Introduction to the special issue on South China Sea Two-Island Monsoon Experiment (SCSTIMX): Observation, simulation, and projection

Abstract

The South China Sea (SCS) Two-Island Monsoon Experiment (SCSTIMX) is the field experiment of an integrated project: ‘Interaction of convection over the Maritime Continent-SCS with large-scale flow’. The project aims to study convective and large-scale dynamic processes over the SCS in cooperation with the international project: ‘Years of Maritime Continent’ (YMC). Special observations were made during the intensive observation periods (IOPs) including December of 2017 and March and May of 2018 at Taiping Island and Dongsha Island within the extended observation period (EOP) of 2017 - 2019. Atmospheric conditions were observed using upper-air soundings, wind profilers, and surrounding buoys from these two islands and other places in the SCS, and in-situ measurements from research vessels for air-sea interaction studies. Research results accomplished by the PIs of the integrated project supported by Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Taiwan, for 2016 - 2019 are reported in this special issue. The overall results provide a better understanding of convective and moistening processes, large-scale dynamic processes, and convection-dynamic interactions over the SCS and surrounding regions by observations and model simulations across multiple time scales ranging from diurnal, synoptic, intraseasonal, and beyond.