Blunt ocean dynamical thermostat in response of tropical eastern Pacific SST to global warming

Using an intermediate ocean–atmosphere coupled model (ICM) for the tropical Pacific, we investigated the role of the ocean dynamical thermostat (ODT) in regulating the tropical eastern Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) under global warming conditions. The external, uniformly distributed surface heating results in the cooling of the tropical eastern Pacific “cold tongue,” and the amplitude of the cooling increases as more heat is added but not simply linearly. Furthermore, an upper bound for the influence of the equatorially symmetric surface heating on the cold tongue cooling exists. The additional heating beyond the upper bound does not cool the cold tongue in a systematic manner. The heat budget analysis suggests that the zonal advection is the primary factor that contributes to such nonlinear SST response. The radiative heating due to the greenhouse effect (hereafter, RHG) that is obtained from the multi-model ensemble of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project Phase III (CMIP3) was externally given to ICM. The RHG obtained from the twentieth century simulation intensified the cold tongue cooling and the subtropical warming, which were further intensified by the RHG from the doubled CO₂ concentration simulation. However, the cold tongue cooling was significantly reduced and the negative SST response region was shrunken toward the equator by the RHG from the quadrupled CO₂ concentration simulation, while the subtropical warming increased further. A systematic RHG forced experiment having the same spatial pattern of RHG from doubled CO₂ concentration simulation with different amplitude of forcing revealed that the ocean dynamical response to global warming tended to enhance the cooling in the tropical eastern Pacific by virtue of meridional advection and upwelling; however, these cooling effects could not fully compensate a given RHG warming as the external forcing becomes larger. Moreover, the feedback by the zonal thermal advection actually exerted the warming over the equatorial region. Therefore, as the global warming is intensified, the cooling over the eastern tropical Pacific by ODT and the negative SST response area are reduced.     

An Empirical Tropical Instability Wave-induced Wind Stress Model in the Equatorial Pacific and its Incorporation into the Ocean Model

Abstract

Satellite observations revealed that there is a close relationship between perturbations of sea surface temperature (SST) and wind stress (τ) induced by tropical instability waves (TIWs; SST_TIW and τ _TIW). Using the empirical relationship observed between TIW-induced wind stress divergence (curl) and downwind (crosswind) SST gradients, this study establishes a TIW-induced wind stress field perturbation model τ _TIW?=?F(SST). This empirical model solves τ _TIW from the TIW-induced wind stress divergence and curl, which are estimated from the downwind and crosswind SST gradients. This empirical τ _TIW?=?F(SST) model can be incorporated into the ocean model to take into account the effect of τ _TIW. By comparing two experiments with and without the τ _TIW effect, this study demonstrates that τ _TIW has a substantial effect on the equatorial Pacific heat budget and induces the long-term mean SST to exhibit a 0.2°C difference, which is consistent with previous studies.     

Remote Efects of Tropical Cyclone Wind Forcing over the Western Pacific on the Eastern Equatorial Ocean

An ocean general circulation model(OGCM)is used to demonstrate remote efects of tropical cyclone wind(TCW)forcing in the tropical Pacific.The signature of TCW forcing is explicitly extracted using a locally weighted quadratic least-squares regression(called as LOESS)method from six-hour satellite surface wind data;the extracted TCW component can then be additionally taken into account or not in ocean modeling,allowing isolation of its efects on the ocean in a clean and clear way.In this paper,seasonally varying TCW fields in year 2008 are extracted from satellite data which are prescribed as a repeated annual cycle over the western Pacific regions of the equator(poleward of 10 N/S);two long-term OGCM experiments are performed and compared,one with the TCW forcing part included additionally and the other not.Large,persistent thermal perturbations(cooling in the mixed layer(ML)and warming in the thermocline)are induced locally in the western tropical Pacific,which are seen to spread with the mean ocean circulation pathways around the tropical basin.In particular,a remote ocean response emerges in the eastern equatorial Pacific to the prescribed of-equatorial TCW forcing,characterized by a cooling in the mixed layer and a warming in the thermocline.Heat budget analyses indicate that the vertical mixing is a dominant process responsible for the SST cooling in the eastern equatorial Pacific.Further studies are clearly needed to demonstrate the significance of these results in a coupled ocean-atmosphere modeling context.     

Remote effects of tropical cyclone wind forcing over the western Pacific on the eastern equatorial ocean

An ocean general circulation model （OGCM） is used to demonstrate remote effects of tropical cyclone wind （TCW） forcing in the tropical Pacific. The signature of TCW forcing is explicitly extracted using a locally weighted quadratic least=squares regression （called as LOESS） method from six-hour satellite surface wind data; the extracted TCW component can then be additionally taken into account or not in ocean modeling, allowing isolation of its effects on the ocean in a clean and clear way. In this paper, seasonally varying TCW fields in year 2008 are extracted from satellite data which are prescribed as a repeated annual cycle over the western Pacific regions off the equator （poleward of 10°N/S）; two long-term OGCM experiments are performed and compared, one with the TCW forcing part included additionally and the other not. Large, persistent thermal perturbations （cooling in the mixed layer （ML） and warming in the thermocline） are induced locally in the western tropical Pacific, which are seen to spread with the mean ocean circulation pathways around the tropical basin. In particular, a remote ocean response emerges in the eastern equatorial Pacific to the prescribed off-equatorial TCW forcing, characterized by a cooling in the mixed layer and a warming in the thermocline. Heat budget analyses indicate that the vertical mixing is a dominant process responsible for the SST cooling in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Further studies are clearly needed to demonstrate the significance of these results in a coupled ocean-atmosphere modeling context.     

Impact of vertical mixing induced by small vertical scale structures above and within the equatorial thermocline on the tropical Pacific in a CGCM

Oceanic vertical mixing is known to influence the state of the equatorial ocean which affects the climate system, including the amplitude of El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Recent measurements of ocean currents at high vertical resolution capture numerous small vertical scale structures (SVSs) within and above the equatorial thermocline that contribute significantly to vertical mixing but which are not sufficiently resolved by coarse resolution ocean models. We investigate the impact of the vertical mixing induced by the SVSs on the mean state and interannual variability in the tropical Pacific by using a coupled general circulation model. The vertical mixing induced by the SVSs is represented as an elevated vertical diffusivity from the surface down to the 20 °C isotherm depth, a proxy for the depth of the thermocline. We investigate different forms for the elevated mixing. It is found that the SVS-induced mixing strongly affect the mean state of the ocean leading to a warming of sea surface temperature (SST) and associated deepening and sharpening of the thermocline in the eastern equatorial Pacific. We find that the SST warming induced by the elevated mixing is further strengthened through the Bjerknes feedback and SST-shortwave flux feedback. We also find a reduction in the number of large amplitude ENSO events and in certain cases an increase in the skewness of ENSO.     

The Positive Indian Ocean Dipole–like Response in the Tropical Indian Ocean to Global Warming

Climate models project a positive Indian Ocean Dipole(p IOD)–like SST response in the tropical Indian Ocean to global warming. By employing the Community Earth System Model and applying an overriding technique to its ocean component(version 2 of the Parallel Ocean Program), this study investigates the similarities and differences of the formation mechanisms for the changes in the tropical Indian Ocean during the p IOD versus global warming. Results show that their formation processes and related seasonality are quite similar; in particular, wind–thermocline–SST feedback is the leading mechanism in producing the anomalous cooling over the eastern tropics in both cases. Some differences are also found, including the fact that the cooling effect of the vertical advection over the eastern tropical Indian Ocean is dominated by the anomalous vertical velocity during the p IOD but by the anomalous upper-ocean stratification under global warming. These findings are further examined through an analysis of the mixed layer heat budget.     

A note on albedo variations of the frozen surface of Lake Simcoe during march, 1978: Research note

Abstract

The relationships between monthly anomalies of sea surface temperature (SST) and monthly anomalies of several surface wind parameters are examined using ten years of data from the mid‐latitude North Pacific Ocean. The wind parameters involve both u³ _* and curl τ, where u_* is the atmospheric friction velocity and τ the surface stress. These quantities are calculated from surface wind components analysed on synoptic (6‐hourly) maps. In order to examine the effect of synoptic disturbances, the time series of surface wind components at each grid point is high‐pass filtered (passing periods less than 10 days) and the above wind parameters are calculated from both filtered and unfiltered wind components.

Two statistically significant relationships are found between monthly anomalies of SST and those of the various wind parameters. The first is a large coherent negative correlation between monthly anomalies of u³ _* calculated from the high‐pass filtered wind components and month‐to‐month changes in the SST anomalies in the Central Pacific. This relationship is attributed to the production of turbulent vertical mixing in the ocean by synoptic disturbances in the atmosphere. The second relationship is a large positive correlation between curl τ calculated from the unfiltered wind components and SST anomaly changes in the Eastern Pacific. This relationship, which is opposite to that expected from Ekman pumping, is attributed to a negative association between the wind stress curl and the meridional advection of heat by the eastern boundary current system. It is shown that these atmospheric forcing mechanisms explain up to 10 per cent of the variance of monthly SST anomalies in a large part of the mid‐latitude North Pacific Ocean. This amount is in addition to, but certainly less than, that which can be explained by anomalous horizontal advection through statistical relationships with sea‐level pressure anomalies (Davis, 1976).     

Coupling ocean–atmosphere intensity determines ocean chlorophyll-induced SST change in the tropical Pacific

Phytoplankton pigments (e.g., chlorophyll-a) absorb solar radiation in the upper ocean and induce a pronounced radiant heating effect (chlorophyll effect) on the climate. However, the ocean chlorophyll-induced heating effect on the mean climate state in the tropical Pacific has not been understood well. Here, a hybrid coupled model (HCM) of the atmosphere, ocean physics and biogeochemistry is used to investigate the chlorophyll effect on sea surface temperature (SST) in the eastern equatorial Pacific; a tunable coefficient, α, is introduced to represent the coupling intensity between the atmosphere and ocean in the HCM. The modeling results show that the chlorophyll effect on the mean-state SST is sensitively dependent on α (the coupling intensity). At weakly represented coupling intensity (0 ≤ α < 1.01), the chlorophyll effect tends to induce an SST cooling in the eastern equatorial Pacific, whereas an SST warming emerges at the strongly represented coupling intensity (α ≥ 1.01). Thus, a threshold exists for the coupling intensity (about α = 1.01) at which the sign of SST responses can change. Mechanisms and processes are illustrated to understand the different SST responses. In the weak coupling cases, indirect dynamical cooling processes (the adjustment of ocean circulation, enhanced vertical mixing, and upwelling) tend to dominate the SST cooling. In the strong coupling cases, the persistent warming induced by chlorophyll in the southern subtropical Pacific tends to induce cross-equatorial northerly winds, which shifts to anomalous westerly winds in the eastern equatorial Pacific, consequently reducing the evaporative cooling and weakening indirect dynamical cooling; eventually, SST warming maintains in the eastern equatorial Pacific. These results provide new insights into the biogeochemical feedback on the climate and bio-physical interactions in the tropical Pacific.

     

Sensitivity of the tropical Pacific to a change of orbital forcing in two versions of a coupled GCM

 The changes of the variability of the tropical Pacific ocean forced by a shift of six months in the date of the perihelion are studied using a coupled tropical Pacific ocean/global atmosphere GCM. The sensitivity experiments are conducted with two versions of the atmospheric model, varied by two parametrization changes. The first one concerns the interpolation scheme between the atmosphere and ocean models grids near the coasts, the second one the advection of water vapor in the presence of downstream negative temperature gradients, as encountered in the vicinity of mountains. In the tropical Pacific region, the parametrization differences only have a significant direct effect near the coasts; but coupled feedbacks lead to a 1 °C warming of the equatorial cold tongue in the modified (version 2) model, and a widening of the western Pacific large-scale convergence area. The sensitivity of the seasonal cycle of equatorial SST is very different between the two experiments. In both cases, the response to the solar flux forcing is strongly modified by coupled interactions between the SST, wind stress response and ocean dynamics. In the first version, the main feedback is due to anomalous upwelling and leads to westward propagation of SST anomalies; whereas the version 2 model is dominated by an eastward-propagating thermocline mode. The main reason diagnosed for these different behaviors is the atmospheric response to SST anomalies. In the warmer climate simulated by the second version, the wind stress response in the western Pacific is enhanced, and the off-equatorial curl is reduced, both effects favoring eastward propagation through thermocline depth anomalies. The modifications of the simulated seasonal cycle in version 2 lead to a change in ENSO behavior. In the control climate, the interannual variability in the eastern Pacific is dominated by warm events, whereas cold events tend to be the more extreme ones with a shifted perihelion. Received: 14 December 1999 / Accepted: 24 May 2000     

影响春季热带太平洋地区海温变化的动力热力作用分析

厄尔尼诺—南方涛动（ENSO）春季预报障碍是ENSO预测的一个难点问题,弄清影响春季热带太平洋地区海表温度（SST）变化的动力和热力作用对于理解ENSO关键区SST的异常变化及ENSO春季预报障碍成因非常重要。本文利用BCC-CSM2-MR数值模式,模拟产生一套1986～2017年间相互协调的逐月海表风应力、感热、潜热、长波和短波净辐射能量、海洋流场等观测代用数据。利用这些数据对影响海温变化的动力和热力作用及其相对重要性进行了诊断分析,结果表明:（1）与其他季节相比,春季Ni?o3.4区海洋表层温度（后文中用T_S表示）呈现出独特的先增暖后趋冷的不对称季节性转换特征,这一变化主要是由于影响T_S的大气风应力、海流以及能量净通量在春季均表现出明显的季节性转换过程。进一步的分析表明,热力作用对局地海温的季节性变化影响最为重要,水平平流输送以反向作用为主,其中经向平流输送起到了反向作用,不利于该区域T_S的季节性转变,纬向平流输送仅在春季转为弱的正贡献,浅层垂直平流输送对春季T_S变化的影响很小。（2）动力热力作用与T_S异常的变化倾向相关关系也表明,春季Ni?o3.4区热力作用与T_S异常变化呈现显著的正相关,纬向海流异常的输送项也表现为正相关,而经向海流输送项展现出由负相关向正相关转化的特征。（3）对Ni?o3.4区T_S变化的方差贡献分析结果表明,春季热力作用对T_S的异常变化的贡献达50%以上,相关系数超0.7,其次是纬向、经向平流项贡献,各占10%～20%左右,但两者作用相反,其他项贡献较小。     

Reduction of the thermocline feedback associated with mean SST bias in ENSO simulation

Associated with the double Inter-tropical convergence zone problem, a dipole SST bias pattern (cold in the equatorial central Pacific and warm in the southeast tropical Pacific) remains a common problem inherent in many contemporary coupled models. Based on a newly-developed coupled model, we performed a control run and two sensitivity runs, one is a coupled run with annual mean SST correction and the other is an ocean forced run. By comparison of these three runs, we demonstrated that a serious consequence of this SST bias is to severely suppress the thermocline feedback in a realistic simulation of the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation. Firstly, the excessive cold tongue extension pushes the anomalous convection far westward from the equatorial central Pacific, prominently diminishing the convection-low level wind feedback and thus the air-sea coupling strength. Secondly, the equatorial surface wind anomaly exhibits a relatively uniform meridional structure with weak gradient, contributing to a weakened wind-thermocline feedback. Thirdly, the equatorial cold SST bias induces a weakened upper-ocean stratification and thus yields the underestimation of the thermocline-subsurface temperature feedback. Finally, the dipole SST bias underestimates the mean upwelling through (a) undermining equatorial mean easterly wind stress, and (b) enhancing convective mixing and thus reducing the upper ocean stratification, which weakens vertical shear of meridional currents and near-surface Ekman-divergence.     

Influence of the oceanic biology on the tropical Pacific climate in a coupled general circulation model

The influence of chlorophyll spatial patterns and variability on the tropical Pacific climate is investigated by using a fully coupled general circulation model (HadOPA) coupled to a state-of-the-art biogeochemical model (PISCES). The simulated chlorophyll concentrations can feedback onto the ocean by modifying the vertical distribution of radiant heating. This fully interactive biological-ocean-atmosphere experiment is compared to a reference experiment that uses a constant chlorophyll concentration (0.06 mg m⁻³). It is shown that introducing an interactive biology acts to warm the surface eastern equatorial Pacific by about 0.5°C. Two competing processes are involved in generating this warming: (a) a direct 1-D biological warming process in the top layers (0–30 m) resulting from strong chlorophyll concentrations in the upwelling region and enhanced by positive dynamical feedbacks (weaker trade winds, surface currents and upwelling) and (b) a 2-D meridional cooling process which brings cold off-equatorial anomalies from the subsurface into the equatorial mixed layer through the meridional cells. Sensitivity experiments show that the climatological horizontal structure of the chlorophyll field in the upper layers is crucial to maintain the eastern Pacific warming. Concerning the variability, introducing an interactive biology slightly reduces the strength of the seasonal cycle, with stronger SST warming and chlorophyll concentrations during the upwelling season. In addition, ENSO amplitude is slightly increased. Similar experiments performed with another coupled general circulation model (IPSL-CM4) exhibit the same behaviour as in HadOPA, hence showing the robustness of the results.     

An empirical model of tropical ocean dynamics

To extend the linear stochastically forced paradigm of tropical sea surface temperature (SST) variability to the subsurface ocean, a linear inverse model (LIM) is constructed from the simultaneous and 3-month lag covariances of observed 3-month running mean anomalies of SST, thermocline depth, and zonal wind stress. This LIM is then used to identify the empirically-determined linear dynamics with physical processes to gauge their relative importance to ENSO evolution. Optimal growth of SST anomalies over several months is triggered by both an initial SST anomaly and a central equatorial Pacific thermocline anomaly that propagates slowly eastward while leading the amplifying SST anomaly. The initial SST and thermocline anomalies each produce roughly half the SST amplification. If interactions between the sea surface and the thermocline are removed in the linear dynamical operator, the SST anomaly undergoes less optimal growth but is also more persistent, and its location shifts from the eastern to central Pacific. Optimal growth is also found to be essentially the result of two stable eigenmodes with similar structure but differing 2- and 4-year periods evolving from initial destructive to constructive interference. Variations among ENSO events could then be a consequence not of changing stability characteristics but of random excitation of these two eigenmodes, which represent different balances between surface and subsurface coupled dynamics. As found in previous studies, the impact of the additional variables on LIM SST forecasts is relatively small for short time scales. Over time intervals greater than about 9?months, however, the additional variables both significantly enhance forecast skill and predict lag covariances and associated power spectra whose closer agreement with observations enhances the validation of the linear model. Moreover, a secondary type of optimal growth exists that is not present in a LIM constructed from SST alone, in which initial SST anomalies in the southwest tropical Pacific and Indian ocean play a larger role than on shorter time scales, apparently driving sustained off-equatorial wind stress anomalies in the eastern Pacific that result in a more persistent equatorial thermocline anomaly and a more protracted (and predictable) ENSO event.     

Relative roles of dynamic and thermodynamic processes in causing positive and negative global mean SST trends during the past 100 years

Global mean surface temperature (GMST) during 1910–2012 experienced four alternated rapid warming and warming hiatus phases. Such a temporal variation is primarily determined by global mean sea surface temperature (SST) component. The relative roles of ocean dynamic and thermodynamic processes in causing such global mean SST variations are investigated, using two methods. The first method is ocean mixed layer heat budget analysis. The budget diagnosis result shows that the thermodynamic processes dominate in the rapid warming phases, while the ocean dynamics dominate during the hiatus phases. The second method relies on the diagnosis of a simple equilibrium state model. This model captures well the horizontal distribution of SST difference between two warmer and cooler equilibrium states during either the rapid warming or hiatus phases. It is found that the SST difference during the rapid warming phases is primarily controlled by the increase of downward longwave radiation as both column integrated water vapor and CO₂ increase during the phases. During the hiatus phases, the water vapor induced greenhouse effect offsets the CO₂ effect, and the SST cooling tendency is primarily determined by the ocean dynamics over the Southern Ocean and tropical Pacific. The SST pattern associated with the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) might be responsible for the remote and local ocean dynamic responses through induced wind change.     

1986—1987厄尔尼诺事件的数值模拟

用高分辨率自由表面热带太平洋环流模式，在观测到的风应力和热量、水汽通量驱动下，对１９８６—１９８７厄尔尼诺（Ｅ１Ｎｉｎｏ）事件进行了数值模拟。各种变量场的时空结构及其演变表明，模式成功地模拟出１９８６—１９８７厄尔尼诺现象。始于１９８６年年中，赤道西太平洋的西风异常所推动的向东表层洋流不断向中、东太平洋输送暖水，至１１月份，大量暖水在日界线附近堆积，造成海面上升（达３２ｃｍ）和斜温层（用２０℃等温线深度表示）加深。１９８６年年底的强西风异常激发出赤道Ｋｅｌｖｉｎ波，并向赤道东太平洋和南美沿岸传播，使那里的斜温层加深和海面上升，且具有双峰结构；Ｋｅｌｖｉｎ波所伴随的垂直冷平流的减弱造成赤道中、东太平洋海表温度上升；１９８７年春季在中、东太平洋和南美沿岸地区存在强的正海表温度异常，并伴随着整个赤道太平洋斜温层东西方向变平、赤道潜流弱而中心位置变浅。厄尔尼诺相伴随的热带太平洋环流异常首先于１９８７年年中从东太平洋开始消失，而中、西太平洋则一直维持到１９８８年初。     

On the subarctic North Atlantic cooling due to global warming

Various ocean reanalysis data reveal that the subarctic Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) has been cooling during the twentieth century. A similar cooling pattern is found in the doubling CO₂ experiment obtained from the CMIP3 (coupled model intercomparison project third phase) compared to the pre-industrial experiment. Here, in order to investigate the main driver of this cooling, we perform the heat budget analysis on the subarctic Atlantic upper ocean temperature. The net surface heat flux associated with the increased concentration of greenhouse gases heats the subarctic ocean surface. In the most of models, the longwave radiation, latent heat flux, and sensible heat flux exert a warming effect, and the shortwave radiation exerts a cooling effect. On the other hand, the thermal advection by the meridional current reduces the subarctic upper ocean temperature in all models. This cold advection is attributed to the weakening of the meridional overturning circulation, which is related to the reduction in the ocean surface density. In particular, greater warming of the surface air than of the sea surface results in the reduction of surface evaporation and thereby enhanced freshening of the ocean surface water, while precipitation change was smaller than evaporation change. The thermal advections by both the wind-driven Ekman current and the density-driven geostrophic current contribute to cooling in most of the models, where the heat transport by the geostrophic current tends to be larger than that by the Ekman current.     

Role of the upper ocean structure in the response of ENSO-like SST variability to global warming

The response of El Niño and Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-like variability to global warming varies comparatively between the two different climate system models, i.e., the Meteorological Research Institute (MRI) and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) Coupled General Circulation Models (CGCMs). Here, we examine the role of the simulated upper ocean temperature structure in the different sensitivities of the simulated ENSO variability in the models based on the different level of CO₂ concentrations. In the MRI model, the sea surface temperature (SST) undergoes a rather drastic modification, namely a tendency toward a permanent El Niño-like state. This is associated with an enhanced stratification which results in greater ENSO amplitude for the MRI model. On the other hand, the ENSO simulated by GFDL model is hardly modified although the mean temperature in the near surface layer increases. In order to understand the associated mechanisms we carry out a vertical mode decomposition of the mean equatorial stratification and a simplified heat balance analysis using an intermediate tropical Pacific model tuned from the CGCM outputs. It is found that in the MRI model the increased stratification is associated with an enhancement of the zonal advective feedback and the non-linear advection. In the GFDL model, on the other hand, the thermocline variability and associated anomalous vertical advection are reduced in the eastern equatorial Pacific under global warming, which erodes the thermocline feedback and explains why the ENSO amplitude is reduced in a warmer climate in this model. It is suggested that change in stratification associated with global warming impacts the equatorial wave dynamics in a way that enhances the second baroclinic mode over the gravest one, which leads to the change in feedback processes in the CGCMs. Our results illustrate that the upper ocean vertical structure simulated in the CGCMs is a key parameter of the sensitivity of ENSO-like SST variability to global warming.     

Impact of bio-physical feedbacks on the tropical climate in coupled and uncoupled GCMs

The bio-physical feedback process between the marine ecosystem and the tropical climate system is investigated using both an ocean circulation model and a fully-coupled ocean–atmosphere circulation model, which interact with a biogeochemical model. We found that the presence of chlorophyll can have significant impact on the characteristics of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), including its amplitude and asymmetry, as well as on the mean state. That is, chlorophyll generally increases mean sea surface temperature (SST) due to the direct biological heating. However, SST in the eastern equatorial Pacific decreases due to the stronger indirect dynamical response to the biological effects outweighing the direct thermal response. It is demonstrated that this biologically-induced SST cooling is intensified and conveyed to other tropical-ocean basins when atmosphere–ocean coupling is taken into account. It is also found that the presence of chlorophyll affects the magnitude of ENSO by two different mechanisms; one is an amplifying effect by the mean chlorophyll, which is associated with shoaling of the mean thermocline depth, and the other is a damping effect derived from the interactively-varying chlorophyll coupled with the physical model. The atmosphere–ocean coupling reduces the biologically-induced ENSO amplifying effect through the weakening of atmospheric feedback. Lastly, there is also a biological impact on ENSO which enhances the positive skewness. This skewness change is presumably caused by the phase dependency of thermocline feedback which affects the ENSO magnitude.     

Extratropical control of recent tropical Pacific decadal climate variability: a relay teleconnection

Observations indicate that recent tropical Pacific decadal climate variability tends to be associated with the extratropical North Pacific through a relay teleconnection of a fast coupled ocean-atmosphere bridge and a slow oceanic tunnel. A coupled ocean-atmosphere model, forced by the observed decadal wind in the extratropical North Pacific, explicitly demonstrates that extratropical decadal sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies may propagate to the tropics through a coupled wind-evaporative-SST (WES) feedback. The WES feedback cannot only lead to a nearly synchronous change of tropical SST, but also force a delayed adjustment of the meridional overturning circulation in the upper ocean to further sustain the tropical SST change. The study further suggests that the extratropical–tropical teleconnection provides a positive feedback to sustain the decadal changes in both the tropical and extratropical North Pacific.     

Recent climatic trends in the tropical Atlantic

A homogeneous monthly data set of sea surface temperature (SST) and pseudo wind stress based on in situ observations is used to investigate the climatic trends over the tropical Atlantic during the last five decades (1964–2012). After a decrease of SST by about 1 °C during 1964–1975, most apparent in the northern tropical region, the entire tropical basin warmed up. That warming was the most substantial (>1 °C) in the eastern tropical ocean and in the longitudinal band of the intertropical convergence zone. Surprisingly, the trade wind system also strengthened over the peirod 1964–2012. Complementary information extracted from other observational data sources confirms the simultaneity of SST warming and the strengthening of the surface winds. Examining data sets of surface heat flux during the last few decades for the same region, we find that the SST warming was not a consequence of atmospheric heat flux forcing. Conversely, we suggest that long-term SST warming drives changes in atmosphere parameters at the sea surface, most notably an increase in latent heat flux, and that an acceleration of the hydrological cycle induces a strengthening of the trade winds and an acceleration of the Hadley circulation. These trends are also accompanied by rising sea levels and upper ocean heat content over similar multi-decadal time scales in the tropical Atlantic. Though more work is needed to fully understand these long term trends, especially what happens from the mid-1970’s, it is likely that changes in ocean circulation involving some combination of the Atlantic meridional overtuning circulation and the subtropical cells are required to explain the observations.