Workshop on dynamics, transport and chemistry of the UTLS Asian Monsoon

Abstract

The upper troposphere-lower stratosphere (UTLS) of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) region is characterized by a continental-scale anticyclonic circulation, which is dynami-cally active and coupled to monsoonal convection. The mon-soon anticyclone exhibits anomalous chemical and aerosol characteristics, linked to the outflow of deep convection and the large-scale circulation, and strongly influences the global UTLS composition during boreal summer. Ongoing in-creases in regional surface emissions enhance current sci-entific interests. There is substantial work in the research community aimed at improved understanding of the behavior of the UTLS monsoon region using observations and mod-els. Key topics that are poorly understood include dynamical and chemical coupling with convection, three-dimensional transport pathways from the surface to the stratosphere, com-position/reactive chemistry in the monsoon region, and mi-crophysics and the tropopause aerosol layer. There are also plans for aircraft-based field experiments and enhanced in-situ sampling in the near future, which promise novel data to address these questions. To summarize current understand-ing and plan for future activities, a workshop was held March 7–11 at Boulder, Colorado, focused on Dynamics, Transport and Chemistry in the UTLS Asian Monsoon. The workshop was aimed at synthesis of observations from satellites, air-craft and balloons, modeling from regional to global scales, and developing key questions for the focus of future research.