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- Title
Seasonality and spatial variability of dynamic precipitation controls on the Tibetan Plateau.
- Authors
Curio, Julia; Scherer, Dieter
- Abstract
The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is the origin of many large Asian rivers, which provide moisture for large regions in South and East Asia. Therefore, the water cycle on the TP and adjacent high mountain ranges and especially the precipitation distribution plays an important role for the water availability for billions of people in the regions downstream of the TP. Based on the High Asia Refined analysis (HAR) we analyse the influence of dynamic factors on precipitation, enhancing or suppressing precipitation development. We selected six precipitation controls, the horizontal and vertical wind speed at 300 hPa and in about two kilometres above ground, the atmospheric water transport, and the planetary boundary layer height. Focus of the study are the seasonality and the spatial variability of these precipitation controls and their dominant patterns. The results show that precipitation controls have different effects on precipitation in different regions and seasons. This depends mainly on the type of precipitation, convective or frontal/cyclonic precipitation. Additionally, the study reveals that the mid-latitude westerlies have a high impact on precipitation distribution on the TP and its surrounding year-round.
- Subjects
TIBETAN Plateau; METEOROLOGICAL precipitation; WATER supply; MARITIME shipping; ATMOSPHERIC boundary layer
- Publication
Earth System Dynamics Discussions, 2016, Vol 7, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2190-4995
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5194/esd-2016-1