A STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPRING SOIL MOISTURE OVER CHINA AND EAST ASIA SUMMER MONSOON

Abstract:

The correlation analysis has been used to study the relationship between spring soil moisture over China and East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). It is shown that EASM has a strong positive correlation with spring soil moisture over southwest China and the Great Bend region of the Yellow River. A standard soil moisture index (SMI) has been defined using the observed soil moisture of the two regions. The results show that SMI has a strong correlation with EASM. The years of strong (weak) SMI are associated with stronger (weaker) summer monsoon circulation. In the years of strong SMI, the west Pacific subtropical high is much northward in position and weaker in intensity; the westerlies zone is also more to the north. All of these make EASM circulation move northward and cause the rainfall belt to relocate to North China and Northeast China. SMI can reflect the variation of the summer rainfall anomaly over eastern China. In the years of strong SMI, the rainfall belt is mainly located over the northem part of China.However, during the weak years, the summer rainfall belt is largely located over the mid- and lower- reaches of the Yangtze River. Additionally, the SMI has obvious oscillations of quasi 4-6 years and quasi 2 years. Moreover, negative SMI predicts EASM better than positive SMI.