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Forcing mechanisms of the Indian Ocean monsoon

Nature volume 353, pages 720–725 (1991)Cite this article

Abstract

Sediments in the Arabian Sea provide biological, biogeochemical and lithogenic evidence of past changes in the Indian Ocean summer monsoon winds. For the past 350,000 years, this system has been externally forced by cyclical changes in solar radiation, and internally phase-locked to the transport of latent heat from the southern subtropical Indian Ocean to the Tibetan Plateau. In contrast to the results of general circulation models, these geological data suggest that the climate change associated with variability in global ice volume is not a primary factor in determining the strength and timing of the monsoon winds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, 02912-1846, USA

    Steven Clemens, Warren Prell & David Murray

  2. Edinburgh University, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JW, UK

    Graham Shimmield

  3. Earth Sciences, Cambridge University, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EQ, UK

    Graham Weedon

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  1. Steven Clemens
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  2. Warren Prell
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  4. Graham Shimmield
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  5. Graham Weedon
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Clemens, S., Prell, W., Murray, D. et al. Forcing mechanisms of the Indian Ocean monsoon. Nature 353, 720–725 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1038/353720a0

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