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Scientists prepare to study monsoon behavior

An experiment on the monsoon that drenches Taiwan each year will be launched near the southern coast next month.

The monsoon refers to strong winds from the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea that bring heavy rainfall to the East Asian region in the early summer

The project, known as SoWMEX, was initiated by Taiwanese meteorologists. Scientists from around the world will participate in the study, and Ben Jou (周仲島) of the Department of Atmospheric Science at National Taiwan University is the chief coordinator.

He said the project was designed to explore the dynamics of the monsoon, particularly its effects on the southwest region of Taiwan.

“We have had [rainfall] data collected from land, but we lacked the data gathered directly from the sea,” he said. “We also have little knowledge of the special characteristics of the rainfall caused by the southwestern monsoon, especially after it hits the southern region.”

“This project can be viewed as a ‘genetic study’ of rainfall,” he said.

Jou said the chances of heavy or extreme rainfall induced by the monsoon have increased in recent years.

The experiment’s results would be helpful in developing more accurate rain forecasts and facilitating disaster control efforts, he said.

Jou said that researchers would focus on mesoscale convective systems, which are carried by the monsoon and now identified as the main reason for heavy or torrential rain in Taiwan’s south.

They will then compare data from dropsondes and other types of radar systems and analyze how the convective systems induce rainfall.

The experiment starts on May 15 and will last 42 days.

The project is a joint effort of the Central Weather Bureau, the Air Force’s Weather Wing, the Navy, the National Science Council and the Water Resources Agency.

Some 500 scientists and students from Taiwan, the US, Japan, South Korea and Canada will be involved in the project.

The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has brought its own S-band Polarimetric Radar System to Taiwan to observe rainfall as part of the research, which will be centered near the mouth of the Kaoping River (高屏溪) on the border of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties.

Japan is also supporting the project by providing two X-band Doppler radar systems.

The Taiwanese government is spending about NT$100 million (US$3 million) on the project.
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