多普勒天气雷达反射率资料的三维变分同化试验

基于美国新一代数值预报模式WRF(The Weather Research and Forecasting)及其3DVAR(Three-Dimensional Variational)同化系统,采用3DVAR直接同化雷达反射率资料,对2010年10月8日发生在云南省的暴雨过程进行三维变分同化和数值模拟试验。考察了采用不同水平分辨率和垂直层次的雷达反射率进入同化系统对暴雨预报带来的影响。结果表明:同化雷达资料相对无同化任何资料,雨带位置南移,更接近实况降水。同化不同水平分辨率的雷达反射率资料,其中水平分辨率为0. 1度的反射率资料同化后,模拟的降水相对其他方案更接近实况。垂直方向上选取3500m和6000m高度的资料,对整个降水带位置和降水强度影响较大。在此个例中选取垂直层次在1000m,2000m,3000m,3500m,4000m,5000m,7000m,8000m的雷达反射率资料,模式模拟的降水更接近实况。

Detecting sand-dust storms using a wind-profiling radar

Sand-dust storm is a type of disastrous weather, typically occurring in arid and semi-arid climates. This study selected a region in the hinterlands of the Taklimakan Desert, called the Tazhong region, as the experimental area to quantitatively estimate the particle concentrations of sand-dust storms using the boundary layer wind-profiling radar. We thoroughly studied the radar echo signals and reflectivity factor features during the sand-dust storms. The results indicate that（1） under sand-dust storm conditions, boundary layer wind-profiling radar cannot capture the complete information regarding horizontal wind velocity and direction, but it can obtain the backscattering intensity of sand-dust storms; and（2） during sand-dust storms particle size distributions in the surface layer closely resemble log-normal distributions, with sand-dust particles sizes of 90–100 μm accounting for the maximum particle probability. Retrieved particle size distributions at heights of 600, 800, and 1000 m follow log-normal distributions, and the expected value of particle diameter decreases gradually with increasing height. From the perspective of orders of magnitude, the retrieved results for particle number concentrations and mass concentrations are consistent with previous aircraft-detected results, indicating that it is basically feasible to use boundary layer wind-profiling radar to quantitatively detect the particle concentrations of dust storms.

塔克拉玛干沙漠夏季晴空对流边界层大涡模拟

为了探索塔克拉玛干沙漠夏季晴空对流边界层湍流结构和热对流运动规律,利用沙漠腹地探空及地表通量观测资料,开展了晴空对流边界层的大涡模拟研究。结果表明:(1)沙漠夏季晴空条件下,对流边界层湍能主要由地表热力浮力对流产生,机械剪切对边界层湍能的贡献较小,小尺度湍涡对湍能的耗散随高度呈减弱趋势,边界层湍能变化呈现间歇性特点。(2)沙漠夏季晴空边界层中存在着有组织的热对流泡现象,热泡最大上升速度可超过4.0 m·s-1;沙漠热对流运动一般呈羽状和网状分布特征,在上升运动区周围伴随有大片的下沉辐散区域。(3)地表感热和逆温层顶盖强度是控制和影响沙漠对流边界层发展的两个重要因素,感热增大,对流边界层变暖且高度升高;感热减小,对流边界层变冷且高度降低。在感热不变的条件下,逆温层顶盖强度越强,越不利于对流边界层发展,反之则相反。

Extreme precipitation events in East China and associated moisture transport pathways

Interannual variation of summer precipitation in East China, and frequency of rainstorms during the monsoon season from 1961 to 2010, are analyzed in this study. It is found that the two variables show opposite trends on a decadal time scale: frequency of rainstorms increases significantly after the 1990 s, while summer precipitation in East China decreases during the same period. Analysis of the spatial distribution of summer rainstorm frequency from 1961 to 2010 indicates that it decreases from the southeast to the northwest at the east edge of the large-scale topography associated with the plateaus. Spatial distribution of rainstorms with daily rainfall greater than 50 mm is characterized by a "high in the southeast and low in the northwest" pattern, similar to the staircase distribution of the topography. However, the spatial distribution of variation in both summer precipitation and frequency of extreme rainstorms under global warming differs significantly from the three-step staircase topography. It is shown that moisture characteristics of summer precipitation and extreme rainstorms during the monsoon season in East China, including moisture transport pathways, moist flow pattern, and spatial structure of the merging area of moist flows, differ significantly. Areas of frequent rainstorms include the Yangtze River Valley and South China. Column-integrated moisture transport and its spatial structure could be summarized as a "merging" of three branches of intense moist flows from low and middle latitude oceans, and "convergence" of column-integrated moisture fluxes. The merging area for moist flow associated with rainstorms in the high frequency region is located slightly to the south of the monsoonal precipitation or non-rainstorm precipitation, with significantly strong moisture convergence. In addition, the summer moist flow pattern in East China has a great influence on the frequency of extreme rainstorms. Moisture flux vectors in the region of frequent rainstorms correspond to vortical flow pattern. A comparison of moisture flux vectors associated with non-rainstorms and rainstorms indicates that the moist vortex associated with rainstorms is smaller in size and located to the south of the precipitation maximum, while the moist vortex associated with non-rainstorms is larger and located to the north. It is shown that column-integrated moist transport vortices and the structure of moist flux convergence have significant impacts on the north-south oscillation of frequent rainstorm areas in East China, which is synchronized with the maximum vorticity of moisture transport and the minimum of convergence on the decadal time scale. Synthesis of moisture transport pathways and related circulation impacts leads to a conceptual model of moisture flow associated with rainstorms.