The impacts of the summer plateau monsoon over the Tibetan Plateau on the rainfall in the Tarim Basin, China

Abstract

The impacts of the summer plateau monsoon (PM) over the Tibetan Plateau on summer rainfall over the Tarim Basin in northwest China are investigated, based on the observed rainfall data at 34 stations and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data during 1961 to 2007. Results showed that the PM is well correlated to the summer rainfall over the Tarim Basin. Process analysis shows that strong PM corresponds to an anomalous cyclone over the Tibetan Plateau in the middle troposphere and an anomalous anticyclone in the upper troposphere over northwest part of Tibetan Plateau. They result in cold air moving from high latitudes into Central Asia over the western part of Tibetan Plateau. The concurrences of the cooling in the middle-upper troposphere over Central Asia leads to an anomalous cyclone over Central Asia at 500 hPa and the anomalous descending motions prevailing over the cooling region. Associated with this anomaly, there are enhanced southerly winds and corresponding ascending motion over the Tarim Basin located in the east of the cooling region. These processes lead to more summer rainfall over the Tarim Basin.