TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schewe, Jacob
A1  - Levermann, Anders
A1  - Cheng, Hai
T1  - A critical humidity threshold for monsoon transitions
T2  - Climate of the past : an interactive open access journal of the European Geosciences Union
N2  - Monsoon systems around the world are governed by the so-called moisture-advection feedback. Here we show that, in a minimal conceptual model, this feedback implies a critical threshold with respect to the atmospheric specific humidity q(o) over the ocean adjacent to the monsoon region. If q(o) falls short of this critical value q(o)(c), monsoon rainfall over land cannot be sustained. Such a case could occur if evaporation from the ocean was reduced, e.g. due to low sea surface temperatures. Within the restrictions of the conceptual model, we estimate q(o)(c) from present-day reanalysis data for four major monsoon systems, and demonstrate how this concept can help understand abrupt variations in monsoon strength on orbital timescales as found in proxy records.
Y1  - 2012
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/36314
SN  - 1814-9324
VL  - 8
IS  - 2
SP  - 535
EP  - 544
PB  - Copernicus
CY  - Göttingen
ER  -