The 2nd Global Monsoon Symposium in 2010 will once again bring together paleo- and modern climatologists, data-producers and modelers, for in-depth discussion on the concept of Global Monsoon and its response to external forcing and variability arising from internal feedback processes in the Earth climate. The focus will be laid on the following four topics with a broadened temporal scope:
Global monsoon concept
- What is âglobal monsoonâ? Is it a global system and one of the major modes of climate variability, or just a collective behavior of regional monsoons? If we agree that âglobal monsoonâ is a global-scale seasonal overturning circulation of the atmosphere and the associated seasonal contrast in precipitation, does it also apply to longer time scales?
- Global correlation of regional monsoonsIf the regional monsoons can be correlated on orbital time scales, can the regional monsoon variability also be correlated on other time scales? Is millennial scale (D-O type) variation common to all monsoon systems? Are there coherent regional monsoon responses to variations in solar activity? Are there consistent trends of monsoon systems over the last millennium and the last century? In order to address these questions, presentations of regional monsoon variations are relevant. Comparative studies are encouraged.
- Evidence of global monsoon intensityWhat are proxies of global monsoon? Do δ18O (and Dole effect) and CH4 concentration recorded in ice cores reflect global monsoon changes? Can we distinguish global from regional monsoon signals? How to interpret the speleotheme isotope signal? Long-term global monsoon intensity is suggested to be controlled by external forcing such as sea-land distribution and topography of continents. How well is this hypothesis supported by the geological records?
- Extreme hydrological eventsHow is the magnitude and frequency of extreme hydrological events in monsoon regions changing over the last few millennia? What is the cause of the observed changes? How are the changes related to average climateand global monsoon intensity?