Tropical climatic phase lags and earth's precession cycle

Abstract

Atmospheric GCMs have shown that thermally forced monsoon circulations are enhanced by the strengthened seasonal cycle of solar heating that results when summer solstice occurs near perihelion. However, observations indicate that the tropical climatic response reaches a maximum thousands of years after solstice-perihelion alignment. The reasons for this lag are addressed by examining the response to the precession cycle. The model utilized suggests that some features of the monsoon circulation may reach maximum intensity about 3000 yr after solstice-perihelion alignment as the result of a direct thermal response to the astronomical forcing.