Recent Advances in Studies of the Interaction between the East Asian Winter and Summer Monsoons and ENSO Cycle

Recent advances in studies on the interaction between the East Asian monsoon and the ENSO cycle are reviewed in this paper. Through the recent studies, not only have the responding features and processes of the East Asian winter and summer monsoon circulation anomalies and summer rainfall anomalies in East Asia to the ENSO cycle during its different stages been understood further, but also have the thermal and dynamic effects of the tropical \vestern Pacific on the ENSO cycle been deeply analyzed from the observational facts and dynamic theories. The results of observational and theoretical studies showed that the dynamical effect of the atmospheric circulation and zonai wind anomalies in the lower troposphere over the tropical western Pacific on the ENSO cycle may be through the excitation of the equatorial oceanic Kelvin wave and Rossby waves in the equatorial Pacific. These studies demonstrated further that the ENSO cycle originates from the tropical western Pacific. Moreover, these recent studies also showed that the atmospheric circulation and zonai wind anomalies over the tropical western Pacific not only result from the air-sea interaction over the tropical western Pacific, but are also greatly influenced by the East Asian winter and summer monsoons. Additionally, the scientific problems in the interaction between the Asian monsoon and the ENSO cycle which should be studied further in the near future are also pointed out in this paper.

The 1997/ 98 ENSO Cycle and Its Impact on Summer Climate Anomalies in East Asia

The observed data of the sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and the sea temperature (ST) in the sub-layer of the equatorial Pacific, the NCEP/ NCAR reanalysis data and the data set of daily precipitation in China are used to analyze the characteristics of the 1997 / 98 ENSO cycle and its impact on summer climate anomalies in East Asia. The results show that the 1997/98 ENSO cycle, the strongest one in the 20th century, might be characterized by rapid development and decay and eastward propagation from the West Pacific warm pool. Influenced by the ENSO cycle, in 1997, the serious drought and hot summer occurred in North China, and in the summer of 1998, the severe floods occurred in the Yangtze River valley, especially in the Dongting Lake and Boyang Lake valleys, South Korea and Japan. The analysis also shows that: influenced by the 1997/98 ENSO cycle, the water vapor transportation by the Asian monsoon in the summer of 1997 was very different from that in the summer of 1998. In the summer of 1997, the water vapor transportation by the Asian summer monsoon was weak in North China and the northern part of the Korea Peninsula. Thus, it caused the drought and hot summer in North China. However, in the summer of 1998, the sea temperature in the sub-layer of the West Pacific warm pool dropped, the western Pacific subtropical high shifted southward. Thus, a large amount of water vapor was transported from the Bay of Bengal, the South China Sea and the tropical western Pacific into the Yangtze River valley of China, South Korea and Japan, and the severe flood occurred there. Key words ENSO cycle - Climate anomaly - Monsoon - Drought and flood This study was supported by the National Key Programme for Developing Basic Sciences under Grant No. G1998040900(I).

Origin of the TBO-Interaction between Anomalous East-Asian Winter Monsoon and ENSO Cycle

Based on the data analyses by using NCEP/ NCAR reanalysis data and other data (OLR, precipitation and temperature), it is shown that the tropospheric circulation and climate in East Asia and the northwestern Pacific region have the evident quasi-biennial oscillation (TBO) feature. It is also shown that anomalous East Asian winter monsoon can impact the atmospheric circulation and climate variations in the following summer, particularly in East Asian region; there is clear interaction between anomalous East Asian winter monsoon and ENSO cycle. The continuous strong (weak) East Asian winter monsoon can excite El Ni o (La Ni a) through the air-sea interaction, the El Ni o (La Ni a) event can lead the East Asian winter monsoon to be weak (strong) through the teleconnections or remote responses. The strong or weak winter monsoon and ENSO cycle are linked each other. It can be suggested that interaction between anomalous East Asian winter monsoon and ENSO cycle is a fundamental origin of the TBO.

ENSO cycle and climate anomaly in China

The inter-annual variability of the tropical Pacific Subsurface Ocean Temperature Anomaly （SOTA） and the associated anomalous atmospheric circulation over the Asian North Pacific during the E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation （ENSO） were investigated using National Centers for Environmental Prediction/ National Center for Atmospheric Research （NCEP/NCAR） atmospheric reanalysis data and simple ocean data simulation （SODA）. The relationship between the ENSO and the climate of China was revealed. The main results indicated the following： 1） there are two ENSO modes acting on the subsurface tropical Pacific. The first mode is related to the mature phase of ENSO, which mainly appears during winter. The second mode is associated with a transition stage of the ENSO developing or decaying, which mainly occurs during summer; 2） during the mature phase of E1Nifio, the meridionality of the atmosphere in the mid-high latitude increases, the Aleutian low and high pressure ridge over Lake Baikal strengthens, northerly winds prevail in northern China, and precipitation in northern China decreases significantly. The ridge of the Ural High strengthens during the decaying phase of E1 Nifio, as atmospheric circulation is sustained during winter, and the northerly wind anomaly appears in northern China during summer. Due to the ascending branch of the Walker circulation over the western Pacific, the western Pacific Subtropical High becomes weaker, and south-southeasterly winds prevail over southern China. As a result, less rainfall occurs over northern China and more rainfall over the Changjiang River basin and the southwestern and eastern region of Inner Mongolia. The flood disaster that occurred south of Changjiang River can be attributed to this. The La Nifm event causes an opposite, but weaker effect; 3） the ENSO cycle can influence climate anomalies within China via zonal and meridional heat transport. This is known as the ＂atmospheric-bridge＂, where the energy anomaly within the tropical Pacific transfers to the mid-high latitude in the northern Pacific through Hadley cells and Rossby waves, and to the western Pacific-eastern Indian Ocean through Walker circulation. This research also discusses the special air-sea boundary processes during the ENSO events in the tropical Pacific, and indicates that the influence of the subsurface water of the tropical Pacific on the atmospheric circulation may be realized through the sea surface temperature anomalies of the mixed water, which contact the atmosphere and transfer the anomalous heat and moisture to the atmosphere directly. Moreover, the reason for the heavy flood within the Changjiang River during the summer of 1998 is reviewed in this paper.

A possible role of the South China Sea in ENSO cycle

A data-based hypothesis on the role of the South China Sea (SCS) in ENSO cycle is proposed: during El Nino, there are westerly wind anomaly over the western equatorial Pacific and positive SST anomaly in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Meanwhile anomalous convection moves to the central Pacific with anomalous sinking over Indonesian Archipelago. The latter can cause southerly wind anomaly over the north of South China Sea (NSCS) and makes the NSCS warmer. The warm NSCS can attract the anomalous convection to it in some degree. This attraction is in favor for producing easterly wind anomaly over the western equatorial Pacific, so it helps to form a cycle.

The relationship between ENSO cycle and temperature,precipitation and runoff in the Qilian mountain area

El Nino and La Nina are the events concerned internationally. The corresponding relationship between El Nino events, temperature, precipitation and runoff in the Qilian mountain area are analyzed according to the date from the weather and the hydrometric stations in the area, the results show that effects of El Nino events to temperature, precipitation and runoff are different in the different time and zones. When El Nino occurs, temperature rises, but precipitation and runoff decrease in the whole Qilian mountain area, especially in the east and middle parts of the area. Temperature rises, precipitation and runoff still decrease in the eastern Qilian mountain area in the next year El Nino occurring, but decrease extent is fewer. There are not obvious relationship between temperature, precipitation and runoff with El Nino events in the western Qilian mountain area.

ROLE OF EQUATORIAL PACIFIC OCEAN SUBSURFACE OCEANIC TEMPERATURE MODE IN ENSO CYCLE

Based on the simple ocean data assimilation(SODA) reanalysis dataset from the University of Maryland and the method of Empirical Orthogonal Functions(EOF),the characteristics of interannual and interdecadal variabilities of the equatorial Pacific subsurface oceanic temperature anomaly(SOTA) are captured.The first and second modes of the equatorial Pacific SOTA in the interannual and interdecadal variations are found respectively and the effect of the second mode on the ENSO cycle is discussed.Results show that the first mode of SOTA's interannual and interdecadal variabilities exhibit a dipole pattern,indicating that the warm and cold temperature anomalies appear simultaneously in the equatorial subsurface Pacific.The second mode shows coherent large-scale temperature anomalies in the equatorial subsurface Pacific,which is a dominant mode in the evolution of ENSO cycle.The temporal series of the second mode has a significant lead correlation with the Ni?o-3.4 index,which can make a precursory prediction signal for ENSO.The function of this prediction factor in SOTA is verified by composite and case analyses.

A Study on the Physical Processes of the Formation of the ENSO Cycle

The physical processes involved in the formation of the ENSO cycle,as well as the possible roles of the Hadley circulation （HC）,Walker circulation （WC）,and the propagating waves of the Southern Oscillation/Northern Oscillation （SO/NO） in its formation,were studied using composite and regression methods.The analysis showed that the convection and heat release triggered by ENSO in the central-eastern equatorial Pacific are the primary drivers for the 3-5 year cycle of the HC,WC and the meridional/zonal circulation.The HC plays a key role in the influence of ENSO on the circulation outside the tropics through angular momentum transportation.Meanwhile,the feedback effects of the anomalous circulation in the mid-high latitudes on ENSO are accomplished by the propagating waves of SO/NO associated with the evolutions of HC and WC.These propagating waves are the main agents of the connections among the meridional/zonal circulation outside the tropics,the Asian/Australian monsoon,the anomalous easterly/westerly winds over the tropical Pacific,and ENSO events.It was found that the 3-5 year cycle of the meridional/zonal circulation forced by ENSO is quite different from the several-week variation of the circulation index triggered by the inner dynamic processes of the atmosphere.The former occurs at the global scale with a definite flow pattern,while the latter occurs only in a wide area without a definite flow pattern.Finally,a physical model for the formation of the ENSO cycle composed of two fundamental processes at the basin and global scale,respectively,is proposed.

Intraseasonal Oscillation: the Global Coincidence and Its Relationship with ENSO Cycle

Based on the atmospheric reanalysis data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR), the interannual variability of the atmospheric intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) and its relationships with the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle have been investigated. This work reveals that there exists global coincidence in the interannual variation of ISO among different latitude bands and that relationships between the interannual variation of ISO and the global sea surface temperature (SST) or the outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) are very complicated. We also find that the correlation coefficient between ISO and Ni?o33 SST anomaly has apparent decadal scale variability, which means that the inter-relationship is stronger in some periods and weaker in other periods. Key words Intraseasonal oscillation - Global coincidence - ENSO cycle This work was supported jointly by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Key project under contract KZCX2-203, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China under the Grant Nos. 49735160 and 49805004.

Sensitivity of Nonlinearity on the ENSO Cycle in a Simple Air-Sea Coupled Model

In this paper,the influence of the El NioSouthern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle on the sensitivity of nonlinear factors in the numerical simulation is investigated by conducting numerical experiments in a simple air-sea coupled model for ENSO prediction.Two sets of experiments are conducted in which zonal nonlinear factors,meridional nonlinear factors,or both are incorporated into the governing equations for the atmosphere or ocean.The results suggest that the ENSO cycle is very sensitive to the nonlinear factor of the governing equation for the atmosphere or ocean.Thus,incorporating nonlinearity into air-sea coupled models is of exclusive importance for improving ENSO simulation.

Subsurface temperature anomalies in the North Pacific Ocean associated with the ENSO cycle

Multi-year Simple Ocean Data Assimilation （SODA） and National Centers for Environmental Prediction （NCEP） datasets were used to investigate the leading patterns of subsurface ocean temperature anomalies （SOTA） and the corresponding atmospheric circulation structure in the Pacific Ocean （20°S-60°N）. In this paper, the evolution of North Pacific SOTA associated with El Nifio-southern oscillation （ENSO）, and their relationship with the overlying zonal/meridional atmospheric circulations were elucidated. The results indicate that： （1） there are two dominant modes for the interannual variability of the North Pacific SOTA. The primary mode is the dipole pattern of the central and western North Pacific SOTA associated with the leading mode of ENSO, and the second mode is the zonal pattern related to the second mode of ENSO. These two modes consist of the temporal-spatial variation of the SOTA in the North Pacific. （2） During the developing phase of the El Nifio event, positive （negative） SOTA appears in the western （central） portion of the North Pacific Ocean. During the mature and decaying phase of the E1 Nifio event, the western positive center and the central negative center continue to be maintained and enhanced. Meanwhile, the position of the western positive center slightly changes, and the central negative center moves eastward slowly. After the El Nifio event vanishes, the positive SOTA disappears, and the central negative SOTA becomes weak and remains in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. The results for La Nifia are generally the opposite. （3） During the El Nifio/La Nifia cycle, formation and evolution of the SOTA, with opposite signs in central and western North Pacific Ocean, resulted from vertical movement of the two northern branches of the Hadley Cell with opposite direction, as well as the positive feedback of the air-sea interaction induced by dynamic processes in the mid-latitudes. The former gives rise to the initial SOTA, and the latter intensifies SOTA. Under the forcing of these two processes, SOTA evolution is formed and sustained during the El Nino/La Nina events. Also discussed herein as background for the ENSO cycle are the possible connections among the West Pacific subtropical high, the strength of the Kuroshio near the East China Sea, the Kuroshio meanders south of Japan, the Aleutian Low, and cold advection in the central North Pacific Ocean.

ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CHINA ANOMALOUS CLIMATE VARIATION AND ENSO CYCLE ON THE QUASI-FOUR-YEAR SCALE

The relationship between the ENSO and abnormal variation of precipitation and temperature in China is investigated based on the monthly data. Firstly, interannual variability of precipitation and temperature are discussed in different sub-areas using Rotational EOF (REOF). Then, the variation of precipitation and temperature in different phases of ENSO cycle is each investigated with Complex Singular Value Decomposition (CSVD). Results show that, during the period of El Nio, precipitation in the eastern China, especially in the northeastern China and Yangtze River valley, is much more than normal and is apt to flood. Precipitation in northern China and Huanghe River valley, especially in the middle reach of Huanghe River, is less than normal and is apt to be less. Precipitation in the Yangtze River valley is closely related to the SSTA in the central and eastern tropical Pacific on the QFO scale, and the precipitation variation lags behind SSTA by about 3 months. For the variation of surface temperature, during the period of El Nio, it is usually colder than normal in northeastern China, and in other regions, especially in the region of Great Bend of the Yellow River and southwestern China, is warmer than normal. The temperature in northeast China is closely associated with SSTA in eastern Pacific on the QFO scale and the surface temperature variation in the northeast China lags behind that of SSTA about 2 months.

Dynamical effect of the zonal wind anomalies over the tropical western Pacific on ENSO cycles

The circulation and zonal wind anomalies in the lower troposphere over the equatorial western Pacific and their roles in the developing and decaying processes of the 1982–1983, 1986 –1987, 1991–1992 and 1997–1998 El Ni?o events and the occurrence of La Ni?a events are analyzed by using the observed data in this paper. The results show that before the developing stage of these El Ni?o events, there were cyclonic circulation anomalies in the lower troposphere over the tropical western Pacific, and the anomalies brought the westerly anomalies over the Indonesia and the tropical western Pacific. However, when the El Ni?o events developed to their mature phase, there were anticyclonic circulation anomalies in the lower troposphere over the tropical western Pacific, and the anomalies made the easterly anomalies appear over the tropical western Pacific. A simple, dynamical model of tropical ocean is used to calculate the response of the equatorial oceanic waves to the observed anomalies of wind stress near the sea surface of the equatorial Pacific during the 1997/98 ENSO cycle, which was the strongest one in the 20th century. It is shown that the zonal wind stress anomalies have an important dynamical effect on the devel-opment and decay of this El Ni?o event and the occurrence of the following La Ni?a event.

The Westerly Anomalies over the Tropical Pacific and Their Dynamical Effect on the ENSO Cycles during 1980～1994

In this paper, the zonal wind anomalies in the lower troposphere over the tropical Pacific during 1980-1994 are analyzed by using the observed data. The results show that during the formation of the 1982/83, 1986/87 and 1991/92 ENSO events, there were the larger westerly anomalies in the lower troposphere over the equatorial Pacific. Moreover, it is explained by using the correlation analyses that the westerly anomalies over the equatorial Pacific could cause the warm episodes of the equatorial central and eastern Pacific. A simple air-sea coupled model is used to discuss theoretically the dynamical effect of the observed westerly anomalies of wind stress near the sea surface of the equatorial Pacific on the ENSO cycle occurred in the period of 1981-1983. It is shown by using the theoretical calculations of the equatorial oceanic Kelvin wave and Rossby waves responding to the forcing of the observed anomalies of zonal wind stress near the sea surface of the equatorial Pacific that the westerly anomalies of wind stress near the sea surface of the equatorial Pacific make significant dynamical effect on the ENSO cycles occurred in the period of 1982-1983.

AIR-SEA COUPLING FEATURES FROM THE WARM PHASE TO THE COLD PHASE OF ENSO CYCLES IN THE SEVENTIES TO THE EIGHTIES

Using the sea surface temperature and wind anomalies(SSTA and SSWA for short)of the tropical Pacific from January 1970 to December 1989,main spatial patterns of tropical Pacific SSTA and SSWA coupling features in the transform course from the warm phase to the cold phase of El Nino-southern Oscillation(ENSO)cycles are discussed. The main conclusions are as follows:(1)air-sea coupling patterns at the mature stage of El Nino(La Nina)are main spatial ones of tropical Pacific SSWA and SSTA coupling:(2)at the mature stage of El Nino,the interaction of the anticyclonic anomaly wind,generated by the forcing of distinct meridional SSTA gradient in the Northern Hemisphere tropical central Pacific.with the California cold current and SSTA is mainly responsible for weakening of El Nino;(3)the second sea temperature increase along the South American coast in the decaying course of El Nino results from the eastward movement of the weakened positive SSTA in the tropical central-eastern Pacific forced by anomalous west wind stress:(4)La Nina results from the joint effect of Walker circulation,Ekman drift and negative SSTA in the tropical central-eastern Pacific.

Monsoon Circulation Related to ENSO Phase-Locking

The relation of interannual anomaly of East Asian monsoon to the ENSO cycle is investigated in terms of even and odd symmetry analysis over a tropical heating field based on the past 30-year data. Evidence suggests that odd and even symmetry components related to the monsoon and Walker heating, respectively, effectively describe the East Asian monsoon circulation and Pacific Walker analog, with the monsoon intensity index corresponding to its heating vigor and western Pacific Walker heating vigor to ENSO phase change, both types of heating marked by pronounced seasonal variation and phase-locking; the key region for linking monsoon-ENSO interaction is the western Pacific warm pool; the monsoon effect upon ENSO cycle is affected jointly by the seasonal evolution and interannual anomaly of the heating components; the superimposition of an anti-Walker circulation phase produced by interannual winter monsoon perturbation upon a weaker Walker phase on a seasonal basis leads to an El Nino happening in March-April and plays a significant role in maintaining a warm ENSO phase.

The periodic oscillations in the ENSO recharge–discharge oscillator model

A class of recharge–discharge oscillator model for the El Ni？o/Southern Oscillation （ENSO） is considered. A stable limit cycle is obtained by transforming the ENSO model into the van der Pol-Duffing equation. We proved that there exists periodic oscillations in the ENSO recharge–discharge oscillator model.

On the Mechanism of the Locking of the El Nino Event Onset Phase to Boreal Spring

The mechanism of the locking of the E1 Nino event onset phase to boreal spring （from April to June） in an intermediate coupled ocean-atmosphere model is investigated. The results show that the seasonal variation of the zonal wind anomaly over the equatorial Pacific associated with the seasonal variation of the ITCZ is the mechanism of the locking in the model. From January to March of the E1 Nino year, the western wind anomaly over the western equatorial Pacific can excite the downwelling Kelvin wave that propagates eastward to the eastern and middle Pacific by April to June. From April to December of the year before the E1 Nifio year, the eastern wind anomaly over the equatorial Pacific forces the downwelling Rossby waves that modulate the ENSO cycle. The modulation and the reflection at the western boundary modulate the time of the transition from the cool to the warm phase to September of the year before the E1 Nifio year and cause the strongest downwelling Kelvin wave from the reflected Rossby waves at the western boundary to arrive in the middle and eastern equatorial Pacific by April to June of the E1 Nino year. The superposition of these two kinds of downwelling Kelvin waves causes the El Nino event to tend to occur from April to June.

Interannual Variability of Shelf and Slope Circulations in the Northern South China Sea

The northern South China Sea(NSCS) is a dynamically complex region whose shelf and slope currents are driven by different mechanisms. In this study, we used field measurements to identify clear interannual variations in the circulation related to the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation cycle. To investigate the modulation mechanisms, we used a high-resolution numerical model that covers the shelf and slope regions of the NSCS. The results indicate that the stronger southwestward slope current during La Ni?a and stronger northeastward shelf current during El Ni?o in summer and winter are largely related to changes in wind forcing. The Kuroshio intrusion into the NSCS does not appear to significantly affect the circulation in the southwestern shelf region.

INTERRELATION BETWEEN EAST-ASIAN WINTER MONSOON AND INDIAN/PACIFIC SST WITH THE INTERDECADAL VARIATION

Investigated statistically is the interrelation between East Asian winter monsoon(EAWM) and SST over sensitive areas of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.with focus on the relation of EAWM to strong ENSO signal area.i.e.,the equatorial eastern Pacific(EEP)SST.Evidence suggests that the EAWM variation is intimately associated not only with the EEP SST but with the equatorial western Pacific“warm pool”and equatorial Indian/northwestern Pacific Kuroshio SST as well:the EAWM and ENSO interact strongly with each other on the interannual time scales, exhibiting pronounced interdecadal variation mainly under the joint effect of the monsoon QBO and the monsoon/SST background field features on an interdecadal basis—when both fields are in the same phase(anti-phase).strong EAWM contributes to EEP SST rise(drop)in the following winter,corresponding to a warm(cold)ENSO cycle;the EAWM QBO causes ENSO cycle to be strong phase-locked with seasonal variation,making the EEP SST rise lasting from April—May to May—June of the next year,which plays an important role in maintaining a warm ENSO phase.