Derivation of Cloud-Free-Region Atmospheric Motion Vectors from FY-2E Thermal Infrared Imagery

The operational cloud-motion tracking technique fails to retrieve atmospheric motion vectors （AMVs） in areas lacking cloud; and while water vapor shown in water vapor imagery can be used, the heights assigned to the retrieved AMVs are mostly in the upper troposphere. As the noise-equivalent temperature difference （NEdT） performance of FY-2E split win- dow （10.3-11.5 μm, 11.6-12.8 μm） channels has been improved, the weak signals representing the spatial texture of water vapor and aerosols in cloud-free areas can be strengthened with algorithms based on the difference principle, and applied in calculating AMVs in the lower troposphere. This paper is a preliminary summary for this purpose, in which the principles and algorithm schemes for the temporal difference, split window difference and second-order difference （SD） methods are introduced. Results from simulation and cases experiments are reported in order to verify and evaluate the methods, based on comparison among retrievals and the ＂truth＂. The results show that all three algorithms, though not perfect in some cases, generally work well. Moreover, the SD method appears to be the best in suppressing the surface temperature influence and clarifying the spatial texture of water vapor and aerosols. The accuracy with respect to NCEP 800 hPa reanalysis data was found to be acceptable, as compared with the accuracy of the cloud motion vectors.

Variational Principle of Instability of Atmospheric Motions

Problems of instability of rotating atmospheric motions are investigated by using nonlinear governing equations and the variational principle. The method suggested in this paper is universal for obtaining criteria of instability in all models with all possible basic flows. For example, the model can be barotropic or baroclinic, layer or continuous, quasi-geostrophic or primitive equations; the basic flow can be zonal or nonzonal, steady or unsteady.Although the basic flows possess a great deal of variety, they all are the stationary points in the functional space determined by an appropriate invariant functional. The basic flow is an unsteady one if the conservation of angular momentum is included in the associated functional.The second variation, linear or nonlinear, gives the criteria of instability. Especially, the general criteria of instability for unsteady basic flow, orographically disturbed flow as well as nongeostrophic flow are first obtained by the method described in this paper.It is also shown that the difference between the criteria of instability obtained by the linear theory and our variational principle clearly indicates the importance of using nonlinear governing equations.In the appendix the theory is extended to cases such as in a β-plane where the fluid does not possess finite total energy, hence the variational principle can not be directly applied. However, a generalized Liapbunoff norm can still be obtained on the basis of variational consideration.

Characteristics of Fengyun-4A Satellite Atmospheric Motion Vectors and Their Impacts on Data Assimilation

The high observation efficiency,scanning speed and observation frequency of the Fengyun-4A(FY-4A)satellite indicates the progress of Chinese geostationary meteorological satellites.The characteristics of FY-4A atmospheric motion vectors(AMVs)derived from the high-level water vapor(WV-High)channel,mid-level water vapor(WV-Mid)channel,and infrared(IR)channel of FY-4A are analyzed,and their corresponding observation errors estimated.Then,the impacts of single-channel and multi-channel FY-4A AMVs on RMAPS-ST(the Rapid-refresh Multi-scale Analysis and Prediction System-Short Term)are evaluated based on one-month data assimilation cycling and forecasting experiments.Results show that the observation errors of FY-4A AMVs from the three channels have an explicit vertical structure.Results from the cycling experiments indicate that the assimilation of AMVs from WV-High produces more apparent improvement of the wind in the upper layer,while a more positive effect in the lower layer is achieved by the assimilation of AMVs from IR.Furthermore,the assimilation of AMVs from IR is more skillful for medium and moderate precipitation than from other channels owing to the good quality of data in the lower layer in the AMVs from IR.Assimilation of FY-4A AMVs from the three channels could combine the advantages of assimilation from each individual channel to improve the wind in the upper,middle and lower layers simultaneously.

Comments on Zeng's Paper “Variational Principle of Instability of Atmospheric Motions”

After my paper (Zeng, 1986b) was published and another (Zeng, 1989) was submitted to the journal, I found two papers written by Arnold (1966) and McIntyre et al. (1987) and received some reprints of Ripa’s papers (1983; 1984; 1987; 1988) in the same field. I thank Drs. Mu Mu and Pedro Ripa very much for showing and sending me these interesting papers.

Analytical solution of basic equations set of atmospheric motion

On condition that the basic equations set of atmospheric motion possesses the best stability in the smooth function classes, the structure of solution space for local analytical solution is discussed, by which the third-class initial value problem with typ- icality and application is analyzed. The calculational method and concrete expressions of analytical solution about the well-posed initial value problem of the third-kind are given in the analytic function classes. Near an appointed point, the relevant theoretical and computational problems about analytical solution of initial value problem are solved completely in the meaning of local solution. Moreover, for other type ofproblems for determining solution, the computational method and process of their stable analytical solution can be obtained in a similar way given in this paper.

AN ATMOSPHERIC MOTION EQUATION BUILT ON THE CONSERVATIVE RELATIONSHIP OF THE ANGULAR MOMENTUM EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE SOLID EARTH AND THE ATMOSPHERE ON SEASONAL-ANNUAL TIMESCALE

Within the seasonal-annual timeseale,there exists an angular momentum conservative exchange relationship be- tween the solid earth and the atmosphere,and their angular momentum exchange not only can cause variations in length-of-day(LOD)but also can express anomalies in atmospheric general circulation.Therefore,their angular mo- mentum exchange mechanism should be introduced into the general circulation model. Considering the angular momentum anomalous exchange caused by the air-earth interface friction effect,a whole-layer atmospheric motion equation is derived in this paper including the earth spin anomalous friction force parameterized by using the change in the earth rotation rate.Through analysing the equation,it shows that the magni- tude of the earth spin anomalous friction force is the same as that of Coriolis force on seasonal-annual timescale.

Pre-Processing,Quality Assurance,and Use of Global Atmospheric Motion Vector Observations in CRA

Assimilation of atmospheric motion vectors(AMVs)is important in the initialization of the atmospheric state in numerical weather prediction models,especially over oceans and at high latitudes where conventional data are sparse.This paper presents a detailed description of the pre-processing,quality assurance,and use of global AMVs in China’s first generation of the 40-yr(1979-2018)CRA global atmospheric reanalysis product.A new AMV archive is integrated from near real-time operational Global Telecommunication System data and reprocessed AMV datasets released or produced mainly during 2014-2016 according to a priority principle.To avoid the misuse of data with systematic quality problems,the observations of all 18 types of AMVs from 54 satellites are pre-evaluated over the whole time series.The pre-evaluation system developed by the CRA team is based on the NCEP Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation(GSI)three-dimensional variational assimilation system and the ERA-Interim reanalysis product.The AMVs in the new AMV archive are denser than the AMVs prepared for the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis product,the bias and root-mean-square values are smaller,and the time series are steadier.The new AMV archive is assimilated in the CRA product based on the NCEP GSI assimilation procedure and quality control configuration with reference to the pre-evaluation results.This is the first time that the reprocessed AMVs from Fengyun-2 satellites from June 2005 to July 2017 are assimilated in a reanalysis product.The assimilation features inspire confidence in the accuracy and stability of these data.The mean root-mean-square values of the observation minus analysis infrared,water vapor,and visible AMV were 1.5-3.4,2.7-3.6,and 1.3-2.1 m s-1,respectively.This experience of integrating,pre-evaluating,and assimilating AMV observations is valuable for the next generation of reanalysis products.

Effects of Turbulent Dispersion of Atmospheric Balance Motions of Planetary Boundary Layer

New Reynolds' mean momentum equations including both turbulent viscosity and dispersion are used to analyze atmospheric balance motions of the planetary boundary layer. It is pointed out that turbulent dispersion with r 0 will increase depth of Ekman layer, reduce wind velocity in Ekman layer and produce a more satisfactory Ekman spiral lines fit the observed wind hodograph. The wind profile in the surface layer including tur-bulent dispersion is still logarithmic but the von Karman constant k is replaced by k1 = 1 -2/k, the wind increasesa little more rapidly with height.

Water Vapor Motion Signal Extraction from FY-2E Longwave Infrared Window Images for Cloud-free Regions:The Temporal Difference Technique

The aim of this study is to calculate the low-level atmospheric motion vectors （AMVs） in clear areas with FY-2E IR2 window （11.59-12.79 μm） channel imagery,where the traditional cloud motion wind technique fails.A new tracer selection procedure,which we call the temporal difference technique,is demonstrated in this paper.This technique makes it possible to infer low-level wind by tracking features in the moisture pattern that appear as brightness temperature （TB） differences between consecutive sequences of 30-min-interval FY-2E IR2 images over cloud-free regions.The TB difference corresponding to a 10％ change in water vapor density is computed with the Moderate Resolution Atmospheric Transmission （MODTRAN4） radiative transfer model.The total contribution from each of the 10 layers is analyzed under four typical atmospheric conditions：tropical,midlatitude summer,U.S.standard,and midlatitude winter.The peak level of the water vapor weighting function for the four typical atmospheres is assigned as a specific height to the TB ＂wind＂.This technique is valid over cloudfree ocean areas.The proposed algorithm exhibits encouraging statistical results in terms of vector difference （VD）,speed bias （BIAS）,mean vector difference （MVD）,standard deviation （SD）,and root-mean-square error （RMSE）,when compared with the wind field of NCEP reanalysis data and rawinsonde observations.

Stability for basic system of equations of atmospheric rhotion

The topological characteristics for the basic system of equations of atmospheric motion were analyzed with the help of method provided by stratification theory. It was proved that in the local rectangular coordinate system the basic system of equations of atmospheric motion is stable in infinitely differentiable function class. In the sense of local solution, the necessary and sufficient conditions by which the typical problem for determining solution is well posed were also given. Such problems as something about ＂speculating future from past＂ in atmospheric dynamics and how to amend the conditions for determining solution as well as the choice of underlying surface when involving the practical application were further discussed. It is also pointed out that under the usual conditions, three motion equations and continuity equation in the basic system of equations determine entirely the property of this system of equations.

CHAOTIC MOTION PRODUCED IN FREE CONVECTIVE AND INERTIAL MOTION OF ATMOSPHERE

In this paper a nonlinear model of convective and inertial motion of atmosphere with damping is studied with Melnikov's function method. The results show that in the atmospheric motion under periodic forcing chaos can occur independently whether the atmospheric motion is stable or not; and it is the key to produce chaos that the distribution of relevant physical quantity is nonlinear and periodically drives exists. The formulae calculating the parameter ranger in which chaos occur are given as well.

An Exact Solution for Two-Dimensional Frictionless Motion in the Atmosphere

A solution of the nonlinear problem for determining the wind velocity in frictionless atmosphere (the gradient wind) under given geopotential (pressure) field is proposed. The approach is analytical and is based on quadratic polynomial approximation of the geopotential field and linear approximation of the wind velocity field with respect to x and y, the coefficients of the expansions being functions of the time t. The derived system of ordinary nonlinear differential equations is analyzed as a dynamical system. Exact analytical solutions are found for some particular cases. Some of their properties bear a resemblance to those or really existing atmospheric vortices (cyclones and anticyclones).

The Phenomena of Bifurcation and Catastrophe of Large-Scale Horizontal Motion in the Atmosphere under the Effect of Rossby Parameter

The stability question of large-scale horizontal motion in the atmosphere under the effect of Rossby parameter is discussed in this paper by using the qualitative analysis theory of ordinary differential equations. The following aspects are reviewed: The stability of large-scale horizontal motion in the atmosphere accords with the common inertial stability criterion when the effect of Rossby parameter is not considered (Yang, 1983), and that, on the other hand, the motion will bifurcate two times with the variation of absolute vorticity of basic Zephyr flow at the initial position under the effect of Rossby parameter. Furthermore, in the inertial stable region, if the effect of geostrophic deviation at the initial position is considered, the motion will not only bifurcate but also generate a catastrophe.

Improved geophysical excitations constrained by polar motion observations and GRACE/SLR time-dependent gravity

At seasonal and intraseasonal time scales, polar motions are mainly excited by angular momentum fluctuations due to mass redistributions and relative motions in the atmosphere, oceans, and continental water, snow, and ice, which are usually provided by various global atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrological models（some with meteorological observations assimilated; e.g., NCEP, ECCO, ECMWF, OMCT and LSDM etc.）. Unfortunately, these model outputs are far from perfect and have notable discrepancies with respect to polar motion observations, due to non-uniform distributions of meteorological observatories,as well as theoretical approximations and non-global mass conservation in these models. In this study,the LDC（Least Difference Combination） method is adopted to obtain some improved atmospheric,oceanic, and hydrological/crospheric angular momentum（AAM, OAM and HAM/CAM, respectively）functions and excitation functions（termed as the LDCgsm solutions）. Various GRACE（Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment） and SLR（Satellite Laser Ranging） geopotential data are adopted to correct the non-global mass conservation problem, while polar motion data are used as general constraints. The LDCgsm solutions can reveal not only periodic fluctuations but also secular trends in AAM, OAM and HAM/CAM, and are in better agreement with polar motion observations, reducing the unexplained excitation to the level of about 5.5 mas（standard derivation value; about 1/5-1/4 of those corresponding to the original model outputs）.

Optimum path planning of mobile robot in unknown static and dynamic environments using Fuzzy-Wind Driven Optimization algorithm

This article introduces a singleton type-1 fuzzy logic system(T1-SFLS) controller and Fuzzy-WDO hybrid for the autonomous mobile robot navigation and collision avoidance in an unknown static and dynamic environment. The WDO(Wind Driven Optimization) algorithm is used to optimize and tune the input/output membership function parameters of the fuzzy controller. The WDO algorithm is working based on the atmospheric motion of infinitesimal small air parcels navigates over an N-dimensional search domain. The performance of this proposed technique has compared through many computer simulations and real-time experiments by using Khepera-Ⅲ mobile robot. As compared to the T1-SFLS controller the Fuzzy-WDO algorithm is found good agreement for mobile robot navigation.

A Tilt-correction Adaptive Optical System for the Solar Telescope of Nanjing University

A tilt-correction adaptive optical system installed on the 430 mm Solar Telescope of Nanjing University has been put in operation. It consists of a tip-tilt mirror, a correlation tracker and an imaging CCD camera. An absolute difference algorithm is used for detecting image motion in the correlation tracker. The sampling frequency of the system is 419 Hz. We give a description of the system's configuration, an analysis of its performance and a report of our observational results. A residual jitter of 0.14 arcsec has been achieved. The error rejection bandwidth of the system can be adjusted in the range 5-28 Hz according to the beacon size and the strength of atmospheric turbulence.

Line Broadening in a Limb Flare: Derivation of Macro-turbulent Velocity Fields

The line profiles of Ha in a limb flare on 1998 November 11 appear to be unusually broadened. It is considered that macro-turbulence (or macroscopic mass motions) may be one of the main causes. We use an inversion technique to extract the probability distribution of the line-of-sight velocity in the flare. There exist some differences between the velocity distributions deduced from Ha and from Ca II λ8542, which may be because the two lines depend differently on the temperature and velocity. Since the loop density is high, we obtain a rather short cooling time (several tens of seconds) from the hot X-ray loops to the cool loops visible in Ha. Possible origins of the large scale motions are discussed.

A Climatological Perspective on Extratropical Synoptic-Scale Transient Eddy Activity Response to Western Pacific Tropical Cyclones

An observational study focusing on the contribution of tropical cyclones(TCs)that form over the western North Pacific(WNP)to the synoptic-scale transient eddy activity(STEA)over the North Pacific during the boreal autumn and early winter in the period 1979–2019 is presented in this paper.Statistical results show that WNP TCs entering the midlatitudinal North Pacific provide significant positive effects on the pentad mean strength of STEA,which is primarily concentrated over the Kuroshio/Oyashio Extensions(KOE)and regions from east of Japan to 160°W in the lower and midto-upper troposphere,respectively.TC intensity is highly indicative of the subsequent STEA with a correlation coefficient of 0.37/0.33/0.45 at 300 hPa/500 hPa/850 hPa exceeding the 99%confidence level for the period 1979–2019.The strength of STEA in the upper troposphere associated with TCs presents a more significant linear growth with TC intensity than that at the mid-to-lower levels after the cyclones enter the KOE region,suggesting that the impact of TCs on STEA gradually increases with height.Further analyses reveal that the contribution of TCs accounts for 4%–6%of the total STEA change over the KOE region during the late autumn and early winter.In addition,the influence of TCs on STEA experienced an interdecadal decrease from the early 2000 s through the early 2010 s.

THE OSCILLATION OF CERTAIN ZONAL MEAN CHARACTERISTICS OF MOTION ON A SPHERIC EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE——PART 2:ANISOTROPIC QUASI-EDDY MOTION

This paper is an extension of the author's paper (Xie,1982) to the spherical earth.It is found that the simi- lar results are obtained under the assumption of isotropic distribution of horizontal kinetic energy along the zonal and meridional directions.It points out the limitation of the results already obtained and paves the path for the approach of anisotropie semi-eddy or quasi-eddy motion of the atmosphere.

Decadal Variability of Extreme Precipitation Days over Northwest China from 1963 to 2012

Daily precipitation data from 153 meteorological stations over Northwest China during summer from 1963 to 2012 were selected to analyze the spatiotemporal distribution of extreme summer precipitation frequency.The results show that the extreme precipitation frequency was regional dependent.Southern Gansu,northern Qinghai,and southern Shaanxi provinces exhibited a high extreme precipitation frequency and were prone to abrupt changes in the frequency.Northwest China was further divided into three sub-regions（northern,central,and southern） based on cluster analysis of the 50-yr extreme precipitation frequency series for each meteorological station.The extreme precipitation frequency changes were manifested in the northern region during the late 1970 s and in the central region from the end of the 1980 s to the 1990 s.The southern region fluctuated on a timescale of quasi-10 yr.This study also explored the mechanism of changes in extreme precipitation frequency.The results demonstrate that stratification stability,atmospheric water vapor content,and upward motion all affected the changes in extreme precipitation frequency.