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

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Abstract

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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Jianping Huang  (黄建平), Wu Zhang  (张 武), Jinqing Zuo  (左金清), Jianrong Bi  (闭建荣), Jinsen Shi  (史晋森), Xin Wang  (王 鑫), Zhoulin Chang  (常倬林), Zhongwei Huang  (黄忠伟), Su Yang  (杨 溯), Beidou Zhang  (张北斗), Guoyin Wang  (王国印), Guanghong Feng  (冯广泓), Jiuyi Yuan  (袁九毅), Lei Zhang  (张 镭), Hongchao Zuo  (左洪超), Shigong Wang  (王式功), Congbin Fu  (符淙斌) & Chou Jifan  (丑纪范)

  2. Key Laboratory of Regional Climate-Environment for Temperate East Asia (RCE-TEA), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Congbin Fu  (符淙斌)

Authors
  1. Jianping Huang  (黄建平)
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  2. Wu Zhang  (张 武)
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  3. Jinqing Zuo  (左金清)
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  4. Jianrong Bi  (闭建荣)
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  5. Jinsen Shi  (史晋森)
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  6. Xin Wang  (王 鑫)
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  7. Zhoulin Chang  (常倬林)
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  8. Zhongwei Huang  (黄忠伟)
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  9. Su Yang  (杨 溯)
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  10. Beidou Zhang  (张北斗)
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  11. Guoyin Wang  (王国印)
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  12. Guanghong Feng  (冯广泓)
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  13. Jiuyi Yuan  (袁九毅)
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  14. Lei Zhang  (张 镭)
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  15. Hongchao Zuo  (左洪超)
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  16. Shigong Wang  (王式功)
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  17. Congbin Fu  (符淙斌)
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  18. Chou Jifan  (丑纪范)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jianping Huang  (黄建平).

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Huang, J., Zhang, W., Zuo, J. et al. An overview of the Semi-arid Climate and Environment Research Observatory over the Loess Plateau. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 25, 906–921 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-008-0906-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-008-0906-7

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