Relationships between the East Asian-western north pacific monsoon and ENSO simulated by FGOALS-s2

The relationships between ENSO and the East Asian-western North Pacific monsoon simulated by the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model, Spectral Version 2 (FGOALS-s2), a state-of-the-art coupled general circulation model (CGCM), are evaluated. For El Nio developing summers, FGOALS-s2 reproduces the anomalous cyclone over the western North Pacific (WNP) and associated negative precipitation anomalies in situ. In the observation, the anomalous cyclone is transformed to an anomalous anticyclone over the WNP (WNPAC) during El Nio mature winters. The model reproduces the WNPAC and associated positive precipitation anomalies over southeastern China during winter. However, the model fails to simulate the asymmetry of the wintertime circulation anomalies over the WNP between El Nio and La Nia. The simulated anomalous cyclone over the WNP (WNPC) associated with La Nia is generally symmetric about the WNPAC associated with El Nio, rather than shifted westward as that in the observation. The discrepancy can partially explain why simulated La Nin a events decay much faster than observed. In the observation, the WNPAC maintains throughout the El Nio decaying summer under the combined effects of local forcing of the WNP cold sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) and remote forcing from basinwide warming in the tropical Indian Ocean. FGOALS-s2 captures the two mechanisms and reproduces the WNPAC throughout the summer. However, owing to biases in the mean state, the precipitation anomalies over East Asia, especially those of the Meiyu rain belt, are much weaker than that in the observation.     

Different Summer Rainfall Anomaly Patterns in Northeast China Associated with Two Kinds of El Niño Events

The relationship between summer rainfall anomalies in northeast China and two types of El Ni?o events is investigated by using observation data and an AGCM. It is shown that, for different types of El Ni?o events, there is different rainfall anomaly pattern in the following summer. In the following year of a typical El Ni?o event, there are remarkable positive rainfall anomalies in the central-western region of northeast China, whereas the pattern of more rainfall in the south end and less rainfall in the north end of northeast China easily appears in an El Ni?o Modoki event. The reason for the distinct differences is that, associated with the different sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) along the equatorial Pacific, the large-scale circulation anomalies along east coast of East Asia shift northward in the following summer of El Ni?o Modoki events. Influenced by the anomalous anticyclone in Philippine Sea, southwesterly anomalies over eastern China strengthens summer monsoon and bring more water vapor to Northeast China. Meanwhile, convergence and updraft is strengthened by the anomalous cyclone right in Northeast China in typical El Ni?o events. These moisture and atmospheric circulation conditions are favorable for enhanced precipitation. However, because of the northward shift, the anomalous anticyclone which is in Philippine Sea in typical El Ni?o cases shifts to the south of Japan in Modoki years, and the anomalous cyclone which is in the Northeast China in typical El Ni?o cases shifts to the north of Northeast China, leading to the “dipole pattern” of rainfall anomalies. According to the results of numerical experiments, we further conform that the tropical SSTA in different types of El Ni?o event can give rise to observed rainfall anomaly patterns in Northeast China.     

ECHAM5-Simulated Impacts of Two Types of El Nio on the Winter Precipitation Anomalies in South China

The authors used an atmospheric general circulation model(AGCM) of European Centre Hamburg Model(ECHAM5.4) and investigated the possible impacts of eastern Pacific(EP) and central Pacific(CP) El Nio on the winter precipitation anomalies in South China.A composite analysis suggested much more rainfall during the mature phase of EP El Nio than in the case of CP El Nio,and their corresponding observed wet centers to be located in the southeast coast and the region to the south of the Yangtze River,respectively.Results obtained on the basis of model-sensitive run imply that the modelsimulated rainfall anomalies agree well with the observation,and the magnitude of simulated rainfall anomalies were found to be reduced when the amplitude of sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA) forcing of EP and CP El Nio was cut down.These results imply that the rainfall anomaly in South China is very sensitive not only to the type of El Nio but also to its intensity.     

A New Approach for Classifying Two Types of El Nino Events

In recent decades, the typical El Nio events with the warmest SSTs in the tropical eastern Pacific have become less common, and a different of El Nio with the warmest SSTs in the central Pacific, which is flanked on the east and west by cooler SSTs, has become more fre-quent. The more recent type of El Nio was referred to as central Pacific El Nio, warm pool El Nio, or dateline El Nio, or the El Nio Modoki. Central Pacific El Nio links to a different tropical-to-extratropical teleconnection and exerts different impacts on climate, and several classification approaches have been proposed. In this study, a new classification approach is proposed, which is based on the linear combination (sum or difference) of the two leading Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOFs) of tropical Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA), and the typical El Ni o index (TENI) and the central El Nio index (CENI) are able to be derived by projecting the observed SSTA onto these combinations. This classification not only reflects the characteristics of non-orthogonality between the two types of events but also yields one period peaking at approximate two to seven years. In particular, this classification can distin-guish the different impacts of the two types of events on rainfall in the following summer in East China. The typical El Nio events tend to induce intensified rainfall in the Yangtze River valley, whereas the central Pacific El Nio tends to induce intensified rainfall in the Huaihe River valley. Thus, the present approach may be appropriate for studying the impact of different types of El Nio on the East Asian climate.     

Contrasting the Skills and Biases of Deterministic Predictions for the Two Types of El Nio

The tropical Pacific has begun to experience a new type of El Nio, which has occurred particularly frequently during the last decade, referred to as the central Pacific(CP) El Nio. Various coupled models with different degrees of complexity have been used to make real-time El Nio predictions, but high uncertainty still exists in their forecasts. It remains unknown as to how much of this uncertainty is specifically related to the new CP-type El Nio and how much is common to both this type and the conventional Eastern Pacific(EP)-type El Nio. In this study, the deterministic performance of an El Nio–Southern Oscillation(ENSO) ensemble prediction system is examined for the two types of El Nio. Ensemble hindcasts are run for the nine EP El Nio events and twelve CP El Nio events that have occurred since 1950. The results show that(1) the skill scores for the EP events are significantly better than those for the CP events, at all lead times;(2) the systematic forecast biases come mostly from the prediction of the CP events; and(3) the systematic error is characterized by an overly warm eastern Pacific during the spring season, indicating a stronger spring prediction barrier for the CP El Nio. Further improvements to coupled atmosphere–ocean models in terms of CP El Nio prediction should be recognized as a key and high-priority task for the climate prediction community.     

A New Approach for Classifying Two Types of El Nio Events

正In recent decades, the typical El Nio events with the warmest SSTs in the tropical eastern Pacific have become less common, and a different of El Nio with the warmest SSTs in the central Pacific, which is flanked on the east and west by cooler SSTs, has become more fre-quent. The more recent type of El Nio was referred to as central Pacific El Nio, warm pool El Nio, or dateline El Nio, or the El Nio Modoki. Central Pacific El Nio links to a different tropical-to-extratropical teleconnection and exerts different impacts on climate, and several classification approaches have been proposed. In this study, a new classification approach is proposed, which is based on the linear combination (sum or difference) of the two leading Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOFs) of tropical Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA), and the typical El Ni o index (TENI) and the central El Nio index (CENI) are able to be derived by projecting the observed SSTA onto these combinations. This classification not only reflects the characteristics of non-orthogonality between the two types of events but also yields one period peaking at approximate two to seven years. In particular, this classification can distin-guish the different impacts of the two types of events on rainfall in the following summer in East China. The typical El Nio events tend to induce intensified rainfall in the Yangtze River valley, whereas the central Pacific El Nio tends to induce intensified rainfall in the Huaihe River valley. Thus, the present approach may be appropriate for studying the impact of different types of El Nio on the East Asian climate.     

IMPACT OF ENSO ON THE PRECIPITATION OVER CHINA IN WINTER HALF-YEARS

In this paper, the impact of ENSO on the precipitation over China in the winter half-year is investigated diagnostically. The results show that positive precipitation anomalies with statistical significance appear over southern China in El Nio episodes, which are caused by the enhanced warm and humid southwesterlies along the East Asian coast in the lower troposphere. The enhanced southwesterlies transport more water vapor to southern China, and the convergence of water vapor over southern China increases the precipitable water and specific humidity. In La Nia episodes,although atmospheric elements change reversely, they are not statistically significant as those in El Nio periods. The possible physical mechanism of the different impact of ENSO cycle on the precipitation over southern China is investigated by analyzing the intraseasonal oscillations(ISOs) in El Nio and La Nia winter half-years, respectively. By comparing the characteristics of ISOs in El Nio and La Nia, a physical mechanism is proposed to explain the different responses of the precipitation over China to ENSO in the winter half-year. In El Nio episodes, over western North Pacific(WNP) and South China Sea(SCS) the ISOs are inactive and exert little effect on water vapor transport and convergence, inducing positive precipitation anomalies with statistical significance over southern China in El Nio episodes. In La Nia episodes, however, the ISOs are active, which weaken the interannual variation signals of ENSO over WNP and southern China and lead to the insignificance of the interannual signals related to ENSO. Therefore, the different responses of precipitation over China to ENSO in the winter half-year are possibly caused by the difference of intraseasonal oscillations over WNP and SCS between El Nio and La Nia.     

Influence of the Eastern Pacific and Central Pacific Types of ENSO on the South Asian Summer Monsoon

Based on observational and reanalysis data,the relationships between the eastern Pacific(EP)and central Pacific(CP)types of El Ni?o?Southern Oscillation(ENSO)during the developing summer and the South Asian summer monsoon(SASM)are examined.The roles of these two types of ENSO on the SASM experienced notable multidecadal modulation in the late 1970s.While the inverse relationship between the EP type of ENSO and the SASM has weakened dramatically,the CP type of ENSO plays a far more prominent role in producing anomalous Indian monsoon rainfall after the late 1970s.The drought-producing El Ni?o warming of both the EP and CP types can excite anomalous rising motion of the Walker circulation concentrated in the equatorial central Pacific around 160°W to the date line.Accordingly,compensatory subsidence anomalies are evident from the Maritime Continent to the Indian subcontinent,leading to suppressed convection and decreased precipitation over these regions.Moreover,anomalously less moisture flux into South Asia associated with developing EP El Ni?o and significant northwesterly anomalies dominating over southern India accompanied by developing CP El Ni?o,may also have been responsible for the Indian monsoon droughts during the pre-1979 and post-1979 sub-periods,respectively.El Ni?o events with the same“flavor”may not necessarily produce consistent Indian monsoon rainfall anomalies,while similar Indian monsoon droughts may be induced by different types of El Ni?o,implying high sensitivity of monsoonal precipitation to the detailed configuration of ENSO forcing imposed on the tropical Pacific.     

Anomalous Western Pacific Subtropical High during El Ni ?no Developing Summer in Comparison with Decaying Summer

The anomalous behavior of the western Pacific subtropical high(WPSH) in El Nio developing summer is studied based on the composite results of eight major El Nio events during 1979–2013. It is shown that the WPSH tends to retreat eastwards with weak intensity during the developing summer. The anomaly exhibits an intraseasonal variation with a weaker anomaly in June and July and a stronger anomaly in August, indicating that different underlying physical mechanisms may be responsible for the anomalous WPSH during early and late summer periods. In June and July, owing to the cold advection anomaly characterized as a weak northerly anomaly from high latitudes, geopotential height in East Asia is reduced and the WPSH tends to retreat eastwards slightly. By contrast, enhanced convection over the warm pool in August makes the atmosphere more sensitive to El Nio forcing. Consequently, a cyclonic anomaly in the western Pacific is induced, which is consistent with the seasonal march of atmospheric circulation from July to August. Accordingly, geopotential height in the western Pacific is reduced significantly, and the WPSH tends to retreat eastwards remarkably in August. Different from the developing summer, geopotential height in the decaying summer over East Asia and the western Pacific tends to enhance and extend northwards from June to August consistently, reaching the maximum anomaly in August. Therefore, the seasonal march plays an important role in the WPSH anomaly for both the developing and decaying summer.     

冬季热带太平洋海温异常模态和次年夏季我国降水异常季节内变化的关系

In present study,EOF analysis and extended singular value decomposition (ESVD) analysis are performed to explore the relationship between the winter tropical sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in the Pacific and the following summer rainfall anomalies in China.The two leading modes of winter tropical SSTAs in the Pacific are the SSTAs pattern characterized by "positive anomalies in the East and negative anomalies in the West" like the typical eastern Pacific El Nio and negative anomalies in the West and the central Pacific warming pattern characterized by "positive anomalies in the central region but negative anomalies in the East and West".The intraseasonal variations of the rainfall anomalies during the following summer in China that are associated with the eastern Pacific warming mode are characterized by positive anomalies south of the Yangtze River and negative anomalies in the Yangtze-Huai River Valley in June,and negative anomalies in South China and positive anomalies in the Yangtze River Valley and North China in July and August.In contrast,after the central Pacific warming mode,the corresponding intraseasonal variations of China’s summer rainfall are characterized by a nearly consistent pattern during the three summer months,which is positive in the South China coast and North China and negative in the Yangtze River Valley except for the positive anomalies in the Yangtze-Huai River Valley in July.These results may provide a reference for the seasonal prediction of the summer drought and flood distributions in China.     

A comparative study on the dominant factors responsible for the weaker-than-expected El Niño event in 2014

Anomalous warming occurred in the equatorial central-eastern Pacific in early May 2014, attracting much attention to the possible occurrence of an extreme El Niño event that year because of its similarity to the situation in early 1997. However, the subsequent variation in sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) during summer 2014 in the tropical Pacific was evidently different to that in 1997, but somewhat similar to the situation of the 1990 aborted El Niño event. Based on NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Prediction) oceanic and atmospheric reanalysis data, the physical processes responsible for the strength of El Niño events are examined by comparing the dominant factors in 2014 in terms of the preceding instability of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system and westerly wind bursts (WWBs) with those in 1997 and 1990, separately. Although the unstable ocean-atmosphere system formed over the tropical Pacific in the preceding winter of 2014, the strength of the preceding instability was relatively weak. Weak oceanic eastward-propagating downwelling Kelvin waves were forced by the weak WWBs over the equatorial western Pacific in March 2014, as in February 1990. The consequent positive upper-oceanic heat content anomalies in the spring of 2014 induced only weak positive SSTAs in the central-eastern Pacific-unfavorable for the subsequent generation of summertime WWB sequences. Moreover, the equatorial western Pacific was not cooled, indicating the absence of positive Bjerknes feedback in early summer 2014. Therefore, the development of El Niño was suspended in summer 2014.     

Parallel Comparison of the 1982/83,1997/98 and 2015/16 Super El Nios and Their Effects on the Extratropical Stratosphere

This study uses multiple sea surface temperature(SST) datasets to perform a parallel comparison of three super El Ni os and their effects on the stratosphere. The results show that, different from ordinary El Ni os, warm SST anomalies appear earliest in the western tropical Pacific and precede the super El Ni o peak by more than 18 months. In the previous winter,relative to the mature phase of El Ni o, as a precursor, North Pacific Oscillation-like circulation anomalies are observed. A Pacific–North America(PNA) teleconnection appears in the extratropical troposphere during the mature phase, in spite of the subtle differences between the intensities, as well as the zonal position, of the PNA lobes. Related to the negative rainfall response over the tropical Indian Ocean, the PNA teleconnection in the winter of 1997/98 is the strongest among the three super El Ni os. The northern winter stratosphere shows large anomalies in the polar cap temperature and the circumpolar westerly, if the interferences from other factors are linearly filtered from the circulation data. Associated with the positive PNA response in a super El Ni o winter, positive polar cap temperature anomalies and circumpolar easterly anomalies,though different in timing, are also observed in the mature winters of the three super El Ni os. The stratospheric polar vortex in the next winter relative to the 1982/83 and 1997/98 events is also anomalously weaker and warmer, and the stratospheric circulation conditions remain to be seen in the coming winter following the mature phase of the 2015/16 event.     

Predictability of South China Sea Summer Monsoon Onset

Predicting monsoon onset is crucial for agriculture and socioeconomic planning in countries where millions rely on the timely arrival of monsoon rains for their livelihoods. In this study we demonstrate useful skill in predicting year-to-year variations in South China Sea summer monsoon onset at up to a three-month lead time using the GloSea5 seasonal forecasting system. The main source of predictability comes from skillful prediction of Pacific sea surface temperatures associated with El NiÑo and La NiÑa. The South China Sea summer monsoon onset is a known indicator of the broadscale seasonal transition that represents the first stage of the onset of the Asian summer monsoon as a whole. Subsequent development of rainfall across East Asia is influenced by subseasonal variability and synoptic events that reduce predictability, but interannual variability in the broadscale monsoon onset for East Asian summer monsoon still provides potentially useful information for users about possible delays or early occurrence of the onset of rainfall over East Asia.     

Different Impact of Central Pacific and Eastern Pacific El Nio on the Duration of Sudden Stratospheric Warming

The NCEP–NCAR reanalysis dataset and the Had ISST dataset(1959–2014) are used to analyze the impact of two types of El Nio events, i.e., eastern Pacific El Nio(EP-El Nio) and central Pacific El Nio(CP-El Nio) events, on the duration of major and minor sudden stratospheric warmings(SSWs) in Northern Hemisphere winter(November to February). Although the frequency of major and minor SSWs during different types of El Nio shows no distinct differences, the duration of both major and minor SSWs during CP-El Nio is shorter than that during EP-El Nio. The spatial distribution of geopotential height anomalies preceding major SSWs resembles the western Pacific(WP) teleconnection pattern, while the spatial distribution of geopotential height anomalies preceding minor SSWs bears similarity to the Pacific–North America(PNA)teleconnection pattern. An enhancement of the strength of both wavenumber 1 and wavenumber 2 is found before major SSWs. Before minor SSWs, wavenumber 1 is also strengthened, but wavenumber 2 is weakened. The analysis also reveals that EP-El Nio tends to induce positive phases of PNA and WP teleconnections, while CP-El Nio induces negative-phase WP teleconnection. As the positive phases of the PNA and WP teleconnections are related to the strengthening of wavenumber 1, EP-El Nio causes an enhancement of wavenumber 1 in the high-latitude upper troposphere and an enhancement of the upward wave flux in the high-latitude stratosphere, accompanied by a negative anomaly in Eliassen–Palm flux divergence in the subpolar stratosphere, which accounts for the longer SSW duration during EP-El Nio than during CP-El Nio.     

2015/2016和1997/1998超强El Nio衰减年我国夏季降水异常的比较

El Nio可通过海—气相互作用遥相关型影响东亚季风,进而影响中国气候,是中国短期气候最重要的预测指标之一。典型的El Nio事件通常在春、夏季开始,在秋、冬季成熟,在下一年的春、夏季消退,考虑到海—气作用的滞后效应,El Nio事件甚至可以在消退时期对东亚大气环流系统造成影响。因此,利用中国160站的逐月降水资料、NCEP/NCAR再分析资料以及美国NOAA提供的全球海温数据,对比分析了2015/2016年和1997/1998年典型El Nio衰减年我国夏季降水和东亚环流特征的差异,并讨论了造成差异的可能原因。结果表明:1)2016年和2008年夏季降水都大范围偏多,2016年夏季降水异常更为集中,但降水强度不及1998年。2)2016年降水的季节推进特征不明显。1998年6—8月的降水逐渐从南向北推进,与传统的季风降水演变进程较为一致。3)2016年和2008年我国夏季降水的差异与副热带高压的变化有直接的关系。1998年6—7月副热带高压较2016年同期偏西偏南,而2016年8月副热带高压更为偏西并明显比气候平均偏北。4)1997/1998年El Nio事件中的赤道西太平洋异常冷海温比较强盛,而2015/2016年基本表现为偏暖,可能是造成1998年6—7月副热带高压较2016年同期偏西偏南的原因。     

强El Niño衰减年东亚夏季风的季节内变化:1998年和2016年的对比分析

本文对比分析了1998年和2016年这两个强El Ni?o衰减年东亚夏季风的季节内变化。结果表明,在6~7月期间,由于热带印度洋海温偏高、对流偏强,造成西太平洋暖池对流偏弱,西太平洋副热带高压（副高）偏西偏强,长江流域降水偏多,华南偏少,东亚夏季风异常具有典型的El Ni?o衰减年特征。但两年的8月份有很大差异,虽然1998年8月与6~7月相似,但2016年8月份则完全不同。受乌拉尔地区异常反气旋的影响,源自西伯利亚东部的北风异常穿越东亚并直抵暖池地区,造成副高分裂并减弱东退,同时激发暖池对流发展,而对流的发展则进一步促使副高减弱。因此,2016年8月东亚夏季风异常与1998年8月相反,中国北方夏季降水异常也呈现很大差异。另外,1998年热带大西洋偏暖,并通过热带环流变化影响到东亚夏季风异常,其强迫作用与热带印度洋类似。而2016年大西洋海温异常较弱,对东亚夏季风影响也较弱。因此,El Ni?o对东亚夏季风的影响不仅与其强度有关,还与El Ni?o衰减之后造成的印度洋和大西洋海温异常有关。本文的分析结果表明,即使在强El Ni?o衰减年夏季,由于El Ni?o之间的个性差异以及其他因子的影响,东亚夏季风季节内变化仍然能呈现出显著差异,特别是在8月份。因此,在预测东亚夏季风异常时,宜将6~7月和8月分别考虑。此外,为进一步提高东亚夏季风预测水平,除传统的季度预测外,还需要进一步加强季节内尺度的预测。     

A diagnostic study of the impact of El Niño on the precipitation in China

The impact of El Niño on the precipitation in China for different seasons are investigated diagnostically. It is found that El Niño can influence the precipitation in China significantly during its mature phase. In the Northern winter, spring and autumn, the positive precipitation anomalies are found in the southern part of China during the El Niño mature phase. In the Northern summer, the patterns of the precipitation anomalies in the El Niño mature phase are different from those in the other seasons. The negative precipitation anomalies appear in both southern and northern parts of China, while in between around the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River valleys the precipitation anomalies tend to be positive. In the Northern winter, spring and autumn, the physical process by which El Niño affects the precipitation in the southern part of China can be explained by the features of the circulation anomalies over East Asia during the El Niño mature phase (Zhang et al., 1996). The appearance of an anticyclonic anomaly to the north of the maritime continent in the lower troposphere during the El Niño mature phase intensifies the subtropical high in the western Pacific and makes it shift westward. The associated southwesterly flow is responsible for the positive precipitation anomalies in the southern part of China. In the Northern summer, the intensified western Pacific subtropical high covers the southeastern periphery of China so that the precipitation there becomes less. In addition, the weakening of the Indian monsoon provides less moisture inflow to the northern part of China.     

Subseasonal Reversal of East Asian Surface Temperature Variability in Winter 2014/15

Although there has been a considerable amount of research conducted on the East Asian winter-mean climate, subseasonal surface air temperature(SAT) variability reversals in the early and late winter remain poorly understood. In this study,we focused on the recent winter of 2014/15, in which warmer anomalies dominated in January and February but colder conditions prevailed in December. Moreover, Arctic sea-ice cover(ASIC) in September–October 2014 was lower than normal,and warmer sea surface temperature(SST) anomalies occurred in the Ni ?no4 region in winter, together with a positive Pacific Decadal Oscillation(PDO|+) phase. Using observational data and CMIP5 historical simulations, we investigated the PDO|+ phase modulation upon the winter warm Ni ?no4 phase(autumn ASIC reduction) influence on the subseasonal SAT variability of East Asian winter. The results show that, under a PDO|+ phase modulation, warm Ni ?no4 SST anomalies are associated with a subseasonal delay of tropical surface heating and subsequent Hadley cell and Ferrel cell intensification in January–February, linking the tropical and midlatitude regions. Consistently, the East Asian jet stream(EAJS) is significantly decelerated in January–February and hence promotes the warm anomalies over East Asia. Under the PDO|+ phase,the decrease in ASIC is related to cold SST anomalies in the western North Pacific, which increase the meridional temperature gradient and generate an accelerated and westward-shifted EAJS in December. The westward extension of the EAJS is responsible for the eastward-propagating Rossby waves triggered by declining ASIC and thereby favors the connection between ASIC and cold conditions over East Asia.     

Nonlinearity Modulating Intensities and Spatial Structures of Central Pacific and Eastern Pacific El Nio Events

This paper compares data from linearized and nonlinear Zebiak–Cane model, as constrained by observed sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA), in simulating central Pacific(CP) and eastern Pacific(EP) El Nio. The difference between the temperature advections(determined by subtracting those of the linearized model from those of the nonlinear model),referred to here as the nonlinearly induced temperature advection change(NTA), is analyzed. The results demonstrate that the NTA records warming in the central equatorial Pacific during CP El Nio and makes fewer contributions to the structural distinctions of the CP El Nio, whereas it records warming in the eastern equatorial Pacific during EP El Nio, and thus significantly promotes EP El Nio during El Nio–type selection. The NTA for CP and EP El Nio varies in its amplitude,and is smaller in CP El Nio than it is in EP El Nio. These results demonstrate that CP El Nio are weakly modulated by small intensities of NTA, and may be controlled by weak nonlinearity; whereas, EP El Nio are significantly enhanced by large amplitudes of NTA, and are therefore likely to be modulated by relatively strong nonlinearity. These data could explain why CP El Nio are weaker than EP El Nio. Because the NTA for CP and EP El Nio differs in spatial structures and intensities, as well as their roles within different El Nio modes, the diversity of El Nio may be closely related to changes in the nonlinear characteristics of the tropical Pacific.