scholarly journals The Role of the Indian Ocean Basin-Wide and El Niño–Southern Oscillation Modes in Interannual Rainfall Variability over South America during Austral Summer

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1094
Author(s):  
Mary T. Kayano ◽  
Rita V. Andreoli ◽  
Wilmar L. Cerón ◽  
Rodrigo A. F. Souza

This paper examines the relative role of the Indian Ocean basin-wide (IOBW) mode and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the atmospheric circulation and rainfall interannual variations over South America (SA) during southern summer of the 1951‒2016 period. The effects of the warm IOBW and El Niño (EN) events, and of the cold IOBW and La Niña (LN) events are examined using partial correlations. The ENSO and IOBW modes, through the associated large-scale and regional anomalous circulation patterns, induce contrasting effects on the rainfall in northeastern SA. The EN without the warm IOBW effect induces anomalously dry conditions over eastern Amazon and part of northeastern Brazil (NEB) through anomalous sinking motions of the EN-related anomalous Walker and Hadley cells and strong moisture divergence associated with a vigorous anticyclone over tropical South Atlantic (TSA) and SA. The warm IOBW without the EN effect induces anomalously wet conditions in NEB, which is marginally related to the anomalous Walker and Hadley cells but is modulated by an anticyclone over SA between the equator and 20° S, and a cyclone in the southwestern Atlantic between 20° S and 40° S. The results here might be relevant for climate monitoring and modeling studies.

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1605
Author(s):  
Mary T. Kayano ◽  
Wilmar L. Cerón ◽  
Rita V. Andreoli ◽  
Rodrigo A. F. Souza ◽  
Itamara P. Souza

Contrasting effects of the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans on the atmospheric circulation and rainfall interannual variations over South America during southern winter are assessed considering the effects of the warm Indian Ocean basin-wide (IOBW) and El Niño (EN) events, and of the cold IOBW and La Niña events, which are represented by sea surface temperature-based indices. Analyses are undertaken using total and partial correlations. When the effects of the two warm events are isolated from each other, the contrasts between the associated rainfall anomalies in most of South America become accentuated. In particular, EN relates to anomalous wet conditions, and the warm IOBW event to opposite conditions in extensive areas of the 5° S–25° S band. These effects in the 5° S–15° S sector are due to the anomalous regional Hadley cells, with rising motions in this band for the EN and sinking motions for the warm IOBW event. Meanwhile, in subtropical South America, the opposite effects of the EN and warm IOBW seem to be due to the presence of anomalous anticyclone and cyclone and associated moisture transport, respectively. These opposite effects of the warm IOBW and EN events on the rainfall in part of central South America might explain the weak rainfall relation in this region to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Our results emphasize the important role of the tropical Indian Ocean in the South American climate and environment during southern winter.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 6677-6698 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Currie ◽  
M. Lengaigne ◽  
J. Vialard ◽  
D. M. Kaplan ◽  
O. Aumont ◽  
...  

Abstract. The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are independent climate modes, which frequently co-occur, driving significant interannual changes within the Indian Ocean. We use a four-decade hindcast from a coupled biophysical ocean general circulation model, to disentangle patterns of chlorophyll anomalies driven by these two climate modes. Comparisons with remotely sensed records show that the simulation competently reproduces the chlorophyll seasonal cycle, as well as open-ocean anomalies during the 1997/1998 ENSO and IOD event. Results suggest that anomalous surface and euphotic-layer chlorophyll blooms in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean in fall, and southern Bay of Bengal in winter, are primarily related to IOD forcing. A negative influence of IOD on chlorophyll concentrations is shown in a region around the southern tip of India in fall. IOD also depresses depth-integrated chlorophyll in the 5–10° S thermocline ridge region, yet the signal is negligible in surface chlorophyll. The only investigated region where ENSO has a greater influence on chlorophyll than does IOD, is in the Somalia upwelling region, where it causes a decrease in fall and winter chlorophyll by reducing local upwelling winds. Yet unlike most other regions examined, the combined explanatory power of IOD and ENSO in predicting depth-integrated chlorophyll anomalies is relatively low in this region, suggestive that other drivers are important there. We show that the chlorophyll impact of climate indices is frequently asymmetric, with a general tendency for larger positive than negative chlorophyll anomalies. Our results suggest that ENSO and IOD cause significant and predictable regional re-organisation of chlorophyll via their influence on near-surface oceanography. Resolving the details of these effects should improve our understanding, and eventually gain predictability, of interannual changes in Indian Ocean productivity, fisheries, ecosystems and carbon budgets.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 2872-2880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Meyers ◽  
Peter McIntosh ◽  
Lidia Pigot ◽  
Mike Pook

Abstract The Indian Ocean zonal dipole is a mode of variability in sea surface temperature that seriously affects the climate of many nations around the Indian Ocean rim, as well as the global climate system. It has been the subject of increasing research, and sometimes of scientific debate concerning its existence/nonexistence and dependence/independence on/from the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, since it was first clearly identified in Nature in 1999. Much of the debate occurred because people did not agree on what years are the El Niño or La Niña years, not to mention the newly defined years of the positive or negative dipole. A method that identifies when the positive or negative extrema of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean dipole occur is proposed, and this method is used to classify each year from 1876 to 1999. The method is statistical in nature, but has a strong basis on the oceanic physical mechanisms that control the variability of the near-equatorial Indo-Pacific basin. Early in the study it was found that some years could not be clearly classified due to strong decadal variation; these years also must be recognized, along with the reason for their ambiguity. The sensitivity of the classification of years is tested by calculating composite maps of the Indo-Pacific sea surface temperature anomaly and the probability of below median Australian rainfall for different categories of the El Niño–Indian Ocean relationship.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 5841-5888 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Currie ◽  
M. Lengaigne ◽  
J. Vialard ◽  
D. M. Kaplan ◽  
O. Aumont ◽  
...  

Abstract. The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) frequently co-occur, driving significant interannual changes within the Indian Ocean. We use a four-decade hindcast from a coupled bio-physical ocean general circulation model, to disentangle patterns of chlorophyll anomalies driven by these two climate modes. Comparisons with remotely-sensed records show that the simulation competently reproduces the chlorophyll seasonal cycle, as well as open-ocean anomalies during the 1997–1998 ENSO and IOD event. Results show that anomalous surface and euphotic-layer chlorophyll blooms in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean in fall, and southern Bay of Bengal in winter, are primarily related to IOD forcing. IOD depresses integrated chlorophyll in the 5° S–10° S thermocline ridge region, even though the signal is negligible in surface chlorophyll. A previously-unreported negative influence of IOD on chlorophyll concentrations is also shown in a region around the southern tip of India. The only investigated region where ENSO has a greater influence on chlorophyll than does IOD, is in the Somalia upwelling region, where it causes a decrease in fall and winter chlorophyll by reducing local upwelling winds. Lastly, we show that the chlorophyll impact of climate indices is frequently asymmetric, with a general tendency for larger positive than negative chlorophyll anomalies. ENSO and IOD cause significant and predictable regional re-organisation of phytoplankton productivity via their influence on near-surface oceanography. Resolving the details of these effects should improve our understanding, and eventually gain predictability, of interannual changes in Indian Ocean productivity, fisheries, ecosystems and carbon budgets.


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