A statistical relationship between spring Arctic sea iceconcentration (SIC) and Chinese summer rainfall is identifiedusing singular value decomposition (SVD). Results showthat decreased (increased) spring SIC in the Arctic Ocean andthe Greenland Sea corresponds to increased (decreased)summer rainfall in northeast China and central Chinabetween the Yangtze River and the Yellow River (28°-36°N); and decreased (increased) rainfall in south China.Corresponding summer 500 hPa height anomalies show aEurasian wave train structure, which originates in northernEurope and extends southeastwards to northeast China, and asouth-north dipole structure over East Asia south to LakeBaikal. Such a spatial distribution of 500 hPa heightanomalies and corresponding summer rainfall anomaliescannot be entirely attributed to the impact of East Asiansummer monsoon (EASM) variability. The spring Arctic SICprovides a complementary precursor for Chinese summerrainfall variability. The combined impacts of both springArctic SIC and Eurasian snow cover on the Eurasian wavetrain may explain their statistical linkage.
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