加利福尼亚附近的海温强迫及其与北太平洋年代际振荡的可能联系

本文利用1958～2018年期间海表面温度（SST）异常和湍流热通量异常变化的关系,探讨了其与北太平洋年代际振荡（PDO）相关的年际和年代际时间尺度上在不同海域的海气相互作用特征。结果表明:在年际尺度上,黑潮—亲潮延伸区（KOE）表现为显著大气强迫海洋,赤道中东太平洋表现为显著海洋强迫大气;在年代际尺度上,PDO北中心表现为大气强迫海洋,加利福尼亚附近则表现为显著海洋强迫大气。进一步分析表明:加利福尼亚附近区域是北太平洋准12年振荡的关键区域之一,与PDO准十年的周期类似,加利福尼亚附近的冷（暖）海温对应其上有反气旋（气旋）型环流,赤道中太平洋海水上翻和北太平洋东部副热带区域经向风应力的变化是北太平洋准12年振荡的另外两个重要环节。     

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.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCS SUMMER MONSOON INTENSITY AND OCEANIC THERMODYNAMIC VARIABLES AT DIFFERENT TIME SCALE

The oscillation characteristics of 1948 - 2003 South China Sea (SCS) summer monsoon intensity (SCSSMI) is analyzed by wavelet transform and the relationship between SCSSMI filtered by Lanczos filter at different time scale and oceanic thermal conditions is studied. The results show that SCSSMI exhibits dominant interannual (about 4 a), decadal (about 9 a) and interdecadal (about 38 a) oscillation periods. The interannual variation is the strongest and the interdecadal variation the weakest. The region of significant correlation between SCS summer monsoon intensity and oceanic thermodynamic variables at different time scale is greatly different. Significant correlation area of interannual variation of SCSSMI is concentrated in near equatorial region. Corresponding correlation displays quasi-biannual variability. If positive anomalies of SST and the depth of thermocline happen in eastern equatorial Indian Ocean and western equatorial Pacific, and negative anomalies of SST and the depth of thermocline happen in western equatorial Indian Ocean and eastern equatorial Pacific in previous autumn and winter, the interannual variation of SCSSMI will enhance. If the condition is contrary, interannual variation of SCSSMI will weaken. The interannual variation of SCSSMI will influence SST. The region surrounding SCS and east of Australia shows significantly negative correlation in autumn, and significantly positive correlation exhibits in west equatorial Indian Ocean, eastern equatorial Pacific and equatorial Atlantic in winter. The decadal variation of SCSSMI is modulated by PDO. Interdecadal variation of SCSSMI is relevant to the global warming and PDO.     

An Incursion of Off-Equatorial Subsurface Cold Water and Its Role in Triggering the “Double Dip” La Nia Event of 2011

Based on Global Ocean Data Assimilation System(GODAS) and NCEP reanalysis data, atmospheric and oceanic processes possibly responsible for the onset of the 2011/12 La Nia event, which followed the 2010/11 La Nia even—referred to as a "double dip" La Nia—are investigated. The key mechanisms involved in activating the 2011/12 La Nia are illustrated by these datasets. Results show that neutral conditions were already evident in the equatorial eastern Pacific during the decaying phase of the 2010/11 La Nia. However, isothermal analyses show obviously cold water still persisting at the surface and at subsurface depths in off-equatorial regions throughout early 2011, being most pronounced in the tropical South Pacific. The negative SST anomalies in the tropical South Pacific acted to strengthen a southern wind across the equator. The subsurface cold water in the tropical South Pacific then spread northward and broke into the equatorial region at the thermocline depth. This incursion process of off-equatorial subsurface cold water successfully interrupted the eastern propagation of warm water along the equator, which had previously accumulated at subsurface depths in the warm pool during the 2010/11 La Nia event. Furthermore, the incursion process strengthened as a result of the off-equatorial effects, mostly in the tropical South Pacific. The negative SST anomalies then reappeared in the central basin in summer 2011, and acted to trigger local coupled air–sea interactions to produce atmospheric–oceanic anomalies that developed and evolved with the second cooling in the fall of 2011.     

FGOALS模式4个版本太平洋年代际气候变率模拟的比较

本文选用中国科学院大气物理研究所大气科学和地球流体力学数值模拟国家重点实验室(LASG/IAP)发展的全球海洋—大气—陆面气候系统模式(FGOALS)的4个版本g2.0、s2.0、g1.1和g1,利用模式的长时间积分结果,结合观测、再分析资料比较、评估模式对太平洋年代际变率的模拟能力,并通过对海气相互作用及其海洋动力过程分析,探讨了模式中太平洋年代际振荡形成机制.研究发现,FGOALS 模式g2.0和s2.0版本对太平洋年代际振荡(PDO/IPO)的模拟能力优于 g1.1和g1.模式中太平洋年代际变率的正反馈过程与Bjerknes(1969)提出的海气相互作用正反馈机制有关,其负反馈则主要与海洋内部动力过程有关.太平洋异常经向热量输送将热带与中纬度海洋联系在一起,可以抑制正反馈作用,但无法使得年代际振荡变化位相发生反转;FGOALS模式中,热带海表温度(SST)暖距平信号通过大气桥影响热带外大气环流,在海气作用下,热带与热带外海洋次表层分别以Kelvin 波和Rossby 波的形式传播,使得冷暖位相反转,4个版本均能再现这种负反馈机制.但不同版本Rossby波所处的纬度不同,太平洋SST异常年代际变化信号最明显的范围越宽,则由此激发的Rossby 波便更为偏北,纬度越高Rossby 波西传的时间也越长,PDO/IPO的周期与其SST异常的经向尺度密切相关.     

初夏孟加拉湾东部降水异常对印度洋海温偶极子的触发作用

基于1982—2013年逐月NCEP资料及GODAS资料,采用回归分析、合成分析以及2.5层简化海洋模式数值模拟等方法,研究了热带东印度洋的大气和海洋过程对印度洋海温偶极子(IOD,Indian Ocean Dipole)东极(IODE,IOD East pole)海温异常的影响。结果表明,IODE海温异常的演变超前IOD西极(IODW,IOD West pole)海温异常的演变,并对IOD事件的生成和发展起到关键作用。初夏,来自阿拉伯海、中南半岛地区以及孟加拉湾西南部的水汽输送,导致孟加拉湾东部出现强降水。降水释放的潜热在热带东印度形成了一个跨越赤道的经向环流,有利于加强赤道东印度洋的过赤道气流,并在苏门答腊沿岸形成偏南风异常。该异常偏南风通过影响混合层垂向夹卷混合过程和纬向平流过程,导致IODE海温迅速下降。随后赤道东南印度洋异常东南风迅速增强以及赤道中印度洋东风异常的出现,增强了自东南印度洋向西印度洋的水汽输送,削弱了向孟加拉湾的水汽输送,使西南印度洋的降水增强,孟加拉湾东部的降水减弱。因此,IOD达到盛期前孟加拉湾东部的降水通过局地经向环流在苏门答腊沿岸形成偏南风异常,导致苏门答腊沿岸迅速的降温,并最终导致IOD事件的发生。     

近67a影响山东台风频数的变化特征及其与若干气候因子的关系

利用1949—2015年台风年鉴资料、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料、NOAA资料等对近67 a影响山东的台风频数特征及其与相关气候因子的关系进行了分析。结果表明:(1)影响山东的6类台风中沿海北上类最多,登陆填塞类最少。8月和8月上旬是主要月份和旬份。台风年代际变化明显,并存在显著的26 a年代际尺度和5 a年际尺度的周期变化。(2)台风频数与同年份的东亚槽位置、亚洲区极涡面积指数分别呈显著的负、正相关关系。Ni1o3. 4区海温对台风频数存在超前的显著负相关,超前影响分别在1、2、3、4月。台风频数与冬季北大西洋涛动(NAO)指数、太平洋年代际振荡(PDO)指数分别存在显著的正、负相关关系。春、夏、秋季和年PDO冷位相时台风频数偏多,PDO暖位相时台风频数偏少,这与西太平洋副热带高压和低层水汽条件关系密切。(3)冷、暖位相年台风频数与太平洋海温分别存在显著的相关区,特别是冬季暖位相时赤道中东太平洋显著负相关区域较大。年PDO冷位相与夏季的显著相关区较相似,暖位相与秋季相似。(4)太平洋海温与台风频数相关性较好的海域主要有3个关键区:赤道中东太平洋、北太平洋中部和西太平洋暖池。其中赤道中东太平洋的的显著性表现在冬季,北太平洋中部的显著性表现在年、春、夏、秋季,西太平洋暖池的显著性表现在夏、秋季。     

Different impacts of various El Niño events on the Indian Ocean Dipole

Our early work (Wang and Wang in J Clim 26:1322–1338, 2013) separates El Niño Modoki events into El Niño Modoki I and II because they show different impacts on rainfall in southern China and typhoon landfall activity. The warm SST anomalies originate in the equatorial central Pacific and subtropical northeastern Pacific for El Niño Modoki I and II, respectively. El Niño Modoki I features a symmetric SST anomaly distribution about the equator with the maximum warming in the equatorial central Pacific, whereas El Niño Modoki II shows an asymmetric distribution with the warm SST anomalies extending from the northeastern Pacific to the equatorial central Pacific. The present paper investigates the influence of the various groups of El Niño events on the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Similar to canonical El Niño, El Niño Modoki I is associated with a weakening of the Walker circulation in the Indo-Pacific region which decreases precipitation in the eastern tropical Indian Ocean and maritime continent and thus results in the surface easterly wind anomalies off Java-Sumatra. Under the Bjerknes feedback, the easterly wind anomalies induce cold SST anomalies off Java- Sumatra, and thus a positive IOD tends to occur in the Indian Ocean during canonical El Niño and El Niño Modoki I. However, El Niño Modoki II has an opposite impact on the Walker circulation, resulting in more precipitation and surface westerly wind anomalies off Java-Sumatra. Thus, El Niño Modoki II is favorable for the onset and development of a negative IOD on the frame of the Bjerknes feedback.     

What Drives the Decadal Variability of Global Tropical Storm Days from 1965 to 2019?

The tropical storm day(TSD)is a combined measure of genesis and lifespan.It reflects tropical cyclone(TC)overall activity,yet its variability has rarely been studied,especially globally.Here we show that the global total TSDs exhibit pronounced interannual(3-6 years)and decadal(10 years)variations over the past five-to-six decades without a significant trend.The leading modes of the interannual and decadal variability of global TSD feature similar patterns in the western Pacific and Atlantic,but different patterns in the Eastern Pacific and the Southern Indian Ocean.The interannual and decadal leading modes are primarily linked to El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation(ENSO)and Pacific Decadal Oscillation(PDO),respectively.The TSDs-ENSO relationship has been steady during the entire 55-year period,but the TSDs-PDO relationship has experienced a breakdown in the 1980 s.We find that the decadal variation of TSD in the Pacific is associated with the PDO sea surface temperature(SST)anomalies in the tropical eastern Pacific(PDO-E),while that in the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean is associated with the PDO SST anomalies in the western Pacific(PDO-W).However,the PDO-E and PDO-W SST anomalies are poorly coupled in the 1980 s,and this"destructive PDO"pattern results in a breakdown of the TSDs-PDO relationship.The results here have an important implication for seasonal to decadal predictions of global TSD.     

WIND STRESS ANOMALY MODEL ON ENSO TIME SCALES IN COMPLEX MODELS

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the tropical Pacific wind stress anomalies produccd on monthly to interannual time scales by the complex general circulation model (GCM) of the center for Ocean Land Atmosphere Interactions (C.O.L.A.) at low (R15) resolutions. The model is integraed using observed sea surface temperature (SST) for ten years 1979 through 1988. The model simulates generally realistic wind stress anomaly (WSA). The model-generated data set of WSA was used to force the Zebiax Cane ocean model (ZCOM) for ten years. The modeled (SST) anomalies were compared to the observed SST anomalies. The ZCOM simulation shows realistic 1982/83 and 1986/87 warm episodes along the equator, but could produce less realistic 1984/85 and 1988/89 cold episodes along the equator due to lack of wind stress forcing in the mean model. Time series of the NINO3 index (measuring the SST anomaly in the mid-eastern Pacific) is realistic for the ZCOM simulation.     

Multi-year predictability in a coupled general circulation model

Multi-year to decadal variability in a 100-year integration of a BMRC coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (CGCM) is examined. The fractional contribution made by the decadal component generally increases with depth and latitude away from surface waters in the equatorial Indo-Pacific Ocean. The relative importance of decadal variability is enhanced in off-equatorial “wings” in the subtropical eastern Pacific. The model and observations exhibit “ENSO-like” decadal patterns. Analytic results are derived, which show that the patterns can, in theory, occur in the absence of any predictability beyond ENSO time-scales. In practice, however, modification to this stochastic view is needed to account for robust differences between ENSO-like decadal patterns and their interannual counterparts. An analysis of variability in the CGCM, a wind-forced shallow water model, and a simple mixed layer model together with existing and new theoretical results are used to improve upon this stochastic paradigm and to provide a new theory for the origin of decadal ENSO-like patterns like the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation. In this theory, ENSO-driven wind-stress variability forces internal equatorially-trapped Kelvin waves that propagate towards the eastern boundary. Kelvin waves can excite reflected internal westward propagating equatorially-trapped Rossby waves (RWs) and coastally-trapped waves (CTWs). CTWs have no impact on the off-equatorial sub-surface ocean outside the coastal wave guide, whereas the RWs do. If the frequency of the incident wave is too high, then only CTWs are excited. At lower frequencies, both CTWs and RWs can be excited. The lower the frequency, the greater the fraction of energy transmitted to RWs. This lowers the characteristic frequency (reddens the spectrum) of variability off the equator relative to its equatorial counterpart. At low frequencies, dissipation acts as an additional low pass filter that becomes more effective, as latitude increases. At the same time, ENSO-driven off-equatorial surface heating anomalies drive mixed layer temperature responses in both hemispheres. Both the eastern boundary interactions and the accumulation of surface heat fluxes by the surface mixed layer act to low pass filter the ENSO-forcing. The resulting off-equatorial variability is therefore more coherent with low pass filtered (decadal) ENSO indices [e.g. NINO3 sea-surface temperature (SST)] than with unfiltered ENSO indices. Consequently large correlations between variability and NINO3 extend further poleward on decadal time-scales than they do on interannual time-scales. This explains why decadal ENSO-like patterns have a broader meridional structure than their interannual counterparts. This difference in appearance can occur even if ENSO indices do not have any predictability beyond interannual time-scales. The wings around 15–20°S, and sub-surface variability at many other locations are predictable on interannual and multi-year time-scales. This includes westward propagating internal RWs within about 25° of the equator. The slowest of these take up to 4 years to reach the western boundary. This sub-surface predictability has significant oceanographic interest. However, it is linked to only low levels of SST variability. Consequently, extrapolation of delayed action oscillator theory to decadal time-scales might not be justified.     

Upper-ocean dynamical features and prediction of the super El Niño in 2015/16: A comparison with the cases in 1982/83 and 1997/98

The 2015/16 super El Niño event has been widely recognized as comparable to the 1982/83 and 1997/98 El Niño events. This study examines the main features of upper-ocean dynamics in this new super event, contrasts them to those in the two historical super events, and quantitatively compares the major oceanic dynamical feedbacks based on a mixed-layer heat budget analysis of the tropical Pacific. During the early stage, this new event is characterized by an eastward propagation of SST anomalies and a weak warm-pool El Niño; whereas during its mature phase, it is characterized by a weak westward propagation and a westward-shifted SST anomaly center, mainly due to the strong easterly wind and cold upwelling anomalies in the far eastern Pacific, as well as the westward anomalies of equatorial zonal current and subsurface ocean temperature. The heat budget analysis shows that the thermocline feedback is the most crucial process inducing the SST anomaly growth and phase transition of all the super events, and particularly for this new event, the zonal advective feedback also exerts an important impact on the formation of the strong warming and westward-shifted pattern of SST anomalies. During this event, several westerly wind burst events occur, and oceanic Kelvin waves propagate eastwards before being maintained over eastern Pacific in the mature stage. Mean-while, there is no evidence for westward propagation of the off-equatorial oceanic Rossby waves though the discharging process of equatorial heat during the development and mature stages. The second generation El Niño prediction system of the Beijing Climate Center produced reasonable event real-time operational prediction during 2014–16, wherein the statistical prediction model that considers the preceding oceanic precursors plays an important role in the multi-method ensemble prediction of this super.     

Variability of Summer Monsoon Rainfall in India on Inter-Annual and Decadal Time Scales

Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall(ISMR)exhibits a prominent inter-annual variability known as troposphere biennial oscillation.A season of deficient June to September monsoon rainfall in India is followed by warm sea surface temperature(SST)anomalies over the tropical Indian Ocean and cold SST anomalies over the western Pacific Ocean.These anomalies persist until the following monsoon,which yields normal or excessive rainfall.Monsoon rainfall in India has shown decadal variability in the form of 30 year epochs of alternately occurring frequent and infrequent drought monsoons since1841,when rainfall measurements began in India.Decadal oscillations of monsoon rainfall and the well known decadal oscillations in SSTs of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans have the same period of approximately 60 years and nearly the same temporal phase.In both of these variabilities,anomalies in monsoon heat source,such as deep convection,and middle latitude westerlies of the upper troposphere over south Asia have prominent roles.     

1991～1994年El Niño的异常特征的诊断研究

1991～1994年热带中东太平洋海温持续4a多出现正距平。Niño3指数一直为正值。在此正距平背景下,产生了两次振荡和3次ElNiño暖期。在此期间赤道东太平洋海温在±5°纬度范围内发生了两次负距平的变化,形成了一个狭窄的温度梯度很大的“冷核”,而赤道外的中纬度海洋则持续维持两个正海温距平。这一时期海表温度资料EOF分析的结果进一步表明,第一特征向量的空间分布实际上反映了上述冷核特征。1991～1994年的ENSO事件主要是低频分量发生了较大异常,赤道低层纬向风和高层西风在前期减弱(1991-01-1992-05),后期加强(1992-06-1994-011).无论是海温还是风场的低频分量都表现出一次ENSO循环的特征。因此作者认为,虽然Niño3指数等在这4a多期间均为正值,但是大气和海洋耦合系统的低频变化部分只发生了一次完整的ENSO循环过程。1991年至1992年上半年对应于ElNiño暖位相,1992年下半年至1994年底对应于LaNina冷位相。但是这个冷位相没有能够得到充分发展,只出现两次极狭窄的冷核。冷位相的明显“夭折”,而代之以出现两次较弱的增暖,可能与季节内尺度的大气强迫与低频变化部分的相互作用有关。     

Effect of chlorophyll-a spatial distribution on upper ocean temperature in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific

Effect of the spatial distributions of chlorophyll-a concentration on upper ocean temperature and currents in the equatorial Pacific is investigated through a set of numerical experiments by using an ocean general circulation model. This study indicates that enhanced meridional gradient of chlorophyll-a between the equator and off-equatorial regions can strengthen zonal circulation and lead to a decrease in equatorial sea surface temperature （SST）. However, the circulation changes by themselves are not effective enough to affect SST in the equatorial cold tongue （CT） region. The comparison between the experiments indicates that the CT SST are more sensitive to chlorophyll-a distribution away from the equator. The off-equatorial chlorophyll-a traps more solar radiation in the mixed layer, therefore, the temperature in the thermoeline decreases. The cold water can then be transported to the equator by the meridional circulation within the mixed layer. Furthermore, the relation among CT SST, the surface heat flux, and the equatorial upwelling are discussed. The study implies the simulation biases of temperature on the equator are not only related to the local ocean dynamics but also related to some deficiency in simulating off-equatorial processes.     

An assessment of Indo-Pacific oceanic channel dynamics in the FGOALS-g2 coupled climate system model

Lag correlations of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs), sea surface height anomalies (SSHAs), subsurface temperature anomalies, and surface zonal wind anomalies (SZWAs) produced by the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model: Grid-point Version 2 (FGOALS-g2) are analyzed and compared with observations. The insignificant, albeit positive, lag correlations between the SSTAs in the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean (STIO) in fall and the SSTAs in the central-eastern Pacific cold tongue in the following summer through fall are found to be not in agreement with the observational analysis. The model, however, does reproduce the significant lag correlations between the SSHAs in the STIO in fall and those in the cold tongue at the one-year time lag in the observations. These, along with the significant lag correlations between the SSTAs in the STIO in fall and the subsurface temperature anomalies in the equatorial Pacific vertical section in the following year, suggest that the Indonesian Throughflow plays an important role in propagating the Indian Ocean anomalies into the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Analyses of the interannual anomalies of the Indonesian Throughflow transport suggest that the FGOALS-g2 climate system simulates, but underestimates, the oceanic channel dynamics between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. FGOALS-g2 is shown to produce lag correlations between the SZWAs over the western equatorial Pacific in fall and the cold tongue SSTAs at the one-year time lag that are too strong to be realistic in comparison with observations. The analyses suggest that the atmospheric bridge over the Indo-Pacific Ocean is overestimated in the FGOALS-g2 coupled climate model.     

中低纬海气相互作用的耦合模态变化研究

利用1948—2003年的NCEP再分析资料和英国气象局Hadley气候预测和研究中心的海表面温度资料,从整体分析地球中低纬三大洋海气耦合系统的角度出发,使用SVD方法研究中低纬海气相互作用的耦合变化。结果表明,中低纬海气相互作用是一个有机的耦合整体,其变化不管从年际还是年代际上都存在耦合相关性,这一点给我们提出了一个新的研究全球范围海气耦合变化的思路。提取的海气耦合基本模态的正、负异常年份的海温和风场异常合成分析结果显示,当赤道东太平洋的海水偏暖时,热带印度洋和热带大西洋的海水也偏暖,热带西太平洋直至中纬度太平洋的海温总体偏冷。就印度洋而言非洲大陆以南30~50 °S的大片海区存在明显的海温负异常。北美洲大陆的东岸30 °N以北和南美洲大陆的东岸30 °S以南的海区都为明显的海温负异常。当赤道东太平洋的海水偏冷时各大海区的海温分布情况反之。      

Annual cycle and interannual variability in the tropical pacific as simulated by three versions of FGOALS

The seasonal cycle and interannual variability in the tropical oceans simulated by three versions of the Flexible Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System (FGOALS) model (FGOALS-g1.0, FGOALS-g2 and FGOALSs2), which have participated in phases 3 and 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3 and CMIP5), are presented in this paper. The seasonal cycle of SST in the tropical Pacific is realistically reproduced by FGOALS-g2 and FGOALSs2, while it is poorly simulated in FGOALS-g1.0. Three feedback mechanisms responsible for the SST annual cycle in the eastern Pacific are evaluated. The ocean-atmosphere dynamic feedback, which is successfully reproduced by both FGOALS-g2 and FGOALS-s2, plays a key role in determining the SST annual cycle, while the overestimated stratus cloud-SST feedback amplifies the annual cycle in FGOALS-s2. Because of the serious warm bias existing in FGOALS-g1.0, the ocean-atmosphere dynamic feedback is greatly underestimated in FGOALS-g1.0, in which the SST annual cycle is mainly driven by surface solar radiation. FGOALS-g1.0 simulates much stronger ENSO events than observed, whereas FGOALS-g2 and FGOALSs2 successfully simulate the observed ENSO amplitude and period and positive asymmetry, but with less strength. Further ENSO feedback analyses suggest that surface solar radiation feedback is principally responsible for the overestimated ENSO amplitude in FGOALS-g1.0. Both FGOALS-g1.0 and FGOALS-s2 can simulate two different types of El Ni-no events — with maximum SST anomalies in the eastern Pacific (EP) or in the central Pacific (CP) — but FGOALS-g2 is only able to simulate EP El Ni-no, because the negative cloud shortwave forcing feedback by FGOALS-g2 is much stronger than observed in the central Pacific.     

Boreal summer quasi-monthly oscillation in the global tropics

The boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) in the global tropics is documented here using a 7-year suite (1998–2004) of satellite measurements. A composite scenario was made of 28 selected events with reference to the oscillation in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean (EIO), where the oscillation is most regular and its intensity is indicative of the strength of the subsequent northward propagation. The average oscillation period is about 32 days, and this quasi-monthly oscillation (QMO) is primarily confined to the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. Topics that were investigated are the partition of convective versus stratiform clouds, the vertical structure of precipitation rates, and the evolution of cloud types during the initial organization and the development of intraseasonal convective anomalies in the central Indian Ocean. During the initiation of the convective anomalies, the stratiform and convective rains have comparable rates; the prevailing cloud type experiences a trimodal evolution from shallow to deep convection, and finally to anvil and extended stratiform clouds. A major northwest/southeast-slanted rainband forms as the equatorial rainfall anomalies reach Sumatra, and the rainband subsequently propagates northeastward into the west Pacific Ocean. The enhanced precipitation in the west Pacific then rapidly traverses the Pacific along the Intertropical Convergence Zone, meanwhile migrating northward to the Philippine Sea. A seesaw teleconnection in rainfall anomalies is found between the southern Bay of Bengal (5–15°N, 80–100°E) and the eastern Pacific (5–15°N, 85–105°W). Local sea-surface temperature (SST)-rainfall anomalies display a negative simultaneous correlation in the off-equatorial regions but a zero correlation (quadrature phase relationship) near the equator. We propose that atmosphere–ocean interaction and the vertical monsoon easterly shear are important contributors to the northeastward propagation component of the intraseasonal rainband. The observed evidence presented here provides critical information for validating the numerical models, and it supports the self-induction mechanism theory for maintenance of the boreal summer ISO.     

Equatorial Atlantic sea surface temperature variations: Research note

Abstract

Monthly mean sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies were computed for six 10°‐wide boxes stretching across the equatorial Atlantic Ocean for the period 1890–1979. These values were used to produce a time‐longitude section of the interannual SST variability along the equator. This section shows cycles of basin‐wide warming and cooling occurring with irregular periods that typically range between two and four years. The warming and cooling events in these cycles normally display some westward phase propagation. The peak magnitudes of the interannual SST anomalies are generally of the order of 1°C or less, except in the Gulf of Guinea where they can be somewhat larger.

An estimate was made of the basin‐wide equatorial SST anomaly in each month (excluding the Gulf of Guinea). This was composited around the times of the warm and cold extremes of the Pacific Southern Oscillation. This analysis revealed a detectable, but rather weak, tendency for phase locking of the interannual SST variations in the equatorial Pacific and Atlantic oceans.