scholarly journals Disparate Midlatitude Responses to the Eastern Pacific El Niño

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 773-786
Author(s):  
Masahiro Shiozaki ◽  
Takeshi Enomoto ◽  
Koutarou Takaya

AbstractTo investigate the disparate influences of the eastern Pacific (EP) El Niño on the winter climate in the Far East, we conducted composite analyses using long-term reanalysis datasets. Our analysis shows that the western Pacific (WP) pattern dominates in the warm winter (typical) composite and the Pacific–North American (PNA) pattern dominates in the non-warm winter (atypical) composite. In the warm winter case, the amplitudes of the negative sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the western Pacific Ocean are large whereas in the non-warm winter case, these amplitudes are small. In addition, the Indian Ocean basin warming occurs following the Indian Ocean dipole mode, as seen in the warm winter composite. We investigated the dynamical mechanisms responsible for the disparate midlatitude responses to the EP El Niño by focusing on Rossby wave sources and propagation. These SST anomalies modulate the Walker and Hadley circulations and the convective activity in the western Pacific Ocean. Upper-tropospheric divergences at the midlatitudes due to the anomalous Hadley circulation result in different teleconnection patterns. In the warm winter composite, the anticyclonic anomaly in the southern part of the WP pattern is created by the upstream negative Rossby wave source, while the other cyclonic anomaly is reinforced by the northward Rossby wave propagation. The cyclonic second and fourth centers of action of the PNA pattern are created by the positive Rossby wave sources. Furthermore, the equatorial SST gradient near the date line is found be a good precursor of the winter climate in the Far East.

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1919-1934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiong Chen ◽  
Jian Ling ◽  
Chongyin Li

Abstract Evolution characteristics of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) during the eastern Pacific (EP) and central Pacific (CP) types of El Niño have been investigated. MJO activities are strengthened over the western Pacific during the predeveloping and developing phases of EP El Niño, but suppressed during the mature and decaying phases. In contrast, MJO activities do not show a clear relationship with CP El Niño before their occurrence over the western Pacific, but they increase over the central Pacific during the mature and decaying phases of CP El Niño. Lag correlation analyses further confirm that MJO activities over the western Pacific in boreal spring and early summer are closely related to EP El Niño up to 2–11 months later, but not for CP El Niño. EP El Niño tends to weaken the MJO and lead to a much shorter range of its eastward propagation. Anomalous descending motions over the Maritime Continent and western Pacific related to El Niño can suppress convection and moisture flux convergence there and weaken MJO activities over these regions during the mature phase of both types of El Niño. MJO activities over the western Pacific are much weaker in EP El Niño due to the stronger anomalous descending motions. Furthermore, the MJO propagates more continuously and farther eastward during CP El Niño because of robust moisture convergence over the central Pacific, which provides adequate moisture for the development of MJO convection.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (24) ◽  
pp. 10155-10178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia E. Wieners ◽  
Henk A. Dijkstra ◽  
Will P. M. de Ruijter

In recent years it has been proposed that a negative (positive) Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) in boreal autumn favors an El Niño (La Niña) at a lead time of 15 months. Observational analysis suggests that a negative IOD might be accompanied by easterly anomalies over the western Pacific. Such easterlies can enhance the western Pacific warm water volume, thus favoring El Niño development from the following boreal spring onward. However, a Gill-model response to a negative IOD forcing would lead to nearly zero winds over the western Pacific. The authors hypothesize that a negative IOD—or even a cool western Indian Ocean alone—leads to low-level air convergence and hence enhanced convectional heating over the Maritime Continent, which in turn amplifies the wind convergence so as to cause easterly winds over the western Pacific. This hypothesis is tested by coupling an idealized Indian Ocean model and a convective feedback model over the Maritime Continent to the Zebiak–Cane model. It is found that, for a sufficiently strong convection feedback, a negative (positive) IOD indeed forces easterlies (westerlies) over the western Pacific. The contribution from the eastern IOD pole dominates. IOD variability is found to destabilize the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) mode, whereas Indian Ocean basinwide warming (IOB) variability dampens ENSO, even in the presence of convection. The influence of the Indian Ocean on the spectral properties of ENSO is dominated by the IOB, while the IOD is a better predictor for individual ENSO events.


2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1641-1660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin A. Cash ◽  
Xavier Rodó ◽  
James L. Kinter

Abstract Recent studies arising from both statistical analysis and dynamical disease models demonstrate a link between the incidence of cholera, a paradigmatic waterborne bacterial illness endemic to Bangladesh, and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The physical significance of this relationship was investigated by examining links between the regional climate of Bangladesh and western Pacific sea surface temperatures (SST) associated with ENSO using a pacemaker configuration of the Center for Ocean–Land–Atmosphere Studies atmospheric general circulation model. The global SST response to ENSO SST anomalies in the western Pacific alone is found to be relatively weak and unrealistic when compared to observations, indicating that the global response to ENSO is driven primarily by anomalies in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. Despite the weak global response to western Pacific SST anomalies, however, a signal is found in summer rainfall over India and Bangladesh. Specifically, reduced rainfall typically follows winter El Niño events. In the absence of warm SST anomalies in the eastern Pacific, cold anomalies in the western Pacific produce a La Niña–like response in the model circulation. Cold SST anomalies suppress convection over the western Pacific. Large-scale convergence shifts into the eastern Indian Ocean and modifies the summer monsoon circulation over India and Bangladesh. The probabilistic relationship between Bangladesh rainfall and SST is also explored using a nonparametric statistical technique. Decreased rainfall is strongly associated with cold SST in the western Pacific, while associations between SST and enhanced rainfall are substantially weaker. Also found are strong associations between rainfall and SST in the Indian Ocean in the absence of differences in forcing from the western Pacific. It thus appears that the Indian Ocean may represent an independent source of predictability for the monsoon and cholera risk. Likewise, under certain circumstances, the western Pacific may also exert a significant influence on Bangladesh rainfall and cholera risk.


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 1784-1801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Seong Kug ◽  
In-Sik Kang

Abstract A feedback process of the Indian Ocean SST on ENSO is investigated by using observed data and atmospheric GCM. It is suggested that warming in the Indian Ocean produces an easterly wind stress anomaly over Indonesia and the western edge of the Pacific during the mature phase of El Niño. The anomalous easterly wind in the western Pacific during El Niño helps a rapid termination of El Niño and a fast transition to La Niña by generating upwelling Kelvin waves. Thus, warming in the Indian Ocean, which is a part of the El Niño signal, operates as a negative feedback mechanism to ENSO. This Indian Ocean feedback appears to operate mostly for relatively strong El Niños and results in a La Niña one year after the mature phase of the El Niño. This 1-yr period of phase transition implies a possible role of Indian Ocean–ENSO coupling in the biennial tendency of the ENSO. Atmospheric GCM experiments show that Indian Ocean SST forcing is mostly responsible for the easterly wind anomalies in the western Pacific.


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (24) ◽  
pp. 6371-6381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Seong Kug ◽  
Ben P. Kirtman ◽  
In-Sik Kang

Abstract An interactive feedback between ENSO and the Indian Ocean is investigated using a Center for Ocean–Land–Atmosphere Studies (COLA) interactive ensemble coupled model. From a long-term simulation of the coupled GCM, it is shown that El Niño events terminate relatively rapidly when the Indian Ocean SST is anomalously warm. The anomalous Indian Ocean warming induces the anomalous easterlies over the western Pacific by modulating the Walker circulation. In turn, the anomalous easterlies generate oceanic-upwelling Kelvin waves over the western Pacific, which propagate eastward and accelerate the decay of the warm SST in the eastern Pacific. As a result, El Niño terminates relatively quickly, and the phase transition from El Niño to La Niña progresses rapidly. These interactive processes are consistent with those derived from the previous observational analyses.


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.


Atmosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 266
Author(s):  
Jinshuang Zhu ◽  
Yudi Liu ◽  
Ruiqing Xie ◽  
Haijie Chang

The precipitation data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) and CPC Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP) were used to investigate the discrepancy of Centre and Eastern Pacific ITCZ (CEP-ITCZ) during two types of El Niño years. Two models of the heat source distribution during two types of El Niño events were constructed, and the causes of different CEP-ITCZ anomalies for two types of El Niño events were analyzed through the Gill model. The results show that the CEP-ITCZ precipitation is approximately 4.0° southward, and the intensity is enhanced by 3.6 mm/day during the mature period of Eastern Pacific El Niño (EP-El Niño), while during the mature period of Central Pacific El Niño (CP-El Niño), it is only 0.8° southward, and the intensity is enhanced by 3.2 mm/day. The meridional mode of the SST anomaly by means of EOF (Empirical Orthogonal Function) can indirectly affect the CEP-ITCZ by influencing the atmospheric Rossby wave response. In CP-El Niño years, the meridional mode of the SST anomaly is weak, and the atmospheric Rossby wave response enhances the northern and southern trade-wind zones at the same time. The anomaly of cross-equatorial flow is weak and the CEP-ITCZ moves southward a little. At the same time, the wind convergence zone is enhanced, and it is more conducive to the vertical transport of water vapor. In EP-El Niño years, the meridional mode of the SST anomaly is strong, and the atmospheric Rossby wave response strengthens the meridional wind on the northern side of the equator, leading to the southward shift of the CEP-ITCZ. At the same time, the wind convergence zone is weakened and widened, and to a certain extent, it suppresses the vertical transport increase of water vapor caused by the sea surface evaporation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minkang Du ◽  
Kaiming Huang ◽  
Shaodong Zhang ◽  
Chunming Huang ◽  
Yun Gong ◽  
...  

Abstract. Using radiosonde observations at five stations in the tropical western Pacific and reanalysis data for 15 years from 2005 to 2019, we report an extremely negative anomaly in atmospheric water vapor during the super El Niño winter of 2015/16, and compare the anomaly with that in the other three El Niño winters. Strong specific humidity anomaly is concentrated below 8 km of the troposphere with a peak at 2.5–3.5 km, and column integrated water vapor mass anomaly over the five radiosonde sites has a large negative correlation coefficient of −0.63 with oceanic Niño3.4 index, but with a lag of about 2–3 months. In general, the tropical circulation anomaly in the El Niño winter is characterized by divergence (convergence) in the lower troposphere over the tropical western (eastern) Pacific, thus the water vapor decreases over the tropical western Pacific as upward motion is suppressed. The variability of the Hadley circulation is quite small and has little influence on the observed water vapor anomaly. The anomaly of the Walker circulation makes a considerable contribution to the total anomaly in all the four El Niño winters, especially in the 2006/07 and 2015/16 eastern-Pacific (EP) El Niño events. The monsoon circulation shows a remarkable change from one to the other event, and its anomaly is large in the 2009/10 and 2018/19 central-Pacific (CP) El Niño winters and small in the two EP El Niño winters. The observed water vapor anomaly is caused mainly by the Walker circulation anomaly in the supper EP event of 2015/16 but by the monsoon circulation anomaly in the strong CP event of 2009/10. Owing to the anomalous decrease in upward transport of water vapor during the El Niño winter, less cloud amount and more outgoing longwave radiation over the five stations are clearly presented in satellite observation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 246 ◽  
pp. 01074
Author(s):  
Zujian Zou ◽  
Yubin He

The Dadu River Basin is located in the transitional zone between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Sichuan Basin. It is alternately affected by various weather systems such as the western Pacific subtropical high, the Qinghai-Tibet high (anti-cyclone), the southwest warm and humid air current, and the southeast monsoon. The western Pacific subtropical high is one of the main influencing factors of rainfall runoff in the basin. During the El Niño period, the western Pacific subtropical high moved eastward and the position was southward. The warm and humid airflow and the southeast monsoon northward changed, and the rainfall runoff in the Dadu River Basin changed.By analyzing the development of the El Niño phenomenon, Divide an El Niño process into different stages of occurrence, development, and end. Combining the characteristics of the Dadu River runoff in each stage, Studying the runoff situation of the Dadu River Basin under different strengths and weaknesses of the El Niño phenomenon. Using the correlation method to establish a model of the relationship between the abundance of the Dadu River Basin and the El Niño strength and weakness. Providing new ideas and new methods for the accurate prediction of the incoming water of the Dadu River under the abnormal climatic conditions of El Niño. It provides technical support for reservoir dispatching, flood control dispatching and economic dispatching of cascade hydropower stations, and provides experience for other river basins to cope with complex climate situations and improve water regime forecasting levels.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 953-962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengyan Chen ◽  
Jin‐Yi Yu ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Wenping Jiang

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