Asynchronous responses of East Asian and Indian summer monsoons to mountain uplift shown by regional climate modelling experiments

It has been demonstrated in climate models that both the Indian and East Asian summer monsoons (ISM and EASM) are strengthened by the uplift of the entire Asian orography or Tibetan Plateau (TP) (i.e. bulk mountain uplift). Such an effect is widely perceived as the major mechanism contributing to the evolution of Asian summer monsoons in the Neogene. However, geological evidence suggests more diachronous growth of the Asian orography (i.e. regional mountain uplift) than bulk mountain uplift. This demands a re-evaluation of the relation between mountain uplift and the Asian monsoon in the geological periods. In this study, sensitivity experiments considering the diachronous growth of different parts of the Asian orography are performed using the regional climate model COSMO-CLM to investigate their effects on the Asian summer monsoons. The results show that, different from the bulk mountain uplift, the regional mountain uplift can lead to an asynchronous development of the ISM and EASM. While the ISM is primarily intensified by the thermal insulation (mechanical blocking) effect of the southern TP (Zagros Mountains), the EASM is mainly enhanced by the surface sensible heating of the central, northern and eastern TP. Such elevated surface heating can induce a low-level cyclonic anomaly around the TP that reduces the ISM by suppressing the lower tropospheric monsoon vorticity, but promotes the EASM by strengthening the warm advection from the south of the TP that sustains the monsoon convection. Our findings provide new insights to the evolution of the Asian summer monsoons and their interaction with the tectonic changes in the Neogene.     

沙尘气溶胶直接气候效应对东亚冬季风影响的模拟研究

利用东亚沙尘复折射指数数据和较新的植被分布对区域气候-沙尘耦合模式(RegCM4-Dust)的沙尘光学特性和沙源区域进行了更新。在此基础上,研究了沙尘气溶胶直接辐射效应对东亚冬季风的影响。模拟结果表明,引入沙尘效应后,东亚大陆绝大部分季风区对流层低层冬季风环流增强。同时,对流层中、上层中低纬度纬向风增强而中高纬度纬向风减弱,导致中高-中低纬度之间纬向风经向切变加强,从而有利于中高纬度冷空气向南侵入,这是低层冬季风环流增强在中上层的反映。另外,沙尘气溶胶导致东亚绝大部分季风区降水明显减少,东北地区西南部、华北大部、黄土高原、黄淮以及长江中下游流域减少达10%以上,这是降水对冬季风增强的响应。沙尘气溶胶引起冬季东亚次大陆-西北太平洋之间温度梯度增大,进而导致海陆间湿静力能梯度增大,是导致东亚大陆冬季风增强的主要原因。     

The response of the East Asian summer monsoon to strong tropical volcanic eruptions

A 600-year integration performed with the Bergen Climate Model and National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research （NCEP/NCAR） reanalysis data were used to investigate the impact of strong tropical volcanic eruptions on the East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） and EASM rainfall.Both the simulation and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data show a weakening of the EASM in strong eruption years.The model simulation suggests that North and South China experience droughts and the Yangtze-Huaihe River Valley experiences floods during eruption years.In response to strong tropical volcanic eruptions,the meridional air temperature gradient in the upper troposphere is enhanced,which leads to a southward shift and an increase of the East Asian subtropical westerly jet stream （EASWJ）.At the same time,the land-sea thermal contrast between the Asian land mass and Northwest Pacific Ocean is weakened.The southward shift and increase of the EASWJ and reduction of the land-sea thermal contrast all contribute to a weakening of the EASM and EASM rainfall anomaly.     

Modeling the time-dependent response of the Asian summer monsoon to obliquity forcing in a coupled GCM: a PHASEMAP sensitivity experiment

To study the time-dependent response of the Asian summer monsoon to obliquity forcing, we analyze a 284,000-year long transient simulation produced by a fully coupled global climate model (GCM) using a new phase mapping (PHASEMAP) approach. Here we focus on understanding the phase response of monsoonal circulation to insolation forcing at the Earth-orbital obliquity band (41 Kyr). Our results show that the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) can be divided into two geographic regions: the North East Asian summer monsoon (NEASM) and the South East Asian summer monsoon (SEASM). The Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and the SEASM are in phase at the obliquity band, strengthened with an increase in obliquity from Obliquity minima (Omin) to Obliquity maxima (Omax). The NEASM is out of phase with the ISM and SEASM, weakened with an increase in obliquity from Omin to Omax. We hypothesize that the inverse phase between the NEASM and the ISM at the obliquity band results from an ISM–NEASM teleconnection linked to the formation mechanism of the Bonin High.     

东亚夏季风的年际到年代际变化及其与全球大气环流和海表温度的联系

The East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) underwent an interdecadal variation with interannual variations during the period from 1958 to 1997, its index tended to decline from a higher stage in the mid-1960＇s until it reached a lower stage after 1980＇s. Correlation analysis reveals that EASM is closely related with the global atmospheric circulation and sea surface temperature (SST). The differences between the weak and strong stage of EASM shows that, the summer monsoon circulation over East Asia and North Africa is sharply weakened, in the meantime, the westerlies in high latitudes and the trade--wind over the tropical ocean are also changed significantly. Over the most regions south of the northern subtropics, both air temperature in the lower troposphere and SST tended to rise compared with the strong stage of EASM. It is also revealed that the ocean-atmosphere interaction over the western Pacific and Indian Ocean plays a key role in interannual to interdecadal variation of EASM, most probably, the subtropical Indian Ocean is more important. On the other hand, the ENSO event is less related to EASM at least during the concerned period.     

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.     

Reappraisal of Asian Summer Monsoon Indices and the Long-Term Variation of Monsoon

The Webster and Yang monsoon index (WYI)-the zonal wind shear between 850 and 200 hPa was calculated and modified on the basis of NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. After analyzing the circulation and divergence fields of 150-100 and 200 hPa, however, we found that the 200-hPa level could not reflect the real change of the upper-tropospheric circulation of Asian summer monsoon, especially the characteristics and variation of the tropical easterly jet which is the most important feature of the upper-tropospheric circulation. The zonal wind shear U850-U(150 100) is much larger than U850-U200, and thus it can reflect the strength of monsoon more appropriately. In addition, divergence is the largest at 150 hPa rather than 200 hPa, so 150 hPa in the upper-troposphere can reflect the coupling of the monsoon system. Therefore, WYI is redefined as DHI, i.e., IDH=U850* - U(150 100)*, which is able to characterize the variability of not only the intensity of the center of zonal wind shear in Asia, but also the monsoon system in the upper and lower troposphere. DHI is superior to WYI in featuring the long-term variation of Asian summer monsoon as it indicates there is obvious interdecadal variation in the Asian summer monsoon and the climate abrupt change occurred in 1980. The Asian summer monsoon was stronger before 1980 and it weakened after then due to the weakening of the easterly in the layer of 150-100 hPa, while easterly at 200 hPa did not weaken significantly. After the climate jump year in general, easterly in the upper troposphere weakened in Asia, indicating the weakening of summer monsoon; the land-sea pressure difference and thermal difference reduced, resulting in the weakening of monsoon; the corresponding upper divergence as well as the water vapor transport decreased in Indian Peninsula, central Indo-China Peninsula, North China, and Northeast China, indicating the weakening of summer monsoon as well. The difference between NCEP/NCAR and ERA-40 reanalysis data in studying the intensity and long-term variation of Asian summer monsoon is also compared in the end for reference.     

The effect of regional warming on the East Asian summer monsoon

Climate Dynamics - East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) precipitation has changed significantly due to regional warming. In this study, effect of regional warming on the EASM summer precipitation is...     

THE ANALYSIS OF MECHANISM OF IMPACT OF AEROSOLS ON EAST ASIAN SUMMER MONSOON INDEX AND ONSET

RegCM4.3, a high-resolution regional climate model, which includes five kinds of aerosols(dust, sea salt,sulfate, black carbon and organic carbon), is employed to simulate the East Asian summer monsoon(EASM) from 1995 to 2010 and the simulation data are used to study the possible impact of natural and anthropogenic aerosols on EASM.The results show that the regional climate model can well simulate the EASM and the spatial and temporal distribution of aerosols. The EASM index is reduced by about 5% by the natural and anthropogenic aerosols and the monsoon onset time is also delayed by about a pentad except for Southeast China. The aerosols heat the middle atmosphere through absorbing solar radiation and the air column expands in Southeast China and its offshore areas. As a result, the geopotential height decreases and a cyclonic circulation anomaly is generated in the lower atmosphere. Northerly wind located in the west of cyclonic circulation weakens the low-level southerly wind in the EASM region. Negative surface radiative forcing due to aerosols causes downward motion and an indirect meridional circulation is formed with the low-level northerly wind and high-level southerly wind anomaly in the north of 25° N in the monsoon area, which weakens the vertical circulation of EASM. The summer precipitation of the monsoon region is significantly reduced,especially in North and Southwest China where the value of moisture flux divergence increases.     

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.     

EFFECT OF THE INDIAN PENINSULA ON THE COURSE OF THE ASIAN TROPICAL SUMMER MONSOON

In terms of the NCAR Community Climate Model (CCM3),the effect of the Indian Peninsulaon the course of the Asian tropical summer monsoon is simulated in this paper,and numericalexperimental results show that the Indian Peninsula plays a critical role in the establishmentprocess of the Asian tropical summer monsoon.When the CCM3 includes the Indian Peninsula,the model successfully simulates out the course of the Asian tropical summer monsoon,i.e.theSouth China Sea (SCS) summer monsoon at first bursts in middle May,while the Indian monsoonjust establishes until middle June.However when the Indian Peninsula topography is deleted in themodel,the Indian and SCS summer monsoons almost simultaneously establish in late May.Numerical results further indicate that in the former experiment the sensible heating of the IndianPeninsula warms the air above and produces evident temperature contrast between the peninsulaand its adjacent SCS and Bay of Bengal (BOB).which results in the strengthening and maintenanceof the BOB trough in the low-middle layer of the troposphere in the end of spring and early summerand thus the earliest establishment of the Asian tropical summer monsoon in the SCS in middleMay.However,the Indian summer monsoon just establishes until middle June when the strongwest wind over the Arabian Sea shifts northwards and cancels out the influence of the northwestflow behind the BOB trough.In the latter experiment the effect of Tibetan Plateau only produces avery weak BOB trough,and thus the SCS and Indian summer monsoons almost simultaneouslyestablish.     

EFFECT OF THE INDIAN PENINSULA ON THE COURSE OF THE ASIAN TROPICAL SUMMER MONSOON*

In terms of the NCAR Community Climate Model (CCM3),the effect of the Indian Peninsula on the course of the Asian tropical summer monsoon is simulated in this paper,and numerical experimental results show that the Indian Peninsula plays a critical role in the establishment process of the Asian tropical summer monsoon.When the CCM3 includes the Indian Peninsula,the model successfully simulates out the course of the Asian tropical summer monsoon,i.e.the South China Sea (SCS) summer monsoon at first bursts in middle May,while the Indian monsoon just establishes until middle June.However when the Indian Peninsula topography is deleted in the model,the Indian and SCS summer monsoons almost simultaneously establish in late May.Numerical results further indicate that in the former experiment the sensible heating of the Indian Peninsula warms the air above and produces evident temperature contrast between the peninsula and its adjacent SCS and Bay of Bengal (BOB).which results in the strengthening and maintenance of the BOB trough in the low-middle layer of the troposphere in the end of spring and early summer and thus the earliest establishment of the Asian tropical summer monsoon in the SCS in middle May.However,the Indian summer monsoon just establishes until middle June when the strong west wind over the Arabian Sea shifts northwards and cancels out the influence of the northwest flow behind the BOB trough.In the latter experiment the effect of Tibetan Plateau only produces a very weak BOB trough,and thus the SCS and Indian summer monsoons almost simultaneously establish.     

CMIP5 model-simulated onset,duration and intensity of the Asian summer monsoon in current and future climate

A number of significant weaknesses existed in our previous analysis of the changes in the Asian monsoon onset/retreat from coupled model intercomparison project phase 3 (CMIP3) models, including a lack of statistical significance tests, a small number of models analysed, and limited understanding of the causes of model uncertainties. Yet, the latest IPCC report acknowledges limited confidence for projected changes in monsoon onset/retreat. In this study we revisit the topic by expanding the analysis to a large number of CMIP5 models over much longer period and with more diagnoses. Daily 850 hPa wind, volumetric atmospheric precipitable water and rainfall data from 26 CMIP5 models over two sets of 50-year periods are used in this study. The overall model skill in reproducing the temporal and spatial patterns of the monsoon development is similar between CMIP3 and CMIP5 models. They are able to show distinct regional characteristics in the evolutions of Indian summer monsoon (ISM), East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) and West North Pacific summer monsoon (WNPSM). Nevertheless, the averaged onset dates vary significantly among the models. Large uncertainty exists in model-simulated changes in onset/retreat dates and the extent of uncertainty is comparable to that in CMIP3 models. Under global warming, a majority of the models tend to suggest delayed onset for the south Asian monsoon in the eastern part of tropical Indian Ocean and Indochina Peninsula and nearby region, primarily due to weakened tropical circulations and eastward shift of the Walker circulation. The earlier onset over the Arabian Sea and part of the Indian subcontinent in a number of the models are related to an enhanced southwesterly flow in the region. Weak changes in other domains are due to the offsetting results among the models, with some models showing earlier onsets but others showing delayed onsets. Different from the analysis of CMIP3 model results, this analysis highlights the importance of SST warming patterns over both the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans in affecting the modelling results. The increased atmospheric moisture content offsets some effects of the delayed onset and results in increased rainfall intensity during the active monsoon period. The deficiencies of using rainfall alone in assessing the potential changes of the monsoon system are also shown in this study.     

The change in the East Asian summer monsoon simulated by the MIROC3.2 high-resolution coupled model under global warming scenarios

In order to investigate changes in the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) under the global warming, the MIROC3.2 (hires) coupled general circulation model (CGCM) developed by the Center for Climate System Research is utilized. The outputs of MIROC3.2 (hires) model have been analyzed using two scenarios; the 20th Century Climate in Coupled Models (20C3M) scenario and the Special Reports for Emissions Scenarios A1B (SRES A1B). Eight Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) models are also analyzed to compare model performances. It is shown that the simulation skill of MIROC3.2 (hires) for the EASM is relatively superior to these IPCC CGCMs. It has been found that the intensified rain band and the extended duration of the EASM are anticipated with MIROC3.2 (hires) under the global warming in well accordance with previous studies. Especially, the precipitation due to the cumulus convection is predicted to increase more significantly than the precipitation by the large-scale condensation. Due to the increased land-sea thermal contrast in summer under the global warming, water vapor fluxes in the lower troposphere are enhanced. Consequently, the convective instability may be strengthened and thus it leads to the increase of precipitation by cumulus convection. Moreover, the upper tropospheric circulations associated with the EU pattern would lead to the larger interannual variability of precipitation over the EASM region in the future warm climate. In addition, it is found that the relationship between the sea surface temperature over the tropical Pacific Ocean in the wintertime and the summer rainfall over the East Asia may be weakened, suggesting that the predictability of the EASM might become more difficult under the global warming.     

东亚夏季风次季节变化研究进展

东亚夏季风次季节（10~90 d）变化是中国夏季持续性强降水、高温热浪等高影响天气事件的重要环流载体,处于天气预报上限和气候季节预测下限之间的预报过渡区。研究表明:东亚夏季风次季节变化是东亚夏季风的固有物理特征,它和季节进程之间的时间锁相关系是东亚夏季风次季节变化潜在可预报性的重要来源。东亚夏季风次季节变化与Madden-Julian振荡（MJO）存在显著差异,试图通过MJO来预测东亚夏季风次季节变化的不确定性较大。东亚夏季风次季节预测的另一重要来源是下垫面外强迫,包括欧亚大陆春季积雪、中国东部春季土壤湿度和厄尔尼诺-南方涛动（ENSO）事件。此外,去趋势偏-交叉相关分析统计方法能够分析东亚夏季风多因子和多时间尺度问题。目前,亟需解决的科学问题包括:东亚夏季风次季节模态的客观定量描述、造成东亚夏季风次季节模态年际变化的关键物理过程、不同外强迫因子对东亚夏季风次季节模态的共同影响。     

Characteristics, Processes, and Causes of the Spatio-temporal Variabilities of the East Asian Monsoon System

Recent advances in the study of the characteristics, processes, and causes of spatio-temporal variabilities of the East Asian monsoon (EAM) system are reviewed in this paper. The understanding of the EAM system has improved in many aspects:the basic characteristics of horizontal and vertical structures, the annual cycle of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) system and the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) system, the characteristics of the spatio-temporal variabilities of the EASM system and the EAWM system, and especially the multiple modes of the EAM system and their spatio-temporal variabilities. Some new results have also been achieved in understanding the atmosphere-ocean interaction and atmosphere-land interaction processes that affect the variability of the EAM system. Based on recent studies, the EAM system can be seen as more than a circulation system, it can be viewed as an atmosphere-ocean-land coupled system, namely, the EAM climate system. In addition, further progress has been made in diagnosing the internal physical mechanisms of EAM climate system variability, especially regarding the characteristics and properties of the East Asia-Pacific (EAP) teleconnection over East Asia and the North Pacific, the "Silk Road" teleconnection along the westerly jet stream in the upper troposphere over the Asian continent, and the dynamical effects of quasi-stationary planetary wave activity on EAM system variability. At the end of the paper, some scientific problems regarding understanding the EAM system variability are proposed for further study.     

东亚夏季风与中国夏季降水年际异常的分型研究

以海陆气压差定义的夏季风强度指数为依据,讨论了东亚夏季风年际异常与中国夏季降水的关系,发现东亚夏季风强时,中国夏季降水可能多也可能少,但以少雨为主,季风弱时,中国降水也是或多或少,但以多雨为主,依此可以将季风与降水的异常关系分成强季风强降水（Ａ）,强季风弱降水（Ｂ）,弱季风强降水（Ｃ）,弱季风弱降水（Ｄ）四种关系,其中（Ａ）型和（Ｄ）型,（Ｂ）型和（Ｃ）型的降水呈反相似性分布,主要特殊性反映在东北     

强弱南海夏季风年水汽输送路径特征分析

采用印度洋偶极子指数（dipole mode index,简称DMI）、Nino3指数和国内学者定义的5种东亚夏季风指数来比较分析印度洋偶极子（Indian Ocean dipole,简称IOD）、ENSO与东亚夏季风年际变化联系的年代际改变,讨论了这种改变的可能成因。结果表明,东亚夏季风指数分别与DMI、Ni-no3指数的年际变化的联系都呈明显的年代际改变。东亚夏季风指数除了在20世纪80年代及90年代初期与DMI联系较弱之外,其余时段均与DMI具有很好的正相关关系。当季风指数与DMI为正相关时,其与Nino3指数则呈负相关,IOD和ENSO对夏季风具有相反的影响。当季风指数与DMI呈较强的正相关时,其与ENSO的相关较弱;而在70年代末至80年代初季风指数与ENSO呈较强的相关时,其与DMI的关系亦较弱。东亚夏季风与IOD、ENSO年际变化之间的联系呈现此强彼弱的特点。1972—1982年和1983—1993年这两个阶段海温分布的显著不同,可能导致了海气相互作用过程中环流变化的周期及分布的改变,使得东亚夏季风与IOD和ENSO的关系发生年代际改变。     

Seasonal and Intraseasonal Variations of East Asian Summer Monsoon Precipitation Simulated by a Regional Air-Sea Coupled Model

The performance of a regional air-sea coupled model, comprising the Regional Integrated Environment Model System (RIEMS) and the Princeton Ocean Model (POM), in simulating the seasonal and intraseasonal variations of East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) rainfall was investigated. Through comparisons of the model results among the coupled model, the uncoupled RIEMS, and observations, the impact of air-sea coupling on simulating the EASM was also evaluated. Results showed that the regional air-sea coupled climate model performed better in simulating the spatial pattern of the precipitation climatology and produced more realistic variations of the EASM rainfall in terms of its amplitude and principal EOF modes. The coupled model also showed greater skill than the uncoupled RIEMS in reproducing the principal features of climatological intraseasonal oscillation (CISO) of EASM rainfall, including its dominant period, intensity, and northward propagation. Further analysis indicated that the improvements in the simulation of the EASM rainfall climatology and its seasonal variation in the coupled model were due to better simulation of the western North Pacific Subtropical High, while the improvements of CISO simulation were owing to the realistic phase relationship between the intraseasonal convection and the underlying SST resulting from the air-sea coupling.     

南亚海陆热力差异及其对热带季风区环流的影响

利用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,分析了亚洲热带季风区海陆分布所造成的热力差异,以及空间非均匀加热对热带季风区环流特别是初夏过渡季节环流的影响.在大尺度环流背景下,次大陆地形对亚洲热带地区环流的影响主要表现在对低层环流的热力作用,其中感热加热对冬、春季环流的影响明显,对秋季环流的作用相对较小.中南半岛和印度半岛之间的热力差异及其对环流的影响受到青藏高原的调配作用.在初夏过渡季节,高原热力强迫作用于低纬低层环流,使低纬约90 (E以东出现南风加强、以西出现北风加强,从而增强了中南半岛上空的潜热加热,减弱了其低层的感热加热,印度半岛地区还加强了低层的感热加热.多尺度、各种性质的加热共同作用于低纬大气,形成了亚洲热带地区独有的环流特征.