Energy and Water Cycles in the Third Pole

• Other Authors: Ma, Yaoming (Editor), Su, Zhongbo (Editor), Zhong, Lei (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2022
• Subjects: Research & information: general; Meteorology & climatology; Tibetan Plateau; climate warming; lake surface temperature; heat exchange; lake ice phenology; terrestrial evapotranspiration; convection-permitting modeling; monsoon season; non-monsoon season; Sichuan Basin; water vapor budget; summer precipitation; water resource variation; Indian Ocean; East Asia climate; vertical motion of air; surface characteristic parameter; radiation fluxes; observation data; land-atmosphere interaction; WRF-Hydro model; runoff; precipitation; three river source region; surface fluxes; HYSPLIT_v4 model; water vapor transport; singular value decomposition; glacier modeling; mass balance; full-Stokes model; ET; Qinghai Province; driving factors; elevation-dependency; i-PFASs; China; river; lake; the Tibetan Plateau; n/a
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

As the most prominent and complicated terrain on the globe, the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is often called the "Roof of the World", "Third Pole" or "Asian Water Tower". The energy and water cycles in the Third Pole have great impacts on the atmospheric circulation, Asian monsoon system and global climate change. On the other hand, the TP and the surrounding higher elevation area are also experiencing evident and rapid environmental changes under the background of global warming. As the headwater area of major rivers in Asia, the TP's environmental changes-such as glacial retreat, snow melting, lake expanding and permafrost degradation-pose potential long-term threats to water resources of the local and surrounding regions. To promote quantitative understanding of energy and water cycles of the TP, several field campaigns, including GAME/Tibet, CAMP/Tibet and TORP, have been carried out. A large amount of data have been collected to gain a better understanding of the atmospheric boundary layer structure, turbulent heat fluxes and their coupling with atmospheric circulation and hydrological processes. The focus of this reprint is to present recent advances in quantifying land-atmosphere interactions, the water cycle and its components, energy balance components, climate change and hydrological feedbacks by in situ measurements, remote sensing or numerical modelling approaches in the "Third Pole" region.