Asymmetry of the Tripole Rainfall Pattern during the East Asian Summer

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates the tripole rainfall pattern in East Asia during the northern summer. The tripole pattern is characterized by a zonally elongated and meridionally banded structure with signs changing alternatively from 20° to 50°N along the East Asian coast. The positive (negative) phase of the pattern is characterized by more (less) rainfall in central-eastern China, Japan, and South Korea, and less (more) rainfall in northern and southern China. Asymmetry between the positive and negative phases is one of the key findings of this study. The tripole pattern is closely associated with two wavelike patterns: the Pacific–Japan pattern and the Silk Road pattern. The former, which emanates from the tropical western Pacific to extratropical East Asia, is more evident in the positive phase, while the latter, emanating across the Eurasian continent, is more evident in the negative phase. The positive phase appears to have a stronger tropical connection, while the negative phase has a stronger extratropical connection. The positive and negative phases are associated with the positive and negative SSTA in the equatorial eastern Pacific, respectively. It is suggested that in the positive phase the zonally oriented overturning circulation driven by the positive SSTA in the equatorial eastern Pacific induces heating anomalies in the tropical western Pacific, which in turn triggers a wavelike pattern emanating northward toward extratropical East Asia. This indirect SSTA effect is not evident in the negative phase, which is predominantly affected by the extratropical Eurasian wavelike perturbations. On the other hand, anomalous heating over the eastern Tibetan Plateau seems to induce the eastward-propagating wavelike structure in both phases. It is suggested that the tripole pattern is a result of the amplification of an intrinsic dynamic mode that can be triggered by various factors despite their different origins.