Interdecadal variability of the South China Sea monsoon and its relationship with latent heat flux in the Pacific Ocean

We analyzed interdecadal variability of the South China Sea monsoon and its relationship with latent heat flux in the Pacific Ocean, using NCEP wind field and OAFlux heat flux datasets. Results indicate that South China Sea monsoon intensity had an obvious interdecadal variation with a decreasing trend. Variability of the monsoon was significantly correlated with latent heat flux in the Kuroshio area and tropical Pacific Ocean. Variability of latent heat flux in the Kuroshio area had an interdecadal increasing trend, while that in the tropical Pacific Ocean had an interdecadal decreasing trend. Latent heat flux variability in these two sea areas was used to establish a latent heat flux index, which had positive correlation with variability of the South China Sea monsoon. When the latent heat flux was 18 months ahead of the South China Sea monsoon, the correlation coefficient maximized at 0.58 (N=612), with a 99.9% significance level of 0.15. Thus, it is suggested that latent heat flux variability in the two areas contributes greatly to interdecadal variability of the South China Sea monsoon.