High‐Frequency Wind‐Related Seasonal Mean Latent Heat Flux Changes Over the Tropical Indo‐Western Pacific in El Niño and La Niña Years

2020 ◽  
Vol 125 (21) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renguang Wu ◽  
Yang Jiao ◽  
Yuqi Wang ◽  
Xiaojing Jia
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Latent Heat Flux ◽  
El Niño ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
El Nino ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
La Nina

scholarly journals Impact of Deforestation on Land–Atmosphere Coupling Strength and Climate in Southeast Asia

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6140
Author(s):  
Merja H. Tölle
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Latent Heat Flux ◽  
Coupling Strength ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Impact

Southeast Asia (SEA) is a deforestation hotspot. A thorough understanding of the accompanying biogeophysical consequences is crucial for sustainable future development of the region’s ecosystem functions and society. In this study, data from ERA-Interim driven simulations conducted with the state-of-the-art regional climate model COSMO-CLM (CCLM; version 4.8.17) at 14 km horizontal resolution are analyzed over SEA for the period from 1990 to 2004, and during El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events for November to March. A simulation with large-scale deforested land cover is compared to a simulation with no land cover change. In order to attribute the differences due to deforestation to feedback mechanisms, the coupling strength concept is applied based on Pearson correlation coefficients. The correlations were calculated based on 10-day means between the latent heat flux and maximum temperature, the latent and sensible heat flux, and the latent heat flux and planetary boundary layer height. The results show that the coupling strength between land and atmosphere increased for all correlations due to deforestation. This implies a strong impact of the land on the atmosphere after deforestation. Differences in environmental conditions due to deforestation are most effective during La Niña years. The strength of La Nina events on the region is reduced as the impact of deforestation on the atmosphere with drier and warmer conditions superimpose this effect. The correlation strength also intensified and shifted towards stronger coupling during El Niño events for both Control and Grass simulations. However, El Niño years have the potential to become even warmer and drier than during usual conditions without deforestation. This could favor an increase in the formation of tropical cyclones. Whether deforestation will lead to a permanent transition to agricultural production increases in this region cannot be concluded. Rather, the impact of deforestation will be an additional threat besides global warming in the next decades due to the increase in the occurrence of multiple extreme events. This may change the type and severity of upcoming impacts and the vulnerability and sustainability of our society.

How Many ENSO Flavors Can We Distinguish?*

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (13) ◽  
pp. 4816-4827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel C. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Warm Pool ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Western Pacific Warm Pool ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Pacific Warm Pool ◽  
Sst Anomalies

Abstract It is now widely recognized that El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) occurs in more than one form, with the canonical eastern Pacific (EP) and more recently recognized central Pacific (CP) ENSO types receiving the most focus. Given that these various ENSO “flavors” may contribute to climate variability and long-term trends in unique ways, and that ENSO variability is not limited to these two types, this study presents a framework that treats ENSO as a continuum but determines a finite maximum number of statistically distinguishable representative ENSO patterns. A neural network–based cluster analysis called self-organizing map (SOM) analysis paired with a statistical distinguishability test determines nine unique patterns that characterize the September–February tropical Pacific SST anomaly fields for the period from 1950 through 2011. These nine patterns represent the flavors of ENSO, which include EP, CP, and mixed ENSO patterns. Over the 1950–2011 period, the most significant trends reflect changes in La Niña patterns, with a shift in dominance of La Niña–like patterns with weak or negative western Pacific warm pool SST anomalies until the mid-1970s, followed by a dominance of La Niña–like patterns with positive western Pacific warm pool SST anomalies, particularly after the mid-1990s. Both an EP and especially a CP El Niño pattern experienced positive frequency trends, but these trends are indistinguishable from natural variability. Overall, changes in frequency within the ENSO continuum contributed to the pattern of tropical Pacific warming, particularly in the equatorial eastern Pacific and especially in relation to changes of La Niña–like rather than El Niño–like patterns.

scholarly journals Biophysical responses near equatorial islands in the Western Pacific Ocean during El Niño/La Niña transitions

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (20) ◽  
pp. 5473-5479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Gierach ◽  
Monique Messié ◽  
Tong Lee ◽  
Kristopher B. Karnauskas ◽  
Marie-Hélène Radenac
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Western Pacific Ocean ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Western Pacific

scholarly journals Changes in Sea Salt Emissions Enhance ENSO Variability

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (23) ◽  
pp. 8575-8588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Yang ◽  
Lynn M. Russell ◽  
Sijia Lou ◽  
Maryam A. Lamjiri ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Sea Salt ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Interannual Variations ◽  
Enso Variability ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Tropical Pacific

Abstract Two 150-yr preindustrial simulations with and without interactive sea salt emissions from the Community Earth System Model (CESM) are performed to quantify the interactions between sea salt emissions and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Variations in sea salt emissions over the tropical Pacific Ocean are affected by changing wind speed associated with ENSO variability. ENSO-induced interannual variations in sea salt emissions result in decreasing (increasing) aerosol optical depth (AOD) by 0.03 over the equatorial central-eastern (western) Pacific Ocean during El Niño events compared to those during La Niña events. These changes in AOD further increase (decrease) radiative fluxes into the atmosphere by +0.2 (−0.4) W m−2 over the tropical eastern (western) Pacific. Thereby, sea surface temperature increases (decreases) by 0.2–0.4 K over the tropical eastern (western) Pacific Ocean during El Niño compared to La Niña events and enhances ENSO variability by 10%. The increase in ENSO amplitude is a result of systematic heating (cooling) during the warm (cold) phase of ENSO in the eastern Pacific. Interannual variations in sea salt emissions then produce the anomalous ascent (subsidence) over the equatorial eastern (western) Pacific between El Niño and La Niña events, which is a result of heating anomalies. Owing to variations in sea salt emissions, the convective precipitation is enhanced by 0.6–1.2 mm day−1 over the tropical central-eastern Pacific Ocean and weakened by 0.9–1.5 mm day−1 over the Maritime Continent during El Niño compared to La Niña events, enhancing the precipitation variability over the tropical Pacific.

Two Tropical Routes for the Remote Influence of the Northern Tropical Atlantic on the Indo−western Pacific Summer Climate

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-51
Author(s):  
Yuhei Takaya ◽  
Naoaki Saito ◽  
Ichiro Ishikawa ◽  
Shuhei Maeda
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Walker Circulation ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Summer Climate ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Northern Tropical Atlantic

AbstractThis study investigates the influence of sea surface temperature (SST) in the northern tropical Atlantic (NTA) on the Indo−western Pacific summer climate by analyzing record-high NTA SSTs summer in 2010. In that time, a decaying El Niño and developing La Niña were accompanied by widespread anomalous climate conditions in the Indo-western Pacific. These conditions are typical of summers that follow El Niño events and are often explained as being due to the influence of Indian Ocean warming induced by the El Niño. Meanwhile, the record high NTA SSTs that also resulted from the influence of the El Niño, the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation as well as the interdecadal-and-longer NTA SST variability, is one of possible causes of anomalous conditions in the Indo−western Pacific. The results of sensitivity experiments using a coupled atmosphere−ocean model clearly indicate that the high NTA SSTs had a considerable influence on the summer weather in the Indo−western Pacific via two tropical routes: an eastbound route that involved a reinforcement of the atmospheric equatorial Kelvin wave and a westbound route that involved altering the Walker circulation over the Atlantic−Pacific region. The altered Walker circulation facilitated the transition to La Niña, amplifying the impact on the western North Pacific monsoon. Further evaluation reveals that both the interannual and interdecadal-and-longer variability of the NTA SST contributed to the anomalous Indo−western Pacific summer. The results highlight the interannual to multidecadal predictability of the Indo−western Pacific summer climate that originates in the NTA.

scholarly journals Diversity of Marine Heatwaves in the South China Sea regulated by the ENSO phase

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-51
Author(s):  
Kai Liu ◽  
Kang Xu ◽  
Congwen Zhu ◽  
Boqi Liu
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
South China ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
La Niña ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
La Nina

Abstract Marine heatwaves (MHWs) in the South China Sea (SCS) have dramatic impacts on local ecosystems, fisheries, and aquacultures. Our results show that SCS MHWs were strongly regulated by El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) with a distinct life cycle during 1982–2018. Based on the ENSO-associated sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) warming peaks in the SCS, we can classify SCS MHWs into three categories, namely, El Niño-P1 during the first warming peak of El Niño from September to the following February, El Niño-P2 during the second warming peak of El Niño from the following June to September, and La Niña-P1 during the single warming peak of La Niña from the following February to May. The three types of SCS MHWs are all affected by the lower-level enhanced anticyclone over the western North Pacific (WNP), but their physical mechanisms are quite different. In El Niño-P1, SCS MHWs are mostly induced by enhanced net downward shortwave radiation and reduced latent heat flux loss over the southwestern and northern SCS, respectively. In El Niño-P2, SCS MHWs are primarily attributed to weaker entrainment cooling caused by a local enhanced anticyclone and stronger Ekman downwelling in the central-northern SCS. However, in La Niña-P1, SCS MHWs are mainly contributed by the reduced latent heat loss due to the weaker WNP anticyclone centered east of the Philippines on the pentad timescale. The distinct spatial distributions of MHWs show phase locking with ENSO-associated SCS SSTA warming, which provides a potential seasonal forecast of SCS MHWs according to the ENSO phase.

scholarly journals Combined Role of High- and Low-Frequency Processes of Equatorial Zonal Transport in Terminating an ENSO Event

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (14) ◽  
pp. 5461-5483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han-Ching Chen ◽  
Chung-Hsiung Sui ◽  
Yu-Heng Tseng ◽  
Bohua Huang
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Kelvin Waves ◽  
La Niña ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Eastern Boundary ◽  
Peak Phase

This study investigates the sudden reversal of anomalous zonal equatorial transport above thermocline at the peak phase of ENSO. The oceanic processes associated with zonal transport are separated into low-frequency ENSO cycle and high-frequency oceanic wave processes. Both processes can generate a reversal of equatorial zonal current at the ENSO peak phase, which is a trigger for the rapid termination of ENSO events. For the low-frequency process, zonal transport exhibits slower and basinwide evolution. During the developing phase of El Niño (La Niña), eastward (westward) transport prevails in the central-eastern Pacific, which enhances ENSO. At the peak of ENSO, a basinwide reversal of the zonal transport resulting from the recharge–discharge process occurs and weakens the existing SST anomalies. High-frequency zonal transport presents clear eastward propagation related to Kelvin wave propagation at the equator, reflection at the eastern boundary, and the westward propagating Rossby waves. The major westerly wind bursts (easterly wind surges) occur in late boreal summer and fall with coincident downwelling (upwelling) Kelvin waves for El Niño (La Niña) events. After the peak of El Niño (La Niña), Kelvin waves reach the eastern boundary in boreal winter and reflect as off-equatorial Rossby waves; then, the zonal transport switches from eastward (westward) to westward (eastward). The high-frequency zonal transport can be represented by equatorial wave dynamics captured by the first three EOFs based on the high-pass-filtered equatorial thermocline. The transport anomaly during the decaying phase is dominated by the low-frequency process in El Niño. However, the transport anomaly is caused by both low- and high-frequency processes during La Niña.

scholarly journals Understanding Bias in the Evaporative Damping of El Niño–Southern Oscillation Events in CMIP5 Models

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (16) ◽  
pp. 6351-6370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Ferrett ◽  
Matthew Collins ◽  
Hong-Li Ren
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Latent Heat Flux ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
El Niño Southern Oscillation ◽  
El Nino Southern Oscillation ◽  
Double Itcz

This study examines the extent of the Pacific double–intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) bias in an ensemble of CMIP5 coupled general circulation models and the relationship between this common bias and equatorial Pacific evaporative heat flux feedbacks involved in El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). A feedback decomposition method, based on the latent heat flux bulk formula, is implemented to enable identification of underlying causes of feedback bias and diversity from dynamical and thermodynamical processes. The magnitude of mean precipitation south of the equator in the east Pacific (an indicator of the extent of the double-ITCZ bias in a model) is linked to the mean meridional surface wind speed and direction in the region and is consequently linked to diversity in the strength of the wind speed response during the ENSO cycle. The ENSO latent heat flux damping is weak in almost all models and shows a relatively large range in strength in the CMIP5 ensemble. While both humidity gradient and wind speed feedbacks are important drivers of the damping, the wind speed feedback is an underlying cause of the overall damping bias for many models and is ultimately more dominant in driving interensemble variation. Feedback biases can also persist in atmosphere-only (AMIP) runs, suggesting that the atmosphere model plays an important role in latent heat flux damping and double-ITCZ bias and variation. Improvements to coupled model simulation of both mean precipitation and ENSO may be accelerated by focusing on the atmosphere component.

scholarly journals Interactive Feedback between ENSO and the Indian Ocean

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 1784-1801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Seong Kug ◽  
In-Sik Kang
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Easterly Wind ◽  
Mature Phase ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
The Western Pacific

Abstract A feedback process of the Indian Ocean SST on ENSO is investigated by using observed data and atmospheric GCM. It is suggested that warming in the Indian Ocean produces an easterly wind stress anomaly over Indonesia and the western edge of the Pacific during the mature phase of El Niño. The anomalous easterly wind in the western Pacific during El Niño helps a rapid termination of El Niño and a fast transition to La Niña by generating upwelling Kelvin waves. Thus, warming in the Indian Ocean, which is a part of the El Niño signal, operates as a negative feedback mechanism to ENSO. This Indian Ocean feedback appears to operate mostly for relatively strong El Niños and results in a La Niña one year after the mature phase of the El Niño. This 1-yr period of phase transition implies a possible role of Indian Ocean–ENSO coupling in the biennial tendency of the ENSO. Atmospheric GCM experiments show that Indian Ocean SST forcing is mostly responsible for the easterly wind anomalies in the western Pacific.

scholarly journals Simple stochastic model for El Niño with westerly wind bursts

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (37) ◽  
pp. 10245-10250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sulian Thual ◽  
Andrew J. Majda ◽  
Nan Chen ◽  
Samuel N. Stechmann
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Burst Activity ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Enso Cycle ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Wind Bursts ◽  
The Western Pacific

Atmospheric wind bursts in the tropics play a key role in the dynamics of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). A simple modeling framework is proposed that summarizes this relationship and captures major features of the observational record while remaining physically consistent and amenable to detailed analysis. Within this simple framework, wind burst activity evolves according to a stochastic two-state Markov switching–diffusion process that depends on the strength of the western Pacific warm pool, and is coupled to simple ocean–atmosphere processes that are otherwise deterministic, stable, and linear. A simple model with this parameterization and no additional nonlinearities reproduces a realistic ENSO cycle with intermittent El Niño and La Niña events of varying intensity and strength as well as realistic buildup and shutdown of wind burst activity in the western Pacific. The wind burst activity has a direct causal effect on the ENSO variability: in particular, it intermittently triggers regular El Niño or La Niña events, super El Niño events, or no events at all, which enables the model to capture observed ENSO statistics such as the probability density function and power spectrum of eastern Pacific sea surface temperatures. The present framework provides further theoretical and practical insight on the relationship between wind burst activity and the ENSO.

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