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.

Short-term Association of Meteorological Elements on COVID-19 Pandemic in a Semi-arid City of Northwest China,2021-2022

The coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)outbreak in late 2019 significantly impacted global health.The virus’s rapid spread,with its long incubation period and high infection level,caused substantial disruption to regular social frameworks,production,and lifestyles^([1]).COVID-19 is primarily transmitted through close contact,long-range contaminants,and airborne routes.

POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENSO AND BLOCKING IN KEY REGIONS OF EURASIA

Using reanalysis data provided by the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research, the potential relationship between the E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation （ENSO） cycle and blocking highs in three key regions of Eurasia （Ural, Baikal, and Okhotsk） from 1950 to 2008 is analyzed. Composite analysis of 500 hPa geopotential height field during different stages of ENSO reveals that in the winters of E1 Nifio （EN） years, there is significant negative anomaly of geopotential height in the three key regions. In the winters of La Nifia （LN） years, on the other hand, significant positive anomaly of geopotential height is observed in Eastern Ural, Baikal, and Okhotsk. In summer, Okhotsk exhibits positive anomaly, which is significant at a confidence level of 90% by Student＇s t-test during the developing stage of an LN year. In the developing stage of an EN year, geopotential height field at 500 hPa manifests positive （negative） anomaly in Baikal （Ural and Okhotsk）, while the geopotential height field at 500 hPa exhibits positive （negative） anomaly in Ural and Okhotsk （Baikal） during the decaying stage of both EN and LN years. However, these abnormities are insignificant in a developing EN year, decaying EN year, and the summer of a decaying LN year. By analyzing 500 hPa geopotential height field during different phases of the ENSO cycle, it is observed that results of the case study are consistent with those of composite analysis. Annual average blocking is likewise examined during the different stages of ENSO from 1950 to 2008. Combined with composite analysis and case study, results indicate that blockings in the three key regions are suppressed （enhanced） during the winters of EN （LN） years. In summer, the influence of ENSO on the blockings in the three key regions is not as significant as that in winter. Evidently, developing LN may enhance blockings in Okhotsk. Influence factors on blockings are various and complex. This paper indicates that the influence of ENSO on blockings cannot be neglected, and that it is crucial to related operational forecasting as a potential signal.

Health Effects of Extreme Low Temperatures and Cold Waves on Respiratory Diseases

Climate change is the most significant threat to public health and exerts myriad influences on health,including the occurrence of extreme temperature events.Studies have demonstrated that populations will experience significantly severe cold waves in the future^([1]),increasing the risk of respiratory diseases.

Short-term exposure to ozone and nonaccidental mortality in Northeast China

Ambient pollutants are a major environmental risk factor for human health[1]. Ozone(O3) is a highly reactive, oxidative gas that is formed through the interaction of volatile organic compound precursors and nitrogen oxides(NOx). Several studies have demonstrated that exposure to ambient O3in the troposphere is associated with increased mortality.

Impact of intensity variability of the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone on the chemical distribution in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere

During the Asian summer monsoon(ASM)season,the process of stratosphere-troposphere exchange significantly affects the concentration and spatial distribution of chemical constituents in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere(UTLS).However,the effect of the intensity of the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone(ASMA)on the horizontal distribution of chemical species within and around the ASMA,especially on the daily time scale,remains unclear.Here,the authors use the MERRA-2 reanalysis dataset and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder observations to study the impact of ASMA intensity on chemical distributions at 100 hPa during the ASM season.The intraseasonal variation of ASMA is classified into a strong period(SP)and weak period(WP),which refer to the periods when the intensity of ASMA remains strong and weak,respectively.The relatively low ozone(O_(3))region is found to be larger at 100 hPa during SPs,while its mixing ratio is lower than during WPs in summer.In June,analysis shows that the O_(3) horizontal distribution is mainly related to the intensity of AMSA,especially during SPs in June,while deep convections also impact the O_(3) horizontal distribution in July and August.These results indicate that the intraseasonal variation of the ASMA intensity coupled to deep convection can significantly affect the chemical distribution in the UTLS region during the ASM season.

Impacts of the atmospheric apparent heat source over the Tibetan Plateau on summertime ozone vertical distributions over Lhasa

The Tibetan Plateau(TP)is an area sensitive to climate change,where the ozone distribution affects the atmospheric environment of the TP and its surrounding regions.The relatively low total column ozone over the TP in boreal summer and its spatiotemporal variations have received extensive attention.In this study,five-year balloon-borne measurements of ozone over Lhasa in boreal summer are used to investigate the influences of the apparent heat source(Q1)on the ozone vertical structure over the plateau.The mechanisms for the above processes are also explored.The results show that the tropospheric ozone mixing ratio over Lhasa decreases when the total atmospheric Q1 in the troposphere over the TP is relatively high.Strengthened ascending motions are accompanied by enhanced Q1 over the main TP region.Consequently,the tropospheric ozone mixing ratio over Lhasa decreases when Q1 is higher in summer,which is attributed to the upward transport of the ozone-poor surface air.

Spatial and temporal distribution of MODIS and MISR aerosol optical depth over northern China and comparison with AERONET

Aerosol optical depths (AODs) from MODIS and MISR onboard the Terra satellite are assessed by comparison with measurements from four AERONET sites located in northern China for the period 2006-2009. The results show that MISR performs better than MODIS at the SACOL and Beijing sites. For the Xianghe and Xinglong sites, MODIS AOD retrievals are better than those of MISR. Overall, the relative error of the Angstrom exponent from MISR compared with AERONET is about 14%, but the MODIS error can reach 30%. Thus, it may be better to use the MISR Angstrom exponent to derive wavelength-dependent AOD values when calculating the aerosol radiative forcing in a radiative transfer model. Seasonal analysis of AOD over most of China shows two main areas with high aerosol loading: the Taklimakan Desert region and the southern part of North China and northern part of East China. The locations of these two areas of high aerosol loading do not change with season, but the AOD values have significant seasonal variation. The largest AOD value in the Taklimakan appears in spring when the Angstrom exponents are the lowest, which means the particle radii are relatively large. Over North and East China, the highest aerosol loading appears in summer. The aerosol particles are smallest in summer over both high-AOD areas.

The WRF 3DVar System Combined with Physical Initialization for Assimilation of Doppler Radar Data

The three-dimensional variational data assimilation （3DVar） system of the Weather Research and Forecasting （WRF） model （WRF-Var） is further developed with a physical initialization （PI） procedure to assimilate Doppler radar radial velocity and reflectivity observations. In this updated 3DVar system, specific humidity, cloud water content, and vertical velocity are first derived from reflectivity with PI, then the model fields of specific humidity and cloud water content are replaced with the modified ones, and finally, the estimated vertical velocity is added to the cost-function of the existing WRF-Var （version 2.0） as a new observation type, and radial velocity observations are assimilated directly by the method afforded by WRF-Var. The new assimilation scheme is tested with a heavy convective precipitation event in the middle reaches of Yangtze River on 19 June 2002 and a Meiyu front torrential rain event in the Huaihe River Basin on 5 July 2003. Assimilation results show that the increments of analyzed variables correspond well with the horizontal distribution of the observed reflectivity. There are positive increments of cloud water content, specific humidity, and vertical velocity in echo region and negative increments of vertical velocity in echo-free region where the increments of horizontal winds present a clockwise transition. Results of forecast experiments show that the effects of adjusting cloud water content or vertical velocity directly with PI on forecast are not obvious. Adjusting specific humidity shows better performance in forecasting the precipitation than directly adjusting cloud water content or vertical velocity. Significant improvement in predicting precipitation as well as in reducing the model＇s spin-up time are achieved when radial velocity and reflectivity observations are assimilated with the new scheme.

Land-Sea Contrast in the Lightning Diurnal Variation as Observed by the WWLLN and LIS/OTD Data

Data from the World Wide Lightning Location Network （WWLLN） for the period 2005-2011 and data composite of the Lightning Imaging Sensor/Optical Transient Detector （LIS/OTD） for 1995-2010 are used to analyze the lightning activity and its diurnal variation over land and ocean of the globe. The Congo basin shows a peak mean annual flash density of 160.7 fl km-2 yr-1 according to the LIS/OTD. The annual mean land to ocean flash ratio is 9.6：1, which confirms the result from Christian et al. in 2003 based on only 5-yr OTD data. The lightning density detected by the WWLLN is in general one order of magnitude lower than that of the LIS/OTD. The diurnal cycle of the lightning activity over land shows a single peak, with the maximum activity occurring around 1400-1900 LT （Local Time） and a minimum in the morning from both datasets. The oceanic diurnal variation has two peaks： the early morning peak between 0100 and 0300 LT and the afternoon peak with a stronger intensity between 1100 and 1400 LT over the Pacific Ocean, as revealed from the WWLLN dataset; whereas the diurnal variation over ocean in the LIS/OTD dataset shows a large fluctuation.

Direct and indirect effects of solar variations on stratospheric ozone and temperature

We have used a fully coupled chemistry-climate model(WACCM)to investigate the relative importance of the direct and indirect effects of 11a solar variations on stratospheric temperature and ozone.Although the model does not contain a quasi-biennial oscillation(QBO)and uses fixed sea surface temperature(SST),it is able to produce a second maximum solar response in tropical lower stratospheric(TLS)temperature and ozone of approximately 0.5 K and 3%,respectively.In the TLS,the solar spectral variations in the chemistry scheme play a more important role than solar spectral variations in the radiation scheme in generating temperature and ozone responses.The chemistry effect of solar variations causes significant changes in the Brewer-Dobson(BD)circulation resulting in ozone anomalies in the TLS.The model simulations also show a negative feedback in the upper stratosphere between the temperature and ozone responses.A wavelet analysis of the modeled ozone and temperature time series reveals that the maximum solar responses in ozone and temperature caused by both chemical and radiative effects occur at different altitudes in the upper stratosphere.The analysis also confirms that both the direct radiative and indirect ozone feedback effects are important in generating a solar response in the upper stratospheric temperatures,although the solar spectral variations in the chemistry scheme give the largest solar cycle power in the upper stratospheric temperature.

A study of parameter uncertainties causing uncertainties in modeling a grassland ecosystem using the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation method

In this paper, we apply the approach of conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation related to the parameter(CNOP-P)to study parameter uncertainties that lead to the stability(maintenance or degradation) of a grassland ecosystem. The maintenance of the grassland ecosystem refers to the unchanged or increased quantity of living biomass and wilted biomass in the ecosystem,and the degradation of the grassland ecosystem refers to the reduction in the quantity of living biomass and wilted biomass or its transformation into a desert ecosystem. Based on a theoretical five-variable grassland ecosystem model, 32 physical model parameters are selected for numerical experiments. Two types of parameter uncertainties could be obtained. The first type of parameter uncertainty is the linear combination of each parameter uncertainty that is computed using the CNOP-P method. The second type is the parameter uncertainty from multi-parameter optimization using the CNOP-P method. The results show that for the 32 model parameters, at a given optimization time and with greater parameter uncertainty, the patterns of the two types of parameter uncertainties are different. The different patterns represent physical processes of soil wetness. This implies that the variations in soil wetness(surface layer and root zone) are the primary reasons for uncertainty in the maintenance or degradation of grassland ecosystems, especially for the soil moisture of the surface layer. The above results show that the CNOP-P method is a useful tool for discussing the abovementioned problems.

The 200-hPa Wind Perturbation in the Subtropical Westerly over East Asia Related to Medium-Range Forecast of Summer Rainfall in China

The 200-hPa wind perturbation(WP) in the subtropical westerly over East Asia(SWEA) has seldom been examined in previous studies, especially in connection with forecast of the summer rainfall in China. Based on the daily NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and precipitation observations in China from 1 June to 31 August of 1960-2015, this study first systematically analyzes the spatiotemporal distribution features of the 200-hPa WP in the SWEA on different scales, especially during the Meiyu season in the Yangtze-Huaihe region and during the rainy period in North China, by using spectral decomposition and period analysis. It is found that in the 56-yr mean fields, the 200-hPa WP in the SWEA is collocated with the East Asian subtropical jet(EASJ), with the centers of the two systems coincidentally overlapped. The WP filed in the subtropical westerly mainly comprises planetary-and synoptic-scale waves. The quasi-stationary planetary-scale wave seems to determine the shape and intensity of the WP in the SWEA, while the synoptic-scale wave is closely related to the local central intensity of the WP. The daily evolution of the 56-yr mean fields shows that, following the northward(southward) movement of SWEA from 1 June to 31 August, the planetaryscale WP in the SWEA becomes gradually weakened(intensified) whereas the synoptic-scale WP is slightly intensified(weakened).The results also reveal that during the Meiyu season in the Yangtze-Huaihe region, the WP in the SWEA moves northward slowly around 37°-39°N, demonstrating a quasi-biweekly oscillation in its geographic location, which is largely attributed to the strong(weak) planetary-scale(synoptic-scale) component. On the contrast, in the summer rainy season over North China, the WP in the SWEA further strives northward beyond 40°N, showing both quasi-biweekly and weekly oscillations in its position; meanwhile, the planetary-scale wave in the SWEA becomes weakened whereas the synoptic-scale wave is enhanced. These salient variational features of the WP in the SWEA and its scaledependent components may be useful for the medium-range forecast of the rain belt migration in eastern China.