Anthropogenic Aerosols and the Weakening of the South Asian Summer Monsoon

作者:Bollasina Massimo A; Ming Yi*; Ramaswamy V
来源:Science, 2011, 334(6055): 502-505.
DOI:10.1126/science.1204994

摘要

Observations show that South Asia underwent a widespread summertime drying during the second half of the 20th century, but it is unclear whether this trend was due to natural variations or human activities. We used a series of climate model experiments to investigate the South Asian monsoon response to natural and anthropogenic forcings. We find that the observed precipitation decrease can be attributed mainly to human-influenced aerosol emissions. The drying is a robust outcome of a slowdown of the tropical meridional overturning circulation, which compensates for the aerosol-induced energy imbalance between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. These results provide compelling evidence of the prominent role of aerosols in shaping regional climate change over South Asia.

  • 出版日期2011-10-28