PRELIMINARY ANALYSES OF THE ACTIVITIES OF SOUTH CHINA SEA SUMMER MONSOON IN 1998

The NCEP reanalyzed data, OLR and SST observations are used to study the onset time and the multi-time scales features of the South China Sea (SCS) summer monsoon in 1998 and its interaction with the sea surface temperature and the effect on the precipitation in Guangdong province. It is found that the 1998 SCS summer monsoon set in on May 17 (in the fourth pentad of the month). The year witnesses a weak monsoon with the OLR oscillating at cycles of about 1 month and the Southwest Monsoon of about 1/2 month. The monsoon over the Bay of Bengal and the cross-equatorial current near 105° are two driving forces for low-frequency variations of the SCS monsoon. The weak activity in the year was resulted from positive anomalies of SST in the equatorial eastern Pacific in early spring and subsequent formation of positive anomalies of SST in the SCS through the Arabian Sea.