The Impact of Convective Overshooting on the Thermal Structure over the Tibetan Plateau in Summer Based on TRMM, COSMIC, Radiosonde, and Reanalysis Data
Abstract
In this paper, we examine convective overshooting and its effects on the thermal structure of the troposphere and lower stratosphere in the Tibetan Plateau in summer by matching the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) with Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA); the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC); the latest European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalysis (ERA5); the Japan Meteorological Agency 55-Year Reanalysis (JRA-55); and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2). It was found that convective overshooting mainly occurs in the central and eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau and that its frequency varies from 0.01 × 10−4 to 0.91 × 10−4. The convective overshooting warms the low middle tropopause and cools the tropopause nearby significantly, which can also make air get wetter. The tropopause of the convective overshooting is substantially lower than the mean tropopause. Statistical results calculated from the five datasets are generally consistent; however, each dataset has its own strengths and weaknesses. The high-spatiotemporal-resolution temperature profiles from ERA5 along with the high-vertical-resolution temperature profiles from COSMIC can be combined to accurately study convective overshooting in the Tibetan Plateau.
- Publication:
-
Journal of Climate
- Pub Date:
- October 2021
- DOI:
- 10.1175/JCLI-D-20-0849.1
- Bibcode:
- 2021JCli...34.8047S