中文

Chinese Journal of Nature >

2026 , Vol. 48 >Issue 1: 1 - 8

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2026.01.001

Invited Special Paper

The Tibetan Plateau and Asian summer monsoon

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  • ① State Key Laboratory of Earth System Numerical Modeling and Application, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China; ② Laboratory of Atmospheric and Oceanic Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China

Received date: 2026-01-01

  Online published: 2026-02-06

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Abstract

The Asian summer monsoon exhibits pronounced variability that can trigger severe droughts and floods with profound societal impacts. As a primary topographic forcing of the monsoon system, the Tibetan Plateau plays a crucial role in regulating large-scale circulation and precipitation through combined dynamic and thermodynamic effects. However, owing to the intrinsic complexity of both the Plateau’s topography and the Asian monsoon system, the relative importance of these forcings on Asian summer monsoon remains a subject of ongoing debate. In this study, the influence of Tibetan Plateau topography on atmospheric circulation is examined through both theoretical analysis and numerical simulations. It is demonstrated that elevated surface heating over Asian large-scale orography, particularly the Tibetan–Iranian Plateau, induces perturbations of isentropic surfaces that constitute a fundamental driving mechanism of the monsoon circulation. Furthermore, systematic biases in the simulation of Asian summer monsoon precipitation in state-of-the-art climate models are shown to be closely linked to deficiencies in the representation of Plateau thermal forcing. To better quantify the climatic dynamical effects of the Plateau, the concept of surface potential vorticity forcing framework is proposed, providing an integrated metric for evaluating how surface thermodynamic and dynamic processes over the Plateau are represented in models. Based on simulations with the FGOALS-f climate system model, a quantitative relationship between this forcing index and Asian summer monsoon precipitation is established.

Cite this article

HE Bian, WU Guoxiong, LIU Yimin, BAO Qing, SHENG Chen, HE Xinyu, LIU Xiaoyu, FENG Shijian, GUO Tong . The Tibetan Plateau and Asian summer monsoon[J]. Chinese Journal of Nature, 2026 , 48(1) : 1 -8 . DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2026.01.001

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