Intraseasonal Variability In The Atmosphere Ocean Climate System

Improving the reliability of long-range forecasts of natural disasters, such as severe weather, droughts and floods, in North America, South America, Africa and the Asian/Australasian monsoon regions is of vital importance to the livelihood of millions of people who are affected by these events. In recent years the significance of major short-term climatic variability, and events such as the El Nino/Southern Oscillation in the Pacific, with its worldwide effect on rainfall patterns, has been all to clearly demonstrated. Understanding and predicting the intra-seasonal variability (ISV) of the ocean and atmosphere is crucial to improving long range environmental forecasts and the reliability of climate change projects through climate models. In the second edition of this classic book on the subject, the authors have updated the original chapters, where appropriate, and added a new chapter that includes short subjects representing substantial new development in ISV research since the publication of the first edition.

This is the first comprehensive review of intra-seasonal variability (ISV); the contents are balanced between observation, theory and modeling. Starting with an overview of ISV and historical observations, the book addresses the coupling between ocean and atmosphere, and the worldwide role of ISV in monsoon variability. Also considered are the connections between oscillations like the Madden, Julian and El Nino/Southern and short-term climate.

This book lays out a science plan for a major, international, 15-year research program. The past 10 years have seen significant progress in studies of short-term climate variations, in particular for the region of the tropical Pacific Ocean and the El Nino/Southern Oscillation phenomenon. Some forecast skill with lead times as long as a year in advance has already been developed and put to use. The GOALS program plans to capitalize on this progress by expanding efforts on observations and seasonal-to-interannual predictions to the remainder of the tropics and to higher latitudes.

More accurate forecasts of climate conditions over time periods of weeks to a few years could help people plan agricultural activities, mitigate drought, and manage energy resources, amongst other activities; however, current forecast systems have limited ability on these time- scales. Models for such climate forecasts must take into account complex interactions among the ocean, atmosphere, and land surface. Such processes can be difficult to represent realistically. To improve the quality of forecasts, this book makes recommendations about the development of the tools used in forecasting and about specific research goals for improving understanding of sources of predictability. To improve the accessibility of these forecasts to decision-makers and researchers, this book also suggests best practices to improve how forecasts are made and disseminated.

This book is the third edition of a book series on the state of the science of monsoon research and forecasting. The series is updated approximately every five years based on the invited reviews of the World Meteorological Organization's International Workshop on Monsoons (IWM). The third edition is an outgrowth of the reviews initially presented in late 2013 at IWM-V, with manuscripts revised and updated through 2015 and early 2016. As in previous editions, the book builds on the concept that the monsoon in various parts of the globe can be viewed as components of an integrated global monsoon system, while also emphasizing that significant region-specific characteristics are present in individual monsoon regions. In addition to the regional monsoons, the current volume covers contemporary topics with emphasis on intraseasonal oscillations, extreme weather, decadal variability, climate change, and summary of recent field experiments including CINDY/DYNAMO in the Indian Ocean and the Asian Monsoon Years. World Scientific Series on Asia-Pacific Weather and Climate is indexed in SCOPUS.

This book presents a current review of the science of monsoon research and forecasting. The contents are based on the invited reviews presented at the World Meteorological Organization's Fourth International Workshop on Monsoons in late 2008, with subsequent manuscripts revised from 2009 to early 2010. The book builds on the concept that the monsoons in various parts of the globe can be viewed as components of an integrated global monsoon system, while emphasizing that significant region-specific characteristics are present in individual monsoon regions. The topics covered include all major monsoon regions and time scales (mesoscale, synoptic, intraseasonal, interannual, decadal, and climate change). It is intended to provide an updated comprehensive review of the current status of knowledge, modeling capability, and future directions in the research of monsoon systems around the world.

Throughout the Earth's history, the climate and biosphere have evolved together through a complex chain of interactions, making possible the extraordinary variety of ecosystems and life. These interactions also largely determine the response of the atmosphere to increasing quantities of greenhouse gases caused by human activity. Since the climate system has great inertia, this means that we will have to long bear the consequences of our past and present actions, perhaps in the form of unprecedented climate change. In this book, opinions from experts in different areas provide a detailed snapshot of the current "hotspots" in the mechanisms affecting climate system on our planet. By addressing and clarifying key topics of current climate research, it contributes to a clearer understanding of the factors underlying the debate over global warming

This textbook introduces fundamental dynamics of tropical atmosphere and ocean useful for advanced graduate courses in atmospheric and climate sciences. It presents an overview of simple atmospheric and oceanic models, as well as the observed phenomena associated with major climate modes in the tropics. It provides students with an up-to-date understanding of the dynamics of tropical climate and weather phenomena. A particular focus is given to scale interactions and atmosphere-ocean interactions associated with tropical mean climate (such as ITCZ asymmetry and annual cycles), synoptic-scale variability (such as synoptic wave trains, easterly waves and tropical cyclones), intraseasonal oscillations (such as Madden-Julian Oscillation and boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation), and interannual variability (such as El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean Dipole). Theoretical and conceptual models are presented for better understanding of physical mechanisms behind the observational phenomena. This book aims to motivate graduate students in atmospheric sciences and oceanography by providing them with the key methods and tools necessary to conduct research.