scholarly journals Effects of the South Asian summer monsoon anomaly on interannual variations in precipitation over the South-Central Tibetan Plateau

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 124067
Author(s):  
Yanxin Zhu ◽  
Yan-Fang Sang ◽  
Deliang Chen ◽  
Bellie Sivakumar ◽  
Donghuan Li
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanxin Zhu ◽  
Yan-Fang Sang ◽  
Deliang Chen ◽  
Bellie Sivakumar ◽  
Donghuan Li

<p>The South Asian summer monsoon (SASM) system is one of the most energetic regional monsoon systems. Its onset and demise timings determine the propagation, duration, and magnitude of precipitation through thermodynamic and dynamic processes in the SASM-prevailing areas. Particularly, anomalous onsets and demises of the SASM could generate a large anomaly in precipitation and serious water-related disasters over the SASM-prevailing areas.</p><p>The South-Central Tibetan Plateau (SCTP), known as the “Asian water tower”, is the origin of several major Asian rivers, including the Yellow River, Yangtze River, Brahmaputra River, Mekong River, and the Indus River, providing a huge amount of freshwater for ecosystems and billions of people in Asia. It is widely known that the SCTP is controlled by the SASM system in summer, accounting for approximately 60% of annual precipitation, but with significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity due to the complex topographic and geographic conditions. Presently, most studies have focused on the effects and physical causes of the linear trend of SASM onset over the SCTP. However, little attention has been paid to the question as to how both anomalous onset and anomalous demise of the SASM influence the interannual precipitation variation in this region. In particular, the spatial manifestation of thermodynamic and dynamic mechanisms for the interannual precipitation variation is largely unknown. Adequate knowledge about these mechanisms is critical for sustainable freshwater management and water disasters control in this region and surrounding areas.</p><p>These call a detailed study to investigate the influences of the early and late onset (demise) of the SASM system on the interannual variations in precipitation and their underlying mechanisms over the SCTP. In this study, we mainly clarify the following key questions: (1) How do the onset and demise of the SASM control the interannual variations in precipitation over the SCTP? (2) Is there an asymmetric effect of the SASM on SCTP precipitation between its onset and demise, and between its early and late onset (demise)? and (3) What are the underlying mechanisms that are responsible for the variations in interannual precipitation? The results would help improve our understanding of the SASM-precipitation relationship over the SCTP and alleviation of water-related disasters in the region.</p>


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 6967-7018 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rauthe-Schöch ◽  
A. K. Baker ◽  
T. J. Schuck ◽  
C. A. M. Brenninkmeijer ◽  
A. Zahn ◽  
...  

Abstract. The CARIBIC (Civil Aircraft for the Regular Investigation of the Atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container) passenger aircraft observatory performed in situ measurements at 10–12 km altitude in the South Asian summer monsoon anticyclone between June and September 2008. These measurements enable us to investigate this atmospheric region, which so far has mostly been observed from satellites, using the broad suite of trace gases and aerosols measured by CARIBIC. Elevated levels of a range of atmospheric pollutants were recorded e.g. carbon monoxide, total reactive nitrogen oxides, aerosol particles and several volatile organic compounds. The measurements provide detailed information about the chemical composition of air in different parts of the monsoon anticyclone, particularly of ozone precursors. While covering a range of 3500 km inside the monsoon anticyclone, CARIBIC observations show remarkable consistency, i.e. with regular latitudinal patterns of trace gases during the entire monsoon period. Trajectory calculations indicate that these air masses originated mainly from South Asia and Mainland Southeast Asia. Using the CARIBIC trace gas and aerosol measurements in combination with the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART we investigated the characteristics of monsoon outflow and the chemical evolution of air masses during transport. Estimated photochemical ages of the air were found to agree well with transport times from a source region east of 95° E. The photochemical ages of the air in the southern part of the monsoon anticyclone were consistently younger (less than 7 days) and the air masses mostly in an ozone forming chemical regime. In its northern part the air masses were older (up to 13 days) and had unclear ozone formation or destruction potential. Based on analysis of forward trajectories several receptor regions were identified. In addition to predominantly westward transport, we found evidence for efficient transport (within 10 days) to the Pacific and North America, particularly during June and September, and also of cross-tropopause exchange, which was strongest during June and July. Westward transport to Africa and further to the Mediterranean was the main pathway during July.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 4476-4484
Author(s):  
Ding Ma ◽  
Adam H. Sobel ◽  
Zhiming Kuang ◽  
Martin S. Singh ◽  
Ji Nie

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 3731-3750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Walker ◽  
Simona Bordoni ◽  
Tapio Schneider

Abstract This study identifies coherent and robust large-scale atmospheric patterns of interannual variability of the South Asian summer monsoon (SASM) in observational data. A decomposition of the water vapor budget into dynamic and thermodynamic components shows that interannual variability of SASM net precipitation (P − E) is primarily caused by variations in winds rather than in moisture. Linear regression analyses reveal that strong monsoons are distinguished from weak monsoons by a northward expansion of the cross-equatorial monsoonal circulation, with increased precipitation in the ascending branch. Interestingly, and in disagreement with the view of monsoons as large-scale sea-breeze circulations, strong monsoons are associated with a decreased meridional gradient in the near-surface atmospheric temperature in the SASM region. Teleconnections exist from the SASM region to the Southern Hemisphere, whose midlatitude poleward eddy energy flux correlates with monsoon strength. Possible implications of these teleconnection patterns for understanding SASM interannual variability are discussed.


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