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Monsoon

About: Monsoon is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 16087 publications have been published within this topic receiving 599888 citations.


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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a diagnostic study of the interannual and decadal scale variability of principal modes of summer rainfall over South America for the period 1979-1995 was conducted using the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP) product together with the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) reanalysis and the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) sea-surface temperature (SST) data.
Abstract: Using the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP) product together with the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) reanalysis and the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) sea-surface temperature (SST) data, we have conducted a diagnostic study of the interannual and decadal scale variability of principal modes of summer rainfall over South America for the period 1979–1995. By filtering the annual and short (<12 months) time-scale variations, results of empirical orthogonal function analysis show three leading modes of rainfall variation identified with interannual, decadal and long-term variability. Together, these modes explain more than half the total variance of the filtered data. The first mode is highly correlated with El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), showing a regional rainfall anomaly pattern largely consistent with previous results. This mode captures the summer season interannual variability, not only the Northeast Brazil drought but also its connection with excessive rainfall over Southern Brazil and the Ecuador coast in El Nino years. Another distinctive feature is the strengthening of the low-level flow along the eastern foothills of the eastern Andes, signifying an enhancement of the South American summer monsoon in response to an El Nino anomaly. The decadal variation displays a meridional shift of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), which is tied to the anomalous cross-equatorial SST gradient over the Atlantic and the eastern Pacific. Associated with this mode is a large-scale mass swing between polar regions and the mid-latitudes. Over the South Atlantic and the South Pacific, the anomalous subtropical high and the associated anomalous surface wind are dynamically consistent with the distribution of local SST anomalies, suggesting the importance of atmospheric forcing at the decadal time scale. The long-term variation shows that since 1980 there has been a decrease of rainfall from the northwest coast to the southeast subtropical region and a southwards shift of the Atlantic ITCZ, leading to increased rainfall over northern and eastern Brazil. Possible links of this mode to the observed SST warming trend over the subtropical South Atlantic and to the interdecadal SST variation over the extratropical North Atlantic are discussed. Copyright © 2001 Royal Meteorological Society

205 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors studied the onset of the summer monsoon over the South China Sea (SCS) and the western North Pacific (WNP) and found that the onset anomaly exhibits an in-phase interannual variation across the entire WNP domain.
Abstract: Climatological summer monsoon onset over the South China Sea (SCS) and the western North Pacific (WNP) (defined as the region of 108‐208N, 1208‐1608E) displays three distinct stages. Around mid-May, monsoon rain commences in the SCS and the Philippines. In early to mid-June, the monsoon rain extends to the southwestern Philippine Sea. After mid-July, the rainy season starts in the northeastern part of the WNP. The onset anomaly, however, displays an in-phase interannual variation across the entire WNP domain. The standard deviation of the onset date increases eastward from 3 pentads in the SCS to 5 pentads in the northeastern part of the domain. The large onset variability in the WNP is mainly attributed to large year-to-year changes of the seasonal cycle. .

205 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined intraseasonal variations in the low-level wind circulation in the Amazon and their modulating effects on active and break phases in SAMS.
Abstract: The South American monsoon system (SAMS) refers to the austral summer season features of deep convective activity and large-scale circulation. This study examines intraseasonal variations in the low-level wind circulation in the Amazon and their modulating effects on active and ''break'' phases in SAMS. Daily averages of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), NCEP-NCAR reanalysis, and gridded rainfall station data in Brazil are used from 1 November to 28 February 1980-99. The direction of wind anomalies (10-70 days) in the Rondonia State, Brazil, is used to classify periods of westerly (W) and easterly (E) low-level wind regimes. Composites of W regime show low-level wind anomalies crossing the equator southward and closing in a cyclonic anomalous circulation off the coast of Argentina and Uruguay. Broad areas of enhanced convection and rainfall are observed in central and southeast Brazil. Suppressed convection is observed over the Bolivian Altiplano and in northern South America. In contrast, in the E regime, opposite patterns are observed in the low-level circulation, con- vection, and rainfall anomalies. The duration of active (W regimes) and break (E regimes) periods are quite similar, with median values of 4 and 5 days, respectively. Further investigation showed that the region of convection and rainfall anomalies over Venezuela and northwest Brazil is observed only in the 10-30-day band. Comparison of the results shown here with previous studies indicates the importance of intraseasonal variations in the activity of SAMS.

205 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the analysis of high-resolution numerical simulations and available observations from two case-studies and of the monsoon climatology indicates that this variation is a result of region-specific orographically modified flows and land surface flux feedbacks.
Abstract: During the Asian summer monsoon, convection occurs frequently near the Himalayan foothills. However, the nature of the convective systems varies dramatically from the western to eastern foothills. The analysis of high-resolution numerical simulations and available observations from two case-studies and of the monsoon climatology indicates that this variation is a result of region-specific orographically modified flows and land surface flux feedbacks. Convective systems containing intense convective echo occur in the western region as moist Arabian Sea low-level air traverses desert land, where surface flux of sensible heat enhances buoyancy. As the flow approaches the Himalayan foothills, the soil may provide an additional source of moisture if it was moistened by a previous precipitation event. Low-level and elevated layers of dry, warm, continental flow apparently cap the low-level moist flow, inhibiting the release of instability upstream of the foothills. The convection is released over the small foothills as the potentially unstable flow is orographically lifted to saturation. Convectivesystemscontainingbroadstratiformecho occur in the eastern Himalayas in association with Bay of Bengal depressions, as strong low-level flow transports maritime moisture into the region. As the flow progresses over the Bangladesh wetlands, additional moisture is extracted from the diurnally heated surface. Convection is triggered as conditionally unstable flow is lifted upstream of and over the foothills. The convective cells evolve into mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) with convective and stratiform areas. The MCSs are advected farther into the Himalayan eastern indentation, where orographic lifting enhances the stratiform precipitation. Copyright c � 2010 Royal Meteorological Society

205 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Paleovegetation maps were reconstructed based on a network of pollen records from Australia, New Zealand, and southern South America for 18 000, 12000, 9000, 6000, and 3000 BP and interpreted in terms of paleoclimatic patterns.
Abstract: Paleovegetation maps were reconstructed based on a network of pollen records from Australia, New Zealand, and southern South America for 18 000, 12000, 9000, 6000, and 3000 BP and interpreted in terms of paleoclimatic patterns. These patterns permitted us to speculate on past atmospheric circulation in the South Pacific and the underlying forcing missing line mechanisms. During full glacial times, with vastly extended Australasian land area and circum-Antarctic ice-shelves, arid and cold conditions characterized all circum-South Pacific land areas, except for a narrow band in southern South America (43° to 45°S) that might have been even wetter and moister than today. This implies that ridging at subtropical and mid-latitudes must have been greatly increased and that the storm tracks were located farther south than today. At 12000 BP when precipitation had increased in southern Australia, New Zealand, and the mid-latitudes of South America, ridging was probably still as strong as before but had shifted into the eastern Pacific, leading to weaker westerlies in the western Pacific and more southerly located westerlies in the eastern Pacific. At 9000 BP when, except for northernmost Australia, precipitation reached near modern levels, the south Pacific ridges and the westerlies must have weakened. Because of the continuing land connection between New Guinea and Australia, and reduced seasonality, the monsoon pattern had still not developed. By 6000 BP, moisture levels in Australia and New Zealand reached their maximum, indicating that the monsoon pattern had become established. Ridging in the South Pacific was probably weaker than today, and the seasonal shift of the westerlies was stronger than before. By 3000 BP essentially modern conditions had been achieved, characterized by patterns of high seasonal variability.

205 citations


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Performance
Metrics
No. of papers in the topic in previous years
YearPapers
20231,221
20222,355
2021922
2020757
2019749
2018727