表明:辐射在中尺度暴雨中起着重要的作用；辐射传输方案对云辐射特性描述的准确程度对于地面降水影响是明显的；不同的辐射传输方案对地面降水的影响存在较大的差异，并且这些差异在白天比在夜间明显；辐射传输过程对地面降水影响的差异主要表现在降水中心上，而对降水的地理分布改变很小；相对而言，不同的辐射传输方案之间对短波描述的差异对地面降水的影响明显，而对长波描述差异的影响不大；新辐射传输方案能够在一定程度上改进MM5对中尺度降水的模拟能力。     

中尺度模式中的边界层特征量分析

在中尺度数值天气预报模式MM4中，用level3及E-ε-l两种湍流闭合方法对原总体边界层参数化方案进行改进，使得中尺度模式中可以直接输出有关湍流量，并对地表通量参数化方案进行改进，进而对不同下势需如沙漠，植被上的有关湍流量和边界层特征量进行分析。研究中尺度系统中边界层结构的特征，本文主要从地表通量，湍流交换系数，湍流动能（q^2)，温度脉动方差（θ^2)及风温廓线等几个方面进行研究，结果表明，新方案能更好地反映边界层特征。     

Observations And Modelling Of The On-Ice And Off-Ice Air Flow Over The Northern Baltic Sea

Two cases of on-ice and off-ice air flow characterizing the opposite weather situations over the ice-edge zone in the northern Baltic Sea are analysed on the basis of aircraft observations, and modelled using atwo-dimensional mesoscale model. The stable boundary layer (SBL) during theon-ice flow exhibited little thermal modification, but a low-level jet (LLJ) was generated at the 250-m high top of the SBL. In the model, the LLJ was associated with inertial oscillations in space, while the baroclinicity explained the shape of the wind profile well above the SBL. Although the observed LLJ was most pronounced over the ice, the modelling suggests that it was not generated by the ice edge but by the coastline some 400 km upwind of the ice edge, where a much more drastic change in the thermal stratification and surface roughness took place. The generation, maintenance, and strength of the LLJ were very sensitive to the parameterization of turbulent mixing in the SBL. In the case of the off-ice flow, the modification of the air mass and the development of a convective boundary layer (CBL) both over the ice and open sea were reasonably well modelled. Sensitivity runs suggested that it was essential to take into account the effects of subgrid-scale leads, a forest in the archipelago (which was crossed by the air flow), and water vapour condensationinto ice crystals. The heat flux from leads was particularly important for the heatbudget of the CBL, and the observed growth of the CBL was partly due to theeffective mixing over the rough and relatively warm forest.     

A Case Study Of An On-Ice Air Flow Over The Arctic Marginal Sea-Ice Zone

A case study of warm air advection over the Arctic marginalsea-ice zone is presented, based on aircraft observations with direct flux measurements carriedout in early spring, 1998. A shallow atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) was observed, which wasgradually cooling with distance downwind of the ice edge. This process was mainly connected with astrong stable stratification and downward turbulent heat fluxes of about 10–20 W m^-2, but wasalso due to radiative cooling. Two mesoscale models, one hydrostatic and the other non-hydrostatic,having different turbulence closures, were applied. Despite these fundamental differences betweenthe models, the results of both agreed well with the observed data. Various closure assumptions had amore crucial influence on the results than the differences between the models.Such an assumption was, for example,the parameterization of the surface roughness for momentum (z₀) and heat (z_T). This stronglyaffected the wind and temperature fields not only close to the surface but also within and abovethe temperature inversion layer. The best results were achieved using a formulation for z₀ that took intoaccount the form drag effect of sea-ice ridges together withz_T = 0.1z₀. The stability within theelevated inversion strongly depended on the minimum eddy diffusivity K_min. A simple ad hocparameterization seems applicable, where K_min is calculated as 0.005 timesthe neutral eddy diffusivity. Although the longwave radiative cooling was largest within the ABL, theapplication of a radiation scheme was less important there than above the ABL. This was related to theinteraction of the turbulent and radiative fluxes. To reproduce the strong inversion, it wasnecessary to use vertical and horizontal resolutions higher than those applied in most regional andlarge-scale atmospheric models.     

AN EVALUATION OF SEVERAL TURBULENCE SCHEMES FOR THE PREDICTION OF MEAN AND TURBULENT FIELDS IN COMPLEX TERRAIN

A prognostic three-dimensional mesoscale model has been developed andused in one- and two-dimensional modes to evaluate ten local turbulenceclosure schemes. The schemes ranged from first-order to the two-equationprognostic schemes. Predictions by the models were compared for aone-dimensional convective boundary layer using mixed layer scaling andmeasurements to interpret the results. Two-dimensional simulations were alsoperformed for a sea-breeze flow and for flow over a hill. The results showedthat for all of the models considered, minor differences were produced in themean meteorological fields and in the vertical scalar fluxes, but majordifferences were apparent in the velocity variances and dissipation rate.Predicted tracer concentrations were very sensitive to the turbulence modelformulation for dispersion from a point source in the convective boundarylayer, particularly for the prediction of maximum concentrations. Predictedtracer concentrations from a surface volume source for the two-dimensionalsimulations were similar for all models, although the degree of mixing in themorning growth period produced some differences. Generally, good results forthe mean meteorological fields can be obtained with first-order schemes, evenif they underpredict the magnitude of turbulence in the convective boundarylayer, and reasonable tracer concentrations can also be obtained with thesemodels provided near-source effects are not important. The two-equationprognostic models performed best for the prediction of turbulence in theconvective boundary layer.     

Turbulent fluxes over inhomogeneous landscape

Mesoscale surface turbulent fluxes over a complex terrain surrounded by oceans have been investigated using a 3-D numerical mesoscale model, under conditions with and without synoptic flows. The study indicated that under synoptically calm condition, the allocation and intensity of mesoscale surface turbulent fluxes (MSTFs) were greatly impacted by the thermally forced mesoscale circulation (TFMC) over mesoscale heterogeneous landscape. The max-imum values of sensible (Hs) and latent (LE) heat fluxes were located over the convergent zones and considerably im-pacted by the soil wetness (M), but did not depend strongly on the atmospheric background thermal stability (β0). The simulated results suggested that the sensible heat flux was closely proportional to the square of wind speed in the surface layer. By the action of synoptic flow, the allocation of LE was shifted to downwind, its intensity increased.     

PNN网络在预测MCS移动中的应用

神经网络是空间数据挖掘的一种重要手段。本文运用概率神经网络(PNN网络)对1998年夏季影响青藏高原上中尺度对流系统(MCS)东移的环境物理量场的空间分布特征进行了研究，得到了高原上MCS移动方向与环境物理量场空间分布之间的关系。研究表明，使用概率神经网络预测中尺度对流系统的移动具有较好的效果，从而为研究高原上MCS东移与环境场之间的关系提供了一种新的方法和思路。