The ocean response to operational westerly wind bursts during the 1991–1992 El Niño

1995 ◽  
Vol 100 (C3) ◽  
pp. 4893 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. Kindle ◽  
Patricia A. Phoebus
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Westerly Wind ◽  
Ocean Response ◽  
Wind Bursts ◽  
Westerly Wind Bursts

scholarly journals A study of the effects of westerly wind bursts on ENSO based on CESM

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 885-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoxiao Tan ◽  
Youmin Tang ◽  
Tao Lian ◽  
Zhixiong Yao ◽  
Xiaojing Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Parameterization Scheme ◽  
Westerly Wind ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
El Niño Events ◽  
Wind Bursts ◽  
Westerly Wind Bursts ◽  
El Nino Events

AbstractNumerous works have indicated that westerly wind bursts (WWBs) have a significant contribution to the development of El Niño events. However, the simulation of WWBs commonly suffers from large biases in the current generation of coupled general circulation models (CGCMs), limiting our ability to predict El Niño events. In this study, we introduce a WWBs parameterization scheme into the global coupled Community Earth System Model (CESM) to improve the representation of WWBs and to study the impacts of WWBs on El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) characteristics. It is found that CESM with the WWBs parameterization scheme can generate more realistic characteristics of WWBs, in particular their location and seasonal variation of occurrence. With the parameterized WWBs, the skewness of the Niño 3 index is increased, in better agreement with observation. Eastern Pacific El Niño and central Pacific El Niño events could be successfully reproduced in the model run with WWBs parameterization. Further diagnoses show that the enhanced horizontal advection in the central Pacific and vertical advection in the eastern Pacific, both of which are triggered by WWBs, are crucial factors responsible for the improvements in ENSO simulation. Clearly, WWBs have important effects on ENSO asymmetry and ENSO diversity.

scholarly journals The impact of westerly wind bursts on the diversity and predictability of El Niño events: An ocean energetics perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (13) ◽  
pp. 4654-4663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shineng Hu ◽  
Alexey V. Fedorov ◽  
Matthieu Lengaigne ◽  
Eric Guilyardi
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Westerly Wind ◽  
El Niño Events ◽  
Ocean Energetics ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Wind Bursts ◽  
Westerly Wind Bursts ◽  
El Nino Events

scholarly journals Lack of Westerly Wind Bursts in Unmaterialized El Niño Years

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 593-612
Author(s):  
Ayako Seiki ◽  
Yukari N. Takayabu ◽  
Takuya Hasegawa ◽  
Kunio Yoneyama
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Equatorial Region ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Westerly Wind ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Budget Analysis ◽  
Westerly Winds ◽  
Wind Bursts ◽  
Westerly Wind Bursts

The lack of westerly wind bursts (WWBs) when atmospheric intraseasonal variability (ISV) events occur from boreal spring to autumn is investigated by comparing two types of El Niño years with unmaterialized El Niño (UEN) years. Although high ocean heat content buildup and several ISV events propagating eastward are observed in all three types of years, few WWBs accompany these in the UEN years. The eddy kinetic energy budget analysis based on ISV shows that mean westerly winds in the lower troposphere facilitate the development of eddy disturbances, including WWBs, through convergence and meridional shear of zonal winds. In the UEN years, these westerly winds are retracted westward and do not reach the equatorial central Pacific mainly as a result of interannual components. In addition, positive sea surface temperature anomalies in the western Pacific, which are conducive to active convection, spread widely in a meridional direction centered on 15°N. Both westward-retracted mean westerlies and off-equatorial warming enhance off-equatorial eddies, which result in a reduction in equatorial eddies such as WWBs. The characteristics of the UEN years are significantly different from those observed during the eastern Pacific El Niño (EP-EN) years, which are characterized by anomalous cooling (warming) and suppressed (enhanced) convective eddies in the off-equatorial (equatorial) western Pacific. The central Pacific El Niño years show mixed features during both EP-EN and UEN years. Different background states not only in the equatorial region but also in the off-equatorial region can be a reason for the lack of WWBs in the UEN years.

scholarly journals Westerly Wind Bursts and Their Relationship with Intraseasonal Variations and ENSO. Part II: Energetics over the Western and Central Pacific

2007 ◽  
Vol 135 (10) ◽  
pp. 3346-3361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayako Seiki ◽  
Yukari N. Takayabu
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Westerly Wind ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Upper Troposphere ◽  
Wind Bursts ◽  
Westerly Wind Bursts

Abstract The mechanism of synoptic-scale eddy development in the generation of westerly wind bursts (WWBs) over the western–central Pacific, and their relationship with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), were examined. In the WWB occurrences, barotropic structures of equatorial eddy westerlies with cyclonic disturbances were found from the surface to the upper troposphere. The dominant contributions to substantial eddy kinetic energy (EKE) were the barotropic energy conversion (KmKe) in the lower and middle tropospheres and the conversion from eddy available potential energy (PeKe) in the upper troposphere. Low-frequency environmental westerlies centered near the equator preceded strong zonal convergence and meridional shear, resulting in the substantial KmKe. The activation of synoptic convection also contributed to an increase in EKE through PeKe. These energies were redistributed to the lower-equatorial troposphere through energy flux convergence (GKe). These results showed that environmental fields contribute to the EKE increase near the equator and are important factors in WWB occurrences. Next, eddy growth was compared under different phases of MJO and ENSO. The MJO westerly phases of strong MJO events were classified into two groups, in terms of ENSO phases. Higher EKE values were found over the equatorial central Pacific in the WWB–ENSO correlated (pre–El Niño) periods. The energetics during these periods comported with those of the WWB generations. In the uncorrelated periods, the enhancement of eddy disturbances occurred far from the equator near the Philippines, where the activities of the easterly wave disturbances are well known. It is noteworthy that the enhanced region of the disturbances in the pre–El Niño periods coincided with the vicinity of large-scale MJO convection. It is suggested that coincidence corresponds with an enhancement of the internal disturbances embedded in the MJO, which is found only when the environmental conditions are favorable in association with ENSO.

scholarly journals Effects of westerly wind bursts on El Niño: A new perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 3522-3527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Lian ◽  
Dake Chen ◽  
Youmin Tang ◽  
Qiaoyan Wu
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Westerly Wind ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Wind Bursts ◽  
Westerly Wind Bursts

scholarly journals El Niño fades without westerly wind bursts

Eos ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 95 (50) ◽  
pp. 484-484
Author(s):  
Eric O. Betz
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Westerly Wind ◽  
Wind Bursts ◽  
Westerly Wind Bursts
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