中国大陆降水日变化研究进展

文章概述了中国大陆降水日变化的最新研究成果,给出了中国大陆降水日变化的整体图像,指出目前数值模式模拟降水日变化的局限性,为及时了解和掌握降水日变化研究进展、开展相关科学研究和进行降水预报服务提供了有价值的科学依据和参考。现有研究表明：（1）中国大陆夏季降水日变化的区域特征明显。在夏季,东南和东北地区的降水日峰值主要集中在下午;西南地区多在午夜达到降水峰值;长江中上游地区的降水多出现在清晨;中东部地区清晨、午后双峰并存;青藏高原大部分地区是下午和午夜峰值并存。（2）降水日变化存在季节差异和季节内演变。冷季降水日峰值时刻的区域差异较暖季明显减小,在冷季南方大部分地区都表现为清晨峰值;中东部地区暖季降水日变化随季风雨带的南北进退表现出清晰的季节内演变,季风活跃（间断）期的日降水峰值多发生在清晨（下午）。（3）持续性降水和局地短时降水的云结构特性以及降水日峰值出现时间存在显著差异。持续性降水以层状云特性为主,地表降水和降水廓线的峰值大多位于午夜后至清晨;短时降水以对流降水为主,峰值时间则多出现在下午至午夜前。（4）降水日变化涉及不同尺度的山-谷风、海-陆风和大气环流的综合影响,涉及复杂的云雨形成和演变过程,对流层低层环流日变化对降水日变化的区域差异亦有重要影响。（5）目前数值模式对中国降水日变化的模拟能力有限,且模拟结果具有很强的模式依赖性,仅仅提高模式水平分辨率并不能总是达到改善模拟结果的目的,关键是要减少存在于降水相关的物理过程参数化方案中的不确定性问题。     

Progress in Studies of the Precipitation Diurnal Variation over Contiguous China

This paper summarizes the recent progress in studies of the diurnal variation of precipitation over con- tiguous China. The main results are as follows. （1） The rainfall diurnal variation over contiguous China presents distinct regional features. In summer, precipitation peaks in the late afternoon over the south- ern inland China and northeastern China, while it peaks around midnight over southwestern China. In the upper and middle reaches of Yangtze River valley, precipitation occurs mostly in the early morning. Summer precipitation over the central eastern China （most regions of the Tibetan Plateau） has two diurnal peaks, i.e., one in the early morning （midnight） and the other in the late afternoon. （2） The rainfall diurnal variation experiences obvious seasonal and sub-seasonal evolutions. In cold seasons, the regional contrast of rainfall diurnal peaks decreases, with an early morning maximum over most of the southern China. Over the central eastern China, diurnal monsoon rainfall shows sub-seasonal variations with the movement of summer monsoon systems. The rainfall peak mainly occurs in the early morning （late afternoon） during the active （break） monsoon period. （3） Cloud properties and occurrence time of rainfall diurnal peaks are different for long- and short-duration rainfall events. Long-duration rainfall events are dominated by strat- iform precipitation, with the maximum surface rain rate and the highest profile occurring in the late night to early morning, while short-duration rainfall events are more related to convective precipitation, with the maximum surface rain rate and the highest profile occurring between the late afternoon and early night. （4） The rainfall diurnal variation is influenced by multi-scale mountain-valley and land-sea breezes as well as large-scale atmospheric circulation, and involves complicated formation and evolution of cloud and rainfall systems. The diurnal cycle of winds in the lower troposphere also contributes to the regional differences     

近30 a江苏夏季降水日变化的气候学特征

基于1980—2013年江苏省61站小时降水资料,分析了江苏省夏季降水日变化的特点及小时极端降水、不同级别雨日的日变化特征。结果表明,江苏省夏季降水日变化具有显著的双峰分布特征,然而江苏省北部和南部降水的主峰时段并不一致。从降水频次、累积降水量来看,江苏省北部降水以清晨至早上时段为主峰、午后至傍晚时段为次峰,南部降水与之相反。长持续性降水占夏季降水的2/3左右,且江苏北部占比多于南部,均为清晨至早上的单峰分布;短持续性降水占夏季降水的1/3,在江苏北部呈现出以午后至傍晚为主峰,清晨至早上为次峰的双峰分布,而在江苏南部呈现出以午后至傍晚的单峰分布特点。小时极端降水,阈值分布南低北高,虽然频次较少,但占夏季降水的40%左右。小时极端降水日变化的双峰分布和夏季总体降水分布类似,但主峰大都出现在午后至傍晚。不同级别雨日的日变化分布各有不同,但全省各区无显著差异。累积降水量贡献主要来自于暴雨和大雨。暴雨无论是从降水频次、累积降水量还是降水强度都呈现清晨至早上的单峰分布。     

Diurnal Variations of Summer Precipitation over the Qilian Mountains in Northwest China

Based on the high-density hourly rain-gauge data from 265 stations over the Qilian Mountains in Northwest China,climatic mean diurnal variations of summer rainfall over different topographies of this area are investigated. Influences of the gauge elevations on the diurnal variation of rainfall are also revealed. Distinct regional features of diurnal variations in rainfall are observed over the Qilian Mountains. Rainfall over the Qinghai Lake areas shows a single nocturnal peak. A dominant, late-afternoon peak of rainfall occurs over the mountain tops. Over the northeastern and southeastern slopes, a dominant diurnal peak appears in the late afternoon, and an evident second peak is found in the early morning, respectively. The strengths of the early-morning peaks in the rainfall frequency are closely related to the rainfall events with different durations over the two slopes. The early-morning peak is dominant across plains with low elevations. From the mountain tops to the plains, the diurnal peaks of rainfall gradually vary from the dominant late-afternoon peak to the dominant early-morning peak with the enhanced early-morning peak in concurrent with the decreasing gauge elevation over the northeastern and southeastern slopes. Further examination indicates that the rainfall at higher elevations over the northeastern and southeastern slopes occurs more readily in the afternoon,compared to the lower elevations. This phenomenon corresponds to the result that the proportion of the rainfall frequency occurring during the early-morning period decreases with increasing elevations over the two slopes.     

华北地区夏季降水日变化的时空分布特征

利用2008~2014年间全国自动站观测降水和CMORPH[CPC（Climate Prediction Center）morphing technique]卫星反演降水资料融合而成的0.1°×0.1°小时降水产品揭示了华北夏季降水的日变化特征,发现华北多数地区夏季降水量和降水频率日变化呈现出明显的双峰特征且存在明显的区域性差异。在太行山以西地区,降水量和降水频率的日峰值出现在傍晚18:00左右（北京时）,规律性最强;而在太行山以东的平原和沿海地区,日峰值一般出现在上午。研究不同持续时间降水对总降水的贡献发现短时降水对傍晚的降水日峰值贡献较大,而长时降水则对凌晨的峰值影响更大。分析不同强度降水对总降水量的贡献结果表明,0.1~10 mm h-1强度降水较其它强度降水对夏季华北地区总降水量贡献更大,随着降水强度的增加降水量日变化的峰值个数增加。     

Impacts of the Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation on the Warm-Season Rainfall over Hainan Island

This study investigates the roles of the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (BSISO) in the diurnal rainfall cycle over Hainan Island during the warm season (April-September) using 20-year satellite-based precipitation, ERA5 and the outgoing longwave radiation data with the phase composite analysis method. Results show that the spatial distributions of the hourly rainfall anomaly significantly change under the BSISO phases 1-8 while no clear variations are found on the daily and anomaly daily area-averaged rainfall over the island. During the BSISO phase 1, the rainfall anomaly distinctly increases in the morning over the southwest and late afternoon over the northeast of the island, while suppressed convection occurs in the early afternoon over the southwest area. Under this circumstance, strong low-level westerly winds bring abundant moisture into the island, which helps initiate the nocturnal-morning convection over the south coastal area, and drives the convergence region of sea breeze fronts to concentrate into the northwest. Opposite to Phase 1, an almost completely reversed diurnal cycle of rainfall anomaly is found in Phase 5, whereas a positive anomalous rainfall peak is observed in the early afternoon over the center while negative peaks are found in the morning and late afternoon over the southwest and northeast, owing to a strong low-level northeasterly anomaly flow, which causes relatively low moisture and enlarges a sea-breeze convergence area over the island. During Phase 8, strongest moisture is found over the island all through the day, which tends to produce highest rainfall in the afternoon with enhanced anomalous northerly. These results further indicate that multiscale interactions between the large-scale circulations and local land-sea breeze circulations play important roles in modulating diurnal precipitation cycles over the tropical island.     

Changes in the Diurnal Cycles of Precipitation over Eastern China in the Past 40 Years

This study analyzed the interdecadal changes in the diurnal variability of summer(June-August) precipitation over eastern China during the period 1966-2005 using hourly station rain gauge data.The results revealed that rainfall diurnal variations experienced significant interdecadal changes.Over the area to the south of the Yangtze River,as well as the area between the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers,the percentages of morning rainfall(0000-1200 LST) to total rainfall in terms of amount,frequency and intensity,all exhibited increasing interdecadal trends.On the contrary,over North China,decreasing trends were found.As a result,diurnal rainfall peaks also presented pronounced interdecadal variations.Over the area between the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers,there were 16 out of 46 stations with afternoon(1200-0000 LST) frequency peaks in the first 20 years of the 40-year period of study,while only eight remained in the latter 20 years.In North China,seven stations experienced the opposite changes,which accounted for about 21% of the total number of stations.The possible causes for the interdecadal changes in diurnal features were discussed.As the rainfall in the active monsoon period presents morning diurnal peaks,with afternoon peaks in the break period,the decrease(increase) of rainfall in the active monsoon period over North China(the area south of the Yangtze River and the area between the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers) may contribute to interdecadal changes in diurnal rainfall variability.     

Diurnal and spatial variabilities of monsoonal CG lightning and precipitation and their association with the synoptic weather conditions over South Korea

The spatial and temporal variations in cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning and precipitation during the summer monsoon months in Korea have been analyzed in relation to the regional synoptic weather conditions. The lightning data used in this study were collected from a lightning detection network installed by the Korean Meteorological Administration, while the precipitation data were collected from 386 Automatic Weather Stations spread over the entire Korean Peninsula during 2000 to 2001. A distinctive morning peak of precipitation is observed over the midwest region of Korea. Along the east coast, little precipitation and CG flash counts are found. Despite the strong afternoon peaks of convective rainfall due to the high elevation over the southern inland region, the south coast shows nocturnal or early morning peaks, which represents a common oceanic pattern of flash counts. In 2000, the nighttime peak for lightning counts dominates over the southern area, while the afternoon peak was strong in the midland during the summer, mainly due to the northward transportation of moisture to the Korean Peninsula. Conversely, the strong afternoon peak for the southern region was confronted with early morning peaks in the midwestern region during 2001. The eastward transport of moisture has been analyzed and was considered to be dominant in 2001. The study of several warm and cold type fronts in 2000 and 2001 indicate that the warm type fronts in 2000 were associated with very little lightning, while the cold type fronts appeared to be responsible for the occurrence of abundant lightning in 2001, thereby, indicating that the warm and cold type fronts were representative of the local lightning distribution in the respective years.     

江苏南部汛期降水日变化特征分析

利用江苏南部20个气象观测站2008—2012年汛期(5—10月)逐小时降水资料,应用降水频率来分析了江苏南部地区降水日变化基本特征和区域差异。研究表明:降水日变化特征地域性差异较强,西部站、东部站和东北沿海站都存在一定的特征差异。东部站降水量的最大值主要出现在下午和傍晚;西部站降水量主峰值出现在下午,并且在清晨和夜间还有两个次峰值;东北沿海站呈现出午前、午后的双峰值形式。2008—2011年降水量下午高值区有先减弱后增强并提前的趋势,而上午的高值区有总体减弱并推迟的特征。2011年后有明显减弱的趋势。江苏南部总体来说,短时强降水(大于20和25 mm/h)在16—19时出现主峰值,07—09时也有相对较小的次峰值。     

DIURNAL VARIATIONS OF SUMMER PRECIPITATION IN SHANGHAI

This paper investigates the diurnal variations of summer precipitation in Shanghai by using the city''s hourly precipitation data over a span of 35 years. The result shows that the precipitation peaks twice, in the morning and in the afternoon. Precipitation in the morning is characterized by light to moderate rain, and that in the afternoon by heavy to super heavy rain. The peak of short-duration precipitation is mostly found in the afternoon and at dusk, and that of long-duration precipitation in the morning. Most of the precipitation events in Shanghai are of a short duration of 2-3 hours. Basically, the precipitation is spatially distributed in three areas: the eastern coastal and central urban area, where the precipitation peaks mostly in the afternoon, the southern coastal area, where the precipitation peaks both in the afternoon and during the night, and the western area, where long-duration precipitation accounts for a much larger proportion than the other two areas.     

Diurnal variation of surface wind over central eastern China

Hourly wind observations from 452 meteorological stations are used to document the diurnal cycle of the surface wind over the central eastern China (100°–122°E, 20°–42.5°N). Both the surface wind speed and the wind direction show large diurnal variation with pronounced topographic effects. At most stations, the surface wind speed reaches the maximum in the afternoon and the minimum in early-morning. This diurnal phase shows small seasonal variation, whereas the diurnal amplitude varies significantly in different seasons. The diurnal amplitude of the surface wind speed reaches maximum in spring over the northern and southwestern China and in summer over the southern China. The diurnal cycle of the wind direction is more complicated. Over the coastal (mountain) regions, the diurnal wind direction is greatly influenced by the land–sea (mountain–valley) breezes with large (small) seasonal variation. Over the northern plain region, the wind direction exhibits small diurnal variation but with remarkable seasonal rotation. The surface wind over the stations located on the top of mountains shows distinct diurnal variation, which represents the diurnal cycle of the tropospheric low-level wind. The wind speed over these stations is highest in pre-dawn and lowest in the afternoon. The wind anomaly rotates clockwise from late night to late afternoon, and shows significant seasonal variation as influenced by the annual cycle of the monsoon system. The contribution of the diurnal surface wind to the diurnal feature of precipitation is briefly discussed.     

Areal differences in diurnal variations in summer precipitation over Beijing metropolitan region

Using hourly rain-gauge measurements for the period 2004?C2007, differences in diurnal variation in summer (June?CAugust) precipitation are investigated in four distinct areas of Beijing: the urban area (UA), suburban area (SA), north mountainous area (NMA), and south mountainous area (SMA), which are distinguished empirically based on underlying surface conditions and verified with a statistical rotated empirical orthogonal function. The diurnal cycles and spatial patterns in seasonal mean precipitation amount, intensity, and frequency in the four areas are compared. Results show that the four areas have distinct diurnal variation patterns in precipitation amounts, with a single peak observed in UA and NMA in the late afternoon, which are 80?% and 121?% higher than their daily average, respectively, and two peaks in SA during the late afternoon and early morning with magnitudes exceeding the daily mean by 76?% and 29?%, respectively. There are also two peaks in SMA: a weaker nocturnal diurnal peak and an afternoon peak. The minimum amounts of rainfall observed in the forenoon in UA, SA, and SMA are 53?%, 47?%, and 57?% lower than the daily mean in each area, respectively, and that observed in the early morning in NMA is 50?% lower than the daily mean. The diurnal variations in precipitation intensities resemble those for precipitation amount in all four areas, but more intense precipitation is observed in SA (2.4?mm/h) than in UA (2.2?mm/h). The lowest frequency for the whole day is observed in UA, whereas the highest frequency occurs in the mountainous areas in the daytime, especially in the late afternoon in SMA. Diurnal variations in surface air temperature and divergence fields in the four areas are further investigated to interpret the physical mechanisms that underlie the spatial and temporal differences in summer diurnal precipitation, and the results indicate the possible dominance of the local circulation arising from mountain?Cvalley wind and the differences in underlying surface heating between the urban, suburban, and mountainous areas of Beijing.     

湖南夏季降水日变化特征

利用湖南96个测站13年的逐时自记降水资料, 分析了夏季（6~8月）降水日变化特征。结果表明, 湖南夏季降水日变化呈现显著的区域差异。湘东南降水量、 降水频次峰值主要出现在午后到傍晚, 而其它地区的降水峰值一般出现在清晨。进一步分析显示, 降水频次峰值出现时次分布更集中, 区域特征更鲜明。湘西北、 湘东南区域平均的累积降水量、 降水频次及降水强度的日变化在清晨和午后均呈双峰型特征。湘西北主（次）峰值出现的时间大致与湘东南次（主）峰值出现的时间对应。同时, 降水日变化与降水持续时间密切相关。持续5~10 h降水事件是持续1~4 h事件与持续10 h以上事件降水量峰值出现时间发生显著变化的过渡降水事件。持续1~4 h（10 h以上）的降水事件的极值降水始发时间为午后至傍晚（夜间）。在不同持续时间的降水事件中, 持续2 h降水的累积量最大。     

Distribution and Diurnal Variation of Warm-Season Short-Duration Heavy Rainfall in Relation to the MCSs in China

Short-duration heavy rainfall（SDHR） is a type of severe convective weather that often leads to substantial losses of property and life. We derive the spatiotemporal distribution and diurnal variation of SDHR over China during the warm season（April–September） from quality-controlled hourly raingauge data taken at 876 stations for 19 yr（1991–2009）, in comparison with the diurnal features of the mesoscale convective systems（MCSs） derived from satellite data. The results are as follows. 1） Spatial distributions of the frequency of SDHR events with hourly rainfall greater than 10–40 mm are very similar to the distribution of heavy rainfall（daily rainfall 50 mm） over mainland China. 2） SDHR occurs most frequently in South China such as southern Yunnan, Guizhou, and Jiangxi provinces, the Sichuan basin, and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, among others. Some SDHR events with hourly rainfall 50 mm also occur in northern China, e.g., the western Xinjiang and central-eastern Inner Mongolia. The heaviest hourly rainfall is observed over the Hainan Island with the amount reaching over 180 mm. 3） The frequency of the SDHR events is the highest in July, followed by August. Analysis of pentad variations in SDHR reveals that SDHR events are intermittent, with the fourth pentad of July the most active. The frequency of SDHR over mainland China increases slowly with the advent of the East Asian summer monsoon, but decreases rapidly with its withdrawal. 4） The diurnal peak of the SDHR activity occurs in the later afternoon（1600–1700 Beijing Time（BT））, and the secondary peak occurs after midnight（0100–0200 BT） and in the early morning（0700–0800 BT）; whereas the diurnal minimum occurs around late morning till noon（1000–1300 BT）. 5） The diurnal variation of SDHR exhibits generally consistent features with that of the MCSs in China, but the active periods and propagation of SDHR and MCSs difer in diferent regions. The number and duration of local maxima in the diurnal cycles of SDHR and MCSs also vary by region, with single, double, and even multiple peaks in some cases. These variations may be associated with the diferences in large-scale atmospheric circulation, surface conditions, and land-sea distribution.     

Diurnal phase of late-night against late-afternoon of stratiform and convective precipitation in summer southern contiguous China

Using the tropical rainfall measuring mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) observations combined with the surface rain gauge data during 1998–2006, the robust diurnal features of summer stratiform and convective precipitation over the southern contiguous China are revealed by exploring the diurnal variations of rain rate and precipitation profile. The precipitation over the southern contiguous China exhibits two distinguishing diurnal phases: late-night (2200–0600 LST) and late-afternoon (1400–2200 LST), dependent on the location, precipitation type and duration time. Generally, the maximum rain rate and the highest profile of stratiform precipitation occur in the late-afternoon (late-night) over the southeastern (southwestern) China, while most of the stratiform short-duration rain rate tends to present late-afternoon peaks over the southern China. For convective precipitation, the maximum rain rate and the highest profile occur in the late-afternoon over most of the southern contiguous China, while the convective long-duration rain rate exhibits late-night peaks over the southwestern China. Without regional dependence, the convective precipitation exhibits much larger amplitude of diurnal variations in both near surface rain rate and vertical extension compared with stratiform precipitation and the convective rain top rises most rapidly between noon and afternoon. However, there are two distinctive sub-regions. The diurnal phases of precipitation there are very weakly dependent on precipitation type and duration time. Over the eastern periphery of the Tibetan Plateau, the maximum rain rate and the highest profile of either convective or stratiform precipitation occur in the late-night. Over the southeastern coastal regions, both the near surface rain rate and rain top of convective and stratiform precipitation peak in the late-afternoon.     

Diurnal Variations of Summer Precipitation in the Beijing Area and the Possible Effect of Topography and Urbanization

The present study examined the diurnal variations of summer precipitation in the Beijing area by using subdaily precipitation and wind observations. A combined effect of topography and urbanization on the characteristics of diurnal variations was suggested. It was shown that stations located in the plain areaexhibited typical night rain peaks, whereas those in the mountainous area exhibited clear afternoon peaks ofprecipitation diurnal variations. The precipitation peaks were associated with wind fields around the Beijing area, which were found to be highly modulated by mountain-valley circulation and urban-country circulation.The lower-tropospheric wind exhibited a clear diurnal shift in its direction from north at 0800 LST to southat 2000 LST, which reflected mountain-valley circulation. The transitions from valley to mountain windand the opposite generally happened after sunset and sunrise, respectively, and both occurred earlier for thestations located closer to mountains. By comparing the diurnal variations of precipitation at stations in anortheast suburb, an urban area, and a southwest suburb, it was revealed that the northeast suburb grouphad the highest normalized rainfall frequency, but the southwest group had the lowest from late afternoon tolate evening. On the contrary, in the early morning from about 0200 to 1000 LST, the southwest group andurban group had the highest normalized rainfall frequency. This pattern might originate from the combined effects of mountain-valley topography and urbanization.     

Diurnal variations of circulation and precipitation in the vicinity of the Tibetan Plateau in early summer

A regional climate model (RCM) has been applied to simulate the diurnal variations of the Asian summer monsoon during the early summer period. The ERA40 reanalysis data and the TRMM precipitation data are used to evaluate the performance of the model. The 5-year simulations show that the RCM could simulate well the diurnal cycle of the monsoon circulation over the region. A strong diurnal variation of circulation over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) can be observed at the 500-hPa level, with strong convergence and upward motion in the late afternoon. The diurnal variation of the 500-hPa relative vorticity over the TP associated with the corresponding diurnal variation of convergence may lead to the formation of a prominent plateau-scale cyclonic circulation over the TP during the evening to midnight period. The simulated diurnal variation of precipitation over land is generally better than that over the ocean, particularly over the regions close to the TP such as the Bangladesh region in the southern flank of the TP, where the well-known nocturnal maximum in precipitation is well captured by the RCM. However, the late-afternoon maximum in precipitation over the Southeast Asia region is not well simulated by the RCM. The model results suggest that the diurnal variation of precipitation over the southern flank of the TP is associated with the strong diurnal variation in the circulation over the TP.     

基于GPM卫星的广东汛期降水日变化特征与评估

新一代全球降水观测计划GPM作为TRMM卫星的继承者,在物理探测和降水反演算法上具有明显进步。以广东省雨量自动站为基准,对2014—2018年间GPM的格点降水估测产品IMERG（V5B）的日变化特征和估测误差进行分析。结果表明,IMERG能清晰反映广东前、后汛期的降水双峰型特征,但对下午降水峰值明显高估,峰值出现时间滞后;而对于沿海早晨峰值降水则明显低估,对于降水极值,低估更加显著。IMERG对两个峰值的估测误差受不同因素影响,下午峰值降水的相对偏差与地形密切相关,珠江三角洲平原为稳定高估区,地形高度越高,低估幅度越大;而早晨峰值降水极值负偏差与地形高度、降水量的相关性均较小。对出现显著负偏差的早晨沿海降水样本日进行925 hPa风场合成,可知IMERG明显低估时,对应区域上游较强的超低空西南气流与风速夜间增长。IMERG对这一季风活动背景降水的低估构成了其估测早晨降水误差的主要来源。      

The Impact of Orographically-Induced Gravity Wave on the Diurnal Cycle of Rainfall over Southeast Kalimantan Island

Precipitation measurements from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite indicate that the southeastern area of Kalimantan (Borneo) Island receives much less rainfall than elsewhere on the island during the period from July to October.Results from sur-face meteorological observations show that the diurnal cycle of rainfall differs greatly between the eastern and western coasts of the island.Rainfall on the western coast of the island is frequent in the afternoon and evening,whereas almost all rainfall on the eastern coast occurs in the morning.Meanwhile,the Global Positioning System (GPS)-derived precipitable water (PW) on the eastern coast shows a substantial decrease in moisture in the af-ternoon and evening.Numerical experiments with a mesoscale model reveal that gravity waves driven by di-urnal heating of the elevated land surface of the moun-tains on Sulawesi Island,which lies approximately 300 kilometers to the east of Kalimantan Island,significantly affect the diurnal cycle of rainfall over southeast Kali-mantan Island.     

Onset of the regional monsoon over Southeast Asia

Summary ?This is an observational study in which regional features of the different summer monsoon components over Asia especially the South China Sea (SCS) are examined. The authors use various data sets including satellite measurements to understand the onset, maintenance, and retreat of monsoon and explain the connection and independence among the variabilities in the monsoon components. It is shown that while outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data can only measure tropical convection, upper-tropospheric water vapor band brightness temperature (BT) represents appropriately convective precipitation in both the tropics and the extratropics. The authors define criteria for measuring the SCS monsoon using precipitation, BT, OLR, and lower-tropospheric winds and suggest that multi-variables should be considered to depict regional monsoon features adequately. Under the criteria defined in this study, the SCS summer monsoon is considered as an expansion of deep convection from the tropics. The onset of the monsoon occurs in mid-May, with its precursory signal found over the Indochina peninsula. It is characterized by an abrupt establishment, especially over the central SCS. Although the role of convection over the southern SCS in the monsoon onset is unclear, the early precipitation over the northern SCS and South China, resulted from the effect of subtropical fronts, is separated from the tropical monsoon rainfall. The relative independence from one monsoon component to another is explained by the effects from local topography and land-sea thermal contrast. Received November 5, 1999/Revised April 13, 2000