Is the Tibetan Plateau important for the Asian Monsoon?

Driving mechanisms of the Asian Monsoon are poorly understood, and are attributed to many climate forcings, like solar variability, sensible heat of Tibetan Plateau, and the seasonal ITCZ drifting. Climate models offer an avenue to explore a variety boundary conditions, and paleoclimate, in particular, can provide realistic boundary change limits. However, few modeling studies have explored monsoon strength for the deep paleoclimate, and many simulations lack coupled and slab ocean models with realistic boundary forcings. Using the latest version of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Climate System Model (CCSM 4.0) with a slab ocean for both a Modern and a realistic Middle Eocene (45Ma) configuration, this study uses sensitivity tests at varying levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide to explore variations in Asian Monsoon Circulation. Future work entails a systematic two front approach: 1) the refinement of cloud physics parameterization to improve cloud convection dynamics, and 2) improvements in the collection and analysis of paleoclimatic proxy data, especially from monsoon regions like Asia, to constrain temperature and precipitation values. This approach will aide our understanding of climate forcings, thus continuing to improve modern and future prediction of monsoons.