It is necessary to study the tropical western Pacific SST in association with variations of other parts of the globe. Two basic compositions are revealed of long-term variation in SST over three major tropical oceans since the 1950’s (linear warming and El Ni?o-La Ni?a oscillations) and typical patterns with which they are displayed over the oceans are compared. On the basis of it, difference in long-term variation of SST over western, central and eastern tropical Pacific is analyzed in details. It is pointed out that the El Ni?o-La Ni?a oscillations are relatively weak in the long-term variation of SST in the tropical western Pacific and linear warming trend there is replaced by interdecadal oscillations. Further understanding of the peculiarity over the region helps improve short-term climatic predictions in China.
Identification of key SST zones is essential in predicting the weather / climate systems in East Asia. With the SST data by the U.K. Meteorological Office and 40-year geopotential height and wind fields by NCAR / NCEP, the relationship between the East Asian summer monsoon and north Pacific SSTA is studied, which reveals their interactions are of interdecadal variation. Before mid-1970’s, the north Pacific SSTA acts upon the summer monsoon in East Asia through a great circle wavetrain and results in more rainfall in the summer of the northern part of China. After 1976, the SSTA weakens the wavetrain and no longer influences the precipitation in North China due to loosened links with the East Asian summer monsoon. It can be drawn that the key SST zones having potential effects on the weather / climate systems in East Asia do not stay in one particular area of the ocean but rather shift elsewhere as governed by the interdecadal variations of the air-sea interactions. It is hoped that the study would help shed light on the prediction of drought / flood spans in China.
