1. Introduction
The summertime monsoon circulation over the tropical western North Pacific (WNP) and South China Sea (SCS) is usually characterized with a low-level monsoon trough, in which westerly monsoon winds lie in the equatorward portion while easterly trade winds exist on the poleward side (Holland 1995). The monsoon trough is closely associated with a large fraction of tropical cyclone (TC) formation in the WNP and SCS (Gray 1968; Ramage 1974; Briegel and Frank 1997; Ritchie and Holland 1999). Sometimes the monsoon trough is replaced by a large-scale monsoon gyre, which is a nearly circular cyclonic vortex with a diameter of about 2500 km (Lander 1994, 1996; Harr et al. 1996). Studies suggest that such a monsoon gyre has important implications for TC formation, structure, and motion in the WNP and SCS (Carr and Elsberry 1995; Ritchie and Holland 1999; Chen et al. 2004; Wu et al. 2011a,b; Liang et al. 2011). Holland (1995) and Molinari et al. (2007) argued that equatorward-moving midlatitude disturbances play a role in the gyre formation by producing a region of persistent diabatic heating near 15°N and that a monsoon gyre forms to the west of the heating as a result of the Gill-type response (Gill 1980). Recently, Molinari and Vollaro (2012) suggested that such cyclonic gyres were related to the interactions of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) and the midlatitude jet.
Our current understanding of TC formation associated with monsoon gyres is mainly from a few observational studies. Lander (1994) first conducted a case study on the TC formation associated with the monsoon gyres in 1991 and 1993. In his study, the monsoon gyre of August 1991 was associated with the genesis of six TCs and finally the monsoon gyre itself developed into a giant typhoon, while three small TCs formed in the monsoon gyre of July 1993. He argued that two modes associated with TC formation in a monsoon gyre are 1) small TCs that form in the eastern periphery of a monsoon gyre and 2) a giant TC that develops from the gyre itself. Molinari et al. (2007) also examined the TC formation associated with the monsoon gyre of August 1991 and found that the monsoon gyre was actually associated with an equatorial Rossby wave packet with a period of 22 days and a wavelength of 3600 km. Ritchie and Holland (1999) examined the relationship between monsoon gyre activity and TC formation during 8 yr (1984–92, but not 1989) and found that 3% of the TC formation events were associated with monsoon gyres over the WNP. Based on the 24-yr data from 1979 to 2002, however, Chen et al. (2004) examined the interannual variations of TC formation associated monsoon gyres and found that about 70% of TC formation events were linked to monsoon gyres. This difference may be due to their different lifespans in selecting monsoon gyres. Although the associated mechanisms are not well known, these studies suggested that monsoon gyres play an important role in TC formation in the WNP basin.
Monsoon gyres are subjected to Rossby wave (β induced) energy dispersion. The energy dispersion associated with a barotropic vortex was extensively investigated in the presence of the planetary vorticity gradient or the beta effect (e.g., Anthes 1982; Flierl 1984; Chan and Williams 1987; Luo 1994; McDonald 1998; Shapiro and Ooyama 1990). While the TC formation associated with the energy dispersion of preexisting TCs has been recently investigated (Li and Fu 2006; Ge et al. 2008), little is known about how the energy dispersion of monsoon gyres plays a role in TC formation. Using a barotropic vorticity model, Carr and Elsberry (1995) demonstrated that monsoon gyres underwent the β-induced energy dispersion, producing strong ridging to the east and southeast and an intermediate region of high southerly winds. According to Holland (1995), the region where westerlies meet easterlies may be important for trapping tropical waves, accumulating wave energy, sustaining the long-lived mesoscale convective system (MCS), and providing a favorable environment for TC formation. Sobel and Bretherton (1999) and Kuo et al. (2001) also suggested that nondivergent barotropic Rossby waves could grow in a region where westerlies meet easterlies, providing the seedlings for TCs. Thus it is conceivable that the Rossby wave (β induced) energy dispersion can play an important role in TC formation in the presence of monsoon gyres.
The main objective of this study is to advance our understanding on the role of monsoon gyres in TC formation. We identify all of the occurrences of monsoon gyres and the associated TC formation events during the period 2000–10. In particular, composite analysis is performed to reveal climatological features of monsoon gyre activity and the associated TC formation, the three-dimensional structure of monsoon gyres, and the favorable locations of the associated TC formation. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. In section 2, the observational data and identification of monsoon gyres are described, followed by the climatological features of monsoon gyre activity during the period 2000–10 in section 3. The composite structure of monsoon gyres and their relationship with TC formation are discussed in sections 4 and 5, respectively. A summary of the observational analysis presents in section 6.
2. Data and identification of monsoon gyres
Three main types of datasets are used in this study. The TC information in the WNP basin is from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) best-track dataset, which includes the TC center position (latitude and longitude), the maximum sustained wind speed, and the minimum sea level pressure. TC formation in this study is defined when the maximum sustained wind of a TC first exceeded 17 m s−1 in the JTWC dataset. The wind fields are based on the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) final (FNL) operational global analysis data on 1.0° × 1.0° grids at every 6 h (http://rda.ucar.edu/datasets/ds083.2/). This product is from the Global Forecast System (GFS) that is operationally run 4 times a day in near–real time at NCEP. To compare the identified monsoon gyres with those in previous studies (Lander 1994; Chen et al. 2004), we also use the NCEP–National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) reanalysis data (Kalnay et al. 1996). The data for deep convective activity associated with monsoon gyres are from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) dataset, which is available once a day on 2.5° × 2.5° grids. The May–October activity of monsoon gyres during the period 2000–10 is the focus in this study.
According to the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Glossary of Meteorology (http://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Main_Page), a monsoon gyre over the WNP is characterized by 1) a very large nearly circular low-level cyclonic vortex that has an outermost closed isobar with a diameter on the order of 2500 km, 2) a relatively long (~2 weeks) life span, and 3) a cloud band bordering the southern through eastern periphery of the vortex/surface low. It is obvious that monsoon gyres are large-scale, low-frequency phenomena.
In this study, a monsoon gyre is selected if its diameter is at least 2500 km with a band or a large area of deep convection in its southern and southeastern periphery. The identification of monsoon gyres in this study is based on the low-pass filtered wind fields at 850 hPa. To reduce the bias of TC circulation in filtering, we first use the procedure proposed by Kurihara et al. (1993, 1995) to subtract TC circulation from the FNL wind field. This procedure has been used for removing TC circulation from the analysis data in TC simulation and forecast (Kurihara et al. 1993, 1995; Wu et al. 2002), as well as in the study of the influence of TCs on low-frequency variability (Hsu et al. 2008). Readers are referred to Kurihara et al. (1993, 1995) for details. Then a low-pass Lanczos filter with a 10-day cutoff period is applied to the wind fields to obtain the low-frequency flows (Duchon 1979).
The synoptic-scale disturbances including TCs are obtained as the difference between the unfiltered and filtered fields. The center, size, and strength of a monsoon gyre are determined from the filtered wind fields based on a combination of relative circulation calculation and visual examination. First, the relative circulation on each grid within a radius of 660 km (6° in latitude and longitude, which is nearly half of the radius of a candidate monsoon gyre) is calculated for the filtered 850-hPa wind field at 6-h intervals. One or two circulation maxima are selected as the initial gyre centers over the whole tropical western Pacific region. Once a candidate gyre center is selected, the gyre size is visually determined, which is the minimum diameter of the outermost wind vectors that constitute a closed vortex. The gyre center is adjusted visually to be the circulation center. Considering the gyre size that is at least 2500 km in diameter, the monsoon gyre strength is measured by the circulation within a radius of 1250 km from the gyre center.
To verify the identification method, the two monsoon gyres that were investigated by Lander (1994) and Chen et al. (2004), respectively, are first examined with the 2.5° × 2.5° NCEP reanalysis data. The two cases are also identified as monsoon gyres with our method. In Lander (1994), the size of the monsoon gyre that occurred in 1991 was measured with the outermost closed isobar. Here we can take the contour of 1005 hPa as the outmost closed isobar of the monsoon gyre. Figure 1 compares the surface pressure and the 850-hPa low-pass filtered wind fields, suggesting that the monsoon gyre indicated by the outermost closed isobar can be identified in the filtered wind field. At 0000 UTC 12 August 1991 (Figs. 1a,c), the monsoon gyre was associated with two TCs (Ellie and Fred) and a tropical depression (13°W). Seven days later Ellie moved with the northwesterly flows of the gyre and became a tropical depression, while Typhoon Gladys was nearly collocated with the gyre (Figs. 1b,d) and finally transformed the monsoon gyre into a giant typhoon (Lander 1994). In Chen et al. (2004), the circulation of the monsoon gyre in 1989 was identified with unfiltered 850-hPa streamlines (Fig. 2). As shown in this figure, the identified structure of the monsoon gyre with the 850-hPa low-pass filtered winds agrees well with the streamlines. At 1200 UTC 28 July 1989 (Figs. 2a,c), Typhoon Judy and Tropical Depression 12W were associated with the monsoon gyre. At 0000 UTC 31 July 1989 (Figs. 2c,d), the tropical depression moved southwestward and Tropical Storm Ken–Lola and Typhoon Mac appeared to the north and southeast of the gyre center, respectively. Thus, the identification method in this study is consistent with those used in Lander (1994) and Chen et al. (2004), although low-pass filtered wind fields are used in this study.
(a),(b) The monsoon gyre detected with unfiltered sea level pressure (contours, interval = 2.5 hPa) in Lander (1994) and (c),(d) 10-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa wind fields at (a),(c) 0000 UTC 12 Aug and (b),(d) 0000 UTC 19 Aug 1991. Triangles, small dots, and large dots indicate the locations of tropical disturbances, tropical cyclones, and the centers of monsoon gyres, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
(a),(b) The monsoon gyre detected with unfiltered sea level pressure (contours, interval = 2.5 hPa) in Lander (1994) and (c),(d) 10-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa wind fields at (a),(c) 0000 UTC 12 Aug and (b),(d) 0000 UTC 19 Aug 1991. Triangles, small dots, and large dots indicate the locations of tropical disturbances, tropical cyclones, and the centers of monsoon gyres, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
(a),(b) The monsoon gyre detected with unfiltered sea level pressure (contours, interval = 2.5 hPa) in Lander (1994) and (c),(d) 10-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa wind fields at (a),(c) 0000 UTC 12 Aug and (b),(d) 0000 UTC 19 Aug 1991. Triangles, small dots, and large dots indicate the locations of tropical disturbances, tropical cyclones, and the centers of monsoon gyres, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
(a),(b) The monsoon gyre detected with unfiltered streamlines in Chen et al. (2004) and (c),(d) 10-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa wind fields (m s−1) at (a),(c) 1200 UTC 28 Jul and (b),(d) 0000 UTC 31 Jul 1989. Triangles, small dots, and large dots indicate the locations of tropical disturbances, tropical cyclones, and the centers of monsoon gyres, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
(a),(b) The monsoon gyre detected with unfiltered streamlines in Chen et al. (2004) and (c),(d) 10-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa wind fields (m s−1) at (a),(c) 1200 UTC 28 Jul and (b),(d) 0000 UTC 31 Jul 1989. Triangles, small dots, and large dots indicate the locations of tropical disturbances, tropical cyclones, and the centers of monsoon gyres, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
(a),(b) The monsoon gyre detected with unfiltered streamlines in Chen et al. (2004) and (c),(d) 10-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa wind fields (m s−1) at (a),(c) 1200 UTC 28 Jul and (b),(d) 0000 UTC 31 Jul 1989. Triangles, small dots, and large dots indicate the locations of tropical disturbances, tropical cyclones, and the centers of monsoon gyres, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
3. Monsoon gyre activity over 2000–10
Using the identification method described above, a total of 37 monsoon gyres are identified during the period 2000–10, with an average of 3.4 monsoon gyres per year. The annual occurrence frequency is much higher than that in Lander (1994), in which monsoon gyres are fairly uncommon, on average occurring once every 2 yr. Chen et al. (2004) identified the monsoon gyres during the period 1979–2002 with a life span of at least 5 days, suggesting a much higher occurrence rate (6 monsoon gyres each year) than that in our analysis. The difference may result from the different lifetime requirements in identifying monsoon gyres. In this study, the lifespan of a monsoon gyre is the period that the gyre can be identified as a closed cyclone with a size of at least 2500 km. In our study, two cases have a lifespan of at least 14 days, comparable to the result of Ritchie and Holland (1999). However, the 31 cases that have a lifespan of at least 5 days indicate a lower occurrence rate than that in Chen et al. (2004). We speculate that the result in Chen et al. (2004) may include large TCs since they used unfiltered wind fields. In our selected 37 cases, the lifespans of monsoon gyres range from 4 to 17 days, with an average of 8.0 days.
Figure 3 shows the monthly frequency of monsoon gyres during the period 2000–10. The peak occurs in August and 75% monsoon gyres are observed in August–October. After examination of geostationary satellite imagery, Lander (1994) found that monsoon gyres usually occur during late July–early September. Figure 4 shows the locations of the monsoon gyres when they reached their maximum strength during May–July and August–October, respectively. For comparison, the composited 850- and 200-hPa wind fields are also plotted in the figure. Figure 4 indicates that monsoon gyres occurred mostly on the poleward side of the composited monsoon trough. Note that monsoon gyres in May–July were identified only over the WNP. As the 850-hPa easterly winds extend westward, the monsoon gyres also occurred over the SCS in August–October. Northwestward movement can be seen for some monsoon gyres (figure not shown).
Monthly frequency of monsoon gyres during 2000–10.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Monthly frequency of monsoon gyres during 2000–10.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Monthly frequency of monsoon gyres during 2000–10.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
The centers of 11-yr monsoon gyres (gray dots) during the periods (a),(c) May–July and (b),(d) August–October and the composited 10-day low-pass filtered winds (arrows) at (a),(b) 200 and (c),(d) 850 hPa. Shading in (a),(b) indicates wind speeds exceeding 30 m s−1 and thick lines in (c),(d) indicate the monsoon trough lines.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
The centers of 11-yr monsoon gyres (gray dots) during the periods (a),(c) May–July and (b),(d) August–October and the composited 10-day low-pass filtered winds (arrows) at (a),(b) 200 and (c),(d) 850 hPa. Shading in (a),(b) indicates wind speeds exceeding 30 m s−1 and thick lines in (c),(d) indicate the monsoon trough lines.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
The centers of 11-yr monsoon gyres (gray dots) during the periods (a),(c) May–July and (b),(d) August–October and the composited 10-day low-pass filtered winds (arrows) at (a),(b) 200 and (c),(d) 850 hPa. Shading in (a),(b) indicates wind speeds exceeding 30 m s−1 and thick lines in (c),(d) indicate the monsoon trough lines.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Recently, Ding et al. (2011) found that the development of the summertime midlatitude jet over the northeastern Asian coast was associated with a positive seasonal rainfall anomaly over India. Molinari and Vollaro (2012) examined the development of the monsoon gyre during July 1988 and argued that its development was associated with the interactions of the MJO and the midlatitude jet. Diabatic heating in the MJO leads to the enhancement of the upper-tropospheric westerly jet and repeated equatorward wave-breaking events downwind of the jet exit region over the northwestern Pacific. The 200-hPa wind field (Fig. 4) shows that the monsoon gyres were located in the eastern part of the South Asian anticyclone centered over the Tibet Plateau. In agreement with Molinari and Vollaro (2012), the monsoon gyres generally developed south of the 200-hPa westerly trough and comparison of Fig. 4b with Fig. 4a shows that the enhanced monsoon gyre activity in August–October was accompanied with increasing wind speed of the midlatitude upper-level jet over the northwestern Pacific.
4. The composited structure of monsoon gyres
Although monsoon gyres and their association with tropical cyclogenesis were discussed in previous studies (Lander 1994; Ritchie and Holland 1999; Chen et al. 2004), their general structure and evolution have not been documented in the literature. Here a composite analysis is conducted with the 37 monsoon gyres identified during the period 2000–10. The wind fields are composited relative to the maximum strength of monsoon gyres in time and their centers in space. Because of differences in the life span of these monsoon gyres, here the wind fields are composited with at least 19 (>50%) monsoon gyres available.
Figure 5 indicates the evolution of the composited 850-hPa wind and OLR fields 4 days before and 3 days after the monsoon gyres reached their maximum strength, respectively. The composited monsoon gyre is characterized by a large-scale nearly circular cyclone with the enhancement of southwesterly winds on the southeastern side. The asymmetric structure of the composited monsoon gyre is very clear in the convective activity. On days −4 and −3, the enhanced convection is mostly observed to the south-southeast of the gyre center. The enhanced band of convective activity, which is accompanied with strong southwesterly winds, is located about 800 km southeast of the gyre center. The enhanced deep convection maintains until the day of maximum strength (day 0) and day 1, but moves close to the central region of the monsoon gyre. The enhanced convection further moves to the north of the gyre while the deep convection band to the southeast of the center still can be identified. Since the unfiltered OLR data are used in this study, the movement of the enhanced deep convection toward the gyre center may be a manifestation of the associated TC activity. Relatively weak anticyclonic circulation can be seen to the south-southeast of the monsoon gyre. It is interesting to note the change in the shape of the composited monsoon gyre. The horizontal scale in the east–west direction shrinks on days 3 and 4 when the monsoon gyre weakens.
Ten-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa winds (arrows, m s−1) and unfiltered OLR fields (shading, W m−2) composited relative to the time that monsoon gyres reached their maximum strength: (a) day −4 (21 monsoon gyres), (b) day −3 (28 monsoon gyres), (c) day −2 (32 monsoon gyres), (d) day 0 (37 monsoon gyres), (e) day +1 (37 monsoon gyres), and (f) day +3 (19 monsoon gyres).
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Ten-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa winds (arrows, m s−1) and unfiltered OLR fields (shading, W m−2) composited relative to the time that monsoon gyres reached their maximum strength: (a) day −4 (21 monsoon gyres), (b) day −3 (28 monsoon gyres), (c) day −2 (32 monsoon gyres), (d) day 0 (37 monsoon gyres), (e) day +1 (37 monsoon gyres), and (f) day +3 (19 monsoon gyres).
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Ten-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa winds (arrows, m s−1) and unfiltered OLR fields (shading, W m−2) composited relative to the time that monsoon gyres reached their maximum strength: (a) day −4 (21 monsoon gyres), (b) day −3 (28 monsoon gyres), (c) day −2 (32 monsoon gyres), (d) day 0 (37 monsoon gyres), (e) day +1 (37 monsoon gyres), and (f) day +3 (19 monsoon gyres).
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
The enhanced southwesterly winds can be clearly seen in the vertical profiles of the zonal and meridional wind components of the composited monsoon gyre on day 0 (Fig. 6). The maximum westerly (easterly) component of 10 (6) m s−1 occurs around 850 hPa, about 800 (500) km away from the monsoon gyre center, respectively. The cyclonic circulation of the composited monsoon gyre decreases with height and disappears above 300 hPa. At 200 hPa, the westerly (easterly) jet can be observed about 20° latitude away from the monsoon gyre center, with a maximum speed of 26 (16) m s−1. In the west–east vertical profile of the meridional wind (Fig. 6b), the maximum of the southerly (northerly) wind component around 900 hPa occurs with stronger southerly winds on the eastern side.
Vertical profiles of the composited 10-day low-pass filtered (a) zonal and (b) meridional wind components (m s−1) when monsoon gyres reached their maximum strength.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Vertical profiles of the composited 10-day low-pass filtered (a) zonal and (b) meridional wind components (m s−1) when monsoon gyres reached their maximum strength.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Vertical profiles of the composited 10-day low-pass filtered (a) zonal and (b) meridional wind components (m s−1) when monsoon gyres reached their maximum strength.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Figure 7 further shows the vertical profiles of the relative vorticity and temperature anomaly of the composited monsoon gyre at the time of maximum strength (day 0). The temperature anomaly is based on the mean temperature averaged over a radius of 2500 km. The cyclonic circulation ranges about 1000 km away from the center at 900 hPa and the positive vorticity shrinks with height and is replaced by the negative vorticity above 200 hPa. The composited monsoon gyre has a warm core with the maximum around 300 hPa in the south–north and west–east vertical profiles.
Vertical profiles of the composited 10-day low-pass filtered vorticity (contours, 10−5 s−1) and temperature anomalies (shading, °C) along the (a) south–north and (b) east–west directions from the mean temperature over an area with a radius of 2750 km (~25° latitude and longitude) when monsoon gyres reached their maximum strength.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Vertical profiles of the composited 10-day low-pass filtered vorticity (contours, 10−5 s−1) and temperature anomalies (shading, °C) along the (a) south–north and (b) east–west directions from the mean temperature over an area with a radius of 2750 km (~25° latitude and longitude) when monsoon gyres reached their maximum strength.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Vertical profiles of the composited 10-day low-pass filtered vorticity (contours, 10−5 s−1) and temperature anomalies (shading, °C) along the (a) south–north and (b) east–west directions from the mean temperature over an area with a radius of 2750 km (~25° latitude and longitude) when monsoon gyres reached their maximum strength.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
5. Tropical cyclone formation associated with monsoon gyres
We first select two cases to illustrate the TC formation associated with monsoon gyres. The first monsoon gyre that occurred in September 2000 was associated with the formation of three TCs (Fig. 8). Note that Typhoon Saomai formed before the monsoon gyre can be identified in the low-pass filtered wind field (Fig. 8a). In this study, the formation of Saomai is not identified as a TC associated with the monsoon gyre. At 1800 UTC 5 September (Fig. 8b), two tropical disturbances were within the monsoon gyre although the monsoon gyre was just identified in the low-pass filtered wind field. At this time, Saomai was located to the southeast of the gyre. At 0000 UTC 8 September (Fig. 8c), the two tropical disturbances became Typhoons Bopha and Wukong and were located to the northwest and west of the gyre center, respectively. Meanwhile, Saomai merged with a band of the enhanced convection and was nearly collocated with the monsoon gyre at 1800 UTC 10 September (Fig. 8d). Four days later a tropical disturbance emerged and became Typhoon Sonamu (Figs. 8e,f). It is evident that the monsoon gyre moved northwestward and anticyclonic circulation can be found to its southeast.
Ten-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa wind field (arrows, m s−1) and daily OLR (shading, W m−2) for the monsoon gyre at (a) 0000 UTC 5 Sep, (b) 1800 UTC 5 Sep, (c) 0000 UTC 8 Sep, (d) 1800 UTC 10 Sep, (e) 0000 UTC 14 Sep, and (f) 0600 UTC 15 Sep 2000. Closed dots, triangles, and typhoon symbols indicate the locations of monsoon gyres, tropical disturbances, and tropical cyclones, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Ten-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa wind field (arrows, m s−1) and daily OLR (shading, W m−2) for the monsoon gyre at (a) 0000 UTC 5 Sep, (b) 1800 UTC 5 Sep, (c) 0000 UTC 8 Sep, (d) 1800 UTC 10 Sep, (e) 0000 UTC 14 Sep, and (f) 0600 UTC 15 Sep 2000. Closed dots, triangles, and typhoon symbols indicate the locations of monsoon gyres, tropical disturbances, and tropical cyclones, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Ten-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa wind field (arrows, m s−1) and daily OLR (shading, W m−2) for the monsoon gyre at (a) 0000 UTC 5 Sep, (b) 1800 UTC 5 Sep, (c) 0000 UTC 8 Sep, (d) 1800 UTC 10 Sep, (e) 0000 UTC 14 Sep, and (f) 0600 UTC 15 Sep 2000. Closed dots, triangles, and typhoon symbols indicate the locations of monsoon gyres, tropical disturbances, and tropical cyclones, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
The second monsoon gyre occurred in October 2004 with the formation of two typhoons (Tokage and Nock-ten). Figure 9 shows the 10-day low-pass filtered wind fields associated with the monsoon gyre. A tropical disturbance to the southeast of the gyre center can be found at 0600 UTC 10 October (Fig. 9a), and it reached tropical storm strength at 1800 UTC 12 October (Fig. 9b). When Tokage approached the center of the monsoon gyre, another tropical disturbance can be identified more than 2000 km southeast of the gyre center (Fig. 9c). It became Tropical Strom Nock-ten at 0600 UTC 16 October (Fig. 9d). The formation of the two TCs was associated with the southwesterly winds of the monsoon gyre and enhanced convective activity. As shown in Fig. 9, the monsoon gyre moved northwestward and its size expanded as Tokage formed and approached the gyre center. The anticyclonic circulation can also be seen to the southeast of the monsoon gyre.
Ten-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa wind field (arrows, m s−1) and daily OLR (shading, W m−2) for the monsoon gyre at (a) 0600 UTC 10 Oct, (b) 1800 UTC 12 Oct, (c) 1800 UTC 13 Oct, and (d) 0600 UTC 16 Oct 2004. Closed dots, triangles, and typhoon symbols indicate the locations of monsoon gyres, tropical disturbances, and tropical cyclones, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Ten-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa wind field (arrows, m s−1) and daily OLR (shading, W m−2) for the monsoon gyre at (a) 0600 UTC 10 Oct, (b) 1800 UTC 12 Oct, (c) 1800 UTC 13 Oct, and (d) 0600 UTC 16 Oct 2004. Closed dots, triangles, and typhoon symbols indicate the locations of monsoon gyres, tropical disturbances, and tropical cyclones, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Ten-day low-pass filtered 850-hPa wind field (arrows, m s−1) and daily OLR (shading, W m−2) for the monsoon gyre at (a) 0600 UTC 10 Oct, (b) 1800 UTC 12 Oct, (c) 1800 UTC 13 Oct, and (d) 0600 UTC 16 Oct 2004. Closed dots, triangles, and typhoon symbols indicate the locations of monsoon gyres, tropical disturbances, and tropical cyclones, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
In this study, an observed TC formation event was associated with a monsoon gyre if it formed as a named tropical storm or stronger in the JTWC dataset within the cyclonic circulation of the gyre or the confluence zone between the westerly winds and easterly trade winds to the east of the monsoon gyre during its life span. As shown in the first example, Typhoon Saomai (2000) is not counted because it formed before the monsoon gyre can be identified. Accounting for 19.8% of the total TC formation events in May–October during 2000–10, 42 TCs were linked to 31 monsoon gyres while the activity of the other 6 monsoon gyres was not accompanied directly with any TC formation. Figure 10 shows the composited 850- and 200-hPa wind fields at the TC formation time and the locations of the TCs with respect to the gyre center. The time that a TC first reaches the tropical storm intensity is taken as the TC formation time.
Formation locations (typhoon symbols) of tropical cyclones relative to monsoon gyres (dots) during the period 2000–10 and the composited 10-day low-pass filtered (a) 200- and (b) 850-hPa wind fields at the time of tropical cyclone formation, with contours indicating wind speeds. Units for wind are m s−1.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Formation locations (typhoon symbols) of tropical cyclones relative to monsoon gyres (dots) during the period 2000–10 and the composited 10-day low-pass filtered (a) 200- and (b) 850-hPa wind fields at the time of tropical cyclone formation, with contours indicating wind speeds. Units for wind are m s−1.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Formation locations (typhoon symbols) of tropical cyclones relative to monsoon gyres (dots) during the period 2000–10 and the composited 10-day low-pass filtered (a) 200- and (b) 850-hPa wind fields at the time of tropical cyclone formation, with contours indicating wind speeds. Units for wind are m s−1.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
In the lower troposphere (850 hPa), as shown in Fig. 10, a large gyre with a radius of about 2000 km is accompanied with a relatively weak anticyclone to the southeast of the gyre. As suggested by Carr and Elsberry (1995), the anticyclone is related to the Rossby wave energy dispersion of monsoon gyres that have relatively weak maximum winds at a relatively large radius. Most TCs formed near the center or the northeastern end of the enhanced southwesterly flows between the monsoon gyre and the anticyclone. TCs also formed on the western and northern sides of the monsoon gyre. On the southern side, TC formation rarely occurred because of strong vertical wind shear (Figs. 10a,b). With a westerly jet to the north at the upper level (200 hPa), an anticyclone is located about 600 km northeast of the center of the monsoon gyre. Figure 11 shows the total vertical wind shear between 200 and 850 hPa, which is composited 2 days before TC formation and on the formation day, indicating that most TCs formed in the area of relatively weak vertical wind shear.
Ten-day low-pass filtered total vertical wind shear (m s−1) between 200 and 850 hPa, which is composited relative to the tropical cyclone formation time: (a) 2 days before the formation and (b) at the formation time. Dots and typhoon symbols indicate the locations of monsoon gyre centers and tropical cyclone centers, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Ten-day low-pass filtered total vertical wind shear (m s−1) between 200 and 850 hPa, which is composited relative to the tropical cyclone formation time: (a) 2 days before the formation and (b) at the formation time. Dots and typhoon symbols indicate the locations of monsoon gyre centers and tropical cyclone centers, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
Ten-day low-pass filtered total vertical wind shear (m s−1) between 200 and 850 hPa, which is composited relative to the tropical cyclone formation time: (a) 2 days before the formation and (b) at the formation time. Dots and typhoon symbols indicate the locations of monsoon gyre centers and tropical cyclone centers, respectively.
Citation: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 70, 4; 10.1175/JAS-D-12-0117.1
6. Summary
Previous studies suggested that monsoon gyres played an important role in TC formation in the WNP basin (Lander 1994; Ritchie and Holland 1999; Chen et al. 2004). However, the general structure of monsoon gyres and the associated mechanisms for TC formation have not been documented. Using the NCEP FNL operational global analysis and the JTWC best-track dataset, an observational study is conducted on the monsoon gyre activity, the composited structure, and the associated TC formation during the period 2000–10.
During the period 2000–10, 37 monsoon gyres are identified in May–October. Monsoon gyres formed on the poleward side of the composited monsoon trough with a peak in August–October. Extending about 1000 km outward from the center at lower levels, the cyclonic circulation of the composited monsoon gyre shrinks with height and is replaced with negative vorticity above 200 hPa. The maximum winds of the composited monsoon gyre appear 500 (800) km away from the center with a magnitude of 10 (6) m s−1 at 850 hPa. In agreement with previous studies, the composited monsoon gyre shows an asymmetric structure with enhanced southwesterly flow and convection on the southern and southeastern side.
It is found that 42 TCs were linked to 31 monsoon gyres while the activity of the other 5 monsoon gyres was not accompanied directly with any TC formation. These TCs account for 19.8% of the total TCs that formed in May–October during 2000–10. Among the 31 monsoon gyres in which TC formation occurs, 22 (9) of them are associated with single (multiple) TC formation. In relatively weak vertical wind shears, most of the TCs associated with monsoon gyres form near the centers of monsoon gyres and the northeastern end of the enhanced southwesterly flows. In other words, TC formation prefers to the eastern portion of monsoon gyres.
As mentioned in the introduction, our analysis agrees with previous studies in that TCs prefer to form in the region where westerly monsoon flows meet with easterly trade winds (Holland 1995; Ritchie and Holland 1999). It is argued that the confluence zones can trap westward-traveling long-wave disturbances that are shifted to higher frequency on encountering westerly flow, leading to an accumulation of wave energy in the region (Chang and Webster 1990; Sobel and Bretherton 1999; Kuo et al. 2001). Further, the accumulated wave energy can escape to higher latitudes (Webster and Holton 1982; Zhang and Webster 1989). Since the Rossby wave energy dispersion of monsoon gyres can enhance the confluence zone, further study is needed to understand the roles of monsoon gyres in TC formation.
Acknowledgments
This research was jointly supported by the Typhoon Research Project (2009CB421503) of the National Basic Research Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC Grant 40875038), the social commonweal research program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (GYHY200806009), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).
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