The monsoon as a self-regulating coupled ocean—atmosphere system

Webster, Peter J.; Clark, Christina Oelfke; Cherikova, Galina; Fasullo, John T.; Han, Weiqing; Loschnigg, Johannes; Sahami, Kamran

doi:10.1016/s0074-6142(02)80168-1

Cited by 33 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…However, although enhanced land-sea temperature contrast is a necessary prerequisite for monsoon enhancement (see e.g. Kutzbach et al 2001), maintenance of monsoon precipitation is strongly dependent on latent heat flux and the energetics of the system, and their influence on atmospheric dynamics (Ramage 1971;Trenberth et al 2000;Webster et al 2002;Anderson et al 2009;Taylor et al 2010). Modern observations show that monsoon rains are accompanied by a strong regional temperature depression, and a similar phenomenon is presumably the cause of the weak and spatially less coherent structure of reconstructed summer temperature changes during the mid-Holocene.…”

Section: Climate Patterns At 6 Kamentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollen-based continental climate reconstructions at 6 and 21 ka: a global synthesis

et al. 2010

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Subfossil pollen and plant macrofossil data derived from 14 C-dated sediment profiles can provide quantitative information on glacial and interglacial climates. The data allow climate variables related to growingseason warmth, winter cold, and plant-available moisture to be reconstructed. 123Clim Dyn (2011) 37:775-802 DOI 10.1007 surface-pollen assemblages are shown to be accurate and unbiased. Reconstructed LGM and MH climate anomaly patterns are coherent, consistent between variables, and robust with respect to the choice of technique. They support a conceptual model of the controls of Late Quaternary climate change whereby the first-order effects of orbital variations and greenhouse forcing on the seasonal cycle of temperature are predictably modified by responses of the atmospheric circulation and surface energy balance.

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Section: Climate Patterns At 6 Kamentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollen-based continental climate reconstructions at 6 and 21 ka: a global synthesis

et al. 2010

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“…Detailed studies on convective systems during the active and the break phases of the monsoon have been carried out over Darwin, Australia (CR94; CR98; Cifelli et al 2002) but only limited studies have been carried out over the Asian summer monsoon (Webster et al 2002;Bhat et al 2002;Rao et al 2009). A recent study by Rao et al (2009) found that the characteristics of vertical velocity cores during convection exhibit significant differences during the wet and dry spells of the monsoon.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Vertical Distribution of Mean Vertical Velocities in the Convective Regions during the Wet and Dry Spells of the Monsoon over Gadanki

et al. 2012

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The Indian Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere (MST) radar observations of vertical distribution of mean vertical velocities w in convective regions during the wet and dry spells of the Indian summer monsoon over a tropical station at Gadanki, India (13.58N, 79.28E) are discussed. The composite w profile during the wet spell consistently shows a single peak at ;13 km whereas during the dry spell it shows two peaks, one at 5 km and another at 11-13 km. The characteristics of this altitudinal distribution in w are discussed in terms of background wind and thermal structure during both spells of the monsoon. Background w obtained from NCEP-NCAR reanalysis shows subsidence throughout the depth of the troposphere during the dry spell of the monsoon over Gadanki. Analysis of background wind and thermal structure clearly reveal that wind shear and temperature inversion in the midtroposphere are different in the dry spell compared to that of the wet spell, which may be the possible reason for the observed double-peak w structure during the dry spell of the monsoon. The present analysis for the first time brought out the distinct vertical distribution in w and the background meteorological conditions during the wet and dry spells of the monsoon over Gadanki, which may have implications in understanding the monsoon convective systems during the wet and dry spells of the Indian summer monsoon.

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“…If the Hadley or monsoon is weak for some reason, wind-driven ocean transport will be also weak, heat will accumulate in the equatorial near-surface layers, and the atmospheric cell will return to average strength. Webster et al (2002) describe this regulatory process in great detail for the monsoon circulation and use it as an argument to explain why the monsoon precipitation over South Asia does not deviate greatly from year to year and that there are rarely successive years of above-average or below-average rainfall.…”

Section: Ocean Hadley Circulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Elementary Hadley Circulation

Webster

2004

Advances in Global Change Research

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In the most basic terms, the Hadley circulation can be thought of as a large-scale overturning of the atmosphere driven by latitudinal heating gradients, extending roughly between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn covering roughly half the surface area of the planet. Rising air occurs near the equator with subsidence in the subtropics. The circulation has a strong seasonal variability. It is manifested during the equinoxes as a pair of rei atively weak cells with a common rising zone near the equator termed the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). A much stronger cross-equatorial cell marks the solstitial seasons with rising motion in the summer hemisphere and widespread descending air in the winter hemisphere. The meridional circulations are instrumental in determining where tropical rainfall occurs and where the great deserts are located. Variability of the location and intensity of the Hadley circulation (or its regional manifestation such as the monsoons), through the ages has helped shape the history of mankind, either spawning regions of civilization by providing an abundance of rainfall for agriculture or destroying them by periods of drought. The variability of the Hadley circulation is also manifested on interannual times scales as an important component of the waxing and waning of El Nino in the Pacific Ocean, perturbing seasonal climates worldwide.The Hadley circulation was the first phenomenon to be described by using the physical insight of the natural system emerging out of the Renaissance. Both Halley (1686) and Hadley (1735) provided basic accounts of the physical processes that drive the meridional cells. However, a detailed examination of the phenomenon, using data sets that are now available, shows that many questions cannot be answered in the confines of the Halley-Hadley model. An attempt is made to answer these questions from a fundamental physical 9 H.F. Diaz and R.S. Bradley (eds.), The Hadley Circulation: Present, Past and Future,

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The monsoon as a self-regulating coupled ocean—atmosphere system

Cited by 33 publications

References 53 publications

Pollen-based continental climate reconstructions at 6 and 21 ka: a global synthesis

Pollen-based continental climate reconstructions at 6 and 21 ka: a global synthesis

On the Vertical Distribution of Mean Vertical Velocities in the Convective Regions during the Wet and Dry Spells of the Monsoon over Gadanki

The Elementary Hadley Circulation

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