Annual Variability of the Subtropical Recirculations in the North Atlantic and North Pacific: A Topex/Poseidon Study

1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 2462-2479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liping Wang ◽  
Chester J. Koblinsky
2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 2111-2130
Author(s):  
Woo Geun Cheon ◽  
Jong-Seong Kug

AbstractIn the framework of a sea ice–ocean general circulation model coupled to an energy balance atmospheric model, an intensity oscillation of Southern Hemisphere (SH) westerly winds affects the global ocean circulation via not only the buoyancy-driven teleconnection (BDT) mode but also the Ekman-driven teleconnection (EDT) mode. The BDT mode is activated by the SH air–sea ice–ocean interactions such as polynyas and oceanic convection. The ensuing variation in the Antarctic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) that is indicative of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) formation exerts a significant influence on the abyssal circulation of the globe, particularly the Pacific. This controls the bipolar seesaw balance between deep and bottom waters at the equator. The EDT mode controlled by northward Ekman transport under the oscillating SH westerly winds generates a signal that propagates northward along the upper ocean and passes through the equator. The variation in the western boundary current (WBC) is much stronger in the North Atlantic than in the North Pacific, which appears to be associated with the relatively strong and persistent Mindanao Current (i.e., the southward flowing WBC of the North Pacific tropical gyre). The North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation is controlled by salt advected northward by the North Atlantic WBC.


2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Ritchie ◽  
Kimberly M. Wood ◽  
Oscar G. Rodríguez-Herrera ◽  
Miguel F. Piñeros ◽  
J. Scott Tyo

Abstract The deviation-angle variance technique (DAV-T), which was introduced in the North Atlantic basin for tropical cyclone (TC) intensity estimation, is adapted for use in the North Pacific Ocean using the “best-track center” application of the DAV. The adaptations include changes in preprocessing for different data sources [Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-East (GOES-E) in the Atlantic, stitched GOES-E–Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-West (GOES-W) in the eastern North Pacific, and the Multifunctional Transport Satellite (MTSAT) in the western North Pacific], and retraining the algorithm parameters for different basins. Over the 2007–11 period, DAV-T intensity estimation in the western North Pacific results in a root-mean-square intensity error (RMSE, as measured by the maximum sustained surface winds) of 14.3 kt (1 kt ≈ 0.51 m s−1) when compared to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center best track, utilizing all TCs to train and test the algorithm. The RMSE obtained when testing on an individual year and training with the remaining set lies between 12.9 and 15.1 kt. In the eastern North Pacific the DAV-T produces an RMSE of 13.4 kt utilizing all TCs in 2005–11 when compared with the National Hurricane Center best track. The RMSE for individual years lies between 9.4 and 16.9 kt. The complex environment in the western North Pacific led to an extension to the DAV-T that includes two different radii of computation, producing a parametric surface that relates TC axisymmetry to intensity. The overall RMSE is reduced by an average of 1.3 kt in the western North Pacific and 0.8 kt in the eastern North Pacific. These results for the North Pacific are comparable with previously reported results using the DAV for the North Atlantic basin.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Eiras-Barca ◽  
Alexandre M. Ramos ◽  
Joaquim G. Pinto ◽  
Ricardo M. Trigo ◽  
Margarida L. R. Liberato ◽  
...  

Abstract. The explosive cyclogenesis of extra-tropical cyclones and the occurrence of atmospheric rivers are characteristic features of baroclinic atmospheres, and are both closely related to extreme hydrometeorological events in the mid-latitudes, particularly on coastal areas on the western side of the continents. The potential role of atmospheric rivers in the explosive cyclone deepening has been previously analysed for selected case studies, but a general assessment from the climatological perspective is still missing. Using ERA-Interim reanalysis data for 1979–2011, we analyse the concurrence of atmospheric rivers and explosive cyclogenesis over the North Atlantic and North Pacific Basins for the extended winter months (ONDJFM). Atmospheric rivers are identified for almost 80 % of explosive deepening cyclones. For non-explosive cyclones, atmospheric rivers are found only in roughly 40 % of the cases. The analysis of the time evolution of the high values of water vapour flux associated with the atmospheric river during the cyclone development phase leads us to hypothesize that the identified relationship is the fingerprint of a mechanism that raises the odds of an explosive cyclogenesis occurrence and not merely a statistical relationship. This insight can be helpful for the predictability of high impact weather associated with explosive cyclones and atmospheric rivers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 2533-2545 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Whittleston ◽  
K. A. McColl ◽  
D. Entekhabi

The impact of future greenhouse gas forcing on the North Atlantic and North Pacific tropospheric jets remains uncertain. Opposing changes in the latitudinal temperature gradient—forced by amplified lower-atmospheric Arctic warming versus upper-atmospheric tropical warming—make robust predictions a challenge. Despite some models simulating more realistic jets than others, it remains the prevailing approach to treat each model as equally probable (i.e., democratic weighting). This study compares democratically weighted projections to an alternative Bayesian-weighting method based on the ability of models to simulate historical wintertime jet climatology. The novel Bayesian technique is developed to be broadly applicable to high-dimensional fields. Results show the Bayesian weighting can reduce systematic bias and suggest the wintertime jet response to greenhouse gas forcing is largely independent of this historical bias (i.e., not state dependent). A future strengthening and narrowing is seen in both winter jets, particularly at the upper levels. The widely reported poleward shift at the level of the eddy-driven jet does not appear statistically robust, particularly over the North Atlantic, indicating sensitivity to current model deficiencies.


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1347-1389
Author(s):  
R. Séférian ◽  
L. Bopp ◽  
D. Swingedouw ◽  
J. Servonnat

Abstract. Several recent observation-based studies suggest that ocean anthropogenic carbon uptake has slowed down due to the impact of anthropogenic forced climate change. However, it remains unclear if detected changes over the recent time period can really be attributed to anthropogenic climate change or to natural climate variability (internal plus naturally forced variability). One large uncertainty arises from the lack of knowledge on ocean carbon flux natural variability at the decadal time scales. To gain more insights into decadal time scales, we have examined the internal variability of ocean carbon fluxes in a 1000-yr long preindustrial simulation performed with the Earth System Model IPSL-CM5A-LR. Our analysis shows that ocean carbon fluxes exhibit low-frequency oscillations that emerge from their year-to-year variability in the North Atlantic, the North Pacific, and the Southern Ocean. In our model, a 20-yr mode of variability in the North Atlantic air-sea carbon flux is driven by sea surface temperature variability and accounts for ~40% of the interannual regional variance. The North Pacific and the Southern Ocean carbon fluxes are also characterized by decadal to multi-decadal modes of variability (10 to 50 yr) that account for 30–40% of the interannual regional variance. But these modes are driven by the vertical supply of dissolved inorganic carbon through the variability of Ekman-induced upwelling and deep-mixing events. Differences in drivers of regional modes of variability stem from the coupling between ocean dynamics variability and the ocean carbon distribution, which is set by large-scale secular ocean circulation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document