Abstract
The Tibetan Plateau vortex (TPV) is a major rain-producing system over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) in summer. The vertical structure of TPV is critical in understanding the generation and development of TPV. In this paper, the ERA-Interim reanalysis data and an objective TPV detection and vertical tracing method are used to investigate the vertical structure of TPV in boreal summer (June–August). Most TPVs are shallow, with only 1/5 of them can reach 400 hPa. Among the TPVs that move off the TP, more than half are deep vortices. The tilting direction of TPV is related to its baroclinic structure. In general, TPVs tilt to the direction of the cold air from low to high isobaric levels, and the tilting direction depends on the relative positions of the warm pool and the cold air intruding into TPV. Deep TPVs inside the TP and those moving off the TP have different vertical structures. On the plateau, TPVs have convergence at the low levels (400–500 hPa) and divergence at the high levels (above 400 hPa), which can cause updrafts in the vortex and a tropical cyclone-like structure. For the TPVs moving off the TP, the updrafts are significantly weak due to the relatively low low-level convergence and the relatively low high-level divergence. These TPVs almost have positive vertical vorticity and present an extratropical cyclone-like structure. The vertical thickness of TPV is important in determining whether the TPV could move off the TP. The results show that the deep TPVs are more likely to move out than the shallow ones. Therefore, the vertical structure is a better predictor on the movement of TPV than its other properties.
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Acknowledgements
The ERA-Interim reanalysis data are provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The Grid Analysis and Display System Software (GrADS) is used to analyze and display data.
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The database of Tibetan Plateau vortices can be downloaded from http://www.sciencedb.cn/dataSet/handle/556, and also are available from the corresponding author.
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The codes are available from the corresponding author.
Funding
This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.42030611 and No.41765011), and the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program (STEP, Grant No.2019QZKK0103).
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Z.Lin and X.Yao analyzed the vertical structure of TPVs; X.Yao conceived the whole framework of the article; W.Guo and J.Du restructured and rewrote the introduction part and explained the development mechanism of TPVs. Z.Lin wrote the draft of the article, and was responsible for the codes. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Lin, Z., Yao, X., Guo, W. et al. Vertical structure of Tibetan Plateau Vortex in boreal summer. Theor Appl Climatol 145, 427–440 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-021-03640-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-021-03640-x