Spatio-temporal characteristics of standardized precipitation index in the Taihu basin during 1951–2000

Spatial and temporal characteristics of standardized precipitation index (SPI), which is widely used for drought/flood monitoring, are investigated in this study. The purpose is to obtain a reasonable primary scheme of zoning on the basis of drought/wetness conditions in the study area. Spatio-temporal distributions of SPI with the time scales of 3 months and 12 months are investigated with the datasets of precipitation in the Taihu basin during past decades (1951–2000). Results indicate that SPI series of 3 months show random fluctuation while that of 12 months behaves like 1/f noise. SPI series of 3 months show little trend while that of 12 months show significant trend at several stations. Drought magnitude (DM) is also estimated on the basis of SPI values to assess drought condition. No trend is detected in DMs with time scales of both 3 months and 12 months. Spatial variability of DM is analyzed by mapping the DM with 12 months for extreme drought and wetness, and regional characteristics are analyzed for DM.     

Trends of the precipitation acidity over China during 1992–2006

The trends of the precipitation acidity from 1992 to 2006 were studied, based on the long-term acid rain observations at 74 sites in China. The results show that there was no remarkable change or extension of acid rain area (i.e., with annual mean of precipitation pH<5.6) during the 15 years. The largest and continuous acid rain area exists in the south of the Yangtze River, while the acid rain areas north of the Yangtze River remain separate. The severe acid rain area (i.e., with annual mean of precipitation pH<4.5) exists mainly in the south of the Yangtze River. The overall precipitation acidity for the 74 stations showed different trends before 1999 and after 2000. In the period 1992–1999, the precipitation acidity at most of the sites remained steady or showed a decreasing trend. After 2000, however, an increasing trend of the precipitation acidity was observed at many sites in North China, Central China, East China, and South China. As a result, the pattern of acid rain area changed during 1992–2006. The precipitation over North China, Central China, and South China became more acidified in the 15 years, with more pronounced trends in North China and the north of Central China. A slight decrease in the precipitation acidity was found in Southwest China, an area characterized as severest acid rain area for about two decades after the early 1980s. Consequently, the center of severe acid rain area in the south of the Yangtze River moved eastwards. The non-hydrogen conductivity (NHC), which is defined as the difference between the measured precipitation conductivity and the H+ conductivity calculated from measured pH, was estimated and treated as a proxy of soluble ions in precipitation. The result shows that the overall trend of the NHC before 1999 was pronounced and positive, while the trend after 2000 was inconspicuous or slightly negative. During 2000–2006, the change rate of pH was positively correlated to that of the NHC at 21 sites, implying that the increasing acidities found at these sites may partly be attributed to the decrease in the concentration of airborne particulate matter in recent years.     

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.     

DSC analyses of static and dynamic precipitation of an Al–Mg–Si–Cu aluminum alloy

In the present investigation, both static and dynamic precipitations of an Al–Mg–Si–Cu aluminum alloy after solid-solution treatment(SST)were comparatively analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry(DSC). Dynamic aging was performed in the SST alloy through equal channel angular pressing(ECAP) at different temperatures of room temperature, 110, 170, 191 and 300 1C. For comparison, static artificial aging was conducted in the SST alloy at 191 1C with two aging times of 4 and 10 h. The DSC analyses reveal that the dynamic precipitation has occurred in the ECAPed samples, while the activation energies associated with the strengthening precipitates in the dynamic samples are considerably higher than the energies in the SST and static aged samples. The higher activation energies are probably attributed to the smaller grains and higher dislocation density developed after ECAP. The results in the present investigation allow the prediction of the type of the dynamic precipitates to influence the strength of the ultrafine grained alloy during ECAP at various temperatures.     

Impact of urbanization on changes in temperature extremes in Beijing during 1978–2008

To quantify the impact of urbanization on changes in observed surface air temperature and extremes, a homogenized dataset of daily mean, maximum and minimum temperature （Trn, Trnax and Train） observations at 20 stations in Greater Beijing （GBJ） from 1978 to 2008 is analyzed. In contrast with previous studies, a cluster analysis is done to objectively classify observing stations into four categories （urbanized, suburban, rural and mountain）, which is checked with remote-sensing night-light images since the 1990s. At urbanized sites, there is an added warming trend in annual mean Tm representing an average of 10.9% （up to 18.4% or 0.12℃/decade at the most strongly influenced site） of overall warming. Corresponding contributions for Train are 12.7% （up to 20.8% or 0.19℃/decade） and 24% for diurnal temperature range DTR （up to 37.4% or 0.149℃/decade） over the last three dec- ades. Although it has not had a significant impact on daytime records （Tmax）, urbanization has enhanced the increasing （decreasing） trend of extremely warm （cold） nights by an average of 12.7% or 2.07 d/decade （29.0% or 5.06 d/decade） at the urbanized sites since the 1970s.     

Decadal change of the East Asian summer monsoon and its related surface temperature in Asia-Pacific during 1880–2004

The East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） and its related change of surface temperature in the past century were not clearly ad- dressed due to absence of atmospheric reanalysis data before 1948. On the benchmark of station-observed sea level pressure （SLP） in China, we utilized multiple SLP datasets and evaluated their qualities in measuring the SLP-based EASM index （EASMI）. It is found that the EASMI based on the SLP of the Hadley center version 2 （HadSLP2） has shown the best performance on the inter- annual and decadal time scales. Instead of showing a linear weakening trend pointed out by the previous study, the EASMI has likely exhibited the decadal variability, characterized by weakened trends during 1880-1906, 1921-1936, and 1960-2004, and with enhanced trends during 1906-1921 and 1936-1960, respectively. Corresponding to the weakened and enhanced periods of EASMI since the 1920s, the surface air temperature （SAT） index （SATI） averaged in eastern China has likely shown a warming and a cooling trend, respectively. However, the decadal abrupt transitions between the two indices do not occur concurrently, which results in a weak correlation between two indices on the decadal time scale. Further analysis indicates that there are four key regions where the SAT is significantly correlated with the EASMI, suggesting the joint impact of surface temperature in Asia-Pacific on the EASM during 1880-2004. In which, the decadal change of SAT near the Lake Baikal plays an important role in the linear trends of the EASM before and after 1960.     

Effect of ECAP temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy

The effect of equal channel angular pressing(ECAP) at different temperatures(room temperature, 120,150 and 180 °C) on microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-7075 solid solution alloy was investigated. Microstructure of the specimens was examined using orientation imaging microscopy,transmission electron microscopy as well as X-ray diffractometer, and mechanical properties were measured by Vickers microhardness and tensile tests. Microstructural investigations showed that after3 or 4 passes of ECAP, fi ne grains with average grain sizes in range of 300–1000 nm could be obtained at different ECAP temperatures. Increasing ECAP temperature from 120 to 180 °C caused a decrease in mechanical properties as a result of increasing grains and precipitates sizes, decreasing fraction of high angle boundaries and also transformation of η′ into η phase, while increasing ECAP temperature from RT to 120 °C leads to an increase in mechanical properties due to the formation of small η′ precipitates. So it can be concluded that ECAP process at 120 °C is the optimum process for attaining maximum mechanical properties. Quantitative estimates of various strengthening mechanisms revealed that the improvement of mechanical properties was mainly attributed to grain re fi nement strengthening, precipitation strengthening and dislocation strengthening.     

Influence of variation in precipitation on the δD values of terrestrial n-alkanes on the southern Tibetan Plateau

A short lake sedimentary core and ice core were recovered from Lake Chen Co and Noijingangsang Glacier,respectively,in the Lake Yamdrok watershed of the southern Tibetan Plateau.Hydrogen isotope ratios of the ice core(δDice) and δD values of terrestrial n-alkanes(δDwax) in the sediments showed a linear correlation(R2 = 0.41,P = 0.047) over the past 80 years,indicating the effect of hydrogen isotope ratios of precipitation(δDp) on δDwax.However,apparent fractionation(εwax-p) values of δDwax relative to δDice increased with decreasing ice core accumulation(amount of precipitation;R2 = 0.65,P = 0.0051),revealing that dry or wet climate variation had a significant impact on δDwax.Thus,precipitation amount and δDp are both important in determining δDwax.     

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.     

Reconstructing temperature change in Central East China during 601–920 AD

Using historical records on first and last frost and snow, spring cultivation, David peach blossom, autumn crop harvest, grade of sea freeze and change in northern citrus boundary, we reconstructed temperature change during 601–920 AD. The mean temperature of the winter half-year (October to April) over Central East China during this period was about −0.22°C higher than that of the present (1961–2000 AD mean). During 601–820 AD, mean temperature was about −0.52°C higher than the present. During 821–920 AD, the mean temperature was 0.42°C lower than the present. The temperature fluctuations were characterized by a maximum amplitude of 1.05°C at the centennial scale, 1.38°C at the 50–year scale, 2.02°C at the 30-year scale, and 2.3°C at the 20-year scale. There were four peaks warmer than today (601–620 AD, mean of 1°C higher temperature; 641–660 AD, 1.44°C; 701–720 AD, 0.88°C; 781–800 AD, 0.65°C). Three cold periods were in 741–760, 821–840, and 881–900 AD, the mean temperature of which was 0.37–0.87°C lower than the present.     

Kinetics of discontinuous precipitation in Cu–20Ni–20Mn alloy

The morphology and growth kinetics of discontinuous precipitation (DP) in a Cu–20Ni–20Mn alloy were investigated in the temperature range of 523–673 K by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. A lamellar mixed structure consisting of alternating lamellae of a matrix and NiMn phase was observed in DP colonies. The volume fraction of regions formed by a DP reaction was determined by quantitative metallographic measurements. The kinetics of DP was evaluated on the basis of the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov equation, which resulted in a time exponent of approximately 1.5. We confirmed that the nucleation of the discontinuous precipitate was confined to grain edges or boundaries at an early stage of the reaction. The activation energy of DP process was determined to be approximately (72.7 ±7.2) kJ/mol based on the Arrhenius equation; this result suggests that DP is controlled by grain boundary diffusion. The hardness values exhibited good correlation with the volume fraction of DP; this correlation was attributed to the presence of the ordered NiMn phase.     

Variations of alkenone temperature in the Sea of Japan during the last 170 ka and its paleoceanographic implications

Two sediment cores, KCES1 and ODP797, which were recovered from the Sea of Japan （JS）, were measured for alkenone-derived sea surface temperatures （U37-SSTs）. Our results revealed that the SSTs closely follow the glacial-interglacial cycles during the last 170 ka, except in the last glacial maximum （LGM）, during which the SST was higher than in the Holocene. The anomalous high temperature in the LGM is considered as an effect of the intrusion of a low salinity water mass into the JS when the sea level was almost below 130 m. On the glacial- K interglacial to orbital timescale, the U37-SSTs record in the JS correlated well with the benthic foraminiferal SO record and solar insolation, which suggests the dominant control of solar insolation and its related sea ice develop- ment on the SST in the JS. On the sub-orbital/millennial timescale, reduced SST corresponds to an enhanced east asian winter monsoon （EAWM） during the last glacial period （MIS3 and MIS4）, indicating the dominant control of sea ice expansion due to the enhanced EAWM on the SST in the JS. In contrast, during the last interglacial period （MIS5）, the SST in the JS was controlled by variations in the east Asian summer monsoon. These results highlight the key role of solar insolation and associated glacial-interglacial conditions in the variations of the SST in the JS since the last 170 ka.     

Creep behavior and effect factors of a TiAl–Nb alloy at high temperature

The effect of solution treatment on the microstructure and creep properties of forged TiAl-Nb alloys was investigated.The results showed that the microstructure of forged alloy mainly consisted of γ/α₂ lamellar colonies and fine equiaxed recrystallized γ/α₂ grains.During the solution treatment the microstructure of the alloy transformed into a fully lamellar structure due to the lamellar colonies growth by consuming equiaxed grains.Compared with the forged alloy the creep l...     

Spatial and temporal variations of forest LAI in China during 2000–2010

Forests are crucial terrestrial ecosystems.Their leaf area index (LAI) is a key parameter determining the exchange of matter and energy between the atmosphere and the ground surface.In this study,MOD 09A1 and MCD 43A1 data were input into an inversion model based on the 4-scale geometric optical model to retrieve 8-d 500 m LAI products in China during the period 2000 to 2010.The resulting LAI product was validated using LAI measured in 6 typical areas.The spatial and temporal variations of forest LAI and its relationships with temperature and precipitation were analyzed.The results show that the accuracy of the 500 m LAI product was above 70% in the 6 typical areas,indicating the reliability of this product.From 2000 to 2010,forest LAI in northeast,north,and south central China showed increasing trends.However,forest LAI in southeast and parts of southwest China showed downward trends,mainly because of the significant decrease observed during the period 2008 to 2010.Annual mean forest LAI positively correlated with annual mean temperature (AMT) in northeastern China and negatively correlated with AMT in southwest China.It had positive correlations with annual total precipitation in central south and north China.The abnormal climate conditions in 2001 and 2009 caused forest LAI to be obviously lower than normal in regions south of the Qinling Mountains and Huaihe River.Annual mean LAI decreased by more than 1.0 in some areas.     

Spatiotemporal pattern and regional characteristics of visibility in China during 1976–2010

Degradation in visibility occurs extensively across China,creating the urgent need to better understand visibility patterns and characteristics in China.Using daily observation data from the U.S.National Climatic Data Center(NCDC)during 1976–2010,the spatial distribution and temporal trends of visibility in China,as well as seasonal and regional characteristics,were determined.The distribution of visibility was characterized by a longitudinal gradient between west and east China.The northwest of China generally experienced consistent high visibility of[20 km,while central and eastern China experienced visibility degradation and increase in haziness.The 133stations with significant downward trends in visibility were clustered around central-east China and the average reduction rate was-1.65 km/decade(from 18.5 km).The96 stations with increasing trends of visibility were mostly on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and Xinjiang and were closely related to a reduction in local sand storms.The average visibility in 12 key regions in China varied between9.9–17.8 km(except for 23.9 km in Urumqi),which was lower than the national average of 18.7 km.The Taiyuan–Hohhot,Guanzhong,Yangtze River Delta,Pearl River Delta and Fuzhou–Xiamen areas all encountered significant decreases in visibility,while minor increases were observed in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei and the Cheng-Yu region.At most stations,the worst visibility was measured in winter,but the season with best visibility varied between regions.A comparison of visibility trends with the emission trends of various pollutants revealed that SO2emissions dominated the visibility degradation in eastern Chinawith NOxand volatile organic compounds playing ascending roles during the 2000s.     

Influence of basicity and temperature on bonding phase strength,microstructure, and mineralogy of high-chromium vanadium–titanium magnetite

To develop a smelting process for the comprehensive utilization of high-chromium vanadium-titanium magnetite (HCVTM), the micro-sinter test was applied to investigate the influence of basicity and temperature on the HCVTM sinters. The bonding phase strength (BS) was tested via an electronic universal testing machine. The phase transformations of the HCVTM sinters were detected via X-ray diffraction (XRD), whereas the structure and mineralogy of the HCVTM sinters under different temperatures and basicities were detected via scanning electron microscopy in combination with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM–EDS). Our results demonstrate that the BS of the HCVTM sinters exhibits a slightly increasing tendency with an increase in temperature when the basicity is 2.4 and within the range of 2.8–4.0. Many cracks, small size crystals, and dependent phase structures are generated by increasing the sinter basicity. The BS is lower than 4000 N when the basicity is 2.2 and 2.8. When the temperature is in the range of 1280–1300℃, the BS exceeds 4000 N with the basicity of 2.0, 2.4, and 3.4–4.0. The pore size of the HCVTM sinters increases with the increase of the temperature. The perovskite decreases, whereas the silicate phase increases with basicity higher than 3.2. This study provides theoretical and technical foundations for the effective production of HCVTM sinters.     

Influence of basicity and temperature on bonding phase strength,microstructure,and mineralogy of high-chromium vanadium–titanium magnetite

To develop a smelting process for the comprehensive utilization of high-chromium vanadium-titanium magnetite(HCVTM),the micro-sinter test was applied to investigate the influence of basicity and temperature on the HCVTM sinters.The bonding phase strength(BS) was tested via an electronic universal testing machine.The phase transformations of the HCVTM sinters were detected via X-ray diffraction(XRD),whereas the structure and mineralogy of the HCVTM sinters under different temperatures and basicities were detected via scanning electron microscopy in combination with energy-dispersive spectroscopy(SEM–EDS).Our results demonstrate that the BS of the HCVTM sinters exhibits a slightly increasing tendency with an increase in temperature when the basicity is 2.4 and within the range of 2.8–4.0.Many cracks,small size crystals,and dependent phase structures are generated by increasing the sinter basicity.The BS is lower than 4000 N when the basicity is 2.2 and 2.8.When the temperature is in the range of 1280–1300?C,the BS exceeds 4000 N with the basicity of 2.0,2.4,and 3.4–4.0.The pore size of the HCVTM sinters increases with the increase of the temperature.The perovskite decreases,whereas the silicate phase increases with basicity higher than 3.2.This study provides theoretical and technical foundations for the effective production of HCVTM sinters.     

Monitoring dynamic changes of global land cover types:fluctuations of major lakes in China every 8 days during 2000–2010

Remote sensing images can be used to delineate variations in the area of lakes and to assess the influence of environmental changes and human activities.However,because lakes are dynamic,results obtained from individual images acquired on a single date are not representative and do not accurately reflect ongoing changes.In this study,we used 8-day moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer(MODIS)composite data from 2000 to2010 to map water surface changes over 629 lakes in China.We combined automatic extraction of training data and support vector machine classification to derive the spatial distribution of these large water bodies.The producer’s and user’s accuracies for MODIS images were91.06%and 89.81%,respectively,when compared with interpretation results from 30 m resolution Landsat images taken on similar days.Area changes,variability,inundation intensity,and rainy seasons of the 629 lakes were analyzed based on this multi-temporal lake database.The total area of the 629 lakes increased over the study period,primarily as a result of the expansion of lake areas on the Tibetan Plateau.There were 12 lakes with a maximum area[1,000 km2,and six of these decreased in area from 2000to 2010.The shrinkages of Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake were-54.76 and-25.08 km2/a,respectively.The area of lakes on Tibetan Plateau,in northern Xinjiang,northeastern Inner Mongolia,and northeastern China varied little,while lakes on the Yangtze Plain,in southern Inner Mongolia,and central Xinjiang fluctuated considerably.Inundation intensity increased for lakes on the Tibetan Plateau,in northern Xinjiang,Heilongjiang,and Jilin,while inundation extent decreased in central Xinjiang,southern Tibet,southern Inner Mongolia,Sichuan,and on the Yangtze Plain.This study is an attempt to develop high-frequency specific land cover maps to improve applicability of general land cover maps.The lake products serve as an important supplement to hydrologic data.The lake database enables the generation of new land surface process models,which could improve the precision of simulations,based on more accurate observations of dynamic lake systems.     

Fusion boundary evolution,precipitation behaviour,and interaction with dislocations in an Fe–22Cr–15Ni steel weldment during long-term creep

A tungsten inert gas welded joint between a novel heat-resistant austenitic steel and ERNiCrCoMo-1 weld metal was investigated before and after creep in this study. The evolution of the microstructures in the base and weld metals was discussed based on the electron back-scatter diffraction(EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) analyses. The preferred orientations of the fusion boundary after creep revealed the influence of the applied stress on creep deformation mechanism. A cooperative nucleation process of M_(23)C_6 carbides in the base metal was proposed. The finely distributed Cu-rich phase was cut off by the dislocations during creep, leading to increased mean size and reduced amount of the nano-Cu phase. A modified triple-precipitate hardening model was constructed based on TEM observations of the interactions between the particles and the dislocations in the base metal after creep at 200 MPa. The evolution of a μ phase in the weld metal involved epitaxial growth and dissolving into the matrix.     

Stability of thermal cycling and high temperature mechanical properties for Ti–V–Al–B lightweight shape memory alloy

The microstructure of the Ti–V–Al shape memory alloy with refined grain and in-situ TiB phase was modified by doping minor Boron (B), which contributes to the superior mechanical performances and strain recovery characteristics. Compared with other quaternary Ti–V–Al-X alloys, the Ti–V–Al–B alloy showed the largest ultimate tensile stress due to the solution strengthening, grain refinement and precipitation strengthening of in-situ TiB phase. Moreover, the Ti–V–Al alloy added 0.1 ?at.%B possessed the maximum yield stress of 701 ?MPa and the largest tensile fracture strain of 27.6% at the temperature of 150 ?°C. Meanwhile, the excellent strain recovery characteristics with fully recoverable strain of 4% could be obtained due to B addition. Besides, B addition suppressed the precipitation of ω phase during thermal cycling and further improved the thermal cycling stability of the Ti–V–Al alloy.