On the association between spring Arctic sea ice concentration and Chinese summer rainfall

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 36; no. 9; pp. np - n/a
• Main Authors: Wu, Bingyi, Zhang, Renhe, Wang, Bin, D'Arrigo, Rosanne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2009; American Geophysical Union; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Anomalies; Arctic sea ice; China; Chinese summer rainfall; Climate change; Cryosphere; Earth; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Eurasian wave train; Exact sciences and technology; Ice; Oceans; Rainfall; Rivers; Sea ice; Snow cover; Spatial distribution; Spring; Springs; Summer; Trains; Russian Federation; Greenland Sea; Lake Baikal; Eurasia; Asia; Arctic region; China; Europe; Arctic Ocean; polar regions; Far East; Yangtze River; Russia, Siberia, Baykal L; China, People's Rep., Huang He R; PN, Arctic Ocean; ANE, Greenland Sea; ANE, Europe; China, People's Rep., Changjiang R; rainfall; atmospheric precipitation; springs; precursors; Summer; concentration; variability; anomalies; Summer monsoon; Precursor; spatial distribution; Spring(season); sea ice; Wave train; Dipole; Polar region; Height; Snow cover; Singular value decomposition
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/2009GL037299

A statistical relationship between spring Arctic sea ice concentration (SIC) and Chinese summer rainfall is identified using singular value decomposition (SVD). Results show that decreased (increased) spring SIC in the Arctic Ocean and the Greenland Sea corresponds to increased (decreased) summer rainfall in northeast China and central China between the Yangtze River and the Yellow River (28°–36°N); and decreased (increased) rainfall in south China. Corresponding summer 500 hPa height anomalies show a Eurasian wave train structure, which originates in northern Europe and extends southeastwards to northeast China, and a south‐north dipole structure over East Asia south to Lake Baikal. Such a spatial distribution of 500 hPa height anomalies and corresponding summer rainfall anomalies cannot be entirely attributed to the impact of East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) variability. The spring Arctic SIC provides a complementary precursor for Chinese summer rainfall variability. The combined impacts of both spring Arctic SIC and Eurasian snow cover on the Eurasian wave train may explain their statistical linkage.