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

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.

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1325-1333 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Schollaen ◽  
C. Karamperidou ◽  
P. Krusic ◽  
E. Cook ◽  
G. Helle

Abstract. Indonesia's climate is dominated by the equatorial monsoon system, and has been linked to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events that often result in extensive droughts and floods over the Indonesian archipelago. In this study we investigate ENSO-related signals in a tree-ring δ18O record (1900–2007) of Javanese teak. Our results reveal a clear influence of Warm Pool (central Pacific) El Niño events on Javanese tree-ring δ18O, and no clear signal of Cold Tongue (eastern Pacific) El Niño events. These results are consistent with the distinct impacts of the two ENSO flavors on Javanese precipitation, and illustrate the importance of considering ENSO flavors when interpreting palaeoclimate proxy records in the tropics, as well as the potential of palaeoclimate proxy records from appropriately selected tropical regions for reconstructing past variability of. ENSO flavors.


2014 ◽  
Vol 119 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 379-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Pascolini-Campbell ◽  
D. Zanchettin ◽  
O. Bothe ◽  
C. Timmreck ◽  
D. Matei ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin A. Schulte ◽  
Sukyoung Lee

Abstract. Possible mechanisms behind the longevity of intense Long Island Sound (LIS) water temperature events are examined using an event-based approach. By decomposing a LIS surface water temperature time series into negative and positive events, it is revealed that the most intense LIS water temperature event in the 1979–2013 period occurred around 2012, coinciding with the 2012 ocean heat wave across the mid-Atlantic Bight. The LIS events are related to a ridge-trough dipole pattern whose strength and evolution can be measured using a dipole index. The dipole index was shown to be strongly correlated with LIS water temperature anomalies, explaining close to 64 % of cool-season LIS water temperature variability. Consistently, a major dipole pattern event coincided with the intense 2012 LIS warm event. A composite analysis revealed that long-lived intense LIS water temperature events are associated with tropical sea surface temperature (SST) patterns. The onset and mature phases of LIS cold events were shown to coincide with central Pacific El Niño events, whereas the termination of LIS cold events was shown to possibly coincide with canonical El Niño events or El Niño events that are a mixture of eastern and central Pacific El Niño flavors. The mature phase of LIS warm events was shown to be associated with negative SST anomalies across the central equatorial Pacific, though the results were not found to be robust. The dipole pattern was also shown to be related to tropical SST patterns and fluctuations in central Pacific SST anomalies were shown to evolve coherently with the dipole pattern and the strongly related East Pacific/North Pacific pattern on decadal time scales. The results from this study have important implications for seasonal and decadal prediction of the LIS thermal system.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (6) ◽  
pp. 2824-2834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles F. Kennel ◽  
Elena Yulaeva

A conceptual model connecting seasonal loss of Arctic sea ice to midlatitude extreme weather events is applied to the 21st-century intensification of Central Pacific trade winds, emergence of Central Pacific El Nino events, and weakening of the North Pacific Aleutian Low Circulation. According to the model, Arctic Ocean warming following the summer sea-ice melt drives vertical convection that perturbs the upper troposphere. Static stability calculations show that upward convection occurs in annual 40- to 45-d episodes over the seasonally ice-free areas of the Beaufort-to-Kara Sea arc. The episodes generate planetary waves and higher-frequency wave trains that transport momentum and heat southward in the upper troposphere. Regression of upper tropospheric circulation data on September sea-ice area indicates that convection episodes produce wave-mediated teleconnections between the maximum ice-loss region north of the Siberian Arctic coast and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). These teleconnections generate oppositely directed trade-wind anomalies in the Central and Eastern Pacific during boreal winter. The interaction of upper troposphere waves with the ITCZ air–sea column may also trigger Central Pacific El Nino events. Finally, waves reflected northward from the ITCZ air column and/or generated by triggered El Nino events may be responsible for the late winter weakening of the Aleutian Low Circulation in recent years.


Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1135
Author(s):  
Yujie Liu ◽  
Shuang Li

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinji Matsumura ◽  
Koji Yamazaki ◽  
Kazuyoshi Suzuki

AbstractGreenland warming and ice loss have slowed down since the early 2010s, in contrast to the rest of the Arctic region. Both natural variability and anthropogenic forcing contribute to recent Greenland warming by reducing cloud cover and surface albedo, yet most climate models are unable to reasonably simulate the unforced natural variability. Here we show that a simplified atmospheric circulation model successfully simulates an atmospheric teleconnection from the tropics towards Greenland, which accounts for Greenland cooling through an intensified cyclonic circulation. Synthesis from observational analysis and model experiments indicate that over the last decade, more central Pacific El Niño events than canonical El Niño events have generated the atmospheric teleconnection by shifting the tropical rainfall zone poleward, which led to an intensified cyclonic circulation over Greenland. The intensified cyclonic circulation further extends into the Arctic Ocean in observations, whereas the model does not show a direct remote forcing from the tropics, implying the contribution of an indirect atmospheric forcing. We conclude that the frequent occurrence of central Pacific El Niño events has played a key role in the slow-down of Greenland warming and possibly Arctic sea-ice loss.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 4351-4371 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Calvo ◽  
M. Iza ◽  
M. M. Hurwitz ◽  
E. Manzini ◽  
C. Peña-Ortiz ◽  
...  

The Northern Hemisphere (NH) stratospheric signals of eastern Pacific (EP) and central Pacific (CP) El Niño events are investigated in stratosphere-resolving historical simulations from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), together with the role of the stratosphere in driving tropospheric El Niño teleconnections in NH climate. The large number of events in each composite addresses some of the previously reported concerns related to the short observational record. The results shown here highlight the importance of the seasonal evolution of the NH stratospheric signals for understanding the EP and CP surface impacts. CMIP5 models show a significantly warmer and weaker polar vortex during EP El Niño. No significant polar stratospheric response is found during CP El Niño. This is a result of differences in the timing of the intensification of the climatological wavenumber 1 through constructive interference, which occurs earlier in EP than CP events, related to the anomalous enhancement and earlier development of the Pacific–North American pattern in EP events. The northward extension of the Aleutian low and the stronger and eastward location of the high over eastern Canada during EP events are key in explaining the differences in upward wave propagation between the two types of El Niño. The influence of the polar stratosphere in driving tropospheric anomalies in the North Atlantic European region is clearly shown during EP El Niño events, facilitated by the occurrence of stratospheric summer warmings, the frequency of which is significantly higher in this case. In contrast, CMIP5 results do not support a stratospheric pathway for a remote influence of CP events on NH teleconnections.


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 3965-3987 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Schollaen ◽  
C. Karamperidou ◽  
P. J. Krusic ◽  
E. R. Cook ◽  
G. Helle

Abstract. Indonesia's climate is dominated by the equatorial monsoon system, and has been linked to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events that often result in extensive droughts and floods over the Indonesian archipelago. In this study we investigate ENSO-related signals in a tree-ring δ18O record (1900–2007) of Javanese teak. Our results reveal a clear influence of Warm Pool (central Pacific) El Niño events on Javanese tree-ring δ18O, and no clear signal of Cold Tongue (eastern Pacific) El Niño events. These results are consistent with the distinct impacts of the two ENSO flavors on Javanese precipitation, and illustrate the importance of considering ENSO flavors when interpreting palaeoclimate proxy records in the tropics.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruiqiang Ding ◽  
YU-HENG TSENG ◽  
Emanuele Di Lorenzo ◽  
Liang Shi ◽  
Jianping Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Multi-year El Niño events induce severe and persistent floods and droughts worldwide, with significant socioeconomic impacts, but the causes of their long-lasting behaviors are still not fully understood. Here we present a two-way feedback mechanism between the tropics and extratropics to argue that extratropical atmospheric variability associated with the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) is a key source of multi-year El Niño events. The NPO during boreal winter can trigger a Central Pacific (CP) El Niño during the subsequent winter, which excites atmospheric teleconnections to the extratropics that project onto the NPO variability, then re-triggers another El Niño event in the following winter, finally resulting in persistent El Niño-like states. Model experiments, with the NPO forcing assimilated to constrain atmospheric circulation, replicate the observed connection between NPO forcing and the occurrence of multi-year El Niño events. Future projections of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phases 5 and 6 (CMIP5 and CMIP6) models demonstrate that if the projected NPO variability becomes enhanced under future anthropogenic forcing, then more frequent multi-year El Niño events should be expected. We conclude that properly accounting for the effects of the NPO on the evolution of El Niño events may improve multi-year El Niño prediction and projection.


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