Seasonal and long-term sea level variability in the marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean

One of the parameters useful for monitoring large-scale climate variability in the Arctic Ocean is sea level. It integrates virtually all static and dynamic processes in the hydrosphere and atmosphere of the Arctic. Previously unavailable mean monthly sea level data at 44 coastal and island stations in the Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi seas covering years from 1950 to 1990 were used to analyse seasonal and inter-annual variability. Sea level has a significant annual cycle with an average seasonal amplitude (from peak to peak) in the coastal zone of the Arctic seas on the order of 20 - 30 cm. The analysis of inter-annual and inter-decadal changes has shown that at nearly all stations in the Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi seas from the beginning of the 1950s through the end of 1980s there is a positive trend in sea level variability. The main contribution to the sea level rise was in the 1980s; on average for the coastal zone of Siberian shelf the sea level in the 1980s was 5-6 cm higher than in the previous decades. A reasonable agreement between observed decadal mean sea level values and the results of diagnostic model simulations suggests that this rise in the Arctic seas is connected with the reorganization of large-scale circulation of the Arctic Ocean, rather than the regional lowering of the coasts, as has been suggested previously.     

中国天山冰川区降水、积雪pH和电导率季节变化特征分析

根据乌鲁木齐河源区2003-2004年度的大气降水样品、1号冰川一个完整年周期的连续雪坑样品及哈密庙儿沟平顶冰川和奎屯51号冰川雪坑样品的pH和电导率资料,系统探讨大气降水、表层雪、雪坑样品中pH和电导率的季节变化特征和沉积过程中pH和电导率的变化特点,以及不同冰川区雪坑中pH值和电导率的空间差异。结果表明:大气降水及表层雪中pH和电导率有着相似的季节变化趋势,主要受冰川所在区域大气中可溶性离子浓度和沉积后过程的影响;对1号冰川大气降水、表层雪和雪坑样品中pH和电导率的对比分析发现,从降水到表层雪,最后到雪坑样品的演化过程中,pH和电导率均呈减小趋势,而且pH和电导率的最高值均出现在春季;自西向东随着地理环境的变化,雪坑中样品的pH值呈升高趋势,哈密庙尔沟平顶冰川最大,乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川次之,奎屯哈希勒根51号冰川最小,但电导率却呈现出了不同的变化规律。     

Seasonal and interannual variability in surface energy partitioning and vegetation cover with grazing at shortgrass steppe

We evaluated shortgrass steppe energy budgets based on the Bowen Ratio Energy Balance method for three different grazing intensity treatments at the Central Plains Experimental Range Long-Term Ecological Research (CPER-LTER) site. We tested the correlations between aboveground biomass and surface energy fluxes for three different precipitation years based on continuously measured 20 min interval data.Grazing has a potential impact on energy partitioning under conditions of higher water availability, but not during dry conditions. Our study confirms that precipitation, not grazing treatment, explains the majority of variation in aboveground biomass at the CPER-LTER site. In addition, we are suggesting effective temperature, not air temperature, as a superior metric to evaluate surface heat change. Effective temperature takes into account humidity as well as air temperature.     

A long-term Arctic snow depth record from Abisko, northern Sweden, 1913–2004

A newly digitized record of snow depth from the Abisko Scientific Research Station in northern Sweden covers the period 1913-present. Mean snow depths were taken from paper records of measurements made on a profile comprising 10 permanent stakes. This long-term record yields snow depths consistent with two other shorter term Abisko records: measurements made at another 10-stake profile (1974-present) and at a single stake (1956-present). The measurement interval is variable, ranging from daily to monthly, and there are no data for about half of the winter months in the period 1930-1956. To fill the gaps, we use a simple snowpack model driven by concurrent temperature and precipitation measurements at Abisko. Model snow depths are similar to observed; differences between the two records are comparable to those between profile and single stake measurements. For both model and observed snow depth records, the most statistically significant trend is in winter mean snow depths, amounting to an increase of about 2 cm or 5 % of the mean per decade over the whole measurement period, and 10% per decade since the 1930-40s, but all seasonal means of snow depth show positive trends on the longest timescales. However, the start, end, and length of the snow season do not show any statistically significant long-term trends. Finally, the relation between the Arctic Oscillation index and Abisko temperature, precipitation and snow depth is positive and highly significant, with the best correlations for winter.     

Sea ice algae in the White and Barents seas: composition and origin

To examine algae populations, three expeditions (in March 2001, April 2002 and February 2003) were conducted in the Guba Chupa (Chupa Estuary; north-western White Sea), and one cruise was carried out in the open part of the White Sea in April 2003 and in the northern part of the Barents Sea in July 2001. Sea ice algae and phytoplankton composition and abundance and the content of sediment traps under the land-fast ice in the White Sea and annual and multi-year pack ice in the Barents Sea were investigated. The community in land-fast sea ice was dominated by pennate diatoms and its composition was more closely related to that of the underlying sediments than was the community of the pack ice, which was dominated by flagellates, dinoflagellates and centric diatoms. Algae were far more abundant in land-fast ice: motile benthic and ice-benthic species found favourable conditions in the ice. The pack ice community was more closely related to that of the surrounding water. It originated from plankton incorporation during sea ice formation and during seawater flood events. An additional source for ice colonization may be multi-year ice. Algae may be released from the ice during brine drainage or sea ice melting. Many sea ice algae developed spores before the ice melt. These algae were observed in the above-bottom sediment traps all year around. Three possible fates of ice algae can be distinguished: 1) suspension in the water column, 2) sinking to the bottom and 3) ingestion by herbivores in the ice, at the ice-water interface or in the water column.     

Interdecadal change of snow depth in winter over the Tibetan Plateau and its effect on summer precipitation in China

This paper obtained a set of consecutive and long-recorded observational snow depth data from 51 observation stations by choosing, removing and interpolating original observation data over the Tibetan Plateau for 1961–2006. We used monthly precipitation and temperature data from 160 stations in China for 1951–2006, which was collected by the National Climate Center. Through calculating and analyzing the correlation coefficient, significance test, polynomial trend fitting, composite analysis and abrupt change test, this paper studied the interdecadal change of winter snow over the Tibetan Plateau and its relationship to summer precipitation and temperature in China, and to tropospheric atmospheric temperature. This paper also studied general circulation and East Asian summer monsoon under the background of global warming.     

The river water resources of the Magadan region and their long-term variability

We present the technique for constructing the map for the modulus of annual flow of the rivers in the Magadan region. We derived district formulas for determining the norm of annual flow and the variation coefficient for the unexplored rivers of the region. The numerical estimate of the river water resources in the region is refined considerably. Satisfactory methods to forecast the annual inflow of water to the reservoirs of the Kolymskaya Hydro, and of the Ust-Srednekanskaya Hydro under construction have been developed for the first time (the predictability from independent data constituted 81.8%).     

Inter-annual variability and interaction of remote-sensed vegetation index and atmospheric precipitation in the Aral Sea region

The remotely sensed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (AVHRR NDVI) and precipitation data were analysed in the Aral Sea region in Central Asia during two recent decades. Both variables exhibited pronounced seasonal variation, with maximum precipitation in March and maximum NDVI in May–June. The regions of synchronous seasonal and inter-annual variability between the vegetation index and precipitation were distinguished using the Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF) method and time-lagged correlations between EOF modes. At a seasonal scale, precipitation and the vegetation index were correlated with a time lag from 1 to 6 months in different regions with peak plant growth following precipitation maxima.     

Spatial distributions and interannual variations of snow cover over China in the last 40 years

By using the observational snow data of more than 700 weather stations,the interannual temporal and spatial characteristics of seasonal snow cover in China were analyzed.The results show that northern Xinjiang,northeastern China-Inner Mongolia,and the southwestern and southern portions of Tibetan Plateau are three regions in China with high seasonal snow cover and also an interannual anomaly of snow cover.According to the trend of both the snow depth and snow cover days,there are three changing patterns for the seasonal snow cover:The first type is that both snow depth and snow cover days simultaneously increase or decrease;this includes northern Xinjiang,middle and eastern Inner Mongolia,and so on.The second is that snow depth increases but snow cover days decrease;this type mainly locates in the eastern parts of the northeastern plain of China and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.The last type is that snow depth decreases but snow cover days increase at the same time such as that in middle parts of Tibetan Plateau.Snow cover in China appears to have been having a slow increasing trend during the last 40 years.On the decadal scale,snow depth and snow cover days slightly increased in the 1960s and then decreased in the 1970s;they again turn to increasing in the 1980s and persist into 1990s.     

Role of blowing snow in snow processes in Qilian Mountainous region

Blowing snow is an important part of snow hydrologic processes in mountainous region, however the related researches were rare for the Qilian mountainous region where blowing snow is frequent. Using the observation dataset in 2008 snow season in Binggou wa- tershed in Qilian mountainous region, we systematically studied the energy and mass processes of blowing snow by field observation and model simulation. The results include the analysis of snow observation, the occurrence probability of blowing snow, blowing snow transport and blowing snow sublimation. It was found that blowing snow was obvious in high altitude region （4,146 m）, the snow redislribution phenomena was remarkable. In Yakou station in the study region, blowing snow was easily occurred in midwinter and early spring when no snowmelt, the blowing snow transport was dominated in this period; when snowmelt beginning, the occur- rence probability of blowing snow decreased heavily because of the increasing air temperature, melt, and refrozen phenomena. The blowing snow sublimation accounted for 41.5% of total snow sublimation at Yakou station in 2008 snow season.     

Observations of walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) in the southeastern Barents and Pechora seas in February 1993

A total of 138 walruses ( Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus ), including 21 cow/calf pairs, were observed during a ship-board survey in the southeastern Barents and Pechora seas 5-17 February 1993. The observations confirm these areas as wintering and nursery grounds for the species.     

Interannual variability of dense shelf water salinities in the north-western Barents Sea

The maximum dense shelf water salinity formed during winter in the Svalbard Bank area of the north-western Barents Sea is reconstructed for the period 1952–2000 by analysing the transformation of summer remnants. The variability of 34.7 - 35.4, waters being at the freezing point, is mainly generated by interannual variations in the near surface salinity. On interannual time scales the latter is strongly linked to the sea ice import. In contrast, no correlation of the salinity of the Atlantic Water (AW) throughflow to the Arctic Ocean with the ice import is found. Salinities of both the dense shelf water site in the north-west Barents Sea and the north-eastward AW throughflow show a long term decrease, which can partly be explained by a less saline inflow of AW from the Norwegian Sea. The unusually low dense water salinities in the north-west Barents Sea during the 1990s appear to have a different origin, consistent with a response to oceanic heat advection and decreasing sea ice extent.     

中国近海初级生产力的遥感研究及其时空演化

1 Introduction Ocean primary productivity controls the exchange of carbon dioxide at the air-sea interface and plays an important role in the global carbon cycle and climate change. Most oceanographic research on primary productivity has focused on the ma…     

Seasonal distribution of harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) in the Barents Sea

The distributional patterns of Barents Sea harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) throughout the year are presented based on existing literature and recent Norwegian and Russian field observations. The harp seals breed in February-March in the White Sea. Moulting occurs during April to June in the White Sea and southern Barents Sea. Feeding.behaviour is closely related to the configuration and localisation of the drifting sea-ice during summer and autumn (June-October) when the seals follow the receding ice edge, retiring gradually northwards and northeastwards in the Barents Sea. The southward movement of the population in autumn probably takes place in November prior to the advance of the ice edge, and is likely related to food-search. Apparently, most Barents Sea harp seals seems to concentrate at the southern end of their range in winter and spring.     

Satellite-derived primary productivity and its spatial and temporal variability in the China seas

The spatial and temporal variability of primary productivity in the China seas from 2003 to 2005 was estimated using a size-fractionated primary productivity model. Primary productivity estimated from satellite-derived data showed spatial and temporal variability. Annual averaged primary productivity levels were 564.39, 363.08, 536.47, 413.88, 195.77, and 100.09 gCm-2a-1 in the Bohai Sea, northern Yellow Sea (YS), southern YS, northern East China Sea (ECS), southern ECS, and South China Sea (SCS), respectively. Peaks of primary productivity appeared in spring (April–June) and fall (October and November) in the northern YS, southern YS, and southern ECS, while a single peak (June) appeared in the Bohai Sea and northern ECS. The SCS had two peaks in primary productivity, but these peaks occurred in winter (January) and summer (August), with the winter peak far higher than the summer peak. Monthly averaged primary productivity values from 2003 to 2005 in the Bohai Sea and southern YS were higher than those in the other four seas during most months, while those in the southern ECS and SCS were the lowest. Primary productivity in spring (March–June in the southern ECS and April–July in the other five areas) contributed approximately 41% on average to the annual primary productivity in all the study seas except the SCS. The largest interannual variability also occurred in spring (average standard deviation = 6.68), according to the satellite-derived estimates. The contribution during fall (October–January in the southern ECS and August–November in the other five areas) was approximately 33% on average; the primary productivity during this period also showed interannual variability. However, in the SCS, the winter (December–March) contribution was the highest (about 42%), while the spring (April–July) contribution was the lowest (28%). The SCS did share a feature with the other five areas: the larger the contribution, the larger the interannual variability. Spatial and temporal variability of satellite-derived ocean primary productivity may be influenced by physicochemical environmental conditions, such as the chlorophyll-a concentration, sea surface temperature, photosynthetically available radiation, the seasonally reversed monsoon, river discharge, upwelling, and the Kuroshio and coastal currents.     

Concordance of interannual variability in ice regime of Baikal and lake Ladoga

We examine the dependence of the ice conditions for two major lakes of Asia and Europe: Baikal and Ladoga, on regional values of the arithmetic sums of mean daily winter air temperatures and global atmospheric processes expressed by atmospheric circulation indices. By ranking the winters according to the sums of mean daily winter air temperatures, it was possible to identify winters of the same type of severity for the regions of Baikal and Ladoga. The winters of the same type show an enhancement in correlations between ice characteristics with respect to the sums of winter air temperatures and atmospheric circulation indices as well as ice characteristics of the two lakes. It is shown that the interannual changers in characteristics of ice regime of Ladoga and Baikal are largely determined by the same atmospheric processes. The role of the circulation is most clearly manifested in variation of temperature regime indicators. Thus, the sums of air temperatures accumulated during a winter in the regions of these lakes show primarily the closest correlation with the Arctic and North Atlantic oscillation indices.     

1960-2013年秦岭—淮河南北极端降水时空变化特征及其影响因素

基于秦岭—淮河南北气象站点逐日降水数据和全国0.5°×0.5°逐月降水格网数据,选取16个极端降水指数,辅以趋势分析、Mann-Kendall检验和相关分析等气候诊断方法,分析了1960-2013年秦岭—淮河南北极端降水时空变化特征,探讨了极端降水变化与ENSO事件的关系。结果表明:11960-2013年秦岭—淮河南北除长江下游降水呈增加趋势外,其他区域降水均呈下降趋势;2极端降水变化主要表现为:降水日数减少,降水强度上升,突发性强降水事件增多,连续性干旱事件增多;在空间上,秦巴山地、长江下游和黄河下游以极端降水强度上升为主,关中平原、巫山山区和四川盆地以极端干旱强度上升为主;3在影响因素方面,秦岭—淮河南北极端降水与ENSO事件关系密切。在厄尔尼诺年,秦岭—淮河南北春季极端降水偏多,夏季和全年偏少;在拉尼娜年,春季极端降水偏少,秋季和全年偏多。就各个区域而言,在厄尔尼诺年,黄河下游、关中平原、秦巴山地和四川盆地极端降水呈下降趋势,淮河平原极端降水呈上升趋势,长江下游和巫山山区响应并不明显。     

Spatial-temporal variability of snow cover over the Amur River Basin inferred from MODIS daily snow products in recent decades

MODIS snow products MOD10A1\MYD10A1 provided us a unique chance to investigate snow cover as well as its spatial-temporal variability in response to global changes from regional and global perspectives. By means of MODIS snow products MOD10A1\MYD10A1 derived from an extensive area of the Amur River Basin, mainly located in the Northeast part of China, some part in far east area of the former USSR and a minor part in Republic of Mongolia, the reproduced snow datasets after removal of cloud effects covering the whole watershed of the Amur River Basin were generated by using 6 different cloud-effect-removing algorithms. The accuracy of the reproduced snow products was evaluated with the time series of snow depth data observed from 2002 to 2010 within the Chinese part of the basin, and the results suggested that the accuracies for the reproduced monthly mean snow depth datasets derived from 6 different cloud-effect-removing algorithms varied from 82% to 96%, the snow classification accuracies (the harmonic mean of Recall and Precision) was higher than 80%, close to the accuracy of the original snow product under clear sky conditions when snow cover was stably accumulated. By using the reproduced snow product dataset with the best validated cloud-effect-removing algorithm newly proposed, spatial-temporal variability of snow coverage fraction (SCF), the date when snow cover started to accumulate (SCS) as well as the date when being melted off (SCM) in the Amur River Basin from 2002 to 2016 were investigated. The results indicated that the SCF characterized the significant spatial heterogeneity tended to be higher towards East and North but lower toward West and South over the Amur River Basin. The inter-annual variations of SCF showed an insignificant increase in general with slight fluctuations in majority part of the basin. Both SCS and SCM tended to be slightly linear varied and the inter-annual differences were obvious. In addition, a clear decreasing trend in snow cover is observed in the region. Trend analysis (at 10% significance level) showed that 71% of areas between 2,000 and 2,380 m a.s.l. experienced a reduction in duration and coverage of annual snow cover. Moreover, a severe snow cover reduction during recent years with sharp fluctuations was investigated. Overall spatial-temporal variability of Both SCS and SCM tended to coincide with that of SCF over the basin in general.