Spatial and temporal temperature variations in Xinjiang,China during 1961-2008

This study examines spatial and temporal changes in 16 extreme temperature indices at 37 weather stations in Xinjiang and their associations with changes in climate means during 1961-2008. Linear regression analyses reveal that significant increas- ing trends in temperature were observed over Xinjiang, with the rate of 0.13 ~C/decade, 0.24 ~C/decade, and 0.52 ~C/decade for annual mean temperature, annual maximum, and minimum temperature, respectively. Annual fi＇equency of cool nights （days） has decreased by -2.45 days/decade （-0.86 days/decade）, whereas the frequency of warm nights （days） has increased by 4.85 days/decade （1.62 days/decade）. Seasonally, the frequencies of summer warm nights and days are changing more rap- idly than the corresponding frequencies for cool nights and days. However, normalization of the extreme and mean series shows that the rate of changes in extreme temperature events are generally less than those of mean temperatures, except for winter cold nights which are changing as rapidly as the winter mean minimum temperatures. These results indicate that there have been seasonally and diurnally asymmetric changes in extreme temperature events relative to recent increases in tempera- ture means in Xinjiang.

Assessing changes in extreme precipitation over Xinjiang using regional climate model of PRECIS

In this paper, an analysis, with the simulation of PRECIS （Providing Regional Climate for Impact Studies）, was made for future precipitation extremes, under SRES （Special Report on Emission Scenarios） A2 and B2 in IPCC （Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change） AR4. The precipitation extremes were calculated and analyzed by ETCCDI （Climate Change Detection and Indices）. The results show that： （1） In Present Scenario （1961 1900）, PRECIS could capture the spatial pattern of precipitation in Xinjiang. （2） The simulated annual precipitation and seasonal precipitation in Xinjiang had a significantly positive trend and its variability had been deeply impacted by terrain. There was a strong association between increasing trend and the extreme precipitation＇s increase in frequency and intensity during 1961-2008. Under SRES A2 and B2, extreme precipitation indicated an increasing tendency at the end of the 21st century. The extreme summer pre- cipitation increased prominently in a year. （3） PREC1S＇s simulation under SRES A2 and B2 indicated increased frequency of heavy precipitation events and also enhancement in their intensity towards the end of the 21 st century. Both A2 and B2 scenarios show similar patterns of projected changes in precipitation extremes towards the end of the 21st century. However, the magnitude of changes in B2 scenario was on the lower side. In case of extreme precipitation, variation between models can exceed both internal variability and variability of different SRES.

Application of wind profiler data to rainfall analyses in Tazhong Oilfield region,Xinjiang,China

To improve the level of meteorological service for the Oilfield region in the Taklimakan Desert, the Urumqi Institute of Desert Meteorology of the China Meteorological Administration （CMA） conducted a detection experiment by means of wind profiling radar （WPR） in Tazhong Oilfield region of Xinjiang, China in July 2010. By using the wind profiler data obtained during the rainfall process on 27 July, this paper analyzed the wind field fea- tures and some related scientific issues of this weather event. The results indicated that： （1） wind profiler data had high temporal resolution and vertical spatial resolution, and could be used to analyze detailed vertical structures of rainfall processes and the characteristics of meso-scale systems. Before and after the rain event on 27 July, the wind field showed multi-layer vertical structures, having an obvious meso-scale wind shear line and three airflows from different directions, speeding up the motion of updraft convergence in the lower atmosphere. Besides, the wind directions before and after the rainfall changed inversely with increasing height. Before the rain, the winds blew clockwise, but after the onset of the rain, the wind directions became counterclockwise mainly; （2） the temperature advection derived from wind profiler data can reproduce the characteristics of low-level thermodynamic evolution in the process of rainfall, which is capable to reflect the variation trend of hydrostatic stability in the atmosphere. In the early stage of the precipitation on 27 July, the lower atmosphere was mainly affected by warm advection which had accumulated unstable energy for the rainfall event and was beneficial for the occurrence of updraft motion and precipitation; （3） the ＂large-value zone＂ of the radar reflectivity factor Z was virtually consistent with the onset and end of the rainfall, the height for the formation of rain cloud particles, and precipitation intensity. The reflectivity factor Z during this event varied approximately in the range of 18-38 dBZ and the rain droplets formed mainly at the layer of 3,800-4,500 m.

Climatic response of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica tree-ring width and precipitation reconstruction for the northern Greater Higgnan Mountains, China, since 1720

August-June precipitation has been reconstructed back to AD 1720 for the northern Greater Higgnan Mountains, China, by use ofPinus sylvestris var. mongolica tree-ring width. The reconstruction explains the variance of 39% in observed precipitation from 1973 to 2008. Some extremely dry/wet signals in historical documents and other precipitation reconstructions in previous studies are precisely captured in our reconstruction. Wet periods occurred during the periods of 1730 to 1746, 1789 to 1812, 1844 to 1903, 1920 to 1930, 1942 to 1961, and 1985 to 1998; while periods of 1747 to 1788, 1813 to 1843, 1904 to 1919, 1931 to 1941, and 1962 to 1984 were relatively dry. Power spectral and wavelet analyses demon- strated the existence of significant 24-year, 12-year, and 2-year cycles of variability.

Temporal and spatial variation of atmospheric water vapor in the Taklimakan Desert and its surrounding areas

The study of the temporal and spatial variation of atmospheric water vapor has the important significance to show the response to climate change in the Taklimakan Desert. The series of monthly atmospheric water vapor from 1961 to 1998 are reconstructed using the observation data including the precipitation, ground water vapor pressure data over the period of 1961 to 2006 from 27 observation stations in its surrounding areas and meteorological data from the Tazhong station during 1999-2006. Then the relationship between atmospheric water vapor and ground vapor pressure is calculated and validated using the observation data for the period of 1976 to 2006 from 5 sounding stations (Hotan, Kuqa, Ruoqiang, Kashgar, and Minfeng). The temporal and spatial variation of atmospheric water vapor in the Taklimakan Desert and its surrounding areas is studied and then its distribution is generated. Results show that high value zone of atmospheric water vapor is mainly distributed in the northern Taklimakan Desert and the oasis-marginal belt of western desert and the value ranges from 14 to 15 mm. The low value center of atmospheric water vapor is in the hinterland of the desert and the value is only 7―8 mm. The annual variations of atmospheric water vapor show generally the increasing trend. How- ever, the variation of atmospheric water vapor in the surrounding areas and the hinterland of the desert is insignificant during 1961―1986. The atmospheric water vapor changes abruptly after 1986 and increases clearly in the two regions. The variation trend accords with that of the precipitation’s increasing significantly in southern Xinjiang for the recent 50 years. There is great error between the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data of atmospheric water vapor and real data in theTaklimakan Desert.

Aerosol optical absorption by dust and black carbon in Taklimakan Desert,during no-dust and dust-storm conditions

Aerosol absorption coefficient σap involves the additive contribution of both black carbon aerosol （BC） and dust aerosol. The linear statistical regression analysis approach introduced by Fialho et al. （2005） is used to estimate the absorption exponents of BC and dust aerosol absorption coefficients, and further to separate the contributions of these two types of aerosols from the total light absorption coefficient measured in the hinterland of Taklimakan Desert in the spring of 2006. Absorption coefficients are measured by means of a 7-wavelength Aethalometer from 1 March to 31 May and from 1 November to 28 December, 2006. The absorption exponent of BC absorption coefficient α is estimated as （-0.95 ± 0.002） under background weather （supposing the observed absorption coefficient is due only to BC）; the estimated absorption exponent of dust aerosol absorption coefficient/5 during the 6 dust storm periods （strong dust storm） is （-2.55 ± 0.009）. Decoupling analysis of the measured light absorption coefficients demonstrates that, on average, the light absorptions caused by dust aerosol and BC make up about 50.5% and 49.5% respectively of the total light absorption at 520 nm; during dust weather process periods （dust storm, floating dust, blowing dust）, the contribution of dust aerosol to absorption extinction is 60.6% on average; in the hin- terland of desert in spring, dust aerosol is also the major contributor to the total aerosol light absorption, more than that of black carbon aerosol.