## 2011 Vol. 28, No. 1

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2011, 28(1): 1-15. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9217-x
Abstract:
In this paper, we present the results of high-resolution numerical simulations of three heavy rainfall events over the Korean peninsula. The numerical results show that the prediction accuracy for heavy rainfall events improved as horizontal resolution increase. The fine-grid precipitation fields are much closer to the real precipitation fields in the case of large synoptic forcing over the Korean peninsula. In the case of large convective available potential energy (CAPE) and weak synoptic forcing, it seems that even when using high resolution, the models show poor performance to reproduce the observed high precipitation amounts. However, the activation of the cumulus parameterization scheme in the intermediate resolution of 9 km, even at grid spacing of 3 km, had a positive impact on the simulation of heavy rainfall event.
2011, 28(1): 16-32. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9165-5
Abstract:
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) data show that the Saharan air layer (SAL) is a dry, warm, and well-mixed layer between 950 and 500 hPa over the tropical Atlantic, extending westward from the African coast to the Caribbean Sea. The formations of both Hurricane Isabel and Tropical Depression 14 (TD14) were accompanied with outbreaks of SAL air during the period 1--12 September 2003, although TD14 failed to develop into a named tropical cyclone. The influence of the SAL on their formations is investigated by examining data from satellite observations and numerical simulations, in which AIRS data are incorporated into the MM5 model through the nudging technique. Analyses of the AIRS and simulation data suggest that the SAL may have played two roles in the formation of tropical cyclones during the period 1--12 September 2003. First, the outbreaks of SAL air on 3 and 8 September enhanced the transverse-vertical circulation with the rising motion along the southern edge of the SAL and the sinking motion inside the SAL, triggering the development of two tropical disturbances associated with Hurricane Isabel and TD14. Second, in addition to the reduced environmental humidity and enhanced static stability in the lower troposphere, the SAL dry air intruded into the inner region of these tropical disturbances as their cyclonic flows became strong. This effect may have slowed down the formation of Isabel and inhibited TD14 becoming a named tropical cyclone, while the enhanced vertical shear contributed little to tropical cyclone formation during this period. The 48-h trajectory calculations confirm that the parcels from the SAL can be transported into the inner region of an incipient tropical cyclone.
2011, 28(1): 33-44. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-0032-1
Abstract:
How the Hadley circulation changes in response to global climate change and how its change impacts upon regional and global climates has generated a lot of interest in the literature in the past few years. In this paper, consistent and statistically significant poleward expansion of the Hadley circulation in the past few decades is demonstrated, using independent observational datasets as proxy measures of the Hadley circulation. Both observational outgoing longwave radiation and precipitation datasets show an annual average total poleward expansion of the Hadley cells of about 3.6o latitude. Sea level pressure from observational and reanalysisdatasets show smaller magnitudes of poleward expansion, of about 1.2o latitude. Ensemble general circulation model simulations forced by observed time-varying sea surface temperatures were found to generate a total poleward expansion of about 1.23o latitude. Possible mechanisms behind the changes in the horizontal extent of the Hadley circulation are discussed.
2011, 28(1): 45-58. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-0011-6
Abstract:
Variation in length of day of the Earth (LOD, equivalent to the Earths rotation rate) versus change in atmospheric geopotential height fields and astronomical parameters were analyzed for the years 1962--2006. This revealed that there is a 27.3-day and an average 13.6-day periodic oscillation in LOD and atmospheric pressure fields following lunar revolution around the Earth. Accompanying the alternating change in celestial gravitation forcing on the Earth and its atmosphere, the Earths LOD changes from minimum to maximum, then to minimum, and the atmospheric geopotential height fields in the tropics oscillate from low to high, then to low. The 27.3-day and average 13.6-day periodic atmospheric oscillation in the tropics is proposed to be a type of strong atmospheric tide, excited by celestial gravitation forcing. A formula for a Tidal Index was derived to estimate the strength of the celestial gravitation forcing, and a high degree of correlation was found between the Tidal Index determined by astronomical parameters, LOD, and atmospheric geopotential height. The reason for the atmospheric tide is periodic departure of the lunar orbit from the celestial equator during lunar revolution around the Earth. The alternating asymmetric change in celestial gravitation forcing on the Earth and its atmosphere produces a modulation to the change in the Earths LOD and atmospheric pressure fields.
2011, 28(1): 59-68. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9097-0
Abstract:
In this paper, the approach proposed by Mu and Jiang (2008) to obtain the optimal perturbations for triggering blocking (BL) onset is generalized to seek the optimal perturbations triggering onset of the strong zonal flow (SZF) regime. The BL and SZF regimes are characterized by the same dipole-like anomaly pattern superposed on the climatological flow, but with opposite sign. The results show that this method is also superior at finding the initial optimal perturbations triggering onset of the SZF regime, especially in the medium range. Furthermore, by comparing the two kinds of conditional nonlinear optimal perturbations (CNOPs) triggering onset of BL and SZF regimes, we find that in the linear approximation, there is symmetry in the sensitivities for BL and SZF onset, and the perturbations that optimally trigger onset of BL and SZF regimes at times when linear approximation is valid are also characterized by the same spatial pattern but with opposite sign. Whereas when the optimization time is extended to 6 days, the two kinds of CNOPs lose their out-of-phase behavior. The nonlinearity results in an asymmetry between the sensitivity for BL and SZF onset. Additionally, we find that the optimal perturbations have one common property, which is that the second baroclinic mode contributes more to the initial perturbations while the barotropic mode dominates the final structures.
2011, 28(1): 69-79. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9232-y
Abstract:
Using NCEP--NCAR reanalysis data and observational data from meteorological stations in China, the evolution of the East Asian cold season (EACS) and its long-term changes after 2000 were studied. A monsoon tendency index (MTI), defined as the temporal difference of the East Asian monsoon index, indicates that the winter monsoon setup has been postponed in autumn, while the setup has quickened in early winter. In mid winter, the EACS breakdown process has accelerated, while it has lingered in late winter. The authors suggest that the postponement of monsoon setup in autumn may be caused by strong global warming at the lower levels, which further limits the setup time period and leads to the quickening of the setup process in early winter. Meanwhile, a north--south seesaw of temperature tendency change in China can be observed in December and February, which may be related to large-scale circulation changes in the stratosphere, characterized by a polar warming in mid winter and polar cooling in early spring. This linkage is possibly caused by the dynamical coupling between stratosphere and troposphere, via the variation of planetary wave activities. In spring, the speed of the EACS breakdown has decreased, which favors the revival of the EACS in East Asia.
2011, 28(1): 80-98. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9205-1
Abstract:
Characteristics of the total clear-sky greenhouse effect (GA) and cloud radiative forcings (CRFs), along with the radiative-related water vapor and cloud properties simulated by the Spectral Atmospheric Model developed by LASG/IAP (SAMIL) are evaluated. Impacts of the convection scheme on the simulation of CRFs are discussed by using two AMIP (Atmospheric Model Inter-comparison Project) type simulations employing different convection schemes: the new Zhang--McFarlane (NZH) and Tiedtke (TDK) convection schemes. It shows that both the climatological GA and its response to El Nino warming are simulated well, both in terms of spatial pattern and magnitude. The impact of the convection scheme on GA is not significant. The climatological longwave CRF (LWCRF) and its response to El Nino warming are simulated well, but with a prominently weaker magnitude. The simulation of the climatology (response) of LWCRF in the NZH (TDK) run is slightly more realistic than in the TDK (NZH) simulation, indicating significant impacts of the convection scheme. The shortwave CRF (SWCRF) shows large biases in both spatial pattern and magnitude, and the results from the TDK run are better than those from the NZH run. A spuriously excessive negative climatological SWCRF over the southeastern Pacific and an insufficient response of SWCRF to El Nino warming over the tropical Pacific are seen in the NZH run. These two biases are alleviated in the TDK run, since it produces vigorous convection, which is related to the low threshold for convection to take place. Also, impacts of the convection scheme on the cloud profile are iscussed.
2011, 28(1): 99-117. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9112-5
Abstract:
The latest two versions of the IAP Flexible Global Ocean--Atmosphere--Land System (FGOALS) model---versions g1.0 and g1.1, are described in this study. Both two versions are fully coupled GCMs without any flux correction, major changes for g1.1 mainly lie in four aspects: (1) advection schemes for tracer in the ocean component model; (2) zonal filter scheme in high latitudes in the ocean component model; (3) coupling scheme for fresh water flux in high latitudes; and (4) an improved algorithm of air-sea turbulent flux depending on the surface current of the ocean. As a result, the substantial cold biases in the tropical Pacific and high latitudes are improved by g1.1, especially g1.1 simulates more reasonable equatorial thermocline, poleward heat transport, zonal overturning stream function in the ocean and sea ice distribution than g1.0. Significant ENSO variability are simulated by both versions, however the ENSO behavior by g1.0 differs from the observed one in many aspects: about twice ENSO amplitude as observed, false ENSO asymmetry, only one peak period around 3 years, etc. Due to improved mean climate state by g1.1, many basic characteristics of ENSO are reproduced by g1.1, e.g., more reasonable ENSO amplitude, two peaks of power spectra for ENSO events, and positive SST skewness in the eastern Pacific as observed.
2011, 28(1): 118-128. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-0023-2
Abstract:
Advanced Research WRF is used to simulate the local heavy rainstorm process caused by typhoon Matsa in northeastern coast of Zhejiang province in 2005. The results show that the rainstorm was mainly caused by the secondary spiral rainband of Stationary Band Complex (SBC) structure. Within the secondary spiral rainband there was strong meso--scale convergence line generated in the boundary layer, corresponding very well to the Doppler radar echo band. The convergence line was consisted of several smaller convergence centers, and all of these convergence columns inclined outward. Along the convergence line there was precipitation larger than 20 mm occurring in the next 1 hour. During the heavy rainstorm process, the Doppler radar echo band, convergence line and the next 1-h precipitation moved and evolved synchronously. Further study reveals that the vertical shear of radial wind and the low-level jet of tangential wind contributed to the genesis and development of convergence columns. The collaboration of ascending leg of the clockwise secondary circulation of radial wind and the favorable environment of the entrance region of the low-level jet of tangential wind further strengthened the convergence. The warm-moist inflow in the low level was brought in by the inflows of the clockwise secondary circulation and uplifted intensely at the effect of convergence. In the convective instable environment, strong convection was triggered to produce heavy rainstorm.
2011, 28(1): 129-138. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9197-x
Abstract:
The infrared radiative effect of methane was analyzed using the 2D, interactive chemical dynamical radiative SOCRATES model of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Then, a sensitivity experiment, with the methane volume mixing ratio increased by 10%, was carried out to study the influence of an increase of methane on air temperature. The results showed that methane has a heating effect through the infrared radiative process in the troposphere and a cooling effect in the stratosphere. However, the cooling effect of the methane is much smaller than that of water vapor in the stratosphere and is negligible in the mesosphere. The simulation results also showed that when methane concentration is increased by 10%, the air temperature lowers in the stratosphere and mesosphere and increases in the troposphere. The cooling can reach 0.2 K at the stratopause and can vary from 0.2--0.4 K in the mesosphere, and the temperature rise varies by around 0.001--0.002 K in the troposphere. The cooling results from the increase of the infrared radiative cooling rate caused by increased water vapor and O3 concentration, which are stimulated by the increase in methane in most of the stratosphere. The infrared radiation cooling of methane itself is minor. The depletion of O3 stimulated by the methane increase results indirectly in a decrease in the rate of solar radiation heating, producing cooling in the stratopause and mesosphere. The tropospheric warming is mainly caused by the increase of methane, which produces infrared radiative heating. The increase in H2O and O3 caused by the methane increase also contributes to a rise in temperature in the troposphere.
2011, 28(1): 139-146. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9170-8
Abstract:
GTS1 digital radiosonde, developed by the Shanghai Changwang Meteorological Science and Technology Company in 1998, is now widely used in operational radiosonde stations in China. A preliminary comparison of simultaneous humidity measurements by the GTS1 radiosonde, the Vaisala RS80 radiosonde, and the Cryogenic Frostpoint Hygrometer (CFH), launched at Kunming in August 2009, reveals a large dry bias produced by the GTS1 humidity sensor. The average relative dry bias is in the order of 10% below 500 hPa, increasing rapidly to 30% above 500 hPa, and up to 55% at 310 hPa. A much larger dry bias is observed in the daytime, and this daytime effect increases with altitude. The GTS1 radiosonde fails to respond to humidity changes in the upper troposphere, and sometimes even in the middle troposphere. The failure of GTS1 in the middle and upper troposphere will result in significant artificial humidity shifts in radiosonde climate records at stations in China where a transition from mechanical to digital radiosondes has occurred. A comparison of simultaneous temperature observations by the GTS1 radiosonde and the Vaisala RS80 radiosonde suggests that these two radiosondes provide highly reproducible temperature measurements in the troposphere, but produce opposite biases for daytime and nighttime measurements in the stratosphere. In the stratosphere, the GTS1 shows a warm bias (<0.5 K) in the daytime and a relatively large cool bias (-0.2 K to -1.6 K) at nighttime.
2011, 28(1): 147-157. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9160-x
Abstract:
The observed long-term trends in extreme temperatures in Hong Kong were studied based on the meteorological data recorded at the Hong Kong Observatory Headquarters from 1885--2008. Results show that, over the past 124 years, the extreme daily minimum and maximum temperatures, as well as the length of the warm spell in Hong Kong, exhibit statistically significant long-term rising trends, while the length of the cold spell shows a statistically significant decreasing trend. The time-dependent return period analysis also indicated that the return period for daily minimum temperature at 4oC or lower lengthened considerably from 6 years in 1900 to over 150 years in 2000, while the return periods for daily maximum temperature reaching 35oC or above shortened drastically from 32 years in 1900 to 4.5 years in 2000. Past trends in extreme temperatures from selected weather stations in southern China from 1951--2004 were also assessed. Over 70% of the stations studied yielded a statistically significant rising trend in extreme daily minimum temperature, while the trend for extreme maximum temperatures was found to vary, with no significant trend established for the majority of stations.
2011, 28(1): 169-177. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9206-0
[Abstract](698) [PDF 564KB](1755)
Abstract:
A frozen soil parameterization coupling of thermal and hydrological processes is used to investigate how frozen soil processes affect water and energy balances in seasonal frozen soil. Simulation results of soil liquid water content and temperature using soil model with and without the inclusion of freezing and thawing processes are evaluated against observations at the Rosemount field station. By comparing the simulated water and heat fluxes of the two cases, the role of phase change processes in the water and energy balances is analyzed. Soil freezing induces upward water flow towards the freezing front and increases soil water content in the upper soil layer. In particular, soil ice obviously prevents and delays the infiltration during rain at Rosemount. In addition, soil freezing/thawing processes alter the partitioning of surface energy fluxes and lead the soil to release more sensible heat into the atmosphere during freezing periods.
2011, 28(1): 178-186. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9145-9
Abstract:
In this paper, firstly, the bias between observed radiances from the Advanced TIROS-N Operational Vertical Sounder (ATOVS) and those simulated from a model first-guess are corrected. After bias correction, the observed minus calculated (O--B) radiances of most channels were reduced closer to zero, with peak values in each channel shifted towards zero, and the distribution of O--B closer to a Gaussian distribution than without bias correction. Secondly, ATOVS radiance data with and without bias correction are assimilated directly with an Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) data assimilation system, which are then adopted as the initial fields in the forecast model T106L19 to simulate Typhoon Prapiroon (2006) during the period 2--4 August 2006. The prediction results show that the assimilation of ATOVS radiance data with bias correction has a significant and positive impact upon the prediction of the typhoon's track and intensity, although the results are not perfect.
2011, 28(1): 187-194. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9163-7
Abstract:
Using 1958--2002 NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data, we investigate stationary and transient planetary wave propagation and its role in wave--mean flow interaction which influences the state of the polar vortex (PV) in the stratosphere in Northern Hemisphere (NH) winter. This is done by analyzing the Eliassen-Palm (E-P) flux and its divergence. We find that the stationary and transient waves propagate upward and equatorward in NH winter, with stronger upward propagation of stationary waves from the troposphere to the stratosphere, and stronger equatorward propagation of transient waves from mid-latitudes to the subtropics in the troposphere. Stationary waves exhibit more upward propagation in the polar stratosphere during the weak polar vortex regime (WVR) than during the strong polar vortex regime (SVR). On the other hand, transient waves have more upward propagation during SVR than during WVR in the subpolar stratosphere, with a domain of low frequency waves. With different paths of upward propagation, both stationary and transient waves contribute to the maintenance of the observed stratospheric PV regimes in NH winter.
2011, 28(1): 195-206. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9200-6
Abstract:
With the combination of three land surface models (LSMs) and the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF), a multimodel EnKF is proposed in which the multimodel background superensemble error covariance matrix is estimated by two different algorithms: the Simple Model Average (SMA) and the Weighted Average Method (WAM). The two algorithms are tested and compared in terms of their abilities to retrieve the true soil moisture profile by respectively assimilating both synthetically-generated and actual near-surface soil moisture measurements. The results from the synthetic experiment show that the performances of the SMA and WAM algorithms were quite different. The SMA algorithm did not help to improve the estimates of soil moisture at the deep layers, although its performance was not the worst when compared with the results from the single-model EnKF. On the contrary, the results from the WAM algorithm were better than those from any single-model EnKF. The tested results from assimilating the field measurements show that the performance of the two multimodel EnKF algorithms was very stable compared with the single-model EnKF. Although comparisons could only be made at three shallow layers, on average, the performance of the WAM algorithm was still slightly better than that of the SMA algorithm. As a result, the WAM algorithm should be adopted to approximate the multimodel background superensemble error covariance and hence used to estimate soil moisture states at the relatively deep layers.
2011, 28(1): 207-216. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9191-3
Abstract:
In this study we extend the dimension-reduced projection-four dimensional variational data assimilation (DRP-4DVar) approach to allow the analysis time to be tunable, so that the intervals between analysis time and observation times can be shortened. Due to the limits of the perfect-model assumption and the tangent-linear hypothesis, the analysis-time tuning is expected to have the potential to further improve analyses and forecasts. Various sensitivity experiments using the Lorenz-96 model are conducted to test the impact of analysis-time tuning on the performance of the new approach under perfect and imperfect model scenarios, respectively. Comparing three DRP-4DVar schemes having the analysis time at the start, middle, and end of the assimilation window, respectively, it is found that the scheme with the analysis time in the middle of the window outperforms the others, on the whole. Moreover, the advantage of this scheme is more pronounced when a longer assimilation window is adopted or more observations are assimilated.
2011, 28(1): 217-222. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-9231-z
Abstract:
To better understand vertical air mass exchange driven by local circulation in the Himalayas, the volume flux of air mass is estimated in the Rongbuk Valley on the northern slope of Mount Everest, based on a volume closure method and wind-profiler measurements during the HEST2006 campaign in June 2006. Vertical air mass exchange was found to be dominated by a strong downward mass transfer from the late morning to late night. The average vertical air volume flux was 0.09 m s-1, which could be equivalent to a daily ventilation of 30 times the enclosed valley volume. This vertical air mass exchange process was greatly affected by the evolution of the South Asian summer monsoon (SASM), with a strong downward transfer during the SASM break stage, and a weak transfer during the SASM active stage.
2011, 28(1): 223-237. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-0017-0
Abstract:
An extremely dense radiation fog event during 10--11 December 2007 was studied to understand its macro-/micro-physics in relation to dynamic and thermodynamic structures of the boundary layer, as well as its structural evolution in conjunction with the air-surface exchange of heat and water vapor. The findings are as follows. The extreme radiation fog process was divisible into formation, development, mature, and dissipation phases, depending on microstructure and visibility. This fog event was marked by rapid evolution that occurred after sunrise, when enhanced surface evaporation and cold air intrusion led to a three order of magnitude increase in liquid water content (LWC) in just 20 minutes. The maximum droplet diameter (MDD) increased four-fold during the same period. The fog structure was two-layered, with the top of both the surface-layer and upper-layer components characterized by strong temperature and humidity inversions, and low-level jets existed in the boundary layer above each fog layer. Turbulence intensity, turbulent kinetic energy, and friction velocity differed remarkably from phase to phase: these features increased gradually before the fog formation and decreased during the development phase; during the mature and dissipation phases these characteristics increased and then decreased again. In the development and mature stages, the mean kinetic energy of the lower-level winds decreased pronouncedly, both in the horizontal and vertical directions.
2011, 28(1): 158-168. doi: 10.1007/s003 76-010-0038-8
Abstract:
In this study, the dynamic mechanisms of interannual sea surface height (SSH) variability are investigated based on the first-mode baroclinic Rossby wave model, with a focus on the effects of different levels of wind stress curl (WSC). Maximum covariance analysis (MCA) of WSC and SSH anomalies displays a mode with significant WSC anomalies located primarily in the mid-latitude eastern North Pacific and central tropical Pacific with corresponding SSH anomalies located to the west. This leading mode can be attributed to Ekman pumping induced by local wind stress and the westward-propagating Rossby wave driven by large-scale wind stress. It is further found that in the middle latitudes, the SSH anomalies are largely determined by WSC variations associated with the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO), rather than the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The sensitivity of the predictive skill of the linear first-mode baroclinic model to different wind products is also examined.
2011, 28(1): 238-244. doi: 10.1007/s00376-010-1000-5
Abstract:
The networking status of journals reflects their academic influence among peer journals.This paper analyzes the cited and citing environments of this journal, Advances in Atmospheric Sciences Adv. Atmos. Sci., using methods from social network analysis. Since its initial publication, Adv. Atmos. Sci. has been actively participating in the international journal environment and international journals are frequently cited in Adv. Atmos. Sci. Particularly, this journal is intensely interrelated with its international peer journals in terms of their similar citing patterns. The international influence of Adv. Atmos. Sci. is comparatively bigger than other Chinese SCI journals in atmospheric sciences as reflected by total cites to Adv. Atmos. Sci. and the total number of international journals citing it. The academic visibility of Adv. Atmos. Sci. is continuing to improve in the international research community as the number of reference citation it receives in its peer journals internationally increases over time.