Monsoon

Mechanism and Circulation

By,
Syed Azharuddin
BSIP, Lucknow
 What is a monsoon

Monsoon is a climatological feature covering roughly half of

the tropics (1/4 of the global surface)
Strictly, monsoon is a system where the winds and
precipitation reverses (summer rain, winter dry).
Host 65% of the worlds population.
Small changes in year-to-year climate can be catastrophic.
 Indian Monsoon
The climate of India is strongly influenced by the monsoon
winds.
First noticed by the sailors who came to India for trade when
these seasonal reversal of winds helped them to sail their
boats.
Arabs (who also came to India for trade) named this
phenomena as Monsoon (Arabic : Mausim = Season).
Annual Wind Circulation pattern
 November

Monsoon wind stress fields from the NCEP climatology for a) January; b) April;
c) July; d) November (From Schott and McCreary, 2001).
Southwest Summer Monsoon

Northeast Winter Monsoon

How old is Indian monsoon
The evolution of Indian Monsoon started in the late
Miocene, at about 9.5 Million years (Ma) ago.
Upliftment of the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau occurred
coeval with the increase in strength of the Indian Monsoon.
Thus the evolution of Indian Monsoon has direct bearing
with the uplifment of Himalayas (Prell et al., 1992).
Between 9.5 and 5.0 Ma the monsoon increased noticeably
in strength.
Atmospheric conditions that
influence monsoon

Shift in the position of Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

Presence of High pressure area around east of Madagascar (200 S)
which affects the Indian Monsoon.
 Ridge

Trough

Seasonal Migration of Sub-Tropical Jet Stream (STJ)

The periodic movement of the Jet stream is often the indicator of the onset
(STJ shits to the north of Himalayas in a matter of days) and subsequent
withdrawal (STJ returns back to its position south of Himalayas) of the
monsoon.
Northward movement of the subtropical jet is the first indication of the
onset of the monsoon over India.
Primary reference : India - A comprehensive Geography by Kuller
 (a) (b)

Periodic reversal of pressure conditions between Indian and Pacific Oceans

Other than these conditions, the pressure differences in the southern ocean
also affects the monsoon.
Normally when the tropical eastern south pacific ocean experiences high
pressure, the tropical eastern Indian ocean experiences low pressure (a).
However, during certain years there is a reversal in the pressure conditions
(b).
This periodic change in pressure conditions is called Southern Oscillation
(SO).
It has been been reported (Beureau of Meteorology, Austalia) that the intensities
of monsoon can be predicted by computing the difference in pressure over Tahiti
(Pacific Ocean) and Darwin in the Northern Australia (Indian Ocean).
Negative pressure differences means below average and late monsoons.
THE ONSET OF THE MONSOON IN INDIA

Generally, the monsoon arrives at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula by the
first week of June. Subsequently, it divides into two branches, viz. the Arabian Sea
branch and the Bay of Bengal branch.
 MONSOON PRECIPITATION OVER INDIA
The Arabian Sea branch reaches Mumbai about ten days later, i.e. around 10th
of June. The Bay of Bengal rapidly advances and reaches Assam in the first week
of June.
The monsoon winds are then deflected by high mountains and move towards
west over the Ganga plains. The Arabian Sea branch of the monsoon arrives over
Surashtra-Kuchchh and central part of the country by mid-June.
The Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal branches of the monsoon merge over
the northwestern part of the Ganga plains.
Delhi usually receives monsoon showers from the Bay of Bengal branch by the
end of June.
Western Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and eastern Rajasthan experience
monsoon by the first week of July. The monsoon reaches Himachal Pradesh and
the rest of the country by mid-July.
 Why no south-west monsoons
during winter?

Reason 1: ITCZ has left India (the winds that blow over India are mostly offshore
land to land or land to ocean so they carry less moisture).

Reason 2: During winter, the southern branch of STJ is strong and is to the south
of Himalayas. The ridge of the jet lies over north-western India and is associated
with strong divergence of winds and creates a high pressure region (sub-tropical
high pressure belt) over entire north India. [This is how the mechanism of jet
streams influence Indian Monsoons in winter season]

Reason 3: There is already a strong high pressure over Tibet. [High Pressure due
to STJ + High Pressure over Tibet = strong divergence = negligible rainfall]
 Circulation Pattern during the Monsoon

Circulation pattern of the Southwest Monsoon

Current branches indicated are the South
Equatorial Current (SEC), South Equatorial
Countercurrent (SECC), Northeast and Southeast
Madagascar Current (NEMC and SEMC), East
African Coast Current (EACC), Somali Current
(SC), Southern Gyre (SG) and Great Whirl (GW)
and associated upwelling wedges, Socotra Eddy
(SE), Ras al Hadd Jet (RHJ) and upwelling wedges
off Oman, West Indian Coast Current (WICC),
Laccadive High and Low (LH and LL), East Indian
Coast Current (EICC), Southwest and Northeast
Monsoon Current (SMC and NMC), South Java
Current (JC) and Leeuwin Current (LC).

From Schott and McCreary (2001).

Southeasterly trade winds from SH extend across equator to become southwesterly in NH.
West Indian Coast Current (WICC) flows southwards and join Southwest MC which moves eastwards.
East Iindian Coastal Current (EICC) bifurcated towards BOB while MC cross equator and turn to SEC.
These three currents MC,SEC and SC forms a strong gyre (SG) on equator.
These vigorous circulations develope intense upwelling around Soamlia and Oman margins.
This produces approx. 200g carbon/ m2 /year making this region most productive in the world.
More reading- Nair et al., 1989
 Circulation Pattern during the Monsoon
Circulation pattern of the Northeast Monsoon
Current branches indicated are the South
Equatorial Current (SEC), South Equatorial
Countercurrent (SECC), Northeast and Southeast
Madagascar Current (NEMC and SEMC), East
African Coast Current (EACC), Somali Current
(SC), Southern Gyre (SG) and Great Whirl (GW)
and associated upwelling wedges, Socotra Eddy
(SE), Ras al Hadd Jet (RHJ) and upwelling wedges
off Oman, West Indian Coast Current (WICC),
Laccadive High and Low (LH and LL), East Indian
Coast Current (EICC), Southwest and Northeast
Monsoon Current (SMC and NMC), South Java
Current (JC) and Leeuwin Current (LC).

From Schott and McCreary (2001).

Indian Ocean circulation during northeast (NE) monsoon is relatively weak and characterized by the
North Equatorial Current (NEC), an eastward flowing Equatorial Counter Current (ECC)
During NEM, the upwelling in the Indian ocean does not occur except along eastern shore of
Andaman Sea and in the northern part of Arabian Sea off Karachi (Wyrtki 1973).
 MONTHLY SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE OVER NORTHERN INDIAN OCEA

December

January

February
 SST

March

April

May
 SST

June

July

August
 SST

September

October

November
 (a) (b)

Average sea-surface temperatures in the northern Indian Ocean during a)Southwest

b) Northeast monsoons (Levitus and Boyer 1994).
During SWM-
In the AS, EW SST gradient ranging between 25.0 C to 28.2 C exist due to upwelling of
cooler sub-surface water whereas SST in BOB ranges between 28.0 C to 28.6 C with weak
EW gradient.
During NEM-
Equatorial Indian Ocean surface water remain between 28.0 C to 28.5 C.
 Water masses

(a) (b)
Average sea-surface salinity in the northern Indian Ocean during a) Sothwest
b) Northeast monsoons (Levitus et al., 1994).
Northern Indian Ocean consist of 2 different water masses-
High salinity water mass in AS due to excess of Evp. and surface flow of Persian Gulf and Red
Sea.
Low salinity water mass in BOB due to excess Prec. and abundant run off.
During SWM salinity in BOB increases N to S ranging between 26-36 psu whereas in AS it
decreases N to S ranging between 26-34psu. (Levitus et al., 1994).
During NEM salinity of BOB ranges between 30-34 psu whereas AS salinity ranges between
36-38 psu.
Thank You