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Interdecadal variation of spring snow depth over the Tibetan Plateau and its influence on summer rainfall over East China in the recent 30 years
Author(s) -
Zhu Yuxiang,
Liu Haiwen,
Ding Yihui,
Zhang Fuying,
Li Wei
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international journal of climatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.58
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-0088
pISSN - 0899-8418
DOI - 10.1002/joc.4239
Subject(s) - subtropical ridge , geopotential height , plateau (mathematics) , snow , climatology , spring (device) , precipitation , environmental science , atmospheric circulation , atmospheric sciences , geology , geography , meteorology , mathematical analysis , mathematics , mechanical engineering , engineering
Previous studies found that spring (March–April) snow depth over the Tibetan Plateau ( TP ) had increased since the mid‐1970s. This study shows that the spring snow depth over the TP decreased after 2002. Meanwhile, atmospheric heating source < Q 1 > over TP also experienced interdecadal variations from cold to warm phase after the year 2002, which could be linked to the decreasing of the spring snow depth over the TP . Possible physical mechanisms of the influence of the spring snow depth on the atmospheric heat source < Q 1 > over the TP are explored. A significant positive correlation was found between the spring < Q 1 > over the TP and subsequent summer (June–August) 500 hPa geopotential height over the western Pacific subtropical high ( WPSH ) location. The interdecadal shift northward of WPSH and interdecadal variations of the large scale precipitation conditions favoured the increase of summer precipitation to the Huaihe River valley (30°–35°N, 110°–120°E) during 2002–2010 in comparison to 1979–2001.