What Maintains the SST Front North of the Eastern Pacific Equatorial Cold Tongue?*

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 2500-2514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon P. de Szoeke ◽  
Shang-Ping Xie ◽  
Toru Miyama ◽  
Kelvin J. Richards ◽  
R. Justin O. Small
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Cold Tongue ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
Sst Front ◽  
The North ◽  
Atmospheric Feedback

Abstract A coupled ocean–atmosphere regional model suggests a mechanism for formation of a sharp sea surface temperature (SST) front north of the equator in the eastern Pacific Ocean in boreal summer and fall. Meridional convergence of Ekman transport at 5°N is forced by eastward turning of the southeasterly cross-equatorial wind, but the SST front forms considerably south of the maximum Ekman convergence. Geostrophic equatorward flow at 3°N in the lower half of the isothermally mixed layer enhances mixed layer convergence. Cold water is upwelled on or south of the equator and is advected poleward by mean mixed layer flow and by eddies. The mixed layer current convergence in the north confines the cold advection, so the SST front stays close to the equator. Warm advection from the north and cold advection from the south strengthen the front. In the Southern Hemisphere, a continuous southwestward current advects cold water far from the upwelling core. The cold tongue is warmed by the net surface flux, which is dominated by solar radiation. Evaporation and net surface cooling are at a maximum just north of the SST front where relatively cool dry air is advected northward over warm SST. The surface heat flux is decomposed into a response to SST alone, and an atmospheric feedback. The atmospheric feedback enhances cooling on the north side of the front by 178 W m−2, about half of which is due to enhanced evaporation from cold dry advection, while the other half is due to cloud radiative forcing.

Variability of the Oceanic Mixed Layer, 1960–2004

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1029-1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Carton ◽  
Semyon A. Grodsky ◽  
Hailong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Layer Depth ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Mixed Layers

Abstract A new monthly uniformly gridded analysis of mixed layer properties based on the World Ocean Atlas 2005 global ocean dataset is used to examine interannual and longer changes in mixed layer properties during the 45-yr period 1960–2004. The analysis reveals substantial variability in the winter–spring depth of the mixed layer in the subtropics and midlatitudes. In the North Pacific an empirical orthogonal function analysis shows a pattern of mixed layer depth variability peaking in the central subtropics. This pattern occurs coincident with intensification of local surface winds and may be responsible for the SST changes associated with the Pacific decadal oscillation. Years with deep winter–spring mixed layers coincide with years in which winter–spring SST is low. In the North Atlantic a pattern of winter–spring mixed layer depth variability occurs that is not so obviously connected to local changes in winds or SST, suggesting that other processes such as advection are more important. Interestingly, at decadal periods the winter–spring mixed layers of both basins show trends, deepening by 10–40 m over the 45-yr period of this analysis. The long-term mixed layer deepening is even stronger (50–100 m) in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre. At tropical latitudes the boreal winter mixed layer varies in phase with the Southern Oscillation index, deepening in the eastern Pacific and shallowing in the western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans during El Niños. In boreal summer the mixed layer in the Arabian Sea region of the western Indian Ocean varies in response to changes in the strength of the southwest monsoon.

Climatological Annual Cycle of the Salinity Budgets of the Subtropical Maxima

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 2981-2994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin K. Johnson ◽  
Frank O. Bryan ◽  
Semyon A. Grodsky ◽  
James A. Carton
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Annual Cycle ◽  
Salinity Gradient ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
The North ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Diffusive Fluxes

AbstractSix subtropical salinity maxima (Smax) exist: two each in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean basins. The north Indian (NI) Smax lies in the Arabian Sea while the remaining five lie in the open ocean. The annual cycle of evaporation minus precipitation (E − P) flux over the Smax is asymmetric about the equator. Over the Northern Hemisphere Smax, the semiannual harmonic is dominant (peaking in local summer and winter), while over the Southern Hemisphere Smax, the annual harmonic is dominant (peaking in local winter). Regardless, the surface layer salinity for all six Smax reaches a maximum in local fall and minimum in local spring. This study uses a multidecade integration of an eddy-resolving ocean circulation model to compute salinity budgets for each of the six Smax. The NI Smax budget is dominated by eddy advection related to the evolution of the seasonal monsoon. The five open-ocean Smax budgets reveal a common annual cycle of vertical diffusive fluxes that peak in winter. These Smax have regions on their eastward and poleward edges in which the vertical salinity gradient is destabilizing. These destabilizing gradients, in conjunction with wintertime surface cooling, generate a gradually deepening wintertime mixed layer. The vertical salinity gradient sharpens at the base of the mixed layer, making the water column susceptible to salt finger convection and enhancing vertical diffusive salinity fluxes out of the Smax into the ocean interior. This process is also observed in Argo float profiles and is related to the formation regions of subtropical mode waters.

Extratropical Atmospheric Response to Equatorial Atlantic Cold Tongue Anomalies

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 2076-2091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reindert J. Haarsma ◽  
Wilco Hazeleger
Keyword(s):  
Rossby Wave ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Maximum Amplitude ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Atmospheric Response ◽  
Cold Tongue ◽  
The North ◽  
Subtropical Jet ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract The extratropical atmospheric response to the equatorial cold tongue mode in the Atlantic Ocean has been investigated with the coupled ocean–atmosphere model, Speedy Ocean (SPEEDO). Similar to the observations, the model simulates a lagged covariability between the equatorial cold tongue mode during late boreal summer and the east Atlantic pattern a few months later in early winter. The equatorial cold tongue mode attains its maximum amplitude during late boreal summer. However, only a few months later, when the ITCZ has moved southward, it is able to induce a significant upper-tropospheric divergence that is able to force a Rossby wave response. The lagged covariability is therefore the result of the persistence of the cold tongue anomaly and a favorable tropical atmospheric circulation a few months later. The Rossby wave energy is trapped in the South Asian subtropical jet and propagates circumglobally before it reaches the North Atlantic. Due to the local increase of the Hadley circulation, forced by the cold tongue anomaly, the subtropical jet over the North Atlantic is enhanced. The resulting increase in the vertical shear of the zonal wind increases the baroclinicity over the North Atlantic. This causes the nonlinear growth of the anomalies due to transient eddy feedbacks to be largest over the North Atlantic, resulting in an enhanced response over that region.

scholarly journals Temporal–Spatial Distribution of Thin Moist Layers in the Midtroposphere over the Tropical Eastern Pacific

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (19) ◽  
pp. 5102-5114
Author(s):  
Shigenori Otsuka ◽  
Shigeo Yoden
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Annual Variation ◽  
Intertropical Convergence Zone ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Boreal Winter ◽  
Tropical Eastern Pacific ◽  
Local Maxima ◽  
The North ◽  
The Vertical Distribution

Abstract The temporal–spatial distribution of thin moist layers in the midtroposphere over the tropical eastern Pacific is studied by data analyses of radiosonde soundings and downscaling numerical experiments with a regional model. Radiosonde soundings at San Cristóbal, Galápagos, show frequent existence of thin moist layers between 2 and 10 km in altitude, with a local minimum at 7–8 km. The downscaling experiments with global objective analyses are completed for 2005–06, September and December of 1999–2004, and March of 2000–04. The vertical distribution of thin moist layers has three local maxima at 5, 10, and 16 km, where bimodality of the frequency distribution of water vapor is evident. Between 4 and 7 km, an annual variation is dominant in the occurrence ratio of thin moist layers, which tend to appear in nonconvective regions. In boreal winter, the layers appear to the north of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), whereas in boreal summer the layers appear in the equator-side of the ITCZ. Interannual variations of the appearance of thin moist layers are also studied in 1999–2006, based on the experiments for particular months (March, September, and December). The occurrence ratio is generally high in December and March and low in September. In La Niña years, the annual variation is smaller than that in El Niño years; the occurrence ratio is higher in boreal summer to the south of the ITCZ.

scholarly journals Ocean Response to Successive Typhoons Sarika and Haima (2016) Based on Data Acquired via Multiple Satellites and Moored Array

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 2360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Zhang ◽  
Xiaohui Liu ◽  
Renhao Wu ◽  
Fu Liu ◽  
Linghui Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Northern South China Sea ◽  
Heat Content ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
The North ◽  
Salinity Response

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are natural disasters for coastal regions. TCs with maximum wind speeds higher than 32.7 m/s in the north-western Pacific are referred to as typhoons. Typhoons Sarika and Haima successively passed our moored observation array in the northern South China Sea in 2016. Based on the satellite data, the winds (clouds and rainfall) biased to the right (left) sides of the typhoon tracks. Sarika and Haima cooled the sea surface ~4 and ~2 °C and increased the salinity ~1.2 and ~0.6 psu, respectively. The maximum sea surface cooling occurred nearly one day after the two typhoons. Station 2 (S2) was on left side of Sarika’s track and right side of Haima’s track, which is studied because its data was complete. Strong near-inertial currents from the ocean surface toward the bottom were generated at S2, with a maximum mixed-layer speed of ~80 cm/s. The current spectrum also shows weak signal at twice the inertial frequency (2f). Sarika deepened the mixed layer, cooled the sea surface, but warmed the subsurface by ~1 °C. Haima subsequently pushed the subsurface warming anomaly into deeper ocean, causing a temperature increase of ~1.8 °C therein. Sarika and Haima successively increased the heat content anomaly upper than 160 m at S2 to ~50 and ~100 m°C, respectively. Model simulation of the two typhoons shows that mixing and horizontal advection caused surface ocean cooling, mixing and downwelling caused subsurface warming, while downwelling warmed the deeper ocean. It indicates that Sarika and Haima sequentially modulated warm water into deeper ocean and influenced internal ocean heat budget. Upper ocean salinity response was similar to temperature, except that rainfall refreshed sea surface and caused a successive salinity decrease of ~0.03 and ~0.1 psu during the two typhoons, changing the positive subsurface salinity anomaly to negative

scholarly journals Surface cooling caused by rare but intense near-inertial wave induced mixing in the tropical Atlantic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Hummels ◽  
Marcus Dengler ◽  
Willi Rath ◽  
Gregory R. Foltz ◽  
Florian Schütte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
African Easterly Waves ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
Ocean Turbulence ◽  
Easterly Waves ◽  
Tropical North Atlantic ◽  
Turbulence Data ◽  
Wave Induced ◽  
The Impact

<p>The direct response of the tropical mixed layer to near-inertial waves (NIWs) has only rarely been observed. Here, we present upper-ocean turbulence data that provide evidence for a strongly elevated vertical diffusive heat flux across the base of the mixed layer in the presence of a NIW, thereby cooling the mixed layer at a rate of 244 Wm<sup>−2</sup> over the 20 h of continuous measurements. We investigate the seasonal cycle of strong NIW events and find that despite their local intermittent nature, they occur preferentially during boreal summer, presumably associated with the passage of atmospheric African Easterly Waves. We illustrate the impact of these rare but intense NIW induced mixing events on the mixed layer heat balance, highlight their contribution to the seasonal evolution of sea surface temperature, and discuss their potential impact on biological productivity in the tropical North Atlantic.</p>

scholarly journals A satellite era warming hole in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyacinth Nnamchi ◽  
Mojib Latif ◽  
Noel Keenlyside ◽  
Wonsun Park
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Ocean Surface ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Cold Tongue ◽  
Intrinsic Variability ◽  
Equatorial Atlantic ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
Surface Warming

<p>Although the globally averaged surface temperature of the Earth has considerably warmed since the beginning of global satellite measurements in 1979, a warming hole, with hardly any surface warming that is most pronounced in boreal summer, has been observed in the equatorial Atlantic region during this period. The warming hole occurs in an extended area of the equatorial Atlantic that includes the cold tongue, the region of locally cooler ocean surface waters that develops just south of the equator in boreal summer, partly reflecting the upwelling of deep cold waters by the action of the southeasterly trade winds. This lack of surface warming of the cold tongue denotes an 11% amplification of the mean annual cycle of the sea surface temperature during the satellite era. The warming hole is driven by an intensification of the equatorial upwelling of cold waters into the ocean surface layers and damped by the surface heat flux. In observations, the tendency for surface cooling appears to reflect intrinsic variability of the climate system and is not unusual during the instrumental period. The warming hole is associated with wind-induced ocean circulation changes to the south and north of the northward of the equator. Coupled model ensembles forced by the observed varying concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases and natural aerosols as well as unforced runs were analyzed. The ensembles suggest a strong role for atmospheric aerosols in the warming hole. However, although aerosols can cause a cooling of the cold tongue, intrinsic climate variability as represented in the unforced experiment can potentially cause larger cooling than has been observed during the satellite era. This study highlights the difficulty in reconciling observations and the climate models for the attribution of the warming hole.</p>

scholarly journals Observations of Cloud, Radiation, and Surface Forcing in the Equatorial Eastern Pacific

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 655-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. W. Fairall ◽  
Taneil Uttal ◽  
Duane Hazen ◽  
Jeffrey Hare ◽  
Meghan F. Cronin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Marine Boundary Layer ◽  
Surface Flux ◽  
Cloud Fraction ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Tropical Eastern Pacific ◽  
Cloud Forcing ◽  
The North

Abstract In this paper the authors report on a study of cloud and surface flux processes in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean based on a series of ship-based cloud and flux measurements made during fall (1999–2002) and spring (2000–02) maintenance cruises along the 95° and 110°W Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) buoy lines between 8°S and 12°N. The year-to-year and seasonal variabilities of many of the meteorological and oceanic means are relatively small. However, notable seasonal variability is found in the northern branch of the intertropical convergence zone, the north–south sea surface temperature gradient, and heat fluxes north of the equator. In the fall, the strengthening of the north–south SST contrast enhances convective activity (more and deeper clouds, precipitation, southerly inflow) in the area around 6°N, 95°W; diurnal variations of low cloud fraction were weak. Spring cloud fraction varied significantly over the diurnal cycle with substantially lower cloud fraction during the day south of 5°N. Relatively low average cloud-base heights around the equator are due to chilling of the marine boundary layer over the cold tongue. Cloud radiative forcing strongly correlates with cloud fraction; clouds in the observation region cool the surface by about 40 W m−2 in both seasons. Cloud forcing estimates from the ship data, the TAO buoys, and International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) products were combined to form a consensus observation dataset that is compared with the second NCEP reanalysis (NCEP-2) and 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40) cloud forcing values. The reanalysis products were within 10 W m−2 of the observations for IR cloud forcing but substantially overestimated the solar cloud forcing, particularly in spring.

Biases in the Tropical Atlantic in Seasonal Forecast System GloSea5

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Collier ◽  
Jamie Kettleborough ◽  
Adam Scaife ◽  
Leon Hermanson ◽  
Philip Davis
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Seasonal Forecast ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Cold Tongue ◽  
Forecast System ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The Impact

<p>It is well known that climate models commonly show biases in the Tropical Atlantic including reduced cold tongue development in the boreal summer. This work investigates whether these biases are present in the Met Office Seasonal Forecast System (GloSea5) at seasonal lead times and the impact they have on teleconnections to the North Atlantic, a key area for forecasting for Northern Europe.</p><p>GloSea5 hindcasts covering the period 1993 – 2016 are analysed for winter and summer start dates and biases are calculated with comparison to ERA Interim for sea surface temperature, near surface winds and upper tropospheric winds, and the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) for Rainfall Rate. In contrast to fully developed climate model biases, enhanced cold tongue development is found in the summer months, and a general cold bias occurs in the SST in both winter and summer. This shows that biases in initialised forecasts do not simply asymptote to the climate model error but show more complex behaviour including a change in the sign of the bias. Easterly winds are found to be strengthened throughout and signs of a double Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) are observed in the winter season. The ITCZ in both seasons is shown to be a narrower band of heavier rain in GloSea5 compared to the GPCP.  We investigate how these tropical biases propagate into the North Atlantic and change the forecast biases there.</p>

scholarly journals Physical drivers of the nitrate seasonal variability in the Atlantic cold tongue

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 529-545
Author(s):  
Marie-Hélène Radenac ◽  
Julien Jouanno ◽  
Christine Carine Tchamabi ◽  
Mesmin Awo ◽  
Bernard Bourlès ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Phytoplankton Bloom ◽  
Ocean Color ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Biogeochemical Model ◽  
Cold Tongue ◽  
Vertical Diffusion ◽  
Equatorial Undercurrent ◽  
Meridional Advection ◽  
Atlantic Cold Tongue

Abstract. Ocean color observations show semiannual variations in chlorophyll in the Atlantic cold tongue with a main bloom in boreal summer and a secondary bloom in December. In this study, ocean color and in situ measurements and a coupled physical–biogeochemical model are used to investigate the processes that drive this variability. Results show that the main phytoplankton bloom in July–August is driven by a strong vertical supply of nitrate in May–July, and the secondary bloom in December is driven by a shorter and moderate supply in November. The upper ocean nitrate balance is analyzed and shows that vertical advection controls the nitrate input in the equatorial euphotic layer and that vertical diffusion and meridional advection are key in extending and shaping the bloom off Equator. Below the mixed layer, observations and modeling show that the Equatorial Undercurrent brings low-nitrate water (relative to off-equatorial surrounding waters) but still rich enough to enhance the cold tongue productivity. Our results also give insights into the influence of intraseasonal processes in these exchanges. The submonthly meridional advection significantly contributes to the nitrate decrease below the mixed layer.

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