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The authors have conducted a series of experiments with a general circulation model to understand the influences of sea surface temperature (SST) and ground wetness (GW) (measured by snow amount and soil moisture content) on the Asian summer monsoon. The experiments are designed to illustrate the dominant features of monsoon response to SST and GW forcings and to delineate the relative importance of each forcing function in contributing to the variability of the monsoon. Results indicate that ocean basin-scale SST anomalies exert a stronger control on the interannual variability of the monsoon compared to GW anomalies. The impact of SST anomalies on the monsoon appears nonlinear with respect to warm and cold events. The monsoon is weakened during the warm events but changes less noticeably during the cold events. The diminution of monsoon circulation associated with the warmSST anomalies is accompanied by a broad-scale reduction in water vapor convergence and monsoon rainfall. Results also indicate that, following wet land surface conditions (enhanced snow and soil moisture) in the Asian continent during previous cold seasons, the summer monsoon becomes moderately weaker. Antecedent land surface processes mainly influence the early part of the monsoon. Wetter and colder conditions occur in the Asian continent during warm SST events. This results in reduced land--sea thermal contrast, which reinforces the weak monsoon anomalies produced initially by warm SST forcing. These interactive forcings are also responsible for the changes in the winter--spring westerlies over subtropical Asia, which are key precursory signals for the subsequent summer monsoon. It should be pointed out that this study is conducted for the climate decade of 1979--88 only. The general robustness of the results needs to be explored by further investigations. In addition, chaotic features may have affected the results because of sampling errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climatology and the basic state of the summertime circulation and rainfall over South America are studied using assimilation products from the data assimilation system of Goddard Earth Observing System-1 (GEOS-1) and satellite-derived rainfall. Results indicate the existence of a regional summer monsoon circulation regime induced by strong diabatic heating over the subtropical South American highland centered at the Altiplano Plateau. Sensitivity of the results to the assimilation scheme is tested by comparing that with the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis and with satellite rainfall estimates. Results show general agreement between the model produced rainfall anomaly and the satellite estimates, as well as consistency between the basic circulation features in the GEOS-1 and the NCEP reanalyses. A case study of 1989-90 South American summer monsoon (SASM) reveals the following characteristics. 1) In late spring, the onset of SASM is signaled by an abrupt merging of the upper-tropospheric double westerly jets, one in the subtropics and the other in the subpolar region, into a single jet in the midlatitudes. This is followed by the establishment of a vortex to the southeast of Altiplano and occurrence of heavy precipitation over subtropical eastern Brazil. 2) During the mature phase of SASM, the heavy rainfall zone moves over the Altiplano Plateau and the southernmost Brazilian highland. The fully established SASM features are the following: (a) an enhancement of equatorial North Atlantic trade wind, which emanates from the Sahara high and crosses the equator over the South American continent; (b) a buildup of strong northwesterlies along the eastern side of the tropical Andes; and (c) development of the South Atlantic convergence zone in the southernmost position with strong convective activity. Meanwhile, the upper-tropospheric return flow emerges from an anticyclone formed over the Altiplano Plateau, crosses... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]