Response of the Asian summer monsoon to weakening of Atlantic thermohaline circulation

Various paleoclimate records have shown that the Asian monsoon was punctuated by numerous suborbital time-scale events, and these events were coeval with those that happened in the North Atlantic. This study investigates the Asian summer monsoon responses to the Atlantic Ocean forcing by applying an additional freshwater flux into the North Atlantic. The simulated results indicate that the cold North Atlantic and warm South Atlantic induced by the weakened Atlantic thermohaline circulation （THC） due to the freshwater flux lead to significantly suppressed Asian summer monsoon. The authors analyzed the detailed processes of the Atlantic Ocean forcing on the Asian summer monsoon, and found that the atmospheric teleconnection in the eastern and central North Pacific and the atmosphere-ocean interaction in the tropical North Pacific play the most crucial role. Enhanced precipitation in the subtropical North Pacific extends the effects of Atlantic Ocean forcing from the eastern Pacific into the western Pacific, and the atmosphere-ocean interaction in the tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean intensifies the circulation and precipitation anomalies in the Pacific and East Asia.     

Projection of the summer northern East Asian low under global warming in CMIP5 models

东亚夏季气候受到东北亚低压和西北太平洋副热带高压的调制,但目前对于东北亚低压,特别是其在全球变暖下的变化及其影响所知甚少。本文对比CMIP5的20个模式的历史气候模拟、RCP4.5和8.5两种未来典型浓度路径下模拟试验的结果,预估了东北亚低压在21世纪末的变化特征。结果显示预估的东北亚低压强度在21世纪末将减弱,并且在RCP8.5情景下其强度减弱更为明显;对应东北亚低压减弱,低压西侧出现异常南风,导致更多的水汽向北输送到东北亚地区,有利于未来该地区降水的增加。     

Asian summer monsoon onset in simulations and CMIP5 projections using four Chinese climate models

The reproducibility and future changes of the onset of the Asian summer monsoon were analyzed based on the simulations and projections under the Representative Concentration Pathways(RCP) scenario in which anthropogenic emissions continue to rise throughout the 21 st century(i.e. RCP8.5) by all realizations from four Chinese models that participated in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5(CMIP5). Delayed onset of the monsoon over the Arabian Sea was evident in all simulations for present-day climate, which was associated with a too weak simulation of the low-level Somali jet in May.A consistent advanced onset of the monsoon was found only over the Arabian Sea in the projections, where the advanced onset of the monsoon was accompanied by an increase of rainfall and an anomalous anticyclone over the northern Indian Ocean. In all the models except FGOALS-g2, the enhanced low-level Somali jet transported more water vapor to the Arabian Sea, whereas in FGOALS-g2 the enhanced rainfall was determined more by the increased wind convergence. Furthermore,and again in all models except FGOALS-g2, the equatorial SST warming, with maximum increase over the eastern Pacific,enhanced convection in the central West Pacific and reduced convection over the eastern Indian Ocean and Maritime Continent region, which drove the anomalous anticyclonic circulation over the western Indian Ocean. In contrast, in FGOALS-g2, there was minimal(near-zero) warming of projected SST in the central equatorial Pacific, with decreased convection in the central West Pacific and enhanced convection over the Maritime Continent. The broader-scale differences among the models across the Pacific were related to both the differences in the projected SST pattern and in the present-day simulations.     

CMIP5/AMIP GCM simulations of East Asian summer monsoon

The East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） is a distinctive component of the Asian climate system and critically influences the economy and society of the region.To understand the ability of AGCMs in capturing the major features of EASM,10 models that participated in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project/Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project （CMIP5/AMIP）,which used observational SST and sea ice to drive AGCMs during the period 1979-2008,were evaluated by comparing with observations and AMIP Ⅱ simulations.The results indicated that the multi-model ensemble （MME） of CMIP5/AMIP captures the main characteristics of precipitation and monsoon circulation,and shows the best skill in EASM simulation,better than the AMIP Ⅱ MME.As for the Meiyu/Changma/Baiyu rainbelt,the intensity of rainfall is underestimated in all the models.The biases are caused by a weak western Pacific subtropical high （WPSH） and accompanying eastward southwesterly winds in group Ⅰ models,and by a too strong and west-extended WPSH as well as westerly winds in group Ⅱ models.Considerable systematic errors exist in the simulated seasonal migration of rainfall,and the notable northward jumps and rainfall persistence remain a challenge for all the models.However,the CMIP5/AMIP MME is skillful in simulating the western North Pacific monsoon index （WNPMI）.     

Diversity in the representation of large-scale circulation associated with ENSO-Indian summer monsoon teleconnections in CMIP5 models

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Realistic simulation of large-scale circulation patterns associated with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is vital in coupled models in order to...     

South Asian monsoon response to weakening of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in a warming climate

Climate Dynamics - Observational records and climate model projections reveal a considerable decline in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Changes in the AMOC can have a...     

Competing influences of greenhouse warming and aerosols on Asian summer monsoon circulation and rainfall

In this paper, we have compared and contrasted competing influences of greenhouse gases (GHG) warming and aerosol forcing on Asian summer monsoon circulation and rainfall based on CMIP5 historical simulations. Under GHG-only forcing, the land warms much faster than the ocean, magnifying the pre-industrial climatological land-ocean thermal contrast and hemispheric asymmetry, i.e., warmer northern than southern hemisphere. A steady increasing warm-ocean-warmer-land (WOWL) trend has been in effect since the 1950’s substantially increasing moisture transport from adjacent oceans, and enhancing rainfall over the Asian monsoon regions. However, under GHG warming, increased atmospheric stability due to strong reduction in mid-tropospheric and near surface relative humidity coupled to an expanding subsidence areas, associated with the Deep Tropical Squeeze (DTS, Lau and Kim, 2015b) strongly suppress monsoon convection and rainfall over subtropical and extratropical land, leading to a weakening of the Asian monsoon meridional circulation. Increased anthropogenic aerosol emission strongly masks WOWL, by over 60% over the northern hemisphere, negating to a large extent the rainfall increase due to GHG warming, and leading to a further weakening of the monsoon circulation, through increasing atmospheric stability, most likely associated with aerosol solar dimming and semi-direct effects. Overall, we find that GHG exerts stronger positive rainfall sensitivity, but less negative circulation sensitivity in SASM compared to EASM. In contrast, aerosols exert stronger negative impacts on rainfall, but less negative impacts on circulation in EASM compared to SASM.     

Uncertainty in projections of the South Asian summer monsoon under global warming by CMIP6 models: Role of tropospheric meridional thermal contrast

本文基于第六次国际耦合模式比较计划共18个模式的工业革命前实验和CO₂浓度突然四倍实验,发现在CO₂四倍强迫下,南亚夏季风环流呈显著减弱趋势,但减弱强度存在较大模式间差异.利用Webster-Yang指数和经向哈得莱环流指数的下降趋势表征SASM减弱强度,发现该下降趋势与欧亚大陆-印度洋之间对流层上层经向温度梯度的变化值(EUTT-IUTT)高度相关.进一步利用气候反馈-响应分析方法进行分析,发现EUTT-IUTT变化的模式间差异主要来自于大气动力过程,其次是云的短波辐射效应的贡献.地表潜热通量和云的长波辐射效应缩小了EUTT-IUTT变化的模式间差异.     

The Asian summer monsoon: an intercomparison of CMIP5 vs. CMIP3 simulations of the late 20th century

The boreal summer Asian monsoon has been evaluated in 25 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project-5 (CMIP5) and 22 CMIP3 GCM simulations of the late twentieth Century. Diagnostics and skill metrics have been calculated to assess the time-mean, climatological annual cycle, interannual variability, and intraseasonal variability. Progress has been made in modeling these aspects of the monsoon, though there is no single model that best represents all of these aspects of the monsoon. The CMIP5 multi-model mean (MMM) is more skillful than the CMIP3 MMM for all diagnostics in terms of the skill of simulating pattern correlations with respect to observations. Additionally, for rainfall/convection the MMM outperforms the individual models for the time mean, the interannual variability of the East Asian monsoon, and intraseasonal variability. The pattern correlation of the time (pentad) of monsoon peak and withdrawal is better simulated than that of monsoon onset. The onset of the monsoon over India is typically too late in the models. The extension of the monsoon over eastern China, Korea, and Japan is underestimated, while it is overestimated over the subtropical western/central Pacific Ocean. The anti-correlation between anomalies of all-India rainfall and Niño3.4 sea surface temperature is overly strong in CMIP3 and typically too weak in CMIP5. For both the ENSO-monsoon teleconnection and the East Asian zonal wind-rainfall teleconnection, the MMM interannual rainfall anomalies are weak compared to observations. Though simulation of intraseasonal variability remains problematic, several models show improved skill at representing the northward propagation of convection and the development of the tilted band of convection that extends from India to the equatorial west Pacific. The MMM also well represents the space–time evolution of intraseasonal outgoing longwave radiation anomalies. Caution is necessary when using GPCP and CMAP rainfall to validate (1) the time-mean rainfall, as there are systematic differences over ocean and land between these two data sets, and (2) the timing of monsoon withdrawal over India, where the smooth southward progression seen in India Meteorological Department data is better realized in CMAP data compared to GPCP data.     

Consistent responses of East Asian summer mean rainfall to global warming in CMIP5 simulations

East Asia summer rainfall is of great social–economic importance. Based on observations, reanalysis and simulations of 16 Coupled Models Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) models, the responses of East Asia summer precipitation, as well as some relevant features, to global warming are investigated. The CMIP5 historical simulation reasonably reproduces the climatology of summer rainfall, the associated circulation, the moisture and its transportation, and the mid-troposphere horizontal advection of temperature as well. Under global warming, the rainfall enhancement is robustly projected in the state-of-the-art models over North China, Northeast China, northern coast of Japan and the Kuroshio. As well, the total summer rainfall over East Asia is consistently increased in the models. For the consistent responses, the moisture budget analysis based on the simulations shows that two factors are responsible: one is increased moisture. As East Asia is a climatological ascent region in northern summer, increased moisture induced by global warming leads to more moisture transported upward and thus the rainfall rise. The other is enhanced evaporation, which may be caused by surface warming and provides more precipitable water to the atmosphere column. Furthermore, the results may provide some implications to the long-term variability of East Asia summer rainfall over the last several decades.     

The Weakening of the Asian Monsoon Circulation after the End of 1970＇s

The transition of the global atmospheric circulation in the end of 1970＇s can clearly be detected in the atmospheric temperature, wind velocity, and so on. Wavelet analysis reveals that the temporal scale of this change is larger than 20 years. Studies in this work indicate that the trend of the transition over the mid-latitude Asia is opposite to that of global average for some variables at the middle troposphere. Another finding of this research is that the African-Asian monsoon circulation is weaker and the trade wind over the tropical eastern Pacific is weaker as well after this transition. Such a signal may be found in the summer precipitation over China as well.     

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...     

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.     

Impact of East Asian summer monsoon circulation on the regional aerosol distribution in observations and models

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) can change the spatio-temporal distribution of aerosols by influencing the aerosol horizontal and vertical transports and...     

增暖背景下东亚夏季风区降水演变的空间模态及其形成机制

基于CMIP5中全新世(Mid-Holocene,6 ka BP)试验及RCP8.5试验的对比,本文研究了不同增暖情景下东亚夏季风区降水演变的空间模态及其成因.结果表明,两种增暖情景下东亚夏季风区降水演变的空间模态存在显著差异.轨道辐射主导的中全新世暖期期间,东亚夏季风区降水演变的空间模态为经向三极子结构;而大气C...     

东亚夏季风环流对气溶胶分布的影响

用2001—2012年逐月的MODIS-TERRA卫星观测气溶胶光学厚度(AOD)资料和NCEP/NCAR风场资料,分析了5—8月东亚地区AOD的时-空分布特征,研究东亚夏季风环流对气溶胶时-空分布的影响。主要结论如下:5—8月的中国东部及邻近海洋上AOD有着显著的季节演变特征,尤其是32.5 °N附近的AOD高值区,其强度和范围在5—8月逐渐增强然后又减弱。东亚夏季风通过环流输送作用对各地的AOD产生了不同程度的影响,使中国南部AOD减少,而华北和东北地区AOD增加。在强、弱季风年背景下,7月观测的AOD差异与环流输送作用差异的分布特征有着一定的相似性,体现出东亚夏季风年际变化对气溶胶分布的影响。在东亚夏季风演变的不同阶段,季风环流对气溶胶输送大部分情况下,可解释局地气溶胶变化10%~20%的方差。     

Atmospheric circulation characteristics associated with the onset of Asian summer monsoon

The onset of the Asian summer monsoon has been a focus in the monsoon study for many years. In this paper, we study the variability and predictability of the Asian summer monsoon onset and demonstrate that this onset is associated with specific atmospheric circulation characteristics. The outbreak of the Asian summer monsoon is found to occur first over the southwestern part of the South China Sea (SCS) and the Malay Peninsula region, and the monsoon onset is closely related to intra-seasonal oscillations in the lower atmosphere. These intra-seasonal oscillations consist of two low-frequency vortex pairs, one located to the east of the Philippines and the other over the tropical eastern Indian Ocean. Prior to the Asian summer monsoon onset, a strong low-frequency westerly emerges over the equatorial Indian Ocean and the low-frequency vortex pair develops symmetrically along the equator. The formation and evolution of these low-frequency vortices are important and serve as a good indicator for the Asian summer monsoon onset. The relationship between the northward jumps of the westerly jet over East Asia and the Asian summer monsoon onset over SCS is investigated. It is shown that the northward jump of the westerly jet occurs twice during the transition from winter to summer and these jumps are closely related to the summer monsoon development. The first northward jump (from 25–28N to around 30N) occurs on 8 May on average, about 7 days ahead of the summer monsoon onset over the SCS. It is found that the reverse of meridional temperature gradient in the upper-middle troposphere (500–200 hPa) and the enhancement and northward movement of the subtropical jet in the Southern Hemispheric subtropics are responsible for the first northward jump of the westerly jet.     

Baseline predictability of daily east Asian summer monsoon circulation indices

The nonlinear local Lyapunov exponent (NLLE) method is adopted to quantitatively determine the predictability limit of East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) intensity indices on a synoptic timescale. The predictability limit of EASM indices varies widely according to the definitions of indices. EASM indices defined by zonal shear have a limit of around 7 days, which is higher than the predictability limit of EASM indices defined by sea level pressure (SLP) difference and meridional wind shear (about 5 days). The initial error of EASM indices defined by SLP difference and meridional wind shear shows a faster growth than indices defined by zonal wind shear. Furthermore, the indices defined by zonal wind shear appear to fluctuate at lower frequencies, whereas the indices defined by SLP difference and meridional wind shear generally fluctuate at higher frequencies. This result may explain why the daily variability of the EASM indices defined by zonal wind shear tends be more predictable than those defined by SLP difference and meridional wind shear. Analysis of the temporal correlation coefficient (TCC) skill for EASM indices obtained from observations and from NCEP’s Global Ensemble Forecasting System (GEFS) historical weather forecast dataset shows that GEFS has a higher forecast skill for the EASM indices defined by zonal wind shear than for indices defined by SLP difference and meridional wind shear. The predictability limit estimated by the NLLE method is shorter than that in GEFS. In addition, the June-September average TCC skill for different daily EASM indices shows significant interannual variations from 1985 to 2015 in GEFS. However, the TCC for different types of EASM indices does not show coherent interannual fluctuations.     

东亚夏季风与澳洲冬季风强弱互补变化联系及其异常环流特征

利用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料、Hadley中心海温资料及CMAP降水资料等,通过亚澳季风联合指数挑选异常年份,对东亚夏季风和澳洲冬季风强度反相变化特征进行研究。结果表明,当东亚夏季风偏强、澳洲冬季风偏弱时,南北半球中低纬地区都出现了复杂的异常环流系统。在热带地区对流层低层,西北太平洋为异常反气旋式环流系统所控制,与南太平洋赤道辐合带的异常反气旋环流在赤道地区发生耦合,形成赤道异常东风,而在南北印度洋上则存在两个异常气旋式环流系统。在这两对异常环流之间的海洋性大陆地区,出现赤道以南为反气旋环流而赤道以北为气旋式环流。在东亚季风区,东南沿海的东侧海洋上存在反气旋异常,中国东南地区受异常反气旋西南侧的东南风影响。此外,澳洲北部受异常西风影响。这就形成了东亚夏季风偏强、澳洲冬季风偏弱的情形,从而东亚夏季风和澳洲冬季风活动出现了强弱互补的变化特征。当东亚夏季风偏弱、澳洲冬季风偏强时,南北半球的环流特征则出现与上述相反的环流特征。总体而言,当东亚夏季风偏强、澳洲冬季风偏弱时,东亚—澳洲季风区在南北半球呈现出不同的气候异常分布特征,即北半球降水北少南多、气温北高南低,南半球降水西多东少、气温西高东低。