The sensitivity of the Indian summer monsoon to a global warming of 2��C with respect to pre-industrial times

In this study the potential future changes in different aspects of the Indian summer monsoon associated with a global warming of 2°C with respect to pre-industrial times are assessed, focussing on the role of the different mechanisms leading to these changes. In addition, these changes as well as the underlying mechanisms are compared to the corresponding changes associated with a markedly stronger global warming exceeding 4.5°C, associated with the widely used SRES A1B scenario. The study is based on two sets of four ensemble simulations with the ECHAM5/MPI-OM coupled climate model, each starting from different initial conditions. In one set of simulations (2020?C2200), greenhouse gas concentrations and sulphate aerosol load have been prescribed in such a way that the simulated global warming dioes not exceed 2°C with respect to pre-industrial times. In the other set of simulations (1860?C2200), greenhouse gas concentrations and sulphate aerosol load have been prescribed according to observations until 2000 and according to the SRES A1B scenario after 2000. The study reveals marked changes in the Indian summer monsoon associated with a global warming of 2°C with respect to pre-industrial conditions, namely an intensification of the summer monsoon precipitation despite a weakening of the large-scale monsoon circulation. The increase in the monsoon rainfall is related to a variety of different mechanisms, with the intensification of the atmospheric moisture transport into the Indian region as the most important one. The weakening of the large-scale monsoon circulation is mainly caused by changes in the Walker circulation with large-scale divergence (convergence) in the lower (uppper) troposphere over the Indian Ocean in response to enhanced convective activity over the Indian Ocean and the central and eastern Pacific and reduced convective activity over the western tropical Pacific. These changes in the Walker circulation induce westerly (easterly) wind anomalies at lower (upper) level in the Indian region. The comparison with the changes in the Indian summer monsoon associated with a global warming of 4.5°C reveals that both the intensification of the monsoon precipitation and the weakening of the large-scale monsoon circulation (particularly in the lower troposphere) are relatively strong (with respect to the magnitude of the projected global warming by the end of the twentieth century for the two scenarios) in the scenario with a global warming of 2°C. The relatively strong intensification of the monsoon rainfall is related to rather strong increases in evaporation over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, while a rather weak amplification of the meridional temperature gradient between the Indian Ocean and the land areas to the north contributes to the relatively strong reduction of the large-scale monsoon flow.     

The long-term variability of Changma in the East Asian summer monsoon system: A review and revisit

Changma, which is a vital part of East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) system, plays a critical role in modulating water and energy cycles in Korea. Better understanding of its long-term variability and change is therefore a matter of scientific and societal importance. It has been indicated that characteristics of Changma have undergone significant interdecadal changes in association with the mid-1970s global-scale climate shift and the mid-1990s EASM shift. This paper reviews and revisits the characteristics on the long-term changes of Changma focusing on the underlying mechanisms for the changes. The four important features are manifested mainly during the last few decades: 1) mean and extreme rainfalls during Changma period from June to September have been increased with the amplification of diurnal cycle of rainfall, 2) the dry spell between the first and second rainy periods has become shorter, 3) the rainfall amount as well as the number of rainy days during August have significantly increased, probably due to the increase in typhoon landfalls, and 4) the relationship between the Changma rainfall and Western Pacific Subtropical High on interannual time scale has been enhanced. The typhoon contribution to the increase in heavy rainfall is attributable to enhanced interaction between typhoons and midlatitude baroclinic environment. It is noted that the change in the relationship between Changma and the tropical sea surface temperature (SST) over the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans is a key factor in the long-term changes of Changma and EASM. Possible sources for the recent mid-1990s change include 1) the tropical dipole-like SST pattern between the central Pacific and Indo-Pacific region (the global warming hiatus pattern), 2) the recent intensification of tropical SST gradients among the Indian Ocean, the western Pacific, and the eastern Pacific, and 3) the tropical Atlantic SST warming.     

印度夏季风的减弱及其与对流层温度的关系

对43aNCEP/NCAR再分析资料和台站实际观测资料的分析,揭示了对流层温度变化和印度夏季风环流减弱之间的联系。印度夏季风的变化与东亚上空对流层温度具有密切的关系,主要表现为对流层平均温度与整个印度夏季降雨和季风环流强度之间存在显著的正相关。结果表明:印度夏季风环流在近几十年经历了两次减弱过程,第一次减弱约发生在20世纪60年代中期,第二次减弱则发生在20世纪70年代后期;通过改变海陆热力对比,对流层平均温度在印度夏季风减弱过程中可能起着重要作用,东亚地区与东印度洋至西太平洋热带地区之间的对流层温度差异导致了印度夏季风环流的减弱。     

TROPICAL SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE ANOMALY AND INDIAN SUMMER MONSOON*

The time series of the sea surface temperature(SST) anomaly,covering the eastern (western) equatorial Pacific,central Indian Ocean,Arabian Sea.Bay of Bengal and South China Sea(SCS),have been analyzed by using wavelet transform.Results show that there exists same interdeeadal variability of SST in the tropical Pacific and tropical Indian Ocean,and also show that the last decadal abrupt change occurred in the 1970s.On the interannual time scale,there is a similar interannual variability among the equatorial central Indian Ocean and the adjacent three sea basins(Arabian Sea.Bay of Bengal and South China Sea).but the SST interannual changes of the Indian Ocean lagged 4-5 months behind that of the equatorial central-east Pacific.Meanwhile,the interannual variability and long-range change between SST anomaly and Indian summer monsoon rainfall in recent decades have been explained and analyzed.It indicates that there existed a wet(dry) period in India when the tropical SST was lower(higher)than normal,but there was a lag of phase between them.     

热带海面温度对亚马逊旱季降水年际变率的影响及机制

用偏最小二乘(Partial Least Square,PLS)回归方法分析了 1979～2018年影响亚马逊旱季(6～8月)降水年际变率的热带海面温度模态.第一海面温度模态解释了总方差的64％,主要表现为前期亚马逊雨季(12月至次年2月)至旱季(6～8月)热带东太平洋La Ni?a型海面温度异常演变.12月至次年2月...     

Impact of Indian monsoon on the coupled atmosphere/ocean system in the tropical pacific

Summary This study addresses the relationship between the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and the coupled atmosphere/ocean system in the tropical Pacific on the interannual time scales. High positive correlations are found between ISM rainfall and both mixed layer sea water temperature (SWT) and sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies of the tropical western Pacific in the following winter. Negative correlations between ISM rainfall and SST in the central/eastern Pacific also appear to be most significant in the following winter. These parameters are correlated with each other mainly on a biennial time scale. Lag-correlations between the zonal wind and SST along the the equatorial Pacific show that the westerly (easterly) surface wind stress anomalies over the central/western Pacific are greatly responsible for the formation of negative (positive) SST/SWT anomalies in the western Pacific and positive (negative) SST/SWT anomalies in the central/eastern Pacific. Furthermore, it is evidenced that these lagcorrelations are physically based on the anomalies in the large-scale convection over the Asian monsoon region and the associated east-west circulation over the tropical Pacific, which first appear during the Indian summer monsoon season and evolve during the following autumn and winter. These results strongly suggest that the Asian summer monsoon may have an active, rather than a passive, role on the interannual variability, including the ENSO events, of the coupled atmosphere/ocean system over the tropical Pacific.With 9 Figures     

Indian Ocean and monsoon coupled interactions in a warming environment

Several studies have drawn attention to the steady warming of the equatorial and tropical Indian Ocean (IO) sea surface temperature (SST) observed during recent decades. An intriguing aspect of the IO SST warming trend is that it is has been accompanied by a pronounced weakening of the large-scale boreal summer monsoon circulation. Based on a detailed diagnostic analysis of observed datasets, reanalysis products and IPCC AR4 coupled model output, this study examines how the observed changes in the summer monsoon circulation could have contributed to this SST warming trend. The present results reveal that the weakening trend of the summer monsoon cross-equatorial flow has favored a reorientation of surface westerlies towards the equatorial IO during recent decades, relative to summer monsoons of earlier decades, which were dominated by stronger cross-equatorial flow. Our analysis suggests that the weakening of the summer monsoon cross-equatorial flow has in turn significantly accelerated the SST warming in the central equatorial IO. While the trend in the equatorial westerlies has promoted downwelling and thermocline deepening in the eastern equatorial IO, the central equatorial IO warming is attributed to reduced upwelling in response to a weakening trend of the wind-stress curl. The observed trends in Indian monsoon rainfall and the near-equatorial SST warming are shown to be closely related to variations in the meridional gradient of the monsoon zonal winds. An examination of the twentieth century simulations from 22 IPCC AR4 models, suggests that some models capture the recent equatorial IO warming associated with the weakened summer monsoon circulation reasonably well. The individual member models, however, exhibit significant inter-model variations in representing the observed response of the IO and monsoon coupled system.     

亚洲夏季风的年际和年代际变化及其未来预测

本文是对我们近五年在亚洲夏季风年代际与年际变率及其未来预测方面研究的一个综述.主要包括下列三个问题:(1)根据123年中国夏季降水资料和印度学者的分析,检测出亚洲夏季风具有明显的年代际尺度减弱,这种年代际变化使中国东部(包括东亚)和南亚夏季降水的格局在过去60年中发生了明显变化.在东亚,从1970年代后期开始,主要异常雨带有不断南移的趋势,结果造成了南涝北旱的降水分布,这主要受到60～80年年代际振荡的影响.青藏高原前冬和春季积雪的年代际减少与热带中东太平洋海表温度的年代际增加是东亚降水型改变的主要原因,这是通过减弱亚洲地区夏季海陆温差与夏季风强度而实现的.未来亚洲夏季风的预测表明,东亚夏季风和南亚夏季风对气候变暖有十分不同的响应.东亚夏季风在本世纪将增强,雨带北推,尤其在2040年代之后;而南亚夏季风环流将继续减弱.这种不同的变化是由于两者对高低层海陆热力差异的不同响应造成.(2)年际尺度的变率在亚洲夏季风区主要表现为2年与4～7年的振荡.本文着重分析了2年振荡(TBO)形成的过程、机理及其对东亚降水的影响.对TBO-海洋机理进行了具体的改进,说明了东亚夏季风降水深受TBO影响的原因,尤其是阐明了长江型(YRV) TBO和淮河型(HRV) TBO的特征及其形成的循环过程.(3)在总结亚洲夏季风时期遥相关型的基础上,本文提出了季节内和年际尺度的低空遥相关型:即西北太平洋季风的遥相关型与印度“南支”和“北支”遥相关型.它们基本上反映了沿低空夏季风强风速带Rossby波群速度传播的结果.据此可以根据西北太平洋和印度夏季风的变化分别预测中国梅雨和华北雨季来临和降水异常.最后研究还表明,在本世纪亚洲夏季风可能更显著地受到人类活动造成的全球变暖的影响,未来的亚洲夏季风活动是人类排放的CO2引起的全球变暖与自然变化(海洋和陆面过程(积雪))共同作用的结果.     

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。     

Simulation of the variability and extremes of daily rainfall during the Indian summer monsoon for present and future times in a global time-slice experiment

In this study the simulation of the variability and extremes of daily rainfall during the Indian summer monsoon for the present-day and the future climate is investigated. This is done on the basis of a global time-slice experiment (TSL) with the ECHAM4 atmospheric general circulation model (GCM) at a high horizontal resolution of T106. The first time-slice (period: 1970–1999) represents the present-day climate and the second (2060–2089) the future climate. Moreover, observational rainfall data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP, 1997–2002) and rainfall data from the ECMWF re-analysis (ERA, 1958–2001) are considered. ERA reveals serious deficiencies in its representation of the variability and extremes of daily rainfall during the Indian summer monsoon. These are mainly a severe overestimation of the frequency of wet days over the oceans and in the Himalayas, where also the rainfall intensity is overestimated. Further, ERA shows unrealistically heavy rainfall events over the tropical Indian Ocean. The ECHAM4 atmospheric GCM at a horizontal resolution of T106, on the other hand, simulates the variability and extremes of daily rainfall in good agreement with the observations. The only marked deficiencies are an underestimation of the rainfall intensity on the west coast of the Indian peninsula and in Bangladesh, an overestimation over the tropical Indian Ocean, due to an erroneous northwestward extension of the tropical convergence zone, and an overestimation of the frequency of wet days in Tibet. Further, heavy rainfall events are relatively strong in the centre of the Indian peninsula. For the future, TSL predicts large increases in the rainfall intensity over the tropical Indian Ocean as well as in northern Pakistan and northwest India, but decreases in southern Pakistan, in the centre of the Indian peninsula, and over the western part of the Bay of Bengal. The frequency of wet days is markedly increased over the tropical Indian Ocean and decreased over the northern part of the Arabian Sea and in Tibet. The intensity of heavy rainfall events is generally increased in the future, with large increases over the Arabian Sea and the tropical Indian Ocean, in northern Pakistan and northwest India as well as in northeast India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.     

Simulated Change in the Interannual Variability of South Asian Summer Monsoon in the 21st Century

This study investigates the projected changes in interannual variability of South Asian summer monsoon and changes of ENSO-monsoon relationships in the 21st century under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios A1B and A2, respectively, by analyzing the simulated results of twelve Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 3 (CMIP3) coupled models. The dynamical monsoon index (DMI) was adopted to describe the interannual variability of South Asian summer monsoon, and the standard dev...     

Mechanisms for projected future changes in south Asian monsoon precipitation

Results are first presented from an analysis of a global coupled climate model regarding changes in future mean and variability of south Asian monsoon precipitation due to increased atmospheric CO₂ for doubled (2 × CO₂) and quadrupled (4 × CO₂) present-day amounts. Results from the coupled model show that, in agreement with previous studies, mean area-averaged south Asian monsoon precipitation increases with greater CO₂ concentrations, as does the interannual variability. Mechanisms producing these changes are then examined in a series of AMIP2-style sensitivity experiments using the atmospheric model (taken from the coupled model) run with specified SSTs. Three sets of ensemble experiments are run with SST anomalies superimposed on the AMIP2 SSTs from 1979–97: (1) anomalously warm Indian Ocean SSTs, (2) anomalously warm Pacific Ocean SSTs, and (3) anomalously warm Indian and Pacific Ocean SSTs. Results from these experiments show that the greater mean monsoon precipitation is due to increased moisture source from the warmer Indian Ocean. Increased south Asian monsoon interannual variability is primarily due to warmer Pacific Ocean SSTs with enhanced evaporation variability, with the warmer Indian Ocean SSTs a contributing but secondary factor. That is, for a given interannual tropical Pacific SST fluctuation with warmer mean SSTs in the future climate, there is enhanced evaporation and precipitation variability that is communicated via the Walker Circulation in the atmosphere to the south Asian monsoon to increase interannual precipitation variability there. This enhanced monsoon variability occurs even with no change in interannual SST variability in the tropical Pacific.     

夏季亚洲—太平洋涛动与大气环流和季风降水

利用ERA-40再分析资料和数值模拟,分析了在亚洲-太平洋区域的大气遥相关以及与亚洲季风降水和西北太平洋热带气旋活动气候特征的关系,探讨了青藏高原加热和太平洋海表温度(SST)对遥相关的影响,结果表明:亚洲-太平洋涛动(Asian-Pacific Oscillation,APO)是夏季对流层扰动温度在亚洲与太平洋中纬度之间的一种"跷跷板"现象,当亚洲大陆中纬度对流层偏冷时,中、东太平洋中纬度对流层偏暖,反之亦然;这种遥相关也出现在平流层中,只是其位相与对流层的相反.APO为研究亚洲与太平洋大气环流相互作用提供了一个途径.APO指数也是亚洲-太平洋对流层热力差异指数,它具有年际和年代际的多时间尺度变化特征,在1958-2001年亚洲与太平洋之间的对流层热力差异呈现出减弱趋势,同时也有显著的5.5 a周期.APO形成可能与太阳辐射在亚洲陆地和太平洋的加热差异所造成的纬向垂直环流有关,数值模拟进一步表明:夏季青藏高原加热可以造成高原附近对流层温度升高、上升运动加强,太平洋下沉运动加强、温度下降,从而形成APO现象;而太平洋年代际涛动和赤道东太平洋的厄尔尼若现象对APO的影响可能较小.当夏季APO异常时,南亚高压、欧亚中纬度西风急流、南亚热带东风急流以及太平洋上空的副热带高压都出现显著变化,并伴随着亚洲季风降水及西北太平洋热带气旋活动异常.过去40多年来的长江中上游地区夏季变冷与APO有关,可能是全球大气环流年代际变化在该区域的一种反映.APO异常信号可以传播到南、北两极.此外,亚洲-太平洋之间的这种遥相关型也出现在其他季节.     

Pacific decadal oscillation and variability of the Indian summer monsoon rainfall

Recent studies have furnished evidence for interdecadal variability in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The importance of this phenomenon in causing persistent anomalies over different regions of the globe has drawn considerable attention in view of its relevance in climate assessment. Here, we examine multi-source climate records in order to identify possible signatures of this longer time scale variability on the Indian summer monsoon. The findings indicate a coherent inverse relationship between the inter-decadal fluctuations of Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) and the Indian monsoon rainfall during the last century. A warm (cold) phase of the Pacific interdecadal variability is characterized by a decrease (increase) in the monsoon rainfall and a corresponding increase (decrease) in the surface air temperature over the Indian subcontinent. This interdecadal relationship can also be confirmed from the teleconnection patterns evident from long-period sea level pressure (SLP) dataset. The SLP anomalies over South and Southeast Asia and the equatorial west Pacific are dynamically consistent in showing an out-of-phase pattern with the SLP anomalies over the tropical central-eastern Pacific. The remote influence of the Pacific interdecadal variability on the monsoon is shown to be associated with prominent signals in the tropical and southern Indian Ocean indicative of coherent inter-basin variability on decadal time scales. If indeed, the atmosphere–ocean coupling associated with the Pacific interdecadal variability is independent from that of the interannual El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), then the climate response should depend on the evolutionary characteristics of both the time scales. It is seen from our analysis that the Indian monsoon is more vulnerable to drought situations, when El Niño events occur during warm phases of the Pacific interdecadal variability. Conversely, wet monsoons are more likely to prevail, when La Niña events coincide during cold phases of the Pacific interdecadal variability.     

Weakening of Indian summer monsoon in recent decades

The analysis of 43 years of NCEP-NCAR reanalysis data and station observations reveals the connections between tropospheric temperature variations and the weakening of the Indian summer monsoon circulation. The Indian summer monsoon variation is strongly linked to tropospheric temperature over East Asia, showing significant positive correlations of mean tropospheric temperature with all-Indian summer rainfall and the monsoon circulation intensity. The result shows that Indian summer monsoon circulation underwent two weakening processes in recent decades. The first occurred in circa the mid-1960s, and the other occurred in circa the late 1970s. The finding indicates that the mean tropospheric temperature may play a crucial role in the weakening of the Indian summer monsoon intensity via changing land-sea thermal contrast. The role of the tropospheric temperature contrast between East Asia and the tropical area from the eastern Indian Ocean to the tropical western Pacific is to weaken the Indian summer monsoon circulation.     

影响南海夏季风爆发年际变化的关键海区及机制初探

利用1958—2011年NCEP/ NCAR再分析资料和ERSST资料,采用Lanczos时间滤波器、相关分析、回归分析、合成分析和交叉检验等方法,研究了影响南海夏季风爆发年际变化的关键海区海温异常的来源与可能机制。结果表明,前冬(12—2月)热带西南印度洋和热带西北太平洋是影响南海夏季风爆发年际变化的关键海区。冬季热带西南印度洋(热带西北太平洋)的异常增暖是由前一年夏季El Ni?o早爆发(强印度季风异常驱动的行星尺度东-西向环流)触发、热带印度洋(西北太平洋)局地海气正反馈过程引起并维持到春季。冬季热带西北太平洋反气旋性环流(气旋性环流)及印度洋(热带西北太平洋)的暖海区局地海气相互作用使得印度洋(热带西北太平洋)海温异常维持到春末。春季,逐渐加强北移到10 °N附近的低层大气对北印度洋(热带西北太平洋)暖海温异常响应的东风急流(异常西风)及南海-热带西北太平洋维持的反气旋性环流(气旋性环流)异常,使得南海夏季风晚(早)爆发。      

夏季北印度洋海温异常对西北太平洋低层反气旋异常的影响

采用1957—2002年850 hPa风场的ERA-40再分析资料,分析得知西北太平洋低层环流存在着明显的年际变化。这种年际变化表征了西北太平洋夏季风的年际变化,并且会影响东亚夏季风的变化。用Hadley海表面气压以及海表温度资料诊断得到,这种夏季西北太平洋反气旋异常（WPAC,northwest Pacific anomalous anticyclone）的年际变化与北印度洋同期海表温度变化存在很好的相关。用偏相关方法消除N ino3.4信号的同期线性影响,这种同期相关更加显著,而西南热带印度洋的同期海温与WPAC的相关并不显著。数值试验结果表明,北印度洋存在正海温异常时,北印度洋降水偏多,同时伴随着西北太平洋反气旋异常。当只有西南热带印度洋有正海温异常时,北印度洋会出现东风异常且降水减少,而西北太平洋有弱的气旋异常。数值模式结果与观测数据的诊断结果相吻合,说明当夏季北印度洋海表温度为正异常时,可能会产生西北太平洋反气旋异常。     

冬季和春季印度洋海温异常年际变率模态对中国东部夏季降水的可能影响过程

印度洋热力状况是影响全球气候变化和亚洲季风变异的一个重要的因素,但以往研究更多关注热带印度洋海温的变化,对南印度洋中高纬地区海温变化关注不够,由此限制了我们对印度洋的全面认识.本文研究了年际尺度上整个印度洋海温异常主导模态的特征及其对我国东部地区夏季降水的可能影响过程,以期望为气候变异研究及预测提供理论依据.研究结果表明:全印度洋海温异常年际变率的主导模态特征是在南印度洋副热带地区海温异常呈现西南—东北反向变化的偶极子模态,西极子位于马达加斯加以东南洋面,东极子位于澳大利亚以西洋面;同时,热带印度洋海温异常与东极子一致.当西极子为正的海温异常,东极子、热带印度洋为负异常时定义为正的印度洋海温异常年际变率模态;反之,则为负的印度洋海温异常年际变率模态.从冬至春,印度洋海温异常年际变率模态具有较好的季节持续性;与我国长江中游地区夏季降水显著负相关,而与我国华南地区夏季降水显著正相关.其可能的影响过程为:对于正的冬、春季印度洋海温异常年际变率模态事件,印度洋地区异常纬向风的经向大气遥相关使得热带印度洋盛行西风异常,导致春、夏季海洋性大陆对流减弱,使夏季西太平洋副热带高压强度偏弱、位置偏东偏北,造成华南地区夏季降水增多,长江中游地区降水减少;反之亦然.同时,印度洋海温异常年际变率模态可通过改变印度洋和孟加拉湾向长江中游地区的水汽输送而影响其夏季降水.     

Diversity of the Coupling Wheels in the East Asian Summer Monsoon on the Interannual Time Scale: Challenge of Summer Rainfall Forecasting in China

Two types of three-dimensional circulation of the East Asian summer monsoon(EASM) act as the coupling wheels determining the seasonal rainfall anomalies in China during 1979–2015. The first coupling mode features the interaction between the Mongolian cyclone over North Asia and the South Asian high(SAH) anomalies over the Tibetan Plateau at 200 hPa. The second mode presents the coupling between the anomalous low-level western Pacific anticyclone and upperlevel SAH via the meridional flow over Southeast Asia. These two modes are responsible for the summer rainfall anomalies over China in 24 and 7 out of 37 years, respectively. However, the dominant SST anomalies in the tropical Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and the North Atlantic Ocean fail to account for the first coupling wheel's interannual variability, illustrating the challenges in forecasting summer rainfall over China.     

Limitations of time-slice experiments for predicting regional climate change over South Asia

While time-slice simulations with atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs) have been used for many years to regionalize climate projections and/or assess their uncertainties, there is still no consensus about the method used to prescribe sea surface temperature (SST) in such experiments. In the present study, the response of the Indian summer monsoon to increasing amounts of greenhouse gases and sulfate aerosols is compared between a reference climate scenario and three sets of time-slice experiments, consisting of parallel integrations for present-day and future climates. Different monthly mean SST boundary conditions have been tested in the present-day integrations: raw climatological SST derived from the reference scenario, observed climatological SST, and observed SST with interannual variability. For future climate, the SST forcing has been obtained by superimposing climatological monthly mean SST anomalies derived from the reference scenario onto the present-day SST boundary conditions. None of these sets of time-slice experiments is able to capture accurately the response of the Indian summer monsoon simulated in the transient scenario. This finding suggests that the ocean–atmosphere coupling is a fundamental feature of the climate system. Neglecting the SST feedback and variability at the intraseasonal to interannual time scales has a significant impact on the projected monsoon response to global warming. Adding interannual variability in the prescribed SST boundary conditions does not mitigate the problem, but can on the contrary reinforce the discrepancies between the forced and coupled experiments. The monsoon response is also shown to depend on the simulated control climate, and can therefore be sensitive to the use of observed rather than model-derived SSTs to drive the present-day atmospheric simulation, as well as to any approximation in the prescribed radiative forcing. While such results do not challenge the use of time-slice experiments for assessing uncertainties and understanding mechanisms in transient scenarios, they emphasize the need for high-resolution coupled atmosphere-ocean GCMs for dynamical downscaling, or at least for high-resolution atmospheric GCMs coupled with a slab or a regional ocean model.