Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, Vol. 81, No. 2, pp. 259--276, 2003

259

The Role of the Local Hadley Circulation over the Western Pacificon the Zonally Asymmetric Anomalies over the Indian Ocean

Yoshiyuki KAJIKAWA, Tetsuzo YASUNARI
Institute of Geoscience, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, JapanandRyuichi KAWAMURA
Department of Earth Science, Toyama University, Toyama, Japan(Manuscript received 4 February 2002, in revised form 6 December 2002)

Abstract
The onset processes of the zonally asymmetric anomalies of convection and sea surface temperature(SST) over the tropical Indian Ocean are investigated with considering seasonal evolution, and interannual variability, of the large-scale convection anomalies in the Asian summer monsoon, using outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), SST, and NCEP/ NCAR reanalysis data. This asymmetric pattern ofthe convection anomalies is particularly dominated in boreal autumn. Some recent studies have notedthat these anomalies, based on the atmosphere-ocean coupling phenomenon, can be developed and maintained by itself.
The time evolution shows that the eastern part of the zonally asymmetric anomalies over the Indian
Ocean lead the western part of those. In July, the negative SST anomalies and positive OLR anomalies
first appeared off the Sumatra coast, and southeasterly wind anomaly accelerated the climatologicalsoutheasterly wind along the west coast of Sumatra. This southeasterly wind acceleration provide a SST
cooling over the southeastern Indian Ocean, and play a role in triggering of the zonally asymmetricanomalies in the following autumn. It is suggested that this southeasterly wind acceleration over thesoutheastern Indian Ocean is closely linked to the meridionally asymmetric anomalies of convection,
between the maritime continent and the South China Sea / Philippine Sea (SCS/ PS). That is, the intensification of the local Hadley circulation over the western Pacific associated with the enhanced convection over the SCS/ PS, and suppressed convection over the maritime continent, is found to be a clear
precursory signal of the zonally asymmetric anomalies over the Indian Ocean. It has also been notedthat the convection anomalies over the southern and northern parts of the meridionally asymmetricanomalies over the western Pacific are not always the opposite sign, and seem to have different interannual variability respectively. It is likely that the former might be strongly influenced by the ENSO,
through the Walker circulation anomalies and the latter might be affected by the modulation of the intraseasonal variation of the Asian summer monsoon. The seasonality of the zonally asymmetric anomalies is also suggested from the occurrence of the intensification of the local Hadley circulation in boreal
summer.

1.
Corresponding author and present affiliation:
Tetsuzo Yasunari, Hydrospheric Atmospheric Research Center, Nagoya University, Nagoya 4648601, Japan.
E-mail: yasunari@ihas.nagoya-u.ac.jp( 2003, Meteorological Society of Japan

Introduction

Tropical convection over the Indian Ocean
has large seasonal variability associated withthe seasonal evolution of the Asian /Australianmonsoon (Fig. 1). The convection over the

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Fig. 1. Climatological seasonal mean OLR and 1000 hPa wind based on the 24-year period from
1974–1997. (a) DJF, (b) MAM, (c) JJA, (d) SON. Contour interval is 10 W/m 2 and unit is 8 m /s.

Indian Ocean also has large interannual variability, which is strongly coupled with the interannual variability of sea surface temperature(SST), and plays an important role in regulating the strength of the Asian monsoon as
suggested by several studies (Meehl 1987;
Meehl 1997; Chandrasekar and Kitoh 1998).
Those convection, and SST anomalies over the
Indian Ocean, are closely related to anomalous
weather and climate condition in the surrounding regions, e.g., eastern Africa and Indonesia,
through the modulation of atmospheric zonal
circulation (Cambrlin 1995; Birkett et al. 1999).
The interannual variability of the Indian
Ocean SST was studied by a number of researchers. Villwock and Latif (1994) found fromthe result of an empirical orthogonal function(EOF) analysis of the Indian Ocean SST, that
temporal score of the dominant mode correlatewith the southern oscillation index (SOI), andspatial pattern of that is characterized by abroad-scale ocean basin anomaly, with a uniform sign. Many other studies pointed out thatthose anomalies over the Indian Ocean havesome relevance to the ENSO (Cadet 1985;
Yasunari 1987; Latif and Barnett 1995; Tourre
and White 1995; Potemra and Lukas 1999;
Chambers et al. 1999; Yu and Rienecker 1999;
Klein et al. 1999). Meanwhile, Nicholls (1989)
found the SST difference pattern between theeastern and central Indian Ocean, and notedthat it is independent of the ENSO by investigating Australian rainfall. Saji et al. (1999)
extracted a dipole structure of SST anomalies

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Y. KAJIKAWA, T. YASUNARI and R. KAWAMURA

over the Indian Ocean using an EOF analysis.
The spatial pattern of this dipole mode is represented by the SST difference between theeastern and western Indian Ocean and very
similar to that shown by Nicholls (1989). They
showed a weak correlation between the dipole
mode index and the Niño 3 SST anomaly, andemphasized that this mode is probably independent of the ENSO event. To summarize
these previous studies, the interannual variability of the Indian Ocean SST includes boththe broad-scale warming pattern connectedwith the ENSO, and the dipole pattern between
the eastern and the western Indian Ocean,which may be presumably independent of the
ENSO.
On the other hand, few observational studies
have been devoted to interannual variability of
convection over the Indian Ocean, unlike thestudy of SST anomalies, because of the absenceof long term dataset until recently. Saji et al.
(1999) found the zonally asymmetric anomaliesof precipitation associated with SST dipole
event, as seen in the close connection between
floods in east Africa and drought in Indonesia,
and weakening or reversal of the Walker circulation over the Indian Ocean. Webster et al.
(1999) also focused on the same dipole event
during 1997–1998, and indicated the zonallyasymmetric anomalies of SST, sea surface
height (SSH), outgoing longwave radiation(OLR) and strong easterly anomaly over the
Indian Ocean. In this manner, these zonallyasymmetric anomalies over the Indian Ocean
seemed to appear as an atmosphere-ocean interaction.
However, some problems of this phenomenon
has remained unresolved, especially on thetriggering mechanism, and its seasonality (Anderson 1999). The questions may be summarized mainly in the following two points; One, iswhether these asymmetric anomalies are induced by some external forcing or by purely internal dynamics, in other words, whether theseanomalies are associated with the ENSO, or
independent of the ENSO. Webster et al. (1999)
concluded that the zonally asymmetric anomalies during 1997–1998 might be due to internal
dynamics, including the atmosphere-ocean interaction rather than the external influence,
although the strong El Niño event occurred in
the equatorial Pacific. Saji et al. (1999) and261

Iizuka et al. (2000) also stressed the dipole
mode is independent of the ENSO based on aweak correlation between dipole mode index,
and SOI or Niño 3 SST anomaly, as mentioned
above. Meanwhile, Ueda and Matsumoto (2000)
and Ueda (2001), postulated that these asymmetric anomalies are likely to be produced by
the coupling process, between the Walker circulation modulated by the El Niño event andthe climatological monsoon circulation, in thecase of 1997/1998. The other question may be
why these asymmetric anomalies are initiatedin boreal summer and develop during boreal
autumn, which has been indicated from someresults such as seasonally-stratified composite
analysis. Thus, the onset processes, the triggering mechanism and the seasonality of thisphenomenon have been remained as an open
question.
The purposes of this paper are, first, to reexamine the zonally asymmetric anomalies
over the Indian Ocean, based on a statisticalanalysis of interannual convection anomalies,
and then, to describe its evolution and finally topresent an onset processes with considerationof seasonal evolution, and interannual variability of the large-scale convective activity in
the Asian summer monsoon. A possible relationship between the onset processes of thezonally asymmetric anomalies and the ENSO is
discussed.
This paper is organized as follows. Dataset
used in this study are described in the next
section. In section 3, a statistical analysis isperformed and some characteristic features
and time evolution of the zonally asymmetricanomalies over the Indian Ocean are presented. Section 4 describes the onset processes
and precursory signals of the zonally asymmetric anomalies. A dynamical link between
intensification of the local Hadley circulation
over the western Pacific, and the onset of thezonally asymmetric anomalies in section 5 areindicated. The possible modulating process of
the local Hadley circulation, and its seasonality
will be discussed in section 6. The last section
presents the summary.
2.

Dataset for analysis

The principal datasets in this study aremonthly mean OLR data derived from the
NOAA satellite. The data are on 2:5  2:5

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grid and cover the period from June 1974 to1999 with a gap from March to December 1978.
Low OLR values indicate deep convection andpronounced condensational heating over tropical and subtropical regions (Liebmann andSmith 1996). The monthly mean SST data from1982 to 1999 is obtained by the reanalysis optimal interpolation scheme produced by the
NCEP of NOAA. This reanalysis produces daily
and weekly values with 1  1 spatial resolution, and using in situ SST data from ships,
buoys and bias-corrected satellite SST data
(Reynolds and Smith 1994). The atmosphericcirculation data fields in this study are adopted
from the products of the NCEP/ NCAR reanalysis project (Kalnay et al. 1996). The monthly
mean horizontal and vertical wind data between 100 hPa and 1000 hPa pressure level forthe period 1949–1998 are used. OLR anomalies
and circulation anomalies are generated by removing the climatological monthly means computed for 1974–1998. Monthly SST anomalies
are based on the climatological monthly meanannual of 1982–1998 from Reynolds SST data.
3.

Evolution of the zonally asymmetricanomalies

An EOF analysis of monthly mean OLR
anomalies over the Indian Ocean (20 S–30 N,
30 E–120 E) is performed to clarify the dominant features of the interannual variability oftropical convection. In advance, a liner trend
is removed from the original data, and used
3-months running mean values to omit shortterm fluctuations such as intraseasonal variations. The spatial pattern of the first mode
(18.2%) represents a zonally asymmetric pattern between the eastern and western Indian
Ocean as shown in Fig. 2. Taking a close look at
its score series, it turns out that this pattern ischaracterized as an intermittent phenomenon
rather than a periodic one, and its negativevalues are noticeable from boreal summer towinter in 1982, 1994 and 1997. These three
years correspond to the occurrence year of the
SST dipole mode (Saji et al. 1999). Therefore,
the zonally asymmetric anomalies of convection
correspond well to the SST anomalies field.
Next, the EOF analysis to each seasonal mean
OLR data is applied. Figure 3a–d show thespatial pattern and score series of the firstmode in four seasons respectively. The zonallyVol. 81, No. 2

Fig. 2. Spatial pattern and time series ofthe first mode deduced by EOF analysis
to the monthly mean OLR anomalies.
Contours are drawn in relative units.
Light and heavy shading indicates regions with marked positive and negative, respectively Labels of x-axis indicate January in each year.

asymmetric pattern is prominent both in boreal
autumn (Fig. 3d) and winter (Fig. 3a). However, this pattern indicated from the EOF
analysis of using monthly series as shown in
Fig. 2 is distinguished only in boreal autumn(Fig. 3d), considering the regression coefficientsand the score series. In other seasons, different
spatial structure of interannual variability is
obtained (Fig. 3b–c). For instance, most dominant pattern of OLR anomalies in boreal spring(Fig. 3b) shows an equatorially asymmetricstructure as indicated by Kawamura (1998).
Therefore, the zonally asymmetric pattern ofconvection is prominent in boreal autumn, andnot clear in other seasons.
In order to describe the evolution of the zonally asymmetric anomalies, the composite
diagram of the longitude-time section of OLR,
850 hPa wind and SST anomalies along lat-April 2003

Y. KAJIKAWA, T. YASUNARI and R. KAWAMURA

263

Fig. 3. Normarized time series of the first mode deduced by EOF analysis to the seasonal mean
OLR anomalies and regression coefficients between this series and seasonal mean OLR. (a) DJF,(b) MAM, (c) JJA, (d) SON. Contours are drawn in relative units. Light and heavy shading indicatesregions with marked positive and negative, respectively.

itudinal band between 10 S and the equator ispresented for 1982, 1994 and 1997 in Fig. 4.
The vertical axis of this figure cover the period
from January in based year to October in next
year. Since July in based year, the remarkablecool SST anomalies were observed over thesoutheastern Indian Ocean, especially along
the west coast of Sumatra (the vicinity of100 E), and OLR anomalies over that region
became positive, indicating suppressed convection. The warm SST anomalies over the midwestern Pacific were also prominent from thesame month. By contrast, the negative OLR
anomalies over the mid-western Indian Ocean
were observed with several months lag to theeastern anomalies, showing enhanced convection associated with increased SST anomalies.
These anomalies of OLR and SST developed
from boreal summer to autumn. The easterly
wind anomaly at 850 hPa prevailed over the
mid Indian Ocean between the positive andnegative OLR anomalies during boreal au-

tumn. These zonally asymmetric anomalies,
and the easterly wind anomaly decayed in boreal winter. In this way, the zonally asymmetric anomalies over the Indian Ocean appeared
at first in boreal summer, and developed toward to boreal autumn. In addition, the large
positive SST anomalies whole over the Indian
Ocean from boreal winter to spring in next year
might correspond to the broad-scale warming
pattern connected with the ENSO (Villwockand Latif 1994; Tourre and White 1995).
Some recent studies have noted that these
SST anomalies over the Indian Ocean are generated by the dynamic response of the ocean
to wind anomalies. Vinayachandran et al.
(1999) showed that SST anomalies over the Indian Ocean, in the case of 1994, could be produced by the weakening of the eastward equatorial jet, in the ocean general circulation
model experiment forced by interannual winds.
They indicated that the strong easterly wind
anomaly consequent to weakening the Walker

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Fig. 4. (a) Composite diagram of time-longitude sections of OLR and 850 hPa wind anomalies averaged between 10 S and equator for 1982, 1994 and 1997. Contour interval is 10 W/m 2 and unit is
2 m /s. (b) As in (a) but for SST anomalies. Contour interval is 0.2 C.

circulation over the Indian Ocean reduced
warm water build-up, and produced negative
SST anomalies in the eastern Indian Ocean,
whereas this wind anomaly generated oceanic
heat advection of warm water to the midwestern Indian Ocean, and changed SST
anomalies to a positive sign. Webster et al.
(1999) also explained the dynamic response of
the ocean downwelling Rossby wave, derived by
the anomalous wind. It causes the Ekman ridge
to propagate westward and deepens thermocline associated with reducing upwelling over
the western Indian Ocean. These negative SST
anomalies associated with anomalous wind
naturally suppressed convection over thesoutheastern Indian Ocean, and positive SST
anomalies conversely enhanced the convection

over the mid-western Indian Ocean. The lowlevel divergence of moist air over the easternregion also led to anomalous moisture transport that enhanced convection over the midwestern Indian Ocean. These positive feedback
between enhanced and suppressed convection
regions through the surface zonal wind anomalies, helped to maintain and intensify the zonally asymmetric anomalies. In this manner, it
is clear that this zonally asymmetric anomalies
are developed as a result of the atmosphereocean coupling, and are self-maintained fromboreal summer to winter (Behera et al. 1999;
Saji et al. 1999; Webster et al. 1999). Thus, theconjecture can be that this phenomenon could
be developed and maintained by itself, once
anomalous wind arises from some reason.

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4.

Y. KAJIKAWA, T. YASUNARI and R. KAWAMURA

Onset of the zonally asymmetricanomalies

The zonally asymmetric anomalies are manifestations of a self-maintaining phenomenon
through the atmosphere-ocean interaction in
the previous section. A triggering mechanism,or precursory signal of these anomalies, has already been discussed by some studies (Webster
et al. 1999; Saji et al. 1999; Ueda and Matsumoto 2000), but yet it is not clear, as mentioned
in the introduction. Hence, the re-focus on thistriggering phase when both negative SST
anomalies, and positive OLR anomalies first
appeared over the eastern Indian Ocean inJune–July (Fig. 4).
To find notable precursory signals by comparing the atmospheric and oceanic conditions
in June with those in July, the spatial patternsof OLR and SST anomalies in June (Left) andJuly (Right) in 1982, 1994 and 1997 are presented, respectively as shown in Fig. 5–7. Also
exhibited are 200 hPa, 850 hPa and 1000 hPa
wind anomalies. The OLR, SST and wind
anomalies over the eastern Indian Ocean were
not evident during June in 1982 (Fig. 5, Left).
The SST anomalies over the maritime continent showed the negative. Meanwhile, in July,
OLR over the maritime continent indicatedlarge positive anomalies, and SST showedmarked negative anomalies off the Sumatra
coast (Fig. 5, Right). As for low-level wind filed,southeasterly wind anomaly was intensified
over the southeastern Indian Ocean and westerly wind anomaly occurred over the south
Asia, and western north Pacific. These crossequatorial wind anomalies accelerated the climatological southeasterly off the Sumatra coast(see Fig. 1c). Considering that the upper-level
wind anomaly was northeasterly over the maritime continent, it is suggested that the meridional circulation over the western Pacific wasconsiderably strengthened. This meridional
circulation is called the ‘‘ local Hadley circulation over the western Pacific’’ hereafter. Figure
8 shows the vertical-latitude section of horizontal wind, and vertical wind anomalies over thewestern Pacific and maritime continent (90 E–
120 E) in June (Left) and July (Right) to clarify
the intensification of this local Hadley circulation. The low-level southerly, and upper-level
northerly wind anomalies, were clearly in-265

tensified from June to July in 1982, (Fig. 8,
Top).
The case in 1994 shows the remarkable
meridional circulation anomalies. The OLR and
SST anomalies over the eastern Indian Ocean
were not clear, and upper-level wind anomaly
was easterly about the whole of the Indian
Ocean during June in 1994 (Fig. 6, Left). However, in July, OLR over the eastern Indian
Ocean indicated large positive anomalies, andremarkable negative SST anomalies appeared
off the Sumatra coast (Fig. 6, Right). It is alsointeresting to note that convective activity over
the South China Sea and the Philippine Sea(hereafter referred as SCS/ PS) was more enhanced than usual. These convection anomalies
were extremely large. In this manner, themeridionally asymmetric convection anomalies
were clearly seen between the SCS/ PS, andthe south of maritime continent. Associatedwith this meridionally asymmetric convection
anomalies, a southeasterly wind anomaly overthe southeastern Indian Ocean, and westerly
wind anomaly over the western north Pacificprevailed. It is also obvious that the local
Hadley circulation over the western Pacific wasconsiderably strengthened from June to July in
1994. (Fig. 8, Middle).
On the other hands, OLR and SST anomalies
during June in 1997 (Fig. 7, Left) were different
from those in 1982 and 1994. Remarkable differences were positive OLR anomalies overmost of the area to the east of 80 E, westerly
anomaly at 200 hPa wind field and strong
easterly anomaly at 850 hPa wind field overthe mid-western Indian Ocean. However, positive OLR anomalies over the southeastern
Indian Ocean, and negative OLR anomalies
over the SCS/ PS, were seen in July (Fig. 7,
Right) suggesting that the local Hadley circulation over the western Pacific was strengthened.
The negative SST anomalies along the west
coast of the Sumatra, and lower (850 hPa and1000 hPa) southeasterly wind anomaly off thatcoast first appeared in July, in the same manner as the case of 1994. According to the vertical structure that ascending flow over the SCS/
PS arose from active convection anomalies andupper-level northerly anomaly was accelerated
during July (Fig. 8, bottom), it is also evident
that the local Hadley circulation over the western Pacific was intensified in July 1997.

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Fig. 5. (Top) Spatial patterns of OLR and 200 hPa wind anomalies in each month (Left: June in1982, Right: July in 1982). Contour interval is 10 and unit is 10 m /s. (Middle) As in (Top) but for
OLR and 850 hPa wind anomalies. Unit is 8 m /s. (Bottom) As in (Top) but for SST and 1000 hPa
wind anomalies. Contour interval is 0.4 C and unit is 6 m /s.

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Y. KAJIKAWA, T. YASUNARI and R. KAWAMURA

267

Fig. 6. As in Fig. 5 but for 1994.

From the comparison between atmosphericand oceanic condition in June and those in
July, it is strongly suggested that the southeasterly wind acceleration over the southeast-

ern Indian Ocean in July, associated with themeridionally asymmetric convection anomalies
over the western Pacific, could be one of the
precursory signals of the zonally asymmetric268

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Vol. 81, No. 2

Fig. 7. As in Fig. 5 but for 1997.

anomalies in the following autumn. Actually,
Behera et al. (1999) indicated that both entrainment cooling, and evaporative cooling associated with southeasterly wind anomaly, pro-

duced negative SST anomalies off the coast of
the Sumatra in the case of 1994. Furthermore,
it is well known that climatological mean thermocline depth off the coast of Sumatra rapidly

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Y. KAJIKAWA, T. YASUNARI and R. KAWAMURA

Fig. 8. Latitude-height section of meridonal and vertical wind anomalies along between 90 E–120 E
in each month (Left: June, Right: July) in 1982, 1994 and 1997. Unit for the meridional wind is
4 m /s, while the vertical wind is 10 2 Pa /s. Contour and shading are zonal wind anomaly along thesame region.

269

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Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japanis shallowed from June to July, while that off
Africa is deepened, and the zonal slope of thethermocline appears to be the mirror image ofthe slope of the sea surface (Tomczak and Godfrey 1994). Thus, climatological southeasterly
wind in July provides a favorable condition
for cool climatological SST during a year, andenhancemental southeasterly wind provide
more SST cooling over the southeastern Indian
Ocean.
In order to understand the interannual variability of the southeasterly wind acceleration
over the southeastern Indian Ocean, the nearsurface (1000 hPa) zonal wind, meridional wind
and wind speed anomalies area-averaging
90 E–100 E and 10 S-equator are examined.
Figure 9 shows time series of these components
in July during the period from 1949 to 1998.
The sign of wind anomalies and the positive
wind speed anomaly in 1982, 1994 and 1997
implies enhancement of southeasterly component over this region. In the case of other zonally asymmetric anomalies mentioned by Sajiet al. (1999), wind anomaly in July also appeared in the southeasterly in 1961, 1967 and1972. However, the southeasterly wind acceleration in Fig. 9 are shown not only in the six
years following the zonally asymmetric anomalies over the Indian Ocean, but also in otherFig. 9. (Top) Time series of the zonal andmeridional wind anomalies (m /s) in
box-averaged between 90 E–100 E and
10 S-equator. (Bottom) Time series of
the wind speed anomalies (m /s) in boxaveraged same as (Top).

Vol. 81, No. 2

years (1966, 1976, 1991 and so on). Thus, thesoutheasterly wind acceleration in July overthe southeastern Indian Ocean could be a necessary condition for the zonally asymmetricpattern in next autumn, rather than the sufficient condition is emphasized. In addition,these interannual variability of the southeasterly wind acceleration appeared in the timeseries (same as Fig. 9) in August, but never inJune (not shown). Therefore, the importance of
this southeasterly wind acceleration in July isemphasized, as one of the dominant precursory
signals of the zonally asymmetric anomalies.
5.

The linkage between the local
Hadley circulation and the zonallyasymmetric anomalies

In the previous section, the importance of thesoutheasterly wind acceleration over the southeastern Indian Ocean is pointed out. The question of what produces these wind anomalies israised here. In generally, with a positive heatsource in the north, and a negative heat sourcein the south across the equator, the circulation
is toward the north between heat sources. This
meridionally circulation is also present to thewest of the forcing and increases when theseparation between the anomalies increases(Gill 1980, Fig. 3). Hence, the southeasterly
wind anomaly is closely linked to the meridionally asymmetric convection anomalies over
the western Pacific is suggested. In otherwords, enhanced convection over the northernpart, and suppressed convection over thesouthern part, intensify the local Hadley circulation over the western Pacific in boreal summer (refer to Fig. 1c).
To facilitate further inspection of intensification of the local Hadley circulation, the EOF
analysis of OLR anomalies over the region(15 S–25 N, 90 E–130 E) is performed, which
covered from the SCS/ PS to the maritime continent only in July, in reference to Fig. 6 andFig. 7. Figure 10 shows a spatial pattern andtheir time series for the first mode. The spatial
structure of the first mode (23.9%) indicates a
meridionally asymmetric pattern between the
SCS/ PS, and the maritime continent. Convection over the SCS/ PS (the maritime continent)
is enhanced (suppressed) in 1976, 1977, 1982,
1987, 1991, 1994 and 1997. It is found that thetime series of this first mode coincide well with

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Y. KAJIKAWA, T. YASUNARI and R. KAWAMURA

Fig. 10. Spatial pattern and time seriesof the first mode deduced by EOF analysis to the OLR anomalies over the
maritime continent and the South
China Sea in only July. Contour andshading is same as Fig. 2.

the southeasterly wind acceleration over thesouth-eastern Indian Ocean (Fig. 9) with a highcorrelation (0.69). Thus, the interannual variability of the southeasterly wind anomaly in
July is confirmed to be closely linked to themeridionally asymmetric anomalies of convection between the SCS/ PS and the maritime
continent.
In order to describe the evolution of the zonally asymmetric anomalies over the Indian
Ocean associated with the meridionally asymmetric convection anomalies over the western
Pacific, the lagged regression of the OLR, SST
and wind field at 850 hPa and 1000 hPa is calculated based on the time series of first mode(see Fig. 10). The evolution covers the period
from month 0 (July) to month þ3 (October) as
shown in Fig. 11. In month 0 (July), a region ofnegative OLR anomalies are found located over
the SCS/ PS, while positive OLR anomalies arelocated over the south of the maritime continent. The southeasterly wind anomaly off theSumatra coast and westerly wind anomaly overthe southeast Asia indicate the intensification

271

of the local Hadley circulation over the western
Pacific. The negative SST anomalies are also
found off the Sumatra coast. In the next month(August), the negative OLR anomalies locatedover the SCS/ PS turn to the positive, but OLR
and SST off Sumatra persist in the anomalous
condition in the previous month (July). The
westerly wind anomaly over southeast Asia isinconspicuous, and the positive SST anomalies
also appear in the mid-Indian Ocean. These
positive SST anomalies grow up to the whole ofwest side of the Indian Ocean associated withthe easterly wind anomaly in the following
month. In month þ2 (September) and þ3 (October), SST anomalies over the western Indian
Ocean develop to large positive and that overthe eastern Indian Ocean persist in the negative. OLR anomalies over the Indian Ocean
also indicate the zonally asymmetric pattern,
and low-level wind anomaly in the mid-Indian
Ocean, shows strong easterly.
Moreover, the significant anomalies of OLR,
SST and wind field in June lagged 1 (notshown) are not found. Thus, July has been
proved to be the onset phase of the zonallyasymmetric anomalies prevailing late summer
through autumn, when the SST anomalies overthe mid-eastern Indian Ocean are closely related to the convection anomalies over the
maritime continent, presumably through thecross equatorial flow (the southeasterly wind
acceleration). Then, in some extreme cases ofthis mode in July 1982, 1994 and 1997, thezonally asymmetric anomalies developed over
the whole Indian Ocean in autumn throughthe atmosphere-sea interaction. Though thereis open questions why the zonally asymmetricanomalies developed in this three years alone,
it will be discussed in the next section.
6.

Discussion

The intensification of the local Hadley circulation over the western Pacific in July is theclear precursory signal of the zonally asymmetric anomalies over the Indian Ocean in the following autumn. However, some questions still
remain. One is why in some years the zonallyasymmetric anomalies did not develop during
boreal autumn as 1976, 1987 and 1991, though
the meridionally asymmetric pattern was foundfrom EOF analysis result (see Fig. 10). In orderto clarify this problem, the time series of272

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Fig. 11. Lagged regression coefficients between the time series of first mode (see Fig. 10) and OLR,
850 hPa winds, at (a) month 0 (July), (b) month þ1 (August), (c) month þ2 (September), (d) monthþ3 (October). Contour interval is 2 W/m 2 , and length of the reference arrow is equivalent 2 m /s.
(e)–(h) is same as (a)–(d) but for SST and 1000 hPa winds. Contour interval is 0.15 C and length of
the reference arrow is equivalent 1.5 m /s.

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Fig. 12. (a) climatological OLR JJA mean
field, (b) Time series of OLR anomalies
in July. Closed circle shows anomalies
of area-averaging over the region A.
Open circle shows region B. (c) Time
series of OLR anomalies in region A.
Open circle shows anomalies in July.
Triangle shows in June and crossshows in August. (d) same as (c) but forregion B.

OLR anomalies over the SCS/ PS (closed circle
in Fig. 12b) and the maritime continent (opencircle in Fig. 12b) in July is examined. This
time series over the SCS/ PS shows indeterminate interannual variability, while that overthe maritime continent shows a periodical one.
The OLR anomalies over the SCS/ PS was notalways correlated to that over the maritime
continent. Hence, Figure 12 indicates that theintensification of the local Hadley circulation
over the western Pacific prevailed in 1982, 1994
and 1997 alone. In 1976, 1987 and 1991, theconvection over the maritime continent was
suppressed but that over the SCS/ PS was notenhanced, and thereby, the local Hadley circulation over the western Pacific was probably
not intensified. In fact, the significant wind273

anomalies over the SCS/ PS and the maritime
continent were not found in these years, though
the strong anticyclonic (cyclonic) wind anomalies at low-level prevailed over the Indian
Ocean in 1976 and 1991 (1987). Consequently,
the negative SST anomalies off the Sumatra
coast, and the remarkable zonally asymmetricanomalies over the Indian Ocean were notshown. This suggests the importance of themeridionally asymmetric pattern of convection
anomalies over the western Pacific, that is, theimportance of convection anomalies both over
the SCS/ PS, and the maritime continent in
July.
Other questions are the relationship between
the zonally asymmetric anomalies over the Indian Ocean and the ENSO, and why the precursory signal is more remarkable in July thanJune and August. To examine month to monthpersistence of convection anomalies, the timeseries of monthly OLR anomalies in June, Julyand August over the SCS/ PS, and the maritime
continent, as shown in Fig. 12c and Fig. 12d.
The convection anomalies over the maritime
continent, particularly in the suppressed cases,
indicate the same sign through the boreal summer (JJA). These suppressed convection werestrong influenced by the El Niño event in theequatorial eastern Pacific, through the Walker
circulation anomalies. On the other hand, theconvection anomalies over the SCS/ PS show
weak persistency from month to month during
the boreal summer. These convection anomalies over the two regions indicate that the local
Hadley circulation over the western Pacific was
not always intensified, when the convection
over the maritime continent was suppressed asa side of the El Niño event. Thus, the El Niñoevent could be one of the necessary conditions
for the intensification of the local Hadley circulation over the western Pacific, as the onset
processes of the zonally asymmetric anomalies
over the Indian Ocean.
Moreover, it is certain that the meridionallyasymmetric convection anomalies over thewestern Pacific, convections over the northern(southern) part were enhanced (suppressed),
were not appeared in all months except for Julyin 1982, 1994 and 1997. These convection
anomalies intensified the climatological convections and the local Hadley circulation over
the western Pacific during boreal summer

274

Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan(refer to Fig. 1c). However, the reason for sucha meridional coupling of the convection anomalies in July have not been well understood.
Meanwhile, it is well known that the Asiansummer monsoon, including the convection
over the SCS/ PS, has large intraseasonal variation (ISV) (Nakazawa 1992; Goswami and
Mohan 2001; Annnamalai and Slingo 2001).
Goswami and Mohan (2001) pointed out thatthe activity of ISV could account for 20–60% ofinterannual variability of the seasonal mean in
the Asian summer monsoon region. They also
indicated that the interannual variations werestrong over the maritime continent. These differences of interannual variability between the
Asian summer monsoon region, including SCS/
PS, and the maritime continent coincide with
our result (Fig. 12). Therefore, the convection
anomalies over the SCS/ PS may be related tothe interannual modulation of ISV in the Asiansummer monsoon. However, monthly meandata couldn’t resolve the ISV well, because theISV has two preferred spectrum band, one
between 10 and 20 days and the other between
30 and 60 days. Further clarifications are required.
In this manner, it is found that southern andnorthern part of the meridionally asymmetricconvection anomalies, as a precursory signal of
the zonally asymmetric anomalies over the
Indian Ocean, have different interannual variability with each other. The former is probably
associated with the ENSO event, and the latterassociated with the modulation of the ISV of
the Asian summer monsoon. Thus, it is plausible that the local Hadley circulation over thewestern Pacific is partly related to the ENSO
event in the eastern Pacific, but also to the
ISV in the SCS/ PS regions. These convection
anomalies over both the SCS/ PS and the maritime continent should be one of the necessary
conditions, respectively.
7.

Summary

In this study, the time evolution of the zonally asymmetric anomalies of convection is
described, which is a dominant pattern of interannual atmosphere-ocean variation over the
Indian Ocean, utilizing OLR, SST, and windfield data of NCEP/ NCAR reanalysis. In particularly, the onset processes of these anomalies are focused, with seasonal evolution andVol. 81, No. 2

interannual variability of the large-scale convection anomalies in the Asian summer monsoon. The results of this study are summarized
as follows:
1. The zonally asymmetric pattern of convection anomalies over the Indian Ocean wereprominent in boreal autumn and not clear inother seasons. The features of interannual
variability of OLR over the Indian Ocean
were likely to be different from season toseason as affected by large seasonal variability.
2. The precursory signal of the zonally asymmetric anomalies were the positive OLR
anomalies, the negative SST anomalies andstrengthening of southeasterly wind follow
to the coast of the Sumatra. The negative
OLR anomalies over the SCS/ PS were also
remarkable. These meridionally asymmetricconvection anomalies indicate the intensification of the local Hadley circulation over
the western Pacific.
3. The intensification of the local Hadley circulation appeared only in July, but OLR
and SST anomalies located the south ofequator and southeasterly wind anomaly
persist after July.
The intensification of the local Hadley circulation over the western Pacific between the
SCS/ PS, and the maritime continent in boreal
summer, plays an important role on the onset
processes of the zonally asymmetric anomalies
over the Indian Ocean in the following autumn.
The typical case appeared in 1982, 1994 and1997, which can be described as follows:
The meridionally asymmetric convection pattern over the western Pacific is formed with thepositive OLR anomalies over the maritime continent, and the negative OLR anomalies over
the SCS/ PS in July. These convection anomalies induced low-level cross-equatorial flow, including the southeasterly wind acceleration off
the Sumatra coast. Both these low-level wind
anomalies, and northwesterly in the upper
layer, means intensification of the local Hadleycirculation. The southeasterly wind acceleration off the Sumatra generated the zonallyasymmetric SST anomalies through the dynamical effects, i.e., the southeasterly wind
acceleration reduced warm water build-up
and produced negative SST anomalies due toApril 2003

Y. KAJIKAWA, T. YASUNARI and R. KAWAMURA

upwelling favorable along the Sumatra coast(Vinayachandran et al. 1999) and positive SST
anomalies over the central Indian Ocean
through westward advection of warm water.
Then, convection anomalies over the Indian
Ocean developed in response to SST anomalies
and associated moisture convergence anomalies(Behera et al. 1999), till boreal winter. In addition, the reason why these anomalies ceased inboreal winter is related to the seasonal changeof wind field over the south-central Indian
Ocean, which turn from easterly to westerly
until boreal winter, so that the easterly anomaly does not accelerate, but decelerate thewesterly in boreal winter (see Fig. 1a). By contrast, the local Hadley circulation over thewestern Pacific is intensified in boreal summer (see Fig. 1c), as the onset phase of thezonally asymmetric anomalies. Therefore, theseanomalies strongly depend on seasonal evolution of wind field around the Indian Ocean, associated with the Asian monsoon.
The zonally asymmetric convection anomalies over the Indian Ocean in the boreal autumn was closely connected to intensification of
the local Hadley circulation over the western
Pacific in July, associated with both suppressed
convection over the maritime continent andenhanced convection over the SCS/ PS. Thisconnection was particularly remarkable in the1994 case. The convection anomalies over the
maritime continent were probably associatedwith the El Niño event, and those over the
SCS/ PS associated with the modulation of the
ISV of the Asian summer monsoon. And it
should be noted that the evolution of zonallyasymmetric anomalies over the Indian Ocean
have large seasonality. However, further study
is definitely required to solve the remained
problems, e.g. the role of the ISV of the Asiansummer monsoon.
Acknowledgment
The authors express sincere thanks to Dr.
Hiroaki Ueda of the University of Tsukuba
and Dr. Jun Matsumoto of the University ofTokyo for a number of helpful discussions
and useful comments. We also thank Dr.
Tetsuo Nakazawa and two anonymous reviewers for giving a great effort for the improvement of the manuscript. Most of the
figures were drawn using GrADS, a free soft-

275

ware developed by Brian E. Doty, Center for
Ocean-Land-Atmosphere interaction, Department of Meteorology, University of Maryland.
This study was supported in part by a Grantin-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Area
(A)(1) from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology(No. 14204044).
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