AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Implications of the Tibetan Plateau for Haze in China
TIANLIANG ZHAO, Xiangde Xu, Xuhui Lee, Feng Liu, David Kristovich, Chungu Lu, Yudi Guo, Xugeng Cheng, Yinjun Wang, Hongxiong Xu, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology
Abstract Number: 632 Working Group: Haze in China: Sources, Formation Mechanisms, and Current Challenges
Abstract Rapid increases in pollutant emissions in conjunction with stagnant meteorological conditions result in haze pollution in China. Recent frequent haze in China has attracted worldwide attention. Here we show a relationship between the haze events and Tibetan Plateau (TP)’s environment and climate changes. Based on observational data taken over recent decades, we identify central-eastern China (CEC) as a climatological large-scale “susceptible region” of frequent haze, which is harbored by the TP with its impact on mid-latitude westerly winds. The observational and modeling studies demonstrate that the interannual variation in the heat source over the TP is positively correlated with the incidences of wintertime haze over the CEC. Further analysis indicates that the TP-climate warming induced changes in atmospheric circulation driving frequent haze events in the CEC. The increasingly haze in the CEC is consistent with decreasing winter monsoon winds, intensifying descending air and increasing atmospheric stability in the lower-troposphere over the CEC in association with plateau’s thermal anomalies. Therefore, climate change in the TP is found to be closely related to modulate the frequency of haze occurrence in China. Our results also suggest that climate modulation of the large TP-topography should be taken into account for air pollution mitigation policies in China.