A study of the 1999 monsoon rainfall in a mountainous region in central Nepal using TRMM products and rain gauge observations

Barros, Ana P.; Joshi, Manish K.; Putkonen, Jaakko; Burbank, Douglas W.

doi:10.1029/2000gl011827

Cited by 222 publications

(178 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Though our quantitative estimates of total precipitation are not realistic, the timing of the heavy events relative to the rest of events within our study region does not change. Barros et al (2000) demonstrated that TRMM PR estimates of low elevation precipitation in the CH compared well with station observations. TRMM's relatively short 16-year precipitation record is not adequate for analyzing long-term variability and is thus supplemented by APHRODITE at daily 0.25° resolution 1951-2007 (Yatagai et al 2009) for analysis spanning .…”

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 77%

Multi-annual variations in winter westerly disturbance activity affecting the Himalaya

et al. 2014

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Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 77%

Multi-annual variations in winter westerly disturbance activity affecting the Himalaya

et al. 2014

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“…The PR peak at each site generally occurs in the late afternoon. This may be related to the strong interaction between meso-scale convective systems and steep terrain (Barros et al, 2000). The diurnal variations of PR do not show similar patterns in each season at QOMS_CAS.…”

Section: Precipitation Ratementioning

confidence: 92%

Similarities and differences of aerosol optical properties between southern and northern sides of the Himalayas

Panday

et al. 2014

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. The Himalaya mountains along the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau act as a natural barrier for the transport of atmospheric aerosols from the polluted regions of South Asia to the main body of the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, we investigate the seasonal and diurnal variations of aerosol optical properties measured at two Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites on the southern side of the Himalaya (Pokhara, 812 m above sea level (a.s.l.) and EVK2-CNR, 5079 m a.s.l. in Nepal) and one on the northern side (Qomolangma (Mt. Everest) station for Atmospheric and Environmental Observation and Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (QOMS_CAS) in Tibet, 4076 m a.s.l. in China). While observations at QOMS_CAS and EVK2-CNR can generally be representative of a remote background atmosphere, Pokhara is a lower-elevation suburban site with much higher aerosol load due to both the influence of local anthropogenic activities and to its proximity to the Indo-Gangetic Plains. The annual mean aerosol optical depth (AOD) during the investigated period was 0.05 at QOMS_CAS, 0.04 at EVK2-CNR and 0.51 at Pokhara, respectively. Seasonal variations of aerosols are profoundly affected by large-scale atmospheric circulation. Vegetation fires, peaking during April in the Himalayan region and northern India, contribute to a growing fine mode AOD at the three stations. Dust transported to these sites, wind erosion and hydrated/cloudprocessed aerosols lead to an increase in coarse mode AOD during the monsoon season at QOMS_CAS and EVK2-CNR. Meanwhile, coarse mode AOD at EVK2-CNR is higher than at QOMS_CAS in August and September, indicating that the transport of coarse mode aerosols from the southern to the northern side may be effectively reduced. The effect of precipitation scavenging is clearly seen at Pokhara, which sees significantly reduced aerosol loads during the monsoon season. Unlike the seasonal variations, diurnal variations are mainly influenced by meso-scale systems and local topography. The diurnal pattern in precipitation appears to contribute to diurnal changes in AOD through the effect of precipitation scavenging. AOD exhibits diurnal patterns related to emissions in Pokhara, while it does not at the other two high-altitude sites. At EVK2-CNR, the daytime airflow carries aerosols up from lower-altitude polluted regions, leading to increasing AOD, while the other two stations are less influenced by valley winds. Surface heating influences the local convection, which further controls the vertical aerosol exchange and the diffusion rate of pollution to the surrounding areas. Fine and coarse mode particles Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. C. Xu et al.: Similarities and differences of aerosol optical propertiesare mixed together on the southern side of the Himalaya in spring, which may lead to the greater inter-annual difference in diurnal cycles of Ångström exponent (AE) at EVK2-CNR than that at QOMS_CAS.

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“…Several studies based on observations (Dhar and Rakhecha, 1981;Barros et al, 2000;Bookhagen and Burbank, 2006;Immerzeel et al, 2014;Salerno et al, 2015) or theoretical approaches (Burns, 1953;Alpert, 1986) have observed that precipitation in the Himalayan Range generally presents a multimodal distribution along elevation. Precipitation is considered to increase with altitude until a first altitudinal threshold located between 1800 and 2500 m, depending on the study, and to decrease above 2500 m. Moreover, the linear correlation of precipitation with altitude is reported to be weak for measurements above 4000 m (Salerno et al, 2015).…”

Section: Observed Relation Between Altitude and Seasonal Precipitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…-Minimum and maximum values for the altitude thresholds z 1 and z 2 are chosen according to both literature review (Barros et al, 2000;Anders et al, 2006;Bookhagen and Burbank, 2006;Shrestha et al, 2012;Nepal, 2012;Savéan, 2014) and observations. The first inquired altitudinal threshold is described in the literature as between 2000 and 3000 m, and the second threshold is described as above 4000 m. These intervals have been enlarged to also test related values.…”

Section: Regional Sensitivity Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Providing a non-deterministic representation of spatial variability of precipitation in the Everest region

Eeckman¹,

Chevallier²,

Boone³

et al. 2017

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. This paper provides a new representation of the effect of altitude on precipitation that represents spatial and temporal variability in precipitation in the Everest region. Exclusive observation data are used to infer a piecewise linear function for the relation between altitude and precipitation and significant seasonal variations are highlighted. An original ensemble approach is applied to provide non-deterministic water budgets for middle and high-mountain catchments. Physical processes at the soilatmosphere interface are represented through the Interactions Soil-Biosphere-Atmosphere (ISBA) surface scheme. Uncertainties associated with the model parametrization are limited by the integration of in situ measurements of soils and vegetation properties. Uncertainties associated with the representation of the orographic effect are shown to account for up to 16 % of annual total precipitation. Annual evapotranspiration is shown to represent 26 % ± 1 % of annual total precipitation for the mid-altitude catchment and 34% ± 3 % for the high-altitude catchment. Snowfall contribution is shown to be neglectable for the mid-altitude catchment, and it represents up to 44 % ± 8 % of total precipitation for the highaltitude catchment. These simulations on the local scale enhance current knowledge of the spatial variability in hydroclimatic processes in high-and mid-altitude mountain environments.

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A study of the 1999 monsoon rainfall in a mountainous region in central Nepal using TRMM products and rain gauge observations

Cited by 222 publications

References 4 publications

Multi-annual variations in winter westerly disturbance activity affecting the Himalaya

Multi-annual variations in winter westerly disturbance activity affecting the Himalaya

Similarities and differences of aerosol optical properties between southern and northern sides of the Himalayas

Providing a non-deterministic representation of spatial variability of precipitation in the Everest region

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