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Climate Change Modeling Methodology pp 303–329Cite as

Monsoon Systems, Modeling of

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Abstract

The wordmonsoon derives fromthe Arabic word “mausim,” referring to the seasonal reversal of prevailing low-levelwinds blowing fromrelatively cold and moist ocean to warm land during the wet season (summer), and from cold and dry land to ocean during the dry season (winter).

This chapter was originally published as part of the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology edited by Robert A. Meyers. DOI:10.1007/978-1-4419-0851-3

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Abbreviations

Aerosol:

Small particles suspended in the atmosphere in solid or liquid phase.

El Niño and Southern Oscillation (ENSO):

Two intimately linked phenomena in tropical regions; El Niño (“the Christ Child” in Spanish) refers to the significant increase in sea surface temperature that irregularly occurs during Christmas time over eastern and central Pacific Ocean; Southern Oscillation refers to the low-latitude oscillation of sea level pressure centered respectively in the eastern Pacific and the western Pacific to Indian Ocean.

General circulation model (GCM):

A computer program that solves numerically the time-dependent governing equations describing the evolution of atmospheric or oceanic circulation.

Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ):

A longitudinally extended zone near the equator that separates the northeast wind in the Northern Hemisphere from the southeast wind in the Southern Hemisphere near the Earth’s surface.

Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO):

An oscillation of zonal wind in both the boundary layer and upper troposphere propagating eastward with an average speed of 5 m/s across equatorial Indian and western and central Pacific Ocean.

Moist static energy (MSE):

An atmospheric thermodynamic variable defined as:

$$ {\text{MSE}} = {C_p}T + gz + {L_v}q $$

Here C p is the specific heat of air, T is air temperature, g is gravity, z is height above surface or a given reference level, L v is the latent heat of water vaporization, and q is the ratio of water vapor to total air in mass.

Tropical biennial oscillation (TBO):

A zonal wind oscillation in the equatorial stratosphere.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Dr. Chien Wang

  2. Laboratory for Atmospheres, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA

    Dr. William K. M. Lau

Authors
  1. Dr. Chien Wang
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  2. Dr. William K. M. Lau
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Correspondence to Chien Wang or William K. M. Lau .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, 99352, Washington, USA

    Philip J. Rasch

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Wang, C., Lau, W.K.M. (2012). Monsoon Systems, Modeling of. In: Rasch, P. (eds) Climate Change Modeling Methodology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5767-1_12

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