On the predictability of decadal changes in the North Pacific |
| |
Authors: | S Venzke M Münnich M Latif |
| |
Institution: | Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie, Bundesstra?e 55, 20146 Hamburg, Germany E-mail: latif@dkrz.de, DE
|
| |
Abstract: | The predictability of decadal changes in the North Pacific is investigated with an ocean general circulation model forced
by simplified and realistic atmospheric conditions. First, the model is forced by a spatially fixed wind stress anomaly pattern
characteristic for decadal North Pacific climate variations. The time evolution of the wind stress anomaly is chosen to be
sinusoidal, with a period of 20 years. In this experiment different physical processes are found to be important for the decadal
variations: baroclinic Rossby waves dominate the response. They move westward and lead to an adjustment of the subtropical
and subpolar gyre circulations in such a way that anomalous temperatures in the central North Pacific develop as a delayed
response to the preceding wind stress anomalies. This delayed response provides not only a negative feedback but also bears
the potential for long-term predictions of upper ocean temperature changes in the central North Pacific. It is shown by additional
experiments that once these Rossby waves have been excited, decadal changes of the upper ocean temperatures in the central
North Pacific evolve without any further anomalous atmospheric forcing. In the second part, the model is forced by surface
heat flux and wind stress observations for the period 1949–1993. It is shown that the same physical processes which were found
to be important in the simplified experiments also govern the evolution of the upper ocean in this more realistic simulation.
The 1976/77 cooling can be mainly attributed to anomalously strong horizontal advection due to the delayed response to persistent
wind stress curl anomalies in the early 1970s rather than local anomalous atmospheric forcing. This decadal change could have
been predicted some years in advance. The subsequent warming in the late 1980s, however, cannot be mainly explained by advection.
In this case, local anomalous atmospheric forcing needs to be considered.
Received: 6 July 1998 / Accepted: 16 October 1999 |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|