Characteristics of the precipitation recycling ratio and its relationship with regional precipitation in China

A dynamic recycling model (DRM) with an analytical moisture trajectory tracking method, together with Japan Meteorological Agency 25-year reanalysis data, is used to study the regional precipitation recycling process across China, by calculating the regional recycling ratio (ρr) at the daily time scale during 1979–2010. The distribution of ρr shows that, in western China, especially the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas, precipitation is strongly dependent on the recycling process associated with regional evaporation. In Southeast China, however, the contribution from the recycling processes is much smaller due to the influence of the summer monsoon. A precipitation threshold value of about 4 mm/day is obtained from detailed analysis of both extreme and all-range ρr years. According to this threshold, China is classified into three types of sub-regions: low-precipitation sub-regions (mainly in the northwest), high-precipitation sub-regions (mainly in the south), and medium-precipitation sub-regions (mainly in the northeast). It is found that ρr correlates positively with precipitation, as well as convective precipitation (PCP) and large-scale precipitation (PLP) in the low-precipitation sub-regions. However, negative ρr ∼ PLP correlations are found in the high-precipitation sub-regions and nonsignificant correlations exist in the medium-precipitation sub-regions. As PCP is mainly locally generated due to mid-latitude mesoscale systems and the cumulus parameterization used in producing the reanalysis, the recycling ratio positively correlates to the ratio PCP/PLP in almost all sub-regions, particularly in the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas. The correlation between radiation flux and ρr suggests more net radiation supports more evaporation and higher ρr, especially in the high-precipitation sub-regions. The influence of clouds on shortwave radiation is crucial, since evaporation is suppressed when the amount of cloudiness increases, especially in the high-precipitation sub-regions. Together with the consideration of soil moisture, it can be inferred that limited soil moisture inhibits evaporation in the low-precipitation sub-regions, while the energy or radiation is the dominant factor controlling evaporation in the high-precipitation sub-regions.