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.     

Surface and subsurface signatures of monsoon intraseasonal oscillations from moored buoys observation in the Bay of Bengal

The work identified the monsoon intraseasonal oscillation (MISO) from the observed met-ocean parameters from the moored buoys and satellite datasets during June 2013 – September 2013. The 30–60 days bandpass filtered winds, sea surface temperature (SST), and rainfall from both the satellites and moored buoys have indicated the existence of active and break phases of MISOs with a periodicity of 10–12 days. All the parameters show a northward propagation of the MISO signals from the southern to the northern BoB with stronger magnitude on the north of 12 °N. The warmer SST causes the high wind and precipitation in an active phase after 4–5 days. During active phases, SST dropped, and break phase occurs with less wind and precipitation after 10–12 days. Prominent signatures of the MISOs are also observed along the ocean subsurface from the temperature, salinity, and current profiles. The 23 °C isotherm (D23) deepens during the active phases of the MISOs to make the surface warm. The D23 shoals during the break phases, indicating cooling of the ocean surface. The in-phase relationship of 100 m temperature and wind speeds together indicate an important role of the surface winds during the different phases of MISO. Deepening and shoaling of mixed layer are observed in the upper ocean during the different MISO phases with varying characteristics in the northern and southern BoB. The subsurface signatures of MISOs are strong near 100 m for temperature, but for salinity and currents, the signatures are restricted within 50 m depth.     

Cloud–aerosol coupled index in estimating the break phase of Indian summer monsoon

The Indian summer monsoon (ISM) is largely influenced by intra-seasonal variability like break and active phases of monsoon. In the present study, different cloud and aerosol parameters are considered and analyzed to formulate a cloud–aerosol coupled index (CACI) that can aid in forecasting the break phase of ISM. The method of principal component analysis is implemented to identify the significant cloud and aerosol parameters during break and active phases of ISM. The threshold ranges of each parameter are evaluated by using the normal probability density function. The result reveals that for break phase, the significant parameters are cloud water path (CWP), cloud optical depth, aerosol index, zonal wind (ZW), and meridional wind (MW) at 850 hPa pressure level whereas for active phase, the parameters found to be important are aerosol optical depth, CWP, ZW, and MW at 850 hPa pressure level. The significantly correlated (p?相似文献   

欧亚遥相关型对印度夏季风与华北夏季降水间关系的影响

利用国家气候中心160站月平均降水资料、印度热带气象研究所的全印度月平均降水资料和NCEP/NCAR的再分析资料,从年际和年代际角度分别研究了欧亚遥相关型（Eurasian teleconnection,EU）对印度夏季风与华北夏季降水关系的影响,并探究其物理机制。结果表明,EU与印度夏季风之间的相关系数只有-0.078,二者相互独立。印度夏季风与华北夏季降水有正相关关系（Indian Summer Monsoon and North China Summer Rainfall,ISM-NCSR）,且在正EU位相时,ISM-NCSR关系较弱;负EU位相时,ISM-NCSR关系较强。这是由于EU负位相时,贝加尔湖右侧存在反气旋环流,有利于北风及冷空气南下。因此,强印度季风时北上的暖湿气流在华北地区与偏北风相遇形成锋面,有利于华北降水;弱印度季风时华北地区完全被强北风控制,水汽输送通道被阻断,不利于降水,从而导致ISM-NCSR关系强。正EU位相时与此相反,相关关系弱。     

Monsoon rainfall and southern oscillation responses in the pressures over the Northern Indian Ocean

The pressure variations over the North Indian Ocean during the summer monsoon season have been exam-ined using the monthly data from June to September for the period 1961 to 1968. It is found that these varia-tions can be described by two significant eigenvectors (EV1 and EV2) which together account for 53% of the total variance.The first eigenvector (EV1) represents in phase variation over both, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal with higher variations over the northern side of the area. The second eigenvector (EV2) depicts the out-of-phase variation between the pressure anomalies over the north and the south of 15°N latitude with two areas of pronounced variation, viz., the head Bay of Bengal and the equatorial region near 65°E longitude.The coefficients of EV1 show significant association with rainfall of West Coast and Central India for the concurrent months. These coefficients also show significant association with the pressure and temperature indices of the Southern Oscillation. The coefficients of EV2 show significant association with the monsoon rainfall of south peninsular India.     

夏季中国华北与印度降水之间的关联及其成因分析

本文基于1951~2012年的再分析资料以及站点观测资料,针对中国华北夏季降水和印度夏季风降水的协同变化(正相关)关系,利用集合经验模态分解法(EEMD)对两个降水序列进行时间尺度分解,并在年际尺度上分别考察了对两者正相关关系形成的有利和不利环流形势.结果表明,印度夏季风降水和华北夏季降水序列的较好正相关关系主要来自周期为2~3年的年际尺度分量,两者在该时间尺度上的相关系数为0.34,达到99%的信度水平.在年际尺度上,与印度夏季风降水异常有关的对流层中高层环半球遥相关型(CGT)波列能够衔接伊朗高原和环渤海地区上空的同位相环流异常(反气旋式或气旋式),从而有利于华北夏季降水和印度夏季风降水之间的协同变化.然而,这一协同变化关系并不总是成立.当伊朗高原上空异常中心的位置偏西时,CGT波列无法形成.这时,即使印度夏季风降水出现显著异常,华北地区却易受东亚—太平洋型或西太平洋型遥相关型的影响而其降水形势可能与印度夏季风降水形势相反.这些结论有助于进一步理解印度夏季风降水与华北夏季降水的正相关关系,从而对华北夏季降水的预测具有参考意义.     

Future change of Asian-Australian monsoon under RCP 4.5 anthropogenic warming scenario

We investigate the future changes of Asian-Australian monsoon (AAM) system projected by 20 climate models that participated in the phase five of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). A metrics for evaluation of the model’s performance on AAM precipitation climatology and variability is used to select a subset of seven best models. The CMIP5 models are more skillful than the CMIP3 models in terms of the AAM metrics. The future projections made by the selected multi-model mean suggest the following changes by the end of the 21st century. (1) The total AAM precipitation (as well as the land and oceanic components) will increase significantly (by 4.5 %/°C) mainly due to the increases in Indian summer monsoon (5.0 %/°C) and East Asian summer monsoon (6.4 %/°C) rainfall; the Australian summer monsoon rainfall will increase moderately by 2.6 %/°C. The “warm land-cool ocean” favors the entire AAM precipitation increase by generation of an east-west asymmetry in the sea level pressure field. On the other hand, the warm Northern Hemisphere-cool Southern Hemisphere induced hemispheric SLP difference favors the ASM but reduces the Australian summer monsoon rainfall. The combined effects explain the differences between the Asian and Australian monsoon changes. (2) The low-level tropical AAM circulation will weaken significantly (by 2.3 %/°C) due to atmospheric stabilization that overrides the effect of increasing moisture convergence. Different from the CMIP3 analysis, the EA subtropical summer monsoon circulation will increase by 4.4 %/°C. (3) The Asian monsoon domain over the land area will expand by about 10 %. (4) The spatial structures of the leading mode of interannual variation of AAM precipitation will not change appreciably but the ENSO-AAM relationship will be significantly enhanced.     

Sea surface temperature associations with the late Indian summer monsoon

Recent gridded and historical data are used in order to assess the relationships between interannual variability of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly patterns over the Indian and Pacific oceans. Interannual variability of ISM rainfall and dynamical indices for the traditional summer monsoon season (June–September) are strongly influenced by rainfall and circulation anomalies observed during August and September, or the late Indian summer monsoon (LISM). Anomalous monsoons are linked to well-defined LISM rainfall and large-scale circulation anomalies. The east-west Walker and local Hadley circulations fluctuate during the LISM of anomalous ISM years. LISM circulation is weakened and shifted eastward during weak ISM years. Therefore, we focus on the predictability of the LISM. Strong (weak) (L)ISMs are preceded by significant positive (negative) SST anomalies in the southeastern subtropical Indian Ocean, off Australia, during boreal winter. These SST anomalies are mainly linked to south Indian Ocean dipole events, studied by Besera and Yamagata (2001) and to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. These SST anomalies are highly persistent and affect the northwestward translation of the Mascarene High from austral to boreal summer. The southeastward (northwestward) shift of this subtropical high associated with cold (warm) SST anomalies off Australia causes a weakening (strengthening) of the whole monsoon circulation through a modulation of the local Hadley cell during the LISM. Furthermore, it is suggested that the Mascarene High interacts with the underlying SST anomalies through a positive dynamical feedback mechanism, maintaining its anomalous position during the LISM. Our results also explain why a strong ISM is preceded by a transition in boreal spring from an El Niño to a La Niña state in the Pacific and vice versa. An El Niño event and the associated warm SST anomalies over the southeastern Indian Ocean during boreal winter may play a key role in the development of a strong ISM by strengthening the local Hadley circulation during the LISM. On the other hand, a developing La Niña event in boreal spring and summer may also enhance the east–west Walker circulation and the monsoon as demonstrated in many previous studies.     

Eastward propagating MJO during boreal summer and Indian monsoon droughts

Improved understanding of underlying mechanism responsible for Indian summer monsoon (ISM) droughts is important due to their profound socio-economic impact over the region. While some droughts are associated with ‘external forcing’ such as the El-Niño and Southern Oscillation (ENSO), many ISM droughts are not related to any known ‘external forcing’. Here, we unravel a fundamental dynamic process responsible for droughts arising not only from external forcing but also those associated with internal dynamics. We show that most ISM droughts are associated with at least one very long break (VLB; breaks with duration of more than 10 days) and that the processes responsible for VLBs may also be the mechanism responsible for ISM droughts. Our analysis also reveals that all extended monsoon breaks (whether co-occurred with El-Niño or not) are associated with an eastward propagating Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) in the equatorial Indian Ocean and western Pacific extending to the dateline and westward propagating Rossby waves between 10° and 25°N. The divergent Rossby wave associated with the dry phase of equatorial convection propagates westward towards Indian land, couple with the northward propagating dry phase and leads to the sustenance of breaks. Thus, the propensity of eastward propagating MJO during boreal summer is largely the cause of monsoon droughts. While short breaks are not accompanied by westerly wind events (WWE) over equatorial western Pacific favorable for initiating air–sea interaction, all VLBs are accompanied by sustained WWE. The WWEs associated with all VLB during 1975–2005 initiate air–sea interaction on intraseasonal time scale, extend the warm pool eastward allowing the convectively coupled MJO to propagate further eastward and thereby sustaining the divergent circulation over India and the monsoon break. The ocean–atmosphere coupling on interannual time scale (such as El-Niño) can also produce VLB, but not necessary.     

Can the Southern annular mode influence the Korean summer monsoon rainfall?

We demonstrate that a large-scale longitudinally symmetric global phenomenon in the Southern Hemisphere sub-polar region can transmit its influence over a remote local region of the Northern Hemisphere traveling more than 100° of latitudes (from ~70°S to ~40°N). This is illustrated by examining the relationship between the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and the Korean Monsoon Rainfall (KMR) based on the data period 1983-2013. Results reveal that the May-June SAM (MJSAM) has a significant in-phase relationship with the subsequent KMR. A positive MJSAM is favorable for the summer monsoon rainfall over the Korean peninsula. The impact is relayed through the central Pacific Ocean. When a negative phase of MJSAM occurs, it gives rise to an anomalous meridional circulation in a longitudinally locked air-sea coupled system over the central Pacific that propagates from sub-polar to equatorial latitudes and is associated with the central Pacific warming. The ascending motion over the central Pacific descends over the Korean peninsula during peak-boreal summer resulting in weakening of monsoon rainfall. The opposite features prevail during a positive phase of SAM. Thus, the extreme modes of MJSAM could possibly serve as a predictor for ensuing Korean summer monsoon rainfall.     

Dynamics of the Indian monsoon and ENSO relationships in the SINTEX global coupled model

This paper uses recent gridded climatological data and a coupled general circulation model (GCM) simulation in order to assess the relationships between the interannual variability of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The focus is on the dynamics of the ISM-ENSO relationships and the ability of the state-of-the-art coupled GCM to reproduce the complex lead-lag relationships between the ISM and the ENSO. The coupled GCM is successful in reproducing the ISM circulation and rainfall climatology in the Indian areas even though the entire ISM circulation is weaker relative to that observed. In both observations and in the simulation, the ISM rainfall anomalies are significantly associated with fluctuations of the Hadley circulation and the 200 hPa zonal wind anomalies over the Indian Ocean. A quasi-biennial time scale is found to structure the ISM dynamical and rainfall indices in both cases. Moreover, ISM indices have a similar interannual variability in the simulation and observations. The coupled model is less successful in simulating the annual cycle in the tropical Pacific. A major model bias is the eastward displacement of the western North Pacific inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ), near the dateline, during northern summer. This introduces a strong semiannual component in Pacific Walker circulation indices and central equatorial Pacific sea surface temperatures. Another weakness of the coupled model is a less-than-adequate simulation of the Southern Oscillation due to an erroneous eastward extension of the Southern Pacific convergence zone (SPCZ) year round. Despite these problems, the coupled model captures some aspects of the interannual variability in the tropical Pacific. ENSO events are phase-locked with the annual cycle as observed, but are of reduced amplitude relative to the observations. Wavelet analysis of the model Niño34 time series shows enhanced power in the 2–4 year band, as compared to the 2–8 year range for observations during the 1950–2000 period. The ISM circulation is weakened during ENSO years in both the simulation and the observations. However, the model fails to reproduce the lead-lag relationship between the ISM and Niño34 sea surface temperatures (SSTs). Furthermore, lag correlations show that the delayed response of the wind stress over the central Pacific to ISM variability is insignificant in the simulation. These features are mainly due to the unrealistic interannual variability simulated by the model in the western North Pacific. The amplitude and even the sign of the simulated surface and upper level wind anomalies in these areas are not consistent with observed patterns during weak/strong ISM years. The ISM and western North Pacific ITCZ fluctuate independently in the observations, while they are negatively and significantly correlated in the simulation. This isolates the Pacific Walker circulation from the ISM forcing. These systematic errors may also contribute to the reduced amplitude of ENSO variability in the coupled simulation. Most of the unrealistic features in simulating the Indo-Pacific interannual variability may be traced back to systematic errors in the base state of the coupled model.     

Simulation of the evolutionary response of global summer monsoons to orbital forcing over the past 280,000 years

We describe the evolutionary response of northern and southern hemisphere summer monsoons to orbital forcing over the past 280,000 years using a fully coupled general circulation ocean-atmosphere model in which the orbital forcing is accelerated by a factor of 100. We find a strong and positive response of northern (southern) summer monsoon precipitation to northern (southern) summer insolation forcing. On average, July (January) precipitation maxima and JJA (DJF) precipitation maxima have high coherence and are approximately in phase with June (December) insolation maxima, implying an average lag between forcing and response of about 30° of phase at the precession period. The average lag increases to over 40° for 4-month precipitation averages, JJAS (DJFM). The phase varies from region to region. The average JJA (DJF) land temperature maxima also lag the June orbital forcing maxima by about 30° of phase, whereas ocean temperature maxima exhibit a lag of about 60° of phase at the precession period. Using generalized measures of the thermal and hydrologic processes that produce monsoons, we find that the summer monsoon precipitation indices for the six regions all fall within the phase limits of the process indices for the respective hemispheres. Selected observational studies from four of the six monsoon regions report approximate in-phase relations of summer monsoon proxies to summer insolation. However other observational studies report substantial phase lags of monsoon proxies and a strong component of forcing associated with glacial-age boundary conditions or other factors. An important next step will be to include glacial-age boundary condition forcing in long, transient paleoclimate simulations, along with orbital forcing.     

Impact of the western North Pacific subtropical high on the East Asian monsoon precipitation and the Indian Ocean precipitation in the boreal summertime

The western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH) is a crucial component of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) system and significantly influences the precipitation in East Asia. In this study, distinguished role of WNPSH on the EASM and Indian Ocean monsoon (IOM) are investigated. Based on the boreal summer mean field of 850-hPa geopotential height and its interannual variability, the WNPSH index (WNPSHI) is defined by the areaaveraged geopotential height over the region [110°–150°E, 15°–30°N]. The WNPSHI is significantly related to the precipitation over the East Asian monsoon (EAM) region [105°–150°E, 30°–40°N] and IOM region [70°–105°E, 5°–15°N]. Rainfalls over these two regions have good correlation with WNPSH developments and the geopotential height fields at 850 hPa related to the EAM precipitation and IOM precipitation have remarkably different teleconnection patterns in boreal summer. These features exhibit that EAM and IOM precipitations have different type of development processes associated with different type of WNPSH each other. Focusing on the relationships among the EAM precipitation, IOM precipitation, and the WNPSH variabilities, we assume that WNPSH and EAM precipitation are usually fluctuated simultaneously through the sea surface temperature (SST)-subtropical ridge-monsoon rainfall feedback, whereas the IOM precipitation varies through the different process. To clarify the relationships among WNPSH, EAM, and IOM, two cases are selected. The first one is the case that all of WNPSH, EAM, and IOM are in phase (WE(+)I(+)), and the second one is the case that WNPSH and EAM are in phase and WNPSH/EAM and IOM is out of phase (WE(+)I(?)). These two cases are connected to the thermal forcing associated with SST anomalies over the eastern Pacific and Indian Ocean. This different thermal forcing induces the change in circulation fields, and then anomalous circulation fields influence the moisture convergence over Asian monsoon regions interactively. Therefore, the monsoon rainfall may be changed according to the thermal conditions over the tropics.     

基于南海夏季风季节内振荡的降水延伸预报试验

利用代表南海夏季风季节内振荡特征的850 hPa纬向风EOF分解的前两个主成分,定义南海夏季风季节内振荡指数,并利用美国国家环境预测中心第2代气候预报系统 (NCEP Climate Forecast System Version 2, NCEP/CFSv2) 提供的1982—2009年逐日回算预报场计算了南海夏季风季节内振荡指数的预报值,用于我国南方地区持续性强降水的预报试验。试验结果表明:利用南海夏季风季节内振荡实时监测指数与模式直接预报降水量相结合的统计动力延伸预报方法,能够有效提高季节内降水分量的预报效果。同时,该方法能够避免末端数据损失,修正了对模式预报降水直接进行带通滤波而导致的负相关现象,并起到消除模式系统误差的作用。     

A study on the decreasing trend in tropical easterly jet stream (TEJ) and its impact on Indian summer monsoon rainfall

Using the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis wind and temperature data (1948–2011) and India Meteorological Department (IMD) rainfall data, a long-term trend in the tropical easterly jet stream and its effect on Indian summer monsoon rainfall has been explained in the present study. A decreasing trend in zonal wind speed at 100 mb (maximum decrease), 150 mb, and 200 mb (minimum) is observed. The upper-level (100, 150, and 200 mb) zonal wind speed has been correlated with the surface air temperature anomaly index (ATAI) in the month of May, which is taken as the difference in temperature anomaly over land (22.5°N–27.5°N, 80°E–90°E) and Ocean (5°S–0°S, 75°E–85°E). Significant high correlation is observed between May ATAI and tropical easterly jet stream (TEJ) which suggests that the decreasing land–sea temperature contrast could be one major reason behind the decreasing trend in TEJ. The analysis of spatial distribution of rainfall over India shows a decreasing trend in rainfall over Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, central Indian region, and western coast of India. Increasing trend in rainfall is observed over south peninsular and northeastern part of India. From the spatial correlation analysis of zonal wind with gridded rainfall, it is observed that the correlation of rainfall is found to be high with the TEJ speed over the regions where the decreasing trend in rainfall is observed. Similarly, from the analysis of spatial correlation between rainfall and May ATAI, positive spatial correlation is observed between May ATAI and summer monsoon rainfall over the regions such as south peninsular India where the rainfall trend is positive, and negative correlation is observed over the places such as Jammu and Kashmir where negative rainfall trend is observed. The decreased land–sea temperature contrast in the pre-monsoon month could be one major reason behind the decreased trend in TEJ as well as the observed spatial variation in the summer monsoon rainfall trend. Thus, the study explained the long-term trend in TEJ and its relation with May month temperature over the Indian Ocean and land region and its effect on the trend and spatial distribution of Indian summer monsoon rainfall.     

Distinct quasi-biweekly features of the subtropical East Asian monsoon during early and late summers

Using Global Precipitation Climatology Project daily rainfall and ERA interim reanalysis data, we investigate the distinct characteristic of quasi-biweekly variation (QBV: 12–20 days) over East Asia (EA) during early (June 10–July 20) and late (July 21–August 31) summer. The QBV maximum variance is found over the core region of EA (30°–40°N, 110°–130°E), which includes eastern China (lower reaches of the Yellow, Huaihe, and Yangtze rivers) and the Korean Peninsula. At both its peak wet and dry phases, QBV over the core region has a baroclinic structure, but with different spatial distributions, different lower-level prevalent wind anomalies, and different upper-level major circulation anomalies in the two subseasons. Meanwhile, the two subseasons have different propagating tracks prior to reaching the peak phase, and different precursors associated with the local genesis of QBV. Furthermore, during the transition from the peak dry to peak wet phase of QBV, the major monsoon circulations have different behaviors that tropical monsoon trough extends eastward in early summer but retreats westward in late summer and the South Asia high (SAH) and western North Pacific (WNP) subtropical high move toward (away from) each other in early (late) summer. The abrupt change of mean state in mid to late July, which includes the northward migration of westerly jet, SAH and WNP, and the weakening and broken of westerly jet, is considered the root cause of the change in behavior of QBV. Finally, we indicate that the tropical monsoon trough and midlatitude westerly jet are possible sources of QBV over subtropical EA in both subseasons and provide useful guidance for 2–3 week predictions over EA.     

Local onset and demise of the Indian summer monsoon

This paper introduces an objective definition of local onset and demise of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) at the native grid of the Indian Meteorological Department’s rainfall analysis based on more than 100 years of rain gauge observations. The variability of the local onset/demise of the ISM is shown to be closely associated with the All India averaged rainfall onset/demise. This association is consistent with the corresponding evolution of the slow large-scale reversals of upper air and ocean variables that raise the hope of predictability of local onset and demise of the ISM. The local onset/demise of the ISM also show robust internannual variations associated with El Nino and the Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean dipole mode. It is also shown that the early monsoon rains over northeast India has a predictive potential for the following seasonal anomalies of rainfall and seasonal length of the monsoon over rest of India.

     

Impact of Indian summer monsoon on the South Asian High and its influence on summer rainfall over China

By using the monthly ERA-40 reanalysis data and observed rainfall data, we investigated the effect of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) on the South Asian High (SAH) at 200 hPa, and the role played by the SAH in summer rainfall variation over China. It is found that in the interannual timescale the east–west shift is a prominent feature of the SAH, with its center either over the Iranian Plateau or over the Tibetan Plateau. When the ISM is stronger (weaker) than normal, the SAH shifts westward (eastward) to the Iranian Plateau (Tibetan Plateau). The east–west position of SAH has close relation to the summer rainfall over China. A westward (eastward) location of SAH corresponds to less (more) rainfall in the Yangtze-Huai River Valley and more (less) rainfall in North China and South China. A possible physical process that the ISM affects the summer rainfall over China via the SAH is proposed. A stronger (weaker) ISM associated with more (less) rainfall over India corresponds to more (less) condensation heat release and anomalous heating (cooling) in the upper troposphere over the northern Indian peninsula. The anomalous heating (cooling) stimulates positive (negative) height anomalies to its northwest and negative (positive) height anomalies to its northeast in the upper troposphere, causing a westward (eastward) shift of the SAH with its center over the Iranian Plateau (Tibetan Plateau). As a result, an anomalous cyclone (anticyclone) is formed over the eastern Tibetan Plateau and eastern China in the upper troposphere. The anomalous vertical motions in association with the circulation anomalies are responsible for the rainfall anomalies over China. Our present study reveals that the SAH may play an important role in the effect of ISM on the East Asian summer monsoon.     

A comparison of regional monsoon variability using monsoon indices

The present study aims to (a) examine meteorological basis for construction of regional monsoon indices and (b) explore the commonality and differences among tropical regional monsoons, especially the teleconnection and monsoon–ENSO relationship. We show that the area-averaged summer precipitation intensity is generally a meaningful precipitation index for tropical monsoons because it represents very well both the amplitude of annual cycle and the leading mode of year-to-year rainfall variability with a nearly uniform spatial pattern. The regional monsoon circulation indices can be defined in a unified way (measuring monsoon trough vorticity) for seven tropical monsoon regions, viz.: Indian, Australian, western North Pacific, North and South American, and Northern and Southern African monsoons. The structures of the tropical monsoons are commonly characterized by a pair of upper-level double anticyclones residing in the subtropics of both hemispheres; notably the winter hemispheric anticyclone has a barotropic structure and is a passive response. Two types of upper-level teleconnection patterns are identified. One is a zonal wave train emanating from the double anticyclones downstream along the westerly jets in both hemispheres, including Indian, Northern African and Australian monsoons; the other is a meridional wave train emanating from the double anticyclones polewards, such as the South American and western North Pacific monsoons. Over the past 55 years all regional summer monsoons have non-stationary relationship with ENSO except the Australian monsoon. The regional monsoon–ENSO relationship is found to have common changing points in 1970s. The relationships were enhanced for the western North Pacific, Northern African, North American and South American summer monsoons, but weakened for the Indian summer monsoon (with a recovery in late 1990s). Regardless the large regional differences, the monsoon precipitations over land areas of all tropical monsoon regions are significantly correlated with the ENSO, suggesting that ENSO drives global tropical monsoon rainfall variability. These results provide useful guidance for monitoring sub-seasonal to seasonal variations of the regional monsoons currently done at NCEP and for assessment of the climate models’ performances in representing regional and global monsoon variability.     

A Study of the Teleconnections in the Asian-Pacific Monsoon Region

The interactions among the Asian-Pacific monsoon subsystems have significant impacts on the climatic regimes in the monsoon region and even the whole world. Based on the domestic and foreign related research, an analysis is made of four different teleconnection modes found in the Asian-Pacific monsoon region, which reveal clearly the interactions among the Indian summer monsoon （ISM）, the East Asian summer monsoon （EASM）, and the western North Pacific summer monsoon （WNPSM）. The results show that： （1） In the period of the Asian monsoon onset, the date of ISM onset is two weeks earlier than the beginning of the Meiyu over the Yangtze River Basin, and a teleconnection mode is set up from the southwestern India via the Bay of Bengal （BOB） to the Yangtze River Basin and southern Japan, i.e., the ＂southern＂ teleconnection of the Asian summer monsoon. （2） In the Asian monsoon culmination period, the precipitation of the Yangtze River Basin is influenced significantly by the WNPSM through their teleconnection relationship, and is negatively related to the WNPSM rainfall, that is, when the WNPSM is weaker than normal, the precipitation of the Yangtze River Basin is more than normal. （3） In contrast to the rainfall over the Yangtze River Basin, the precipitation of northern China （from the 4th pentad of July to the 3rd pentad of August） is positively related to the WNPSM. When the WNPSM is stronger than normal, the position of the western Pacific subtropical high （WPSH） becomes farther northeast than normal, the anomalous northeastward water vapor transport along the southwestern flank of WPSH is converged over northern China, providing adequate moisture for more rainfalls than normal there. （4） The summer rainfall in northern China has also a positive correlation with the ISM. During the peak period of ISM, a teleconnection pattern is formed from Northwest India via the Tibetan Plateau to northern China, i.e., the ＂northern＂ teleconnection of the Asian summer monsoon. The