Physical Mechanisms of the Wintertime Surface Air Temperature Variability in South Korea and the near-7-Day Oscillations

Abstract

Abstract The first three principal modes of wintertime surface temperature variability in Seoul, South Korea (37.33°N, 126.59°E), are extracted from the 1979–2008 observed records via cyclostationary EOF (CSEOF) analysis. The first mode represents the seasonal cycle, the principle physical mechanism of which is associated with the continent–ocean sea level pressure contrast. The second mode mainly describes the overall wintertime warming or cooling. The third mode depicts subseasonal fluctuations of surface temperature. Sea level pressure anomalies to the west of South Korea (eastern China) and those with an opposite sign to the east of South Korea (Japan) are a major physical factor both for the second mode and the third mode. These sea level pressure anomalies with opposite signs alter the amount of warm air to the south of South Korea, which changes the surface temperature in South Korea. The PC time series of the seasonal cycle is significantly correlated with the East Asian winter monsoon index and exhibits a conspicuous downward trend. The PC time series of the second mode exhibits a positive trend. These trends imply that the wintertime surface temperature in South Korea has increased and the seasonal cycle has weakened gradually over the past 30 yr; the sign of greenhouse warming is clear in both PC time series. The ∼7-day oscillations are a major component of high-frequency variability in much of the analysis domain and are a manifestation of Rossby waves. Rossby waves aloft result in the concerted variation of physical variables in the atmospheric column. Due to the stronger mean zonal wind, the disturbances by Rossby waves propagate eastward at ∼8–12 m s−1; the passing of Rossby waves with alternating signs produces the ∼7-day temperature oscillations in South Korea.