An idealized two-dimensional framework to study the West African Monsoon. Part I: Validation and key controlling factors

Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

Volumn 64, Issue 8, 2007, Pages 2765-2782

  Peyrillé, Philippe ^a   Lafore, Jean Philippe ^a   Redelsperger, Jean Luc ^a  

^a CNRS   (France)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOLS; ATMOSPHERIC MOVEMENTS; ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE; OCEANOGRAPHY; TWO DIMENSIONAL;

ALBEDO; MONSOON; SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE;

METEOROLOGY;

ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOLS; ATMOSPHERIC MOVEMENTS; ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE; METEOROLOGY; OCEANOGRAPHY; TWO DIMENSIONAL;

AEROSOL; ALBEDO; EDDY; HEAT FLUX; MOMENTUM; MONSOON; PARAMETERIZATION; SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE; WARMING;

ATLANTIC OCEAN; GULF OF GUINEA; MEDITERRANEAN SEA;

EID: 34548256240     PISSN: 00224928     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1175/JAS3919.1     Document Type: Article

References (83)

1. Bechtold, P., E. Bazile, F. Guichard, P. Mascart, and E. Richard, 2001: A mass-flux convection scheme for regional and global models. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 127, 869-886.
2. Belair, S., P. Lacarrere, J. Noilhan, V. Masson, and J. Stein, 1998: High-resolution simulation of surface and turbulent fluxes during HAPEX-MOBILHY. Mon. Wea. Rev., 126, 2234-2253.
3. Bonfils, C., N. de Noblet, P. Braconnot, and S. Joussaume, 2001: Hot desert albedo and climate change: Mid-Holocene monsoon in North Africa. J. Climate, 14, 3724-3737.
4. Bougeault, P., and P. Lacarrère, 1989: Parameterization of orography-induced turbulence in a meso-beta-scale model. Mon. Wea. Rev., 117, 1872-1890.
5. Branscome, L. E., 1983: A parameterization of transient eddy heat flux on a beta-plane. J. Atmos. Sci., 40, 2508-2521.
6. Caniaux, G., J.-L. Redelsperger, and J.-P. Lafore, 1994: A numerical study of the stratiform region of a fast-moving squall line. Part I: General description and water and heat budgets. J. Atmos. Sci., 51, 2046-2073.
7. Charney, J., 1975: Dynamics of deserts and droughts in the Sahel. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 101, 193-202.
8. Chou, C., and J. D. Neelin, 2003: Mechanisms limiting the northward extent of the northern summer convection zones. J. Climate, 16, 406-425.
9. Chou, C., J. D. Neelin, and H. Su, 2001: Ocean-atmosphere-land feedbacks in idealized monsoons. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 127, 1869-1891.
10. Clark, D. B., and C. M. Taylor, 2004: Feedback between the land surface and rainfall at convective length scales. J. Hydrometeor., 5, 625-639.
11. Clark, T. L., and R. D. Farley, 1984: Severe downslope windstorm calculations in two and three spatial dimensions using anelastic interactive grid nesting: A possible mechanism for gustiness. J. Atmos. Sci., 41, 329-350.
12. Claussen, M., C. Kubatzki, V. Brovkin, and A. Ganopolski, 1999: Simulation of an abrupt change in Saharan vegetation in the mid-Holocene. Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 2037-2040.
13. Cook, K. H., 1999: Generation of the African easterly jet and its role in determining West African precipitation. J. Climate, 12, 1165-1184.
14. Cuxart, J., P. Bougeault, and J.-L. Redelsperger, 2000: A turbulence scheme allowing for mesoscale and large-eddy simulations. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 126, 1-30.
15. Dickinson, M., and J. Molinari, 2000: Climatology of sign reversals of the meridional potential vorticity gradient over Africa and Australia. Mon. Wea. Rev., 128, 3890-3900.
16. Diongue, A., J.-P. Lafore, and J.-L. Redelsperger, 2002: Numerical study of a synoptic weather system: Initiation and mature stages of convection and its interactions with the large-scale dynamics. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 128, 1899-1927.
17. Douville, H., F. Chauvin, and H. Broqua, 2001: Influence of soil moisture on the Asian and African monsoon and daily precipitation. J. Climate, 14, 2381-2403.
18. Drobinski, P., B. Sultan, and S. Janicot, 2005: Role of the Hoggar massif in the West African monsoon onset. Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L01705, doi:10.1029/2004GL020710.
19. Durran, D. R., 1989: Improving the anelastic approximation. J. Atmos. Sci., 46, 1453-1461.
20. Eltahir, E. A. B., and C. Gong, 1996: Dynamics of wet and dry years in West Africa. J. Climate, 9, 1030-1042.
21. Emanuel, K. A., 1995: On thermally direct circulation in moist atmospheres. J. Atmos. Sci., 52, 1529-1534.
22. Flohn, H., 1968: Contributions to a meteorology of the Tibetan Highlands. Atmospheric Science Paper 130, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 120 pp.
23. Giannini, A., R. Saravanan, and P. Chang, 2003: Oceanic forcing of Sahel rainfall on interannual to interdecadal time scales. Science, 302, 1027-1030.
24. Grini, A., P. Tulet, and L. Gomes, 2006: Dusty weather forecasts using the MesoNH mesoscale atmospheric model. J. Geophys. Res., 111, D19205, doi:10.1029/2005JD007007.
25. Grist, J. P., and S. E. Nicholson, 2001: A study of the dynamic factors influencing the rainfall variability in the West African Sahel. J. Climate, 14, 1337-1359.
26. Grist, J. P., and S. E. Nicholson, 2003: The seasonal evolution of the atmospheric circulation over West Africa and equatorial Africa. J. Climate, 16, 1013-1030.
27. Grist, J. P., S. E. Nicholson, and I.E. Barcilon, 2002: Easterly waves over Africa. Part II: Observed and modeled contrasts between wet and dry years. Mon. Wea. Rev., 130, 212-225.
28. Grodsky, S. A., and J. A. Carton, 2001: Coupled land/atmosphere interactions in the West African monsoon. Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 1503-1506.
29. Gu, G., and R. F. Adler, 2004: Seasonal evolution and variability associated with the West African monsoon system. J. Climate, 17, 3364-3377.
30. Hastenrath, S., 1984: Interannual variability and annual cycle: Mechanisms of circulation and climate in the tropical Atlantic sector. Mon. Wea. Rev., 112, 1097-1107.
31. Hulme, M., 1994: Century-scale series of regional rainfall anomalies in Africa. Trends (93): A Compendium of Data on Global Change, Carbon-Dioxide Information Analysis Centre, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 515-533.
32. Janicot, S., 1992: Spatiotemporal variability of West African rainfall. Part II: Associated surface and air mass characteristics. J. Climate, 5, 499-511.
33. Kain, J. S., and J. M. Fritsch, 1990: A one dimensional entraining/ detraining plume model and its application in convective parameterizations. J. Atmos. Sci., 47, 2784-2802.
34. Kiladis, G. N., and K. M. Weickmann, 1997: Horizontal structure and seasonality of large-scale circulations associated with suhmonthly tropical convection. Mon. Wea. Rev., 125, 1997-2013.
35. Knorr, W., and K.-G. Schnitzler, 2001: The role of bright desert regions in shaping North African climate. Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 3489-3492.
36. Koster, E. D., and Coauthors, 2004: Regions of strong coupling between soil moisture and precipitation. Science, 305, 1138-1140.
37. Kutzbach, J., G. Bonan, J. Foley, and S. P. Harrison, 1996: Vegetation and soil feedbacks on the response of the African monsoon to orbital forcing in the early to middle Holocene. Nature, 384, 623-626.
38. Lafore, J. P., and Coauthors, 1998: The Meso-NH atmospheric simulation system. Part I: Adiabatic formulation and control simulations. Ann. Geophys., 16, 90-109.
39. Lamb, P., 1978: Case studies of tropical Atlantic surface circulation patterns associated with sub-Saharan weather anomalies. Tellus, 30, 240-251.
40. Luz, D., F. Hourdin, P. Rannou, and S. Lebonnois, 2003: Latitudinal transport by barotropic waves in Titan's stratosphere. II: Results from a coupled dynamics-microphysics-photochemistry GCM. Icarus, 166, 343-358.
41. Mahfouf, J.-F., and J. Noilhan, 1996: Inclusion of gravitational drainage in a land surface scheme based on the forced-restore method. J. Appl. Meteor., 35, 987-992.
42. Masson, V., J.-L. Champeaux, C. Chauvin, C. Meriguet, and R. Lacaze, 2003: A global database of land surface parameters at 1 km resolution for use in meteorological and climate models. J. Climate, 16, 1261-1282.
43. Matthews, A. J., 2004: Intraseasonal variability over tropical Africa during northern summer. J. Climate, 17, 2427-2440.
44. Mohalfi, S., H. S. Bedi, T. N. Krishnamurti, and S. D. Cocke, 1998: Impact of shortwave radiative effects of dust aerosols on the summer season heat low over Saudi Arabia. Mon. Wea. Rev., 126, 3153-3168.
45. Mondon, S., and J.-L. Redelsperger, 1998: A study of a fair weather boundary layer in TOGA-COARE: Parameterization of surface fluxes in large scale and regional models for light wind conditions. Bound.-Layer Meteor., 88, 47-76.
46. Morcrette, J.-J., 1991: Radiation and cloud radiative properties in the ECMWF operational weather forecast model. J. Geophys. Res., 96D, 9121-9132.
47. Myhre, G., and Coauthors, 2004: Intercomparison of satellite retrieved aerosol optical depth over the ocean. J. Atmos. Sci., 61, 499-513.
48. Okumura, Y., and S.-P. Xie, 2004: Interaction of the Atlantic equatorial cold tongue and the African monsoon. J. Climate, 17, 3589-3602.
49. Parker, D. J., C. D. Thorncroft, R. R. Burton, and A. Diongue-Niang, 2005: Analysis of the African Easterly Jet using air-craft observations from the JET2000 experiment. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 131, 1461-1482.
50. Peyrillé, P., and J.-P. Lafore, 2006: An idealized two-dimensional framework to study the West African monsoon. Part II: Forcing by large-scale advections and the diurnal cycle. J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 2783-2803.
51. Pinty, J.-P., and P. Jabouille, 1998: A mixed phase cloud parameterization for use in a mesoscale non-hydrostatic model: Simulation of a squall line and orographic precipitations. Preprints, Conf. on Cloud Physics, Everett, WA, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 217-220.
52. Privé, N. C., and R. A. Plumb, 2007: Monsoon dynamics with interactive forcing. Part II: Impact of eddies and asymmetric geometries. J. Atmos. Sci., 64, 1431-1442.
53. Raicich, F., N. Pinardi, and A. Navarra, 2003: Teleconnections between Indian monsoon and Sahel rainfall and the Mediterranean. Int. J. Climatol., 23, 173-186.
54. Redelsperger, J.-L., A. Diongue, A. Diedhou, J.-P. Ceron, M. Diop, J.-F. Gueremy, and J.-P. Lafore, 2002: Multi-scale description of a Sahelian synoptic weather system representative of the West African Monsoon. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 128, 1229-1257.
55. Reynolds, R. W., N. A. Rayner, T. M. Smith, D. C. Stokes, and W. Wang, 2002: An improved in situ and satellite SST analysis for climate. J. Climate, 15, 1609-1625.
56. Roca, R., J.-P. Lafore, C. Piriou, and J.-L. Redelsperger, 2005: Extratropical dry-air intrusions into the West African monsoon midtroposphere: An important factor for the convective activity over the Sahel. J. Atmos. Sci., 62, 390-407.
57. Rodwell, M. J., and B. J. Hoskins, 1996: Monsoons and the dynamics of deserts. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 122, 1385-1404.
58. Rowell, D. P., 2003: The impact of Mediterranean SSTs on the Sahelian rainfall season. J. Climate, 16, 849-862.
59. Rowell, D. P., C. K. Folland, K. Maskell, and M. N. Ward, 1995: Variability of summer rainfall over tropical North Africa. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 121, 225-252.
60. Schubert, S., C.-K. Park, W. Higgins, S. Moorthi, and M. Suarez, 1990: An atlas of ECMWF analyses (1980-1987) Part I: First moment quantities. NASA Tech. Memo. 100747, 16 pp.
61. Semazzi, F. H. M., and L. Sun, 1997: The role of orography in determining the Sahelian climate. Int. J. Climatol., 17, 581-596.
62. Simmons, A. J., and J. K. Gibson, 2000: The ERA40 Project plan. ERA40 Project Report Series 1, ECMWF, Shinfield Park, Reading, United Kingdom, 63 pp.
63. Sperber, K. R., and T. N. Palmer, 1996: Interannual tropical rainfall variability in general circulation model simulations associated with the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project. J. Climate, 9, 2727-2750.
64. Stein, J., E. Richard, J.-P. Lafore, J.-P. Pinty, N. Asencio, and S. Cosma, 2000: High-resolution non-hydrostatic simulations of flash-flood episodes with grid-nesting and ice-phase parameterization. Meteor. Atmos. Phys., 72, 203-221.
65. Stone, P. H., and M.-S. Yao, 1987: Development of a two-dimensional zonally averaged statistical-dynamical model. Part II: The role of eddy momentum fluxes in the general circulation and their parameterization. J. Atmos. Sci., 44, 3769-3786.
66. Stone, P. H., and M.-S. Yao, 1990: Development of a two-dimensional zonally averaged statistical-dynamical model. Part III: The parameterization of the eddy fluxes of heat and moisture. J. Climate, 3, 726-740.
67. Sultan, B., and S. Janicot, 2000: Abrupt shift of the ITCZ over West Africa and intra-seasonal variability. Geophys. Res. Lett., 27, 3353-3356.
68. Sultan, B., and S. Janicot, 2003: The West African Monsoon dynamics. Part II: The "preonset" an "onset" of the summer monsoon. J. Climate, 16, 3407-3427.
69. Sultan, B., S. Janicot, and A. Diedhiou, 2003: The West African Monsoon dynamics. Part I: Documentation of intraseasonal variability. J. Climate, 16, 3389-3406.
70. Taylor, C. M., R. Ellis, D. J. Parker, R. R. Burton, and C. D. Thorncroft, 2003: Linking boundary-layer variability with convection: A case study from JET2000. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 129, 2233-2253.
71. Tegen, I., P. Hollrig, M. Chin, I. Fung, D. Jacob, and J. Penner, 1997: Contribution of different aerosol species to the global aerosol extinction optical thickness: Estimates from model results. J. Geophys. Res., 102, 23 895-23 915.
72. Thorncroft, C. D., and M. Blackburn, 1999: Maintenance of the African easterly jet. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 125, 763-786.
73. Thorncroft, C. D., and Coauthors, 2003: The JET2000 project: Aircraft observations of the African easterly jet and African easterly waves. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 84, 337-351.
74. Vizy, E. K., and K. H. Cook, 2002: Development and application of a mesoscale climate model for the tropics: Influence of sea surface temperature anomalies on the West African Monsoon. J. Geophys. Res., 107, 4023, doi:10.1029/2001JD000,686.
75. Walker, J., and P. R. Rowntree, 1977: The effect of soil moisture on circulation and rainfall in a tropical model. Quart J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 103, 29-46.
76. Ward, M. N., 1998: Diagnosis and short-lead time prediction of summer rainfall in tropical North Africa at interannual and multidecadal timescales. J. Climate, 11, 3167-3191.
77. Webster, P. J., 1983: Mechanisms of monsoon low-frequency variability: Surface hydrological effects. J. Atmos. Sci., 40, 2110-2124.
78. Wu, G., and Y. Zhang, 1998: Tibetan Plateau forcing and the timing of the monsoon onset over South Asia and the South China Sea. Mon. Wea. Rev., 126, 913-927.
79. Yanai, M., C. Li, and Z. Song, 1992: Seasonal heating of the Tibetan Plateau and its effects on the evolution of the Asian summer monsoon. J. Meteor. Soc. Japan, 70, 319-351.
80. Zeng, N., D. J. Neelin, J. D. Lau, and C. J. Tucker, 1999: Enhancement of interdecadal climate variability in the Sahel by vegetation interaction. Science, 286, 1537-1540.
81. Zheng, X., and E. A. B. Eltahir, 1998: The role of vegetation in the dynamics of West African monsoons. J. Climate, 11, 2078-2096.
82. Zheng, X., E. A. B. Eltahir, and K. A. Emanuel, 1999: A mechanism relating tropical Atlantic spring sea surface temperature and West African rainfall. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 125, 1129-1164.
83. Zou, C.-Z., and T. Gal-Chen, 1999: Parameterization of the meridional eddy heat and momentum fluxes. J. Atmos. Sci., 56, 1830-1842.