Trends in Graded Precipitation in China from 1961 to 2000

Daily precipitation rates observed at 576 stations in China from 1961 to 2000 were classified into six grades of intensity, including trace （no amount）, slight （≤ 1 mm d^-1）, small, large, heavy, and very heavy. The last four grades together constitute the so called effective precipitation （〉 1 mm d^-1）. The spatial distribution and temporal trend of the graded precipitation days are examined. A decreasing trend in trace precipitation days is observed for the whole of China, except at several sites in the south of the middle section of the Yangtze River, while a decreasing trend in slight precipitation days only appears in eastern China. The decreasing trend and interannual variability of trace precipitation days is consistent with the warming trend and corresponding temperature variability in China for the same period, indicating a possible role played by increased surface air temperature in cloud formation processes. For the effective precipitation days, a decreasing trend is observed along the Yellow River valley and for the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and Southwest China, while an increasing trend is found for Xinjiang, the eastern Tibetan Plateau, Northeast China and Southeast China. The decreasing trend of effective precipitation days for the middle- lower Yellow River valley and the increasing trend for the lower Yangtze River valley are most likely linked to anomalous monsoon circulation in East China. The most important contributor to the trend in effective precipitation depends upon the region concerned.

A Comprehensive Observational Analysis for the Effects of Gas Cannons on Clouds and Precipitation

To analyze the effects of gas cannons on clouds and precipitation,multisource observational data,including those from National Centers for Environmental Prediction(NCEP)reanalysis,Hangzhou and Huzhou new-generation weather radars,laser disdrometer,ground-based automatic weather station,wind profiler radar,and Lin'an C-band dualpolarization radar,were adopted in this study.Based on the variational dual-Doppler wind retrieval method and the polarimetric variables obtained by the dual-polarization radar,we analyzed the microphysical processes and the variations in the macro-and microphysical quantities in clouds from the perspective of the synoptic background before precipitation enhancement,the polarization echo characteristics before,during and after enhancement,and the evolution of the fine three-dimensional kinematic structure and the microphysical structure.The results show that the precipitation enhancement operation promoted the development of radar echoes and prolonged their duration,and both the horizontal and vertical wind speeds increased.The dual-polarization radar echo showed that the diameter of the precipitation particles increased,and the concentration of raindrops increased after precipitation enhancement.The raindrops were lifted to a height corresponding to 0 to-20℃due to vertical updrafts.Based on the disdrometer data during precipitation enhancement,the concentration of small raindrops(lgN_(w))showed a significant increase,and the mass-weighted diameter D_(m)value decreased,indicating that the precipitation enhancement operation played a certain“lubricating”effect.After the precipitation enhancement,the concentration of raindrops did not change much compared with that during the enhancement process,while the Dm increased,corresponding to an increase in rain intensity.The results suggest the positive effect of gas cannons on precipitation enhancement.

Effects of Additional Elements on Microstructure and Precipitation Behaviour in Rapidly Solidified Al-Ti Base Alloys

Rapidly solidified Al-Ti base alloys were prepared by melt spinning at the cooling rate about 107 K/s. The melt-spun ribbons were used to observe the dricrostructures after heat treatment.In the supersaturated Al-Tl-Si alloy, age hardening occurred after 1 h anneal in the temperature range of 4000~500℃, which seems to be attributed to the precipitation of metastable Ll2- (Al,Si)3Ti phase. However. the microhardness was relatively low because of the low v/o and the insufflcient stability of precipitates. Thus. Cr was added to Al-Ti-Si alloys in order to stabilize the microstructures and to increase the v/o of precipitate5. As a result. the alIoys containing Cr were evaluated to possess the improved properties at the service temperature.

Spatiotemporal variations of evapotranspiration and reference crop water requirement over 1957-2016 in Iran based on CRU TS gridded dataset

Agriculture needs to produce more food to feed the growing population in the 21st century.It makes the reference crop water requirement(WREQ)a major challenge especially in regions with limited water and high water demand.Iran,with large climatic variability,is experiencing a serious water crisis due to limited water resources and inefficient agriculture.In order to overcome the issue of uneven distribution of weather stations,gridded Climatic Research Unit(CRU)data was applied to analyze the changes in potential evapotranspiration(PET),effective precipitation(EFFPRE)and WREQ.Validation of data using in situ observation showed an acceptable performance of CRU in Iran.Changes in PET,EFFPRE and WREQ were analyzed in two 30-a periods 1957-1986 and 1987-2016.Comparing two periods showed an increase in PET and WREQ in regions extended from the southwest to northeast and a decrease in the southeast,more significant in summer and spring.However,EFFPRE decreased in the southeast,northeast,and northwest,especially in winter and spring.Analysis of annual trends revealed an upward trend in PET(14.32 mm/decade)and WREQ(25.50 mm/decade),but a downward trend in EFFPRE(-11.8 mm/decade)over the second period.Changes in PET,EFFPRE and WREQ in winter have the impact on the annual trend.Among climate variables,WREQ showed a significant correlation(r=0.59)with minimum temperature.The increase in WREQ and decrease in EFFPRE would exacerbate the agricultural water crisis in Iran.With all changes in PET and WREQ,immediate actions are needed to address the challenges in agriculture and adapt to the changing climate.

Summer atmospheric boundary layer structure in the hinterland of Taklimakan Desert, China

Understanding the characteristics of the structure of desert atmospheric boundary layer and its land surface process is of great importance to the simulations of regional weather and climate. To investigate the atmospheric boundary layer structure and its forming mechanism of Taklimakan Desert, and to improve the accuracy and precision of regional weather and climate simulations, we carried out a GPS radiosonde observation experiment in the hinterland of Taklimakan Desert from 25 June to 3 July, 2015. Utilizing the densely observed sounding data, we analyzed the vertical structures of daytime convective boundary layer and nighttime stable boundary layer in summer over this region, and also discussed the impacts of sand-dust and precipitation events on the desert atmospheric boundary layer structure. In summer, the convective boundary layer in the hinterland of Taklimakan Desert developed profoundly and its maximum height could achieve 4,000 m; the stable boundary layer at nighttime was about 400-800-m thick and the residual mixing layer above it could achieve a thickness over 3,000 m. Sand-dust weather would damage the structures of nighttime stable boundary layer and daytime convective boundary layer, and the dust particle swarm can weak the solar radiation absorbed by the ground surface and further restrain the strong development of convective boundary layer in the daytime. Severe convective precipitation process can change the heat from the ground surface to the atmosphere in a very short time, and similarly can damage the structure of desert atmospheric boundary layer remarkably. Moreover, the height of atmospheric boundary layer was very low when raining. Our study verified the phenomenon that the atmospheric boundary layer with supernormal thickness exists over Taklimakan Desert in summer, which could provide a reference and scientific bases for the regional numerical models to better represent the desert atmospheric boundary layer structure.

Precipitation Effects on Temperature—A Case Study in China

To discover the mechanism of the continuous summer temperature decline in certain re-gions against significant global warming,456 national meteorological observational stations with long term of observed daily temperature and precipitation data were applied to analyze the relationship between precipitation and temperature.Results show that there is a significant negative correlation between precipitation and temperature,indicating that precipitation influences temperature signifi-cantly：the more the precipitation,the lower the temperature,and vice versa.The precipitation effect on temperature can reasonably interpret the typical summer temperature in Southwest China and can partly explain why global warming is more significant in winter than in summer and more significant in higher latitude areas than in lower latitude.

Sm-MnO_(x)catalysts for low-temperature selective catalytic reduction of NO_(x)with NH_(3):Effect of precipitation agent

A series of Sm-Mn mixed oxide catalysts were prepared via precipitation using various precipitants,namely Na_(2)CO_(3)(NH_(4))_(2)CO_(3),and NH_(3)·H_(2)O,and evaluated for the selective catalytic reduction(SCR)of NO_(x)with NH_(3)at low temperatures.Various characterisation techniques were used to determine the physicochemical properties of the catalysts,and it is found that their catalytic performance is greatly influenced by the nature of the precipitation agent used.It is found that Sm_(0.1)Mn-Na_(2)CO_(3)and Sm_(0.1)Mn-(NH_(4))_(2)CO_(3)exhibit superior catalytic performance in the SCR reaction to that of Sm_(0.1)Mn-NH_(3)·H_(2)O due to an abundance of surface acid sites,high surface concentration of Mn^(4+),and high NO oxidation capacity.From in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy(DRIFT)analysis,we conclude that the Sm-Mn catalysts follow both Eley-Rideal and Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanisms,and that the Eley-Rideal mechanism is dominant at elevated temperatures.

Modeling radiative effects of haze on summer-time convective precipitation over North China： a case study

The impact of haze radiative effect on summertime 24-h convective precipitation over North China was investigated using WRF model （version 3.3） through model sensitivity studies between scenarios with and without aerosol radiative effects. The haze radiative effect was represented by incorporating an idealized aerosol optical profile, with AOD values around 1, derived from the aircraft measurement into the WRF shortwave scheme. We found that the shortwave heating induced by aerosol radiative effects would significantly reduce heavy rainfalls, although its effect on the post-frontal localized thunderstorm precipitation was more diverse. To capture the key factors that determine whether precipitation is enhanced or suppressed, model grids with 24-h precipitation difference between the ：two scenarios exceeding certain threshold （〉30 mm or〈 -30 mm） were separated into two sets. Analyses of key meteorological variables between the enhanced and suppressed regimes suggested that atmospheric convection was the most important factor that determined whether precipitation was enhanced or suppressed during summertime over North China. The convection was stronger over places with precipitation enhancement over 30 mm. Haze weakened the convection over places with precipitation suppression exceeding 30 mm and caused less water vapor to rise to a higher level and thus further suppressed precipitation. The suppression of precipitation was often accompanied with relatively high convective available potential energy （CAPE）, relative humidity （RH） and updraft velocities.

Suppressing Effect of Heat Treatment on the Portevin–Le Chatelier Phenomenon of Mg–4%Li–6%Zn–1.2%Y Alloy

Microstructural evolution and Portevin-Le Chatelier（PLC） phenomenon of the as-extruded Mg-4%Li-6%Zn-1.2%Y alloy before and after heat treatment have been investigated.It has been demonstrated that for the as-extruded and solid solution treated（T4） samples,the PLC phenomenon could be obviously observed on tensile stress-strain curves.Moreover,the PLC phenomenon in T4 samples was more salient than that in the as-extruded condition,suggesting that the occurrence of PLC phenomenon was closely related to the super-saturation degree of solute atoms in the matrix.Since most of solute atoms were consumed for the formation of Mg Zn precipitates（β1′ and a little of β2′） during the subsequent ageing treatment（T6）,the PLC phenomenon of T6 samples was eliminated.Meanwhile,due to the pinning effect of the formed Mg Zn precipitates on mobile dislocations,the tensile strength of T6 samples was relatively higher than those of the other two conditions.

Shape Memory Behavior of [111]-Oriented NiTi Single Crystals After Stress-Assisted Aging

The shape memory behavior of [111]-oriented Ni_（51）Ti_（49） （at.%） single crystals was investigated after stressassisted aging at 500 °C for 1.5 h under a compressive stress of-150 MPa.It was found that a single family of Ni_4Ti_3 precipitates with two crystallographically equivalent variants was formed after aging under compressive stress.Stressassisted aging resulted in tensile two-way shape memory effect strain of 1.56% under-5 MPa.Thermal cycling under-600 MPa resulted in a transformation strain of-2.15%,while the subsequent thermal cycling under-5 MPa resulted in a tensile two-way shape memory effect strain of 2.2%.

Effect of Niobium on Dynamic Recrystallization Behavior of 5%Ni Steel

The single-pass hot compressions of two 5%Ni steels with and without niobium addition at different temperatures of 800-1 150℃and strain rates of 0.01-1s-1 were performed by using a Gleeble-3500 thermal simulator and the effect of niobium on the dynamic recrystallization （ DRX ） behavior was analyzed.The results showed that the niobium addition of 0.04% can retard DRX in 5%Ni steel significantly by increasing the activation energy for DRX from 394 to 462kJ / mol.The critical strain required for starting DRX in 5%Ni steel was increased by 0.04-0.10 with niobium addition when the steel was deformed at a strain rate of 0.01s-1 and temperatures varied from 950 to 1 000℃.The critical temperature required for starting DRX in 5%Ni steel was also increased from 1 000 to 1 050℃ with niobium addition when the steel was deformed at a strain rate of 0.1s-1 .Such a retarded DRX occurring in Nb-added 5%Ni steel can be attributed to the pinning effect of precipitates containing niobium.