Intensified Moisture Sources of Heavy Precipitation Events Contributed to Interannual Trend in Precipitation Over the Three-Rivers-Headwater Region in China

Abstract

Evidence has indicated an overall wetting trend over the Three-Rivers Headwater Region (TRHR) in the recent decades, whereas the possible mechanisms for this change remain unclear. Detecting the main moisture source regions of the water vapor and its increasing trend over this region could help understand the long-term precipitation change. Based on the gauge-based precipitation observation analysis, we find that the heavy precipitation events act as the main contributor to the interannual increasing trend of summer precipitation over the TRHR. A Lagrangian moisture tracking methodology is then utilized to identify the main moisture source of water vapor over the target region for the boreal summer period of 1980–2017, with focus particularly on exploring its change associated with the interannual trend of precipitation. On an average, the moisture sources for the target regions cover vast regions, including the west and northwest of the Tibetan Plateau by the westerlies, the southwest by the Indian summer monsoon, and the adjacent regions associated with the local recycling. However, the increased interannual precipitation trend over the TRHR could be largely attributed to the enhanced moisture sources from the neighboring northeastern areas of the targeted region, particularly associated with the heavy precipitation events. The increased water vapor transport from the neighboring areas of the TRHR potentially related to the enhanced local hydrological recycling over these regions plays a first leading role in the recent precipitation increase over the TRHR.