The onset and advance of the Asian summer monsoon

The transition from the winter monsoon to summer monsoon is characterized by the abrupt change of the atmospheric circulation. Although many studies on the intraseasonal variation of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) have been made, there are controversial v…     

南亚夏季风爆发前后高度场温湿场的演变特征

利用诊断分析方法，研究南亚夏季风爆发前后高度场、温湿场的演变特征。结果发现夏季风的爆发与南亚高压、马斯克林高压、南美洲大陆上的高压以及巴哈马群岛附近海域上的高压密切相关。季风爆发前后，印度次大陆上高度场在垂直方向发生了反相变化，低层减弱，高层加强，这使得垂直对流发展加强。南亚夏季风爆发前后在印度次大陆及其西岸各层上湿度均急剧增大。表明随着南亚夏季风的爆发，全球温度场、高度场、湿度场都发生了重大调整，南亚夏季风的爆发是全球环流形势调整的一环。     

ENSO对东亚夏季风和我国夏季降水的影响研究进展

回顾了最近几年我国学者在ENSO对东亚夏季风和我国夏季降水影响方面的研究成果,通过夏季风时降水的影响分析ENSO对夏季降水的作用,结合1997-1998年的ENSO现象,对前人的理论和统计结果进行了讨论,指出除了ENSO发生的时间、区域、强度外,其增长和衰减率在这一问题的研究中也值得关注。     

The East Asian summer monsoon circulation anomaly index and its interannual variations

Based on the concept of East Asia-Pacific (EAP) teleconnection which influences East Asian summer monsoon, an index for East Asian summer monsoon circulation anomaly was defined and it was pointed out that this index can describle the interannual variation character of summer climate in East Asia, especially in the Yangtze River and Huaihe River Valley.     

Asian-Pacific Oscillation index and variation of East Asian summer monsoon over the past millennium

To study the long-term variation of the East Asian summer monsoon （EASM）, the Asian-Pacific Oscillation index （IAPO）, representing a zonal thermal contrast between Asia and the North Pacific, is reconstructed over the past millennium. During the Little Ice Age （LIA）, the variability of the reconstructed IAPO is closely linked to dry-wet anomalies in eastern China on the centennial scale. This correlation pattern is consistent with the observation during the current period, which suggests that the reconstructed IAPO may generally represent the centennial-scale variation of the EASM and rainfall anomalies over eastern China during the LIA.     

Inter-decadal variations,causes and future projection of the Asian summer monsoon

The present paper presents a concise summary of our recent studies on the Asian summer monsoon, with highting decadal and inter-decadal scales. The studies on the long-term variations of the Asian summer monsoon and its impacts on the change in the summer precipitation in China are reviewed. Moreover, recent changes in the Asian summer monsoon and summer precipitation in East Asia （including Meiyu precipitation） are discussed. Finally, the future changes of the Asian summer monsoon are also pointed out in this paper.     

On the interannual variation in spring atmospheric inter-hemispheric oscillation linked to synchronous climate in China

Based on NCEP/NCAR monthly mean reanalysis data and surface observations of Chinese stations, inter-hemispheric oscillations (IHO) of spring atmospheric mass on an interannual basis in conjunction with the linkage to the synchronous climate over China are studied. Results suggest that the spring IHO exhibits a significant seesaw pattern for air mass at bi-hemispheric mid-high latitudes, with a consistent vertical circulation structure. The EOF decomposition of zonally mean surface pressures without signals of Arctic Oscillation (AO) and Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) indicates that the EOF1 IHO feature is remarkable, with the corresponding time coefficients correlated with the spring IHO index (I_IHO) at 0.93; the spring IHO bears a close relation to the synchronous climate in China, showing the surface pressure, temperature and relative humidity over the country to be in good correlation with I_IHO; the spring duststorms in Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia have bearing on IHO. Positive-phase I_IHO promotes the strengthening of the Siberian high, during which zonal winds between 60°E and 150°W show a longitudinal teleconnection structure extending from the Arctic to Antarctica, leading to positive westerly wind anomalies over Asia, affecting the spring climate of China.     

Change in the tilting of the ridgeline surface of the subtropical anticyclone and the predictability of the onset of the Asian summer monsoon

The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data are used to study the relationships among the change in the tilting of the ridgeline surface of the subtropical anticyclone, the establishment of the so-called "seasonal transition axis (STA)" and the onset of the Asian summer monsoon. It is shown that the monsoon onset is characterized by the overturning of the meridional temperature gradient (MTG) in the vicinity of the ridgeline surface. A MTG index is then constructed to investigate the predictability of the Asian summer monsoon onset conceptually. Data diagnoses show that if the initial MTG is known and the meridional gradient across the ridgeline surface of the local temperature tendency can be estimated, a late or early onset of the summer monsoon can be qualitatively predicted in advance.     

Effect of precession on the Asian summer monsoon evolution: A systematic review

Geological climatic records and model simulations on the Asian summer monsoon climate change induced by insolation forcing of the Earth＇s precession are systematically reviewed in this paper. The presentation of the questions on the mechanism of the Asian monsoon evolution at the precession band, currently existing debates and future research directions are discussed. Since the early 1980s, more and more observed evidence and simulated results, especially the absolute-dated stalagmite records and orbital-scale transient model runs in the last few years, have indicated that the quasi-20ka period in the Quaternary monsoon climate change is caused by precession. However, debates still exist on the dynamic mechanism how precession affects the Asian monsoon. The ＂zero phase＂ hypothesis says that the Asian monsoon is merely controlled by summer insolation in the Northern Hemisphere （NH） while the ＂latent heat＂ hypothesis emphasizes the dominant effect of latent heat transport from the Southern Hemisphere （SH） besides the role of the northern insolation. The two hypotheses have separately been supported by some evidence. Although we are cognizant of the importance of northern solar radiation and the remote effect of southern insolation, it has still a long way to go before comprehensively understanding the evolutionary mechanism of the Asian monsoon. In view of the problems existing in present researches of monsoon-dominated climate change at the precession scale, we propose that studies on the environmental significance of geological monsoon proxies, feedback processes in the long-term transient simulations and intercomparisons between observations and modeling results should be strengthened in the future.     

Regional integrated environmental model system and its simulation of East Asia summer monsoon

A continuous 22-year simulation in Asia for the period of 1 January 1979 to 31 December 2000 was conducted using the Regional Integrated Environmental Model System （RIEMS 2.0） with NCEP Reanalysis II data as the driving fields. The model processes include surface physics state package （BATS le）, a Grell cumulus parameterization, and a modified radiation package （CCM3） with the focus on the ability of the model to simulate the summer monsoon over East Asia. The analysis results show that （1） RIEMS reproduces well the spatial pattern and the seasonal cycle of surface temperature. When regionally averaged, the summer mean temperature biases are within 1-2℃（2） For precipitation, the model reproduces well the spatial pattern, and temporal evolution of the East Asia summer monsoon rain belt, with steady phases separated by more rapid transitions, is reproduced. The rain belt simulated by RIEMS 2.0 is closer to observation than by RIEMS 1.0. （3） RIEMS 2.0 can reasonably reproduce the large-scale circulation.     

南亚夏季风爆发前后流场的演变特征

为研究南亚夏季风爆发前后流场的演变特征,利用诊断分析方法,对影响季风爆发的因子作了分析.结果表明,南亚季风的爆发与高层青藏高压的西进北抬、中层的爆发性涡旋的生成和低层索马里急流的加强密切有关.在季风爆发正常年份,青藏高压活动表现为北抬--西进--北抬形态,季风爆发前其西进明显.季风爆发偏晚时索马里急流的经向输送比爆发偏早时的要强.在季风爆发前,大多数年份在印度次大陆西海岸对流层中层有爆发性涡旋生成.     

伴随南海季风爆发热带环流演变的合成分析

为了研究伴随南海夏季风爆发的热带环流的演变,利用40 a的NCEP逐日再分析资料,采用合成分析的方法对季风爆发前后的环流形势变化进行了讨论。合成结果中重点分析了随南海季风的爆发在对流层和平流层低层的流场都有显著变化的南亚、东南亚地区。结果表明,在对流层中印度洋赤道地区,在季风爆发前有东风扰动发展成为一对南北对称的低涡,随后北边的低涡演变成孟加拉湾低槽,低槽前的西南气流不断东扩,使西太副高东撤,南海季风爆发。低涡的演变和发展是影响南海季风爆发的重要因子之一。而高层的环流形势与低层不同,伴随季风爆发高层环流的演变则更多地体现出了全球尺度的特征。     

Decadal change of the East Asian summer monsoon and its related surface temperature in Asia-Pacific during 1880–2004

The East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） and its related change of surface temperature in the past century were not clearly ad- dressed due to absence of atmospheric reanalysis data before 1948. On the benchmark of station-observed sea level pressure （SLP） in China, we utilized multiple SLP datasets and evaluated their qualities in measuring the SLP-based EASM index （EASMI）. It is found that the EASMI based on the SLP of the Hadley center version 2 （HadSLP2） has shown the best performance on the inter- annual and decadal time scales. Instead of showing a linear weakening trend pointed out by the previous study, the EASMI has likely exhibited the decadal variability, characterized by weakened trends during 1880-1906, 1921-1936, and 1960-2004, and with enhanced trends during 1906-1921 and 1936-1960, respectively. Corresponding to the weakened and enhanced periods of EASMI since the 1920s, the surface air temperature （SAT） index （SATI） averaged in eastern China has likely shown a warming and a cooling trend, respectively. However, the decadal abrupt transitions between the two indices do not occur concurrently, which results in a weak correlation between two indices on the decadal time scale. Further analysis indicates that there are four key regions where the SAT is significantly correlated with the EASMI, suggesting the joint impact of surface temperature in Asia-Pacific on the EASM during 1880-2004. In which, the decadal change of SAT near the Lake Baikal plays an important role in the linear trends of the EASM before and after 1960.     

Interdecadal variation of tropical cyclone activity in association with summer monsoon, sea surface temperature over the western North Pacific

Based on geographic division over the western North Pacific (WNP), the interdecadal relationships between summer monsoon, sea surface temperature (SST) and tropical cyclones activity (including number, track and intensity) are examined. In the past several decades, the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) and tropical westerlies contribute to the interdecadal variation of TC number in the northwest and southeast of WNP respectively. The increased TC occurrence density to the east of Philippines related to TC track appears during the 1990s, in terms of both steer flow induced by WPSH and genesis location. From the interdecadal viewpoint, the tendency of TC intensity, measured by averaged accumulated cyclone energy, does well agree with that of SST, implying that SST plays an important role in TC intensity. Supported by Special Scientific Research Project for Public Interest (Grant No. GYHY200806009) and National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2009CB421505)     

Evidence for Asian summer monsoon precipitation instability of the Younger Dryas phase

The loess and desert transitional zone of China responses sensitively to the Asian monsoon fluctuations. A high resolution loess-dust and aeolian sand-paleosols section records the climatic history of the Younger Dryas. Based upon AMS¹⁴C dating of pollen concentrates and proxy climate indices including magnetic susceptibilty, organic carbon content and grain size, it is demonstrated that the Asian monsoon climate manifests not only cooling as in other regions of the Northern Hemisphere, but also unusual oscillations in precipitation which were probably associated with atmospheric interactions between both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and atmospheric pressure anomalies of topic Pacific Ocean (ENSO).     

Environmental and rock magnetic studies of rapid fluctuations of Asian summer monsoon during the last interglacial maximum (MIS 5e)

A systematic environmental rock magnetic study of a century-millennial scale loesspaleosol sequence of the last interglacial in the Jiuzhoutai well section, Lanzhou, on the western Loess Plateau demonstrates that Asian summer nonsoon experienced fast and large oscillations manifesting as three peaks and two valleys lasing about 1–2 ka. Valley 4 with a central age of 120.5 ka is the most evident, suggesting that summer monsoon was weakened nearly to a level in glaciations. This indicates that summer monsoon has a nature of instability in centurymillennial scale change in the last interglacial.     

Natural interdecadal weakening of East Asian summer monsoon in the late 20th century

Based on the reanalysis data throughout 1948-2002 as derived from the United States National Centers for Environmental Prediction and National Center for Atmospheric Research, it is revealed that East Asian summer monsoon （EASM） intensity weakens on an interdecadal timescale since the mid-1960s, and twice interdecadal jumps are recorded in the EASM intensity index series in the late 20th century, respectively occurring in the mid-1960s and mid- to late 1970s. Six globally coupled atmosphere-ocean models＇ outputs under the SRES A2 greenhouse gas and aerosol emission scenario, provided by the IPCC Data Distribution Center and the Hadley Center for Climate Prediction and Research, are then systematically examined. It follows that the above EASM weakening is not closely related to synchro- nizing anthropogenic global warming, and, therefore, it should be qualitatively natural change process. Over the 21st century, the EASM intensity is likely increased slightly by continually intensified greenhouse effect relative to the late 20th century.     

锶同位素研究在古季风演化研究中的应用研究

自从Rb—Sr同位素体系被应用于地质年龄以来，随着Rb—Sr同位素地球化学理论和测试分析技术的逐步发展和完善，其应用越来越广泛。主要介绍了锶同位素的基本地球化学特征，分析了锶同位素研究进行全球对比的可能性，探讨了锶同位素研究在我国黄土季风演化研究中的应用。众多研究显示Rb／Sr和^87Sr／^86Sr的比值变化受控于风化成壤作用的强弱，与降雨量、磁化率变化有很好的线性相关关系。通过曲线的分析、对比发现Rb／Sr和^87Sr／^86Sr曲线所蕴含的气候信息比磁化率曲线更为丰富和详细，与SPECMAP δ^18O曲线具有同步变化特征和更好的对应关系。这些研究表明Rb／Sr和^87Sr／^86Sr比值极可能是一种东亚夏季风演化更为灵敏的替代性指标，在古气候重建中有着广阔的应用前景。     

Synoptic-scale variation of δ18O in summer monsoon rainfall at Lijiang, China

Based on the daily δ~(18)O data in June―September 2003 at Lijiang and the daily mean NCEP/ NCAR reanalysis data, synoptic-scale variation of δ~(18)O in summer monsoon rainfall was investigated. The 'precipitation amount effect' is obvious for the daily δ~(18)O variation, whereas the 'temperature effect' is insignificant. Alternate occurrences of active phase and break phase of the southwest monsoon probably influence the synoptic-scale δ~(18)O variation prominently. Moreover, the isotopic composition in precipitation during the late monsoon months is presumably influenced significantly by recycling of monsoon precipitation. Both the above factors disturb the 'amount effect' of isotopic variation in the monsoon region. This study also indicates that the synoptic-scale rainfall δ~(18)O variation at Lijiang in summer is domi-nated by the Indian monsoon depression (low pressure) system at large scale. These results are important for further studying the 'amount effect' and reconstructing paleoclimate in the monsoon region.     

Global and China temperature changes associated with the inter-decadal variations of East Asian summer monsoon advances

The modern atmospheric observation and literatural historical drought-flood records were used to extract the inter-decadal signals of dry-wet modes in eastern China and reveal the possible relationship of global and China temperature changes associated with the East Asian summer monsoon advances.A climate pattern of "wet-north and dry-south" in eastern China and cool period in China and globe are associated with the strong summer monsoon that can advance further to the northernmost part in the East Asian monsoon region.On the contrary,a climate pattern of "dry-north and wet-south" in eastern China and a warm period in China and globe are associated with the weaker summer monsoon that only reaches the southern part in the region.An interdecadal oscillation with the timescale about 60 years was found dominating in both the dry-wet mode index series of the East Asian summer monsoon and the global temperature series after the secular climate states and long-term trend over inter-centennial timescales have been removed.