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Tibetan Buddhism has an inseparable connection with the spatial characteristics, development process, and human-natural environment of the Tibetan Plateau. This paper takes monasteries as carriers of Tibetan Buddhist culture in U-Tsang region which is one of the traditional geographical units of Tibet. Using geospatial analysis methods, this study explores the spatial quantification characteristics of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes the factors that influence the spatial distribution of monasteries. The results indicate that: (1) Political activities of human society influence the pattern of political power. Under the unique context of Tibetan theocracy system, the scope of political authority has a significant influence and affects the religious spatial pattern in the U-Tsang region throughout history. The distribution of monasteries in the U-Tsang region shows significant spatial differences at three sub-regional scales. (2) The religious spatial pattern in the U-Tsang is the result of the diverse interaction of human-natural factors. The results indirectly endorse that religious space is an inevitable product of the interaction between humans and the environment. (3) The religious spatial distribution patterns in the three major Tibetan regions have distinct characteristics, closely related to the superior conditions of their respective historical and geographical environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric gravity waves are essential meso-small-scale oscillations that facilitate material exchange within the atmosphere. These waves can significantly affect the ozone layer in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (UTLS) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. However, the influence of gravity wave dynamic processes on upper stratospheric ozone has rarely been studied. This paper identifies the gravity waves on the Tibetan Plateau based on ECMWF Reanalysis 5 (ERA5) data, analyzes the response of the upper stratospheric ozone to the event, and simulates the dynamic propagation mechanism of gravity waves by the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. This analysis reveals that between 15:00 and 21:00 UTC on July 29, 2015, gravity waves propagated from the surface of Tibetan Plateau (450 hPa) up to the upper stratosphere (20 − 3 hPa) in an arc-shaped structure and tilted to the east with height. The gravity wave signals started to weaken at 21:00 UTC on the same day. Influenced by the easterly rapids, gravity waves partially broke near 3 hPa at 02:30 UTC on July 30, but gravity wave signals were still present, and gravity waves completely broke and released energy at 04:00 UTC. During this process, ozone in the 20–3 hPa region (upper stratosphere) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau responds well to gravity waves, and the ozone mixing ratio began to drop in ozone concentration 30 min after the partial breakup (03:00 UTC). The ozone dropped drastically by about 0.014 ppmv from 04:00 to 05:00 UTC. The WRF simulation results agree well with ERA5 and accurately capture the intricate characteristics of gravity waves. Furthermore, the breakup of gravity waves caused a total drop in ozone of 0.024 ppmv. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a crucial variable in the terrestrial water, carbon, and energy cycles. At present, a large number of multisource ET products exist. Due to sparse observations, however, great challenges exist in the evaluation and integration of ET products in remote and complex areas such as the Tibetan Plateau (TP). In this paper, the applicability of the multiple collocation (MC) method over the TP is evaluated for the first time, and the uncertainty of multisource ET products (based on reanalysis, remote sensing, and land surface models) is further analyzed, which provides a theoretical basis for ET data fusion. The results show that 1) ET uncertainties quantified via the MC method are lower in RS-based ET products (5.95 vs. 7.06 mm month−1) than in LSM ET products (10.22 vs. 17.97 mm month−1) and reanalysis ET estimates (7.27 vs. 12.26 mm month−1). 2) A multisource evapotranspiration (MET) dataset is generated at a monthly temporal scale with a spatial resolution of 0.25° across the TP during 2005–15. MET has better performance than any individual product. 3) Based on the fusion product, the total ET amount over the TP and its patterns of spatiotemporal variability are clearly identified. The annual total ET over the entire TP is approximately 380.60 mm. Additionally, an increasing trend of 1.59±0.85 mm yr−1 over the TP is shown during 2005–15. This study provides a basis for future studies on water and energy cycles and water resource management over the TP and surrounding regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing studies contend that latent heating (LH) will replace sensible heating (SH) to become the dominant factor affecting the development of the Tibetan Plateau vortex (TPV) after it moves off the Tibetan Plateau (TP). However, in the process of the TPV moving off the TP requires that the airmass traverse the eastern slope of the Tibetan Plateau (ESTP) where the topography and diabatic heating (DH) conditions rapidly change. How LH gradually replaces SH to become the dominant factor in the development of the TPV over the ESTP is still not very clear. In this paper, an analysis of a typical case of a TPV with a long life history over the ESTP is performed by using multi-sourced meteorological data and model simulations. The results show that SH from the TP surface can change the TPV-associated precipitation distribution by temperature advection after the TPV moves off the TP. The LH can then directly promote the development of the TPV and has a certain guiding effect on the track of the TPV. The SH can control the active area of LH by changing the falling area of the TPV-associated precipitation, so it still plays a key role in the development and tracking of the TPV even though it has moved out of the main body of the TP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]