STUDY ON THE VARIATION IN THE CONFIGURATION OF SUBTROPICAL ANTICYCLONE AND ITS MECHANISM DURING SEASONAL TRANSITION-PART I:CLIMATOLOGICAL FEATURES OF SUBTROPICAL HIGH STRUCTURE^*

Climatological characteristics of subtropical anticyclone structure during seasonal transition are investigated based on NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data.The ridge-surface of subtropical anticyclone is defined by the boundary surface between westerly to the north and easterly to the south (WEB in brief).In Afro-Asian monsoon area,the subtropical high in troposphere whose ridgelines are consecutive in wintertime takes on relatively symmetrical and zonal structure,the WEB tilts southward with increasing height.In summer,the subtropical high ridgelines are discontinuous at low levels and continuous at upper levels,the WEB tilts northward from the bottom up.Under the constraint of thermal wind relation,the WEB usually tilts toward warmer zone.May is the period when subtropical high modality most significantly varies.The structure and properties of subtropical high during seasonal transition are different from area to area.A new concept "seasonal transition axis" is proposed based on formation and variation of the vertical ridge axis of subtropical anticyclone.The subtropical high of summer pattern firstly occurs over eastern Bay of Bengal in the beginning of May.then stabilizes over eastern Bay of Bengal,Indo-China,and western South China Sea in the 3rd pentad of May,it exists over the South China Sea in the 4th-5th pentad of May and establishes over central India in the 1st-2nd pentad of June.The three consequential stages when summer modal subtropical high occurs correspond to that of Asian summer monsoon onset,respectively.To a great extent,the summer monsoon onset over the Bay of Bengal depends on the reversal of meridional temperature gradient in vicinity of the WEB in upper troposphere.The meridional temperature gradient at middle-upper levels in troposphere can be used as a good indicator for measuring the seasonal transition and Asian monsoon onset.