我院黄建平教授等人的研究成果引起世界关注
国际著名《Nature》杂志2007年10月4日在其所属网站的研究动态栏目
（http://www.nature.com/ngeo/reshigh/2007/1007/full/ngeo.2007.20.html）
中发文介绍了我院黄建平教授的最新研究成果。
黄建平教授领导的科研小组利用最新发射的CALIPSO卫星上激光雷达的观测资料，发现卫星观测到的夏季青藏高原地区的沙尘天气过程比地面观测到的多很多，特别是在西部人烟稀少的地区，过去很少有夏季沙尘天气的记录。沙尘天气主要来自塔克拉玛干沙漠。由于沙尘气溶胶的吸收性，这些沙尘天气会造成青藏高原上空的异常加热，从而会对东亚大气环流，特别是东亚季风产生重要影响。利用这种新技术获得更详尽的沙尘暴的观测结果，对提高定量评估沙尘暴气候效应的水平有重要的科学意义。
这项研究的初步结果于2007年9月20日在美国Geophysical Research Letter杂志上发表后立刻引起广泛关注。除《Nature》杂志外，美国NASA Langley Research Center在内部的研究通讯中也报道了这项研究成果。
《Nature》网站报道全文
Frequent summer dust storms over the Tibetan Plateau, originating from the Taklamakan desert,
affect central Asian climate
Large dust storms in Tibet could be heating the region and influencing the development of the
Indian monsoon, finds a new study. Although occasional dust plumes have been previously
observed near the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, new satellite observations show that large
summer dust storms from the Taklamakan desert are relatively common over the Plateau.
Using the CALIPSO satellite, Jianping Huang from the College of Atmospheric Sciences at Lanzhou
University, China and colleagues1 recorded almost 50 dust plumes from June to September 2006 — an almost fivefold increase over events recorded by traditional ground-based methods. The dust plumes recorded reached up to 10 km, with typical thicknesses of 3 to
7 km. By combining modelling with an analysis of the shape of the dust particles, the researchers
inferred that the aerosols came primarily from the nearby Taklamakan desert, rather than from
human sources
The dust particles tend to absorb heat from sunlight, creating an unusually warm area over the
Tibetan Plateau. This heating enhances atmospheric circulation from relatively cold to warm
areas, thus strengthening the Indian summer (rainy) monsoon. If desertification progresses in
the Taklamakan desert as the climate warms, Tibet will probably become more dusty in summer,
with important implications for central Asian climate.
美国NASA Langley Research Center内部研究通讯报道全文
CALIPSO Findings Over the Tibetan Plateau Published
The paper, 'Summer dust aerosols detected from CALIPSO over the Tibetan Plateau,' was published in Geophysical Research Letters. Jianping Huang and NASA Langley colleagues,
Patrick Minnis, Yuhong Yi, Yong Hu, Kirk Ayers, Chip Trepte, and DaveWinker along with several
Lanzou University scientists used CALIPSO data to detect a higher frequency of heavy dust
storms during summer over the Tibetan Plateau than had been expected. Surface observations
were too sparse in that remote area to reveal this phenomenon that may play a role in modulating
the Indian monsoon. CALIPSO showed that dust layers, originating from the Taklaman Desert,
extended up to 8 km and washed over the plateau. The paper was chosen as a 'Research Highlight'
by Nature Reports: Climate Change, a on-ine resource from Nature Publishing Group that covers
the news behind the science and the science behind the news of global climate change.
相关报道：http://news.tom.com/2007-10-10/OI27/06177129.html