Analysis of a Beijing Heavy Snowfall Related to an Inverted Trough in November 2009

This paper studies a heavy snowfall in Beijing that took place on 1 November 2009. The date of the snowfall was about one month earlier than the average. The National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data, conventional data, and Automatic Weather Station (AWS) data are utilized to explore the reasons for the snowfall and the influencing systems. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) It is revealed from the average geopotential height and average temperature fields at 500 hPa that the large scale circulation in November 2009 was favorable to snowfall. The cold-dry air from West Siberia and the warm-moist air from the Bay of Bengal converged in North China. In addition, it was found from the average moisture flux field at 700 hPa that the main water vapor source was in the Bay of Bengal. (2) Not only the "return current", as usually accepted, but also the inverted trough on the current had an important contribution to the snowfall. The inverted trough could produce the obvious upward motion that is an important environmental condition of snowfalls. (3) More attention should be paid to mesoscale systems such as mesolows during the cold season because of their importance, though they do not occur as frequently as in the warm season. It should be pointed out that AWS data are very useful in mesoscale system analysis during both warm and cold seasons.

Investigating Lightning Characteristics through a Supercell Storm by Comprehensive Coordinated Observations over North China

Electrical characteristics of an isolated supercell storm observed on 13 June 2014 over Beijing were investigated using lightning data obtained from the Beijing Lightning Network,radar reflectivity,and hydrometeor retrievals during the 6-h lifetime.Positive cloud-to-ground(+CG)lightning took a high percentage of CG lightning.Before and during a hail event,+CG lightning was more frequent than negative cloud-to-ground(-CG)lightning,except that+CG lightning took a high percentage at the beginning and in the dissipating stage.After the hail event ended,-CG lightning dominated and reached its maximum value.An analysis of hydrometeors retrieved by X-band polarimetric radar revealed that the discharge concentrated in the convective region with graupel particles and hailstones,whereas graupel,snow and ice crystals in the stratiform region.Lightning radiation sources were located mainly in the convective region,some of which were distributed along a gradient of radar reflectivity from the convective region to the stratiform region.The indication is that the supercell demonstrated an inverted tripole charge structure before the hail event,which converted to a normal tripole structure after the hail event.

The Microphysical Characteristics of Wintertime Cold Clouds in North China

The microphysical characteristics of wintertime cold clouds in North China were investigated from 22 aircraft observation flights from 2014 to 2017,2020,and 2021.The clouds were generated by mesoscale weather systems with little orographic component.Over the mixed-phase temperature range(–40℃to 0℃),the average fraction of liquid,mixedphase,and ice cloud was 4.9%,23.3%,and 71.8%,respectively,and the probability distribution of ice mass fraction was a half-U-shape,suggesting that ice cloud was the primary cloud type.The wintertime mixed-phase clouds in North China were characterized by large cloud droplet number concentration,small liquid water content(LWC),and small effective diameter of cloud droplets.The main reason for larger cloud droplet number concentration and smaller effective diameter of cloud droplets was the heavy pollution in winter in North China,while for smaller LWC was the lower temperature during flights and the difference in air mass type.With the temperature increasing,cloud droplet number concentration,LWC,and the size of ice particles increased,but ice number concentration and effective diameter of cloud droplets decreased,similar to other mid-latitude regions,indicating the similarity in the temperature dependence of cloud properties of mixed-phase clouds.The variation of the cloud properties and ice habit at different temperatures indicated the operation of the aggregation and riming processes,which were commonly present in the wintertime mixed-phase clouds.This study fills a gap in the aircraft observation of wintertime cold clouds in North China.

Mesoscale Numerical Simulation Study of Warm Fog Dissipation by Salt Particles Seeding

Based on the dynamic framework of WRF and Morrison 2-moment explicit cloud scheme, a salt-seeding scheme was developed and used to simulate the dissipation of a warm fog event during 6–7 November 2009 in the Beijing and Tianjin area. The seeding effect and its physical mechanism were studied. The results indicate that when seeding fog with salt particles sized 80 μm and at a quantity of 6 gm^（-2） at the fog top, the seeding effect near the ground surface layer is negative in the beginning period, and then a positive seeding effect begins to appear at 18 min, with the best effect appearing at 21 min after seeding operation. The positive effect can last about 35 min. The microphysical mechanism of the warm fog dissipation is because of the evaporation due to the water vapor condensation on the salt particles and coalescence with salt particles.The process of fog water coalescence with salt particles contributed mostly to this warm fog dissipation. Furthermore, two series of sensitivity experiments were performed to study the seeding effect under different seeding amounts and salt particles sizes. The results show that seeding fog with salt particles sized of 80 μm can have the best seeding effect, and the seeding effect is negative when the salt particle size is less than 10 μm. For salt particles sized 80 μm, the best seeding effect, with corresponding visibility of 380 m, can be achieved when the seeding amount is 30 g m^（-2）.

ANALYSES OF A MICROPHYSICAL RESPONSE TO THE SEEDING IN TWO CASES OF ARTIFICIAL FOG DISSIPATION

Two field experiments were performed in order to dissipate the fog at Wuqing District of Tianjin in November and December of 2009.Hygroscopic particles were seeded to dissipate fog droplets on 6-7November,2009.Liquid nitrogen(LN)was seeded into the natural supercooled fog in the experiments of 30November–1 December,2009.Significant response was found after seeding.Significant changes were observed in the microstructure of fog in the field experiments.The of fog droplet changed dramatically;it increased first and then decreased after seeding.Remarkable variation also was found in the Liquid Water Content(LWC)and in the size of fog droplet.The Droplet Size Distribution(DSD)of fog broadened during the seeding experiments.The DSD became narrow after the seeding ended.After seeding,the droplets were found to be at different stages of growth,resulting in a transform of DSD between unimodal distribution and bimodal distribution.The DSD was unimodal before seeding and then bimodal during the seeding experiment.Finally,the DSD became unimodally distributed once again.

Estimation of PM2.5 Mass Concentration from Visibility

Aerosols in the atmosphere not only degrade visibility,but are also detrimental to human health and transportation.In order to develop a method to estimate PM2.5 mass concentration from the widely measured visibility,a field campaign was conducted in Southwest China in January 2019.Visibility,ambient relative humidity(RH),PM2.5 mass concentrations and scattering coefficients of dry particles were measured.During the campaign,two pollution episodes,i.e.,from 4-9 January and from 10-16 January,were encountered.Each of the two episodes could be divided into two periods.High aerosol hygroscopicity was found during the first period,when RH was higher than 80%at most of the time,and sometimes even approached 100%.The second period experienced a relatively dry but more polluted condition and aerosol hygroscopicity was lower than that during the first period.An empirical relationship between PM2.5 mass concentration and visibility(ambient aerosol extinction)under different RH conditions could thus be established.Based on the empirical relationship,PM2.5 mass concentration could be well estimated from visibility and RH.This method will be useful for remote sensing of PM2.5 mass concentration.

Evolution of planetary boundary layer under different weather conditions,and its impact on aerosol concentrations

A field experiment was conducted in Tianjin, China from September 9-30, 2010, focused on the evolution of Planetary Boundary Layer （PBL） and its impact on surface air pollutants. The experiment used three remote sensing instruments, wind profile radar （WPR）, microwave radiometer （MWR） and micro-pulse lidar （MPL）, to detect the vertical profiles of winds, temperature, and aerosol backscattering coefficient and to measure the vertical profiles of surface pollutants （aerosol, CO, SO2, NOx）, and also collected sonic anemometers data from a 255-m meteorological tower. Based on these measurements, the evolution of the PBL was estimated. The averaged PBL height was about 1000-1300 m during noon/afternoon-time, and 200-300 m during night-time. The PBL height and the aerosol concentrations were anti-correlated during clear and haze conditions. The averaged maximum PBL heights were 1.08 and 1.70 km while the averaged aerosol concentrations were 52 and 17 μg/m＆3 under haze and clear sky conditions, respectively, The influence of aerosols and clouds on solar radiation was observed based on sonic anemometers data collected from the 255-m meteorological tower. The heat flux was found significantly decreased by haze （heavy pollution） or cloud, which tended to depress the development of PBL, while the repressed structure of PBL further weakened the diffusion of pollutants, leading to heavy pollution. This possible positive feedback cycle （more aerosols→lower PBL height → more aerosols） would induce an acceleration process for heavy ground pollution in megacities.

Analysis of the causes of heavy aerosol pollution in Beijing,China:A case study with the WRF-Chem model

The causes and variability of a heavy haze episode in the Beijing region was analyzed. During the episode, the PM2.5 concentration reached a peak value of 450 μg/kg on January 18, 2013 and rapidly decreased to 100μg/kg on January 19, 2013, characterizing a large variability in a very short period. This strong vari- ability provides a good opportunity to study the causes of the haze formation. The in situ measurements （including surface meteorological data and vertical structures of the winds, temperature, humidity, and planetary boundary layer （PBL）） together with a chemical/dynamical regional model （WRF-Chem） were used for the analysis. In order to understand the rapid variability of the PM2.5 concentration in the episode, the correlation between the measured meteorological data （including wind speed, PBL height, relative humidity, etc.） and the measured particle concentration （PM2.5 concentration） was studied. In addition, two sensitive model experiments were performed to study the effect of individual contribution from local emissions and regional surrounding emissions to the heavy haze formation. The results suggest that there were two major meteorological factors in controlling the variability of the PM2.5 concentration, namely, surface wind speed and PBL height. During high wind periods, the horizontal transport of aerosol particles played an important role, and the heavy haze was formed when the wind speeds were very weak （less than 1 m/s）. Under weak wind conditions, the horizontal transport of aerosol particles was also weak, and the vertical mixing of aerosol particles played an important role. As a result, the PBL height was a major factor in controlling the variability of the PM2.5 concentration. Under the shallow PBL height, aerosol particles were strongly confined near the surface, producing a high surface PM2.5 concentration. The sensitivity model study suggests that the local emissions （emissions from the Beijing region only） were the major cause for the heavy haze events. With only local emissions, the calculated peak value of the PM2.s concentration was 350μg/kg, which accounted for 78% of the measured peak value （450 μg/kg）. In contrast, without the local emissions, the calculated peak value of the PM2.5 concentration was only 100 μg/kg, which accounted for 22% of the measured peak value.

Ground-high altitude joint detection of ozone and nitrogen oxides in urban areas of Beijing

Based on observational data of ozone （O3） and nitrogen oxide （NOx） mixing ratios on the ground and at high altitude in urban areas of Beijing during a period of six days in November 2011, the temporal and spatial characteristics of mixing ratios were analyzed. The major findings include： urban O3 mixing ratios are low and NOx mixing ratios are always high near the road in November. Vertical variations of the gases are significantly different in and above the planetary boundary layer. The mixing ratio of O3 is negatively correlated with that of NOx and they are positively correlated with air temperature, which is the main factor directly causing vertical variation of O3 and NOx mixing ratios at 600-2100 m altitude. The NOx mixing ratios elevated during the heating period, while the O3 mixing ratios decreased： these phenomena are more significant at high altitudes compared to lower altitudes. During November, air masses in the urban areas of Beijing are brought by northwesterly winds, which transport O3 and NOx at low mixing ratios. Due to Beijing＇s natural geographical location, northwest air currents arc beneficial to the dilution and dispersion of pollutants, which can result in lower O3 and NOx background values in the Beijing urban area.

Observation of black carbon aerosol in Beijing, 2003

The objective of this study was to determine the black carbon concentration in Beijing in 2003.The aerosol properties were measured using an Aethalometer and a tapered element oscillating microbalance(TEOM)on the roof of the Physics Building of Peking University(39.99°N,116.31°E)from July to August 2003 and from November 2003 to January 2004.The average black carbon(BC)concentrations in the summer and winter were 8.80 and 11.4μg/m3,respectively.During winter,two different cyclone cut offs were installed at the inlet of an aethalometer.The BC mass concentration in TSP,PM_(10),and PM_(2.5)were obtained.The results indicated that in winter aerosol,90%of BC exited in PM_(10)and 82.6%of BC exited in PM_(2.5).The BC in PM_(10)accounted for 5.11%of the PM_(10)mass.

The Observation of Ice-Nucleating Particles Active at Temperatures above –15℃ and Its Implication on Ice Formation in Clouds

A series of measurements of ice-nucleating particles （1NPs） were performed at two sites in Beijing. At the Beijing Meteorological Service （BMS） site, which was an urban site, no INPs were found to be active above -15℃. However, at the Yanjiaping （YJP） site, which was a rural site, the concentration of 1NPs active at temperatures above -15℃ was found to be as high as 1.73 g^-1. Two parameterizations were constructed by respectively fitting the data obtained at BMS site and YJP site. The two parameterizations, as well as another parameterization from the literature, were implemented into a parcel model to investigate the effect of INPs active above -15℃ on phase partitioning in mixed-phase clouds. At a vertical velocity of 0.01 m s^-1 , which is typical for stratiform clouds associated with frontal systems, the INPs active above -15℃ nucleate ice crystals at low levels. The growth of these ice crystals remarkably reduces both the maximum liquid water mixing ratio and the altitude where the maximum liquid water mixing ratio is reached. When the vertical velocity of the parcel is increased to 0.1 m s^-l or an even higher value, the evolution of li-quid water mixing, ratio is not controlled by the INPs active above 15℃ but those active below -15℃.

Variability of SO_2 in an intensive fog in North China Plain:Evidence of high solubility of SO_2

A field experiment was conducted in an intensive fog event between November 5 and November 8, 2009, in a heavily SO2-polluted area in North China Plain （NCP）, to measure SO2 and other air pollutants, liquid water content （LWC） of fog droplets, and other basic meteorological parameters. During the fog period, the concentrations of SO2 showed large variability, which was closely related to the LWC in the fog droplets. The averaged concentration of SO2 during non-fog periods was about 25 ppbv, while during the fog period, it rapidly reduced to about 4-7 ppbv. Such large reduction of SO2 suggested that a majority of SO2 （about 70%-80%） had reverted from gas to aqueous phase on account of the high solubility of SO2 in water in the fog droplets. However, the calculated gas to aqueous phase conversion was largely underestimated by merely using the Henry＇s Law constant of SO2, thus suggesting that aqueous reaction of SO2 in fog droplets might play some important role in enhancing the solubility of SO2. To simplify the phenomenon, an ＂effective solubility coefficient＂ is proposed in this study. This variability of SO2 measurement during the extensive fog event provides direct evidence of oxidation of SO2 in fog droplets, thus providing important implications for better understanding of the acidity in clouds, precipitation, and fogs in NCP, now a central environmental focus in China due to its rapid economic development.

Analysis of the Microphysical Properties of a Stratiform Rain Event Using an L-Band Profiler Radar

This paper investigates spatial and temporal distributions of the microphysical properties of precipitating stratiform clouds based on Doppler spectra of rain particles observed by an L-band profiler radar.The retrieval of raindrop size distributions（RSDs） is accomplished through eliminating vertical air motion and isolating the terminal fall velocity of raindrops in the observed Doppler velocity spectrum.The microphysical properties of raindrops in a broad stratiform region with weak convective cells are studied using data collected from a 1320-MHz wind profiler radar in Huayin,Shaanxi Province on 14 May 2009.RSDs and gamma function parameters are retrieved at altitudes between 700 and 3000 m above the surface,below a melting layer.It is found that the altitude of the maximum number of raindrops was closely related to the surface rain rate.The maximum number of large drops was observed at lower altitudes earlier in the precipitation event but at higher altitudes in later periods,suggesting decreases in the numbers of large and medium size raindrops.These decreases may have been caused by the breakup of larger drops and evaporation of smaller drops as they fell.The number of medium size drops decreased with increasing altitude.The relationship between reflectivity and liquid water content during this precipitation event was Z = 1.69×10~4M^（1.5）,and the relationship between reflectivity and rain intensity was Z = 256I^（1.4）.