Abstract
Current climate models often have significant wet biases in the Tibetan Plateau and encounter particular difficulties in representing the climatic effect of the Central Himalaya Mountain (CHM), where the gradient of elevation is extremely steep and the terrain is complex. Yet, there were few studies dealing with the issue in the high altitudes of this region. In order to improve climate modeling in this region, a network consisting of 14 rain gauges was set up at elevations > 2800 m above sea level along a CHM valley. Numerical experiments with Weather Research and Forecasting model were conducted to investigate the effects of meso- and micro-scale terrain on water vapor transport and precipitation. The control case uses a high horizontal resolution (0.03°) and a Turbulent Orographic Form Drag (TOFD) scheme to resolve the mesoscale terrain and to represent sub-grid microscale terrain effect. The effects of the horizontal resolution and the TOFD scheme were then analyzed through comparisons with sensitivity cases that either use a low horizontal resolution (0.09°) or switch off the TOFD scheme. The results show that the simulations with high horizontal resolution, even without the TOFD scheme, can not only increase the spatial consistency (correlation coefficient 0.84–0.92) between the observed and simulated precipitation, but also considerably reduce the wet bias by more than 250%. Adding the TOFD scheme further reduces the precipitation bias by 50% or so at almost all stations in the CHM. The TOFD scheme reduces precipitation intensity, especially heavy precipitation (> 10 mm h−1) over high altitudes of the CHM. Both high horizontal resolution and TOFD enhance the orographic drag to slow down wind; as a result, less water vapor is transported from lowland to the high altitudes of CHM, causing more precipitation at lowland area of the CHM and less at high altitudes of CHM. Therefore, in this highly terrain-complex region, it is crucial to use a high horizontal resolution to depict mesoscale complex terrain and a TOFD scheme to parameterize the drag caused by microscale complex terrain.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beljaars ACM, Brown AR, Wood N (2004) A new parameterization of turbulent orographic form drag. Q J R Meteorol Soc 130:1327–1347. https://doi.org/10.1256/qj.03.73
Bohlinger P, Sorteberg A, Sodemann H (2017) Synoptic conditions and moisture sources actuating extreme precipitation in Nepal. J Geophys Res Atmos 122:12653–12671. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027543
Bookhagen B, Burbank DW (2006) Topography, relief, and TRMM-derived rainfall variations along the Himalaya. Geophys Res Lett. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006gl026037
Chen F, Dudhia J (2001) Coupling an advanced land surface-hydrology model with the Penn State-NCAR MM5 modeling system. Part I: model implementation and sensitivity. Mon Weather Rev 129(4):569–585. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(2001)129%3c0569:caalsh%3e2.0.co;2
Choi HJ, Hong SY (2015) An updated subgrid orographic parameterization for global atmospheric forecast models. J Geophys Res Atmos 120:12445–12457. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD024230
Dong W, Lin Y, Wright JS, Xie Y, Xu F, Yang K et al (2018) Connections between a late summer snowstorm over the southwestern Tibetan Plateau and a concurrent Indian monsoon low-pressure system. J Geophys Res Atmos 123:13676–13691. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD029710
Dudhia J (1989) Numerical study of convection observed during the winter monsoon experiment using a mesoscale twodimensional model. J Atmos Sci 46(20):3077–3107. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1989)046%3c3077:NSOCOD%3e2.0.CO
Feng L, Zhou T (2012) Water vapor transport for summer precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau: multidata set analysis. J Geophys Res 117:D20114. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD017012
Fujinami H, Yasunari T (2001) The seasonal and intraseasonal variability of diurnal cloud activity over the Tibetan Plateau. J Meteorol Soc Jpn Ser II 79(6):1207–1227. https://doi.org/10.2151/jmsj.79.1207
Fujinami H, Nomura S, Yasunari T (2005) Characteristics of diurnal variations in convection and precipitation over the southern Tibetan Plateau during summer. Sola 1:49–52
Gao Y, Xu J, Chen D (2015) Evaluation of WRF mesoscale climate simulations over the Tibetan Plateau during 1979–2011. J Clim 28(7):2823–2841. https://doi.org/10.1175/jcli-d-14-00300.1
Higuchi K, Ageta Y, Yasunari T, Inoue J (1982) International Association of Hydrological Sciences Publication, vol 138, pp 21–30
Hong S-Y, Noh Y, Dudhia J (2006) A new vertical diffusion package with explicit treatment of entrainment processes. Mon Weather Rev 134:2318–2341
Houze Jr, Wilton DC, Smull BF (2007) Monsoon convection in the Himalayan region as seen by the TRMM Precipitation Radar. Q J R Meteorol Soc 133(627):1389–1411. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.106
Jimenez PA, Dudhia J (2012) Improving the representation of resolved and unresolved topographic effects on surface wind in the WRF model. J Appl Meteorol 51:300–316
Koo M, Choi H, Han J (2018) A parameterization of turbulent-scale and mesoscale orographic drag in a global atmospheric model. J Geophys Res 123(16):8400–8417. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JD028176
Li X, Chen Y, Zhou W (2017) Response of winter moisture circulation to the India-Burma trough and its modulation by the South Asian wave guide. J Clim 30(4):1197–1210. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0111.1
Lin C, Chen D, Yang K, Ou T (2018) Impact of model resolution on simulating the water vapor transport through the central Himalayas: implication for models’ wet bias over the Tibetan Plateau. Clim Dyn 51(9–10):3195–3207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-018-4074-x
Lindzen RS, Farrell B, Rosenthal AJ (1983) Absolute barotropic instability and monsoon depressions. J Atmos Sci 40(5):1178–1184
Ma J, Wang H, Fan K (2015) Dynamic downscaling of summer precipitation prediction over China in 1998 using WRF and CCSM4. Adv Atmos Sci 32(5):577–584. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-014-4143-y
Maussion F, Scherer D, Finkelnburg R, Richters J, Yang W, Yao T (2011) WRF simulation of a precipitation event over the Tibetan Plateau, China-an assessment using remote sensing and ground observations. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 15(6):1795–1817. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-1795-2011
Maussion F, Scherer D, Mölg T, Collier E, Curio J, Finkelnburg R (2014) Precipitation seasonality and variability over the Tibetan Plateau as resolved by the High Asia Reanalysis. J Clim 27(5):1910–1927. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00282.1
Ménégoz M, Gallée H, Jacobi HW (2013) Precipitation and snow cover in the Himalaya: from reanalysis to regional climate simulations. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 17(10):3921–3936
Mlawer EJ, Taubman SJ, Brown PD, Iacono MJ, Clough SA (1997) Radiative transfer for inhomogeneous atmospheres: RRTM, a validated correlated-k model for the longwave. J Geophys Res Atmos 102(D14):16663–16682. https://doi.org/10.1029/97JD00237
Mueller B, Seneviratne SI (2014) Systematic land climate and evapotranspiration biases in CMIP5 simulations. Geophys Res Lett 41(1):128–134. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GL058055
Rontu L (2006) A study on parametrization of orography-related momentum fluxes in a synoptic-scale NWP model. Tellus A 58(1):69–81. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0870.2006.00162.x
Sandu I, Bechtold P, Beljaars A, Bozzo A, Pithan F, Shepherd TG, Zadra A (2016) Impacts of parameterized orographic drag on the Northern Hemisphere winter circulation. J Adv Model Earth Syst 8(1):196–211. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015ms000564
Shrestha D, Singh P, Nakamura K (2012) Spatiotemporal variation of rainfall over the central Himalayan region revealed by TRMM Precipitation Radar. J Geophys Res Atmos. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012jd018140
Su F, Duan X, Chen D, Hao Z, Cuo L (2013) Evaluation of the global climate models in the CMIP5 over the Tibetan Plateau. J Clim 26:3187–3208. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00321.1
Sugimoto S, Ueno K, Sha W (2008) Transportation of water vapor into the Tibetan Plateau in the case of a passing synoptic-scale trough. J Meteorol Soc Jpn 86(6):935–949
Thompson G, Field PR, Rasmussen RM, Hall WD (2008) Explicit forecasts of winter precipitation using an improved bulk microphysics scheme. Part II: implementation of a new snow parameterization. Mon Weather Rev 136(12):5095–5115. https://doi.org/10.1175/2008mwr2387.1
Walther A, Jeong J-H, Nikulin G et al (2013) Evaluation of the warm season diurnal cycle of precipitation over Sweden simulated by the Rossby Centre regional climate model RCA3. Atmos Res 119:131–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2011.10.012
Wang W, Lu H (2016) Evaluation and comparison of newest GPM and TRMM products over Mekong River Basin at daily scale, pp 613–616. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2016.7729153
Wang A, Zeng X (2012) Evaluation of multireanalysis products with in situ observations over the Tibetan Plateau. J Geophys Res 117:D05102. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016553
Wang T, Yang S, Wen Z, Wu R, Zhao P (2011) Variations of the winter India-Burma trough and their links to climate anomalies over southern and eastern Asia. J Geophys Res 116:D23118. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016373
Wang Y, Yang K, Pan Z, Qin J, Chen D, Lin C, Chen Y, Lazhu Tang W, Han M, Lu N, Wu H (2017) Evaluation of precipitable water vapor from four satellite products and four reanalysis datasets against GPS measurements on the Southern Tibetan Plateau. J Clim 30(15):5699–5713. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0630.1
Wang Y, Yang K, Zhou X, Wang B, Chen D, Lu H et al (2019) The formation of a dry belt in the north side of central Himalaya Mountains. Geophys Res Lett. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081061
Xu X, Lu C, Shi X, Gao S (2008) World water tower: an atmospheric perspective. Geophys Res Lett 35:L20815. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL035867
Xu R, Tian F, Yang L, Hu H, Lu H, Hou A (2017) Ground validation of GPM IMERG and TRMM 3B42V7 rainfall products over southern Tibetan Plateau based on a high-density rain gauge network. J Geophys Res Atmos 122(2):910–924. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016jd025418
Xue H, Shen X, Su Y (2011) Parameterization of turbulent orographic form drag and implementation in GRAPES. J Appl Meteorol Sci 22(2):169–181 (in Chinese)
Yanai M, Wu GX (2006) Effects of the Tibetan Plateau. The Asian Monsoon. Springer, Berlin, pp 513–549
Yang K, Guyennon N, Ouyang L, Tian L, Tartari G, Salerno F (2018) Impact of summer monsoon on the elevation-dependence of meteorological variables in the south of central Himalaya. Int J Climatol 38(4):1748–1759. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.5293
Zhang R, Koike T, Xiangde X, Yaoming M, Kun Y (2012) A China-Japan cooperative JICA atmospheric observing network over the Tibetan Plateau (JICA/Tibet Project): an overviews. J Meteorol Soc Jpn 90:1–16. https://doi.org/10.2151/jmsj.2012-C01
Zhong SX, Chen ZT, Xu DS, Zhang YX (2012) Evaluating and improving wind forecasts over South China: The role of orographic parameterization in the GRAPES model. Adv Atmos Sci 35(6):713–722. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-017-7157-4
Zhou X, Beljaars A, Wang Y, Huang B, Lin C, Chen Y, Wu H (2017) Evaluation of WRF simulations with different selections of sub-grid orographic drag over the Tibetan plateau. J Geophys Res Atmos 122:7755–7771. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD026213
Zhou X, Yang K, Wang Y (2018) Implementation of a turbulent orographic form drag scheme in WRF and its application to the Tibetan Plateau. Clim Dyn 50(7):2443–2455. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-017-3677-y
Zhou X, Yang K, Beljaars A, Li H, Lin C, Huang B, Wang Y (2019) Dynamical impact of parameterized turbulent orographic form drag on the simulation of winter precipitation over the western Tibetan Plateau. Clim Dyn 53(1):707–720. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-019-04628-0
Acknowledgements
This work was jointly supported by National Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 91537210), National Key R&D project of China (Grant no. 2018YFA0605400), Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant no. 131C11KYSB20160061), as well as Swedish national strategic research program Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate (BECC) and ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system (MERGE).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, Y., Yang, K., Zhou, X. et al. Synergy of orographic drag parameterization and high resolution greatly reduces biases of WRF-simulated precipitation in central Himalaya. Clim Dyn 54, 1729–1740 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-019-05080-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-019-05080-w