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Impact of moisture variations on the circulation of the south-west monsoon

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Abstract

The impact of moisture anomalies on the circulation of the south-west Indian monsoon has been studied with a general circulation model. Newtonian relaxation is adopted to subject the model atmosphere under sustained moisture anomalies. The impact of negative anomalies of moisture was seen as a divergent circulation anomaly, while the positive anomaly was a stronger convergent anomaly. Although the humidity fields display a resilient behaviour, and relax back to normal patterns 1–2 days after the forcing terms in humidity are withdrawn, the circulation anomalies created by the moisture variation keeps growing. A feedback between positive moisture anomalies and low level convergence exists, which is terminated in the absence of external forcings.

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Kishtawal, C.M., Pal, P.K., Narayanan, M.S. et al. Impact of moisture variations on the circulation of the south-west monsoon. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Earth Planet Sci.) 102, 507–519 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02871950

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02871950

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