ALBERT

Description: In order to monitor the changes of the glaciers in the Gongga Mountain region on the south-eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, 74 monsoonal temperate glaciers were investigated by comparing the Chinese Glacier Inventory (CGI), recorded in the 1960s, with Landsat MSS in 1974, Landsat TM in 1989, 1994, 2005, and ASTER data in 2009. The remote sensing data have been applied to map the glacier outline by threshold ratio images (TM4/TM5). Moreover, the glacier outlines were verified by GPS survey on four large glaciers (Hailuogou, Mozigou, Yanzigou, and Dagongba) in 2009. The results show that the area dominated by the 74 glaciers has shrunk by 11.3 % (29.2 km2) from 1966 to 2009. Glacier area on the eastern and western slope of the Gongga Mountains decreased by 14.1 km2 (5.5 % in 1966) and 15.1 km2 (5.9 % in 1966), respectively. The loss in glacier area and length is respectively 0.8 km2 and 1146.4 m (26.7 m yr−1) for the Hailuogou glacier, 2.1 km2 and 501.8 m (11.7 m yr−1) for the Mozigou Glacier, 0.8 km2 and 724.8 m (16.9 m yr−1) for the Yanzigou Glacier, and 2.4 km2 and 1002.3 m (23.3 m yr−1) for the Dagongba Glacier. Decades of climate records obtained from three meteorological stations in the Gongga Mountains were analyzed to evaluate the impact of the temperature and precipitation on glacier retreat. During 1966–2009, the mean annual temperature over the eastern and western slope of the Gongga Mountains has been increasing by 0.21 °C/10 yr and 0.13 °C/10 yr, respectively. Moreover, it was stable in the mean annual precipitation. This evidence indicates that the warming of the climate is probably responsible for the glacier retreat in the study region.

Description: In order to monitor the changes of the glaciers in the Gongga Mountain region on the south-eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, 74 monsoonal temperate glaciers were investigated by comparing the Chinese Glacier Inventory (CGI), recorded in the 1960s, with Landsat MSS in 1974, Landsat TM in 1989, 1994, 2005, and ASTER data in 2009. The remote sensing data have been applied to map the glacier outline by threshold ratio images (TM4/TM5). Moreover, the glacier outlines were verified by GPS survey on four large glaciers (Hailuogou (HLG), Mozigou (MZG), Yanzigou (YZG), and Dagongba (DGB)) in 2009. The results show that the area dominated by the 74 glaciers has shrunk by 11.3% (29.2 km2) from 1966 to 2009. Glacier area on the eastern and western slopes of the Gongga Mountains decreased by 9.8% and 14.6% since 1966, respectively. The loss in glacier area and length is, respectively, 0.8 km2 and 1146.4 m for the HLG Glacier, 2.1 km2 and 501.8 m for the MZG Glacier, 0.8 km2 and 724.8 m for the YZG Glacier, and 2.4 km2 and 1002.3 m for the DGB Glacier. Decades of climate records obtained from three meteorological stations in the Gongga Mountains were analyzed to evaluate the impact of the temperature and precipitation on glacier retreat. The mean annual temperatures over the eastern and western slopes of the Gongga Mountains have been increasing by 0.34 K decade−1 and 0.24 K decade−1 (1988–2009), respectively. Moreover, mean annual precipitation has only increased by 1% in the past 50 yr. The increasing amount of precipitation could not compensate for the glacier mass loss due to the temperature increase in the Gongga Mountains. This suggests that the warming of the climate is probably also responsible for the glacier retreat in the study region. At the region scale, glacier changes were also controlled by local topographical factors.

Description: Understanding inhomogeneous snow processes at the grid scale is crucial for distributed snow hydrology research. Many studies on inhomogeneous snow processes focus on the annual similarity of snow distribution and depletion and the roles of topography and other environmental conditions. In contrast, this study examines the snow distribution and depletion patterns at a small grid scale in a shallow snowpack region and analyzes how meteorological factors influence these patterns by using the SNOWPACK model for scenario simulations. These simulations enable quantification of the role of three main meteorological factors: shortwave radiation, longwave radiation, and air temperature. The study region is located in the Northeastern Qinghai-Tibet plateau. The results of the study indicate the following two points. (1) During different snowmelt periods, spatial similarity exists between the periodical cumulative snow distributions, and the relationships between snow cover fraction and mean snow water equivalent are similar. However, this similarity is not applicable to the period before snowmelt. (2) Shortwave radiation has a~major impact on the snow distribution and depletion patterns at the small grid scale. Increasing shortwave radiation can greatly promote the heterogeneity of the snow distribution. The contributions of longwave radiation and air temperature to the heterogeneity of snow distribution are minor. Moreover, there are similarities between the simulated snow distributions when considering the scenarios of increases in longwave radiation or in air temperature.

Description: Using surface meteorological observation and high resolution emission data, this paper discusses the application of PLAM/h Index (Parameter Linking Air-quality to Meteorological conditions/haze) in the prediction of large-scale low visibility and fog-haze events. Based on the two-dimensional probability density function diagnosis model for emissions, the study extends the diagnosis and prediction of the meteorological pollution index PLAM to the regional visibility fog-haze intensity. The results show that combining the influence of regular meteorological conditions and emission factors together in the PLAM/h parameterization scheme is very effective in improving the diagnostic identification ability of the fog-haze weather in North China. The correlation coefficients for four seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter) between PLAM/h and visibility observation are 0.76, 0.80, 0.96 and 0.86 respectively and all their significance levels exceed 0.001, showing the ability of PLAM/h to predict the seasonal changes and differences of fog-haze weather in the North China region. The high-value correlation zones are respectively located in Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei), Bohai Bay rim and the southern Hebei-northern Henan, indicating that the PLAM/h index has relations with the distribution of frequent heavy fog-haze weather in North China and the distribution of emission high-value zone. Comparatively analyzing the heavy fog-haze events and large-scale fine weather processes in winter and summer, it is found that PLAM/h index 24 h forecast is highly correlated to the visibility observation. Therefore, PLAM/h index has better capability of doing identification, analysis and forecasting.

Description: Using surface meteorological observation and high-resolution emission data, this paper discusses the application of the PLAM/h index (Parameter Linking Air-quality to Meteorological conditions/haze) in the prediction of large-scale low visibility and fog-haze events. Based on the two-dimensional probability density function diagnosis model for emissions, the study extends the diagnosis and prediction of the meteorological pollution index PLAM to the regional visibility fog-haze intensity. The results show that combining the influence of regular meteorological conditions and emission factors together in the PLAM/h parameterization scheme is very effective in improving the diagnostic identification ability of the fog-haze weather in North China. The determination coefficients for four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) between PLAM/h and visibility observation are 0.76, 0.80, 0.96, and 0.86, respectively, and all of their significance levels exceed 0.001, showing the ability of PLAM/h to predict the seasonal changes and differences of fog-haze weather in the North China region. The high-value correlation zones are located in Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei), Bohai Bay rim, and southern Hebei–northern Henan, indicating that the PLAM/h index is related to the distribution of frequent heavy fog-haze weather in North China and the distribution of emission high-value zone. Through comparative analysis of the heavy fog-haze events and large-scale clear-weather processes in winter and summer, it is found that PLAM/h index 24 h forecast is highly correlated with the visibility observation. Therefore, the PLAM/h index has good capability in identification, analysis, and forecasting.

Description: Aerosol microphysics, chemical composition, and CCN properties were measured on the Department of Energy Gulfstream-1 aircraft during the Marine Stratus/Stratocumulus Experiment (MASE) conducted over the coastal waters between Point Reyes National Seashore and Monterey Bay, California, in July 2005. Aerosols measured during MASE included free tropospheric aerosols, marine boundary layer aerosols, and aerosols with high organic concentration within a thin layer above the cloud. Closure analysis was carried out for all three types of aerosols by comparing the measured CCN concentrations at 0.22% supersaturation to those predicted based on size distribution and chemical composition using Köhler theory. The effect of aerosol organic species on predicted CCN concentration was examined using a single hygroscopicity parameterization. For aerosols with organics volume fraction up to 70%, such as the marine boundary layer and free troposphere aerosols, CCN concentration and the corresponding first indirect aerosol effect are insensitive to the properties of organics, and can be accurately predicted with a constant hygroscopicity for all organic species. This simplification can facilitate the prediction of indirect aerosol effects using physically-based parameterizations in large scale models. However, for the aerosols within the thin layers above clouds, organics contributed up to 90% of the total aerosol volume, and a detailed knowledge of organic hygroscopicity is required to accurately predict CCN concentrations. Derivations of organic properties in future closure studies, when aerosols are dominated by organic species, would help constrain the descriptions of organics and aerosol-cloud parameterizations in large scale models.

Description: Soil moisture content is one of the most important parameters as input conditions in forecasting model systems of dust storm, but it can not be directly obtained from daily routine weather report. In this paper, a scheme is developed to calculate the surface soil moisture content in China by using both precipitation and evaporation. Precipitation is directly from routine weather report, while evaporation is indirectly calculated by using meteorological elements which are also from routine weather report. According to the formula by Penman, evaporation can be considered as a linear composition of dynamic evaporation and thermodynamic evaporation caused by radiation. First, an equation for calculating daily global radiation within China is given by using regression analysis and the data of global radiation and cloud cover from 116 meteorological stations in China. Then, an equation for calculating evaporation within China is given by using regression analysis and the data of cloud cover, air temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and wind velocity from 701 meteorological stations. Finally, a scheme for calculating soil moisture content within China is established by using regression analysis and the soil moisture content, precipitation, and evaporation at 79 agro-meteorological stations. Validation results show that the forecasting accuracy of the Chinese dust numerical model can be clearly increased by using this scheme.

Description: An accurate but simple quantification of the fraction of aerosol particles that can act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) is needed for implementation in large-scale models. Data on aerosol size distribution, chemical composition, and CCN concentration from six different locations have been analyzed to explore the extent to which simple assumptions of composition and mixing state of the organic fraction can reproduce measured CCN number concentrations. Fresher pollution aerosol as encountered in Riverside, CA, and the ship channel in Houston, TX, cannot be represented without knowledge of more complex (size-resolved) composition. For aerosol that has experienced processing (Mexico City, Holme Moss (UK), Point Reyes (CA), and Chebogue Point (Canada)), CCN can be predicted within a factor of two assuming either externally or internally mixed soluble organics although these simplified compositions/mixing states might not represent the actual properties of ambient aerosol populations. Under typical conditions, a factor of two uncertainty in CCN concentration translates to an uncertainty of ~15% in cloud drop concentration, which might be adequate for large-scale models given the much larger uncertainty in cloudiness.

Description: Aerosol microphysics, chemical composition, and CCN properties were measured on the Department of Energy Gulfstream-1 aircraft during the Marine Stratus/Stratocumulus Experiment (MASE) conducted over the coastal waters between Point Reyes National Seashore and Monterey Bay, California, in July 2005. Aerosols measured during MASE included free tropospheric aerosols, marine boundary layer aerosols, and aerosols with high organic concentration within a thin layer above the cloud. Closure analysis was carried out for all three types of aerosols by comparing the measured CCN concentrations at ~0.2% supersaturation to those predicted based on size distribution and chemical composition using Köhler theory. The effect of aerosol organic species on predicted CCN concentration was examined using a single hygroscopicity parameterization. For aerosols with organics volume fraction up to 70%, such as the marine boundary layer and free troposphere aerosols, CCN concentration and the corresponding first indirect aerosol effect are insensitive to the properties of organics, and can be accurately predicted with a constant hygroscopicity for all organic species. This simplification can facilitate the prediction of indirect aerosol effects using physically-based parameterizations in large scale models. However, for the aerosols within the thin layers above clouds, organics contributed up to 90% of the total aerosol volume, and an accurate knowledge of the overall organic hygroscopicity is required to accurately predict CCN concentrations. Derivations of organic properties in future closure studies, when aerosols are dominated by organic species, would help constrain the descriptions of organics and aerosol-cloud parameterizations in large scale models.

Description: Soil moisture content is one of the most important parameters as input conditions in forecasting model systems of dust storm, but it can not be directly obtained from daily routine weather report. In this paper, a scheme is developed to calculate the surface soil moisture content in China by using both precipitation and evaporation. Precipitation is directly from routine weather report, while evaporation is indirectly calculated by using meteorological elements which are also from routine weather report. According to the formula by Penman, evaporation can be considered as a linear composition of dynamic evaporation and thermodynamic evaporation caused by radiation. First, an equation for calculating daily global radiation within China is given by using regression analysis and the data of global radiation and cloud cover from 116 meteorological stations in China. Then, an equation for calculating evaporation within China is given by using regression analysis and the data of cloud cover, air temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and wind velocity from 701 meteorological stations. Finally, a scheme for calculating soil moisture content within China is established by using regression analysis and the soil moisture content, precipitation, and evaporation at 79 agro-meteorological stations. Validation results show that the forecasting accuracy of the Chinese dust numerical model can be improved by using this scheme.