Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layers Associated with Summer Monsoon Onset over the South China Sea in 1998

• Published in: Atmospheric and oceanic science letters = Daqi-he-haiyang-kexue-kuaibao 2010, Vol.3 (5), p.263-270
• Main Author: WANG Dong-Xiao ZHOU Wen YU Xiao-Li XIE Qiang WANG Xin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: atmosphere internal dynamics; marine atmospheric boundary layer height; monsoon onset; SST; 中国南海; 全球定位系统; 南海北部; 南海南部; 夏季季风; 季风爆发; 海洋大气边界层
• ISSN: 1674-2834; 2376-6123
• DOI: 10.1080/16742834.2010.11446880

The variations of the marine atmospheric boundary layer （MABL） associated with the South China Sea Summer Monsoon were examined using the Global Positioning System （GPS） sounding datasets obtained four times daily during May-June 1998 on board Research Vessels Kexue 1 and Shiyan 3. The MABL height is defined as the height at the lowest level where virtual potential temperature increases by 1 K from the surface. The results indicate that the MABL height decreased over the northern South China Sea （SCS） and remained the same over the southern SCS, as sea surface temperature （SST） fell for the northern and rose for the southern SCS after the monsoon onset. Over the northern SCS, a decrease in both the SST and the surface latent-heat flux after the onset resulted in a reduction of the MABL height as well as a decoupling of MABL from clouds. It was found that MABL height reduction corresponded to rainfall occurrence. Over the southern SCS, a probable reason for the constant increase of SST and surface heat flux was the rainfall and internal atmospheric dynamics.