Interannual variations of the rainy season withdrawal of the monsoon transitional zone in China

Abstract

The monsoon transitional zone (MTZ) is the interactional belt between humid and arid regions. This study examines the interannual variation of the MTZ rainy season withdrawal over China. A withdrawal index is firstly defined according to pentad mean precipitation data. The index shows pronounced interannual variations, with a significant dominant period around 2–4 years. When the withdrawal of the MTZ rainy season is later than normal, pronounced precipitation increase appears over the MTZ in August. Meanwhile, a significant anticyclonic anomaly appears over the tropical western North Pacific (WNP) and a marked atmospheric wave train is seen originating from the North Atlantic and flowing across Eurasia to East Asia. Both the anomalous anticyclone over the WNP and the negative geopotential height anomalies related to the Eurasian wave train around the MTZ contribute to the precipitation increase over the MTZ in August, and lead to the late withdrawal of the MTZ rainy season in China. It is showed that preceding winter El Nino-like events have a contribution to the generation of anticyclonic anomalies over the WNP. In addition, the northern tropical Atlantic (NTA) sea surface temperature (SST) warming, which is independent of the preceding winter El Nino, is found to play a crucial role in the formation of the WNP anticyclone and the Eurasian atmospheric wave train. The importance of the NTA SST anomalies on the MTZ rainy season withdrawal is also confirmed by a set of atmospheric general circulation model experiments.