Interplay between evaporation radiation, and ocean mixing in the regulation of equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Grossman
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Ocean Mixing

What Controls the Mean East–West Sea Surface Temperature Gradient in the Equatorial Pacific: The Role of Cloud Albedo

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 2757-2778 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Burls ◽  
A. V. Fedorov
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Gradient ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Walker Circulation ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature Gradient ◽  
The Mean ◽  
East West ◽  
Surface Temperature Gradient

Abstract The mean east–west sea surface temperature gradient along the equator is a key feature of tropical climate. Tightly coupled to the atmospheric Walker circulation and the oceanic east–west thermocline tilt, it effectively defines tropical climate conditions. In the Pacific, its presence permits the El Niño–Southern Oscillation phenomenon. What determines this temperature gradient within the fully coupled ocean–atmosphere system is therefore a central question in climate dynamics, critical for understanding past and future climates. Using a comprehensive coupled model [Community Earth System Model (CESM)], the authors demonstrate how the meridional gradient in cloud albedo between the tropics and midlatitudes (Δα) sets the mean east–west sea surface temperature gradient in the equatorial Pacific. To change Δα in the numerical experiments, the authors change the optical properties of clouds by modifying the atmospheric water path, but only in the shortwave radiation scheme of the model. When Δα is varied from approximately −0.15 to 0.1, the east–west SST contrast in the equatorial Pacific reduces from 7.5°C to less than 1°C and the Walker circulation nearly collapses. These experiments reveal a near-linear dependence between Δα and the zonal temperature gradient, which generally agrees with results from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) preindustrial control simulations. The authors explain the close relation between the two variables using an energy balance model incorporating the essential dynamics of the warm pool, cold tongue, and Walker circulation complex.

Cooling and freshening of the eastern equatorial Pacific over the last 2000 years

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Rustic ◽  
Athanasios Koutavas ◽  
Thomas Marchitto
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Sea Surface Temperatures ◽  
Surface Temperatures ◽  
Eastern Equatorial Pacific

<p>Sea surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific exert powerful influence on the climate beyond the tropics through strong atmosphere-ocean coupling. Records of eastern Pacific sea surface temperatures are of vital importance for identifying the linkages between short-term climate variability and long-term climate trends. Here we reconstruct eastern equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature and salinity from paired trace metal and stable isotope analyses in foraminifera from a sediment core near the Galápagos Islands. Sea surface temperatures are correlated with reconstructed Northern and Southern hemisphere temperature records suggesting a common origin. We propose that this temperature signal originates in the extra-tropics and is transmitted to the eastern Pacific surface via its source waters. We find exceptions to this cooling during the Little Ice Age and during the last century, where notable sea surface temperature increases are observed. We calculate δ<sup>18</sup>O<sub>sw </sub>from paired stable isotope and trace element analyses and derive salinity, which reveals a significant trend toward fresher surface waters in the eastern equatorial Pacific. The overall trend toward cooler and fresher sea surface conditions is consistent with longer-term trends from both the Eastern and Western Pacific.</p>

Local and remote causes of the equatorial Pacific cold sea surface temperature bias in the Kiel Climate Model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuming Zhang ◽  
Tobias Bayr ◽  
Mojib Latif ◽  
Zhaoyang Song ◽  
Wonsun Park ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Sst Bias ◽  
Atmosphere Model

<p>We investigate the origin of the equatorial Pacific cold sea surface temperature (SST) bias and its link to wind biases, local and remote, in the Kiel Climate Model (KCM) with dedicated coupled and stand-alone atmosphere model experiments. In the coupled experiments, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (NCEP/CFSR) wind stress is prescribed over four different spatial domains: globally, over the equatorial Pacific (EP), the northern Pacific (NP) and southern Pacific (SP). The corresponding cold SST bias over the equatorial Pacific is reduced by 94%, 48%, 11% and 22%, respectively. Thus, the equatorial Pacific SST bias is mainly attributed to the wind bias over the EP region, with small but not negligible contributions from the SP and NP regions. Biases in the ocean dynamics cause the EP SST bias, while the atmospheric thermodynamics counteract it.</p><p>To examine the origin of wind biases, we force the atmospheric component of the KCM in stand-alone mode by observed SSTs and simulated SSTs from the coupled experiments with the KCM. The results show that wind biases over the EP, NP and SP regions are initially generated in the atmosphere model and further enhanced by the biased SST in the coupled model.</p><p>We conclude that the cold SST bias over the equatorial Pacific originates from biases in the ocean circulation that are forced by the biased surface winds over the EP, NP and SP regions. On the other hand, the cold equatorial Pacific SST bias amplifies the wind biases over the EP, NP and SP regions, which in turn enhances the cold SST bias by ocean-atmosphere coupling.</p>

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