Lightning in a Forest (Wild) Fire: Mechanism at the Molecular Level

The mechanism of lightning that ignites a forest fire and the lightning that occurs above a forest fire are explained at the molecular level. It is based on two phenomena, namely, internal charge separation inside the atmospheric cloud particles and the existence of a layer of positively charged hydrogen atoms sticking out of the surface of the liquid layer of water on the surface of rimers. Strong turbulence-driven collisions of the ice particles and water droplets with the rimers give rise to breakups of the ice particles and water droplets into positively and negatively charged fragments leading to charge separation. Hot weather in a forest contributes to the updraft of hot and humid air, which follows the same physical/chemical processes of normal lightning proposed and explained recently[1]. Lightning would have a high probability of lighting up and burning the dry biological materials in the ground of the forest, leading to a forest (wild) fire. The burning of trees and other plants would release a lot of heat and moisture together with a lot of smoke particles (aerosols) becoming a strong updraft. The condition for creating lightning is again satisfied which would result in further lightning high above the forest wild fire.

Charging Mechanism of Lightning at the Molecular Level

Cloud electrification is one of the oldest unresolved puzzles in the atmospheric sciences. Though many mechanisms for charge separation in clouds have been proposed, a quantitative understanding of their respective contribution in a given meteorological situation is lacking. Here we suggest and analyze a hitherto little discussed process. A qualitative picture at the molecular level of the charge separation mechanism of lightning in a thundercloud is proposed. It is based on two key physical/chemical natural phenomena, namely, internal charge separation of the atmospheric impurities/aerosols inside an atmospheric water cluster/droplet/ice particle and the existence of liquid water layers on rimers (graupels and hailstones) forming a layer of dipoles with H+ pointing out from the air-water interface. Charge separation is achieved through strong collisions among ice particles and water droplets with the rimers in the turbulence of the thundercloud. This work would have significant contribution to cloud electrification and lightning formation.

华北中部夏季气溶胶垂直分布及其与云凝结核和云滴转化关系的飞机观测研究

气溶胶的时空分布及其核化成云的转化过程是云降水物理研究的重点,也是气候变化中气溶胶间接效应关注的热点问题。利用2013~2014年期间在华北中部山西地区开展的9架次夏季晴天和积云天气情况下的气溶胶、云凝结核(CCN)及云滴数浓度观测资料,分析研究了气溶胶的垂直分布、谱分布、来源特征及其与云凝结核、云滴数浓度的转化关系。研究结果表明,大气边界层逆温层结对气溶胶、CCN垂直分布有重要影响,不同天气条件下气溶胶谱型在低层差异较大而高层基本一致;垂直方向上CCN数浓度与气溶胶数浓度有较好的相关性,过饱和度0.3%条件下CCN比率(云凝结核/凝结核)与气溶胶有效直径呈线性关系;积云云下气溶胶与云滴的线性拟合方程为y=1.3x-616.3,拟合相关系数为0.96,气溶胶转化为云滴的比率可达到47%。在过饱和度0.3%条件下,云下CCN与云滴的线性拟合方程为y=1.6x-473.8,拟合相关系数也为0.96,CCN转化为云滴的比率可达到69%。

Mesoscale Numerical Simulation Study of Warm Fog Dissipation by Salt Particles Seeding

Based on the dynamic framework of WRF and Morrison 2-moment explicit cloud scheme, a salt-seeding scheme was developed and used to simulate the dissipation of a warm fog event during 6–7 November 2009 in the Beijing and Tianjin area. The seeding effect and its physical mechanism were studied. The results indicate that when seeding fog with salt particles sized 80 μm and at a quantity of 6 gm^（-2） at the fog top, the seeding effect near the ground surface layer is negative in the beginning period, and then a positive seeding effect begins to appear at 18 min, with the best effect appearing at 21 min after seeding operation. The positive effect can last about 35 min. The microphysical mechanism of the warm fog dissipation is because of the evaporation due to the water vapor condensation on the salt particles and coalescence with salt particles.The process of fog water coalescence with salt particles contributed mostly to this warm fog dissipation. Furthermore, two series of sensitivity experiments were performed to study the seeding effect under different seeding amounts and salt particles sizes. The results show that seeding fog with salt particles sized of 80 μm can have the best seeding effect, and the seeding effect is negative when the salt particle size is less than 10 μm. For salt particles sized 80 μm, the best seeding effect, with corresponding visibility of 380 m, can be achieved when the seeding amount is 30 g m^（-2）.

Research on the Mechanism of Epithelial Cell Exfoliation in Bladders of Prenatal and Postnatal Mice

[Objective] This research aimed at studying the mechanism of the occurrence of epithelial cell loss in bladders of prenatal and postnatal mice. [Method] Bladder epithelia of 1-2-day-old newborn Kunming mice and mice at later period of embryonic development were acquired, and paraffin sections of such epithelia were then made for Mallory's coloration and ordinary optical microscopic observation. The acquired bladder epithelia were made into frozen sections, which were then colored by DAPI and labeled in situ by Terminal-deoxynucleoitidyl Transferase Mediated Nick End Labeling(TUNEL) for fluorescent microscopic observation. DNA electrophoresis and TUNEL in situ labeling were conducted on the acquired urine exfoliated cells. [Result] The results showed that the complete three layers of cells occurred in 20-day-old mouse embryos, whereas no superficial cells resided in the bladder epithelia of newborn mice and no cells exfoliating were observed. Cells exfoliating from the bladder epithelia of newborn mice were observed, and they exhibited the phenomenon of apoptosis. There were apoptosis existed in the urine cells of newborn mice. [Conclusion] Therefore, the results showed that a few days before and after their birth, mice witnessed the process of cell exfoliation in their bladder epithelia and the exfoliated cells showed typical characteristics of apoptosis.

Cloud Microphysical Processes and Atmospheric Water Budget during the 20 July 2021 Extreme Precipitation Event in Zhengzhou,China

This study investigated the cloud microphysical processes and atmospheric water budget during the extreme precipitation event on 20 July 2021 in Zhengzhou of Henan Province,China,based on observations,reanalysis data,and the results from the high-resolution large-eddy simulation nested in the Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF)model with assimilation of satellite and radar observations.The results show that the abundant and persistent southeasterly supply of water vapor,induced by Typhoons In-Fa and Cempaka,under a particular synoptic pattern featured with abnormal northwestward displacement of the western Pacific subtropical high,was conducive to warm rain processes through a high vapor condensation rate of cloud water and an efficient collision–coalescence process of cloud water to rainwater.Such conditions were favorable for the formation and maintenance of the quasi-stationary warmsector heavy rainfall.Precipitation formation through the collision–coalescence process of cloud water to rainwater accounted for approximately 70%of the total,while the melting of snow and graupel accounted for only approximately 30%,indicating that warm cloud processes played a dominant role in this extreme rainfall event.However,enhancement of cold cloud processes promoted by latent heat release also exerted positive effect on rainfall during the period of most intense hourly rainfall.It was also found that rainwater advection from outside of Zhengzhou City played an important role in maintaining the extreme precipitation event.

The Tibetan Plateau Surface–Atmosphere Coupling System and Its Weather and Climate Effects: The Third Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Science Experiment

The Tibetan Plateau(TP) is a key area affecting forecasts of weather and climate in China and occurrences of extreme weather and climate events over the world. The China Meteorological Administration, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly initiated the Third Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Science Experiment(TIPEX-Ⅲ) in 2013, with an 8–10-yr implementation plan. Since its preliminary field measurements conducted in 2013, routine automatic sounding systems have been deployed at Shiquanhe, Gaize, and Shenzha stations in western TP, where no routine sounding observations were available previously. The observational networks for soil temperature and soil moisture in the central and western TP have also been established. Meanwhile, the plateau-scale and regional-scale boundary layer observations, cloud–precipitation microphysical observations with multiple radars and aircraft campaigns, and tropospheric–stratospheric air composition observations at multiple sites, were performed. The results so far show that the turbulent heat exchange coefficient and sensible heat flux are remarkably lower than the earlier estimations at grassland, meadow, and bare soil surfaces of the central and western TP. Climatologically, cumulus clouds over the main body of the TP might develop locally instead of originating from the cumulus clouds that propagate northward from South Asia. The TIPEX-Ⅲ observations up to now also reveal diurnal variations, macro-and microphysical characteristics, and water-phase transition mechanisms, of cumulus clouds at Naqu station. Moreover, TIPEX-Ⅲ related studies have proposed a maintenance mechanism responsible for the Asian "atmospheric water tower" and demonstrated the effects of the TP heating anomalies on African, Asian, and North American climates. Additionally, numerical modeling studies show that the Γ distribution of raindrop size is more suitable for depicting the TP raindrop characteristics compared to the M–P distribution, the overestimation of sensible heat flux can be reduced via modifying the heat transfer parameterization over the TP, and considering climatic signals in some key areas of the TP can improve the skill for rainfall forecast in the central and eastern parts of China. Furthermore, the TIPEX-Ⅲ has been promoting the technology in processing surface observations, soundings, and radar observations, improving the quality of satellite retrieved soil moisture and atmospheric water vapor content products as well as high-resolution gauge–radar–satellite merged rainfall products, and facilitating the meteorological monitoring, forecasting, and data sharing operations.

Comparative Analyses of Vertical Structure of Deep Convective Clouds Retrieved from Satellites and Ground-Based Radars at Naqu over the Tibetan Plateau

In order to improve understanding of deep convective clouds over the Tibetan Plateau, characteristics of vertical structure of a deep strong convective cloud over Naqu station and a deep weak convective cloud approximately 100 km to the west of Naqu station, which occurred over 1300-1600 Beijing Time (BT) 9 July 2014 during the Third Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Science Experiment (TIPEX-Ⅲ), are analyzed, based on multi-source satellite data from TRMM, CloudSat, and Aqua, and radar data from ground-based vertically pointing radars (C-band frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar and KA-band millimeter wave cloud radar). The results are as follows.(1) The horizontal scales of both the deep strong and deep weak convective clouds were small (10-20 km), and their tops were high[15-16 km above sea level (ASL)]. Across the level of 0℃ isotherm in the deep strong convective cloud, the reflectivity increased rapidly, suggesting that the melting process of solid precipitation particles through the 0℃ level played an important role. A bright band located at 5.5 km ASL (i.e., 1 km above ground level) appeared during the period of convection weakening.(2) The reflectivity values from TRMM precipitation radar below 11 km were found to be overestimated compared to those derived from the C-band frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar.(3) Deep convective clouds were mainly ice clouds, and there were rich small ice particles above 10 km, while few large ice particles were found below 10 km. The microphysical processes of deep strong and deep weak convective clouds mainly included mixed-phase process and glaciated process, and the mixed-phase process can be divided into two types:one was the rimming process below the level of -25℃(deep strong convective cloud) or -29℃(deep weak convective cloud) and the other was aggregation and deposition process above that level. The latter process was accompanied with fast increase in ice particle effective radius. The above evidence from space-based and ground-based observational data further clarify the characteristics of vertical structure of deep convective clouds over the Tibetan Plateau, and provide a basis for the evaluation of simulation results of deep convective clouds by cloud models.

Below-Cloud Aerosol Scavenging by Different-Intensity Rains in Beijing City

Below-cloud aerosol scavenging process by precipitation is important for cleaning the polluted aerosols in the atmosphere, and is also a main process for acid rain formation. However, the related physical mechanism has not been well documented and clarified yet. In this paper, we investigated the below-cloud PM_(2.5)(particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter being 2.5 μm or less) scavenging by different-intensity rains under polluted conditions characterized by high PM_(2.5) concentrations, based on in-situ measurements from March 2014 to July 2016 in Beijing city. It was found that relatively more intense rainfall events were more efficient in removing the polluted aerosols in the atmosphere. The mean PM_(2.5) scavenging ratio and its standard deviation(SD) were 5.1% ± 25.7%, 38.5% ± 29.0%,and 50.6% ± 21.2% for light, moderate, and heavy rain events, respectively. We further found that the key impact factors on below-cloud PM_(2.5) scavenging ratio for light rain events were rain duration and wind speed rather than raindrop size distribution. However, the impacts of rain duration and wind speed on scavenging ratio were not important for moderate and heavy rain events. To our knowledge, this is the first statistical result about the effects of rain intensity, rain duration, and raindrop size distribution on below-cloud scavenging in China.

A Numerical Investigation on Microphysical Properties of Clouds and Precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau in Summer 2014

In order to improve our understanding of microphysical properties of clouds and precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau (TP), six cloud and precipitation processes with different intensities during the Third Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Science Experiment (TIPEX-Ⅲ) from 3 July to 25 July 2014 in Naqu region of the TP are investigated by using the high-resolution mesoscale Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The results show unique properties of summertime clouds and precipitation processes over the TP. The initiation process of clouds is closely associated with strong solar radiative heating in the daytime, and summertime clouds and precipitation show an obvious diurnal variation. Generally, convective clouds would transform into stratiform clouds with an obvious bright band and often produce strong rainfall in midnight. The maximum cloud top can reach more than 15 km above sea level and the velocity of updraft ranges from 10 to 40 m s-1. The simulations show high amount of supercooled water content primarily located between 0 and -20℃ layer in all the six cases. Ice crystals mainly form above the level of -20℃ and even appear above the level of -40℃ within strong convective clouds. Rainwater mostly appears below the melting layer, indicating that its formation mainly depends on the melting process of precipitable ice particles. Snow and graupel particles have the characteristics of high content and deep vertical distribution, showing that the ice phase process is very active in the development of clouds and precipitation. The conversion and formation of hydrometeors and precipitation over the plateau exhibit obvious characteristics. Surface precipitation is mainly formed by the melting of graupel particles. Although the warm cloud microphysical process has less direct contribution to the formation of surface precipitation, it is important for the formation of supercooled raindrops, which are essential for the formation of graupel embryos through heterogeneous freezing process. The growth of graupel particles mainly relies on the riming process with supercooled cloud water and aggregation of snow particles.