THE DECADAL CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND THE ANOMALOUS ENSO DEVELOPMENTS IN 1990S

By using the wavelet transform method,the ENSO(2—7 a)signal and the decadal variability(8—20 a)are filtered out from the long-term SST data sets in order to investigate characteristicsof the decadal variability and its impact on the ENSO.It is found that there are two different kindsof decadal SSTA modes-horseshoe and horse saddle patterns in the tropical Pacific.Thehorseshoe pattern represents that the decadal SSTA variability in the central Pacific is in phasewith that in the eastern Pacific.The horse saddle pattern is named that they are out of phase.Theformer constituted the decadal variability before 1990s and the latter mainly prevailed during1990s.As the response of atmosphere to the ocean,two decadal wind patterns appear inassociation with the SST decadal modes.One is characterized by anomalous development of thezonal wind,the other by anomalous development of the meridional wind.These two kinds ofmodes can also be regarded as different phases of the decadal oscillation.Further studies haveshown that the influences of the two kinds of modes on the ENSO are different.The horse saddlemode has a stronger impact on the ENSO than the horseshoe mode.A possible mechanism for the influence of the decadal variability on the ENSO signal ispresented.The central part of the thermocline along the equatorial Pacific moves up or downsimultaneously with its eastern part while the decadal variability bears the horseshoe pattern.Butthe two segments of the thermocline in the central and eastern Pacific act oppositely while thedecadal variability shows the horse saddle pattern.In this case it has an-influence on the individualENSO'events by the superposition of the decadal variability.

THE DECADAL CLIMATE VARIABILITY AND THE ANOMALOUS ENSO DEVELOPMENTS IN 1990S