scholarly journals Trans-pacific transport and evolution of aerosols: Evaluation of quasi global WRF-Chem simulation with multiple observations

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiyuan Hu ◽  
Chun Zhao ◽  
Jianping Huang ◽  
L. Ruby Leung ◽  
Yun Qian ◽  
...  

Abstract. A fully coupled meteorology-chemistry model (WRF-Chem) has been configured to conduct quasi-global simulation for the 5 years of 2010–2014 and evaluated with multiple observation datasets for first time. The evaluation focuses on the simulation over the trans-Pacific transport region using various reanalysis and observational datasets for meteorological fields and aerosol properties. In general, precipitation and winds are well simulated by the model. The simulation captures the overall spatial and seasonal variability of satellite retrieved aerosol optical depth (AOD) and absorbing AOD (AAOD) over the Pacific that is determined by the outflows of pollutants and dust and the emissions of marine aerosols. The assessment of simulated extinction Angstrom exponent (EAE) indicates that the model generally reproduces the variability of aerosol size distributions as seen by satellites. In addition, the vertical profile of aerosol extinction and its seasonality over the Pacific that are dominated by marine aerosols near the surface and the outflow of pollutants and dust above 4 km are also well simulated. The difference between the simulation and satellite retrievals can be mainly attributed to model biases in estimating marine aerosol emissions as well as the satellite sampling and retrieval uncertainties. Compared with the surface measurements over the western U.S., the model reproduces the observed magnitude and seasonality of dust, sulfate, and nitrate surface concentrations, but significantly underestimates the peak surface concentrations of carbonaceous aerosol likely due to model biases in the spatial and temporal variability of biomass burning emissions and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production. A sensitivity simulation shows that the trans-Pacific transported dust, sulfate, and nitrate can make significant contribution to surface concentrations over the rural areas of the western U.S., while the peaks of carbonaceous aerosol surface concentrations are dominated by the North American emissions. Both the retrievals and simulation show small interannual variability of aerosol characteristics for 2010–2014 averaged over three Pacific sub-regions. The evaluation in this study demonstrates that the WRF-Chem quasi global simulation can be used for investigating trans-Pacific transport of aerosols and providing reasonable inflow chemical boundaries for the western U.S. to further understand the impact of transported pollutants on the regional air quality and climate with high-resolution nested regional modeling.

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1725-1746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiyuan Hu ◽  
Chun Zhao ◽  
Jianping Huang ◽  
L. Ruby Leung ◽  
Yun Qian ◽  
...  

Abstract. A fully coupled meteorology-chemistry model (WRF-Chem, the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry) has been configured to conduct quasi-global simulation for 5 years (2010–2014) and evaluated with multiple observation data sets for the first time. The evaluation focuses on the simulation over the trans-Pacific transport region using various reanalysis and observational data sets for meteorological fields and aerosol properties. The simulation generally captures the overall spatial and seasonal variability of satellite retrieved aerosol optical depth (AOD) and absorbing AOD (AAOD) over the Pacific that is determined by the outflow of pollutants and dust and the emissions of marine aerosols. The assessment of simulated extinction Ångström exponent (EAE) indicates that the model generally reproduces the variability of aerosol size distributions as seen by satellites. In addition, the vertical profile of aerosol extinction and its seasonality over the Pacific are also well simulated. The difference between the simulation and satellite retrievals can be mainly attributed to model biases in estimating marine aerosol emissions as well as the satellite sampling and retrieval uncertainties. Compared with the surface measurements over the western USA, the model reasonably simulates the observed magnitude and seasonality of dust, sulfate, and nitrate surface concentrations, but significantly underestimates the peak surface concentrations of carbonaceous aerosol likely due to model biases in the spatial and temporal variability of biomass burning emissions and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production. A sensitivity simulation shows that the trans-Pacific transported dust, sulfate, and nitrate can make significant contribution to surface concentrations over the rural areas of the western USA, while the peaks of carbonaceous aerosol surface concentrations are dominated by the North American emissions. Both the retrievals and simulation show small interannual variability of aerosol characteristics for 2010–2014 averaged over three Pacific sub-regions. The evaluation in this study demonstrates that the WRF-Chem quasi-global simulation can be used for investigating trans-Pacific transport of aerosols and providing reasonable inflow chemical boundaries for the western USA, allowing one to further understand the impact of transported pollutants on the regional air quality and climate with high-resolution nested regional modeling.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 72-81
Author(s):  
Peter Wood

In April, 1845, the Rev. Richard Taylor passed through the area of the North Island now marked by the town of Levin. At this time, he described Lake Horowhenua as being of singular appearance for the small storehouses built over the water on poles. As was his predilection, Taylor made a drawing of the lake huts, a version of which was belatedly included in the second edition of his most important literary contribution, Te Ika-a-Māui (1870). This image would have remained as little more than a questionable curiosity was it not for Messrs Black Bros who, in the course of exploring the lake bed for Māori artefacts in 1932, legitimised Taylor's observation with their discovery of the submerged architectural remains of an aquatic hut. Nonetheless, almost a century after Taylor's original diary entry, GL Adkin, writing for The Journal of the Polynesian Society, lamented the neglect shown toward these remarkable structures, and which he cited as just one example of the "tantalising gaps" in the recorded history of Māori custom and culture. Sadly, it is well beyond the scope of this research to properly redress the historical neglect shown toward lake pātaka. What I do wish to do is to link these structures to an event on the shores of the Lake of Zurich, Switzerland, when Dr Ferdinand Keller noticed some half-submerged piles in 1854. Upon these remains Keller made a great, if erroneous, case for primitive "pile-work habitations" in the Swiss lakes. The impact of this argument cannot be understated. It became the privileged model for architectural origins in the German and French parts of Switzerland, and by the 1890s it was a part of standard teaching texts in Swiss schools, where it was firmly inculcated into the curriculum at the time that Charles Edouard Jeanneret was a child. This in turn has led Vogt to suggest that, in Keller's "dwellings on the water," Le Corbusier found a Primitive Hut typology that underpinned all his architectural thinking, and which is made most explicit in his principled use of piloti. What makes this all the more involved is that Keller, in searching for examples to visualise the construction of the Swiss lake dwellings, turned to the Pacific (which he categorised as at a developmental stage of architectural evolution akin to early Europe). In this paper I identify the exact etching by Louis Auguste de Sainson that Keller took for direct influence. The problem, however, is that de Sainson depicted a conventional whare built on land, and Keller transposed it to the water. So we have on the one side of this paper an authentic lake whare that is all but forgotten, and a famed European lake-hut that is all but Māori, and between the two is the figure of Le Corbusier who may or may not have unknowingly based one on his major innovations on influences found in the pātaka of Lake Horowhenua.


Energies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 603
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Budziewicz-Guźlecka ◽  
Wojciech Drożdż

Nowadays, while cities are often subject to research in terms of their development, especially smart development, studies on rural areas are rare. However, the development of the latter is very important. It is important that rural areas develop economically and socially. Smart villages are a challenge for the modern energy sector. The authors of the article try to answer the question: What are the challenges for the modern energy sector in the context of rural development? The aim of this article is to identify challenges for the modern power industry in the concept of smart countryside development. The article begins with the presentation of the essence of smart villages and the essence of energy policy. The research facilitated the identification of basic challenges that prevent or slow down the development of the smart villages in terms of modern energy solutions, as perceived by experts and residents, and farmers and entrepreneurs operating in rural areas. The article identifies a number of energy challenges in the context of a smart village. They include, among others, a lack of awareness regarding the impact of energy on the environment, a low level of public knowledge about new energy solutions, and a lack of social trust in modern energy solutions in rural areas. The research was conducted in rural areas in the north-western part of Poland. At the end, the article presents a model of rural development in the context of the modern energy sector. The research also allowed the creation of a smart village development model that focuses on smart economy, intelligent environment, intelligent people, and intelligent governance. Since these are universal solutions, they can be used as a proposition for other countries.


2017 ◽  
pp. 107-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinayagum Chinapah ◽  
Jared O. Odero

Information and communication technology (ICT) has emerged as a tool that can enhance flexible learning pathways. ICT has the potential to increase equitable access to quality learning, which is essential for skills development. Skills are required in technology-related nonfarm activities so as to improve livelihoods and achieve sustainable rural transformation. However, slow pace of the developing countries to utilize the benefits of the ongoing technological revolution in the North has resulted in the ‘digital divide’. Besides, it is still problematic to implement ICT programmes for educational development. The current and future challenges of providing ICT-based learning desperately call for the reengineering of education to move out of the formal structure of teaching and learning, towards building a more practical and realistic approach. By means of a literature review, this paper examines and discusses why it is important to provide inclusive, quality ICT-based learning, particularly in the rural areas of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It recommends that diverse ICT-based solutions be adopted to promote skills development and training within non-formal and informal settings. More comparative studies are also required to understand the impact of ICT-based learning in rural areas. 


2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeff W. Higdon

The comments by A. Romero and S. Kannada (2006. Can. J. Zool. 84: 1059–1065) provide a brief summary of North Atlantic whaling history as a critique of T. Rastogi et al. (2004. Can. J. Zool. 82: 1647–1654) . However, they fall far short of providing an accurate review of whaling history in this region. The authors present a number of factual errors, misuse several key sources, and make significant omissions, ultimately defeating the purpose of providing information to biologists, managers, and historians. In this comment I highlight the mistakes in their representation of the history of North Atlantic whaling for bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus L., 1758). There are unacceptable errors for most nations covered, and for American whaling in particular. The authors assert that over 30 000 bowhead whales were landed by Yankee whalers in the North Atlantic when the vast majority were in fact taken on the Pacific grounds. Although a summary of whaling history is an admirable goal and of potential value, it is unfortunate that the authors missed such an opportunity by failing to adequately research this topic, failing to include important citations, and by including sources that do not provide the information indicated. Providing a whaling summary with such errors and omissions only adds further confusion to an already confusing theme.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-268
Author(s):  
Romi Bramantyo Margono ◽  
Yulia ◽  
Siswanti Zuraida ◽  
Wiwik Dwi Pratiwi

Urbanization is an undeniable phenomenon that happens globally, including in Indonesia. Indonesian cities are growing, causing urban sprawl and transformation of rural areas into urban areas. In between the urban and rural there is peri-urban area that has unique mixed characteristics of both. Areas with such characteristics can be found easily in the outskirts of Bandung city. The growth of peri-urban areas in Bandung occurs simultaneously with the growing tourism industries. This phenomenon caused a spatial transformation especially to the existing houses, which gives impacts to the livability of the area. This article would focus upon how housing transformation in peri-urban areas can affect the livability of the area by using the North Bandung peri-urban area as a case study. The result shows that the spatial transformation that happens in peri-urban areas gives positive impacts to social, economy, and spatial aspects, but unfortunately not the environmental aspects. 


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuntao Wang ◽  
Wentao Ma ◽  
Feng Zhou ◽  
Chai Fei

<p>Sixteen years satellite observations are used to investigate the frontogenesis, frontal variability and its impact on chlorophyll in the Arabian Sea. Large frontal probability (FP) and high chlorophyll mainly happens near the coast, e.g., near Somalia and Oman, and its value generally decreases with offshore distance. An Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) is used to disentangle the spatial and temporal variability of front and chlorophyll. Prominent seasonal cycle of frontal activities is identified, peaking in summer when southwest wind prevails. The seasonality for chlorophyll is same with wind and front near Somalia, which largely impacted by monsoon. During summer, the southwest monsoon drives offshore Ekman transport and induces coastal upwelling. It transports subsurface cold water and nutrients to the surface layer, which generates fronts and enhances chlorophyll, respectively. The frontal activities can be used as an indicator to determine the chlorophyll level that high chlorophyll happens when frontal probability gets higher than 2%. At anomalous field, stronger wind can induce higher frontal activities and chlorophyll. The impact of wind on frontogenesis can extend 1,000km offshore and a simplified linear regression is applied to quantify their relationship. The variability of wind leads chlorophyll by lags increasing with distance, indicating a horizontal offshore transport of coastal water. In winter, the northeast wind is not upwelling favorable, thus the frontal activities and chlorophyll are greatly reduced off Somalia. During this period, large chlorophyll is found in the north off Oman because of mixing, thus its relationship with front is less pronounced. In the upwelling regions, fronts act as an intermedia process that connecting the wind forcing and responses of ecosystem. The frontal activities in Arabian Sea is fundamentally important to improve our understanding of monsoon related ocean dynamics.</p>


1995 ◽  
Vol 348 (1324) ◽  
pp. 211-219 ◽  

A model simulation of the global carbon cycle demonstrates that the biological and solubility pumps are of comparable importance in determining the spatial distribution of annual mean air-sea fluxes in the Atlantic. The model also confirms that the impact of the (steady state) biological pump on the magnitude and spatial distribution of anthropogenic CO 2 uptake is minimal. An Atlantic Ocean carbon budget developed from analysis of the model combined with observations suggests that the air-sea flux of carbon is inadequate to supply the postulated large dissolved inorganic carbon export from the Atlantic. Other sources of carbon are required, such as an input from the Pacific via the Bering Strait and Arctic, river inflow, or an import of dissolved organic carbon.


2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 6285-6309 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Angulo-Martínez ◽  
S. Beguería

Abstract. Rainsplash – the detachment and transport of soil particles by the impact of raindrops on a bare soil – is a major mechanism of soil degradation and erosion on semiarid areas and agricultural lands. Rainfall erosivity refers to the ability of precipitation to erode soil, and depends on the characteristics of the raindrops – size and velocity – and on the rainfall intensity and duration. Despite the relevance of rainfall erosivity for soil degradation prevention very few studies addressed its spatial and temporal variability. On this study the time variation of rainfall erosivity in the Ebro valley (NE Spain) is assessed for the period 1955–2006. The results show a general decrease in annual and seasonal rainfall erosivity, which is explained by a decrease of very intense rainfall events whilst the frequency of moderate and low events increased. This trend is related to prevailing positive conditions of the main atmospheric teleconnection indices affecting the West Mediterranean, i.e. the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the Mediterranean Oscillation (MO) and the Western Mediterranean Oscillation (WeMO).


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