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

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.

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4664 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
ARTEM M. PROKOFIEV ◽  
THEODORE W. PIETSCH

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. 


Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1049
Author(s):  
Xin Li ◽  
Ming Yin ◽  
Xiong Chen ◽  
Minghao Yang ◽  
Fei Xia ◽  
...  

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.


2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1817-1837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Hee Ryu ◽  
Sukyoung Lee ◽  
Seok-Woo Son

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.


2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (15) ◽  
pp. 4126-4138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Merrifield

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.


2015 ◽  
Vol 143 (6) ◽  
pp. 2348-2362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Houk Paek ◽  
Jin-Yi Yu ◽  
Jyh-Wen Hwu ◽  
Mong-Ming Lu ◽  
Tao Gao

Abstract This study reveals a possible cause of model bias in simulating the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) variability via an examination of an Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project (AMIP) simulation produced by the atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) developed at Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau (CWB). During boreal summer, the model overestimates the quasi-biennial (2–3 yr) band of WPSH variability but underestimates the low-frequency (3–5 yr) band of variability. The overestimation of the quasi-biennial WPSH sensitivity is found to be due to the model’s stronger sensitivity to the central Pacific El Niño–Southern Oscillation (CP ENSO) that has a leading periodicity in the quasi-biennial band. The model underestimates the low-frequency WPSH variability because of its weaker sensitivity to the eastern Pacific (EP) ENSO that has a leading periodicity in the 3–5-yr band. These different model sensitivities are shown to be related to the relative strengths of the mean Hadley and Walker circulations simulated in the model. An overly strong Hadley circulation causes the CWB AGCM to be overly sensitive to the CP ENSO, while an overly weak Walker circulation results in a weak sensitivity to the EP ENSO. The relative strengths of the simulated mean Hadley and Walker circulations are critical to a realistic simulation of the summer WPSH variability in AGCMs. This conclusion is further supported using AMIP simulations produced by three other AGCMs, including the CanAM4, GISS-E2-R, and IPSL-CM5A-MR models.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (19) ◽  
pp. 7561-7575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoo-Geun Ham ◽  
Yerim Jeong ◽  
Jong-Seong Kug

Abstract This study uses archives from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) to investigate changes in independency between two types of El Niño events caused by greenhouse warming. In the observations, the independency between cold tongue (CT) and warm pool (WP) El Niño events is distinctively increased in recent decades. The simulated changes in independency between the two types of El Niño events according to the CMIP5 models are quite diverse, although the observed features are simulated to some extent in several climate models. It is found that the climatological change after global warming is an essential factor in determining the changes in independency between the two types of El Niño events. For example, the independency between these events is increased after global warming when the climatological precipitation is increased mainly over the equatorial central Pacific. This climatological precipitation increase extends convective response to the east, particularly for CT El Niño events, which leads to greater differences in the spatial pattern between the two types of El Niño events to increase the El Niño independency. On the contrary, in models with decreased independency between the two types of El Niño events after global warming, climatological precipitation is increased mostly over the western Pacific. This confines the atmospheric response to the western Pacific in both El Niño events; therefore, the similarity between them is increased after global warming. In addition to the changes in the climatological state after global warming, a possible connection of the changes in the El Niño independency with the historical mean state is discussed in this paper.


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (17) ◽  
pp. 4378-4396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renguang Wu ◽  
Ben P. Kirtman

Abstract The present study documents the influence of El Niño and La Niña events on the spread and predictability of rainfall, surface pressure, and 500-hPa geopotential height, and contrasts the relative contribution of signal and noise changes to the predictability change based on a long-term integration of an interactive ensemble coupled general circulation model. It is found that the pattern of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-induced noise change for rainfall follows closely that of the corresponding signal change in most of the tropical regions. The noise for tropical Pacific surface pressure is larger (smaller) in regions of lower (higher) mean pressure. The ENSO-induced noise change for 500-hPa height displays smaller spatial scales compared to and has no systematic relationship with the signal change. The predictability for tropical rainfall and surface pressure displays obvious contrasts between the summer and winter over the Bay of Bengal, the western North Pacific, and the tropical southwestern Indian Ocean. The predictability for tropical 500-hPa height is higher in boreal summer than in boreal winter. In the equatorial central Pacific, the predictability for rainfall is much higher in La Niña years than in El Niño years. This occurs because of a larger percent reduction in the amplitude of noise compared to the percent decrease in the magnitude of signal from El Niño to La Niña years. A consistent change is seen in the predictability for surface pressure near the date line. In the western North and South Pacific, the predictability for boreal winter rainfall is higher in El Niño years than in La Niña years. This is mainly due to a stronger signal in El Niño years compared to La Niña years. The predictability for 500-hPa height increases over most of the Tropics in El Niño years. Over western tropical Pacific–Australia and East Asia, the predictability for boreal winter surface pressure and 500-hPa height is higher in El Niño years than in La Niña years. The predictability change for 500-hPa height is primarily due to the signal change.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-39
Author(s):  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Weiqing Han ◽  
Zeng-Zhen Hu

AbstractAn unprecedented extreme positive Indian Ocean Dipole event (pIOD) occurred in 2019, which has caused widespread disastrous impacts on countries bordering the Indian Ocean, including the East African floods and vast bushfires in Australia. Here we investigate the causes for the 2019 pIOD by analyzing multiple observational datasets and performing numerical model experiments. We find that the 2019 pIOD is triggered in May by easterly wind bursts over the tropical Indian Ocean associated with the dry phase of the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation, and sustained by the local atmosphere-ocean interaction thereafter. During September-November, warm sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in the central-western tropical Pacific further enhance the Indian Ocean’s easterly winds, bringing the pIOD to an extreme magnitude. The central-western tropical Pacific warm SSTA is strengthened by two consecutive Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) events that originate from the tropical Indian Ocean. Our results highlight the important roles of cross-basin and cross-timescale interactions in generating extreme IOD events. The lack of accurate representation of these interactions may be the root for a short lead time in predicting this extreme pIOD with a state-of-the-art climate forecast model.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5057-5067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenhua Li ◽  
Yanping Li ◽  
Barrie Bonsal ◽  
Alan H. Manson ◽  
Lucia Scaff

Abstract. Warm-season precipitation on the Canadian Prairies plays a crucial role in agricultural production. This research investigates how the early summer 2015 drought across the Canadian Prairies is related to the tropical Pacific forcing. The significant deficit of precipitation in May and June 2015 coincided with a warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and a negative phase of Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO)-4 index, which favour a positive geopotential height (GPH) anomaly in western Canada. Our further investigation during the instrumental record (1979–2016) shows that warm-season precipitation in the Canadian Prairies and the corresponding atmospheric circulation anomalies over western Canada teleconnected with the lower boundary conditions in the tropical western Pacific. Our results indicate that MJO can play a crucial role in determining the summer precipitation anomaly in the western Canadian Prairies when the equatorial central Pacific is warmer than normal (NINO4 > 0) and MJO is more active. This teleconnection is due to the propagation of a stationary Rossby wave that is generated in the MJO-4 index region. When the tropical convection around MJO-4 index region (western tropical Pacific, centred over 140∘ E) is more active than normal (NINO4 > 0), Rossby wave trains originate from the western Pacific with wavenumbers determined by the background mean wind and meridional absolute vorticity gradient. Under warm NINO4 conditions waves are generated with smaller wavenumbers compared to cold NINO4 conditions. These waves under warm NINO4 can propagate into the mid-latitudes over North America, causing a persistent anomalous ridge in the upper level over western Canada, which favours dry conditions over the region.


2005 ◽  
Vol 133 (5) ◽  
pp. 1343-1352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Seong Kug ◽  
In-Sik Kang ◽  
Jong-Ghap Jhun

Abstract To improve forecasting skills in the western Pacific sea surface temperature (SST), the authors utilized and modified an intermediate El Niño prediction model. The original model does not have the major SST thermodynamics for western Pacific SST variability, so it cannot simulate interannual variation in the western Pacific correctly. Therefore, the authors have introduced some modifications, such as heat flux and vertical mixing, into the dynamical model in order to capture SST thermodynamics more realistically. The modified model has better forecast skill than the original one, not only for the western Pacific but also for the eastern-central Pacific. The model has predictive skill up to 6-months lead time as judged by a correlation exceeding 0.5.


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