Seasonal transition features of large-scale moisture transport in the Asian-Australian monsoon region

Abstract

Using NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data for the period of 1957–2001, the climatological seasonal transition features of large-scale vertically integrated moisture transport (VIMT) in the Asian-Australian monsoon region are investigated in this paper. The basic features of the seasonal transition of VIMT from winter to summer are the establishment of the summertime “great moisture river” pattern (named the GMR pattern) and its eastward expansion, associated with a series of climatological events which occurred in some “key periods”, which include the occurrence of the notable southerly VIMT over the Indochina Peninsula in mid March, the activity of the low VIMT vortex around Sri Lanka in late April, and the onset of the South China Sea summer monsoon in mid May, among others. However, during the transition from summer to winter, the characteristics are mainly exhibited by the establishment of the easterly VIMT belt located in the tropical area, accompanied by some events occurring in “key periods”. Further analyses disclose a great difference between the Indian and East Asian monsoon regions when viewed from the meridional migration of the westerly VIMT during the seasonal change process, according to which the Asian monsoon region can be easily divided into two parts along the western side of the Indochina Peninsula and it may also denote different formation mechanisms between the two regions.