Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences - Climate Geography

Water Vapor Characteristics and Mechanisms of Precipitation at Different Time Scales in Arid Regions of Central Asia

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Study area and the location of main rivers and lakes in Central Asia

 

Arid regions of Central Asia (CA, including five Central Asian countries and Xinjiang province of China), located in the mid-latitudes of the Asian continent, form the largest dry area in the temperate and warm temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere. Its degree of aridity is comparable with Sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel arid and semiarid regions. CA is influenced by high, middle and low latitude circulations. As climate transition zone between the Mediterranean climate region and the East Asian monsoon region, it shows different synoptic-climatic characteristics from that of Europe and East Asia while its climate also varies to alarge extent within the region.

As “water tower of Central Asia”, the Tianshan Mountains contribute to the vital supply of freshwater and feed most of the region’s rivers and lakes by a combination of glacier meltwater, mountains’ precipitation and fissure water. As one of the largest mountain systems in CA, the Tianshan Mountains receive much more rainfall than the surrounding lowlands, and recceive strong precipitation at a high frequency. Recently, global warming has accelerated the water cycle by increasing glacier melt water, and by additional water in the atmosphere evaporated from the surface, also triggering more extreme precipitation events. This further complicates the hydrological response of rivers in the Tianshan Mountains to climate drivers. Therefore, the study of the characteristics of CA and Tianshan precipitation and water vapor in relation to climate change is of great importance both regionally and globally.

 

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Study area and the sub-regions of the Tianshan Mountains

 

This project plans to base on a variety of precipitation data sets and re-analysis products to carry out the following research: (1) to reveal the variation of water vapor characteristics of precipitation at different time scales in arid region of Central Asia, (2) to study the variability of atmospheric circulation in arid regions of Central Asia, and to disentangle the key influences on precipitation in arid regions of Central Asia; (3) to analyze the water vapor transport source areas and the key influencing factors of summer extreme precipitation in the Tianshan Mountains, as an important component of arid regions of Central Asia; and (4) to provide a scientific basis for water resources maangement in these arid region of Central Asia.

Team

Duration

The duration of the project is four years: 2018 – 2022

Funding

The project is funded by the China Scholarship Council (CSC).