Impact of winter thermal condition of the Tibetan Plateau on the zonal wind anomaly over equatorial Pacific

Using the improved CCM1 dynamic climate model, the impact of abnormal heat source and sink over the Tibetan Plateau in winter on the abnormal zonal wind over the Pacific Ocean is studied in this paper. The following new-findings are obtained: (1) When the at mospheric cold source during January—March on the Tibetan Plateau gets intensified, an abnormal anticyclone around the Tibetan Plateau will appear in lower troposphere. Abnormal northerly wind at the coastal area of the mainland of China and an abnormal cyclone will appear on the West Pacific in the following months. Then, abnormal west wind will appear over the equator of the West Pacific and extends to the East Pacific. (2) When the atmospheric cold source during January—March over the Tibetan Plateau is unusually weak, an abnormal cyclone around the Tibetan Plateau will appear at lower levels first, then abnormal anticyclone will appear on the West Pacific and move to the south and result in abnormal easterly wind over the equator of the West Pacific, which will extend to the east. Furthermore, abnormal changes of zonal wind on equatorial Indian Ocean can be caused by the intensity change of atmospheric cold source in winter and early spring over the Tibetan Plateau.