A vertical transport window of water vapor in the troposphere over the Tibetan Plateau with implications for global climate change

Abstract

By using the multi-source data of meteorology over recent decades, this study discovered a summertime “hollow wet pool” in the troposphere with a center of high water vapor over the Asian water tower (AWT) on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), which is indicated by a vertical transport “window” in the troposphere. The water vapor transport in the upper troposphere extends from the vertical transport window over the TP with significant connections among the Arctic, Antarctic and TP regions, highlighting the effect of the TP's vertical transport window of water vapor in the troposphere on global change in water vapor. The vertical transport window is built by the AWT's thermal forcing in association with the dynamic effect of the TP's “hollow heat island”. Our study improves the understanding of the vapor transport over the TP with important implication for global climate change.