Impacts of the Indian Summer Monsoon on the Southern Boundary Water Vapor Transport and Precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Water vapor transport plays a significant role in maintaining the water cycle over the Tibetan Plateau (TP). This study investigates the characteristics of water vapor transport across the TP southern boundaries and its impacts on TP precipitation during the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) season from 2000 to 2019. The southern boundary is subdivided into four sub-boundaries from the east to the west: boundaries 7 (100°–95° E), 8 (95°–89° E), 9 (89°–80° E), and 10 (80°–70° E) (B7, B8, B9, and B10). ISM can affect the water vapor transports of B7, B8, and B9, while mid-latitude westerlies dominate the water vapor transport of B10. An area with concentrated spatial precipitation in both strong and weak ISM months is regarded as a precipitation concentration region (PCR). The results show that the PCR precipitation is smaller in the weak ISM month than in the normal month for most of the day, while it is larger in the strong ISM month than in the normal month. The PCR precipitation difference from afternoon to evening in strong and weak ISM months between normal months shows a dependency on the water vapor transport of B8 and B10. Water vapor transported across B9 also contributes to the increased PCR precipitation in the afternoon. The PCR precipitation shows a more dependable relationship to the water vapor from the BoB and the Arabian Sea in strong ISM months than in weak ISM months. Conversely, the water vapor transport efficiency is low in strong ISM months due to a cyclonic circulation over northern India, preventing water vapor transport from reaching the TP directly.

Precipitation and Soil Moisture Variation over the Tibetan Plateau to the Anomaly of Indian Summer Monsoon from 1979 to 2019

“…When the ISM is inactive, water vapor transportation originating from the Arabian Sea intensifies, conveying more moisture to the TP eastern section. This is consistent with the findings of previous research [55,56]. bian Sea.…”

“…When the ISM is inactive, water vapor transportation originating from the Arabian Sea intensifies, conveying more moisture to the TP eastern section. This is consistent with the findings of previous research [55,56]. The monthly averaged spatial distribution of soil moisture on the TP, as depicted in Figure 7, shows a declining trend from east to west.…”

“…When the ISM is inactive, water vapor transportation originating from the Arabian Sea intensifies, conveying more moisture to the TP eastern section. This is consistent with the findings of previous research [55,56]. Figure 4 presents the distribution of correlation coefficients between the ISM and precipitation over the TP and its adjacent areas in JJAS from 1979 to 2019.…”

Editorial for the Topic “A Themed Issue in Memory of Academician Duzheng Ye (1916–2013)”

“…published in "A Themed Issue in Memory of Academician Duzheng Ye (1916-2013)", comprising 14 in Atmosphere [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14], 2 in Climate [15,16], and 15 in Remote Sensing [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31].…”

“…The underlying mechanism for this linkage is the downstream influence of the orographic PV forcing across the Tibetan Plateau through the vertical differential advection of PV, reinforcing upward motions and producing extensive precipitation along the Jianghuai Meiyu front. Liu et al [3] reveal the frequent occurrence of large-scale Kármán vortex streets on the leeward side of the Tibetan Plateau under the seasonally varying zonal mean flow. These vortex streets significantly impact the timing of the seasonal migration and the strength of the rain band along the Meiyu Front to the east of the Tibetan Plateau.…”