NUMERICAL STUDY ON INFLUENCE OF QINGHAI-XIZANG (TIBETAN) PLATEAU ON SEASONAL TRANSITION OF GLOBAL ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION

Abstract:

It is a worthwhile attempt to address the role of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau in the seasonal transition of general circulation from a global prospective. In this paper, the CCM1 (R15L7)-LNWP spectral model is used to study the influences of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau on the seasonal transfer of the general circulation, with the objective analysis form the State Meteorological Center for March 17, 1996 as the initial field. A mid-level heating source in regions on the same latitudes is shown to cause a warming center of 224 K to form on the level of 200 hPa that warms up the atmosphere by more than 7 K and a drop of temperature by about 6 K on most of the 200-hPa layer over the Antarctic continent, with the largest negative center being-8.28 K. It is favorable to the deepening and widening of the polar vortexes in the course of transition from summer to winter. The topographic effect of the plateau plays a vital role in forming and maintaining the mean troughs and ridges of the atmospheric circulation in Northern Hemisphere such that it strengthens (weakens) the south-north positive gradient of temperature on the northern (southern) side of the latitude zone in which the plateau sits and increases the north-south gradient of temperature near 30°N. The seasonal transition is thus favored so that the bulk travel of global westerly at the middle latitudes and the formation of Asian monsoon in early summer are made possible. In the equatorial and low-latitude areas where the geopotential is increased, the effect of the plateau terrain is also evident in that it is favorable for the northern withdrawal of the tropical high ridge in Southern Hemisphere and the northern shift of the subtropical high in Northern Hemisphere. In addition, the effect also helps increase the polar easterly over the Southern Hemisphere and weaken the low zone at 500 hPa. It acts as an increasing factor for the polar vortex around the Ross Sea and contributes to the genesis of the Somali Jet on the equator.