Modulation of the Arctic Oscillation and the East Asian winter climate relationships by the 11-year solar cycle

Abstract

The modulation of the relationship between the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the East Asian winter climate by the 11-year solar cycle was investigated. During winters with high solar activity (HS), robust warming appeared in northern Asia in a positive AO phase. This result corresponded to an enhanced anticyclonic flow at 850 hPa over northeastern Asia and a weakened East Asian trough (EAT) at 500 hPa. However, during winters with low solar activity (LS), both the surface warming and the intensities of the anticyclonic flow and the EAT were much less in the presence of a positive AO phase. The possible atmospheric processes for this 11-year solar-cycle modulation may be attributed to the indirect influence that solar activity induces in the structural changes of AO. During HS winters, the sea level pressure oscillation associated with the AO became stronger, with the significant influence of AO extending to East Asia. In the meantime, the AO-related zonal-mean zonal winds tended to extend more into the stratosphere during HS winters, which implies a stronger coupling to the stratosphere. These trends may have led to an enhanced AO phase difference; thus the associated East Asian climate anomalies became larger and more significant. The situation tended to reverse during LS winters. Further analyses revealed that the relationship between the winter AO and surface-climate anomalies in the following spring is also modulated by the 11-year solar cycle, with significant signals appearing only during HS phases. Solar-cycle variation should be taken into consideration when the AO is used to predict winter and spring climate anomalies over East Asia.