Future loss of glaciers could drive a substantial increase precipitation in Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

The Southeastern Tibetan Plateau (SETP) holds thousands of glaciers, which are retreating rapidly in a warming climate. In order to explore the potential impact of glacier extinction on local precipitation over there, two experiments with and without glacier respectively were designed in WRF3.9 model with a horizontal resolution of 3 km. The result indicates the downward glacier wind inhibits the upward warmer monsoon air flow. In the absence of glacier scenario, as the cooling effect of glacier disappears, the original glacier area become a heating source and the downhill glacial wind transfers to uphill wind, which strengthens the transportation of warm moist air to inland SETP. Thus, with the disappearance of glaciers caused by global warming, precipitation in the high altitude areas in the SETP will increase, resulting in the enhancement of runoff in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra River.