Ionospheric Currents in the Equatorial and Low Latitudes of Africa

The magnetometer data obtained for 2008 from geomagnetic stations installed across Africa by magnetic data acquisition set (MAGDAS) have been used to study the ionospheric Sq current system in the equatorial and low-latitudes of Africa. The aim of this work is to separate the quiet-day field variations obtained in the equatorial and low latitude regions of Africa into their external and internal field contributions and then to use the paired external and internal coefficients of the SHA to determine the source current and induced currents. The method used involved a spherical harmonic analysis (SHA). This was applied in the separation of the internal and external field/current contribution to the Sq variations. The result shows that the variation in the currents is seen to be a dawn-to-dusk phenomenon with the variation in the external currents different from that of the internal currents both in amplitude and in phase. Furthermore, the seasonal variation in the external current maximizes during the March equinox and minimizes during the December solstice. The maximum current observed in AAB and ILR is due to the Equatorial Electrojet Current present in the AAB and ILR stations. Seasonal variation was observed in the geomagnetic component variations as well as in the currents. This is attributed to the position of the sun with respect to the earth at different months of the year. The equinoctial maximum is observed in external current intensity which occurred mostly during the March Equinox.

Preface to the Special Issue on Changing Arctic Climate and Low/Mid-latitudes Connections

The Arctic climate system has changed rapidly during recent decades with a two-four times faster warming rate than the global average subject to the uncertainties of analysis datasets and approaches.These changes have apparently resulted in broader and sizeable impacts within the Arctic,in the low/mid-latitudes,and globally.The importance of these changes and impacts makes the Arctic stand out within the global climate systems,drawing great attention and interests from the climate research community,the general public,and the government sector.One of the persistent,leading-edge topics in climate stud-ies during recent decades has therefore been to improve understanding of the underlying driving mechanisms,evaluate socioe-conomic and ecological impacts,and enhance the ability of the prediction and projections of Arctic climate changes.

Pathways of Influence of the Northern Hemisphere Mid–high Latitudes on East Asian Climate: A Review

This paper reviews recent progress made by Chinese scientists on the pathways of influence of the Northern Hemisphere mid-high latitudes on East Asian climate within the framework of a“coupled oceanic-atmospheric(land-atmospheric or seaice-atmospheric)bridge”and“chain coupled bridge”.Four major categories of pathways are concentrated upon,as follows:Pathway A—from North Atlantic to East Asia;Pathway B—from the North Pacific to East Asia;Pathway C—from the Arctic to East Asia;and Pathway D—the synergistic effects of the mid-high latitudes and tropics.In addition,definitions of the terms“combined effect”,“synergistic effect”and“antagonistic effect”of two or more factors of influence or processes and their criteria are introduced,so as to objectively investigate those effects in future research.

Comparison of TEC prediction methods in mid-latitudes with GIM maps

There are many long-term and short-term prediction methods of Total Electron Content(TEC) that need to be tested for each specific region. Recently, much attention has been paid to testing TEC models in high-, low-latitude and equatorial regions. This paper compares the TEC prediction methods in the midlatitude zone according to the data of the Juliusruh, Rostov, Manzhouli stations in 2008 and 2015. For a long-term prediction, the IRI-Plas and Ne Quick models are compared with the Global Ionospheric Maps(GIM) presented by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL) and the Technical University of Catalonia(UPC).For a short-term prediction, the Standard Persistence Model(SPM) method, a 27 day median model, and the proposed short-term prediction method are compared for one day ahead. It is shown that for all stations the IRI-Plas model provides better compliance with GIM maps than the Ne Quick model irrespective of a solar activity level. An average absolute error lays in the range of 3 e3.5 TECU, relative root square mean(RMS) error in the range of 22 e27% in 2015 and 1.7 e2 TECU, 20 e25% in 2008. For the Ne Quick model, these estimates were 6.7 e8.2 TECU and 42 e45% in 2015 and 2.2 e3.6 TECU, 30 e37% in2008. For the short-term forecast, the best results were obtained by the SPM method with an average absolute error in the range of 1.95 e2.15 TECU in 2015 and 0.59 e0.98 TECU in 2008, a relative RMS error in the range of 17 e21% in 2015, 11.5 e15% in 2008. For the proposed short-term prediction method, these errors were 2.04 e2.2 TECU and 12 e14% in 2015 and 0.7 e1.0 TECU, 7 e11% in 2008. Using medians, the errors were 3.1 e3.4 TECU and 17 e21% in 2015 and 1.0 e1.3 TECU, 10 e15% in 2008. The dependence of results on the Dst-index was obtained.

An Interdecadal Change of Summer Atmospheric Circulation over Asian Mid-High Latitudes and Associated Effects

The atmospheric circulation over the mid-high latitudes in Asia has an important influence on regional climate,yet its long-term variation has not been fully explored.The main task of this study is to reveal the interdecadal variation features of summer atmospheric circulation over Asian mid-high latitudes in recent decades.The results show that the atmospheric circulation over mid-high latitudes of Asia has stronger interdecadal fluctuations than that over low latitudes and one significant change center appears near Lake Baikal.It is found that the atmospheric circulation near Lake Baikal has a significant interdecadal change around 1996 and a deep anomalous anticyclonic circulation has been controlling this region since then,which contributes to the significant increase in the surface temperature near Lake Baikal since 1997 and makes the region a remarkable warming center in Asia in recent 40 years.During 1997-2015,the pattern of less precipitation in the north and more precipitation in the south of east China is closely related to the anomalous anticyclonic circulation near Lake Baikal.Especially,this anomalous circulation near Lake Baikal has been found to contribute to the obvious interdecadal decrease of the precipitation in northeast China and north China near1997.The sea surface temperature(SST)of northwestern Atlantic is an important influence factor to the interdecadal change in the atmospheric circulation near Lake Baikal around 1996.

Climate anomalies in the southern high latitudes associated with the Subtropical Dipole Mode

Climate anomalies in the southern high latitude associated with the Subtropical Dipole Mode (SDM) are investigated using a 23-year database consisting of SLP (sea level pressure), surface air temperature (SAT) and sea surface temperature (SST). The analysis depicts, for the first time, the spatial variability in the relationship of the above variables with the Subtropical Dipole Mode Index (SDI). It suggests that the SDM signal exists in the southern high latitudes and the correlation fields exhibit a wavenumber-3 pattern around the circumpolar Southern Ocean. Lead-lag correlation analysis used to the SLP, SAT, and SST anomalies with the SDI time series at the positive and negative correlation extremes shows that the southern-high-latitude climate responses to SDM almost instantaneously proposing the connection is by atmospheric and not by oceanic propagation.

Studies on durable resistance of rice to blast in different latitudes

It has been an important problem on resistantbreeding that cultivar’s resistance of rice toblast disease caused by Magnaporthe grisea(Hebert)Barr.is easily broken down.In orderto find out resources with durable resistance toblast,the study was carried out during 1990--

Propagation characteristics of the Pc3 frequency range pulsations in the cusp latitudes

Two induction magnetometers have been installed at Zhongshan Station and Davis Station, Antarctica respectively. We adopt with cross-spectral analysis technique to analyze the data of the two induction magnetometers, in June, September,December 1996 and March 1997. to investigate the Pc3 frequency range pulsation occurrence and propagation characteristics in the cusp latitudes. The results are summarized as following:At Zhongshan-Davis Stations, the Pc3 frequency range pulsations occur mainly around the local noon/ local magnetic noon and local magnetic midnight respectively. In daytime, the pulsations have a seasonal variation in amplitude, occurrence and temporal range, all of them are sma1lest in winter. But in nighttime, the pulsations have no such a variation. The pu1sation amplitude in nighttime is much larger than the one in daytime all oveI the year. The pulsation propagating direction is mainly western in daytime and irregularly in nighttime. It can be thought that the different sources of the pulsation and the ionospheric electric conductivity are mainly responsible for these characteristics.

A New Perspective of the Physical Processes Associated with the Clear-Sky Greenhouse Effect over High Latitudes

The physical processes associated with the clear-sky greenhouse effect in the presence of water vapor are examined by including surface emissivity in the greenhouse effect formulation, and by introducing a new way to partition physical processes of the greenhouse effect. In this new framework, it is found that the clear-sky greenhouse effect is governed by three physical processes associated with (1) the temperature contrast between the surface and the atmosphere, (2) the interaction between the surface emissivity and the temperature contrast, and (3) the surface emissivity. The importance of the three physical processes is assessed by computing their vertical and spectral variations far the subarctic winter and summer standard atmosphere using the radiation model MODTRAN3 (Moderate Resolution Transmittance code Version 3). The results show that the process associated with the temperature contrast between the surface and the atmosphere dominates over the other two processes in magnitude. The magnitude of this process has substantial variations in the spectral region of 1250 to 1880 cm-1 and in the far infrared region. Due to the low-level temperature inversion over the subarctic winter, there exists a negative contribution to the greenhouse trapping. The seasonal variations are, however, dominated by the processes associated with the interaction between the surface emissivity and the temperature contrast as well as the surface emissivity itself. The magnitudes of these two physical processes contributing to the greenhouse trapping over the subarctic winter are about 7 to 10 times of those over the subarctic summer, whereas the magnitude of the processes associated with the temperature contrast in the subarctic summer is only about 2 times of that in the subarctic winter.

BEHAVIOR OF THE LOWER IONOSPHERE AT MIDDLE AND LOWER LATITUDES DURING THE SOLAR EVENTS OF MARCH, 1989

Introduction The D-region effects of ionosphere during the solar event have been mostextensively studied by observing the changes in characteristics of the VLF and LFpropogation, which provides a sensitive indicater or solar flares. It has been foundthat there is a close correlation between the "Sudden phase anomaly" (SPA) of VLF

Projected changes in Köppen-Trewartha climate zones under 1.5-4℃global warming targets over mid-high latitudes of Northern Asia using an ensemble of RegCM4 simulations

Mid-high latitude Northern Asia is one of the most vulnerable and sensitive areas to global warming,but relatively less studied previously.We used an ensemble of a regional climate model(RegCM4)projections to assess future changes in surface air temperature,precipitation and Köppen-Trewartha(K-T)climate types in Northern Asia under the 1.5-4℃global warming targets.RegCM4 is driven by five CMIP5 global models over an East Asia domain at a grid spacing of 25 km.Validation of the present day(1986-2005)simulations shows that the ensembles of RegCM4(ensR)and driving GCMs(ensG)reproduce the major characters of the observed temperature,precipitation and K-T climate zones reasonably well.Greater and more realistic spatial detail is found in RegCM4 compared to the driving GCMs.A general warming and overall increases in precipitation are projected over the region,with these changes being more pronounced at higher warming levels.The projected warming by ensR shows different spatial patterns,and is in general lower,compared to ensG in most months of the year,while the percentage increases of precipitation are maximum during the cold months.The future changes in K-T climate zones are characterized by a substantial expansion of Dc(temperature oceanic)and retreat of Ec(sub-arctic continental)over the region,reaching∼20%under the 4℃warming level.The most notable change in climate types in ensR is found over Japan(∼60%),followed by Southern Siberia,Mongolia,and the Korean Peninsula(∼40%).The largest change in the K-T climate types is found when increasing from 2 to 3℃.The results will help to better assess the impacts of climate change and in implementation of appropriate adaptation measures over the region.

Evidence of wintertime CO_2 emission from snow-covered grounds in high latitudes

In order to measure CO2 flux in wintertime arctic ecosystems, CO2 gas was sampled from various snow-covered grounds by using a closed chamber method during the First China Arctic Scientific Expedition from March to May in 1995. The CO2 gas samples were measured by using an infra-red analyzer （IRGA）. The results showed that （ⅰ） CO2 emission was detected from all kinds of the snow-covered grounds, which provides direct evidence that the arctic tundra is functioning as a source of atmospheric CO2; （ⅱ） CO2 release was also detected from the permanent ice profile and icecap, and （ⅲ） CO2 evolution from terrestrial ecosystems in higher latitudes increased with an increase of surface temperature in accordance with the exponential function. This indicates a close coincidence with that under normal temperature conditions, and provides a useful method for predicting change in CO2 flux in the arctic ecosystems with the global climate change.

INFLUENCE OF THE BASIC FLOW IN THE TROPICS ON THE STATIONARY PLANETARY WAVES AT MIDDLE AND HIGH LATITUDES DURING THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WINTER

The relationship between the quasi-stationary planetary waves forced by topography and heat source during the Northern Hemisphere winter is investigated by means of a quasi-geostrophic,34-level,spherical coordinate model with the Rayleigh friction,the Newtonian cooling and the horizontal eddy thermal diffu- sion. The calculated results show that when the basic flow is the westerly in the tropical stratosphere,the amplitude of quasi-stationary planetary wave for zonal wavenumber 2 at middle and high latitudes is larger during the Northern Hemispheric winter;while when the basic flow is the easterly,it is smaller.This is in agreement with the observed results. The calculated results also show that influence of the basic flow in the tropical troposphere on the quasi- stationary planetary waves is larger than that of the basic flow in the tropical stratosphere on the quasi- stationary planetary waves.

A Long-Time-Step-Permitting Tracer Transport Model on the Regular Latitude–Longitude Grid

If an explicit time scheme is used in a numerical model, the size of the integration time step is typically limited by the spatial resolution. This study develops a regular latitude–longitude grid-based global three-dimensional tracer transport model that is computationally stable at large time-step sizes. The tracer model employs a finite-volume flux-form semiLagrangian transport scheme in the horizontal and an adaptively implicit algorithm in the vertical. The horizontal and vertical solvers are coupled via a straightforward operator-splitting technique. Both the finite-volume scheme's onedimensional slope-limiter and the adaptively implicit vertical solver's first-order upwind scheme enforce monotonicity. The tracer model permits a large time-step size and is inherently conservative and monotonic. Idealized advection test cases demonstrate that the three-dimensional transport model performs very well in terms of accuracy, stability, and efficiency. It is possible to use this robust transport model in a global atmospheric dynamical core.

EFFECT OF PLANETARY AND SYNOPTIC SCALE WAVES IN MAINTAINING MERIDIONAL CIRCULATIONS AT MID AND LOW LATITUDES

Following Wu and Chen(1989), in terms of the elliptical differential equation with mean meridional stream function, an equation similar in form to that developed by Kuo (1956) and by use of time average statistics of atmospheric circulation in wavenumber domains at the same intervals of time, a study is made of the con- tribution of the internal forcing of the atmosphere in two space scales to mean meridional circulation. Re- sults show that planetary waves have considerable influence on the intensity of the upper center of the bi- Hadley cell, and, in contrast, synoptic-scale waves exert vital effect on the Ferrel cell, and that in the Northern Hamisphere(NH)such internal forcings by planetary- and synoptic-scale waves are comparable on mean merid- ional circulations whereas the latter contribute far more than the former in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). Further, in the northern winter (summer)the contribution of heat (angular momentum) transport of planetary waves allows the descending (ascending) branch to occur as far as around 40°N, some kind of effect that makes quite important contribution to the winter (summer) monsoon circulation in eastern Asia.

A comparative analysis of changes in the phasing of temperature and satellite-derived greenness at northern latitudes

Plant growth at northern latitudes is highly responsive to the climatic changes that have occurred over recent decades. However, the sensitivity of the phasing of the seasonal cycle of terrestrial ecosystems to a changing environment remains less widely understood. We present an investigation and comparative study of large-scale changes in seasonal cy- cling of both land surface temperature and plant growth. Our results have shown trends in- dicating a marked increased towards overall plant productivity by -3% from 1982 to 2005, reduced trends in seasonal variation at low-mid latitudes by ~2%, increased trends in sea- sonal variations at mid-high latitudes by ~7%, and an earlier phase in northern terrestrial ecosystems （~1.1 days） in parallel with changes in the phasing of surface temperatures at northern latitudes over the 24 years in this study. These shifts in annual cycles of terrestrial vegetation appear to have a distinct geographical zonality and are dependent upon latitudinal changes in climatic variables. More conspicuous changes in overall vegetation productivity and the seasonal phase of ecosystems have been observed in Eurasia compared to North America, largely because of a more rapid rise in temperature. Our results state that changing climate boosts plant growth at northern latitudes, but also alters the phase and seasonal variations of the annual cycle of terrestrial ecosystems.

Parallel selection of distinct Tof5 alleles drove the adaptation of cultivated and wild soybean to high latitudes

Photoperiod responsiveness is a key factor limiting the geographic distribution of cultivated soybean and its wild ancestor.In particular,the genetic basis of the adaptation in wild soybean remains poorly understood.In this study,by combining whole-genome resequencing and genome-wide association studies we identified a novel locus,Time of Flowering 5(Tof5),which promotes flowering and enhances adaptation to high latitudes in both wild and cultivated soybean.By genomic,genetic and transgenic analyses we showed that Tof5 en-codes a homolog of Arabidopsis thaliana FRUITFULL(FUL).Importantly,further analyses suggested that different alleles of Tof5 have undergone parallel selection.The Tof5H1 allele was strongly selected by humans after the early domestication of cultivated soybean,while Tof5H2 allele was naturally selected in wild soybean,and in each case facilitating adaptation to high latitudes.Moreover,we found that the key flowering repressor E1 suppresses the transcription of Tof5 by binding to its promoter.In turn,Tof5 physically associates with the promoters of two important FLOWERING LOCUS T(FT),FT2a and FT5a,to upregulate their transcription and promote flowering under long photoperiods.Collectively,ourfindings provide insights into how wild soybean adapted to high latitudes through natural selection and indicate that cultivated soybean underwent changes in the same gene but evolved a distinct allele that was artificially selected after domestication.

Relationship Between an Abrupt Drought-Flood Transition over Mid-Low Reaches of the Yangtze River in 2011 and the Intraseasonal Oscillation over Mid-High Latitudes of East Asia

NCEP/NCAR daily reanalysis data and Chinese daily gridded precipitation data are used to study the relationship between an aprupt drought-flood transition over the mid-low reaches of the Yangtze River in 2011 and the intraseasonal oscillation （ISO; 30-60 days） in the mid-high latitude meridional circulation of the upper troposphere over East Asia. The abrupt transition from drought to flood occurs in early June. The first two recovered fields of the complex empirical orthogonal function show that northward-propagating westerlies from low latitudes converge with southward-propagating westerlies from high latitudes over the mid-low reaches of the Yangtze River （MLRYR） in mid late May. The timing of this convergence corresponds to the flood period in early-mid June. The ISO index is significantly and positively correlated with rainfall over the MLRYR. During the dry phase （before the transition）, the upper troposphere over the MLRYR is characterized by cyclonic flow, easterly winds, and convergence. The regional circulation is dominated by a wave train with a cyclone over east of Lake Baikal, an anticyclone over northern China, and a cyclone over the MLRYR. During the wet phase, the situation is reversed. The configuration of the wave train during the dry phase favors the southward propagation of westerly wind disturbances, while the configuration of the wave train during the wet phase favors the development and maintenance of a pumping effect and sustained ascending motions over the MLRYR.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE PREDICTION OF A STRONG EARTHQUAKE BY MEANS OF THE RESIDUALS OF TIME AND LATITUDES

Before a strong earthquake happens, the astronomical time and latitude residuals appear to have apparent anomalies, which has been confirmed by many seismological events both in China and other countries. But so far nobody has carried out the analyses and forecasts of a strong earthquake by means of residuals of astronomic time and latitudes before it happens. Yunnan Observatory,Academia Sinica, is located in the seismological active region. After the earthquake which occurred in Luquan County, Yunnan Province on April 18,

Association between Temperature Changes and Cardiovascular Mortality Risk in A High-latitude City in Northeast China

In recent decades,regional and global climate change has increased the frequency of extreme weather events(e.g.,hurricanes,cold spells,and heat waves).The diurnal temperature range(DTR)and temperature change between neighboring days(TCN),which are indicators of short-term temperature shifts.