Complex Networks Reveal Teleconnections between the Global SST and Rainfall in Southwest China

Abstract

Droughts and floods have frequently occurred in Southwest China (SWC) during the past several decades. Yet, the understanding of the mechanism of precipitation in SWC is still a challenge, since the East Asian monsoon and Indian monsoon potentially influence the rainfall in this region. Thus, the prediction of precipitation in SWC has become a difficult and critical topic in climatology. We develop a novel multi-variable network-based method to delineate the relations between the global sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) and the precipitation anomalies (PA) in SWC. Our results show that the out-degree patterns in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean significantly influence the PA in SWC. In particular, we find that such patterns dominated by extreme precipitation change with the seasons. Furthermore, we uncover that the teleconnections between the global SSTA and rainfall can be described by the in-degree patterns, which dominated by several vital nodes within SWC. Based on the characteristics of these nodes, we find that the key SSTA areas affect the pattern of the nodes in SWC with some specific time delays that could be helpful to improve the long-term prediction of precipitation in SWC.

Predicting Summer Precipitation Anomalies in the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau Using Spring Sea-Surface Temperature Anomalies

“…The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau is located near the tropical oceans of the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea, where the Indian monsoon and East Asian monsoon bring abundant moisture from the Bay of Bengal, South China Sea, Arabian Sea, and western Pacific, posing challenges to precipitation forecasting in the region [12,13]. Currently, numerous scholars are focused on understanding the connection between sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) and precipitation anomalies in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, resulting in a series of meaningful research findings [14,15]. For instance, Jiang et al (2017) [16] employed the EOF method to analyze the primary modes and causes of summer precipitation anomalies in the Yunnan-Guizhou region.…”

Asymmetrical synchronization of extreme rainfall events in southwest China

“…Using complex network methods can capture the elements of the climate system and effectively describe its internal structure (Boccaletti et al, 2006;Zhang et al, 2019;2020b). Over the past several decades, researchers have analysed, understood, and even predicted climate phenomena by the construction of "climate networks" (Wang et al, 2012;Fan et al, 2020;Qiao et al, 2021b). Tsonis et al (2008) constructed a 500-hPa geopotential height field correlation network and found the existence of network supernodes (atmospheric teleconnection) can make the climate system more stable and the transmission of matter and energy more efficient.…”

“…Using complex network methods can capture the elements of the climate system and effectively describe its internal structure (Boccaletti et al ., 2006; Zhang et al ., 2019; 2020b). Over the past several decades, researchers have analysed, understood, and even predicted climate phenomena by the construction of “climate networks” (Wang et al ., 2012; Fan et al ., 2020; Qiao et al ., 2021b). Tsonis et al .…”

Influence of Scandinavian teleconnection pattern on summer precipitation over the eastern side of the Tibetan Plateau

“…Many previous studies have highlighted the importance of sea surface temperature (SST) forcing on the interannual variability of rainfall over the ESTP (Li et al ., 2018; Qiao et al ., 2021). Furthermore, the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation, the strongest signal of interannual climate variability on Earth, plays a major role in modulating the frequency and intensity of precipitation in China depending on the warming patterns (Li et al ., 2011a; Yuan and Yang, 2012).…”