From MONEX to the global monsoon: A review of monsoon system research

Abstract

Substantial progress has been made over the past three decades since the Monsoon Experiments (MONEX) of 1978-79. Here, we review these achievements by highlighting four breakthroughs in monsoon research: (1) The identification of the coupled ocean-land-atmosphere nature of the monsoon in the process of the annual cycle of solar heating; (2) new understanding of the changes in the driving forces of monsoon systems, with anthropogenic factors (climate effects of increased greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions) playing an important role in the regulation of monsoons; (3) detection of the interdecadal-and centennial-scale variability of monsoon systems, and its attribution to the combined impact of global warming and natural (especially oceanic) effects; and (4) the emerging concept of the global monsoon and its long-term variation under the impact of global climate change. All the observational and model-derived evidence demonstrates that the monsoon system, as an important component of the global climate system, has already changed and will continue to change in the future. This picture of an evolving monsoon system poses great challenges for near-term prediction and long-term projection.

Projected response of East Asian summer monsoon system to future reductions in emissions of anthropogenic aerosols and their precursors

“…Land masses heat up more prominently than the surrounding ocean during summer in East Asia due to a faster response to the seasonal cycle in solar heating, thus forming a large temperature gradient that can drive wind blowing from the ocean toward the land (Webster and Yang 1992;Ding et al 2015). The EASM is the most important climate system in East Asia, and changes in this system have significant effects on East Asian weather and climate (Ding and Chan 2005;Ding et al 2008;Lei et al 2011).…”

Aerosol and monsoon climate interactions over Asia

“…The precipitation associated with the monsoonal circulation is critical for the social and economic well‐being of billions of people. As such, monsoons have been an active research subject for over half a century, especially since the Monsoon Experiment of 1978–1979 during the First Global Atmosphere Research Plan Global Experiment where the majority of studies focused on the Asian monsoon (AM) system [ Ding et al ., ].…”

The Asian Monsoon and its Future Change in Climate Models: A Review

“…The monsoon has also varied with glacial-interglacial cycles and on geological time scales, and now future changes in the monsoon system under anthropogenic influences are of great concern. Accumulated observational and paleo-proxy data, field experiments and numerical studies have revealed various aspects of the monsoon and its variability (Webster et al 1998;Chang et al 2011;Ding et al 2015). This article focuses on the seasonal mean monsoon and its future changes as simulated and projected by climate models.…”