Respective influences of IOD and ENSO on the Tibetan snow cover in early winter

Using reanalysis data and snow cover data derived from satellite observations, respective influences of Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the Tibetan snow cover in early winter are investigated. It is found that the snow cover shows a significant positive partial correlation with IOD. In the pure positive IOD years with no co-occurrences of El Niño, negative geopotential height anomalies north of India are associated with warm and humid southwesterlies to enter the plateau from the Bay of Bengal after rounding cyclonically and supply more moisture. This leads to more precipitation, more snow cover, and resultant lower surface temperature over the plateau. These negative geopotential height anomalies north of India are related to the equivalent barotropic stationary Rossby waves in the South Asian wave guide. The waves can be generated by the IOD-related convection anomalies over the western/central Indian Ocean. In contrast, in the pure El Niño years with no co-occurrences of the positive IOD, the anomalies of moisture supply and surface temperature over the plateau are insignificant, suggesting negligible influences of ENSO on the early winter Tibetan snow cover. Further analyses show that ENSO is irrelevant to the spring/early summer Tibetan snow cover either, whereas the IOD-induced snow cover anomalies can persist long from the early winter to the subsequent early summer.     

Interannual variability of the Guinea Dome and its possible link with the Atlantic Meridional Mode

Using a high-resolution ocean general circulation model forced by NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data, the interannual variability of the Guinea Dome is studied from a new viewpoint of its possible link with the Atlantic Meridional Mode (AMM), which is related to the meridional migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The dome develops off Dakar seasonally from late spring to late fall owing to the wind-induced Ekman upwelling; its seasonal evolution is associated with the northward migration of the ITCZ. When the ITCZ is located anomalously northward (southward) from late spring to early summer, as a result of the wind-evaporation-sea surface temperature (SST) positive feedback with positive (negative) SST anomaly over the Northern Hemisphere, the dome becomes unusually strong (weak) in fall as a result of stronger (weaker) Ekman upwelling. This may contribute to the decay of the AMM. Thus, the coupled nature between the AMM and the Guinea Dome could be important in understanding, modeling, and predicting the tropical Atlantic variability.     

Tropical Indian Ocean variability revealed by self-organizing maps

The tropical Indian Ocean climate variability is investigated using an artificial neural network analysis called self-organizing map (SOM) for both observational data and coupled model outputs. The SOM successfully captures the dipole sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) pattern associated with the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and basin-wide warming/cooling associated with ENSO. The dipole SSTA pattern appears only in boreal summer and fall, whereas the basin-wide warming/cooling appears mostly in boreal winter and spring owing to the phase-locking nature of these phenomena. Their occurrence also undergoes significant decadal variation. Composite diagrams constructed for nodes in the SOM array based on the simulated SSTA reveal interesting features. For the nodes with the basin-wide warming, a strong positive SSTA in the eastern equatorial Pacific, a negative Southern Oscillation, and a negative precipitation anomaly in East Africa are found. The nodes with the positive IOD are associated with a weak positive SSTA in the central equatorial Pacific or positive SSTA in the eastern equatorial Pacific, a positive (negative) sea level pressure anomaly in the eastern (western) tropical Indian Ocean, and a positive precipitation anomaly over East Africa. The warming in the central equatorial Pacific appears to correspond to El Niño Modoki discussed recently. These results suggest usefulness of SOM in studying large-scale ocean–atmosphere coupled phenomena.     

IOD influence on the early winter tibetan plateau snow cover: diagnostic analyses and an AGCM simulation

Using diagnostic analyses and an AGCM simulation, the detailed mechanism of Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) influence on the early winter Tibetan Plateau snow cover (EWTPSC) is clarified. In early winter of pure positive IOD years with no co-occurrence of El Ni?o, the anomalous dipole diabatic heating over the tropical Indian Ocean excites the baroclinic response in the tropics. Since both baroclinic and barotropic components of the basic zonal wind over the Arabian Peninsula increase dramatically in early winter due to the equatorward retreat of the westerly jet, the baroclinic mode excites the barotropic Rossby wave that propagates northeastward and induces a barotropic cyclonic anomaly north of India. This enables the moisture transport cyclonically from the northern Indian Ocean toward the Tibetan Plateau. The convergence of moisture over the plateau explains the positive influence of IOD on the EWTPSC. In contrast, the basic zonal wind over the Arabian Peninsula is weak in autumn. This is not favorable for excitation of the barotropic Rossby wave and teleconnection, even though the IOD-related diabatic heating anomaly in autumn similar to that in early winter exists. This result explains the insignificant (significant positive) partial correlation between IOD and the autumn (early winter) Tibetan Plateau snow cover after excluding the influence of ENSO. The sensitivity experiment forced by the IOD-related SST anomaly within the tropical Indian Ocean well reproduces the baroclinic response in the tropics, the teleconnection from the Arabian Peninsula, and the increased moisture supply to the Tibetan Plateau. Also, the seasonality of the atmospheric response to the IOD is simulated.     

Impacts of recent El Niño Modoki on dry/wet conditions in the Pacific rim during boreal summer

Present work uses 1979–2005 monthly observational data to study the impacts of El Niño Modoki on dry/wet conditions in the Pacific rim during boreal summer. The El Niño Modoki phenomenon is characterized by the anomalously warm central equatorial Pacific flanked by anomalously cool regions in both west and east. Such zonal SST gradients result in anomalous two-cell Walker Circulation over the tropical Pacific, with a wet region in the central Pacific. There are two mid-tropospheric wave trains passing over the extratropical and subtropical North Pacific. They contain a positive phase of a Pacific-Japan pattern in the northwestern Pacific, and a positive phase of a summertime Pacific-North American pattern in the northeastern Pacific/North America region. The western North Pacific summer monsoon is enhanced, while the East Asian summer monsoon is weakened. In the South Pacific, there is a basin-wide low in the mid-latitude with enhanced Australian high and the eastern South Pacific subtropical high. Such an atmospheric circulation pattern favors a dry rim surrounding the wet central tropical Pacific. The El Niño Modoki and its climate impacts are very different from those of El Niño. Possible geographical regions for dry/wet conditions influenced by El Niño Modoki and El Niño are compared. The two phenomena also have very different temporal features. El Niño Modoki has a large decadal background while El Niño is predominated by interannual variability. Mixing-up the two different phenomena may increase the difficulty in understanding their mechanisms, climate impacts, and uncertainty in their predictions.     

Theoretical study on waves in planetary fluids

This article reviews the author's study on waves in planetary fluids for which the Okada Prize of the Oceanographical Society of Japan was awarded in 1981. The contents of the review are i) some connections of planetary waves with the large-scale ocean circulation, ii) stability of planetary waves, iii) the relationship between mean currents and planetary waves, iv) the influence of topography on the mean current, v) a simple relationship between wave dissipation and viscous boundary layers and vi) some ageostrophic effects on large-scale phenomena. Studies now in progress and related suggestions are also described and discussed in the article     

On trajectories of Rossby wave-packets released in a lateral shear flow

The problem of reflexion and critical level absorption of barotropic non-divergent Rossby waves in a lateral shear flow is considered with a ray tracing method. The results are compared with those of a normal mode approach. Some oceanographical applications are suggested.     

A note on boundary layers and wakes in rotating fluids

The flow induced by the two-dimensional line vortex moving in a rotating fluid is discussed. The governing vorticity equation is linearized adopting the Oseen approximation.First, the problem is considered on a constantf-plane. The solution shows that the Stewartson E^1/4 layer is transformed into the Oseen wake as the role of the advection becomes important.Second, the problem is considered on a-plane. When the line vortex moves westward, the solution shows a pattern of Rossby lee waves decaying downstream of the vortex and alternating flows far upstream. When the line vortex moves eastward, the inviscid solution shows definite alternating jets downstream. In a viscous case, however, the jets become less definite and identical with the above mentioned alternating flows in the far field. Far upstream, there are no disturbances because of the special propagation characteristics of Rossby waves.     

Anomalous winter climate conditions in the Pacific rim during recent El Niño Modoki and El Niño events

Present work compares impacts of El Niño Modoki and El Niño on anomalous climate in the Pacific rim during boreal winters of 1979–2005. El Niño Modoki (El Niño) is associated with tripole (dipole) patterns in anomalies of sea-surface temperature, precipitation, and upper-level divergent wind in the tropical Pacific, which are related to multiple “boomerangs” of ocean-atmosphere conditions in the Pacific. Zonal and meridional extents of those “boomerangs” reflect their independent influences, which are seen from lower latitudes in the west to higher latitudes in the east. In the central Pacific, more moisture is transported from the tropics to higher latitudes during El Niño Modoki owing to displacement of the wet “boomerang” arms more poleward toward east. Discontinuities at outer “boomerang” arms manifest intense interactions between tropical and subtropical/extratropical systems. The Pacific/North American pattern and related climate anomalies in North America found in earlier studies are modified in very different ways by the two phenomena. The seesaw with the dry north and the wet south in the western USA is more likely to occur during El Niño Modoki, while much of the western USA is wet during El Niño. The moisture to the southwestern USA is transported from the northward shifted ITCZ during El Niño Modoki, while it is carried by the storms traveling along the southerly shifted polar front jet during El Niño. The East Asian winter monsoon related anticyclone is over the South China Sea during El Niño Modoki as compared to its position over the Philippine Sea during El Niño, causing opposite precipitation anomalies in the southern East Asia between the two phenomena.     

The Indian Ocean subtropical dipole mode simulated in the CMIP3 models

Using observation data and outputs from the “twentieth-century climate in coupled models” (20c3m) control runs of coupled general circulation models submitted to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, phase 3 (CMIP3), the ability of CMIP3 models to simulate the Indian Ocean subtropical dipole (IOSD) and its influence on the rainfall anomaly over the southern African region is investigated. Many models simulate the IOSD, but the location and shape of the sea surface temperature anomaly vary among models. This model bias is closely linked to the bias in simulating the anomalous strengthening and southward shift of the subtropical high. Almost all models fail to simulate the rainfall anomaly associated with the IOSD owing to the inaccurate simulation of the location of sea surface temperature and sea level pressure anomalies.