A hemispheric climatology of monsoon depressions

Monsoon depressions are large (1000-2000 km diameter) cyclonic low pressure systems having organized deep convection, best known for forming in the Bay of Bengal and migrating northwest over northern India in the monsoon trough. About 3 to 5 of these systems occur during each monsoon season, contributing about half of the Indian summer rainfall. Despite their importance as a precipitation source, their dynamics are poorly constrained. Furthermore, although they do occur elsewhere, such as around Australia and in the southern Indian Ocean, there does not exist a collective inventory of these systems outside of the Bay of Bengal region. Here we present a climatology of monsoon depressions produced from the ERA-Interim Reanalysis. Feature tracks are identified using an automated tracking algorithm (K. Hodges' TRACK code) applied to the 850 hPa relative vorticity field for local summer, 1989 to 2003. Using criteria based on relative vorticity and sea level pressure, cyclonic low pressure systems are separated into different intensity categories, one of which corresponds to the definition for monsoon depressions used by the India Meteorological Department. The resultant distribution of storms obtained for the Bay of Bengal region compares well with a previously compiled climatology of monsoon depressions that was limited to the region surrounding India. Having validated our ability to identify monsoon depressions in their classic genesis region near India, we then extend the methods to include the western Pacific, Australia, and the southern Indian Ocean. Track distributions and composite structures of monsoon depressions for these different regions will be presented.