Modern Climatology PDF
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MODERN CLIMATOLOGY Edited by Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang and Robert R. Gillies Modern Climatology Edited by Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang and Robert R. Gillies Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2012 InTech All chapters are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. As for readers, this license allows users to download, copy and build upon published chapters even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. Notice Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published chapters. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Martina Durovic Technical Editor Teodora Smiljanic Cover Designer InTech Design Team First published February, 2012 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from [email protected] Modern Climatology, Edited by Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang and Robert R. Gillies p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0095-9 Contents Preface IX Part 1 Synoptic Climatology 1 Chapter 1 Southern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclone Climatology 3 Yuriy Kuleshov Chapter 2 Indian Monsoon Depression: Climatology and Variability 45 Jin-Ho Yoon and Wan-Ru (Judy) Huang Chapter 3 Characteristics of the Quasi-16 Day Wave in the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere (MLT): A Review Over an Equatorial Station Thumba (8.5oN, 76.5oE) 73 Siddarth Shankar Das Chapter 4 Thunderstorm and Lightning Climatology of Australia 85 Yuriy Kuleshov Part 2 Regional Climatology 121 Chapter 5 The South American Monsoon System: Climatology and Variability 123 Viviane B. S. Silva and Vernon E. Kousky Chapter 6 Climatology of the U.S. Inter-Mountain West 153 S. Y. Simon Wang and Robert R. Gillies Chapter 7 Climatology of the Northern-Central Adriatic Sea 177 Aniello Russo, Sandro Carniel Mauro Sclavo and Maja Krzelj Chapter 8 Spatial and Temporal Variability of Sea Surface Temperature in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea over the Past 141 Years 213 Daji Huang, Xiaobo Ni, Qisheng Tang, Xiaohua Zhu and Dongfeng Xu VI Contents Part 3 The Changing Climate 235 Chapter 9 Paleotempestology: Reconstructing Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Tracks in the Pre-HURDAT Era 237 Jill S. M. Coleman and Steven A. LaVoie Chapter 10 Cenozoic Climatic Record for Monsoonal Rainfall over the Indian Region 257 Mohan Kuppusamy and Prosenjit Ghosh Chapter 11 Climate Change: Is It More Predictable Than We Think? 289 Rafail V. Abramov Part 4 Applied Climatology 309 Chapter 12 On the Relationship Between Boundary Layer Convergence and Cloud-to-Ground Lightning 311 Michael L. Gauthier Chapter 13 Synthesizing High-Resolution Climatological Wind Fields with a Mesoscale Atmospheric Boundary Layer Model Forced with Local Weather Observations 327 Guillermo J. Berri Chapter 14 Rainfall Prediction Using Teleconnection Patterns Through the Application of Artificial Neural Networks 361 Gholam Abbas Fallah-Ghalhari Preface Climatology, the study of climate, is no longer regarded as a single discipline that treats climate as something that fluctuates only within the unchanging boundaries described by historical statistics. The field has recognized that climate is something that changes continually under the influence of physical and biological forces and so, cannot be understood in isolation but rather, is one that includes diverse scientific disciplines that play their role in understanding a highly complex coupled “whole sys- tem” that is the Earth’s climate. The modern era of climatology is echoed in this book. On the one hand it offers a broad synoptic perspective but also considers the regional standpoint as it is this that affects what people need from climatology, albeit water resource managers or engineers etc. Aspects on the topic of climate change – what is often considered a contradiction in terms – is also addressed. It is all too evident these days that what recent work in climatology has revealed carries profound implications for economic and social policy; it is with these in mind that the final chapters consider acumens as to the application of what has been learned to date. This book is divided into four sections that cover sub-disciplines in climatology. The first section contains four chapters that pertain to synoptic climatology, i.e., the study of weather disturbances including hurricanes, monsoon depressions, synoptic waves, and severe thunderstorms; these weather systems directly impact humanity. The second section on regional climatology has four chapters that describe the climate features within physiographically defined areas. The third section is on climate change which involves both past (paleoclimate) and future climate: The first two chapters cover certain facets of paleoclimate while the third is centered towards the signals (observed or otherwise) of climate change. The fourth and final section broaches the sub-discipline that is often referred to as applied climatology; this represents the important goal of all studies in climatology–one that affects modes of living. Here, three chapters are devoted towards the application of climatological research that might have useful application for operational purposes in industrial, manufacturing, agricultural, technological and environmental affairs. We would like to acknowledge that this book could not have been completed without the assistance of many people. In particular, Prof. Esmaiel Malek, Drs. Carlos dos X Preface Santos and Judy Huang, along with Ripley McCoy, Lin Zhao, Dan Rajewski, and Oi- Yu Chung, have provided scientific reviews. In addition, we would like to thank Martina Durovic who provided her professional editorial and communication skills with patience and dedication. Dr Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang Assistant Professor, Department of Plants, Soils and Climate, Utah State University, USA Dr Robert R. Gillies State Climatologist of Utah, Director, Utah Climate Center Associate Professor, Department of Plants, Soils and Climate, Utah State University, USA
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