Response of Asian summer monsoon duration to orbital forcing under glacial and interglacial conditions: Implication for precipitation variability in geological records

The responses of Asian summer monsoon and associated precipitation to orbital forcing have been intensively explored during the past 30 years, but debate still exists regarding whether or not the Asian monsoon is controlled by northern or southern summer insolation on the precessional timescale. Various modeling studies have been conducted that support the potential roles played by the insolation in both hemispheres. Among these previous studies, however, the main emphasis has been on the Asian monsoon intensity, with the response of monsoon duration having received little consideration. In the present study, the response of the rainy season duration over different monsoon areas to orbital forcing and its contribution to total annual precipitation are evaluated using an atmospheric general circulation model. The results show that the durations of the rainy seasons, especially their withdrawal, in northern East Asia and the India-Bay of Bengal region, are sensitive to precession change under interglacial-like conditions. Compared to those during stronger boreal summer insolation, the Asian monsoon associated rainy seasons at weaker insolation last longer, although the peak intensity is smaller. This longer duration of rainfall, which results from the change in land-ocean thermal contrast associated with atmospheric diabatic heating, can counterbalance the weakened intensity in certain places and induce an opposite response of total annual precipitation. However, the duration effect of Asian monsoon is limited under glacial-like conditions. Nevertheless, monsoon duration is a factor that can dominate the orbital scale variability of Asian monsoon, alongside the intensity, and it should therefore receive greater attention when attempting to explain orbital-scale monsoon change. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved