Abstract:
Using ERA-5 500 hPa hourly reanalysis data (0.25°×0.25°) and based on the synoptic characteristics of the Qinghai−Xizang Plateau vortex (QXPV), an objective identification algorithm based on grid data with high spatial and temporal resolution was developed to determine the QXPV during the warm season from 1990 to 2019 and establish the QXPV database. The algorithm extracted the QXPV feature points by objective criteria, and afterward, the DBSCAN (Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise) algorithm was adopted for feature point clustering. According to the degree of overlap and distance between QXPV occurring in adjacent time and the lifespan, a reasonable path of the QXPV was acquired to connect the isolated QXPV into a dynamic vortex process. Subsequently, this study compared the QXPV that occurs in the warm season of 2017 (May–September) identified by the QXPV and Shear Line Yearbooks (the Yearbook) and the objective identification. The findings reveal that the monthly distribution characteristics of the objective identificated QXPVs (OI-QXPV) and the QXPV proportion moving out of the plateau are similar to those in the Yearbook. Moreover, the usual long-life QXPV can be correctly identified, demonstrating that the objective identification algorithm and its database have certain reliability and practicability. However, the total number of OI-QXPV is more than that in the Yearbook, and more OI-QXPVs are arising from the western part of the plateau than in the Yearbook QXPVs (YB-QXPV). This is because the vortex can be extracted from earlier lifetimes due to a finer grid scale, making it possible to trace the “eastern type” vortex in the Yearbook further to the west. Moreover, due to the lack of observation stations in the northwest part of the Qinghai−Xizang Plateau, the QXPVs produced in this area are not reflected in the Yearbook, which is another crucial reason for the difference in the number of QXPVs.