| Monsoon is one of the major circulation systems of the tropical atmosphere and plays an important role in the mass and energy exchanges between the mid-latitude and the tropical atmosphere, interacting with land and ocean surfaces. Particularly, the winter monsoon surging from the Eurasian Continent to equatorial Indonesia intensify the heavy rainfall activities that have significant, socio-economical effects on the countries around the South China Sea, and also affects the global atmosphere-ocean dynamics, such as MJO and ENSO. Our research purpose is to understand the mechanism of the water, energy and material cycle associated with the monsoon circulation and to clarify their relation to the climate change, based on field observations around the South China Sea, analyses of the obtained data, and the numerical model experiments. Furthermore, using the historical atmospheric and hydrological data, we analyze long-term variations of the monsoon intensity and the rainfall activity to clarify their relation to the global warming and ENSO. We further aim at the understanding of the monsoon variability over the whole Asia and the improvement of the predictability by leading the international research project: Monsoon Asian Hydro-Atmosphere Scientific Research and Prediction Initiative (MAHASRI). We believe that our research activities will enhance our knowledge on the nature of tropical climate and contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of the global climate change. |
