Near-surface wind field characteristics of the desert-oasis transition zone in Dunhuang,China

The desert-oasis transition zone(DOTZ)serves as a buffer area between the desert and oasis.Understanding its wind field characteristics is of great significance for the prevention and control of aeolian disasters in the oasis.In this study,we used meteorological data during 2013–2019 from the portable meteorological stations at five sites(site A on the edge of the oasis,sites B,C,and D in the DOTZ,and site O in the desert)in Dunhuang,China to analyze the near-surface wind field characteristics and their causes,as well as to reveal the key role of the DOTZ in oasis protection.The results showed that the mean wind speed,frequency of sand-driving wind,and directional variability of wind decreased from west to east within the DOTZ,and wind speed was significantly affected by air temperature.The terrain influenced the prevailing winds in the region,mainly from northeast and southwest.Only some areas adjacent to the oasis were controlled by southeasterly wind.This indicated that the near-surface wind field characteristics of the DOTZ were caused by the combined effects of local terrain and surface hydrothermal difference.At site D,the annual drift potential(DP)was 24.95 vector units(VU),indicating a low wind energy environment,and the resultant drift direction(RDD)showed obvious seasonal differences.Additionally,the DOTZ played an important buffering role between the desert and oasis.Compared with the desert,the mean wind speed in the oasis decreased by 64.98%,and the prevailing wind direction was more concentrated.The results of this study will be useful in interpreting the aeolian activity of the DOTZ in Dunhuang.

VALIDATION OF NEAR-SURFACE WINDS OBTAINED BY A HYBRID WRF/CALMET MODELING SYSTEM OVER A COASTAL ISLAND WITH COMPLEX TERRAIN

The results from a hybrid approach that combines a mesoscale meteorological model with a diagnostic model to produce high-resolution wind fields in complex coastal topography are evaluated.The diagnostic wind model(California Meteorological Model,CALMET) with 100-m horizontal spacing was driven with outputs from the Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF) model to obtain near-surface winds for the 1-year period from 12 September 2003 to 11 September 2004.Results were compared with wind observations at four sites.Traditional statistical scores,including correlation coefficients,standard deviations(SDs) and mean absolute errors(MAEs),indicate that the wind estimates from the WRF/CALMET modeling system are produced reasonably well.The correlation coefficients are relatively large,ranging from 0.5 to 0.7 for the zonal wind component and from 0.75 to 0.85 for the meridional wind component.MAEs for wind speed range from 1.5 to 2.0 m s-1 at 10 meters above ground level(AGL) and from 2.0 to 2.5 m s-1 at 60 m AGL.MAEs for wind direction range from 30 to 40 degrees at both levels.A spectral decomposition of the time series of wind speed shows positive impacts of CALMET in improving the mesoscale winds.Moreover,combining the CALMET model with WRF significantly improves the spatial variability of the simulated wind fields.It can be concluded that the WRF/CALMET modeling system is capable of providing a detailed near-surface wind field,but the physics in the diagnostic CALMET model needs to be further improved.

Temporal-spatial cross-correlation analysis of non-stationary near-surface wind speed time series

Temporal-spatial cross-correlation analysis of non-stationary wind speed time series plays a crucial role in wind field reconstruction as well as in wind pattern recognition.Firstly,the near-surface wind speed time series recorded at different locations are studied using the detrended fluctuation analysis(DFA),and the corresponding scaling exponents are larger than 1.This indicates that all these wind speed time series have non-stationary characteristics.Secondly,concerning this special feature( i.e.,non-stationarity)of wind signals,a cross-correlation analysis method,namely detrended cross-correlation analysis(DCCA) coefficient,is employed to evaluate the temporal-spatial cross-correlations between non-stationary time series of different anemometer pairs.Finally,experiments on ten wind speed data synchronously collected by the ten anemometers with equidistant arrangement illustrate that the method of DCCA cross-correlation coefficient can accurately analyze full-scale temporal-spatial cross-correlation between non-stationary time series and also can easily identify the seasonal component,while three traditional cross-correlation techniques(i.e.,Pearson coefficient,cross-correlation function,and DCCA method) cannot give us these information directly.

Linking moisture and near-surface wind with winter temperature to reveal the Holocene climate evolution in arid Xinjiang region of China

An increasing number of palaeo-climatic records have been reported to identify the Holocene climate history in the arid Xinjiang region of northwest China. However, few studies have fully considered the internal linkages within the regional climate system, which may limit our understanding of the forcing mechanisms of Holocene climate change in this region. Here, we systematically consider three major issues of the moisture/precipitation, temperature and near-surface wind relevant to the Holocene climate history of Xinjiang. First, despite there still has debated for the Holocene moisture evolution in this region, more climatic reconstructions from lake sediments, loess, sand-dunes and peats support a long-term regional wetting trend. Second, temperature records from ice cores, peats and stalagmites demonstrate a long-term winter warming trend during the Holocene in middle-to high-latitudes of Asia. Third, recent studies of aeolian sedimentary sequences reveal that the near-surface winds in winter gradually weakened during the Holocene, whereas the winter mid-latitude Westerlies strengthened in the Tienshan Mountains. Based on this evidence, in the arid Xinjiang region we propose an early to middle Holocene relatively cold and dry interval, with strong near-surface winds;and a warmer, wetter interval with weaker near-surface winds in the middle to late Holocene during winter. Additionally,we develop a conceptual model to explain the pattern of Holocene climate changes in this region.From the early to the late Holocene, the increasing atmospheric COcontent and winter insolation,and the shrinking of high-latitude continental ice-sheets, resulted in increasing winter temperatures in middle to high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Subsequently, the increased winter temperature strengthened the winter mid-latitude Westerlies and weakened the Siberian high-pressure system,which caused an increase in winter precipitation and a decrease in near-surface wind strength. This scenario is strongly supported by evidence from geological records, climate simulation results, and modern reanalysis data. Our hypothesis highlights the important contribution of winter temperature in driving the Holocene climatic evolution of the arid Xinjiang region, and it implies that the socio-economic development and water resources security of this region will face serious challenges presented by the increasing winter temperature in the future.

Field Observations of Near-Surface Wind Flow Across Expressway Embankment on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Crushed rock layers(CRLs),ventilation ducts(VDs)and thermosyphons are air-cooling structures(ACSs)widely used for maintaining the long-term stability of engineered infrastructures in permafrost environments.These ACSs can effectively cool and maintain the permafrost subgrade’s frozen state under climate warming by facilitating heat exchange with ambient air in cold seasons.As convection is a crucial working mechanism of these ACSs,it is imperative to understand the near-surface wind flow(NSWF)across a constructed infrastructure,such as an embankment.This article describes a yearlong field observation of the NSWF across an experimental expressway embankment,the first of its kind on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau(QTP).The wind speed and direction along a transect perpendicular to the embankment on both the windward and leeward sides and at four different heights above the ground surface were collected and analyzed.The results showed that the embankment has a considerable impact on the NSWF speed within a distance of up to ten times its height,and in the direction on the leeward side.A power law can well describe the speed profiles of NSWF across the embankment,with the power-law indices(PLIs)varying from 0.14 to 0.40.On an annual basis,the fitted NSWF PLI far away from the embankment was 0.19,which differs substantially from the values widely used in previous thermal performance evaluations of ACSs on the QTP.Finally,the significance of the NSWF to the thermal performance of the ACSs,particularly the CRLs and VDs,in linear transportation infrastructure is discussed.It is concluded that underestimating the PLI and neglecting wind direction variations may lead to unconservative designs of the ACSs.The results reported in this study can provide valuable guidance for infrastructure engineering on the QTP and other similar permafrost regions.

Aeolian dust transportation and deposition by near-surface winds in arid and semiarid China

Dustfall collections were carried out in April and May 2001 and in March 2002 at six sites in northern China.Our results showed that the total deposition of dust fractions 【250 μm in diameter and the deposition of Fe both decreased exponentially with increasing distances from the source areas,and that the half-attenuation distance (HAD) for dust deposition was about 229 km in this re-gion.The HAD was closely related to the grain-size distribution of the dust,and the 15 to 20 μm fractions had the longest HAD.However,the fractions 【15 μm in diameter can be easily adsorbed to coarse particles and deposited after only short distances,and the HAD for the fractions 15 to 100 μm in diameter showed a power relationship with the grain-size distribution.The HAD for Fe deposition was 233 km,which was a little longer than that of total dust deposition,which suggests that the Fe content is higher in fine particles than in coarse particles,as previous studies have suggested.In addition,our analysis showed that under the control of current climatic conditions,the coarse fractions in dust derived from northwestern China cannot be transported over long distances,instead,it is transported primarily by near-surface winds (【3 km above the ground).The Fe in aeolian dust generated from arid and semiarid regions of China and deposited in the North Pacific region is usually transported by the upper westerlies.

Near-Surface Wind-Speed Stilling in Alaska during 1984-2016 and Its Impact on the Sustainability of Wind Power

Based on wind-speed records of Alaska’s 19 first-order weather stations, we analyzed the near-surface wind-speed stilling for January 1, 1984 to December 31, 2016. With exception of Big Delta that indicates an increase of 0.0157 m·s–1·a–1, on average, all other first-order weather stations show declining trends in the near-surface wind speeds. In most cases, the average trends are less then?–0.0300?m·s–1·a–1. The strongest average trend of?–0.0500?m·s–1·a–1 occurred at Homer, followed by?–0.0492?m·s–1·a–1 at Bettles, and?–0.0453?m·s–1·a–1 at Yakutat, while the declining trend at Barrow is marginal. The impact of the near-surface wind-speed stilling on the wind-power potential expressed by the wind-power density was predicted and compared with the wind-power classification of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Alaska Energy Authority. This wind-power potential is, however, of subordinate importance because wind turbines only extract a fraction of the kinetic energy from the wind field characterized by the power efficiency. Since wind turbine technology has notably improved during the past 35 years, we hypothetically used seven currently available wind turbines of different rated power and three different shear exponents to assess the wind-power sustainability under changing wind regimes. The shear exponents 1/10, 1/7, and 1/5 served to examine the range of wind power for various conditions of thermal stratification. Based on our analysis for January 1, 1984 to December 31, 2016, Cold Bay, St. Paul Island, Kotzebue, and Bethel would be very good candidates for wind farms. To quantify the impact of a changing wind regime on wind-power sustainability, we predicted wind power for the periods January 1, 1984 to December 31, 1994 and January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2016 as well. Besides Big Delta that suggests an increase in wind power of up to 12% for 1/7, predicted wind power decreased at all sites with the highest decline at Annette (≈38%), Kodiak (≈30%), King Salmon (≈26%), and Kotzebue (≈24%), where the effect of the shear exponents was marginal. Bethel (up to 20%) and Cold Bay (up to 14%) also show remarkable decreases in predicted wind power.

Near-surface wind environment in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin,southern Tibetan Plateau

Aeolian processes have been studied extensively at low elevations,but have been relatively little studied at high elevations.Aeolian sediments are widely distributed in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin,southern Tibetan Plateau,which is characterized by low pressure and low temperature.Here,we comprehensively analyzed the wind regime using data since 1980 from 11 meteorological stations in the study area,and examined the interaction between the near-surface wind and aeolian environment.The wind environment exhibited significant spatial and temporal variation,and mean wind speed has generally decreased on both annual and seasonal bases since 1980,at an average of 0.181 m/(s•10a).This decrease resulted from the reduced contribution of maximum wind speed,and depended strongly on variations of the frequency of sand-driving winds.The drift potential and related parameters also showed obvious spatial and temporal variation,with similar driving forces for the wind environment.The strength of the wind regime affected the formation and development of the aeolian geomorphological pattern,but with variation caused by local topography and sediment sources.The drift potential and resultant drift direction were two key parameters,as they quantify the dynamic conditions and depositional orientation of the aeolian sediments.Wind affected the spatial variation in sediment grain size,but the source material and complex topographic effects on the near-surface wind were the underlying causes for the grain size distribution of aeolian sands.These results will support efforts to control aeolian desertification in the basin and improve our understanding of aeolian processes in high-elevation environments.

Analysis of Observed and Modelled Near-Surface Wind Extremes over the Sub-Arctic Northeast Pacific

Wind speed extremes in the sub-Arctic realm of the North-East Pacific region were investigated through extreme value analysis of wind speed obtained from wind simulations of the COSMO-CLM (Consortium for Small-scale Modelling, climate version) mesoscale model, as well as using observed data. The analysis showed that the set of wind speed extremes obtained from observations is a mixture of two different subsets each neatly described by the Weibull distribution. Using special metaphoric terminology, they are labelled as “Black Swans” and “Dragons”. The “Dragons” are responsible for strongest extremes. It has been shown that both reanalysis and GCM (general circulation model) data have no “Dragons”. This means that such models underestimate wind speed maxima, and the important circulation process generating the anomalies is not simulated. The COSMO-CLM data have both “Black Swans” and “Dragons”. This evidence provides a clue that an atmospheric model with a detailed spatial resolution (we used in this work the data from domain with 13.2 km spatial resolution) does reproduce the special mechanism responsible for the generation of the largest wind speed extremes. However, a more thorough analysis shows that the differences in the parameters of the cumulative distribution functions are still significant. The ratio between the modelled Dragons and Black Swans can reach up to only 10%. It is much less than 30%, which was the level established for observations.

Long-Term Trends in Near-Surface Wind Speed over the Southern Hemisphere: A Preliminary Analysis

Many studies that discuss observed trends in wind speed focus primarily on regions of the Northern Hemisphere, so there is little research directed to the Southern Hemisphere. This paper pre- sents a preliminary investigation of possible statistically significant trends in wind speed over the Southern Hemisphere, with a detailing on the South American continent, between 1961 and 2008. Thus, data from the 20th Century Reanalysis V2 were examined with statistical tests of Mann- Kendall and Sen’s Bend in order to establish the significance and the magnitude of detected trends. The previous results indicate statistically significant trends of increase in average wind speedover the equatorial region of the planet, as well as in the eastern sector of the South Pacific and South Atlantic Oceans. In South America, the most significant trends of decrease in wind speed were noted in some areas of the southern sector of the continent, even as in the adjacent Atlantic Ocean to Argentina. Further studies should be performed to physically support the occurrence of these trends in wind speed. In addition, other observed and reanalysis data sets should be explored to update and corroborate these primary analyzes.

DCT ANALYSIS DISTRIBUTION FEATURES OF NEAR-SURFACE WIND FIELDS DURING THE LANDFALL OF VONGFONG

Based on the QuikSCAT data, the features of surface wind distribution of the typhoon Vongfong landfall process are analyzed. We have also studied the variance spectral configuration of the surface wind field using DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform). The conclusions are as follows: The near-surface wind field is highly asymmetric; the variance components of asymmetric surface wind field depend mainly on the airflow direction of wavenumber 1 and 2. When the typhoon moves west, there are two wave spectral centers lining up in the zonal direction, mainly the airflow from zonal wavenumber 2 and meridional wavenumber 2; when it moves north, there are two wave spectral centers in a meridional array, mainly the airflow from zonal wavenumber 1 and meridional wavenumber 2. The airflow for wavenumber 1 mainly contributes to the variance of the tangential wind while that for wavenumber 2 to the variance of the radial wind. The asymmetrical distribution changes with the large-scale environment and self-rotating circulation around the typhoon. When it approached land, the associated gale appears in front portion in the advancing direction of the storm. It is in effect similar to the model of Chen Lian-shou for typhoon-related gales NNW on the left front portion and SE on the right front portion.

The effects of wind-driven waves and ocean spray on the drag coefficient and near-surface wind profiles over the ocean

By introducing a wave-induced component and a spray-induced component to the total stress, a mathematical model based on the Ekman theory is proposed to detail the influence of wind-driven waves and ocean spray on the momentum transport in a marine atmosphere boundary layer（MABL）. An analytic solution of the modified Ekman model can be obtained. The effect of the wave-induced stress is evaluated by a wind wave spectrum and a wave growth rate. It is found that the wave-induced stress and spray stress have a small impact compared with the turbulent stress on the drag coefficient and the wind profiles for low-to-medium wind speed. The spray contribution to the surface stress should be much more taken into account than the winddriven waves when the wind speed reaches above 25 m/s through the action of a ＂spray stress＂. As a result, the drag coefficient starts to decrease with increasing wind speed for high wind speed. The effects of the winddriven waves and spray droplets on the near-surface wind profiles are illustrated for different wave ages, which indicates that the production of the spray droplets leads the wind velocity to increase in the MABL. The solutions are also compared with the existed field observational data. Illustrative examples and the comparisons between field observations and the theoretical solutions demonstrate that the spray stress has more significant effect on the marine atmosphere boundary layer in the condition of the high wind speed compared with wave-induced stress.

Projected near-surface wind speed and wind energy over Central Asia using dynamical downscaling with bias-corrected global climate models

Wind energy development in Central Asia can help alleviate drought and fragile ecosystems.Nevertheless,current studies mainly used the global climate models(GCMs)to project wind speed and energy.The simulated biases in GCMs remain prominent,which induce a large uncertainty in the projected results.To reduce the uncertainties of projected near-surface wind speed(NSW)and better serve the wind energy development in Central Asia,the Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF)model with bias-corrected GCMs was employed.Compared with the outputs of GCMs,dynamical downscaling acquired using the WRF model can better capture the high-and low-value centres of NSWS,especially those of Central Asia's mountains.Meanwhile,the simulated NSWS bias was also reduced.For future changes in wind speed and wind energy,under the Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5(RCP4.5)scenario,NSWS during 2031-2050 is projected to decrease compared with that in 19862005.The magnitude of NSwS reduction during 2031-2050 willreach 0.1 m s^(-1).and the maximum reduction is projected to occur over the central and western regions(>0.2 m s^(-1)).Furthermore,future wind power density(WPD)can reveal nonstationarity and strong volatility,although a downward trend is expected during 2031-2050.In addition,the higher frequency of wind speeds at the turbine hub height exceeding 3.0 m s^(-1)can render the plain regions more suitable for wind energy development than the mountains from 2031 to 2050.This study can serve as a guide in gaining insights into future changes in wind energy across Central Asia and provide a scientific basis for decision makers in the formulation of policies for addressing climate change.

Variability and trends of near-surface wind speed over the Tibetan Plateau:The role played by the westerly and Asian monsoon

Near-surface wind speed exerts profound impacts on many environmental issues,while the long-term(≥60 years)trend and multidecadal variability in the wind speed and its underlying causes in global high-elevation and mountainous areas(e.g.,Tibetan Plateau)remain largely unknown.Here,by examining homogenized wind speed data from 104 meteorological stations over the Tibetan Plateau for 1961-2020 and ERA5 reanalysis datasets,we investigated the variability and long-term trend in the near-surface wind speed and revealed the role played by the westerly and Asian monsoon.The results show that the homogenized annual wind speed displays a decreasing trend(-0.091 m s^(−1)per decade,p<0.05),with the strongest in spring(-0.131 m s^(−1)per decade,p<0.05),and the weakest in autumn(-0.071 m s^(−1)per decade,p<0.05).There is a distinct multidecadal variability of wind speed,which manifested in an prominent increase in 1961-1970,a sustained decrease in 1970-2002,and a consistent increase in 2002-2020.The observed decadal variations are likely linked to large-scale atmospheric circulation,and the correlation analysis unveiled a more important role of westerly and East Asian winter monsoon in modulating near-surface wind changes over the Tibetan Plateau.The potential physical processes associated with westerly and Asian monsoon changes are in concordance with wind speed change,in terms of overall weakened horizontal air flow(i.e.,geostrophic wind speed),declined vertical thermal and dynamic momentum transfer(i.e.,atmospheric stratification thermal instability and vertical wind shear),and varied Tibetan Plateau vortices.This indicates that to varying degrees these processes may have contributed to the changes in near-surface wind speed over the Tibetan Plateau.This study has implications for wind power production and soil wind erosion prevention in the Tibetan Plateau.

Assessing CMIP6 simulations of Arctic sea ice drift:Role of near-surface wind and surface ocean current in model performance

Sea ice drift is a critical parameter for understanding the rapid changes in Arctic sea ice.Since the release of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6(CMIP6),there has been a lack of quantitative analysis regarding CMIP6's simulation of Arctic sea ice drift.This study aims to assess the simulated Arctic sea ice drift from 1979 to 2014 by fifteen CMIP6 models against recent satellite retrievals,utilizing various quantitative indices.Additionally,the influence of near-surface wind and surface ocean current on model performance is further analyzed.The CMIP6 models capture several aspects of the observed Arctic sea ice drift climatology and variability.The seasonal patterns of sea ice drift speed in all models exhibit similarities with the observed data,and the models agree with the evaluation datasets,indicating that the seasonal evolution of sea ice drift corresponds to near-surface wind patterns.However,notable discrepancies are identified.All models overestimate sea ice drift speed,exceeding the observational data by 36%e97%.Fourteen out of fifteen models display larger seasonal variability(ranging from 0.74 to 1.28 km d^(-1))compared to the observed data(0.54 km d^(-1)).Seven out of fifteen models exhibit a significant increasing trend in annual sea ice drift speed,similar to the observed trend of 0.58 km d^(-1) per decade,but with weaker trends(ranging from 0.11 to 0.33 km d^(-1) per decade).The remaining eight models reveal no statistically significant trend.The potential causes of such biases were further explored in this study.It suggests that the overestimation of sea ice drift speed in the models might be primarily attributed to the overestimation of near-surface wind speeds and their influence on sea ice drift speed.The models'overestimation of seasonal variability in near-surface wind speeds may account for the overestimation of seasonal variability in sea ice drift.The models'inability to represent the trend in sea ice drift speed may result from their failure to simulate an increasing trend in surface ocean current speed.

3D near-surface P-wave velocity structure imaging with Distributed Acoustic Sensing and electric hammer source

Distributed Acoustic Sensing(DAS) is an emerging technique for ultra-dense seismic observation, which provides a new method for high-resolution sub-surface seismic imaging. Recently a large number of linear DAS arrays have been used for two-dimensional S-wave near-surface imaging in urban areas. In order to explore the feasibility of three-dimensional(3D) structure imaging using a DAS array, we carried out an active source experiment at the Beijing National Earth Observatory. We deployed a 1 km optical cable in a rectangular shape, and the optical cable was recast into 250 sensors with a channel spacing of 4 m. The DAS array clearly recorded the P, S and surface waves generated by a hammer source. The first-arrival P wave travel times were first picked with a ShortTerm Average/Long-Term Average(STA/LTA) method and further manually checked. The P-wave signals recorded by the DAS are consistent with those recorded by the horizontal components of short-period seismometers. At shorter source-receiver distances, the picked P-wave arrivals from the DAS recording are consistent with vertical component recordings of seismometers, but they clearly lag behind the latter at greater distances.This is likely due to a combination of the signal-to-noise ratio and the polarization of the incoming wave. Then,we used the Tomo DD software to invert the 3D P-wave velocity structure for the uppermost 50 m with a resolution of 10 m. The inverted P-wave velocity structures agree well with the S-wave velocity structure previously obtained through ambient noise tomography. Our study indicates the feasibility of 3D near-surface imaging with the active source and DAS array. However, the inverted absolute velocity values at large depths may be biased due to potential time shifts between the DAS recording and seismometer at large source-receiver distances.

Contrasting Trend of Wintertime Wind Speed Between Near-surface and Upper Air in China During 1979-2021

The long-term height-resolved wind trend in China under global warming still needs to be discovered.To fill this gap,in this paper we examined the climatology and long-term(1979-2021)trends of the wintertime wind speed at the near-surface and upper atmosphere in China based on long-term radiosonde measurements.At 700,500,and 400 hPa,much higher wind speed was found over eastern China,compared with western China.At 300,200,and 100 hPa,maximum wind speed was observed in the latitude zone of around 25-35°N.Furthermore,westerly winds dominated most parts of China between 20°N and 50°N at altitudes from 700 hPa to 100 hPa.A stilling was revealed for the near-surface wind from 1979-2003.From 2004 onward,the near-surface wind speed reversed from decreasing to increasing.This could be largely due to the joint impact of reduced surface roughness length,aerosol optical depth(AOD),and increased sensible heat flux in the ground surface.The decrease of AOD tended to reduce aerosol radiative forcing,thereby destabilizing the planetary boundary layer(PBL).By comparison,the wintertime wind in the upper atmosphere exhibited a significant monotonic upward trend,albeit with varying magnitude for different altitudes.In the upper troposphere,the wintertime maximum wind was observed along a westerly jet stream,with a pronounced upward trend within the zone approximately bounded by latitudes of 25-50°N,particularly above 500 hPa.This accelerating wind observed in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere could be closely associated with the large planetary-scale meridional temperature trend gradient.Besides,the direction for the wind at the near-surface and lower troposphere(925 and 850 hPa)exhibited a larger variance over the period 1979-2021,which could be associated with the strong turbulence of PBL caused by the heterogeneous land surface.For those pressure levels higher than 850 hPa,large wind directional variance was merely found to the south of 25°N.The findings from long-term radiosonde measurements in winter over China shed light on the changes in wind speed on the ground and upper atmosphere under global warming from an observational perspective.

Observation and Simulation of Near-Surface Wind and Its Variation with Topography in Urumqi,West China

Near-surface wind measurements obtained with five 100-m meteorology towers, 39 regional automatic stations, and simulations by the Weather Research and Forecasting （WRF） model were used to investigate the spatial structure of topography-driven flows in the complex urban terrain of Urumqi, China. The results showed that the wind directions were mainly northerly and southerly within the reach of 100 m above ground in the southern suburbs, urban area, and northern suburbs, which were consistent with the form of the Urumqi gorge. Strong winds were observed in southern suburbs, whereas the winds in the urban, northern suburbs, and northern rural areas were weak. Static wind occurred more frequently in the urban and northern rural areas than in the southern suburbs. In the southern suburbs, wind speed was relatively high throughout the year and did not show significant seasonal variations. The average annual wind speed in this region varied among 1.9-5.5, 1.1-3.6, 1.2 4.3, 1.2 4.3, and 1.1 3.5 m s-1 within the reach of 100 m above ground at Yannanlijiao, Shuitashan, Liyushan, Hongguangshan, and Midong, respectively. The flow characteristics comprised more airflows around the mountain, where the convergence and divergence were dominated by the terrain in eastern and southwestern Urumqi. Further analysis showed that there was a significant mountain-valley wind in spring, summer, and autumn, which occurred more frequently in spring and summer for 10- 11 h in urban and northern suburbs. During daytime, there was a northerly valley wind, whereas at night there was a southerly mountain wind. The conversion time from the mountain wind to the valley wind was during 0800-1000 LST （Local Standard Time）, while the conversion from the valley wind to the mountain wind was during 1900- 2100 LST. The influence of the mountain-valley wind in Urumqi City was most obvious at 850 hPa, according to the WRF model.

Near-surface wind speed changes in eastern China during 1970-2019 winter and its possible causes

The changes in near-surface wind speed(NWS)have a crucial influence on the wind power industry,and previous studies have indicated that NWS on global and China has declined continuously for decades under global warming.However,recently,the decreasing trend of global NWS has slowed down and even showed a recovery trend.Using the observation data of 831 weather stations of the China Meteorological Administration and the Japanese 55-year reanalysis data from 1970 to 2019,NWS changes in eastern China were analyzed and the possible influencing factors were discussed.Results show that winter NWS presented a decreasing trend from−0.29 m s^(−1) per decade(p<0.001)in 1970-1989 to−0.05 m s^(−1) per decade(p<0.01)in 1990-2019.Moreover,NWS exhibited a significant upward trend of 0.18 m s^(−1) per decade(p<0.1)in 2011-2019,resulting in a 19.6%per decade recovery of the wind power generation.A possible cause is asymmetric changes of the sea level pressure and near-surface air temperature differences between the mid-high latitudes(40°-60°N,80°-120°E)and low latitudes(20°-40°N,110°-140°E)altered the horizontal air pressure gradient.Furthermore,NWS changes were closely associated with the large-scale ocean-atmosphere circulations(LOACs).NWS at 77.4%of the stations in eastern China shows significant correlation(p<0.05)with the East Asian winter monsoon index,besides,the inter/multidecadal variability of NWS was considerably correlated to four LOACs,including Arctic oscillation(AO),North Atlantic oscillation(NAO),Pacific decadal oscillation(PDO),and El Niño-Southern Oscillation(ENSO).The time-series reconstructed by a multiple linear regression model based on above five LOACs matches well with the NWS.Interannual variability of NWS were significantly correlated to AO(−0.45,p<0.01)and NAO(−0.28,p<0.05),while the correlation between NWS and ENSO was weak.

Terrestrial Near-Surface Wind Speed Variations in China:Research Progress and Prospects

Changes in terrestrial near-surface wind speed(NSWS)are indicative of the concentrated net effect of climate change and anthropogenic activities.Investigating change mechanisms of NSWS not only furthers the understanding of how the atmosphere changes and improves the climate analysis and projection,but also aids the evaluation and application of wind energy resources.Recent advances in studies of the changes and associated mechanisms of the NSWS over China are reviewed in this paper.Some new results have been achieved in understanding the behaviors of the NSWS changes.The NSWS over China has experienced a decrease in the past 40 years and a recovery in the recent decade,exhibiting large regional and seasonal differences.Understanding of the mechanisms of the NSWS changes has been improved in several aspects;for example,it is found that the reduced NSWS over China is due to the weakening of the pressure-gradient force(PGF)attributed to variations in large-scale ocean–atmosphere circulations(LOACs)as well as the increase of surface roughness due to the land use and cover change(LUCC).The main methods used to analyze the NSWS changes and corresponding mechanisms are also elucidated and discussed.However,studies are still lacking on the mechanisms for multi-timescale(seasonal,interannual,decadal,multidecadal)variations in the NSWS over China,and it remains unknown about the contributions of different forcing factors to the NSWS changes.Finally,key scientific issues regarding our understanding of the NSWS changes are proposed for future investigation.