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In mountainous lake areas, lake-land and mountain-valley breezes interact with each other, leading to an “extended lake breeze”. These extended lake breezes can regulate and control energy and carbon cycles at different scales. Based on meteorological and turbulent fluxes data from an eddy covariance observation site at Erhai Lake in the Dali Basin, southwest China, characteristics of daytime and nighttime extended lake breezes and their impacts on energy and carbon dioxide exchange in 2015 are investigated. Lake breezes dominate during the daytime while, due to different prevailing circulations at night, there are two types of nighttime breezes. The mountain breeze from the Cangshan Mountain range leads to N1 type nighttime breeze events. When a cyclonic circulation forms and maintains in the southern part of Erhai Lake at night, its northern branch contributes to the formation of N2 type nighttime breeze events. The prevailing wind directions for daytime, N1, and N2 breeze events are southeast, west, and southeast, respectively. Daytime breeze events are more intense than N1 events and weaker than N2 events. During daytime breeze events, the lake breeze decreases the sensible heat flux (Hs) and carbon dioxide flux ( $$\boldsymbol{F}_{\text{CO}_{2}}$$ ) and increases the latent heat flux (LE). During N1 breeze events, the mountain breeze decreases Hs and LE and increases $$\boldsymbol{F}_{\text{CO}_{2}}$$ . For N2 breeze events, the southeast wind from the lake surface increases Hs and LE and decreases $$\boldsymbol{F}_{\text{CO}_{2}}$$ . Results indicate that lakes in mountainous areas promote latent heat mixing but suppress carbon dioxide exchange.

The stratification of the atmospheric surface layer (ASL) plays an important role in regulating the water vapor and heat exchange across the lake–air interface. Based on one year of data measured by the eddy covariance technique over Erhai Lake in 2015, the ASL stability ($${\rm{\zeta }}$$) was divided into six ranges, including unstable ($$ - 1 \le {\rm{\zeta }} \lt - 0.1$$), weakly unstable ($$ - 0.1 \le {\rm{\zeta }} \lt - 0.01$$), near-neutral1 ($$ - 0.01 \le {\rm{\zeta }} \lt 0$$), near-neutral2 ($$0 \le {\rm{\zeta }} \lt 0.01$$), weakly stable ($$0.01 \le {\rm{\zeta }} \lt 0.1$$), and stable ($$0.1 \le {\rm{\zeta }} \lt 1$$). The characteristics of ASL stability conditions and factors controlling the latent ($$\rm LE$$) and sensible heat ($$H$$) fluxes under different stability conditions were analyzed in this study. The stability conditions of Erhai Lake have noticeably seasonal and diurnal variation, with the near-neutral and (weakly) stable stratification usually occurring before July, with frequencies of 51.7% and 23.3%, respectively, but most of the (weakly) unstable stratification was observed after July, with a frequency of 59.8%. Large evaporation occurred even in stable atmospheric conditions, due to the coupled effects of the relatively larger lake–air vapor pressure difference and wind speed. The relative controls of $$\rm LE$$ and $$H$$ by different atmospheric variables are largely dependent on the stability conditions. In stable and unstable ranges, $$\rm LE$$ is closely correlated with the vapor pressure difference, whereas in weakly unstable to weakly stable ranges, it is primarily controlled by wind speed. $$H$$ is related to wind speed and the lake–air temperature difference under stable conditions, but shows no obvious relationship under unstable conditions.

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is a key area affecting forecasts of weather and climate in China and occurrences of extreme weather and climate events over the world. The China Meteorological Administration, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly initiated the Third Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Science Experiment (TIPEX-III) in 2013, with an 8–10-yr implementation plan. Since its preliminary field measurements conducted in 2013, routine automatic sounding systems have been deployed at Shiquanhe, Gaize, and Shenzha stations in western TP, where no routine sounding observations were available previously. The observational networks for soil temperature and soil moisture in the central and western TP have also been established. Meanwhile, the plateau-scale and regional-scale boundary layer observations, cloud-precipitation microphysical observations with multiple radars and aircraft campaigns, and tropospheric-stratospheric air composition observations at multiple sites, were performed. The results so far show that the turbulent heat exchange coefficient and sensible heat flux are remarkably lower than the earlier estimations at grassland, meadow, and bare soil surfaces of the central and western TP. Climatologically, cumulus clouds over the main body of the TP might develop locally instead of originating from the cumulus clouds that propagate northward from South Asia. The TIPEX-III observations up to now also reveal diurnal variations, macro- and microphysical characteristics, and water-phase transition mechanisms, of cumulus clouds at Naqu station. Moreover, TIPEX-III related studies have proposed a maintenance mechanism responsible for the Asian “atmospheric water tower” and demonstrated the effects of the TP heating anomalies on African, Asian, and North American climates. Additionally, numerical modeling studies show that the Γ distribution of raindrop size is more suitable for depicting the TP raindrop characteristics compared to the M-P distribution, the overestimation of sensible heat flux can be reduced via modifying the heat transfer parameterization over the TP, and considering climatic signals in some key areas of the TP can improve the skill for rainfall forecast in the central and eastern parts of China. Furthermore, the TIPEX-III has been promoting the technology in processing surface observations, soundings, and radar observations, improving the quality of satellite retrieved soil moisture and atmospheric water vapor content products as well as high-resolution gauge-radar-satellite merged rainfall products, and facilitating the meteorological monitoring, forecasting, and data sharing operations.

Wetlands are “hot spot” area of global climate change, which are obviously sensitive to climate change. Under climate change, the carbon sequestration potential and carbon balance over wetland ecosystems are greatly altered, and large uncertainties are still existed in carbon budgets over these areas. Tengchong Beihai wetland is the only highland “floating blanket” lake wetland which is located in Southwest of China. As this land surface is composed by both water and terrestrial land surface, it’s doubted whether this type of wetland behaves more like lake or the latter one. Based on one year continuous observation measured with eddy covariance technique over Beihai wetland and Erhai Lake in 2016, the patterns of CO2 flux and energy fluxes over Tengchong wetland and Erhai lake are analyzed. The results show the diurnal variation of H and LE are both similar to Rn, which is different with Erhai lake. Erhai lake has a higher evaporation rate even in nighttime, which is much larger than Beihai wetland, due to the “floating blanket” vegetation could obviously reduce the evaporation rate. Beihai wetland acts as CO2 sink for the most time of the year, with an annual CO2 flux of -202.2 g C m-2, while Erhai Lake acted as CO2 source with an annual CO2 flux of 143.7 g C m-2. The results indicate the carbon and water exchange process in Beihai wetland behaves more like vegetated land surface.

Large uncertainties exist in carbon sequestration and water exchange process in wetland ecosystems under climate change. Beihai wetland is a very rare special type of alpine marsh with plants floating on the water surface located in the southeast margin area of the Tibetan Plateau. Based on the eddy covariance measurements from July 2015 to December 2016 over Baihai wetland, we have investigated the patterns of energy and carbon dioxide fluxes between the air and the alpine marsh and their main drivers. The latent heat flux (LE) was the main consumer of available radiation which accounted for 63% of net radiation (Rn) in 2016. Rn was the main factor determining H at both wet and dry season. Air temperature (Ta) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD)were most influenced with half-hourly LE during both wet and dry season, and VPD showed a larger influence on NEE in dry season than that in wet season. The total evapotranspiration (ET) in wet season occupied 60% of annual ET with an amount of 762.3 mm yr−1 in 2016, which was much lower than the annual total precipitation (1780.2 mm yr−1). Photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) was the main controller in the half-hourly net ecosystem exchange (NEE), while Ta mainly controlled the seasonal variations in NEE. The annual total NEE, gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (RE) were -233.8, 796.6 and 562.8 g C m−2 yr−1 in 2016. The fraction of vegetation to water surface changed from 66% to 74% in the study period. A positive linearly relationship was both found between the fraction of vegetation to water surface and CO2 uptake and evapotranspiration. The fraction of vegetation to water surface could explain 40% variation of ET and 62% variation of NEE, respectively.

Based on five years of eddy covariance measurements at multiple levels (47, 140, and 280 m) of Beijing's 325-m meteorological tower, the exchange process of CO2 fluxes between the atmosphere and urban surface were investigated. As a result of the total vehicle control policy from 2011 in Beijing, the growth rate of annual total CO2 flux at 140 m is 7.8% from 2008–2010 but 2.3% from 2010–2012. With the minimum vegetation cover and largest population density, the 5-yr average annual total CO2 flux at 140 m is largest (6.41 kg C m−2 yr−1), compared with that at 47 m (5.78 kg C m−2 yr−1) and 280 m (3.99 kg C m−2 yr−1). With regards to annual total CO2 fluxes in Beijing, vehicle numbers and population are the main controlling factors. The measured CO2 fluxes were highly dependent on land cover/use in the prevailing wind direction. The CO2 fluxes at three layers all correlated positively with road fraction, with the R2 values being 0.69, 0.57, and 0.54 (P 摘要 本文基于北京325米气象塔在47, 140, 和280米三层高度的5年涡动相关观测资料, 研究了城市下垫面与大气间的CO2交换过程.由于北京市2011年开始实行工作日汽车尾号限行, 140米高度CO2通量的年增长率由2008–2010年的7.8%降低到2010–2012年的2.3%.140米高度通量源区内植被比例最小且人口密度最大, 因此140米高度的5年平均CO2通量年总量)6.41 kg C m−2 yr−1(大于47米)5.78 kg C m−2 yr−1(和280米)3.99 kg C m−2 yr−1(.在年尺度上, 北京汽车总保有量和总人口是最重要的CO2通量控制因子.CO2通量随风向的变化主要与风向对应的通量源区内下垫面土地利用方式有关.三层高度的夏季CO2通量均与道路的比例呈正相关关系.47, 140, 和280米的决定系数分别为0.69, 0.57, 和0.54 (P

The differences in planetary boundary layer characteristics, in particular atmospheric boundary layer height (ABLH), humidity, and local circulations in pre-monsoon and monsoon period over the Erhai Lake, were simulated by the lake-atmosphere coupled model WRF v3.7.1. No lake simulations were also conducted to investigate lake effects over complex topography. During pre-monsoon period, local circulation was fully developed under weak synoptic system. The ABLH ran up to 2300 m or so. During monsoon period, temperature difference between land and lake became smaller, resulting in weaker local circulations. The height of circulation reduced by 500 m, and ABLH ran up to 1100 m during the day. Enhanced soil moisture and low surface temperature due to monsoon rainfalls in July could be the main reason for the slightly lower ABLH over the Erhai Lake area. Specific humidity of the boundary layer increased 8.8 g kg−1 or so during monsoon period. The Erhai Lake enlarged thermal contrast between valley and mountain slope in the Dali Basin. The lake reduced air temperature by 2~3 °C during daytime and increased air temperature by nearly 2 °C in the evening. Due to its small roughness length and large thermal capacity, the Erhai Lake enlarged lake-land temperature difference and local wind speed. A cyclonic circulation was maintained by the combination of mountain breeze and land breeze in the south of the lake. The lake decreased air temperature, increased specific humidity, and reduced ABLH during daytime, whereas the opposite effect is presented at night.

Uncertainties in satellite rainfall estimation may derive from both the local rainfall characteristics and its subpixel variability. To study this issue, Micro Rain Radars and a rain gauge network were deployed within a 9-km satellite pixel in the semi-arid Xilingol grassland of China in summer 2009. The authors characterized the subpixel variability with the coefficient of variation (CV) and evaluated the satellite rainfall estimation for this semi-arid area. The results showed that rainfall events with a high CV were mostly convective with a small amount of rainfall. Spatially inhomogeneous rainfall was most likely to occur at the edges of small clouds producing rain. The performance of the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) 3B42V7 product for daily rainfall was better than that of the CMORPH (Climate Prediction Center morphing technique) and PERSIANN (Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information Using Artificial Neural Networks) products, although the TRMM product tended to overestimate rainfall in a lake area of the semi-arid grassland. 摘要 卫星估雨精度的不确定性受到当地降雨类型和像元内降雨非均匀性影响, 而结合这两个关键因素开展半干旱草原卫星估雨的研究有限. 2009年夏, 我们在中国锡林郭勒半干旱草原用多部微雨雷达和雨量计构建了9 km卫星像元降雨观测网, 观测了像元内降雨非均匀性(空间变异系数CV), 并评估了卫星估雨精度. 结果表明: (1) CV值受像元内平均降雨量, 降雨类型, 降雨云面积及移向等影响, 如高CV值的降雨过程大多为平均降雨量小, 对流性降雨过程, 降雨云边缘像元CV值较高; (2) TRMM 3B42V7 卫星估雨产品适用性较好, CMORPH和PERSIANN次之, 但TRMM 3B42V7易在半干旱草原湖泊处高估降雨.

Tropical cyclones and meiyu-baiu fronts, as the two main synoptic systems over East Asia, bring heavy rain during summers, but their long-term and vertical raindrop size distribution (RSD) features over the midlatitude Japan Islands are limited. Radar-based quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) techniques require RSD observations. In this study, five-year observations from Tokyo with a ground-based impact Joss-Waldvogel disdrometer (JWD) and a vertically pointing micro rain radar (MRR) with a vertical range of 0.2&ndash, 6.0 km were used to study the vertical structures of RSD and QPE parameters. The results showed that the convective rain associated with tropical cyclones had a maritime nature, while the rain associated with the meiyu-baiu front had a continental nature. The rain associated with tropical cyclones had a relatively higher concentration of raindrops and a larger average raindrop diameter than the rain associated with the meiyu-baiu front. The Z&ndash, R (radar reflectivity-rain rate) relationships (Z = ARb) based on the JWD data for tropical cyclones, the meiyu-baiu front and total summer rainfall in Tokyo were Z = 189 R1.38, Z = 214 R1.35 and Z = 212 R1.33, respectively. When the Z&ndash, R relationships obtained in this study were used to replace the operational relationship of Z = 300 R1.4, the standard deviation of the rain rate was reduced from 5.50 mm/h (2.34 mm/h) to 2.34 mm/h (1.32 mm/h) for typhoon (meiyu-baiu front) rainfall, although the change for total summer rainfall was small. In addition, with increasing height below 4 km, the value of A and b decreased.

Based on eddy covariance flux data from July 15, 2014, to December 31, 2015, the water and CO2 fluxes were compared over a semiarid alpine steppe (Bange, Tibetan Plateau) and a humid alpine meadow (Lijiang, Yunnan) on the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding region. During the wet season, the evaporative fraction (EF) was strongly and linearly correlated with the soil water content (SWC) at Bange because of its sparse green grass cover. In contrast, the correlation between the EF at Lijiang and the SWC and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was very low because the atmosphere was close to saturation and the EF was relatively constant. In the dry season, the EF at both sites decreased with the SWC. The net ecosystem exchange (NEE) at Bange was largely depressed at noon, while this phenomenon did not occur at Lijiang. The saturated NEE at Bange was 24% of that at Lijiang. The temperature sensitivity coefficient of ecosystem respiration at Bange (1.7) was also much lower than that at Lijiang (3.4). The annual total NEE in 2015 was 21.8 and −230.0 g C m−2 yr−1 at Bange and Lijiang, respectively, and the NEE was tightly controlled by the NDVI at the two sites. The distinct differences in the water and CO2 fluxes at Bange and Lijiang are attributed to the large SWC difference and its effect on vegetation growth.

The cropland ecosystem in semiarid areas is sensitive to climate change. The accurate representation of crop phenology is important for predicting the carbon and water exchange process. The performance of a newly developed phenological model (SiBcrop) for simulations of carbon flux phenology in a semiarid area ecosystem was evaluated. The results showed that the SiBcrop improved the prediction for daily maximum gross primary production (GPP), and the days GPP reached the maximum value were closer to the observation, compared to SiB3. SiBcrop had a better prediction for both monthly total net ecosystem exchange (NEE) in the growing season than in the dormant season in semiarid areas. The day when the cumulative NEE predicted with SiBcrop became positive was closer to the observation. The observed start date of carbon uptake (CUstart) had a larger annual variation than did the end date of carbon uptake (CUend). SiBcrop had a better prediction for CUstart but poor for CUend, compared to SiB3. There was a longer carbon uptake period (CUP) predicted with SiBcrop than the observed results.

Vertical raindrop size distributions of two stratiform rain events were measured with a Micro Rain Radar during summer 2009 at a semiarid continental site located in Xilinhot, China (43°38′N, 116°42′E). The sequential intensity filtering technique (SIFT) was used to minimize the effect of the spurious variability on disdrometric data to obtain the reflectivity–rain rate (Z–R) relationship (Z = aRb). Compared with the least squares regression (LSR) method, SIFT led to a −5% to 4% change in the coefficient (a) and an 8%–15% increase in the exponent (b) of the Z–R relationship at 300 m. Rainfall estimation using the Z–R relationship with SIFT had lower standard deviation than that with LSR. The vertical variability of the mean rain rate, total raindrop numbers, and parameters (a and b) of the Z–R relationship was small below a melting layer, suggesting that using the radar reflectivity of weather radar to estimate stratiform rainfall is relatively accurate, at least in the Xilinhot area.

The effects of precipitation pulses on evapotranspiration (ET) and CO 2 fluxes were evaluated over different land surfaces in a semiarid area using eddy covariance technique. ET responded to rain events throughout the growing season, but the degree of responses varied among seasons. In spring and fall, ET slightly responded to precipitation pulses, because the precipitation amount in the rainfall event was small and very discrete. As the rainy season started in early summer, responses of ET to precipitation pulses significantly increased. In late summer, the intensity of responses in ET was weakened because the soils retain moisture by the high-frequency rainfall events and the antecedent soil moisture. Regarding CO 2 exchange, in early summer, the net CO 2 uptake slightly increased at the cultivated corn site after rain pulses, while the degraded grassland site experienced comparatively greater responses. In late summer, the cultivated corn site exhibited more negative CO 2 flux after rain than the grassland site, and the responses of net CO 2 uptake to rain pulses were much stronger than those in early summer. The soil moisture content and vegetation cover are the key factors in determining the responses of ET and CO 2 fluxes to precipitation pulses in these two semiarid ecosystems.

Lake evaporation is an important link connecting the water cycle and the surface energy cycle and remains one of the most uncertain terms in the local catchment&rsquo, s water balance. Quantifying lake evaporation and its variability is crucial to improve water resource management and understand the response of the lake system towards climate change. In this study, we evaluated the performances of nine evaporation methods at different timescales and calibrated them by using the continuous eddy covariance (EC) observation data during 2015&ndash, 2018 over Erhai Lake, a highland open freshwater lake situated in the Dali valley, China. The nine evaporation methods could be classified into combination methods (Bowen-ratio energy budget, Penman, Priestley&ndash, Taylor, DeBruin&ndash, Keijman and Brutsaert&ndash, Stricker), solar radiation-based methods (Jensen&ndash, Haise and Makkink) and Dalton-based method (mass transfer and Ryan&ndash, Harleman) based on their parameterization schemes. The Dalton-based Ryan&ndash, Harleman method is most suitable for estimating evaporation at daily to weekly scales, while the combination methods and solar radiation-based method had good estimates at monthly timescale. After calibration, the biases of the Jensen&ndash, Haise and Ryan&ndash, Harleman method were slightly reduced, while the biases of the Makkink and mass transfer methods were reduced substantially. The calibrated Jensen&ndash, Haise method with small annual bias (&minus, 2.2~2.8%) and simple input variables was applied to estimate the long-term trend of evaporation during 1981&ndash, 2018. The annual total evaporation showed an insignificant increasing trend of 0.30 mm yr&minus, 1, mainly caused by the significant rising air temperature. This study showed the performance of evaporation methods over water bodies had large discrepancies on different time scales, which indicated the importance of the choice of evaporation methods and provided instruction for water resource management of this region under climate change.

The eddy covariance technique was used to measure the CO2 flux over four differently grazed Leymus chinensis steppe ecosystems (ungrazed since 1979 (UG79), winter grazed (WG), continuously grazed (CG), and heavily grazed (HG) sites) during four growing seasons (May to September) from 2005 to 2008, to investigate the response of the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) over grassland ecosystems to meteorological factors and grazing intensity. At UG79, the optimal air temperature for the half-hourly NEE occurred between 17 and 20 °C, which was relatively low for semi-arid grasslands. The saturated NEE (NEEsat) and temperature sensitivity coefficient (Q 10) of ecosystem respiration (RE) exhibited clear seasonal and interannual variations, which increased with canopy development and the soil water content (SWC, at 5 cm). The total NEE values for the growing seasons from 2005 to 2008 were −32.0, −41.5, −66.1, and −89.8 g C m−2, respectively. Both the amounts and distribution of precipitation during the growing season affected the NEE. The effects of grazing on the CO2 flux increased with the grazing intensity. During the peak growth stage, heavy grazing and winter grazing decreased NEEsat and gross primary production (45 % for HG and 34 % for WG) due to leaf area removal. Both RE and Q 10 were clearly reduced by heavy grazing. Heavy grazing changed the ecosystem from a CO2 sink into a CO2 source, and winter grazing reduced the total CO2 uptake by 79 %. In the early growing season, there was no difference in the NEE between CG and UG79. In addition to the grazing intensity, the effects of grazing on the CO2 flux also varied with the vegetation growth stages and SWC.

Grazing intensity effects on the evapotranspiration (ET) partitioning into evaporation (E) and transpiration (T) were investigated using eddy covariance measurement data during the growing season (May to September) from 2005 to 2008 over typical steppes in Inner Mongolia, China. Four grazing intensities were examined (UG79, ungrazed since 1979; WG, winter grazed; CG, continuously grazed; HG, heavily grazed). Soil water content (SWC) significantly influenced daily T/ET by affecting T and E in different ways. On a monthly scale, T/ET at UG79 (0.46–0.77) increased with vegetation growth regardless of the uneven distribution of precipitation. The mean T/ET at UG79 for the growing season ranged from 0.50 to 0.74 for 2005 to 2008. In the normal precipitation year (2006), WG and HG reduced T/ET because they significantly reduced T through the removal of leaf area. In the dry year (2005), this negative effect on T was depressed by summer droughts, while WG and HG decreased E primarily due to the decreased interception of rainfall by the canopy. The grazing effect on T/ET was opposite to that in 2006. These results indicate that grazing effects on ET partitioning could vary with soil water conditions in the semiarid typical steppe ecosystems.

The turbulence spectra and energy budget were investigated based on eddy covariance method over an open-water highland lake (Erhai Lake) in Southwest China. We estimated the annual total evaporation and CO2 emission from the lake, and the evaporation trend in the past few decades was also discussed. Due to the large thermal inertia of lake water, the surface water temperature lagged behind the air temperature. Maximum lake-air temperature difference of about 4 °C had been observed in November. Water temperature profile measurements revealed that the stratification of lake water was not evident throughout the year. The spectra and cospectra of wind speed and temperature roughly satisfied the −2/3 and −4/3 rule in inertial subrange, respectively. The w spectra were observed to have a larger contribution from higher frequencies than other variables. Obvious shifts of spectra and cospectra peaks toward higher frequencies were observed as the atmospheric stratification became more stable. The lake acted as a heat sink from March through June and quickly released heat into the atmosphere from September through December. Average energy balance closure for the lake was about 80 % in 2012. The lake majorly acted as a source of CO2 to the atmosphere, but weak sinks of CO2 were observed in the summer and early fall. The total annual emission of CO2 was estimated to be 333.28 g C m−2 year−1. The annual evaporation over the lake decreased due to the increased amount of low cloud and precipitation, with the lower annual evaporation in the 1990s compared to that in the 1980s.

Based on the long-term trends analysis of five meteorological parameters (temperature, precipitation, wind speed, sunshine duration and relative humidity) in the four chosen stations of different settings, this paper attempts to reveal the characteristics of climate change in Urumqi City during 1960–2013. Our analytical results showed that both the temperature and precipitation in the Urumqi City have increased significantly since the middle 1980s. Autumn was the season when the temperature increased most drastically, and winter was the season when the precipitation increased most drastically. The average minimum temperature increased faster than the average maximum temperature, thus resulting in greatly reduced diurnal and annual temperature ranges. The wind speed was weakening significantly since the middle 1980s. The sunshine duration did not display any geographic coherence or consistency among different stations. The relative humidity has maintained more or less a constant, meaning that the absolute amount of water vapor has been increased under warming conditions. Comparatively, the Urumqi station (i.e., the urbanized area) had the most pronounced changes in temperature, precipitation and sunshine duration and the most pronounced changes were possibly due to the combined effects of natural and anthropogenic factors. Climate change in the mountainous area was synchronous with that in the plain area and the underlying surfaces and topographies, together with degrees of human activities, distinguished the regional climatic responses to global warming.

Small-scale summer rainfall variability in a semiarid zone was studied by deploying five vertically pointing Micro Rain Radars (MRRs) along a nearly straight line and by using 12 rain gauges in the study area of the Xilin River catchment in China. The spatial scales of 4 and 9 km correspond to the resolution of precipitation radar and rainfall products from satellites. The dataset of the MRRs and rain gauges covers two months in the summer of 2009. Three parameters, that is, spatial correlation, intermittency, and the coefficient of variation (CV), were used to describe the rainfall variability as based on the data from the MRRs and rain gauges. The probability of partial beamfilling in a 4-km (9 km) pixel over a 30-min temporal scale was 17%–20% (28%–37%). More accurate equipment can measure lower rainfall intermittency. For scales of 4 and 9 km, the median CV of the accumulation times that were longer than 3 h with rainfall > 1 mm was 0.17–0.42. The accuracy of areal rainfall measured by different quantities of equipment was also evaluated. One MRR was sufficient for measuring the daily areal rainfall at a 4-km scale, with a fraction of prediction within a factor of 2 of observations of 1.0 and a correlation coefficient of ≥0.58 when daily mean rainfall was >1 mm.

Measurement of turbulence fluxes were performed over the Erhai Lake using eddy covariance (EC) method. Basic physical parameters in the lake-air interaction processes, such as surface albedo of the lake, aerodynamic roughness length, bulk transfer coefficients, etc., were investigated using the EC data in 2012. The characteristics of turbulence fluxes over the lake including momentum flux, sensible heat flux, latent heat flux, and CO2 flux, and their controlling factors were analyzed. The total annual evaporation of the lake was also estimated based on the artificial neural network (ANN) gap-filling technique. Results showed that the total annual evaporation in 2012 was 1165 ± 15 mm, which was larger than the annual precipitation (818 mm). Local circulation between the lake and the surrounding land was found to be significant throughout the year due to the land-lake breeze or the mountain-valley breeze in this area. The prevailing winds of southeasterly and northwesterly were observed throughout the year. The sensible heat flux over this plateau lake usually had a few tens of W m−2, and generally became negative in the afternoon, indicating that heat was transferred from the lake to the atmosphere. The sensible heat flux was governed by the lake-air temperature difference and had its maximum in the early morning. The diurnal variation of the latent heat flux was controlled by vapor pressure deficit with a peak in the afternoon. The latent heat flux was dominant in the partition of available energy in daytime over this lake. The lake acted as a weak CO2 source to the atmosphere except for the midday of summer. Seasonal variations of surface albedo over the lake were related to the solar elevation angle and opacity of the water. Furthermore, compared with the observation data, the surface albedo estimated by CLM4-LISSS model was underestimated in winter and overestimated in summer.

The default fractional vegetation cover and terrain height were replaced by the estimated fractional vegetation cover, which was calculated by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of Earth Observing System Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (EOS-MODIS) and the Digital Elevation Model of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) system. The near-surface meteorological elements over northeastern China were assimilated into the three-dimensional variational data assimilation system (3DVar) module in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The structure and daily variations of air temperature, humidity, wind and energy fields over northeastern China were simulated using the WRF model. Four groups of numerical experiments were performed, and the simulation results were analyzed of latent heat flux, sensible heat flux, and their relationships with changes in the surface energy flux due to soil moisture and precipitation over different surfaces. The simulations were compared with observations of the stations Tongyu, Naiman, Jinzhou, and Miyun from June to August, 2009. The results showed that the WRF model achieves high-quality simulations of the diurnal characteristics of the surface layer temperature, wind direction, net radiation, sensible heat flux, and latent heat flux over semiarid northeastern China in the summer. The simulated near-surface temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed were improved in the data assimilation case (Case 2) compared with control case (Case 1). The simulated sensible heat fluxes and surface heat fluxes were improved by the land surface parameterization case (Case 3) and the combined case (Case 4). The simulated temporal variations in soil moisture over the northeastern arid areas agree well with observations in Case 4, but the simulated precipitation should be improved in the WRF model. This study could improve the land surface parameters by utilizing remote sensing data and could further improve atmospheric elements with a data assimilation system. This work provides an effective attempt at combining multi-source data with different spatial and temporal scales into numerical simulations. The assimilation datasets generated by this work can be applied to research on climate change and environmental monitoring of arid lands, as well as research on the formation and stability of climate over semiarid areas.

Drought has been a concern in global and regional water, carbon, and energy cycles. From 1999 to 2011, northern China experienced a multiyear precipitation reduction that significantly decreased water availability as indicated by the Palmer Drought Severity Index and soil moisture measurements. In this study, a light use efficiency model (EC-LUE) and an ecosystem physiological model (IBIS) were used to characterize the impacts of long-term drought on terrestrial carbon fluxes in northern China. EC-LUE and IBIS models showed the reduction of averaged GPP of 0.09 and 0.05 Pg C yr-1 during 1999-2011 compared with 1982-1998. Based on the IBIS model, simulated ecosystem respiration experienced an insignificant decrease from 1999 to 2011. The multiyear precipitation reduction changed the regional carbon uptake of 0.011 Pg C yr-1 from 1982 to 1998 to a net source of 0.018 Pg C yr-1 from 1999 to 2011. Moreover, a pronounced decrease in maize yield in almost all provinces in the study region was found from 1999 to 2011 versus the average of yield from1978 to 2011. The largest maize yield reduction occurred in Beijing (2499kgha-1yr-1), Jilin (2180kgha-1yr-1), Tianjing (1923kgha-1yr-1), and Heilongjiang (1791kgha-1yr-1), and the maize yield anomaly was significantly correlated with the annual precipitation over the entire study area. Our results revealed that recent climate change, especially drought-induced water stress, is the dominant cause of the reduction in the terrestrial carbon sink over northern China.

Validation of Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface reflectance products is important to effective utilization of such products for earth systems science. Ground-based measurements are normally utilized for such validation. However, the major scale mismatch between the ground ‘point’ measurement and MODIS resolution (500 m and 1 km) makes direct comparison infeasible over many land surface types. In this paper, an indirect comparison between ground ‘point’ measurements and MODIS land surface products via high-resolution remotely sensed imagery (Landsat Thematic Mapper/TM) was utilized in semi-arid grassland of Inner Mongolia in summer 2005, where ground measurements are relatively sparse in comparison with other locations around the world. Within the validation, the TM reflectance imagery was first calibrated by the ground ‘point’ measurements, and then aggregated to MODIS data resolution for determination of their accuracy. Besides common direct spectral band comparison of re...

Phenology plays an important role in the carbon exchange process. Seven years of continuous eddy covariance data across two different ecosystems in a semiarid area were used to investigate the variation in phenology indices, its effect on the carbon exchange process, and responses to climate change. The results showed that there was large annual variation for vegetation phenology. The GSL (growing season length) displayed an obvious increasing trend for the grassland ecosystem during the 7 years, and it was most determined by SOS (the start day of growing season). The growing season was divided into three periods, the recovery period (S1), the stable period (S2), and the senescence period (S3). Both ecosystems had a similar ratio of Re (ecosystem respiration) to GPP (gross primary production) during S1 and S2 periods but a much larger Re/GPP ratio during the last growing period. The inter-annual variation of the peak rate was most responsible for the NEP (net ecosystem production) and its components (GPP and Re) in both ecosystems. The inter-annual variation of recovery rate, GSL and SOS was found to be closely correlated to Re for the grassland ecosystem, while that could not be found for the cropland ecosystem. The temperature in June was most closely correlated with the peak rate of GPP and NEP for grassland ecosystem, with a significant correlation coefficient of −0.90 and −0.82, respectively. Meanwhile, the precipitation in July was found to be closely correlated with GPP for both ecosystems, with a similar correlation coefficient of 0.83. The precipitation and temperature roughly exhibited an inverse effect on vegetation phenology in this semiarid area. The variation of temperature in the early month and precipitation in mid growing season showed a more significant effect on main phenology indicators for the cropland ecosystem than those for grassland ecosystem.

The planetary boundary layer (PBL) parameterization schemes play a critical role in the weather and climate models, while they describe physical processes associated with the momentum, heat and humidity exchange between land surface and atmosphere. The sensitivity of boundary layer variables to eight PBL parameterization schemes (three non-local and five local closure schemes), available in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, is evaluated over the central Tibetan Plateau with field measurements of the Third Tibetan Plateau atmospheric scientific experiment (TIPEX III) in July. Model results showed acceptable behavior, but no particular scheme produced the best performances for all observation stations and meteorological parameters. All PBL schemes underestimated the surface temperature over the central Tibetan Plateau. The BouLac scheme showed the minimum cold bias of the surface temperature. For the surface energy budget components, it was found that the sensible heat flux and the downward longwave radiation were the main factors causing the lower surface temperature. The sub-grid scale gravity wave drag was added to reduce biases result from unresolved topography over the central Tibetan Plateau. It led to smaller cold bias, causing warmer lower-tropospheric temperature, smaller water vapor content and higher PBL height. The modified model results show more close to the observation.

Eddy covariance measurements from 2012 to 2015 were used to investigate the interannual variation in carbon dioxide exchange and its control over an alpine meadow on the south-east margin of the Tibetan Plateau. The annual net ecosystem exchange (NEE) in the 4 years from 2012 to 2015 was −114.2, −158.5, −159.9 and −212.6 g C m−2 yr−1, and generally decreased with the mean annual air temperature (MAT). An exception occurred in 2014, which had the highest MAT. This was attributed to higher ecosystem respiration (RE) and similar gross primary production (GPP) in 2014 because the GPP increased with the MAT, but became saturated due to the limit in photosynthetic capacity. In the spring (March to May) of 2012, low air temperature (Ta) and drought events delayed grass germination and reduced GPP. In the late wet season (September to October) of 2012 and 2013, the low Ta in September and its negative effects on vegetation growth caused earlier grass senescence and significantly lower GPP. This indicates that the seasonal pattern of Ta has a substantial effect on the annual total GPP, which is consistent with results obtained using the homogeneity-of-slopes (HOS) model. The model results showed that the climatic seasonal variation explained 48.6 % of the GPP variability, while the percentages explained by climatic interannual variation and the ecosystem functional change were 9.7 and 10.6 %, respectively.

The eddy covariance technique was used to measure evapotranspiration (ET) at four different grazing intensity sites to investigate the grazing effects on ET in the semiarid steppe ecosystems of Inner Mongolia. By reducing available energy, and decreasing soil water content (SWC), grazing decreased ET on a seasonal scale compared with the site ungrazed since 1979 (UG79). The most important climatic factor controlling ET on daily scale shifted from SWC to Net radiation (Rn) when grazing intensity increased. SWC, Rn and air temperature (or vapor pressure deficit) can explain 59%–71% of the variation in daily ET. On the other hand, leaf area index (LAI) affected ET slightly at UG79 under the commonly limited soil water conditions. Even no effect of LAI at the heavily grazed site was detected. This suggests that the direct effect of grazing reducing LAI on ET is not significant in this semiarid steppe ecosystem. Soil evaporation compensates for most of the loss in transpiration due to reduced LAI.

On the basis of a simple snow-atmosphere-soil transfer (SAST) model previously developed, this paper presents an improved snow-atmosphere-soil transfer (ISAST) model that has a new numerical scheme and an improved method of layering the snowpack. The new model takes the snow cover temperature and ice content in the snow cover as prognostic variables. This approach, which effectively solves the snow cover temperature distribution when the snow cover is melting or freezing, lessens the iteration time and computation time, which is important for GCM simulation. In this model, the snow cover is divided into three layers (ISAST3) or seven layers (ISAST7). The simulation results obtained using the ISAST7 model agree well with observations in terms of snow depth, snow equivalent water and snow cover lifetime at five Russian sites. The new ISAST model has better simulation capacity for snow cover than the previous SAST model. When the snow cover is deep, the simulation of the ISAST7 model is better than that of the ISAST3 model. Testing shows that our ISAST model is approximately 20% faster than the SAST model.

Several studies have been selected to review water tank modeling of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and demonstrate that water tank simulations have been a key factor in developing scientific knowledge and promoting further research of the ABL. The areas discussed include similarity analysis of modeling, basic dispersion processes, characteristics of the convective boundary layer (CBL), parameterizations of the entrainment zone (EZ), the characteristics of turbulence in the CBL, and the influence of plain-valley terrain and other inhomogeneities on atmospheric boundary layer structure. Technical values of some parameters are noted and potential improvements in water tank modeling based on continuing advances in new technology are also discussed. The limitations of water tank models for characteristics of the CBL and possible solutions to their limitations are briefly discussed.

Based on the carbon fluxes measured over the grassland ecosystems in Inner Mongolia (UG79 site), Loess Plateau (SACOL site), and Tongyu, Jilin Province (TY site) in the semiarid areas from 2007 to 2008 with the eddy covariance method, we have investigated the carbon exchange processes over semiarid grassland ecosystem and its main affecting environmental variables. The precipitations at UG79 and TY sites in 2007 were below the historical average, especially for TY site, which was 50% below the historical average annual precipitation. The precipitation in SACOL site was close to average in 2007 but below average in 2008. The variation of monthly diurnal average NEE showed that the diurnal mean NEE decreased in the order of TY site, UG79 site, and SACOL site. However, a longer net carbon uptake period was observed at SACOL site. The diurnal course of NEE at UG79 site was similar between 2007 and 2008. The diurnal average NEE remained large during July and August in growing season (May to September) at UG79 site, with maximum values approaching 0.08 mg C m−2 s−1 in August of 2008. The diurnal average NEE of 2007 was larger than 2008 at SACOL site, with maximum values of 0.07 mg C m−2 s−1 in September of 2007. A shorter carbon uptake period was recorded in 2007 at TY site, lasting from July to August. A larger diurnal average NEE occurred in 2008 at TY site, with maximum values of 0.12 mg C m−2 s−1. The ecosystem respirations of three sites were controlled by both soil temperature and soil volumetric water content (at a depth of 5 cm below the land surface). Both UG79 site and SACOL site acted as a carbon sink during the growing periods of 2007 and 2008. Annual NEE in the growing seasons of 2007 and 2008 ranged from −68 to −50 g C m−2 at UG79 site and from −109 to −55 g C m−2 at SACOL site. Alternation between carbon source and carbon sink was found at TY site, with respective values of annual NEE in the growing seasons of 0.32 g C m−2 and −73 g C m−2 in 2007 and 2008. The magnitude and duration of carbon uptake depended mainly on the amount and timing of precipitation and the timing of the first effective rainfall during the growing season in semiarid grassland ecosystems.

Here we report a multiyear study on the surface roughness length and bulk transfer coefficients over the degraded grassland and cropland surfaces in a semiarid area of China. Eddy covariance measurement and the meteorological profile observation data were used to analyze characteristics of these parameters on the diurnal, seasonal, and annual scales. Significant seasonal and annual variations of the aerodynamic roughness length are observed over the two surfaces. A large variation of kB −1 is measured during the day. Both kB −1 and the bulk transfer coefficients exhibit significant seasonal and annual variations. During the growing season (May to October), average C d and C h are 3.1×10−3 and 2.5×10−3 over the degrade grassland surface, and 4.7×10−3 and 3.1×10−3 over the cropland surface respectively. During the non-growing season, average C d and C h are 2.3×10−3 and 2.0×10−3 over the degrade grassland surface, and 2.9×10−3 and 2.2×10−3 over the cropland surface respectively.

Detecting the influences of land management on seasonal dynamics and interannual variabilities of grassland surface reflectance is of scientific and practical importance as it can help to monitor grazing effects on the grassland ecosystem. We conducted spectral reflectance measurements at five differently grazed sites in Inner Mongolia, China, during the growing seasons of 2005 and 2006 using a portable, highly resolving spectrometer. Through analyses of the measured surface reflectance spectra and the derived visible albedo and NDVI, we found that grazing influences the reflectance spectrum shape and affects the visible albedo and NDVI seasonal pattern; visible albedo and NDVI of grazed sites are more sensitive to precipitation than that of ungrazed sites. In addition, we observed a well-defined linear relationship between total shortwave and visible (PAR) albedo, with R = 0.83 and R = 0.94 for 2005 and 2006, respectively, and between NDVI and total shortwave albedo with R = −0.92. Thus, NDVI spectrometer measurements and total shortwave albedo pyranometer measurements are interchangeable when addressing different grazing intensities.

To improve the land surface simulation in the arid and semi-arid areas of northern China, the observational data from two field experiments in Dunhuang and Tongyu are used to optimize the parameters in the land surface model, BATS, through calibration with the multicriteria method. Sensitivity analysis to the parameters in Dunhuang and Tongyu indicates that different parameters need to be calibrated in two sites with different environmental and climate regimes. Comparison of observed sensible heat flux, latent heat flux, and ground surface temperature with the simulated ones shows the simulations with the optimized parameters have been substantially improved. Especially, the holistic simulations with the calibration of the parameter values are much closer to the observations in the arid region (Dunhuang), and the energy partition with the calibrated parameters can also be simulated well in the semi-arid region (Tongyu). Whole results demonstrate that the parameter calibration of the land surface model is important when the model is to be used to investigate the land-air interaction.

Based on 3 years (2003–05) of the eddy covariance (EC) observations on degraded grassland and cropland surfaces in a semi-arid area of Tongyu (44°25′N, 122°52′E, 184 m a.s.l.), Northeast China, seasonal and annual variations of water, energy and CO2 fluxes have been investigated. The soil moisture in the thin soil layer (at 0.05, 0.10 and 0.20 m) clearly indicates the pronounced annual wet-dry cycle; the annual cycle is divided into the wet (growing season) and dry seasons (non-growing season). During the growing season (from May to September), the sensible and latent heat fluxes showed a linear dependence on the global solar radiation. However, in the non-growing season, the latent heat flux was always less than 50 W m−2, while the available energy was dissipated as sensible, rather than latent heat flux. During the growing season in 2003–05, the daily average sensible and latent heat fluxes were larger on the cropland surface than on the degraded grassland surface. The cropland ecosystem absorbed more CO2 than the degraded grassland ecosystem in the growing season in 2003–05. The total evapotranspiration on the cropland was more than the total precipitation, while the total evapotranspiration on the degraded grassland was almost the same as the total annual precipitation in the growing season. The soil moisture had a good correlation with the rainfall in the growing season. Precipitation in the growing season is an important factor on the water and carbon budget in the semi-arid area.

A land surface model driven by the continuous three-year observed meteorological data with a time interval of 30 minutes at the Tongyu station, a reference site of the Coordinated Enhanced Observing Period (CEOP), was used to evaluate the observation bias of soil moisture (SM) data and analyze the variation of SM at different time scales. The saline-alkaline soil of the grassland at the Tongyu site makes the measured SM too high, especially in boreal summer of 2003–05. The simulated annual mean SM has the lowest value in 2004 and its three-year variation corresponds to the change of precipitation, whereas the observation shows the increasing trend from 2003 to 2005. Compared to the variation range between −60% and 40% for the anomaly percentage of the simulated daily mean SM during May–October of 2004, the measured data show the higher values more than 40%. The magnitude of the variation trend of the observed daily mean SM in 2003 and 2005 is generally consistent with the simulation. The largest deficiency for the soil moisture observation of the grassland is the overestimated value in the drought year with less precipitation. The simulated monthly mean SM has the lowest value in March due to the large contribution of evaporation relative to precipitation and this phenomenon can not be reproduced in the observation.

Summary To study the effect of land use change from marshland to croplands (rice and soybean cultivation), the water and energy fluxes in marshland, rice and soybeans were measured in northeastern China by the eddy covariance method for two growing seasons (May–October in 2005 and 2006). The rice (flooded until early September) and soybean (dry land) croplands were reclaimed from marshlands over 15 years ago. The annual precipitation in 2005 (480 mm) was below the 1981–2004 average (564 ± 130 mm), the precipitation in 2006 (655 mm) was significantly above average. The conversion of marshland to rice cropland resulted in an enhancement in latent heat flux (LE) and a decrease in sensible heat flux (H), which caused an increase in the ratio of LE and net radiation (LE/Rn) from 0.6 to 0.8 on average, and a decrease in H/Rn from 0.4 to 0.2 on average for the growing season. However, where the marshland was converted to soybean cropland, the latent heat flux was lower in 2005 under dry conditions, but higher in 2006 under wet conditions than it had been previously been, which was the opposite of the trend of H. Therefore, LE/Rn for soybean dropped to about 0.2 in the dry month of June 2005, and rose to 0.7 in the wet month of June 2006. H/Rn for soybeans shows opposite variation in LE/Rn in both years. The maximum evapotranspiration (ET) was about 4.5, 6–7 and 5 mm day−1 for marshland, rice and soybeans, respectively. Rn, air temperature (Ta), vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and leaf area index (LAI) were important environmental and biological factors controlling the seasonal dynamics of LE and H for the three ecosystems, which explains about 80% of LE and 50% of H for marshland and rice; and 30–50% of LE and 60% of H for soybeans. Among them, Rn was the primary variable controlling the variations of LE and H for marshland and rice. However, for soybeans, VPD played a more important role in LE under dry conditions.

A roving tower concept was used to compare a semi-arid grassland site in Inner Mongolia (China), which was fenced in 1979 and ungrazed thereafter (UG79) with differently grazed semi-arid steppe ecosystems. The study was conducted during three consecutive years characterised by contrasting precipitation. The different grazing intensities included continuously and moderately grazed (CG), winter grazed (WG), and heavily grazed (HG). Here, we compare the energy fluxes and surface parameters that characterise the differently managed plots. The main focus is on sensible heat flux (H), available energy (AE), surface temperature (T ( s )), and surface albedo (alpha). Systematic errors were excluded by a side-to-side intercomparison of the instruments, and systematic climatic differences were minimised by the close distance between the fixed and the roving eddy covariance tower. Statistically, AE and T ( s ) were always significantly different between two simultaneously measured grazing intensities. Whereas AE was higher at UG79 in all years (mean difference of about 19Wm(-2)), T ( s ) was typically lower at UG79 (mean differences of 0.4 degrees C to about 2 degrees C). The exception was the end of the vegetation period in 2004 when T ( s ) was 0.6 degrees C higher at UG79 compared to CG. At UG79 alpha was typically significantly lower, and H was typically significantly higher. Consequently, latent heat fluxes (both as energy balance residual and directly measured) do not differ much between the different grazing intensities. It is concluded, that (1) the roving tower concept is able to detect differences due to grazing, (2) differences between the sites can be attributed to real surface differences, and (3) differences due to grazing intensities are small compared to interannual differences in surface fluxes.

Parameterization of turbulent flux from bare-soil and undercanopy surfaces is imperative for modeling land–atmosphere interactions in arid and semiarid regions, where flux from the ground is dominant or comparable to canopy-sourced flux. This paper presents the major characteristics of turbulent flux transfers over seven bare-soil surfaces. These sites are located in arid, semiarid, and semihumid regions in Asia and represent a variety of conditions for aerodynamic roughness length (z0m; from

This paper uses a Modified Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Scheme (MSPAS) to study the interaction between land surface and atmospheric boundary layer processes. The scheme is composed of two main parts: atmospheric boundary layer processes and land surface processes. Compared with SiB and BATS, which are famous for their detailed parameterizations of physical variables, this simplified model is more convenient and saves much more computation time. Though simple, the feasibility of the model is well proved in this paper. The numerical simulation results from MSPAS show good agreement with reality. The scheme is used to obtain reasonable simulations for diurnal variations of heat balance, potential temperature of boundary layer, and wind field, and spatial distributions of temperature, specific humidity, vertical velocity, turbulence kinetic energy, and turbulence exchange coefficient over desert and oasis. In addition, MSPAS is used to simulate the interaction between desert and oasis at night, and again it obtains reasonable results. This indicates that MSPAS can be used to study the interaction between land surface processes and the atmospheric boundary layer over various underlying surfaces and can be extended for regional climate and numerical weather prediction study.

Evaluation of the WRF3.7.1 lake model performance on lake physical processes and lake-atmosphere interaction at Erhai Lake was conducted with in-situ observation data sets over the lake to verify the model results. The lake model with default parameters presented significant negative bias during the day and positive bias during the night on lake surface temperature. Calibrations of water absorption and extinction coefficients, surface roughness length and eddy diffusion coefficient were carried out to correct this bias. The added absorption and extinction coefficients increased solar radiation in upper water layer, leading to a little higher surface temperature. Compared to constant surface roughness lengths, parameterization of roughness lengths as functions of friction velocity and fetch length significantly improved simulations of lake surface temperature and sensible heat flux. In Erhai Lake, eddy diffusion coefficient of the Henderson-Sellers parameterization is smaller than that in deep lakes. The eddy diffusion coefficient was reduced by a factor of 0.05 in dry season and 0.02 in wet season respectively to restrict mixing strength, generating a reasonable diurnal range with observed surface temperature. The adjusted parameters simulations matched better with in-situ observations in diurnal cycle of temperature and surface heat fluxes, but still overestimated wind speed. Topographic correction is effective to correct the bias, indicating topographic correction over complex terrain was necessary.

The characteristics of the turbulence spectrum, turbulence variance, and turbulence flux at Qamdo over the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau measured during the TIPEX experiment from 18 May to 30 June 1998 are analyzed by the eddy correlation method. During periods of intense convection, most of the spectra of the 3D winds, temperature, and humidity follow a power law with a slope of −2/3. The normalized variances of the 3D winds in relation toz/L satisfy the similarity law but the normalized variances of temperature and humidity are related toz/L by a −1/3 power law only in unstable conditions. In near-neutral stratification,σu/u* andσv/u* at Qamdo and Gerze are nearly constant in rugged terrain andσw/u* at Qamdo and Gerze is similar to the value found in plains, which indicates that the, effects of landform on vertical turbulence is not significant over the southeast and western Tibetan Plateau. During the dry period, the sensible heat dominates, comprising 81% of the heat intensity, with the other 19% being latent heat; during the wet period on the other hand, the latent heat accounts for about 64% of the available energy and the sensible heat only around 36%. The maximum intensity of the heating of air occurs in the middle of the Plateau during the summertime.

Based on the eddy covariance measurements from June 2011 to December 2013, the seasonal variations and the controls of water and CO2 fluxes were investigated over an alpine meadow in Lijiang, southwest China. The year 2012 had the largest total precipitation among years from 2011 to 2013 (1037.9, 1190.4, and 1066.1 mm, respectively). A spring drought event occurred from March to May 2012, and the peak normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in 2012 was the lowest. Throughout the whole year, net radiation (Rn), vapor pressure deficit, and air temperature (Ta) were the primary controls on evapotranspiration (ET), and R n is the most important factor. The influence of R n on ET was much more in the wet season (R(2) = 0.93) than in the dry season (R(2) = 0.28). In the wet season, the ratio of ET to equilibrium ET (ETeq) (0.92 ± 0.14; mean ± S.D.) did not show a clear seasonal pattern with NDVI when the soil water content (SWC) was usually more than 0.25 m(3) m(-3), indicating that ET could be predicted well by ETeq (or radiation and temperature). On half-hourly and daily scales, photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) and air temperature were the main meteorological factors in determining the net ecosystem production (NEP). The seasonal trends of NEP were closely related with the change of NDVI. The integrated NEP in the 2012 wet season (157.8 g C m(-2) year(-1)) was 19.5 and 23.8 % lower than in the 2011 and 2013 wet season (207.0 and 196.1 g C m(-2) year(-1)). The mean ET/ETeq for each of the wet seasons from 2011 to 2013 was 0.88. The 2012 spring drought and its reduction in NDVI decreased the total NEP significantly but had little effect on the total ET in the wet season. The different response of NEP and ET to the spring drought was attributed to the high SWC and small vapor pressure deficit during the wet season.

Three velocity componentsand temperature were measured usingthree-dimensional sonic anemometers/thermometers attwo levels, above and within a forest canopy, in theChangbai Mountains of northeast China. Turbulencespectral structure, local isotropy anddissipation rates above and within the forest canopywere calculated using the eddy correlation method.Results show that the normalized turbulent spectralcurves have -2/3 slopes in the inertial subrange.While the shapes of the spectra are in good agreementwith the Kansas flat terrain results, the atmosphericturbulence is anisotropic above the forest canopy. Dueto breaking down of large eddies by the foliage,branches and trunks, the spectral peak frequencies forvelocity and temperature are higher withinthan above the forest canopy. Compared withmeasurements from previous studies over flat terrain,the velocity and temperature spectra above andinside the forest canopy appear to shift toward higherfrequencies. The turbulence is approximately isotropicin the inertial subrange within the forest canopy, and isanisotropic above the forest canopy. The turbulentkinetic energy and heat energy dissipation rates aboveand inside the forest canopy are much larger thanthose obtained by Kaimal and Hogstrom over grasslandand grazing land. The distinct features in the resultsof the present experiment may be attributed to thedynamic forcing caused by the rough surface of the forestcanopy.

Observational analyses and numerical simulations were carried out to study the characteristics of the winter urban boundary layer of a large city. The observations showed that with light winds the ground inversion at nighttime in urban areas was about 200 m deep. The heat island circulation, caused mainly by anthropogenic heating, induced reverse flow at the downwind part of the city. A shallow internal boundary layer with a depth of 50–80 m developed from the fringe of the city. In the daytime heavy smoke attenuated the solar radiation, and caused a cold island in the urban area, and retarded the development of a convective boundary layer. The features described above were well simulated by the numerical model.

Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes from a cotton field in northern China were measured for a year using the static chamber method based on a gas chromatograph (GC) and the eddy covariance (EC) technique based on a tunable diode laser (TDL). The aims were to compare the N 2 O fluxes obtained from both techniques, assess the uncertainties in the fluxes and evaluate the annual direct emission factors ( EF d s, i.e. the loss rate of fertilizer nitrogen via N 2 O emission) using the year-round datasets. During the experimental period, the hourly and daily mean chamber fluxes ranged from 0.6 to 781.8 and from 1.2 to 468.8 μg N m −2 h −1 , respectively. The simultaneously measured daily mean EC fluxes varied between −10.8 and 912.0 μg N m −2 h −1 . The EC measurements only provided trustworthy 30-min fluxes during high-emission period (a 20-day period immediately after the irrigation that followed the nitrogen fertilization event). A reliable comparison was confined to the high-emission period and showed that the chamber fluxes were 17–20% lower than the EC fluxes. This difference may implicate the magnitude of systematic underestimation in the fluxes from chamber measurements. The annual emission from the fertilized cotton field was estimated at 1.43 kg N ha −1 yr −1 by the chamber observations and 3.15 kg N ha −1 yr −1 by the EC measurements. The EF d s calculated from the chamber and EC data were 1.04% and 1.65%, respectively. The chamber-based estimate was very close to the default value (1.0%) recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. However, the difference in the EF d s based on the two measurement techniques may vary greatly with changing environmental conditions and management practices. Further comparison studies are still needed to elucidate this issue.

Numerical simulations are carried out for the disturbed flow caused by three six-story buildings and a twenty-story tall tower respectively, as well as the distribution of automobile exhaust gas from a nearby road, based on the Peking University Model of Atmospheric Environment. The results show that the ventilation is better around the tall tower than around the three six-story residential buildings for the same number of households in the same urban region.