Vertical Air Mass Exchange Driven by the Local Circulation on the Northern Slope of Mount Everest

To better understand vertical air mass exchange driven by local circulation in the Himalayas, the volume flux of air mass is estimated in the Rongbuk Valley on the northern slope of Mount Everest, based on a volume closure method and wind-profiler measurements during the HEST2006 campaign in June 2006. Vertical air mass exchange was found to be dominated by a strong downward mass transfer from the late morning to late night. The average vertical air volume flux was 0.09 m s-1, which could be equivalent to a daily ventilation of 30 times the enclosed valley volume. This vertical air mass exchange process was greatly affected by the evolution of the South Asian summer monsoon （SASM）, with a strong downward transfer during the SASM break stage, and a weak transfer during the SASM active stage.

Quantitative Estimation of Air Mass Exchange by Along-Valley Wind in the Rongbuk Valley

For a better understanding of the air mass exchange processes between the surface and free atmos-phere in the Himalayas,a Himalayan exchange between the surface and troposphere 2007 (HEST2007) campaign was carried out in the Rongbuk Valley,on the northern slope of Mt.Qomolangma,in June 2007.The wind,tem-perature and radiation conditions were measured during the campaign.Using these observation data,together with the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis data,the air mass exchange between the inside of the valley and the outside of the valley is quantitatively estimated,based on a closed-valley method.The air mass is strongly injected into the Rongbuk Valley in the after-noon,which dominates the diurnal cycle,by a strong downward along-valley wind,with a maximum down-ward transfer rate of 9.4 cm s?1.The total air volume flux injected into the valley was 2.6×1011 m3 d?1 in 24 hours in June 2007,which is 15 times the total volume of the val-ley.The air mass transfer into the valley also exhibited a clear daily variation during the HEST2007 campaign,which can be affected by the synoptic situations through the adjustment of local radiation conditions.