Diversity of the tropical easterly jet’s core location

Abstract

The upper-tropospheric tropical easterly jet (TEJ) is one of the most important systems in modulating the Asian summer monsoon rainfall. In addition to the intensity variability that has been extensively studied, the TEJ’s core experiences remarkable changes in the zonal and meridional directions. The TEJ can be identified as three locational patterns using the cluster analysis: the east, northwest, and southwest modes. The frequencies of the three locational modes exhibit discernable changes on the monthly and the interannual-decadal time scales. While the anomalous zonal divergent circulation with the convergent/divergent center over the tropical Indian Ocean (IO) determines the zonal location of the TEJ’s core, the meridional temperature gradient between the Eurasian continent and the tropical IO distinguishes the meridional location of the TEJ’s core. It reflects the fundamental role of the large-scale east-west and north-south thermal contrasts in the movement of the TEJ’s core location. The variability of the TEJ’s core location has distinct impacts on the summer monsoon precipitation via redistributing the upper-level divergence and modulating the monsoon meridional circulation, especially in South, Southeast, and East Asia. In conjunction with the thermal effect of the Tibetan Plateau, the meridional shift of the TEJ’s core can affect the precipitation along the south slope of the Tibetan Plateau. These findings highlight the cause of the diversified TEJ’s core location and the significant impacts on the summer monsoon rainfall.