The regional differences of Tibetan convective systems in boreal summer

Abstract

AbstractThe Tibetan Convective Systems (TCSs) observed over the southeastern Tibetan Plateau (TP) in boreal summer show two local maximum centers in the central and eastern TP. TCSs identified by the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project Convection Tracking Database are utilized to study the regional differences of TCSs. Results indicate that there are more TCSs in the eastern TP than central TP. The 20–30% of TCSs over the eastern TP are associated with shear line, vortex, and low pressure systems, while 70–80% of TCSs are formed locally. In contrast, 50–70% of TCSs over the central TP are linked to synoptic weather systems. TCSs over the eastern TP tend to have smaller size, more humidity, and more rainfall than those over central TP, and they are also more likely to move out of TP. TCSs are mostly generated in midafternoon with more rainfall in evening over the central TP and in midnight over the eastern TP. Results from the third Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Scientific Experiment confirm that there are more complicated properties of TCSs' diurnal variability over the eastern TP than central TP. Results also show that TP plays an important role in summer precipitation in both its downstream regions and the whole China.