Decadal change in the relationship between east Asian-western North Pacific summer monsoons and ENSO in the mid-1990s

Abstract

The decadal change in the summer monsoon system over the east Asia and western North Pacific is prominent since 1979 and predominantly associated with the sea surface temperature (SST) distribution of equatorial central and eastern Pacific. The monsoon system in the period 1979-1993 is mainly linked to the warming of SST in the NINO3 region (5°S-5°N, 150°W-90°W), which is associated with a combination of developing and decaying ENSO phases. On the other hand, that in the period 1994-2006 is associated with the SST warming in the NINO4 region (5°S-5°N, 160°E-150°W) during the developing ENSO phase. These features are obvious in both observations and model results. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.