Holocene climatic change in Hunshandake Desert

Research on the geological data of Hunshandake Desert in China monsoon region revealed that Holocene summer monsoon had experienced six prevailing periods and seven weakening periods. The climatic humidity and the vegetation had also undergone the similar periodical variation influenced by the monsoon periodicity. The period when summer monsoon prevailed or winter monsoon weakened and climatic humidity and vegetation coverage relatively increased, corresponded to the global warming events;whereas the period when summer monsoon weakened or winter monsoon prevailed and climatic humidity and vegetation coverage relatively decreased, corresponded to the arid events in middle to low latitudes and the cold events in North Atlantic. As for the changing regularity of summer monsoon intensity there were two distinct periodicities of 1456 years and 494 years, also these two periodicities had global significance.     

East Asian monsoon change for the 21st century: Results of CMIP3 and CMIP5 models

Forty-two climate models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phases 3 and 5 were first evaluated in terms of their ability to simulate the present climatology of the East Asian winter (December-February) and summer (June-August) monsoons. The East Asian winter and summer monsoon changes over the 21st century were then projected using the results of 31 and 29 reliable climate models under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) mid-range A1B scenario or the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) mid-low-range RCP4.5 scenario, respectively. Results showed that the East Asian winter monsoon changes little over time as a whole relative to the reference period 1980-1999. Regionally, it weakens (strengthens) north (south) of about 25°N in East Asia, which results from atmospheric circulation changes over the western North Pacific and Northeast Asia owing to the weakening and northward shift of the Aleutian Low, and from decreased north- west-southeast thermal and sea level pressure differences across Northeast Asia. In summer, monsoon strengthens slightly in East China over the 21st century as a consequence of an increased land-sea thermal contrast between the East Asian continent and the adjacent western North Pacific and South China Sea.     

High-resolution geochemistry records of climate changes since late-glacial from Dajiuhu peat in Shennongjia Mountains,Central China

A peat core with depths of 297 cm was obtained from the Dajiuhu Basin(31°29′27″N,109°59′45″E,1760 m)in Hubei Province,Central China.10 AMS ages provide a time control and reveal that this core spans the past about 16.0 kaBP(calibrated age)(1 4C age:13.3 kaBP).Multi-proxy indexes analysis of geochemistry shows the following character of climate and environmental changes since about 16 kaBP:(1) The climate during the late-glacial period was cold and wet as a whole,but fluctuated continually.11.4- 12.6 cal.kaBP,12.6-15.2 cal.kaBP and 15.2-16 kaBP were corresponding respectively to the Younger Drays,Bφlling-Allerφd Warm Period and the Oldest Drays.(2)Inheriting the some climate characteristics of the late-glacial,the climate during the early-Holocene was wet and temperature increased gradually,during which an obvious dry event around 10.6 cal.kaB appeared.(3)The climate during the mid-Holocene was genarally warm and wet.During 9.2-7.5 kaBP,temperature increased gradually, precipitation was less comparatively and the 8.2 kaBP cold event which might be representative in the globe was reflected markedly.Then,multi-proxy records were relatively stable during 6.7-4.2 kaBP, which shows the best water and thermal condition in the Holocene Optimum.(4)Around 4.2 kaBP,the climate and environment transform from warm and wet to cool and dry,which may result in the collapse of the Neolithic Culture and midwifery the civilization of Xia Dynasty in this region.After 0.9 kaBP,the climate turned cool and wet.Climate and environmental changes archived in Dajiuhu peat respond to the global changes since the late-glacial period and can be contrasted to the changes recorded in other high-resolution archives from the East Asia Monsoon region,which take on the variety model that the monsoon strengthened abruptly after the late-glacial,was strong during the early Holocene,subse- quently declined and became weak after the middle Holocene with dry climate.According to our analysis,the driving mechanism should be the response of s     

Spatial and temporal variations of light rain events over China and the mid-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere

Based on observed daily precipitation data, monthly gridded radiosonde upper air temperature and sea surface temperature data from the UK Met Office Hadley Centre, monthly surface air temperature from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia and the NCEP/NCAR monthly reanalysis data, this study investigates the spatial and temporal variations of light rain events over China and the mid-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere during 1961-2010, and discusses the relationship between the change of light rain events and atmospheric stability, sea surface temperature and atmospheric circulation. The light rain events over East China display a decreasing trend of 3.0%/10 a in summer and winter half years. Over Northwest China, an increasing trend of 4.1%/10 a is found in winter half years, but there is no trend in summer half years. Using empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis, it is found that the first two principal components of light rain events over the mid-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere show long time scale variations in summer and winter half years. The first EOF modes (EOF1s) for summer and winter half years both depict a long-term increase in light rain events over North America and Southern Europe as well as Northwest China (except in summer half years), and a long-term decrease over most of the Eurasia (Central Europe, Eastern Europe, North Asia and East China). The second EOF mode (EOF2) for summer half year shows that light rain events increase over North America, Southern Europe and South China, but decrease over Eurasia north of 45°N from 1961 to early 1980s, while the trends reverse from late 1980s to 2010. The second EOF mode (EOF2) for winter half years indicates that light rain events increase over North America and South and North China, but decrease over Eurasia north of 40°N from 1961 to early 1980s, while the trends reverse from late 1980s to 2009. Correlation analysis and linear regression analysis suggest that EOF1s may be related to the change in atmospheric static stability associated with global warming, and EOF2s are possibly linked to the AMO.     

Relative humidity reconstruction for northwestern China's Altay Mountains using tree-ring δ~(18)O

Relative humidity is an important factor in water and water vapor feedback cycles.In this study,we established a 222-year annual tree-ring δ~(18)O chronology for Siberian larch(Larix sibirica Ldb.)from the Altay Mountains in northwestern China.Climate response analyses revealed that the relative humidity was the primary factor limiting tree-ring δ~(18)O fractionation.Based on our analysis,tree-ring δ~(18)O can be used to reconstruct the July–August relative humidity based on both a reasonable mechanism of tree-ring δ~(18)O fractionation and a statistically significant regression model.We used this model to reconstruct variations in the July–August relative humidity,and the model explained 47.4% of the total variation in the measured relative humidity data from 1961 to 2011.The relative humidity in the study area increased from 1900 to the 1990s and decreased thereafter.Two regime-shift dry periods were detected during the study period(one from 1817 to 1830 and the other from 2004 to 2011).     

Climatic significance of stable carbon isotope in tree rings of Abies spectabibis in southeastern Tibet

The annually cross-dated stable carbon isotope of tree-ring a-cellulose of Abies spectabibis collected from the southeastern Tibetan Plateau is used to examine its rela-tionship with climatic parameters. The residual D13C series in treerings is constructed after removing the effects of age trend and rising CO2. We found a close relationship between D13C in tree rings and the relative humidity of September—November of the previous year measured at the nearby Ny-ingchi Meteorological Station, albeit a strong 搇agged effect? Thus we developed a transfer function to reconstruct the autumn relative humidity for the Nyingchi region, which explained 37.9% of the total variance (p < 0.001). Our results suggest a high frequency and moderate amplitude variance of the relative humidity before 1800, and the variance re-versed afterwards.     

Changes of climate extremes of temperature and precipitation in summer in eastern China associated with changes in atmospheric circulation in East Asia during 1960–2008

Climate extremes and changes in eastern China are closely related to variations of the East Asian summer monsoon and corresponding atmospheric circulations.The relationship between frequencies of temperature and precipitation extremes in China during the last half century is investigated using Singular Value Decomposition analysis.During 1980-1996,there was a typical pattern with fewer hot days and more precipitation extremes in the northern part of eastern China,and more hot days and fewer precipitation extremes in the southern part.This geographic pattern tended to reverse after 1997,with fewer hot days and more extreme precipitation days south of the Yangtze River and vice versa to the north.Differences in atmospheric circulation between the former and latter periods are presented.We conclude that a mid-level anomalous high/low,upper-level anomalous easterlies/westerlies over the north/south of eastern China,a weakened East Asian summer monsoon and associated upper-tropospheric center of cooling(30°N,110°E) are all favorable for the changes in frequencies of temperature and precipitation extremes.     

Atmospheric heterogeneous reaction of acetone:Adsorption and desorption kinetics and mechanisms on SiO_2 particles

Acetone plays an important role in photooxidation processes in the atmosphere. Up to date, little is known regarding the heterogeneous fate of acetone. In this study, the adsorption and desorption processes of acetone on SiO2 particles, which are the major constituent of mineral dust in the atmos-phere, have been investigated for the first time under the simulated atmospheric conditions, using in situ transmission Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It is found that acetone molecules are ad-sorbed on the surfaces of SiO2 particles by van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonding forces in a nonreactive and reversible state. The rates of initial adsorption and initial desorption, initial uptake coefficients and adsorption concentrations at equilibrium have been determined at different relative humidity. The presence of water vapor cannot result in the formation of new substances, but can de-crease the adsorption ability by consuming or overlapping the isolated OH groups on the surfaces of SiO2 particles. In the desorption process, a considerable amount of acetone molecules will remain on SiO2 particles in dry air, whereas acetone molecules are almost completely desorbed at a high relative humidity. In order to evaluate the role of heterogeneous reactions of acetone and other carbonyl compounds in the atmosphere, a new model fitting the atmospheric conditions is needed.     

Response of the East Asian summer monsoon to large volcanic eruptions during the last millennium

The responses of the East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） to large volcanic eruptions were analyzed using a millennial simulation with the FGOALS-gl climate system model. The model was driven by both natural （solar irradiance, volcanic eruptions） and anthro- pogenic （greenhouse gases, sulfate aerosols） forcing agents. The results showed cooling anomalies after large volcanic eruptions almost on a global scale. The cooling over the continental region is stronger than that over the ocean. The precipitation generally decreases in the tropical and subtropical regions in the first summer after large volcanic eruptions. Cooling with amplitudes up to -0.3 ℃ is seen over eastern China in the first summer after large volcanic eruptions. The East Asian continent is dominated by northeasterly wind anomalies and the corresponding summer rainfall exhibits a coherent reduction over the whole of eastern China. An analysis of the surface heat flux suggested the reduction in summer precipitation over eastern China can be attributed to a decrease of moisture vapor over the tropical oceans, and the weakening of the EASM may be attributed to the reduced land-sea thermal contrast after large volcanic eruptions.     

Projected change in extreme rainfall events in China by the end of the 21st century using CMIP5 models

Projection of future climate changes and their regional impact is critical for long-term planning at the national and regional levels aimed at adaptation and mitigation. This study assesses the future changes in precipitation in China and the associated atmospheric circulation patterns using the Couple Model Intercomparison Project 5 Phase (CMIP5) simulations under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. The results consistently indicate that the annual precipitation in China is projected to significantly increase at the end of the 21st century compared to the present-day levels. The number of days and the intensity of medium rain, large rain and heavy rain are obviously increased, while the number of trace rain days is projected to decrease over the entire area of China. Further analysis indicates that the significant increase of annual precipitation in Northwest China is primarily due to the increase of light rain and the increases in North and Northeast China are primarily due to the increase of medium rain. In the region of southern China, the increases of large rain and heavy rain play an important role in the increase of annual precipitation, while light rain events play a negative role. Analysis of the changes in atmospheric circulation indicates that the East Asian summer monsoon circulation is projected to be considerably stronger, and the local atmospheric stratification is projected to be more unstable, all of which provide a background benefit for the increase of precipitation and extreme rainfall events in China under global warming scenarios.     

A continuous 3000—year precipitation record of ENSO variability during LGM from a stalagmite in Nanjing

A glacial stalagmite chronology from Nanjing has been established by the TIMS-U series dating and annual band counting methods. The annually layering sequence spanning the 3000-year period from 18179 to 14900 calendar years before the present (aBP) was analyzed for evidence of East Asian summer monsoon precipitation variability during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Power spectral analysis of the sequence shows a distinct interannual (2—7 years) band of enhanced variability suggestive of El Ni駉-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) teleconnections into East China during the LGM when climatic boundary conditions were different from those of today. The lower frequency bands (4—7 years) variability becomes weaker from 18179 to 14900 aBP, sup-porting the precession forcing model. The reappearance of the ENSO band in the coldest climatic boundary conditions during the Heinrich Event 1, however, suggests the stimula-tion of the enhanced East Asia winter monsoon to the El Ni駉 events.     

Recent 2000-year geological records of mud in the inner shelf of the East China Sea and their climatic implications

AMS^14C dating and grain-size analysis for Core DD2, located at the north of the Yangtze River-derived mud off the Zhejiang-Fujian coasts in the inner shelf of the East China Sea, provide us a high-resolution grain-size distribution curve varying with depth and time. Data in the upper mud layer of Core DD2 indicate that there are at least 9 abrupt grain-size increasing in recent 2000 years, with each corresponding very well with the low-temperature events in Chinese history, which might result from the periodical strengthening of the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM), including the first-revealed maximum temperature lowering event at around 990 a BP. At the same time, the finer grain size section in Core DD2 agrees well with the Sui-Tang Warming Period (600--1000 a AD) defined previously by Zhu Kezhen, during which the climate had a warm, cold and warm fluctuation, with a dominated cooling period of 750-850 a AD. The Little Ice Age (LIA) can also be identified in the core. It starts around 1450 a AD and was followed by a subsequent cooling events at 1510, 1670 and 1840 a AD. Timing of these cold events revealed here still needs to be further verified owing to some current uncertainty of dating we used in this study.     

Atmospheric heterogeneous reaction of acetone: Adsorption and desorption kinetics and mechanisms on SiO2 particles

Acetone plays an important role in photooxidation processes in the atmosphere. Up to date, little is known regarding the heterogeneous fate of acetone. In this study, the adsorption and desorption processes of acetone on SiO2 particles, which are the major constituent of mineral dust in the atmos-phere, have been investigated for the first time under the simulated atmospheric conditions, using in situ transmission Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It is found that acetone molecules are adsorbed on the surfaces of SiO2 particles by van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonding forces in a nonreactive and reversible state. The rates of initial adsorption and initial desorption, initial uptake coefficients and adsorption concentrations at equilibrium have been determined at different relative humidity. The presence of water vapor cannot result in the formation of new substances, but can decrease the adsorption ability by consuming or overlapping the isolated OH groups on the surfaces of SiO2 particles. In the desorption process, a considerable amount of acetone molecules will remain on SiO2 particles in dry air, whereas acetone molecules are almost completely desorbed at a high relative humidity. In order to evaluate the role of heterogeneous reactions of acetone and other carbonyl compounds in the atmosphere, a new model fitting the atmospheric conditions is needed.     

A rock magnetic record of Asian cooling and aridification processes during 1.95-0.40 Ma in the southeastern Chinese Loess Plateau

The southeastern Chinese Loess Plateau is the terminal deposition area of dusts transported by the East Asian winter monsoon and the frontal area penetrated by the East Asian summer monsoon,and thus a climate sensitive region.This paper reports a rock magnetic study of a Quaternary loess-paleosol section in such a region.We tried to reconstruct the paleoclimate evolution history in the region during 1.95–0.40 Ma with magnetic parameters.The results show a general up-section decreasing trend of the ratio of HIRM/(SIRM–IRM100 mT),indicating a long-term decreasing trend of hematite coercivities in the deposits,which can be mainly related to the cooling and aridification trend of the environment in interglacial depositional area and glacial dust source region.The ratio,lf/ARM,widely used to reflect the variations of magnetic mineral grain size,manifests a long-term increasing trend of the magnetic mineral grain size and tends to indicate an overall weakening trend of the East Asian summer monsoon that controlled the pedogenic intensity.Although the regional multi-segmented paleoclimatic records revealed by several magnetic parameters in our study,the long-term Asian cooling and aridification trend inferred here is of global correlation significance.     

Potential relationships between atmospheric particulate matter transported by winter monsoons and red tides in the East China Sea

Combining numerical diagnosis from atmospheric science with biogeochemical methods,a model of the potential correlation of monsoons with red tide emergence in the East China Sea is constructed.The model is designed based on an in-depth investigation of the time-space relationship of aerosol and red tide events in the East China Sea from 2005 to 2006,and a continuous monitoring of atmospheric particulates at two stations.The study shows that every red tide event investigated has a close relationship with aerosols coming from the northwest (wind direction in winter) along with subsidence flow.The elemental abundance of total suspended particulate in Hangzhou and Tiantai is different from that of soil background levels,indicating atmospheric particulates there are brought in by winter winds.There is a significant correlation between the content of iron and phosphorous in atmospheric particulates,which mainly exist in binding materials between particulates.In addition,the confined absorption of iron and phosphorous by red tides is related to the intensity of sunlight.These results provide new information regarding the mechanism for the high frequency of red tides in the East China Sea.The results also provide a scientific basis for establishing new pathways for pre-warning and forecasting of red tide disasters.     

Electric field soundings and the charge structure within an isolated thunderstorm

A strong electric (E) field sounding system was designed to measure the vertical component of the E-fields, temperature, relative humidity and GPS data along the sounding path. In the summer of 2008, in situ measurements of E-field inside the thunderstorms were conducted in Pingliang, Gansu Provience, with the cooperation of an X-band weather radar. One E-field profile inside a thunderstorm was successfully acquired. The sounding data indicated four charge layers along the sounding trajectory, three in-side the thuderstorm and one at its lower boundary. The lower cloud boundary charge layer was negative, acting as a screening layer, and laid between 4.3 to 4.5 km a.s.l. The lower positive charge center (LPCC) existed between 4.5–5.3 km a.s.l. (from 3°C to -2°C); the main negative charge area was present between 5.4–6.6 km a.s.l. (-3°C to -10°C); the upper positive charge layer was between 6.7–7.2 km a.s.l. (-11°C to -14°C). The results support the tripole charge structure inside thunderstorms (above 0°C isotherm altitude), but the LPCC is much larger-than-usual in Chinese inland plateau.     

Global and China temperature changes associated with the inter-decadal variations of East Asian summer monsoon advances

The modern atmospheric observation and literatural historical drought-flood records were used to extract the inter-decadal signals of dry-wet modes in eastern China and reveal the possible relationship of global and China temperature changes associated with the East Asian summer monsoon advances.A climate pattern of "wet-north and dry-south" in eastern China and cool period in China and globe are associated with the strong summer monsoon that can advance further to the northernmost part in the East Asian monsoon region.On the contrary,a climate pattern of "dry-north and wet-south" in eastern China and a warm period in China and globe are associated with the weaker summer monsoon that only reaches the southern part in the region.An interdecadal oscillation with the timescale about 60 years was found dominating in both the dry-wet mode index series of the East Asian summer monsoon and the global temperature series after the secular climate states and long-term trend over inter-centennial timescales have been removed.     

The increase of snowfall in Northeast China after the mid-1980s

We studied long-term variation of winter snowfall in Northeast China (NEC) for 1951-2010. Results show that NEC snowfall increased about 20% during 1986-2010 relative to 1951-1985. Further investigation suggests that the snowfall increase is closely associated with weakening of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM). The physical processes were portrayed by this research. Weakening of EAWM led to weakened cold air flow from the north, thus resulted in the warming of the surface ocean along the Northeast Asia coast and more water vapor evaporated from the ocean surface to the atmosphere and further transported to NEC. Also, because of EAWM weakening, more water vapor from south, east and west of NEC was transported to NEC, increasing water vapor content and hence snowfall there. From an atmospheric circulation viewpoint, EAWM weakening strengthened convergence at low levels and divergence at high levels, thereby favoring increased vertical convection and snowfall.     

Seasonal transition and its boundary layer characteristics in Anduo area of Tibetan Plateau

Using the data, especially the GPS rawinsode data, observed in Anduo area of the Tibetan Plateau during the intensive observation period of GAME/Tibet in 1998, the transition from the dry to the rainy season along with their boundary layer characteristics is analyzed comprehensively. The result shows that the formation of the rainy season in Anduo area is related closely to the general atmospheric circulation. The westerly belt moving north and the southeast damp current are basic conditions for development of the rainy season in Anduo area. In the dry season, the air is drier, air temperature higher, and the atmospheric boundary layer is strongly developed to cause its maximum height to reach about 3550 m. Moreover the sensible heat flux is dominant, and the latent heat flux is small in the interaction of land-atmosphere energy exchange, and a reverse humidity phenomenon occurs frequently. In the rainy season, the air is damper, air temperature lower, and the ABL height, with maximum of only about 2300 m, is lower. And the sensible heat flux becomes much smaller, the latent heat flux much larger in the interaction of land-atmosphere energy exchange. The reverse humidity phenomenon disappears.     

Transonic flow of moist air around an NACA 0012 airfoil with non-equilibrium condensation

The classical condensation model of water vapor is coupled with the Euler equations to calculate transonic flows of moist air with non-equilibrium condensation. By means of this model, numerical computations are implemented to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics of an NACA 0012 airfoil in transonic flows of moist air at various angles of attack and relative humidities, and the results are compared with those in dry air flows. For different angles of attack considered at 50% relative humidity, the lift decreases 30%?40%. The pressure drag increases when the angle of attack is smaller than 1.4° and decreases when higher than 1.4°. At zero angle of attack, with the relative humidity rising from zero to 90%, the pressure drag increases exponentially. At 90% relative humidity, the pressure drag increases 160%, and self-oscillation takes place periodically and alternately over the upper and lower surfaces of the airfoil. The oscillation is caused by the interactions of local supersonic flow and heat release in the condensation process.