Two types of heavy precipitation in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau.

The southeastern Tibetan Plateau (SETP) is the preeminent summer heavy precipitation region within the Tibetan Plateau (TP). However, the large-scale circulation types and dynamics driving summer heavy precipitation in the SETP remain inadequately elucidated. Using the hierarchical clustering method, two distinctive atmospheric circulation patterns associated with heavy precipitation were identified: the Tibetan Plateau vortex type (TPVT, constituting 56.

Water isotope ratios reflect convection intensity rather than rain type proportions in the pantropics.

Against the traditional view, a recently published theory argued that isotope ratios are higher in convective precipitation but lower in stratiform precipitation and proposed that isotope ratios reflect rain type proportions. This theory has been widely cited despite some early reservations. Whether the theory represents a faithful reflection of signals of water isotope ratios remains unclear.

Quantifying the CO sink intensity of large and small saline lakes on the Tibetan Plateau.

This study quantitatively evaluates the carbon dioxide (CO) sink intensity of a large saline lake (area > 2000 km) and a small saline lake (area 1.4 km) on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), alongside an alpine meadow, by analysing their net ecosystem exchange (NEE) figures obtained by eddy covariance (EC) measurements. Specifically, the "large lake" exhibits an NEE value of -122.

A doubled increasing trend of evapotranspiration on the Tibetan Plateau.

Estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) change on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is essential to address the water requirement of billions of people surrounding the TP. Existing studies have shown that ET estimations on the TP have a very large uncertainty. In this article, we discuss how to more accurately quantify ET amount and explain its change on the TP.

The Earth Summit Mission-2022: Successful ozone soundings contribute to source identification in the north Mt. Qomolangma region.

As part of "The Earth Summit Mission-2022" during the second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research (STEP) in April and May 2022, we conducted the ozone sounding experiment (an ozonesonde mated to a radiosonde) at Mt. Qomolangma Base Camp (MQBC; 86.85°E, 28.

Unraveling the significance of soil organic carbon-gravel parameterization: Insights into soil water and heat transport on the Tibetan Plateau.

In the Tibetan Plateau (TP) soil water and heat transfer process, soil organic carbon (SOC) and gravel content are considered as the most influential soil texture factors. However, the issues of underestimating SOC and neglecting gravel effect affected the simulation performance of CLM5.0 on soil moisture (SM) and soil temperature (ST).

Persistent and enhanced carbon sequestration capacity of alpine grasslands on Earth's Third Pole.

The carbon sequestration capacity of alpine grasslands, composed of alpine meadows and steppes, in the Tibetan Plateau has an essential role in regulating the regional carbon cycle. However, inadequate understanding of its spatiotemporal dynamics and regulatory mechanisms restricts our ability to determine potential climate change impacts. We assessed the spatial and temporal patterns and mechanisms of the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide in the Tibetan Plateau.

Analysis of Ice Phenology of Middle and Large Lakes on the Tibetan Plateau.

Considered as a sensitive indicator of climate change, lake ice phenology can have significant influences on regional climate by affecting lake-atmosphere energy and water exchange. However, in situ measurements of ice phenology events are quite limited over high-elevation lakes on the Tibetan Plateau, where satellite monitoring can make up such deficiency. In this study, by a combination of AMSR-E (2002-2011) and AMSR-2 (2012-2021) passive microwave data, MODIS optimal products and in situ measurements of temperature profiles in four lakes, the ice phenology events of 40 high-elevation large lakes were derived and their inter-annual trends and influencing factors were analyzed.

Inverse altitude effect disputes the theoretical foundation of stable isotope paleoaltimetry.

Stable isotope paleoaltimetry that reconstructs paleoelevation requires stable isotope (δD or δO) values to follow the altitude effect. Some studies found that the δD or δO values of surface isotopic carriers in some regions increase with increasing altitude, which is defined as an "inverse altitude effect" (IAE). The IAE directly contradicts the basic theory of stable isotope paleoaltimetry.

Long-Term Variations in Global Solar Radiation and Its Interaction with Atmospheric Substances at Qomolangma.

An empirical model to estimate global solar radiation was developed at Qomolangma Station using observed solar radiation and meteorological parameters. The predicted hourly global solar radiation agrees well with observations at the ground in 2008-2011. This model was used to calculate global solar radiation at the ground and its loss in the atmosphere due to absorbing and scattering substances in 2007-2020.

How do precipitation events modify the stable isotope ratios in leaf water at Lhasa on the southern Tibetan Plateau?

Serving as a medium between source water and cellulose, leaf water contributes to the isotope ratios (O, H) of plant organic matter, which can be used for paleoclimate reconstruction. This study is the first to examine the diurnal variations in the O and H of leaf water on the southern Tibetan Plateau. The O and H of leaf water were relatively low when precipitation events occurred.

Distinct impacts of vapor transport from the tropical oceans on the regional glacier retreat over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

An influence of precipitation on the glacier changes over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is investigated in this paper. The results show that the glacial loss rates of glaciers in the QTP are significantly correlated with the interannual changes of precipitation and low cloud cover. The water vapor, importing with the warm and wet airflows from the Asian Monsoon regions, significantly influence the precipitation in the southern and northern glacier areas of the QTP in the summer monsoon season.

Plant uptake of CO outpaces losses from permafrost and plant respiration on the Tibetan Plateau.

High-latitude and high-altitude regions contain vast stores of permafrost carbon. Climate warming may result in the release of CO from both the thawing of permafrost and accelerated autotrophic respiration, but it may also increase the fixation of CO by plants, which could relieve or even offset the CO losses. The Tibetan Plateau contains the largest area of alpine permafrost on Earth.

Quantifying the evaporation amounts of 75 high-elevation large dimictic lakes on the Tibetan Plateau.

Lake evaporation can influence basin-wide hydrological cycles and is an important factor in loss of water resources in endorheic lakes of the Tibetan Plateau. Because of the scarcity of data, published lake evaporation values are inconsistent, and their spatial distribution has never been reported. Presenting a plausible hypothesis of energy balance during the ice-free seasons, we explored the multiyear (2003-2016) average ice phenology and evaporation amounts of 75 large dimictic lakes by using a combination of meteorological and satellite data.

Carbon and water fluxes in an alpine steppe ecosystem in the Nam Co area of the Tibetan Plateau during two years with contrasting amounts of precipitation.

Carbon and water fluxes and their interactions with climate drivers in alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau are poorly understood. This lack of understanding is particularly evident for the alpine steppe in the Nam Co area of the hinterland on the Tibetan Plateau, which is vulnerable and exceedingly sensitive to climate change. In this study, eddy covariance (EC) measurements of carbon dioxide (CO) and water fluxes were carried out in this region during the growing season of 2008 and 2009, with contrasting hydrological conditions.

The evaluation of AMSR-E soil moisture data in atmospheric modeling using a suitable time series iteration to derive land surface fluxes over the Tibetan Plateau.

In this study, the initial soil moisture in an atmospheric model was varied by assimilating AMSR-E (The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS) products, and the results were compared with the default model scenario and in-situ data based on long-term CAMP/Tibet (Coordinated Enhanced Observing Period (CEOP) Asia-Australia Monsoon Project (CAMP) Tibet) observations. The differences between the obtained results (i.e.

The Kobresia pygmaea ecosystem of the Tibetan highlands - Origin, functioning and degradation of the world's largest pastoral alpine ecosystem: Kobresia pastures of Tibet.

With 450,000 kmKobresia (syn. Carex) pygmaea dominated pastures in the eastern Tibetan highlands are the world's largest pastoral alpine ecosystem forming a durable turf cover at 3000-6000 m a.s.

Estimation of the Land Surface Temperature over the Tibetan Plateau by Using Chinese FY-2C Geostationary Satellite Data.

During the process of land-atmosphere interaction, one of the essential parameters is the land surface temperature (LST). The LST has high temporal variability, especially in its diurnal cycle, which cannot be acquired by polar-orbiting satellites. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to retrieve LST data using geostationary satellites.

Spatiotemporal pattern of gross primary productivity and its covariation with climate in China over the last thirty years.

The uncertainties of China's gross primary productivity (GPP) estimates by global data-oriented products and ecosystem models justify a development of high-resolution data-oriented GPP dataset over China. We applied a machine learning algorithm developing a new GPP dataset for China with 0.1° spatial resolution and monthly temporal frequency based on eddy flux measurements from 40 sites in China and surrounding countries, most of which have not been explored in previous global GPP datasets.

Monitoring and Modeling the Tibetan Plateau's climate system and its impact on East Asia.

The Tibetan Plateau is an important water source in Asia. As the "Third Pole" of the Earth, the Tibetan Plateau has significant dynamic and thermal effects on East Asian climate patterns, the Asian monsoon process and atmospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. However, little systematic knowledge is available regarding the changing climate system of the Tibetan Plateau and the mechanisms underlying its impact on East Asia.

Carbon pools and fluxes in a Tibetan alpine Kobresia pygmaea pasture partitioned by coupled eddy-covariance measurements and ¹³CO₂ pulse labeling.

The Tibetan highlands host the largest alpine grassland ecosystems worldwide, bearing soils that store substantial stocks of carbon (C) that are very sensitive to land use changes. This study focuses on the cycling of photoassimilated C within a Kobresia pygmaea pasture, the dominating ecosystems on the Tibetan highlands. We investigated short-term effects of grazing cessation and the role of the characteristic Kobresia root turf on C fluxes and belowground C turnover.

The deep atmospheric boundary layer and its significance to the stratosphere and troposphere exchange over the Tibetan Plateau.

In this study the depth of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) over the Tibetan Plateau was measured during a regional radiosonde observation campaign in 2008 and found to be deeper than indicated by previously measurements. Results indicate that during fair weather conditions on winter days, the top of the mixed layers can be up to 5 km above the ground (9.4 km above sea level).