The Watershed Allied Telemetry Experimental Research (WATER) is a simultaneous airborne, satellite‐borne, and ground‐based remote sensing experiment aiming to improve the observability, understanding, and predictability of hydrological and related ecological processes at a catchment scale. WATER consists of the cold region, forest, and arid region hydrological experiments as well as a hydrometeorology experiment and took place in the Heihe River Basin, a typical inland river basin in the northwest of China. The field campaigns have been completed, with an intensive observation period lasting from 7 March to 12 April, from 15 May to 22 July, and from 23 August to 5 September 2008: in total, 120 days. Twenty‐five airborne missions were flown. Airborne sensors including microwave radiometers at L, K, and Ka bands, imaging spectrometer, thermal imager, CCD, and lidar were used. Various satellite data were collected. Ground measurements were carried out at four scales, that is, key experimental area, foci experimental area, experiment site, and elementary sampling plot, using ground‐based remote sensing instruments, densified network of automatic meteorological stations, flux towers, and hydrological stations. On the basis of these measurements, the remote sensing retrieval models and algorithms of water cycle variables are to be developed or improved, and a catchment‐scale land/hydrological data assimilation system is being developed. This paper reviews the background, scientific objectives, experiment design, filed campaign implementation, and current status of WATER. The analysis of the data will continue over the next 2 years, and limited revisits to the field are anticipated.

61The Tibetan Plateau (TP), known as the "sensible heat pump" and the 62 "atmospheric water tower", modifies monsoon circulations and regional energy and 63 water cycles over Asia (Wu and Zhang 1998; Zhao and Chen 2001a; Wu et al. 2007; 64 Xu et al. 2008b; Zhou et al. 2009). Strong ascent over the TP may transport lower-65 tropospheric water vapor and anthropogenic pollutants into the upper troposphere-66 lower stratosphere (UT-LS), which exerts an influence on the local ozone valley 67 (Zhou et al. 1995; Liu et al. 2003; Bian et al. 2011) and the aerosol-layer 68 enhancements near the tropopause (Tobo et al. 2007; Vernier et al. 2015). The TP also In the 1990s, a longer-term field experiment was conducted over the TP with the 84 support of the Japanese Experiment on Asian Monsoon (JEXAM). It estimated the 2008a; Zhang et al. 2012; Chen et al. 2011 Chen et al. , 2013. It found diurnal variations of et al. 2013; Hu et al. 2014; Zheng et al. 2014 Zheng et al. , 2015a Zheng et al. , b, c, 2016 Guo et al. 2015; 161 Zhuo et al. 2016; Wan et al. 2017). These problems may also cause large uncertainties 162 in reanalysis datasets and satellite products (such as air temperature, soil moisture, 163 surface heat fluxes, and radiation) over the TP (Li et al. 2012; Wang et al. 2012; Zhu 164 et al. 2012; Su et al. 2013; Zeng et al. 2016). 165To promote Tibetan meteorological research, the Third Tibetan Plateau 166Atmospheric Scientific Experiment (TIPEX-III), to continue for eight to ten years, OBJECTIVES. 173The field observational objective of TIPEX-III is to constitute a 3-D observation 174 system of the land surface, PBL, troposphere, and lower stratosphere over the TP. 175This system integrates ground-, air-, and space-based platforms based on the 176 meteorological operational networks, the TIPEX-III network, the existing NIOST (Fig. 1a). Consistent with the operational observations of the 265 CMA, at each site the measurement system measures soil water content ( Fig. 1a). The regional network consists of 33 sites over 270 Naqu (Fig. 1c), which began operating in August 2015, and 17 sites over Shiquanhe This network consists of six additional sites at Bange, Namucuo, Anduo, Nierong, 280Jiali, and Biru, and contributes to integrated research on the high-resolution land-281 surface and PBL processes over the central TP and their effects on mesoscale systems. 282These observations have been conducted at Shiquanhe, Namucuo, Naqu, Anduo, Gongshan (98.67°E, 27.75°N) station on the southeastern slope of the TP (Fig. 1b), a 300 key area for gauging water-vapor transports from the Indian Ocean to East Asia. (Fig. 1b). A primary goal of these observations is to explore the cloud (Fig. 1b). A follow-up field campaign using ground-based radars Tuotuohe, Mangya, Golmud, and Xining meteorological stations (Fig. 1b). Using PRELIMINARY ACHIEVEMENTS OF TIPEX-III. 328The implementation of TIPEX-III has enhanced the monitoring capability for the 380(1) Cloud diurnal variation and warm rain process. 3...

The energy and water cycle over the Tibetan Plateau play an important role in the Asian monsoon system, which in turn is a major component of both the energy and water cycles of the global climate system. Using field observational data observed from the GAME=Tibet (GEWEX (Global Energy and Water cycle Experiment) Asian Monsoon Experiment on the Tibetan Plateau) and the CAMP=Tibet (CEOP (Coordinated Enhanced Observing Period) Asia-Australia Monsoon Project (CAMP) on the Tibetan Plateau), some results on the local surface energy partitioning (diurnal variation, inter-monthly variation and vertical variation etc.) are presented in this study.The study on the regional surface energy partitioning is of paramount importance over heterogeneous landscape of the Tibetan Plateau and it is also one of the main scientific objectives of the GAME=Tibet and the CAMP=Tibet. Therefore, the regional distributions and their inter-monthly variations of surface heat fluxes (net radiation flux, soil heat flux, sensible heat flux and latent heat flux) are also derived by combining NOAA-14=AVHRR data with field observations. The derived results were validated by using the ''ground truth'', and it shows that the derived regional distributions and their inter-monthly variations of land surface heat fluxes are reasonable by using the method proposed in this study.Further improvement of the method and its applying field were also discussed.

Abstract. As a unique geological and geographical unit, the Tibetan Plateau dramatically impacts the world's environment and especially controls climatic and environmental changes in China, Asia and even in the Northern Hemisphere. Tibetan Plateau, therefore, provides a field laboratory for studying global change. With support from various agencies in the People's Republic of China, a Tibetan Observation and Research Platform (TORP) is now implementing. Firstly the background of the establishment of the TORP, the establishing and monitoring plan of long-term scale (5-10 years) of the TORP has been introduced. Then the preliminary observational analysis results, such as the characteristics of land surface heat fluxes and CO 2 flux partitioning (diurnal variation and inter-monthly variation etc.), the characteristics of atmospheric and soil variables, the structure of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) and the turbulent characteristics have also been shown in this paper.