The impact of convective overshooting on the thermal structure over the Tibetan Plateau in summer based on TRMM, COSMIC, radiosonde and reanalysis data

Abstract

AbstractIn this paper, we examine convective overshooting and its effects on the thermal structure of the troposphere and lower stratosphere in the Tibetan Plateau in summer by matching the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) with Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA), Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC), European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts 5th Reanalysis (ERA-5), the Japanese Meteorological Association 55-year reanalysis (JRA-55) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Versions2 (MERRA-2). It was found that convective overshooting mainly occurs in the central and eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau, and its frequency varies from 0.01 × 10−4 to 0.91 × 10−4. The convective overshooting warms the low middle tropopause and cools the tropopause nearby significantly, which can also makes air get wetter. The tropopause of the convective overshooting is substantially lower than the mean tropopause. Statistical results calculated from the five datasets are generally consistent; however, each dataset has its own strengths and weaknesses. The high spatiotemporal resolution temperature profiles from ERA-5 along with the high vertical resolution temperature profiles from COSMIC can be combined to accurately study convective overshooting in the Tibetan Plateau.