scholarly journals A Shift in Western Tropical Pacific Sea Level Trends during the 1990s

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (15) ◽  
pp. 4126-4138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Merrifield
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Tide Gauge ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Tide Gauge Records ◽  
Western Tropical Pacific ◽  
The Western Pacific ◽  
The Tropical Pacific

Abstract Pacific Ocean sea surface height trends from satellite altimeter observations for 1993–2009 are examined in the context of longer tide gauge records and wind stress patterns. The dominant regional trends are high rates in the western tropical Pacific and minimal to negative rates in the eastern Pacific, particularly off North America. Interannual sea level variations associated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation events do not account for these trends. In the western tropical Pacific, tide gauge records indicate that the recent high rates represent a significant trend increase in the early 1990s relative to the preceding 40 years. This sea level trend shift in the western Pacific corresponds to an intensification of the easterly trade winds across the tropical Pacific. The wind change appears to be distinct from climate variations centered in the North Pacific, such as the Pacific decadal oscillation. In the eastern Pacific, tide gauge records exhibit higher-amplitude decadal fluctuations than in the western tropical Pacific, and the recent negative sea level trends are indistinguishable from these fluctuations. The shifts in trade wind strength and western Pacific sea level rate resemble changes in dominant global modes of outgoing longwave radiation and sea surface temperature. It is speculated that the western Pacific sea level response indicates a general strengthening of the atmospheric circulation over the tropical Pacific since the early 1990s that has developed in concert with recent warming trends.

First Record of the Ceratioid Anglerfish Species Gigantactis microdontis (Teleostei: Lophiiformes: Gigantactinidae) in the Western Pacific Ocean

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4664 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
ARTEM M. PROKOFIEV ◽  
THEODORE W. PIETSCH
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Hawaiian Islands ◽  
First Record ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Western Pacific Ocean ◽  
Western Tropical Pacific ◽  
Caroline Islands ◽  
The Western Pacific

The rare ceratioid anglerfish Gigantactis microdontis was formerly known from 12 specimens collected in the Eastern Pacific from 158° W eastward: off Hawaiian Islands, Oregon, California and Peru. Thirteenth specimen reported herein extends the known distribution of this species some 7630 km westward into the western tropical Pacific (off Caroline Islands). The newly reported specimen shows no principal differences in morphology from the previously known individuals. 

El Niño–Southern Oscillation Sea Level Pressure Anomalies in the Western Pacific: Why Are They There?*

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (22) ◽  
pp. 8860-8872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuan Ji ◽  
J. David Neelin ◽  
C. Roberto Mechoso
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Sea Level Pressure ◽  
Level Pressure ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
The Western Pacific ◽  
The Tropical Pacific

Abstract Although sea level pressure (SLP) anomalies in the western Pacific have long been recognized as an integral part of the classic Southern Oscillation pattern associated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), there is an unresolved question regarding the dynamics that maintain these anomalies. Traditional studies of the ENSO response in the tropics assume a single deep baroclinic mode associated with the tropospheric temperature anomalies. However, the SLP anomalies in the western Pacific are spatially separated from the baroclinic signal in the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis, CMIP5 models, and an intermediate complexity model [a quasi-equilibrium tropical circulation model (QTCM)]. Separation of ENSO SLP anomalies in the tropical Pacific into baroclinic and barotropic components indicates that the barotropic component contributes throughout the tropics and constitutes the primary contribution in the western Pacific. To demonstrate the roles of baroclinic and barotropic modes in ENSO teleconnections within the tropics, a series of QTCM experiments is performed, where anomalies in the interactions between baroclinic and barotropic modes are suppressed over increasingly wider latitudinal bands in the tropical Pacific. If this suppression is done in the 15°N–15°S band, the pressure signals in the western Pacific are only partly removed, whereas if it is done in the 30°N–30°S band, the anomalies in the western Pacific are almost entirely removed. This suggests the following pathway: interactions with SST anomalies create the baroclinic response in the central and eastern Pacific, but baroclinic–barotropic interactions, arising substantially in the subtropical Pacific, generate a barotropic response that yields the SLP anomalies in the western Pacific.

scholarly journals Impacts of the Tropical Pacific–Indian Ocean Associated Mode on Madden–Julian Oscillation over the Maritime Continent in Boreal Winter

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1049
Author(s):  
Xin Li ◽  
Ming Yin ◽  
Xiong Chen ◽  
Minghao Yang ◽  
Fei Xia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Boreal Winter ◽  
Madden Julian Oscillation ◽  
Maritime Continent ◽  
The Western Pacific ◽  
The Tropical Pacific

Based on the observation and reanalysis data, the relationship between the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) over the Maritime Continent (MC) and the tropical Pacific–Indian Ocean associated mode was analyzed. The results showed that the MJO over the MC region (95°–150° E, 10° S–10° N) (referred to as the MC–MJO) possesses prominent interannual and interdecadal variations and seasonally “phase-locked” features. MC–MJO is strongest in the boreal winter and weakest in the boreal summer. Winter MC–MJO kinetic energy variation has significant relationships with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in winter and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) in autumn, but it correlates better with the tropical Pacific–Indian Ocean associated mode (PIOAM). The correlation coefficient between the winter MC–MJO kinetic energy index and the autumn PIOAM index is as high as −0.5. This means that when the positive (negative) autumn PIOAM anomaly strengthens, the MJO kinetic energy over the winter MC region weakens (strengthens). However, the correlation between the MC–MJO convection and PIOAM in winter is significantly weaker. The propagation of MJO over the Maritime Continent differs significantly in the contrast phases of PIOAM. During the positive phase of the PIOAM, the eastward propagation of the winter MJO kinetic energy always fails to move across the MC region and cannot enter the western Pacific. However, during the negative phase of the PIOAM, the anomalies of MJO kinetic energy over the MC is not significantly weakened, and MJO can propagate farther eastward and enter the western Pacific. It should be noted that MJO convection is more likely to extend to the western Pacific in the positive phases of PIOAM than in the negative phases. This is significant different with the propagation of the MJO kinetic energy.

scholarly journals Atmospheric Energetics over the Tropical Pacific during the ENSO Cycle

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 3635-3654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Di Dong ◽  
Jianping Li ◽  
Lidou Huyan ◽  
Jiaqing Xue
Keyword(s):  
El Nino ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Enso Cycle ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Central Eastern ◽  
The Tropical Pacific

Abstract The atmospheric perturbation potential energy (PPE) over the tropical Pacific is calculated and analyzed in a composite ENSO cycle. The PPE over the tropical Pacific troposphere increases during El Niño and decreases during La Niña, displaying two centers symmetrical about the equator and delaying the central–eastern Pacific SST anomaly by two months. Generated from atmospheric diabatic heating, the smaller part of PPE in the lower troposphere varies synchronously with the central–eastern Pacific SST through sensible heating, while the larger part of PPE lies in the mid- and upper troposphere and lags the central–eastern Pacific SST about one season because of latent heat release. As the tropical Pacific PPE peaks during the boreal late winter in an El Niño event, two anticyclones form in the upper troposphere as a result of the Gill model response. More PPE is converted to atmospheric kinetic energy (KE) above the central–western Pacific, but less over the eastern Pacific, leading to intensified Hadley circulations over the central–western Pacific and weakened Hadley circulations over the eastern Pacific. The strengthened Hadley circulations cause surface easterly wind bursts through KE convergence in the western equatorial Pacific, which may trigger a La Niña event. The reverse situation occurs during La Niña. Thus, the response of the Hadley circulations in the central–western Pacific provides a negative feedback during the ENSO cycle.

scholarly journals Vertically Propagating Kelvin Waves and Tropical Tropopause Variability

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1817-1837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Hee Ryu ◽  
Sukyoung Lee ◽  
Seok-Woo Son
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Wave Action ◽  
Kelvin Waves ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Tropopause Height ◽  
Kelvin Wave ◽  
Western Tropical Pacific ◽  
Tropical Tropopause ◽  
Vertically Propagating ◽  
The Western Pacific

Abstract The relationship between local convection, vertically propagating Kelvin waves, and tropical tropopause height variability is examined. This study utilizes both simulations of a global primitive-equation model and global observational datasets. Regression analysis with the data shows that convection over the western tropical Pacific is followed by warming in the upper troposphere (UT) and cooling in lower stratosphere (LS) over most longitudes, which results in a lifting of the tropical tropopause. The model results reveal that these UT–LS temperature anomalies are closely associated with vertically propagating Kelvin waves, indicating that these Kelvin waves drive tropical tropopause undulations at intraseasonal time scales. The model simulations further show that regardless of the longitudinal position of the imposed heating, the UT–LS Kelvin wave reaches its maximum amplitude over the western Pacific. This result, together with an analysis based on wave action conservation, is used to contend that the Kelvin wave amplification over the western Pacific should be attributed to the zonal variation of background zonal wind field, rather than to the proximity of the heating. The wave action conservation law is also used to offer an explanation as to why the vertically propagating Kelvin waves play the central role in driving tropical tropopause height undulations. The zonal and vertical modulation of the Kelvin waves by the background flow may help explain the origin of the very cold air over the western tropical Pacific, which is known to cause freeze-drying of tropospheric air en route to the stratosphere.

Recent Changes in ENSO Teleconnection over the Western Pacific Impacts the Eastern China Precipitation Dipole

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (21) ◽  
pp. 7587-7598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dachao Jin ◽  
Saji N. Hameed ◽  
Liwei Huo
Keyword(s):  
Eastern China ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
The Other ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Western Tropical Pacific ◽  
Enso Teleconnections ◽  
The Western Pacific

Abstract The eastern China precipitation dipole (ECPD) features an out-of-phase relationship between boreal summer precipitation over the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Hetao region to its northwest. The precipitation dipole is strongly influenced by ENSO teleconnections over the western tropical Pacific. Here it is shown that a pronounced weakening of both the rainfall variability over eastern China as well as the precipitation dipole structure occurred around the mid-1990s. The changes have been analyzed by considering two epochs: one during 1979–95 and the other during 1996–2009. The characteristic feature of the circulation anomaly during the first epoch is the well-known East Asia–Pacific/Pacific–Japan (EAP/PJ) pattern, a quasi-meridional teleconnection pattern emanating from the western tropical Pacific. On the other hand, during the latter epoch eastern China precipitation variability occurs as an integral part of the circulation anomalies over the western Pacific. In contrast to the more meridionally restricted anomalies during canonical ENSO episodes, the western Pacific circulation has a significantly larger meridional scale. Intriguingly correlation of the precipitation dipole with Pacific sea surface temperature flips in sign during the second epoch, with enhanced precipitation over southeastern China associated with La Niña–like variability, in contrast to the co-occurrence of enhanced precipitation over this region with El Niño during the first epoch. The results suggest that the dominance of Modoki or central Pacific El Niños, and the altered structure of ENSO teleconnections associated with these, may play a role in the weakened ECPD structure during the latter epoch.

scholarly journals The Regional Hadley Cells Response to the Sea Surface Temperature Distribution Across the Indo-Pacific Ocean

2021 ◽  
Vol 893 (1) ◽  
pp. 012008
Author(s):  
D Fatmasari
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Enso Event ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Meridional Temperature Gradient ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Hadley Cells ◽  
The Western Pacific

Abstract Hadley Cells are thermally driven cell in the tropics. On its occurrence, these cells are strongly influenced by the sea surface temperature (SST) distribution across the tropical ocean or the Pacific Ocean as the investigated location in this study. The SST shifting in the Pacific Ocean is mainly due to the ENSO. An opposite SST polarity between the western and eastern Pacific Ocean are captured during ENSO events. This means that ENSO could trigger an anomalous regional Hadley Cells that behave oppositely between Indonesia or the western Pacific and the eastern Pacific. This study examines the strength of the regional Hadley Cells related to the ENSO event across the Indonesian region and the Pacific Ocean. A significant correlation between the Hadley Cells and ENSO as the tropical climate variability in the Pacific Oceans are found. The strength of the Hadley Cells associated with ENSO event is examined by using the zonally average vertical velocity across the Pacific Ocean. During La Nina, the regional Hadley Cells over Indonesia or the western Pacific strengthened, whereas the regional cells over the eastern Pacific weakened. In contrast, during El Nino where the warm pool shifted to the eastern Pacific, the regional cell in the eastern Pacific strengthened, while the cell over the western Pacific weakened. These anomalous conditions clearly show that the meridional temperature gradient is strongly affecting the regional Hadley Cells strength. The stronger the meridional temperature gradient, the stronger the regional Hadley Cells.

scholarly journals Evaluation of ocean circulation models in the computation of the mean dynamic topography for geodetic applications. Case study in the Greek seas

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-173
Author(s):  
I. Mintourakis ◽  
G. Panou ◽  
D. Paradissis
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Tide Gauge ◽  
Dynamic Topography ◽  
Tide Gauge Records ◽  
Mean Dynamic Topography ◽  
Case Study Area ◽  
Extensive Evaluation ◽  
Precise Knowledge

Abstract Precise knowledge of the oceanic Mean Dynamic Topography (MDT) is crucial for a number of geodetic applications, such as vertical datum unification and marine geoid modelling. The lack of gravity surveys over many regions of the Greek seas and the incapacity of the space borne gradiometry/gravity missions to resolve the small and medium wavelengths of the geoid led to the investigation of the oceanographic approach for computing the MDT. We compute two new regional MDT surfaces after averaging, for given epochs, the periodic gridded solutions of the Dynamic Ocean Topography (DOT) provided by two ocean circulation models. These newly developed regional MDT surfaces are compared to three state-of-theart models, which represent the oceanographic, the geodetic and the mixed oceanographic/geodetic approaches in the implementation of the MDT, respectively. Based on these comparisons, we discuss the differences between the three approaches for the case study area and we present some valuable findings regarding the computation of the regional MDT. Furthermore, in order to have an estimate of the precision of the oceanographic approach, we apply extensive evaluation tests on the ability of the two regional ocean circulation models to track the sea level variations by comparing their solutions to tide gauge records and satellite altimetry Sea Level Anomalies (SLA) data. The overall findings support the claim that, for the computation of the MDT surface due to the lack of geodetic data and to limitations of the Global Geopotential Models (GGMs) in the case study area, the oceanographic approach is preferable over the geodetic or the mixed oceano-graphic/geodetic approaches.

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