Articles | Volume 25, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3163-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3163-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
10 Jun 2021
Research article |
| 10 Jun 2021
| 10 Jun 2021
Contrasting hydrological and thermal intensities determine seasonal lake-level variations – a case study at Paiku Co on the southern Tibetan Plateau
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth System Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Tandong Yao
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth System Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Kun Yang
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth System Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing
10084, China
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yaoming Ma
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth System Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Broxton W. Bird
Department of Earth Sciences, Indiana University–Purdue University
Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
Related authors
Titouan Biget, Fanny Brun, Walter Immerzeel, Leo Martin, Hamish Pritchard, Emily Colier, Yanbin Lei, and Tandong Yao
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-863, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-863, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study explore the precipitation in the southern Tibetan plateau using the water pressure of an high altitude lake and meteorological models and shows that snowfall could be much stronger on the Plateau than what is predicted by the models.
Léo C. P. Martin, Sebastian Westermann, Michele Magni, Fanny Brun, Joel Fiddes, Yanbin Lei, Philip Kraaijenbrink, Tamara Mathys, Moritz Langer, Simon Allen, and Walter W. Immerzeel
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4409–4436, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4409-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Across the Tibetan Plateau, many large lakes have been changing level during the last decades as a response to climate change. In high-mountain environments, water fluxes from the land to the lakes are linked to the ground temperature of the land and to the energy fluxes between the ground and the atmosphere, which are modified by climate change. With a numerical model, we test how these water and energy fluxes have changed over the last decades and how they influence the lake level variations.
Yanbin Lei, Tandong Yao, Lide Tian, Yongwei Sheng, Lazhu, Jingjuan Liao, Huabiao Zhao, Wei Yang, Kun Yang, Etienne Berthier, Fanny Brun, Yang Gao, Meilin Zhu, and Guangjian Wu
The Cryosphere, 15, 199–214, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-199-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-199-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Two glaciers in the Aru range, western Tibetan Plateau (TP), collapsed suddenly on 17 July and 21 September 2016, respectively, causing fatal damage to local people and their livestock. The impact of the glacier collapses on the two downstream lakes (i.e., Aru Co and Memar Co) is investigated in terms of lake morphology, water level and water temperature. Our results provide a baseline in understanding the future lake response to glacier melting on the TP under a warming climate.
Haipeng Yu, Guantian Wang, Zeyong Hu, Yaoming Ma, Maoshan Li, Weiqiang Ma, Lianglei Gu, Fanglin Sun, Hongchun Gao, Shujin Wang, and Fuquan Lu
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-356, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-356, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
The Nagqu Observation Network, located in Central Tibetan Plateau (CTP), has functioned as the primary source of land-atmosphere interaction observations and published a near-surface meteorological observational dataset which spans a period of nine years (2014–2022) with hourly temporal resolution. This dataset will contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of land-atmosphere interactions on the TP and support comprehensive research of the energy-water cycle and climate change.
Binbin Wang, Yaoming Ma, Zeyong Hu, Weiqiang Ma, Xuelong Chen, Cunbo Han, Zhipeng Xie, Yuyang Wang, Maoshan Li, Bin Ma, Xingdong Shi, Weimo Li, and Zhengling Cai
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-195, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-195, 2025
Preprint under review for ESSD
Short summary
Short summary
This study reveals distinct patterns in water, heat, and carbon exchange over the Tibetan Plateau. Heat transfer peaks in spring, while water vapor release is highest in summer. Most stations act as carbon sinks, but one in a forested valley is a carbon source, likely due to vegetation loss and human activity. The findings highlight the strong connections between water, heat, and carbon fluxes, offering valuable insights into climate change and weather forecasting.
Yanyi He, Kaicun Wang, Kun Yang, Chunlüe Zhou, Changkun Shao, and Changjian Yin
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 1595–1611, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1595-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1595-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
To address key gaps in data availability and homogeneity with regard to sunshine duration, we compiled raw data and made a homogenization protocol to produce a homogenized daily observational dataset of sunshine duration from 1961 to 2022 in China. The dataset avoids a sharp drop in zero-value frequency after 2019 as caused by the instrument upgrade but is also more continuous for various periods. This dataset is crucial for accurately assessing dimming and brightening and for supporting other applications.
Minqiang Zhou, Yilong Wang, Minzheng Duan, Xiangjun Tian, Jinzhi Ding, Jianrong Bi, Yaoming Ma, Weiqiang Ma, and Zhenhua Xi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1293, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1293, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is a key system that impacts the global carbon balance. This study presents the greenhouse gas (GHG) mole fraction measurement campaign in May 2022 at Mt. Qomolangma station, including ground-based remote sensing and in situ measurements. The GHG measurements are carried out in this region for the first time and used for satellite validation.
Titouan Biget, Fanny Brun, Walter Immerzeel, Leo Martin, Hamish Pritchard, Emily Colier, Yanbin Lei, and Tandong Yao
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-863, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-863, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
This study explore the precipitation in the southern Tibetan plateau using the water pressure of an high altitude lake and meteorological models and shows that snowfall could be much stronger on the Plateau than what is predicted by the models.
He Sun, Tandong Yao, Fengge Su, Wei Yang, and Deliang Chen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 4361–4381, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4361-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-4361-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Our findings show that runoff in the Yarlung Zangbo (YZ) basin is primarily driven by rainfall, with the largest glacier runoff contribution in the downstream sub-basin. Annual runoff increased in the upper stream but decreased downstream due to varying precipitation patterns. It is expected to rise throughout the 21st century, mainly driven by increased rainfall.
Cunbo Han, Yaoming Ma, Weiqiang Ma, Fanglin Sun, Yunshuai Zhang, Wei Hu, Hanying Xu, Chunhui Duan, and Zhenhua Xi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1963, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1963, 2024
Preprint archived
Short summary
Short summary
Wind speed spectra analysis is very important for understanding boundary layer turbulence characteristics, atmospheric numerical model development, and wind energy assessment. However, wind speed spectra studies in mountainous areas are extremely scarce. In this study, using a 15-year time series of wind speed observed by a PBL tower and eddy-covariance tower at a site on the north slope of Mt. Everest, we investigated the characteristics of wind speed and wind speed spectrum.
Yaoming Ma, Zhipeng Xie, Yingying Chen, Shaomin Liu, Tao Che, Ziwei Xu, Lunyu Shang, Xiaobo He, Xianhong Meng, Weiqiang Ma, Baiqing Xu, Huabiao Zhao, Junbo Wang, Guangjian Wu, and Xin Li
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3017–3043, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3017-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3017-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Current models and satellites struggle to accurately represent the land–atmosphere (L–A) interactions over the Tibetan Plateau. We present the most extensive compilation of in situ observations to date, comprising 17 years of data on L–A interactions across 12 sites. This quality-assured benchmark dataset provides independent validation to improve models and remote sensing for the region, and it enables new investigations of fine-scale L–A processes and their mechanistic drivers.
Niranjan Adhikari, Jing Gao, Aibin Zhao, Tianli Xu, Manli Chen, Xiaowei Niu, and Tandong Yao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 3279–3296, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3279-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-3279-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric water vapour isotopes at Kathmandu recorded significantly low δ18Ov and δDv values during cyclones Tauktae and Yaas in 2021, originating in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, respectively. Such depletion was associated with the intense moisture convergence and strong convection near the sampling site. The lower δ18Ov and higher d-excessv values during cyclone Yaas may be attributed to the occurrence of robust downdrafts during the rainfall.
Ling Yuan, Xuelong Chen, Yaoming Ma, Cunbo Han, Binbin Wang, and Weiqiang Ma
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 775–801, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-775-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-775-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Accurately monitoring and understanding the spatial–temporal variability of evapotranspiration (ET) components over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) remains difficult. Here, 37 years (1982–2018) of monthly ET component data for the TP was produced, and the data are consistent with measurements. The annual average ET for the TP was about 0.93 (± 0.037) × 103 Gt yr−1. The rate of increase of the ET was around 0.96 mm yr−1. The increase in the ET can be explained by warming and wetting of the climate.
Daniel Falaschi, Atanu Bhattacharya, Gregoire Guillet, Lei Huang, Owen King, Kriti Mukherjee, Philipp Rastner, Tandong Yao, and Tobias Bolch
The Cryosphere, 17, 5435–5458, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5435-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5435-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Because glaciers are crucial freshwater sources in the lowlands surrounding High Mountain Asia, constraining short-term glacier mass changes is essential. We investigate the potential of state-of-the-art satellite elevation data to measure glacier mass changes in two selected regions. The results demonstrate the ability of our dataset to characterize glacier changes of different magnitudes, allowing for an increase in the number of inaccessible glaciers that can be readily monitored.
Léo C. P. Martin, Sebastian Westermann, Michele Magni, Fanny Brun, Joel Fiddes, Yanbin Lei, Philip Kraaijenbrink, Tamara Mathys, Moritz Langer, Simon Allen, and Walter W. Immerzeel
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 4409–4436, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-4409-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Across the Tibetan Plateau, many large lakes have been changing level during the last decades as a response to climate change. In high-mountain environments, water fluxes from the land to the lakes are linked to the ground temperature of the land and to the energy fluxes between the ground and the atmosphere, which are modified by climate change. With a numerical model, we test how these water and energy fluxes have changed over the last decades and how they influence the lake level variations.
Wei Yang, Zhongyan Wang, Baosheng An, Yingying Chen, Chuanxi Zhao, Chenhui Li, Yongjie Wang, Weicai Wang, Jiule Li, Guangjian Wu, Lin Bai, Fan Zhang, and Tandong Yao
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3015–3029, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3015-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-3015-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We present the structure and performance of the early warning system (EWS) for glacier collapse and river blockages in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. The EWS warned of three collapse–river blockage chain events and seven small-scale events. The volume and location of the collapses and the percentage of ice content influenced the velocities of debris flows. Such a study is helpful for understanding the mechanism of glacier hazards and for establishing similar EWSs in other high-risk regions.
Peizhen Li, Lei Zhong, Yaoming Ma, Yunfei Fu, Meilin Cheng, Xian Wang, Yuting Qi, and Zixin Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9265–9285, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9265-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9265-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, all-sky downwelling shortwave radiation (DSR) over the entire Tibetan Plateau (TP) at a spatial resolution of 1 km was estimated using an improved parameterization scheme. The influence of topography and different radiative attenuations were comprehensively taken into account. The derived DSR showed good agreement with in situ measurements. The accuracy was better than six other DSR products. The derived DSR also provided more reasonable and detailed spatial patterns.
Wei Yang, Huabiao Zhao, Baiqing Xu, Jiule Li, Weicai Wang, Guangjian Wu, Zhongyan Wang, and Tandong Yao
The Cryosphere, 17, 2625–2628, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2625-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2625-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
There is very strong scientific and public interest regarding the snow thickness on Mountain Everest. Previously reported snow depths derived by different methods and instruments ranged from 0.92 to 3.5 m. Our measurements in 2022 provide the first clear radar image of the snowpack at the top of Mount Everest. The snow thickness at Earth's summit was averaged to be 9.5 ± 1.2 m. This updated snow thickness is considerably deeper than values reported during the past 5 decades.
He Sun, Tandong Yao, Fengge Su, Wei Yang, Guifeng Huang, and Deliang Chen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2023-16, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2023-16, 2023
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
Based on field research campaigns since 2017 in the Yarlung Zangbo (YZ) river basin and a well-validated model, our results reveal that large regional differences in runoff regimes and changes exist in the basin. Annual runoff shows decreasing trend in the downstream sub-basin but increasing trends in the upper and middle sub-basins, due to opposing precipitation changes. Glacier runoff plays more important role in annual total runoff in downstream basin.
Pei Zhang, Donghai Zheng, Rogier van der Velde, Jun Wen, Yaoming Ma, Yijian Zeng, Xin Wang, Zuoliang Wang, Jiali Chen, and Zhongbo Su
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 5513–5542, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5513-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5513-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Soil moisture and soil temperature (SMST) are important state variables for quantifying the heat–water exchange between land and atmosphere. Yet, long-term, regional-scale in situ SMST measurements at multiple depths are scarce on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The presented dataset would be valuable for the evaluation and improvement of long-term satellite- and model-based SMST products on the TP, enhancing the understanding of TP hydrometeorological processes and their response to climate change.
Simon K. Allen, Ashim Sattar, Owen King, Guoqing Zhang, Atanu Bhattacharya, Tandong Yao, and Tobias Bolch
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3765–3785, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3765-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3765-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This study demonstrates how the threat of a very large outburst from a future lake can be feasibly assessed alongside that from current lakes to inform disaster risk management within a transboundary basin between Tibet and Nepal. Results show that engineering measures and early warning systems would need to be coupled with effective land use zoning and programmes to strengthen local response capacities in order to effectively reduce the risk associated with current and future outburst events.
Maoshan Li, Wei Fu, Na Chang, Ming Gong, Pei Xu, Yaoming Ma, Zeyong Hu, Yaoxian Yang, and Fanglin Sun
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2022-257, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2022-257, 2022
Revised manuscript not accepted
Short summary
Short summary
Compared with the plain area, the land-atmosphere interaction on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is intense and complex, which affects the structure of the boundary layer. The observed height of the convective boundary layer on the TP under the influence of the southern branch of the westerly wind was higher than that during the Asian monsoon season. The height of the boundary layer was positively correlated with the sensible heat flux and negatively correlated with latent heat flux.
Wenfeng Chen, Tandong Yao, Guoqing Zhang, Fei Li, Guoxiong Zheng, Yushan Zhou, and Fenglin Xu
The Cryosphere, 16, 197–218, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-197-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-197-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
A digital elevation model (DEM) is a prerequisite for estimating regional glacier thickness. Our study first compared six widely used global DEMs over the glacierized Tibetan Plateau by using ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite) laser altimetry data. Our results show that NASADEM had the best accuracy. We conclude that NASADEM would be the best choice for ice-thickness estimation over the Tibetan Plateau through an intercomparison of four ice-thickness inversion models.
Wouter Dorigo, Irene Himmelbauer, Daniel Aberer, Lukas Schremmer, Ivana Petrakovic, Luca Zappa, Wolfgang Preimesberger, Angelika Xaver, Frank Annor, Jonas Ardö, Dennis Baldocchi, Marco Bitelli, Günter Blöschl, Heye Bogena, Luca Brocca, Jean-Christophe Calvet, J. Julio Camarero, Giorgio Capello, Minha Choi, Michael C. Cosh, Nick van de Giesen, Istvan Hajdu, Jaakko Ikonen, Karsten H. Jensen, Kasturi Devi Kanniah, Ileen de Kat, Gottfried Kirchengast, Pankaj Kumar Rai, Jenni Kyrouac, Kristine Larson, Suxia Liu, Alexander Loew, Mahta Moghaddam, José Martínez Fernández, Cristian Mattar Bader, Renato Morbidelli, Jan P. Musial, Elise Osenga, Michael A. Palecki, Thierry Pellarin, George P. Petropoulos, Isabella Pfeil, Jarrett Powers, Alan Robock, Christoph Rüdiger, Udo Rummel, Michael Strobel, Zhongbo Su, Ryan Sullivan, Torbern Tagesson, Andrej Varlagin, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Jeffrey Walker, Jun Wen, Fred Wenger, Jean Pierre Wigneron, Mel Woods, Kun Yang, Yijian Zeng, Xiang Zhang, Marek Zreda, Stephan Dietrich, Alexander Gruber, Peter van Oevelen, Wolfgang Wagner, Klaus Scipal, Matthias Drusch, and Roberto Sabia
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 5749–5804, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5749-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-5749-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) is a community-based open-access data portal for soil water measurements taken at the ground and is accessible at https://ismn.earth. Over 1000 scientific publications and thousands of users have made use of the ISMN. The scope of this paper is to inform readers about the data and functionality of the ISMN and to provide a review of the scientific progress facilitated through the ISMN with the scope to shape future research and operations.
Yunshuai Zhang, Qian Huang, Yaoming Ma, Jiali Luo, Chan Wang, Zhaoguo Li, and Yan Chou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15949–15968, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15949-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15949-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The source region of the Yellow River has an important role in issues related to water resources, ecological environment, and climate changes in China. We utilized large eddy simulation to understand whether the surface heterogeneity promotes or inhibits the boundary-layer turbulence, the great contribution of the thermal circulations induced by surface heterogeneity to the water and heat exchange between land/lake and air. Moreover, the turbulence in key locations is characterized.
Lian Liu, Yaoming Ma, Massimo Menenti, Rongmingzhu Su, Nan Yao, and Weiqiang Ma
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 4967–4981, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4967-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-4967-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Albedo is a key factor in land surface energy balance, which is difficult to successfully reproduce by models. Here, we select eight snow events on the Tibetan Plateau to evaluate the universal improvements of our improved albedo scheme. The RMSE relative reductions for temperature, albedo, sensible heat flux and snow depth reach 27%, 32%, 13% and 21%, respectively, with remarkable increases in the correlation coefficients. This presents a strong potential of our scheme for modeling snow events.
Zhipeng Xie, Yaoming Ma, Weiqiang Ma, Zeyong Hu, and Genhou Sun
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-260, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2021-260, 2021
Preprint withdrawn
Short summary
Short summary
Wind-driven snow transport greatly influences spatial-temporal distribution of snow in mountainous areas. Knowledge of the spatiotemporal variability of blowing snow is in its infancy because of inaccuracies in satellite-based blowing snow algorithms and the absence of quantitative assessments. Here, we present the spatiotemporal variability and magnitude of blowing snow events, and explore the potential links with ambient meteorological conditions using near surface blowing snow observations.
Yongkang Xue, Tandong Yao, Aaron A. Boone, Ismaila Diallo, Ye Liu, Xubin Zeng, William K. M. Lau, Shiori Sugimoto, Qi Tang, Xiaoduo Pan, Peter J. van Oevelen, Daniel Klocke, Myung-Seo Koo, Tomonori Sato, Zhaohui Lin, Yuhei Takaya, Constantin Ardilouze, Stefano Materia, Subodh K. Saha, Retish Senan, Tetsu Nakamura, Hailan Wang, Jing Yang, Hongliang Zhang, Mei Zhao, Xin-Zhong Liang, J. David Neelin, Frederic Vitart, Xin Li, Ping Zhao, Chunxiang Shi, Weidong Guo, Jianping Tang, Miao Yu, Yun Qian, Samuel S. P. Shen, Yang Zhang, Kun Yang, Ruby Leung, Yuan Qiu, Daniele Peano, Xin Qi, Yanling Zhan, Michael A. Brunke, Sin Chan Chou, Michael Ek, Tianyi Fan, Hong Guan, Hai Lin, Shunlin Liang, Helin Wei, Shaocheng Xie, Haoran Xu, Weiping Li, Xueli Shi, Paulo Nobre, Yan Pan, Yi Qin, Jeff Dozier, Craig R. Ferguson, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Qing Bao, Jinming Feng, Jinkyu Hong, Songyou Hong, Huilin Huang, Duoying Ji, Zhenming Ji, Shichang Kang, Yanluan Lin, Weiguang Liu, Ryan Muncaster, Patricia de Rosnay, Hiroshi G. Takahashi, Guiling Wang, Shuyu Wang, Weicai Wang, Xu Zhou, and Yuejian Zhu
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 4465–4494, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-4465-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-4465-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The subseasonal prediction of extreme hydroclimate events such as droughts/floods has remained stubbornly low for years. This paper presents a new international initiative which, for the first time, introduces spring land surface temperature anomalies over high mountains to improve precipitation prediction through remote effects of land–atmosphere interactions. More than 40 institutions worldwide are participating in this effort. The experimental protocol and preliminary results are presented.
Cunbo Han, Yaoming Ma, Binbin Wang, Lei Zhong, Weiqiang Ma, Xuelong Chen, and Zhongbo Su
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3513–3524, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3513-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3513-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Actual terrestrial evapotranspiration (ETa) is a key parameter controlling the land–atmosphere interaction processes and water cycle. However, the spatial distribution and temporal changes in ETa over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) remain very uncertain. Here we estimate the multiyear (2001–2018) monthly ETa and its spatial distribution on the TP by a combination of meteorological data and satellite products. Results have been validated at six eddy-covariance monitoring sites and show high accuracy.
Zhipeng Xie, Weiqiang Ma, Yaoming Ma, Zeyong Hu, Genhou Sun, Yizhe Han, Wei Hu, Rongmingzhu Su, and Yixi Fan
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 3783–3804, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3783-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-3783-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Ground information on the occurrence of blowing snow has been sorely lacking because direct observations of blowing snow are sparse in time and space. In this paper, we investigated the potential capability of the decision tree model to detect blowing snow events in the European Alps. Trained with routine meteorological observations, the decision tree model can be used as an efficient tool to detect blowing snow occurrences across different regions requiring limited meteorological variables.
Maoshan Li, Xiaoran Liu, Lei Shu, Shucheng Yin, Lingzhi Wang, Wei Fu, Yaoming Ma, Yaoxian Yang, and Fanglin Sun
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2915–2930, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2915-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2915-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, using MODIS satellite data and site atmospheric turbulence observation data in the Nagqu area of the northern Tibetan Plateau, with the Massman-retrieved model and a single height observation to determine aerodynamic surface roughness, temporal and spatial variation characteristics of the surface roughness were analyzed. The result is feasible, and it can be applied to improve the model parameters of the land surface model and the accuracy of model simulation in future work.
Ziyu Huang, Lei Zhong, Yaoming Ma, and Yunfei Fu
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 2827–2841, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-2827-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-2827-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Spectral nudging is an effective dynamical downscaling method used to improve precipitation simulations of regional climate models (RCMs). However, the biases of the driving fields over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) would possibly introduce extra biases when spectral nudging is applied. The results show that the precipitation simulations were significantly improved when limiting the application of spectral nudging toward the potential temperature and water vapor mixing ratio over the TP.
Yanbin Lei, Tandong Yao, Lide Tian, Yongwei Sheng, Lazhu, Jingjuan Liao, Huabiao Zhao, Wei Yang, Kun Yang, Etienne Berthier, Fanny Brun, Yang Gao, Meilin Zhu, and Guangjian Wu
The Cryosphere, 15, 199–214, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-199-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-199-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Two glaciers in the Aru range, western Tibetan Plateau (TP), collapsed suddenly on 17 July and 21 September 2016, respectively, causing fatal damage to local people and their livestock. The impact of the glacier collapses on the two downstream lakes (i.e., Aru Co and Memar Co) is investigated in terms of lake morphology, water level and water temperature. Our results provide a baseline in understanding the future lake response to glacier melting on the TP under a warming climate.
Genhou Sun, Zeyong Hu, Yaoming Ma, Zhipeng Xie, Jiemin Wang, and Song Yang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5937–5951, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5937-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5937-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We investigate the influence of soil conditions on the planetary boundary layer (PBL) thermodynamics and convective cloud formations over a typical underlying surface, based on a series of simulations on a sunny day in the Tibetan Plateau, using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The real-case simulation and sensitivity simulations indicate that the soil moisture could have a strong impact on PBL thermodynamics, which may be favorable for the convective cloud formations.
Yaoming Ma, Zeyong Hu, Zhipeng Xie, Weiqiang Ma, Binbin Wang, Xuelong Chen, Maoshan Li, Lei Zhong, Fanglin Sun, Lianglei Gu, Cunbo Han, Lang Zhang, Xin Liu, Zhangwei Ding, Genhou Sun, Shujin Wang, Yongjie Wang, and Zhongyan Wang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2937–2957, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2937-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2937-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In comparison with other terrestrial regions of the world, meteorological observations are scarce over the Tibetan Plateau.
This has limited our understanding of the mechanisms underlying complex interactions between the different earth spheres with heterogeneous land surface conditions.
The release of this continuous and long-term dataset with high temporal resolution is expected to facilitate broad multidisciplinary communities in understanding key processes on the
Third Pole of the world.
Felix Nieberding, Christian Wille, Gerardo Fratini, Magnus O. Asmussen, Yuyang Wang, Yaoming Ma, and Torsten Sachs
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2705–2724, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2705-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2705-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
We present the first long-term eddy covariance CO2 and H2O flux measurements from the large but underrepresented alpine steppe ecosystem on the central Tibetan Plateau. We applied careful corrections and rigorous quality filtering and analyzed the turbulent flow regime to provide meaningful fluxes. This comprehensive data set allows potential users to put the gas flux dynamics into context with ecosystem properties and potential flux drivers and allows for comparisons with other data sets.
Cited articles
Blanken, P. D., Rouse, W. R., Culf, A. D., Spence, C., Boudreau, L. D., Jasper, J. N., Kochtubajda, B., Schertzer, W. M., Marsh, P., and Verseghy, D.: Eddy covariance measurements of evaporation from Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada, Water Resour. Res., 36, 1069–1078, 2000.
Cai, Y., Ke, C. Q., and Duan, Z.: Monitoring ice variations in Qinghai Lake from 1979 to 2016 using passive microwave remote sensing data. Sci. Total Environ., 607–608, 120–131, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.027, 2017.
Dai, Y., Gao, Y., Zhang, G., and Xiang, Y.: Water volume change of the Paiku Co in the southern Tibetan Plateau and its response to climate change in 2003–2011, J. Glaciol. Geocryol., 35, 723–732, 2013.
Gianniou, S. K. and Antonopoulos, V. Z.: Evaporation and energy budget in Lake
Vegoritis, Greece, J. Hydrol., 345, 212–223, 2007.
Guo, Y., Zhang, Y., Ma, N., Song, H., and Gao, H.: Quantifying Surface Energy Fluxes and Evaporation over a significant Expanding Endorheic Lake in the Central Tibetan Plateau, J. Meteorol. Soc. Jpn., 94, 453–465, 2016.
Haginoya, S., Fujii, H., Kuwagata, T., Xu, J., Ishigooka, Y., Kang, S., and Zhang, Y.: Air-lake interaction features found in heat and water exchanges over Nam Co on the Tibetan Plateau, Sci. Online Lett. Atmos., 5, 172–175, https://doi.org/10.2151/sola.2009-044, 2009.
Henderson-Sellers, B.: Engineering Limnology, Pitman Publishing, Great Britain, 1984.
Huang, W., Cheng, B., Zhang, J., Zhang, Z., Vihma, T., Li, Z., and Niu, F.: Modeling experiments on seasonal lake ice mass and energy balance in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau: a case study, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2173–2186, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2173-2019, 2019.
Ke, C., Tao, A., and Jin, X.: Variability in the ice phenology of Nam Co Lake
in central Tibet from scanning multichannel microwave radiometer and special
sensor microwave/imager: 1978 to 2013, J. Appl. Remote. Sens. 7, 073477, https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JRS.7.073477, 2013.
Kropáček, J., Maussion, F., Chen, F., Hoerz, S., and Hochschild, V.: Analysis of ice phenology of lakes on the Tibetan Plateau from MODIS data, The Cryosphere, 7, 287–301, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-287-2013, 2013.
Lazhu, Yang, K., Wang, J., Lei, Y., Chen, Y., Zhu, L., Ding, B., and Qin, J.:
Quantifying evaporation and its decadal change for Lake Nam Co, central
Tibetan Plateau, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 121, 7578–7591, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD024523,
2016.
Lei, Y., Yao, T., Yang, K., Lazhu, Ma, Y., and Bird, B.: Lake water temperature, hydrometeorology and lake evaporation at Paiku Co in the central Himalayas (2015–2018), National Tibetan Plateau Data Center, https://doi.org/10.11888/Hydro.tpdc.270287, 2019.
Lei Y. and Yang K.: The cause of rapid lake expansion in the Tibetan Plateau:
climate wetting or warming?, WIREs Water, 4, e1236, https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1236,
2017.
Lei, Y., Yang, K., Wang, B., Sheng, Y., Bird, B., Zhang, G., and Tian, L.: Response of inland lake dynamics over the 405 Tibetan Plateau to climate change, Climatic Change, 125, 281–290, 2014.
Lei, Y., Yao, T., Yang, K., Sheng, Y., Kleinherenbrink, M., Yi, S.,
Bird, B. W., Zhang, X., Lazhu, and Zhang, G. Q.: Lake seasonality across the Tibetan Plateau and their varying relationship with regional mass changes and local hydrology, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 892–900, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072062, 2017.
Lei, Y., Yao, T., Yang, K., Bird B. W., Tian, L., Zhang, X., Wang W.,
Xiang Y., Dai, Y. F., Lazhu, Zhou, J., and Wang, L.: An integrated investigation of lake storage and water level changes in the Paiku Co basin, central Himalayas, J. Hydrol., 562, 599–608, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.05.040, 2018.
Lenters, J., Kratz, T., and Bowser, C.: Effects of climate variability on lake evaporation: results from a long-term energy budget study of Sparkling Lake, northern Wisconsin (USA), J. Hydrol., 308, 168–195, 2005.
Li, W., Li, S., and Pu P.: Estimates of plateau lake evaporation: A case study of Zige Tangco, J. Lake Sci., 13, 227–232, 2001.
Li, X. Y., Ma, Y. J., Huang, Y. M., Hu, X., Wu, X. C., Wang, P., Li, G. Y., and Zhang, S. Y.: Evaporation and surface energy budget over the largest high-altitude saline lake on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 121, 10470–10485, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025027, 2016.
Li, Z., Lyu, S., Ao, Y., Wen, L., Zhao, L., and Wang S.: Long-term energy flux and radiation balance observations over Lake Ngoring, Tibetan Plateau, Atmos. Res., 155, 13–25, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2014.11.019, 2015.
Livingstone, D.: Impact of secular climate change on the thermal structure of a large temperate central European lake, Climatic Changes, 57, 205–225, 2003.
Luo, J., Niu, F., Lin, Z., Liu, M., and Yin, G.: Thermokarst lake changes
between 1969 and 2010 in the Beilu River Basin, Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, China,
Sci. Bull., 60, 556–564, 2015.
Ma, N., J. Szilagyi, Niu, G. Y., Zhang, Y., Zhang, T., Wang, B., and Wu, Y.: Evaporation variability of Nam Co Lake in the Tibetan Plateau and its role in recent rapid lake expansion, J. Hydrol., 537, 27–35, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.03.030, 2016.
Ma, R., Yang, G., Duan, H., Jiang, J., Wang, S., Feng, X., Li, A., Kong, F.,
Xue, B., Wu, J., and Li, S.: China's lakes at present: number, area and spatial distribution, Sci. China Earth Sci., 54, 283–289, 2011.
Maussion, F., Scherer, D., Mölg, T., Collier, E., Curio, J., and Finkelnburg, R.: Precipitation Seasonality and Variability over the Tibetan Plateau as Resolved by the High Asia Reanalysis, J. Climate, 27, 1910–1927, 2014.
Morrill, C.: The influence of Asian summer monsoon variability on the water balance of a Tibetan lake, J. Paleolimnol., 32, 273–286, 2004.
Nie, Y., Zhang, Y., Ding, M., Liu, L., and Wang, Z.: Lake change and its implication in the vicinity of Mt. Qomolangma (Everest), central high Himalayas, 1970–2009, Environ. Earth Sci., 68, 251–265, 2013.
Pan, X., Yu, Q., You, Y., Chun, K. P., Shi, X., and Li, Y.: Contribution of supra-permafrost discharge to thermokarst lake water balances on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, J. Hydrol., 555, 621–630, 2017.
Phan, V. H., Lindenbergh, R., and Menenti, M.: ICESat derived elevation changes of Tibetan lakes between 2003 and 2009, Int. J. Appl. Earth Obs., 17, 12–22, 2012.
Prats, J., Reynaud, N., Rebière, D., Peroux, T., Tormos, T., and Danis, P.-A.: LakeSST: Lake Skin Surface Temperature in French inland water bodies for 1999–2016 from Landsat archives, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 10, 727–743, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-10-727-2018, 2018.
Rosenberry, D. O., Winter, T. C., Buso, D. C., and Likens, G. E.: Comparison of 15 evaporation methods applied to a small mountain lake in the northeastern USA, J. Hydrol., 340, 149–166, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.03.018, 2007.
Rouse, W. R., Oswald, C. J., Binyamin, J., Blanken, P. D., Schertzer, W. M., and Spence, C.: Interannual and seasonal variability of the surface energy balance and temperature of central Great Slave Lake, J. Hydrometeorol., 4, 720–730, 2003.
Rouse, W. R., Blanken, P. D., Bussières, N., Oswald, C. J., Schertzer, W. M., Spence, C., and Walker, A. E.: An Investigation of the Thermal and Energy Balance Regimes of Great Slave and Great Bear Lakes, J. Hydrometeorol., 9, 1318–1333, 2008.
Song, C., Huang, B., Ke, L., and Richards, K.: Seasonal and abrupt changes in the water level of closed lakes on the Tibetan Plateau and implications for climate impacts, J. Hydrol., 514, 131–144, 2014.
Stainsby, E. A., Winter, J. G., Jarjanazi, H., Paterson, A. M., Evans, D. O.,
and Young, J. D.: Changes in the thermal stability of Lake Simcoe from 1980 to 2008, J. Great Lakes Res., 37, 55–62, 2011.
Su, D., Hu, X., Wen, L., Lyu, S., Gao, X., Zhao, L., Li, Z., Du, J., and Kirillin, G.: Numerical study on the response of the largest lake in China to climate change, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2093–2109, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2093-2019, 2019.
Sugita, M.: Spatial variability of the surface energy balance of Lake
Kasumigaura and implications for flux measurements, Hydrolog. Sci. J., 65, 401–414,
https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2019.1701676, 2019.
Sugita, M., Ikura, H., Miyano, A., Yamamoto, K., and Wei, Z.: Evaporation from
Lake Kasumigaura: annual totals and variability in time and space, Hydrological Research Letters, 8, 103–107, 2014.
Sugita, M., Ogawa, S., and Kawade, M.: Wind as a main driver of spatial variability of surface energy balance over a shallow 102-km2 scale lake: Lake Kasumigaura, Japan, Water Resour. Res., 56, e2020WR027173, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR027173, 2020.
Tang, W., Li, J., Yang, K., Qin, J., Zhang, G., and Wang, Y.: Dependence of remote sensing accuracy of global horizontal irradiance at different scales on satellite sampling frequency, Sol. Energy, 193, 597–603, 2019.
Wan, Z.: Collection-6 MODIS land surface temperature products users' guide, ICESS, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2013.
Wang, B., Ma, Y., Ma, W., and Su, Z.: Physical controls on half-hourly, daily, and monthly turbulent flux and energy budget over a high-altitude small lake on the Tibetan Plateau, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 122, 2289–2303, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD026109, 2017.
Wang, B., Ma, Y., Wang, Y., Su, Z., and Ma, W.: Significant differences exist in lake-atmosphere interactions and the evaporation rates of high-elevation small and large lakes, J. Hydrol., 573, 220–234, 2019.
Wang, B., Ma, Y., Su, Z., Wang, Y., and Ma, W.: Quantifying the evaporation amounts of 75 high-elevation large dimictic lakes on the Tibetan Plateau, Sci. Adv., 6, eaay8558, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay8558, 2020.
Wang, J., Zhu, L., Daut, G., Ju, J., Lin, X., Wang, Y., and Zhen, X.: Investigation of bathymetry and water quality of Lake Nam Co, the largest lake on the central Tibetan Plateau, China, Limnology, 10, 149–158, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-009-0266-8, 2009.
Wang, J., Peng, P., Ma, Q., and Zhu, L.: Modern limnological features of Tangra Yumco and Zhari Namco, Tibetan Plateau, J. Lake Sci., 22, 629–632, 2010.
Wang, J., Huang, L., Ju, J., Daut, G., Wang, Y., Ma, Q., Zhu, L.,
Haberzettl, T., Baade, J., and Mäusbacher, R.: Spatial and temporal
variations in water temperature in a high-altitude deep dimictic mountain lake
(Nam Co), central Tibetan Plateau, J. Great Lakes Res., 45, 212–223, 2019.
Wang, M., Hou, J., and Lei, Y.: Classification of Tibetan lakes based on
variations in seasonal lake water temperature, Chinese Sci. Bull., 59, 4847–4855,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0588-8, 2014.
Wang, Y., Yang, K., Zhou, X., Wang, B., Chen, D., Lu, H., Lin, C., and Zhang, F.: The formation of a dry-belt in the north side of central Himalaya Mountains. Geophys. Res. Lett., 46, 2993–3000, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081061, 2019.
Wetzel, R. G.: Limnology: lake and river ecosystems, Elsevier, San Diego, 2001.
Wilson, R. C., Hook, S. J., Schneider, P., and Schladow, S. G.: Skin and bulk temperature difference at Lake Tahoe: A case study on lake skin effect, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 118, 10332–10346, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50786, 2013.
Winter, T., Buso, D., Rosenberry, D., Likens, G., Sturrock Jr., A., and Mau, D.: Evaporation determined by the energy-budget method for Mirror Lake, New Hampshire, Limnol. Oceanogr., 48, 995–1009, 2003.
Wünnemann, B., Yan, D., and Ci, R.: Morphodynamics and lake level variations at Paiku Co, southern Tibetan Plateau, China, Geomorphology, 246, 489–501, 2015.
Xu, J., Yu, S., Liu, J., Haginoya, S., Ishigooka, Y., Kuwagata, T., Hara, M., and Yasunari, T.: The implication of heat and water balance changes in a lake basin on the Tibetan Plateau, Hydrol. Res. Lett., 3, 1–5, 2009.
Yang, K., He, J., Tang, W., Qin, J., and Cheng, C.: On downward shortwave and longwave radiations over high altitude regions: Observation and modeling in the Tibetan Plateau, Agr. Forest Meteorol., 150, 38–46, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2009.08.004, 2010.
Yu, S., Liu, J., Xu, J., and Wang, H.: Evaporation and energy balance estimates over a large inland lake in the Tibet-Himalaya, Environ. Earth Sci., 64, 1169–1176, 2011.
Yu, W., Yao, T., Tian, L., Ma, Y., Wen, R., Devkota, L., Wang, W., Qu, D., and
Chhetri, T. B.: Short-term variability in the dates of the Indian monsoon onset and retreat on the southern and northern slopes of the central Himalayas as de-termined by precipitation stable isotopes, Clim. Dynam., 47, 159–172, 2016.
Zhang, G., Yao, T., Xie, H., Zhang, K., and Zhu, F.: Lakes' state and abundance across the Tibetan Plateau, Chinese Sci. Bull., 59, 3010–3021, 2014a.
Zhang, G., Yao, T., Xie, H., Qin, J., Ye, Q., Dai, Y., and Guo, R.: Estimating surface temperature changes of lakes in the Tibetan Plateau using MODIS LST data, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 119, 8552–8567, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD021615, 2014b.
Zhang, Q. and Liu, H.: Seasonal changes in physical processes controlling evaporation over inland water, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 119, 9779–9792, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD021797, 2014.
Zhang, Y., Wu, Z., Liu, M., He, J., Shi, K., Wang, M., and Yu, Z.: Thermal structure and response to long-term climatic changes in Lake Qiandaohu, a deep subtropical reservoir in China, Limnol. Oceanogr., 59, 1193–1202, 2014.
Short summary
Lake evaporation from Paiku Co on the TP is low in spring and summer and high in autumn and early winter. There is a ~ 5-month lag between net radiation and evaporation due to large lake heat storage. High evaporation and low inflow cause significant lake-level decrease in autumn and early winter, while low evaporation and high inflow cause considerable lake-level increase in summer. This study implies that evaporation can affect the different amplitudes of lake-level variations on the TP.
Lake evaporation from Paiku Co on the TP is low in spring and summer and high in autumn and...
