Interannual Variations of the Precipitation in Korea and the Comparison with Those in China and Japan

한국 강수량의 연 변동과 중국 및 일본 강수량과의 비교 연구

Examining the precipitation data collected during the period from 1960 to 1993, we found that Taegu Station represents an optimum station for explaining the interannual variations of the precipitation in Korea. Using the variations derived from Taegu, the secular trends of the precipitation in Korea have been studied. It was 삽so found that the interannual variations of summer monsoon precipitation are consistent with those of the annual precipitation. To explore the interannual variations of the summer monsoon precipitation, comparisons of the summer precipitation in Korea with that in China and Japan were made. The results of the empirical orthogonal function analysis showed that Korea, the Yangtze River and Huaihe River valley, and the south Japan are all located in the same climate system during summer. The detailed analysis was carried out on the comparison of the summer precipitation in Korea with that in the eastern part of the the mainland China. We found that the correlation pattern is similar to the East Asia/pacific pattern. The probable effects of the sea surface temperature on the precipitation in Korea were also discussed. Key Words : Precipitation in Korea, rainy seasons in East Asia, monsoon precipitation, interannual variations.