Studying the stability of the middle atmosphere (30―60 km) over Wuhan by Rayleigh lidar

The stability of the middle atmosphere ranging from 30 km to 60 km over Wuhan is elementarily studied, according to the observational data obtained in about one year through the WlPM Rayleigh lidar. The stability parameter （buoyancy frequency squared）, which was obtained through the temperature field, shows that the middle atmosphere over Wuhan is stable all the year round, but the stability appears variable because the stability of summer and winter is lower, and that of spring and autumn is higher.     

Applying partial correlation method to analyzing the correlation between ionospheric NmF2 and height of isobaric level in the lower atmosphere

On the basis of a multiple linear regression model performed for ionospheric NmF2, partial correlation method is first applied to investigating the relation between NmF2 and h (the height of isobaric level) in the lower atmosphere over Wuhan, China during 1957―2004. The results show that partial correlation method can eliminate the influences of solar and geomagnetic activities as well as the seasonal varia- tion factors and reveal the true correlation between NmF2 and h in the lower atmosphere. A weak posi- tive correlation between NmF2 and h is found in the middle stratosphere. In addition, by comparing the partial correlation coefficients between NmF2 and its influence factors, we find that NmF2 is mainly affected by solar activity and the seasonal variation factors, and weakly affected by geomagnetic ac- tivity, but hardly affected by h in the lower atmosphere. The study suggests that partial correlation method is a helpful tool for investigating the correlation between ionospheric parameter and its influ- ence factors.     

Analytic solution of phreatic surface in the slope of reservoir bank

In most cases, the slope stability of reservoir bank is analyzed on the premise that the location of phreatic surface is obtained. But many designers generalize a line as the phreatie surface through their experience to analyze the stability, which is unsafe in the project. To find a solution of the phreatic surface which is convenient to put into use and in accordance with the practice, the article, based on Boussinesq equation, infers analytic solutions suitable to the water level at different ratios and achieves an analytic solution equation through fitting curves. The correctness of the equation is also proved by the experiments of sand and sand-clay models and the inaccuracy of empirical generalization is analyzed quantitatively. The calculation results show that the inaccuracy through the method of experiential generalizing is so large that the designers should be awake to it.     

Stability of diatomaceous silica and its geochemical implication

An experiment of stability of diatomaceous silica was performed. The results show that pH value and temperature dominantly influence the stability. The pH value concerning largely dissolving diatomaceous silica is 2-3 higher than that amorphous silica due to the buffer action of coexistent clay minerals. The solubility of diatomaceous silica rises distinctly when temperature is over 40℃, which suggests the cause of distribution of large-scale diatomite deposits in the middle to high latitude areas over the world. There is no close relationship between the solubility of diatomaceous silica and time, which shows that the content of diatomaceous silica in diatomite deposits are determined by the latest environment condition since they formed and bore no relation to the time they experienced.     

The relationship between short-range motion of atmosphere and ocean and conservative and nonconservative scheme

Taking one-dimensional shallow water wave equation as an example, a comparative analysis on the computational stability related to the short-range motion of atmosphere and ocean is carried out for the conservative and nonconservative scheme, and it is pointed out that the computational stability of conservative scheme is absolutely different from that of the nonconservative scheme. The relationship between the short-range motion of atmosphere and ocean and the conservative and nonconservative scheme is further discussed. The constructed conservative scheme is proved to be stable by the numerical experiment for the short-range motion of atmosphere and ocean while the CTCS scheme is unstable. So that the conservative scheme for the solution of this kind of problem has more advantages.     

Diurnal freeze/thaw cycles of the ground surface on the Tibetan Plateau

The exchange of energy and water between the lithosphere and atmosphere mainly takes place at the ground surface. Therefore, freeze/thaw condition at the ground surface is an important factor in ex- amining the interactions between the land surface and atmosphere. Based on the observation data obtained by CEOP/CAMP-Tibet, the diurnal freeze/thaw cycles of the ground surface near Naqu, central Tibetan Plateau was preliminarily analyzed. The results show that the surface layer was completely frozen for approximately one month. However, the time that the ground surface experienced diurnal freeze/thaw cycles was about 6 months. The high frequency of freeze/thaw cycles at the ground surface significantly influences water and energy exchanges between ground and atmosphere over half a year. The interaction processes between the ground and atmosphere under different soil conditions (such as complete thaw, complete freeze and diurnal freeze/thaw cycles) are issues worthy of further examina- tion.     

Westerly moisture transport to the middle of Himalayas revealed from the high deuterium excess

Previous studies found extremely high d-excess in both ice core and glacial melt water in Dasuopu glacier, Xixiabangma, middle of Himalayas. These values are much higher than the global average and those measured in southwest monsoon precipitation. The d-excess variation in over one year at Nyalam station will clarify this phenomenon. Studies show that the high d-excess is related to the seasonal variation of moisture transport to this region. The d-excess values are low during the southwest monsoon active periods, when moisture originated from the humid ocean surface. The d-excess values are higher in non-monsoon months, when moisture is derived from westerly transport. Winter and spring precipitation accounts for a substantial portion of the annual precipitation, resulting in higher d-excess in the yearly precipitation in the middle of Himalayas than other parts of the southern Tibetan Plateau. This finding reveals that the precipitation in the middle of Himalayas is not purely from southwest monsoon, but a large portion from the westerly transport, which is very important for ice core study in this area.     

Analyzing global trends of different cloud types and their potential impacts on climate by using the ISCCP D2 dataset

The International Satellite Cloud Climatology roject (ISCCP) D2 dataset is used to study the global distribution of low, middle and high cloud amounts and their rends of 1983-2001. Evidences have shown that global arming has accelerated over the past 20 a and the 1990s as the warmest decade in the instrumental records since 861. Trends of various clouds amounts over this period are nalyzed by employing the linear regression method. The esults show that global mean total cloud amounts, in general,have tended to reduce over the past 20 a. But there are lightly increasing by about 2% before 1987 and decreasing y about 4% since then. Cloudiness trends of both low and igh clouds decrease while increase for the middle cloud.And there exist remarkable discrepancies in different regions.The preliminary analyses suggest that it is likely that the loud change occurring over the past 20 a is a positive feedback to global warming.     

A quasi-geostrophic wavelet-spectrum model for barotropic atmosphere and its numerical solution

A quasi-geostrophic wavelet-spectrum model of barotropic atmosphere has been constructed by wavelet-Galerkin method with the periodic orthogonal wavelet bases. In this study a wavelet grid-spectrum transform method is designed to decrease the tremendous computation of the nonlinear interaction term in the model, and a two-dimensional Helmholtz equation from the model in a wavelet spectrum form is derived, and a solution with high precision under the periodic boundary condition is obtained. The numerical investigation manifests that the wavelet-spectrum model (WSM) could keep on running for a long time under the forcing of heating and topography. Although its numerical solution is compatible with the grid model (GM), the WSM is of a higher precision and faster convergence rate than GM's. A stationary solution comes forth when the model is forced only by the surface heating, whereas a quasi-periodic oscillation with a period about 15 days appears as considering the topography in the model. The latter oscillation, to some extent, is very similar to the Rossby index cycle of atmosphere over middle and high latitudes.     

Meteor radar observation of circulation near mesopause over Wuhan

The Wuhan meteor radar is the first all-sky meteor radar in China. The circulation near the mesopause from February to September 2002 is studied based on the data obtained by the Wuhan meteor radar. The zonal wind is usually eastward in winter from 80 to 100 km. The mean zonal wind become westward from March to early of May, when the winter circulation reverses to the summer circulation. But at the meteor heights, the zonal circulation usually becomes eastward after the middle of May. The meridional circulation is always equatorward. The peaks of the meridional wind move downward with the height, and the peak value reaches its maximum of 21 ms^-1 in July. Having made a comparison between monthly mean wind and HWM93 model wind, the value of southward wind, the maximal value of eastward wind as well as the reversal height of zonal wind are found to be quite different from each other.     

A numerical study on nonlinear propagation and short-term variability of the migrating diurnal and semidiurnal tides

By using a three-dimensional fully nonlinear numerical model in spherical coordinates and taking the linear steady solutions of the migrating diurnal and semidiurnal tides in January from the Global-Scale Wave Model （GSWM） as the initial values, we simulate the linear and nonlinear propagations of the migrating diurnal and semidiurnal tides in the atmosphere from the ground to the lower thermosphere. A comparison of our simulations with the results of GSWM is also presented. The simulation results show that affected by the nonlinearity, the migrating diurnal and semidiurnal tides propagating in the middle and upper atmosphere exhibit evident short-term variability. The nonlinear interactions between the migrating tides and the background atmosphere can obviously alter the background wind and temperature fields, which suggests that the nonlinear propagations of the migrating diurnal and semidiurnal tides impact significantly on the transient dynamical and thermal structures of the background middle and upper atmosphere and the nonlinear effect is an important cause of the difference between the results of GSWM and observations.     

Characterization of cellulose acetate micropore membrane immobilized acylase I

This paper describes an innovative method for the immobilization of acylase I, which was entrapped into the CA-CTA micropore membrane. The most suitable casting solutions proportion for immobilizing the enzyme was obtained through orthogonal experiment. Properties of the enzyme membrane were investigated and compared with those of free enzyme and blank membrane. The thermal stability and pH stability of the enzyme inside the membrane were changed by immobilization. The optimum pH was found to be 6.0, which changes 1.0 unit compared with that of free acylase I. The optimum temperature was found to be about 90℃, which is higher than that of free acylase I (60℃). Experimental results showed that immobilization had effects on the kinetic parameters of acylase I.     

Thermal adaptation of the large-scale circulation to the summer heating over the Tibetan Plateau

The potential vorticity equation is employed to diagnose the variation in the large-scale atmospheric circulation in July by using the NCAR/NCEP daily reanalysis data from 1986 to 1995. Based on the theogy of thermal adaptation, the schematic diagram of the formation and maintenance of the circulation over the Tibetan Plateau is revealed in this paper. The result shows that near the surface of ground is the positive potential vorticity source produced by the increasing diabatic heating with height, which maintains the cyclonic circulation, and that the positive Ertel potential vorticitv (PV) source is balanced by friction dissipation. On the other hand, in the upper troposphere the negative PV produced by the decreasing diabatic heating with height maintains the anticyclone, and it is balanced by the divergence of the negative PV. The Gauss' theorem has been applied to analyze the Ertel potential vorticity flux crossing each of the lateral boundaries of the area over the Tibetan Plateau. The result shows that the negative PV flux is transferred through the eastern and northern boundaries of the area from the Tibetan Plateau region to the outer world. It is evident that the Tibetan Plateau region is an important source of negative vorticity of the atmosphere.     

Great progress in study on aerosol and its impact on the global environment

The transport from atmosphere is a more important pathway than that from rivers for certain elements and compounds in the remote ocean. The desert and those arid/semi-arid areas in the northwest of China and the Loess Plateau are the sources of those aerosols over the Pacific. Atmospheric iron is the limiting factor of the productivity in certain ocean regions. The dust storms must now be seen as repeated sources of pollution elements as well as soil elements to the East China Sea and, farther out, to the North Pacific Ocean and even to the USA. The long-range transport of aerosols, especially the dust storm, from China and the positive feedbacks of iron coupled with sulfur in atmosphere might be one of the important mechanisms that would affect the primary productivity in the Pacific and/or the global climate change and deserve to be further studied. It can be seen clearly that the dust storms would affect not only the health of human beings and the local or regional climate, but also the global climate change that has been the focus of environmental study internationally.     

Evaluation of crustal stability in the lower Yellow River region

The evaluation of crustal stability in the lower Yellow River region （LYR） is vital to the engineering project of the Yellow River embankment and construction of the Huang-Huai-Hai plain. From three aspects of tectonic stability, surface stability and medium stability, this paper analyzes in detail the factors such as tectonic activity, tectonic stress, exogenic geologic disasters and ground material composition which affect crustal stability in the study area and the spatial distributions of subordinate degree of the evaluation factors. It then constructs the crustal stability evaluation model of fuzzy mathematics based on GIS by using AHP to among the various factors find out the interrelations comprehensive evaluation of fuzzy mathematics and the functions of spatial overlay and spatial database of ArcGIS. Based upon this the crustal stability evaluation is carried out, the results show that the areas of stable and instable regions are basically the same, being 48.72% and 51.28% respectively. The area of moderate stable region takes a dominant position, being about 70.58%. The crust instable region presents zonal distribution and under the control of tectonic faulted belt. But the region where the LYR runs across is mostly instable with a total length of the river being 568.345 km, or 78.93% of all. The river reach where the crustal stability is relatively poor along the LYR is concentrated in the Lankao-Dongping section.     

The stability safety factor calibration based on the reliability index

When the bridge structure stability safety factor of the first type is 4, the research that whether the structure reliability index will reach target reliability index under the more-likely-to-happen collapse situation of the second type is necessary. The stability calculations of the first and the second type are made respectively for single layer and single span rigid frame bridge. Based on the critical load obtained from the stability calculation of the first type, the stability safety factor of the first type is taken as 4, and the first order reliability method is used to program and calculate the reliability index. Then, the load effect under the stability reliability index cal- culation of the first type and the critical load of the second type are employed to calculate the reliability index of the second type. The evaluation of structure stability safety factor is discussed according to reliability index. Based on the discussion above, parameter analysis of the stable critical loads of two types is made, and the in- fluence of critical load change on reliability index is researched. The result shows that stability analysis should identify collapse state; when the stability safety factor of the first type is 4, but the structure has the collapse of the second type, the reliability index cannot be ensured to reach the target reliability index under certain condi- tions.     

A model for assessing effects of climate change on runoff in China

A model is established for assessing the effects of climate change on runoff in China based on the land surface parameterization scheme variable infiltration capacity (VIC). The entire area of China is represented by 2604 cells with a resolution of 60 km×60 km for each cell. Forcing data, soil and vegetation parameters needed by the VIC model for the entire area of China are prepared. Daily forcing data, which are obtained from 740 stations between 1980 and 1990, are interpolated to the 60 km×60 km grid system. The VIC model is run on every grid cell over the whole China, and a routing scheme is run offline with daily input of surface runoff and drainage from the VIC to get hydrograph at basin outlets. The spatial patterns of simulated runoff and mean annual precipitation are consistent very well. The results of monthly streamflow simulations over the Huaihe and Weihe River basins indicate that there is a good agreement between the observed and simulated values, and also initially indicate the rationality and feasibility of the evaluation model.     

Analysis of the global T_m–T_s correlation and establishment of the latitude-related linear model

In this study,the correlation between Tm,a key variable in GNSS water vapor inversion,and surface temperature(Ts)was calculated on a global scale based on the global geodetic observing system(GGOS)atmosphere Tmdata and European centre for medium-range weather forecasts(ECMWF)surface temperature data.The results show that their correlation is mainly affected by latitudes,and the correlation is stronger at high latitudes and weaker at low latitudes.Although the correlation is relatively weak in the tropic areas,the temperature changes so little in a year in these areas that we can still achieve good Tmresults by linear regression model.Based on these facts,‘‘GGOS atmosphere’’Tmdata and ECMWF Tsdata from 2005 to2011 were used to establish the global latitude-related linear regression model.The new model has root mean square error(RMSE)of 3.2,3.3,and 4.4 K,respectively,compared with respect to the‘‘GGOS atmosphere’’data,COSMIC data,and radiosonde data and is more accurate than the Bevis Tm–Tsrelationship.     

Semi-analytical analysis of the response of the air temperature over the land surface to the global vegetation distribution

Response of the air temperature over the land surface to the global vegetation distribution is investigated, using a three-dimensional governing equation to simulate the steady, large-scale, limited amplitude perturbation of the free, inviscid and adiabatic atmosphere. The adoption of the static equation leads to a temperature governing equation in the terrain following coordinate. With the prescribed temperature as the upper boundary condition and the radiation balance as the lower boundary condition, the semi-analytical solution of the global circulation temperature can be calculated. In this article, only the air temperature （at 2 m height） over the land surface is analyzed, and the result suggests that this model can simulate the air temperature pattern over the land surface reasonably. A better simulation occurs when a simple feedback of the albedo on the temperature is included. Two sensitivity experiments are analyzed through this model. One suggests that the air temperature over the land surface descends obviously when the land surface is covered with ice all over, while another suggests that the air temperature rises a little when the land surface is covered with forest except the ice-covered area. This model appears to be a good tool to study the response of the air temperature to the vegetation distribution. Limitations of the model are also discussed.     

Ecological and environmental explanation of microbiotic crusts on sand dune scales in the Gurbantonggut Desert, Xinjiang

Results obtained from the field investigation and the analysis in laboratory show that many species of microbiotic crusts of lichens, mosses and algae develop extensively in the Gurbantonggut Desert, Xinjiang. The formation, species and distribution are closely related to the environmental conditions at the different positions of sand dunes. The animalcule crusts develop mainly on the mobile or semi-mobile sand surface of dune tops, the alga crusts develop mainly at the upper to middle parts of dune slopes, the lichen crusts develop at middle and lower parts of dune slopes, and the moss crusts are mainly distributed at the lower part of dune slopes and the interdune lowlands. The species, thickness and developing degree of microbiotic crusts increase from the upper part to the middle and lower parts of dune slopes and the interdune lowlands, and an obvious contrast between the microbiotic crusts and the different species of plant communities forms. The development and differentiation of microbiotic crusts at the different positions of dunes are the ecological appearance and the natural selection of synthetic adaptability of the different microbiotic crust species to the local environmental conditions, and are closely related to the ecological conditions, such as the physiochemical properties of soils and stability of topsoil texture.