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Elevation‐dependent reductions in wind speed over and around the Tibetan Plateau
Author(s) -
Guo Xiaoyu,
Wang Lei,
Tian Lide,
Li Xiuping
Publication year - 2017
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.4727
Subject(s) - elevation (ballistics) , plateau (mathematics) , wind speed , climatology , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , lapse rate , geology , physical geography , geography , mathematics , geometry , oceanography , mathematical analysis
The Tibetan Plateau ( TP ) affects its surroundings significantly through thermal and dynamic processes. Reductions in near‐surface wind speed ( W s ) have been observed from ground measurements but how the trends of W s vary with the elevation is less clear. Trends of W s with respect to elevation were investigated using long‐term daily records taken from 1970 to 2012 of W s and maximum ( T max ), minimum ( T min ), and mean ( T mean ) air temperatures from 139 stations over and around the TP . The major findings are as follows. (1) Pronounced reductions in W s can be observed in all seasons and annually across the TP . Spring demonstrates the most prominent weakening. The rate of reductions in W s was amplified with elevation, and higher‐elevation environments experienced greater changes in W s than lower‐elevation areas. Elevation‐dependent reductions in W s have intensified from 1970 to 2012. (2) Statistically significant negative correlations between W s and corresponding near‐surface temperatures were detected. We suggested that the elevation‐dependent warming and thereby the increased surface roughness at higher‐elevation environments may contribute to the elevation‐dependent reductions in W s over and around the TP . More detailed mechanisms causing this pattern are to be further explored.