Study of relationship between wave transport and sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA) in the tropical Pacific

Large-scale water transport is one of the key factors that affect sea surface temperature anomaly（SSTA） in the eastern equatorial Pacific（EEP）.The relationship between the wave transport in the tropical Pacific and the SSTA in the EEP is examined by different methods,including band-pass filtering,period analysis,correlation analysis,significant analysis,and empirical orthogonal function（EOF） analysis.We have found that the eastward shift of the wave transport anomaly in the tropical Pacific,with a period of 2 a and enhancing the transport of warm waters from the western Pacific warm pool,precedes the increase of sea surface temperature（SST） in the EEP.The wave transport and the SSTA in the EEP have a maximum correlation of 0.65 with a time-lag of 6 months（transport variation precedes the temperature）.The major periods（3.7 a and 2.45 a） of the wave transport variability,as revealed by the EOF analysis,appear to be consistent with the SSTA oscillation cycle in the EEP.Based on the first occurrence of a significant SSTA in the Ni？o 3 region（5°S–5°N,90°–150°W）,two types of warm events are defined.The wave transport anomalies in two types present predominantly the west anomaly in the tropical Pacific,it is that the wave transport continues transport warm water from west to east before the onset of the warm event.The impact of wave-induced water transport on the SSTA in the EEP is confirmed by the heat flux of the wave transport.The wave transport exerts significant effect on the SSTA variability in the EEP and thus is not neglectable in the further studies.

Sea surface temperature anomaly in the tropical North Atlantic during El Nino decaying years

Based on reanalysis data from 1979 to 2016,this study focuses on the sea surface temperature(SST)anomaly of the tropical North Atlantic(TNA)in El Nino decaying years.The TNA SST exhibits a clear warm trend during this period.The composite result for 10 El Nino events shows that the TNA SST anomaly reaches its maximum in spring after the peak of an El Nino event and persists until summer.In general,the anomaly is associated with three factors-namely,El Nino,the North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO),and a long-term trend,leading to an increase in local SST up to 0.4℃,0.3℃,and 0.35℃,respectively.A comparison between 1983 and 2005 indicates that the TNA SST in spring is affected by El Niño,as well as the local SST in the preceding winter,which may involve a long-term trend signal.In addition,the lead-lag correlation shows that the NAO leads the TNA SST by 2-3 months.By comparing two years with an opposite phase of the NAO in winter(i.e.,1992 and 2010),the authors further demonstrate that the NAO is another important factor in regulating the TNA SST anomaly.A negative phase of the NAO in winter will reinforce the El Nino forcing substantially,and vise versa.In other words,the TNA SST anomaly in the decaying years is more evident if the NAO is negative with El Nino.Therefore,the combined effects of El Nino and the NAO must be considered in order to fully understand the TNA SST variability along with a long-term trend.

TROPICAL SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE ANOMALY AND INDIAN SUMMER MONSOON

The time series of the sea surface temperature(SST)anomaly,covering the eastern (western)equatorial Pacific,central Indian Ocean,Arabian Sea.Bay of Bengal and South China Sea(SCS),have been analyzed by using wavelet transform.Results show that there exists same interdeeadal variability of SST in the tropical Pacific and tropical Indian Ocean,and also show that the last decadal abrupt change occurred in the 1970s.On the interannual time scale,there is a similar interannual variability among the equatorial central Indian Ocean and the adjacent three sea basins(Arabian Sea.Bay of Bengal and South China Sea).but the SST interannual changes of the Indian Ocean lagged 4—5 months behind that of the equatorial central-east Pacific.Meanwhile, the interannual variability and long-range change between SST anomaly and Indian summer monsoon rainfall in recent decades have been explained and analyzed.It indicates that there existed a wet(dry)period in India when the tropical SST was lower(higher)than normal,but there was a lag of phase between them.

The effects of different sea surface temperature distributions over the western Pacific on the summer monsoon properties

A modified and improved primitive equation numerical model with p-sigma incorporated vertical coordinates is used to simulate the effects of different sea surface temperature distributions over the western Pacific on the summer monsoon properties. The different sea surface temperature (SST) distributions are automatically generated in the time integrations by using two different SST models, one of which is called the deep ocean model (DOM) and the other the shallow ocean model (SOM). The SST generated by the DOM has the distribution pattern of the initial SST which is similar to the pattern in the cold water years over the western Pacific, while the SST generated by the SOM has the pattern similar to that in the warm water years. The differences between the experimental results by using DOM and SOM are analyzed in detail. The analyses indicate that the most basic and important characteristics of the summer monsoon climate can be simulated successfully in both experiments, that means the climatic properties in the monsoonal climate regions are mainly determined by the seasonal heating, the contrast between the land and the sea, the topography, and the physical properties of the underlying surfaces. However, the differences between the two experiments tell us that the climatic properties in the summer monsoon regions in the cold water year and the warm water year do differ from each other in details. In the warm water year, the thermal contrast between the land and the sea becomes weaker. Over the warm water area, the upward motions are induced and the dynamical conditions favorable for the convective activities are formed, the Somali low-level cross equatorial current is somewhat weakened, while the cross equatorial currents, east of 90°E, are strongly strengthened, the precipitation amount in the tropical regions largely increases, and the precipitation over the coastal regions increases, too. However the precipitation over the southeast China and its coastal area decreases. The precipitation amount mainly depends on the strength of the convective activity.

Forecasts of South China Sea surface temperature anomalies using the Nio indices and dipole mode index as predictors

Based on an empirical orthogonal function （EOF） analysis of the monthly NCEP Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature （OISST） data in the South China Sea （SCS） after removing the climatological mean and trends of SST, over the period of January 1982 to October 2003, the corresponding TCF correlates best with the Dipole Mode Index （DMI）, Nino1＋2, Nino3.4, Nino3, and Niflo4 indices with time lags of 10, 3, 6, 5, and 6 months, respectively. Thus, a statistical hindcasts in the prediction model are based on a canonical correlation analysis （CCA） model using the above indices as predictors spanning from 1993/1994 to 2003/2004 with a 1-12 month lead time after the canonical variants are calculated, using data from the training periods from January 1982 to December1992. The forecast model is successful and steady when the lead times are 1-12 months. The SCS warm event in 1998 was successfully predicted with lead times from 1-12 months irrespective of the strength or time extent. The prediction ability for SSTA is lower during weak ENSO years, in which other local factors should be also considered as local effects play a relatively important role in these years. We designed the two forecast models： one using both DMI and Nino indices and the other using only Nino indices without DMI, and compared the forecast accuracies of the two cases. The spatial distributions of forecast accuracies show different confidence areas. By turning off the DMI, the forecast accuracy is lower in the coastal areas off the Philippines in the SCS, suggesting some teleconnection may occur with the Indian Ocean in this area. The highest forecast accuracies occur when the forecast interval is five months long without using the DMI, while using both of Nino indices and DMI, the highest accuracies occur when the forecast interval time is eight months, suggesting that the Nino indices dominate the interannual variability of SST anomalies in the SCS. Meanwhile the forecast accuracy is evaluated over an independent test period of more than 11 years （1993/94 to October 2004） by comparing the model performance with a simple prediction strategy involving the persistence of sea surface temperature anomalies over a 1-12 month lead time （the persisted prediction）. Predictions based on the CCA model show a significant improvement over the persisted prediction, especially with an increased lead time （longer than 3 months）. The forecast model performs steadily and the forecast accuracy, i.e., the correlation coefficients between the observed and predicted SSTA in the SCS are about 0.5 in most middle and southern SCS areas, when the thresholds are greater than the 95% confidence level. For all 1 to 12 month lead time forecasts, the root mean square errors have a standard deviation of about 0.2. The seasonal differences in the prediction performance for the 1-12 month lead time are also examined.

The Relationships between Variations of Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies in the Key Ocean Areas and the Precipitation and Surface Air Temperature in China

The relationships between variations of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTVA) in the key ocean areas and the precipitation / temperature anomalies in China are studied based on the monthly mean sea surface temperature data from January 1951 to December 1998 and the same stage monthly mean precipitation/ temperature data of 160 stations in China. The purpose of the present study is to discuss whether the relationship between SSTVA and precipitation / temperature is different from that between sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) and precipitation/ temperature, and whether the uncertainty of prediction can be reduced by use of SSTVA. The results show that the responses of precipitation anomalies to the two kinds of tendency of SSTA are different. This implies that discussing the effects of two kinds of tendency of SSTA on precipitation anomalies is better than just discussing the effects of SSTA on precipitation anomalies. It helps to reduce the uncertainty of prediction. The temperature anomalies have more identical re-sponses to the two kinds of tendency of SSTA than the precipitation except in the western Pacific Ocean. The response of precipitation anomalies to SSTVA is different from that to SSTA, but there are some similarities. Key words Variations of sea surface temperature anomalies - Precipitation anomalies - Temperature anomalies - Statistical significance test Sponsored jointly by the “ National Key Developing Program for Basic Sciences” (G1998040900) Part I and the Key Program of National Nature Science Foundation of China “ Analyses and Mechanism Study of the Regional Climatic Change in China” under Grant No.49735170.

Characteristics of Tropical Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies and Their Influences on the Onset of South China Sea Summer Monsoon

The characteristics of sea surface temperature anomalies （SSTAs） in the tropical oceans and their influences on the onset of South China Sea summer monsoon （SCSSM） have been studied.The anomaly of SST in tropical Pacific Ocean exerts persistence impact for one to three months on atmospheric circulations.If the warm pool becomes anomalously warmer during an earlier period from February to April,the SCSSM breaks out earlier,and vice versa.Singular value decomposition （SVD） and composite analysis have shown that,in La Ni（n）a pattern,the convection over Western Pacific will occur earlier and be stronger than normal,which favors the convergence at a lower layer over Western Pacific,as well as the strengthening of upwelling branch of Walker circulation,leading to an earlier burst of westerly in the southern South China Sea.Moreover,the convection in Sumatra appears earlier than normal and favors the westerly evolution in eastern Indian Ocean,resulting in the splitting of the subtropical high belt and an early onset of SCSSM.However,the atmospheric circulation anomaly is reversed in El Ni（n）o pattern.

Experiments in numerical modelling of the Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies

By using the atmosphere-ocean coupled model (CGCM) which is composed of a 2-level global atmospheric general circulation model and a 4-layer Pacific oceanic general circulation model developed in the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and two model climatological fields got from the two independent models' numerical integrations respectively, the Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) from 1988 to 1989 are simulated in this paper with observed atmospheric general circulation data and sea surface temperature fields as initial conditions and monthly coupling scheme. In order to remove systematic biases of the model climatological fields, interaction variables between atmosphere and ocean are also corrected simultaneously. The experiments show that the simulation results can be improved effectively if these interaction variables are corrected in spite of the fact that there always exist systematic biases in independent numerical simulations of atmospheric part and oceanic part within CGCM. The basic characteristics of the observed Pacific SSTA in September and October 1988 have been simulated by using the correction scheme, such as the negative SSTA domain in the whole E-quatorial Pacific east to 150°E and the positive SSTA domain in the Western Pacific, the northern subtropical Pacific and nearly the whole Southern Pacific. Further numerical simulations show that the model can simulate not only the SSTA in the Pacific and its seasonal variations but also its interannual changes (for example, La Nino event in the Equatorial Pacific terminated after May 1989) to a certain degree. Furthermore, some problems existing in experiment processes and what we shoud do in the following stage are also discussed and analysed in this paper.

Revisiting the Seasonal Evolution of the Indian Ocean Dipole from the Perspective of Process-Based Decomposition

The seasonal phase-locking feature of the Indian Ocean Dipole(IOD)is well documented.However,the seasonality ten-dency of sea surface temperature anomalies(SSTAs)during the development of the IOD has not been widely investigated.The SSTA tendencies over the two centers of the IOD peak in September-October-November are of different monthly amplitudes.The SSTA tendency over the west pole is small before June-July-August but dramatically increases in July-August-September.Meanwhile,the SSTA tendency over the east pole gradually increases before June-July-August and decreases since then.The growth rate attribution of the SSTAs is achieved by examining the roles of radiative and non-radiative air-sea coupled thermodynamic processes through the climate feedback-response analysis method(CFRAM).The CFRAM results indicate that oceanic dynamic processes largely contribute to the total SSTA tendency for initiating and fueling the IOD SSTAs,similar to previous studies.However,these results cannot ex-plain the monthly amplitudes of SSTA tendency.Four negative feedback processes(cloud radiative feedback,atmospheric dynamic processes,surface sensible,and latent heat flux)together play a damping role opposite to the SSTA tendency.Nevertheless,the sea surface temperature-water vapor feedback shows positive feedback.Specifically,variations in SSTAs can change water vapor con-centrations through evaporation,resulting in anomalous longwave radiation that amplifies the initial SSTAs through positive feedback.The effect of water vapor feedback is well in-phase with the monthly amplitudes of SSTA tendency,suggesting that the water vapor feedback might modulate the seasonally dependent SSTA tendency during the development of the IOD.

A DIAGNOSTIC ANALYSIS OF AIR TEMPERATURE ANOMALY MODE OVER CHINA IN 2009/2010 WINTER BASED ON GENERALIZED EQUILIBRIUM FEEDBACK ASSESSMENT(GEFA) METHOD

By using the observed monthly mean data over 160 stations of China and NCAR/NCEP reanalysis data, the generalized equilibrium feedback assessment(GEFA) method, combined with the methods of EOF analysis, correlation and composite analysis, is used to explore the influence of different SST modes on a wintertime air temperature pattern in which it is cold in the northeast and warm in the southwest in China. The results show that the 2009/2010 winter air temperature oscillation mode between the northern and southern part of China is closely related to the corresponding sea surface temperature anomalies(SSTA) and its associated atmospheric circulation anomalies. Exhibiting warming in Northeast China and cooling in Southwest China, the mode is significantly forced by the El Nio mode and the North Atlantic SSTA mode, which have three poles. Under the influence of SSTA modes, the surface northerly flow transported cold air to North and Northeast China, resulting in low temperatures in the regions. Meanwhile, the mid-latitude westerlies intensify and the polar cold air stays in high latitudes and cannot affect the Southwest China, resulting in the warming there.

PREDICTION OF ANNUAL FREQUENCY OF AFFECTING TROPICAL CYCLONE USING THE PRODUCTS OF A HYBRID COUPLED AIR-SEA MODEL

Better correlation exists between the activity of tropical cyclones affecting East China and Shanghai and the concurrent signals of SSTA in tropical Pacific. In an attempt to justify this statistic finding, a four-dimensional variational data assimilation system is established to optimize the initial fields of a hybrid air-sea coupled model. The prediction skill of tropical SSTA is improved. Long-term statistical models for predicting annual TC frequency affecting East China area and Shanghai city are developed based on 37-year products of this model and the forecast trials have achieved satisfactory results in 1998 and 1999.

Seasonal Evolution of Dominant Modes in South Pacific SST and Relationship with ENSO

A season-reliant empirical orthogonal function （S-EOF） analysis was applied to the seasonal mean SST anomalies （SSTAs） based on the HadISST1 dataset with linear trend removed at every grid point in the South Pacific （60.5°-19.5°S, 139.5°E-60.5°W） during the period 1979-2009. The spatiotemporal characteristics of the dominant modes and their relationships with ENSO were analyzed. The results show that there are two seasonally evolving dominant modes of SSTAs in the South Pacific with interannual and interdeeadal variations; they account for nearly 40% of the total variance. Although the seasonal evolution of spatial patterns of the first S-EOF mode （S-EOF1） did not show remarkable propagation, it decays with season remarkably. The second S-EOF mode （S-EOF2） showed significant seasonal evolution and intensified with season, with distinct characteristics of eastward propagation of the negative SSTAs in southern New Zealand and positive SSTAs southeast of Australia. Both of these two modes have significant relationships with ENSO. These two modes correspond to the post-ENSO and ENSO turnabout years, respectively. The S- EOF1 mode associated with the decay of the eastern Pacific （EP） and the central Pacific （CP） types of ENSO exhibited a more significant relationship with the EP/CP type of E1 Nifio than that with the EP/CP type of La Nifia. The S-EOF2 mode contacted with the EP type of E1 Nifio changing into the EP/CP type of La Nifia showed a more significant connection with the EP/CP type of La Nifia.

Causes of a Typical Southern Flood and Northern Drought Event in 2015 over Eastern China

The spatial distribution of summer precipitation anomalies over eastern China often shows a dipole pattern,with anti-phased precipitation anomalies between southern China and northern China,known as the“southern flooding and northern drought”(SF-ND)pattern.In 2015,China experienced heavy rainfall in the south and the worst drought since 1979 in the north,which caused huge social and economic losses.Using reanalysis data,the atmospheric circulation anomalies and possible mechanisms related to the summer precipitation anomalies in 2015 were examined.The results showed that both El Niño and certain atmospheric teleconnections,including the Pacific Japan/East Asia Pacific(PJ/EAP),Eurasia pattern(EU),British–Baikal Corridor pattern(BBC),and Silk Road mode(SR),contributed to the dipole pattern of precipitation anomalies.The combination of these factors caused a southwards shift of the western Pacific subtropical high(WPSH)and a weakening of the East Asian summer monsoon.Consequently,it was difficult for the monsoon front and associated rain band to migrate northwards,which meant that less precipitation occurred in northern China while more precipitation occurred in southern China.This resulted in the SF-ND event.Moreover,further analysis revealed that global sea surface temperature anomalies(SSTAs)or sea-ice anomalies were key to stimulating these atmospheric teleconnections.

Effects of Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies off the East Coast of Japan on Development of the Okhotsk High

The study examined effects of sea surface temperature anomalies （SSTAs） off the east coast of Japan on the blocking high over the Okhotsk Sea in June by diagnostic analysis and numerical simulation. Firstly, based on 500-hPa geopotential height fields, the Okhotsk high index （OKHI） for June from 1951 to 2000 is calculated and analyzed. The result indicates that the OKHI has obvious inter-annual and inter-decadal vaxiations, and there are 9 yr of high OKHI and 8 yr of low OKHI in 50 yr. Secondly, by using the OKHI, the relationship between the Okhotsk high and the 500-hPa geopotential height anomaly is investigated. The results indicate that the ＂＋-＋＂ pattern of geopotential height anomaly crossing Eurasia in the mid-high latitudes and the ＂＋-＂ pattern of geopotential height anomaly from high to low latitudes over East Asia are in favor of the formation and maintenance of the Okhotsk high. The relationship between the OKHI and the SSTA over the North Pacific is investigated in early summer by using correlation and composite analysis. We found that when the blocking circulation over the Okhotsk Sea occurs, there is an obvious negative SSTA off the east coast of Japan in early summer. We simulated the effects of the negative SSTA of east coast of Japan on the atmospheric circulation anomaly over East Asia through the control and sensitivity experiments using NCAR CAM3 model in order to confirm our analysis results. The simulation shows that the negative SSTA off the east coast of Japan results in the significant positive 40 gpm 500-hPa geopotential height anomaly over the Okhotsk Sea and the negative anomalies off the east coast of Japan which might contribute to the formation and development of the Okhotsk high in June.

NUMERICAL EXPERIMENTS OF THE EFFECTS OF SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE ANOMALIES OVER THE PACIFIC ON PRECIPITATION IN 1991

A zonal domain,primitive equation model is used in this paper to study the influences of the main sea surface tem- perature anomaly(SSTA)areas over the Pacific on precipitation in 1991.Some numerical experiments are made and the mechanisms of the influences are discussed.The results show that the influences of the SSTA are mainly confined within the tropical and the subtropical regions.The direct effect of the SSTA is to change the exchanges of the sensible heat and the water vapour between the air and the sea,through the consequent changes of temperature and the flow fields and the feedback process of condensation,the SSTA finally affects precipitation.

NUMERICAL EXPERIMENTS FOR THE INFLUENCE OF ANOMALOUS SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE ON THE SOUTH CHINA SEA SUMMER MONSOON

Several sensitivity experiments are done by using the T42L9 global spectral model developed by IAP for investigating the influence of sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) in different regions on the South China Sea Summer Monsoon (SCSM).It shows that when SSTA presents a La Nina pattern,the onset date of SCSM will be earlier and the convection in the South China Sea region will be consistently stronger,and vice versa.Specially,SSTA in the central and eastern Pacific plays a main role in the variation of the onset and the strength of SCSM.When SSTA of this area is lower,the onset of SCSM comes earlier,the strength of SCSM becomes stronger, otherwise,the conclusion is contrary.The influence of SSTA in the tropical West Pacific on the onset date of SCSM is not clear,but it strongly affects the strength of the monsoon.The warmer SST in this region will bring about a stronger SCSM,and vice versa.The relationship between SSTA in the tropical western Indian Ocean and SCSM has been investigated.It is found that the SSTA in this region can influence the onset of SCSM,and plays a role similar to the one in the eastern Pacific.The above results also reflect that the activity of SCSM has a close relationship with the El Nino or La Nina events.The onset and the strength change of the SCSM are obviously influenced by the heating status anomaly on the tropic Pacific through the Walker circulation.

ENSO事件次表层海温的两个模态及其对大气环流的影响

利用SODA海洋同化资料和NCEP再分析大气资料,分析了热带太平洋次表层海温异常(subsurfaceoceantemperatureanomaly,SOTA)与厄尔尼诺与南方涛动(ElNi?o-SouthernOscillation,ENSO)循环的联系,及SOTA对大气环流的影响。回顾传统ENSO研究,指出存在的问题,提出了ENSO影响大气研究的新思路,得到以下结果:(1)以SOTA为基本资料的研究发现, ENSO事件有两个模态,主要出现在冬季的第一模态对冬季及夏季亚洲-北太平洋-北美地区上空中高纬大气环流有重要影响,主要出现在夏季的第二模态对该地区上空夏季热带和副热带大气系统有重要作用。(2)ENSO事件通过与ENSO相联系的热带太平洋海面温度异常(ENSO-relatedseasurface temperatureanomaly,RSSTA)对大气的异常热通量输送,强迫Walker环流和Hadley环流变化,导致热带和北太平洋及周边地区上空大气环流异常,进而影响相关地区冬季和夏季的气候。(3)海表面温度异常(seasurfacetemperatureanomaly,SSTA)包含RSSTA和大气异常导致的海温变化(sea temperature anomaly caused by atmospheric anomaly, STA)两部分, RSSTA是ENSO事件过程中海洋内部热动力结构调整导致的海面温度变化,在海洋对大气的热输送过程中,它随ENSO事件演变不断更新;STA是大气受RSSTA海洋异常加热后导致的大气环流异常对海面温度的影响,在海洋浅表层STA对RSSTA有重大影响。本文最后讨论了ENSO事件期间热带海洋对大气热输送过程,指出ENSO事件通过海洋内部热动力结构调整产生RSSTA,它直接对大气异常加热,导致大气环流和气候异常,局地海气之间负反馈过程产生STA,反过来抑制RSSTA。结果还指出,人们常用的SSTA变率实际上主要由秋冬季节RSSTA主导,丢失了春夏季ENSO信息,用SSTA研究ENSO事件存在局限性,这也可能是ENSO事件春季预报障碍的原因之一。

A Review of Decadal/Interdecadal Climate Variation Studies in China

Decadal/interdecadal climate variability is an important element in the CLIVAR (Climate Variability and Predictability) and has received much attention in the world. Many studies in relation to interdecadal variation have also been completed by Chinese scientists in recent years. In this paper, an introduction in outline for interdecadal climate variation research in China is presented. The content includes the features of interdecadal climate variability in China, global warming and interdecadal temperature variability, the NAO (the North Atlantic Oscillation)/NPO (the North Pacific Oscillation) and interdecadal climate variation in China, the interdecadal variation of the East Asian monsoon, the interdecadal mode of SSTA (Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly) in the North Pacific and its climate impact, and abrupt change feature of the climate.

The Influence of the Indian Ocean Dipole on Atmospheric Circulation and Climate

The SST variation in the equatorial Indian Ocean is studied with special interest in analyzing its dipole oscillation feature. The dipole oscillation appears to be stronger in September-November and weaker in January-April with higher SST in the west region and lower SST in the east region as the positive phase and higher SST in the east region and lower SST in the west region as the negative phase. Generally, the amplitude of the positive phase is larger than the negative phase. The interannual variation (4-5 year period) and the interdecadal variation (25-30 year period) also exist in the dipole. The analyses also showed the significant impact of the Indian Ocean dipole on the Asian monsoon activity, because the lower tropospheric wind fields over the Southern Asia, the Tibetan high in the upper troposphere and the subtropical high over the northwestern Pacific are all related to the Indian Ocean dipole. On the other, the Indian Ocean dipole still has significant impact on atmospheric circulation and climate in North America and the southern Indian Ocean region (including Australia and South Africa).

Two Northward Jumps of the Summertime Western Pacific Subtropical High and Their Associations with the Tropical SST Anomalies

Based on the pentad mean ridgeline index of the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH), the authors identified the two northward jumps of the WPSH from 1979 to 2008 and revealed their associations with the tropical SST anomalies. The authors show that the northward jumps, especially the second jump, exhibited remarkable interannual variability. In addition, the authors find that the two northward jumps were mutually independent and were influenced by the SST anomalies in the different regions of the tropical Pacific. The first jump was positively correlated with the SST anomalies in the tropical central Pacific from the preceding winter to June. In contrast, the second jump was positively related to ENSO in the preceding winter, but this correlation tended to weaken with the decay of ENSO and disappeared in July. Instead, a positive correlation was found in the Indian Ocean. We therefore suggest that ENSO plays an indirect role in the second jump through the capacitor effect of the Indian Ocean.