scholarly journals Impacts of tropical cyclones on hydrochemistry of a subtropical forest

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 3815-3826 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. T. Chang ◽  
S. P. Hamburg ◽  
J. L. Hwong ◽  
N. H. Lin ◽  
M. L. Hsueh ◽  
...  

Abstract. Tropical cyclones (typhoons/hurricanes) have major impacts on the biogeochemistry of forest ecosystems, but the stochastic nature and the long intervals between storms means that there are limited data on their effects. We characterised the impacts of 14 typhoons over six years on hydrochemistry of a subtropical forest plantation in Taiwan, a region experiencing frequent typhoons. Typhoons contributed 1/3 of the annual rainfall on average, but ranged from 4 to 55%. The stochastic nature of annual typhoon related precipitation poses a challenge with respect to managing the impacts of these extreme events. This challenge is exacerbated by the fact that typhoon-related rainfall is not significantly correlated with wind velocity, the current focus of weather forecasts. Thus, little advance warning is provided for the hydrological impacts of these storms. The typhoons we studied contributed approximately one third of the annual input and output of most nutrients (except nitrogen) during an average 9.5 day yr−1 period, resulting in nutrient input/output rates an order of magnitude greater than during non-typhoon months. Nitrate output balanced input during the non-typhoon period, but during the typhoon period an average of 10 kg ha−1 yr−1 nitrate was lost. Streamwater chemistry exhibited similarly high variability during typhoon and non-typhoon periods and returned to pre-typhoon levels one to three weeks following each typhoon. The streamwater chemistry appears to be very resilient in response to typhoons, resulting in minimal loss of nutrients.

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 4537-4566 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. T. Chang ◽  
S. P. Hamburg ◽  
J. L. Hwong ◽  
N. H. Lin ◽  
M. L. Hsueh ◽  
...  

Abstract. Tropical cyclones (typhoons/hurricanes) have major impacts on the biogeochemistry of forest ecosystems, but the stochastic nature and the long intervals between storms means that there are limited data on their effects. We characterized the impacts of 14 typhoons over six years on hydrochemistry of a subtropical forest plantation in Taiwan, a region experiencing frequent typhoons. Typhoons contributed 1/3 of annual rainfall on average, but ranged from 4% to 55%. The stochastic nature of annual typhoon related precipitation poses a challenge with respect to managing the impacts of these extreme events. This challenge is exacerbated by the fact that typhoon-related rainfall is not significantly correlated with wind velocity, the current focus of weather forecasts. Thus little advance warning is provided for the hydrological impacts of these storms. The typhoons we studied contributed approximately one third of the annual input and output of most nutrients (except nitrogen) during an average 9.5d yr−1 period, resulting in nutrient input/output rates an order of magnitude greater than during non-typhoon period. Nitrate output balanced input during the non-typhoon period, but during the typhoon period an average of 10 kg ha−1 yr−1 nitrate was lost. Streamwater chemistry exhibited similarly high variability during typhoon and non-typhoon periods and returned to pre-typhoon levels one to three weeks following each typhoon. The streamwater chemistry appears to be very resilient in response to typhoons, resulting in minimal loss of nutrients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1497-1510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhong‐Chun Zhang ◽  
Zheng‐Ke Li ◽  
Yan‐Chao Yin ◽  
Yaqiong Li ◽  
Yu Jia ◽  
...  

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 652-657 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Calanca ◽  
A. Neftel ◽  
J. Fuhrer

Grassland ecosystems can be regarded as biochemical reactors in which large amounts of organic nitrogen (N) are converted into inorganic N, and vice versa. If managed in a sustainable manner, grasslands should operate in a quasi steady state, characterized by an almost perfect balance between total N input and output. As a consequence, the exchange of gaseous N species (NH3, NO, NO2, N2O, and N2) between grasslands and the atmosphere is very small compared to the total N turnover. In this study, the effects of two management options (mowing and fertilization) on production and emission of nitrous oxide (N2O) from a grass/clover crop were examined on the basis of observations and model results referring to an experiment carried out on the Swiss Plateau in late summer of 2000. It was found that production and emission of N2O induced by mowing were of the same order of magnitude as those brought about by fertilization, suggesting a possible transfer of N from clover to the soil after defoliation. Emissions were strongly modulated by precipitation on time scales ranging from 1 day to 1 week. This indicates that effective control of N2O emissions through management on a day-to-day basis requires reliable medium-range weather forecasts. Model calculations were not able to reproduce essential characteristics of the emissions. The model slightly overestimated the background emissions, but severely underestimated the emission peaks following fertilizer application, and largely failed to reproduce emission induced by mowing. Shortfalls in the model used for this study were found in relation to the description of soil-water fluxes, soil organic matter, and the physiology of clover.


2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 315-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Deng ◽  
G. Zhou ◽  
J. Liu ◽  
S. Liu ◽  
H. Duan ◽  
...  

Abstract. Global climate change in the real world always exhibits simultaneous changes in multiple factors. Prediction of ecosystem responses to multi-factor global changes in a future world strongly relies on our understanding of their interactions. However, it is still unclear how nitrogen (N) deposition and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration [CO2] would interactively influence forest floor soil respiration in subtropical China. We assessed the main and interactive effects of elevated [CO2] and N addition on soil respiration by growing tree seedlings in ten large open-top chambers under CO2 (ambient CO2 and 700 μmol mol−1) and nitrogen (ambient and 100 kg N ha−1 yr−1) treatments. Soil respiration, soil temperature and soil moisture were measured for 30 months, as well as above-ground biomass, root biomass and soil organic matter (SOM). Results showed that soil respiration displayed strong seasonal patterns with higher values observed in the wet season (April–September) and lower values in the dry season (October–March) in all treatments. Significant exponential relationships between soil respiration rates and soil temperatures, as well as significant linear relationships between soil respiration rates and soil moistures (below 15%) were found. Both CO2 and N treatments significantly affected soil respiration, and there was significant interaction between elevated [CO2] and N addition (p<0.001, p=0.003, and p=0.006, respectively). We also observed that the stimulatory effect of individual elevated [CO2] (about 29% increased) was maintained throughout the experimental period. The positive effect of N addition was found only in 2006 (8.17% increased), and then had been weakened over time. Their combined effect on soil respiration (about 50% increased) was greater than the impact of either one alone. Mean value of annual soil respiration was 5.32 ± 0.08, 4.54 ± 0.10, 3.56 ± 0.03 and 3.53 ± 0.03 kg CO2 m−2 yr−1 in the chambers exposed to elevated [CO2] and high N deposition (CN), elevated [CO2] and ambient N deposition (CC), ambient [CO2] and high N deposition (NN), and ambient [CO2] and ambient N deposition (CK as a control), respectively. Greater above-ground biomass and root biomass was obtained in the CN, CC and NN treatments, and higher soil organic matter was observed only in the CN treatment. In conclusion, the combined effect of elevated [CO2] and N addition on soil respiration was apparent interaction. They should be evaluated in combination in subtropical forest ecosystems in China where the atmospheric CO2 and N deposition have been increasing simultaneously and remarkably.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (15) ◽  
pp. 5527-5542
Author(s):  
Louis Rivoire ◽  
Thomas Birner ◽  
John A. Knaff ◽  
Natalie Tourville

AbstractA ubiquitous cold signal near the tropopause, here called “tropopause layer cooling” (TLC), has been documented in deep convective regions such as tropical cyclones (TCs). Temperature retrievals from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) reveal cooling of order 0.1–1 K day−1 on spatial scales of order 1000 km above TCs. Data from the Cloud Profiling Radar (onboard CloudSat) and from the Cloud–Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization [onboard the Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO)] are used to analyze cloud distributions associated with TCs. Evidence is found that convective clouds within TCs reach the upper part of the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) more frequently than do convective clouds outside TCs, raising the possibility that convective clouds within TCs and associated cirrus clouds modulate TLC. The contribution of clouds to radiative heating rates is then quantified using the CloudSat and CALIPSO datasets: in the lower TTL (below the tropopause), clouds produce longwave cooling of order 0.1–1 K day−1 inside the TC main convective region, and longwave warming of order 0.01–0.1 K day−1 outside; in the upper TTL (near and above the tropopause), clouds produce longwave cooling of the same order as TLC inside the TC main convective region, and up to one order of magnitude smaller outside. Considering that clouds also produce shortwave warming, it is suggested that cloud radiative effects inside and outside TCs only explain modest amounts of TLC while other processes must provide the remaining cooling.


2013 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 192-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongyu Sun ◽  
Hai Ren ◽  
Valentin Schaefer ◽  
Hongfang Lu ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
...  

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 725
Author(s):  
Robert Mendelsohn ◽  
Liang Zheng

It is well known that seawalls are effective at stopping common storm surges in urban areas. This paper examines whether seawalls should be built to withstand the storm surge from a major tropical cyclone. We estimate the extra cost of building the wall tall enough to stop such surges and the extra flood benefit of this additional height. We estimate the surge probability distribution from six tidal stations spread along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States. We then measure how valuable the vulnerable buildings behind a 100 m wall must be to justify such a tall wall at each site. Combining information about the probability distribution of storm surge, the average elevation of protected buildings, and the damage rate at each building, we find that the value of protected buildings behind this 100 m wall must be in the hundreds of millions to justify the wall. We also examine the additional flood benefit and cost of protecting a km2 of land in nearby cities at each site. The density of buildings in coastal cities in the United States are generally more than an order of magnitude too low to justify seawalls this high. Seawalls are effective, but not at stopping the surge damage from major tropical cyclones.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 1077-1091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuqing Zhang ◽  
Y. Qiang Sun ◽  
Linus Magnusson ◽  
Roberto Buizza ◽  
Shian-Jiann Lin ◽  
...  

Abstract Understanding the predictability limit of day-to-day weather phenomena such as midlatitude winter storms and summer monsoonal rainstorms is crucial to numerical weather prediction (NWP). This predictability limit is studied using unprecedented high-resolution global models with ensemble experiments of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF; 9-km operational model) and identical-twin experiments of the U.S. Next-Generation Global Prediction System (NGGPS; 3 km). Results suggest that the predictability limit for midlatitude weather may indeed exist and is intrinsic to the underlying dynamical system and instabilities even if the forecast model and the initial conditions are nearly perfect. Currently, a skillful forecast lead time of midlatitude instantaneous weather is around 10 days, which serves as the practical predictability limit. Reducing the current-day initial-condition uncertainty by an order of magnitude extends the deterministic forecast lead times of day-to-day weather by up to 5 days, with much less scope for improving prediction of small-scale phenomena like thunderstorms. Achieving this additional predictability limit can have enormous socioeconomic benefits but requires coordinated efforts by the entire community to design better numerical weather models, to improve observations, and to make better use of observations with advanced data assimilation and computing techniques.


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