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A possible mechanism for the co‐variability of the boreal spring Antarctic Oscillation and the Yangtze River valley summer rainfall
Author(s) -
Sun Jianqi,
Wang Huijun,
Yuan Wei
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
international journal of climatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.58
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-0088
pISSN - 0899-8418
DOI - 10.1002/joc.1773
Subject(s) - teleconnection , climatology , boreal , subtropical ridge , spring (device) , subtropics , geology , plateau (mathematics) , convection , antarctic oscillation , zonal and meridional , pacific decadal oscillation , yangtze river , precipitation , environmental science , oceanography , el niño southern oscillation , geography , meteorology , china , mechanical engineering , paleontology , mathematical analysis , mathematics , archaeology , fishery , engineering , biology
A significant correlation between the boreal spring Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) and the Yangtze River valley summer rainfall (YRVSR) has been found in previous studies, although the mechanisms that might lead to such far‐reaching teleconnection remain unresolved. In this study, one of possible mechanisms responsible for the co‐variability of the boreal spring AAO and the YRVSR is proposed. It follows that the convection activity over the region of the Maritime Continent serves as a bridge linking the boreal spring AAO and the YRVSR. This physical process can be described schematically as follows: during the boreal spring, a positive‐phase (negative‐phase) AAO is concurrent with a strong (weak) convection activity over the region of the Maritime Continent via anomalous meridional circulations along the central South Pacific and two meridional teleconnection wave train patterns, with one over the southern Indian Ocean at the lower level and the other along the central South Pacific at the upper level. Thereafter, the anomalous convection propagates northward along the seasonal cycle, and then changes the western Pacific subtropical high in the following seasons, consequently impacting on the summer rainfall in the Yangtze River valley. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society