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Abstract Atmospheric river (AR) and its impact on monsoon rainfall in East Asia are investigated by considering their month‐to‐month variations during the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). The AR in the EASM, defined as an anomalously enhanced plume‐like water vapor transport, frequently forms over eastern China, Korea and western Japan. However, its characteristics vary from the early (June‐July) to the late (August‐September) period of the EASM. In the early EASM, AR is typically characterized by a quasi‐stationary monsoon southwesterly along the northern boundary of the western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH), which is further intensified by a migrating extratropical cyclone in the north. In contrast, the late‐EASM AR, which is less frequent than the early EASM AR, is primarily organized by a migrating extratropical cyclone. The quasi‐stationary monsoon southwesterly is less influential as the northern boundary of the WNPSH shifts northward, being decoupled from the subtropical ocean. Both the early‐ and late‐EASM ARs contribute substantially to monsoon rainfall, especially to heavy rainfall events. In the early EASM, 35%–70% of total rainfall amount and 60%–80% of heavy rainfall events in eastern China, Korea and western Japan are associated with AR. Although weakened, AR‐related rainfall is still significant in the late EASM in Korea and western Japan. These results indicate that AR is a key ingredient of EASM precipitation and its subseasonal variations should be taken into account to better understand and predict AR‐related extreme precipitation in East Asia.
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Atmospheric River Lifecycle Responses to the Madden‐Julian Oscillation
Abstract We investigate how the Madden‐Julian Oscillation (MJO), the dominant mode of tropical subseasonal variability, modulates the lifecycle of cool‐season North Pacific atmospheric rivers (ARs). When the enhanced (suppressed) convection center is located over the Indian Ocean (western Pacific), more AR events originate over eastern Asia and with fewer over the subtropical northern Pacific. When the enhanced (suppressed) convection is over the western Pacific (Indian Ocean), the opposite changes occur, with more AR events originate over the subtropical northern Pacific and fewer over eastern Asia. Dynamical processes involving anomalous MJO wind and seasonal mean moisture are found to be the dominant factors impacting these variations in AR origins. The MJO‐related anomalous geopotential height patterns are also shown to modulate the propagation of the AR events. These MJO–AR lifecycle relationships are further supported by model simulations.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1652289
- PAR ID:
- 10442908
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Volume:
- 48
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 0094-8276
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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