Mechanism of Diabatic Heating on Precipitation and the Track of a Tibetan Plateau Vortex over the Eastern Slope of the Tibetan Plateau

Existing studies contend that latent heating(LH)will replace sensible heating(SH)to become the dominant factor affecting the development of the Tibetan Plateau vortex(TPV)after it moves off the Tibetan Plateau(TP).However,in the process of the TPV moving off the TP requires that the airmass traverse the eastern slope of the Tibetan Plateau(ESTP)where the topography and diabatic heating(DH)conditions rapidly change.How LH gradually replaces SH to become the dominant factor in the development of the TPV over the ESTP is still not very clear.In this paper,an analysis of a typical case of a TPV with a long life history over the ESTP is performed by using multi-sourced meteorological data and model simulations.The results show that SH from the TP surface can change the TPV-associated precipitation distribution by temperature advection after the TPV moves off the TP.The LH can then directly promote the development of the TPV and has a certain guiding effect on the track of the TPV.The SH can control the active area of LH by changing the falling area of the TPV-associated precipitation,so it still plays a key role in the development and tracking of the TPV even though it has moved out of the main body of the TP.

Impacts of the Zonal Position of the East Asian Westerly Jet Core on Precipitation Distribution During Meiyu of China

The east-west location change of the East Asian westerly jet （EAWJ） at 200 hPa during Meiyu and the associated spatial distribution variation of precipitation in the middle-lower reaches of the Yangtze River （MLYR） are investigated by using the 40-yr NCEP/NCAR （National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research） pentad mean reanalysis data and daily precipitation observation data from 1958 to 1997. The results show that there are two areas over which the 200-hPa EAWJ center appears most frequently during the Meiyu period： one is the western Pacific （WP） and the other is the East Asian continent （EAC）. During the Meiyu period, the westerly jet over the EAC is weak, and the core of the westerly jet over the WP splits up with reduced intensity and disappears by the end of Meiyu. The changes in the location and intensity of the westerly jet are associated not only with the starting and ending dates of Meiyu, but also with the spatial distribution and intensity of precipitation in the MLYR. It is found that when the westerly jet core in the upper troposphere is located over the WP and is coupled with an 850-hPa southwesterly jet, heavy precipitation accompanied by strong convergence and plenty supply of water vapor, occurs in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. If the 200-hPa westerly jet core is located over the EAC, and without an 850-hPa southwesterly jet, only weak precipitation occurs in the MLYR. Therefore, the longitudinal location of the EAWJ core plays an important role in determining the upper- to lower-level circulation structure and the spatial distribution of heavy precipitation in the MLYR during the Meiyu period.

AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY ON DISTRIBUTION OF PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH LANDFALLING TROPICAL CYCLONES AFFECTING CHINA

In order to provide an operational reference for tropical cyclone precipitation forecast,this study investigates the spatial distributions of precipitation associated with landfalling tropical cyclones(TCs) affecting China using Geostationary Meteorological Satellite 5(GMS5)-TBB dataset.All named TCs formed over the western North Pacific that made direct landfall over China during the period 2001-2009 are included in this study.Based on the GMS5-TBB data,this paper reveals that in general there are four types of distribution of precipitation related to landfalling TCs affecting China.(a) the South-West Type in which there is a precipitation maximum to the southwestern quadrant of TC;(b) the Symmetrical South Type in which the rainfall is more pronounced to the south side of TC in the inner core while there is a symmetrical rainfall distribution in the outer band region;(c) the South Type,in which the rainfall maxima is more pronounced to the south of TC;and(d) the North Type,in which the rainfall maxima is more pronounced to the north of TC.Analyses of the relationship between precipitation distributions and intensity of landfalling TCs show that for intensifying TCs,both the maximum and the coverage area of the precipitation in TCs increase with the increase of TC intensity over northern Jiangsu province and southern Taiwan Strait,while decreasing over Beibu Gulf and the sea area of Changjiang River estuary.For all TCs,the center of the torrential rain in TC shifts toward the TC center as the intensity of TC increases.This finding is consistent with many previous studies.The possible influences of storm motion and vertical wind shear on the observed precipitation asymmetries are also examined.Results show that the environmental vertical wind shear is an important factor contributing to the large downshear rainfall asymmetry,especially when a TC makes landfall on the south and east China coasts.These results are also consistent with previous observational and numerical studies.

Using Quantile Regression to Detect Relationships between Large-scale Predictors and Local Precipitation over Northern China

Quantile regression（QR） is proposed to examine the relationships between large-scale atmospheric variables and all parts of the distribution of daily precipitation amount at Beijing Station from 1960 to 2008. QR is also applied to evaluate the relationship between large-scale predictors and extreme precipitation（90th quantile） at 238 stations in northern China.Finally, QR is used to fit observed daily precipitation amounts for wet days at four sample stations. Results show that meridional wind and specific humidity at both 850 h Pa and 500 h Pa（V850, SH850, V500, and SH500） strongly affect all parts of the Beijing precipitation distribution during the wet season（April–September）. Meridional wind, zonal wind, and specific humidity at only 850 h Pa（V850, U850, SH850） are significantly related to the precipitation distribution in the dry season（October–March）. Impacts of these large-scale predictors on the daily precipitation amount with higher quantile become stronger, whereas their impact on light precipitation is negligible. In addition, SH850 has a strong relationship with wet-season extreme precipitation across the entire region, whereas the impacts of V850, V500, and SH500 are mainly in semi-arid and semi-humid areas. For the dry season, both SH850 and V850 are the major predictors of extreme precipitation in the entire region. Moreover, QR can satisfactorily simulate the daily precipitation amount at each station and for each season, if an optimum distribution family is selected. Therefore, QR is valuable for detecting the relationship between the large-scale predictors and the daily precipitation amount.

Intercomparison of CRA-Interim Precipitation Products with ERA5 and JRA-55

Based on the hourly observational data during 2007-2016 from surface meteorological stations in China,this paper compares the influence of 3-hourly precipitation data,mainly from the Chinese Reanalysis-Interim(CRA-Interim),ECMWF Reanalysis 5(ERA5)and Japanese Reanalysis-55(JRA-55),on the simulation of the spatial and temporal distribution of regional precipitation in China and the bias distribution of the simulation.The results show that:(1)The three sets of reanalysis datasets can all reflect the basic spatial distribution characteristics of annual average precipitation in China.The simulation of topographic forced precipitation in complex terrain by using CRA-interim is more detailed,while CRA-interim has larger negative bias in central and East China,and larger positive bias in southwest China.(2)In terms of seasonal precipitation,the three sets of reanalysis datasets overestimate the precipitation in the heavy rainfall zone in spring and summer,especially in southwest China.According to CRA-interim,location of the rain belt in the First Rainy Season in South China is west by south,and the summer precipitation has positive bias in southwest and South China.(3)All of the reanalysis datasets can basically reflect the distribution difference of inter-annual variation of drought and flood,but overall the CRA-Interim generally shows negative bias,while the ERA5 and JRA-55 exhibit positive bias.(4)For the diurnal variation of precipitation in summer,all the reanalysis datasets perform better in simulating the daytime precipitation than in the night,and the bias of CRA-interim is less in the Southeast and Northeast than elsewhere.(5)The ERA5 generally performs the best on the evaluation of quantitative precipitation forecast,the JRA-55 is the next,followed by the CRA-Interim.The CRA-Interim has higher missing rate and lower threat score for heavy rains;however,at the level of downpour,the CRA-Interim performs slightly better.

Observed Changes in Aerosol Physical and Optical Properties before and after Precipitation Events

Precipitation scavenging of aerosol particles is an important removal process in the atmosphere that can change aerosol physical and optical properties. This paper analyzes the changes in aerosol physical and optical properties before and after four rain events using in situ observations of mass concentration, number concentration, particle size distribution, scattering and absorption coefficients of aerosols in June and July 2013 at the Xianghe comprehensive atmospheric observation station in China. The results show the effect of rain scavenging is related to the rain intensity and duration, the wind speed and direction. During the rain events, the temporal variation of aerosol number concentration was consistent with the variation in mass concentration, but their size-resolved scavenging ratios were different. After the rain events, the increase in aerosol mass concentration began with an increase in particles with diameter ＆lt;0.8 μm [measured using an aerodynamic particle sizer（APS）], and fine particles with diameter ＆lt;0.1 μm [measured using a scanning mobility particle sizer（SMPS）]. Rainfall was most efficient at removing particles with diameter ～0.6 μm and greater than 3.5 μm. The changes in peak values of the particle number distribution（measured using the SMPS） before and after the rain events reflect the strong scavenging effect on particles within the 100–120 nm size range. The variation patterns of aerosol scattering and absorption coefficients before and after the rain events were similar, but their scavenging ratios differed, which may have been related to the aerosol particle size distribution and chemical composition.

ENTROPY THEORY AND PARAMETERIZATION OF NONUNIFORM DISTRIBUTION OF PRECIPITATION

In this paper a parameterization of nonuniform distribution of precipitation has been made from the aspect of the maximum entropy theory.Results from theory and observation show that, the density function of precipitation depth on the subgrid scale over the grid area of a climate model is the function of the gamma distribution.On this basis,the relative coverage of snow in the region occupied by vegetation in the grid area of a model is parameterized.Meanwhile the calculated results from the parameterizations are also compared with those from the empirical formulas by some other meteorologists.Results show that it is feasible to parameterize the nonuniform distribution of precipitation over the grid area at the angle of entropy theory.

THE USE OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL EOF TECHNIQUE TO ANALYZE CLIMATIC CHARACTERISTICS OF PRECIPITATION IN CHINA

In this paper,a three-dimensional EOF technique is used to analyze the precipitation and its anomaly over whole China and sanely selected regions,i.e.the Changjiang Valley,the Huanghe Valley and the South part of China in last decades.The structural characteristics of spacial distribution,seasonal and interannual variation are revealed.As a better technique than 2-D EOF,the 3-D EOF alse provides a way to expose interac- tions between temporal and spacial variations.

Sensitivity analysis of standardized precipitation index to climate state selection in China

In the calculation of the standardized precipitation index(SPI)index,it is necessary to select a certain period of precipitation samples as the reference climate state,and the SPI obtained by different reference climate states have different size.Therefore,the influence of different reference climate states on the accuracy of SPI calculation is worth analyzing.Based on the monthly precipitation data of 1184 stations in China from 1961 to 2010,the influence of the selection of the reference climatic state in the calculation of SPI was analyzed.Using 30 consecutive years as the duration of the reference climatic state,1961-2010 is divided into three periods 1961-1990,1971-2000.1981-2010.Taking the SPI obtained from the entire period as the standard value,the spatial distribution of SPI error and the accuracy of SPI classification based on each reference period were analyzed.Then,the resampling method was used to analyze the influence of time-continuous precipitation samples on the size of SPI.The results show that the SPI error of most sites is less than 0.2,and the accuracy of SPI classification is more than 80%.Although the errors of SPI mostly come from extreme drought and extremely wet,this does not affect the accuracy of the recognition of extreme drought and extremely wet.In most regions,it is reliable to calculate SPI based on the precipitation data of continuous 30 years,but the reliability of SPI is relatively low in areas with frequent drought.The results of the resampling analysis and 30-year sliding analysis show that the distribution parameters have noticeable turning characteristics,and the precipitation distribution parameters of nearly 85%stations had noticeable turning point before 1985,which led to the precipitation data of continuous 30 years easily overestimate the dry/wet.

Changes of Precipitation Intensity Spectra in Different Regions of China's Mainland During 1961-2006

The spectral characteristics of precipitation intensity during warm and cold years are compared in six regions of China based on precipitation data at 404 meteorological stations during 1961-2006.In all of the studied regions except North China,with the increasing temperature,a decreasing trend is observed in light precipitation and the number of light precipitation days,while an increasing trend appears in heavy precipitation and the heavy precipitation days.Although changes in precipitation days in North China are similar to the changes in the other five regions,heavy precipitation decreases with the increasing temperature in this region.These results indicate that in most parts of China,the amount of precipitation and number of precipitation days have shifted towards heavy precipitation under the background of a warming climate;however,the responses of precipitation distributions to global warming differ from place to place.The number of light precipitation days decreases in the warm and humid regions of China（Jianghuai region,South China,and Southwest China）,while the increasing amplitude of heavy precipitation and the number of heavy precipitation days are greater in the warm and humid regions of China than that in the northern regions（North China,Northwest China,and Northeast China）.In addition,changes are much more obvious in winter than in summer,indicating that the changes in the precipitation frequency are more affected by the increasing temperature during winter than summer.The shape and scale parameters of the Γ distribution of daily precipitation at most stations of China have increased under the background of global warming.The scale parameter changes are smaller than the shape parameter changes in all regions except Northwest China.This suggests that daily precipitation shifts toward heavy precipitation in China under the warming climate.The number of extreme precipitation events increases slightly,indicating that changes in the Γ distribution fitting parameters reflect changes in the regional precipitation distribution structure.

Spatiotemporal Distributions of δD in Atmospheric Water Vapor Based on TES Data During 2004-2009

The spatial and temporal distributions of the stable isotopes such as HD16O （or 1H2H16O, or HDO） and H2 18O in atmospheric water vapor are related to evaporation in source places, vapor condensation during transport, and vapor convergence and divergence, and thus provide useful information for investigation and understanding of the global water cycle. This paper analyzes spatiotemporal variations of the content of iso- tope HDO （i.e., 5D）, in atmospheric water vapor, namely, δDv, and the relationship of δDv with atmospheric humidity and temperature at different levels in the troposphere, using the HDO and H2O data retrieved from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer （TES） at seven pressure levels from 825 to 100 hPa. The results indicate that δDv has a clear zonal distribution in the troposphere and a good correspondence with atmospheric precipitable water. The results also show that δDv decreases logarithmically with atmospheric pressure and presents a decreasing trend from the equator to high latitudes and from lands to oceans. Sea- sonal changes of δDv exhibit regional differences. The spatial distribution and seasonal variation of δDv in the low troposphere are consistent with those in the middle troposphere, but opposite situations occur from the upper troposphere to the lower stratosphere. The correlation between δDv and temperature has a similar distribution pattern to the correlation between δDv and precipitable water in the troposphere. The stable isotope HDO in water vapor （δDv）, compared with that in precipitation （δDp）, is of some differences in spatial distribution and seasonal variation, and in its relationship with temperature and humidity, in- dicating that the impacts of stable isotopic fractionation and atmospheric circulation on the two types of stable isotopes are different.