Trends in seasonal precipitation and temperature in Slovenia during 1951–2007

A quality-controlled and enhanced database of 38 temperature and 52 precipitation stations was developed for Slovenia, a transitional area between Mediterranean, Alpine and continental climatic regimes, covering the period 1951–2007. Mean annual temperatures significantly increased in nearly all of Slovenia (except western areas) at rates between 0.15 and 0.36 °C/decade. Warming was most intense strongest in summer and spring in north-eastern Slovenia (0.3–0.4 °C/decade) and weakest in autumn. Precipitation trends were heterogeneous. Annual precipitation decreased significantly in the north-western part, at 3–6 % per decade. During spring and summer, decrease in rainfall by 3–6 % was detected in western Slovenia. No significant trends were found for the autumn season. In winter, precipitation decreased, by 3–12 % per decade, in particular in north-western Slovenia. As observed also elsewhere in Central Europe, changes in large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns may have contributed to the observed long-term warming and drying in Slovenia. However, the strong warming in summer and spring, that is almost twice the trend observed in neighbouring countries, could be enhanced by drier soils caused by the decrease in winter precipitation in Slovenia.     

The role of environmental and fisheries multi-controls in white seabream (Diplodus sargus) artisanal fisheries in Portuguese coast

Evaluating the effects of fishing and environmental factors on fish populations are fundamental tenets of fisheries science. In this study, we assess associations between environmental variables (sea surface temperature; North Atlantic Oscillation index; upwelling; wind magnitude; westerly winds; northerly winds; river discharge) and fishing variables (fishing effort) in Diplodus sagus catch rates accounting for regional analyses (northwest coast; southwest coast and Algarve—Algarve south coast). Different time series models for data fitting (multi-model approach) were used. The models were lagged, according to species fishing recruitment age based on the hypothesis that fisheries catches depend on larvae recruitment and survivorship. D. sargus catch rates across areas were unrelated to fishing effort but correlated to environmental variables, with seasonal events explaining much of the variability in trends. On the northwestern coast, the catch rates were mainly set by sea surface temperature (SST) and wind magnitude; however, southwestern coast catch rates were set by NAO winter. On the south coast, only one statistical model (SST, upwelling and westerly winds) associated spring conditions with D. sargus catch rates. The multi-model approach revealed autumn, winter and spring seasonal effects to be related with northwest, southwest and Algarve coastal catch rates, respectively, indicating a possible coastal longitudinal gradient related with given periods of spawning and larval availability. The metadata analysis yielded different results from the regional analyses. In summary, marine resource management should take regional environment characteristics and variability into account when determining sustainable catch rates in given areas for species with high habitat site fidelity.     

汉江流域降水结构时空特征及影响因素分析

利用汉江流域32个气象站1961~2016年逐日降水资料，分析了汉江流域降水时空分布特征，并探讨了海温及大气环流对流域降水的影响。结果表明：雨量和雨日空间分布相似，小雨、中雨的雨量和雨日由西南向东北递减，降水中心位于西南和东南部；流域东北部大雨以上量级降水由偏少转为偏多，而雨强空间分布则没有明显规律。流域降水集中度自东南向西北逐渐增加，降水集中期逐渐推迟。海温对降水的影响存在季节差异，春季、夏季和秋季降水分别受前期南印度洋、热带北大西洋和热带中东太平洋海温影响，冬季降水则受海温影响不明显；大尺度大气环流对降水存在影响，冬季欧亚遥相关型和春季西太平洋遥相关型均引起冬季风强度变化来影响冬季和春季降水，夏季副高位置和乌山阻高以及秋季巴湖低槽和印缅槽强度则均通过冷空气和暖湿气流强度及交汇位置来影响夏季和秋季降水。     

Analysis of climate trends in North Carolina (1949-1998)

North Carolina has one of the most complex climates in the United States (U.S.). Analysis of the climate in this state is critical for agricultural and planning purposes. Climate patterns and trends in North Carolina are analyzed for the period 1949-1998. Precipitation, minimum temperature, and maximum temperature are analyzed on seasonal and annual time scales using data collected from the National Weather Service Cooperative Observer Network. Additionally, changes in patterns of occurrence of the last spring freeze and first fall freeze are investigated. Linear time series slopes are analyzed to investigate the spatial and temporal trends of climate variability in North Carolina. Spatial analysis of climate variability across North Carolina is performed using a geographic information system.While most trends are local in nature, there are general statewide patterns. Precipitation in North Carolina has increased over the past 50 years during the fall and winter seasons, but decreased during the summer. Temperatures during the last 10 years are warmer than average, but are not warmer than those experienced during the 1950s. The warm season has become longer, as measured by the dates of the last spring freeze and first fall freeze. Generally, the last 10 years were the wettest of the study period.These conclusions are consistent with earlier studies that show that the difference between the maximum and minimum temperatures is decreasing, possibly due to increased cloud cover and precipitation. Similarly, these results show that temperature patterns are in phase with the North Atlantic Oscillation and precipitation patterns appear to be correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation.     

Decadal variability of floods in the northern foreland of the Tatra Mountains

Floods in the northern foreland of the Tatra Mountains considerably contribute to the total flood damage in Poland. Therefore, the question whether the magnitude and frequency of floods have changed in this region is of high interest. This study aims at investigating the inter-decadal variability of magnitude, frequency and seasonality of floods since the mid-twentieth century, to better understand regional changes. The analysis was accomplished in a multi-temporal approach whereby trends are fitted to every possible combination of start and end years in a record. Detected trends were explained by estimating correlations between the investigated flood parameters and different large-scale climate indices for the northern hemisphere, and by trends found in intense precipitation indices, number of days with snow cover, cyclonic circulation types, temperature and moisture conditions. Catchment and channel changes that occurred in the region over the past decades were also considered. Results show that rivers in the area exhibit considerable inter-decadal variability of flows. The magnitude and direction of short-term trends are heavily influenced by this inter-decadal variability; however, certain patterns are apparent. More extreme, although perhaps less frequent floods are now likely to occur, with a shift in the seasonality, decreasing flood magnitudes in winter and increasing during autumn and spring. The identification of the factors contributing to the occurrence of flood events and their potential changes is valuable to enhance the flood management in the region and to improve the resilience of the population in this mountainous area.     

Significant rainfall decreases and variations of the atmospheric circulation in the Mediterranean (1950–2000)

This paper aims at identifying the link between significant rainfall decreases (1950–2000) in the Mediterranean basin and the atmospheric circulation at the 500 hPa level. The months and seasons of the subregions with significant rainfall decrease during this period have been identified previously (Norrant and Douguédroit, Theor Appl Climatol 83(1–4):89–106, 2006): October in the Mediterranean Iberia, March in the Atlantic Iberia, January and winter in Greece, and winter in the Near East. Canonical Correlation Analyses based on the monthly and daily data records from 62 rainfall stations and 138 grid points at the 500 hPa level over a Euro-Atlantic window were first calculated to define the TeleConnection Patterns explaining significant regional rainfall decreases. Then, 500 hPa level weather types (ZWTs) of the rainy days with important or little rainfall associated with each Teleconnection Pattern were identified in each subregion. Rainfall-causing disturbances from the Atlantic reach Iberia directly; some of them are regenerated if they reach the Mediterranean. Other disturbances are generated locally near Greece and the Near East (Meteorological Office in Weather in the Mediterranean I: general meteorology, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London, 1962). The relationship between significant rainfall decreases and the corresponding 500 hPa level appears to be a nonlinear phenomenon. In all of the studied subregions, a break during the 1970s separates two subperiods differing significantly from each other. Rainfall decrease is due to the higher frequency of important rainfall ZWTs over low rainfall ZWTs, during the first period, which the opposite is true during the second period. Such an inversion could be partially linked with the prevailing North Atlantic Oscillation-positive phase during the last quarter of the twentieth century.     

四川盆地东部近50年降水与旱涝时间序列分析

利用四川盆地东部地区8个国家基准气象台站1960~2010年逐日降水观测资料，运用线性分析、降水趋势系数等方法，分析了四川盆地东部年降水量以及季节降水量的时间序列变化趋势。在此基础上，通过Z指数法建立旱涝指数模型，结合Mexican Hat小波变换理论研究旱涝灾害在不同时间尺度上的周期振荡和变化规律，并对未来旱涝演变趋势进行判断。结果表明，四川盆地东部地区年降水量有弱减少趋势，各季节降水趋势差异较大，秋季明显减少，而夏、冬季有增加趋势。各季节旱涝灾害变化存在着不同的年际、年代际周期变化特征，不同的时间尺度周期具有不同的交替变化规律。春、秋季节旱涝存在6 a和10 a左右周期振荡，近期6 a周期振荡显著。夏季现处于20 a左右尺度上降水稳定性较差的偏涝期内，易发级别高、灾情重的洪涝灾害。秋季近期仍处于10 a左右尺度周期的干旱期，并将逐步向下一个偏涝期过渡     

Statistical downscaling for climate change projections in the Mediterranean region: methods and results

Besides dynamical downscaling by regional climate models, statistical downscaling (SD) is a major tool to derive climate change projections on regional or even local scales. For the Mediterranean area, an increasing number of downscaling studies based on different statistical techniques have been published in the last two decades with a broad range of sometimes differing results relating to different variables and regional domains. This paper gives a short review of these Mediterranean downscaling studies mainly considering the following two aspects: (1) what kind of progress has been realized in this field since the early 1990s? The review addresses the inclusion of extremes in downscaling assessments, the development of probabilistic approaches, the extension of predictor sets, the use of ensembles for both dynamical model simulations and statistical model assessments, the consideration of non-stationarities in the predictor–predictand relationships, and some advances related to synoptic downscaling. (2) What are the main regional climate change signals in the Mediterranean area, considering agreed and controversial points also with respect to dynamical models? Best accordance among future projections can be found in seasonal temperatures with lower rates of warming in winter and spring, and, in most cases, higher ones in summer and autumn. Different results are obtained for the intra-annual range of extreme temperatures, but high-temperature conditions are generally expected to increase. Regarding seasonal precipitation, predominant reductions are indicated for spring, summer, and autumn. For winter, however, projections are distinctly different (GCMs: rainfall decrease; RCMs: increase only in the northernmost parts of the Mediterranean region; SD: widespread increases in the northern and western parts in several studies). Different results are obtained for rainfall extremes, but the entire precipitation distribution tends to shift towards higher and lower values. Apart from some sub-regional deviations, there is a predominant increase in future dry period durations. For near-surface winds, only a few studies are available, and they project some decline mainly for the winter season.     

基于RDI指数的云南1960~2013年#br# 旱涝变化特征分析

利用云南省40个气象站逐日降水量和蒸发量数据，采用RDI指数研究云南旱涝灾害的时空分布特征。结果表明：云南年际、季节旱涝与历史记录十分一致，1960~2013年云南年RDI指数呈下降趋势，表现为变干趋势，但不显著；2001年以前发生雨涝年的强度和站次比较干旱年明显，在此之后，发生干旱年的强度和站次比较雨涝年明显。季节尺度上，春季呈显著的变湿趋势，夏、秋、冬季呈不显著的变干趋势；春、夏季分别突变于1980年和1965年。从空间分布上来看，年、夏、秋、冬季整体以滇南和滇东北呈变干趋势，而滇西北呈变湿趋势；春季除滇东北外，其余区域均呈变湿趋势；年际、季节干旱频率以滇西北、滇西南、滇东南较高；年、春、夏、秋季重旱频率以滇中和滇东十分突出；年、夏、秋季特旱频率均以滇东北十分突出，春季滇中和滇东北极易发生特旱；冬季以滇中重旱频率较高，特旱极易发生在滇西北、滇西南、滇东北。年际、季节雨涝频率以滇西、滇东南较突出。年重、特涝频率以滇西南十分突出；春季重涝频率以滇西南和滇中较突出，特涝频率以滇中和滇东南较突出；夏季重、特涝频率均以滇西北较高；秋季重涝频率以滇西北较高，特涝频率以滇东南较高；冬季重涝频率以滇东南较突出，特涝频率以滇西北较高。 关键词： 云南省；RDI指数；旱涝变化趋势；时空特征     

Environmental influence on commercial fishery landings of small pelagic fish in Portugal

Small pelagic fishes are particularly abundant in areas with high environmental variability (zones of coastal upwelling and areas of tidal mixing and river discharge), and because of this, their abundance suffers large inter-annual and inter-decadal fluctuations. In Portugal, the most important species in terms of landings are European sardine, Atlantic horse mackerel and Atlantic chub mackerel. Small pelagic fish landings account for 62.8 % of the total fish biomass and represent 32.7 % of the economical value of all catches. We have investigated trends in landings of these small pelagic fishes and detected the effects of environmental factors in this fishery. In order to explain the variability of landings of small pelagic fishes, we have used official landings (1965–2012) for trawling and purse seine fisheries and applied generalized linear models, using the North Atlantic Oscillation index (NAO) (annual and winter NAO index), sea surface temperature (SST), wind data (strength and North–South and East–West wind components) and rainfall, as explanatory variables. Regression analysis was used to describe the relationship between landings and SST. The models explained between 50.16 and 51.07 % of the variability of the LPUE, with the most important factors being winter NAO index, SST and wind strength. The LPUE of European sardine and Atlantic horse mackerel was negatively correlated with SST, and LPUE of Atlantic chub mackerel was positively correlated with SST. The use of landings of three important species of small pelagic fishes allowed the detection of variations in landings associated with changes in sea water temperature and NAO index.     

鄱阳湖流域1960～2018年极端气温变化及其与大气环流的关系

为进一步揭示鄱阳湖流域极端气温事件变化及其影响因素,基于鄱阳湖流域24个气象站点连续59年观测资料,选取8个极端气温指数,分析鄱阳湖流域极端气温动态变化,并探讨了大气环流与极端气温变化的联系.结果表明:(1)鄱阳湖流域极端气温暖指数(暖昼天数、暖夜天数和夏日天数)及极值指数(日最低气温最小值和日最高气温最大值)均呈增加趋势;冷指数(冷昼天数、冷夜天数和霜冻天数)均呈逐渐减少趋势.(2)从空间分布来看,极端气温空间变化趋势与年际变化一致,极端气温暖指数和极值指数呈增加趋势,冷指数均呈减少趋势,但在不同地区变化趋势存在差异.流域各站点霜冻天数和冷昼天数均呈显著下降趋势,但在赣北地区下降趋势最显著.大部分站点(23/24)暖夜天数、夏日天数和日最低气温最小值均呈显著增加趋势;(3)鄱阳湖流域极端气温指数的变化与大气环流的变化存在相关性,其中西太平洋副高强度指数、夏季东亚季风指数、亚洲区极涡强度指数和北极涛动指数对极端气温事件影响显著.研究结果可为极端气候风险评估、灾害预警提供参考.     

Spatial pattern of recent rainfall trends in Serbia (1961–2009)

This paper examines a spatial pattern of annual, seasonal and monthly rainfall trends in Serbia. The study used data from 63 weather stations between the period of 1961–2009. The rainfall series was examined by applying the nonparametric method of the Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s method to determine the significance and magnitude of the trends. Significant trends have not been detected for the whole country at an annual scale. Seasonal trends at the confidence level of 97.5 %, however, indicate a slight decrease in winter (5 stations out of 63) and spring (7 stations out of 63) precipitation and an increase in autumn precipitation (10 stations out of 63). Results for monthly rainfall trends also generally showed a nonsignificant trend with the exception of a negative trend in May (6 stations out of 63) and positive trend for October (9 stations out of 63). Calculated global autocorrelation statistics (Moran’s I) indicate a random spatial pattern of rainfall trends on annual, seasonal and monthly timescales with exceptions for March, June and November. Overall, results suggest that only weak, mostly nonsignificant trends are present in Serbia in the period 1961–2009.     

1961~2010年大渡河流域极端降水事件变化特征

基于大渡河流域1961~2010年逐日降水数据资料,运用Mann-Kendall非参数检验、Morlet小波分析法,分析了近50a来大渡河流域极端降水事件的时空变化特征。结果表明,大渡河流域的极端降水指数均呈现出相对稳定的波动增加;多年平均值均呈现出由西北向东南方向逐渐增多的分布特征,变化趋势的空间分布存在着区域差异:除强降水日数外,其他极端降水指数均呈现下游增加,上游减小的变化趋势,大渡河流域极端降水与年降水量变化趋势密切相关。大渡河流域各指数突变特征不一致,1d、5d最大降水量突变年集中在1974~1976年前后;强降水日数、极端降水量及极端强降水日数发生突变的年份分别为1984年、1979年及1977年,且突变后呈现明显的增大趋势。大渡河流域极端降水指数周期特征较复杂,但普遍存在5~10a的年际振荡周期和20~25a的年代际振荡周期,且25a是最强的主周期。     

Spatial variability of precipitation in Spain

The spatial variability of annual and seasonal precipitation in the conterminous land of Spain has been evaluated by using correlation decay distance analysis (CDD). The CDD analysis essentially explores how the correlation between neighbouring stations varies according to distance. We analysed CDD independently for the decades 1956–1965, 1966–1975, 1976–1985, 1986–1995, and 1996–2005 using only those stations with no missing values for each decade. To this end, 972, 1,174, 1,242, 773 and 695 complete series were used for each decade, respectively. In particular, for each station and decade, we calculated the threshold distance at which the common variance between target (i) and neighbour series is higher than 50 % (r ²  = 0.5) to evaluate whether current density of the climate data set captures the spatial variability of precipitation within the study area. Results indicate that, at an annual scale, neighbouring stations with 50 % of common variance are restricted on average to about 105 km, but this distance can vary from 28 to 251 km within the study area. The lowest variability is located to the SW and in winter, while the higher spatial variability is found to the north, in the Cantabrian area, and to the east, in the Mediterranean and Pyrenees, during summer. Our results suggest that current density of climate stations (those operating in 2005) is good enough to study precipitation variability at an annual scale for winter, spring and autumn, but not enough for summer.     

Teleconnections,midlatitude cyclones and Aegean Sea turbulent heat flux variability on daily through decadal time scales

We analyze daily wintertime cyclone variability in the central and eastern Mediterranean during 1958–2001 and identify four distinct “cyclone states,” corresponding to the presence or absence of cyclones in each basin. Each cyclone state is associated with wind flows that induce characteristic patterns of cooling via turbulent (sensible and latent) heat fluxes in the eastern Mediterranean basin and Aegean Sea. The relative frequency of occurrence of each state determines the heat loss from the Aegean Sea during that winter, with largest heat losses occurring when there is a storm in the eastern but not central Mediterranean (eNOTc) and the smallest occurring when there is a storm in the central but not eastern Mediterranean (cNOTe). Time series of daily cyclone states for each winter allow us to infer Aegean Sea cooling for winters prior to 1985, the earliest year for which we have daily heat flux observations. We show that cyclone states conducive to Aegean Sea convection occurred in 1991/1992 and 1992/1993, the winters during which deepwater formation was observed in the Aegean Sea, and also during the mid-1970s and the winters of 1963/1964 and 1968/1969. We find that the eNOTc cyclone state is anticorrelated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) prior to 1977/1978. After 1977/1978, the cNOTe state is anticorrelated with both the NAO and the North Caspian Pattern, showing that the area of influence of large-scale atmospheric teleconnections on regional cyclone activity shifted from the eastern to the central Mediterranean during the late 1970s. A trend toward more frequent occurrence of the positive phase of the NAO produced less frequent cNOTe states since the late 1970s, increasing the number of days with strong cooling of the Aegean Sea surface waters.     

Low-frequency variability of storms in the northern Black Sea and associated processes in the ocean–atmosphere system

Monthly anomalies of stormy wind–wave heights and return periods are evaluated using secular routine observations in the coastal zone of the northern Black Sea. It is shown that wind–wave anomalies in this region are characterized by high-amplitude quasi-periodical variability with typical timescale of about 50 years. This timescale is determined by temporal variability of the coupled ocean–atmosphere system and coincides with periodicity of Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. Atmospheric re-analysis data show that cyclonic activity over the Black Sea basin intensifies when North Atlantic is relatively cold and meridional forms of atmospheric circulation are more frequent in the North Atlantic-Eurasian region. This leads to generation of more frequent Black Sea storm events and enhanced recurrence of extreme waves and results in profound (and mostly negative) environmental consequences. When North Atlantic is relatively warm and meridional forms of atmospheric circulation are less frequent in the North Atlantic-Eurasian region, environmental conditions in the Black Sea region are calmer. Thus, statistics of dangerous events can be wrongly estimated even if relatively long-term (~30 years) time series are considered and interdecadal variability of wind–wave anomalies must be taken into account when the risk assessment is accomplished.     

近几十年三峡库区主要气象灾害变化趋势

利用三峡库区33站1961～2006年逐日降水量、平均气温、最高气温、雾、雷暴资料，分析了库区干旱、洪涝、连阴雨、高温、雾、雷暴主要气象灾害的变化趋势。统计结果表明：近46年来，三峡库区平均年干旱日数呈不明显的增加趋势，春、夏、冬季干旱日数的年际间基本没有变化趋势，但秋季干旱日数年际间有明显的增多趋势，增多速率为41 d/10 a；春、夏季雨涝日数变化趋势不明显，秋季雨涝日数有微弱的减少趋势；三峡库区年平均连阴雨过程次数有微弱的减少趋势，连阴雨日数的减少趋势较明显；近34年三峡库区年雷暴日数呈明显减少趋势，减少速度为29 d/10 a；库区平均年雾日数没有明显变化趋势,但1999年以来减少趋势明显；近46年三峡库区平均年高温日数、危害性高温日数有微弱的减少趋势，平均年极端最高气温均没有明显变化趋势。     

汉江流域1960~2014年降雨极值时空变化特征

深入研究降雨极值的时空变化规律和特点，有助于提高应对极端灾害的能力。通过构建PDS/GP模型，并引入降雨极值变化指标，结合统计检验分析汉江流域15个气象站点1960~2014年春、夏、秋季以及全年月降雨超定量系列的年际变化特征；利用复杂网络理论的聚类系数和节点度，结合各站点在典型年份春、夏和秋季的降雨极值变化指标，分析月降雨极值的空间分布特征。分析结果表明：从时间上看，汉江流域月降雨极值年际变化的季节性差异较大，近55 a没有明显的一致性变化趋势。受季风气候影响，夏季的月降雨极值年际变化与春、秋季相反，而秋季的变异指标年际波动最大。从空间上看，受季风气候、下垫面条件和人类活动等多种因素的综合作用，中下游月降雨极值变化的差异性要高于上游。随着相关阈值的增大，流域站网总体关联度有所降低。相同阈值下的结果表明空间上相邻的站点其关联性差异较大，部分相距较远的站点具有更大的关联性，分析结果可为降雨极值的空间插值提供参考。     

Seasonal variation of the forewing in polyvoltine whites <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pieris rapae</Emphasis> L. and <Emphasis Type="Italic">P. napi</Emphasis> L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) in the forest-steppe zone of the Southern Urals

The seasonal variation of forewing size and shape was analyzed in adults of different seasonal generations of two polyvoltine species of whites: Pieris rapae and P. napi (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). Particular morphological features of the forewing are characteristic of each seasonal generation of adults independently of their sex and species. Adults of the spring generations have the smallest wings, elongate and pointed. Adults of the summer generation have the largest, broad and rounded wings over the entire summer season. Adults of the autumn generation have wings similar in shape and size to those of the summer generation, but somewhat smaller and more elongate. Differences between seasonal generations in forewing shape are linked to differences between adults of each generation in adaptation to dispersal.     

青藏高原四季降水变化特征分析

利用青藏高原87个地面气象台站41年（1960～2000年）的月降水资料,并在Arcgis 9.0中通过Kriging插值方法对少数站点的缺测值进行了插补,用线性回归方法研究了高原四季降水量的变化趋势及区域上的差异。为了保证本研究的完整性,对高原年降水也做了相应分析。结果表明：（1）高原冬春两季降水量呈显著增加趋势。冬季雅鲁藏布江下游、春季高原东北部为降水减少区,高原其他区域均表现为增加;夏秋两季降水量基本保持不变,但夏季高原中部和川西降水减少,高原南部和北部降水表现为增加;秋季高原中部、南部降水增加,川西降水减少。（2）高原年降水呈显著增加趋势。在区域上高原南部大致以东经102度为界,该线以东降水减少,以西降水增加,且降水增加区域表现出随纬度的增加而递减的特征。高原中部、北部的年降水基本保持不变或微弱增加。