Temporal and spatial variations in the sub-daily precipitation structure over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP)

Hou-Liang Lu; Jun Qiu; Meng-Jia Li; Hui-Min Zuo; Jin-Li Li; Bill X Hu; Fang-Fang Li

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170153

Temporal and spatial variations in the sub-daily precipitation structure over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP)

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Mar 10:915:170153. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170153. Epub 2024 Jan 15.

Authors

Hou-Liang Lu¹, Jun Qiu², Meng-Jia Li³, Hui-Min Zuo³, Jin-Li Li⁴, Bill X Hu⁵, Fang-Fang Li⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Water Conservancy and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China; College of Water Resources & Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.
² College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China.
³ College of Water Resources & Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.
⁴ Shandong Survey and Design Institute of Water Conservancy, Jinan 250013, China.
⁵ School of Water Conservancy and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China.
⁶ College of Water Resources & Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China; College of Water and Architectural Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China. Electronic address: liff@cau.edu.cn.

PMID: 38232821
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170153

Abstract

Precipitation is a vital component of the global atmospheric and hydrological cycles and influencing the distribution of water resources. Even subtle changes in precipitation can significantly impact ecosystems, energy cycles, agricultural production, and food security. Therefore, understanding the changes in the precipitation structure under climate change is essential. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is a region sensitive to global climate change and profoundly impacts the atmospheric water cycle in Asia and even globally, rendering it a hot topic in climate change research in recent years. Few studies have examined on the sub-daily scale precipitation structure over the QTP. In this paper, the characteristics of sub-daily precipitation on the QTP were systematically investigated from multiple perspectives, including the concentration index, skewness (the third standardized moment of a distribution), and kurtosis (the fourth standardized moment of a distribution). The results indicated that the frequency of moderate-intensity nighttime precipitation on the QTP generally increased, and the analysis of both the concentration index and kurtosis (skewness) suggested that extreme precipitation was more frequent in the southwestern foothills of the QTP. Furthermore, potential high-risk areas for natural disasters were identified on the QTP, and found that the southeastern part of the plateau constituted a potential hotspot area for flood disasters. Given the complexity of climate change, a comprehensive analysis of the spatiotemporal characteristics of diurnal and nighttime precipitation changes on the QTP could help reveal the regularity of precipitation changes. This has significant implications for forecasting, warning, disaster preparedness, and mitigation efforts on the QTP.

Keywords: Concentration index; Potential risk areas; Qinghai–Tibet plateau; Sub-daily scale; Temporal structure of precipitation.