Diurnal Variations in Surface Wind over the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

This study uses hourly surface wind direction and wind speed observations from 53 meteorological stations on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) (70–105° E, 25–45° N) between 1995 and 2017 to investigate diurnal variations in the surface wind. The results show large diurnal variations in surface wind on the TP. The minimum wind speed occurs in the morning and the maximum in the afternoon. In all four seasons, the prevailing meridional wind is a southerly, and this is typically evident for more than two-thirds of each day. However, in the mornings during December–February and September–November, this southerly wind is replaced by a northerly, but remains southerly in the afternoon. The TP shows remarkable regional characteristics with respect to diurnal variations in wind speed. In the eastern region, the minimum and maximum daily wind speeds occur about 1 h later than in the west. Among the 53 meteorological stations, 79% observed that it took less time for the minimum speed to rise to the maximum speed than for the maximum to drop to the minimum. The blocking effect of the high surrounding terrain causes the diurnal variations seen in the surface winds at the three stations in the Qaidam Basin to differ significantly from those observed at the other stations elsewhere on the plateau. These Qaidam Basin stations recorded their maximum wind speeds around noon, with the minimum at dusk, which is around 1900 LST. The EOF1 (EOF = empirical orthogonal function) of the hourly wind speed on the TP indicates the key daily circulation feature of the region; i.e., the wind speed is high in the afternoon and low in the morning. The EOF2 reflects the regional differences in the diurnal variations of wind speed on the TP; i.e., the eastern region reaches the daily maximum and minimum wind speeds slightly later than the western region.