Diurnal Air Temperature Cycle Research Articles

Geographical, Seasonal and Diurnal Variations of Acoustic Attenuation, and Sound Speed in the Near‐Surface Martian Atmosphere

AbstractThis work introduces a comprehensive model of sound attenuation and speed on Mars, in light of the recent operation of several microphones on the surface of Mars. The proposed acoustic model calculates the sound speed and attenuation throughout the near‐surface Martian atmosphere based on first‐principles. We evaluate the effects of the seasonal and diurnal cycle of air temperature, pressure and CO2, as well as the concentration of airborne dust on the sound attenuation. The attenuation and speed of sound are most sensitive to the air temperature and, therefore, they vary with the diurnal temperature cycle and to a lesser degree with the seasonal changes in temperature. The speed of sound also varies with the seasonal variations of the concentration of CO2. The main outcome of this work is an acoustic model capable of computing the sound speed and attenuation for any location at the Martian surface at any time of year and any time of day.

Evaluation of Daily Temperature Extremes in the ECMWF Operational Weather Forecasts and ERA5 Reanalysis

In weather forecasting and climate monitoring, daily maximum and minimum air temperatures (TMAX and TMIN) are fundamental for operational and research purposes, from early warning of extreme events to climate change studies. This study provides an integrated evaluation of TMAX and TMIN from two European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) products: ERA5 reanalysis (1980–2019) and operational weather forecasts (2017–2021). Both products are evaluated using in situ observations from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN). While the analyses span globally, emphasis is given to four key regions: Europe, East and West United States, and Australia. Results reveal a general underestimation of TMAX and overestimation of TMIN in both operational forecasts and ERA5, highlighting the limitation of the ECMWF model in estimating the amplitude of the diurnal cycle of air temperature. ERA5′s accuracy has improved over the past decade, due to enhanced constrain of land–atmosphere analysis streaming from more and higher-quality satellite data. Furthermore, ERA5 outperforms one-day-ahead weather forecasts, indicating that non-real-time dependent studies should rely on ERA5 instead of real-time operational forecasts. This study underscores the importance of ongoing research in model and data assimilation, considering the relevance of daily temperature extremes forecasting and reanalysis for operational meteorology and climate monitoring.

Analysis of the diurnal cycle of air temperature between rural Berkshire and the University of Reading: possible role of the urban heat island

The urban heat island (UHI) effect describes the tendency for a built-up area to be significantly warmer than the surrounding countryside and is one of the clearest examples of how human activity can influence local climate. Using meteorological data from two observing sites, the town of Reading (Berkshire) is found to possess a distinct diurnal cycle in UHI intensity in summer and winter, which is enhanced in heatwave conditions but is suppressed in windy weather. (Photo courtesy of University of Reading).

Near-Surface Biases in ERA5 Over the Canadian Prairies

We quantify the biases in the diurnal cycle of air temperature in ERA5, using hourly climate station data for four stations in Saskatchewan, Canada. Compared with ERA-Interim, the biases in ERA5 have been greatly reduced, and show no differences with snow cover. We compute fits to the ERA5 mean air temperature biases based on ERA5 effective cloud albedo. They can be used to improve the ERA5 diurnal cycle of air temperature for modeling agricultural processes. Diurnally, ERA5 has a negative wind speed bias, which increases quasi-linearly with wind speed, and is greater in the daytime than at night. We evaluate ERA5 precipitation against the original climate station precipitation data, and a second generation adjusted precipitation dataset by Mekis and Vincent [2011]. For the warm season, ERA5 has a high bias of 8±9% above the Mekis dataset. ERA5 is -22±7% below the Mekis estimate in winter, suggesting that their correction with snow may be too large. It is likely that the ERA5 precipitation bias is small, which is encouraging for agricultural modelling. Data from a BSRN site near Regina shows that the biases in the downwelling shortwave and longwave radiation estimates in ERA5 are small, and have changed little from ERA-Interim. We showed that the annual cycle of the Saskatchewan surface energy and water budgets in ERA5 are realistic. In particular the damping of extremes in summer precipitation by the extraction of soil water is comparable in ERA5 to our earlier observational estimate based on gravity satellite data.

A new method to model diurnal air temperature cycle

Study on air temperature is one of the most important topics in climate modeling. Modeling diurnal temperature cycle and its extracted parameters play an important role in environmental science. Previous methods for air temperature modeling are ambiguous in modeling and implementation. Thus, this research suggests a new method, based on two-part function, to model air temperature, and then compares it with previous ones. This procedure requires statistical approach to estimate optimal constant parameters for each station. The present research proposes a new statistical approach to estimate optimum air DTC constant. The proposed modeling was assessed via calculation of different values between observed and modeled air temperature. Then, a comparison was done with the results from other methods. Mean absolute error (MAE) and standard deviation of errors (STD) were measured for 93 synoptic stations over 365 daily measurements from 2013 to 2014. The mean of both MAE and STD for the suggested methods is 0.9 and 0.8 °C, respectively, showing acceptable results even more than other methods. The statistical 95% confidence interval for errors of the desired method was between − 1.8 and 1.7 °C, which indicated fewer range of error. Also, kurtosis and skewness of histogram errors for sampling observation time showed the model’s efficiency.

Diurnal Cycle of Surface Air Temperature within China in Current Reanalyses: Evaluation and Diagnostics

Abstract Diurnal cycle of surface air temperature T is an important metric indicating the feedback of land–atmospheric interaction to global warming, whereas the ability of current reanalyses to reproduce its variation had not been assessed adequately. Here, we evaluate the daily maximum temperature Tmax, daily minimum temperature Tmin, and diurnal temperature range (DTR) in five reanalyses based on observations collected at 2253 weather stations over China. Our results show that the reanalyses reproduce Tmin very well; however, except for Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2), they substantially underestimate Tmax and DTR by 1.21°–6.84°C over China during the period of 1980–2014. MERRA-2 overestimates Tmax and DTR by 0.35° and 0.81°C, which are closest with observation. The reanalyses are skillful in reproducing the interannual variability of Tmax and Tmin but relatively poor for DTR. All reanalyses underestimate the warming trend of Tmin by 0.13°–0.17°C (10 yr)−1 throughout China during 1980–2014, and underestimate the warming trend of Tmax by 0.24°–0.40°C (10 yr)−1 in northwestern China while overestimating this quantity by 0.18°–0.33°C (10 yr)−1 in southeastern China. These trend biases in Tmax and Tmin introduce a positive trend bias in DTR of 0.01°–0.26°C (10 yr)−1 within China, especially in the north China plain and southeastern China. In the five reanalyses, owing to the sensitivity discrepancies and trend biases, the surface solar radiation Rs and precipitation frequency (PF) are notable deviation sources of the diurnal cycle of air temperature, which explain 31.0%–38.7% (31.9%–37.8%) and 9.8%–22.2% (7.4%–15.3%) of the trend bias in Tmax (DTR) over China, respectively.

Loss of a lake system in a megacity: The impact of urban expansion on seasonal meteorology in Mexico City

AbstractThe Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) has undergone significant urban expansion in a closed basin that once supported a large lacustrine system. While urbanization has been mentioned as a factor in observed meteorological trends, a systematic study of the effects of land use‐land cover change (LULCC) on seasonal meteorology is lacking. In this study, we utilize the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) system to determine the spatiotemporal changes in near‐surface air temperature, precipitation, and boundary layer conditions induced by the modern‐day urban landscape relative to presettlement conditions. We capture the MCMA extent through an improved Landsat‐based multicategory urban classification and therefore account for intraurban spatial heterogeneity and further conduct additional experiments to examine the sensitivity to anthropogenic heating within WRF. We find that accounting for these factors produced the best simulations of thermal conditions, with RMSE values less than 1.5°C at all measurement stations, and an improved diurnal cycle of air temperature and precipitation. We then assessed the impacts of LULCC in the MCMA, finding that thermal changes were largest during daytime hours, with temperature increasing, on average, by more than 4°C. Furthermore, we utilize these simulations to mechanistically link the built environment‐induced increase in air temperature to simulated increases in rainfall during the evening hours. To our knowledge, this study provides the first dynamical and thermodynamical evidence to support the rainfall enhancements documented through observations in the MCMA and link it quantitatively to the warming effects associated with urbanization. These results have important implications for understanding the meteorological conditions leading to widespread urban flooding in the MCMA.

The impact of clouds, land use and snow cover on climate in the Canadian Prairies

Abstract. This study uses 55 years of hourly observations of air temperature, relative humidity, daily precipitation, snow cover and cloud cover from 15 climate stations across the Canadian Prairies to analyze biosphere-atmosphere interactions. We will provide examples of the coupling between climate, snow cover, clouds, and land use. Snow cover acts as a fast climate switch. With the first snow fall, air temperature falls by 10 °C, and a similar increase in temperature occurs with snow melt. Climatologically, days with snow cover are 10 °C cooler than days with no snow cover in Alberta. However the interannual variability has a larger range, so that for every 10 % decrease in days with snow cover, the mean October to April climate is warmer by 1.4 to 1.5 °C. Snow cover also transforms the coupling between clouds and the diurnal cycle of air temperature from a boundary layer regime dominated by shortwave cloud forcing in the warm season to one dominated by longwave cloud forcing with snow cover. Changing agricultural land use in the past thirty years, specifically the reduction of summer fallowing, has cooled and moistened the growing season climate and increased summer precipitation. These hourly climate data provide a solid observational basis for understanding land surface coupling, which can be used to improve the representation of clouds and land-surface processes in atmospheric models.

The Effects of the Trade Winds on the Distribution of Relative Humidity and the Diurnal Air Temperature Cycle on Oceanic Tropical Islands

On many oceanic tropical islands the trade winds blow from the east and as the air passes over the island it loses moisture to rain. The two hypotheses for this study are that the western part of the island is less humid and has a larger diurnal air temperature cycle. Using data available on the Internet, the two hypotheses were assayed 7 times on 6 different islands in the Pacific and Caribbean. The islands used in this study are Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Big Island of Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, and Kauai. The first hypothesis was tested only on Hispaniola and is true. The second hypothesis was tested on all the islands and is true on all the islands except on the Big Island of Hawaii and Maui. Using a p-value of 0.05, these hypotheses are as predicted 5 of the 7 times, which has a p-value of 6 x 10-6. These findings should apply to thousands oceanic tropical islands where data are sparse.

The Effects of the Trade Winds on the Distribution of Relative Humidity and the Diurnal Air Temperature Cycle on Oceanic Tropical Islands

On many oceanic tropical islands the trade winds blow from the east and as the air passes over the island it loses moisture to rain. The two hypotheses for this study are that the western part of the island is less humid and has a larger diurnal air temperature cycle. Using data available on the Internet, the two hypotheses were assayed 7 times on 6 different islands in the Pacific and Caribbean. The islands used in this study are Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Big Island of Hawaii, Maui, Oahu, and Kauai. The first hypothesis was tested only on Hispaniola and is true. The second hypothesis was tested on all the islands and is true on all the islands except on the Big Island of Hawaii and Maui. Using a p-value of 0.05, these hypotheses are as predicted 5 of the 7 times, which has a p-value of 6 x 10-6. These findings should apply to thousands oceanic tropical islands where data are sparse.

High‐frequency storm event isotope sampling reveals time‐variant transit time distributions and influence of diurnal cycles

AbstractHigh‐frequency sampling of stable water isotopes in precipitation and stream water during winter and summer storm events was carried out in a 2·3 km2 lowland agricultural catchment. During peak flows of monitored events, the responses of δ2H and δ18O were comparable and inferred the dominance (ca 70%) of ‘old’ pre‐event water. Transit Time Distribution (TTD) inferred by a gamma function were fitted (Nash–Sutcliffe = 0·8) and were also similar for δ2H and δ18O. However, the shape (α) and scaling (β) parameters were markedly different for summer and winter events. Consequently, when antecedent wetness was high, mean transit times were in the order of days; when drier, they increased to months. Moreover, while the responses of δ2H and δ18O exhibited similar gradual recovery to pre‐event conditions during winter hydrograph recessions, they differed dramatically on summer recessions. Time series analysis showed that δ2H isotope content was correlated with the diurnal cycle of air temperature, suggesting an evaporative fractionation pattern which could be reproduced by a temperature‐based first‐order autoregressive model. The heavier δ18O isotope showed no evidence for such diurnal variability. The study highlights the utility of high‐frequency stable isotope sampling to explore the time‐variant nature of TTDs. Furthermore, it shows that the time of sampling in a diurnal cycle may have crucial significance for interpreting stream isotope signatures, particularly δ2H. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Waterfall ice: mechanical stability of vertical structures

AbstractWe present a study of the mechanical (in)stability of the ephemeral waterfall ice structures that form from the freezing of liquid water seeping on steep rock. Three vertical structures were studied, two near Glacier d’Argentière, France, and one in the Valsavarenche valley, northern Italy. The generation of internal stresses in the ice structure in relation to air- and ice-temperature conditions is analyzed from pressure sensor records. Their role in the mechanical instability of the structures is discussed from a photographic survey of these structures. The main result is that dramatic air cooling (several °Ch−1 over several hours) and low temperatures (<−10°C), generating tensile stresses and brittleness, can trigger a spontaneous or climber-induced mechanical collapse, leading to unfavorable climbing conditions. Ice internal pressure fluctuations are also associated with episodes of marked diurnal air-temperature cycle, with mild days (few above 0) and cool nights (few below 0), through the occurrence of water ↔ ice phase transitions within the structure. These ice internal stress fluctuations seem, however, to have a local influence, are associated with warm (near 0), wet and therefore particularly soft ice and do not trigger a collapse of the structure.

On the Climate Impact of the Local Circulation in the Itaipu Lake Area

The impact of the Itaipu Lake on the climate and local circulation is investigated here using the meteorological information available in the area. The Itaipu Lake is an artificial water reservoir of 1460 km2 (approximately 170 km by 7.5 km), formed in 1982 as part of the Itaipu Power Plant. It is situated on the Brazil-Paraguay frontier, in the central portion of Parana River Valley. The analysis of the available meteorological data (air and water temperatures, air relative humidity, precipitation and radiosonde soundings) provides observational evidences supporting the hypothesis that the Itaipu Lake presence has an important impact in the local circulation, inducing a local circulation with lake breeze characteristics showing horizontal wind divergence over the lake during daytime and convergence during nighttime. From the regional point of view, the Itaipu Lake formation has reduced the thermal amplitude of the diurnal air temperature cycle. The precipitation data, investigated here, has not indicated any systematic effect associated to the lake formation. The reason for the apparent inconsistency is that others phenomena (e.g., valley-mountain circulation and El Nino events) could be masking the impact of the lake formation on the rain deficit in the region.

Effect of diurnal air temperature cycles on growth and food conversion in pigs

SummaryIn trials with 64 pigs growing from 37 to 60 kg or from 65 to 88 kg growth rate and food conversion were not affected by either a 10°C or a 20°C range in diurnal air temperature cycle compared with a constant temperature equal to the mean of the cycle when the mean temperatures were optimal. However, with a constant temperature and cycle mean at 6°C above optimum, performance declined with a 20°C range cycle.

On the determination of optimal thermal enclosures

The paper presents a method for a quantitative study of the influence of the diurnal air temperature cycle, the incidence of solar energy on exposed surfaces and transmission through glass areas, the longwave radiation exchange with the surroundings, and the energy exchange resulting from natural ventilation. The thermal response of a room in a typical concrete office building with glass areas facing south in the northern hemisphere is treated in detail by means of a digital computer program sufficiently general to handle a large variety of problems. For the first time the influence of “programmed” natural ventilation can be determined in advance. The design of optimal thermal enclosures can be achieved through the technique of “exhaustive analysis” using methods described in this paper.

INFLUENCE OF AIR TEMPERATURE AND SOIL MOISTURE SUBSEQUENT TO FLOWERING ON THE NITROGEN CONTENT OF WHEAT

Marquis wheat plants were grown in soil in the greenhouse under uniform conditions until the flowering stage, when six differential treatments, viz., 15, 20 or 25% soil moisture in combination with a diurnal air temperature cycle of 45–70° or 55–80° F., were imposed.The effect of the higher air temperature in increasing nitrogen content through accelerated respiration was evident in grain collected when in the early dough stage (about 50% dry matter). By the late dough stage there were also significant differences attributable to soil moisture under both temperature regimes. However, the nitrogen content of the completely ripe grain was practically the same for all six treatments. This is attributed to a retardation of maturity by both increased soil moisture and lower air temperature, which would permit additional dissipation of carbohydrate through prolonged respiration, and also possibly to differences in the extent of tillering.Compensatory effects of this magnitude would hardly be expected under field conditions, but might occur on a reduced scale, thus increasing the difficulty of correlating nitrogen content with meteorological observations.