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Published on: June 20, 2016
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Percolation analysis of the atmospheric structure
Yu Sun1, Jun Meng2,3, Qing Yao1
1School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, 100875 Beijing, China.
Physical Review. E
|January 15, 2022
Summary
Atmospheric complexity, quantified using a novel percolation framework and global air temperature data, reveals a discontinuous transition and self-affine boundaries. Complexity decreases with height, offering insights into Earth system dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Geophysics
- Complex Systems Science
- Atmospheric Science
Background:
- The atmosphere is a complex thermo-hydrodynamical system essential for life.
- Quantifying atmospheric complexity has remained a challenge.
- Existing models struggle to capture the intricate dynamics of atmospheric structure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel percolation-based framework for exploring atmospheric structure.
- To quantify atmospheric complexity using the global air temperature field.
- To analyze the nature of transitions and complexity variations with atmospheric height.
Main Methods:
- Development of a percolation-based framework applied to global air temperature data.
- Analysis of percolation thresholds and cluster emergence.
- Finite-size-scaling analysis to determine transition types.
- Calculation of fractal dimension for giant cluster boundaries.
Main Results:
- A delayed percolation threshold and explosive emergence of a giant cluster were observed.
- A genuine discontinuous transition was identified in each atmospheric layer.
- The boundary of the giant cluster at the percolation threshold exhibits self-affinity.
- Atmospheric complexity was found to decrease superlinearly with height.
Conclusions:
- The proposed methodology provides a new way to quantify atmospheric complexity.
- Atmospheric complexity is higher at the surface and decreases with altitude due to boundary forcings.
- This framework can serve as a benchmark for evaluating Earth system models and understanding critical phenomena.
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