Energy Spectrum Characteristics of Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillations: Climatology and Variations during the ENSO Developing and Decaying Phases*

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (23) ◽  
pp. 6304-6320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ailan Lin ◽  
Tim Li
Keyword(s):  
Energy Spectrum ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Intraseasonal Oscillation ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Zonal Wavenumber ◽  
Northward Propagation

Abstract The geographic-dependence characteristics of the energy spectrum of the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (BSISO; May–October) over the Indo–western Pacific region were analyzed using 25-yr (1979–2003) observational data. The BSISO energy spectrum distribution exhibits a distinctive regional characteristic. The stationary and eastward-propagating modes are most pronounced at the equator (5°S–5°N), while the westward-propagating modes are dominant in the off-equatorial region (10°–20°N). While the eastward intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) spectrum agglomerates on the 30–60-day period and zonal wavenumber 1, the westward mode covers wider spatial (wavenumber) and temporal (period) range. Along the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and South China Sea (SCS) latitudes, the dominant wavenumber 1 mode is the eastward (westward) propagation at the 30–60-day (10–20 day) period; for zonal wavenumber 2, the dominant mode is the westward propagation at both the 30–60-day and 10–20-day periods. Compared to the absolute amplitude of both zonal and meridional mode energy spectrum, northward propagation is the most predominant mode in boreal summer over the Indo–western Pacific regions. The strongest northward-propagating BSISO signal appears in the eastern tropical Indian Ocean. The variation of BSISO differs significantly in the El Niño and La Niña developing and decaying phases. During the El Niño (La Niña) developing summer, the eastward propagation is enhanced (weakened) at the equator, while the northward propagation is also strengthened (weakened) over the western Pacific (east of 140°E). During the El Niño (La Niña) decaying summer, the eastward propagation weakens (strengthens) at the equator, opposite to that in the developing summer; the westward propagation off the equator and the northward propagation over SCS and the western Pacific are suppressed (enhanced). The amplitude of the BSISO variation is stronger in the decaying summer than that in the developing summer. This asymmetry in BSISO variations is primarily attributed to the asymmetry of the background mean flow change associated with the developing and decaying phases of ENSO.

scholarly journals Changes in Spread and Predictability Associated with ENSO in an Ensemble Coupled GCM

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (17) ◽  
pp. 4378-4396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renguang Wu ◽  
Ben P. Kirtman
Keyword(s):  
Surface Pressure ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Boreal Winter ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Signal Change

Abstract The present study documents the influence of El Niño and La Niña events on the spread and predictability of rainfall, surface pressure, and 500-hPa geopotential height, and contrasts the relative contribution of signal and noise changes to the predictability change based on a long-term integration of an interactive ensemble coupled general circulation model. It is found that the pattern of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-induced noise change for rainfall follows closely that of the corresponding signal change in most of the tropical regions. The noise for tropical Pacific surface pressure is larger (smaller) in regions of lower (higher) mean pressure. The ENSO-induced noise change for 500-hPa height displays smaller spatial scales compared to and has no systematic relationship with the signal change. The predictability for tropical rainfall and surface pressure displays obvious contrasts between the summer and winter over the Bay of Bengal, the western North Pacific, and the tropical southwestern Indian Ocean. The predictability for tropical 500-hPa height is higher in boreal summer than in boreal winter. In the equatorial central Pacific, the predictability for rainfall is much higher in La Niña years than in El Niño years. This occurs because of a larger percent reduction in the amplitude of noise compared to the percent decrease in the magnitude of signal from El Niño to La Niña years. A consistent change is seen in the predictability for surface pressure near the date line. In the western North and South Pacific, the predictability for boreal winter rainfall is higher in El Niño years than in La Niña years. This is mainly due to a stronger signal in El Niño years compared to La Niña years. The predictability for 500-hPa height increases over most of the Tropics in El Niño years. Over western tropical Pacific–Australia and East Asia, the predictability for boreal winter surface pressure and 500-hPa height is higher in El Niño years than in La Niña years. The predictability change for 500-hPa height is primarily due to the signal change.

scholarly journals ENSO Modulation of the QBO: Results from MIROC Models with and without Nonorographic Gravity Wave Parameterization

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (12) ◽  
pp. 3893-3917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshio Kawatani ◽  
Kevin Hamilton ◽  
Kaoru Sato ◽  
Timothy J. Dunkerton ◽  
Shingo Watanabe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Wave ◽  
Gravity Waves ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Quasi Biennial Oscillation ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Zonal Wavenumber

Abstract Observational studies have shown that, on average, the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) exhibits a faster phase progression and shorter period during El Niño than during La Niña. Here, the possible mechanism of QBO modulation associated with ENSO is investigated using the MIROC-AGCM with T106 (~1.125°) horizontal resolution. The MIROC-AGCM simulates QBO-like oscillations without any nonorographic gravity wave parameterizations. A 100-yr integration was conducted during which annually repeating sea surface temperatures based on the composite observed El Niño conditions were imposed. A similar 100-yr La Niña integration was also conducted. The MIROC-AGCM simulates realistic differences between El Niño and La Niña, notably shorter QBO periods, a weaker Walker circulation, and more equatorial precipitation during El Niño than during La Niña. Near the equator, vertical wave fluxes of zonal momentum in the uppermost troposphere are larger and the stratospheric QBO forcing due to interaction of the mean flow with resolved gravity waves (particularly for zonal wavenumber ≥43) is much larger during El Niño. The tropical upwelling associated with the Brewer–Dobson circulation is also stronger in the El Niño simulation. The effects of the enhanced tropical upwelling during El Niño are evidently overcome by enhanced wave driving, resulting in the shorter QBO period. The integrations were repeated with another model version (MIROC-ECM with T42 horizontal resolution) that employs a parameterization of nonorographic gravity waves in order to simulate a QBO. In the MIROC-ECM the average QBO periods are nearly identical in the El Niño and La Niña simulations.

Influence of Intraseasonal Oscillation on the Asymmetric Decays of El Niño and La Niña

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 779-792
Author(s):  
Xiaomeng Song ◽  
Renhe Zhang ◽  
Xinyao Rong
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Intraseasonal Oscillation ◽  
La Niña ◽  
La Nina

scholarly journals Impacts of Different Types of ENSO on the Interannual Seesaw between the Somali and the Maritime Continent Cross-Equatorial Flows

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 2621-2638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Li ◽  
Jing-Jia Luo ◽  
Shuanglin Li
Keyword(s):  
Negative Correlation ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Maritime Continent ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Ep El Niño ◽  
Sst Gradient

The impacts of different types of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the interannual negative correlation (seesaw) between the Somali cross-equatorial flow (CEF) and the Maritime Continent (MC) CEF during boreal summer (June–August) are investigated using the ECMWF twentieth-century reanalysis (ERA-20C) dataset and numerical experiments with a global atmospheric model [the Met Office Unified Model global atmosphere, version 6 (UM-GA6)]. The results suggest that ENSO plays a prominent role in governing the CEF-seesaw relation. A high positive correlation (0.86) exists between the MC CEF and Niño-3.4 index and also in the case of eastern Pacific (EP) El Niño, central Pacific (CP) El Niño, EP La Niña, and CP La Niña events. In contrast, a negative correlation (−0.35) exists between the Somali CEF and Niño-3.4 index, and this negative relation is significant only in the EP El Niño years. Further, the variation of the MC CEF is highly correlated with the local north–south sea surface temperature (SST) gradient, while the variation of the Somali CEF displays little relation with the local SST gradient. The Somali CEF may be remotely influenced by ENSO. The model results confirm that the EP El Niño plays a major role in causing the weakened Somali CEF via modifying the Walker cell. However, the impact of the EP El Niño on the Somali CEF differs with different seasonal background. It is also found that the interannual CEF seesaw displays a multidecadal change before and after the 1950s, which is linked with the multidecadal strengthening of the intensity of the EP ENSO.

How Many ENSO Flavors Can We Distinguish?*

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (13) ◽  
pp. 4816-4827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel C. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Warm Pool ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Western Pacific Warm Pool ◽  
La Nina ◽  
Pacific Warm Pool ◽  
Sst Anomalies

Abstract It is now widely recognized that El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) occurs in more than one form, with the canonical eastern Pacific (EP) and more recently recognized central Pacific (CP) ENSO types receiving the most focus. Given that these various ENSO “flavors” may contribute to climate variability and long-term trends in unique ways, and that ENSO variability is not limited to these two types, this study presents a framework that treats ENSO as a continuum but determines a finite maximum number of statistically distinguishable representative ENSO patterns. A neural network–based cluster analysis called self-organizing map (SOM) analysis paired with a statistical distinguishability test determines nine unique patterns that characterize the September–February tropical Pacific SST anomaly fields for the period from 1950 through 2011. These nine patterns represent the flavors of ENSO, which include EP, CP, and mixed ENSO patterns. Over the 1950–2011 period, the most significant trends reflect changes in La Niña patterns, with a shift in dominance of La Niña–like patterns with weak or negative western Pacific warm pool SST anomalies until the mid-1970s, followed by a dominance of La Niña–like patterns with positive western Pacific warm pool SST anomalies, particularly after the mid-1990s. Both an EP and especially a CP El Niño pattern experienced positive frequency trends, but these trends are indistinguishable from natural variability. Overall, changes in frequency within the ENSO continuum contributed to the pattern of tropical Pacific warming, particularly in the equatorial eastern Pacific and especially in relation to changes of La Niña–like rather than El Niño–like patterns.

scholarly journals Biophysical responses near equatorial islands in the Western Pacific Ocean during El Niño/La Niña transitions

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (20) ◽  
pp. 5473-5479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle M. Gierach ◽  
Monique Messié ◽  
Tong Lee ◽  
Kristopher B. Karnauskas ◽  
Marie-Hélène Radenac
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Western Pacific Ocean ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Western Pacific

scholarly journals Changes in Sea Salt Emissions Enhance ENSO Variability

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (23) ◽  
pp. 8575-8588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Yang ◽  
Lynn M. Russell ◽  
Sijia Lou ◽  
Maryam A. Lamjiri ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Sea Salt ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Interannual Variations ◽  
Enso Variability ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Tropical Pacific

Abstract Two 150-yr preindustrial simulations with and without interactive sea salt emissions from the Community Earth System Model (CESM) are performed to quantify the interactions between sea salt emissions and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Variations in sea salt emissions over the tropical Pacific Ocean are affected by changing wind speed associated with ENSO variability. ENSO-induced interannual variations in sea salt emissions result in decreasing (increasing) aerosol optical depth (AOD) by 0.03 over the equatorial central-eastern (western) Pacific Ocean during El Niño events compared to those during La Niña events. These changes in AOD further increase (decrease) radiative fluxes into the atmosphere by +0.2 (−0.4) W m−2 over the tropical eastern (western) Pacific. Thereby, sea surface temperature increases (decreases) by 0.2–0.4 K over the tropical eastern (western) Pacific Ocean during El Niño compared to La Niña events and enhances ENSO variability by 10%. The increase in ENSO amplitude is a result of systematic heating (cooling) during the warm (cold) phase of ENSO in the eastern Pacific. Interannual variations in sea salt emissions then produce the anomalous ascent (subsidence) over the equatorial eastern (western) Pacific between El Niño and La Niña events, which is a result of heating anomalies. Owing to variations in sea salt emissions, the convective precipitation is enhanced by 0.6–1.2 mm day−1 over the tropical central-eastern Pacific Ocean and weakened by 0.9–1.5 mm day−1 over the Maritime Continent during El Niño compared to La Niña events, enhancing the precipitation variability over the tropical Pacific.

scholarly journals Dynamics of Late Spring Rainfall Reduction in Recent Decades over Southeastern China

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 2240-2247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Qiu ◽  
Wenju Cai ◽  
Xiaogang Guo ◽  
Aijun Pan
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Late Spring ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Southeastern China ◽  
Sea Level Pressure ◽  
La Nina

Abstract Since 1951, late spring (May) rainfall over southeastern China (SEC) has decreased by more than 30% from its long-term average, in contrast to a rainfall increase in boreal summer. The dynamics have yet to be fully determined. This paper shows that as the Indo-Pacific enters into a La Niña phase, significant negative mean sea level pressure (MSLP) anomalies grow over the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific sector. The associated large-scale southwesterly anomalies transport moisture to the nearby South China Sea and the SEC region, contributing to a higher rainfall. A presence of a Philippine Sea anticyclonic (PSAC) pattern, arising from a decaying El Niño, strengthens the rain-conducive flow to SEC, but it is not a necessary condition. During the past decades, an increase in protracted El Niño events accompanied by a reduction in La Niña episodes has contributed to the May rainfall decline. The extent to which climate change is contributing is discussed.

Two Tropical Routes for the Remote Influence of the Northern Tropical Atlantic on the Indo−western Pacific Summer Climate

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-51
Author(s):  
Yuhei Takaya ◽  
Naoaki Saito ◽  
Ichiro Ishikawa ◽  
Shuhei Maeda
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Walker Circulation ◽  
La Niña ◽  
Western Pacific ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Summer Climate ◽  
La Nina ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Northern Tropical Atlantic

AbstractThis study investigates the influence of sea surface temperature (SST) in the northern tropical Atlantic (NTA) on the Indo−western Pacific summer climate by analyzing record-high NTA SSTs summer in 2010. In that time, a decaying El Niño and developing La Niña were accompanied by widespread anomalous climate conditions in the Indo-western Pacific. These conditions are typical of summers that follow El Niño events and are often explained as being due to the influence of Indian Ocean warming induced by the El Niño. Meanwhile, the record high NTA SSTs that also resulted from the influence of the El Niño, the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation as well as the interdecadal-and-longer NTA SST variability, is one of possible causes of anomalous conditions in the Indo−western Pacific. The results of sensitivity experiments using a coupled atmosphere−ocean model clearly indicate that the high NTA SSTs had a considerable influence on the summer weather in the Indo−western Pacific via two tropical routes: an eastbound route that involved a reinforcement of the atmospheric equatorial Kelvin wave and a westbound route that involved altering the Walker circulation over the Atlantic−Pacific region. The altered Walker circulation facilitated the transition to La Niña, amplifying the impact on the western North Pacific monsoon. Further evaluation reveals that both the interannual and interdecadal-and-longer variability of the NTA SST contributed to the anomalous Indo−western Pacific summer. The results highlight the interannual to multidecadal predictability of the Indo−western Pacific summer climate that originates in the NTA.

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