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- Author or Editor: R. G. Barry x
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Abstract
The statistical relationships between lake freeze-up/lake ice break-up dates and air temperature means over various time periods are analyzed for 63 lakes in Finland. Mean temperatures for the individual months before the lake event dates are strongly correlated with these dates; significant correlations hold for periods up to five months in length before freeze-up. Regression coefficients depend on location, but are consistent within regions. Latitude and distance from the coast are the most important sources of variation in the regression coefficients.
The regression coefficients are used to translate changes in lake freeze-up/break-up dates into estimated changes in air temperature. In southern Finland a five day change in freeze-up date would represent a 1.1°C change in November temperature of the same sign. A time series of November temperatures estimated from lake freeze-up dates is derived and compared with observations at Helsinki. The spatial pattern of temperature change over time is also examined using the freeze-up dates. Freeze-up/break-up dates provide a useful proxy for air temperature estimates in data-sparse regions of middle-high latitudes and could permit rapid satellite monitoring of climate perturbations.
Abstract
The statistical relationships between lake freeze-up/lake ice break-up dates and air temperature means over various time periods are analyzed for 63 lakes in Finland. Mean temperatures for the individual months before the lake event dates are strongly correlated with these dates; significant correlations hold for periods up to five months in length before freeze-up. Regression coefficients depend on location, but are consistent within regions. Latitude and distance from the coast are the most important sources of variation in the regression coefficients.
The regression coefficients are used to translate changes in lake freeze-up/break-up dates into estimated changes in air temperature. In southern Finland a five day change in freeze-up date would represent a 1.1°C change in November temperature of the same sign. A time series of November temperatures estimated from lake freeze-up dates is derived and compared with observations at Helsinki. The spatial pattern of temperature change over time is also examined using the freeze-up dates. Freeze-up/break-up dates provide a useful proxy for air temperature estimates in data-sparse regions of middle-high latitudes and could permit rapid satellite monitoring of climate perturbations.
Abstract
An ERTS-1 Data Collection Platform instrumented with meteorological sensors has been operated for more than a year at 3536 m in the Front Range, Colorado.
The interface system and sensor performance are shown to operate well although the message interval is suitable only for certain types of parameter with the present interface system.
Abstract
An ERTS-1 Data Collection Platform instrumented with meteorological sensors has been operated for more than a year at 3536 m in the Front Range, Colorado.
The interface system and sensor performance are shown to operate well although the message interval is suitable only for certain types of parameter with the present interface system.
Abstract
The TAXIR information retrieval system, originally developed for taxonomic research, is described in the context of its application to climatological data. Data banks for four mountain stations in Colorado have been established and analysed using TAXIR and a package of statistical routines. The procedures and their cost effectiveness are evaluated.
Abstract
The TAXIR information retrieval system, originally developed for taxonomic research, is described in the context of its application to climatological data. Data banks for four mountain stations in Colorado have been established and analysed using TAXIR and a package of statistical routines. The procedures and their cost effectiveness are evaluated.
Abstract
The NCAR global circulation model has been used to simulate global atmospheric conditions using boundary conditions representing those of the present day and those of the Würm/Wisconsin glacial maximum at about 20,000 years ago, for January and July cases.
The mean zonal wind strength in the July ice age case in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere was comparable with present winter conditions. Also in the ice age cases, the upper westerlies were not apparently displaced south of the Laurentide ice sheet. The Icelandic and Aleutian lows in January were displaced 10° southward, the Siberian high remained unchanged from the control situation, and a new low center was found over eastern Europe and the European USSR. In July high pressure developed over most of Asia. Maps of cyclone frequency in a 30-day period showed the influence of major ice sheets and sea ice in displacing zones of cyclone activity southward in January. Frequent cyclones occurred over central North America and there was a continuation of cyclone activity in the North Atlantic and from eastern Europe into Asia. There was virtually no cyclonic activity near the Laurentide ice sheet in July.
Cloud cover and precipitation were also analyzed. Changes in precipitation for the glacial maximum cases are mainly quantitative rather than affecting its spatial distribution. The zonal averages show small changes for the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere precipitation was decreased slightly in winter with most pronounced effects between 0–10N and 55–70N. The summer shows a dramatic reduction of precipitation north of 10N.
There is broad agreement between these paleo-climatological reconstructions and those of other studies using different models.
Abstract
The NCAR global circulation model has been used to simulate global atmospheric conditions using boundary conditions representing those of the present day and those of the Würm/Wisconsin glacial maximum at about 20,000 years ago, for January and July cases.
The mean zonal wind strength in the July ice age case in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere was comparable with present winter conditions. Also in the ice age cases, the upper westerlies were not apparently displaced south of the Laurentide ice sheet. The Icelandic and Aleutian lows in January were displaced 10° southward, the Siberian high remained unchanged from the control situation, and a new low center was found over eastern Europe and the European USSR. In July high pressure developed over most of Asia. Maps of cyclone frequency in a 30-day period showed the influence of major ice sheets and sea ice in displacing zones of cyclone activity southward in January. Frequent cyclones occurred over central North America and there was a continuation of cyclone activity in the North Atlantic and from eastern Europe into Asia. There was virtually no cyclonic activity near the Laurentide ice sheet in July.
Cloud cover and precipitation were also analyzed. Changes in precipitation for the glacial maximum cases are mainly quantitative rather than affecting its spatial distribution. The zonal averages show small changes for the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere precipitation was decreased slightly in winter with most pronounced effects between 0–10N and 55–70N. The summer shows a dramatic reduction of precipitation north of 10N.
There is broad agreement between these paleo-climatological reconstructions and those of other studies using different models.
Abstract
The variation over uneven terrain of the daily total of incident shortwave (global) radiation under cloudless conditions may be estimated by existing methods for calculating direct and diffuse solar radiation on a slope. A computer program for performing these calculations, incorporating a technique to determine when the direct rays of the sun are screened by the horizon at each point, is described. The adequacy of the approximation for diffuse radiation is considered by comparison with published data. Computations for an area of east Baffin Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, demonstrate that the occurrence of glaciers there is influenced both by elevation and by solar radiation. The potential of such computations as an aid in selecting station sites for climatological studies is also discussed.
Abstract
The variation over uneven terrain of the daily total of incident shortwave (global) radiation under cloudless conditions may be estimated by existing methods for calculating direct and diffuse solar radiation on a slope. A computer program for performing these calculations, incorporating a technique to determine when the direct rays of the sun are screened by the horizon at each point, is described. The adequacy of the approximation for diffuse radiation is considered by comparison with published data. Computations for an area of east Baffin Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, demonstrate that the occurrence of glaciers there is influenced both by elevation and by solar radiation. The potential of such computations as an aid in selecting station sites for climatological studies is also discussed.