Analysis of heavy precipitation caused by the vortices in the lee of the Tibetan Plateau from TRMM (the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) observations

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lujun Jiang ◽  
Guoping Li
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Heavy Precipitation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Tropical Rainfall

Spatiotemporal changes in atmospheric water vapor content and analysis of meteorological factors over the Tibetan Plateau and its surroundings

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhilan Wang ◽  
Meiping Sun ◽  
Xiaojun Yao ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Hao Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Meteorological Factors ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
High Water ◽  
Water Vapor Content ◽  
Radiosonde Data ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder ◽  
Increasing Trend

Abstract Based on radiosonde stations and V3.0 data, Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)-only, Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM) and MERRA2, and ERA-5 data, we evaluated the ability of each dataset to reproduce water vapor content and explored its relationship with precipitation and temperature over the Tibetan Plateau and its surroundings. The results showed that the southern part of the surrounding area had high water vapor content and a low water vapor content zone appeared in the inner part of the Tibetan Plateau. The largest water vapor content appeared in summer and the smallest in winter. Most of the products could capture the spatial distribution of water vapor content, ERA-5 had the smallest bias and the highest correlation coefficient with the radiosonde data. The water vapor content has shown a gradually increasing trend over the last 50 years, with the most obvious increase in summer. Several sets of products had the same fluctuation trend and value is greater than the radiosonde data. There was a significant positive correlation between air temperature and water vapor content in the Tibetan Plateau, especially in the south. As the latitude increased, the correlation between precipitation and water vapor content gradually decreased and a negative correlation appeared.

scholarly journals Analysis of the 2008 heavy snowfall over South China using GPS PWV measurements from the Tibetan Plateau

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1369-1376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Xie ◽  
F. Wei ◽  
G. Chen ◽  
T. Zhang ◽  
L. Hu
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
South China ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Heavy Precipitation ◽  
Vapor Transport ◽  
Water Vapor Transport ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Good Opportunity ◽  
The One

Abstract. Four successive storms with freezing rain and snow blanketed South China from 10 January–2 February 2008, when the precipitation increased more than 200%–300% above the average for the corresponding period. The unusual atmospheric circulation associated with these disasters was caused by many complex physical processes, one of which was the active southern branch of currents over low latitude ocean areas which provided plenty of water vapor for South China. The ground-based GPS Precipitable Water Vapor (PWV) measurements on the Tibetan Plateau, supported by the China and Japan Intergovernmental Cooperation Program (JICA), has compensated for the lack of conventional observations of atmospheric water vapor in this area and provided a good opportunity to analyze the character of the water vapor transport in the four heavy precipitation processes. It was found that the GPS stations located on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau were on the route of the water vapor transport during 25 January–29 January and 31 January–2 February when two heavy precipitation events occurred over South China. The increasing trend from the one to two days pre-observation by the GPS stations was then associated with the heavy precipitation. Precipitation during 10 January–16 January and 18 January–22 January was significantly related to the abnormal variation of the one day pre-observation by the GPS stations located on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. This research indicates that ground-based GPS measurements are applicable to data assimilation in operational numerical models.

scholarly journals Bayesian Assimilation of Multiscale Precipitation Data and Sparse Ground Gauge Observations in Mountainous Areas

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1473-1494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhan Wang ◽  
Jinsong Chen ◽  
Dawen Yang
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Daily Precipitation ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Precipitation Data ◽  
Mountainous Areas ◽  
Terrain Effects

Abstract Estimating the spatial distribution of precipitation is important for understanding ecohydrological processes at catchment scales. However, this estimation is difficult in mountainous areas because ground-based observation stations are often sparsely located and do not represent the spatial variability of precipitation. In this study, we develop a Bayesian assimilation method based on data collected on the Tibetan Plateau from 1980 to 2014 to estimate monthly and daily precipitation. To accomplish this, point-scale ground meteorological observations are combined with large-scale precipitation data such as satellite observations or reanalysis data. First, we remove the terrain effects from ground observations by fitting the precipitation data as functions of elevation, and then we spatially interpolate the residuals to 5-km-resolution grids to obtain monthly and daily precipitation. Additionally, we use Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite observations and ERA-Interim reanalysis data. Cross-validation methods are used to evaluate our method; the results show that our method not only captures the change in precipitation with terrain but also significantly reduces the associated uncertainty. The improvements are more evident in the main river source areas on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, where elevation changes dramatically, and in high-altitude areas, where the ground gauges are sparse compared with those in low-altitude areas. Our assimilation method is applicable to other regions and is particularly useful for mountainous watersheds where ground meteorological stations are sparse and precipitation is considerably influenced by terrain.

scholarly journals A Methodological Framework to Retrospectively Obtain Downscaled Precipitation Estimates over the Tibetan Plateau

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kang He ◽  
Ziqiang Ma ◽  
Ruiying Zhao ◽  
Asim Biswas ◽  
Hongfen Teng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Wavelet Coherence ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Precipitation Estimates ◽  
Precipitation Analysis ◽  
Better Than

Long-term precipitation estimates with both finer spatial resolution and better quality are vital and highly needed in various related fields. Numerous downscaling algorithms have been investigated based on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), to obtain precipitation data with finer resolution (~1 km). However, this research was restricted by the time span of the TMPA dataset, as the starting time of TMPA was 1998. In this study, a new methodological framework incorporating wavelet coherence and Cubist was proposed to retrospectively obtain downscaled precipitation estimates (DS) over the Tibetan Plateau (TP), based on TMPA and ground observations, in 1990s. The correlations and similarities of precipitation patterns between the target years, from 1990 to 1999, and reference years, from 2000 to 2013, were firstly determined using wavelet coherence based on ground observations. Following this, the TMPA data in the reference years were regarded as the reference in the corresponding target years, which were adopted to be downscaled using Cubist models and land surface variables, to obtain the DS in the target years. We found that the DS showed continuous trends, which corresponded well with the ground observations. Additionally, the performances of the DS were better than those of the Climate Hazards group Infrared Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) data over the TP. Therefore, this methodological framework has great potential for obtaining precipitation estimates for the period of the 1990s for which TMPA data is inaccessible.

scholarly journals Impacts of Convective Activity over the Tibetan Plateau on Plateau Vortex, Southwest Vortex, and Downstream Precipitation

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (12) ◽  
pp. 3803-3830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shen-Ming Fu ◽  
Zi Mai ◽  
Jian-Hua Sun ◽  
Wan-Li Li ◽  
Yang Ding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Potential Vorticity ◽  
Small Proportion ◽  
Geopotential Height ◽  
Sichuan Basin ◽  
Heavy Precipitation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Convective Activity ◽  
Southwest Vortex ◽  
The Sichuan Basin

Abstract In summer, convective activity over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is vigorous, with some of it moving eastward and vacating the plateau [defined as the eastward-moving type (EMT)]. Although the EMT only accounts for a small proportion, it is closely related to heavy precipitation east of the TP. This study investigates EMT impacts based on a series of composite semi-idealized simulations and piecewise potential vorticity (PV) inversion. The main results are as follows. (i) An EMT begins to affect downstream precipitation before it vacates the TP. A weaker EMT tends to cause the main downstream rainband to reduce in intensity and move southward. (ii) The EMT contributes to the formation of an eastward-moving plateau vortex (PLV) by enhancing convergence-induced stretching. Over the TP, the PLV mainly enhances/maintains the EMT, whereas during the vacating stage, the PLV dissipates (since convergence decreases rapidly when sensible heating from the TP reduces), which substantially reduces the intensity of the EMT. (iii) After PLV dissipation, a southwest vortex (SWV) forms around the Sichuan basin mainly due to convergence-induced stretching, convection-related tilting, and background transport. Piecewise PV inversion indicates that an EMT can directly contribute to SWV formation via lowering geopotential height and enhancing cyclonic wind perturbations around the Sichuan basin (even before its vacating stage), while neither of them governs the SWV formation. Sensitivity runs show that an EMT is not necessary for SWV formation, but can modify the SWV formation time and location, as well as its displacement, which significantly affects downstream precipitation.

scholarly journals Evaluation of high-resolution satellite precipitation products using rain gauge observations over the Tibetan Plateau

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 9503-9532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. C. Gao ◽  
M. F. Liu
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Global Precipitation Climatology Project ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Satellite Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation Estimation ◽  
Mean Square Errors

Abstract. High-resolution satellite precipitation products are very attractive for studying the hydrologic processes in mountainous areas where rain gauges are generally sparse. Three high-resolution satellite precipitation products are evaluated using gauge measurements over different climate zones of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) within a 6 yr period from 2004 to 2009. The three satellite-based precipitation datasets are: Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), Climate Prediction Center Morphing Technique (CMOPRH) and Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Network (PERSIANN). TMPA and CMORPH, with higher correlation coefficients and lower root mean square errors (RMSEs), show overall better performance than PERSIANN. TMPA has the lowest biases among the three precipitation datasets, which is likely due to the correction process against monthly gauge observations from global precipitation climatology project (GPCP). The three products show better agreement with gauge measurements over humid regions than that over arid regions where correlation coefficients are less than 0.5. Moreover, the three precipitation products generally tend to overestimate light rainfall (0–10 mm) and underestimate moderate and heavy rainfall (>10 mm). PERSIANN produces obvious underestimation at low elevations and overestimation at high elevations. CMORPH and TMPA do not present strong bias-elevation relationships in most regions of TP.

Characteristics of Summer Convective Systems Initiated over the Tibetan Plateau. Part I: Origin, Track, Development, and Precipitation

2008 ◽  
Vol 47 (10) ◽  
pp. 2679-2695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Yaodong ◽  
Wang Yun ◽  
Song Yang ◽  
Hu Liang ◽  
Gao Shouting ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Convective System ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Eastern Area ◽  
Convective Systems ◽  
Late Night ◽  
Basic Characteristics

Abstract Summer convective systems (CSs) initiated over the Tibetan Plateau identified by the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) deep convection database and associated Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation for 1998–2001 have been analyzed for their basic characteristics in terms of initiation, distribution, trajectory, development, life cycle, convective intensity, and precipitation. Summer convective systems have a dominant center over the Hengduan Mountain and a secondary center over the Yaluzangbu River Valley. Precipitation associated with these CSs contributes more than 60% of total precipitation over the central-eastern area of the Tibetan Plateau and 30%–40% over the adjacent region to its southeast. The average CS life cycle is about 36 h; 85% of CSs disappear within 60 h of their initiation. About 50% of CSs do not move out of the Tibetan region, with the remainder split into eastward- and southward-moving components. These CSs moving out the Tibetan Plateau are generally larger, have longer life spans, and produce more rainfall than those staying inside the region. Convective system occurrences and associated rainfall present robust diurnal variations. The midafternoon maximum of CS initiation and associated rainfall over the plateau is mainly induced by solar heating linked to the unique Tibetan geography. The delayed afternoon–late night peak of rainfall from CSs propagating out of this region is a combined outcome of multiple mechanisms working together. Results suggest that interactions of summer Tibetan CSs with the orientation of the unique Tibetan geography and the surrounding atmospheric circulations are important for the development, intensification, propagation, and life span of these CSs.

scholarly journals Geometric and Physical Characteristics of Precipitation Clouds in Tibetan Plateau

2022 ◽  
Vol 2022 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Kunyu Teng ◽  
Hongke Cai ◽  
Xiubin Sun ◽  
Quanliang Chen
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Average Length ◽  
Vertical Direction ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Physical Characteristics ◽  
Convective Precipitation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Average Rainfall ◽  
Trmm Precipitation ◽  
The Relationship

This paper examines the basic geometric and physical characteristics of precipitation clouds over the Tibetan Plateau, based on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) data from 1998 to 2015, using the minimum bounding rectangle (MBR) method. The results show that about 60% of the precipitation clouds occur with a scale of approximately 18 km (length) and 15 km (width), and the proportion of precipitation clouds with a length longer than 100 km and a width wider than 90 km is less than 1%. Most of the precipitation cloud exhibits a shape between square and long strips in the horizontal direction and lanky in the vertical direction. The average rainfall intensity of precipitation clouds is between 0.5 and 6 mm h−1. The average length and width of precipitation clouds show a logarithmic, linear relationship. The distribution of raindrops in precipitation clouds is relatively compact. With the expansion of the area, the precipitation clouds gradually become squatty. The relationship between physical and geometric parameters of precipitation clouds shows that with the precipitation cloud area expanding, the average rainfall rate of precipitation clouds also increases. Heavy convective rainfall is more likely to occur in larger precipitation clouds. For the precipitation clouds of the same size, the area fraction and contribution of convective precipitation are lower than that of stratiform precipitation.

scholarly journals A Performance Evaluation of the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) over the Tibetan Plateau

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 927-939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penglei Fan ◽  
Dong Zheng ◽  
Yijun Zhang ◽  
Shanqiang Gu ◽  
Wenjuan Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Detection Efficiency ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Systematic Evaluation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The World ◽  
Total Lightning ◽  
Cg Lightning

AbstractA systematic evaluation of the performance of the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) over the Tibetan Plateau is conducted using data from the Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Location System (CGLLS) developed by the State Grid Corporation of China for 2013–15 and lightning data from the satellite-based Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) for 2014–15. The average spatial location separation magnitudes in the midsouthern Tibetan Plateau (MSTP) region between matched WWLLN and CGLLS strokes and over the whole Tibetan Plateau between matched WWLLN and LIS flashes were 9.97 and 10.93 km, respectively. The detection efficiency (DE) of the WWLLN rose markedly with increasing stroke peak current, and the mean stroke peak currents of positive and negative cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning detected by the WWLLN in the MSTP region were 62.43 and −56.74 kA, respectively. The duration, area, and radiance of the LIS flashes that were also detected by the WWLLN were 1.27, 2.65, and 4.38 times those not detected by the WWLLN. The DE of the WWLLN in the MSTP region was 9.37% for CG lightning and 2.58% for total lightning. Over the Tibetan Plateau, the DE of the WWLLN for total lightning was 2.03%. In the MSTP region, the CG flash data made up 71.98% of all WWLLN flash data. Based on the abovementioned results, the ratio of intracloud (IC) lightning to CG lightning in the MSTP region was estimated to be 4.05.

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