Onset of East Asian subtropical summer monsoon and rainy season in China

Here we use harmonic analyses to examine seasonal variations of China land rainfall, low-level winds, and atmospheric heating over East Asia during spring to summer and the associated subtropical summer monsoon activities. Our results indicate that the South China spring rainfall （SCSR） in March is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science China. Earth sciences 2011-12, Vol.54 (12), p.1845-1853
Main Authors: Zhu, CongWen, Zhou, XiuJi, Zhao, Ping, Chen, LongXun, He, JinHai
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Climate change
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Global warming
Monsoons
Rainfall
Rainforests
Rainy season
Research Paper
Seasonal variations
Seasons
Spring
Summer
Tidal waves
东亚
中国南方
副热带
发病
夏季季风
夏季风活动
季节性变化
雨季
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Summary:Here we use harmonic analyses to examine seasonal variations of China land rainfall, low-level winds, and atmospheric heating over East Asia during spring to summer and the associated subtropical summer monsoon activities. Our results indicate that the South China spring rainfall （SCSR） in March is the prophase of East Asian sub-tropical summer monsoon （EASSM）, and the onset of EASSM and China summer rainy season starts in early April, characterized by the enhanced rainfall in South China and the seasonal reverse of zonal land-sea thermal contrast in sub-tropical East Asia. The EASSM onset is earlier than that of South China Sea summer monsoon, and it is active in east of 100°E and north of 20°N. Our analyses suggest that the subsequent heating appears over India-China Peninsula in March and South China in April and causes the low-level atmospheric warming and the zonal land-sea thermal contrast seasonal reverse in East Asian subtropics. The atmospheric heating over South China is the main force to drive the southwesterly winds, updrafts and strengthen the summer precipitation in South China.
ISSN:1674-7313
1869-1897
DOI:10.1007/s11430-011-4284-0