The effects of the thermal anomalies over the Tibetan Plateau and its vicinities on climate variability in China

The evident effects of the thermal anomalies over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and its vicinities are summarized and discussed in this paper. By the singular value decomposition (SVD) technique and numerical simulations of the effect of the snow depth anomaly over the TP, it is shown that the snow depth anomaly, especially in winter, is one of the factors influencing precipitation in China, and the winter snow anomaly is more important than the spring one. The relations between the sensible heat anomaly over the TP and the intensity of the South China Sea summer monsoon (SCSSM) are studied, too, and two key areas of the sensible heat anomaly over the TP are found. The relationships between the South Asia High (SAH). and the precipitation in the years with typical droughts or floods in the mid to lower valleys of the Yangtze River (MLVYR) and North China are investigated in some detail. It is found that not only the intensity of the SAH over the TP, but also the 100-hPa height in a large area influences the precipitation in the above two regions. The effects of the SAH on the onsets of the tropical Asian summer monsoon (TASM) including the SCSSM and the tropical Indian summer monsoon (TISM) are studied as well. It is found that the onset times of both the SCSSM and the TISM are highly dependent upon the latitudinal position of the SAH center.     

Impacts of climate variability and human activities on decrease in streamflow in the Qinhe River,China

Under the impacts of climate variability and human activities, there are statistically significant decreasing trends for streamflow in the Yellow River basin, China. Therefore, it is crucial to separate the impacts of climate variability and human activities on streamflow decrease for better water resources planning and management. In this study, the Qinhe River basin (QRB), a typical sub-basin in the middle reach of the Yellow River, was chosen as the study area to assess the impacts of climate variability and human activities on streamflow decrease. The trend and breakpoint of observed annual streamflow from 1956 to 2010 were identified by the nonparametric Mann–Kendall test. The results showed that the observed annual streamflow decreased significantly (P?<?0.05) and a breakpoint around 1973 was detected. Therefore, the time series was divided into two periods: “natural period” (before the breakpoint) and “impacted period” (after the breakpoint). The observed annual streamflow decreased by 68.1 mm from 102.3 to 34.2 mm in the two periods. The climate elasticity method and hydrological model were employed to separate the impacts of climate variability and human activities on streamflow decrease. The results indicated that climate variability was responsible for 54.1 % of the streamflow decrease estimated by the climate elasticity method and 59.3 % estimated by the hydrological modeling method. Therefore, the climate variability was the main driving factor for streamflow decrease in the QRB. Among these driving factors of natural and anthropogenic, decrease in precipitation and increase in water diversion were the two major contributions of streamflow reduction. The finding in this study can serve as a reference for regional water resources management and planning.     

Changing Spring Phenology Dates in the Three-Rivers Headwater Region of the Tibetan Plateau during 1960–2013

The variation of the vegetation growing season in the Three-Rivers Headwater Region of the Tibetan Plateau has recently become a controversial topic. One issue is that the estimated local trend in the start of the vegetation growing season(SOS)based on remote sensing data is easily affected by outliers because this data series is short. In this study, we determine that the spring minimum temperature is the most influential factor for SOS. The significant negative linear relationship between the two variables in the region is evaluated using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer–Normalized Difference Vegetation Index data for 2000–13. We then reconstruct the SOS time series based on the temperature data for 1960–2013.The regional mean SOS shows an advancing trend of 1.42 d(10 yr)~(-1) during 1960–2013, with the SOS occurring on the 160th and 151st days in 1960 and 2013, respectively. The advancing trend enhances to 6.04 d(10 yr)~(-1) during the past 14 years. The spatiotemporal variations of the reconstructed SOS data are similar to those deduced from remote sensing data during the past 14 years. The latter exhibit an even larger regional mean trend of SOS [7.98 d(10 yr~(-1) )] during 2000–13. The Arctic Oscillation is found to have significantly influenced the changing SOS, especially for the eastern part of the region,during 2000–13.     

Recent Progress in the Impact of the Tibetan Plateau on Climate in China

Studies of the impacts of the Tibetan Plateau （TP） on climate in China in the last four years are reviewed. It is reported that temperature and precipitation over the TP have increased during recent decades. From satellite data analysis, it is demonstrated that most of the precipitation over the TP is from deep convection clouds. Moreover, the huge TP mechanical forcing and extraordinary elevated thermal forcing impose remarkable impacts upon local circulation and global climate. In winter and spring, stream flow is deflected by a large obstacle and appears as an asymmetric dipole, making East Asia much colder than mid Asia in winter and forming persistent rainfall in late winter and early spring over South China. In late spring, TP heating contributes to the establishment and intensification of the South Asian high and the abrupt seasonal transition of the surrounding circulations. In summer, TP heating in conjunction with the TP air pump cause the deviating stream field to resemble a cyclonic spiral, converging towards and rising over the TP. Therefore, the prominent Asian monsoon climate over East Asia and the dry climate over mid Asia in summer are forced by both TP local forcing and Eurasian continental forcing.
Due to the longer memory of snow and soil moisture, the TP thermal status both in summer and in late winter and spring can influence the variation of Eastern Asian summer rainfall. A combined index using both snow cover over the TP and the ENSO index in winter shows a better seasonal forecast.
On the other hand, strong sensible heating over the Tibetan Plateau in spring contributes significantly to anchor the earliest Asian monsoon being over the eastern Bay of Bengal （BOB） and the western Indochina peninsula. Qualitative prediction of the BOB monsoon onset was attempted by using the sign of meridional temperature gradient in March in the upper troposphere, or at 400 hPa over the TP. It is also demonstrated by a numerical experiment and theoretical study that the heating over the TP lea     

青藏高原三江源地区近60 a气候与极端气候变化特征分析

青藏高原三江源地区正在面临着以"变暖变湿"为主的气候变化,是气候变化的显著区与敏感区。基于中国气象局位于三江源地区20个地面台站的气温、降水数据以及HadCRUT4（Climatic Research Unit land-surface air temperature-4 dataset and the Hadley Centre sea-surface temperature dataset,Hadley Centre,UK）气温、PREC（Precipitation Reconstruction,National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,USA）降水资料,从气候要素空间格局、极端气候指标以及区域-全球平均多年变化对比等3个方面系统总结了三江源地区1961-2019年气候和极端气候变化的特征。结果显示,三江源区域在过去近60 a里平均增暖速率为0.37℃/（10 a）,是全球平均水平（0.16℃/（10 a））的2倍以上,同时大幅高于全球同纬度（0.19℃/（10 a））及中国区域（0.28℃/（10 a））。在全球变暖背景下,三江源地区大部分极端气候指标上升,其中以夜间最低气温的上升（0.55℃/（10 a））最为显著,且极端高温事件的出现频率上升,区域日温差减小、气温变化极端性增强。三江源近60 a温湿气候态的空间格局为沿西北-东南方向的正温湿梯度,其变化趋势存在自西向东速率上升的暖湿化空间分异特征。本文的研究结论进一步揭示了三江源地区近60 a气候变化与极端气候的时空格局,为三江源地区气候系统和生态系统的脆弱性研究以及未来气候变化预估提供了科学依据,同时也为气候变化敏感的高寒地区对全球变暖的响应研究提供了对比案例。     

Interannual Variability of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index on the Tibetan Plateau and Its Relationship with Climate Change

The Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, or Tibetan Plateau, is a sensitive region for climate change, where the manifestation of global warming is particularly noticeable. The wide climate variability in this region significantly affects the local land ecosystem and could consequently lead to notable vegetation changes. In this paper, the interannual variations of the plateau vegetation are investigated using a 21-year normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI） dataset to quantify the consequences of climate warming for the regional ecosystem and its interactions. The results show that vegetation coverage is best in the eastern and southern plateau regions and deteriorates toward the west and north. On the whole, vegetation activity demonstrates a gradual enhancement in an oscillatory manner during 1982-2002. The temporal variation also exhibits striking regional differences： an increasing trend is most apparent in the west, south, north and southeast, whereas a decreasing trend is present along the southern plateau boundary and in the central-east region. Covariance analysis between the NDVI and surface temperature/precipitation suggests that vegetation change is closely related to climate change. However, the controlling physical processes vary geographically. In the west and east, vegetation variability is found to be driven predominantly by temperature, with the impact of precipitation being of secondary importance. In the central plateau, however, temperature and precipitation factors are equally important in modulating the interannual vegetation variability.     

青藏高原三江源区退化草地生态系统的地表反照率特征

为了揭示青藏高原三江源区草地退化对生态系统地表反照率的影响,利用2006年12月至2007年11月一整年的观测数据,分析了地表反照率的季和日变化特征及其影响因子。退化草地生态系统的年均地表反照率为0.22,生长季(5～9月)的平均地表反照率为0.18,非生长季为0.25。在植物生长初期的5月,地表反照率主要受土壤水分影响,5月末至6月初出现全年最低值;植物生长旺季的7～8月,受植被的影响地表反照率相对较稳定,并略高于生长季中其它各月。地表反照率的日变化呈"U"型,阴天的地表反照率高于晴天。全年地表反照率出现的最大频率集中在0.20附近,非生长季在0.22附近,生长季在0.18附近。退化草地生态系统生长季地表反照率的变化受土壤水分和植被的的影响,而非生长季受积雪的影响较大。     

Sensitivity analysis of climate on streamflow in north China

The economics and crowded cities of north China play important roles in China’s overall economic development. Streamflow is a hot issue in ecohydrological studies, and research into changes in streamflow in north China is of great significance. In this study, the sensitivities of streamflow to the aridity index, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration are evaluated to assess the impact of climatic variation in streamflow in north China. The results show that the average coefficient of sensitivity of streamflow to aridity index is ?2.24, and streamflow would decrease by 22.4 % with a 10 % increase in the aridity index. The average coefficients of sensitivity of streamflow to precipitation and potential evapotranspiration are 3.21 and ?2.21, respectively. A 10 % increase in precipitation or potential evapotranspiration would induce a 32.1 % increase or a 22.1 % decrease of streamflow, respectively. Basins with low streamflows would be more sensitive to climatic variation than basins with high streamflows.     

Impact of Anthropogenic Heat Release on Regional Climate in Three Vast Urban Agglomerations in China简

We simulated the impact of anthropogenic heat release （AHR） on the regional climate in three vast city agglomerations in China using the Weather Research and Forecasting model with nested high-resolution modeling.Based on energy consumption and high-quality land use data,we designed two scenarios to represent no-AHR and current-AHR conditions.By comparing the results of the two numerical experiments,changes of surface air temperature and precipitation due to AHR were quantified and analyzed.We concluded that AHR increases the temperature in these urbanized areas by about 0.5℃-1℃,and this increase is more pronounced in winter than in other seasons.The inclusion of AHR enhances the convergence of water vapor over urbanized areas.Together with the warming of the lower troposphere and the enhancement of ascending motions caused by AHR,the average convective available potential energy in urbanized areas is increased.Rainfall amounts in summer over urbanized areas are likely to increase and regional precipitation patterns to be altered to some extent.     

Effects of climate change on annual streamflow using climate elasticity in Poyang Lake Basin, China

Hydrological processes depend directly on climate conditions [e.g., precipitation, potential evapotranspiration (PE)] based on the water balance. This paper examines streamflow datasets at four hydrological stations and meteorological observations at 79 weather stations to reveal the streamflow changes and underlying drivers in four typical watersheds (Meigang, Saitang, Gaosha, and Xiashan) within Poyang Lake Basin from 1961 to 2000. Most of the less than 90th percentile of daily streamflow in each watershed increases significantly at different rates. As an important indicator of the seasonal changes in the streamflow, CT (the timing of the mass center of the streamflow) in each watershed shows a negligible change. The annual streamflow in each watershed increases at different rates, with a statistically significant trend (at the 5 % level) of 9.87 and 7.72 mm year^?1, respectively, in Meigang and Gaosha watersheds. Given the existence of interactions between precipitation and PE, the original climate elasticity of streamflow can not reflect the relationship of streamflow with precipitation and PE effectively. We modify this method and find the modified climate elasticity to be more accurate and reasonable using the correlation analysis. The analyses from the modified climate elasticity in the four watersheds show that a 10 % increase (decrease) in precipitation will increase (decrease) the annual streamflow by 14.1–16.3 %, while a 10 % increase (decrease) in PE will decrease (increase) the annual streamflow by ?10.2 to ?2.1 %. In addition, the modified climate elasticity is applied to estimate the contribution of annual precipitation and PE to the increasing annual streamflow in each watershed over the past 40 years. Our result suggests that the percentage attribution of the increasing precipitation is more than 59 % and the decreasing in PE is less than 41 %, indicating that the increasing precipitation is the major driving factor for the annual streamflow increase for each watershed.     

Impact of the anomalous thawing in the Tibetan Plateau on summer precipitation in China and its mechanism

The impact of the anomalous thawing of frozen soil in the late spring on the summer precipitation in China and its possible mechanism are analyzed in the context of the frozen soil thawing date data of the 50 meteorological stations in the Tibetan Plateau, and the NCEP/NCAR monthly average reanalysis data.Results show that the thawing dates of the Tibetan Plateau gradually become earlier from 1980 to 1999,which is consistent with the trend of global warming in the 20th century. Because differences in the thermal capacity and conductivity between frozen and unfrozen soils are larger, changes in the freezing/thawing process of soil may change the physical properties of the underlying surface, thus affecting exchanges of sensible and latent heat between the ground surface and air. The thermal state change of the plateau ground surface must lead to the thermal anomalies of the atmosphere over and around the plateau, and then further to the anomalies of the general atmospheric circulation. A possible mechanism for the impact of the thawing of the plateau on summer (July) precipitation may be as follows. When the frozen soil thaws early (late) in the plateau, the thermal capacity of the ground surface is large (small), and the thermal conductivity is small (large), therefore, the thermal exchanges between the ground surface and the air are weak (strong). The small (large) ground surface sensible and latent heat fluxes lead to a weak (strong) South Asian high, a weak (strong) West Pacific subtropical high and a little to south (north) of its normal position. Correspondingly, the ascending motion is strengthened (weakened) and precipitationin creases (decreases) in South China, while in the middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang River, the ascending motion and precipitation show the opposite trend.     

Separation of the impact of climate change and human activity on streamflow in the upper and middle reaches of the Taoer River,northeastern China

The Taoer River, a representative ecologically sensitive area in Northeast China, has undergone great climate changes and rapid social developments since 1961. Subsequently, a substantial alteration of the streamflow regime was observed and severe eco-environmental problems were becoming prominent. To provide decision makers the scientific basis for effective resource management and sound future planning, it is crucial to understand and assess the impacts of the climate variability and human activities on streamflow in this region. In this study, we combined an observation-based statistical analysis and physical modeling experiments to address this broad question. The Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope were used to examine the trends and the moving t test was used to identify change points for the streamflow, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration datasets. A statistically significant upward trend (α?=?5 %) was found for annual streamflow. An abrupt change point was identified in 1985 for the basin outlet station at Taonan. Accordingly, the streamflow was divided into baseline and changed period for attribution analysis. To investigate the impacts of climate change and human activities on annual streamflow, we applied a distributed hydrological model and six Budyko-type functions during the two periods. The results indicated that climate change and human activities accounted for about 45 and 55 % of the changes in streamflow, respectively.     

青藏高原冬季1月绕流的变化特征及其对中国气候的影响

利用1979～2019年NCEP/NCAR再分析资料和中国地面基本气象要素日值数据集（V3.0）的气温和降水资料,首先定义了客观表征冬季青藏高原南北两支绕流变化的指数,然后分析了其不同的变化特征,并采用相关分析、合成分析等方法初步研究了青藏高原南北两支绕流异常变化对中国气温和降水的影响机制。主要结果有:（1）青藏高原冬季北支绕流和南支绕流之间呈显著的负相关;北支（南支）绕流强、南支（北支）绕流弱时,对流层中低纬度地区从高原西部到我国东部沿岸为一个大范围的异常反气旋式（气旋式）环流系统,500 hPa高原的中部为一个异常反气旋（气旋）环流中心。（2）青藏高原冬季南北两支绕流的变化对中国冬季天气气候有显著影响。当青藏高原北支绕流强（弱）时,中国除东北是气温偏低（高）、降水偏多（少）外,河套、青藏高原及长江以南则是气温偏高（低）、降水偏少（多）;当南支绕流强（弱）时,中国气温普遍偏低（高）,东北及新疆北部是降水偏少（多）,南方大部分地区是降水偏多（少）。（3）分析高原绕流异常变化对中国天气气候的影响机制表明:当青藏高原北支绕流强、南支绕流弱时,中国东部35°N以北的对流层中都是异常西北风,35°N以南都是异常东北风,受高原异常纬向绕流影响,对流层大气为明显的“正压结构”;相应的对流层底层从南到北为一致的异常西南风,850 hPa以上35°N的之间为反气旋式切变和下沉运动异常,300 hPa以下异常偏暖,这些条件加强了下沉增温,导致中国东部气温偏高、降水偏少。当青藏高原南支绕流强、北支绕流弱时,对流层中的纬向风异常则为明显的“斜压特征”,异常西风呈现为从对流层低层到高层、低纬度到高纬度的倾斜的带状特征,其下方自华南近地面到华北200 hPa的“三角形”状异常东风,配合相应的经向风异常和华南到华北的异常上升运动,低层为“三角形”状的异常冷气团向南切入到中国南海,中上层为异常偏暖的西南气流在冷气团上自南向北爬升到中高纬度地区,导致中国大范围的气温异常偏低、降水偏多。     

Impact of stratospheric variability on tropospheric climate change

An improved stratospheric representation has been included in simulations with the Hadley Centre HadGEM1 coupled ocean atmosphere model with natural and anthropogenic forcings for the period 1979–2003. An improved stratospheric ozone dataset is employed that includes natural variations in ozone as well as the usual anthropogenic trends. In addition, in a second set of simulations the quasi biennial oscillation (QBO) of stratospheric equatorial zonal wind is also imposed using a relaxation towards ERA-40 zonal wind values. The resulting impact on tropospheric variability and trends is described. We show that the modelled cooling rate at the tropopause is enhanced by the improved ozone dataset and this improvement is even more marked when the QBO is also included. The same applies to warming trends in the upper tropical troposphere which are slightly reduced. Our stratospheric improvements produce a significant increase of internal variability but no change in the positive trend of annual mean global mean near-surface temperature. Warming rates are increased significantly over a large portion of the Arctic Ocean. The improved stratospheric representation, especially the QBO relaxation, causes a substantial reduction in near-surface temperature and precipitation response to the El Chichón eruption, especially in the tropical region. The winter increase in the phase of the northern annular mode observed in the aftermath of the two major recent volcanic eruptions is partly captured, especially after the El Chichón eruption. The positive trend in the southern annular mode (SAM) is increased and becomes statistically significant which demonstrates that the observed increase in the SAM is largely subject to internal variability in the stratosphere. The possible inclusion in simulations for future assessments of full ozone chemistry and a gravity wave scheme to internally generate a QBO is discussed.     

青藏高原雪盖的季节内变化及其影响

回顾了青藏高原雪盖的季节内变化及其影响研究的新进展。高原大部分地区雪盖不稳定且持续时间短,导致高原雪盖具有显著的季节内快速变化特征。局地气温和降水的季节内变化是控制高原雪盖季节内变化的直接原因,这种直接关系是区域大气环流季节内活动的结果。高原雪盖季节内变化还与大尺度大气环流的季节内活动有关,热带季节内振荡、北极涛动和北大西洋涛动引起的大气季节内过程可解释部分高原雪盖季节内变率。高原雪盖季节内变化通过雪-反照率效应迅速对大气施加影响,雪盖造成的冷异常通过大气平流过程影响高原及其下游地区,造成东亚高空急流和东亚大槽增强。由于高原雪盖季节内变化的重要影响,数值预报中高原雪盖的初始场和预报场会影响次季节预报技巧。     

青藏高原土壤三参数监测初析

2009年7月在青藏高原主体利用英国DELTA—T公司生产的W．E．T土壤三参数仪对不同下垫面进行土壤三参数监测,共得到19组200次测量数据,对这些数据进行初步分析,结果表明：不同下垫面土壤三参数随海拔高度变化规律不同;土壤三参数之问的关系可能受到下垫面类型的影响,灌丛地土壤温度与土壤电导率的变化较一致,而含水量的变化与温度及电导率的变化没有相关趋势,草地土壤电导率与含水量有相反的变化趋势,而温度变化则与含水量及电导率变化无相关趋势。     

青藏高原土壤三参数监测初析

2009年7月在青藏高原主体利用英国DELTA-T公司生产的W.E.T土壤三参数仪对不同下垫面进行土壤三参数监测,共得到19组200次测量数据,对这些数据进行初步分析,结果表明:不同下垫面土壤三参数随海拔高度变化规律不同;土壤三参数之间的关系可能受到下垫面类型的影响,灌丛地土壤温度与土壤电导率的变化较一致,而含水量的变化与温度及电导率的变化没有相关趋势,草地土壤电导率与含水量有相反的变化趋势,而温度变化则与含水量及电导率变化无相关趋势。      

青藏高原气候变化与植被指数的关系研究

本文通过处理全国400余个台站1951-1995圻的降水、平均气温、积温等资料，利用GRAPHER，SURFER等绘图工具，分析了青藏高原所处气候区域的气候特征及变化趋势，并采用桑斯威方法计算出可能蒸发量，从而得到全国的湿润指数分布，由此确定青藏高原的气候分区，继而通过卫星遥感获得的全球归一化植被指数（Glob-NDVI)，结合降水、气温，分析了气候变化与生态系统演变的联系，最后着重从积温与高原农作物方面作了一定研究。     

青藏高原气候变化与植被指数的关系研究

本文通过处理全国400余个台站1951～ 1995年的降水、平均气温 、积温等资料，利用GRAPHER，SURFER等绘图工具，分析了青藏高原所处气候区域的气候特 征及变化趋势，并采用桑斯威特方法计算出可能蒸发量，从而得到全国的湿润指数分布，由 此确定青藏高原的气候分区，继而通过卫星遥感获得的全球归一化植被指数(Glob-NDVI),结 合降水、气温，分析了气候变化与生态系统演变的联系，最后着重从积温与高原农作物方面 作了一定研究。     

Human activity and climate variability impacts on sediment discharge and runoff in the Yellow River of China

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - We analyze the variability of sediment discharge and runoff in the Hekou–Longmen segment in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, China. Our analysis...