Statistical Analysis of Moisture Sources and Quantitative Contribution of Cold Vortex Rainstorms in Northeast China during the Warm Season

Abstract

Abstract The northeast cold vortex (NECV) is an essential system in the northeast region (NER) of China. Understanding the moisture source and associated transport characteristics of NECV rainstorms is the key to the knowledge of its mechanisms. In this study, we focus on two NECV rainstorm centers during the warm season (May–September) from 2008 to 2013. The Flexible Particle (FLEXPART) model and quantitative contribution analysis method are applied to reveal the moisture sources and their quantitative contribution. The results demonstrate that for the northern NECV rainstorm center (R1), Northeast Asia (35.66%) and east-central China and its coastal regions (29.14%) make prominent moisture contributions, followed by R1 (11.37%), whereas east-central China and its coastal regions (45.16%), the southern NECV rainstorm center itself (R2, 17.90%), and the northwest Pacific (10.24%) principally contribute to R2. Moisture uptake in Northeast Asia differs between R1 and R2, which could serve as one of the vital indicators to judge where the NECV rainstorm falls in NER. Moisture from the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the South China Sea suffers massive en route loss, although these sources’ contribution and uptake are positively correlated with the intensity and scale of NECV rainstorms in the two centers. There exists intermonth and geographical variability in NECV rainstorms when the main moisture source region contributes the most. Regulated by the atmospheric circulation and the East Asian summer monsoon, the particle trajectories and source contributions of NECV rainstorms vary from month to month. Sources’ contribution also turns out to be diverse in the overall warm season.