scholarly journals Enhancement of near-annual variability in the equatorial Pacific in 2000–2008

2013 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 13-19
Author(s):  
O. Fashé ◽  
B. Dewitte
Keyword(s):  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Composite Analysis ◽  
Coupled Mode ◽  
Zonal Current ◽  
Annual Variability ◽  
Eastern Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Annual Mode ◽  
Mean State ◽  
The Tropical Pacific

Abstract. Like the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the near-annual mode is an air–sea coupled mode of the tropical Pacific that can emerge within a relatively cool mean state. It is documented here from satellite observations over the 2000–2008 period based on a covariance analysis between wind stress and zonal current anomalies. It is shown that near-annual variability is enhanced over the last decade. The signature of this mode consists of a zonal seesaw pattern for zonal current with westward (eastward) anomalous currents in the western (eastern) equatorial Pacific. A composite analysis allows identifying the peak and transition phases of this mode, particularly active over 2000–2004. It is suggested that the reduction of the interannual variability in the eastern Pacific over the last decade may be related to the enhancement of the near-annual mode.

scholarly journals La Niña–like Mean-State Response to Global Warming and Potential Oceanic Roles

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 4207-4225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsubasa Kohyama ◽  
Dennis L. Hartmann ◽  
David S. Battisti
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Forced Response ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
La Niña ◽  
The West ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mean State ◽  
Sst Gradient

Abstract The majority of the models that participated in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project global warming experiments warm faster in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean than in the west. GFDL-ESM2M is an exception among the state-of-the-art global climate models in that the equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) in the west warms faster than in the east, and the Walker circulation strengthens in response to warming. This study shows that this “La Niña–like” trend simulated by GFDL-ESM2M could be a physically consistent response to warming, and that the forced response could have been detectable since the late twentieth century. Two additional models are examined: GFDL-ESM2G, which differs from GFDL-ESM2M only in the oceanic components, warms without a clear zonal SST gradient; and HadGEM2-CC exhibits a warming pattern that resembles the multimodel mean. A fundamental observed constraint between the amplitude of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the mean-state zonal SST gradient is reproduced well by GFDL-ESM2M but not by the other two models, which display substantially weaker ENSO nonlinearity than is observed. Under this constraint, the weakening nonlinear ENSO amplitude in GFDL-ESM2M rectifies the mean state to be La Niña–like. GFDL-ESM2M exhibits more realistic equatorial thermal stratification than GFDL-ESM2G, which appears to be the most important difference for the ENSO nonlinearity. On longer time scales, the weaker polar amplification in GFDL-ESM2M may also explain the origin of the colder equatorial upwelling water, which could in turn weaken the ENSO amplitude.

scholarly journals Near-Annual SST Variability in the Equatorial Pacific in a Coupled General Circulation Model

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (21) ◽  
pp. 4454-4473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renguang Wu ◽  
Ben P. Kirtman
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Boreal Spring ◽  
Eastern Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Zonal Advection ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Annual Mode ◽  
Sst Anomalies

Abstract Equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the Center for Ocean–Land–Atmosphere Studies (COLA) interactive ensemble coupled general circulation model show near-annual variability as well as biennial El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability. There are two types of near-annual modes: a westward propagating mode and a stationary mode. For the westward propagating near-annual mode, warm SST anomalies are generated in the eastern equatorial Pacific in boreal spring and propagate westward in boreal summer. Consistent westward propagation is seen in precipitation, surface wind, and ocean current. For the stationary near-annual mode, warm SST anomalies develop near the date line in boreal winter and decay locally in boreal spring. Westward propagation of warm SST anomalies also appears in the developing year of the biennial ENSO mode. However, warm SST anomalies for the westward propagating near-annual mode occur about two months earlier than those for the biennial ENSO mode and are quickly replaced by cold SST anomalies, whereas warm SST anomalies for the biennial ENSO mode only experience moderate weakening. Anomalous zonal advection contributes to the generation and westward propagation of warm SST anomalies for both the westward propagating near-annual mode and the biennial ENSO mode. However, the role of mean upwelling is markedly different. The mean upwelling term contributes to the generation of warm SST anomalies for the biennial ENSO mode, but is mainly a damping term for the westward propagating near-annual mode. The development of warm SST anomalies for the stationary near-annual mode is partially due to anomalous zonal advection and upwelling, similar to the amplification of warm SST anomalies in the equatorial central Pacific for the biennial ENSO mode. The mean upwelling term is negative in the eastern equatorial Pacific for the stationary near-annual mode, which is opposite to the ENSO mode. The development of cold SST anomalies in the aftermath of warm SST anomalies for the westward propagating near-annual mode is coupled to large easterly wind anomalies, which occur between the warm and cold SST anomalies. The easterly anomalies contribute to the cold SST anomalies through anomalous zonal, meridional, and vertical advection and surface evaporation. The cold SST anomalies, in turn, enhance the easterly anomalies through a Rossby-wave-type response. The above processes are most effective during boreal spring when the mean near-surface-layer ocean temperature gradient is the largest. It is suggested that the westward propagating near-annual mode is related to air–sea interaction processes that are limited to the near-surface layers.

scholarly journals Rainfall Teleconnections with Indo-Pacific Variability in the WCRP CMIP3 Models

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (19) ◽  
pp. 5046-5071 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenju Cai ◽  
Arnold Sullivan ◽  
Tim Cowan
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Boreal Winter ◽  
Small Subset ◽  
Stochastic Noise ◽  
Cold Tongue ◽  
Eastern Equatorial Pacific ◽  
The Indian Ocean

Abstract The present study assesses the ability of climate models to simulate rainfall teleconnections with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD). An assessment is provided on 24 climate models that constitute phase 3 of the World Climate Research Programme’s Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (WCRP CMIP3), used in the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The strength of the ENSO–rainfall teleconnection, defined as the correlation between rainfall and Niño-3.4, is overwhelmingly controlled by the amplitude of ENSO signals relative to stochastic noise, highlighting the importance of realistically simulating this parameter. Because ENSO influences arise from the movement of convergence zones from their mean positions, the well-known equatorial Pacific climatological sea surface temperature (SST) and ENSO cold tongue anomaly biases lead to systematic errors. The climatological SSTs, which are far too cold along the Pacific equator, lead to a complete “nonresponse to ENSO” along the central and/or eastern equatorial Pacific in the majority of models. ENSO anomalies are also too equatorially confined and extend too far west, with linkages to a weakness in the teleconnection with Hawaii boreal winter rainfall and an inducement of a teleconnection with rainfall over west Papua New Guinea in austral summer. Another consequence of the ENSO cold tongue bias is that the majority of models produce too strong a coherence between SST anomalies in the west, central, and eastern equatorial Pacific. Consequently, the models’ ability in terms of producing differences in the impacts by ENSO from those by ENSO Modoki is reduced. Similarly, the IOD–rainfall teleconnection strengthens with an intensification of the IOD relative to the stochastic noise. A significant relationship exists between intermodel variations of IOD–ENSO coherence and intermodel variations of the ENSO amplitude in a small subset of models in which the ENSO anomaly structure and ENSO signal transmission to the Indian Ocean are better simulated. However, using all but one model (defined as an outlier) there is no systematic linkage between ENSO amplitude and IOD–ENSO coherence. Indeed, the majority of models produce an ENSO–IOD coherence lower than the observed, supporting the notion that the Indian Ocean has the ability to generate independent variability and that ENSO is not the only trigger of the IOD. Although models with a stronger IOD amplitude and rainfall teleconnection tend to have a greater ENSO amplitude, there is no causal relationship; instead this feature reflects a commensurate strength of the Bjerknes feedback in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

scholarly journals Biophysical Feedbacks in the Tropical Pacific

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Marzeion ◽  
Axel Timmermann ◽  
Ragu Murtugudde ◽  
Fei-Fei Jin
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Annual Cycle ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Bjerknes Feedback ◽  
Mean State ◽  
Chlorophyll Concentrations ◽  
The Tropical Pacific

Abstract This study explores the influence of phytoplankton on the tropical Pacific heat budget. A hybrid coupled model for the tropical Pacific that is based on a primitive equation reduced-gravity multilayer ocean model, a dynamic ocean mixed layer, an atmospheric mixed layer, and a statistical atmosphere is used. The statistical atmosphere relates deviations of the sea surface temperature from its mean to wind stress anomalies and allows for the rectification of the annual cycle and the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon through the positive Bjerknes feedback. Furthermore, a nine-component ecosystem model is coupled to the physical variables of the ocean. The simulated chlorophyll concentrations can feed back onto the ocean heat budget by their optical properties, which modify solar light absorption in the surface layers. It is shown that both the surface layer concentration as well as the vertical profile of chlorophyll have a significant effect on the simulated mean state, the tropical annual cycle, and ENSO. This study supports a previously suggested hypothesis (Timmermann and Jin) that predicts an influence of phytoplankton concentration of the tropical Pacific climate mean state and its variability. The bioclimate feedback diagnosed here works as follows: Maxima in the subsurface chlorophyll concentrations lead to an enhanced subsurface warming due to the absorption of photosynthetically available shortwave radiation. This warming triggers a deepening of the mixed layer in the eastern equatorial Pacific and eventually a reduction of the surface ocean currents (Murtugudde et al.). The weakened south-equatorial current generates an eastern Pacific surface warming, which is strongly enhanced by the Bjerknes feedback. Because of the deepening of the mixed layer, the strength of the simulated annual cycle is also diminished. This in turn leads to an increase in ENSO variability.

scholarly journals Interaction between Near-Annual and ENSO Modes in a CGCM Simulation: Role of the Equatorial Background Mean State

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1035-1052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Dewitte ◽  
Carole Cibot ◽  
Claire Périgaud ◽  
Soon-Il An ◽  
Laurent Terray
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Cold Bias ◽  
Zonal Current ◽  
Thermocline Feedback ◽  
Temperature Advection ◽  
Basin Mode ◽  
Annual Mode ◽  
Mean State

Abstract A 260-yr-long coupled general circulation model (CGCM) simulation is used to investigate the interaction between ENSO mode and near-annual variability and its sensitivity to the equatorial background mean stratification and seasonal cycles. Although the thermocline mean vertical structure of the model favors the high-order baroclinic modes that are associated with the slow time scales of the coupled variability, the simulated ENSO oscillates at a dominant quasi-biennial frequency. Biases of the climatological velocity field are favorable to the dominance of the zonal advective feedback over the thermocline feedback, the model exhibiting an overenergetic westward seasonal zonal current in the central-western equatorial Pacific, and an upwelling rate that is about half the observations. This sets the conditions for the enhancement of a near-annual mode that is observed to oscillate at an 8-month period in the model. Using an intermediate coupled model of the tropical Pacific where the climatological fields are prescribed to the ones derived from the CGCM, it is demonstrated that the quasi-biennial ENSO variability simulated by the CGCM is mostly due to the biases in the climatological currents of the CGCM. These biases favor the dominance of the fast “zonal advective feedback” over the slow “thermocline feedback” in the coupled system and enhance a fast coupled basin mode. This fast mode differs from the theoretical Pacific Ocean basin mode in that, besides mean temperature advection by the zonal current anomalies, it is also driven by anomalous temperature advection by the total current. Results suggest that the near-annual mode destabilizes the ENSO mode to produce overenergetic quasi-biennial oscillations in the model. It also contributes to the ENSO asymmetry and the cold bias of the CGCM mean state by nonlinear accumulation of temperature zonal advection, which works toward the cold in the western Pacific more than the warm in the east. It is suggested that the model equilibrium results from the interaction between the ENSO mode, the near-annual mode, and the mean state.

scholarly journals Variations in the Flow of the Global Atmosphere Associated with a Composite Convectively Coupled Oceanic Kelvin Wave

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (15) ◽  
pp. 4192-4201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul E. Roundy ◽  
Lynn M. Gribble-Verhagen
Keyword(s):  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Deep Convection ◽  
Composite Analysis ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
Madden Julian Oscillation ◽  
Global Flow ◽  
Kelvin Wave ◽  
Coupled Mode ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean

Abstract Kelvin waves in the Pacific Ocean occasionally develop and propagate eastward together with anomalies of deep convection and low-level westerly wind. This pattern suggests coupling between the oceanic waves and atmospheric convection. A simple composite analysis based on observed coupled events from October through April demonstrates that this apparent coupled mode is associated with significant large anomalies in the global flow that extend to high latitudes. These high-latitude anomalies are significantly larger than those that are linearly associated with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and they evolve on time scales between those of the Madden–Julian oscillation and ENSO, potentially providing an opportunity for enhanced subseasonal predictability in the flow of the global atmosphere.

Surface Layer Heat Balance in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean on Interannual Time Scales: Influence of Local versus Remote Wind Forcing*

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (16) ◽  
pp. 4375-4394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuebin Zhang ◽  
Michael J. McPhaden
Keyword(s):  
Heat Balance ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Equatorial Pacific Ocean ◽  
Atmospheric Forcing ◽  
Heat Advection ◽  
Enso Events ◽  
Thermocline Feedback ◽  
Eastern Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Highly Correlated

Abstract The authors use a new and novel heat balance formalism for the upper 50 m of the Niño-3 region (5°N–5°S, 90°–150°W) to investigate the oceanographic processes underlying interannual sea surface temperature (SST) variations in the eastern equatorial Pacific. The focus is on a better understanding of the relationship between local and remote atmospheric forcing in generating SST anomalies associated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. The heat balance analysis indicates that heat advection across 50-m depth and across 150°W are the important oceanic mechanisms responsible for temperature variations with the former being dominant. On the other hand, net surface heat flux adjusted for penetrative radiation damps SST. Jointly, these processes can explain most of interannual variations in temperature tendency averaged over the Niño-3 region. Decomposition of vertical advection across the bottom indicates that the mean seasonal advection of anomalous temperature (the so-called thermocline feedback) dominates and is highly correlated with 20°C isotherm depth variations, which are mainly forced by remote winds in the western and central equatorial Pacific. Temperature advection by anomalous vertical velocity (the “Ekman feedback”), which is highly correlated with local zonal wind stress variations, is smaller with an amplitude of about 40% on average of remotely forced vertical heat advection. These results support those of recent empirical and modeling studies in which local atmospheric forcing, while not dominant, significantly affects ENSO SST variations in the eastern equatorial Pacific.

scholarly journals Compound high-temperature and low-chlorophyll extremes in the ocean over the satellite period

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 2119-2137
Author(s):  
Natacha Le Grix ◽  
Jakob Zscheischler ◽  
Charlotte Laufkötter ◽  
Cecile S. Rousseaux ◽  
Thomas L. Frölicher
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Chlorophyll Concentration ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Compound Event ◽  
Eastern Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Compound Events

Abstract. Extreme events in the ocean severely impact marine organisms and ecosystems. Of particular concern are compound events, i.e., when conditions are extreme for multiple potential ocean ecosystem stressors such as temperature and chlorophyll. Yet, little is known about the occurrence, intensity, and duration of such compound high-temperature (a.k.a. marine heatwaves – MHWs) and low-chlorophyll (LChl) extreme events, whether their distributions have changed in the past decades, and what the potential drivers are. Here we use satellite-based sea surface temperature and chlorophyll concentration estimates to provide a first assessment of such compound extreme events. We reveal hotspots of compound MHW and LChl events in the equatorial Pacific, along the boundaries of the subtropical gyres, in the northern Indian Ocean, and around Antarctica. In these regions, compound events that typically last 1 week occur 3 to 7 times more often than expected under the assumption of independence between MHWs and LChl events. The occurrence of compound MHW and LChl events varies on seasonal to interannual timescales. At the seasonal timescale, most compound events occur in summer in both hemispheres. At the interannual timescale, the frequency of compound MHW and LChl events is strongly modulated by large-scale modes of natural climate variability such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, whose positive phase is associated with increased compound event occurrence in the eastern equatorial Pacific and in the Indian Ocean by a factor of up to 4. Our results provide a first understanding of where, when, and why compound MHW and LChl events occur. Further studies are needed to identify the exact physical and biological drivers of these potentially harmful events in the ocean and their evolution under global warming.

Warming of the Indian Ocean weakens the Atlantic Niño - El Niño Southern Oscillation connection 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shreya Dhame ◽  
Andréa Taschetto ◽  
Agus Santoso ◽  
Giovanni Liguori ◽  
Katrin Meissner
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Warming Trend ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Ocean Warming ◽  
The West ◽  
Indian Ocean Warming ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Mean State

<p>The tropical Indian Ocean has warmed by 1 degree Celsius since the mid-twentieth century. This warming is likely to continue as the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels keep rising. Here, we discuss how the warming trend could influence the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) via interaction with the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean mean state and variability. The warming trend leads to the strengthening of easterlies in the western equatorial Pacific, subsequent downwelling and increase of the mixed later depth in the west, and an increase in the subsurface temperature gradient across the equatorial Pacific. In the eastern equatorial Pacific, the response of upwelling ocean currents to surface wind stress decreases, resulting in a weakening of ENSO amplitude. The Indian Ocean warming influences ENSO via the Atlantic Ocean as well. There, it is associated with the strengthening of equatorial easterly winds, and anomalous warming in the west and upwelling induced cooling in the east, especially in austral winter, during the peak of the Atlantic Niño. Consequently, this results in a decrease of the amplitude of Atlantic Niño events and weakening of the Atlantic Niño-ENSO teleconnection, thereby hindering the transition of El Niño events to La Niña events. Thus, the Indian Ocean warming trend is found to modulate tropical Pacific and Atlantic mean state and variability, with implications for ENSO predictability under a warming climate.</p>

scholarly journals Tropical Pacific Climate and Its Response to Global Warming in the Kiel Climate Model

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Park ◽  
N. Keenlyside ◽  
M. Latif ◽  
A. Ströh ◽  
R. Redler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Global Climate Model ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Cold Bias ◽  
The Tropical Pacific

Abstract A new, non-flux-corrected, global climate model is introduced, the Kiel Climate Model (KCM), which will be used to study internal climate variability from interannual to millennial time scales and climate predictability of the first and second kind. The version described here is a coarse-resolution version that will be employed in extended-range integrations of several millennia. KCM’s performance in the tropical Pacific with respect to mean state, annual cycle, and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is described. Additionally, the tropical Pacific response to global warming is studied. Overall, climate drift in a multicentury control integration is small. However, KCM exhibits an equatorial cold bias at the surface of the order 1°C, while strong warm biases of several degrees are simulated in the eastern tropical Pacific on both sides off the equator, with maxima near the coasts. The annual and semiannual cycles are realistically simulated in the eastern and western equatorial Pacific, respectively. ENSO performance compares favorably to observations with respect to both amplitude and period. An ensemble of eight greenhouse warming simulations was performed, in which the CO2 concentration was increased by 1% yr−1 until doubling was reached, and stabilized thereafter. Warming of equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) is, to first order, zonally symmetric and leads to a sharpening of the thermocline. ENSO variability increases because of global warming: during the 30-yr period after CO2 doubling, the ensemble mean standard deviation of Niño-3 SST anomalies is increased by 26% relative to the control, and power in the ENSO band is almost doubled. The increased variability is due to both a strengthened (22%) thermocline feedback and an enhanced (52%) atmospheric sensitivity to SST; both are associated with changes in the basic state. Although variability increases in the mean, there is a large spread among ensemble members and hence a finite probability that in the “model world” no change in ENSO would be observed.

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