scholarly journals The equatorial Pacific cold tongue simulated by IPCC AR4 coupled GCMs: Upper ocean heat budget and feedback analysis

2012 ◽  
Vol 117 (C5) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Yangxing Zheng ◽  
Jia-Lin Lin ◽  
Toshiaki Shinoda
Keyword(s):  
Heat Budget ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Cold Tongue ◽  
Feedback Analysis ◽  
Ipcc Ar4

scholarly journals The Double-ITCZ Problem in IPCC AR4 Coupled GCMs: Ocean–Atmosphere Feedback Analysis

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (18) ◽  
pp. 4497-4525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia-Lin Lin
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Amount ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Bjerknes Feedback ◽  
Trade Winds ◽  
Feedback Analysis ◽  
Tropical Precipitation ◽  
Double Itcz ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Ipcc Ar4

Abstract This study examines the double–intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) problem in the coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) participating in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). The twentieth-century climate simulations of 22 IPCC AR4 CGCMs are analyzed, together with the available Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) runs from 12 of them. To understand the physical mechanisms for the double-ITCZ problem, the main ocean–atmosphere feedbacks, including the zonal sea surface temperature (SST) gradient–trade wind feedback (or Bjerknes feedback), the SST–surface latent heat flux (LHF) feedback, and the SST–surface shortwave flux (SWF) feedback, are studied in detail. The results show that most of the current state-of-the-art CGCMs have some degree of the double-ITCZ problem, which is characterized by excessive precipitation over much of the Tropics (e.g., Northern Hemisphere ITCZ, South Pacific convergence zone, Maritime Continent, and equatorial Indian Ocean), and are often associated with insufficient precipitation over the equatorial Pacific. The excessive precipitation over much of the Tropics usually causes overly strong trade winds, excessive LHF, and insufficient SWF, leading to significant cold SST bias in much of the tropical oceans. Most of the models also simulate insufficient latitudinal asymmetry in precipitation and SST over the eastern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The AMIP runs also produce excessive precipitation over much of the Tropics, including the equatorial Pacific, which also leads to overly strong trade winds, excessive LHF, and insufficient SWF. This suggests that the excessive tropical precipitation is an intrinsic error of the atmospheric models, and that the insufficient equatorial Pacific precipitation in the coupled runs of many models comes from ocean–atmosphere feedback. Feedback analysis demonstrates that the insufficient equatorial Pacific precipitation in different models is associated with one or more of the following three biases in ocean–atmosphere feedback over the equatorial Pacific: 1) excessive Bjerknes feedback, which is caused by excessive sensitivity of precipitation to SST and overly strong time-mean surface wind speed; 2) overly positive SST–LHF feedback, which is caused by excessive sensitivity of surface air humidity to SST; and 3) insufficient SST–SWF feedback, which is caused by insufficient sensitivity of cloud amount to precipitation. Off the equator over the eastern Pacific stratus region, most of the models produce insufficient stratus–SST feedback associated with insufficient sensitivity of stratus cloud amount to SST, which may contribute to the insufficient latitudinal asymmetry of SST in their coupled runs. These results suggest that the double-ITCZ problem in CGCMs may be alleviated by reducing the excessive tropical precipitation and the above feedback-relevant errors in the atmospheric models.

scholarly journals An Intermodel Approach to Identify the Source of Excessive Equatorial Pacific Cold Tongue in CMIP5 Models and Uncertainty in Observational Datasets

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (19) ◽  
pp. 7630-7640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gen Li ◽  
Yan Du ◽  
Haiming Xu ◽  
Baohua Ren
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Cmip5 Models ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Cold Tongue ◽  
Budget Analysis ◽  
Dynamic Cooling

Abstract An excessive cold tongue error in the equatorial Pacific has prevailed in several generations of climate models. However, the causes of this problem remain a mystery, partly owing to uncertainty and/or a lack of observational datasets. Based on the multimodel ensemble from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), this study introduces a novel intermodel approach to identify the bias source by going beyond comparison with observational datasets. Intermodel statistics show that the excessive cold tongue bias could be traced back to a too strong oceanic dynamic cooling linked to a too shallow thermocline along the equatorial Pacific. A heat budget analysis suggests that the excessive oceanic dynamic cooling is balanced by the surface latent heat flux (LHF) adjustment. This is consistent with a variety of oceanic and atmospheric observations but at odds with the popular objectively analyzed air–sea heat fluxes (OAFlux) products. Further analyses suggest an alarming overestimation of OAFlux net surface heat flux (Qnet) into the tropical Pacific, mainly ascribed to observational uncertainly in air specific humidity. Implications for intermodel statistics in assessing model processes, validating observational data, and regulating future climate projections are discussed.

The diurnal mixed layer and upper ocean heat budget in the western equatorial Pacific

1995 ◽  
Vol 100 (C4) ◽  
pp. 6865 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. Richards ◽  
M. E. Inall ◽  
N. C. Wells
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Western Equatorial Pacific

scholarly journals Do CMIP5 Models Show El Niño Diversity?

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 1619-1641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Feng ◽  
Tao Lian ◽  
Jun Ying ◽  
Junde Li ◽  
Gen Li
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Cmip5 Models ◽  
Budget Analysis ◽  
Future Global Warming ◽  
Central Equatorial Pacific ◽  
The Future ◽  
Sst Gradient

AbstractWhether the state-of-the-art CMIP5 models have different El Niño types and how the degree of modeled El Niño diversity would be impacted by the future global warming are still heavily debated. In this study, cluster analysis is used to investigate El Niño diversity in 30 CMIP5 models. As the method does not rely on any prior knowledge of the patterns of El Niño seen in observations, it provides a practical way to identify the degree of El Niño diversity in models. Under the historical scenario, most models show a poor degree of El Niño diversity in their own model world, primarily due to the lopsided numbers of events belonging to the two modeled El Niño types and the weak compactness of events in each cluster. Four models are found showing significant El Niño diversity, yet none of them captures the longitudinal distributions of the warming centers of the two El Niño types seen in the observations. Heat budget analysis of the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly suggests that the degree of modeled El Niño diversity is highly related to the climatological zonal SST gradient over the western-central equatorial Pacific in models. As the gradient is weakened in most models under the future high-emission scenario, the degree of modeled El Niño diversity is further reduced in the future. The results indicate that a better simulation of the SST gradient over the western-central equatorial Pacific might allow a more reliable simulation/projection of El Niño diversity in most CMIP5 models.

scholarly journals Effects of Ocean Biology on the Penetrative Radiation in a Coupled Climate Model

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (16) ◽  
pp. 3973-3987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Wetzel ◽  
Ernst Maier-Reimer ◽  
Michael Botzet ◽  
Johann Jungclaus ◽  
Noel Keenlyside ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Cycle ◽  
Marine Biology ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Biogeochemical Model ◽  
Coupled Climate Model

Abstract The influence of phytoplankton on the seasonal cycle and the mean global climate is investigated in a fully coupled climate model. The control experiment uses a fixed attenuation depth for shortwave radiation, while the attenuation depth in the experiment with biology is derived from phytoplankton concentrations simulated with a marine biogeochemical model coupled online to the ocean model. Some of the changes in the upper ocean are similar to the results from previous studies that did not use interactive atmospheres, for example, amplification of the seasonal cycle; warming in upwelling regions, such as the equatorial Pacific and the Arabian Sea; and reduction in sea ice cover in the high latitudes. In addition, positive feedbacks within the climate system cause a global shift of the seasonal cycle. The onset of spring is about 2 weeks earlier, which results in a more realistic representation of the seasons. Feedback mechanisms, such as increased wind stress and changes in the shortwave radiation, lead to significant warming in the midlatitudes in summer and to seasonal modifications of the overall warming in the equatorial Pacific. Temperature changes also occur over land where they are sometimes even larger than over the ocean. In the equatorial Pacific, the strength of interannual SST variability is reduced by about 10%–15% and phase locking to the annual cycle is improved. The ENSO spectral peak is broader than in the experiment without biology and the dominant ENSO period is increased to around 5 yr. Also the skewness of ENSO variability is slightly improved. All of these changes lead to the conclusion that the influence of marine biology on the radiative budget of the upper ocean should be considered in detailed simulations of the earth’s climate.

Effect of excessive equatorial Pacific cold tongue bias on the El Niño-Northwest Pacific summer monsoon relationship in CMIP5 multi-model ensemble

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 6195-6212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gen Li ◽  
Yuntao Jian ◽  
Song Yang ◽  
Yan Du ◽  
Ziqian Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Summer Monsoon ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Northwest Pacific ◽  
Cold Tongue ◽  
Model Ensemble

scholarly journals Intraseasonal Modulation of the Surface Cooling in the Gulf of Guinea

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 382-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Jouanno ◽  
Frédéric Marin ◽  
Yves du Penhoat ◽  
Jean-Marc Molines
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Equatorial Waves ◽  
Gulf Of Guinea ◽  
The Core ◽  
Mixed Layer Heat Budget ◽  
Inertia Gravity Waves

Abstract A regional numerical model of the tropical Atlantic Ocean and observations are analyzed to investigate the intraseasonal fluctuations of the sea surface temperature at the equator in the Gulf of Guinea. Results indicate that the seasonal cooling in this region is significantly shaped by short-duration cooling events caused by wind-forced equatorial waves: mixed Rossby–gravity waves within the 12–20-day period band, inertia–gravity waves with periods below 11 days, and equatorially trapped Kelvin waves with periods between 25 and 40 days. In these different ranges of frequencies, it is shown that the wave-induced horizontal oscillations of the northern front of the mean cold tongue dominate the variations of mixed layer temperature near the equator. But the model mixed layer heat budget also shows that the equatorial waves make a significant contribution to the mixed layer heat budget through modulation of the turbulent cooling, especially above the core of the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC). The turbulent cooling variability is found to be mainly controlled by the intraseasonal modulation of the vertical shear in the upper ocean. This mechanism is maximum during periods of seasonal cooling, especially in boreal summer, when the surface South Equatorial Current is strongest and between 2°S and the equator, where the presence of the EUC provides a background vertical shear in the upper ocean. It applies for the three types of intraseasonal waves. Inertia–gravity waves also modulate the turbulent heat flux at the equator through vertical displacement of the core of the EUC in response to equatorial divergence and convergence.

Using a novel combination of autonomous vehicles for air-sea interaction studies: Results from the Eurec4a campaign 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Siddle ◽  
Karen J. Heywood ◽  
Ben Webber ◽  
Peter Bromley
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Heat Content ◽  
Flux Measurement ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Momentum Exchange ◽  
Tropical North Atlantic

<div> <p>The Tropical North Atlantic region is a key driver of climate variability and extreme weather events, driven largely by heat and momentum exchanges across the air-sea boundary. Observations of these fluxes by satellites and vessels are limited in their spatial resolution and length of time series respectively. In-situ samples across long time periods are needed, which can be obtained through developing a network of in-situ flux measurement platforms. UEA and AutoNaut have worked to address this challenge with the deployment of <em>Caravela</em> - an AutoNaut uncrewed surface vessel. <em>Caravela</em> is a wave and solar powered autonomous vessel, equipped with meteorological and oceanographic sensors and the ability to transport a Seaglider. <em>Caravela</em> successfully completed its first scientific deployment as part of the Eurec<sup>4</sup>a campaign. </p> </div><div> <p>Eurec<sup>4</sup>a ran from January—March 2020 from Barbados, investigating climate change feedback in the Tropical North Atlantic and the role of cloud systems. <em>Caravela</em> spent 11 days of her 33-day deployment occupying a 10 km square, co-located with other Eurec<sup>4</sup>a platforms to gather in-situ surface data on heat and momentum exchange. Preliminary results from <em>Caravela</em> give us an insight into heat exchange at the surface, downwelling radiation and wind conditions during deployment. There is an identifiable diurnal cycle during the deployment, particularly visible in temperature data, which will feed into our understanding of changes in fluxes at a local scale. Profiling ocean gliders at the study site allow us to determine a time series of upper ocean heat content changes. These data, alongside that collected by other platforms during Eurec<sup>4</sup>a, should enable an upper ocean heat budget to be calculated at <em>Caravela’s</em> study site. </p> </div>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document