Drying Over Eastern China Driven by the Depletion of Arctic Stratospheric Ozone During Boreal Spring

Abstract Given the significant importance of spring precipitation for agricultural production in China and the presence of the spring predictability barrier, scientists have dedicated extensive efforts to understand the factors influencing spring precipitation variability and explore new predictors....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Dingzhu Hu, Zhuohua Zhang, Zhaoyong Guan
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL108008
https://doaj.org/article/5e94ca78db094192a06fe1064ef8c55a
Description
Summary:Abstract Given the significant importance of spring precipitation for agricultural production in China and the presence of the spring predictability barrier, scientists have dedicated extensive efforts to understand the factors influencing spring precipitation variability and explore new predictors. However, the effects of Arctic stratospheric ozone (ASO) on precipitation in China during boreal spring, if any, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We found the robust influences of March ASO on the differences in the precipitation and evaporation in April over Eastern China during 1980–2020. When ASO decreases in March, it tends to result in a higher and colder tropopause in the polar, a stronger subtropical jet stream, an intensified local Hadley circulation accompanied by anomalous downward motion over Eastern China, and consequently, drying in this region, and vice versa. These findings suggest that the likelihood of April moistening over East Asia may be potentially predicted by employing the ASO index.