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Signals of the South China Sea summer rainfall variability in the Indian Ocean

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Abstract

The present study investigates signals of the South China Sea (SCS) summer rainfall variability in the Indian Ocean. It is found that the SCS summer rainfall has a negative relationship with December–January–February (DJF) western-equatorial Indian Ocean (WIO) sea surface temperature (SST), a positive relationship with an asymmetric mode of precipitation anomalies in the tropical Indian Ocean during March–April–May (MAM), and a positive relationship with June–July–August (JJA) South Indian Ocean (SIO) SST. The WIO SST anomalies induce same-sign southeast Indian Ocean SST anomalies through an anomalous zonal vertical circulation. The southeast Indian Ocean SST anomalies last from late winter to early summer and induce opposite-sign SCS summer rainfall anomalies via an anomalous meridional vertical circulation. The asymmetric mode influences the SCS summer rainfall variation via the North Indian Ocean (NIO) SST anomalies with significant cloud–radiation and wind–evaporation effect. Positive (negative) SIO SST anomalies drive an anomalous direct circulation between the SIO and the NIO, and an anomalous indirect circulation between the NIO and the SCS which facilitates the occurrence of cyclonic (anti–cyclonic) wind anomalies over the SCS–western North Pacific and results in positive (negative) SCS summer rainfall anomalies. Partial correlation analysis indicates that the influence of DJF WIO SST anomalies and JJA SIO SST anomalies on the SCS summer rainfall is partly ENSO-independent, while the MAM asymmetric mode is mostly related to the preceding DJF eastern Pacific SST anomalies.

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Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate the comments of two anonymous reviewers. This study is supported by the National Key Basis Research Program of China grant (2014CB953902), the Hong Kong Research Grant Council Grant (CUHK403612), the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams, the Strategic Priority Research Program (XDA11010301), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China Grants (41275081, 41475081, and 41376024).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China

    Zhuoqi He & Weiqiang Wang

  2. Center for Monsoon System Research, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bei**g, 100029, China

    Renguang Wu

  3. Institute of Space and Earth Information Science and Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Renguang Wu

  4. Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Zhuoqi He

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Correspondence to Renguang Wu.

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He, Z., Wu, R. & Wang, W. Signals of the South China Sea summer rainfall variability in the Indian Ocean. Clim Dyn 46, 3181–3195 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2760-5

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