manuscript submitted to Reviews of Geophysics 1 Monsoons, ITCZs and the Concept of the Global 2 Monsoon 1 2;3 4 3 3 Ruth Geen , Simona Bordoni , David S. Battisti , Katrina Hui 1 4 College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK. 2 5 Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, University of Trento, Trento, Italy. 3 6 California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA. 4 7 Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. 8 Key Points: 9 • Theoretical understanding of the dynamics of Hadley cells, monsoons and ITCZs 10 is developing rapidly 11 • Some aspects of observed monsoons and their variability can now be understood 12 through theory 13 • Parallel theories should be reconciled and extended to account for zonal asymme- 14 tries and transients Corresponding author: Ruth Geen,
[email protected] {1{ manuscript submitted to Reviews of Geophysics 15 Abstract 16 Earth's tropical and subtropical rainbands, such as Intertropical Convergence Zones (ITCZs) 17 and monsoons, are complex systems, governed by both large-scale constraints on the at- 18 mospheric general circulation and regional interactions with continents and orography, 19 and coupled to the ocean. Monsoons have historically been considered as regional large- 20 scale sea breeze circulations, driven by land-sea contrast. More recently, a perspective 21 has emerged of a Global Monsoon, a global-scale solstitial mode that dominates the an- 22 nual variation of tropical and subtropical precipitation. This results from the seasonal 23 variation of the global tropical atmospheric overturning and migration of the associated 24 convergence zone.