scholarly journals North–South Discrepancy of Interannual Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies over the South China Sea Associated with Eastern Pacific El Niño Events in the Spring

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1135
Author(s):  
Yujie Liu ◽  
Shuang Li
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Major Contributor ◽  
The North ◽  
El Niño Events ◽  
Ep El Niño ◽  
Sst Anomalies ◽  
El Nino Events

This paper discovers a spatial feature of interannual sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies over the South China Sea (SCS) in the boreal spring, based on the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) monthly data in the period from January 1958 to December 2010. The Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis of interannual SST anomalies shows a north–south discrepant pattern of the first mode, which is characterized by higher (lower) anomalies in the northern (southern) SCS and possessing seasonal phase locking (in the boreal spring). Besides, the high correlation coefficient between the time series of the first EOF mode and the Nino 3 SST anomalies during winter reveals that this discrepant pattern is likely caused by El Niño events. The composites of SST anomalies show that this discrepant pattern appears in the eastern Pacific (EP) El Niño events, while it does not exist in the Central Pacific (CP) El Niño events. It is believed that the western North Pacific anticyclone (WNPA) plays a key role in conveying the El Niño impact on the interannual variabilities of SCS SST in the EP El Niño events. The anomalous anticyclone in the Philippine Sea weakens the northeasterly monsoon over the SCS by its southwest portion during the mature phases of the EP El Niño events. This anomalous atmospheric circulation contributes to the north–south discrepant pattern of the wind stress anomalies over the SCS in the EP El Niño mature winters, and then leads to the north–south dipole pattern of the contemporaneous latent heat flux anomalies. The latent heat flux is a major contributor to the surface net heat flux, and heat budget analysis shows that the net heat flux is the major contributor to the SCS SST anomalies during the spring for the EP El Niño events, and the north–south discrepancy of SCS SST anomalies in the succeeding spring is ultimately formed.

The Late Fall Extratropical Response to ENSO: Sensitivity to Coupling and Convection in the Tropical West Pacific

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (23) ◽  
pp. 6101-6118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ileana Bladé ◽  
Matthew Newman ◽  
Michael A. Alexander ◽  
James D. Scott
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
West Pacific ◽  
The North ◽  
Late Fall ◽  
El Niño Events ◽  
Sst Anomalies ◽  
El Nino Events

Abstract The extratropical response to El Niño in late fall departs considerably from the canonical El Niño signal. Observational analysis suggests that this response is modulated by anomalous forcing in the tropical west Pacific (TWP), so that a strong fall El Niño teleconnection is more likely when warm SST conditions and/or enhanced convection prevail in the TWP. While these TWP SST anomalies may arise from noise and/or long-term variability, they may also be generated by differences between El Niño events, through variations in the tropical “atmospheric bridge.” This bridge typically drives subsidence west of the date line and enhanced trade winds over the far TWP, which cool the ocean. In late fall, however, some relatively weaker and/or more eastward-shifted El Niño events produce a correspondingly weakened and displaced tropical bridge, which results in no surface cooling and enhanced convection in the TWP. Because the North Pacific circulation is very sensitive to forcing from the TWP at this time of year, the final outcome is a strong extratropical El Niño teleconnection. This hypothesis is partly supported by regionally coupled ensemble GCM simulations for the 1950–99 period, in which prescribed observed El Niño SST anomalies in the eastern/central equatorial Pacific and an oceanic mixed layer model elsewhere coexist, so that the TWP is allowed to interact with the El Niño atmospheric bridge. To separate the deterministic signal driven by TWP coupling from that associated with inter–El Niño differences and from the “noise” due to intrinsic TWP convection variability (not induced by local SST anomalies), a second large-ensemble (100) simulation of the 1997/98 El Niño event, with coupling limited to the TWP and tropical Indian Ocean, is carried out. Together, the model findings suggest that the extratropical El Niño teleconnection during late fall is very sensitive to convective forcing in the TWP and that coupling-induced warming in the TWP may enhance this El Niño teleconnection by promoting convection in this critical TWP region. A more general implication is that diagnostic studies using December–February (DJF) seasonal averages may obscure some important aspects of climate anomalies associated with forcing in the tropical Pacific.

scholarly journals The North Equatorial Countercurrent East of the Dateline, Its Variations, and Its Relationship to the El Niño Event

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1041
Author(s):  
Yusuf Jati Wijaya ◽  
Ulung Jantama Wisha ◽  
Yukiharu Hisaki
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Thermocline Depth ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Ocean Reanalysis ◽  
Central Pacific El Niño ◽  
The North ◽  
El Niño Events ◽  
Ep El Niño ◽  
El Nino Events

Using forty years (1978–2017) of Ocean Reanalysis System 4 (ORAS4) dataset, the purpose of this study is to investigate the fluctuation of the North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC) to the east of the dateline in relation to the presence of three kinds of El Niño events. From spring (MAM) through summer (JJA), we found that the NECC was stronger during the Eastern Pacific El Niño (EP El Niño) and the MIX El Niño than during the Central Pacific El Niño (CP El Niño). When it comes to winter (DJF), on the other hand, the NECC was stronger during the CP and MIX El Niño and weaker during the EP El Niño. This NECC variability was affected by the fluctuations of thermocline depth near the equatorial Pacific. Moreover, we also found that the seasonal southward shift of the NECC occurred between winter and spring, but the shift was absent during the CP and MIX El Niño events. This meridional shift was strongly affected by the local wind stress.

scholarly journals Different Responses of Sea Surface Temperature in the South China Sea to Various El Niño Events during Boreal Autumn

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 1127-1142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Tan ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Weiqiang Wang ◽  
Chunzai Wang ◽  
Juncheng Zuo
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Latent Heat Flux ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
El Niño Modoki ◽  
Anomalous Anticyclone ◽  
El Niño Events ◽  
Sst Anomalies ◽  
El Nino Events

Abstract This study investigates variations of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the South China Sea (SCS) during developing autumn of various El Niño events. The warm SST anomalies are observed in the SCS for canonical El Niño and El Niño Modoki I, whereas the cold SST anomalies are found for El Niño Modoki II. The ocean heat budget analyses show that the latent heat flux change induced by various types of El Niño events is a major contributor to the SCS SST variations. An anomalous anticyclone resides near the Philippine Sea for canonical El Niño and El Niño Modoki I, which induces the southerly wind anomalies over the SCS and thus weakens the climatological northeasterly in boreal autumn. The weakened surface wind speed reduces heat loss from the ocean, leading to a warmer state in the SCS. However, for El Niño Modoki II, the anomalous anticyclone shifts westward to the west of the SCS, and thus the northeasterly wind anomalies appear in the SCS. The northeasterly anomalies enhance the climatological northeasterly monsoon, increase the wind speed, and increase heat loss from the ocean, thus resulting in a cooling in the SCS. The anomalous anticyclone associated with El Niño events also increases shortwave radiation. The increases of the shortwave radiation can also contribute to the SCS warming for canonical El Niño and El Niño Modoki I in addition to the warm effect from the latent heat flux. Because the cooling effect from the latent heat flux is larger than that of the shortwave radiation for El Niño Modoki II, the SCS for El Niño Modoki II tends to be cool.

scholarly journals Examining the sensitivity of the terrestrial carbon cycle to the expression of El Niño

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lina Teckentrup ◽  
Martin G. De Kauwe ◽  
Andrew J. Pitman ◽  
Benjamin Smith
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Cycle ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Terrestrial Carbon ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Terrestrial Carbon Cycle ◽  
El Niño Events ◽  
Ep El Niño ◽  
The Impact ◽  
El Nino Events

Abstract. The El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences the global climate and the variability in the terrestrial carbon cycle on interannual timescales. Two different expressions of El Niño have recently been identified: (i) Central–Pacific (CP) and (ii) Eastern–Pacific (EP). Both types of El Nino are characterised by above average sea surface temperature anomalies in the respective locations. Studies exploring the impact of these expressions of El Niño on the carbon cycle have identified changes in the amplitude of the concentration of interannual atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) variability, as well as different lags in terrestrial CO2 release to the atmosphere following increased tropical near surface air temperature. We employ the dynamic global vegetation model LPJ–GUESS within a synthetic experimental framework to examine the sensitivity and potential long term impacts of these two expressions of El Niño on the terrestrial carbon cycle. We manipulated the occurrence of CP and EP events in two climate reanalysis datasets during the later half of the 20th and early 21st century by replacing all EP with CP and separately all CP with EP El Niño events. We found that the different expressions of El Niño affect interannual variability in the terrestrial carbon cycle. However, the effect on longer timescales was negligible for both climate reanalysis datasets. We conclude that capturing any future trends in the relative frequency of CP and EP El Niño events may not be critical for robust simulations of the terrestrial carbon cycle.

Different responses of Central Asian precipitation to strong and weak El Niño events

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-60
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Moisture Flux ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
El Niño Events ◽  
Sst Anomalies ◽  
El Nino Events

Abstract The present study investigated impacts of strong and weak El Niño events on Central Asian precipitation variability from El Niño developing years to decaying years. It is found that strong El Niño events persistently enhance Central Asian precipitation from the mature winter to decaying summer. Large warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the tropical central-eastern Pacific induce anomalous upper-level divergence and updraft over Central Asia through large-scale convergence and divergence in the mature winter and decaying spring. Meanwhile, the associated wind anomalies induce anomalous eastward and northeastward moisture flux from the North Atlantic and Arabian Sea to Central Asia. Both anomalous ascent and moisture flux convergence favor above-normal precipitation over Central Asia in the mature winter and decaying spring. The El Niño events induced Central Asian precipitation anomalies are extended to the decaying summer due to the role of soil moisture. Increased rainfall in winter and spring enhances soil moisture in the following summer, which in turn, contributes to more precipitation in summer through modulating regional evaporation. During weak El Niño events, significant wet anomalies are only seen in the developing autumn, which result from anomalous southeastward moisture flux from the Arctic Ocean, and the abnormal signals are weak in the other seasons. The different responses of Central Asian precipitation to strong and weak El Niño events may be attributed to the difference in intensity of tropical SST anomalies between the two types of events.

scholarly journals Seasonal and interannual (ENSO) climate variabilities and trends in the South China Sea over the last three decades

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violaine Piton ◽  
Thierry Delcroix
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
The South ◽  
The North ◽  
Meridional Winds ◽  
El Niño Events ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Increasing Trends ◽  
El Nino Events

Abstract. We present a short overview of the long-term mean and variability of five Essential Climate Variables observed in the South China Sea over the last 3 decades, including sea surface temperature (SST), sea level anomaly (SLA), precipitation (P), surface wind and water discharge (WD) from the Mekong and Red Rivers. At the seasonal time scale, SST and SLAs increase in the summer (up to 4.2 °C and 14 cm, respectively), and P increases in the north. The summer zonal and meridional winds reverse and intensify (mostly over the ocean), and the WD shows positive anomalies. At the interannual time scale, each variable appears to be correlated with El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indices. Eastern Pacific El Niño events produce basin-wide SST warming (up to 1.4 °C) with a 6-month lag. The SLAs fall basin-wide (by up to 9 cm) during an El Niño event (all types), with a 3-month lag. The zonal and meridional winds strengthen (up to 4 m/s) in the north (weaken in the south) during all types of El Niño events, with a 3–5-month lag. A rainfall deficit of approximately 30 % of the mean occurs during all types of El Niño phases. The Mekong River WD is reduced by 1/3 of the mean 7–8 months after all types of El Niño events. We also show increasing trends of SST as high as 0.24 °C/decade and SLAs by 41 mm/decade. Increasing trends are observed for zonal wind, which is possibly linked to the phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and decreasing trends are observed for P in the north and both WD stations that were analyzed. The likely driving mechanisms and some of the relationships between all observed anomalies are discussed

El Niño Modoki Impacts on Australian Rainfall

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 3167-3174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andréa S. Taschetto ◽  
Matthew H. England
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Maximum Rainfall ◽  
El Niño Modoki ◽  
El Niño Events ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sst Anomalies ◽  
Australian Rainfall ◽  
El Nino Events

Abstract This study investigates interseasonal and interevent variations in the impact of El Niño on Australian rainfall using available observations from the postsatellite era. Of particular interest is the difference in impact between classical El Niño events wherein peak sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies appear in the eastern Pacific and the recently termed El Niño “Modoki” events that are characterized by distinct warm SST anomalies in the central Pacific and weaker cold anomalies in the west and east of the basin. A clear interseasonal and interevent difference is apparent, with the maximum rainfall response for Modoki events occurring in austral autumn compared to austral spring for classical El Niños. Most interestingly, the Modoki and non-Modoki El Niño events exhibit a marked difference in rainfall impact over Australia: while classical El Niños are associated with a significant reduction in rainfall over northeastern and southeastern Australia, Modoki events appear to drive a large-scale decrease in rainfall over northwestern and northern Australia. In addition, rainfall variations during March–April–May are more sensitive to the Modoki SST anomaly pattern than the conventional El Niño anomalies to the east.

Two Types of El Niño Events: Cold Tongue El Niño and Warm Pool El Niño

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1499-1515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Seong Kug ◽  
Fei-Fei Jin ◽  
Soon-Il An
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Warm Pool ◽  
Discharge Process ◽  
Cold Tongue ◽  
El Niño Events ◽  
Sst Anomaly ◽  
Sst Anomalies ◽  
El Nino Events

Abstract In this study, two types of El Niño events are classified based on spatial patterns of the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly. One is the cold tongue (CT) El Niño, which can be regarded as the conventional El Niño, and the other the warm pool (WP) El Niño. The CT El Niño is characterized by relatively large SST anomalies in the Niño-3 region (5°S–5°N, 150°–90°W), while the WP El Niño is associated with SST anomalies mostly confined to the Niño-4 region (5°S–5°N, 160°E–150°W). In addition, spatial patterns of many atmospheric and oceanic variables are also distinctively different for the two types of El Niño events. Furthermore, the difference in the transition mechanism between the two types of El Niño is clearly identified. That is, the discharge process of the equatorial heat content associated with the WP El Niño is not efficient owing to the spatial structure of SST anomaly; as a result, it cannot trigger a cold event. It is also demonstrated that zonal advective feedback (i.e., zonal advection of mean SST by anomalous zonal currents) plays a crucial role in the development of a decaying SST anomaly associated with the WP El Niño, while thermocline feedback is a key process during the CT El Niño.

Coastal upwelling along the north coast of Papua New Guinea and El Niño events during 1981–2005

2010 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1255-1269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuya Hasegawa ◽  
Kentaro Ando ◽  
Keisuke Mizuno ◽  
Roger Lukas ◽  
Bunmei Taguchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
El Niño ◽  
Coastal Upwelling ◽  
El Nino ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
North Coast ◽  
The North ◽  
El Niño Events ◽  
El Nino Events
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