Mechanism of Diabatic Heating on Precipitation and the Track of a Tibetan Plateau Vortex over the Eastern Slope of the Tibetan Plateau

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.