Pacific warming pattern diversity modulated by Indo‐Pacific sea surface temperature gradient

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leying Zhang ◽  
Jiuwei Zhao ◽  
Jong‐Seong Kug ◽  
Xin Geng ◽  
Haiming Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Gradient ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Pattern Diversity ◽  
Warming Pattern ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature Gradient ◽  
Surface Temperature Gradient

What Controls the Mean East–West Sea Surface Temperature Gradient in the Equatorial Pacific: The Role of Cloud Albedo

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 2757-2778 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Burls ◽  
A. V. Fedorov
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Gradient ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Walker Circulation ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature Gradient ◽  
The Mean ◽  
East West ◽  
Surface Temperature Gradient

Abstract The mean east–west sea surface temperature gradient along the equator is a key feature of tropical climate. Tightly coupled to the atmospheric Walker circulation and the oceanic east–west thermocline tilt, it effectively defines tropical climate conditions. In the Pacific, its presence permits the El Niño–Southern Oscillation phenomenon. What determines this temperature gradient within the fully coupled ocean–atmosphere system is therefore a central question in climate dynamics, critical for understanding past and future climates. Using a comprehensive coupled model [Community Earth System Model (CESM)], the authors demonstrate how the meridional gradient in cloud albedo between the tropics and midlatitudes (Δα) sets the mean east–west sea surface temperature gradient in the equatorial Pacific. To change Δα in the numerical experiments, the authors change the optical properties of clouds by modifying the atmospheric water path, but only in the shortwave radiation scheme of the model. When Δα is varied from approximately −0.15 to 0.1, the east–west SST contrast in the equatorial Pacific reduces from 7.5°C to less than 1°C and the Walker circulation nearly collapses. These experiments reveal a near-linear dependence between Δα and the zonal temperature gradient, which generally agrees with results from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) preindustrial control simulations. The authors explain the close relation between the two variables using an energy balance model incorporating the essential dynamics of the warm pool, cold tongue, and Walker circulation complex.

scholarly journals The role of the meridional sea surface temperature gradient in controlling the Caribbean low‐level jet

2017 ◽  
Vol 122 (11) ◽  
pp. 5903-5916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tito Maldonado ◽  
Anna Rutgersson ◽  
Rodrigo Caballero ◽  
Francesco S. R. Pausata ◽  
Eric Alfaro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Gradient ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature Gradient ◽  
Low Level Jet ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Surface Temperature Gradient

scholarly journals The West Pacific Gradient tracks ENSO and zonal Pacific sea surface temperature gradient during the last Millennium

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Zinke ◽  
S. A. Browning ◽  
A. Hoell ◽  
I. D. Goodwin
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Gradient ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Last Millennium ◽  
The West ◽  
West Pacific ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature Gradient ◽  
Surface Temperature Gradient

AbstractSmall changes in Pacific temperature gradients connected with the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influence the Walker Circulation and are related to global climate anomalies. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to develop robust indices of their past behavior. Here, we reconstruct the difference in sea surface temperature between the west and central Pacific during ENSO, coined the West Pacific Gradient (WPG), based on the Last Millennium Paleo Hydrodynamics Data Assimilation. We show that the WPG tracks ENSO variability and strongly co-varies with the zonal gradient in Pacific sea surface temperature. We demonstrate that the WPG strength is related to significant atmospheric circulation and precipitation anomalies during historical El Niño and La Niña events by magnifying or weakening droughts and pluvials across the Indo-Pacific. We show that an extreme negative WPG coupled to a strong zonal Pacific temperature gradient is associated with enhanced megadroughts in North America between 1400 CE and the late sixteenth century. The twentieth century stands out in showing the most extreme swings between positive and negative WPG conditions over the past Millennium. We conclude that the WPG is a robust index together with ENSO indices to reveal past changes in Pacific zonal sea surface temperature gradient variability.

scholarly journals Enhanced warming constrained by past trends in equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature gradient

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-37
Author(s):  
Masahiro Watanabe ◽  
Jean-Louis Dufresne ◽  
Yu Kosaka ◽  
Thorsten Mauritsen ◽  
Hiroaki Tatebe
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Gradient ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature Gradient ◽  
Surface Temperature Gradient
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