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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 30, NO. 2, 1063, doi:10.1029/2002GL015639, 2003

Modulation of Sri Lankan Maha rainfall by the Indian Ocean Dipole

Lareef Zubair

Institute for Global Change Research, FRSGC, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan


Suryachandra A. Rao

Institute for Global Change Research, FRSGC, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan


Toshio Yamagata

Institute for Global Change Research, FRSGC, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Japan


Abstract

Investigating the September to December rainy season in Sri Lanka associated with the Maha rice growing season provides insights into the Asian monsoon during the boreal fall. Here, the modulation of the Maha rainfall by the tropical air_sea coupled phenomenon referred to as the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is documented. The Maha rainfall has a strong and robust association with the IOD from 1869 to 2000. The anomalously warm sea surface in the western Indian Ocean associated with the positive IOD phase induces large scale convergence in the lower troposphere extending to Sri Lanka leading to the preponderant enhancement of Maha rainfall.

Published 24 January 2003.

Index Terms: 3339 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Ocean/atmosphere interactions (0312, 4504); 3374 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Tropical meteorology; 9320 Information Related to Geographic Region: Asia; 9340 Information Related to Geographic Region: Indian Ocean.

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Citation: Zubair, L., S. A. Rao, and T. Yamagata (2003), Modulation of Sri Lankan Maha rainfall by the Indian Ocean Dipole, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(2), 1063, doi:10.1029/2002GL015639.