Advances in the Researches of the Middle and Upper Atmosphere in China in 2012–2014

In this report we summarize the research results by Chinese scientists in 2012–2014. The focuses are placed on the researches of the middle and upper atmosphere, specifically the researches related to ground-based observation capability development, dynamical processes, the property of circulation and chemistry-climate coupling of the middle atmospheric layers.

Ten-Year Climatological Features and Air Origin of Midlatitude Double Tropopauses

The 10-year climatological features related to midlatitude double tropopause events （DTs） are examined using ERA- Interim data from 2003 to 2012. The analysis is based on tropopauses defined by lapse rate. Results show that DTs are permanent or semi-permanent in the midlatitudes, and high DT frequency bands move poleward in winter and equatorward in summer, which is consistent with the seasonal movement of the subtropical jet. Based on our statistics, the second tropopause is found at about 100 hPa in the subtropics and at slightly lower altitudes in sub-polar regions. The thickness between the first and second tropopause is smaller in the subtropics and increases with latitude. Next, the origin of air sandwiched between the first and second tropopause of DTs is studied with a revised version of the UK Universities Global Atmospheric Modelling Programme Offline Trajectory Code （Version 3） diabatic trajectory model. The results show that, in the lower or middle troposphere, air is transported into the DTs from lower latitudes, mainly in the tropics. The dominant source regions are mainly areas of deep convection and steep orography, e.g., the western Pacific and Himalayan Mountains, and they show strong seasonality following the seasonal shift of these strong upwelling regions.

Special Section to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of Advances in Atmospheric Sciences

The first issue of Advances in Atmospheric Sciences（AAS）was published in 1984.Originally quarterly,the journal later became bimonthly and will now be published monthly starting from 2015.AAS is sponsored by the Chinese Committee of Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics（CCMAP）—which later evolved into Chinese National Committee for International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences（IAMAS）—and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics（IAP）and it is now jointly published by Springer and Science Press.

Spatiotemporal spectrum and momentum flux of the stratospheric gravity waves generated by a typhoon

The simulation results of Typhoon Matsa （2005） by using the Weather Research and Forecasting （WRF） model show that pro- nounced stratospheric gravity waves （GWs） are generated in the vicinity of the typhoon. Using the model output, we investi- gate the spatial structures and the temporal variations of the GWs through a three dimensional （3-d） spectral analysis, i.e. the spectrum with respect to two horizontal wavenumbers and frequency. We further derive the momentum flux carried by the GWs. Spectral investigation results show that the power spectral density （PSD） of the GWs exhibits a single-peaked spectrum, which consists primarily of a distinct spectrum at horizontal wavelength of -1000 km, time period of 12-18 h, and vertical wavelength of 7-9 kin. This spectrum is different from the spectra of GWs generated by deep convections disclosed by the previous researches. Both the PSD and momentum flux spectrum are prominent in positive kh portion, which is consistent with the fact that the GWs propagate in the upstream of mean flow. Large momentum flux is found to be associated with the GWs, and the net zonal momentum flux is 0.7845×10-3 Pa at 20 km height, which can account for -26% of the momentum flux that is required in driving the QBO phenomenon.

Simulation of the stratospheric gravity waves generated by the Typhoon Matsa in 2005

The generation of stratospheric gravity waves （GWs） due to typhoon is simulated by using a meso-scale model （WRF） with a typhoon case, the Matsa in 2005. An 8-day model run that covers the major stages of the Matsa＇s development reproduces the key features of the typhoon. For example, good agreements in the typhoon＇s track, the intensity, and the spiral clouds, as well as mean state of stratosphere, are seen between the simulation results and the observation. Simulation results clearly show that with typhoon propagates northwestward, pronounced stratospheric GWs are generated continuously in the vicinity of Matsa. The GWs exhibit the typical curve-like wave fronts away from the Typhoon Matsa, and propagate preferentially in the up- stream of the background winds. These characteristics reflect that the stratospheric GWs are closely associated with the ty- phoon, and thus the GWs are referred to as Tropical Cyclone related Gravity Waves （TC-GWs）. The results also show that these waves should have a rather large horizontal scale so that the outmost wave fronts can be seen at the distance of ~ 1000 km to the typhoon center in the horizontal plane of 20 kin. This is consistent with the phenomenon of stratospheric TC-GWs with 1000 km horizontal scale disclosed by the previous observational analysis results.

Ozone vertical variations during a typhoon derived from the OMI observations and reanalysis data

Typhoon is considered to play a key role in the dynamical exchange processes taking place between the troposphere and stratosphere.In this paper,the impact of typhoon on the ozone distribution in the upper troposphere and middle stratosphere is investigated using ozone profiles measured by Aura’s Ozone Monitoring Instrument and meteorological fields from reanalysis data.During the passage of Typhoon Hai-Tang in 2005 over the western North Pacific,low values of ozone column above 200 hPa and ozone mixing ratio between the upper troposphere and the middle stratosphere(from 200 to 50 hPa)are observed right above the typhoon’s track,a result due to the strong upward propagation of air associated with overshooting convection in typhoon.A comparative analysis of different stages of Hai-Tang suggests that in the region where typhoon has higher intensity the troposphere-to-stratosphere transport is enhanced.These results indicated that the typhoon has a significant impact on the ozone variation in the upper troposphere and the middle stratosphere.

Simulation of the stratosphere-troposphere exchange process in a typical cold vortex over Northeast China

A mesoscale weather research and forecasting(WRF)model was used to simulate a cold vortex that developed over Northeast China during June 19–23,2010.The simulation used high vertical resolution to reproduce the key features of the cold vortex development.Characteristics of the associated stratosphere-troposphere exchange(STE),specifically the spatiotemporal distribution of the cross-tropopause mass flux(CTF),were investigated using the Wei formula.The simulation results showed that the net mass exchange induced by the cold vortex was controlled by stratosphere-to-troposphere transport(STT)processes.In the pre-formation stage of the cold vortex(i.e.,the development of the trough and ridge),active exchange was evident.Over the lifecycle of the cold vortex,STT processes prevailed at the rear of the trough and moving vortex,whereas troposphere-to-stratosphere transport(TST)processes prevailed at the front end.This spatial pattern was caused by temporal fluctuations of the tropopause.However,because of the cancellation of the upward flux by the downward flux,the contribution of the tropopause fluctuation term to the net mass exchange was only minor.In this case,horizontal motion dominated the net mass exchange.The time evolution of the CTF exhibited three characteristics:(1)the predominance of the STT during the pre-formation stage;(2)the formation and development of the cold vortex,in which the CTF varied in a fluctuating pattern from TST to STT to TST;and(3)the prevalence of the STT during the decay stage.

A new method for retrieving equivalent cloud base height and equivalent emissivity by using the ground-based Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI)

In the paper, we propose a new method of identifying the clear sky based on the Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer （AERI）. Using the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement （ARM） Mobile Facility （AFM） dataset in Shouxian in 2008, we sim- ulate the downwelling radiances on the surface in the 8-12 μm window region using Line-By-Line Radiative Transfer Model （LBLRTM）, and compare the results with the AERI radiances, The differences larger （smaller） than 3 mW （cm2 sr cm-1）-1 suggest a cloudy （clear） sky. Meanwhile, we develop the new algorithms for retrieving the zenith equivalent cloud base height （CBHe） and the equivalent emissivity （ee）, respectively. The retrieval methods are described as follows. （1） An infinitely thin and isothermal blackbody cloud is simulated by the LBLRTM. The cloud base height （H） is adjusted iteratively to satisfy the situation that the contribution of the blackbody to the downwelling radiance is equal to that of realistic cloud. The final H is considered as CBHe. The retrieval results indicate that the differences between the CBHe and observational cloud base height （CBH） are much smaller for thick low cloud, and increase with the increasing CBH. （2） An infinitely thin and isothermal gray body cloud is simulated by the LBLRTM, with the CBH specified as the observed value. The cloud base emissivity （co） is ad- justed iteratively until the contribution of the gray body to the downwelling radiance is the same as that of realistic cloud. The corresponding εc is εe. The average εe for the low, middle, and high cloud is 0.967, 0.781, and 0.616 for the 50 cases, respec- tively. It decreases with the increasing CBH. The retrieval results will be useful for studying the role of cloud in the radiation budget in the window region and cloud parameterizations in the climate model.

利用探空资料验证北京地区OMPS卫星臭氧产品

臭氧成像廓线仪(Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite,OMPS)可提供高垂直分辨率的臭氧垂直分布,能为研究大气臭氧的时空分布提供观测数据。为验证OMPS臭氧产品的精确性,选取2016~2018年北京地区的臭氧探空资料对OMPS v2.5臭氧廓线及v2.1臭氧总量进行对比分析。对比结果表明:在北京地区上空OMPS的臭氧垂直分布与臭氧探空资料在平流层中上层有较好一致性,相对偏差小于10%;在对流层中上层相对偏差较大,总体范围在15%~40%,部分情况超过80%;OMPS平流层臭氧总量与臭氧探空廓线积分的平流层臭氧总量相对偏差较小,平均偏差小于5%,均方根误差为18.3 DU,相关系数达到0.89;二者对流层臭氧总量平均偏差超过30%,对流层柱总量相关系数0.62。