DYNAMICS OF UPPER-TROPOSPHERIC STATIONARY WAVE ANOMALIES INDUCED BY ENSO DURING THE NORTHERN SUMMER - A GCM STUDY

Ensemble seasonal integrations are carried out with the COLA GCM, with a view to understand the dynamical connection between warm SST anomal ies in the equatorial central-eastern Pacific Ocean and the upper leve l stationary wave anomalies seen during drought years over the Indian summer monsoon region. In addition, experiments with and without orogr aphy are performed in order to examine the role of the Himalayas in mo dulating the El Ni (n) over tilde o induced stationary wave anomalies over the summer monsoon region. The GCM simulations show a statistical ly significant weakening of the summer monsoon activity over India in response to the SST forcing in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. This weak ening of the summer monsoon appears to be largely related to modificat ions of the local Hadley and Walker cells over the summer monsoon regi on. In addition, it is seen that the anomalous ENSO divergent forcing over the tropical Pacific Ocean can act as a potential source for Ross by wave dispersion. Here one finds the possibility of meridionally pro pagating Rossby waves, which emanate from the ENSO forcing region, to interact with the subtropical westerlies and generate anomalous highs and lows in the subtropics and extratropics. The quasi-stationary pert urbations seen over west Asia, Pakistan and northwest India during dro ught years, seem to be generated by the above mechanism. An alternate mechanism that could be important for the persistence of the quasi-sta tionary perturbations seems to be based on the dynamic excitation of m iddle latitude normal modes which can extract energy from the zonally varying unstable basic flow. It is seen from the GCM simulations, that the Himalayan orography plays a crucial role in anchoring the El Ni ( n) over tilde o induced extratropical westerly troughs far to the west in the high latitude belt. In the absence of orography it is seen tha t the ENSO induced extra-tropical cyclonic anomalies tend to intrude s outhward into the monsoon region thereby destroying the regional scale circulations completely. Another effect due to the Himalayas is to ge nerate lee waves on the eastern side of the topographic barrier which encircle the globe in the subtropics and midlatitudes.