Spatio-Temporal Variability of Winter Monsoon over the Indochina Peninsula

Abstract

In this study, the spatial patterns and their interannual variability of wintertime low-level winds over the Indochina Peninsula (IDP) were studied by using the analysis of the empirical orthogonal function for complex numbers. The leading mode accounts for 46.6% of the total variance. The composite and regressed patterns of wind components show dominant northeasterly wind over the IDP, which are related to the East Asia winter monsoon (EAWM) circulation and connected to the cyclonic circulation near Borneo. The correlations between the EAWM indices and the leading principal component (PC) suggest the plausible connections between the low-level wind over the IDP and EAWM predominantly via the wind circulation. We also performed correlation analysis on the relationship between leading mode and sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs). The result indicates that there is a linkage between the northeasterly wind over the IDP and EAWM and with SSTAs in the Pacific Ocean. This study provides useful information and a mechanism related to the monsoon variability over the IDP.

Keywords

• Indochina
• winter monsoon
• variability
• sea surface temperature