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Does El Niño-Southern Oscillation affect the precipitation in Korea on seasonal time scales?

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Abstract

A number of studies in the past two decades have attempted to find the relationship between the precipitation in Korea and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on various time scales. Comprehensive analyses of station precipitation data in Korea for the 61-year period, 1954-2014, in this study show that the effects of ENSO on the seasonal precipitation in Korea are practically negligible. The correlation between summer precipitation and ENSO is insignificant regardless of the intensity, type (e.g., eastern-Pacific or central-Pacific), and stage (e.g., developing, mature, or decaying) of ENSO. Somewhat meaningful correlation between ENSO and precipitation in Korea occurs only in the ENSO-developing fall. Because summer rainfall accounts for over half of the annual total and fall is a dry season in Korea, the overall effects of ENSO on precipitation in Korea are practically nonexistent.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

    Chang-Hoi Ho & Woosuk Choi

  2. JIFRESSE and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Jinwon Kim

  3. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Kongju National University, Kongju, Korea

    Maeng-Ki Kim

  4. Korea Meteorological Administration, Seoul, Korea

    Hee-Dong Yoo

Authors
  1. Chang-Hoi Ho
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  2. Woosuk Choi
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  3. Jinwon Kim
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  4. Maeng-Ki Kim
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  5. Hee-Dong Yoo
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Correspondence to Chang-Hoi Ho.

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Ho, CH., Choi, W., Kim, J. et al. Does El Niño-Southern Oscillation affect the precipitation in Korea on seasonal time scales?. Asia-Pacific J Atmos Sci 52, 395–403 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13143-016-0016-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13143-016-0016-x

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