Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42090246›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2026

Vertical conveyor driving the integration of moisture transported by the westerlies to the Asian water towers' atmospheric water cycle.

Jing Gao, Tandong Yao, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Martin Werner, Jean Jouzel, Lonnie Thompson, Mathieu Casado, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Alexandre Cauquoin, Ellen Mosley-Thompson and 9 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Jing GaoState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Tandong YaoState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9979-9849
Valérie Masson-DelmotteLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), CEA-CNRS-UVSQ-Paris-Saclay-IPSL, UMR8212, Université Paris Saclay, Orme des Merisiers, Gif-sur-Yvette 91191, France.
Martin WernerAlfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven D-27570, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-6473-0243
Jean JouzelLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), CEA-CNRS-UVSQ-Paris-Saclay-IPSL, UMR8212, Université Paris Saclay, Orme des Merisiers, Gif-sur-Yvette 91191, France.
Lonnie ThompsonByrd Polar and Climate Research Center and School of Earth Sciences, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210.ORCID 0000-0001-5371-2579
Mathieu CasadoLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), CEA-CNRS-UVSQ-Paris-Saclay-IPSL, UMR8212, Université Paris Saclay, Orme des Merisiers, Gif-sur-Yvette 91191, France.
Hans Christian Steen-LarsenGeophysical Institute, University of Bergen, Bergen 5020, Norway.
Alexandre CauquoinInstitute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa 153-8505, Japan.
Ellen Mosley-ThompsonByrd Polar and Climate Research Center and Department of Geography, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210.ORCID 0000-0002-9665-3705
Zeqing HeAerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China.
Rong CaiAerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China.
Taihua ZhangAerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China.
Yigang LiuState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Gebanruo ChenState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.ORCID 0009-0007-6896-9407
Baiqing XuState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Guangjian WuState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.ORCID 0000-0002-4095-7435
Hongxi PangKey Laboratory of Coast and Island Development of Ministry of Education, School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
Maosheng HeNational Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.

Funding

National Natural Chinese Academy of Sciences 41922002The Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Project 2024QZKK0400The Second Tibetan Scientific Expedition and Research Project 2019QZKK0208The Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences XDA20100300
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The westerlies moisture transport underpins water security for over two billion people dependent on the Asian water towers (AWTs). However, the mechanisms by which large-scale westerlies-advected moisture is integrated into the AWTs' atmospheric water budget remain poorly understood due to observational gaps. Here, we combine three-dimensional observations of atmospheric water vapor stable isotopes with isotope-enabled modeling. We identify the conveyor mechanism that regulates the vertical moisture transport under calm conditions during the winter-spring period when the westerlies are dominant. Sharp vertical isotopic gradients show that large-scale westerlies-advected moisture is predominantly confined aloft, while local residual moisture persists near the surface. Our results show the interplay of the westerlies' subsidence at night with thermodynamically distinct local residual air, yielding thermal inversions and condensation that suppresses vertical mixing and decouples moisture between the free troposphere and the atmospheric boundary layer. This process constitutes a primary pathway for integrating westerlies-advected moisture into the local moisture budget without precipitation, sustaining near-surface moisture accumulation. Our results provide critical benchmarks for improving atmospheric models, refining climate projections of the intensifying water cycle over the AWTs, and advancing interpretations of isotopic records in regional climatic archives.

Indexed as

Asian water towersatmospheric moisture decouplingmoisture transportthe westerlieswater vapor isotopes

Identifiers

PMID42090246
PMCPMC13167783

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.