•We find there indeed existed long-term change trends of COT for both water and ice clouds in some sub-regions over East Asia.•It is the first time to quantify both water and ice COT and their change ...effects on local radiative budget with satellite observational dataset in detail.•The major contribution from liquid/ice cloud path and cloud effective radius changes to the COT changes are discussed too.
The climatologic mean and changes in cloud optical thickness (COT) of water and ice clouds in East Asia and their influence on the local radiation budget are studied quantitatively by using the Beijing Climate Center Radiative Transfer Model of BCC_RAD combined with satellite observational datasets from March 2000 to February 2018. Our results show that the annual mean COT over East Asia decreases from the southeast to the northwest, and the annual mean COT of water (COTw) and ice cloud (COTi) in this region are 15.0 and 11.6, respectively. The anomaly variations of COT illustrate that the variation intensity of COTw is stronger than that of COTi. Moreover, COT varies with sub-regions and seasons in East Asia. The trends of COTw in the northeastern and southern China are found to be 0.022 yr-1 and -0.071 yr-1, respectively, while the COTi trends over the two regions are 0.062 yr-1 and -0.009 yr-1, respectively. The annual mean shortwave-, longwave-, and net-radiative effects for the 18 years caused by water clouds in East Asia at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA)/surface are -72.4/-97.9, 15.7/31.1, and -56.7/-66.7 W m-2, respectively. The corresponding effect caused by ice clouds are -88.5/-107.5, 55.7/12.2, and -32.7/-95.3 W m-2, respectively. The shortwave cloud radiative effects (CREs) dominate the longwave CREs not only at the TOA but also at the surface, and the effects of COTi changes on the radiative budgets are stronger than those of COTw over the East Asia region.
We investigate the relationship between winter aerosol concentrations over East Asia and variability in the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) using GEOS-Chem 3-D global chemical transport model ...simulations and ground-based aerosol concentration data. We find that both observed and modeled surface aerosol concentrations have strong relationships with the intensity of the EAWM over northern (30–50°N, 100–140°E) and southern (20–30°N, 100–140°E) East Asia. In strong winter monsoon years, compared to weak winter monsoon years, lower and higher surface PM2.5 concentrations by up to 25% are shown over northern and southern East Asia, respectively. Analysis of the simulated results indicates that the southward transport of aerosols is a key process controlling changes in aerosol concentrations over East Asia associated with the EAWM. Variability in the EAWM is found to play a major role in interannual variations in aerosol concentrations; consequently, changes in the EAWM will be important for understanding future changes in wintertime air quality over East Asia.
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•East Asian Winter monsoon impact on aerosol concentrations in East Asia.•Aerosol concentrations have strong relationships with the intensity of the East Asian winter monsoon.•Differences in PM2.5 concentrations caused by differences in winter monsoon intensity are up to 25%.•East Asian winter monsoon is important for the interannual variation of aerosol concentrations.
The East Asian winter monsoon plays an important role in controlling the interannual variation in wintertime aerosol concentrations over East Asia.
Armed conflicts, 1946–2014 Pettersson, Therése; Wallensteen, Peter
Journal of peace research,
07/2015, Volume:
52, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
In 2014, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) recorded 40 armed conflicts with a minimum of 25 battle-related deaths, up by six from 2013. This is the highest number of conflicts reported since ...1999, and 11 of these conflicts were defined as wars, that is, conflicts generating 1,000 or more battle-related deaths in one calendar year. Further, an escalation of several conflicts, coupled with the extreme violence in Syria, resulted in the highest number of battle-related deaths in the post-1989 period. Yet, compared to the large-scale interstate wars of the 20th century, the number of fatalities caused by armed conflicts in 2014 was relatively low. Additionally, seven conflicts identified in 2013 were no longer active in 2014. However, four new conflicts erupted in 2014, all of them in Ukraine, and three previously registered conflicts were restarted by new actors. Furthermore, six conflicts reoccurred with previously registered actors. A positive development, however, is the increase to ten of the number of peace agreements concluded and signed in 2014, which represents a further four compared with 2013. And although this increase is part of a positive trend since 2011, it is worth noting that several peace processes remained fragile by the end of the year.
This paper presents a review on the impact of El Niño on the interannual variability of atmospheric circulations over East Asia and rainfall in China through the anomalous anticyclone over western ...North Pacific (WNPAC). It explains the formation mechanisms of the WNPAC and physical processes by which the WNPAC affects the rainfall in China. During the mature phase of El Niño, the convective cooling anomalies over western tropical Pacific caused by the weakened convections trigger up an atmospheric Rossby wave response, resulting in the generation of the WNPAC. The WNPAC can persist from the winter when the El Niño is in its peak to subsequent summer, which is maintained by multiple factors including the sustained presence of convective cooling anomalies and the local air-sea interaction over western tropical Pacific, and the persistence of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in tropical Indian and tropical North Atlantic. The WNPAC can influence the atmospheric circulations over East Asia and rainfall in China not only simultaneously, but also in the subsequent summer after an El Niño year, leading to more rainfall over southern China. The current paper also points out that significant anomalies of atmospheric circulations over East Asia and rainfall over southern China occur in El Niño winter but not in La Niña winter, suggesting that El Niño and La Niña have an asymmetric effect. Other issues, including the impact of El Niño diversity and its impact as well as the relations of the factors affecting the persistence of the WNPAC with summer rainfall anomalies in China, are also discussed. At the end of this paper some issues calling for further investigation are discussed.
The characterization of the femoral diaphysis in Pleistocene hominins with chronoecogeographical diversity plays a crucial role in evaluating evolutionary shifts in locomotor behavior and body shape. ...However, Pleistocene hominin fossil remains in East Asia are scarce and are widely dispersed temporally and spatially, impeding our comprehension of the nature and polarity of morphological trends. Here, we present qualitative and quantitative analyses of the cross-sectional properties and structural organization of diaphyses in two Late Pleistocene hominin femora (Liujiang PA91 and PA92) from southern China, comparing them to other Eurasian and African Pleistocene hominins. By integrating surface features and internal structure, our findings reveal that the Liujiang femora exhibit modern human-like characteristics, including a developed pilaster, a gluteal buttress, and minimum mediolateral breadth located at the midshaft. The presence of a femoral pilaster may relate to posterior cortical reinforcement and an increased anteroposterior bending rigidity along the mid-proximal to mid-distal portion of the diaphysis. Compared to archaic Homo, Liujiang and other Late Pleistocene modern human femora show a thinner mediolateral cortex and lower bending rigidity than the anteroposterior axis, and a lack of medial buttress, potentially indicating functionally related alterations in a range of pelvic and proximal femoral features throughout the Pleistocene. The femoral robusticity of the Liujiang individual resembles that of other Pleistocene hunter–gatherers from East Asia, implying comparable overall mobility or activity levels. The investigation of Liujiang femoral diaphyseal morphology contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of early modern human postcranial structural morphology in East Asia.
Nous proposons une analyse empirique du changement structurel en Asie de l'Est a partir de deux dimensions clefs : la diversification et la sophistication des exportations. Une variete de profils ...exportateurs et de reelles discontinuites dans la diffusion regionale du changement structurel apparaissent. Il devient alors necessaire d'accorder aux configurations exportatrices qui emergent dans la mondialisation le benefice de la singularite This paper proposes an empirical analyze of the process of structural transformation in East Asia based on two key dimensions: export diversification and sophistication. The evidence suggests the diversity of exporter profiles and some discontinuities in the process of structural transformation within the East Asian area. Thus, the export patterns that are emerging in a globalized economy have singular features. Adapted from the source document.
We investigate the relationship between the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) and tropical cyclone (TC) landfall in the ERA‐Interim reanalysis and two configurations of the UK Met Office Global ...Seasonal forecasting system version 5 (GloSea5): Global Atmosphere 3.0 (GA3) and Global Coupled configuration 2 (GC2). Both model configurations have the same horizontal and vertical resolution in the ocean and the atmosphere, but differ in terms of model physics. The WPSH strongly modulates TC activity over the subtropical western North Pacific (WNP) and TC landfall over East Asia (Japan, Korea and East China). Here we show that both model configurations GA3 and GC2 show significant skill for predictions of the WPSH and TC variability over the subtropical WNP, as well as TC frequency along the coast of East Asia, during the boreal summer (June–August). An extension of the analysis to include the full WNP typhoon season (June–November) is also examined; however, only a weak significant relationship between the WPSH index and the observed TC frequency over East Asia is found during this period, and no significant relationship is present in either GloSea5 GA3 or GC2. Results highlight the potential for operational seasonal forecasts of TC landfall risk for Japan, Korea and East China over the June–August period using predictions of the WPSH indices from GloSea5.
The western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) strongly modulates tropical cyclone (TC) tracks, including landfall frequency in East Asia. In this paper we show that the Met Office seasonal forecasting system GloSea5 exhibits significant skill for predictions of the WPSH index from June to August. These results suggest potential for operational seasonal forecasts of TC landfall risk for East Asia using the predicted WPSH. Such forecasts could be of significant benefit to emergency management.
The effect of Arctic warming on cold extremes over middle latitude remains a controversial and unresolved issue, particularly considering potential enhanced Arctic amplification in future scenarios. ...Here we examine the possible responses of winter cold extremes to the projected sea ice loss under 2 °C global warming scenario in four models, based on the atmosphere-only experiments of the Polar Amplification Model Inter-comparison Project (PAMIP). We find agreement with the increased responses of extreme cold days over East Asia (EA), characterized by longer duration or stronger intensity of temperature drop during cold events. Accordingly, most models exhibit a weak response of the Ural blocking in the corresponding composite circulation fields, whereas the westward movement of an anomalous anticyclonic system from eastern Siberia before the maturing of the Ural blocking is notable in four models. We suggest that this westward shifting pattern may prolong the duration of Ural blocking or modulate the strength of the Northeast Asian cold vortex, resulting in longer or stronger cold anomalies in EA. Accordingly, increased blocking frequency with a more pronounced westward response of shipment signals is also found over eastern Siberia, where a reduced meridional potential vorticity gradient (PVy) exists. The background of weak PVy can enhance the atmospheric nonlinearity, resulting in the anticyclonic anomalies less prone to dispersion and presenting a westward characteristic. Our results highlight the impact of the nonlinear response of circulation to Arctic sea ice loss. In contrast to more concerned Ural blocking influence, it is suggested that the downstream impact of eastern Siberia blocking on cold extremes in EA may be more pronounced in an enhanced Arctic amplification climate.
•The cold extremes over East Asia (EA) may show positive response to the accelerated Arctic amplification•The westward retreating of anticyclone over eastern Siberia plays a crucial role in regulating the cold extremes in EA.•Weakened meridional potential vorticity gradient over East Siberia promotes the westward retreat of the local anticyclone.
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in China and the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus caused at first some kind of shift in attitudes towards East Asia. However, in the longer term, wider effects ...apply into international relations around the world. COVID-19 pandemic determined various activities implemented by government all over the world, which aims at fist were to protect health and life of its inhabitant, but later turned out to wider strategy of each country. COVID-19 pandemic expects negative consequences, which undoubtedly are dominant, in some cases turned out to be very stimulating to development. The article aims to present the changes that have taken place in the context of the international position of East Asian countries over the last two years, caused by the pandemic.
Purpose
This study aims to search for fitting lenses to view and interpret teacher learning in a Japanese secondary school teacher staffroom and capture the reconstituting of researcher ...subjectivities in this process.
Design/Approach/Methods
A narrative approach chronically documents the findings and use of the lenses in analyzing the staffroom daily interactions and traces the journey of transformation in our researcher subjectivities.
Findings
The telling of a Japanese staffroom (shokuinshitsu) as a thrice-told tale under the three lenses—cultural-historic activity theory, contextualism, and intimacy orientation—each uncovers a unique interpretation of the learning going on in the daily life of the Japanese staffroom. While complementary, Western-lenses are found to be unable to explain the nature of the everyday practices in the staffroom formed under the worldviews and ethics of East Asia. Our critical examination of the major academic encounters involved in the past two decades illuminates the complex dynamism behind our research perspectives, awakens us to the dominance of Western-centralism in our researcher subjectivities, transforms our worldviews, and returns us to our cultural roots to build alternative frames of reference as East Asia as Method.
Originality/Value
This study not only uniquely demonstrates what decentered, alternative, and diversified frames of reference would look like in studying East Asian practices but also what it would take for scholars to move toward East Asia as Method. Additionally, going beyond the three lenses, it contributes to our understanding of how space (staffroom as an entity) mediates forming of the character of those who are dwellers of the shokuinshitsu.
