Water Vapor Transport Related to the Interdecadal Shift of Summer Precipitation over Northern East Asia in the Late 1990s

In this study, an interdecadal shift of summer precipitation over northern East Asia (NEA) was identified, demonstrating that summer precipitation decreased abruptly after 1998/99. The synchronous shift in summer moisture budget and water vapor transport over NEA was further investigated by using the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. The results indicate that water vapor transported northward into NEA from three low-latitude paths was limited because most water vapor was transported eastward. Water vapor transported from the westerly path in mid–high (WMH) latitudes exhibited significant correlations with summer precipitation in NEA and experienced a significant adjustment in the late 1990s. Regarding the spatial distributions of water vapor transport, less input was found through the western boundary while more output occurred through the eastern boundary of NEA, and zonal water vapor transport fluxes mainly concentrated at the low to middle levels, which led to the summer precipitation shift in NEA around the late 1990s. Furthermore, it is also confirmed that the wind anomalies (rather than the moisture disturbance) as the dominant internal dynamic factor and Pacific Decadal Oscillation/Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (PDO/AMO) as possible external force played important roles in influencing the water vapor transport and causing the summer precipitation shift over NEA in the late 1990s.