Relative contributions of the Tibetan Plateau thermal forcing and the Indian Ocean Sea surface temperature basin mode to the interannual variability of the East Asian summer monsoon

Abstract

Investigating the relationships among different factors impacting the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) is urgent for improving its predictability. In the present study, two factors, the Tibetan Plateau (TP) atmospheric thermal forcing and the Indian Ocean sea surface temperature basin mode (IOBM), are selected to compare their relative contributions to the interannual variability of the EASM. Both statistical methods and numerical experiments are used to separate and compare their respective influences under realistic circumstances. The results indicate that the IOBM mainly drives an anticyclonic anomaly over the northwestern Pacific in the lower troposphere, which is consistent with the dominant mode of the EASM circulation system. Meanwhile, influences from the TP thermal forcing are primarily on the anticyclonic anomaly over the TP in the upper troposphere, together with the enhanced southwesterly over southern China and a northerly anomaly over northern China in the lower troposphere. Moreover, the TP thermal forcing seems to play a more important role than the IOBM in affecting the main rainfall belt of the EASM, which extends from the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to Japan. Such a rainfall pattern anomaly is directly related to the anomalous northerly over northern China and the resultant stronger moisture convergence over the main rainfall belt region when a strong TP thermal forcing occurs. In addition, the IOBM can increase the precipitation over the southeastern TP during its positive phase and hence enhance the in situ atmospheric heat source to a certain degree.