IMPACTS OF SURFACE SENSIBLE HEAT FLUXES IN THE KEY AREAS OF THE TIBETAN PLATEAU ON INTERANNUAL VARIATION OF THE SCS SUMMER MONSOON INTENSITY

The impacts of the variations of surface heat fluxes over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and surrounding areas on the interannual variation of the South China Sea (SCS) summer monsoon intensity is analyzed using the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis monthly sensible heat flux data from 1949 to 2000 and monthly mean wind and temperature field data from 1958 to 1997.The results show that there is a distinct interdecadal trend in sensible heat over the key areas of the TP and the SCS summer monsoon intensity as well as South Asia high intensity (SAHI),the transition occurs in late 1970s.The SCS summer monsoon intensity has a significant positive correlation with the variation of surface sensible heat fluxes over the northwestern part of the TP,while it has negative correlation with the surface sensible heat fluxes in the south of the TP.During the strong SCS summer monsoon year,the vertical ascending motion in the northwestern TP is strengthened,but in the southern TP it is weakened,and the position of the South Asian high is northward,while in the weak summer monsoon year,it is in the contrary.The SAHI is closely related to variation of surface heat fluxes over the TP and surrounding areas,and there exists a negative relationship between the SCS summer monsoon intensity and SAHI.

Relationships between Springtime Sea Surface Temperatures in Different Indian Ocean Domains and Various Asian Monsoons from Late Spring to the Following Summer

We investigate the relative importance of spring sea surface temperatures(SSTs)in different Indian Ocean(IO)domains,especially the northern and southern IO,for the development and intensity of the Asian summer monsoon.By performing unsupervised neural network analysis,the self-organizing map,we extract distinct patterns of springtime IO SST.The results show that the uniform warming(cooling)of the southern IO plays a crucial role in the warming(cooling)of both the basin-wide IO and tropical IO.The southern IO thus well represents the associations of basinwide IO and tropical IO with the Asian summer monsoon,and is instrumental in the relationship between the IO and summer monsoon.A warming in the southern IO is closely related to the weakening of large-scale meridional monsoon circulation in May and summer(June–August),including suppression of the South Asian monsoon development in May and the East Asian monsoon in summer.On the other hand,a warming in the northern IO appears to be associated with an earlier South Asian monsoon onset and a stronger East Asian monsoon.In summer,the connection of the springtime IO SST with the South Asian monsoon weakens,but that with the East Asian monsoon strengthens.Finally,a robust negative correlation is found between the warming of various IO domains and the development and intensity of the Southeast Asian monsoon.

A STUDY OF CIRCULATION CHARACTERISTICS AND INDEX OF SOUTH CHINA SEA SUMMER MONSOON

Based on height and wind data of NCEP/NCAR and OLR data,patterns of upper air circulation from April to October have been analyzed,and the South China Sea (SCS) Summer Monsoon Onset (SMO) and retreat have been defined.The empirical formula fitting to the onset index of the SCS SMO has been established,and the onset and ending time of monsoon,together with the intensity index sequence during 1953—1999 are given by the analysis of characteristics of thermodynamic and dynamic factors during the process of SMO.The emergence and development of symmetric vortex pair at both sides of the equator in tropical East Indian Ocean,which may excite the SCS SMO,can be taken as a short-term prediction indicator of SMO.