Interannual variability of Mascarene high and Australian high and their influences on summer rainfall over East Asia

摘要

Based on the reanalysis data fromNCEP/NCAR and other observational data, interannualvariability of Mascarene high (MH) and Australian high (AH) from 1970 to 1999 is examined. It is shown that interannual variability of MH is dominated by the Antarctic oscillation (AAO), when the circumpolar low in the high southern lati-tudes deepens, the intensity of MH will be intensified. On the other hand, AH is correlated by AAO as well as El Nio and South Oscillation (ENSO), the intensity of AH will be inten-sified when El Nio occurs. Both correlation analysis andcase study demonstrate that summer rainfall over East Asia is closely related to MH and AH. When MH intensifies from boreal spring to summer (i.e. from austral autumn to winter)there is more rainfall over regions from the Yangtze Rivervalley to Japan, in contrast, less rainfall is found over south-ern China and western Pacific to the east of Taiwan, andmost of regions in mid-latitudes of East Asia. Compared with MH, the effect of AH on summer rainfall in East Asia is lim-ited to localized regions, there is more rainfall over southern China with the intensification of AH. The results in this study show that AAO is a strong signal on interannual time-scale, which plays an important role in summer rainfall over East Asia. This discovery is of real importance to revealing the physical mechanism of interannual variability of EastAsian summer monsoon and prediction of summer precipi-tation in China.