scholarly journals Interaction of mid-latitude systems in the southern Hemisphere with southwest monsoon

MAUSAM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-42
Author(s):  
S. KUMAR
Keyword(s):  
Southern Africa ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Southwest Monsoon ◽  
Monsoon Circulation ◽  
Horizontal Shear ◽  
Southwest Indian Ocean ◽  
Pressure Index ◽  
Mozambique Channel ◽  
Mascarene High ◽  
Frontal Systems

The movement of cold fronts with associated westerly waves in the lower troposphere across southern Africa and adjoining southwest Indian Ocean during the months of May to August for the years 1977 to 1981 has been examined in relation to the chief features of southwest monsoon. The deep frontal systems which penetrate north or latitude 25° S cause considerable fluctuations in the intensity of south to north pressure ridge along the east coast of southern Africa and Mascarene high.   During the period of movement deep frontal systems from the west coast of South Africa to the Mozambique channel, the pressure index falls leading to decrease in cross equatorial flow. With further eastward movement of the system across Mozambique channel the pressure .index rises and causes increase in cross equatorial flow in Arabian Sea, strengthening equatorial westerlies and .increase in horizontal shear. The study has revealed a definite association between variation of pressure index with onset and various phases of the monsoon circulation. This association could be of help in understanding and forecasting of these monsoon features.  

scholarly journals Climatology of the Mascarene High and Its Influence on Weather and Climate over Southern Africa

Climate ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nkosinathi G. Xulu ◽  
Hector Chikoore ◽  
Mary-Jane M. Bopape ◽  
Nthaduleni S. Nethengwe
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Western Indian Ocean ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Tropical Cyclone Genesis ◽  
Trade Winds ◽  
Mascarene High ◽  
Weather And Climate ◽  
Cyclone Genesis

Globally, subtropical circulation in the lower troposphere is characterized by anticyclones over the oceans. Subtropical anticyclones locate over subtropical belts, modulating weather and climate patterns in those regions. The Mascarene High is an anticyclone located over the Southern Indian Ocean and has a vital role in weather and climate variability over Southern Africa. The warm Western Indian Ocean is a major source of moisture for the subcontinent also permitting tropical cyclone genesis. In this study, we review the dynamics of the Mascarene High, its interactions with the ocean, and its impact on weather and climate over Southern Africa. We also review studies on the evolution of subtropical anticyclones in a future warmer climate. The links between SST modes over the Indian Ocean and the strengthening and weakening of the Mascarene High have been demonstrated. One important aspect is atmospheric blocking due to the Mascarene High, which leads to anomalous rainfall and temperature events over the subcontinent. Blocking leads to landfall of tropical cyclones and slow propagation of cut-off lows resulting in severe weather and flooding over the subcontinent. Understanding how expansion of the Mascarene High due to warming will alter trade winds and storm tracks and change the mean climate of Southern Africa is crucial.

scholarly journals Circulation pattern controls of wet days and dry days in Free State, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chibuike Chiedozie Ibebuchi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Free State ◽  
Austral Spring ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Southwest Indian Ocean ◽  
South Indian

AbstractAtmospheric circulation is a vital process in the transport of heat, moisture, and pollutants around the globe. The variability of rainfall depends to some extent on the atmospheric circulation. This paper investigates synoptic situations in southern Africa that can be associated with wet days and dry days in Free State, South Africa, in addition to the underlying dynamics. Principal component analysis was applied to the T-mode matrix (variable is time series and observation is grid points at which the field was observed) of daily mean sea level pressure field from 1979 to 2018 in classifying the circulation patterns in southern Africa. 18 circulation types (CTs) were classified in the study region. From the linkage of the CTs to the observed rainfall data, from 11 stations in Free State, it was found that dominant austral winter and late austral autumn CTs have a higher probability of being associated with dry days in Free State. Dominant austral summer and late austral spring CTs were found to have a higher probability of being associated with wet days in Free State. Cyclonic/anti-cyclonic activity over the southwest Indian Ocean, explained to a good extent, the inter-seasonal variability of rainfall in Free State. The synoptic state associated with a stronger anti-cyclonic circulation at the western branch of the South Indian Ocean high-pressure, during austral summer, leading to enhanced low-level moisture transport by southeast winds was found to have the highest probability of being associated with above-average rainfall in most regions in Free State. On the other hand, the synoptic state associated with enhanced transport of cold dry air, by the extratropical westerlies, was found to have the highest probability of being associated with (winter) dryness in Free State.

scholarly journals Variability in the Mozambique Channel Trough and Impacts on Southeast African Rainfall

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 749-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rondrotiana Barimalala ◽  
Ross C. Blamey ◽  
Fabien Desbiolles ◽  
Chris J. C. Reason
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Western Indian Ocean ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Moist Convection ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
Mozambique Channel ◽  
Mascarene High ◽  
South Indian

AbstractThe Mozambique Channel trough (MCT) is a cyclonic region prominent in austral summer in the central and southern Mozambique Channel. It first becomes evident in December with a peak in strength in February when the Mozambique Channel is warmest and the Mascarene high (MH) is located farthest southeast in the Indian Ocean basin. The strength and the timing of the mean MCT are linked to that of the cross-equatorial northeasterly monsoon in the tropical western Indian Ocean, which curves as northwesterlies toward northern Madagascar. The interannual variability in the MCT is associated with moist convection over the Mozambique Channel and is modulated by the location of the warm sea surface temperatures in the south Indian Ocean. Variability of the MCT shows a strong relationship with the equatorial westerlies north of Madagascar and the latitudinal extension of the MH. Summers with strong MCT activity are characterized by a prominent cyclonic circulation over the Mozambique Channel, extending to the midlatitudes. These are favorable for the development of tropical–extratropical cloud bands over the southwestern Indian Ocean and trigger an increase in rainfall over the ocean but a decrease over the southern African mainland. Most years with a weak MCT are associated with strong positive south Indian Ocean subtropical dipole events, during which the subcontinent tends to receive more rainfall whereas Madagascar and northern Mozambique are anomalously dry.

scholarly journals The Role of Mesoscale Convective Complexes in Southern Africa Summer Rainfall

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 1654-1668 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Blamey ◽  
C. J. C. Reason
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
Southwest Indian Ocean ◽  
Mesoscale Convective

Abstract A combination of numerous factors, including geographic position, regional orography, and local sea surface temperatures, means that subtropical southern Africa experiences considerable spatial and temporal variability in rainfall and is prone to both frequent flooding and drought events. One system that may contribute to rainfall variability in the region is the mesoscale convective complex (MCC). In this study, Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) data is used to document the precipitation produced by MCCs over southern Africa for the 1998–2006 period. Most of the rainfall associated with MCCs is found to occur over central Mozambique, extending southward to eastern South Africa. High precipitation totals associated with these systems also occur over the neighboring southwest Indian Ocean, particularly off the northeast coast of South Africa. MCCs are found to contribute up to 20% of the total summer rainfall (November–March) in parts of the eastern region of southern Africa. If the month of March is excluded from the analysis, then the contribution increases up to 24%. In general, the MCC summer rainfall contribution for most of the eastern region is approximately between 8% and 16%. Over the western interior and Botswana and Namibia, the MCC contribution is much less (<6%). It is also evident that there is considerable interannual variability associated with the contribution that these systems make to the total warm season rainfall.

scholarly journals Madagascar corals reveal a multidecadal signature of rainfall and river runoff since 1708

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 641-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Grove ◽  
J. Zinke ◽  
F. Peeters ◽  
W. Park ◽  
T. Scheufen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
River Runoff ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Western Indian Ocean ◽  
Phase Changes ◽  
Monsoon Circulation ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Instrumental Records

Abstract. Pacific Ocean sea surface temperatures (SST) influence rainfall variability on multidecadal and interdecadal timescales in concert with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO). Rainfall variations in locations such as Australia and North America are therefore linked to phase changes in the PDO. Furthermore, studies have suggested teleconnections exist between the western Indian Ocean and Pacific Decadal Variability (PDV), similar to those observed on interannual timescales related to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, as instrumental records of rainfall are too short and sparse to confidently assess multidecadal climatic teleconnections, here we present four coral climate archives from Madagascar spanning up to the past 300 yr (1708–2008) to assess such decadal variability. Using spectral luminescence scanning to reconstruct past changes in river runoff, we identify significant multidecadal and interdecadal frequencies in the coral records, which before 1900 are coherent with Asian-based PDO reconstructions. This multidecadal relationship with the Asian-based PDO reconstructions points to an unidentified teleconnection mechanism that affects Madagascar rainfall/runoff, most likely triggered by multidecadal changes in North Pacific SST, influencing the Asian Monsoon circulation. In the 20th century we decouple human deforestation effects from rainfall-induced soil erosion by pairing luminescence with coral geochemistry. Positive PDO phases are associated with increased Indian Ocean temperatures and runoff/rainfall in eastern Madagascar, while precipitation in southern Africa and eastern Australia declines. Consequently, the negative PDO phase that started in 1998 may contribute to reduced rainfall over eastern Madagascar and increased precipitation in southern Africa and eastern Australia. We conclude that multidecadal rainfall variability in Madagascar and the western Indian Ocean needs to be taken into account when considering water resource management under a future warming climate.

scholarly journals On variability of total ozone derived from TOVS data over peninsular Indian sub-continent and adjoining oceanic area

MAUSAM ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-514
Author(s):  
R. SURESH
Keyword(s):  
Total Ozone ◽  
Monsoon Season ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Southwest Monsoon ◽  
Retrieval Algorithm ◽  
Tropospheric Temperature ◽  
Minimum Concentration ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Positive Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Longitudinal Variability

The total ozone derived from TOVS data from NOAA 12 satellite through one step physical retrieval algorithm of  International TOVS Processing Package (ITPP) version 5.0 has been used to identify  its diurnal, monthly, latitudinal and longitudinal variability during 1998 over the domain Equator to 26° N / 60-100° E. The linkage of  maximum total ozone with warmer tropopause and lower stratosphere has been re-established. The colder upper tropospheric temperature which is normally associated with maximum ozone concentration throughout the year elsewhere in the world  has also been identified in this study but the relationship gets reversed during southwest  monsoon months(June-September) over the domain considered. The moisture  available in abundance in the lower troposphere gets precipitated due to the convective instability prevailing in the atmosphere during monsoon season and very little moisture is only available for vertical transport into the upper troposphere atop 500 hPa. The latent heat released by the  precipitation processes warms up the middle and upper atmosphere. The warm and dry upper troposphere could be the reason for less depletion of ozone in the upper troposphere during monsoonal  months and this is supported by the positive correlation coefficient prevailing in monsoon season between  total ozone and upper tropospheric (aloft 300 hPa) temperature. The warmness in middle and upper troposphere which is associated with less depletion and/or production of more  ozone in the upper troposphere may  perhaps contribute  for the  higher total ozone during monsoon months than in other seasons over peninsular Indian region.  The minimum concentration is observed during January (226 DU) over 6° N and the maximum (283DU) over 18° N during August. Longitudinal variability is less pronounced than the latitudinal variability.

Evaluating the Impact of the COSMIC RO Bending Angle Data on Predicting the Heavy Precipitation Episode on 16 June 2008 during SoWMEX-IOP8

2014 ◽  
Vol 142 (11) ◽  
pp. 4139-4163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-Chih Yang ◽  
Shu-Hua Chen ◽  
Shu-Ya Chen ◽  
Ching-Yuang Huang ◽  
Ching-Sen Chen
Keyword(s):  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Heavy Precipitation ◽  
Southwest Monsoon ◽  
Weather Research And Forecasting ◽  
Heavy Rainfall Event ◽  
Bending Angle ◽  
Angle Data ◽  
Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Better Than

Abstract Global positioning system (GPS) radio occultation (RO) data have been broadly used in global and regional numerical weather predictions. Assimilation with the bending angle often performs better than refractivity, which is inverted from the bending angle under spherical assumption and is sometimes associated with negative biases at the lower troposphere; however, the bending angle operator also requires a higher model top as used in global models. This study furnishes the feasibility of bending-angle assimilation in the prediction of heavy precipitation systems with a regional model. The local RO operators for simulating bending angle and refractivity are implemented in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)–local ensemble transform Kalman filter (LETKF) framework. The impacts of assimilating RO data from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC) using both operators are evaluated on the prediction of a heavy precipitation episode during Southwest Monsoon Experiment intensive observing period 8 (SoWMEX-IOP8) in 2008. Results show that both the refractivity and bending angle provide a favorable condition for generating this heavy rainfall event. In comparison with the refractivity data, the advantage of assimilating the bending angle is identified in the midtroposphere for deepening of the moist layer that leads to a rainfall forecast closer to the observations.

scholarly journals A climate-flood link for the lower Mekong River

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 1533-1541 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Delgado ◽  
B. Merz ◽  
H. Apel
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Domain ◽  
Mekong Delta ◽  
Southwest Monsoon ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Mekong River ◽  
Monsoon Circulation ◽  
The North ◽  
Monsoon Intensity ◽  
The Western Pacific ◽  
The North Pacific

Abstract. The Mekong River in Southeast Asia thanks its regular annual flood to the southwest monsoon. At longer time scales, the monsoon is a spatially and temporally variable circulation, with different annual to millennial variation for different regions. In this paper, the Indian and the Western Pacific components of the monsoon were analyzed to draw a light on the interannual flood variability of the Mekong River. The focus is on the variance of flood season flows at 8 stations on the Mekong River, as well as on well-known climate indexes that reflect the dynamics of the monsoon circulation and ocean temperature anomalies. An effort was made to identify the temporal resolution that contains most of the interannual variability of both flood regime of the Mekong and monsoon intensity. We found a close connection between the Western Pacific monsoon and the discharge in Kratie and other stations in the Southern Mekong region. In the frequency domain, the interannual to decadal variance of the Mekong discharge closely follows that of the Western Pacific monsoon. More importantly, the well-known regime shift of 1976 in the North Pacific is detectable in the frequency domain for flood discharge and monsoon intensity. This suggests a relationship between Pacific sea surface temperature and monsoon variance, which is a good predictor for flood variance. This dependence influences the probability of occurrence of floods in the Mekong Delta.

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