Changes in snow cover extent in the Central Taurus Mountains from 1981 to 2021 in relation to temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric teleconnections

The snow cover over the Taurus Mountains affects water supply, agriculture, and hydropower generation in the region. In this study, we analyzed the monthly Snow Cover Extent(SCE) from November to April in the Central Taurus Mountains(Bolkar, Aladaglar, Tahtali and Binboga Mountains) from 1981 to 2021. Linear trends of snow cover season(November to April) over the last 41 years showed decreases in SCE primarily at lower elevations. The downward trend in SCE was found to be more pronounced and statistically significant for only November and March. SCE in the Central Taurus Mountains has declined about-6.3% per decade for 2500-3000 m in November and about-6.0% per decade for 1000-1500 m and 3000+ m in March over the last 41 years. The loss of SCE has become evident since the 2000s, and the lowest negative anomalies in SCE have been observed in 2014, 2001, and 2007 in the last 41 years, which are consistent with an increase in air temperature and decreased precipitation. SCE was correlated with both mean temperature and precipitation, with temperature having a greater relative importance at all elevated gradients. Results showed that there is a strong linear relationship between SCE and the mean air temperature(r =-0.80) and precipitation(r = 0.44) for all elevated gradients during the snow season. The Arctic Oscillation(AO), the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO), and the Mediterranean Oscillation(MO) winter indices were used to explain the year-to-year variability in SCE over the Central Taurus Mountains. The results showed that the inter-annual variability observed in the winter SCE on the Central Taurus Mountains was positively correlated with the phases of the winter AO, NAO and MO, especially below 2000 m elevation.

Artificial Precipitation Enhancement Weather System and the Operation Timing in Shenyang Area

By using the mathematical statistics and classification,the artificial precipitation enhancement cases in Shenyang area were analyzed.The results showed that the precipitation enhancement weather systems mainly included the northeast cold vortex,high-altitude trough,North China low-pressure,high-pressure rear and cold front cloud system.The appropriate height of precipitation enhancement was about 3 000-6 000 m in the middle and upper part of the cloud layer.The timing of precipitation enhancement should be in the radar's monitoring.The systems moved slowly or maintained stably in the developing or mature stages.The aircraft rainfall enhancement should be used in the stable and deep cloud layers.The rocket and antiaircraft gun rainfall enhancement should be used in the unstable move.

Study on the Artificial Snowfall Operation of Silver Iodide Ground Generator in Shijiazhuang City

The key of artificial precipitation(snowfall) operation with the silver iodide generator which was set on the windward slope of mountain was the selection of updraft time.The updraft related to the entering cloud efficiency of effective nucleus.By contrasting and analyzing two times artificial snowfall operations,the timing of artificial precipitation(snowfall) operation with the silver iodide ground generator was discussed.By using the synoptic chart,satellite cloud chart,radar,physical quantity calculation and so on,the operation timing was determined.

Analysis of the Maximum Consecutive Precipitation Variation in Liaoning Artificial Precipitation Test Area

According to the daily precipitation data in artificial precipitation season during May to September from 1961 to 2008 in Liaoning Province,the maximum consecutive precipitation in the artificial precipitation test area is studied based on the maximum consecutive precipitation from May to September in 48 years.The results shows that the period of maximum consecutive precipitation in each month is different,and the variance trends of maximum consecutive precipitation in May,July,August and September are decreasing,while the variance trend of maximum consecutive precipitation in June is increasing.

Analysis on the Contribution of Artificial Precipitation Enhancement Amount to Annual Water Resources in Liaoning

Based on the water resource balance,the correlation between both the Liaoning water resource and precipitation and total amount of water resource from 1991 to 2004 was analyzed by assuming Liaoning to be an enclosed region.And the calculation methods were developed to quantitatively determine the increase of rainfall due to artificial precipitation,and consequently ascertain the contribution of artificial rainfall amount to water resources.

The Summer Snow Cover Anomaly over the Tibetan Plateau and Its Association with Simultaneous Precipitation over the Mei-yu–Baiu region

The summer snow anomalies over the Tibetan Plateau （TP） and their effects on climate variability are often overlooked,possibly due to the fact that some datasets cannot properly capture summer snow cover over high terrain.The satellite-derived Equal-Area Scalable Earth grid （EASE-grid） dataset shows that snow still exists in summer in the western part and along the southem flank of the TP.Analysis demonstrates that the summer snow cover area proportion （SCAP） over the TP has a significant positive correlation with simultaneous precipitation over the mei-yu-baiu （MB） region on the interannual time scale.The close relationship between the summer SCAP and summer precipitation over the MB region could not be simply considered as a simultaneous response to the Silk Road pattern and the SST anomalies in the tropical Indian Ocean and tropical central-eastern Pacific.The SCAP anomaly has an independent effect and may directly modulate the land surface heating and,consequently,vertical motion over the western TP,and concurrently induce anomalous vertical motion over the North Indian Ocean via a meridional vertical circulation.Through a zonal vertical circulation over the tropics and a Kelvin wave-type response,anomalous vertical motion over the North Indian Ocean may result in an anomalous high over the western North Pacific and modulate the convective activity in the western Pacific warm pool,which stimulates the East Asia-Pacific （EAP） pattern and eventually affects summer precipitation over the MB region.

Persistence of Snow Cover Anomalies over the Tibetan Plateau and the Implications for Forecasting Summer Precipitation over the Meiyu-Baiu Region

The present reported study investigated the persistence of snow anomalies over the Tibetan Plateau(TP) from the preceding seasons to summer and the relationship between the previous snow cover anomaly and summer precipitation over East Asia. The results showed that, relative to other snow indices, such as the station observational snow depth(SOSD) index and the snow water equivalent(SWE) index, the snow cover area proportion(SCAP) index calculated from the SWE and the percentage of visible snow of the Equal-Area Scalable Earth Grids(EASE-grids) dataset has a higher persistence in interannual anomalies, particularly from May to summer. As such, the May SCAP index is significantly related to summer precipitation over the Meiyu-Baiu region. The persistence of the SCAP index can partly explain the season-delayed effect of snow cover over the TP on summer rainfall over the Meiyu-Baiu region besides the contribution of the soil moisture bridge. The preceding SST anomaly in the tropical Indian Ocean and ENSO can persist through the summer and affect the summer precipitation over the Meiyu-Baiu region. However, the May SCAP index is mostly independent of the simultaneous SSTs in the tropical Indian Ocean and the preceding ENSO and may affect the summer precipitation over the Meiyu-Baiu region independent of the effects of the SST anomalies. Therefore, the May SCAP over the TP could be regarded as an important supplementary factor in the forecasting of summer precipitation over the Meiyu-Baiu region.

Application of microbially induced carbonate precipitation to form biocemented artificial sandstone

It is difficult to collect and characterise well-preserved samples of weakly-cemented granular rocks as conventional sampling techniques often result in destruction of the cementation.An alternative approach is to prepare synthetic geomaterials to match required specifications.This paper introduces microbially induced carbonate precipitation(MICP)as a method to reliably deliver artificiallycemented specimens with customised properties,closely resembling those of soft carbonate sandstones.The specimens are generated from materials with two highly different particle size distributions(PSDs)to access a range of achievable combinations of strengths and porosities.The MICP parameters are kept constant across all samples to obtain similar calcium carbonate characteristics(size of individual crystals,type,etc.),while injected volume is varied to achieve different cementation levels.Although uniform cementation of very coarse sands has been considered very difficult to achieve,the results show that both the fine and coarse sand specimens present high degrees of uniformity and a good degree of repeatability.The unconfined compressive strengths(UCSs)(less than 3000 kPa)and porosities(0.25e0.4)of the artificial specimens fall in the same range of values reported for natural rocks.The strength gainwas greater in the fine sand than that in the coarse sand,as the void size in the latter was significantly larger compared to the calcium carbonate crystals’size,resulting in precipitation on less effective locations,away from contacts between particles.The strengths and porosities obtained for the two sands in this work fall within ranges reported in the literature for natural soft rocks,demonstrating theMICP technique is able to achieve realistic properties and may be used to produce a full range of properties by varying the grain sizes,and possibly the width of PSD.

Study on Potential and Countermeasures of Artificial Precipitation Enhancement in Fuxin Region

To exploit cloud water resources to increase precipitation on the ground effectively,according to the principles of artificial precipitation enhancement,based on historical data of weather and precipitation from Fuxin National Basic Meteorological Stations from 1981 to 2010,the distribution characteristics of cloud water resources,potential and countermeasures of artificial precipitation enhancement in Fuxin region of Liaoning Province were studied. The results show that the annual average quantity of cloud water resources in the air over Fuxin region over the past 30 years was 285. 6 × 10~8m^3,but the annual average precipitation was only 471.8 mm( amounting to 47.2 ×10~8m^3 of water resources),accounting for only16. 5% of total quantity of cloud water resources in the air; 12 times of artificial precipitation enhancement operation experiments were carried out by using the weather models and technical indicators suitable for artificial precipitation enhancement in Fuxin region,and the artificial precipitation efficiency was 18. 3% on average,5. 2% higher than before,and the annual average precipitation could increase by 2. 5 × 10~8m^3 approximately. All of these have great significance for implementing artificial precipitation enhancement operation scientifically and effectively,maximizing the exploitation of cloud water resources in the air,increasing total quantity of water resources,and mitigating drought in Fuxin region.

Characteristics of abrupt changes of snow cover and seasonal freeze-thaw layer in the Tibetan Plateau and their impacts on summer precipitation in China

In this paper, a variation series of snow cover and seasonal freeze-thaw layer from 1965 to 2004 on the Tibetan Plateau has been established by using the observation data from meteorological stations. The sliding T-test, M-K test and B-G algorithm are used to verify abrupt changes of snow cover and seasonal freeze-thaw layer in the Tibetan plateau. The results show that the snow cover has not undergone an abrupt change, but the seasonal freeze-thaw layer obviously witnessed a rapid degradation in 1987, with the frozen soil depth being reduced by about 15 cm. It is also found that when there ~s less snow in the plateau region, precipitation in South China and Southwest China increases. But when the frozen soil is deep, precipitation in most of China apparently decreases. Both snow cover and seasonal freeze-thaw layer on the plateau can be used to predict the summer precipitation in China. However, if the impacts of snow cover and seasonal freeze-thaw layer are used at the same time, the predictability of summer precipitation can be significantly improved. The significant correlation zone of snow is located in middle reaches of the Yangtze River covering the Hexi Corridor and northeastern Inner Mongolia, and the seasonal freeze-thaw layer exists in Mt. Nanling, northern Shannxi and northwestern part of North China. The significant correlation zone of simultaneous impacts of snow cover and seasonal freeze-thaw layer is larger than that of either snow cover or seasonal freeze-thaw layer. There are three significant correlation zones extending from north to south： the north zone spreads from Mr. Daxinganling to the Hexi Corridor, crossing northern Mt. Taihang and northern Shannxi; the central zone covers middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River; and the south zone extends from Mt. Wuyi to Yunnan and Guizhou Plateau through Mt. Nanling.

Retrieval Snow Depth by Artificial Neural Network Methodology from Integrated AMSR-E and In-situ Data——A Case Study in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

On the basis of artificial neural network (ANN) model, this paper presents an algorithm for inversing snow depth with use of AMSR-E (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System (EOS)) dataset, i.e., brightness temperature at 18.7 and 36.5GHz in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during the snow season of 2002-2003. In order to overcome the overfitting problem in ANN modeling, this methodology adopts a Bayesian regularization approach. The experiments are performed to compare the results obtained from the ANN-based algorithm with those obtained from other existing algorithms, i.e., Chang algorithm, spectral polarization difference (SPD) algorithm, and temperature gradient (TG) algorithm. The experimental results show that the presented algorithm has the highest accuracy in estimating snow depth. In addition, the effects of the noises in datasets on model fitting can be decreased due to adopting the Bayesian regularization approach.

Assessing the Impacts of Initial Snow Conditions over the Tibetan Plateau on China Precipitation Prediction Using a Global Climate Model

Two ensemble experiments were conducted using a general atmospheric circulation model. These experiments were used to investigate the impacts of initial snow anomalies over the Tibetan Plateau(TP) on China precipitation prediction. In one of the experiments, the initial snow conditions over the TP were climatological values; while in the other experiment, the initial snow anomalies were snow depth estimates derived from the passive microwave remote-sensing data. In the current study, the difference between these two experiments was assessed to evaluate the impact of initial snow anomalies over the TP on simulated precipitation. The results indicated that the model simulation for precipitation over eastern China had certain improvements while applying a more realistic initial snow anomaly, especially for spring precipitation over Northeast China and North China and for summer precipitation over North China and Southeast China. The results suggest that seasonal prediction could be enhanced by using more realistic initial snow conditions over TP, and microwave remote-sensing snow data could be used to initialize climate models and improve the simulation of eastern China precipitation during spring and summer. Further analyses showed that higher snow anomalies over TP cooled the surface, resulting in lower near- surface air temperature over the TP in spring and summer. The surface cooling over TP weakened the Asian summer monsoon and brought more precipitation in South China in spring and more precipitation to Southeast China during summer.

An Artificial Neural Network-Based Snow Cover Predictive Modeling in the Higher Himalayas

With trends indicating increase in temperature and decrease in winter precipitation, a significant negative trend in snow-covered areas has been identified in the last decade in the Himalayas. This requires a quantitative analysis of the snow cover in the higher Himalayas. In this study, a nonlinear autoregressive exogenous model, an artificial neural network （ANN）, was deployed to predict the snow cover in the Kaligandaki river basin for the next 30 years. Observed climatic data, and snow covered area was used to train and test the model that captures the gross features of snow under the current climate scenario. The range of the likely effects of climate change on seasonal snow was assessed in the Himalayas using downscaled temperature and precipitation change projection from - HadCM3, a global circulation model to project future climate scenario, under the AIB emission scenario, which describes a future world of very rapid economic growth with balance use between fossil and non-fossil energy sources. The results show that there is a reduction of 9% to 46% of snow cover in different elevation zones during the considered time period, i.e., 2Oll to 2040. The 4700 m to 52oo m elevation zone is the most affected area and the area higher than 5200 m is the least affected. Overall, however, it is clear from the analysis that seasonal snow in the Kaligandaki basin is likely to be subject to substantialchanges due to the impact of climate change.

Forecasting Monsoon Precipitation Using Artificial Neural Networks

This paper explores the application of Artificial Intelligent (AI) techniques for climate forecast. It presents a study on modelling the monsoon precipitation forecast by means of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). Using the historical data of the total amount of summer rainfall over the Delta Area of Yangtze River in China, three ANNs models have been developed to forecast the monsoon precipitation in the corresponding area one year, five-year, and ten-year forward respectively. Performances of the models have been validated using a 'new' data set that has not been exposed to the models during the processes of model development and test. The experiment results are promising, indicating that the proposed ANNs models have good quality in terms of the accuracy, stability and generalisation ability.

Simulation of the Ultrasonic Precipitation Process of Nano-hydroxyapatite by an Artificial Neural Network

The ultrasonic precipitation technique for preparing hydroxyapatite nanoparticles is a complex process that was strongly influenced by temperature, reaction time and ultrasonic power. The use of a modified artificial neural network （ANN） was proposed to model the non-linear relationship between ultrasonic precipitation parameters and the hydroxyapatite content. The improved model for processing dataset and selecting its topology was developed using the Levenberg-Marquardt training algorithm and was trained with comprehensive dataset of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles collected from experimental data. A basic repository on the domain knowledge of ultrasonic precipitation process for the preparation of hydroxyapatite is established via sufficient data mining by the network. With the help of the repository stored in the trained network, the influence of preparation temperature, preparation time and ultrasonic sonicating power on the hydroxyapatite content can be analyzed and predicted. The results show that the ANN system is effective and successful in analyzing the influence of ultrasonic precipitation parameters on the preparation of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles.

Distribution of winter-spring snow over the Tibetan Plateau and its relationship with summer precipitationin Yangtze River

The distribution of winter-spring snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau （TP） and its relationship with summer precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River Valley （MLYRV） during 2003-2013 have been investigated with the moderate-resolution imaging spectrometer （MODIS） Terra data （MOD10A2） and precipitation observations. Results show that snow cover percentage （SCP） remains approximately 20% in winter and spring then tails off to below 5% with warmer temperature and snow melt in summer. The lower and highest percentages present a declining tendency while the middle SCP exhibits an opposite variation. The maximum value appears from the middle of October to March and the minimum emerges from July to August. The annual and winter-spring SCPs present a decreasing tendency. Snow cover is mainly situated in the periphery of the plateau and mountainous regions, and less snow in the interior of the plateau, basin and valley areas in view of snow cover frequency （SCF） over the TP. Whatever annual or winter-spring snow cover, they all have remarkable declining tendency during 2003-2013, and annual snow cover presents a decreasing trend in the interior of the TP and increasing trend in the periphery of the TP. Hie multi-year averaged eight-day SCP is negatively related to mean precipitation in the MLYRV. Spring SCP is negatively related to summer precipitation while winter SCP is positively related to summer precipitation in most parts of the MLYRV. Hence, the influence of winter snow cover on precipitation is much more significant than that in spring on the basis of correlation analysis. The oscillation of SCF from southeast to northwest over the TP corresponds well to the beginning,development and cessation of the rain belt in eastern China.

Impacts of snow cover and frozen soil in the Tibetan Plateau on summer precipitation in China

This paper presents an analysis of the mechanisms and impacts of snow cover and frozen soil in the Tibetan Plateau on the sum- mer precipitation in China, using RegCM3 version 3.1 model simulations. Comparisons of simulations vs. observations show that RegCM3 well captures these impacts. Results indicate that in a more-snow year with deep frozen soil there will be more precipita- tion in the Yangtze River Basin and central Northwest China, western Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang, but less precipitation in Northeast China, North China, South China, and most of Southwest China. In a less-snow year with deep frozen soil, however, there will be more precipitation in Northeast China, North China, and southern South China, but less precipitation in the Yangtze River Basin and in northern South China. Such differences may be attributed to different combination patterns of melting snow and thawing frozen soil on the Plateau, which may change soil moisture as well as cause differences in energy absorption in the phase change processes of snow cover and frozen soil. These factors may produce more surface sensible heat in more-snow years when the fi＇ozen soil is deep than when the frozen soil is shallow. The higher surface sensible heat may lead to a stronger updraft over the Plateau, eventually contributing to a stronger South Asia High and West Pacific Subtropical High. Due to different values of the wind fields at 850 hPa, a convergence zone will form over the Yangtze River Basin, which may produce more summer pre- cipitation in the basin area but less precipitation in North China and South China. However, because soil moisture depends on ice content, in less-snow years with deep frozen soil, the soil moisture will be higher. The combination of higher frozen soil moisture with latent heat absorption in the phase change process may generate less surface sensible heat and consequently a weaker updraft motion over the Plateau. As a result, both the South Asia High and the West Pacific Subtropical High will be weaker, hence caus- ing more summer precipitation in northern China but less in southem China.

Shallow Discussion about the Application of L-band Sounding Seconds Data in the Artificial Precipitation

[Objective] The research aimed to discuss shallowly the application of L-band sounding seconds data in the artificial precipitation. [Method] The characteristics, getting manner and displaying method of L-band sounding seconds data were introduced briefly. Moreover, its application prospect in the artificial precipitation operation was analyzed initially. We aimed to improve its application rate in the artificial precipitation operation. [Result] L-band sounding seconds data had the great improvement in the time-space resolution and the space positioning accuracy aspects when compared with the previous sounding data, and the precision reached the second level. It could provide the high-precision data basis for the assimilation of artificial precipitation numerical model initial field, and improve the numerical model. Moreover, the sounding product could provide the accurate scientific basis for the selection of artificial precipitation operation tool, the determination of operation height and range, and guide the artificial precipitation operation, and improve the operation efficiency. [Conclusion] The research provided the analysis and reference basis for the command of artificial precipitation operation.

A Dipole Pattern of Summer Precipitation over Mid-high Latitude Asia and Related Snow Cover Anomalies in the Preceding Spring

A dipole pattern of summer precipitation over the mid-high latitudes of Asia, which is characterized by opposing summer precipitation variations between the Mongolian and Northeast China(MNC) region and the West Siberian Plain(WSP), is found to be clear and stable on both interdecadal and interannual scales during 1981–2011. Spring snow cover anomalies over a small region within the WSP and the Heilongjiang River(HR) region are closely related to the variation of this dipole mode during the subsequent summer, and they can therefore be considered as forecasting factors. Our statistical results imply a potential process explaining the relationship between the spring snow anomalies and the summer rainfall dipole. Corresponding to the snow anomalies, Rossby waves propagate along a path from the WSP region, via the Mongolian Plateau, to the Stanovoy Range during summer. At the same time, Rossby-wave energy divergences and convergences along this path maintain and reinforce an anomalous cyclone and anticyclone pairing over the Asian continent, which is significantly linked to opposite summer precipitation anomalies between the MNC and WSP regions. Numerical experiments are needed to further confirm the above conjecture and demonstrate the detailed physical mechanisms linking the spring snow cover anomalies and summer precipitation dipole.

Precipitation Cycles Relative to Storm Tracks, ENSO and PDO, and Drought—Continental Interior Central Western USA

Seventy-two years of central western United States precipitation data have been analyzed for storms originating 1000 to 3000 km away from four ocean moisture sources: Arctic, North Pacific, South Pacific, and Gulfs of California and Mexico. Precipitation trends were evaluated relative to precipitation phase, precipitation flux, storm track trajectory, and the sea surface temperature (SST) indices Oceanic Niño Index (ONI), and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO. The lack of correlation between SST indices with precipitation flux was evaluated. The relationships of meteorological, hydrological and snow droughts were evaluated relative to each other, to the climate change-induced temporal shifts in the timing of mountain snowpack decay, and the timing when North Pacific storm tracks shift from crossing to circumventing the Sierra Nevada Range.