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The methods and initial results of an extensive pilot study, the Joint Air–Sea Monsoon Interaction Experiment (JASMINE) held in the Indian Ocean during the summer of 1999, are described. The experimental design was based on the precept that the monsoon sways back and forth from active to inactive (or break) phases and that these intraseasonal oscillations are coupled ocean–atmosphere phenomena that are important components of the monsoon system. JASMINE is the first comprehensive study of the coupled ocean–atmosphere system in the eastern Indian Ocean and the southern Bay of Bengal. Two research vessels, the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown and the Australian research vessel Franklin, totaled 52 days of surveillance in April–June and September, with 388 conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) casts and 272 radiosonde ascents. In addition, both ships carried identical flux systems to measure the ocean–atmosphere interaction. The Brown had five radar systems and profilers, including a cloud radar and a Doppler C-band rain radar.
Active and break periods of the monsoon, and the transitions between these phases, and the onset of the 1999 South Asian summer monsoon occurred during JASMINE. The undisturbed and disturbed periods had vast differences in the net heating of the ocean, ranging from daily averages of +150 W m−2 during the former to −100 W m−2 in the latter. Accompanying these changes in the monsoon phase were distinct states of the upper ocean and the atmosphere, including complete reversals of the near-equatorial currents on the timescales of weeks. Diurnal variability occurred in both phases of the monsoon, particularly in near-surface thermodynamical quantities in undisturbed periods and in convection when conditions were disturbed. The JASMINE observations and analyses are compared with those from other tropical regions. Differences in the surface fluxes between disturbed and undisturbed periods appear to be greater in the monsoon than in the western Pacific Ocean. However, in both regions, it is argued that the configuration of convection and vertical wind shear acts as a positive feedback to accelerate low-level westerly winds. Outstanding questions and tentative plans for the future are also discussed.
The methods and initial results of an extensive pilot study, the Joint Air–Sea Monsoon Interaction Experiment (JASMINE) held in the Indian Ocean during the summer of 1999, are described. The experimental design was based on the precept that the monsoon sways back and forth from active to inactive (or break) phases and that these intraseasonal oscillations are coupled ocean–atmosphere phenomena that are important components of the monsoon system. JASMINE is the first comprehensive study of the coupled ocean–atmosphere system in the eastern Indian Ocean and the southern Bay of Bengal. Two research vessels, the NOAA ship Ronald H. Brown and the Australian research vessel Franklin, totaled 52 days of surveillance in April–June and September, with 388 conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) casts and 272 radiosonde ascents. In addition, both ships carried identical flux systems to measure the ocean–atmosphere interaction. The Brown had five radar systems and profilers, including a cloud radar and a Doppler C-band rain radar.
Active and break periods of the monsoon, and the transitions between these phases, and the onset of the 1999 South Asian summer monsoon occurred during JASMINE. The undisturbed and disturbed periods had vast differences in the net heating of the ocean, ranging from daily averages of +150 W m−2 during the former to −100 W m−2 in the latter. Accompanying these changes in the monsoon phase were distinct states of the upper ocean and the atmosphere, including complete reversals of the near-equatorial currents on the timescales of weeks. Diurnal variability occurred in both phases of the monsoon, particularly in near-surface thermodynamical quantities in undisturbed periods and in convection when conditions were disturbed. The JASMINE observations and analyses are compared with those from other tropical regions. Differences in the surface fluxes between disturbed and undisturbed periods appear to be greater in the monsoon than in the western Pacific Ocean. However, in both regions, it is argued that the configuration of convection and vertical wind shear acts as a positive feedback to accelerate low-level westerly winds. Outstanding questions and tentative plans for the future are also discussed.
The present paper describes the Variability of the American Monsoon Systems (VAMOS) Ocean–Cloud–Atmosphere–Land Study (VOCALS), an international research program focused on the improved understanding and modeling of the southeastern Pacific (SEP) climate system on diurnal to interannual time scales. In the framework of the SEP climate, VOCALS has two fundamental objectives: 1) improved simulations by coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (CGCMs), with an emphasis on reducing systematic errors in the region; and 2) improved estimates of the indirect effects of aerosols on low clouds and climate, with an emphasis on the more precise quantification of those effects. VOCALS major scientific activities are outlined, and selected achievements are highlighted. Activities described include monitoring in the region, a large international field campaign (the VOCALS Regional Experiment), and two model assessments. The program has already produced significant advances in the understanding of major issues in the SEP: the coastal circulation and the diurnal cycle, the ocean heat budget, factors controlling precipitation and formation of pockets of open cells in stratocumulus decks, aerosol impacts on clouds, and estimation of the first aerosol indirect effect. The paper concludes with a brief presentation on VOCALS contributions to community capacity building before a summary of scientific findings and remaining questions.
The present paper describes the Variability of the American Monsoon Systems (VAMOS) Ocean–Cloud–Atmosphere–Land Study (VOCALS), an international research program focused on the improved understanding and modeling of the southeastern Pacific (SEP) climate system on diurnal to interannual time scales. In the framework of the SEP climate, VOCALS has two fundamental objectives: 1) improved simulations by coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (CGCMs), with an emphasis on reducing systematic errors in the region; and 2) improved estimates of the indirect effects of aerosols on low clouds and climate, with an emphasis on the more precise quantification of those effects. VOCALS major scientific activities are outlined, and selected achievements are highlighted. Activities described include monitoring in the region, a large international field campaign (the VOCALS Regional Experiment), and two model assessments. The program has already produced significant advances in the understanding of major issues in the SEP: the coastal circulation and the diurnal cycle, the ocean heat budget, factors controlling precipitation and formation of pockets of open cells in stratocumulus decks, aerosol impacts on clouds, and estimation of the first aerosol indirect effect. The paper concludes with a brief presentation on VOCALS contributions to community capacity building before a summary of scientific findings and remaining questions.
Abstract
Well-known problems trouble coupled general circulation models of the eastern Atlantic and Pacific Ocean basins. Model climates are significantly more symmetric about the equator than is observed. Model sea surface temperatures are biased warm south and southeast of the equator, and the atmosphere is too rainy within a band south of the equator. Near-coastal eastern equatorial SSTs are too warm, producing a zonal SST gradient in the Atlantic opposite in sign to that observed. The U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability Program (CLIVAR) Eastern Tropical Ocean Synthesis Working Group (WG) has pursued an updated assessment of coupled model SST biases, focusing on the surface energy balance components, on regional error sources from clouds, deep convection, winds, and ocean eddies; on the sensitivity to model resolution; and on remote impacts. Motivated by the assessment, the WG makes the following recommendations: 1) encourage identification of the specific parameterizations contributing to the biases in individual models, as these can be model dependent; 2) restrict multimodel intercomparisons to specific processes; 3) encourage development of high-resolution coupled models with a concurrent emphasis on parameterization development of finer-scale ocean and atmosphere features, including low clouds; 4) encourage further availability of all surface flux components from buoys, for longer continuous time periods, in persistently cloudy regions; and 5) focus on the eastern basin coastal oceanic upwelling regions, where further opportunities for observational–modeling synergism exist.
Abstract
Well-known problems trouble coupled general circulation models of the eastern Atlantic and Pacific Ocean basins. Model climates are significantly more symmetric about the equator than is observed. Model sea surface temperatures are biased warm south and southeast of the equator, and the atmosphere is too rainy within a band south of the equator. Near-coastal eastern equatorial SSTs are too warm, producing a zonal SST gradient in the Atlantic opposite in sign to that observed. The U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability Program (CLIVAR) Eastern Tropical Ocean Synthesis Working Group (WG) has pursued an updated assessment of coupled model SST biases, focusing on the surface energy balance components, on regional error sources from clouds, deep convection, winds, and ocean eddies; on the sensitivity to model resolution; and on remote impacts. Motivated by the assessment, the WG makes the following recommendations: 1) encourage identification of the specific parameterizations contributing to the biases in individual models, as these can be model dependent; 2) restrict multimodel intercomparisons to specific processes; 3) encourage development of high-resolution coupled models with a concurrent emphasis on parameterization development of finer-scale ocean and atmosphere features, including low clouds; 4) encourage further availability of all surface flux components from buoys, for longer continuous time periods, in persistently cloudy regions; and 5) focus on the eastern basin coastal oceanic upwelling regions, where further opportunities for observational–modeling synergism exist.
Shallow, maritime cumuli are ubiquitous over much of the tropical oceans, and characterizing their properties is important to understanding weather and climate. The Rain in Cumulus over the Ocean (RICO) field campaign, which took place during November 2004–January 2005 in the trades over the western Atlantic, emphasized measurements of processes related to the formation of rain in shallow cumuli, and how rain subsequently modifies the structure and ensemble statistics of trade wind clouds. Eight weeks of nearly continuous S-band polarimetric radar sampling, 57 flights from three heavily instrumented research aircraft, and a suite of ground- and ship-based instrumentation provided data on trade wind clouds with unprecedented resolution. Observational strategies employed during RICO capitalized on the advances in remote sensing and other instrumentation to provide insight into processes that span a range of scales and that lie at the heart of questions relating to the cause and effects of rain from shallow maritime cumuli.
Shallow, maritime cumuli are ubiquitous over much of the tropical oceans, and characterizing their properties is important to understanding weather and climate. The Rain in Cumulus over the Ocean (RICO) field campaign, which took place during November 2004–January 2005 in the trades over the western Atlantic, emphasized measurements of processes related to the formation of rain in shallow cumuli, and how rain subsequently modifies the structure and ensemble statistics of trade wind clouds. Eight weeks of nearly continuous S-band polarimetric radar sampling, 57 flights from three heavily instrumented research aircraft, and a suite of ground- and ship-based instrumentation provided data on trade wind clouds with unprecedented resolution. Observational strategies employed during RICO capitalized on the advances in remote sensing and other instrumentation to provide insight into processes that span a range of scales and that lie at the heart of questions relating to the cause and effects of rain from shallow maritime cumuli.
