A study of heat and moisture budget over the Arabian Sea and their role in the onset and maintenance of summer monsoon

Abstract

The influence of heat, moisture and moist static energy (MSE) budget, over the Arabian Sea and adjoining area (0°-30°N and 30°E-75°E), on the onset and activities of Asian summer monsoon has been studied in detail. The data base for this study consists of twice daily FGGE Level IIIb analysis for the period 16 May to 15 July 1979. The pentad mean variation, the vertical distribution and period averages of the various terms in energy budget equations are closely examined to find out their influence on the activities of monsoon. The study indicates the significant increase in the net enthalpy, latent heat energy (LHE), MSE and a number of budget parameters, well in advance of the onset of monsoon over Kerala coast. Further, a decreasing trend is observed in most of the above parameters about 5 days before the break monsoon condition which started over India on 16 July, 1979. The vertical distributions of the budget parameters reveal that during active monsoon period secondary maxima of horizontal heat and MSE flux divergences are observed in the upper troposphere which are replaced by minima during weak monsoon circulation. The broad features of the budget studies over the Arabian Sea are in good agreement with the large scale energetics (Mohanty et al. 1982a, 1982b). Some of the significant departures in the results of the two studies have been discussed.