Seasonal prediction of African precipitation with ECHAM4–T42 ensemble simulations using a multivariate MOS re-calibration scheme

A 15 member ensemble of 20th century simulations using the ECHAM4–T42 atmospheric GCM is utilized to investigate the potential predictability of interannual variations of seasonal rainfall over Africa. Common boundary conditions are the global sea surface temperatures (SST) and sea ice extent. A canonical correlation analysis (CCA) between observed and ensemble mean ECHAM4 precipitation over Africa is applied in order to identify the most predictable anomaly patterns of precipitation and the related SST anomalies. The CCA is then used to formulate a re-calibration approach similar to model output statistics (MOS) and to derive precipitation forecasts over Africa. Predictand is the climate research unit (CRU) gridded precipitation over Africa. As predictor we use observed SST anomalies, ensemble mean precipitation over Africa and a combined vector of mean sea level pressure, streamfunction and velocity potential at 850 hPa. The different forecast approaches are compared. Most skill for African precipitation forecasts is provided by tropical Atlantic (Gulf of Guinea) SST anomalies which mainly affect rainfall over the Guinean coast and Sahel. The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influences southern and East Africa, however with a lower skill. Indian Ocean SST anomalies, partly independent from ENSO, have an impact particularly on East Africa. As suggested by the large agreement between the simulated and observed precipitation, the ECHAM4 rainfall provides a skillful predictor for CRU precipitation over Africa. However, MOS re-calibration is needed in order to provide skillful forecasts. Forecasts using MOS re-calibrated model precipitation are at least as skillful as forecast using dynamical variables from the model or instantaneous SST. In many cases, MOS re-calibrated precipitation forecasts provide more skill. However, differences are not systematic for all regions and seasons, and often small.     

ENSO forcing of the Northern Hemisphere climate in a large ensemble of model simulations based on a very long SST record

The January–March (JFM) climate response of the Northern Hemisphere atmosphere to observed sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies for the period 1855–2002 is analysed from a 35-member ensemble made with SPEEDY, an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) of intermediate complexity. The model was run at the T30-L8 resolution, and initial conditions and the early stage of model runs differ among ensemble members in the definition of tropical diabatic heating. SST anomalies in the Niño3.4 region were categorised into five classes extending from strong cold to strong warm. Composites based on such a categorisation enabled an analysis of the influence of the tropical Pacific SST on the Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation with an emphasis on the Pacific-North America (PNA) and the North Atlantic-Europe (NAE) regions. As expected, the strongest signal was detected over the PNA region. An “asymmetry” in the model response was found for the opposite polarity of the Niño3.4 index; however, this asymmetry stems mainly from the difference in the amplitude of model response rather than from the phase shift between responses to warm and cold El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. The extratropical signal associated with warm ENSO events was found to be stronger than that related to cold events. The results also reveal that, for the PNA region, the amplitude of the response is positively correlated with the strength of ENSO, irrespective of the sign of ENSO. With almost no phase shift between model responses to El Niño and La Niña, the linear component of the response is much stronger than the non-linear component. Although the model climate response over the NAE region is much weaker than that over the PNA region, some striking similarities with the PNA are found. Both sea level pressure and precipitation responses are positively correlated with the strength of ENSO. This is not true for the 200-hPa geopotential heights, and no plausible explanation for such a result could be offered. An appreciable linear component in model response over the NAE was also found. The model results over the NAE region agree reasonably well with observational studies. An additional analysis of the remote atmospheric response to very weak ENSO forcing (defined from the interval between 0.5σ and 1.0σ of the interannual variance) was also carried out. A discernible model response in the Northern Hemisphere to such a weak SST forcing was found.     

Tropical influence on Euro-Asian autumn rainfall variability

The connection between autumn rainfall variability in the Euro-Asian domain and tropical climate is documented using state-of-the-art global observational datasets and re-analyses. Results suggest a robust statistical relationship between the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and autumn rainfall in parts of southwest Europe, northern Africa and southwest Asia. The correlation between area-mean anomalies over this region (P_ea) and the NIÑO3.4 index is 0.68, stationary over the last 50 years. Global ENSO-like tropical climate anomalies are observed in conjunction with P_ea anomalies confirming the relationship found with the NIÑO3.4 index. Overall, the connection with Indo-Pacific variability is stronger than that with the eastern Pacific.While rainfall anomalies in southwest Europe and southwest Asia appear to largely co-vary as one pattern under the influence of ENSO, our results suggest that different mechanisms may be contributing to the observed anomalies. In the North Atlantic/European region, it is speculated that while a PNA-like mode maybe the prevailing teleconnection mechanism for high P_ea, for low P_ea tropical Atlantic ENSO related SST anomalies may be playing a more relevant role forcing northeastward propagating Rossby waves. Over southwest Asia, a more direct connection to the Indo-Pacific region is suggested by the upper air anomaly observed over southern Asia, possibly the Rossby wave response to enhanced heating in the Indian Ocean.     

Impact of the Equatorial Atlantic on the El Ni?o Southern Oscillation

Observations indicate that the Atlantic zonal mode influences El Ni?o Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Pacific, as already suggested in previous studies. Here we demonstrate for the first time using partial coupled experiments that the Atlantic zonal mode indeed influences ENSO. The partial coupling experiments are performed by forcing the coupled general circulation model (ECHAM5/MPI-OM) with observed sea surface temperature (SST) in the Tropical Atlantic, but with full air-sea coupling allowed in the Pacific and Indian Ocean. The ensemble mean of a five member simulation reproduces the observational results well. Analysis of observations, reanalysis, and coupled model simulations all indicate the following mechanism: SST anomalies associated with the Atlantic zonal mode affect the Walker Circulation, driving westward wind anomalies over the equatorial Pacific during boreal summer. The wind stress anomalies increase the east-west thermocline slope and enhance the SST gradient across the Pacific; the Bjerknes positive feedback acts to amplify these anomalies favouring the development of a La Ni?a-like anomalies. The same mechanisms act for the cold phase of Atlantic zonal mode, but with opposite sign. In contrast to previous studies, the model shows that the influence on ENSO exists before 1970. Furthermore, no significant influence of the Tropical Atlantic on the Indian Monsoon precipitation is found in observation or model.     

Delayed Atmospheric Temperature Response to ENSO SST： Role of High SST and the Western Pacific

Tropical zonally symmetric atmospheric warming occurs during ENSO’s warm phase, and lags the equa- torial east Pacific sea surface temperatures (SSTs) by 3–4 months. The role of the Indian and Atlantic oceans on the atmospheric delayed response has been pointed out by earlier studies. For 1951–2004, a regression analysis based on the observed SST data shows the western Pacific has a similarly important role as the Indian and Atlantic. Nevertheless, there is time mismatch of around 1–2 months between the zon...     

Southern Hemisphere extra-tropical forcing: a new paradigm for El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation

The main goal of this paper is to shed additional light on the reciprocal dynamical linkages between mid-latitude Southern Hemisphere climate and the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signal. While our analysis confirms that ENSO is a dominant source of interannual variability in the Southern Hemisphere, it is also suggested here that subtropical dipole variability in both the Southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans triggered by Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude variability may also provide a controlling influence on ENSO in the equatorial Pacific. This subtropical forcing operates through various coupled air?Csea feedbacks involving the propagation of subtropical sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies into the deep tropics of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans from boreal winter to boreal spring and a subsequent dynamical atmospheric response to these SST anomalies linking the three tropical basins at the beginning of the boreal spring. This atmospheric response is characterized by a significant weakening of the equatorial Atlantic and Indian Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). This weakened ITCZ forces an equatorial ??cold Kelvin wave?? response in the middle to upper troposphere that extends eastward from the heat sink regions into the western Pacific. By modulating the vertical temperature gradient and the stability of the atmosphere over the equatorial western Pacific Ocean, this Kelvin wave response promotes persistent zonal wind and convective anomalies over the western equatorial Pacific, which may trigger El Ni?o onset at the end of the boreal winter. These different processes explain why South Atlantic and Indian subtropical dipole time series indices are highly significant precursors of the Ni?o34 SST index several months in advance before the El Ni?o onset in the equatorial Pacific. This study illustrates that the atmospheric internal variability in the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere may significantly influence ENSO variability. However, this surprising relationship is observed only during recent decades, after the so-called 1976/1977 climate regime shift, suggesting a possible linkage with global warming or decadal fluctuations of the climate system.     

北半球夏季海洋性大陆区域气候与EP型ENSO:直接与间接联系

利用1979—2009年的NECP资料、Hadley海温月平均资料和CMAP降水资料,采用Kao and Yu(2009)的方法定义了夏季EP型ENSO指数EPI,用合成分析的方法分析了东部型ENSO与海洋性大陆降水的关系。结果表明:EPI与MC(Maritime Continent,海洋性大陆)区域降水变化间存在非常弱的负相关。造成这一弱相关的原因是EPI与MC区域降水在某些年份存在同号变化。在剔除Nio4信号后,海洋性大陆区域降水序列与EPI与存在着同号和反号两种关系。反号关系是通常所认为的,当经典的El Nio(La Nia)发生时MC区域降水出现显著地减少(增多)。此时,沿赤道的异常Walker环流建立了EP型ENSO与MC区域气候间的直接联系。而在同号关系时,菲律宾以东异常加热和SPCZ区域异常冷却引起的西北—东南走向的垂直环流圈削弱了MC区域与赤道东太平洋之间的异常Walker环流所建立的直接联系,或者说,赤道东太平洋区域SSTA与MC区域降水异常的形成是通过SPCZ区域SST的反号异常而产生间接联系的。这种机制的揭示为深刻认识ENSO影响海洋性大陆区域甚至东亚地区气候变动的联系提供了新的线索。     

Analysis of the Slab Ocean El Nino atmospheric feedbacks in observed and simulated ENSO dynamics

In a recent study it was illustrated that the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) mode can exist in the absence of any ocean dynamics. This oscillating mode exists just due to the interaction between atmospheric heat fluxes and ocean heat capacity. The primary purpose of this study is to further explore these atmospheric Slab Ocean ENSO dynamics and therefore the role of positive atmospheric feedbacks in model simulations and observations. The positive solar radiation feedback to sea surface temperature (SST), due to reduced cloud cover for anomalous warm SSTs, is the main positive feedback in the Slab Ocean El Nino dynamics. The strength of this positive cloud feedback is strongly related to the strength of the equatorial cold tongue. The combination of positive latent and sensible heat fluxes to the west and negative ones to the east of positive anomalies leads to the westward propagation of the SST anomalies, which allows for oscillating behavior with a preferred period of 6–7 years. Several indications are found that parts of these dynamics are indeed observed and simulated in other atmospheric or coupled general circulation models (AGCMs or CGCMs). The CMIP3 AGCM-slab ensemble of 13 different AGCM simulations shows unstable ocean–atmosphere interactions along the equatorial Pacific related to stronger cold tongues. In observations and in the CMIP3 and CMIP5 CGCM model ensemble the strength and sign of the cloud feedback is a function of the strength of the cold tongue. In summary, this indicates that the Slab Ocean El Nino dynamics are indeed a characteristic of the equatorial Pacific climate that is only dominant or significantly contributing to the ENSO dynamics if the SST cold tongue is sufficiently strong. In the observations this is only the case during strong La Nina conditions. The presence of the Slab Ocean ENSO atmospheric feedbacks in observations and CGCM model simulations implies that the family of physical ENSO modes does have another member, which is entirely driven by atmospheric processes and does not need to have the same spatial pattern nor the same time scales as the main ENSO dynamics.     

GCM Hindcasts of SST Forced Climate Variability over Agriculturally Intensive Regions

The NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) climatemodel is forced with globally observed sea-surfacetemperatures (SST) in five simulations, 1969–1991,with individual runs beginning from altered initialatmospheric conditions. The interannual variability ofmodeled anomalies of the Southern Oscillation Index,mid-tropospheric temperatures, 850 mb zonal winds andOutgoing Longwave Radiation over the tropical PacificOcean, which has the largest SST anomaly forcing, arestrongly correlated with observed trends which reflectENSO cycles. The model's rainfall variability overthree agriculturally intensive regions, two tropicaland one mid-latitude, is investigated in order toevaluate the potential usefulness of GCM predictionsfor agricultural planning. The correct sign ofZimbabwe seasonal precipitation anomalies was hindcastwithin a useful range of consensus only for selectseasons corresponding to extreme ENSO events for whichanomalous circulation patterns were ratherrealistically simulated. The correlation betweenhindcasts of Nordeste monthly precipitation andobservations increases with time smoothing, reaching0.64 for 5-month running means. Consensus betweenindividual runs is directly proportional to theabsolute value of Niño3 SST so that during ElNiño and La Niña years most simulations agreeon the sign of predicted Nordeste rainfall anomalies.We show that during selected seasons the uppertropospheric divergent circulation and near surfacemeridional displacements of the ITCZ are realisticallyrepresented by the ensemble mean of the simulations.This realistic simulation of both the synopticmechanisms and the resulting precipitation changesincreases confidence in the GCM's potential forseasonal climate prediction.     

Walker circulation controls ENSO atmospheric feedbacks in uncoupled and coupled climate model simulations

Many climate models strongly underestimate the two most important atmospheric feedbacks operating in El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the positive (amplifying) zonal surface wind feedback and negative (damping) surface-heat flux feedback (hereafter ENSO atmospheric feedbacks, EAF). This hampers a realistic representation of ENSO dynamics in these models. Here we show that the atmospheric components of climate models participating in the 5th phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) when forced by observed sea surface temperatures (SST), already underestimate EAF on average by 23%, but less than their coupled counterparts (on average by 54%). There is a pronounced tendency of atmosphere models to simulate stronger EAF, when they exhibit a stronger mean deep convection and enhanced cloud cover over the western equatorial Pacific (WEP), indicative of a stronger rising branch of the Pacific Walker Circulation (PWC). Further, differences in the mean deep convection over the WEP between the coupled and uncoupled models explain a large part of the differences in EAF, with the deep convection in the coupled models strongly depending on the equatorial Pacific SST bias. Experiments with a single atmosphere model support the relation between the equatorial Pacific atmospheric mean state, the SST bias and the EAF. An implemented cold SST bias in the observed SST forcing weakens deep convection and reduces cloud cover in the rising branch of the PWC, causing weaker EAF. A warm SST bias has the opposite effect. Our results elucidate how biases in the mean state of the PWC and equatorial SST hamper a realistic simulation of the EAF.     

The variability of the East Asian summer monsoon and its relationship to ENSO in a partially coupled climate model

The variability of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) is studied using a partially coupled climate model (PCCM) in which the ocean component is driven by observed monthly mean wind stress anomalies added to the monthly mean wind stress climatology from a fully coupled control run. The thermodynamic coupling between the atmospheric and oceanic components is the same as in the fully coupled model and, in particular, sea surface temperature (SST) is a fully prognostic variable. The results show that the PCCM simulates the observed SST variability remarkably well in the tropical and North Pacific and Indian Oceans. Analysis of the rainfall-SST and rainfall-SST tendency correlation shows that the PCCM exhibits local air-sea coupling as in the fully coupled model and closer to what is seen in observations than is found in an atmospheric model driven by observed SST. An ensemble of experiments using the PCCM is analysed using a multivariate EOF analysis to identify the two major modes of variability of the EASM. The PCCM simulates the spatial pattern of the first two modes seen in the ERA40 reanalysis as well as part of the variability of the first principal component (correlation up to 0.5 for the model ensemble mean). Different from previous studies, the link between the first principal component and ENSO in the previous winter is found to be robust for the ensemble mean throughout the whole period of 1958–2001. Individual ensemble members nevertheless show the breakdown in the relationship before the 1980’s as seen in the observations.     

Variability of the Indian Ocean SST and its possible impact on summer western North Pacific anticyclone in the NCEP Climate Forecast System

The NCEP Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2) provides important source of information about the seasonal prediction of climate over the Indo-Pacific oceans. In this study, the authors provide a comprehensive assessment of the prediction of sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Indian Ocean (IO). They also investigate the impact of tropical IO SST on the summer anomalous anticyclonic circulation over the western North Pacific (WNPAC), focusing on the relative contributions of local SST and remote forcing of tropical IO SST to WNPAC variations. The CFSv2 captures the two most dominant modes of summer tropical IO SST: the IO basin warming (IOBW) mode and the IO dipole (IOD) mode, as well as their relationship with El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, it produces a cold SST bias in IO, which may be attributed to deeper-than-observed mixed layer and smaller-than-observed total downward heat flux in the tropical IO. It also overestimates the correlations of ENSO with IOBW and IOD, but underestimates the magnitude of IOD and summer IOBW. The CFSv2 captures the climate anomalies related to IOBW but not those related to IOD. It depicts the impact of summer IOBW on WNPAC via the equatorial Kelvin wave, which contributes to the maintenance of WNPAC in July and August. The WNPAC in June is mostly forced by local cold SST, which is better predicted by the CFSv2 compared to July and August. The mechanism for WNPAC maintenance may vary with lead time in the CFSv2.     

Pacific interdecadal variability driven by tropical–extratropical interactions

Interactions between the tropical and subtropical northern Pacific at decadal time scales are examined using uncoupled oceanic and atmospheric simulations. An atmospheric model is forced with observed Pacific sea surface temperatures (SST) decadal anomalies, computed as the difference between the 2000–2009 and the 1990–1999 period. The resulting pattern has negative SST anomalies at the equator, with a global pattern reminiscent of the Pacific decadal oscillation. The tropical SST anomalies are responsible for driving a weakening of the Hadley cell and atmospheric meridional heat transport. The atmosphere is then shown to produce a significant response in the subtropics, with wind-stress-curl anomalies having the opposite sign from the climatological mean, consistent with a weakening of the oceanic subtropical gyre (STG). A global ocean model is then forced with the decadal anomalies from the atmospheric model. In the North Pacific, the shallow subtropical cell (STC) spins down and the meridional heat transport is reduced, resulting in positive tropical SST anomalies. The final tropical response is reached after the first 10 years of the experiment, consistent with the Rossby-wave adjustment time for both the STG and the STC. The STC provides the connection between subtropical wind stress anomalies and tropical SSTs. In fact, targeted simulations show the importance of off-equatorial wind stress anomalies in driving the oceanic response, whereas anomalous tropical winds have no role in the SST signal reversal. We further explore the connection between STG, STC and tropical SST with the help of an idealized model. We argue that, in our models, tropical SST decadal variability stems from the forcing of the Pacific subtropical gyre through the atmospheric response to ENSO. The resulting Ekman pumping anomaly alters the STC and oceanic heat transport, providing a negative feedback on the SST. We thus suggest that extratropical atmospheric responses to tropical forcing have feedbacks onto the ocean dynamics that lead to a time-delayed response of the tropical oceans, giving rise to a possible mechanism for multidecadal ocean-atmosphere coupled variability.     

Climate variability in the south-eastern tropical Pacific and its relation with ENSO: a GCM study

About a third of the El-Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability in the HadCM3 coupled general-circulation model is shown to be associated with variability in the south-east tropical Pacific (SETP) area. Sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies along the east Pacific tend to precede ENSO anomalies. In HadCM3, SST tendencies in the SETP area are controlled mainly by surface latent heat fluxes and short-wave cloud forcing. Interannual SST anomalies in the SETP tend to propagate meridionally. In the winter season (JJA), this is consistent with a wind-evaporation-SST (WES) mode. Coupling with the strato-cumulus cloud (Sc) cover is critical in reducing the evaporative damping of the WES mode, and external forcing is provided by extratropical circulation anomalies. In spring, SETP variability and ENSO are coupled via the low-level circulation, resulting in a mutual reinforcement. Cloud-cover anomalies are not strongly controlled by local SSTs, and appear mainly dependent on atmospheric meridional advection. The apparent association between cold SSTs and Sc cover does not reflect a positive local feedback. These conclusions are not sensitive to the model’s warm SST bias, associated with reduced stratocumulus clouds and weak southerly wind stress, which depends on erroneous near-field orographic forcing of the coastal circulation. Some of our results are supported by similar evidence from observational datasets and other CMIP3 models.     

The impact of combined ENSO and PDO on the PNA climate: a 1,000-year climate modeling study

This study analyzes the atmospheric response to the combined Pacific interannual ENSO and decadal–interdecadal PDO variability, with a focus on the Pacific-North American (PNA) sector, using a 1,000-year long integration of the Canadian Center for Climate Modelling and Analysis (CCCma) coupled climate model. Both the tropospheric circulation and the North American temperature suggest an enhanced PNA-like climate response and impacts on North America when ENSO and PDO variability are in phase. The anomalies of the centers of action for the PNA-like pattern are significantly different from zero and the anomaly pattern is field significant. In association with the stationary wave anomalies, large stationary wave activity fluxes appear in the mid-high latitudes originating from the North Pacific and flowing downstream toward North America. There are significant Rossby wave source anomalies in the extratropical North Pacific and in the subtropical North Pacific. In addition, the axis of the Pacific storm track shifts southward with the positive PNA. Atmospheric heating anomalies associated with ENSO variability are confined primarily to the tropics. There is an anomalous heating center over the northeast Pacific, together with anomalies with the same polarity in the tropical Pacific, for the PDO variability. The in-phase combination of ENSO and PDO would in turn provide anomalous atmospheric energy transports towards North America from both the Tropical Pacific and the North Pacific, which tends to favor the occurrence of stationary wave anomalies and would lead to a PNA-like wave anomaly structure. The modeling results also confirm our analysis based on the observational record in the twentieth century.     

The retrospective prediction of El Niño-southern oscillation from 1881 to 2000 by a hybrid coupled model: (I) Sea surface temperature assimilation with ensemble Kalman filter

In this study, we assimilated sea surface temperature (SST) data of the past 120 years into an oceanic general circulation model (OGCM) for El Niño-southern oscillation (ENSO) retrospective predictions using ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF). It was found that the ensemble covariance matrix in EnKF can act as a time-variant transfer operator to project the SST corrections onto the subsurface temperatures effectively when initial perturbations of ensemble were constructed using vertically coherent random fields. As such the increments of subsurface temperatures can be obtained via the transfer operator during assimilation cycles. The results show that the SST assimilation improves the model simulation skills significantly, not only for the SST anomalies over the whole assimilated domain, but also for the subsurface temperature anomalies of the upper 100 m over the tropical Pacific off the equator. Along the equator, the improvement of the assimilation is confined within the mixing layer because strong upwelling motions there prevent the downward transfer of SST information. The retrospective prediction skills of ENSO over the past 120 years from 1881 to 2000 were significantly improved by the SST assimilation at all leads of 1–12 months, especially for the 3–6 months leads, compared with those initialized by the control run without assimilation. The skilful predictions by the assimilation allow us to further study ENSO predictability using this coupled model.     

Contributions to the Interannual Summer Rainfall Variability in the Mountainous Area of Central China and Their Decadal Changes

Using a high-resolution precipitation dataset,the present study detected that the mountainous area of central China(MACA)is a hotspot of ENSO’s impact on the summer rainfall variability.Further analysis suggests that both ENSO and atmospheric forcing make contributions to the summer rainfall variability in MACA.The dominant rainfall-related SST mode features as a seasonal transition from an El Niño-like warming in the preceding winter to a La Nina-like cooling in the following autumn,and it explains about 29%of the total variance of the rainfall during 1951–2018.It indicates that ENSO with a rapid phase transition is responsible for inducing summer rainfall anomalies in MACA.Besides,an upperlevel circumglobal wave mode in the Northern Hemisphere during summer also explains about 29%of the summer rainfall variance.Contributions of both the SST and the atmospheric modes have experienced interdecadal changes.The influence of the SST mode gradually increases and plays a dominant role in the recent decades,suggesting that ENSO with a rapid phase transition becomes more important for rainfall prediction in MACA.     

Comparison of Wintertime North American Climate Impacts Associated with Multiple ENSO Indices

This analysis compares the climate impacts over North America during winter associated with various El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) indices, including the Niño 3.4 index, the leading tropical Pacific outgoing longwave radiation and sea surface temperature (OLR-SST) covariability, and the eastern Pacific (EP) and central Pacific (CP) types of ENSO identified from both partial-regression–empirical orthogonal function (EOF) and regression–EOF approaches. The traditional Niño 3.4 SST index is found to be optimal for monitoring the tropical Pacific OLR-SST covariability and for the tropical SST impact on North America. The circulation anomalies associated with the Niño 3.4 index project on both the Pacific/North American (PNA) and Tropical/Northern Hemisphere (TNH) patterns. The ENSO associated with the PNA tends to come from both the EP and CP ENSOs, whereas that associated with the TNH comes more from the EP ENSO. The variability of ENSO significantly affects North American temperature and precipitation, as well as temperature and precipitation extremes. For either the EP or CP types of ENSO, qualitatively similar patterns of climate and climate extreme anomalies are apparent associated with the indices identified by the two EOF approaches, with differences mainly in the anomalous amplitude. The anomalous patterns are generally field significant over North America for the EP ENSO but not field significant for the CP ENSO.

The circulation anomalies associated with ENSO are reinforced and maintained by synoptic vorticity fluxes in the upper troposphere. The anomalous surface temperature is mainly determined by the anomalies in surface radiative heating in the face of upward surface longwave radiative damping. The precipitation anomalies are supported by the vertically integrated moisture transport. The differences in atmospheric circulation, surface temperature, and precipitation among the various ENSO indices, including the intensity and spatial structure of the fields, can be attributed to the corresponding differences in synoptic eddy vorticity forcing, surface radiative heating, and vertically integrated moisture transport.     

热带印度洋春季海表温度异常与南海夏季风强度变化的关系

利用50年的Reynolds月平均海表温度资料和NCEP/NCAR全球大气再分析资料,分析了热带印度洋春季海温异常对南海夏季风强度变化的影响。结果表明:1)热带印度洋春季海表温度距平(SSTA)的模态主要是全区一致型(USBM)和热带南印度洋偶极型(SIODM),USBM模态既有年际时间尺度的变化特征,又有年际以上时间尺度的变化特征,既包含有对冬季ENSO信号响应的变化特征,又有独立于ENSO的变化特征;SIODM模态主要表现为独立于ENSO的年际时间尺度变化。2)USBM模态与南海夏季风强度变化呈显著负相关关系,且二者都是对冬季ENSO信号的响应,USBM模态的年际变化不能独立于ENSO信号影响南海夏季风的强度变化。3)经(1~8年)带通滤波及去除ENSO信号的热带印度洋春季SSTA的SIODM型分布是影响南海夏季风强度变化的主要模态,表现为热带东南印度洋为负(正)、其他海区为正(负)时,南海夏季风强度增强(减弱),大气环流对热带东南印度洋SSTA热力作用的响应是造成这一关系的直接原因,SIODM型的SSTA分布与南海夏季风年际异常关系在热带印度洋长期变化趋势的暖位相期显著,在长期变化趋势的冷位相期不显著。     

The seasonal predictability of the Asian summer monsoon in a two-tiered forecast system

An extensive set of boreal summer seasonal hindcasts from a two tier system is compared with corresponding seasonal hindcasts from two other coupled ocean–atmosphere models for their seasonal prediction skill (for precipitation and surface temperature) of the Asian summer monsoon. The unique aspect of the two-tier system is that it is at relatively high resolution and the SST forcing is uniquely bias corrected from the multi-model averaged forecasted SST from the two coupled ocean–atmosphere models. Our analysis reveals: (a) The two-tier forecast system has seasonal prediction skill for precipitation that is comparable (over the Southeast Asian monsoon) or even higher (over the South Asian monsoon) than the coupled ocean–atmosphere. For seasonal anomalies of the surface temperature the results are more comparable across models, with all of them showing higher skill than that for precipitation. (b) Despite the improvement from the uncoupled AGCM all models in this study display a deterministic skill for seasonal precipitation anomalies over the Asian summer monsoon region to be weak. But there is useful probabilistic skill for tercile anomalies of precipitation and surface temperature that could be harvested from both the coupled and the uncoupled climate models. (c) Seasonal predictability of the South Asian summer monsoon (rainfall and temperature) does seem to stem from the remote ENSO forcing especially over the Indian monsoon region and the relatively weaker seasonal predictability in the Southeast Asian summer monsoon could be related to the comparatively weaker teleconnection with ENSO. The uncoupled AGCM with the bias corrected SST is able to leverage this teleconnection for improved seasonal prediction skill of the South Asian monsoon relative to the coupled models which display large systematic errors of the tropical SST’s.