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Land-Atmosphere Interactions and Effects on the Climate of the Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Regions III

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A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Atmospheric Remote Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2024 | Viewed by 7755

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yaoming Ma

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Guest Editor

Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100101, China
Interests: water cycle; evapotranspiration and evaporation; atmospheric boundary layer; satellite remote sensing application
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Li Jia

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Guest Editor

Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100101, China
Interests: earth observations for terrestrial water cycle study; evapotranspiration; water resource; land surface process; optical-thermal remote sensing; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Massimo Menenti

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Guest Editor

1. State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
2. Department of Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, 2628 Delft, The Netherlands
Interests: land surface processes; terrestrial water cycle; water management; optical remote sensing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Lei Zhong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Interests: application of remote sensing; energy and water cycle; land-atmosphere interaction; hydrometorology; atmospheric boundary layer process
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to great support and interest from all of you, we are introducing the 3rd edition of the Special Issue on “Land-Atmosphere Interactions and Effects on the Climate of the Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Regions”. I would like to thank all the authors and co-authors in the previous editions, who made Volumes 1 and 2 a grand success.

The Tibetan Plateau is also known as the roof of the world and third pole of the Earth. Energy and water exchange at the heterogeneous interface of the plateau land surface with the atmosphere is great and rapidly varying. This land–atmosphere interaction has profound impacts on atmospheric circulation and climate conditions over the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding regions, as well. In the context of global warming, the Tibetan Plateau itself is becoming warmer and wetter. In the last decades, both polar orbiting and geostationary satellites have been providing vital information to form a better understanding of land–atmosphere interactions and the related climate effects in the third pole region. Large research efforts have been focusing on the retrieval of key land-surface properties, i.e., land-surface temperature, NDVI, albedo, soil moisture, and land-surface heat fluxes. These observations are a vital source of information to monitor the variations in snow, glaciers, lakes, and other hydro-meteorological processes on the Tibetan Plateau. A rapidly growing body of knowledge documents how land–atmosphere interactions and their climatic effects have been revealed using multispectral, hyperspectral, thermal, and microwave remote sensing data.

This Special Issue will showcase successful recent endeavors in studies covering applications of multisource remote sensing data regarding land–atmosphere interactions and their effects on the climate of the Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Regions. The subject relates to the multi-disciplinary intersection of atmospheric and hydro-meteorological science with remote sensing. It fits well within the scope of the journal.

Contributions may address research questions ranging from the retrieval of land-surface variables and land-surface heat fluxes at different spatial and temporal scales, to the monitoring of variations in snow, glaciers, lakes, and other land-surface covers. Hence, studies focused on land-surface processes, hydro-meteorological processes, and their climate impacts based on a combined use of multisource data, e.g., remote sensing data and in situ measurements, are welcome. Articles may address but are not limited to the following topics:

Retrieval of land-surface key properties;
Estimation of land-surface heat fluxes;
Land-surface heating and its impacts on the atmospheric boundary layer;
Estimation of atmospheric heating sources;
Climate effects of land–atmosphere interactions;
Parameterization of radiation fluxes;
Evapotranspiration modeling;
Time series analysis and effect studies;
Monitoring of glacier and glacial lakes;
Remote sensing of hydrological processes;
Vegetation dynamics and its response to weather and climate;
Remote sensing-based drought assessment and monitoring.

Prof. Dr. Yaoming Ma
Prof. Dr. Li Jia
Prof. Dr. Massimo Menenti
Prof. Dr. Lei Zhong
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

land–atmosphere interactions
radiation flux
sensible and latent heat fluxes
land-surface heating
atmospheric heating sources
atmospheric boundary layer
climate effects
evapotranspiration
land-surface temperature
vegetation dynamics
soil moisture
machine learning
validation and evaluation

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 4370 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Distributions of the Thunderstorm and Lightning Structures over the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

by Yangxingyi Du, Dong Zheng, Yijun Zhang, Wen Yao, Liangtao Xu and Xianggui Fang

Remote Sens. 2024, 16(3), 468; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16030468 - 25 Jan 2024

Viewed by 658

Abstract

Utilizing data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite’s precipitation radar (PR) and lightning imaging sensor (LIS), this study explores the spatiotemporal distributions of thunderstorm and lightning structures over the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), an aspect that has not been explored previously. The structural aspects are crucial when considering the impact of thunderstorm and lightning activity in the atmospheric processes. Thunderstorms over the QTP show clear spatial variations in both vertical height and horizontal extension. In the southern region, the average heights of 20 dBZ and 30 dBZ echo tops typically exceed 11.2 and 9.3 km, respectively. Meanwhile, in the eastern part, the average coverage areas for reflectivity greater than 20 dBZ and 30 dBZ consistently surpass 1000 and 180 km², respectively. The spatial distribution of thunderstorm vertical development height relative to the surface aligns more closely with the horizontal extension, indicating stronger convection in the eastern QTP. The thunderstorm flash rate shows an eastward and northward prevalence, while the thunderstorm flash density peaks in the western and northeastern QTP, with a minimum in the southeast. Furthermore, in the eastern QTP, lightning duration, spatial expansion, and radiance are more pronounced, with the average values typically exceeding 0.22 s, 14.5 km, and 0.50 J m⁻² sr⁻¹ μm⁻¹, respectively. Monthly variations reveal heightened values during the summer season for thunderstorm vertical extension, areas with reflectivity greater than 30 dBZ, and lightning frequency. Diurnal variations highlight an afternoon increase in thunderstorm vertical and horizontal extension, lightning frequency, duration, and spatial scale. From a statistical perspective, under weak convective conditions, lightning length exhibits a positive correlation with thunderstorm convection intensity, contrasting with the opposite relationship suggested by previous studies. This article further analyzes and discusses the correlations between various thunderstorm and lightning structural parameters, enhancing our understanding of the distinctive features of thunderstorm and lightning activities in the QTP. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land-Atmosphere Interactions and Effects on the Climate of the Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Regions III)

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18 pages, 6403 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improving Predictions of Tibetan Plateau Summer Precipitation Using a Sea Surface Temperature Analog-Based Correction Method

by Lin Wang, Hong-Li Ren, Xiangde Xu, Li Gao, Bin Chen, Jian Li, Huizheng Che, Yaqiang Wang and Xiaoye Zhang

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(24), 5669; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15245669 - 08 Dec 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 688

Abstract

Boreal summer precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is difficult to predict in current climate models and has become a challenging issue. To address this issue, a new analog-based correction method has been developed. Our analysis reveals a substantial correlation between the prediction errors of TP summer precipitation (TPSP) and previous February anomalies of sea surface temperature (SST) in the key regions of tropical oceans. Consequently, these SST anomalies can be selected as effective predictors for correcting prediction errors. With remote-sensing-based and observational datasets employed as benchmarks, the new method was validated using the rolling-independent validation method for the period 1992–2018. The results clearly demonstrate that the new SST analog-based correction method of dynamical models can evidently improve prediction skills of summer precipitation in most TP regions. In comparison to the original model predictions, the method exhibits higher skills in terms of temporal and spatial skill scores. This study offers a valuable tool for effectively improving the TPSP prediction in dynamical models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land-Atmosphere Interactions and Effects on the Climate of the Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Regions III)

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Graphical abstract

21 pages, 5045 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Long-Term Characteristics of Surface Soil Moisture over the Tibetan Plateau and Its Response to Climate Change

by Chenxia Zhu, Shijie Li, Daniel Fiifi Tawia Hagan, Xikun Wei, Donghan Feng, Jiao Lu, Waheed Ullah and Guojie Wang

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(18), 4414; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15184414 - 07 Sep 2023

Viewed by 948

Abstract

Soil moisture over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) can affect hydrological cycles on local and remote scales through land–atmosphere interactions. However, TP long-term surface soil moisture characteristics and their response to climate change are still unclear. In this study, we firstly evaluate two satellite-based products—SSM/I (the Special Sensor Microwave Imagers) and ECV COMBINED (the Essential Climate Variable combined)—and three reanalysis products—ERA5-Land (the fifth generation of the land component of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts atmospheric reanalysis), MERRA2 (the second version of Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications), and GLDAS Noah (the Noah land surface model driven by Global Land Data Assimilation System)—against two in situ observation networks. SSM/I and GLDAS Noah outperform the other soil moisture products, followed by MERRA2 and ECV COMBINED, and ERA5-Land has a certain degree of uncertainty in evaluating TP surface soil moisture. Analysis of long-term soil moisture characteristics during 1988–2008 shows that annual and seasonal mean soil moisture have similar spatial distributions of soil moisture decreasing from southeast to northwest. Additionally, a significant increasing trend of soil moisture is found in most of the TP region. With a non-linear machine learning method, we quantify the contribution of each climatic variable to warm-season soil moisture. It indicates that precipitation dominates soil moisture changes rather than air temperature. Pixel-wise partial correlation coefficients further show that there are significant positive correlations between precipitation and soil moisture over most of the TP region. The results of this study will help to understand the role of TP soil moisture in land–atmosphere coupling and hydrological cycles under climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land-Atmosphere Interactions and Effects on the Climate of the Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Regions III)

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27 pages, 5892 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Implications for Validation of IMERG Satellite Precipitation in a Complex Mountainous Region

by Luhan Li, Xuelong Chen, Yaoming Ma, Wenqing Zhao, Hongchao Zuo, Yajing Liu, Dianbin Cao and Xin Xu

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(18), 4380; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15184380 - 06 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1071

Abstract

Satellite-based precipitation retrievals such as the Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG), provide alternative data in mountainous regions. In this study, we evaluated IMERG in the Yarlung Tsangbo Grand Canyon (YGC) using ground observations. It was found that IMERG underestimated the total rainfall primarily due to under-detection of rainfall events, with misses being more prevalent than false alarms. We analyzed the relationships between the probability of detection (POD), false alarm ratio (FAR), bias in detection (BID), and Heidke skill score (HSS) and terrain factors. It was found that the POD decreased with elevation, leading to increased underestimation of rainfall events at higher elevations, and the FAR was higher in valley sites. In terms of the hit events, IMERG overestimated the light rainfall events and underestimated the heavy rainfall events and the negative bias in the hit events decreased with elevation. IMERG could capture the early morning peak precipitation in the YGC region but underestimated the amplitude of the diurnal variation. This bias was inherent at the sensor level, and the Global Precipitation Climatology Center (GPCC) calibration partially improved the underestimation. However, this improvement was not sufficient for the YGC region. This study fills the gap in IMERG validation in a complex mountainous region and has implications for users and developers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land-Atmosphere Interactions and Effects on the Climate of the Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Regions III)

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Graphical abstract

16 pages, 3194 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Distinct Impacts of Two Types of Developing El Niño–Southern Oscillations on Tibetan Plateau Summer Precipitation

by Minghong Liu, Hong-Li Ren, Run Wang, Jieru Ma and Xin Mao

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(16), 4030; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15164030 - 14 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 991

Abstract

El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has remarkable impacts on Tibetan Plateau (TP) summer precipitation. However, recently identified ENSO spatial diversity brings complexity to these impacts. This study investigates the distinct impacts of the Eastern Pacific (EP) and Central Pacific (CP) ENSOs on TP summer precipitation based on numerous precipitation data and satellite-observed and reanalyzed circulation data. The results show that the EP El Niño and the CP La Niña have opposite effects on summer precipitation in the southwestern TP, with significant decreases and increases, respectively, indicating a trans-type inversion. In contrast, the CP El Niño causes significant decreases in summer precipitation in the central-eastern TP. No significant anomaly occurs during the EP La Niña. Moisture budget and circulation analyses suggest that these distinct precipitation characteristics can be attributed to different atmospheric teleconnections, which provide varying vertical motion and moisture conditions. The EP El Niño triggers an atmospheric response similar to the Indian Summer Monsoon–East Asian Summer Monsoon teleconnection, and the CP La Niña generates a teleconnection in the opposite phase. In contrast, the CP El Niño mainly causes a teleconnection resembling the East Asian–Pacific pattern. This study may deepen our understanding of ENSO impacts on TP summer precipitation and have implications for regional climate predictions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land-Atmosphere Interactions and Effects on the Climate of the Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Regions III)

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17 pages, 11842 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Regional Climate Effects of Irrigation under Central Asia Warming by 2.0 °C

by Liyang Wu and Hui Zheng

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(14), 3672; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15143672 - 23 Jul 2023

Viewed by 876

Abstract

There has been a severe shortage of water resources in Central Asia and agriculture has been highly dependent on irrigation because of the scarce precipitation in the croplands. Central Asia is also experiencing climate warming in the context of global warming; however, few studies have focused on changes in the amount of irrigation in Central Asia under future climate warming and their regional climate effects. In this study, we adopted the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to design three types of experiments: historical experiments (Exp01); warming experiments using future driving fields (Exp02); and warming experiments that involved increasing the surface energy (Exp03). In each type of experiment, two experiments (considering and not considering irrigation) were carried out. We analyzed the regional climate effects of irrigation under the warming of Central Asia by 2.0 °C through determining the differences between the two types of warming experiments and the historical experiments. For surface variables (irrigation amount; sensible heat flux; latent heat flux; and surface air temperature), the changes (relative to Exp01) in Exp03 were thought to be reasonable. For precipitation, the changes (relative to Exp01) in Exp02 were thought to be reasonable. The main conclusions were as follows: in Central Asia, after warming by 2.0 °C, the irrigation amount increased by 10–20%; in the irrigated croplands of Central Asia, the irrigation-caused increases (decreases) in latent heat flux (sensible heat flux) further expanded; and then the irrigation-caused decreases in surface air temperature also became enhanced; during the irrigation period, the irrigation-caused increases in precipitation in the mid-latitude mountainous areas were reduced. This study also showed that, in the WRF model, the warming experiments caused by driving fields were not suitable to simulate the changes in irrigation amount affected by climate warming. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land-Atmosphere Interactions and Effects on the Climate of the Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Regions III)

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16 pages, 5005 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Comparison of Spring Wind Gusts in the Eastern Part of the Tibetan Plateau and along the Coast: The Role of Turbulence

by Xingxu Zhou, Chao Zhang, Yunying Li and Zhiwei Zhang

Remote Sens. 2023, 15(14), 3655; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15143655 - 21 Jul 2023

Viewed by 923

Abstract

Wind gusts are sudden, brief increases in wind speed that have important implications for wind power generation, building design, aviation and marine safety. However, wind gusts in the Plateau and coastal plain are very different. In this paper, the gust characteristics are explored and compared at two sites in the same latitude—Xining, a city in the eastern Tibetan Plateau, and Qingdao, a city in the coast in China—using Doppler lidar data. The results indicate that the wind gusts in Xining are more intense and occur at a higher height than those in Qingdao. Though mean winds and turbulence significantly influence gusts, the turbulence intensity is responsible for the differences in gust, and high turbulence in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau is inferred. These results provide observational evidence for wind gusts over the complex terrain of the Tibetan Plateau and are useful for studying their impact on important aspects, such as flight safety. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land-Atmosphere Interactions and Effects on the Climate of the Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Regions III)

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Other

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13 pages, 4702 KiB

Open AccessTechnical Note

Assessing the Sensitivity of Snow Depth Simulations to Land Surface Parameterizations within Noah-MP in Northern Xinjiang, China

by Yuanhong You, Chunlin Huang and Yuhao Zhang

Remote Sens. 2024, 16(3), 594; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16030594 - 05 Feb 2024

Viewed by 673

Abstract

Snow cover plays a crucial role in the surface energy balance and hydrology and serves as a key indicator of climate change. In this study, we conducted an ensemble simulation comprising 48 members generated by randomly combining the parameterizations of five physical processes within the Noah-MP model. Utilizing the variance-based Sobol total sensitivity index, we quantified the sensitivity of regional-scale snow depth simulations to parameterization schemes. Additionally, we analyzed the spatial patterns of the parameterization sensitivities and assessed the uncertainty of the multi-parameterization scheme ensemble simulation. The results demonstrated that the differences in snow depth simulation results among the 48 scheme combinations were more pronounced in mountain regions, with melting mechanisms being the primary factor contributing to uncertainty in ensemble simulation. Contrasting mountain regions, the sensitivity index for the physical process of partitioning precipitation into rainfall and snowfall was notably higher in basin areas. Unexpectedly, the sensitivity index of the lower boundary condition of the physical process of soil temperature was negligible across the entire region. Surface layer drag coefficient and snow surface albedo parameterization schemes demonstrated meaningful sensitivity in localized areas, while the sensitivity index of the first snow layer or soil temperature time scheme exhibited a high level of sensitivity throughout the entire region. The uncertainty of snow depth ensemble simulation in mountainous areas is predominantly concentrated between 0.2 and 0.3 m, which is significantly higher than that in basin areas. This study aims to provide valuable insights into the judicious selection of parameterization schemes for modeling snow processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land-Atmosphere Interactions and Effects on the Climate of the Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Regions III)

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