Climatology of near-surface wind speed from observational, reanalysis and high-resolution regional climate model data over the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

As near-surface wind speed plays a role in regulating surface evaporation and thus the hydrological cycle, it is crucial to explore its spatio-temporal characteristics. However, in-situ measurements are scarce over the Tibetan Plateau, limiting the understanding of wind speed climate across this high-elevation region. This study explores the climatology of near-surface wind speed over the Tibetan Plateau by using for the first time homogenized observations together with reanalysis products and regional climate model simulations. Measuring stations across the center and the west of the plateau are at higher elevations and display higher mean and standard deviation, confirming that wind speed increases with increasing altitude. By exploring wind characteristics with a focus on seasonal cycle through cluster analysis, three regions of distinct wind regimes can be identified: (1) the central Tibetan Plateau, characterized by high elevation; (2) the eastern and the peripheral areas of the plateau; and (3) the Qaidam basin, a topographic depression strongly influenced by the blocking effect of the surrounding mountainous terrain. Notably, the ERA5 reanalysis, with its improvements in horizontal, vertical, and temporal spacing, model physics and data assimilation, demonstrates closer agreement to the measured wind conditions than its predecessor ERA-Interim. It successfully reproduces the three identified wind regimes. However, the newest ERA5-Land product does not show improvements compared to ERA5, most likely because they share most of the parametrizations. Furthermore, the two dynamical downscalings of ERA5 analyzed here fail to capture the observed wind statistics and exhibit notable biases and discrepancies also when investigating the diurnal variations. Consequently, these high-resolution downscaling products do not show add value in reproducing the observed climatology of wind speed compared to ERA5 over the Tibetan Plateau.

Study on the Susceptibility of Drifting Snow in Ya’an–Qamdo Section of the Railway in Southwest China

“…They concluded that the WRF model is capable of accurately analyzing significant weather phenomena on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Chen et al [31], Minder et al [32], and Wrzesien et al [33] have all verified the feasibility of using the WRF model to simulate precipitation in a complex topography area, and many scholars have used the WRF model to calculate southwest China [34][35][36]. Therefore, the above studies have demonstrated that applying the WRF model to the southwest region has credibility and can partially compensate for the lack of meteorological data.…”

Quantify uncertainty in historical simulation and future projection of surface wind speed over global land and ocean

“…Previous studies have found considerable disparities in SWS long-term changes across land and ocean during historical periods. Specifically, the observed SWS has shown a significant decreasing trend in the past 50 years over land (Wu et al 2018, Zhang et al 2019, Minola et al 2024, and this decreasing has slowed down or even it started to increase in the past 20 years (Zhang and Wang 2020, which is known as the SWS 'stilling' and 'recovery' phenomenon (Roderick et al 2007, Zeng et al 2019. However, recent studies show an increasing trend over ocean in the last 40 years (Zheng et al 2016, Young andRibal 2019).…”