At noon, October 6, a research sharing event of the Luncheon Salon was held by the Department of Earth System Science (DESS), Tsinghua University in S927, Mong Man Wai Technology Building, Tsinghua University. Doctoral Fellow Jiang Yaozhi of Yang Kun’s Research Group of DESS was invited to lecture on the topic, “Research on precipitation gradients in the Third Pole region using a high-resolution atmospheric simulation-based dataset”.

Jiang introduced the recent findings of the Research Group. Based on high-resolution atmospheric simulated precipitation data, their research quantifies the precipitation gradients of several sub-basins of the whole Third Pole (TP) region, and illustrates dependence of precipitation gradients on spatial scale and the relationship between precipitation gradients and other meteorological conditions. The findings show that with regard to annual average precipitation, the precipitation of most sub-basins in the TP increases with the rise of altitude, and precipitation increases significantly with the rise of altitude on the Qiangtang Plateau, but negative gradients are found in some areas along the Himalayas and the Hengduan Mountains. Local topography plays a vital role in determining precipitation distribution at small scales, and the correlation between altitudes and precipitation gradients tends to increase with the rise of altitudes at small spatial scales compared to those at large scales. In addition, it is found that precipitation gradients are negatively correlated with relative humidity, but positively correlated with wind speed.

Jiang Yaozhi renders a report

The Luncheon Salon

The professors at the luncheon discussed in detail the application of precipitation gradients in soil erosion research, the systematic changes of temperature, precipitation and vegetation with altitude, and the role of vegetation distribution in regulating the spatial distribution of precipitation, and offered advice for future research.

Written by Jiang Yaozhi and Fu Meijuan