This upper-undergraduate/graduate-level textbook introduces students to large-scale tropical climate circulation and its variations, covering their fundamental aspects and our current understanding of how they are impacted in a warming world. From this volume, readers will gain an understanding of tropical climate variability from the meso- to planetary scale. Uniquely, equal emphasis is placed on atmospheric and oceanic processes of tropical phenomena. The book will appeal to senior undergraduate and graduate students across geoscience disciplines, including in meteorology, oceanography, geography, hydrology, and environmental science.
Author(s): Vasubandhu Misra
Series: Springer Atmospheric Sciences
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 314
City: Cham
Preface
Constants
Contents
Acronyms
1 A Synopsis of the Tropical Climate
1.1 Observational Features in a Zonally Symmetric Framework
1.2 A Reductionist Model
1.3 Theory on the Maintenance of the Zonally Symmetric Circulation
1.4 Application of the Concepts of Zonally Symmetric Circulation
1.5 Limitations of the Zonally Symmetric Framework
2 The Monsoon
2.1 The Asian Monsoon
2.2 Broad-Scale Features of the Asian Monsoon
2.3 The Evolution of the Indian Summer Monsoon
2.4 The Tropical Indian Ocean
2.5 The Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Phenomenon of the Monsoon
2.6 The Tibetan Plateau
2.7 The Asian Monsoon Variations
2.7.1 The Monsoon-ENSO Teleconnection
2.7.2 The Tropospheric Biennial Oscillation
2.7.3 The Indian Ocean Dipole
2.8 The Other Regional Monsoons
3 The Role of the Diabatic Heating in the Tropical Atmosphere
3.1 The Ubiquity of Convection in the Tropics
3.2 CISK vs. Quasi-equilibrium
3.3 Radiative-Convective Equilibrium
3.4 Matsuno-Gill Atmosphere
3.5 The Implication on the Oceans
3.6 The Weak Temperature Gradient Balance
3.7 Moisture Modes
3.8 Organization of Convection
4 Intertropical Convergence Zone
4.1 The Latitudinal Location of the ITCZ
4.1.1 The Role of the Coriolis Force
4.1.2 The Role of the Oceans
4.2 Regional ITCZ
4.2.1 Eastern Pacific ITCZ
4.2.2 Eastern Atlantic ITCZ
4.2.3 Indian Ocean ITCZ
4.2.4 The South Pacific and South Atlantic Convergence Zones
4.3 ITCZ as a Spawning Zone of Tropical Cyclones
5 The Western Pacific Warm Pool
5.1 What Is the Significance of the Warm Pool?
5.2 The Atmospheric Thermostat Theory for the Warm Pool
5.3 A Holistic Approach to Understanding the Regulation of the Warm Pool
5.4 The Surface Heat Budget of the Warm Pool
5.5 The Indonesian Throughflow
6 The Intraseasonal Variations
6.1 The Bridge Between Weather and Climate
6.2 The Structure of the Madden-Julian Oscillation
6.3 The Seasonality of the Intraseasonal Variations
6.4 Theories of the Madden-Julian Oscillation
6.5 Identifying the Madden-Julian Oscillation
6.6 The Impact of the Madden-Julian Oscillation
7 El Niño and the Southern Oscillation
7.1 ENSO Definition
7.2 Observing ENSO
7.3 ENSO Features
7.3.1 Seasonal Phase Locking of ENSO
7.3.2 The Bjerknes Feedback Mechanism of ENSO
7.3.3 ENSO Spectrum
7.3.4 ENSO Teleconnections
7.3.5 ENSO Diversity
7.4 ENSO Theories
7.4.1 Linear Stochastic Theory
7.4.2 Delayed Oscillator Theory
7.4.3 Recharge-Discharge Theory
7.4.4 Advective-Reflective Oscillator Theory
7.4.5 The Western Pacific Oscillator Theory
7.4.6 The Unified Oscillator Theory
7.5 ENSO Asymmetry
8 Tropical Atlantic Variations
8.1 A Broad Overview
8.2 Seasonal Cycle
8.3 Atlantic Niño I
8.3.1 The Structure of Atlantic Niño I
8.3.2 Theories for Atlantic Niño I
8.3.3 The Symmetry Between Atlantic Niño I and Atlantic Niña I
8.3.4 The Impact of Atlantic Niño I
8.3.5 Comparing Atlantic Niño I with ENSO Variations
8.4 Atlantic Niño II
8.5 Atlantic Meridional Mode
8.5.1 The Structure of Atlantic Meridional Mode
8.5.2 Theory for the Atlantic Meridional Mode
8.5.3 The Influence of ENSO
8.5.4 The Relationship with the North Atlantic Oscillation
9 Large-Scale Aspects of Tropical Weather Extremes
9.1 Attribution Science
9.2 Attribution to the Madden-Julian Oscillation
9.3 Attribution to El Niño and the Southern Oscillation
9.4 The Psi-Chi Framework
9.5 The Easterly Wave
9.6 Thunderstorms
9.7 Diurnal Variations
10 Climate Change
10.1 The Widening Tropics
10.2 The Upped Ante Scheme
10.3 ENSO Variability
10.4 The Tropical Atmospheric Circulation
10.5 The Tropical Atlantic Ocean
10.6 The Tropical Indian Ocean
Glossary
References
Index
