Role of the Sea Surface Temperature over the East China Sea and South China Sea in the linkage of the climate change between East Asia and Western Pacific.

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K01177
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Geography
• Research Institution: Institute of Physical and Chemical Research
• Principal Investigator: Kajikawa Yoshiyuki 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 計算科学研究センター, 上級研究員 (20572431)
• Research Collaborator: YAMAURA Tsuyoshi ; HIGUCHI Atsushi ; Johnson Richard H. ; Ha Kyung-Ja
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 気候変動 / モンスーン / 東シナ海 / 南シナ海 / 海面水温 / 大気海洋相互

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The Sea surface temperature (SST) over the East China Sea (ECS) has large interannual variability with peak in boreal spring. We investigated these SST anomalies and found the important role of these anomalies in the linkage between Asian winter and summer monsoon variability by using observational datasets. Of great interest is that these SST anomalies are confined around the ECS and not significantly related to the broad scale Pacific and Indian Ocean SST anomalies. They are well associated with the variability of the northeasterly flow along the southern China, East Asian winter monsoon. On the other hand, these SST anomalies, maintained and enhanced until boreal spring, leads rainfall anomalies over the southeastern part of China. We also examined the role of these SST anomalies on the Intraseasonal oscillation and monsoon onset variability.

Free Research Field

気候学・気象学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

東シナ海や南シナ海の海面水温がアジアの気候変動に対して、冬季から夏季への季節を跨いだ偏差の受け渡しとしての役割を果たしていることを解明したことは、今後の天気の季節予報を考える上でも意義深い。エルニーニョやダイポールモードに代表される太平洋・インド洋だけでなく、当該領域の数値モデルでの再現性向上が必要不可欠であることを示唆し、政治的には難しい領域ではあるが、今後の長期的な観測の必要性を提唱することに繋がる成果である。