Open AccessAssessment of Temperature Changes on the Tibetan Plateau During 1980–2018
Author(s) -
Peng Xiaoqing,
Frauenfeld Oliver W.,
Jin Haodong,
Du Ran,
Qiao Lina,
Zhao Yaohua,
Mu Cuicui,
Zhang Tingjun
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
earth and space science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.843
H-Index - 23
ISSN - 2333-5084
DOI - 10.1029/2020ea001609
Subject(s) - plateau (mathematics) , climatology , environmental science , surface air temperature , mean radiant temperature , forcing (mathematics) , air temperature , atmospheric sciences , root mean square , mean squared error , precipitation , climate change , meteorology , geography , geology , mathematics , statistics , mathematical analysis , oceanography , engineering , electrical engineering
Abstract Surface air temperatures affect a diverse set of physical and biological systems in many parts of the world. For regional‐scale studies, gridded surface air temperature data sets are frequently used as input variables. Here we evaluate 10 commonly used gridded air temperature products with spatial resolutions ranging from 0.1° × 0.1° to 5.0° × 5.0°, relative to observations from in situ weather stations on the Tibetan Plateau. Gridded temperatures are consistently lower, with mean annual air temperature biases ranging from −4.68 °C to −1.72 °C, and root mean square error (RMSE) from 3.24 °C to 6.11 °C. The mean biases of mean seasonal air temperatures for spring, summer, autumn, and winter are −3.21 °C, −2.98 °C, −2.89 °C, and −2.98 °C, respectively, and RMSEs of 4.81 °C, 4.39 °C, 4.3 °C, and 4.7 °C. Of all 10 products, the China meteorological forcing data set compares best with observations. Annual and season temperatures all increase significantly during 1980–2018 on the Tibetan Plateau, with winter dominating the warming rate.