Linkage between winter sea surface temperature east of Australia and summer precipitation in the Yangtze River valley and a possible physical mechanism

Abstract

The relationship between winter sea surface temperature (SST) east of Australia and summer precipitation in the Yangtze River valley and a possibly related physical mechanism were investigated using observation data. It is found that winter SST east of Australia is correlated positively to summer precipitation in the Yangtze River valley. When the SST east of Australia becomes warmer in winter, the western Pacific subtropical high and the East Asian westerly jet tend to shift southward the following summer, concurrent with low-level southwesterly anomalies over eastern China. These conditions favor precipitation increase in the Yangtze River valley, whereas the opposite conditions favor precipitation decrease. The influence of winter SST east of Australia on East Asian summer atmospheric circulations may occur in two ways. First, by an anomalous SST signal east of Australia in winter that persists through the following summer, thus affecting East Asian atmospheric circulations via the inter-hemispheric teleconnection. Second, when the SST east of Australia is warmer in winter, higher SST appears simultaneously in the southwest Indian Ocean and subsequently develops eastward by local air-sea interaction. As a result, the SST in the Maritime Continent increases in summer, which may lead to an anomalous change in East Asian summer atmospheric circulations through its impact on convection.