Maintenance Mechanisms of the Wintertime Subtropical High over the South Indian Ocean

Abstract

Abstract Climatologically the surface Mascarene high over the subtropical south Indian Ocean (SIO) shifts westward toward austral winter, and its strength as a planetary-wave component maximizes in late austral winter, unlike its counterpart over other subtropical oceans. The present study investigates the maintenance mechanisms for the wintertime Mascarene high with a linear atmospheric dynamical model (LBM) and an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM). The LBM experiments reveal the importance of cross-equatorial tropical influences. Deep convection associated with the Asian summer monsoon acts not only to shift the Mascarene high westward as its direct influence but also to enhance midtropospheric subsidence and equatorward surface winds over the central and western portions of the subtropical SIO. The associated near-surface cold advection and subsidence promote (suppress) the formation of low-level (deep convective) clouds. The resultant enhanced radiative cooling and reduced deep condensation heating both reinforce the equatorward portion of the surface high. The LBM experiments also reveal that seasonally enhanced storm-track activity over the SIO is important for maintaining the poleward portion of the Mascarene high through eddy heat and vorticity fluxes. The AGCM experiments demonstrate that the Agulhas Current system and the associated sea surface temperature (SST) front reinforce the high by energizing the storm-track activity. The present study thus proposes that both the Asian summer monsoon and the enhanced storm-track activity maintained by the Agulhas SST front externally modulate the positively coupled system between the wintertime Mascarene high and low-level clouds to realize its unique seasonality.