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Arid Land Geography ›› 2022, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (5): 1357-1369.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2021.540

• Climate Change • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of sensible heat anomalies in the Iranian Plateau and North Africa on summer precipitation in the Tarim Basin

CHEN Jiayi(),ZHAO Yong()   

  1. Plateau Atmosphere & Environment Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu 610225, Sichuan, China
  • Received:2021-11-15 Revised:2022-03-11 Online:2022-09-25 Published:2022-10-20
  • Contact: Yong ZHAO E-mail:825178164@qq.com;zhaoy608@cuit.edu.cn

Abstract:

Based on the JRA-55 surface sensible heat (SH) flux, Japan Meteorological Agency provided the reanalysis circulation data, and the National Meteorological Information Centre of China Meteorological Administration provided monthly grid precipitation data from 1971 to 2019. Therefore, the effects of SH anomalies over the Iranian Plateau and North Africa on precipitation in the Tarim Basin during summer were investigated. The results show that (1) the SH anomalies over both areas were closely associated with summer precipitation in the Tarim Basin, and the combined heating in the two regions was better associated with summer precipitation in the Tarim Basin than the heating in single one of the two regions. (2) When the SH strengthened in the Iranian Plateau, although strengthened and weakened in the southern and northern North Africa, respectively, it corresponded to the subtropical westerly jet in Central Asia shifting south, which caused an anomalous south wind to prevail in the Tarim Basin. Concurrently, an anomalous anticyclone over the Arabian Sea and that in Central Asia transported water vapor from the Arabian Sea to the Tarim Basin. Consequently, the abovementioned conditions contributed to more rainfall in the Tarim Basin during the same period. (3) Single thermal anomalies over the Iranian Plateau and North Africa can affect the summer precipitation in the Tarim Basin. Additionally, the SH over the Iranian Plateau can significantly influence the large-scale circulation and water vapor transport, indicating its closer relationship with precipitation. In contrast, SH anomalies in North Africa primarily affected the large-scale circulation, the impact on water vapor transport differed from that of the Iranian Plateau, and the more southerly positioning of the anomalous anticyclone over the Indian Peninsula, resulting in the inability to transport Arabian Sea water vapor into the Tarim Basin through the two-step processes.

Key words: sensible heat anomaly, combined heating, North Africa, Iranian Plateau, summer precipitation in the Tarim Basin