Cao et al. (2026) Compound marine heatwaves and atmospheric boundary layer jets drive enhanced coastal precipitation

Identification

• Journal: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-10-19
• Authors: Xinyi Cao, Lixin Qu, Yu Du, Xinyi Wang, Lei Zhou, Jiabao Guo, Hu Zhendong, Lei Peng
• DOI: 10.1038/s41612-026-01571-w

Research Groups

• State Key Laboratory of Submarine Geoscience and School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Xinyi Cao, Lixin Qu, Xinyi Wang, Lei Zhou, Zhendong Hu & Lei Peng)
• School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) (Yu Du)
• Climate Change and Resource Utilization in Complex Terrain Regions Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, School of Atmospheric Sciences, Chengdu University of Information Technology (Jiabao Guo)

Short Summary

This study investigates the synergistic impacts of marine heatwaves (MHWs) and atmospheric boundary layer jets (BLJs) on coastal precipitation over the South China Sea. The results show that co-occurring MHWs and BLJs drive a 51.9% increase in regional coastal precipitation relative to climatology.

Objective

• Investigate the compound effect of marine heatwaves and atmospheric boundary layer jets on coastal precipitation

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: South China Sea (SCS)
• Temporal Scale: 1998-2023

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Satellite observations and reanalysis data
• Data sources: Satellite, observation, and reanalysis datasets

Main Results

• Co-occurring marine heatwaves and atmospheric boundary layer jets drive a 51.9% increase in regional coastal precipitation relative to climatology.
• Moist static energy (MSE) diagnostics demonstrate that MHWs act as a thermodynamic catalyst, enhancing surface evaporation by 20%-30%.
• The concurrent BLJ functions as a dynamic conveyor, rapidly transporting excess moisture landward to fuel heavy coastal rainfall.

Contributions

This study highlights the importance of considering the coupling between marine heatwaves and atmospheric boundary layer jets when assessing coastal precipitation. The results imply that assessing coastal precipitation from atmospheric dynamics alone may largely underestimate the rainfall response when marine heatwaves are present.

Funding

• National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant number 2023YFF0805300)
• National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 42625501, 42475002, 42576008)
• Innovation Group Project of the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) (grant number SML2024SP035)
• Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (grant numbers 2025A1515011974, 2024A1515510005)
• Oceanic Interdisciplinary Program of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SL2023MS016)

Citation

@article{Cao2026Compound,
  author = {Cao, Xinyi and Qu, Lixin and Du, Yu and Wang, Xinyi and Zhou, Lei and Guo, Jiabao and Zhendong, Hu and Peng, Lei},
  title = {Compound marine heatwaves and atmospheric boundary layer jets drive enhanced coastal precipitation},
  journal = {npj Climate and Atmospheric Science},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1038/s41612-026-01571-w},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-026-01571-w}
}