THERMAL INFLUENCES OF LAND-SEA CONTRAST AND TOPOGRAPHY ON SUMMER MONSOON IN 1998

In this work, the SCSMEX data are used to diagnose and compare the local land-sea thermal conditions, with the focus of discussion on possible influences of thermal forcing of the western Pacific and the Tibetan Plateau on the onset and development of summer monsoon in 1998. Results show a close relationship between the distribution of the heat sources and the land-sea contrast. Due to the blocking effect of terrain, main maximum zones of the heat sources in areas with more evident north-south land-sea contrast are more obviously southward located than those exclusively with oceans. The surface heating is characterized with apparent seasonal variation and difference between land and sea. The relationship between the western Pacific and the onset of summer monsoon is reflected in the variations of the sea surface temperature (SST) and the latent heat. The influence mechanism of the Tibetan Plateau during the summer monsoon is different: it is dominated by sensible heating during the South China Sea monsoon and by condensed latent heating during the Indian monsoon.