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Compared with other factors influencing vegetation patterns, such as light and temperature, precipitation has relatively large variability, especially on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), where the natural environment is extremely fragile and sensitive. However, the impact of precipitation regimes, rather than precipitation amount, on vegetation has seldom been revealed. This study characterised the precipitation regimes by both the amount and temporal distribution of precipitation and zoned the QTP as different precipitation regimes accordingly. The response of vegetation to such precipitation regimes was then investigated. The results indicate that the vegetation patterns are quite consistent with zoning, that is, there is a certain type or a few dominant types of vegetation in each sub-region divided by the precipitation regimes. The areas where the precipitation became more uniform within a year were concentrated in grassland and bare land, which benefits the restoration and improvement of the ecological environment of the plateau. The increase in precipitation variability in the south-eastern part of the plateau may lead to natural disasters such as floods and mudslides. This study provides a novel perspective to understand the distribution of vegetation patterns., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The atmospheric river (AR) is a long, narrow, and transient corridor of strong horizontal water vapor transport. Various AR detection methods have been proposed, which have introduced significant uncertainty to the identified AR characteristics. This study has designed a data fusion algorithm to merge 12 data sets of different global and regional AR identification algorithms published by the Atmospheric River Tracking Method Intercomparison Project (ARTMIP) covering the period from 1980 to 2016. It aims to conduct frequency statistics to further research the global distribution, interannual variation, the trends in poleward shifting, and the impacted factors of AR occurrence. The quantitative results indicate an overall increasing trend in interannual variation, with a more pronounced growth trend observed in the oceanic region between 40 and 60ºS. Additionally, the study identifies a poleward shift in the peak latitude of AR occurrence frequency, with speeds of 0.589° and 0.769° per decade in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, respectively. This shift may be associated with the tropical poleward expansion. Upon examining the relationship between AR frequency and sea surface temperature (SST) as well as zonal wind, the study finds that distinct dominant factors influence AR in different regions. AR events near the 30°N/S ocean are influenced more significantly by zonal wind than by SST. These findings shed light on the global characteristics of AR occurrences and provide insights into the factors governing their variability across different areas. Plain Language Summary: Researchers employ an array of tools to detect a weather phenomenon event known as the atmospheric river (AR), which is a long, narrow corridor in the atmosphere that transports water vapor originating from the tropics. Each tool employs a distinct methodology for identifying these atmospheric rivers, which can lead to varying results. This diversity makes it challenging for us to select a single methodology to study AR on a global scale and over long periods. To address this problem, we have developed an innovative algorithm. This algorithm merges the results from different tools to create a more consistent and comprehensive data set of atmospheric rivers. Utilizing this novel data set, we investigated how atmospheric rivers have evolved over time and across different locations. Our research indicates a poleward shift of AR positions throughout the research period. Moreover, we also examined the sea surface temperature and wind patterns, and their connections to the frequency of atmospheric rivers. These insights could provide insightful implications for how climate changes might influence these important weather phenomena in the future. Key Points: Proposed a data fusion algorithm merging 12 Atmospheric River Detection Tools data sets based on their identification results conflictsThe poleward shifts of the AR frequency peak and tropical expansion have a moderate correlation during the research periodAR events near the 30° N/S ocean are influenced more significantly by zonal wind than by sea surface temperature [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar photovoltaic (PV) power plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change. However, climate change may amplify weather variability and extreme conditions. The extreme conditions can increase the very low PV output and thereby increase the need for grid stabilization services. This study examined how weather variability affects PV power output in the near- (2025–2054) and far-future (2071–2100). The ensemble mean calculated using seven global climate models participating in the coupled model intercomparison project phase 6 for three different shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) (SSP126, SSP245, SSP585) was used for the assessment. The standard deviation of the monthly PV power output and the share of very low monthly PV power output were used to assess the variability of PV power output. The findings indicate that the summer PV power output was projected to decrease by 6%–8% in central and northern Tibet under a high emissions scenario (SSP585). The summer months with low PV power output were projected to increase in western regions of China, known for its abundant solar resources. The findings of this study provide valuable insight for energy planners to make up for the influence of future weather variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Known as "China's Water Tower," the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) becomes warm and humid in the short term but faces drought in the long term because of global climate change. Atmospheric water resources seem to be the only choice in the QTP region to alleviate drought conditions. Analysis of water vapour distribution and evaluation of exploitation modes of atmospheric water resources are carried out in this study. Different exploitation modes of atmospheric water resources including routine, selective, and emergency‐oriented exploitation are distinguished using water vapour budget and its distribution entropy. Zoning of the QTP indicates that routine exploitation, that is, long‐term, continuous, and fixed‐point exploitation, can only be carried out in its eastern part, while the middle and western parts are suitable for selective exploitation. Such entropy‐based assessment and zoning can be used as a reference for the exploitation of atmospheric water in the QTP in the future. Furthermore, the proposed zoning criteria can be used to estimate the exploitability of atmospheric water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • SVI is used to characterize daily precipitation variability within a month/season/month in the QTP. • Precipitation variability decreased in the areas with low vegetation coverage. • Precipitation variability may increase in the southwest of the Himalayas foothills in the future. • Sea-land thermal difference between the Indian Ocean and the QTP is highly correlated with SVI. • Influence of East/South Asian monsoons on summer precipitation variability over QTP is complementary. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is a hotspot in the study of global climate change due to its profound impact on the atmospheric water cycle in Asia and even the world. Previous studies on the QTP mainly focused on the spatial distribution of precipitation and its changing trend. To investigate the temporal and spatial variations of precipitation variability on the QTP, this study applied the standardized variability index (SVI) based on entropy on its daily precipitation without any preset distribution. The results showed that for most monsoon months in the past 40 years, SVI has a significant downward trend in the southwest foot of the Himalayas and the border zone between barren and grassland areas, indicating that precipitation has become more uniform, which is beneficial for growth of grassland. However, the Hurst exponent shows that such trend will reverse in the future, which may cause natural disasters such as landslides and debris flows in the monsoon period considering the large amount of precipitation and the local topographic conditions in the southwest of the Himalayan foothills. The inducements of such precipitation variability were also studied, including Asian monsoon, westerly jets, sea-land thermal difference, and Sea Surface Temperature (SST). Compared with the monsoon index, the sea-land thermal difference has a stronger correlation with the precipitation variability. The SST anomaly closer to the east coast of the equatorial Pacific also has a great impact on the variability of precipitation over the plateau. This study contributes to understanding precipitation variability in the QTP at a sub-seasonal period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single‐pot electrolytic synthesis of hydrogen and carbon fuels is achieved through the use of a mixed, hydroxide/carbonate electrolyte, nickel anode (generating O2), and nickel or steel cathode (generating graphite and hydrogen). Low hydroxide fractions in the electrolyte ensure efficient carbon formation, while high fractions form only H2 at the cathode; added barium and lithium salts ensure effective nickel anode stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single pot electrolytic synthesis of hydrogen and carbon fuels is achieved through the use of a mixed, hydroxide/carbonate electrolyte, a nickel anode (generating O2), and a nickel or steel cathode. In article number 1401791 Stuart Licht and co‐workers report that the generation of hydrogen and carbon fuels is driven with conventional power or efficiently generated from sunlight using solar thermal and electric (CPV) energy as STEP (solar thermal electrochemical process) fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]