Multidecadal variation of northern hemisphere summer monsoon forced by the SST inter-hemispheric dipole

Abstract

The sea surface temperature inter-hemispheric dipole (SSTID) is an important variability mode of global SST anomalies, characterized by an anti-phase variation of SST between the two hemispheres. In this study, the decadal variation of the northern hemisphere summer monsoon (NHSM) is found to be strongly regulated by the SSTID, with positive (negative) phases of the SSTID corresponding to the strengthening (weakening) of NHSM. Both observation and SST-forced atmospheric model simulations suggest that the SSTID related thermal forcing modulates the NHSM by causing planetary-scale atmospheric circulation adjustments. Positive SSTID events lead to coherent increase (decrease) of surface air temperature over the entire northern (southern) hemisphere, increasing the inter-hemispheric thermal contrast (ITC). As sea level pressure changes are just opposite to air temperature, the increase of ITC enhances the inter-hemispheric pressure gradient (southern hemisphere minus northern hemisphere), leading to the strengthening of summer monsoonal circulation and the increase of monsoon rainfall in the northern hemisphere.