Abstract. The geographical distributions of summertime cirrus with
different cloud top heights above the Tibetan Plateau are investigated by
using the 2012–2016 Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite
Observation (CALIPSO) data. The cirrus clouds with different cloud top
heights exhibit an obvious difference in their horizontal distribution over
the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The maximum occurrence for cirrus with a cloud top height less than 9 km starts over the western plateau and moves up to the northern regions when
cirrus is between 9 and 12 km. Above 12 km, the maximum occurrence of cirrus
retreats to the southern fringe of the plateau. Three kinds of formation
mechanisms – large-scale orographic uplift, ice particle generation caused
by temperature fluctuation, and remnants of overflow from deep-convective
anvils – dominate the formation of cirrus at less than 9 km, between 9 and 12 km, and
above 12 km, respectively.
Possible mechanisms of summer cirrus clouds over the Tibetan Plateau