Open AccessThe onset of the West African monsoon simulated in a high‐resolution atmospheric general circulation model with reanalyzed soil moisture fields
Author(s) -
Yamada T. J.,
Kanae S.,
Oki T.,
Hirabayashi Y.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
atmospheric science letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.951
H-Index - 45
ISSN - 1530-261X
DOI - 10.1002/asl.367
Subject(s) - intertropical convergence zone , climatology , general circulation model , environmental science , atmospheric circulation , monsoon , atmospheric model , atmosphere (unit) , moisture , atmospheric sciences , meteorology , geology , precipitation , geography , climate change , oceanography
The simulation of the onset of the West African monsoon (WAM), associated with the northward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) occurring in May, June, and July, is a challenging task for atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs), because of complex water and energy balance through the land‐atmosphere interaction as well as atmospheric processes. We provide evidence that a combination of state‐of‐the‐art global fields of reanalyzed soil moisture anomalies and a sufficiently high‐resolution (∼50 km) AGCM produces a successful simulation of the northward shift of the ITCZ and the following onset of the WAM in July. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society