Winter–summer contrast of the 1990s decadal change in relation to Afro–Asian monsoons

Chi Hua Wu*, Pei Chia Tsai, Wan Ru Huang, S. Y.Simon Wang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

During the 1990s, pronounced changes occurred in major climatological fields worldwide. In the Northern Hemisphere, regarding the major shifts in the dry and wet patterns, the mid-1990s decadal change occurred more rapidly in winter than in summer. What accompanied by this decadal change were the strengthened lower-tropospheric anticyclones over the subtropical Pacific Ocean and a northward shift of the midlatitude westerly jet stream across the Afro–Asia–Pacific region. Increased trade winds resulted in considerable sea surface cooling over the central and eastern Pacific regions. These circulation changes induced the poleward expansion of two boreal winter systems: convection over the Maritime Continent and dry conditions in North Africa and West Asia. Moreover, the weakening of the Arctic upper-tropospheric circulation further modulated the seasonal shift of the midlatitude jet stream. In boreal summer, the more gradual decadal change was associated with the westward shift of Asian monsoon and northward penetration of African monsoon. What used to be a substantial vertical coupling of the westerly flows above these two monsoons was weakened during the 1990s. Judging from the effects of these circulation changes, it appears that the different rate of change in the jet streams may have exerted a dynamic effect on the pace of the decadal change in different seasons.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1969-1980
Number of pages12
JournalClimate Dynamics
Volume59
Issue number7-8
DOIs
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 2022

Keywords

  • Climate shift
  • Decadal change in the 1990s
  • Dry–wet patterns
  • Seasonality
  • Westerly jet stream

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Atmospheric Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Winter–summer contrast of the 1990s decadal change in relation to Afro–Asian monsoons'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this