Post on 02-Aug-2020
Ask a Geologist:Monsoons
By: Mark Yu
https://gili-lankanfushi.com/blog-post/staying-afloat-maldives-monsoon-season/
About Me
Mark Yu● Local (WW-P South 2011) but
grew up all over the world
● 4th year PhD Student at Rutgers EPS
● Undergraduate degree from University of Rochester
Ask A Geologist Series
About MeMark Yu● Was born in southern
China● Moved to Denmark at
age 6● Moved to the United
States (NJ) at age 8● Went to 12 different
schools before college
Ask A Geologist Series
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● My favorite microfossil is Neogloboquadrina dutertrei
● My favorite mineral is calcite!
http://www.i-pi.com/~diana/slime/corrosion/calcite/
Why I care about monsoons Is there a way to study monsoons?
Google Earth
What is a monsoon?Seasonal change in wind direction that results in wet and dry seasons
From the Arabic word “mausim” meaning season
National Geographic
Monsoons● Seasonally reversing winds and rains due to lower heat
capacity of land compared the oceans
Ask A Geologist Series
Mohtadi et al., 2016
Mohtadi et al., 2016
What is specific heat capacity?
● Amount of energy (heat) required to raise the temperature of a material by one degree
● Water - 4186 J/kg °CSoil (dry) - 800 J/kg °CSand, quartz - 830 J/kg °C
Ask A Geologist Series
South Asian Monsoon● Monsoonal
rains account for 80% of rainfall in India
● Agriculture and economics
Ask A Geologist Series
National Geographic
https://www.netweather.tv/weather-forecasts/news/9688-monsoon-weather-systems-around-the-world
Intertropical Convergence Zone
Yu et al., 2018
● Where the northeast and southwest trade winds converge
● Part of the ascending branch of the Hadley cell and associated with the monsoons
The Boston Globe, Leanne Burden Seidel
Observed precipitation over Mumbai, India (metoblue.com)
Summer Monsoon
● Summer monsoon (April to September)
● Abrupt, heavy rainfall
● Potential for flooding and damages
CNN
Encyclopædia Britannica
Winter Monsoon
● Winter monsoon (October to April)
● Winds blow from central Asian
● Gradual change
hindustantimes.com
NASA Earth Observatory
How Do We Study Them?● Caves ● Corals● Marine
Sediments● Lake Sediments● Loess and clay
minerals● Ice Cores ● Tree Rings● Atmospheric
Models
Ask A Geologist Series
IsoCamp, University of Utah
Coral Records
https://scitechdaily.com/worrying-indian-ocean-phenomenon-spells-climate-trouble-for-australia/
Ice Cores from Himalayan Plateau
Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, OSU
NASA
Other Terrestrial Records Muhs et al., 2014
Marine Sediment CoresGeochemistryMicropaleontologySedimentology
http://blogs.nature.com/news/2013/11/us-ocean-drilling-ship-gets-a-new-lease-on-life.html
Ocean Exploration and Coring
Ask A Geologist Series
Ask A Geologist Series
NASA/NOAA
Ask A Geologist Series
High-Resolution Long Term Records
Monsoon, El Nino, Indian Ocean Dipole, and extropical connections
Model Predictions
Many opportunities for young, curious scientists!
NOAA
Question Time!