ISSN 1006-9895

CN 11-1768/O4

Relationship between Summer Precipitation over Northeastern China and Sea Surface Temperature in the Southeastern Pacific and the Possible Underlying Mechanisms
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    Abstract:

    A stable negative relationship between boreal summer precipitation over northeastern China and the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in previous seasons, especially in spring, in the subtropical southeastern Pacific (SSEP) is revealed in this paper. Scale separation results show that the SSTs and precipitation possess anti-phase variations at both the interannual (less than 7 years) and interdecadal (more than 7 years) timescales. This close relationship is mainly determined by the interdecadal components, though the interannual components play an important role. Correlation and composite analyses show that the lower SSTs in the SSEP cause an anticyclonic wind anomaly over the study region, and a cyclonic wind anomaly in its northwestern region. At the same time an anticyclonic and a cyclonic anomaly exist over the Solomon Islands and southern Philippines, respectively. Under this circulation situation, the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) is situated more westward and stronger compared to its climatology, and the northeastern cold vortex (NECV) is stronger than its norm too. Thus, the southerly anomaly in the west of the WPSH strengthens the warm and wet moisture transportation from the South China Sea and western Pacific. The cold air in the west of the NECV becomes more powerful. Together, these lead to stronger convergence and more precipitation over northeastern China. On the contrary, higher SSTs in the SSEP generate opposite anticyclonic and cyclonic wind anomalies over the study region. This opposite wave train leads to a weaker WPSH and NECV, weaker moisture convergence in the lower troposphere, and less rainfall in the region. The results indicate that the SSTs in the SSEP exert an alternate cyclonic-anticyclonic wave train from the Southern Hemisphere to the eastern Northern Hemisphere. This wave train can impact the general circulation in northeastern Asia and ultimately affect precipitation over northeastern China.

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History
  • Received:August 19,2014
  • Revised:March 31,2015
  • Adopted:
  • Online: September 02,2015
  • Published: