Characteristics of the Onset of the Asian Summer Monsoon and the Importance of Asian-Australian “Land Bridge”

Based on summarizing previous achievements and using data as long and new as possible, the onset characteristics of Asian summer monsoon and the role of Asian-Australian “land bridge” in the onset of summer monsoon are further discussed. In particular, the earliest onset area of Asian summer monsoon is comparatively analyzed, and the sudden and progressive characteristics of the onset of summer monsoon in different regions are discussed. Furthermore, the relationships among such critical events during the onset of Asian summer monsoon as the splitting of subtropical high belt over the Bay of Bengal (BOB), the initiation of convection over Indo-China Peninsula, the westward advance, reestablishment of South Asian High, and the rapid northward progression of convection originated from Sumatra in early summer are studied. The important impact of the proper collocation of the latent heating over Indo-China Peninsula and the sensible heating over Indian Peninsula on the splitting of the subtropical high belt, the deepening of BOB trough, the activating of Sri Lanka vortex (twin vortexes in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres), and the subsequent onset of South China Sea summer monsoon are emphasized.     

The Kelvin Wave Processes in the Equatorial Indian Ocean during the 2006–2008 IOD Events

The present study investigates the role of Kelvin wave propagations along the equatorial Indian Ocean during the 2006–2008 Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). The 2006 IOD lasted for seven months, developing in May and reaching its peak in December, while the 2007 and 2008 IODs were short-lived events, beginning in early May and ending abruptly in September, with much weaker amplitudes. Associated with the above IODs, the impulses of the sea surface height (SSH) anomalies reflect the forcing from an intraseasonal time scale, which was important to the evolution of IODs in 2007 and 2008. At the thermocline depth, dominated by the propagation of Kelvin waves, the warming/cooling temperature signals could reach the surface at a particular time. When the force is strong and the local thermocline condition is favorable, the incoming Kelvin waves dramatically impact the sea surface temperature (SST) in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean. In July 2007 and late July 2008, the downwelling Kelvin waves, triggered by the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) in the eastern and central equatorial Indian Ocean, suppressed the thermocline in the Sumatra and the Java coast and terminated the IOD, which made those events short-lived and no longer persist into the boreal fall season as the canonical IOD does.     

Formation and evolution of anomalous tropical storm over the Bay of Bengal in April–May 2008

An evolution of the anomalous tropical storm is considered developed on April 29–May 4, 2008 over the Bay of Bengal. After the origination, it spread eastward through the Andaman Sea and reached the Myanmar coast. The analysis of formation and development of the tropical storm over the water area of the Bay of Bengal demonstrated that the sea level pressure at the center of this storm was rather high. Nevertheless, catastrophically large precipitation amount fell in Myanmar.     

Seasonal Forecast of South China Sea Summer Monsoon Onset Disturbed by Cold Tongue La Niña in the Past Decade

It has been suggested that a warm(cold)ENSO event in winter is mostly followed by a late(early)onset of the South China Sea(SCS)summer monsoon(SCSSM)in spring.Our results show this positive relationship,which is mainly determined by their phase correlation,has been broken under recent rapid global warming since 2011,due to the disturbance of cold tongue(CT)La Ni?a events.Different from its canonical counterpart,a CT La Ni?a event is characterized by surface meridional wind divergences in the central-eastern equatorial Pacific,which can delay the SCSSM onset by enhanced convections in the warming Indian Ocean and the western subtropical Pacific.Owing to the increased Indian?western Pacific warming and the prevalent CT La Ni?a events,empirical seasonal forecasting of SCSSM onset based on ENSO may be challenged in the future.     

The Role of Land–sea Distribution and Orography in the Asian Monsoon. Part I: Land–sea Distribution

A number of AGCM simulations were performed by including various land–sea distributions (LSDs), such as meridional LSDs, zonal LSDs, tropical large-scale LSDs, and subcontinental-scale LSDs, to identify their effects on the Asian monsoon. In seven meridional LSD experiments with the continent/ocean located to the north/south of a certain latitude, the LSDs remain identical except the southern coastline is varied from 40 ° to 4 ° N in intervals of 5.6° . In the experiments with the coastline located to the n...     

Variations of Surface Heat Fluxes over the Tibetan Plateau before and after the Onset of the South Asian Summer Monsoon during 1979–2016

As the "Third Pole of the World," the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is an important thermal forcing to the South Asian summer monsoon (ASM) and even the global atmospheric circulation. In this paper, surface heat fluxes from the ERA-Interim reanalysis data during March-October of 1979-2016 in the TP and its surrounding areas are examined and analyzed. The results are as follows.(1) From March to May (before the ASM onset), the main body of the TP is dominated by sensible heat flux, which increases rapidly with high (low) values in the west (east), while the change of latent heat flux is small but it increases with time.(2) From June to August (after the ASM onset), sensible heat flux over the TP decreases, while latent heat flux increases rapidly with high (low) values in the east (west).(3) From September to October (after the ASM withdrawal), sensible and latent heat fluxes are comparable to each other in strength, again with high (low) sensible heat flux in the west (east).(4) During 1979-2016, surface sensible heat flux in the whole TP shows a slightly downward trend, while latent heat flux shows an increasing trend. Specifically, in the western TP, sensible (latent) heat flux shows a weak decreasing (an increasing) trend;while in the eastern TP, sensible (latent) heat flux decreases (increases obviously). These variations are consistent with the observed warming and moistening in the TP region. The above results are useful for further analysis of the change of atmospheric heat sources and surface heat fluxes over the TP based on the data from the Third Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Science Experiment (TIPEX-Ⅲ).     

Statistical and Comparative Analysis of Tropical Cyclone Activity over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal (1977–2018)

A statistical comparative analysis of tropical cyclone activity over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal (BoB) has been conducted using best-track data and wind radii information from 1977 to 2018 issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Results have shown that the annual variation in the frequency and duration of tropical cyclones has a significant increasing trend over the Arabian Sea and an insignificant decreasing trend over the BoB. The monthly frequency of tropical cyclones in both the Arabian Sea and the BoB shows a notable bimodal character, with peaks occurring in May and October–November, respectively. The maximum frequency of tropical cyclones occurs in the second peak as a result of the higher moisture content at mid-levels in the autumn. However, the largest proportion of strong cyclones (H1–H5 grades) occurs in the first peak as a result of the higher sea surface temperatures in early summer. Tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea break out later during the first peak and activity ends earlier during the second peak, in contrast with those in the over BoB. This is related to the onset and drawback times of the southwest monsoon in the two basins. Tropical cyclones in the Arabian Sea are mainly generated in the eastern basin, whereas in the BoB the genesis locations have a meridional (zonal) distribution in May–June (October–November) as a result of the seasonal movement of the low-level positive vorticity belt. The Arabian Sea is dominated by western and northwestern tropical cyclones by that track west and NW, accounting for about 74.6%, whereas the tropical cyclones with a NE track account for only 25.4%. The proportions of the three types of tracks are similar in the BoB, with each accounting for about 33% of the tropical cyclones. The mean intensity and size of tropical cyclones over the Arabian Sea are stronger and larger, respectively, than those over the BoB and the size of tropical cyclones over the North Indian Ocean in early summer is larger than that in autumn. The asymmetrical structure of tropical cyclones over North Indian Ocean is affected by the topography and the longest radius of the 34 kt surface wind often lies in the eastern quadrant of the tropical cyclone circulation in both sea areas. FAN Xiao-ting (樊晓婷), LI Ying (李 英), et al.     

A Study on the Mesoscale Convective Systems during the Summer Monsoon Onset over the South China Sea in 1998 Part Ⅰ: Analysis of Large-Scale Fields for Occurrence and Development of the Mesoscale Convective Systems

The summer monsoon onset over the northern South China Sea (SCS) in May 16-20, 1998 was characterized by the abrupt onset of mesoscale convective activities and rapid increase of precipitation. The possible mechanism for formation of the mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) and related rain belts were revealed through discussing their forming physical conditions under the large-scale background: (1) The high pseudo-equivalent potential temperature and the convective instability in the lower troposphere, the low-level southwesterly confluence and the high-level divergence over South China and the northern SCS provided the favorable large-scale thermodynamic and dynamic conditions for development of MCSs. The southwesterly flow from the Bay of Bengal (BOB) interacted with that to the western flank of the subtropical high, which constituted the major moisture channels, thus bringing about deep wet layers and strong moisture convergence;(2) triggered by several cold troughs from high and mid latitudes, the convectively unstable energy was released and the convective activities over the northern SCS broke out abruptly;(3)analysis of retrieved precipitation based on the dual-Doppler radar during South China Sea Monsoon Experiment (SCSMEX) indicated that active convection influenced by the monsoon trough and corresponding wind shear line organized and formed continually some mesoscale convective rainbelts. During May 15-19,about 12 precipitation processes with 6-12-hour life span or more were observed;and (4) under the favorable synoptic conditions, establishment of the monsoon trough and shear line in the low levels, as well as production and development of mesoscale low vortex were all necessary conditions for the formation and maintenance of MCSs.     

A Study on the Mesoscale Convective Systems during the Summer Monsoon Onset over the South China Sea in 1998Part I: Analysis of Large-Scale Fields for Occurrence and Development of the Mesoscale Convective Systems

1. Introduction China is located in the East Asian monsoon re- gion. Every year's weather and climate in this region is deeply affected by the monsoon activities. Es- pecially, during flooding season (May to September), the summer monsoon controls large-scale precipitation patterns, the movement of seasonal rain belt and oc- currence of drought/flood disasters. The Asian mon- soon can be divided into two systems (Tao and Chen, 1987). As a major component and its unique location, the South …     

Performance of Convective Parameterization Schemes in Asia Using RegCM:Simulations in Three Typical Regions for the Period 1998–2002

This study discusses the sensitivity of convective parameterization schemes(CPSs) in the Regional Climate Model(version 4.3)(Reg CM4.3) over East/South Asia. The simulations using different CPSs in Reg CM are compared to discover a suitable scheme for this region, as the performance of different schemes is greatly influenced by region and seasonality. Over Southeast China and the Bay of Bengal, the Grell scheme exhibits the lowest RMSEs of summer precipitation compared to observed data. Moreover, the Emanuel over land and Grell over ocean(ELGO) scheme enhances the simulation, in comparison with any single CPS(Grell/Emanuel) over Western Ghats, Sri Lanka, and Southeast India. Over the Huang–Huai–Hai Plain(3H) and Tibetan Plateau(TP) regions of China, the Tiedtke scheme simulates the more reasonable summer precipitation with high correlation coefficient and comparable amplitude. Especially, it reproduces a minimum convective precipitation bias of 8 mm d-1and the lowest RMSEs throughout the year over East/South Asia. Furthermore, for seasonal variation of precipitation, the Tiedtke scheme results are closer to the observed data over the 3H and TP regions. However, none of the CPSs is able to simulate the seasonal variation over North Pakistan(NP). In comparison with previous research, the results of this study support the Grell scheme over South Asia. However, the Tiedtke scheme shows superiority for the 3H, TP and NP regions. The thicker PBL, less surface latent heat flux, the unique ability of deep convection and the entrainment process in the Tiedtke scheme are responsible for reducing the wet bias.     

The Onset of the Monsoon over the Bay of Bengal: The Year-to-Year Variations

In situ buoy observation data spanning four years(2008-2011) were used to demonstrate the year-to-year variations of the monsoon onset processes in the Bay of Bengal(BoB).A significant early(late) monsoon onset event in 2009(2010) was analyzed in detail.It is found that the year-to-year variations of monsoon onset can be attributed to either the interannual variability in the BoB SST or the irregular activities of the intra-seasonal oscillation(ISO).This finding raises concern over the potential difficulties in simulating or predicting the monsoon onset in the BoB region.This uncertainty largely comes from the unsatisfactory model behavior at the intra-seasonal time scale.     

Comparison of the Structure and Evolution of Intraseasonal Oscillations Before and After Onset of the Asian Summer Monsoon

High-resolution satellite-derived data and NCEP-NCAR reanalysis data are used to investigate intraseasonal oscillations （ISO） over the tropical Indian Ocean.A composite evolution of the ISO life cycle is constructed,including the initiation,development,and propagation of rainfall anomalies over the tropical Indian Ocean.The characteristics of ISO over the tropical Indian Ocean are profoundly different before and after the onset of the Indian summer monsoon.Positive precipitation anomalies before monsoon onset appear one phase earlier than those after monsoon onset.Before monsoon onset,precipitation anomalies associated with ISO first initiate in the western tropical Indian Ocean and then propagate eastward along the equator.After monsoon onset,convective anomalies propagate northward over the Indian summer monsoon region after an initial eastward propagation over the equatorial Indian Ocean.Surface wind convergence and air-sea interaction play critical roles in initiating each new cycle of ISO convection.     

Low-Frequency Vortex Pair over the Tropical Eastern Indian Ocean and the South China Sea Summer Monsoon Onset

In this paper,the relationship between a pair of low-frequency vortexes over the equatorial Indian Ocean and the South China Sea(SCS) summer monsoon onset is studied based on a multi-year(1980-2003) analysis.A pair of vortexes symmetric about the equator is an important feature prior to the SCS summer monsoon onset.A composite analysis shows that the life cycle of the pair of vortexes is closely associated with the SCS summer monsoon onset.The westerly between the twin cyclones is an important factor to the SCS summer monsoon onset process.     

An Analysis of the Characteristics of Monsoon Onset over the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea in 2010

Based on NCEP/NCAR daily reanalysis and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission data, the background atmospheric circulation and the characteristics of meteorological elements during the period of the Bay of Bengal monsoon (BOBM) and the South China Sea (SCS) monsoon (SCSM) in 2010 are studied. The impacts of the BOBM onset on the SCSM onset and the relationship between the two monsoons are also analyzed. The two main results are as follows. (1) The BOBM onset obviously occurs earlier than the SCSM onset in 2010, which is a typical onset process of the Asian monsoon. During the BOBM’s onset, northward jump, and eastward expansion, convective precipitation and southwest winds occurred over the SCS, which resulted in the onset of the SCSM. (2) The relationship among strong convection, heavy rainfall, and vertical circulation configuration is obtained during the monsoon onsets over the BOB and SCS, and it is concluded that the South Asian High plays an important role in this period.     

东亚地区夏季风爆发过程

利用中国194站1961～1995年日降水资料及NCEP1979～1997年候格点降水资料,探讨了亚洲地区自春到夏的雨季开始分布。结果表明,东亚地区自春到夏存在副热带季风雨季开始和热带季风雨季开始。前者于4月初开始于华南北部和江南地区,随后向南和向西南扩展,于4月末扩展到华南沿海和中南半岛,这个雨带主要是冷空气和副热带高压西侧转向的SW风以及南亚地区冬春副热带南支西风槽中西风汇合而形成的,是副热带季风雨季开始。后者是南海热带季风爆发后使原来由江南移到华南沿岸的副热带季风雨带随副热带高压北进而北进,前汛期雨季进入盛期,江南出现第二次雨峰,形成梅雨期和江淮及华北雨季。同时,热带季风雨带也自东向西传播到达南亚地区而形成热带季风雨季。还讨论了1998年东亚地区夏季风爆发过程,指出南海夏季风爆发期的季风由副高北侧形成的新生气旋进入南海造成南海中部西风和南海越赤道气流转向的SW季风加强汇合而形成,因而是东亚季风系统中环流系统季节变化造成的,和印度季风无关。在南海季风爆发期阿拉伯海仍由副热带反气旋控制,南亚仍是上述副热带反气旋北侧NW风南下后转向的偏西副热带气流所控制,索马里低空急流仍未爆发,赤道西风并未影响南海。     

Strengthened Regulation of the Onset of the South China Sea Summer Monsoon by the Northwest Indian Ocean Warming in the Past Decade

Traditionally,a delayed(early)onset of the South China Sea summer monsoon(SCSSM)has been observed to follow a warm(cold)El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation(ENSO)event in winter,supporting high seasonal predictability of SCSSM onset.However,the empirical seasonal forecasting skill of the SCSSM onset,solely based on ENSO,has deteriorated since 2010.Meanwhile,unexpected delayed onsets of the SCSSM have also occurred in the past decade.We attribute these changes to the Northwest Indian Ocean(NWIO)warming of the sea surface.The NWIO warming has teleconnections related to(1)suppressing the seasonal convection over the South China Sea,which weakens the impacts of ENSO on SCSSM onset and delays the start of SCSSM,and(2)favoring more high-frequency,propagating moist convective activities,which enhances the uncertainty of the seasonal prediction of SCSSM onset date.Our results yield insight into the predictability of the SCSSM onset under the context of uneven ocean warming operating within the larger-scale background state of global climate change.     

The Summer Monsoon Onset over the Tropical Eastern Indian Ocean： The Earliest Onset Process of the Asian Summer Monsoon

The onset process of the tropical eastern Indian Ocean (TEIO) summer monsoon (TEIOSM) and its relationship with the cross-equatorial flows are investigated via climatological analysis. Climatologically, results indicate that the earliest onset process of the Asian summer monsoon occurs over the TEIO at pentad 22 (April 15–20). Unlike the abrupt onset of the South China Sea (SCS) summer monsoon, the TEIOSM onset process displays a stepwise advance. Moreover, a close relationship between the TEIOSM development and the northward push of the cross-equatorial flows over 80–90E is revealed. A difference vorticity center, together with the counterpart over the southern Indian Ocean, constitutes a pair of difference cyclonic vortices, which strengthens the southwesterly wind over the TEIO and the northerly wind to the west of the Indian Peninsula from the end of March to late May. Therefore, the occurrence of the southwesterly wind over the TEIO is earlier than its counterpart over the tropical western Indian Ocean, and the cross-equatorial flows emerge firstly over the TEIO rather than over the Somali area. The former increases in intensity during its northward propagation, which provides a precondition for the TEIOSM onset and its northward advance.     

Role of Western Pacific Oceanic Variability in the Onset of the Bay of Bengal Summer Monsoon

The influence of the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean heat content on the onset of the Bay of Bengal summer monsoon(BOBSM) onset was investigated using atmospheric data from the NCEP and ocean subsurface temperature data from the Japan Metorology Agency(JMA).Results showed that the onset time of the BOBSM is highly related to the tropical Pacific upper ocean heat content(HC),especially in the key region of the western Pacific warm pool(WPWP),during the preceding winter and spring.When the HC anomalies in the WPWP are positive(negative),the onset of the BOBSM is usually early(late).Accompanied by the variation of the convection activity over the WPWP,mainly induced by the underlying ocean temperature anomalies,the Walker circulation becomes stronger or weaker.This enhances or weakens the westerly over the tropical Indian Ocean flowing into the BOB in the boreal spring,which is essential to BOBSM onset.The possible mechanism of influence of cyclonic/anti-cyclonic circulation over the northwestern tropical Pacific on BOBSM onset is also discussed.     

阿拉伯海和孟加拉湾夏季风气候特征的差异

利用 1 958— 1 997年 3— 1 1月 NCEP/NCAR850和 2 0 0 h Pa再分析风场资料 ,研究了南亚夏季风活动的气候特征。发现南亚不同区域的经、纬向风季节变化及纬向风的峰型结构差异明显。夏季在阿拉伯海和孟加拉湾分别有两个最明显西南风速中心 ,这两个地区的西南风活动明显不同 ,孟加拉湾西南风出现及向北推进到2 0°N时间比阿拉伯海明显偏早 ,结束时间偏晚 ,是南亚季风区西南夏季风维持时间最长的地区。对比分析强、弱夏季风年 6— 8月高、低层经、纬向风距平垂直切变矢量风场发现 ,热带低纬度越赤道气流及南亚季风区的流场结构明显不同。     

南海夏季风爆发与前期东亚冬季风异常的关系以及ENSO的作用

基于ERA-interim再分析资料采用相关分析研究了东亚冬季风和南海夏季风爆发的关系,并探讨了ENSO在其中的作用。结果表明,弱冬季风之后的南海地区5月有异常东风、降水偏少,对应于夏季风爆发偏晚;强冬季风之后则相反;但上述关系并不十分显著。进一步利用线性回归将东亚冬季风分为与ENSO有关和无关的部分,对于与ENSO有关的冬季风,上述冬季风-夏季风爆发的关系的显著性有明显提高;但与ENSO无关的冬季风和夏季风爆发并无显著联系。这说明冬季风-南海夏季风爆发的关系主要是由与ENSO有关的冬季风造成的。这一关系可以用ENSO激发的菲律宾异常反气旋或气旋来解释,以弱冬季风之后夏季风爆发偏晚为例:El Ni?o事件一方面激发出菲律宾异常反气旋,使得冬季风偏弱;另一方面又引起热带印度洋增暖,由于局地海气相互作用正反馈和印度洋电容器效应,菲律宾异常反气旋得以维持到晚春。该异常反气旋及其南侧的异常东风不利于南海夏季风的爆发,从而导致夏季风爆发偏晚。