Role of Strong Sea Surface Temperature Diurnal Variation in Triggering the Summer Monsoon Onset Over the Bay of Bengal in a Climate Model

Abstract

Abstract The earliest Asian summer monsoon onset (SMO) occurs in the Bay of Bengal (BoB), heralding the coming of the rainy season. In late April or early May, the strong sea surface temperature (SST) diurnal variation accompanied by ocean surface warming triggers the SMO. However, this observed diurnal cycle intensity cannot be reasonably simulated by state‐of‐the‐art climate models, resulting in a spurious delayed SMO. To address this issue, the SST diurnal cycle parameterized by a diagnostic sublayer scheme was incorporated into a climate model named FIO‐ESM v2.0. The large diurnal amplitude of SST contributes to surface warming and changes atmospheric circulation. Consequently, the high‐pressure anomaly at high levels and an inverted trough at low levels promote more convective activity, triggering an earlier SMO. Our findings improve the ability of climate models in simulating the evolution of the Asian monsoon system.

Keywords

• monsoon onset
• SST diurnal variation
• climate model