Seasonal persistence and propagation of intraseasonal patterns over the Indian monsoon region

The space-time evolution of convection over the monsoon region containing the Indian subcontinent, the Indian Ocean and the West Pacific has been studied. A multi-channel singular spectrum analysis of the daily outgoing longwave radiation has yielded two intraseasonal oscillatory patterns and two large-scale standing patterns as the most dominant modes of intraseasonal variability. The oscillatory modes vary on time scales of about 45 and 28 days and their average cycles of variability are shown to correspond to the life cycles of active and break periods of monsoon rainfall over India. During an active (break) cycle, a convection (dry) anomaly zone first appears in the equatorial Indian Ocean, subsequently expands to cover the Indian subcontinent and finally contracts to disappear in the northern part of India. Some eastward and northward movements are found to be associated with both oscillatory modes, while westward movement may also be associated with the 28-day mode. The oscillatory modes are shown to have a large spatial scale extending to the West Pacific. One of the standing modes has anomalies of uniform sign covering the entire region and is related to El Niño and southern oscillation (ENSO) pattern. The other standing mode has a dipole structure in the equatorial Indian Ocean associated with large-scale anomalies over India with the same sign as those over the western part of the dipole. These two standing modes persist throughout the monsoon season, each maintaining its respective pattern. The seasonal mean monsoon is mainly determined by the two standing patterns, without much contribution from the oscillatory modes. The relative role of the standing patterns (ENSO mode and dipole mode) seems to be important in determining the seasonal mean during certain years.     

Intra-seasonal variability in Oceansat-2 scatterometer sea-surface winds over the Indian summer monsoon region

In September 2009, the Indian Space Research Organisation launched a Ku-band microwave scatterometer (OSCAT) onboard the polar orbiting satellite ‘Oceansat-2’. In this article, the capabilities of the newly available OSCAT sea-surface winds are demonstrated by studying the monsoon intra-seasonal variabilities during the 2010 summer monsoon season. A preliminary validation of OSCAT surface winds with European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) analysis surface winds carried out during June to August 2010 suggests that the quality of the OSCAT winds are able to meet the mission specifications. The observed mean monthly features of the Indian summer monsoon in July and August 2010 from OSCAT match well with those of ECMWF reanalysis winds. The OSCAT winds capture the known characteristics of the Indian summer monsoon, such as the northward propagation of a low level jet, and its preferred locations during active and break monsoon conditions, reasonably well. The Morlet wavelet transform is used for time series analysis. The OSCAT measured sea-surface winds were found to possess two dominant modes of variability during the 2010 monsoon season: one with a periodicity between 32 and 64?days, and another with a periodicity between 8 and 16?days. Rainfall activity over the Indian summer monsoon region is closely associated with the phases of the two above-mentioned dominant intra-seasonal variabilities. This study demonstrates that the OSCAT winds can be used very well and with confidence for meteorological studies.     

Mechanism of high rainfall over the Indian west coast region during the monsoon season

The mechanism responsible for high rainfall over the Indian west coast region has been investigated by studying dynamical, thermodynamical and microphysical processes over the region for the monsoon season of 2009. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts wind and NCEP flux data have been used to study the large scale dynamical parameters. The moist adiabatic and multi-level inversion stratifications are found to exist during the high and low rainfall spells, respectively. In the moist adiabatic stratification regime, shallow and deep convective clouds are found coexisting. The Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement EXperiment aircraft data showed cloud updraft spectrum ranging from 1 to 10 m s^?1 having modal speed 1–2.5 m s^?1. The low updrafts rates provide sufficient time required for warm rain processes to produce rainfall from shallow clouds. The low cloud liquid water is observed above the freezing level indicating efficient warm rain process. The updrafts at the high spectrum end go above freezing level to generate ice particles produced due to mixed-phase rainfall process from deep convective clouds. With aging, deep convection gets transformed into stratiform type, which has been inferred through the vertical distribution of the large scale omega and heating fields. The stratiform heating, high latent heat flux, strong wind shear in the lower and middle tropospheric levels and low level convergence support the sustenance of convection for longer time to produce high rainfall spell. The advection of warm dry air in the middle tropospheric regions inhibits the convection and produce low rainfall spell. The mechanisms producing these spells have been summarized with the block diagram.     

Impacts of global warming on hydrological cycles in the Asian monsoon region

The hydrologic changes and the impact of these changes constitute a fundamental global-warmingrelated concern. Faced with threats to human life and natural ecosystems, such as droughts, floods, and soil erosion, water resource planners must increasingly make future risk assessments. Though hydrological predictions associated with the global climate change are already being performed, mainly through the use of GCMs, coarse spatial resolutions and uncertain physical processes limit the representation of terrestrial water/energy interactions and the variability in such systems as the Asian monsoon. Despite numerous studies, the regional responses of hydrologic changes resulting from climate change remains inconclusive. In this paper, an attempt at dynamical downsealing of future hydrologic projection under global climate change in Asia is addressed. The authors conducted present and future Asian regional climate simulations which were nested in the results of Atmospheric General Circulation Model （AGCM） experiments. The regional climate model could capture the general simulated features of the AGCM. Also, some regional phenomena such as orographic precipitation, which did not appear in the outcome of the AGCM simulation, were successfully produced. Under global warming, the increase of water vapor associated with the warmed air temperature was projected. It was projected to bring more abundant water vapor to the southern portions of India and the Bay of Bengal, and to enhance precipitation especially over the mountainous regions, the western part of India and the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. As a result of the changes in the synoptic flow patterns and precipitation under global warming, the increases of annual mean precipitation and surface runoff were projected in many regions of Asia. However, both the positive and negative changes of seasonal surface runoff were projected in some regions which will increase the flood risk and cause a mismatch between water demand and water availability in the agricul     

Impact of surface meteorological observations on RAMS forecast of monsoon weather systems over the Indian region

Summary An attempt has been made to study the impact of surface meteorological observations on the Regional Atmospheric Modelling System (RAMS) simulation of a monsoon depression and two low pressure systems. The surface observations are blended with the GEWEX Asian Monsoon Experiment (GAME) gridded analyses for these cases. In one set of experiments the model is run in 12 hour nudging mode initially and then in forecast mode using GAME gridded data without incorporating surface observations. In another set of experiments surface data are incorporated to enhance the signature of the systems in the large scale GAME analyses and nudging is applied initially for twelve hours. Subsequently the model is run in forecast mode to see the temporal and spatial evolution of different meteorological features associated with the systems. It is found that inclusion of the surface data has in general enhanced the signature of the systems in the analysis and subsequently shows improvement in the forecast of sea-level pressure, geopotential, wind field, etc. and the associated forecast of heavy rainfall, in particular. To make a quantitative comparison of the predicted rainfall with the observed one, equitable threat score and bias are calculated for different threshold values of rainfall. It is clearly noted that inclusion of surface data has improved the precipitation forecast over the Indian land mass as indicated by the equitable threat score and bias for all the threshold rainfall categories.     

Relationship between rainfall and lightning over central Indian region in monsoon and premonsoon seasons

Lightning activity and rainfall over the central Indian region (lat, 15.5° N to 25.5° N and lon, 75° E to 85° E) from the TRMM satellite have been analyzed. Ten years' data of monthly lightning and hourly averaged monthly rainfall from 1998 to 2007 have been used for analysis, which shows quite different relationships between lightning and rainfall in monsoon and premonsoon seasons in this region. Very good positive correlation is observed between rainfall and lightning during the premonsoon period, however, in the monsoon period a correlation between them is not so good. The different relationship between lightning and rainfall in the monsoon and premonsoon has been attributed to the low updraft during the monsoon period due to low cloud base height and low aerosol concentration during this period. This analysis shows that deep electrified convective systems do form over the central Indian region during active monsoon periods; however the relationship between convective rainfall and lightning frequency during this period is not as consistent as during the premonsoon period.     

Prediction and monitoring of monsoon intraseasonal oscillations over Indian monsoon region in an ensemble prediction system using CFSv2

An ensemble prediction system (EPS) is devised for the extended range prediction (ERP) of monsoon intraseasonal oscillations (MISO) of Indian summer monsoon (ISM) using National Centers for Environmental Prediction Climate Forecast System model version 2 at T126 horizontal resolution. The EPS is formulated by generating 11 member ensembles through the perturbation of atmospheric initial conditions. The hindcast experiments were conducted at every 5-day interval for 45 days lead time starting from 16th May to 28th September during 2001–2012. The general simulation of ISM characteristics and the ERP skill of the proposed EPS at pentad mean scale are evaluated in the present study. Though the EPS underestimates both the mean and variability of ISM rainfall, it simulates the northward propagation of MISO reasonably well. It is found that the signal-to-noise ratio of the forecasted rainfall becomes unity by about 18 days. The potential predictability error of the forecasted rainfall saturates by about 25 days. Though useful deterministic forecasts could be generated up to 2nd pentad lead, significant correlations are found even up to 4th pentad lead. The skill in predicting large-scale MISO, which is assessed by comparing the predicted and observed MISO indices, is found to be ~17 days. It is noted that the prediction skill of actual rainfall is closely related to the prediction of large-scale MISO amplitude as well as the initial conditions related to the different phases of MISO. An analysis of categorical prediction skills reveals that break is more skillfully predicted, followed by active and then normal. The categorical probability skill scores suggest that useful probabilistic forecasts could be generated even up to 4th pentad lead.     

Onset of the regional monsoon over Southeast Asia

Summary ?This is an observational study in which regional features of the different summer monsoon components over Asia especially the South China Sea (SCS) are examined. The authors use various data sets including satellite measurements to understand the onset, maintenance, and retreat of monsoon and explain the connection and independence among the variabilities in the monsoon components. It is shown that while outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data can only measure tropical convection, upper-tropospheric water vapor band brightness temperature (BT) represents appropriately convective precipitation in both the tropics and the extratropics. The authors define criteria for measuring the SCS monsoon using precipitation, BT, OLR, and lower-tropospheric winds and suggest that multi-variables should be considered to depict regional monsoon features adequately. Under the criteria defined in this study, the SCS summer monsoon is considered as an expansion of deep convection from the tropics. The onset of the monsoon occurs in mid-May, with its precursory signal found over the Indochina peninsula. It is characterized by an abrupt establishment, especially over the central SCS. Although the role of convection over the southern SCS in the monsoon onset is unclear, the early precipitation over the northern SCS and South China, resulted from the effect of subtropical fronts, is separated from the tropical monsoon rainfall. The relative independence from one monsoon component to another is explained by the effects from local topography and land-sea thermal contrast. Received November 5, 1999/Revised April 13, 2000     

Modeling bio-geophysical feedback in the African and Indian monsoon region

 An asynchronously coupled global atmosphere-biome model is used to assess the dynamics of deserts and drought in the Sahel, Saudi-Arabia and the Indian subcontinent. Under present-day conditions of solar irradiation and sea-surface temperatures, the model finds two solutions: the first solution yields the present-day distribution of vegetation and deserts and the second shows a northward spread of savanna and xerophytic shrub of some 600 km, particularly in the southwest Sahara. Comparison of atmospheric states associated with these solutions corroborates Charney’s theory of a self-induction of deserts through albedo enhancement in the Sahel. Over the Indian subcontinent, changes in vegetation are mainly caused by a positive feedback between increased soil moisture and stronger summer monsoon. Received: 18 April 1995/Accepted: 17 September 1996     

Evaluation of precipitation prediction skill of IMD operational NWP system over Indian monsoon region

Summary The study provides a concise and synthesized documentation of the current level of skill of the operational NWP model of India Meteorological Department based on daily 24 hours forecast run of the model during two normal monsoon years 2001 and 2003 making detailed inter-comparison with daily rainfall analysis from the use of high dense land rain gauge observations. The study shows that the model, in general, is able to capture three regions of climatologically heavy rainfall domains along Western Ghats, Northeast India and over east central India, over the domain of monsoon trough. However, the accuracy in prediction of location and magnitude of rainfall fluctuates considerably. The inter-comparison reveals that performance of the model rainfall forecast deteriorated in 2003 when rainfall over most parts of the region was significantly under-predicted. These features are also reflected in the error statistics. The study suggests that there is a need to maximize the data ingest in the model with a better data assimilation scheme to improve the rainfall forecast skill.     

Impact of Northwest Pacific anticyclone on the Indian summer monsoon region

Influence of northwest (NW) Pacific anticyclone on the Indian summer monsoon (ISM), particularly over the head Bay of Bengal and monsoon trough region, is investigated. Strong NW Pacific anticyclone during summer induces negative precipitation anomalies over the head Bay of Bengal and Gangetic Plain region. Westward extension of moisture divergence and dry moisture transport from NW Pacific associated with anticyclone (ridge) and local Hadley cell-induced subsidence are responsible for these negative precipitation anomalies. The impact is maximum when the anticyclone and Indian Ocean basin warming co-occur. This contributes significantly to year-to-year variability of ISM.     

Sensible heat fluxes during the active and break phases of the southwest monsoon over the Indian region

Based on the theory given by Saltzman and Ashe (1976), sensible heat fluxes are calculated for the active and break phases of the southwest monsoon over the Indian region. The conclusion drawn is that the sensible heat flux is generally larger during the break monsoon situation when compared with that for the active monsoon situation. The synoptic heat flux is negligible when compared with mean and diurnal heat fluxes over the Indian region even during the monsoon season.     

Some diabatic indices of the monsoon circulation in the Indian region

The influence of outgoing longwave radiation anomalies on precipitation rates is studied based on the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis during the period of the summer monsoon circulation in the Indian region. The outgoing longwave radiation data are analyzed for 1987 (dry monsoon) and 1988 (wet monsoon) separately for the Arabian Sea, India, and the Bay of Bengal. It is shown that negative outgoing longwave radiation anomalies correspond to a wet Indian monsoon, and positive anomalies are associated with a dry monsoon. Calculations using the reanalysis enable the construction of a numerical algorithm of the interaction of outgoing longwave radiation, convection, and precipitation rates in the monsoon regions. The results obtained in this work are important in the verification of corresponding parameterizations of numerical atmospheric models.     

Customization of regional climate model (RegCM4) over Indian region

The regional climate model (RegCM4) is customized for 10-year climate simulation over Indian region through sensitivity studies on cumulus convection and land surface parameterization schemes. The model is configured over 30° E–120° E and 15° S–45° N at 30-km horizontal resolution with 23 vertical levels. Six 10-year (1991–2000) simulations are conducted with the combinations of two land surface schemes (BATS, CLM3.5) and three cumulus convection schemes (Kuo, Grell, MIT). The simulated annual and seasonal climatology of surface temperature and precipitation are compared with CRU observations. The interannual variability of these two parameters is also analyzed. The results indicate that the model simulated climatology is sensitive to the convection as well as land surface parameterization. The analysis of surface temperature (precipitation) climatology indicates that the model with CLM produces warmer (dryer) climatology, particularly over India. The warmer (dryer) climatology is due to the higher sensible heat flux (lower evapotranspiration) in CLM. The model with MIT convection scheme simulated wetter and warmer climatology (higher precipitation and temperature) with smaller Bowen ratio over southern India compared to that with the Grell and Kuo schemes. This indicates that a land surface scheme produces warmer but drier climatology with sensible heating contributing to warming where as a convection scheme warmer but wetter climatology with latent heat contributing to warming. The climatology of surface temperature over India is better simulated by the model with BATS land surface model in combination with MIT convection scheme while the precipitation climatology is better simulated with BATS land surface model in combination with Grell convection scheme. Overall, the modeling system with the combination of Grell convection and BATS land surface scheme provides better climate simulation over the Indian region.     

The role of land-surface processes in modulating the Indian monsoon annual cycle

The annual cycle of solar radiation, together with the resulting land–ocean differential heating, is traditionally considered the dominant forcing controlling the northward progression of the Indian monsoon. This study makes use of a state-of-the-art atmospheric general circulation model in a realistic configuration to conduct “perpetual” experiments aimed at providing new insights into the role of land–atmosphere processes in modulating the annual cycle of precipitation over India. The simulations are carried out at three important stages of the monsoon cycle: March, May, and July. Insolation and SSTs are held fixed at their respective monthly mean values, thus eliminating any external seasonal forcing. In the perpetual May experiment both precipitation and circulation are able to considerably evolve only by regional internal land–atmosphere processes and the mediation of soil hydrology. A large-scale equilibrium state is reached after approximately 270 days, closely resembling mid-summer climatological conditions. As a result, despite the absence of external forcing, intense and widespread rains over India are able to develop in the May-like state. The interaction between soil moisture and circulation, modulated by surface heating over the northwestern semi-arid areas, determines a slow northwestward migration of the monsoon, a crucial feature for the existence of desert regions to the west. This also implies that the land–atmosphere system in May is far from being in equilibrium with the external forcing. The inland migration of the precipitation front comprises a succession of large-scale 35–50 day coupled oscillations between soil moisture, precipitation, and circulation. The oscillatory regime is self-sustained and entirely due to the internal dynamics of the system. In contrast to the May case, minor changes in the land–atmosphere system are found when the model is initialized in March and, more surprisingly, in July, the latter case further emphasizing the role of northwestern surface heating.