Modelling the NW India monsoon for the last 40 000 years

Modeling of the monsoon requires at least a hemispheric model. At present such models require inputs such as ice cover and other parameters. The model used in the present work uses only irradiance and volcanic aerosol estimates, modeling the ice cover by first modeling the glacial volume and area. The net annual continental ice accumulation rate must be intergrated to obtain the global glacial volume. The integration may be done analytically and combined with a global volcanicity index time-series to give a volcanically modulated glacial model. This combined integral model matches both the general variation of glacial volume and the short-term events as well. This model is then combined with the calculated irradiance to drive a hemispheric heat-budget model yielding monthly hemispheric surface temperatures. The model matches most known climatic events seen in field data. The model also yields monthly evaporation values for the hemisphere that can be used to estimate the rainfall, much of which is monsoonal. The match with the history obtained from the pollen record is fairly good. Assuming that the N-S component of the northern Arabian Sea summer windfield is proportional to the annual contrast of hemispheric temperature and that the W-E component is proportional to the N-S temperature gradient, one may then model the Late Pleistocence and Holocence wind direction and strength. Preliminary estimates are consistent with much of the field data.     

印度洋海温异常对印度季风、高原夏季降水的影响

利用经验正交函数(EOF)对印度洋海表面温度距平(SSTA)进行分解,分析了印度洋海温场的时空分布特征,并通过合成分析、奇异值(SVD)分解等方法,结果表明,前期和同期的印度洋海表温度距平分布场与夏季高原降水相关显著,西印度洋-非洲东海岸赤道地区的SSTA与高原夏季降水联系最密切;当春、夏季印度洋西部海温出现明显负(正)距平时,当年印度夏季风偏强(弱),高原夏季降水普遍偏多(少).     

Intraseasonal Oscillation of Tropospheric Ozone over the Indian Summer Monsoon Region

Boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation(BSISO) of lower tropospheric ozone is observed in the Indian summer monsoon(ISM) region on the basis of ERA-Interim reanalysis data and ozonesonde data from the World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Centre. The 30–60-day intraseasonal variation of lower-tropospheric ozone shows a northwest–southeast pattern with northeastward propagation in the ISM region. The most significant ozone variations are observed in the Maritime Continent and western North Pacific. In the tropics, ozone anomalies extend from the surface to 300 hPa; however, in extratropical areas, it is mainly observed under 500 hPa. Precipitation caused by BSISO plays a dominant role in modulating the BSISO of lower-tropospheric ozone in the tropics, causing negative/positive ozone anomalies in phases 1–3/5–6. As the BSISO propagates northeastward to the western North Pacific, horizontal transport becomes relatively more important, increasing/reducing tropospheric ozone via anticyclonic/cyclonic anomalies over the western North Pacific in phases 3–4/7–8.As two extreme conditions of the ISM, most of its active/break events occur in BSISO phases 4–7/1–8 when suppressed/enhanced convection appears over the equatorial eastern Indian Ocean and enhanced/suppressed convection appears over India, the Bay of Bengal, and the South China Sea. As a result, the BSISO of tropospheric ozone shows significant positive/negative anomalies over the Maritime Continent, as well as negative/positive anomalies over India, the Bay of Bengal,and the South China Sea in active/break spells of the ISM. This BSISO of tropospheric ozone is more remarkable in break spells than in active spells of the ISM, due to the stronger amplitude of BSISO in the former.     

Cloud Condensation Nuclei over the Bay of Bengal during the Indian Summer Monsoon

The first measurements of cloud condensation nuclei(CCN) at five supersaturations were carried out onboard the research vessel "Sagar Kanya"(cruise SK-296) from the south to the head-bay of the Bay of Bengal as part of the Continental Tropical Convergence Zone(CTCZ) Project during the Indian summer monsoon of 2012. In this paper, we assess the diurnal variation in CCN distributions at supersaturations from 0.2% to 1%(in steps of 0.2%) and the power-law fit at supersaturation of 1%.The diurnal pattern shows peaks in CCN concentration(NCCN) at supersaturations from 0.2% to 1% between 0600 and 0700 LST(local standard time, UTC+0530), with relatively low concentrations between 1200 and 1400 LST, followed by a peak at around 1800 LST. The power-law fit for the CCN distribution at different supersaturation levels relates the empirical exponent(k) of supersaturation(%) and the NCCNat a supersaturation of 1%. The NCCNat a supersaturation of 0.4% is observed to vary from 702 cm~(-3) to 1289 cm~(-3), with a mean of 961 ± 161 cm~(-3)(95% confidence interval), representing the CCN activity of marine air masses. Whereas, the mean NCCNof 1628 ± 193 cm~(-3) at a supersaturation of 1% is higher than anticipated for the marine background. When the number of CCN spectra is 1293, the value of k is 0.57 ± 0.03(99% confidence interval)and its probability distribution shows cumulative counts significant at k ≈ 0.55 ± 0.25. The results are found to be better at representing the features of the marine environment(103 cm~(-3) and k ≈ 0.5) and useful for validating CCN closure studies for Indian sea regions.     

印度半岛热力变化对亚洲季风环流异常的影响

海陆热力差异的季节性变化是季风产生的原始驱动力,因此海洋和大陆任何一方的变化必然会影响季风环流出现异常。本文探讨了欧亚大陆高、低层气温、南亚大陆和印度洋之间海陆热力差异的变化特征,发现南亚大陆的印度半岛区域下垫面的季节性增暖出现最早,其增暖从春季就开始出现,比对流层上层增暖偏早约两个月,相应的低层经向海陆温度梯度由冬季型转为夏季型最早的区域出现在80°E附近。进一步分析了印度半岛下垫面热力异常的变化特征及其与季风环流异常的关系,初步揭示了南亚区域高、低层气温变化的相互联系,发现印度半岛下垫面的迅速增温引起了大气的强感热加热,进而影响高、低层季风环流的异常变化。结果表明,春末夏初印度半岛暖下垫面的加热作用有利于亚洲夏季型季风环流建立偏早,同时也有利于亚洲夏季季风环流的加强,而冷下垫面的作用则相反。     

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.     

Paleoclimatic inferences from glacial fluctuations on Svalbard during the last 20 000 years

The climate history of western Spitsbergen, Svalbard is deduced from variations of glaciers during the last 20 000 years. A major depression of the regional equilibrium line altitude (ELA) occurred during the Late Weichselian glacial maximum (18000–13000y ago) when low summer temperatures may have caused year-round snow accumulation on the ground. This rapid expansion of the glaciers also indicates nearby moisture sources, suggesting partly open conditions in the Norwegian Sea during the summers. A rapid glacial retreat around 13 000–12 500 y BP was caused by a sudden warming. During the Younger Dryas the ELA along the extreme western coast of Spitsbergen was not significantly lower than at present. In contrast to Fennoscandia, the British Isles and the Alps, there is no evidence for readvance of local glaciers during Younger Dryas on western Spitsbergen. This difference is attributed to a much dryer climate on Spitsbergen and probably only slight changes in sea surface temperatures. In addition, summer melting in this high arctic area is more sensitive to orbitally increased insolation. Around 10 000 y BP another rapid warming occurred and during early and mid Holocene the summer temperatures were significantly higher than at present. A temperature decline during the late Holocene caused regrowth of the glaciers which reached their maximum Holocene position during the last century.Contribution to Clima Locarno — Past and Present Climate Dynamics; Conference September 1990, Swiss Academy of Sciences — National Climate Program     

A study of climate and weather variability over the tropical southwest Indian Ocean

Summary The climatology and variability of summer convection and circulation over the tropical southwest Indian Ocean is investigated using satellite imagery, routine synoptic observations, outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data, sea surface temperatures (SST) and areal averaged rainfall departures. OLR has a –0.90 correlation with rainfall departures and the OLR minimum (ITCZ) in January and February lies across the 10°S latitude, extending further south near Madagascar. The intensity of ITCZ convection is greatest in the longitudes 20–35°E over northern Zambia and is considerably reduced over the SW Indian Ocean. Spatial correlations are analyzed for standardized departures of OLR, rainfall and SST. The correlations change sign in a coherent fashion, creating a climatic dipole between southern Africa and the SW Indian Ocean. Interannual trends are examined through analysis of January–February zonal and meridional wind indices constructed from significantly correlated variables at Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Mauritius. Circulation variability is dominated by quasi-decadal cycles and a trend of inereasing westerly winds. Zonal wind shear alternates from easterly (barotropic) to westerly and together with SST appears to regulate the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclogenesis. Areally averaged rainfall departures exhibit 6.25 year cycles in NE Madagascar and 12.5 and 18.75 year cycles in SW Madagascar and Zimbabwe, respectively. Summer rainfall and meridional winds in NE Madagascar and Zimbabwe are out of phase and negatively correlated in most summers. The presence of synoptic weather systems is assessed using daily Hovmoller-type satellite imagery composites. Convective structure is dominated by transient waves in the 10°–20°S latitude band, with periods of 15–20 days common. The waves are more prominent in summers with increased easterly shear and contribute to fluctuations in rainfall over SE Africa.With 8 Figures     

Uncovering consistencies in Indian rainfall trends observed over the last half century

Food security in India is tightly linked to rainfall variability. Trends in Indian rainfall records have been extensively studied but the subject remains complicated by the high spatiotemporal variability of rainfall arising from complex atmospheric dynamics. For various reasons past studies have often produced inconsistent results. This paper presents an analysis of recent trends in monthly and seasonal cumulative rainfall depth, number of rainy days and maximum daily rainfall, and in the monsoon occurrence (onset, peak and retreat). A modified version of the Mann-Kendall test, accounting for the scaling effect, was applied to 29 variables derived from square-degree-resolution daily gridded rainfall (1951–2007). The mapping of gridded trend slopes and the regional average Kendall test were used concurrently to assess the field significance of regional trends in areas exhibiting spatial homogeneity in trend directions. The statistics we used account for temporal and spatial correlations, and thus reduce the risk of overestimating the significance of local and regional trends. Our results i/ improve available knowledge (e.g. 5 %-field-significant delay of the monsoon onset in Northern India); ii/ provide a solid statistical basis to previous qualitative observations (e.g. 1 %-field-significant increase/decrease in pre-monsoon rainfall depth in northeast/southwest India); and, iii/ when compared to recent studies, show that the field significance level of regional trends (e.g. in rainfall extremes) is test-dependent. General trend patterns were found to align well with the geography of anthropogenic atmospheric disturbances and their effect on rainfall, confirming the paramount role of global warming in recent rainfall changes.     

近50a浙江省气候变化特征分析

用1951－1999年资料详细研究了浙江省4个观测站的年，季，月降水与气温的气候变化特征，提出了用蒙特卡洛（Monte Carlo)模拟方法对气象要素的的长期变化进行统计检验，指出，气候变化也可以出现在气象要素的变率上，提出了用计算滑动均方差的方法来识别这种变率异常的方法。     

印度季风的年际变化与高原夏季旱涝

根据NCEP／NCAR再分析资料和海表面温度距平资料,分析了西藏高原夏季降水5个多、少雨年春、夏季印度洋850hPa、200hPa合成风场和合成海温场,发现多、少雨年前期与同期印度洋高、低空风场和海温场均存在明显差异,主要表现为高原夏季降水偏多(少)年印度夏季风偏强(弱),在850hPa合成风场上印度半岛维持西(东)风距平,西印度洋—东非沿岸为南(北)风距平,夏季阿拉伯海区和孟加拉湾出现反气旋(气旋)距平环流;200hPa合成风场上印度半岛维持东(西)风距平,南亚高压偏强(弱),索马里沿岸为南(北)风距平。印度夏季风异常与夏季印度洋海温距平的纬向分布型有密切联系。当夏季海温场出现西冷(暖)东暖(冷)的分布型时,季风偏强(弱),高原降水普遍偏多(少)。相关分析指出,索马里赤道海区的风场异常与高原夏季降水的关系最为密切,在此基础上我们定义了一个索马里急流越赤道气流指数,用它识别高原夏季旱涝的能力较之目前普遍使用的印度季风指数有了明显的提高。     

印度洋偶极子对东亚季风区天气气候的影响

利用NCEP/NCAR 40年再分析资料和中国科学院大气物理研究所的IAPAGCM-Ⅱ大气环流模式,分析和模拟了印度洋偶极子对东亚季风区天气气候的影响.结果表明,印度洋偶极子对东亚季风区天气气候,特别是夏季,影响显著.印度洋正偶极子位相期间,东亚地区的西南季风爆发偏晚,强度增强,我国大陆降水增多;而印度洋负偶极子位相期间,东亚地区的西南季风爆发偏早,强度减弱,我国的东南部地区有丰富的降水.     

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.     

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.     

Sensitivity of the Indian Monsoon to Human Activities

In this paper the authors perform an extensive sensitivity analysis of the Indian summer monsoon rainfall to changes in parameters and boundary conditions which are influenced by human activities. For this study the authors use a box model of the Indian monsoon which reproduces key features of the observed monsoon dynamics such as the annual course of precipitation and the transitions between winter and summer regimes. Because of its transparency and computational efficiency, this model is highly suitable for exploring the effects of anthropogenic perturbations such as emissions of greenhouse gases and sulfur dioxide, and land cover changes, on the Indian monsoon. Results of a systematic sensitivity analysis indicate that changes in those parameters which are related to emissions of greenhouse gases lead to an increase in Indian summer rainfall. In contrast, all parameters related to higher atmospheric aerosol concentrations lead to a decrease in Indian rainfall. Similarly, changes in parameters which can be related to forest conversion or desertifieation, act to decrease the summer precipitation. The results indicate that the sign of precipitation changes over India will be dependent on the direction and relative magnitude of different human perturbations.     

Limits on the ventilation rate for the deep ocean over the last 12000 years

In this paper we present accelerator radiocarbon measurements on hand picked benthic and planktonic foraminifera separated from two deep sea cores raised from the South China Sea. From the benthic-planktonic age differences we are able to place limits on the extent to which the ventilation rate of the deep Pacific Ocean has changed over the last 12000 years. While much work remains to be done before any definitive answers for the global oceans can be given, these results on cores with sedimentation rates suitably high to avoid major corrections for bioturbation effects suggest that the ventilation rate of the deep Pacific Ocean has remained nearly the same throughout Holocene time. Further, there is no suggestion that the rate was slower during the period of major glacial retreat. These results confirm that the changes in atmospheric¹⁴C/C ratio over the last 10000 years owe their origin to radiocarbon production rate changes.     

近54a湖南区域暴雨的时空分布特征

基于1960—2013年湖南88个台站逐日降水数据,采取线性趋势分析等方法分析了近54 a湖南区域暴雨的时空分布特征。从时间变化上看,近54 a湖南区域暴雨日以6月208 d为最多,1月0 d为最少;夏季、春季、秋季及冬季区域暴雨日数占总日数的百分比依次为60%、29%、10%及1%。暴雨日数、暴雨强度均值突变点分别为1994年、1995年,暴雨初日的均值突变点为1983、1994年,暴雨终日无均值突变;暴雨日数与暴雨强度(暴雨发生终日)总体上呈上升(后延)趋势。基于突变点分段线性趋势分析表明,仅暴雨日数在1994—2013年及暴雨强度在1960—1994年期间呈显著下降趋势。从空间分布上看,区域暴雨强度及其与非区域暴雨强度的差值、区域暴雨持续2日或以上的暴雨强度及其与单日暴雨强度的差值的大值区主要位于湘西北及湘东南,小值区主要位于湘西南-湘东北的带状区域;全部站点的区域暴雨强度均大于非区域暴雨强度,89%的台站持续2日或以上的区域暴雨强度大于单日区域暴雨强度。区域暴雨、总体暴雨的台站暴雨最长持续日数分别为1~4 d、2~4 d,均集中在2~3 d且其站数占总站数的百分比分别为97.7%、96.6%。     

Surface-level moisture transport over the Indian Ocean during southwest monsoon months using NOAA/HIRS data

Surface-level moisture transport over the Indian Ocean has been computed using NOAA/HIRS data for the years 1980, 1981 and 1984. The global relation between monthly mean surface-level humidity and precipitable water (Liu, 1986) has been applied for the computation of surface-level humidity using monthly mean satellite-derived water vapour. The monthly mean surface wind fields over the Indian ocean provided by Florida State University have been used for the surface-level moisture flux computations. Our analysis indicates net positive surface-level moisture flux divergence over the Arabian Sea and negative moisture flux divergence over the Bay of Bengal. It has also been found that evaporation over the Arabian Sea is a variable quantity and forms a significant part of the net moisture budget over the Arabian Sea. The relative contribution of cross-equatorial flux and evaporation from the Arabian Sea has been studied for all three years.