Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2011, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (4): 8-15.doi: 10.11978/j.issn.1009-5470.2011.04.008cstr: 32234.14.j.issn.1009-5470.2011.04.008

Special Issue: 海上丝绸之路专题

• Marine hydrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The impact of springtime heat content in the Indian Ocean on the South China Sea summer monsoon onset

YU Le-jiang1,2, FENG Jun-qiao3,4   

  1. 1. Applied Hydrometeorological Research Institute, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China;
    2. Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200136, China; 3. Institute of Oceanology, CAS, Qingdao 266071, China; 4. Key La-
    boratory of Ocean Circulation and Waves, CAS, Qingdao 266071, China
  • Received:2009-11-27 Revised:2010-07-07 Online:2011-09-05 Published:2011-09-08

Abstract:

The impact of springtime heat content in the Indian Ocean on the South China Sea (SCS) summer monsoon onset is
investigated using Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF). The author uses 0-400 m upper-ocean heat content data from the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography and meteorological data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National
Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR). The results show that under the influence of El Niño-Southern Oscillation
(ENSO) EOF1 of the heat content has a pattern of sea-saw variation between the eastern and western Indian Ocean. When the
heat content is positively anomalous in the eastern Indian Ocean and negatively anomalous in the western Indian Ocean, the
SCS summer monsoon has an early onset; otherwise the onset is delayed. The mechanism is that the heat content pattern in the
Indian Ocean affects the vertical movement and divergence field of upper and lower atmosphere over the tropical Indian Ocean
as well as the strength of zonal wind, leading to early or late onset of the SCS summer monsoon. The spatial pattern of condi-
tional EOF1 (CEOF1) of the heat content is similar to that of EOF1, while the spatial pattern of CEOF2 displays a uniform
pattern except for a small region. The relative importance of the two modes gives uncertainty of their influence on the SCS
summer monsoon onset.

Key words: Indian Ocean, heat content, South China Sea summer monsoon