An Overview of the Semi-arid Climate and Environment Research Observatory over the Loess Plateau

• Published in: Advances in atmospheric sciences Vol. 25; no. 6; pp. 906 - 921
• Main Author: 黄建平 张武 左金清 闭建荣 史晋森 王鑫 常倬林 黄忠伟 杨溯 张北斗 王国印 冯广泓 袁九毅 张镭 左洪超 王式功 符淙斌 丑纪范
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg SP Science Press 01.11.2008; Springer Nature B.V; College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000; College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000%Key Laboratory of Regional Climate-Environment for Temperate East Asia (RCE-TEA), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029
• Subjects: Aerosols; Arid climates; Arid zones; Atmospheric Sciences; Atmospherics; Climate; Climate change; Climate models; Climate variability; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Geophysics/Geodesy; Hydrologic cycle; Land; Loess; Meteorology; Monitoring; Observatories; Sampling; Semiarid climates; Semiarid environments; Semiarid lands; 云状物; 大气科学; 扫描电子显微镜; 气溶胶; China, People's Rep., Loess Plateau; China, People's Rep; cloud; SACOL; land surface; semi-arid; aerosol; Loess Plateau
• ISSN: 0256-1530; 1861-9533
• DOI: 10.1007/s00376-008-0906-7

Arid and semi-arid areas comprise about 30% of the earth＇s surface. Changes in climate and climate variability will likely have a significant impact on these regions. The Loess Plateau over Northwest China is a special semi-arid land surface and part of a dust aerosol source. To improve understanding and capture the direct evidence of the impact of human activity on the semi-arid climate over the Loess Plateau, the Semi-Arid Climate and Environment Observatory of Lanzhou University （SACOL） was established in 2005. SACOL consists of a large set of instruments and focuses on： （1） monitoring of long term tendencies in semiarid climate changes; （2） monitoring of the aerosol effect on the water cycle; （3） studies of interaction between land surface and the atmosphere; （4） improving the land surface and climate models; and （5） validation of space-borne observations. This paper presents a description of SACOL objectives, measurements, and sampling strategies. Preliminary observation results are also reviewed in this paper.