State Key Laboratory of Resource and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
PLoS One. 2013 Jul 31;8(7):e68750. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068750. Print 2013.
The immense and towering Tibetan Plateau acts as a heating source and, thus, deeply shapes the climate of the Eurasian continent and even the whole world. However, due to the scarcity of meteorological observation stations and very limited climatic data, little is quantitatively known about the heating effect of the plateau and its implications. This paper firstly collects climate data (2001-2007) from 109 observation stations and MODIS-based estimated monthly mean temperature data in the plateau and the neighboring Sichuan Basin, and conducts correlation and simple linear regression to reveal the altitudinal pattern of temperature. Then, according to the linear relationships of temperature and altitude for each month, it compares air temperature differences on the same elevation between the main plateau and surrounding mountains and the Sichuan Basin so as to quantify the heating effect and discuss its implication on timberline of the plateau. The results show that: 1) the heating effect of the plateau is significant. The temperature of the main plateau area was higher than that of free air on the same elevation above the neighboring areas; on the elevation of 4500 m (the main plateau), temperature is 1-6°C higher in the main Plateau than over the Sichuan Basin for different months and 5.9-10.7°C higher than in the Qilian Mountains in the northeastern corner of the plateau. 2) Even at altitudes of 5000-6000 m in the main Plateau, there are 4 months with a mean temperature above 0°C. The mean temperature of the warmest month (July) can reach 10°C at about 4600-4700 m. This may help explain why the highest timberline in the northern hemisphere is on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau.
青藏高原犹如一个巨大的热源，深刻地影响着欧亚大陆甚至全球的气候。然而，由于气象观测站稀少，气候数据极为有限，高原加热效应及其影响在定量方面知之甚少。本文首先收集了 109 个观测站的气候数据（2001-2007 年）和高原及相邻四川盆地基于 MODIS 的月平均气温数据，并进行了相关性和简单线性回归分析，以揭示温度的海拔分布模式。然后，根据每个月温度与海拔的线性关系，比较了高原主要区域和周围山脉与四川盆地在同一海拔高度的气温差异，以量化加热效应并讨论其对高原林线的影响。结果表明：1）高原的加热效应显著。高原主要区域的温度高于相邻地区同海拔自由大气的温度；在 4500 米（高原主要区域）的海拔高度上，不同月份高原的温度比四川盆地高 1-6°C，比高原东北角的祁连山脉高 5.9-10.7°C。2）即使在高原主要区域的 5000-6000 米海拔高度，仍有 4 个月的平均温度高于 0°C。最暖月份（7 月）的平均温度在 4600-4700 米左右可达到 10°C。这可能有助于解释为什么北半球的最高林线位于青藏高原东南部。
