Challenges to quantitative applications of Landsat observations for the urban thermal environment

Since the launch of its first satellite in 1972, the Landsat program has operated continuously for more than forty years. A large data archive collected by the Landsat program significantly benefits both the academic community and society. Thermal imagery from Landsat sensors, provided with relatively high spatial resolution, is suitable for monitoring urban thermal environment. Growing use of Landsat data in monitoring urban thermal environment is demonstrated by increasing publications on this subject, especially over the last decade. Urban thermal environment is usually delineated by land surface temperature（LST）. However, the quantitative and accurate estimation of LST from Landsat data is still a challenge, especially for urban areas. This paper will discuss the main challenges for urban LST retrieval, including urban surface emissivity, atmospheric correction, radiometric calibration, and validation. In addition, we will discuss general challenges confronting the continuity of quantitative applications of Landsat observations. These challenges arise mainly from the scan line corrector failure of the Landsat 7 ETM ＋ and channel differences among sensors. Based on these investigations, the concerns are to：（1） show general users the limitation and possible uncertainty of the retrieved urban LST from the single thermal channel of Landsat sensors;（2） emphasize efforts which should be done for the quantitative applications of Landsat data; and（3） understand the potential challenges for the continuity of Landsat observation（i.e., thermal infrared） for global change monitoring, while several climate data record programs being in progress.

Air temperature feedback and its contribution to global warming

Air temperature feedback results from the thermal-radiative coupling between the atmosphere and the surface and plays an important role in surface energy balance. This paper reveals the contribution of air temperature feedback to the global warming from 1980 to 2000. The air temperature feedback kernel, evaluated using the ERA-Interim reanalysis data, is used to discuss the physical mechanism for air temperature feedback, the dependency of the strength of air temperature feedback on the climatological spatial distributions of air temperature, water vapor and cloud content, and the contributions of air temperature feedback to rapid global warming. The coupling between temperature feedback and each of the external forcings and individual feedback processes will amplify the anomaly of direct energy flux convergence at the surface induced by the external forcings and individual processes. The air temperature feedback amplifies the initial surface warming due to the increase in CO2 concentration, ice and snow melting, increase in water vapor, and change in ocean heat storage. It also amplifies the surface warming due to the longwave radiaitve forcing associated with the increase in cloud cover, which acts to suppress the cooling of the shortwave effect of cloud forcing. Overall, temperature feedback plays an important role in the global warming from 1980 to2000, as the net positive contribution to the perturbation of global mean energy flux at the surface from the air temperature feedback is larger than the net negative contribution from external forcing and all non-temperature feedbacks.

Advances in Research on Atmospheric Energy Propagation and the Interactions between Different Latitudes

Early theoretical analyses indicated that the tropics and extratropics are relatively independent due to the existence of critical latitudes.However,considerable observational evidence has shown that a clear dynamical link exists between the tropics and midlatitudes.To better understand such atmospheric teleconnection,several theories of wave energy propagation are reviewed in this paper：（1） great circle theory,which reveals the characteristics of Rossby waves propagating in the spherical atmosphere;（2） westerly duct theory,which suggests a ＂corridor＂ through which the midlatitude disturbances in one hemisphere can propagate into the other hemisphere;（3） energy accumulation-wave emanation theory,which proposes processes through which tropical disturbances can affect the atmospheric motion in higher latitudes;（4） equatorial wave expansion theory,which further explains the physical mechanisms involved in the interaction between the tropics and extratropics;and（5） meridional basic flow theory,which argues that stationary waves can propagate across the tropical easterlies under certain conditions.In addition,the progress made in diagnosing wave-flow interaction,particularly for Rossby waves,inertial-gravity waves,and Kelvin waves,is also reviewed.The meridional propagation of atmospheric energy exhibits significant annual and interannual variations,closely related to ENSO and variation in the westerly jets and tropical upper-tropospheric troughs,amongst others.

北半球冬季热带对流层温度的年代际变化及其气候影响(英文)

热带对流层温度(TT)可以反映热带大气受到的非绝热加热.本研究表明,北半球冬季热带TT在1997年发生了年代际突变:一方面,受年代际La Ni?a型海温和降水的影响,热带TT的平均值在1997年后有显著增加,这表明热带大气受到的非绝热加热有年代际增强;另一方面,热带TT年际变率主模态的空间型和解释方差在1997年后有显著变化,从而导致在年际变化尺度上由热带TT引起的气温、降水异常在东亚和北美地区有显著改变.