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›› 2016, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (1): 47-57.

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Relation between spring precipitation anomaly in southwest China and large-scale circulation

FAN Si-rui1,2, WAGN Wei-jia1, CHEN Tian-yu3,4, HU De-qiang5   

  1. 1 Weather Modification Office of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 610072, Sichuan, China;
    2 Rain and Drought-Flood Disasters in Plateau and Basin Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 610072, Sichuan, China;
    3 Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China;
    4 Weather Modification Center of the China Meteorological Administration, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing 100081, China;
    5 Hainan Climatic Research Centre, Haikou 570203, Hainan, China
  • Received:2015-09-01 Revised:2015-12-01 Online:2016-01-25

Abstract: This paper addresses the relationship between the spring precipitation anomaly in Southwest China and the large-scale atmospheric circulation. In this paper,spring includes March,April and May,and Southwest China includes,Chongqing City,Sichuan Guizhou,and Yun'nan Province. Three categories of datasets from 1961 to 2013 were utilized in the study,including the monthly means of precipitation from 116 meteorological stations in Southwest China,the monthly means of geopotential heights,u-winds,v-winds,vertical velocities,surface pressures and relative humidity from the 2.5°×2.5° NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data,and the 2.0°×2.0° monthly global SST from NOAA Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature(OISST)analysis. Using these datasets, the vapor flux and the vapor flux divergence were first calculated. Then the spatial distribution characteristics of spring precipitation and SST,characteristics of the water vapor transportation,atmospheric circulation of 500 hPa,wind field of 850 hPa,vertical velocity of 500 hPa,relationship between the spring precipitation and vapor flux,and the relationship between the spring precipitation anomaly in Southwest China and the large-scale atmospheric circulation were analyzed with the EOF,composite analysis and correlation analysis. The results show that the spring precipitation in Southwest China demonstrates a regional consistent rising tendency with a latitudinal dipole mode spatial distribution,i.e.,the precipitation in the east of Southwest China(Chongqing,Guizhou, and East Sichuan)and the west of Southwest China(Yun'nan and West Sichuan)varies by reversed phase. When precipitation is less than that in normal years in the west but more in the east in spring,Southwest China is impacted by the anticyclone flows from the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean,which benefits the warm moisture water vapor transport from the Indian Ocean and the West Pacific and prompts the increase of precipitation in Southwest China. When precipitation is less than that in normal years in the east and more in the west in spring in Southwest China,the East Asian Trough,the Ural High Ridge and the Southern Trough are strengthened respectively, which hinders the Westerlies advancing eastward and promotes the convergence upward movement of water vapor in the west of Southwest China. Moreover,the variations of the trough,the ridge,and the anticyclones are highly related to the variation of the sea surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean.

Key words: precipitation anomaly, Southwest China, spring, EOF, atmospheric circulation

CLC Number: 

  • P426.616