ENSO Impact on the Space–Time Evolution of the Regional Asian Summer Monsoons

Abstract

Abstract This study investigates how ENSO affects the space–time evolution of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) precipitation and synoptic variables on a 5-day resolution over the entire ASM area. Cyclostationary EOF and regression methods were used to investigate the detailed evolution features associated with ENSO during the prominent life cycle of the ASM (21 May–17 September). This ENSO mode is identified as the third largest component (next to the seasonal cycle and the intraseasonal oscillations with a 40–50-day period) of the ASM rainfall variation. The ENSO mode reveals that the individual regional monsoons over the ASM domain respond to ENSO in a complex manner. 1) Under the El Niño condition, the early monsoon stage over India, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indochina peninsula is characterized by rainfall deficit, along with a delayed monsoon onset by one or two pentads. This is the result of weakened diabatic heating over the Asian continent and meridional pressure gradient over the Indian Ocean, causing a weak low-tropospheric westerly monsoonal flow and the ensuing moisture transport decrease toward the regional monsoon areas. Onsets of the subsequent regional monsoons are delayed successively by this poorly developed ASM system in the early stage. 2) The Walker circulation anomaly persistently induces an enhanced subsidence over the Maritime Continent, resulting in a drought condition over this region for the entire ASM period. 3) The Hadley circulation anomaly linked to the Walker circulation anomaly over the Tropics drives a rising motion over the subtropical western Pacific, resulting in a wetter south China monsoon. The negative sea level pressure anomaly over the subtropical western Pacific associated with this anomalous Hadley circulation provides an unfavorable condition for the moisture transport toward East Asia, causing drier monsoons over north China, Japan, and Korea regions. 4) This negative sea level pressure anomaly intrudes into India, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indochina peninsula during late July and early August, developing a brief wet period over these regions. In contrast, the physical changes including the onset variation and the monsoon strength addressed above are reversed during La Niña events. In reality, the observed ASM rainfall anomaly does not necessarily follow the ENSO-related patterns addressed above because of other impacts contributing to the rainfall variations. Although the impact of ENSO is moderately important, a comparison with other impacts demonstrates that the rainfall variations are controlled more by regional-scale intraseasonal oscillations.