Australia’s drift as a pacemaker for the seasonal variability of warm pool precipitation

Tropical precipitation is profoundly influenced by continental evolution across geological time scales. However, the effects of Australia’s drift on warm pool precipitation remains poorly understood. Using a fully coupled climate model with realistic geography, our results reveal a significant amplification of the seasonal migrations of warm pool precipitation in longitude and latitude due to the equatorward drift of Australia. Notably, the observed feature aligns with paleoclimate simulations over the past 40 million years, highlighting the dominant role of Australia’s drift in comparison to the other continental drifts. This study provides insight into how Australia’s drift has shaped the characteristics of warm pool precipitation over the geological timescales.