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Comparison of multiple datasets with gridded precipitation observations over the Tibetan Plateau

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Abstract

Precipitation is a critical component of the water balance, and hence its variability is critical for cryospheric and climate change in the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Mean annual and seasonal precipitation totals are compared between gridded observations interpolated to a high resolution (0.5° × 0.5°) and multiple reanalysis type-datasets during 1979–2001. The latter include two NCEP reanalyses (NCEP1 and NCEP2), two European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalyses (ERA-40 and ERA-Interim), three modern reanalyses [the twentieth century reanalysis (20century), MERRA and CFSR] and three merged analysis datasets (CMAP1, CMAP2 and GPCP). Observations show an increase in mean precipitation from the northwestern to the southeastern (SE) regions of the TP which are divided by an isohyet of 400 mm, and overall trends during the studied period are positive. Compared with observations, most of the datasets (NCEP1, NCEP2, CMAP1, CMAP2, ERA-Interim, ERA-40, GPCP, 20century, MERRA and CFSR) can both broadly capture the spatial distributions and identify temporal patterns and variabilities of mean precipitation. However, most multi-datasets overestimate precipitation especially in the SE where summer convection is dominant. There remain substantial disagreements and large discrepancies in precipitation trends due to differences in assimilation systems between datasets. Taylor diagrams are used to show the correlation coefficients, standard deviation, and root-mean-square difference of precipitation totals between interpolated observations and assimilated values on an annual and seasonal basis. Merged analysis data (CMAP1 and CMAP2) agree with observations more closely than reanalyses. Thus not all datasets are equally biased and choice of dataset is important.

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Acknowledgments

This study is supported by the State Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (41230528), National Natural Science Foundation (41201072); Jiangsu Specially-Appointed Professor (R2013T07), Jiangsu Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholar “BK20140047”, Open Research Fund Program of Plateau Atmosphere and Environment Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province (PAEKL-2014-K1) and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD). This is the ESMC contribution Number 011. We are very grateful to the reviewers for their constructive comments and thoughtful suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earth System Modelling Center (ESMC), Nanjing International Academy of Meteorological Sciences (NIAMS), Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster, Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Qinglong You, Jinzhong Min & Wei Zhang

  2. Open Research Fund Program of Plateau Atmosphere and Environment Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, 610225, China

    Qinglong You

  3. Department of Geography, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK

    Nick Pepin

  4. State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Shichang Kang

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  1. Qinglong You
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  2. Jinzhong Min
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  3. Wei Zhang
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  4. Nick Pepin
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  5. Shichang Kang
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Correspondence to Qinglong You.

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You, Q., Min, J., Zhang, W. et al. Comparison of multiple datasets with gridded precipitation observations over the Tibetan Plateau. Clim Dyn 45, 791–806 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-014-2310-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-014-2310-6

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