748 Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan `Tol. 62, No.

Moisture Budget During the 1978-79 Southern

Hemisphere Summer Monsoon1)

By Saut Maruli Lubis2) and Takio Murakami

Department of Meteorology, University of Hawaii

(Manuscript received 31 May 1984, in revised form 4 August 1984)

Abstract

Utilizing FGGE Level IIIb data, the moisture balance over an extensive region (30*S-
30*N, 60*E-120*W) during the 1978-79 Southern Hemisphere summer monsoon is analyzed.
In this study, the onset and break periods are defined by the changes in the moisture budget
over the northeast Australia-western South Pacific region (7.5*-22.5*S, 135*-165*E). The
analysis shows that the major moisture source regions for the monsoon rainfall are the
Indonesian Seas (0*-12*S, 95*-130*E) and the subtropical South Pacific off the east coast of
Australia. The contribution of the Northern Hemisphere moisture flux is less than these
Southern Hemisphere sources. The monsoon activity shifts eastward and southward from
pre- to post-onset. During the break period, the monsoon activity shifts still further east-
ward and poleward.
The moisture convergence pattern over Australia illustrates some of the similarities
between the break conditions for the Southern Hemisphere summer monsoon and the Indian
monsoon. The strong moisture convergence center over northeast Australia (about 15*S,
140*E) during the active period splits into two centers during the break period. The
stronger center is situated around 20*S, 140*E and is about 5* poleward of the previous
active period position. The other center is more equatorward at around 7.5*S, 140*E.
During the break period, a strong interhemispheric moisture exchange exists over the
central Pacific between 150*E and the dateline. During the same period, a strong northerly
moisture flux around 150*W transports a large amount of moisture into the mid-latitudes of
the South Pacific.

across the equator into the Arabian Sea. On

1. Introduction
The importance of the moisture budget over
the Arabian Sea to the Northern Hemisphere
summer monsoon circulation and its inter-
annual variability has been widely recognized.
Pisharoty (1965) computed the net flux of
water vapor across the equator into the Arabian
Sea and across the west coast of India from
the Arabian Sea during July 1963 and 1964. He
found that the flux across the Arabian Sea into
western India was more than twice the flux
1) Contribution No. 84-06, Department of Meteor-
ology, University of Hawaii.
2) Present affiliation: Dept. of Geophysics & Me-
teorology, Bandung Institute of Technology,
Bandung, Indonesia.
the basis of this finding, he concluded that
evaporation over the Arabian Sea is the dom-
inant source of moisture for the Indian mon-
soon. Saha and Bavadekar (1973) using addi-
tional data in the western Arabian Sea during
the International Indian Ocean Expedition
showed that the flux of water vapor across
the equator is about 30 percent larger than
evaporation over the Arabian Sea. Utilizing
FGGE Level IlIb data, Mohanty et al. (1983)
investigated the heat and moisture budget
over the Arabian Sea for the onset and main-
tenance of the Asiatic summer monsoon. They
confirmed that both the moisture flux across
the equator into the Arabian Sea and the flux
across the west coast of India from the Arabian
October 1984 S. M. Lubis
Sea increase rapidly with the advancing mon-
soon over the Indian subcontinent. Conversely,
they decrease prior to the commencement of
break monsoon over India. Based on FGGE
Level IIIb data, Murakami, Nakazawa and He
(1984) investigated the heat and moisture
budget over a more extensive region from 30*S
to 30*N and between 30*E and 150*W. They
noted that the moisture supply for the rainfall
over the Burmese coast and western Malaysia
in May is primarily from the Bay of Bengal,
not from the Southern Hemisphere. Further-
more, although the cross-equatorial moisture
flux near the east coast of Kenya is strong
from June to August, it is not large enough to
maintain the rainfall over South and Southeast
Asia. Thus, they concluded that evaporation
over the Arabian Sea constitutes the key
contribution to the moisture supply for mon-
soon rains over South and Southeast Asia.
Compared to the Northern Hemisphere
summer, observational information pertaining
to the moisture budget during the Southern
Hemisphere summer has been scanty. Quite
recently, Murakami, Iwashima and Nakazawa
(1984) studied the heat, moisture and vorticity
budget during the 1978-79 Southern Hemi-
sphere summer monsoon by utilizing the FGGE
Level IIIb data which represents the best data
quality and coverage ever obtained over the
Southern Hemisphere summer monsoon region.
In this study, they defined the onset of the
1978-79 Southern Hemisphere monsoon by in-
spection of a time series of 850 mb zonal
mean westerlies for the area 3.75*S to 11.25*S
and 90*E to the dateline. They noted that,
concurrent with the onset, widespread in-
creases in 850mb cross-equatorial northerlies
occur over the western Pacific between 120*E
and the dateline, reflecting an intensification
of the low-level Hadley circulation. Over the
Singapore-Borneo area, little change was noted
in the cross-equatorial northerlies. Based on
these findings, they concluded that the western
Pacific is a key region in the establishment of
the Southern Hemisphere summer monsoon
and that the Singapore-Borneo area contributes
little to circulation changes during the onset
phase. These results are contrary to the
general belief that the northerly cross-equato-
and T. Murakami 749
rial moisture flux from the South China Sea
is the dominant source of moisture for the
Southern Hemisphere summer monsoon. After
the onset, a belt of strong equatorial wester-
lies extends eastward from Sumatra into the
western South Pacific. These westerlies trans-
port substantial amounts of moisture from the
Indonesian Seas to the western South Pacific.
During the Northern Hemisphere summer
monsoon, the Northern Hemisphere mid-lati-
tudes do not have an effect on the moisture
balance over the Asiatic monsoon region. Over
the Asiatic monsoon region, the Himalayas
inhibit moisture influxes from the mid-latitudes
during the Northern Hemisphere summer. In
contrast, Australia is surrounded by ocean and
does not have a high mountain range that
could act as a barrier to the Southern Hemi-
sphere mid-latitude effect. Thus, it is possible
that the Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes
play an important role in the Southern Hemi-
sphere summer monsoon moisture balance. It
is yet to be determined which is the major
source of moisture for the Southern Hemi-
sphere summer monsoon region ; the cross-
equatorial flows from the South China Sea, the
moisture influx from the Southern Hemisphere
mid-latitude or perhaps the evaporation from
the Southern Hemisphere summer monsoon
region itself.
The present study, utilizing FGGE Level
IIIb data, investigates the moisture balance
during pre- and post-onset periods. The im-
portant role of moisture fluxes from the
Southern Hemisphere mid-latitudes to the
moisture balance over the northeast Australia-
western South Pacific area after the onset
will be discussed in section 3 and 4. Section
4 also presents evidence that there are simi-
larities between the break conditions for the
Southern Hemisphere summer monsoon and
the break conditions for the Indian monsoon.
2. Data and computational procedures
This study utilizes twice daily *, *, *, *
and T data at seven levels (100, 200, 300, 500,
700, 850 and 1000mb) for the period from 00
GMT, 1 December 1978 to 12 GMT, 3 Febru-
ary 1979. (A list of symbols is given in the
Appendix.) These data were extracted from
750 Journal of the Meteorological
the FGGE Level IIIb data set prepared by the
European Center for Medium Range Weather
Forecast (ECMWF) at a reduced resolution of
3.75* longitude-latitude intervals. The hori-
zontal * and * wind components and the
geopotential height (*) were the basic objec-
tively analyzed fields. Temperature (T) was
determined from the initialization scheme. The
initialized temperature (T) is very sensitive to
the numerical model used at ECMWF. A
study by Murakami, Iwashima and Nakazawa
(1984) showed that the numerical model used
to determine the temperature has questionable
accuracy in certain regions and during certain
periods. There is a large difference between
the initialized temperature and the layer mean
temperature estimated from the geopotential
fields using the hydrostatic equation during
the period from December 1978 to April 1979.
This study utilized the layer mean tempera-
ture (T) calculated from *.
FGGE Level IIb station data for moisture
provides the basis of Level IIIb moisture an-
alyses. Since the moisture data in the FGGE
Level lib observations are not significantly
better than those available for the FGGE ha
data set, the resulting moisture analysis is
biased towards the forecast model used to
provide the first guess. This is especially
true for the period from December 1978 to
April 1979. The questionable FGGE Level
IIIb humidity data occurred mostly over the
oceanic region which does not have a good
station network to measure humidity. Thus,
any detailed study using these data over a
limited area is better done over a land area
where there is a sufficient station network.
This is one reason why this study of the
moisture budget was done over the northeast
Australia-western South Pacific and Indonesian
area where a sufficient station network exists.
In the FGGE Level IIIb data set, relative
humidity is determined from the mean layer
water content and the initialized temperature.
In this study, the layer mean mixing ratio
(q) was calculated from the layer mean tem-
perature (T) and relative humidity (*). Daily
values of large-scale apparent moisture sink
Q2 (Yanai et al., 1973) are then computed by
the following equation :
Society of Japan Vol. 62, No. 5
The vertically integrated Q2 values can be
obtained by :
where the product (q***) at the earth's surface
was omitted for simplicity. The moisture
tendency term was approximated by a centered
finite difference with *t=24 hrs..
In this study, we also computed the verti-
cally integrated moisture fluxes as follows :
where ** was estimated by utilizing topo-
graphic heights determined by Berkof sky et
a*. (1955).
FGGE Level IIIb data is subject to large
errors in the immediate vicinity of high moun-
tains, such as the Tibetan Plateau. This is
particularly true when the surface vertical
velocity ** is computed. Due to this data
problem, we deliberately omitted the last term
on the right hand side of eq. (2). Thus, com-
puted values for Q2 are of questionable accu-
racy in the immediate neighborhood of high
mountains over Borneo, New Guinea and Tibet.
Furthermore, no attempt was made to evalu-
ate Q2 at each standard level from eq. (1).
This is due to the fact that Q2 at each stand-
ard level is sensitive to inaccuracies in eval-
uating the vertical velocity *.
In addition, to confirm the results obtained
with the FGGE Level IIIb data, we used a
data set of twice daily convective intensity
index (Ic) for the period from 1 December
1978 to 31 January 1979. This Ic index was
determined from Japanese satellite infrared
irradiance data by M. Murakami (1983), who
defined the Ic index as follows :
October 1984 S. M. Lubis and T. Murakami 751

represents the variance after the onset changes

have been subtracted. The relative contribu-
tion to the total variance by the onset changes
where TBB represents the black body tempera- can be defined as :
ture at the cloud top; Tt* and T400 indicate
temperature at the tropopause and 400mb
level, respectively. Horizontal smoothing was The analysis of the (F0-E0), q*, q* and 1c
applied to the original 1* longitude-latitude time series over the Southern Hemisphere
interval 1c data over a 3.75* longitude-latitude summer monsoon region indicates that the
area for a region extending from 18.75*S to northeast Australia-western South Pacific area
30*N and from 82.5*E to 172.5*W. has the most clearly defined onset phase. This
agrees fairly well with the findings of Mura-
3. Moisture budget over northeast kami, Iwashima and Nakazawa (1984). For
Australia-western South Pacific this reason, the present study concentrates on
during pre- and post-onset periods the northeast Australia-western South Pacific
There is considerable controversy among region (7.5*-22.5*S, 135*-165*E; hereafter
meteorologists as to the proper determination referred to as region A).
(what, when, and where) of the "onset" for The onset period (t1 to t2) differs consider-
the monsoon region. Murakami and Sumi ably from variable to variable. For example,
(1982) defined the 1978-79 Southern Hemi- an onset period determined from (P0-E0)
sphere monsoon onset using the time series averaged over region A is a thirteen-day span
of 850 mb zonal mean winds averaged between from t1=40 (12GMT, 20 December) to t2=65
100*E and the dateline. In order to define (00GMT, 2 January). This contrasts with
the onset more properly, this study analyzes the five-day onset period from t1=49 to t2=58
the time series for the moisture budget for q* across 22.5*S between 135* and 165*E
(P0-E0), vertically integrated zonal moisture (not shown). Thus, there exists a wide vari-
transport (q*), vertically integrated meridional ation of onset periods as determined from the
moisture transport (q*), and convective inten- various parameters. A more statistically reli-
sity index (Ic). In the time series of (P0-E0), able onset period can be determined if various
parameters are considered together, rather
than individually. With this end in view, an
empirical orthogonal function analysis was
applied to twice-daily (P0-E0), q*, q* and Ic.
Fig. 1 shows the time series of the first eigen
solution for (P0-E0) over the region A. The
time series of the first eigen solution of q*,
and Ic are not reproduced here, since they q*
are identical, except for unit, to that in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1 exhibits a step-like time variation from
t1=47 to t2=60, which is common to all vari-
ables. Perhaps, this (t1, t2) set represents an
average onset period determined statistically
where x(t) represents any of the variables over region A. Thus, the onset period in
(P0-E0), q*, q* and Ic. The best fit for t1 this study will hereafter refer to the eight-
and t2 is determined so as to minimize the day span from t1=47 to t2=60. We then
root mean square error between the observed computed the differences in moisture fluxes
x(t) and approximated x(t) values. The period (q*, q*), (P0-E0), Ic, and q over region A
(t1, t2) represents the onset period. The stand- between the pre- and post-onset periods.
ard deviations *(x) and *(x-x) were then Utilizing eqs. 1 and 2, the moisture budget
calculated. The latter standard deviation over region A can be approximated as :
752 journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan Vol. 62, No. 5

Fig. 1 Time series of twice-daily moisture budget (P0-E0) and the corresponding piecewise
linear function over the region A (7.5*-22.5*S, 135*-165*E) from 1, December 1978 to 3
February 1979. Also shown are the initial step-like shift date (47), the step-like shift
termination date (60), and the contribution of the step-like shift to the total variance c
(72), determined from eqs. (6) -(8).

aries from the pre- to post-onset. In the

post-onset, the moisture influx across the
western boundary is largely compensated for
by the outflux across the eastern boundary.
Thus, the net zonal input is small compared
where the pre- and post-onset mean values
of *q/*t tendency are small and were dis-
regarded. We also assumed that p* is uniform
and equal to 1000mb ; *n represents the wind
component normal to the line C.
In Fig. 2 (top), the number at the center
of the box represents the area integrated
value of (P0-E0), while arrows indicate the
line integrated values for q*n along the four
boundaries. The area integral of (P0-E0) is
negative during the pre-onset, indicating that
evaporation is greater than precipitation.
However, the net (P0-E0) becomes positive Fig. 2 Top : Mean moisture budget for pre-onset
(left) and post-onset (right), over region A.
and substantial after the onset. Moisture The number at the center of the box repre-
influx across 22.5*S into region A is the major sents the area-intergrated value of (P0-E0)
contributor to this increase of (P0-E0). Influx (refer to eq. 9), while arrows indicate the
from southern New Guinea (7.5*S) also con- direction of the vertically integrated moisture
tributes to the moisture balance over region flux across the boundaries (unit; *105kg s-1) .
Bottom: The numbers at the center of each
A, although it is not as large as the influx
box represent the area averaged convective
across 22.5*S. The westerly transport increases intensity index Ic (percent) and vertically
sharply across the eastern and western bound- integrated mixing ratio q (unit; kgm_2).
October 1984 S. M. Lubis
to the net input from meridional flux con-
vergence. Fig. 2 (bottom) shows the con-
vective intensity index (Ic) and vertically
integrated mixing ratio (q) during the pre- and
post-onset. The Ic shows that convective
activity increases substantially during the
onset period, which is congruent with the
increase in (P0-E0) from the pre- to post-
onset. The area averaged q also increases
during the onset period.
Fig. 3 depicts the vector field of the verti-
cally integrated moisture fluxes (q*, q*) over
the region extending from 30*N to 30*S and
between 60*E and 120*W. During the pre-
onset (Fig. 3, top), a strong eastnortheasterly
moisture flux occurs over the western North
Pacific. Generally, only weak cross-equatorial
fluxes exist, except for the substantial north-
erly cross-equatorial flux near Singapore and
Sumatra. After the onset (Fig. 3, bottom),
Fig. 3 (q*,q*) vectors (unit; 250kg m-1 s-1) during pre-onset
and post-onset period (bottom).
and T. Murakami 753
the eastnortheasterly moisture fluxes over the
western North Pacific turn more equatorward
to become northeasterly fluxes east of the
Philippines and Borneo, with the strongest
cross-equatorial flux near 150*E. However,
the northerly cross-equatorial flux near Singa-
pore shows little change from the pre- to post-
onset. An application of eq. (6) reveals that
the small step-like increase in the cross-equa-
torial moisture flux near Singapore occurs
between t1=44 (12 GMT, 22 December) and
t2=52 (12 GMT, 26 December). Although this
cross-equatorial moisture flux feeds a sub-
stantial amount of moisture to the Indonesian
region, it contributes little to the moisture
budget over the entire Southern Hemisphere
monsoon domain (not shown).
During the post-onset (Fig. 3, bottom), the
northerly cross-equatorial flux between 100*E
and 180* turns eastward and merges with a
(top)
754 Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan Vol. 62, No. 5

very strong westerly transport equatorward the strong southerly moisture fluxes across
of the Southern Hemisphere monsoon trough. 22.5*S over region A (Fig. 2, top-right) are
This strong westerly moisture transport is of subtropical South Pacific origin.
the dominant feature of the post-onset condi- A rapid eastward increase in westerly
tion and extends zonally from 100*E to the moisture transport occurs over the Indonesian
dateline along about 10*S. These westerly Seas (0*-12*S, 95 130*E) during the post-
moisture fluxes then make a strong cyclonic onset (Fig. 3, bottom). Namely, large amounts
turn around the eastern end of the monsoon of evaporation occur in this area. From this
trough, eventually becoming easterly moisture source region, moisture is then transported
fluxes along about 20*-30*S over the subtrop- as far east as the central South Pacific, by
ical South Pacific west of the dateline. These the prevailing monsoon westerlies. Thus,
easterly moisture fluxes progressively intensify evaporation over the Indonesian Seas consti-
westward, reaching their maxima near the tutes the major contribution to the moisture
east coast of Australia. This is indicative of supply for the monsoon rains. In Fig. 3
the occurrence of large evaporation off the (bottom), we also see substantial eastward
east coast of Australia. These easterly mois- decreases in the westerly moisture fluxes near
ture fluxes turn equatorward over central the dateline between about 5* and 15*S, im-
Australia and converge into the heaviest rain- plying the occurrence of heavy rainfall in
fall region over northern Australia. Namely, this vicinity. This point will be further elab-

Fig.4 As in Fig. 3, except for the divergence fields of (q*, q*) moisture fluxes (unit;
10-5kg m-2s-1). Intervals are 5 units with shading denoting negative regions.
October 1984 S. M. Lubis and T. Murakami 755

orated on later.
Yet another feature of interest in Fig. 3
(bottom) is a merging of the westerly moisture
fluxes from the monsoon region with the
easterly moisture fluxes from the eastern South
Pacific along about 150*W. Along this longi-
tude, a northerly moisture flux is predominant,
and appears to be the major contributor to
the rainfall over the mid-latitude South Pacific.
Namely, these northerly moisture transports
appear to represent the interaction of the
Southern Hemisphere monsoon with the South-
ern Hemisphere mid-latitudes.
In Fig. 3 (bottom), large evaporation also
occurs over the eastern Indian Ocean off the
west coast of Australia. Here, southerly
moisture fluxes rapidly intensify equatorward.
However, the majority of the southerly fluxes
turn westward (easterly fluxes) and flow into
the Indian Ocean. Only a minor portion of Fig. 5 As in Fig. 3, except for Ic fields (unit;
the moisture fluxes appears to contribute to percent) over the region extending from
the rainfall over the monsoon region. 18.75*S to 30*N and from 82.5*E to 172.5*W.
Intervals are 5 units with shading indicating
Fig. 4 (top) shows that during the pre-onset regions of greater than 15 units.
period, strong moisture convergence occurs
over northwest Sumatra, Borneo, the Indo- Indonesia and shifts southward and eastward
nesian Seas, and New Guinea. Interestingly, from pre-onset to post-onset.
these regions are also associated with a large Of particular interest in Fig. 4 (bottom) are
mixing ratio (not shown) and high Ic intensity regions of large moisture divergence off the
index (Fig. 5, top) during the pre-onset. Thus, east and west coast of Australia. In these
the summer monsoon has already become regions, evaporation exceeds precipitation as
established over the Indonesian Seas during mentioned earlier. Substantial evaporation can
the pre-onset period. However, recall that also be seen over the South China Sea (5*N,
the term "onset" in this study is defined from 110*E) and the subtropical North Pacific (135*E,
the changes in the moisture budget over region 155*E, 180*, 150*W along about 15*-20*N).
A (northeast Australia-western South Pacific). These Northern Hemisphere moisture source
In short, the onset period differs significantly regions contribute, via cross-equatorial fluxes,
from one region to another. By our onset to the moisture balance over the Southern
definition, Fig. 4 (bottom) reveals large mois- Hemisphere monsoon region.
ture convergence over region A (northeast
Australia-western South Pacific) after the 4. Moisture budget over northeast
onset. Large moisture convergence also exists Australia-western South Pacific
over the western South Pacific (10*-20*S, during break and active periods
170*E-180*) and the central subtropical South The time series of the first eigen solution
Pacific (15*-30*S, 170*-140*W). These are of (P0-E0) over region A, as shown in Fig. 1,
three of the most convectively active regions reveals that there are some periods where the
during the post-onset. In general, the mois- value of (P0-E0) becomes small or negative
ture convergence area shifts eastward as well during the post-onset phase. This occurs from
as southward from the pre- to post-onset. t=86 (12GMT, 12 January) to t=95 (00GMT,
Similarly, the 1c field (Fig. 5, top and bottom) 16 January), from t=103 (00GMT, 21 January)
indicates that convective activity weakens over to t=106 (12GMT, 22 January), and from
756 Journal of the
t=119 (00GMT, 29 January) to t-123 (00
GMT, 31 January). These features also occur
with other parameters (not shown), indicating
a dramatic circulation change around the sec-
ond and fourth week of January. Perhaps
these changes correspond to the commence-
ment of "break" monsoons.
In Fig. 1, for the first eigen solution for
twice daily time series of (P0-E0) over region
A, we defined the dates for "active" monsoons
by the following criteria :
and "break" monsoons by:
where xi represents the value of (P0-E0) at
time i during the post-onset period while x
and *(x) represent the mean value and the
standard deviation of (P0-E0) during the same
period. The active and break periods are
indicated in Fig. 1 by the solid squares.
The moisture budget, the area averaged
convective intensity index, and the area aver-
aged vertically integrated moisture content
over region A during break and active periods
were computed and are shown in Fig. 6. The
westerly moisture flux is stronger during the
break period than during the active period.
During the break period, the westerly mois-
ture flux across the eastern boundary increases
more than across the western boundary. There-
fore, the net-zonal moisture budget changes
from a net import during the active period to
a net export during the break period. The
most significant factor responsible for the
change of the (P0-E0) value from 3627 units
during the active period to 383 units during
the break period is the drastic reduction of
meridional moisture flux across 22.5*S. It
changes from a large southerly moisture im-
port (2533 units) during the active period to
a northerly moisture export (-335) during the
break period. The area average of vertically
integrated moisture content (q) and the con-
vective intensity index Ic (Fig. 6, bottom) do
not change as sharply as the (P0-E0). Per-
haps this is due to cirrus cloud which is not
related to precipitation (or P0-E0); however,
it affects the Ic value because of the way Ic
Meteorological Society of Japan Vol. 62, No. 5
Fig. 6 As in Fig. 2, except for break (right)
and active periods (left).
is defined by eq. (5).
The stronger westerly moisture flux during
the break period is surprising, because in the
Indian monsoon, the monsoon break generally
coincides with a weakening of the low-level
monsoon westerlies. During the 1978-79 South-
ern Hemisphere summer monsoon, the monsoon
trough between 120* and 150*E shifts poleward
from about 15*S during the active period to
about 20*S during the break period. Due to
this shift, the westerly moisture flux weakens
in an equatorial belt between 0* and 7*S but
increases at around 12*-18*S. Thus, the pole-
ward shift of the monsoon trough is a major
factor in the increase of the averaged westerly
moisture flux over region A, and especially
over its eastern boundary as illustrated in
Fig. 6 (top).
Fig. 7 (top and bottom) depicts, over east
and central Australia, the moisture flux change
from a strong southeasterly moisture flux
during the active period to a northeasterly
moisture flux during the break period. Also,
the strong eastsoutheasterly moisture flux over
the Pacific Ocean off the east coast of Australia
during the active period decreases substantial-
ly to a weak easterly moisture flux during the
break period. This explains why the meridi-
onal moisture flux across 22.5*S over region
A (Fig. 6) changes from strong southerly
moisture flux during the active period to weak
northerly moisture flux during the break
period.
Fig. 7 (bottom) shows that the strong equa-
torial westerly moisture flux along about 5*-
October 1984 S. M. Lubis and T. Murakami 757

Fig. 7 (qu, qv) vectors (ur. it ; 250 kg m-' s-') during active period (top),
and break period (bottom).

15*S extends eastward across the date line spheric moisture exchange over the central
and merges at around 150*W with the easterly Pacific.
moisture flux from the east. Then, these Fig. 8 (top and bottom) shows the diver-
moisture fluxes become a strong northerly gence field of moisture fluxes for active and
moisture flux which transports large amounts break periods, respectively. During the active
of moisture into the middle latitudes of the period, strong convergence in excess of -20
South Pacific. Interestingly, strong north- units is located over northeast Australia around
easterly moisture fluxes also develop over the 15*S, 140*E. Except for this northeast section,
equatorial North Pacific around 0*-15*N, 150*E a divergence condition exists over the Aust-
-180* . These strong northeasterly moisture ralia region during the active period. During
fluxes cross the equator between 150*E-180*, the break period, pronounced convergence
transporting substantial amounts of moisture occurs over southern New Guinea and over
from the North Pacific into the western South most of Australia, especially around 20*S,
Pacific. This cross-equatorial moisture trans- 140*E. It appears that strong convergence
port coupled with a strong northerly moisture activity over northeast Australia (about 15*S,
flux along 150*W indicates that during the 140*E) during the active period separates into
break period, there is a strong interhemi- two centers of convergence during the break
758 Journal
Fig. 8 As in Fig. 7, except
m-2 s-1). Intervals are 5 units
period. The stronger center is situated around
20*S, 140*E and is about 5* poleward of the
previous center during the active period. The
other center is more equatorward at around
7.5*S, 140*E. 'These conditions are similar
to the monsoon break conditions over the
Indian summer monsoon region where the
convective activity moves poleward to the
southern foothill of the Tibetan Plateau and
southward to the equatorial Bay of Bengal.
In Fig. 8 (bottom) for the break period, a
distinct belt of strong moisture convergence
extends from about 165* to 150*W at the
equator to between 150* and 135*W at 30*S.
This strong convergence is produced by the
confluence between strong equatorial westerly
moisture fluxes from west of 150*W and
easterly moisture fluxes from east of 150*W
(refer to Fig. 7, bottom). This moisture con-
of the Meteorological Society of Japan vol. 62, No. 5
for divergence fields of (q*,q*) moisture fluxes (unit; 105kg
with shading denoting negative regions.
vergence agrees quite well with the observed
rainfall data over that area. The observed
rainfall value at Tahiti-Faaa (17*33'S, 149*03'
W), Bora-Bora (16*51'S, 151*45'W), Mopelia
(16*46'S, 153*37'S) and Rangiroa (15*59'S,
147*38'W) are 21.10, 6.07, 12.51 and 7.33mm
/day during the active phase and 40.65, 28.53,
36.29 and 5.81mm/day during the break phase,
respectively. It shows that except at Rangiroa,
the average rainfall per day increases sub-
stantially from the active to break phase.
I-lere, recall that the active and break
phases were defined with reference to changes
in (P0-E0), q*, q* and Ic over region A. The
main results obtained in Figs. 7 and 8 can
be summarized a follows : When the active
(break) monsoon occurs over region A, the
monsoon activity over the central South Pacific
around 160*-130*W becomes below (above)
October 1984 S. M. Lubis and T. Murakami 759

normal with southward moisture transport center during the active period. The

(Fig. 7) and moisture flux convergence (Fig. 8) other center moves more equatorward
weaker (stronger) than the post-onset mean around 7.5*S, 140*E. These conditions
values. Namely, there exists an inverse rela- are similar to the monsoon break condi-
tionship between the monsoon activity over tions over the Indian summer monsoon.
region A (northeast Australia-western South 5. During the break, there is a strong in-
Pacific) and the central South Pacific (160*- terhemispheric moisture exchange over
130*W). the central Pacific between 150*E and
the dateline. The break period is also
5. Conclusion characterized by a strong northerly
Some of the findings in this study are iden- moisture flux around 150*W transporting
tical to those obtained previously by Murakami a large amount of moisture into the
and Sumi (1982), and Murakami, Iwashima and middle latitudes of the South Pacific.
Nakazawa (1984). For brevity, only new find-
ings pertaining to the onset, active, and break Acknowledgements
monsoons during the 1978-79 Southern Hemi- The authors are indebted to Messrs. T.
sphere summer are summarized as follows : Nakazawa and J.-H. He for their assistance
1. The major moisture source regions for in data processing, and computer programming.
the Southern Hemisphere monsoon rain- They also thank Mrs. Dixie Zee for her edito-
fall are located over the Indonesian Seas rial assistance, Mr. Louis Oda for drafting
(0*-12*S, 95*-130*E) and the subtropical figures, and Ms. S.N.H. Chock for typing the
South Pacific off the east coast of Aust- manuscript.
ralia. The Northern Hemisphere also This research has been supported jointly
contributes to the moisture balance over by the National Science Foundation and the
this region but to a lesser degree. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
2. After the onset, large evaporation oc- tion, Washington, D.C., under research Grant
curs over the eastern Indian Ocean off No. ATM-8206350-A01.
the west coast of Australia. However,
the majority of the moisture from this Appendix : List of symbols
area is transported westward to the
Indian Ocean. Only a minor portion is
transported to the monsoon region.
Thus, evaporation over the eastern In-
dian Ocean off the west coast of Aust-
ralia is insignificant for the maintenance
of the Southern Hemisphere summer
monsoon.
3. In general, the monsoon activity shifts
eastward and southward from the pre-
to post-onset. This is illustrated by the
eastward and southward shifts of the
convective activity and the moisture
convergence area.
4. Strong moisture convergence over north-
east Australia (about 15*S,1.40*E) during
the active period becomes separated into
two centers of moisture convergence
during the break period. The stronger
center is situated around 20*S, 140*E
and is about 5* poleward of the previous
760 Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan Vol. 62, No. 5

Heat, moisture and vorticity budget before and

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Saha, KR. and S.N. Bavadekar, 1973: Water va-
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1978∼79年 南 半 球 夏 季 モ ン ス ー ン期 に お け る 水 蒸 気 収 支

Saut Maruli Lubis* ・村 上 多 喜 雄

ハ ワイ大学気象教室

FGGE Lebel IIIb デ一 タ を 用 い て,1978∼79年 南 半 球 夏 季 モ ソ ス ー ン期 の 30*S∼30*N,  60*E∼120*W  領

域 に お け る 水 蒸 気 収 支 を 解 析 した 。 本 研 究 で は,モ ン ス 一ン の 開 始 や 中 休 み 期 間 を,北 東 オ ー ス トラ リ ア か ら
南 太 平 洋 西 部 領 域  (7.5*∼22.5*S,135*E)  の 水 蒸 気 収 支 の 変 化 に よ っ て 定 義 した 。 解 析 結 果 は 以 下 の こ と を
示 し て い る 。 モ ンス ーン 降 雨 の 主 要 な 水 蒸 気 源 は,イン ドネ シ ア 海 域(0*∼12*S,95*∼130*E)お よびオー入
ト ラ リ ア 大 陸 東 岸 沖 の 亜 熱 帯 南 太 平 洋 に あ る 。 こ の 南 半 球 の 水 蒸 気 源 に 対 し て,北 半 球 の水 蒸 気 フ ラ ッ クス の

寄 与 は 小 さ い 。 モ ン ス ー ン活 動 は,モ ン ス ー ン 開 始 前 か ら 開 始 後 に か け て 東 か ら南 へ と移 っ て い き,中 休み の
期 間 に は,さ らに 東 か ら北 へ 移 る。
オ ー ス ト ラ リ ア 上 の 水 蒸 気 収 束 の 分 布 は,南 半 球 夏 季 モ ンス ー ン と イ ン ドモ ン ス ー ン 両 方 の 中 休 み 状 態 に 幾
つ か の 類 似 点 が あ る こ と を 示 して い る 。 水 蒸 気 収 束 は,活 動 期 に は オ一 ス トラ リ ア 北 東 部(15*S,140*E付

近)  に 大 き な 中 心 を 持 ち, 中 休 み 期 に は 中 心 が2つ に わ か れ る 。 よ り 大 き な 方 の 中 心 は, 前 の 活 動 期 に お け る

位 置 よ り約5*北 20*S,  140*E付 近 に あ り,  も う 一 つ の 中 心 は, 7.5*S,140*E付 近 に あ る。
中 休 み 期 に は,150*E∼180*の 中 央 太 平 洋 上 に 両 半 球 の 大 き な 水 蒸 気 変 換 が あ り, ま た150*W辺 りの 大 ぎ
な南 向 き水 蒸気 フ ラ ッ クス が 南 太 平 洋 中緯 度 へ 極 め て 多 量 の 水 蒸 気 輸送 に 寄与 して い る 。

*現 住 所:Department of Geophysics and Meteorology

, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung.
Indonesia