La Niña diversity and Northwest Indian Ocean Rim teleconnections

The differences in tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) expressions of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events of the same phase have been linked with different global atmospheric circulation patterns. This study examines the dynamical forcing of precipitation during October–December (OND) and March–May (MAM) over East Africa and during December–March (DJFM) over Central-Southwest Asia for 1950–2010 associated with four tropical Pacific SST patterns characteristic of La Niña events, the cold phase of ENSO. The self-organizing map method along with a statistical distinguishability test was used to isolate La Niña events, and seasonal precipitation forcing was investigated in terms of the tropical overturning circulation and thermodynamic and moisture budgets. Recent La Niña events with strong opposing SST anomalies between the central and western Pacific Ocean (phases 3 and 4), force the strongest global circulation modifications and drought over the Northwest Indian Ocean Rim. Over East Africa during MAM and OND, subsidence is forced by an enhanced tropical overturning circulation and precipitation reductions are exacerbated by increases in moisture flux divergence. Over Central-Southwest Asia during DJFM, the thermodynamic forcing of subsidence is primarily responsible for precipitation reductions, with moisture flux divergence acting as a secondary mechanism to reduce precipitation. Eastern Pacific La Niña events in the absence of west Pacific SST anomalies (phases 1 and 2), are associated with weaker global teleconnections, particularly over the Indian Ocean Rim. The weak regional teleconnections result in statistically insignificant precipitation modifications over East Africa and Central-Southwest Asia.     

SEASONAL DEPENDENCE OF LOCAL AIR-SEA INTERACTION OVER THE TROPICAL WESTERN PACIFIC WARM POOL

Based on the air-sea interface heat fluxes and related meteorological variables datasets recently released by Objectively Analyzed Air-Sea Fluxes (OA Flux) Project of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, as well as the outgoing longwave radiation and surface wind datasets from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the seasonal dependence of local air-sea interaction over the tropical western Pacific warm pool (referred to the region (1o-6oN, 144o-154oE)) is revealed and the probable impacts of remote forcing on the air-sea interaction are examined. The results indicated the dominance of oceanic forcing with the significant impact of ENSO in March and that of atmospheric feedback without notable influence of remote forcing in June. While the interannual variability of sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) is larger than that of SSTA tendency when oceanic forcing is dominant, the opposite is true when atmospheric feedback is dominant. The magnitude of the oceanic forcing of the atmosphere tends to decrease in March with the occurrence of ENSO, though ENSO has little influence on the atmospheric feedback to the ocean in June. The local air-sea interaction is substantially the same before and after the removal of the effect of Indian Oceanic Dipole. The reduction of shortwave radiation fluxes into the western Pacific warm pool, due to the enhanced overlaying convection in March associated with ENSO, leads to the decline of SST tendency that will weaken the oceanic forcing of the atmosphere.     

ENSO Variability Simulated by a Coupled General Circulation Model:ECHAM5/MPI-OM

The accurate simulation of the equatorial sea surlhce temperature （SST） variability is crucial for a proper representation or prediction of the El Nino-Southern Os- cillation （ENSO）. This paper describes the tropical variability simulated by the Max Planck Institute （MPI） forr meteorology coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model （CGCM）. A control simulation with pre-industrial greenhouse gases is analyzed, and the simulation of key oceanic features, such as SST, is compared with observa- tions. Results from the 400-yr control simulation show that the model＇s ENSO variability is quite realistic in terms of structure, strength, and period. Also, two related features （the annual cycle of SST and the-phase locking of ENSO events）, which are significant in determining the model＇s performance of realistic ENSO prediction, are further validated to be well reproduced by the MPI cli mate model, which is an atmospheric model ECHAM5 （which fuses the EC tbr European Center and HAM for Hamburg） coupled to an MPI ocean model （MPI-OM）, ECHAMS/MPI-OM.     

Pacific variability under present-day and Middle Miocene boundary conditions

We use the coupled climate model MPI-ESM to show that for higher CO₂ levels the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) merge into a single mode of Pacific variability, regardless of present-day or Middle Miocene (~15 Ma) topographic boundary conditions. Hence, topographic differences—determining the landscape of past climates—play a smaller role for Pacific variability than previously thought. We attribute the single variability mode to resonance between these two oscillation patterns. In order to estimate the strength of the resonance we compute the spectral power of the ENSO and PDO time series and their coherence. We find that for both Middle Miocene and present-day topographic conditions, higher CO₂ forcing leads to stronger resonance between ENSO and PDO. Our results show that (1) stronger CO₂ forcing enhances Pacific variability resulting in stronger “atmospheric bridge” and that (2) past climates are likely to exhibit Pacific variability corresponding either to ENSO, PDO, or our proposed single mode.     

The extratropical sensitivity to the meridional extent of tropical ENSO forcing

The extratropical response to tropical remote forcing has been examined with so-called tropical ocean-global atmosphere experiments, which use prescribed sea surface temperature (SST) in the tropical Pacific and a slab mixed-layer ocean model elsewhere. In this study we have revisited this experimental design and found that the extratropical response is quite sensitive to the meridional extent of tropical prescribed SST domain. Even in the case of a prescribed annual cycle only (i.e., no ENSO), the differences in the prescribed SST regions lead to different atmospheric motions in the adjacent extratropics. When the tropical forcing includes ENSO, the sensitivity to the meridional domain is more prominent, especially during La Niña events. In La Niña, the prescribed SST is warmer than the simulated SST in the northern subtropics, and the warmer SST differences continue to 30°N. This broad SST differences accompany enhanced atmospheric meridional circulation that directly connects the tropics and extratropics within the Pacific basin. Moreover, the Rossby wave excitation also increases, so the effect of prescribed region difference is felt beyond the Pacific basin. On the other hand, the effect of ENSO sea surface temperature anomalie (i.e., ENSO experiment composite minus control experiment annual cycle, both of which have the same prescribed SST domain) is stronger in the broad tropical forcing experiment. However, the ENSO anomaly composite from own annual cycle is similar regardless of the meridional extent of forcing region, and commonly mimics the Northern Hemisphere El Niño composite of nature in the boreal winter season.     

The Dynamics of ENSO Anomaly as Revealed in Ensemble Climate Simulations-Impact of Mean Stationary Wave

A series of climate ensemble experiments using the climate model from National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) were performed to exam impact of sea surface temperature (SST) on dynamics of El-Nino/South-crn Oscillation (ENSO).A specific question addressed in this paper is how important the mean stationary wave influences anomalous Rossby wave trains or teleconnection patterns as often observed during ENSO events.Evidences from those ensemble simulations argue that ENSO anomalies,especially over Pacific-North America (PNA) region,appear to be a result of modification for climatological mean stationary wave forced by persistent tropical SST anomalies Therefore,the role of SST forcing in maintaining climate basic state is emphasized.In this argument,the interaction between atmospheric internal dynamics and external forcing,such as SST is a key element to understand and ultimately predict ENSO.     

A Hybrid Coupled Model for the Pacific Ocean–Atmosphere System.Part I: Description and Basic Performance

A hybrid coupled model(HCM) is constructed for El Nino–Southern Oscillation(ENSO)-related modeling studies over almost the entire Pacific basin. An ocean general circulation model is coupled to a statistical atmospheric model for interannual wind stress anomalies to represent their dominant coupling with sea surface temperatures. In addition, various relevant forcing and feedback processes exist in the region and can affect ENSO in a significant way; their effects are simply represented using historical data and are incorporated into the HCM, including stochastic forcing of atmospheric winds, and feedbacks associated with freshwater flux, ocean biology-induced heating(OBH), and tropical instability waves(TIWs). In addition to its computational efficiency, the advantages of making use of such an HCM enable these related forcing and feedback processes to be represented individually or collectively, allowing their modulating effects on ENSO to be examined in a clean and clear way. In this paper, examples are given to illustrate the ability of the HCM to depict the mean ocean state, the circulation pathways connecting the subtropics and tropics in the western Pacific, and interannual variability associated with ENSO. As satellite data are taken to parameterize processes that are not explicitly represented in the HCM, this work also demonstrates an innovative method of using remotely sensed data for climate modeling. Further model applications related with ENSO modulations by extratropical influences and by various forcings and feedbacks will be presented in Part II of this study.     

Assessment of Dust Aerosol Optical Depth and Shortwave Radiative Forcing over the Northwest Pacific Ocean in Spring Based on Satellite Observations

Dust aerosol optical depth （AOD） and its accompanying shortwave radiative forcing （RF） are usually simulated by numerical models. Here, by using 9 months of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer （MODIS） aerosol product data in combination with Clouds and the Earth＇s Radiant Energy System Single Scanner Footprint （CERES/SSF） data, dust AOD and its shortwave RF were estimated over the cloud-free northwest （NW） Pacific Ocean in the springs of 2004, 2005, and 2006. The results showed that in this region, the mean dust AOD and its shortwave RF were 0.10 and -5.51 W m^-2, respectively. In order to validate the dust AOD derived by MODIS, results from the Goddard Global Ozone Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport （GOCART） model were also used here. The correlation coefficient between the monthly averaged dust AOD derived by MODIS measurements and the model simulation results was approximately 0.53. Since the estimates of the dust AOD and its shortwave RF obtained in this study are based mainly on satellite data, they offer a good reference for numerical models.     

ENSO与北半球冬季大气环流异常年代际关系的数值模拟

利用NCAR/CCM3大气环流模式,模拟不同海温背景场强迫下,北半球冬季大气环流对ENSO事件的响应。结果表明,模式能够模拟出不同海温背景场下,北半球冬季大气环流对ENSO事件的不同响应,模拟结果与诊断结果基本一致。在20世纪70年代末之后的平均海温背景场强迫下,El Nio对阿留申低压的加强作用比70年代末之前更明显,而ENSO暖位相对蒙古高压的作用则由70年代末之前的轻微减弱变为明显加强。虽然70年代末以后ENSO事件的强度比70年代末之前有所增大,但ENSO对东亚大槽和东亚冬季风的减弱作用反而不再那么明显;同时在高空风场中,由ENSO激发出的PNA型异常环流在70年代末以后明显加强。     

Analysis of Nonstationary Wind Fluctuations Using the Hilbert-Huang Transform

Climatological patterns in wind fluctuations on time scales of 1-10 h are analyzed at a meteorological mast at the Yangmeishan wind farm, Yunnan Province, China, using a 2-yr time series of 10-min wind speed ob- servations. For analyzing the spectral properties of non- stationary wind fluctuations in mountain terrain, the Hil- bert-Huang transform （HHT） is applied to investigate climatological patterns between wind variability and sev- eral variables including time of year, time of day, wind direction, and pressure tendency. Compared with that for offshore sites, the wind variability at Yangmeishan wind farm has a more distinct diurnal cycle, but the seasonal discrepancies and the differences according to directions are not distinct, and the synoptic influences on wind vari- ability are weaker. There is enhanced variability in spring and winter compared with summer and autumn. For flow from the main direction sector, the maximum wind vari- ability is observed in spring. And the severe wind fluctua- tions are more common when the pressure tendency is rising.     

Impacts of shortwave radiation forcing on ENSO: a study with a coupled tropical ocean-atmosphere model

 We describe a coupled tropical ocean-atmosphere model that represents a new class of models that fill the gap between anomaly coupled models and fully coupled general circulation models. Both the atmosphere and ocean are described by two and half layer primitive equation models, which emphasize the physical processes in the oceanic mixed layer and atmospheric boundary layer. Ocean and atmosphere are coupled through both momentum and heat flux exchanges without explicit flux correction. The coupled model, driven by solar radiation, reproduces a realistic annual cycle and El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In the presence of annual mean shortwave radiation forcing, the model exhibits an intrinsic mode of ENSO. The oscillation period depends on the mean forcing that determines the coupled mean state. A perpetual April (October) mean forcing prolongs (shortens) the oscillation period through weakening (enhancing) the mean upwelling and mean vertical temperature gradients. The annual cycle of the solar forcing is shown to have fundamental impacts on the behavior of ENSO cycles through establishing a coupled annual cycle that interacts with the ENSO mode. Due to the annual cycle solar forcing, the single spectral peak of the intrinsic ENSO mode becomes a double peak with a quasi-biennial and a low-frequency (4–5 years) component; the evolution of ENSO becomes phase-locked to the annual cycle; and the amplitude and frequency of ENSO become variable on an interdecadal time scale due to interactions of the mean state and the two ENSO components. The western Pacific monsoon (the annual shortwave radiation forcing in the western Pacific) is primarily responsible for the generation of the two ENSO components. The annual march of the eastern Pacific ITCZ tends to lock ENSO phases to the annual cycle. The model's deficiencies, limitations, and future work are also discussed. Received: 15 June 1999 / Accepted: 11 December 1999     

The Soil Moisture and Net Primary Production Affected by CO_2 and Climate Change Using a Coupled Model

In this paper, a coupled model was used to estimate the responses of soil moisture and net primary production of vegetation （NPP） to increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration and climate change. The analysis uses three experiments simulated by the second-generation Earth System Model （CanESM2） of the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis （CCCma）, which are part of the phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project （CMIP5）. The authors focus on the magnitude and evolution of responses in soil moisture and NPP using simulations modeled by CanESM, in which the individual effects of increasing CO2 concentration and climate change and their combined effect are separately accounted for. When considering only the single effect of climate change, the soil moisture and NPP have a linear trend of 0.03 kg m^-2 yr^-1 and-0.14 gC m^- 2 yr^-2, respec- tively. However, such a reduction in the global NPP results from the decrease of NPP at lower latitudes and in the Southern Hemisphere, although increased NPP has been shown in high northern latitudes. The largest negative trend is located in the Amazon basin at -1.79 gC m^-2 yr^-2. For the individual effect of increasing CO2 concentration, both soil moisture and NPP show increases, with an elevated linear trend of 0.02 kg m^-2 yr^-1 and 0.84 gC m^-2 yr^-2, respectively. Most regions show an increasing NPP, except Alaska. For the combined effect of increasing atmospheric CO2 and climate change, the increased soil moisture and NPP exhibit a linear trend of 0.04 kg m^2 yr^-1 and 0.83 gC m^2 yr^-2 at a global scale. In the Amazon basin, the higher reduction in soil moisture is illustrated by the model, with a linear trend of-0.39 kg m^-2 yr^-1, for the combined effect. Such a change in soil moisture is caused by a weakened Walker circulation simulated by this coupled model, compared with the single effect of increasing CO2 concentration （experiment M2）, and a consequence of the reduction in NPP is also shown in this area, with a linear trend of-     

The role of ocean dynamics in producing decadal climate variability in the North Pacific

 Decadal time scale climate variability in the North Pacific has implications for climate both locally and over North America. A crucial question is the degree to which this variability arises from coupled ocean/atmosphere interactions over the North Pacific that involve ocean dynamics, as opposed to either purely thermodynamic effects of the oceanic mixed layer integrating in situ the stochastic atmospheric forcing, or the teleconnected response to tropical variability. The part of the variability that is coming from local coupled ocean/atmosphere interactions involving ocean dynamics is potentially predictable by an ocean/atmosphere general circulation model (O/A GCM), and such predictions could (depending on the achievable lead time) have distinct societal benefits. This question is examined using the results of fully coupled O/A GCMs, as well as targeted numerical experiments with stand-alone ocean and atmosphere models individually. It is found that coupled ocean/atmosphere interactions that involve ocean dynamics are important to determining the strength and frequency of a decadal-time scale peak in the spectra of several oceanic variables in the Kuroshio extension region off Japan. Local stochastic atmospheric heat flux forcing, integrated by the oceanic mixed layer into a red spectrum, provides a noise background from which the signal must be extracted. Although teleconnected ENSO responses influence the North Pacific in the 2–7 years/cycle frequency band, it is shown that some decadal-time scale processes in the North Pacific proceed without ENSO. Likewise, although the effects of stochastic atmospheric forcing on ocean dynamics are discernible, a feedback path from the ocean to the atmosphere is suggested by the results. Received: 23 January 2000 / Accepted: 10 January 2001     

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.     

Summer Asian-Pacific Oscillation and Its Relationship with Atmospheric Circulation and Monsoon Rainfall

Using the ERA-40 data and numerical simulations, this study investigated the teleconnection over the extratropical Asian-Pacific region and its relationship with the Asian monsoon rainfall and the climatological characteristics of tropical cyclones over the western North Pacific, and analyzed impacts of the Tibetan Plateau （TP） heating and Pacific sea surface temperature （SST） on the teleconnection. The Asian-Pacific oscillation （APO） is defined as a zonal seesaw of the tropospheric temperature in the midlatitudes of the Asian-Pacific region. When the troposphere is cooling in the midlatitudes of the Asian continent, it is warming in the midlatitudes of the central and eastern North Pacific; and vice versa. The APO also appears in the stratosphere, but with a reversed phase. Used as an index of the thermal contrast between Asia and the North Pacific, it provides a new way to explore interactions between the Asian and Pacific atmospheric circulations. The APO index exhibits the interannual and interdecadal variability. It shows a downward trend during 1958-2001, indicating a weakening of the thermal contrast, and shows a 5.5-yr oscillation period. The formation of the APO is associated with the zonal vertical circulation caused by a difference in the solar radiative heating between the Asian continent and the North Pacific. The numerical simulations further reveal that the summer TP heating enhances the local tropospheric temperature and upward motion, and then strengthens downward motion and decreases the tropospheric temperature over the central and eastern North Pacific. This leads to the formation of the APO. The Pacific decadal oscillation and El Nino/La Nina over the tropical eastern Pacific do not exert strong influences on the APO. When there is an anomaly in the summer APO, the South Asian high, the westerly jet over Eurasia, the tropical easterly jet over South Asia, and the subtropical high over the North Pacific change significantly, with anomalous Asian monsoon rainfall and tropical cyclon     

AAS has been accepted for Coverage by the Science Citation Index in 2009

In May 2008, ScienceWatch.com named Advances in Atmospheric Sciences a Rising Star among Geosciences journals. According to Essential Science IndicatorsSM from Thomson Reuters, the journal＇s cur-rent citation record includes 764 papers cited a total of 1,658 times between January 1, 1998 and February 29 2008.     

Does sea surface temperature outside the tropical Pacific contribute to enhanced ENSO predictability?

In this paper we seek to identify inter-annual sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) patterns outside the tropical Pacific that may influence El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) through atmospheric teleconnections. We assume that a linear ENSO hindcast based on tropical Pacific warm water volume and Niño3.4 SSTA indices captures tropical Pacific intrinsic predictability inherent to recharge oscillator dynamics. This simple hindcast model displays statistically significant skill at the 95 % confidence level at leads of up to seven seasons ahead of the ENSO peak. Our results reveal that ENSO-independent equatorial wind stress anomalies only significantly improve the skill of that linear hindcast at the 95 % level in boreal spring and summer before the ENSO peak and in boreal fall, five seasons ahead of the ENSO peak. At those seasons, the robust large-scale SST patterns that provide a statistically significant enhancement of ENSO predictability are related to the Atlantic meridional mode and south Pacific subtropical dipole mode in spring, the Indian Ocean Dipole and the south Atlantic subtropical dipole mode in fall. While the first two regions display significant simultaneous correlations with western equatorial Pacific wind stress in three reanalyses (ERA-I, NCEP and NCEP2), the Indian Ocean Dipole and south Atlantic subtropical dipole mode correlation with Pacific winds is less robust amongst re-analyses. We discuss our results in view of other studies that suggest a remote influence of various regions on ENSO. Although modest, the sensitivity of our results to the dataset and to details of the analysis method illustrates that finding regions that influence ENSO from the statistical analysis of observations is a difficult task.     

Indian Ocean variability in the CMIP5 multi-model ensemble: the zonal dipole mode

The performance of 21 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models in the simulation of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) mode is evaluated. Compared to CMIP3, CMIP5 models exhibit a similar spread in IOD intensity. A detailed diagnosis was carried out to understand whether CMIP5 models have shown improvement in their representation of the important dynamical and thermodynamical feedbacks in the tropical Indian Ocean. These include the Bjerknes dynamic air-sea feedback, which includes the equatorial zonal wind response to sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly, the thermocline response to equatorial zonal wind forcing, the ocean subsurface temperature response to the thermocline variations, and the thermodynamic air-sea coupling that includes the wind-evaporation-SST and cloud-radiation-SST feedback. Compared to CMIP3, the CMIP5 ensemble produces a more realistic positive wind-evaporation-SST feedback during the IOD developing phase, while the simulation of Bjerknes dynamic feedback is more unrealistic especially with regard to the wind response to SST forcing and the thermocline response to surface wind forcing. The overall CMIP5 performance in the IOD simulation does not show remarkable improvements compared to CMIP3. It is further noted that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and IOD amplitudes are closely related, if a model generates a strong ENSO, it is likely that this model also simulates a strong IOD.     

一种预测西北太平洋热带气旋逐月演变的新统计模型

本文提出一种月尺度西北太平洋热带气旋生成频数(Western North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Frequency, WNPTCF)预测的新方法。该方法利用全球次表层海温(Subsurface Sea Temperature Anomaly, SubSSTA)和中国气象局国家气候中心发布的130项监测指数,构建了既考虑热力强迫因子、又考虑大气动力因子,既考虑同期海洋强迫,又考虑前期海洋和大气影响的集成预测模型。利用该预测模型对2011—2020年6—10月逐月WNPTCF进行独立样本检验预测,准确率达70%以上,说明该预测模型对WNPTCF的逐月演变预测的效果良好。该预测模型对ENSO信号较强年份的WNPTCF预测效果要好于ENSO信号不强的年份,原因在于在ENSO信号不强的年份,SubSSTA可预报性较低,非线性变率大,海洋对WNPTC的强迫作用弱。     

Response Process of Oceanto AtmosphericForcing and Optimal Response Frequency in the CZ Ocean Model

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