Future Changes in the Relationship Between the South and East Asian Summer Monsoons in CMIP6 Models

The future changes in the relationship between the South Asian summer monsoon (SASM) and the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) are investigated by using the high-emissions Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 5-8.5 (SSP5- 8.5) experiments from 26 coupled models that participated in the phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). Six models, selected based on their best performance in simulating the upper- and lower-level pathways related to the SASM-EASM teleconnection in the historical run, can capture the positive relationship between the SASM and the rainfall over northern China. In the future scenario, the upper-level teleconnection wave pattern connecting the SASM and the EASM exhibits a significant weakening trend, due to the rainfall anomalies decrease over the northern Indian Peninsula in the future. At the lower level, the western North Pacific anticyclone is projected to strengthen in the warming climate. The positive (negative) rainfall anomalies associated with positive (negative) SASM rainfall anomalies are anticipated to extend southward from northern China to the Yangtze-Huai River valley, the Korea Peninsula, and southern Japan. The connection in the lower-level pathway may be strengthened in the future.     

Responses of East Asian summer monsoon to historical SST and atmospheric forcing during 1950–2000

The East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) circulation and summer rainfall over East China have experienced large decadal changes during the latter half of the 20th century. To investigate the potential causes behind these changes, a series of simulations using the national center for atmospheric research (NCAR) community atmospheric model version 3 (CAM3) and the geophysical fluid dynamics laboratory (GFDL) atmospheric model version 2.1 (AM2.1) are analyzed. These simulations are forced separately with different historical forcing, namely tropical sea surface temperature (SSTs), global SSTs, greenhouse gases plus aerosols, and a combination of global SSTs and greenhouse gases plus aerosols. This study focuses on the relative roles of these individual forcings in causing the observed monsoon and rainfall changes over East Asia during 1950–2000. The simulations from both models show that the SST forcing, primarily from the Tropics, is able to induce most of the observed weakening of the EASM circulation, while the greenhouse gas plus (direct) aerosol forcing increases the land-sea thermal contrast and thus enhances the EASM circulation. The results suggest that the recent warming in the Tropics, especially the warming associated with the tropical interdecadal variability centered over the central and eastern Pacific, is a primary cause for the weakening of the EASM since the late 1970s. However, a realistic simulation of the relatively small-scale rainfall change pattern over East China remains a challenge for the global models.     

The response of the South Asian Summer Monsoon circulation to intensified irrigation in global climate model simulations

Agricultural intensification in South Asia has resulted in the expansion and intensification of surface irrigation over the twentieth century. The resulting changes to the surface energy balance could affect the temperature contrasts between the South Asian land surface and the equatorial Indian Ocean, potentially altering the South Asian Summer Monsoon (SASM) circulation. Prior studies have noted apparent declines in the monsoon intensity over the twentieth century and have focused on how altered surface energy balances impact the SASM rainfall distribution. Here, we use the coupled Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE-R general circulation model to investigate the impact of intensifying irrigation on the large-scale SASM circulation over the twentieth century, including how the effect of irrigation compares to the impact of increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing. We force our simulations with time-varying, historical estimates of irrigation, both alone and with twentieth century GHGs and other forcings. In the irrigation only experiment, irrigation rates correlate strongly with lower and upper level temperature contrasts between the Indian sub-continent and the Indian Ocean (Pearson’s r = ?0.66 and r = ?0.46, respectively), important quantities that control the strength of the SASM circulation. When GHG forcing is included, these correlations strengthen: r = ?0.72 and r = ?0.47 for lower and upper level temperature contrasts, respectively. Under irrigated conditions, the mean SASM intensity in the model decreases only slightly and insignificantly. However, in the simulation with irrigation and GHG forcing, inter-annual variability of the SASM circulation decreases by ~40 %, consistent with trends in the reanalysis products. This suggests that the inclusion of irrigation may be necessary to accurately simulate the historical trends and variability of the SASM system over the last 50 years. These findings suggest that intensifying irrigation, in concert with increased GHG forcing, is capable of reducing the variability of the simulated SASM circulation and altering the regional moisture transport by limiting the surface warming and reducing land–sea temperature gradients.     

Equilibrium climate response of the East Asian summer monsoon to forcing of anthropogenic aerosol species

We used an online aerosol–climate model to study the equilibrium climate response of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) to increases in anthropogenic emissions of sulfate, organic carbon, and black carbon aerosols from 1850 to 2000. Our results show that each of these aerosol species has a different effect on the EASM as a result of changes in the local sea–land thermal contrast and atmospheric circulation. The increased emission of sulfate aerosol leads to a decrease in the thermal contrast between the land and ocean, a southward shift of the East Asian subtropical jet, and significant northerly wind anomalies at 850 hPa over eastern China and the ambient oceans, markedly dampening the EASM. An increase in organic carbon aerosol results in pronounced surface cooling and the formation of an anomalous anticyclone over the oceans north of 30°N. These effects cause a slight increase in the sea–land thermal contrast and southerly flow anomalies to the west of the anticyclonic center, strengthening the northern EASM. An increase in organic carbon emission decreases the sea–land thermal contrast over southern China, which weakens the southern EASM. The response of the summer 850-hPa winds and rainfall over the East Asian monsoon region to an increase in black carbon emission is generally consistent with the response to an increase in organic carbon. The increase in black carbon emission leads to a strengthening of the northern EASM north of 35°N and a slight weakening of the southern EASM south of 35°N. The simulated response of the EASM to the increase in black carbon emission is unchanged when the emission of black carbon is scaled up by five times its year 2000 levels, although the intensities of the response is enhanced. The increase in sulfate emission primarily weakens the EASM, whereas the increases in black carbon and organic carbon emissions mitigate weakening of the northern EASM.     

East Asian summer monsoon circulation structure controlled by feedback of condensational heating

The East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) features strong humid low-level southerly flows and abundant rainfall over the subtropical East Asia. This study identified how condensational heating generated by the EASM rainfall can affect the EASM circulation by contrasting two 10-member ensembles of atmospheric General Circulation Model experiments with Community Climate Model version 3/National Center for Atmospheric Research respectively with and without feedback of condensational heating over the East Asian domain. Major results inferred from the experiments are as follows. Condensational heating is found to absolutely dominate diabatic heating over East Asia. Exclusion of the feedback of condensational heating leads to a significant weakening of summertime tropospheric warming over land and thus a large reduction of the land-sea thermal contrast between entire Asian continent and surrounding oceans. Associated with this, the lower-level EASM flows are weakened, South Asian High at 200 hPa migrates southward with reduced intensity and breaks over East Asia with southerly flows prevailing in the upper troposphere, in contrast to northerly flows in reality. Consequently, local EASM meridional cell disappears and the baroclinic structure featured by the EASM circulation that is dynamically determined by convective condensational heating over East Asia is altered to a barotropic structure. Therefore, it is concluded that the feedback of condensational heating acts to largely enhance lower-level flows of the EASM and essentially determine its baroclinic structure and meridional cell, once the solar radiation and inhomogeneity of the Earth’s surface form low-level monsoon flows in East Asia by enhancing land-sea thermal contrast.     

华西秋雨起止与秋冬季节大气环流转换

根据1961—2010年平均的逐候NCEP/NCAR再分析资料、1979—2008年平均的逐候CMAP降水资料以及1961—2010年逐候平均的中国553个台站降水资料,讨论了华西秋雨起止日期与秋冬季大气环流转换特征的关系。结果表明,华西地区降水年变化表现为明显的夏、秋双峰特征,8月4—8日(第44候)为双峰间的低谷,10月8—12日(第57候)以后降水降至年平均以下。由此,将华西秋雨建立和结束日期分别确定为8月9—13日(第45候)和10月8—12日(第57候)。华西秋雨的建立对应于东亚夏季风开始向冬季风转变,其标志性环流调整特征是江南地区的西南风转为东南风。东亚经向海平面气压梯度在8月9—13日(第45候)由南高北低转为南低北高,造成850 hPa江南地区的西南风转为东南风,该东南风与来自孟加拉湾的热带西南季风交汇于华西地区,形成风向和水汽的辐合,使得华西地区的降水在夏峰之后再次增强,华西秋雨由此建立。华西秋雨的结束则对应于孟加拉湾热带西南季风结束和东亚冬季风完全建立,其标志性环流调整特征是孟加拉湾地区的西南风转为东北风。随着东亚纬向海平面气压梯度由北向南依次发生东高西低向东低西高的转变,东亚冬季风也逐步向南推进,9月8—12日(第51候)东北冬季风到达江南地区,10月8—12日(第57候)进一步推进到南海地区,此时来自孟加拉湾的热带西南季风消失,造成华西地区完全受大陆冷高压控制,东亚季风经圈环流也转为冬季型哈得来环流,东亚冬季风完全建立,华西秋雨也随之结束。因此,华西秋雨起止可能与东亚夏季风、南亚夏季风向冬季风的转变时间不同步有关,东亚季风与南亚季风的共同作用使得华西秋雨成为亚洲夏季风在中国大陆上的最后一个雨季。     

热带印度洋和太平洋增暖对东亚夏季风趋势的相反影响

利用多成员集合试验结果,比较分析了热带印度洋和太平洋增暖各自对东亚夏季风趋势变化的影响。试验所用模式是GFDLAM2大气环流模式,增暖是通过在气候平均海洋表面温度（SST）基础上,叠加随时间线性增加的、相当于实际50a左右达到的SST异常来实现的。结果表明：热带印度洋和太平洋共同增暖有使东亚夏季风减弱的趋势。相比较而言,单独印度洋增暖有使东亚夏季风增强、华北降水增多的趋势,而单独太平洋增暖有使东亚夏季风减弱的趋势,即印度洋增暖与太平洋增暖对东亚夏季风存在相反的、竞争性影响。进一步分析指出,热带太平洋特别是热带中东太平洋的增温可能对20世纪70年代末期开始的夏季风年代际减弱有更重要的贡献;在未来热带印度洋和太平洋持续增暖、但增暖强度纬向差异减小的新情况下,东亚夏季风减弱的趋势可能还将持续。     

东亚和南亚季风协同作用对西南地区夏季降水的影响

为探究东亚夏季风（EASM,East Asian summer monsoon）和南亚夏季风（SASM,South Asian summer monsoon）相互作用及其强弱变化对西南地区夏季降水的影响,利用1979—2019年西南地区161站逐日降水观测资料和ERA-5提供的1979—2019年全球再分析资料,通过对比西南地区夏季标准化降水指数与东亚和南亚夏季风强度指数的相关,提出了东亚夏季风和南亚夏季风的4类协同作用,并分析了4类季风协同作用对西南地区降水的影响。结果表明:（1）EASM和SASM存在强EASM-强SASM、强EASM-弱SASM、弱EASM-弱SASM和弱EASM-强SASM 4类季风协同作用,其对应的协同年降水特征分别为四川盆地西部型、西南全区一致型、四川全盆地型及西南东部型。（2）强EASM-强SASM年,西太平洋副热带高压偏东偏弱,伊朗高压偏西偏弱,印度半岛东北部与中国南海存在两个气旋式环流,EASM将中国南海—西太平洋的水汽输送至西南地区,西南地区整体水汽辐合较弱,多下沉运动,降水较少,成都平原存在较明显的水汽辐合,上升运动明显,降水较多。强EASM-弱SASM年,西太平洋副热带高压偏东偏弱,伊朗高压偏东偏强,反气旋式环流与气旋式环流位于印度半岛南部与西太平洋,EASM将中国南海—西太平洋的水汽输送至西南地区,西南地区有明显的水汽辐合和上升运动,降水较多。弱EASM-弱SASM年,西太平洋副热带高压西伸与东伸的伊朗高压打通,低纬度地区无明显的环流圈,孟加拉湾西侧水汽向北输送至四川盆地,并伴有明显的上升运动,其余地区水汽辐散,气流下沉,降水较少。弱EASM-强SASM年则与强EASM-弱SASM年基本相反。      

东亚夏季风和中国东部夏季降水年代际变化的模拟

利用中国科学院大气物理研究所发展的第四代大气环流模式模拟了1970年代末东亚夏季风和相关的中国东部夏季降水年代际变化。结果表明,在给定的观测海温强迫下,模式能模拟出东亚夏季风的年代际减弱及 相关的环流场变化,包括东亚沿海的偏北风异常以及西太平洋副高的形态变化,模式还较好再现了中国东部夏季降水的雨型变化,即长江流域降水偏多,而华北和华南偏少,但位置略偏南。基于奇异值分解(SVD)的分析表明,热带海洋变暖是这次东亚夏季风的年代际减弱的主要因素,这与太平洋年代际振荡(PDO)在1970年代末期的位相转变有关。此外,模式还较好模拟了长江流域的变冷趋势,进而减弱了海陆温差,使东亚夏季风减弱。     

东亚夏季风强弱年大气环流和热源异常对比分析

根据黄刚等定义的东亚夏季风指数, 对强、弱东亚夏季风年大气环流、大气热源和外强迫源SST的差异进行分析, 结果表明:强 (弱) 东亚夏季风年前期冬季到夏季, 太平洋SSTA为La Ni?a (El Ni?o) 型分布, 西太平洋暖池SST暖 (冷), 使得暖池附近对流活动较强 (较弱)。与此同时, 南亚大陆从印度半岛、青藏高原南部、中南半岛至华南大气异常加热 (变冷), 并且海陆热力对比加强 (减弱), 有利于出现强 (弱) 的东亚夏季风。此外, 由于暖池附近对流活动强 (弱), 该地区上升气流较强 (弱), Walker环流增强 (减弱), 当强 (弱) 的东亚夏季风向北推进时, 副热带西风急流北撤位置偏北 (南), 副热带高压位置也偏北 (南), 7月至8月华北 (江淮流域) 位于副热带西风急流南侧, 降水偏多, 江淮流域 (华北) 降水偏少。并给出与东亚夏季风年际变异有关的大气环流和SST异常的物理图像。     

20CR再分析资料在东亚夏季风区的质量评估

本文利用NCEP1和ERA40再分析资料, 并结合观测资料, 对最新公布的一套再分析资料——20CR再分析资料在东亚夏季风区的质量进行了综合评估。本文主要是从气候态、年际变率、年代际变化三个方面, 来评估20CR再分析资料在东亚夏季风区的质量。结果表明, 在气候平均态上, 20CR再分析资料基本合理再现了东亚夏季风区的高低层环流场(包括南亚高压、副热带西风急流、近地层风场)以及经向环流圈特征。但相较于NCEP1和ERA40, 20CR所刻画的南亚高压偏强, 西风急流偏北, 对流层中上层温度系统性偏高。在年际变率方面, 除了NCEP1在1967年之前存在偏差, 使其结果和ERA40、20CR不同之外, 三套再分析资料刻画的东亚夏季风变率在其它时段高度一致。三套资料在以纬向风为基础的东亚夏季风指数上的一致性, 高于以经向风为基础的东亚夏季风指数, 其中以低层纬向风为基础的东亚夏季风指数的一致性最高。20CR再分析资料可以较好地再现与东亚夏季风相联系的地表气温和降水年际变化特征, 其刻画的地表气温正相关中心位置偏西、强度最强, 且在河套平原地区有一个弱的负相关中心, 而其描述的降水在孟加拉湾和长江流域较之另外两套再分析资料更接近观测结果, 在热带地区和海上却反之。在年代际变化方面, 20CR再分析资料未能合理再现东亚夏季风年代际减弱的现象, 这也体现在不能合理再现青藏高原下游年代际变冷和“南涝北旱”降水型上, 这主要是因为20CR再分析资料所刻画的东亚地区对流层中上层年代际变冷信号偏弱所致。而在百年时间尺度上, 20CR再分析资料所刻画的东亚夏季风变化与观测较为一致;20CR再分析资料可以合理再现出东亚夏季风区1920年代前的显著冷期和1990年代之后的迅速增暖期, 但对1920～1950年代相对暖期和1950～1980年代相对冷期的再现能力较差。     

海温异常对东亚夏季风影响机理的研究进展

从短期气候预测关注的外强迫信号角度出发,回顾了国内外在海温异常对东亚夏季风和我国汛期降水影响机理方面的主要研究进展,重点评述了热带太平洋ENSO循环、热带印度洋全区一致型海温模态、热带印度洋海温异常偶极子、南印度洋偶极子和北大西洋海温三极子模态的年际变化及其对东亚夏季风年际变率的影响。从研究成果在短期气候预测业务中应用的角度,重点关注海温异常和东亚夏季风年际变率以及我国汛期降水多雨带位置的关系,总结了海温异常作为外强迫信号对我国汛期降水预测的指示意义以及汛期降水预测的难度。最后指出气候预测业务对东亚夏季风影响的机理研究和动力气候模式发展方面的需求。     

亚洲—太平洋夏季风系统的基本模态特征分析

亚洲—太平洋季风区各季风子系统间的相互作用对季风区甚至全球的气候变化都有着显著的影响.整个亚洲—太平洋夏季风系统都处于高层辐散、低层辐合的庞大辐散环流中,从高层辐散中心流出的三支气流分别对推动印度夏季风、东亚副热带夏季风和南海夏季风起着重要的作用,很好地表现了亚洲—太平洋夏季风系统的整体性特征.季风区多种气象要素的基本模态在年代际和年际尺度上都表现出较为一致的变化特征:年代际尺度上亚洲—太平洋夏季风系统整体呈现减弱趋势;年际尺度上存在准2年和准4年的两个周期,其中准2年振荡特征表现为若印度西南季风偏强,则印度季风雨带偏强偏北,导致印度大陆中北部地区降水偏多;同时,由于西太平洋副热带高压的北移和偏强的印度西南季风显著向东延伸,10°N~30°N范围内的西北太平洋地区则表现为异常的气旋性环流,而30°N~50°N之间为反气旋性环流异常,对应东亚夏季风偏强,季风雨带能够北推至我国华北地区.也就是说,当亚洲夏季风中某一季风子系统表现为异常偏强时,另一季风子系统在这一年中也将表现为异常偏强,反之亦然.准2年的振荡周期可能是亚洲—太平洋夏季风系统的一种固有振荡,它从年际尺度上反映了亚洲—太平洋夏季风受热带太平洋—印度洋海温的强迫表现出明显的整体一致特征.     

A transient climate change simulation with greenhouse gas and aerosol forcing: projected climate to the twenty-first century

 The potential climatic consequences of increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration and sulfate aerosol loading are investigated for the years 1900 to 2100 based on five simulations with the CCCma coupled climate model. The five simulations comprise a control experiment without change in GHG or aerosol amount, three independent simulations with increasing GHG and aerosol forcing, and a simulation with increasing GHG forcing only. Climate warming accelerates from the present with global mean temperatures simulated to increase by 1.7 °C to the year 2050 and by a further 2.7 °C by the year 2100. The warming is non-uniform as to hemisphere, season, and underlying surface. Changes in interannual variability of temperature show considerable structure and seasonal dependence. The effect of the comparatively localized negative radiative forcing associated with the aerosol is to retard and reduce the warming by about 0.9 °C at 2050 and 1.2 °C at 2100. Its primary effect on temperature is to counteract the global pattern of GHG-induced warming and only secondarily to affect local temperatures suggesting that the first order transient climate response of the system is determined by feedback processes and only secondarily by the local pattern of radiative forcing. The warming is accompanied by a more active hydrological cycle with increases in precipitation and evaporation rates that are delayed by comparison with temperature increases. There is an “El Nino-like” shift in precipitation and an overall increase in the interannual variability of precipitation. The effect of the aerosol forcing is again primarily to delay and counteract the GHG-induced increase. Decreases in soil moisture are common but regionally dependent and interannual variability changes show considerable structure. Snow cover and sea-ice retreat. A PNA-like anomaly in mean sea-level pressure with an enhanced Aleutian low in northern winter is associated with the tropical shift in precipitation regime. The interannual variability of mean sea-level pressure generally decreases with largest decreases in the tropical Indian ocean region. Changes to the ocean thermal structure are associated with a spin-down of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation together with a decrease in its variability. The effect of aerosol forcing, although modest, differs from that for most other quantities in that it does not act primarily to counteract the GHG forcing effect. The barotropic stream function in the ocean exhibits modest change in the north Pacific but accelerating changes in much of the Southern Ocean and particularly in the north Atlantic where the gyre spins down in conjunction with the decrease in the thermohaline circulation. The results differ in non-trivial ways from earlier equilibrium 2 × CO₂ results with the CCCma model as a consequence of the coupling to a fully three-dimensional ocean model and the evolving nature of the forcing. Received: 24 September 1998 / Accepted: 8 October 1999     

大气热源年代际异常与20世纪70年代末期东亚夏季风年代际减弱

利用1958-2001年ERA-40再分析资料计算大气热源,统计分析了亚洲季风区及其邻近海域大气热源年代际变异的典型模态;利用线性斜压干模式,模拟了夏季大气对大气热源年代际异常的响应,揭示了大气热源年代际异常与1970s末期东亚夏季风年代际减弱的关系。结果表明:近50 a来亚洲及其邻近海域夏季整层大气热源变异主要表现为年代际变化特征,其年代际位相转换发生在1970s中后期,这与东亚夏季风年代际减弱的时间一致;菲律宾附近海域和中国西南地区是与东亚夏季风年代际减弱有直接联系的两个热源异常关键区;东亚夏季风年代际减弱最直接地表现为这两个关键区热源异常的共同作用,而赤道中东太平洋、赤道印度洋大气热源增强则通过大气遥响应机制影响菲律宾附近海域低层大气环流异常对东亚夏季风变异起相反的贡献。     

Possible Impacts of the Arctic Oscillation on the Interdecadal Variation of Summer Monsoon Rainfall in East Asia

The influences of the wintertime AO (Arctic Oscillation) on the interdecadal variation of summer monsoon rainfall in East Asia were examined. An interdecadal abrupt change was found by the end of the 1970s in the variation of the AO index and the leading principal component time series of the summer rainfall in East Asia, The rainfall anomaly changed from below normal to above normal in central China, the southern part of northeastern China and the Korean peninsula around 1978. However,the opposite interdecadal variation was found in the rainfall anomaly in North China and South China.The interdecadal variation of summer rainfall is associated with the weakening of the East Asia summer monsoon circulation. It is indicated that the interdecadal variation of the AO exerts an influence on the weakening of the monsoon circulation. The recent trend in the AO toward its high-index polarity during the past two decades plays important roles in the land-sea contrast anomalies and wintertime precipitation anomaly. The mid- and high-latitude regions of the Asian continent are warming, while the low-latitude regions are cooling in winter and spring along with the AO entering its high-index polarity after the late 1970s. In the meantime, the precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau and South China is excessive, implying an increase of soil moisture. The cooling tendency of the land in the southern part of Asia will persist until summer because of the memory of soil moisture. So the warming of the Asian continent is relatively slow in summer. Moreover, the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean which are located southward and eastward of the Asian land, are warming from winter to summer. This suggests that the contrast between the land and sea is decreased in summer. The interdecadal decrease of the land-sea heat contrast finally leads to the weakening of the East Asia summer monsoon circulation.     

Influence of the Eastern Pacific and Central Pacific Types of ENSO on the South Asian Summer Monsoon

Based on observational and reanalysis data,the relationships between the eastern Pacific(EP)and central Pacific(CP)types of El Ni?o?Southern Oscillation(ENSO)during the developing summer and the South Asian summer monsoon(SASM)are examined.The roles of these two types of ENSO on the SASM experienced notable multidecadal modulation in the late 1970s.While the inverse relationship between the EP type of ENSO and the SASM has weakened dramatically,the CP type of ENSO plays a far more prominent role in producing anomalous Indian monsoon rainfall after the late 1970s.The drought-producing El Ni?o warming of both the EP and CP types can excite anomalous rising motion of the Walker circulation concentrated in the equatorial central Pacific around 160°W to the date line.Accordingly,compensatory subsidence anomalies are evident from the Maritime Continent to the Indian subcontinent,leading to suppressed convection and decreased precipitation over these regions.Moreover,anomalously less moisture flux into South Asia associated with developing EP El Ni?o and significant northwesterly anomalies dominating over southern India accompanied by developing CP El Ni?o,may also have been responsible for the Indian monsoon droughts during the pre-1979 and post-1979 sub-periods,respectively.El Ni?o events with the same“flavor”may not necessarily produce consistent Indian monsoon rainfall anomalies,while similar Indian monsoon droughts may be induced by different types of El Ni?o,implying high sensitivity of monsoonal precipitation to the detailed configuration of ENSO forcing imposed on the tropical Pacific.     

Latitude-Dependent Response of East Asian Summer Monsoon to External Forcing in the Last Millennium

Response of the East Asian summer monsoon(EASM) rainfall to external forcing(insolation,volcanic aerosol,and greenhouse gases) is investigated by analysis of a millennium simulation with the coupled climate model ECHO-G.The model reproduces reasonably realistic present-day EASM climatology.The simulated precipitation variation in East Asia over the last millennium compares favorably with the observed and proxy data.It is found that the features and sensitivity of the forced response depend on latitude.On...     

Characteristics of Atmospheric Heat Sources in the Tibetan Plateau-Tropical Indian Ocean Region

Investigating the temporal and spatial distributions of the atmospheric heat sources(AHS) over the Tibetan Plateau-Tropical Indian Ocean(TP-TIO) region is of great importance for the understanding of the evolution and development of the South Asian summer monsoon(SASM). This study used the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis(JRA-55) data from 1979 to 2016 and adopted statistical methods to study the characteristics of the AHS between the TP and TIO, and theirs link to the SASM on an interannual scale. The results indicated that the monthly variations of the AHS in the two regions were basically anti-phase, and that the summer AHS in the TP was obviously stronger than that in the TIO. There were strong AHS and atmospheric moisture sink(AMS) centers in both the eastern and western TP in summer. The AHS center in the east was stronger than that in the west, and the AMS centers showed the opposite pattern. In the TIO, a strong AHS center in the northwest-southeast direction was located near 10°S, 90°E.Trend analysis showed that summer AHS in the TIO was increasing significantly, especially before 1998, whereas there was a weakening trend in the TP. The difference of the summer AHS between the TP and TIO(hereafter IQ)was used to measure the thermal contrast between the TP and the TIO. The IQ showed an obvious decreasing trend.After 1998, there was a weak thermal contrast between the TP and the TIO, which mainly resulted from the enhanced AHS in the TIO. The land-sea thermal contrast, the TIO Hadley circulation in the southern hemisphere and the SASM circulation all weakened, resulting in abnormal circulation and abnormal precipitation in the Bay of Bengal(BOB).     

Regional-scale surface air temperature and East Asian summer monsoon changes during the last millennium simulated by the FGOALS-gl climate system model

The spatial patterns and regional-scale surface air temperature （SAT） changes during the last millennium,as well as the variability of the East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） were simulated with a low-resolution version of Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land-Sea-ice （FGOALS-gl） model.The model was driven by both natural and anthropogenic forcing agents.Major features of the simulated past millennial Northern Hemisphere （NH） mean SAT variations,including the Medieval Climate Anomaly （MCA）,the Little Ice Age （LIA） and the 20th Century Warming （20CW）,were generally consistent with the reconstructions.The simulated MCA showed a global cooling pattern with reference to the 1961-90 mean conditions,indicating the 20CW to be unprecedented over the last millennium in the simulation.The LIA was characterized by pronounced coldness over the continental extratropical NH in both the reconstruction and the simulation.The simulated global mean SAT difference between the MCA and LIA was 0.14°C,with enhanced warming over high-latitude NH continental regions.Consistencies between the simulation and the reconstruction on regional scales were lower than those on hemispheric scales.The major features agreed well between the simulated and reconstructed SAT variations over the Chinese domain,despite some inconsistency in details among different reconstructions.The EASM circulation during the MCA was stronger than that during the LIA The corresponding rainfall anomalies exhibited excessive rainfall in the north but deficient rainfall in the south.Both the zonal and meridional thermal contrast were enhanced during the MCA.This temperature anomaly pattern favored a stronger monsoon circulation.