Domino Tiling:A New Method of Real-Time Conforming Mesh Construction for Rendering Changeable Height Fields

In this paper we present a novel GPU-oriented method of creating an inherently continuous triangular mesh for tile-based rendering of regular height fields. The method is based on tiling data-independent semi-regular meshes of non-uniform structure, a technique that is quite different from other mesh tiling approaches. A complete, memory efficient set of mesh patterns is created by an off-line procedure and stored into the graphics adapter＇s memory at runtime. At rendering time, for each tile, one of the precomputed mesh patterns is selected for rendering. The selected mesh pattern fits the required level of details of the tile and ensures seamless connection with other adjacent mesh patterns, like in a game of dominoes. The scalability potential of the proposed method is demonstrated through quadtree hierarchical grouping of tiles. The efficiency is verified by experimental results on height fields for terrain representation, where the method achieves high frame rates and sustained triangle throughput on high resolution viewports with sub-pixel error tolerance. Frame rate sensitivity to real-time modifications of the height field is measured, and it is shown that the method is very tolerant and consequently well tailored for applications dealing with rapidly changeable phenomena represented by height fields.

Characteristics Analysis of Extreme Circulation at 500 hPa of Height Field in Eurasian Region during Recent 20 Years

[ Objective] The research aimed to analyze extreme circulation characteristics at 500 hPa of height field in Eurasian region in recent 20 years. [ Method ] Based on NCEP/NCAR reanalysis daily data at 500 hPa of height field from 1961 to 2009 of Eurasia （15° -80° N, 40° -150° E）, seasonal and monthly change situations of extreme circulation in Eurasia were studied by the method of climatologically equally likely intervals （ CE- Ll）. [Result] Growth rate of extremely low circulation increased in Eurasia in the last 20 years, but the rise amplitude was smaller. In the middle of China and Mongolia, grow rate change of extremely low circulation was the smallest. The growth rates of extremely high circulation in spring, au- tumn and winter gradually decreased as latitude rose. The maximum growth rate of extremely high circulation in summer was in Qinghai -Tibet Plat- eau, which corresponded with the climate characteristics of summer subtropical high going northward and then retreating southward. By contrasting the growth rates of extremely low and high circulation, it was clear that the growth rate of high circulation was higher than that of the low circulation. [Conusion] The research could be as a reference for studying change characteristics of the extreme climate event in China.

Vertical structure of predictability and information transport over the Northern Hemisphere

Based on nonlinear prediction and information theory, vertical heterogeneity of predictability and information loss rate in geopotential height field are obtained over the Northern Hemisphere. On a seasonal-to-interannual time scale, the predictability is low in the lower troposphere and high in the mid-upper troposphere. However, within mid-upper troposphere over the subtropics ocean area, there is a relatively poor predictability. These conclusions also fit the seasonal time scale. Moving to the interannual time scale, the predictability becomes high in the lower troposphere and low in the mid-upper troposphere, contrary to the former case. On the whole the interannual trend is more predictable than the seasonal trend. The average information loss rate is low over the mid-east Pacific, west of North America, Atlantic and Eurasia, and the atmosphere over other places has a relatively high information loss rate on all-time scales. Two channels are found steadily over the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean in subtropics. There are also unstable channels. The four- season influence on predictability and information communication are studied. The predictability is low, no matter which season data are removed and each season plays an important role in the existence of the channels, except for the winter. The predictability and teleconnections are paramount issues in atmospheric science, and the teleconnections may be established by communication channels. So, this work is interesting since it reveals the vertical structure of predictability distribution, channel locations, and the contributions of different time scales to them and their variations under different seasons.

Research on changes and circulations of sea-ice in Eurasian in recent 50 years

Using the monthly 1° × 1° sea-ice concentration data of Hadley center and the monthly NCEP geopotential height data from January 1953 to February 2003, temporal and spatial changing characters of sea-ice arc examined. The results show almost all of the sea-ice of eight regions was decreasing, especially all seasons in Europe. But in Asia part, those display some increasing trends in spring and winter, Abrupt times of sea-ice in Europe were at end of 1970＇ s and in Asia the times in summer/fall（spring/winter） were at end of 1980＇ s.

Gravity gradient distribution in China's Mainland from GOCE satellite gravity gradiometry data

At present, gravity field and steady-state ocean circulation explorer（GOCE） gravity data are always used to compute regional gravity anomaly and geoid height. In this study, the latest GOCE gravity field model data（from Oct. 2009 to Jul. 2010） are used to compute the gravity gradient of China's Mainland according to a rigorous recursion formula（in all the six directions）. The results show that the numerical values of the gravity gradients are larger in the T rr direction than those in the other directions. They reflect the terrain characteristics in detail and correlate with the regional tectonics; however, in the T ql and T r l directions,the numerical values are relatively smaller and the gravity gradients in the T r l direction do not reflect the terrain characteristics in detail.

Monthly gravity field recovery from GRACE orbits and K-band measurements using variational equations approach

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment（GRACE） mission can significantly improve our knowledge of the temporal variability of the Earth＇s gravity field.We obtained monthly gravity field solutions based on variational equations approach from GPS-derived positions of GRACE satellites and K-band range-rate measurements.The impact of different fixed data weighting ratios in temporal gravity field recovery while combining the two types of data was investigated for the purpose of deriving the best combined solution.The monthly gravity field solution obtained through above procedures was named as the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics（IGG） temporal gravity field models.IGG temporal gravity field models were compared with GRACE Release05（RL05） products in following aspects：（i） the trend of the mass anomaly in China and its nearby regions within 2005-2010; （ii） the root mean squares of the global mass anomaly during 2005-2010; （iii） time-series changes in the mean water storage in the region of the Amazon Basin and the Sahara Desert between 2005 and 2010.The results showed that IGG solutions were almost consistent with GRACE RL05 products in above aspects（i）-（iii）.Changes in the annual amplitude of mean water storage in the Amazon Basin were 14.7 ± 1.2 cm for IGG,17.1 ± 1.3 cm for the Centre for Space Research（CSR）,16.4 ± 0.9 cm for the GeoForschungsZentrum（GFZ） and 16.9 ± 1.2 cm for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory（JPL） in terms of equivalent water height（EWH）,respectively.The root mean squares of the mean mass anomaly in Sahara were 1.2 cm,0.9 cm,0.9 cm and 1.2 cm for temporal gravity field models of IGG,CSR,GFZ and JPL,respectively.Comparison suggested that IGG temporal gravity field solutions were at the same accuracy level with the latest temporal gravity field solutions published by CSR,GFZ and JPL.

Analysis of Stationary-Wave Nonstationarity in the Northern Hemisphere 500-hPa Height Field

In this paper,the concept of stationary-wave nonstationarity is presented and elucidated in the framework of the Lorenz circulation decomposition.This concept indicates the relative magnitude of the zonal nonuniform abnormity to the intensity of stationary waves on the monthly mean scale.Based on the Lorenz circulation decomposition,the nonstationarity degree I_（us）（I_（us）~1） of the global（local） stationary waves is defined,and then used to analyze the stationary-wave nonstationarity at 30°-60°N,where the intensity of stationary waves at 500 hPa in the Northern Hemisphere,as is well known,is very high.The following findings are obtained：（1） There exist seasonal southward and northward movements in the position of the nonstationarity zones of the global stationary waves.The steady stationary waves occur in midlatitudes （35°-55°N） in winter and in the subtropical region（south of 35°N） in summer,associated with the major troughs over East Asia and North America and the weak European trough in winter,and with the relatively steady subtropical high system in summer.A high value center of I_（us） is at 35°N in spring and 50°N in summer,which might be caused by the seasonal variation of stationary-wave intensity,particularly in association with the interannual variability of trough/ridge positions of stationary waves on the monthly mean maps.（2） There exists obvious asymmetry in I_（us）~1,with the steady zones always located in the areas controlled by strong troughs/ridges and the unsteady ones in the areas where the stationary-wave intensity is low.The I_（us）~1 in the subtropics（south of 35°N） is larger in winter than in summer,and vice versa in the midlatitude region（north of 35°N）.The summertime distribution of I_（us）~1 on the whole shows a rather complicated structure.However,North Europe is the most unsteady area for local stationary waves,as represented by high values of I_（us）~1 in both summer and winter,while over the North American continent （about 120°E-60°W）,the I_（us）~1 is slightly less than 1 in summer,indicating that the stationary waves in this region are more steady than those over other mid and high latitude regions.（3） From North China to Northwest Pacific,there is a high value zone of I_（us）~1 in summer,with its center（45°N,130°E） located in the east of Heilongjiang Province.This influences the summer climate of northern China,including Northeast, North,and Northwest China.It is obvious that the nonstationarity is an intrinsic attribute of stationary waves,and can be regarded as being of the same importance as the intensity and energy-spectrum structure of stationary waves in the studies of the general circulation system.

Reconstruction of fluid surface using physical property

A novel technique for reconstructing fluid surface from video is introduced.Both fluid motion vectors as well as Lattice Boltzmann Method(LBM)are employed in the study.Region-based correlation method is used to initialize motion vectors field,after clustering fluid motion vector results can be obtained.Then the height geometry information of fluid surface can be calculated from fluid motion vector further.At last,the distribution of fluid particle is interpolated and the height field can be further refined.Reconstruction results are demonstrated with several challenge videos.The experimental results show that the method is convenient and efficient.The calculation results can reflect the characteristics of the fluid movement,and it is a valid method for reconstructing fluid surface.