Impacts of the Silk Road pattern on the interdecadal variations of the atmospheric heat source over the Tibetan Plateau

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the boreal summer Silk Road Pattern (SRP) and the atmospheric heat (<Q1>) over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) region, using 5 reanalysis datasets over the period 1979–2019. Our results indicate an interdecadal change of boreal summer SRP over the Eurasian region, with a regime shift in the spatial structure at around 1997. Meanwhile, the summer <Q1> anomaly also shows a clear interdecadal increasing trend over the TP region, which is highly correlated with the interdecadal variation of the SRP. The impact of the SRP on the summer <Q1> was also investigated. The regime shift of the SRP would have generated circulation anomalies over the Lake Baikal region in 500 hPa, which would have inhibited moisture transport across the eastern boundary of the TP. Meanwhile, Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) would also transport water vapor through the southern boundary of the TP and increased the contents of water vapor in the TP. Associated with this increase in moisture, the change of vertical motion would result in large plenty of precipitation, which released latent heat and enhanced <Q1> in summer. Thus, the regime shift in summer SRP was an important factor contributing to changes in summer <Q1> over the TP in recent decades.Optical and Laser Remote Sensin