Asymmetric Effect of El Niño—Southern Oscillation on the Spring Precipitation over South China
South China is one of the most densely populated and agriculture-based regions in China. Local spring precipitation is crucial to the people’s livelihood and social economic development. Using the observed and reanalysis datasets for the period 1958–2019, this study revealed an asymmetric effect of...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/3/391 |
| _version_ | 1797540991785238528 |
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| author | Bei Xu Gen Li Chujie Gao Hong Yan Ziqian Wang Yang Li Siguang Zhu |
| author_facet | Bei Xu Gen Li Chujie Gao Hong Yan Ziqian Wang Yang Li Siguang Zhu |
| author_sort | Bei Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | South China is one of the most densely populated and agriculture-based regions in China. Local spring precipitation is crucial to the people’s livelihood and social economic development. Using the observed and reanalysis datasets for the period 1958–2019, this study revealed an asymmetric effect of El Niño—Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the following spring precipitation over South China. During the years with positive ENSO phases, a strong positive correlation between spring precipitation and the preceding winter ENSO sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies existed over Guangdong province. For the years with negative ENSO phases, such a strong positive correlation shifts westwards to Guangxi province. To be specific, the El Niño events usually result in a precipitation surplus in the decaying spring over Guangdong province, while the La Niña events usually lead to a precipitation deficit in the decaying spring over Guangxi province. This is attributed to the nonlinear effects of ENSO on the atmospheric circulation. Compared with El Niño, the abnormal center of La Niña evidently extends westwards, inducing a westward movement of the anomalous low-level atmospheric circulation, which eventually results in a westward-shifted effect on the following spring precipitation over South China. Our findings emphasize the nonlinear responses of spring precipitation over South China to ENSO. This has important implications for the seasonal climate predictions over South China. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:09:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ac25816e2dcb47e7b0e9dda4d48515f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:09:58Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-ac25816e2dcb47e7b0e9dda4d48515f32023-11-21T10:52:51ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332021-03-0112339110.3390/atmos12030391Asymmetric Effect of El Niño—Southern Oscillation on the Spring Precipitation over South ChinaBei Xu0Gen Li1Chujie Gao2Hong Yan3Ziqian Wang4Yang Li5Siguang Zhu6College of Intelligent Science and Control Engineering, Jingling Institute of Technology, Nanjing 210000, ChinaCollege of Oceanography/Key Laboratory of Marine Hazards Forecasting, Ministry of Natural Resources/Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Coastal Disaster and Protection, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, ChinaCollege of Oceanography/Key Laboratory of Marine Hazards Forecasting, Ministry of Natural Resources/Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Coastal Disaster and Protection, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciencess, Xi’an 710000, ChinaSouthern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, ChinaJiangsu Meteorological Observatory, Nanjing 210000, ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210000, ChinaSouth China is one of the most densely populated and agriculture-based regions in China. Local spring precipitation is crucial to the people’s livelihood and social economic development. Using the observed and reanalysis datasets for the period 1958–2019, this study revealed an asymmetric effect of El Niño—Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the following spring precipitation over South China. During the years with positive ENSO phases, a strong positive correlation between spring precipitation and the preceding winter ENSO sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies existed over Guangdong province. For the years with negative ENSO phases, such a strong positive correlation shifts westwards to Guangxi province. To be specific, the El Niño events usually result in a precipitation surplus in the decaying spring over Guangdong province, while the La Niña events usually lead to a precipitation deficit in the decaying spring over Guangxi province. This is attributed to the nonlinear effects of ENSO on the atmospheric circulation. Compared with El Niño, the abnormal center of La Niña evidently extends westwards, inducing a westward movement of the anomalous low-level atmospheric circulation, which eventually results in a westward-shifted effect on the following spring precipitation over South China. Our findings emphasize the nonlinear responses of spring precipitation over South China to ENSO. This has important implications for the seasonal climate predictions over South China.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/3/391spring precipitationSouth ChinaEl Niñoatmospheric circulationseasonal prediction |
| spellingShingle | Bei Xu Gen Li Chujie Gao Hong Yan Ziqian Wang Yang Li Siguang Zhu Asymmetric Effect of El Niño—Southern Oscillation on the Spring Precipitation over South China Atmosphere spring precipitation South China El Niño atmospheric circulation seasonal prediction |
| title | Asymmetric Effect of El Niño—Southern Oscillation on the Spring Precipitation over South China |
| title_full | Asymmetric Effect of El Niño—Southern Oscillation on the Spring Precipitation over South China |
| title_fullStr | Asymmetric Effect of El Niño—Southern Oscillation on the Spring Precipitation over South China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Asymmetric Effect of El Niño—Southern Oscillation on the Spring Precipitation over South China |
| title_short | Asymmetric Effect of El Niño—Southern Oscillation on the Spring Precipitation over South China |
| title_sort | asymmetric effect of el nino southern oscillation on the spring precipitation over south china |
| topic | spring precipitation South China El Niño atmospheric circulation seasonal prediction |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/3/391 |
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