Atmospheric rivers over the Northwestern Pacific: Climatology and interannual variability

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  • Kamae, Y.
    • Other Affiliation: University of California San Diego
  • Mei, W.
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Marine Sciences
  • Xie, S.-P.
    • Other Affiliation: University of California San Diego
  • Naoi, M.
    • Other Affiliation: University of Tsukuba
  • Ueda, H.
    • Other Affiliation: University of Tsukuba
Abstract
  • Atmospheric rivers (ARs), conduits of intense water vapor transport in the midlatitudes, are critically important for water resources and heavy rainfall events over the west coast of North America, Europe, and Africa. ARs are also frequently observed over the northwestern Pacific (NWP) during boreal summer but have not been studied comprehensively. Here the climatology, seasonal variation, interannual variability, and predictability of NWP ARs (NWPARs) are examined by using a large ensemble, high-resolution atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) simulation and a global atmospheric reanalysis. The AGCM captures general characteristics of climatology and variability compared to the reanalysis, suggesting a strong sea surface temperature (SST) effect on NWPARs. The summertime NWPAR occurrences are tightly related to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the preceding winter through Indo-western Pacific Ocean capacitor (IPOC) effects. An enhanced East Asian summer monsoon and a low-level anticyclonic anomaly over the tropical western North Pacific in the post-El Niño summer reinforce low-level water vapor transport from the tropics with increased occurrence of NWPARs. The strong coupling with ENSO and IPOC indicates a high predictability of anomalous summertime NWPAR activity.
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  • Article
Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Journal title
  • Journal of Climate
Journal volume
  • 30
Journal issue
  • 15
Page start
  • 5605
Page end
  • 5619
Language
  • English
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  • Publisher
ISSN
  • 0894-8755
Publisher
  • American Meteorological Society

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