Some theoretical problems of the planetary-scale monsoons

Summary Some important theoretical problems of the planetary-scale monsoons which have arisen from recent advances of observational studies are reviewed. These include: (1) the requirement of a strong damping mechanism in the planetary scale vorticity budget of summer monsoon and a similar but weaker requirement for the winter monsoon; (2) the localized barotropic instability of the summer monsoon which is a result of the strong zonal asymmetry of the planetary-scale flow and causes significant nonlinear energy conversions; and (3) the oscillations of the planetary-scale monsoons. It is pointed out that these problems are inter-related and their understanding is also important for the proper simulation of other scales of motion of the monsoon circulation.