The Decadal Variability of the Global Monsoon Links to the North Atlantic Climate Since 1851

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 46; no. 15; pp. 9054 - 9063
• Main Authors: Han, Tao, Yu, Kefu, Yan, Hong, Yan, Hongqiang, Tao, Shichen, Zhang, Huiling, Wang, Shaopeng, Chen, Tegu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington John Wiley & Sons, Inc 16.08.2019; Wiley
• Subjects: AMO; Atlantic Oscillation; Climate; Convergence; Convergence zones; coral; Corals; Economic development; Economics; Global Monsoon; Hemispheres; Hydrology; Intertropical convergence zone; ITCZ; Monsoon forecasting; Monsoons; Records; Synthesis; Tropical climate; Tropical environments; Variability; Wind
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/2019GL081907

To date, the decadal variability of the Global Monsoon (GM) has been mainly studied using instrumental data collected over the last 50 years, and further discussion has been hampered by the limited data length. Here, we present a coral δ18O record from the northern South China Sea, where the hydrology is related to the seasonal Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) migration, and we use this record to reconstruct the decadal migration of the ITCZ since 1851 A.D. Combining our record with a synthesis of monsoon records reveals an anti‐phase inter‐hemispheric variability of the GM over the last 150 years, indicating that the decadal‐scale hydrologic variability in the tropics is modulated by the meridional migration of the ITCZ. The plausible relationship observed between the decadal variability of the GM and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation suggests that the decadal variability of tropical hydrological changes is likely linked to the climate perturbations in the North Atlantic. Plain Language Summary The prediction of monsoon variability in the coming decades will be of great importance for policy‐making and socio‐economic development. The Global Monsoon (GM) is the global‐scale seasonal atmospheric overturning associated with the migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The variability and dynamics of the GM on decadal timescales are still unclear due to the limited length of the instrumental data (< 50 years). Here, we integrated a synthesis of the monsoon and the ITCZ records, including published records and our new coral record, and found that the GM varied in an anti‐phase inter‐hemispheric mode on decadal timescales associated with the ITCZ migration over the past 150 years, suggesting that the simultaneous intensification of the monsoons in both hemispheres since the ~1980s was unusual in a long‐term context. The linkage between the decadal variability of GM and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation/Variability indicated that the North Atlantic has been driving the anti‐phase inter‐hemispheric variability of the GM on decadal timescales. Key Points The coral δ18O record from the northern South China Sea captures the migration of the regional ITCZ on decadal timescales The Global Monsoon varied in an anti‐phase inter‐hemispheric mode on decadal timescales associated with the ITCZ migration since 1851 A.D The decadal variability of the Global Monsoon was found to be linked to the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation