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A Study on the Trend of the Upper Tropospheric Water Vapor over the Tibetan Plateau in Summer

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Abstract

Using ERA-Interim and ERA-5 reanalysis datasets combined with measurements from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), we divided the Tibetan Plateau (TP) into three regions to analyse the long-term trends of water vapor in the upper troposphere and its possible mechanisms. The conclusions are as follows. The water vapor at 200 hPa in the summers from 1979 to 2016 over Region 1 (34°N-40°N, 80°E-100°E) shows a positive trend, which is caused by the rising surface temperature and the northward shift of the South Asian High (SAH). The positive trend of water vapor over Region 2 (28°N-33°N, 80°E-90°E) is attributed to the enhanced South Asian summer monsoon, which leads to increases in horizontal transport of water vapor and vertical water vapor flux. The increase in the vertical transport of water vapor is responsible for the increase in water vapor over the Region 2. The negative trend of water vapor over Region 3 (27°N-30°N, 93°E-98°E) is mainly due to the weakening of water vapor transport caused by the weakening of convective activities.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA17010106) and the National Science Foundation of China (41875046).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Semi-Arid Climate Change of the Ministry of Education, College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Xiran Xu, Hongying Tian, Kai Qie, Xin He & Ruhua Zhang

  2. College of Meterology and Oceanology, National University of Deffense Technology, Changsha, 410073, Hunan, China

    Houwang Tu

  3. College of Computer Science, National University of Deffense Technology, Changsha, 410073, Hunan, China

    Houwang Tu

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  1. Xiran Xu
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Correspondence to Hongying Tian.

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Xu, X., Tian, H., Qie, K. et al. A Study on the Trend of the Upper Tropospheric Water Vapor over the Tibetan Plateau in Summer. Asia-Pacific J Atmos Sci 57, 277–288 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13143-020-00191-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13143-020-00191-5

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