Optimal Meridional Positions of the Tibetan Plateau for Intensifying the Asian Summer Monsoon

Abstract

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) exerts significant influences on Earth's climate, and it is commonly accepted that the plateau enhances the intensity of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM). However, since the TP is located in the subtropics and its climate responses consist of both tropical and extratropical characteristics, a natural question to ask is how the TP would affect the ASM if it were shifted to different latitudes. A series of experiments with a state-of-the-art Earth system model demonstrates that the current location of the TP is not optimal for intensifying the ASM. When the TP is moved southward, the tropical South Asian monsoon (SAM) intensifies, associated with strengthened thermally driven atmospheric circulation, while the subtropical East Asian monsoon (EAM) weakens. When the TP is located in higher-than-current latitudes, on the other hand, the SAM weakens and the EAM intensifies. In particular, when the TP shifts northward by 88 of latitude, the Asian continent witnesses the heaviest summer monsoon rainfall. Changes in the meridional location of the plateau cause substantial differences in atmospheric circulation and water vapor transport, and thus in monsoon rainfall.