Influence of the East Asian winter monsoon variability on the surface cyclogenesis over the East China Sea in late winter

Abstract

Using data from the Japanese long-term Re-Analysis project (JRA-25) and the Japan Meteorological Agency Climate Data Assimilation System (JCDAS), we examined how the East Asian winter monsoon variability regulates the surface cyclogenesis in the vicinity of the East China Sea and the Kuroshio Current in late winter. On a monthly basis, the surface cyclone occurrence has a tendency to concentrate over the East China Sea at the strong phase of the East Asian winter monsoon activity, while it disperses zonally along the Kuroshio Current to the south of Japan in the weak monsoon phase. The scatteredness of the surface cyclogenesis are mainly attributed to the change in the lowertropospheric baroclinicity between the strong and weak monsoon phases. It is also suggested that, when the monsoon is strong, the enhanced baroclinic zone along the Kuroshio Current south of Japan provides a favorable condition for the rapid development of the surface cyclones that originate over the East China Sea and migrate northeastward.