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Monsoons
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Monsoons

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Meteorology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2018) | Viewed by 89186

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Kyung-Ja Ha

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Atmospheric Sciences , Research Center for Climate Sciences and IBS Center for Climate Physics, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
Interests: boundary layer meteorology; monsoon dynamics; climate variability; hydroclimate; tropical cyclone; ENSO and monsoon

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Monsoon climates affects 2/3 of world population’s daily lives. Monsoon precipitation is a key element in global water and energy cycles and a major driver for atmospheric general circulation. Monsoon prediction is the most challenging problem in climate science. Moreover, a number of studies in recent years have drawn attention to the increasing intensity of heavy rainfall events, heat waves and severe droughts over monsoon regions. It has been required that the monsoon scientists should sharpen predictions of start date and intensity of monsoons and how monsoon will respond to climate change. However, changes in the regional monsoons cannot be fully understood unless we get them together into a climate system perspective. Therefore, more detailed studies will be needed to establish that how the regional monsoons are linked, and how their variabilities are demonstrated, and the observed increases in extreme events are indeed due to climate change by human action and not part of a natural variability.

This Special Issue is expected to advance our understanding and provide reliable analysis and prediction for the regional monsoons and their changes on various time scales rom the past to future. Therefore, we invite authors to submit original and review articles that aim to study the monsoons and their variability including extremes, such as drought, dry spell, flooding, heat waves, and so on, over monsoon areas.

Prof. Dr. Kyung-Ja Ha
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • monsoons and their variabilities
  • changes in monsoons
  • physical processes for monsoon extremes and changes
  • prediction of monsoon
  • how monsoon will respond to climate change
  • monsoons in paleo hydroclimate

Published Papers (17 papers)

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Editorial

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2 pages, 136 KiB  
Editorial
Monsoons
by Kyung-Ja Ha
Atmosphere 2019, 10(3), 147; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10030147 - 18 Mar 2019
Viewed by 3015
Abstract
Monsoon climates affect the daily lives of two-thirds of the world population [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

10 pages, 5317 KiB  
Article
The 2017–2018 Winter Drought in North China and Its Causes
by Lijuan Wang, Lin Wang, Yuyun Liu and Wen Chen
Atmosphere 2019, 10(2), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10020060 - 01 Feb 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4357
Abstract
A meteorological drought was observed over North China in the 2017–2018 winter, which was accompanied by record-breaking consecutive non-precipitation days over many regions of central North China. Inspection on historical observations beginning in 1951 suggest that it was the fourth driest winter during [...] Read more.
A meteorological drought was observed over North China in the 2017–2018 winter, which was accompanied by record-breaking consecutive non-precipitation days over many regions of central North China. Inspection on historical observations beginning in 1951 suggest that it was the fourth driest winter during the past 67 years. The possible cause of this drought was then analyzed. It has been suggested that the co-occurrence of the positive phase of the Eurasian (EU) teleconnection pattern and La Niña have played a crucial role. On one hand, both the positive phase of the EU pattern and La Niña could have enhanced the lower-tropospheric northerly winds over East Asia. The northward water vapor transport towards North China was thereby weakened, providing an unfavorable moisture environment for precipitation. On the other hand, the EU-like wave pattern in the mid-latitude was conducive to anomalous descending motion over mid-latitude East Asia, creating an unfavorable dynamical condition for precipitation. A combination of the above two effects lead to the occurrence of the North China drought in the 2017 winter. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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16 pages, 4160 KiB  
Article
Investigating West African Monsoon Features in Warm Years Using the Regional Climate Model RegCM4
by Ibrahima Diba, Moctar Camara and Arona Diedhiou
Atmosphere 2019, 10(1), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10010023 - 10 Jan 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4405
Abstract
This study investigates the changes in West African monsoon features during warm years using the Regional Climate Model version 4.5 (RegCM4.5). The analysis uses 30 years of datasets of rainfall, surface temperature and wind parameters (from 1980 to 2009). We performed a simulation [...] Read more.
This study investigates the changes in West African monsoon features during warm years using the Regional Climate Model version 4.5 (RegCM4.5). The analysis uses 30 years of datasets of rainfall, surface temperature and wind parameters (from 1980 to 2009). We performed a simulation at a spatial resolution of 50 km with the RegCM4.5 model driven by ERA-Interim reanalysis. The rainfall amount is weaker over the Sahel (western and central) and the Guinea region for the warmest years compared to the coldest ones. The analysis of heat fluxes show that the sensible (latent) heat flux is stronger (weaker) during the warmest (coldest) years. When considering the rainfall events, there is a decrease of the number of rainy days over the Guinea Coast (in the South of Cote d’Ivoire, of Ghana and of Benin) and the western and eastern Sahel during warm years. The maximum length of consecutive wet days decreases over the western and eastern Sahel, while the consecutive dry days increase mainly over the Sahel band during the warm years. The percentage of very warm days and warm nights increase mainly over the Sahel domain and the Guinea region. The model also simulates an increase of the warm spell duration index in the whole Sahel domain and over the Guinea Coast in warm years. The analysis of the wind dynamic exhibits during warm years a weakening of the monsoon flow in the lower levels, a strengthening in the magnitude of the African Easterly Jet (AEJ) in the mid-troposphere and a slight increase of the Tropical Easterly Jet (TEJ) in the upper levels of the atmosphere during warm years. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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19 pages, 5509 KiB  
Article
Improving Seasonal Prediction of East Asian Summer Rainfall Using NESM3.0: Preliminary Results
by Young-Min Yang, Bin Wang and Juan Li
Atmosphere 2018, 9(12), 487; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9120487 - 08 Dec 2018
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4290
Abstract
It has been an outstanding challenge for global climate models to simulate and predict East Asia summer monsoon (EASM) rainfall. This study evaluated the dynamical hindcast skills with the newly developed Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology Earth System Model version 3.0 [...] Read more.
It has been an outstanding challenge for global climate models to simulate and predict East Asia summer monsoon (EASM) rainfall. This study evaluated the dynamical hindcast skills with the newly developed Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology Earth System Model version 3.0 (NESM3.0). To improve the poor prediction of an earlier version of NESM3.0, we modified convective parameterization schemes to suppress excessive deep convection and enhance insufficient shallow and stratiform clouds. The new version of NESM3.0 with modified parameterizations (MOD hereafter) yields improved rainfall prediction in the northern and southern China but not over the Yangtze River Valley. The improved prediction is primarily attributed to the improvements in the predicted climatological summer mean rainfall and circulations, Nino 3.4 SST anomaly, and the rainfall anomalies associated with the development and decay of El Nino events. However, the MOD still has biases in the predicted leading mode of interannual variability of precipitation. The leading mode captures the dry (wet) anomalies over the South China Sea (northern East Asia) but misplaces precipitation anomalies over the Yangtze River Valley. The model can capture the interannual variation of the circulation indices very well. The results here suggest that, over East Asia land regions, the skillful rainfall prediction relies on not only model’s capability in predicting better summer mean and ENSO teleconnection with EASM, but also accurate prediction of the leading modes of interannual variability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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25 pages, 12860 KiB  
Article
Interdecadal Shifts in the Winter Monsoon Rainfall of the Philippines
by Lyndon Mark Olaguera, Jun Matsumoto, Hisayuki Kubota, Tomoshige Inoue, Esperanza O. Cayanan and Flaviana D. Hilario
Atmosphere 2018, 9(12), 464; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9120464 - 26 Nov 2018
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 6426
Abstract
This study investigates the interdecadal shifts in the winter monsoon (November to March) rainfall of the Philippines from 1961 to 2008. Monthly analysis of the winter monsoon rainfall shows that the shifts are most remarkable during December. In particular, two interdecadal shifts are [...] Read more.
This study investigates the interdecadal shifts in the winter monsoon (November to March) rainfall of the Philippines from 1961 to 2008. Monthly analysis of the winter monsoon rainfall shows that the shifts are most remarkable during December. In particular, two interdecadal shifts are identified in the December rainfall time series around 1976/1977 and 1992/1993. To facilitate the examination of the possible mechanisms leading to these shifts, the analysis period is divided into three epochs: 1961–1976 (E1), 1977–1992 (E2), and 1993–2008 (E3). The mean and interannual variability of rainfall during E2 are suppressed compared with the two adjoining epochs. The shift around 1976/1977 is related to the phase shift of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) from a negative phase to a positive phase and features an El Niño-like sea surface temperature (SST) change over the Pacific basin, while that around 1992/1993 is related to a La Niña-like SST change. Further analysis of the largescale circulation features shows that the decrease in the mean rainfall during E2 can be attributed to the weakening of the low-level easterly winds, decrease in moisture transport, and decrease in tropical cyclone activity. In addition, the suppressed interannual variability of rainfall during E2 can be partly attributed to the El Niño-like SST change and the weakening of the East Asian winter monsoon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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18 pages, 2523 KiB  
Article
Impact of Snow Darkening by Deposition of Light-Absorbing Aerosols on Snow Cover in the Himalayas–Tibetan Plateau and Influence on the Asian Summer Monsoon: A Possible Mechanism for the Blanford Hypothesis
by William K. M. Lau and Kyu-Myong Kim
Atmosphere 2018, 9(11), 438; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9110438 - 12 Nov 2018
Cited by 44 | Viewed by 7342
Abstract
The impact of snow darkening by deposition of light-absorbing aerosols (LAAs) on snow cover over the Himalayas–Tibetan Plateau (HTP) and the influence on the Asian summer monsoon were investigated using the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System Model Version 5 (GEOS-5). The authors found [...] Read more.
The impact of snow darkening by deposition of light-absorbing aerosols (LAAs) on snow cover over the Himalayas–Tibetan Plateau (HTP) and the influence on the Asian summer monsoon were investigated using the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System Model Version 5 (GEOS-5). The authors found that during April–May–June, the deposition of LAAs on snow led to a reduction in surface albedo, initiating a sequence of feedback processes, starting with increased net surface solar radiation, rapid snowmelt in the HTP and warming of the surface and upper troposphere, followed by enhanced low-level southwesterlies and increased dust loading over the Himalayas–Indo-Gangetic Plain. The warming was amplified by increased dust aerosol heating, and subsequently amplified by latent heating from enhanced precipitation over the Himalayan foothills and northern India, via the elevated heat pump (EHP) effect during June–July–August. The reduced snow cover in the HTP anchored the enhanced heating over the Tibetan Plateau and its southern slopes, in conjunction with an enhancement of the Tibetan Anticyclone, and the development of an anomalous Rossby wave train over East Asia, leading to a weakening of the subtropical westerly jet, and northward displacement and intensification of the Mei-Yu rain belt. The authors’ results suggest that the atmosphere-land heating induced by LAAs, particularly desert dust, plays a fundamental role in physical processes underpinning the snow–monsoon relationship proposed by Blanford more than a century ago. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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15 pages, 3752 KiB  
Article
Re-Examination of the Decadal Change in the Relationship between the East Asian Summer Monsoon and Indian Ocean SST
by Seogyeong Kim, Kyung-Ja Ha, Ruiqiang Ding and Jiangping Li
Atmosphere 2018, 9(10), 395; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9100395 - 11 Oct 2018
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4749
Abstract
This study examines the decadal change in the relationship between two major Indian Ocean (IO) sea surface temperature patterns, namely the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) and northern IO and the East Asia summer monsoon (EASM) in the early 2000s. In 1991–1999, the former [...] Read more.
This study examines the decadal change in the relationship between two major Indian Ocean (IO) sea surface temperature patterns, namely the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) and northern IO and the East Asia summer monsoon (EASM) in the early 2000s. In 1991–1999, the former epoch, the interannual variability of EASM was associated with the IOD-like pattern in the original paper and its relationship weakened in 2000–2016. There are two possible causes for this decadal change; stronger land-sea thermal contrast as a local forcing in latter epoch, which may result in the weakening of the relationship between the IO and the EASM. In addition, the influence of El Niño-southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH) could be changed depending on the frequency of ENSO. In the 2000s, the intensity of the low frequency (LF)-type ENSO (42–86 months period) events was weaker compared to the former epoch but that of quasi-biennial (QB)-type ENSO (16–36 months period) remained persistent. This could explain that the QB-type ENSO is remote forcing that modulates the change in the relationship between the tropical IO patterns and EASM in the 2000s. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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14 pages, 3968 KiB  
Article
Effects of El-Niño, Indian Ocean Dipole, and Madden-Julian Oscillation on Surface Air Temperature and Rainfall Anomalies over Southeast Asia in 2015
by M. Amirul Islam, Andy Chan, Matthew J. Ashfold, Chel Gee Ooi and Majid Azari
Atmosphere 2018, 9(9), 352; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9090352 - 12 Sep 2018
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 6491
Abstract
The Maritime Continent (MC) is positioned between the Asian and Australian summer monsoons zone. The complex topography and shallow seas around it are major challenges for the climate researchers to model and understand it. It is also the centre of the tropical warm [...] Read more.
The Maritime Continent (MC) is positioned between the Asian and Australian summer monsoons zone. The complex topography and shallow seas around it are major challenges for the climate researchers to model and understand it. It is also the centre of the tropical warm pool of Southeast Asia (SEA) and therefore the MC gets extra attention of the researchers. The monsoon in this area is affected by inter-scale ocean-atmospheric interactions such as the El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), and the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO). Monsoon rainfall in the MC (especially in Indonesia and Malaysia) profoundly exhibits its variability dependence on ocean-atmospheric phenomena in this region. This monsoon shift often introduces to dreadful events like biomass burning (BB) in Southeast Asia (SEA) in which some led to severe trans-boundary haze pollution events in the past. In this study, the BB episode of 2015 in the MC is highlighted and discussed. Observational satellite datasets are tested by performing simulations with the numerical weather prediction (NWP) model WRF-ARW (Weather Research and Forecast—Advanced research WRF). Observed and model datasets are compared to study the surface air temperature and precipitation (rainfall) anomalies influenced by ENSO, IOD, and MJO. Links amongst these influences have been recognised and the delayed precipitation of the regular monsoon in the MC due to their influence during the 2015 BB episode is explained and accounted for, which eventually led to the intensification of fire and a severe haze. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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20 pages, 4327 KiB  
Article
Abrupt Climate Shift in the Mature Rainy Season of the Philippines in the Mid-1990s
by Lyndon Mark Olaguera, Jun Matsumoto, Hisayuki Kubota, Tomoshige Inoue, Esperanza O. Cayanan and Flaviana D. Hilario
Atmosphere 2018, 9(9), 350; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9090350 - 09 Sep 2018
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6796
Abstract
A robust climate shift around 1993/1994 from early August to early September, which corresponds to the mature rainy season of the Philippines, was identified in stations located over the western coast of the country. The convection in the mature rainy season during 1994–2008 [...] Read more.
A robust climate shift around 1993/1994 from early August to early September, which corresponds to the mature rainy season of the Philippines, was identified in stations located over the western coast of the country. The convection in the mature rainy season during 1994–2008 (E2) was suppressed compared with 1979–1993 (E1). The possible role of the changes in the large-scale conditions and tropical cyclone (TC) activity were analyzed. The results show that the western North Pacific Subtropical High has extended further westward in E2 leading to an enhanced lower-level divergence and less moisture transport over the Philippines. The changes in the large-scale conditions, which featured a mid-tropospheric descent, a decrease in low-level relative humidity, an enhanced vertical zonal wind shear, and a decrease in the perturbation kinetic energy, also inhibited the synoptic-scale disturbances in the vicinity of the Philippines. In particular, fewer TCs developed and made landfall over the Philippines in E2. We also found inconsistent climate shifts in May, June, July, and September between the rainfall data from the stations and the Climate Prediction Center Merged Analysis of Precipitation, which highlights the importance of sub-seasonal analysis in decadal-to-interdecadal climate change studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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16 pages, 5647 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of NESMv3 and CMIP5 Models’ Performance on Simulation of Asian-Australian Monsoon
by Juan Li, Young-Min Yang and Bin Wang
Atmosphere 2018, 9(9), 327; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9090327 - 21 Aug 2018
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3371
Abstract
The Asian-Australian monsoon (AAM) has far-reaching impacts on global and local climate. Accurate simulations of AAM precipitation and its variabilities are of scientific and social importance, yet remain a great challenge in climate modeling. The present study assesses the performance of the newly [...] Read more.
The Asian-Australian monsoon (AAM) has far-reaching impacts on global and local climate. Accurate simulations of AAM precipitation and its variabilities are of scientific and social importance, yet remain a great challenge in climate modeling. The present study assesses the performance of the newly developed Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology Earth System Model version 3 (NESMv3), together with that of 20 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) models, in the simulation of AAM climatology, its major modes of variability, and their relationships with El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). It is concluded that NESMv3 (1) reproduces, well, the observed features of AAM annual mean precipitation; (2) captures the solstice mode (the first annual cycle mode) of AAM realistically, but has difficulty in simulating the equinox mode (the second annual cycle mode) of AAM; (3) underestimates the monsoon precipitation intensity over the East Asian subtropical frontal zone, but overestimates that over the tropical western North Pacific; (4) faithfully reproduces the first season-reliant empirical orthogonal function (SEOF) mode of AAM precipitation and the associated circulation anomalies, as well as its relationship with ENSO turnabout, although the correlation is underestimated. Precipitation anomaly patterns of the second SEOF mode and its relationship with El Nino are poorly simulated by NESMv3 and most of the CMIP5 models as well, indicating that the monsoon variability prior to the ENSO onset is difficult to reproduce. In general, NESMv3’s performance in simulating AAM precipitation ranks among the top or above-average compared with the 20 CMIP5 models. Better simulation of East Asian summer monsoon and western Pacific subtropical high remains a major target for future improvement, in order to provide a reliable tool to understand and predict AAM precipitation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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14 pages, 1559 KiB  
Article
Post-Monsoon Season Precipitation Reduction over South Asia: Impacts of Anthropogenic Aerosols and Irrigation
by Wei-Ting Chen, Kung-Tzu Huang, Min-Hui Lo and L. H. LinHo
Atmosphere 2018, 9(8), 311; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9080311 - 09 Aug 2018
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4453
Abstract
A significant declining trend of post-monsoon season precipitation in South Asia is observed between 2000–2014. Two major anthropogenic climate change drivers, aerosols and irrigation, have been steadily increasing during this period. The impacts of their regional and seasonal forcings on the post-monsoon precipitation [...] Read more.
A significant declining trend of post-monsoon season precipitation in South Asia is observed between 2000–2014. Two major anthropogenic climate change drivers, aerosols and irrigation, have been steadily increasing during this period. The impacts of their regional and seasonal forcings on the post-monsoon precipitation reduction is investigated in this study through using idealized global climate simulations. The increased post-monsoon aerosol loadings lead to surface cooling downwind of the source areas by reduced surface shortwave flux. The addition of post-monsoon irrigation induces a stronger temperature decrease mainly around the irrigation hotspots by enhanced evaporation. Precipitation over West and North India is reduced post-monsoon by either aerosol or irrigation, which is mainly contributed by the anomalous subsidence. With concurrent forcings, the surface cooling and precipitation decrease are stronger and more extended spatially than the response to the separate forcing, with nonlinear amplification in surface cooling, but nonlinear damping in precipitation reduction. The anomalous vertical motion accelerates the transition of the regional meridional circulation, and hence the earlier withdrawal of the summer monsoon, which is consistent with the observed signals. The current results highlight the importance of including anthropogenic aerosol and irrigation effects in present and future climate simulations over South Asia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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18 pages, 10196 KiB  
Article
Prediction Skill for the East Asian Winter Monsoon Based on APCC Multi-Models
by Sun-Hee Shin and Ja-Yeon Moon
Atmosphere 2018, 9(8), 300; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9080300 - 31 Jul 2018
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4469
Abstract
The prediction skill for the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) has been analyzed, using the observations and different climate models that participate in the APEC Climate Center (APCC) multi-model ensemble (MME) seasonal forecast. The authors first examined the characteristics of the existing EAWM [...] Read more.
The prediction skill for the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) has been analyzed, using the observations and different climate models that participate in the APEC Climate Center (APCC) multi-model ensemble (MME) seasonal forecast. The authors first examined the characteristics of the existing EAWM indices to find a suitable index for the APCC seasonal forecast system. This examination revealed that the selected index shows reasonable prediction skill of EAWM intensity and well-represents the characteristics of wintertime temperature anomalies associated with the EAWM, especially for the extreme cold winters. Although most models capture the main characteristics of the seasonal mean circulation over East Asia reasonably well, they still suffer from difficulty in predicting the interannual variability (IAV) of the EAWM. Fortunately, the POAMA has reasonable skill in capturing the timing and strength of the EAWM IAV and reproduces the EAWM-related circulation anomalies well. The better performance of the POAMA may be attributed to the better skill in simulating the high-latitude forcing including the Siberian High (SH) and Artic Oscillation (AO) and the strong links of the ENSO to the EAWM, compared to other models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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18 pages, 27701 KiB  
Article
Role of Indochina Peninsula Topography in Precipitation Seasonality over East Asia
by Chi-Hua Wu, Wan-Ru Huang and S.-Y. Simon Wang
Atmosphere 2018, 9(7), 255; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9070255 - 06 Jul 2018
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5117
Abstract
Stage-wise precipitation evolution over East Asia, primarily from spring to summer, is influenced by nearby monsoons and can be topographically driven. Corresponding to the onset of the Asian summer monsoon circulation, the Meiyu-Baiu occurs rapidly in May, replacing the East Asian spring rains. [...] Read more.
Stage-wise precipitation evolution over East Asia, primarily from spring to summer, is influenced by nearby monsoons and can be topographically driven. Corresponding to the onset of the Asian summer monsoon circulation, the Meiyu-Baiu occurs rapidly in May, replacing the East Asian spring rains. The Meiyu-Baiu rapidly terminates in late July due to the synchronous development of the subtropical monsoons extending from Africa to the East Asia–Western North Pacific (WNP). In late summer–autumn, the monsoonal circulation gradually retreats, in contrast to the rapid and stepwise transitions of the monsoon. This study reviews the role of the Indochina Peninsula in modulating the seasonality of nearby monsoons, primarily based on previous modeling works, and expands the analysis for a full view of the annual monsoon cycle. The review and additional results highlight the role of the topographical processes of the Indochina Peninsula in driving the rapid monsoonal transitions, which correspond to the early summer vertical circulation coupling over the Bay of Bengal-Indochina Peninsula and the late-July WNP monsoon onset. In the simulation with a flattened topography, the southerly winds disappear over the Indochina Peninsula and the westerly winds gradually expand eastward across the Indochina Peninsula in the lower troposphere. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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15 pages, 4512 KiB  
Article
Influences of the North Pacific Victoria Mode on the South China Sea Summer Monsoon
by Ruiqiang Ding, Jianping Li, Yu-heng Tseng, Lijuan Li, Cheng Sun and Fei Xie
Atmosphere 2018, 9(6), 229; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9060229 - 13 Jun 2018
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 6471
Abstract
Using the reanalysis data and the numerical experiments of a coupled general circulation model (CGCM), we illustrated that perturbations in the second dominant mode (EOF2) of springtime North Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) variability, referred to as the Victoria mode (VM), are closely [...] Read more.
Using the reanalysis data and the numerical experiments of a coupled general circulation model (CGCM), we illustrated that perturbations in the second dominant mode (EOF2) of springtime North Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) variability, referred to as the Victoria mode (VM), are closely linked to variations in the intensity of the South China Sea summer monsoon (SCSSM). The underlying physical mechanism through which the VM affects the SCSSM is similar to the seasonal footprinting mechanism (SFM). Thermodynamic ocean–atmosphere coupling helps the springtime SST anomalies in the subtropics associated with the VM to persist into summer and to develop gradually toward the equator, leading to a weakened zonal SST gradient across the western North Pacific (WNP) to central equatorial Pacific, which in turn induces an anomalous cyclonic flow over the WNP and westerly anomalies in the western equatorial Pacific that tend to strengthen the WNP summer monsoon (WNPSM) as well as the SCSSM. The VM influence on both the WNPSM and SCSSM is intimately tied to its influence on ENSO through westerly anomalies in the western equatorial Pacific. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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16 pages, 3074 KiB  
Article
Changes in Cold Surge Occurrence over East Asia in the Future: Role of Thermal Structure
by Jin-Woo Heo, Chang-Hoi Ho, Tae-Won Park, Woosuk Choi, Jee-Hoon Jeong and Jinwon Kim
Atmosphere 2018, 9(6), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9060222 - 10 Jun 2018
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 7740
Abstract
The occurrence of wintertime cold surges (CSs) over East Asia is largely controlled by the surface air temperature (SAT) distribution at high latitudes and thermal advection in the lower troposphere. The thermodynamic background state over northeastern Asia is associated with the strength of [...] Read more.
The occurrence of wintertime cold surges (CSs) over East Asia is largely controlled by the surface air temperature (SAT) distribution at high latitudes and thermal advection in the lower troposphere. The thermodynamic background state over northeastern Asia is associated with the strength of the East Asian winter monsoon and the variation of Arctic Oscillation. This study assesses the importance of the SAT structure with thermal advection in determining the frequency of CS occurrences over East Asia through the analysis of nine atmosphere–ocean coupled global climate models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5. The historical simulations can reproduce the observed typical characteristics of CS development. On the basis of this model performance, ensemble-averaged future simulations under the representative concentration pathway 8.5 project a reduction in CS frequency by 1.1 yr−1 in the late 21st century (2065–2095) compared to the present-day period (1975–2005). The major reason for less frequent CSs in the future is the weakened cold advection, caused by notable SAT warming over the northern part of East Asia. These results suggest that changes in the meridional SAT structure and the associated changes in thermal advection would play a more substantial role than local warming in determining future changes in the frequency of CS occurrences over East Asia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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10 pages, 3212 KiB  
Article
Multidecadal Variability in the Subseasonal Peak of Low-Level Convergence over the Pacific Warm Pool
by Yen-Heng Lin and S.-Y. Simon Wang
Atmosphere 2018, 9(5), 158; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9050158 - 24 Apr 2018
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3585
Abstract
In the Western North Pacific (WNP), the atmospheric low-level convergence is one of the main factors that influences the genesis of tropical cyclones (TC). It has been observed that the timing of the seasonal maxima in the low-level convergence and TC genesis has [...] Read more.
In the Western North Pacific (WNP), the atmospheric low-level convergence is one of the main factors that influences the genesis of tropical cyclones (TC). It has been observed that the timing of the seasonal maxima in the low-level convergence and TC genesis has shifted since the mid-1990s from mid-August to late-July, with this shift having also affected the number of TC. A multidecadal frequency of 20 years was revealed in the timing variation of the tropical intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) in the Western Pacific, in which a weak WNP low-level convergence in spring may trigger an advanced ISO phase in summer and vice versa. The present diagnostic analysis does not identify any prominent oceanic variations associated with these multidecadal variations in the summer ISO or in the spring setup of the ISO. The atmospheric circulation does show an anomaly, which suggests an intensified extension of the subtropical high. The possible mechanism may be related to stochastic low-frequency variability of the atmosphere, which acts to influence the seasonal evolution of the WNP low-level convergence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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14 pages, 15809 KiB  
Article
Activity Characteristics of the East Asian Trough in CMIP5 Models
by Xiong Chen, Xing Liu, Xin Li, Mingyang Liu and Minghao Yang
Atmosphere 2018, 9(2), 67; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9020067 - 14 Feb 2018
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4134
Abstract
In this paper, the performances of 12 CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5) models for simulating the climatology and interannual variability of the East Asian trough (EAT) are assessed using the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data and the outputs [...] Read more.
In this paper, the performances of 12 CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5) models for simulating the climatology and interannual variability of the East Asian trough (EAT) are assessed using the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data and the outputs of the CMIP5 models. The multimodel ensemble (MME) successfully reproduces the spatial pattern and spatial variations in the climatology and interannual variability of the EAT but the intensity and interannual variability of EAT are weaker than in the observations. The biases in intensity (interannual variability) are larger over the southern (northern) part of the EAT than over the northern (southern) part. The intermodel spreads are small for the EAT intensity but are large for its location in terms of both latitude and longitude. The simulated EAT in the MME is about 3° E and 1.5° S of that observed. All 12 CMIP5 models reproduce the first empirical orthogonal function (EOF) mode of EAT activity; however, its intensity and location are only successfully captured in half of the models and its linear weakening trend is simulated in ten models. The second EOF mode of EAT activity and its linear strengthening trend are successfully reproduced in eight models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monsoons)
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