Remote influence of the interannual variability of the Australian summer monsoon on wintertime climate in East Asia and the western North Pacific

Abstract

AbstractAnomalous convective activity in the Tropics forced by sea surface temperature (SST) variability exerts significant remote influence that provides a basis for seasonal prediction in the extratropics. In austral summer convective activity exhibits pronounced interannual variability over northern Australia (NAUS), which is, however, unlikely forced by SST anomalies but essentially a manifestation of internal variability of the Australian summer monsoon (AUSM) system. Based on observational data, the present study reveals its significant remote impacts on the wintertime climate in East Asia and the western North Pacific. The anomalous AUSM excites the Western Pacific (WP) pattern, as confirmed through an atmospheric general circulation model experiment. Through this cross-equatorial teleconnection, the enhanced AUSM leads to the strengthening of the East Asian winter monsoon with a colder winter over the Korean Peninsula and western Japan and reduced precipitation over southern China. The Okhotsk sea-ice extent decreases under warm anomalies and weakened offshore winds. The weakened AUSM leads to the same anomalies but with the opposite polarities. Our observational data analysis and numerical experiments reveal that the WP-like anomalies are excited by the propagation of stationary Rossby waves generated by anomalous upper-level divergent wind from NAUS that extends into the Northern Hemisphere subtropical jet. The climatological Hadley circulation is essential in this process. The concomitant anomalous diabatic heating over East Asia and feedback forcing by transient eddies along the Pacific stormtrack act to further amplify the WP-like response.