Asian-Australian Monsoon Research Articles

Long-range correlation in the drought and flood index from 1470 to 2000 in eastern China

In this study, the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) method is used to analyse the drought and flood index (DFI) of the past 531 years in 20 stations over east central China. It is found that the variation of the DFI exhibits long-range correlation. The long-range correlation gradually decreases from northwest to southeast over the studied region. Moreover, the recurrence times of droughts or floods also show long-range correlation. The long-range correlation in the DFI data will disappear if the DFI data are randomly shuffled, which was also found in the recurrence time of the randomly shuffled DFI series for each station. The results show that long-range correlation is an intrinsic property of drought or flood events, which could result in the long-range correlation of the corresponding recurrence times. At present, the prediction skill of droughts/floods in Asian-Australian monsoon region is relatively low, particularly in most of China. The long-range correlation of the DFI provides a theoretical basis for climate predictions of droughts/floods and may help improve model performance by amending the model configuration, in terms of addressing parameterization problems and improving atmosphere–ocean coupling.

Effects of mountain uplift on global monsoon precipitation

This study explores the role of the global mountain uplift (MU), which occurred during the middle and late Cenozoic, in modulating global monsoon precipitation using the Meteorological Research Institute atmosphere-ocean coupled model experiments. First, the MU causes changes in the annual mean of major monsoon precipitation. Although the annual mean precipitation over the entire globe remains about the same from the no-mountain experiment (MU0) to the realistic MU (MU1), that over the Asian-Australian monsoon region and Americas increases by about 16% and 9%, respectively. Second, the MU plays an essential role in advancing seasonal march, and summer-monsoon onset, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, by shaping pre-monsoon circulation. The rainy seasons are lengthened as a result of the earlier onset of the summer monsoon since the monsoon retreat is not sensitive to the MU. The East Asian monsoon is a unique consequence of the MU, while other monsoons are attributed primarily to land-sea distribution. Third, the strength of the global monsoon is shown to be substantially affected by the MU. In particular, the second annual cycle (AC) mode of global precipitation (the spring-autumn asymmetry mode) is more sensitive to the progressive MU than the first mode of the AC (the solstice mode), suggesting that the MU may have a greater impact during transition seasons than solstice seasons. Finally, the MU strongly modulates interannual variation in global monsoon precipitation in relation to El Nino and Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The Progressive MU changes not only the spatial distribution but also the periodicity of the first and second AC mode of global precipitation on interannual timescale.

Variability of sea surface salinity in the tropical Indian Ocean as inferred from Aquarius and in situ data sets

Sea surface salinity (SSS) is one of the key components of the Earth’s global water cycle. Reliable information on SSS is very important for ocean modelling, data assimilation, and ocean and climate research applications. In this study, SSS variability in the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) was analysed using the Aquarius instrument on board the SAC-D satellite and in situ observations from the Research Moored Array for African–Asian–Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA) buoys and Array for Real-Time Geostrophic Oceanography (ARGO) data sets for the period 2012–2013. Comparison of two recent versions (V2 and V3) of Aquarius-based SSS estimates to nine RAMA buoys on a daily timescale showed excellent mutual agreement. The systematic underestimation of SSS by satellite-based V2 products over the TIO shows a clear advantage for the new version product (V3). A larger root-mean-square error of the order of 0.50 psu in the satellite-based SSS was observed over the highly variable (larger standard deviation) Bay of Bengal region as compared with ARGO data sets. In the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean region, satellite-based SSS overestimated SSS below 34 psu and underestimated SSS of 34–35 psu as compared with ARGO data. However, the V3 SSS from Aquarius showed marginal improvement over V2 SSS. Monthly variation and fast Fourier analysis of the satellite-based SSS estimates are in reasonably good agreement with in situ observations which suggest that Aquarius is able to capture SSS variability in the TIO. The Aquarius-based V3 SSS showed a temporal autocorrelation of 0.6 over most parts of the TIO up to day 10, and decreased gradually with time. Overall analysis suggests that Aquarius-derived V3 SSS can detect variability in SSS satisfactorily in the TIO and is in reasonably good agreement with in situ observations.

Major modes of short-term climate variability in the newly developed NUIST Earth System Model (NESM)

Abstract A coupled earth system model (ESM) has been developed at the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (NUIST) by using version 5.3 of the European Centre Hamburg Model (ECHAM), version 3.4 of the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO), and version 4.1 of the Los Alamos sea ice model (CICE). The model is referred to as NUIST ESM1 (NESM1). Comprehensive and quantitative metrics are used to assess the model’s major modes of climate variability most relevant to subseasonal-to-interannual climate prediction. The model’s assessment is placed in a multi-model framework. The model yields a realistic annual mean and annual cycle of equatorial SST, and a reasonably realistic precipitation climatology, but has difficulty in capturing the spring-fall asymmetry and monsoon precipitation domains. The ENSO mode is reproduced well with respect to its spatial structure, power spectrum, phase locking to the annual cycle, and spatial structures of the central Pacific (CP)-ENSO and eastern Pacific (EP)-ENSO; however, the equatorial SST variability, biennial component of ENSO, and the amplitude of CP-ENSO are overestimated. The model captures realistic intraseasonal variability patterns, the vertical-zonal structures of the first two leading predictable modes of Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), and its eastward propagation; but the simulated MJO speed is significantly slower than observed. Compared with the T42 version, the high resolution version (T159) demonstrates improved simulation with respect to the climatology, interannual variance, monsoon-ENSO lead-lag correlation, spatial structures of the leading mode of the Asian-Australian monsoon rainfall variability, and the eastward propagation of the MJO.

Chinese contribution to CMIP5: An overview of five Chinese models’ performances

An overview of Chinese contribution to Coupled Model Intercomparison Project-Phase 5 (CMIP5) is presented. The performances of five Chinese Climate/Earth System Models that participated in the CMIP5 project are assessed in the context of climate mean states, seasonal cycle, intraseasonal oscillation, interannual variability, interdecadal variability, global monsoon, Asian-Australian monsoon, 20th-century historical climate simulation, climate change projection, and climate sensitivity. Both the strengths and weaknesses of the models are evaluated. The models generally show reasonable performances in simulating sea surface temperature (SST) mean state, seasonal cycle, spatial patterns of Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) amplitude and tropical cyclone Genesis Potential Index (GPI), global monsoon precipitation pattern, El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) related SST anomalies. However, the performances of the models in simulating the time periods, amplitude, and phase locking of ENSO, PDO time periods, GPI magnitude, MJO propagation, magnitude of SST seasonal cycle, northwestern Pacific monsoon and North American monsoon domains, as well as the skill of large-scale Asian monsoon precipitation need to be improved. The model performances in simulating the time evolution and spatial pattern of the 20th-century global warming and the future change under representative concentration pathways projection are compared to the multimodel ensemble of CMIP5 models. The model discrepancies in terms of climate sensitivity are also discussed.

Rapid interhemispheric climate links via the Australasian monsoon during the last deglaciation

Recent studies have proposed that millennial-scale reorganization of the ocean-atmosphere circulation drives increased upwelling in the Southern Ocean, leading to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and ice age terminations. Southward migration of the global monsoon is thought to link the hemispheres during deglaciation, but vital evidence from the southern sector of the vast Australasian monsoon system is yet to emerge. Here we present a 230thorium-dated stalagmite oxygen isotope record of millennial-scale changes in Australian-Indonesian monsoon rainfall over the last 31,000 years. The record shows that abrupt southward shifts of the Australian-Indonesian monsoon were synchronous with North Atlantic cold intervals 17,600-11,500 years ago. The most prominent southward shift occurred in lock-step with Heinrich Stadial 1 (17,600-14,600 years ago), and rising atmospheric carbon dioxide. Our findings show that millennial-scale climate change was transmitted rapidly across Australasia and lend support to the idea that the 3,000-year-long Heinrich 1 interval could have been critical in driving the last deglaciation.

Estimation of sea surface salinity in the tropical Indian Ocean by synergistic use of SMOS and RAMA buoy data

In the present study, an attempt has been made to estimate sea surface salinity (SSS) by blending in situ observations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory—Research Moored Array for African–Asian–Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction buoy with satellite data from the Soil Moisture and Salinity Mission using objective analysis approach. A preliminary analysis is done in the tropical Indian Ocean at monthly time scale for the year 2010 at 0.25°latitude ×0.25°longitude resolution. Comparison with other independent in situ SSS observations suggests that the analyzed SSS takes the advantage of high spatial coverage by the satellite and accurate measurements from the buoy data and has potential for better SSS estimation.

Oceansat-2 and RAMA buoy winds: A comparison

Sea surface vector winds from scatterometers onboard satellites play an important role to make accurate Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model analysis over the data sparse oceanic region. Sea surface winds from Oceansat-2 scatterometer (OSCAT) over the Indian Ocean were validated against the Research Moored Array for African–Asian–Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA) buoy winds to establish the accuracy of OSCAT winds. The comparison of OSCAT winds against RAMA buoy winds for a period of one year (2011) shows that the wind speeds and directions derived from OSCAT agree with RAMA buoy winds. The monthly mean wind speeds from both OSCAT and RAMA buoy show maximum value during the monsoon period as expected. In the complete annual cycle (2011), the monthly mean root mean square differences in the wind speed and wind direction were less than ∼2.5 ms−1 and ∼20°, respectively. The better match between the OSCAT and RAMA buoy wind is observed during Indian summer monsoon (June–September). During monsoon 2011, the root mean square differences in wind speed and wind direction were less than 1.9 ms−1 and 11°, respectively. Collocation of scatterometer winds against equatorial and off-equatorial buoys clearly brought out the monsoon circulation features. Collocation of Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) winds on-board European Space Agency (ESA) MeTop satellite with respect to RAMA buoy winds during monsoon 2011 also showed that the OSCAT wind statistics are comparable with that of ASCAT over the Indian Ocean, and indicates that the accuracy of both the scatterometers over the Indian Ocean are essentially the same.

A model for quantifying oceanic transport and mesoscale variability in the Coral Triangle of the Indonesian/Philippines Archipelago

[1] The Indonesian Throughflow region (ITF) continues to pose significant research challenges with respect to its role in the global ocean circulation, the climate system, and the ecosystem sustainability in this region of maximum marine biodiversity. Complex geography and circulation features imply difficulties in both observational and numerical studies. In this work, results are presented from a newly developed high-resolution model for the Coral Triangle (CT) of the Indonesian/Philippines Archipelago specifically designed to address regional physical and ecological questions. Here, the model is used to quantify the transport through the various passages, sea surface temperature and mesoscale variability in the CT. Beyond extensive skill assessment exhibiting the model ability to represent many conspicuous features of the ITF, the high-resolution simulation is used to describe the mesoscale and submesoscale circulation through the application of Finite Size Lyapunov Exponents (FSLEs). The distribution of FSLEs is used to quantify the spatiotemporal variability in the regional mixing characteristics. The modeled seasonal and interannual variability of mixing suggests a link to large-scale climate signals such as ENSO and the Asian-Australian monsoon system.

Evaluation of ASCAT-Based Daily Gridded Winds in the Tropical Indian Ocean*

AbstractThe quality of daily gridded Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT; DASCAT) blended winds is examined in the tropical Indian Ocean using 3-day running mean gridded Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT; QSCAT) winds and in situ daily winds from the Research Moored Array for African–Asian–Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA). The primary objective of this study is to examine whether DASCAT is a reliable replacement for the widely used QSCAT wind products. Spatial distributions of DASCAT and QSCAT winds show good agreement in speed and direction, except over a few localized regions. The study finds a significant spatial coherence between rainfall and the regions of discrepancy between DASCAT and QSCAT. Comparison of DASCAT and QSCAT wind products with RAMA moorings indicates that DASCAT better captures the overall wind variability compared to QSCAT, especially during rainy and low wind (<5 m s−1) conditions. The root-mean-square of the RAMA–DASCAT (RAMA–QSCAT) difference during rainfall in the zonal and meridional winds is 1.4 and 1.6 m s−1 (2.7 and 2.0 m s−1), respectively. The present study indicates that the DASCAT blended wind product is a reliable alternative to QSCAT in the tropical Indian Ocean.

Validation of TRMM-3B42 precipitation product over the tropical Indian Ocean using rain gauge data from the RAMA buoy array

In the present study, an attempt has been made to validate the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA)-3B42 recently released version 7 product over the tropical Indian Ocean using surface rain gauges from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory Research Moored Array for African–Asian–Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction buoy array available since late 2004. The validation exercise is carried out at daily scale for an 8-year period of 2004–2011. Results show statistically significant linear correlation between these two precipitation estimates ranging from 0.40 to 0.89 and the root-mean-square error varies from about 1 to 22 mm day−1. Although systematic overestimation of precipitation by the TMPA product is evident over most of the buoy locations, the TMPA noticeably underestimates higher (more than 100 mm day−1) and light (less than 0.5 mm day−1) precipitation events. The highest correlation is observed during the southwest monsoon season (June–September) even though bias is the maximum possibly due to relatively lower fraction of stratiform precipitation during the monsoon season than other seasons. Furthermore, the TMPA estimates slightly underestimate or misses intermittent warm precipitation events as compared to the precipitation radar derived precipitation rates.

Future change of Asian-Australian monsoon under RCP 4.5 anthropogenic warming scenario

We investigate the future changes of Asian-Australian monsoon (AAM) system projected by 20 climate models that participated in the phase five of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). A metrics for evaluation of the model’s performance on AAM precipitation climatology and variability is used to select a subset of seven best models. The CMIP5 models are more skillful than the CMIP3 models in terms of the AAM metrics. The future projections made by the selected multi-model mean suggest the following changes by the end of the 21st century. (1) The total AAM precipitation (as well as the land and oceanic components) will increase significantly (by 4.5 %/°C) mainly due to the increases in Indian summer monsoon (5.0 %/°C) and East Asian summer monsoon (6.4 %/°C) rainfall; the Australian summer monsoon rainfall will increase moderately by 2.6 %/°C. The “warm land-cool ocean” favors the entire AAM precipitation increase by generation of an east-west asymmetry in the sea level pressure field. On the other hand, the warm Northern Hemisphere-cool Southern Hemisphere induced hemispheric SLP difference favors the ASM but reduces the Australian summer monsoon rainfall. The combined effects explain the differences between the Asian and Australian monsoon changes. (2) The low-level tropical AAM circulation will weaken significantly (by 2.3 %/°C) due to atmospheric stabilization that overrides the effect of increasing moisture convergence. Different from the CMIP3 analysis, the EA subtropical summer monsoon circulation will increase by 4.4 %/°C. (3) The Asian monsoon domain over the land area will expand by about 10 %. (4) The spatial structures of the leading mode of interannual variation of AAM precipitation will not change appreciably but the ENSO-AAM relationship will be significantly enhanced.

Australasian monsoon response to Dansgaard–Oeschger event 21 and teleconnections to higher latitudes

Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) cycles were the most prominent, abrupt climate events of the last glacial period whose impact was most strongly felt in the high latitudes of the North Atlantic region. The climate links between the North Atlantic, the Asian and American tropics, and Antarctica during these cycles are well documented. However, the potential role of the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool and Australasian monsoon system in propagating climate impacts across the hemispheres is still unclear. Here, we use tandem measurements of oxygen isotopes in calcite and fluid inclusions, as well as carbon-isotope ratios, from multiple stalagmites from Liang Luar Cave, Flores (southern Indonesia) to examine the monsoon response to D–O event number 21 (~87,000–84,000 years ago), the longest and warmest event recorded in Greenland ice cores. The record shows that there was a rapid decline in monsoon rainfall in Indonesia during D–O21 warming in Greenland and cooling in Antarctica. At around the same time, the East Asian monsoon was intensified, indicating that the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) shifted abruptly to the north during this event. Our record also shows that there was a 2–3°C increase in local air temperature, which would have acted to increase primary productivity and promote the generation of soil carbon for methanogenesis. Therefore, our findings indicate that ITCZ positioning in tropical Australasia—through its influence on large-scale oceanic–atmospheric circulation—played a key role in transmitting the abrupt climate signal between the hemispheres, thereby facilitating the rapid rise of atmospheric CO2 and CH4 concentrations during D–O21 that ultimately led to global warming and the demise of the MIS5b stadial.

Water vapor transport and cross-equatorial flow over the Asian-Australia monsoon region simulated by CMIP5 climate models

The summer mean water vapor transport (WVT) and cross-equatorial flow (CEF) over the Asian-Australian monsoon region simulated by 22 coupled atmospheric-oceanic general circulation models (AOGCMs) from the World Climate Research Programme’s Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) were evaluated. Based on climatology of the twentieth-century simulations, most of models have a reasonably realistic representation of summer monsoon WVT characterized by southeast water vapor conveyor belt over the South Indian Ocean and southwest belt from the Arabian Sea to the East Asian. The correlation coefficients between NCEP reanalysis and simulations of BCC-CSM1-1, BNU-ESM, CanESM2, FGOALS-s2, MIROC4h and MPI-ESM-LR are up to 0.8. The simulated CEF depicted by the meridional wind along the equator includes the Somali jet and eastern CEF in low atmosphere and the reverse circulation in upper atmosphere, which were generally consistent with NCEP reanalysis. Multi-model ensemble means (MME) can reproduce more reasonable climatological features in spatial distribution both of WVT and CEF. Ten models with more reasonable WVT simulations were selected for future projection studies, including BCCCSM1-1, BNU-ESM, CanESM2, CCSM4, FGOALS-s2, FIO-ESM, GFDL-ESM2G, MRIOC5, MPI-ESM-LR and NorESM-1M. Analysis based on the future projection experiments in RCP (Representative Concentration Pathway) 2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6 and RCP8.5 show that the global warming forced by different RCP scenarios will results in enhanced WVT over the Indian area and the west Pacific and weaken WVT in the low latitudes of tropical Indian Ocean.

Comparison of Oceansat-2 scatterometer winds with buoy observations over the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean

Oceansat-2 scatterometer (OSCAT)-derived winds were compared with in situ observations made by Research Moored Array for African–Asian–Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA) and Triangle Trans-Ocean Buoy Network (TRITON) buoys in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, respectively. Root mean square deviation (RMSD) for wind speed is 1.71 m s−1 for the Indian Ocean and 1.92 m s−1 for the Pacific Ocean. The wind speed accuracies are within the mission requirement (<2 m s−1), but the wind direction errors are higher than the mission requirement (>20°). The RMSD values of wind direction are 51.38° and 44.61° for the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, respectively. OSCAT winds tend to underestimate the buoy value when the wind speeds were low (<4 m s−1) and overestimate the buoy value when the wind speeds were high (>4 m s−1). The wind speed residuals show an increasing trend with the increase of wind speeds. Interestingly, the wind direction residuals decrease with increasing wind speed and deviations of wind directions are conspicuously large for lower wind speeds than for higher wind speeds. OSCAT wind speeds were relatively more accurate for the Indian Ocean than those for the Pacific Ocean.

Upper ocean variability in the Bay of Bengal during the tropical cyclones Nargis and Laila

Upper ocean variability at different stages in the evolution of the tropical cyclones Nargis and Laila is evaluated over the Bay of Bengal (BoB) during May 2008 and May 2010 respectively. Nargis initially developed on 24 April 2008; intensified twice on 27–28 April and 1 May, and eventually made landfall at Myanmar on 2 May 2008. Laila developed over the western BoB in May 2010 and moved westward towards the east coast of India. Data from the Argo Profiling floats, the Research Moored Array for African–Asian–Australian Monsoon Analysis and prediction (RAMA), and various satellite products are analyzed to evaluate upper ocean variability due to Nargis and Laila. The analysis reveals pre-conditioning of the central BoB prior to Nargis with warm (>30°C) Sea Surface Temperature (SST), low (<33psu) Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) and shallow (<30m) mixed layer depths during March–April 2008. Enhanced ocean response to the right of the storm track due to Nargis includes a large SST drop by ∼1.76°C, SSS increase up to 0.74psu, mixed layer deepening of 32m, shoaling of the 26°C isotherm by 36m and high net heat loss at the sea surface. During Nargis, strong inertial currents (up to 0.9ms−1) were generated to the right of storm track as measured at a RAMA buoy located at 15°N, 90°E, producing strong turbulent mixing that lead to the deepening of mixed layer. This mixing facilitated entrainment of cold waters from as deep as 75m and, together with net heat loss at sea surface and cyclone-induced subsurface upwelling, contributed to the observed SST cooling in the wake of the storm. A similar upper ocean response occurs during Laila, though it was a significantly weaker storm than Nargis.

Monsoon Regimes and Processes in CCSM4. Part I: The Asian–Australian Monsoon

Abstract The simulation characteristics of the Asian–Australian monsoon are documented for the Community Climate System Model, version 4 (CCSM4). This is the first part of a two part series examining monsoon regimes in the global tropics in the CCSM4. Comparisons are made to an Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) simulation of the atmospheric component in CCSM4 [Community Atmosphere Model, version 4, (CAM4)] to deduce differences in the monsoon simulations run with observed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and with ocean–atmosphere coupling. These simulations are also compared to a previous version of the model (CCSM3) to evaluate progress. In general, monsoon rainfall is too heavy in the uncoupled AMIP run with CAM4, and monsoon rainfall amounts are generally better simulated with ocean coupling in CCSM4. Most aspects of the Asian–Australian monsoon simulations are improved in CCSM4 compared to CCSM3. There is a reduction of the systematic error of rainfall over the tropical Indian Ocean for the South Asian monsoon, and well-simulated connections between SSTs in the Bay of Bengal and regional South Asian monsoon precipitation. The pattern of rainfall in the Australian monsoon is closer to observations in part because of contributions from the improvements of the Indonesian Throughflow and diapycnal diffusion in CCSM4. Intraseasonal variability of the Asian–Australian monsoon is much improved in CCSM4 compared to CCSM3 both in terms of eastward and northward propagation characteristics, though it is still somewhat weaker than observed. An improved simulation of El Niño in CCSM4 contributes to more realistic connections between the Asian–Australian monsoon and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), though there is considerable decadal and century time scale variability of the strength of the monsoon–ENSO connection.

Impacts of El Niño-Southern Oscillation and local sea surface temperature on moisture source in Asian-Australian monsoon region in boreal summer

El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and local sea surface temperature (SST) have been regarded as the important factors influencing the precipitation, evaporation and circulation over the Asian-Australian monsoon (AAM) region. The moisture source is determined directly by precipitation and evaporation. This present paper studies the impacts of ENSO and local SST on moisture source in the AAM region during boreal summer. Relative roles of ENSO and local SST are also discussed by using the singular value decomposition (SVD) and conditional SVD (CSVD) methods. The authors identify one major coupled mode between the interannual variations of apparent moisture sink (&amp;lt;Q2&amp;gt;) and SST for the period 1979–2008. Spatial structure of the major mode exhibits two key regions of moisture source, one over the western-central southern Indian Ocean (SIO) where &amp;lt;Q2&amp;gt; is negative, and the other over the northwest and north side of Australia, where &amp;lt;Q2&amp;gt; is positive. In the corresponding map of SST, negative values are also seen in the former region, but are positive in the latter region. The interannual variation of moisture source in the AAM region has an outstanding positive correlation with the local SST. Furthermore, ENSO also has a remarkable correlation with the principle component (PC) of the first empirical orthogonal function (EOF) mode of &amp;lt;Q2&amp;gt;. ENSO and local SST work cooperatively to determine the variations of moisture source in the AAM region.

Climatic and tectonic controls on chemical weathering in tropical Southeast Asia (Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and Sumatra)

Clay mineralogy and major-element geochemistry were investigated on 58 surface sediment samples collected in 27 rivers draining Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and Sumatra to assess the chemical weathering process and its controlling factors in tropical Southeast Asia. The clay mineral assemblages show high kaolinite contents in Malay Peninsula (average 80%), Sumatra (58–78%), and South Borneo (41–55%), high illite contents in North Borneo (47–77%), and moderate smectite contents in Sumatra (6–29%). Intensive chemical weathering is identified in all three investigated regions from both clay mineralogical and geochemical (bulk and clay-fraction) results regardless of their various lithological and tectonic settings. Relatively, the chemical weathering intensity increases gradually from North Borneo to South Borneo, and further to Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. Our results suggest that the East Asian–Australian monsoon climatic condition with constant warm temperature and abundant precipitation throughout the year is the principal forcing factor on the chemical weathering, and the tectonic activity including mountain uplift, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions and their specific lithological characters is only a subordinate factor on the intensity of chemical weathering in tropical Southeast Asia.

Decadal Variability of Asian–Australian Monsoon–ENSO–TBO Relationships

Abstract A set of dynamically coupled ocean–atmosphere mechanisms has previously been proposed for the Asia–Pacific tropics to produce a dominant biennial component of interannual variability [the tropospheric biennial oscillation (TBO)]. Namely, a strong Asian–Australian monsoon is often associated with negative SST anomalies in the equatorial eastern Pacific and a negative Indian Ocean dipole in northern fall between the strong Indian monsoon and strong Australian monsoon, and tends to be followed by a weak monsoon and positive SST anomalies in the Pacific the following year and so on. These connections are communicated through the large-scale east–west (Walker) circulation that involves the full depth of the troposphere. However, the Asia–Pacific climate system is characterized by intermittent decadal fluctuations whereby the TBO during some time periods is more pronounced than others. Observations and models are analyzed to identify processes that make the system less biennial at certain times due to one or some combination of the following:increased latitudinal extent of Pacific trade winds and wider cold tongue;warmer tropical Pacific compared to tropical Indian Ocean that weakens trade winds and reduces coupling strength;eastward shift of the Walker circulation;reduced interannual variability of Pacific and/or Indian Ocean SSTs. Decadal time-scale SST variability associated with the interdecadal Pacific oscillation (IPO) has been shown to alter the TBO over the Indo-Pacific region by contributing changes in either some or all of the four factors listed above. Analysis of a multicentury control run of the Community Climate System Model, version 4 (CCSM4), shows that this decadal modulation of interannual variability is transferred via the Walker circulation to the Asian–Australian monsoon region, thus affecting the TBO and monsoon–Pacific connections. Understanding these processes is important to be able to evaluate decadal predictions and longer-term climate change in the Asia–Pacific region.