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Impacts of thermodynamic processes over the Tibetan Plateau on the Northern Hemispheric climate

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Abstract

We here report our recent research results on the climatic features of Tibetan thermodynamic functions and their impacts on the regional climates of the Northern Hemisphere. The results show that the thermodynamic processes over the Tibetan Plateau not only strongly influence the Asian monsoon and precipitation, but also modulate the atmospheric circulation and climate over North America and Europe through stimulating the large-scale teleconnections such as the Asian-Pacific oscillation and affect the atmospheric circulation over the southern Indian Ocean. The Tibetan climate may be affected by sea surface temperatures over the tropical Pacific. On the other hand, the Tibetan climate also affects the atmosphere-ocean interactions in the tropics and mid-latitudes of the Pacific by the atmospheric circulation over the North Pacific. In spring and summer, the thermodynamic anomalies on the plateau affect the subtropical high pressure, the Hadley circulation, and the intertropical convergence zone over the Pacific, and then modulate the development of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). It is necessary to study the forecasting methods for the development of ENSO from the Tibetan climate anomaly. This result also embodies the essence of interactions among land, atmosphere, and ocean over the Northern Hemisphere. Since the previous studies focused on impacts of the plateau on climates in the Asian monsoon regions, it is essential to pay more attention to studying the roles of the plateau in the Northern Hemispheric and even global climates.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    XiuJi Zhou, JunMing Chen, LongXun Chen & WeiLiang Li

  2. National Meteorological Information Centre, Beijing, 100081, China

    Ping Zhao

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  1. XiuJi Zhou
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  2. Ping Zhao
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  3. JunMing Chen
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  4. LongXun Chen
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  5. WeiLiang Li
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ping Zhao.

Additional information

Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40890052, 40921003) and the Chinese COPES Project (Grant No. GYHY200706005)

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Zhou, X., Zhao, P., Chen, J. et al. Impacts of thermodynamic processes over the Tibetan Plateau on the Northern Hemispheric climate. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 52, 1679–1693 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-009-0194-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-009-0194-9

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