The spatial distribution of precipitation and topography in the Qilian Shan Mountains, northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Geng, Haopeng; Pan, Baotian; Huang, Bo; Cao, Bo; Gao, Hongshan

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.08.050

Cited by 52 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Stronger precipitation was simulated along the Qilian Mountains, Qinghai South Mountains, and Riyue Mountains (Figure 3b) because the moist air condensed when lifted and cooled on the steep windward slopes. The result on the precipitation increase with elevation was consistent with previous findings from the TP regions (Geng et al, 2017; Navale & Singh, 2020), proving the good ability of the model to simulate orographic precipitation. Compared to TRMM observation, the simulation tended to yield stronger precipitation over the high topography.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Effects of the Largest Lake of the Tibetan Plateau on the Regional Climate

Wen

Gao

et al. 2020

JGR Atmospheres

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Qinghai Lake is the largest lake in China. However, its influence on the local climate remains poorly understood. By using an atmosphere-lake coupled model, we investigated the impact of the lake on the local climate. After the adjustment of four key parameters, the model reasonably reproduced the lake-air interaction. Superimposed by the orographic effects on lake-land breeze circulation, the presence of the lake enhanced precipitation over the southern part of the lake and its adjacent land, while slightly reduced precipitation along the northern shore of the lake. The lake effect on local precipitation revealed a distinct seasonal and diurnal variability, reducing precipitation in May (−6.6%) and June (−4.5%) and increasing it from July (5.7%) to November (125.6%). During the open water season, the lake's daytime cooling effect weakened and the nighttime warming effect strengthened, affecting spatial distribution and intensity of lake-induced precipitation. In early summer, precipitation slightly decreased over the north part of the lake due to the lake's daytime cooling. In turn, lake-induced nighttime warming increased precipitation over the southern section of the lake and its adjacent land. With the start of the autumn cooling in September, heat and moisture fluxes from the lake resulted in precipitation increase in both daytime and nighttime over the entire lake. In October, the background atmospheric circulation coupled with the strong lake effects lead to a small amount but high proportion of lake-induced precipitation spreading evenly over the lake.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Effects of the Largest Lake of the Tibetan Plateau on the Regional Climate

Wen

Gao

et al. 2020

JGR Atmospheres

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“…Climate has different effects on vegetation at different elevations level, and we analyzed the correlation between climatic factors (precipitation and temperature) in different elevation stratifications [71]. During 2000–2015, precipitation with the VFC were generally positively correlated in each stratification, and we noticed that in areas with elevation <5000 m, the correlation coefficient between precipitation and vegetation is large.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation Change and Its Relationship with Climate Factors and Elevation on the Tibetan Plateau

Zhang

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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As the “roof of the world”, the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is a unique geographical unit on Earth. In recent years, vegetation has gradually become a key factor reflecting the ecosystem since it is sensitive to ecological changes especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Based on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) dataset of TP from 2000 to 2015, this study analyzed the characteristics of vegetation variation and the correlation between vegetation change and climatic factors at different time scales, based on a Mann–Kendall trend analyses, the Hurst exponent, and the Pettitt change-point test. The results showed that the vegetation fractional coverage (VFC) generally increased in the past 16 years, with 60.3% of the TP experiencing an increase, of which significant (p < 0.05) increases accounted for 28.79% and were mainly distributed in the north of the TP. Temperature had the largest response with the VFC on the seasonal scale. During the growing season, the correlation between precipitation and sunshine duration with VFC was high (p < 0.05). The change-points of the VFC were mainly distributed in the north of the TP during 2007–2009. Slope and elevation had an impact on the VFC; the areas with large vegetation change are mainly distributed in slopes <20° and elevation of 3000–5000 m. For elevation above 3000–4000 m, the response of the VFC to precipitation and temperature was the strongest. This study provided important information for ecological environment protection and ecosystem degradation on the Tibetan Plateau.

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“…In mountainous areas with complex terrains, elevation is an important factor affecting the distribution of precipitation [54]. In the Karakorum Mountain area, where the Qaraqash River basin is located, the change in altitude can be represented by a quadratic curve.…”

Section: Annual Precipitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applicability Evaluation of Multisource Satellite Precipitation Data for Hydrological Research in Arid Mountainous Areas

Wang

Chen

et al. 2020

Remote Sensing

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Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP), Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Preconception with Station data (CHIRPS), Tropical Rain Measurement Mission Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TRMM 3B42 V7) and Rainfall Estimation from Soil Moisture Observations (SM2RAIN) are satellite precipitation products with high applicability, but their applicability in hydrological research in arid mountainous areas is not clear. Based on precipitation and runoff data, this study evaluated the applicability of each product to hydrological research in a typical mountainous basin (the Qaraqash River basin) in an arid region by using two methods: a statistical index and a hydrological model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool, SWAT). Simulation results were evaluated by Nash efficiency coefficient (NS), relative error (PBIAS) and determination coefficient (R2). The results show that: (1) The spatial distributions of precipitation estimated by these four products in the Qaraqash River basin are significantly different, and the multi-year average annual precipitation of GSMaP is 97.11 mm, which is the closest to the weather station interpolation results. (2) On the annual and monthly scales, GSMaP has the highest correlation (R ≥ 0.82) with the observed precipitation and the smallest relative error (BIAS < 6%). On the seasonal scale, the inversion accuracy of GSMaP in spring, summer and autumn is significantly higher than other products. In winter, all four sets of products perform poorly in estimating the actual precipitation. (3) Monthly runoff simulations based on SM2RAIN and GSMaP show good fitting (R2 > 0.6). In daily runoff simulation, GSMaP has the greatest ability to reproduce runoff changes. The study provides a reference for the optimization of precipitation image data and hydrological simulation in data-scarce areas.

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The spatial distribution of precipitation and topography in the Qilian Shan Mountains, northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Cited by 52 publications

References 61 publications

Effects of the Largest Lake of the Tibetan Plateau on the Regional Climate

Effects of the Largest Lake of the Tibetan Plateau on the Regional Climate

Vegetation Change and Its Relationship with Climate Factors and Elevation on the Tibetan Plateau

Applicability Evaluation of Multisource Satellite Precipitation Data for Hydrological Research in Arid Mountainous Areas

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