scholarly journals Contrasting Eastern-Pacific and Central-Pacific Types of ENSO

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 615-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsun-Ying Kao ◽  
Jin-Yi Yu
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Structure Evolution ◽  
Interdecadal Change ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Enso Events ◽  
Dominant Period

Abstract Surface observations and subsurface ocean assimilation datasets are examined to contrast two distinct types of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the tropical Pacific: an eastern-Pacific (EP) type and a central-Pacific (CP) type. An analysis method combining empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis and linear regression is used to separate these two types. Correlation and composite analyses based on the principal components of the EOF were performed to examine the structure, evolution, and teleconnection of these two ENSO types. The EP type of ENSO is found to have its SST anomaly center located in the eastern equatorial Pacific attached to the coast of South America. This type of ENSO is associated with basinwide thermocline and surface wind variations and shows a strong teleconnection with the tropical Indian Ocean. In contrast, the CP type of ENSO has most of its surface wind, SST, and subsurface anomalies confined in the central Pacific and tends to onset, develop, and decay in situ. This type of ENSO appears less related to the thermocline variations and may be influenced more by atmospheric forcing. It has a stronger teleconnection with the southern Indian Ocean. Phase-reversal signatures can be identified in the anomaly evolutions of the EP-ENSO but not for the CP-ENSO. This implies that the CP-ENSO may occur more as events or epochs than as a cycle. The EP-ENSO has experienced a stronger interdecadal change with the dominant period of its SST anomalies shifted from 2 to 4 yr near 1976/77, while the dominant period for the CP-ENSO stayed near the 2-yr band. The different onset times of these two types of ENSO imply that the difference between the EP and CP types of ENSO could be caused by the timing of the mechanisms that trigger the ENSO events.

scholarly journals Interannual variability of the frequency of MJO phases and its association with two types of ENSO

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Panini Dasgupta ◽  
M. K. Roxy ◽  
Rajib Chattopadhyay ◽  
C. V. Naidu ◽  
Abirlal Metya
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Interannual Variability ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Moisture Distribution ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Frequency Pattern ◽  
Enso Events ◽  
Enso Phases

AbstractIn this study, we reexamine the effect of two types of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) modes on Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) activity in terms of the frequency of MJO phases. Evaluating all-season data, we identify two dominant zonal patterns of MJO frequency exhibiting prominent interannual variability. These patterns are structurally similar to the Wheeler and Hendon (Mon. Weather Rev. 132:1917–1932, 2004) RMM1 and RMM2 spatial patterns. The first pattern explains a higher frequency of MJO activity over the Maritime Continent and a lower frequency over the central Pacific Ocean and the western Indian Ocean, or vice versa. The second pattern is associated with a higher frequency of MJO active days over the eastern Indian Ocean and a lower frequency over the western Pacific, or vice versa. We find that these two types of MJO frequency patterns are related to the central Pacific and eastern Pacific ENSO modes. From the positive to the negative ENSO (central Pacific or eastern Pacific) phases, the respective MJO frequency patterns change their sign. The MJO frequency patterns are the lag response of the underlying ocean state. The coupling between ocean and atmosphere is exceedingly complex. The first MJO frequency pattern is most prominent during the negative central-Pacific (CP-type) ENSO phases (specifically during September–November and December-February seasons). The second MJO frequency pattern is most evident during the positive eastern-Pacific (EP-type) ENSO phases (specifically during March–May, June–August and September–November). Different zonal circulation patterns during CP-type and EP-type ENSO phases alter the mean moisture distribution throughout the tropics. The horizontal convergence of mean background moisture through intraseasonal winds are responsible for the MJO frequency anomalies during the two types of ENSO phases. The results here show how the MJO activity gets modulated on a regional scale in the presence of two types of ENSO events and can be useful in anticipating the seasonal MJO conditions from a predicted ENSO state.

The relationship between the El Niño Southern Oscillation and Australian monsoon rainfall on decadal time-scales

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Heidemann ◽  
Joachim Ribbe ◽  
Benjamin J. Henley ◽  
Tim Cowan ◽  
Christa Pudmenzky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Monsoon Rainfall ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Australian Monsoon ◽  
Enso Events ◽  
Pacific Decadal Variability ◽  
Prediction Systems ◽  
Different Response

<p>This research analyses the observed relationship between eastern and central Pacific El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events and Australian monsoon rainfall (AUMR) on a decadal timescale during the December to March monsoon months. To assess the decadal influence of the different flavours of ENSO on the AUMR, we focus on the phases of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) over the period 1920 to 2020.  The AUMR is characterized by substantial decadal variability, which appears to be linked to the positive and negative phases of the IPO. During the past two historical negative IPO phases, significant correlations have been observed between central Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and AUMR over both the northeast and northwest of Australia. This central Pacific SST-AUMR relationship has strengthened from the first negative IPO phase (mid-1940s to the mid-1970s) to the second (late 1990s to mid-2010s), while the eastern Pacific SST-AUMR influence has weakened. Composite rainfall anomalies over Australia reveal a different response of AUMR to central Pacific El Niño/La Niña and eastern Pacific La Niña events during positive IPO and negative IPO phases. This research clearly shows that ENSO's influence on AUMR is modulated by Pacific decadal variability, however this teleconnection, in itself, can change between similar decadal Pacific states.  Going forward, as decadal prediction systems improve and become more mainstream, the IPO phase could be used as a potential source for decadal predictability of the tendency of AUMR.  </p>

scholarly journals Contributions of Indian Ocean and Monsoon Biases to the Excessive Biennial ENSO in CCSM3

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1850-1858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin-Yi Yu ◽  
Fengpeng Sun ◽  
Hsun-Ying Kao
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Climate System Model ◽  
Wind Pattern ◽  
Enso Variability ◽  
Monsoon Variability ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere

Abstract The Community Climate System Model, version 3 (CCSM3), is known to produce many aspects of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) realistically, but the simulated ENSO exhibits an overly strong biennial periodicity. Hypotheses on the cause of this excessive biennial tendency have thus far focused primarily on the model’s biases within the tropical Pacific. This study conducts CCSM3 experiments to show that the model’s biases in simulating the Indian Ocean mean sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and the Indian and Australian monsoon variability also contribute to the biennial ENSO tendency. Two CCSM3 simulations are contrasted: a control run that includes global ocean–atmosphere coupling and an experiment in which the air–sea coupling in the tropical Indian Ocean is turned off by replacing simulated SSTs with an observed monthly climatology. The decoupling experiment removes CCSM3’s warm bias in the tropical Indian Ocean and reduces the biennial variability in Indian and Australian monsoons by about 40% and 60%, respectively. The excessive biennial ENSO is found to reduce dramatically by about 75% in the decoupled experiment. It is shown that the biennial monsoon variability in CCSM3 excites an anomalous surface wind pattern in the western Pacific that projects well into the wind pattern associated with the onset phase of the simulated biennial ENSO. Therefore, the biennial monsoon variability is very effective in exciting biennial ENSO variability in CCSM3. The warm SST bias in the tropical Indian Ocean also increases ENSO variability by inducing stronger mean surface easterlies along the equatorial Pacific, which strengthen the Pacific ocean–atmosphere coupling and enhance the ENSO intensity.

scholarly journals Atmospheric torques and Earth's rotation: what drove the millisecond-level length-of-day response to the 2015–2016 El Niño?

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1009-1017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien B. Lambert ◽  
Steven L. Marcus ◽  
Olivier de Viron
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Earth’S Rotation ◽  
Length Of Day ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Earth's Rotation ◽  
Enso Events

Abstract. El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events are classically associated with a significant increase in the length of day (LOD), with positive mountain torques arising from an east–west pressure dipole in the Pacific driving a rise of atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) and consequent slowing of the Earth's rotation. The large 1982–1983 event produced a lengthening of the day of about 0.9 ms, while a major ENSO event during the 2015–2016 winter season produced an LOD excursion reaching 0.81 ms in January 2016. By evaluating the anomaly in mountain and friction torques, we found that (i) as a mixed eastern–central Pacific event, the 2015–2016 mountain torque was smaller than for the 1982–1983 and 1997–1998 events, which were pure eastern Pacific events, and (ii) the smaller mountain torque was compensated for by positive friction torques arising from an enhanced Hadley-type circulation in the eastern Pacific, leading to similar AAM–LOD signatures for all three extreme ENSO events. The 2015–2016 event thus contradicts the existing paradigm that mountain torques cause the Earth rotation response for extreme El Niño events.

Strengthening of Tropical Indian Ocean Teleconnection to the Northwest Pacific since the Mid-1970s: An Atmospheric GCM Study*

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (19) ◽  
pp. 5294-5304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Huang ◽  
Kaiming Hu ◽  
Shang-Ping Xie
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Interdecadal Change ◽  
Northwest Pacific ◽  
Wind Pattern ◽  
Climate Anomalies

Abstract The correlation of northwest (NW) Pacific climate anomalies during summer with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the preceding winter strengthens in the mid-1970s and remains high. This study investigates the hypothesis that the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) response to ENSO is key to this interdecadal change, using a 21-member ensemble simulation with the Community Atmosphere Model, version 3 (CAM3) forced by the observed history of sea surface temperature (SST) for 1950–2000. In the model hindcast, the TIO influence on the summer NW Pacific strengthens in the mid-1970s, and the strengthened TIO teleconnection coincides with an intensification of summer SST variability over the TIO. This result is corroborated by the fact the model’s skills in simulating NW Pacific climate anomalies during summer increase after the 1970s shift. During late spring to early summer, El Niño–induced TIO warming decays rapidly for the epoch prior to the 1970s shift but grows and persists through summer for the epoch occurring after it. This difference in the evolution of the TIO warming determines the strength of the TIO teleconnection to the NW Pacific in the subsequent summer. An antisymmetric wind pattern develops in spring across the equator over the TIO, and the associated northeasterly anomalies aid the summer warming over the north Indian Ocean by opposing the prevailing southwest monsoon. In the model, this antisymmetric spring wind pattern is well developed after but absent before the 1970s shift.

ENSO response to changes in the tropical Indian ocean temperature

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brady Ferster ◽  
Alexey Fedorov ◽  
Juliette Mignot ◽  
Eric Guilyardi
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Trade Winds ◽  
Enso Variability ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Ensemble Experiments

<p>Since the start of the 21st century, El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability has changed, supporting generally weaker Central Pacific El Niño events. Recent studies suggest that stronger trade winds in the equatorial Pacific could be a key driving force contributing to this shift. One possible mechanism to drive such changes in the mean tropical Pacific climate state is the enhanced warming trends in the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) relative to the rest of the tropics. TIO warming can affect the Walker circulation in both the Pacific and Atlantic basins by inducing quasi-stationary Kelvin and Rossby wave patterns. Using the latest coupled-model from Insitut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL-CM6), ensemble experiments are conducted to investigate the effect of TIO sea surface temperature (SST) on ENSO variability. Applying a weak SST nudging over the TIO region, in four ensemble experiments we change mean Indian ocean SST by -1.4°C, -0.7°C, +0.7°C, and +1.4°C and find that TIO warming changes the magnitude of the mean equatorial Pacific zonal wind stress proportionally to the imposed forcing, with stronger trades winds corresponding to a warmer TIO. Surprisingly, ENSO variability increases in both TIO cooling and warming experiments, relative to the control. While a stronger ENSO for weaker trade winds, associated with TIO cooling, is expected from previous studies, we argue that the ENSO strengthening for stronger trade winds, associated with TIO cooling, is related to the induced changes in ocean stratification. We illustrate this effect by computing different contributions to the Bjerknes stability index. Thus, our results suggest that the tropical Indian ocean temperatures are an important regulator of TIO mean state and ENSO dynamics.</p>

scholarly journals The influence of pacific winds on ENSO diversity

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonietta Capotondi ◽  
Lucrezia Ricciardulli
Keyword(s):  
Surface Wind ◽  
Surface Wind Speed ◽  
Equatorial Region ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Enso Events ◽  
Atmospheric Teleconnections ◽  
Global Impacts ◽  
Enso Diversity ◽  
Precipitation Anomalies

AbstractThe differences in ENSO sea surface temperature (SST) spatial patterns, whether centered in the Eastern Pacific (EP), Central Pacific (CP) or in the eastern-central equatorial region (“canonical”) have been associated to differences in atmospheric teleconnections and global impacts. However, predicting different types of ENSO events has proved challenging, highlighting the need for a deeper understanding of their predictability. Given the key role played by wind variations in the development and evolution of ENSO events, this study examines the relationship between the leading modes of Pacific surface wind speed variability and ENSO diversity using three different state-of-the-art wind products, including satellite observations and atmospheric reanalyses. Although previous studies have associated different ENSO precursors to either EP or CP events, our results indicate that the most prominent of those ENSO precursors are primarily related to canonical and CP events, and show little correlation with EP events. The latter are associated with tropical Pacific conditions favoring equatorial westerly wind and precipitation anomalies that extend all the way to the eastern Pacific. Results over the entire twentieth century period versus those during the satellite era also suggest that the influences from the Southern Hemisphere may be more robust than those from the Northern Hemisphere.

scholarly journals Atmospheric Torques and Earth's Rotation: What Drove the Millisecond-Level Length-of-Day Response to the 2015–16 El Niño?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien B. Lambert ◽  
Steven L. Marcus ◽  
Olivier de Viron
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Earth’S Rotation ◽  
Length Of Day ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Earth's Rotation ◽  
Enso Events

Abstract. El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events are classically associated with a significant increase in the length of day (LOD), with positive mountain torques arising from an east-west pressure dipole in the Pacific driving a rise of atmospheric angular momentum (AAM) and consequent slowing of the Earth's rotation. The large 1982–83 event produced a lengthening of the day of about 0.9 ms, while a major ENSO event during the 2015–16 winter season produced an LOD excursion reaching 0.81 ms in January 2016. By evaluating the anomaly in mountain and friction torques, we found that: (i) as a mixed Eastern/Central Pacific event, the 2015–16 mountain torque was smaller than for the 1982–83 and 1997–98 events which were pure Eastern Pacific events, and (ii) the smaller mountain torque was augmented by positive friction torques arising from an enhanced Hadley-type circulation in the Eastern Pacific, leading to similar AAM/LOD signatures for all three extreme ENSO events. The 2015–16 event thus contradicts the dominant paradigm that mountain torques cause the Earth rotation response for extreme El Niño events.

Decadal Modulation of the ENSO-Indian Ocean Basin Warming relationship during the decaying summer by the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-50
Author(s):  
Fangyu Liu ◽  
Wenjun Zhang ◽  
Fei-Fei Jin ◽  
Suqiong Hu
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Equatorial Indian Ocean ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Seasonal Prediction ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation ◽  
Enso Events ◽  
Decadal Modulation ◽  
Sst Anomalies

AbstractMany previous studies have shown that an Indian Ocean basin warming (IOBW) occurs usually during El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) decaying spring to summer seasons through modifying the equatorial zonal circulation. Decadal modulation associated with the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) is further investigated here to understand the nonstationary ENSO-IOBW relationship during ENSO decaying summer (July-August-September, JAS). During the positive IPO phase, significant warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies are observed over the tropical Indian Ocean in El Niño decaying summers and vice versa for La Niña events, while these patterns are not well detected in the negative IPO phase. Different decaying speeds of ENSO associated with the IPO phase, largely controlled by both zonal advective and thermocline feedbacks, are suggested to be mainly responsible for these different ENSO-IOBW relationships. In contrast to ENSO events in the negative IPO phase, the ones in the positive IPO phase display a slower decaying speed and delay their transitions both from a warm to a cold state and a cold to a warm state. The slower decay of El Niño and La Niña thereby helps to sustain the teleconnection forcing over the equatorial Indian Ocean and corresponding SST anomalies there can persist into summer. This IPO modulation of the ENSO-IOBW relationship carries important implications for the seasonal prediction of the Indian Ocean SST anomalies and associated summer climate anomalies.

scholarly journals Isolated Effects of Indian Ocean Basin-Wide and El Niño–Southern Oscillation on Austral Winter Rainfall over South America

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1605
Author(s):  
Mary T. Kayano ◽  
Wilmar L. Cerón ◽  
Rita V. Andreoli ◽  
Rodrigo A. F. Souza ◽  
Itamara P. Souza
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
South America ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
El Niño Southern Oscillation ◽  
El Nino Southern Oscillation ◽  
Partial Correlations

Contrasting effects of the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans on the atmospheric circulation and rainfall interannual variations over South America during southern winter are assessed considering the effects of the warm Indian Ocean basin-wide (IOBW) and El Niño (EN) events, and of the cold IOBW and La Niña events, which are represented by sea surface temperature-based indices. Analyses are undertaken using total and partial correlations. When the effects of the two warm events are isolated from each other, the contrasts between the associated rainfall anomalies in most of South America become accentuated. In particular, EN relates to anomalous wet conditions, and the warm IOBW event to opposite conditions in extensive areas of the 5° S–25° S band. These effects in the 5° S–15° S sector are due to the anomalous regional Hadley cells, with rising motions in this band for the EN and sinking motions for the warm IOBW event. Meanwhile, in subtropical South America, the opposite effects of the EN and warm IOBW seem to be due to the presence of anomalous anticyclone and cyclone and associated moisture transport, respectively. These opposite effects of the warm IOBW and EN events on the rainfall in part of central South America might explain the weak rainfall relation in this region to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Our results emphasize the important role of the tropical Indian Ocean in the South American climate and environment during southern winter.

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