Southeastern Part Of Tibetan Plateau Research Articles

Gravity wave activities in Tibet observed by COSMIC GPS radio occultation

The Gravity waves activities in the Tibetan Plateau are very complex with different effects and natures that are not clear due to the lack of high resolution data from space and also from ground. In this paper, using COSMICGPS radio occultation data from 2006 to 2014, the atmospheric gravity waves activities and climatologic behaviors in Tibetan stratosphere are studied and analyzed, which show different characteristics. Most of the gravity waves with potential energy (Ep) at altitude of 17–24 km are associated with mountain waves. A good correlation between gravity wave activities and zonal wind flow is found. The distribution of gravity wave (GW) activities in Tibet is strongly connected with zonal wind variation and topography. GW activities are enhanced in winter seasons and decreased in summer seasons since strong western winds persist at all heights of the Tibetan troposphere. The gravity waves generated in the Tibetan area are mostly related to the orography of the area. The vertical wavelengths of GWS are shorter. Gravity waves in the Northwest have different vertical wavelengths in the Southeastern part of Tibetan Plateau, and dominant wavelengths are 3–5 km in the Northwest and 2–3 km in the Southeast, respectively. In the summer, the Northwestern part is the main source of wave generation while in the winter the GW is generated almost from all peaks of the Tibetan Plateau. Gravity waves in the region are clearly related to deep convection, which can also be proved by the inverse relation of Outgoing long wave radiation (OLR) and potential energy (Ep).

Measurements of water vapor and high clouds over the Tibetan plateau with the terra modis instrument

The seasonal variations of water vapor and cirrus clouds over the Tibetan Plateau are investigated using the recently available Level 3 monthly-mean atmospheric data products with a 1/spl deg/ /spl times/ 1/spl deg/ latitude-longitude grid. The data products are derived from the multichannel imaging data acquired with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra Spacecraft. It is shown that the water vapor concentration over the Tibetan Plateau is normally low, whereas high clouds (mainly cirrus clouds) over the Plateau occur quite frequently. On an annual scale, the water vapor concentration reaches its maximum in July and its minimum in January. During the summer season, the southeastern part of Tibetan Plateau, which can be affected by moistures originating from the Bay of Bengal and southeastern Asia, is slightly moister than the other parts of the Plateau. This observation is in agreement with the previous surface meteorological measurements by Chinese scientists from the 1950s to mid-1970s. The mean high-cloud reflectance over the Plateau reaches its maximum in April and minimum in November. This feature of high clouds over the Plateau has not been reported previously. The special channel centered at 1.375-/spl mu/m on the MODIS instrument has allowed the observation. We present a plausible mechanism to explain the seasonal variations of high clouds over the Plateau. We expect that the water vapor and high-cloud measurements with MODIS can be used to improve the model initialization and validation for climate models involving the Tibetan Plateau and the nearby regions in Asia.