Li et al. (2025) Fine‐Scale Characteristics and Upper‐Level Forcing of Heavy Rainfall Over the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-12-26
• Authors: Liangliang Li, Wenshou Tian, Jian Li, Jiankai Zhang, R. Wang
• DOI: 10.1029/2025jd044507

Research Groups

Not explicitly stated in the abstract.

Short Summary

This study investigates the spatiotemporal evolution and anomalous upper-level circulation of heavy regional rainfall events (RREs) in summer over the southern Qilian Mountains, identifying two distinct types with different characteristics and underlying upper-level atmospheric disturbances.

Objective

• To investigate the spatiotemporal evolution and anomalous upper-level circulation associated with heavy regional rainfall events (RREs) during summer over the southern Qilian Mountains.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Southern Qilian Mountains, northeastern Tibetan Plateau.
• Temporal Scale: Summer season, hourly resolution.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not applicable; the study primarily uses reanalysis data.
• Data sources: Hourly ERA5 reanalysis data, rain gauge records.

Main Results

• Two distinct types of heavy regional rainfall events (RREs) were identified, collectively accounting for 73.6% of the total summer rainfall.
• Type 1 RREs are characterized by a relatively local spatial scale, shorter duration, and a diurnal peak at 22:00 LST. These events are associated with a positive anomaly in potential vorticity near the tropopause, resulting from the intrusion of high potential vorticity air from the stratosphere, which reduces lower tropospheric stability.
• Type 2 RREs exhibit widespread propagation from the northwest to the southeast, have a longer duration, and a diurnal peak at 06:00 LST. These events are characterized by an eastward-moving warm anomaly, centered at approximately 35000 Pa, which contributes to upper tropospheric divergence and lower tropospheric water vapor convergence. This upper-level warm anomaly may be linked to the northward extension of the South Asia High and warm anomalies in the middle and lower troposphere.

Contributions

• Enhances the understanding of the impact of upper-level disturbances on heavy precipitation in the complex terrains of arid and semi-arid regions.

Funding

Not explicitly stated in the abstract.

Citation

@article{Li2025FineScale,
  author = {Li, Liangliang and Tian, Wenshou and Li, Jian and Zhang, Jiankai and Wang, R.},
  title = {Fine‐Scale Characteristics and Upper‐Level Forcing of Heavy Rainfall Over the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau},
  journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1029/2025jd044507},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025jd044507}
}