Chemical characteristics of precipitation and the indicative significance for sand dust events in the northern and southern slopes of Wushaoling Mountain, northwestern China

Precipitation chemistry analysis is essential to evaluate the atmospheric environmental quality and identify the sources of atmospheric pollutants. In this study, we collected a total of 480 precipitation samples at 6 sampling sites in the northern and southern slopes of Wushaoling Mountain from May 2013 to July 2014 to analyze the chemical characteristics of precipitation and to identify the main sources of ions in precipitation. Furthermore, we also explored the indicative significance for sand dust events in the northern and southern slopes of Wushaoling Mountain based on the precipitation chemistry analysis.During the sampling period（from May 2013 to July 2014）, the p H values, EC（electrical conductivity）values and concentrations of cations（Ca^（2＋）, Mg^（2＋）, Na~＋, K~＋ and NH_4~＋） and anions（SO_4^（2–）, NO_3~–, Cl~–, NO_2~– and F~–） in precipitation were different in the northern and southern slopes at daily and seasonal time scales, with most of the values being higher in the northern slope than in the southern slope. The chemical type of precipitation in the southern and northern slopes was the same, i.e.,SO_4^（2–）-Ca^（2＋）-NO_3~–-Na~＋. The concentrations of ions in precipitation were mainly controlled by terrigenous material and anthropogenic activities（with an exception of Cl~–）. The concentration of Cl~– in precipitation was mainly controlled by the sea salt fraction. The concentrations of Na＋ and Cl~– showed an increasing trend after the occurrence of sand dust events both in the northern and southern slopes. In addition, after the occurrence of sand dust events, the concentrations of K~＋, Mg^（2＋）, SO_4^（2–）, NO_3~– and Ca^（2＋） showed an increasing trend in the southern slope and a decreasing trend in the northern slope. It is our hope that the results may be helpful to further understand the atmospheric pollution caused by sand dust events in the Wushaoling Mountain and can also provide a scientific basis for the effective prevention of atmospheric pollution.

Analysis on Changes of Basic Climatic Elements and Extreme Events in Xinjiang, China during 1961-2010

By using the observation data from 89 weather stations in Xinjiang during 1961-2010, this paper analyzed the basic climatic elements including temperature, precipitation, wind speed, sunshine duration, water vapor pressure, and dust storm in the entire Xinjiang and the subareas: North Xinjiang, Tianshan Mountains, and South Xinjiang. The results indicate that from 1961 to 2010 the annual and seasonal mean temperatures in the entire Xinjiang show an increasing trend with the increasing rate rising from south to north. The increasing rate of annual mean minimum temperature is over twice more than that of the annual mean maximum temperature, contributing much to the increase in the annual averages. The magnitude of the decrease rate of low-temperature days is larger than the increase rate of high-temperature days. The increase of warm days and warm nights and the decrease of cold days and cold nights further reveal that the temperature increasing in Xinjiang is higher. In addition, annual and seasonal rainfalls have been increasing. South Xinjiang experiences higher increase in rainfall amounts than North Xinjiang and Tianshan Mountains. Annual rainy days, longest consecutive rainy days, the daily maximum precipitation and extreme precipitation events, annual torrential rain days and amount, annual blizzard days and amount, all show an increasing trend, corresponding to the increasing in annual mean water vapor pressure. This result shows that the humidity has increased with temperature increasing in the past 50 years. The decrease in annual mean wind speed and gale days lessen the impact of dust storm, sandstorm, and floating dust events. The increase in annual rainy days is the cause of the decrease in annual sunshine duration, while the increase in spring sunshine duration corresponds with the decrease in dust weather. Therefore, the increase in precipitation indicators, the decrease in gales and dust weather, and the increasing in sunshine duration in spring will be beneficial to crops growth.

Comparison of summer chlorophyll a concentration in the South China Sea and the Arabian Sea using remote sensing data

The South China Sea（SCS） and the Arabian Sea（AS） are both located roughly in the north tropical zone with a range of similar latitude（0°–24°N）. Monsoon winds play similar roles in the upper oceanic circulations of the both seas. But the distinct patterns of chlorophyll a（Chl a） concentration are observed between the SCS and the AS.The Chl a concentration in the SCS is generally lower than that in the AS in summer（June–August）; the summer Chl a concentration in the AS shows stronger interannual variation, compared with that in the SCS; Moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer（MODIS）-derived data present higher atmospheric aerosol deposition and stronger wind speed in the AS. And it has also been found that good correlations exist between the index of the dust precipitation indicated by aerosol optical thickness（AOT） and the Chl a concentration, or between wind and Chl a concentration. These imply that the wind and the dust precipitation bring more nutrients into the AS from the sky, the sub-layer or coast regions, inducing higher Chl a concentration. The results indicate that the wind velocity and the dust precipitation can play important roles in the Chl a concentration for the AS and the SCS in summer. However aerosol impact is weak on the biological productivity in the west SCS and wind-induced upwelling is the main source.

Simulation of the direct effects of dust aerosol on climate in East Asia

The results from some general circulation models show distinct radiative forcing （RF） by dust aerosol, which potentially has an effect on climate change. The direct RF and regional climatic effects of dust aerosol over the East Asian region are investigated in this study using NCAR＇s Community Atmospheric Model version 3.1. The negative RF at the top of the atmosphere （TOA） and the surface （SRF） has been revealed except for some high-albedo regions, which leads to a decrease in the surface air temperature and brings an increase of atmospheric radiative heating under both clear- and all-sky conditions. The decrease in the surface air temperature can be found over a wide region that includes the Indian peninsula and northwest China. It accompanies an increase in eastern China and the Korean peninsula, and temperature changes are not limited to regions with a large dust optical depth. A belt of vapor increase is revealed from the Indian peninsula extending east to northern China, while vapor content evidently deceases in southwest China. An increase in precipitation can also be found in the belt of increased vapor accompanying the reduction of precipitation across the regions to the south of 30~N. The pattern of rainfall change helps to offset the trend of increasing wetness in the south and increasing dryness in the north of China in recent years.