scholarly journals Precipitation Water Stable Isotopes in the South Tibetan Plateau: Observations and Modeling*

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (13) ◽  
pp. 3161-3178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Gao ◽  
V. Masson-Delmotte ◽  
T. Yao ◽  
L. Tian ◽  
C. Risi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Cold Bias ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Back Trajectories ◽  
Seasonal Scale

Abstract Measurements of precipitation isotopic composition have been conducted on a daily basis for 1 yr at Bomi, in the southeast Tibetan Plateau, an area affected by the interaction of the southwest monsoon, the westerlies, and Tibetan high pressure systems, as well as at Lhasa, situated west of Bomi. The measured isotope signals are analyzed both on an event basis and on a seasonal scale using available meteorological information and airmass trajectories. The processes driving daily and seasonal isotopic variability are investigated using multidecadal climate simulations forced by twentieth-century boundary conditions and conducted with two different isotopic atmospheric general circulation models [the isotopic version of the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique GCM (LMDZiso) and the ECHAM4iso model]. Both models use specific nudging techniques to mimic observed atmospheric circulation fields. The models simulate a wet and cold bias on the Tibetan Plateau together with a dry bias in its southern part. A zoomed LMDZ simulation conducted with ~50-km local spatial resolution dramatically improves the simulation of isotopic compositions of precipitation on the Tibetan Plateau. Simulated water isotope fields are compared with new data and with previous observations, and regional differences in moisture origins are analyzed using back-trajectories. Here, the focus is on relationships between the water isotopes and climate variables on an event and seasonal scale and in terms of spatial and altitudinal isotopic gradients. Enhancing the spatial resolution is crucial for improving the simulation of the precipitation isotopic composition.

scholarly journals The Tibetan Plateau Summer Monsoon in the CMIP5 Simulations

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (19) ◽  
pp. 7747-7766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anmin Duan ◽  
Jun Hu ◽  
Zhixiang Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Summer Monsoon ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Surface Heat ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Model Intercomparison ◽  
Intercomparison Project ◽  
Asian Summer ◽  
Heat Low

Abstract Temporal variability within the Tibetan Plateau summer monsoon (TPSM) is closely linked to both the East and South Asian summer monsoons over several time scales but has received much less attention than these other systems. In this study, extensive integrations under phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) historical scenarios from 15 coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) and Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) runs from eight atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) are used to evaluate the performance of these GCMs. Results indicate that all GCMs are able to simulate the climate mean TPSM circulation system. However, the large bias associated with precipitation intensity and patterns remains, despite the higher resolution and inclusion of the indirect effects of sulfate aerosol that have helped to improve the skill of the models to simulate the annual cycle of precipitation in both AGCMs and CGCMs. The interannual variability of the surface heat low and the Tibetan high in most of the AGCMs resembles the observation reasonably because of the prescribed forcing fields. However, only a few models were able to reproduce the observed seesaw pattern associated with the interannual variability of the TPSM and the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). Regarding long-term trends, most models overestimated the amplitude of the tropospheric warming and the declining trend in the surface heat low between 1979 and 2005. In addition, the observed cooling trend in the upper troposphere and the decline of the Tibetan high were not reproduced by most models. Therefore, there is still significant scope for improving GCM simulations of regional climate change, especially in regions near extensive mountain ranges.

scholarly journals Can we use precipitation isotope outputs of Isotopic General Circulation Models to improve hydrological modeling in large mountainous catchments on the Tibetan Plateau?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Nan ◽  
Zhihua He ◽  
Fuqiang Tian ◽  
Zhongwang Wei ◽  
Lide Tian
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Hydrological Modeling ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Cold Regions ◽  
Isotope Data ◽  
Mountainous Catchments ◽  
Macro Scale

Abstract. Issues related to large uncertainty and parameter equifinality have posed big challenges for hydrological modeling in cold regions where runoff generation processes are particularly complex. Tracer-aided hydrological models coupling modules to simulate the transportation and fractionation of water stable isotope are increasingly used to constrain parameter uncertainty and refine the parameterizations of specific hydrological processes in cold regions. However, commonly unavailability of site sampling of spatially-distributed precipitation isotope hampers the practical applications of tracer-aided models in large scale catchments. This study, taken the precipitation isotope data (isoGSM) derived from the Isotopic General Circulation Models (iGCM) as an example, explored its utility in driving a tracer-aided hydrological model in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin (YTR, around 2 × 105 km2) on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The isoGSM product was first corrected based on the biases between gridded precipitation isotope estimates and limited site sampling measurements. Model simulations driven by the corrected isoGSM data were then compared with those forced by spatially interpolated precipitation isotope from site sampling measurements. Our results indicated that: (1) spatial precipitation isotope derived from the isoGSM data helped to reduce modeling uncertainty and improve parameter identifiability in a large mountainous catchment on the TP, in comparison to a calibration method using discharge and snow cover area fraction without any information of water isotope; (2) model parameters estimated by the corrected isoGSM data presented higher transferability to nested sub-basins and produced higher model performance in the validation period than that estimated by the interpolated precipitation isotope data from site sampling measurements; (3) model calibration procedure forced by the corrected isoGSM data successfully rejected parameter sets that overestimated glacier melt contribution and gave more reliable contributions of runoff components, indicating the corrected isoGSM data served as a better choice to provide informative spatial precipitation isotope than the interpolated data from site sampling measurements at macro scale. This work suggested plausible utility of combining isoGSM data with measurements from a sparse sampling network in improving hydrological modeling in large mountainous catchments.

scholarly journals Can we use precipitation isotope outputs of isotopic general circulation models to improve hydrological modeling in large mountainous catchments on the Tibetan Plateau?

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (12) ◽  
pp. 6151-6172
Author(s):  
Yi Nan ◽  
Zhihua He ◽  
Fuqiang Tian ◽  
Zhongwang Wei ◽  
Lide Tian
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Hydrological Modeling ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Global Spectral Model ◽  
Cold Regions ◽  
Isotope Data ◽  
Macro Scale

Abstract. Issues related to large uncertainty and parameter equifinality have posed big challenges for hydrological modeling in cold regions where runoff generation processes are particularly complicated. Tracer-aided hydrological models that integrate the transportation and fractionation processes of water stable isotope are increasingly used to constrain parameter uncertainty and refine the parameterizations of specific hydrological processes in cold regions. However, the common unavailability of site sampling of spatially distributed precipitation isotopes hampers the practical applications of tracer-aided models in large-scale catchments. This study, taking the precipitation isotope data (isotopes-incorporated global spectral model – isoGSM) derived from the isotopic general circulation models (iGCMs) as an example, explored its utility in driving a tracer-aided hydrological model in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin (YTR; around 2×105 km2, with a mean elevation of 4875 m) on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The isoGSM product was firstly corrected based on the biases between gridded precipitation isotope estimates and the limited site sampling measurements. Model simulations driven by the corrected isoGSM data were then compared with those forced by spatially interpolated precipitation isotopes from site sampling measurements. Our results indicated that (1) spatial precipitation isotopes derived from the isoGSM data helped to reduce modeling uncertainty and improve parameter identifiability in a large mountainous catchment on the TP, compared to a calibration method using discharge and snow cover area fraction without any information on water isotopes; (2) model parameters estimated by the corrected isoGSM data presented higher transferability to nested subbasins and produced higher model performance in the validation period than that estimated by the interpolated precipitation isotope data from site sampling measurements; (3) model calibration forced by the corrected isoGSM data successfully rejected parameter sets that overestimated glacier melt contribution and gave more reliable contributions of runoff components, indicating the corrected isoGSM data served as a better choice to provide informative spatial precipitation isotope than the interpolated data from site sampling measurements at the macro scale. This work suggested plausible utility of combining isoGSM data with measurements, even from a sparse sampling network, in improving hydrological modeling in large high mountain basins.

Mongolian Mountains Matter Most: Impacts of the Latitude and Height of Asian Orography on Pacific Wintertime Atmospheric Circulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 4065-4082 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. White ◽  
D. S. Battisti ◽  
G. H. Roe
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Hemisphere Winter

Abstract The impacts of Asian orography on the wintertime atmospheric circulation over the Pacific are explored using altered-orography, semi-idealized, general circulation model experiments. The latitude of orography is found to be far more important than height. The Mongolian Plateau and nearby mountain ranges, centered at ~48°N, have an impact on the upper-level wintertime jet stream that is approximately 4 times greater than that of the larger and taller Tibetan Plateau and Himalayas to the south. Key contributing factors to the importance of the Mongolian mountains are latitudinal variations in the meridional potential vorticity gradient and the strength of the impinging wind—both of which determine the amplitude of the atmospheric response—and the structure of the atmosphere, which influences the spatial pattern of the downstream response. Interestingly, while the Mongolian mountains produce a larger response than the Tibetan Plateau in Northern Hemisphere winter, in April–June the response from the Tibetan Plateau predominates. This result holds in two different general circulation models. In experiments with idealized orography, varying the plateau latitude by 20°, from 43° to 63°N, changes the response amplitude by a factor of 2, with a maximum response for orography between 48° and 53°N, comparable to the Mongolian mountains. In these idealized experiments, the latitude of the maximum wintertime jet increase changes by only ~6°. It is proposed that this nearly invariant spatial response pattern is due to variations in the stationary wavenumber with latitude leading to differences in the zonal versus meridional wave propagation.

scholarly journals Elevational Movement of Vegetation Greenness on the Tibetan Plateau: Evidence from the Landsat Satellite Observations during the Last Three Decades

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Liheng Lu ◽  
Xiaoqian Shen ◽  
Ruyin Cao
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Vertical Movement ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Upward Movement ◽  
Vegetation Growth ◽  
Vegetation Greenness ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Vegetation Activities

The Tibetan Plateau, the highest plateau in the world, has experienced strong climate warming during the last few decades. The greater increase of temperature at higher elevations may have strong impacts on the vertical movement of vegetation activities on the plateau. Although satellite-based observations have explored this issue, these observations were normally provided by the coarse satellite data with a spatial resolution of more than hundreds of meters (e.g., GIMMS and MODIS), which could lead to serious mixed-pixel effects in the analyses. In this study, we employed the medium-spatial-resolution Landsat NDVI data (30 m) during 1990–2019 and investigated the relationship between temperature and the elevation-dependent vegetation changes in six mountainous regions on the Tibetan Plateau. Particularly, we focused on the elevational movement of the vegetation greenness isoline to clarify whether the vegetation greenness isoline moves upward during the past three decades because of climate warming. Results show that vegetation greening occurred in all six mountainous regions during the last three decades. Increasing temperatures caused the upward movement of greenness isoline at the middle and high elevations (>4000 m) but led to the downward movement at lower elevations for the six mountainous regions except for Nyainqentanglha. Furthermore, the temperature sensitivity of greenness isoline movement changes from the positive value to negative value by decreasing elevations, suggesting that vegetation growth on the plateau is strongly regulated by other factors such as water availability. As a result, the greenness isoline showed upward movement with the increase of temperature for about 59% pixels. Moreover, the greenness isoline movement increased with the slope angles over the six mountainous regions, suggesting the influence of terrain effects on the vegetation activities. Our analyses improve understandings of the diverse response of elevation-dependent vegetation activities on the Tibetan Plateau.

scholarly journals The Isotopic Composition of Present-Day Antarctic Snow in a Lagrangian Atmospheric Simulation*

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 739-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Helsen ◽  
R. S. W. Van de Wal ◽  
M. R. Van den Broeke
Keyword(s):  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Isotopic Fractionation ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Deuterium Excess ◽  
West Antarctica ◽  
Temperature Relation ◽  
Weather Forecasts ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
Antarctic Snow

Abstract The isotopic composition of present-day Antarctic snow is simulated for the period September 1980–August 2002 using a Rayleigh-type isotope distillation model in combination with backward trajectory calculations with 40-yr European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Re-Analysis (ERA-40) data as meteorological input. Observed spatial isotopic gradients are correctly reproduced, especially in West Antarctica and in the coastal areas. However, isotopic depletion of snow on the East Antarctic plateau is underestimated, a problem that is also observed in general circulation models equipped with isotope tracers. The spatial isotope–temperature relation varies strongly, which indicates that this widely used relation is not applicable to all sites and temporal scales. Spatial differences in the seasonal amplitude are identified, with maximum values in the Antarctic interior and hardly any seasonal isotope signature in Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica. The modeled signature of deuterium excess remains largely preserved during the last phase of transport, though the simulated relation of deuterium excess with δ18O suggests that parameterizations of kinetic isotopic fractionation can be improved.

scholarly journals Temporal and Spatial Interpolation Errors of High-Resolution Modeled Atmospheric Fields

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. C. Privé ◽  
R. M. Errico
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Temporal Frequency ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Tropospheric Temperature ◽  
Model Output ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Optimal Output

AbstractGeneral circulation models can now be run at very high spatial resolutions to capture finescale features, but saving the full-spatial-resolution output at every model time step is usually not practical because of storage limitations. To reduce storage requirements, the model output may be produced at reduced temporal and/or spatial resolutions. When this reduced-resolution output is then used in situations where spatiotemporal interpolation is required, such as the generation of synthetic observations for observing system simulation experiments, interpolation errors can significantly affect the quality and usefulness of the reduced-resolution model output. Although it is common in practice to record model output at the highest possible spatial resolution with relatively infrequent temporal output, this may not be the best option to minimize interpolation errors. In this study, two examples using a high-resolution global run of the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, version 5 (GEOS-5), are presented to illustrate cases in which the optimal output dataset configurations for interpolation have high temporal frequency but reduced spatial resolutions. Interpolation errors of tropospheric temperature, specific humidity, and wind fields are investigated. The relationship between spatial and temporal output resolutions and interpolation errors is also characterized for the example model.

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