Role of the Indian Ocean sea surface temperature in shaping the natural variability in the flow of Nile River

A significant fraction of the inter-annual variability in the Nile River flow is shaped by El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Here, we investigate a similar role for the Indian Ocean (IO) sea surface temperature (SST) in shaping the inter-annual variability of the Nile River flow. Using observations of global SST distribution and river flow in addition to atmospheric general circulation model sensitivity experiments, we show that North and Middle IO SSTs play a significant intermediate role in the teleconnection between ENSO and the Nile flow. Applying partial coherency analyses, we demonstrate that the connection between North and Middle IO SSTs and Nile flow is strongly coupled to ENSO. During El Niño events, SST in the North and Middle IO increases in response to the warming in the Tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean and forces a Gill-type circulation with enhanced westerly low-level flow over East Africa and the Western IO. This anomalous low-level flow enhances the low-level flux of air and moisture away from the Upper Blue Nile (UBN) basin resulting in reduction of rainfall and river flow. SSTs in the South IO also play a significant role in shaping the variability of the Nile flow that is independent from ENSO. A warming over the South IO, generates a cyclonic flow in the boundary layer, which reduces the cross-equatorial meridional transport of air and moisture towards the UBN basin, favoring a reduction in rainfall and river flow. This independence between the roles of ENSO and South IO SSTs allows for development of new combined indices of SSTs to explain the inter-annual variability of the Nile flow. The proposed teleconnections have important implications regarding mechanisms that shape the regional impacts of climate change over the Nile basin.     

Influences of spring-to-summer sea surface temperatures over different Indian Ocean domains on the Asian summer monsoon

The influences of spring-to-summer sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in different domains of the Indian Ocean (IO) on the Asian summer monsoon are investigated by conducting a series of numerical experiments using the NCAR CAM4 model. It is found that, to a certain extent, the springtime IO SST anomalies can persist to the summer season. The spring-to-summer IO SST anomalies associated with the IO basin warming mode are strongly linked to the summer climate over Asia, especially the South Asian monsoon (SAM) and the East Asian monsoon. Among this connection, the warming of tropical IO plays the most critical role, and the warming of southern IO is important for monsoon variation and prediction prior to the full development of the monsoon. The atmospheric response to IO basin wide warming is similar with that to tropical IO warming. The influence of northern IO warming on the SAM, however, is opposite to the effect of southern IO warming. Meanwhile, the discrepancies between the results from idealized SST forcing simulations and observations, especially for the southern IO, reveal that the dominant role of air-sea interaction in the monsoon-IO coupled system cannot be ignored. Moreover, the springtime northern IO warming seems to favor an early onset or a stronger persistence of the SAM.     

Indian Ocean sea surface salinity variations in a coupled model

The variability of the sea surface salinity (SSS) in the Indian Ocean is studied using a 100-year control simulation of the Community Climate System Model (CCSM 2.0). The monsoon-driven seasonal SSS pattern in the Indian Ocean, marked by low salinity in the east and high salinity in the west, is captured by the model. The model overestimates runoff into the Bay of Bengal due to higher rainfall over the Himalayan–Tibetan regions which drain into the Bay of Bengal through Ganga–Brahmaputra rivers. The outflow of low-salinity water from the Bay of Bengal is too strong in the model. Consequently, the model Indian Ocean SSS is about 1 less than that seen in the climatology. The seasonal Indian Ocean salt balance obtained from the model is consistent with the analysis from climatological data sets. During summer, the large freshwater input into the Bay of Bengal and its redistribution decide the spatial pattern of salinity tendency. During winter, horizontal advection is the dominant contributor to the tendency term. The interannual variability of the SSS in the Indian Ocean is about five times larger than that in coupled model simulations of the North Atlantic Ocean. Regions of large interannual standard deviations are located near river mouths in the Bay of Bengal and in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean. Both freshwater input into the ocean and advection of this anomalous flux are responsible for the generation of these anomalies. The model simulates 20 significant Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) events and during IOD years large salinity anomalies appear in the equatorial Indian Ocean. The anomalies exist as two zonal bands: negative salinity anomalies to the north of the equator and positive to the south. The SSS anomalies for the years in which IOD is not present and for ENSO years are much weaker than during IOD years. Significant interannual SSS anomalies appear in the Indian Ocean only during IOD years.     

Impact of southeast Indian Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies on monsoon-ENSO-dipole variability in a coupled ocean–atmosphere model

Recent studies show that SouthEast Indian Ocean (SEIO) SSTs are a highly significant precursor of transitions of the whole monsoon-El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system during recent decades. However, the reasons for this specific interannual variability have not yet been identified unequivocally from the observations. Among these, the possibility of SEIO SST-driven variability in the monsoon-ENSO system is investigated here by inserting positive/negative SEIO temperature anomalies in the February’s restart files of a state-of-the-art coupled General Circulation Model (GCM) for 49 years of a control simulation. For each year of the control simulation, the model was then integrated for a 1-year period in fully coupled mode. These experiments show that Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) and tropical Indian Ocean Dipole Mode (IODM) events are significantly influenced by the SEIO temperature perturbations inserted in the mixed layer of the coupled GCM several months before. A warm SEIO perturbation, inserted in late boreal winter, slowly propagates northward during the following seasons, implies enhanced ISM rainfall and finally triggers a negative IODM pattern during boreal fall in agreement with observations. A reversed evolution is simulated for a cold SEIO perturbation. It is shown that the life cycle of the simulated SEIO signal is driven by the positive wind-evaporation-SST, coastal upwelling and wind-thermocline-SST feedbacks. Further diagnosis of the sensitivity experiments suggests that stronger ISM and IODM variabilities are generated by excluding the El Niño years of the control simulation or when the initial background state in the SEIO is warmer. This finding confirms that IODM events may be triggered by multiple factors, other than ENSO, including subtropical SEIO SST anomalies. However, the ENSO mode does not react significantly to the SEIO temperature perturbation in the perturbed runs even though the simulated Pacific pattern agrees with the observations during boreal fall. These discrepancies with the observations may be linked to model biases in the Pacific and to the too strong ENSO simulated by this coupled GCM. These modeling evidences confirm that subtropical Indian Ocean SST anomalies generated by Mascarene high pulses during austral summer are a significant precursor of both ISM and IODM events occuring several months later.     

Recent summer precipitation trends in the Greater Horn of Africa and the emerging role of Indian Ocean sea surface temperature

We utilize a variety of climate datasets to examine impacts of two mechanisms on precipitation in the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) during northern-hemisphere summer. First, surface-pressure gradients draw moist air toward the GHA from the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Congo Basin. Variability of the strength of these gradients strongly influences GHA precipitation totals and accounts for important phenomena such as the 1960s–1980s rainfall decline and devastating 1984 drought. Following the 1980s, precipitation variability became increasingly influenced by the southern tropical Indian Ocean (STIO) region. Within this region, increases in sea-surface temperature, evaporation, and precipitation are linked with increased exports of dry mid-tropospheric air from the STIO region toward the GHA. Convergence of dry air above the GHA reduces local convection and precipitation. It also produces a clockwise circulation response near the ground that reduces moisture transports from the Congo Basin. Because precipitation originating in the Congo Basin has a unique isotopic signature, records of moisture transports from the Congo Basin may be preserved in the isotopic composition of annual tree rings in the Ethiopian Highlands. A negative trend in tree-ring oxygen-18 during the past half century suggests a decline in the proportion of precipitation originating from the Congo Basin. This trend may not be part of a natural cycle that will soon rebound because climate models characterize Indian Ocean warming as a principal signature of greenhouse-gas induced climate change. We therefore expect surface warming in the STIO region to continue to negatively impact GHA precipitation during northern-hemisphere summer.     

Predictability of Indian Ocean sea surface temperature using canonical correlation analysis

There is strong evidence that Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures (SSTs) influence the climate variability of Southern Asia and Africa; hence, accurate prediction of these SSTs is a high priority. In this study, we use canonical correlation analysis (CCA) to design empirical models to assess the predictability of tropical Indian Ocean SST from sea level pressure (SLP) and SST themselves with lead-times up to one year. One model uses the first twelve empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) of SLP over the Indian Ocean using different lead-times to predict SST. A CCA model with EOFs of SST as the predictor at the same lead-times is compared to SLP as a predictor and shows the auto-correlation of the system. A CCA using the first five extended empirical orthogonal functions (EEOFs) of sea level pressure over the Indian Ocean basin for an interval of two years combined with SST EOFs as predictors is found to produce the greatest correlation between forecast and observed SSTs. This model obtains higher skill by explicitly considering the development in time of SLP anomalies in the region. The skill of this model, assessed from retroactive forecasts of an 18 year period, shows improvement relative to other empirical forecasts particularly for the central and eastern Indian Ocean and boreal autumn months preceding the Southern Hemisphere summer rainfall season. This is likely due to the limited domain of this model identifying modes of variability that are more pronounced in these areas during this season. Finally, a nonlinear canonical correlation analysis (NLCCA) derived from a neural network is used to analyze the leading nonlinear modes. These nonlinear modes differ from the linear CCA modes with distinct cold and warm SST phases suggesting a nonlinear relationship between SST and SLP over the tropical Indian Ocean.     

Roles of Indian and Pacific Ocean air–sea coupling in tropical atmospheric variability

Sea surface temperature (SST) variations include negative feedbacks from the atmosphere, whereas SST anomalies are specified in stand-alone atmospheric general circulation simulations. Is the SST forced response the same as the coupled response? In this study, the importance of air–sea coupling in the Indian and Pacific Oceans for tropical atmospheric variability is investigated through numerical experiments with a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model. The local and remote impacts of the Indian and Pacific Ocean coupling are obtained by comparing a coupled simulation with an experiment in which the SST forcing from the coupled simulation is specified in either the Indian or the Pacific Ocean. It is found that the Indian Ocean coupling is critical for atmospheric variability over the Pacific Ocean. Without the Indian Ocean coupling, the rainfall and SST variations are completely different throughout most of the Pacific Ocean basin. Without the Pacific Ocean coupling, part of the rainfall and SST variations in the Indian Ocean are reproduced in the forced run. In regions of large mean rainfall where the atmospheric negative feedback is strong, such as the North Indian Ocean and the western North Pacific in boreal summer, the atmospheric variability is significantly enhanced when air–sea coupling is replaced by specified SST forcing. This enhancement is due to the lack of the negative feedback in the forced SST simulation. In these regions, erroneous atmospheric anomalies could be induced by specified SST anomalies derived from the coupled model. The ENSO variability is reduced by about 20% when the Indian Ocean air–sea coupling is replaced by specified SST forcing. This change is attributed to the interfering roles of the Indian Ocean SST and Indian monsoon in western and central equatorial Pacific surface wind variations.     

印度洋海温异常对贵州夏季降水的影响

利用经验正交函数(EOF)对印度洋海表温度距平(SSTA)进行展开,分析印度洋海温场的时空特征及其与贵州夏季降水的关系.结果表明,同期的印度洋海表温度距平分布场与贵州夏季降水相关显著,西印度洋索马里海区的SSTA与贵州夏季降水关系最为密切,当夏季索马里海区海温偏高(低)时贵州夏季降水偏少(多).     

Interannual variability of winter precipitation over northwest India and adjoining region: impact of global forcings

The role of El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the mechanism through which ENSO influences the precipitation variability over northwest India and the adjoining (NWIA) region is well documented. In this study, the relative role of North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)/Arctic Oscillation (AO) and ENSO in modulating the Asian jet stream in the Northern Hemisphere winter and their relative impact on the precipitation variability over the region have been estimated through analysis of observed data. It is seen that interannual variations of NWIA precipitation are largely influenced by ENSO. An empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis has been carried out to understand dominant modes of interannual variability of zonal wind at 200 hPa of the Northern Hemisphere. The EOF-1 pattern in the tropical region is similar to that of an ENSO pattern, and the principal component (PC) time series corresponds to the ENSO time series. The EOF-2 spatial pattern resembles that of NAO/AO with correlation of PC time series with AO and NAO being 0.74 and 0.62, respectively. The precipitation anomaly time series over the region of interest has marginally higher correlation with the PC-2 time series as compared to that of PC-1. Regression analysis of precipitation and circulation parameters indicates a larger contribution of the second mode to variability of winds and precipitation over the NWIA. Moisture transport from the Arabian Sea during the active phase of NAO/AO and the presence of a cyclonic anomaly lead to higher precipitation over the NWIA region.     

冬季北大西洋涛动对热带印度洋海表热通量的影响

利用1979—2017年TropFlux海气热通量资料、ERA5再分析资料及HadISST资料,分析了冬季北大西洋涛动(North Atlantic Oscillation, NAO)与同期热带印度洋海气热通量的关系。结果表明,NAO指数与热带印度洋海气净热通量整体上呈负相关,意味着NAO为正位相时,海洋向大气输送热量,其显著区域主要位于热带西印度洋(50°～70°E,10°S～10°N)。净热通量的变化主要依赖于潜热通量和短波辐射的变化;潜热通量和短波辐射在NAO正(负)位相事件期间的贡献率分别为72.96%和61.48%(71.72%和57.06%)。NAO可通过Rossby波列影响印度洋地区局地大气环流,进而影响海气热通量;当NAO为正位相时,波列沿中低纬路径传播至印度洋地区,在阿拉伯海北部对流层高层触发异常反气旋环流。该异常反气旋性环流加强了阿拉伯高压,使得北印度洋偏北风及越赤道气流加强。伴随风速的加强,海面蒸发增强,同时加强的越赤道气流导致热带辐合带强度偏强,深对流加强引起对流层水汽和云量增多,进而引起海表下行短波辐射减少。     

Interdecadal variability of winter precipitation in Southeast China

Interdecadal variability of observed winter precipitation in Southeast China (1961–2010) is characterized by the first empirical orthogonal function of the three-monthly Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) subjected to a 9-year running mean. For interdecadal time scales the dominating spatial modes represent monopole features involving the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies. Dynamic composite analysis (based on NCEP/NCAR reanalyzes) reveals the following results: (1) Interdecadal SPI-variations show a trend from a dryer state in the 1970s via an increase during the 1980s towards stabilization on wetter conditions commencing with the 1990s. (2) Increasing wetness in Southeast China is attributed to an abnormal anticyclone over south Japan, with northward transport of warm and humid air from the tropical Pacific to South China. (3) In mid-to-high latitudes the weakened southward flow of polar airmasses induces low-level warming over Eurasia due to stronger AO by warmer zonal temperature advection. This indicates that AO is attributed to the Southeast China precipitation increase influenced by circulation anomalies over the mid-to-high latitudes. (4) The abnormal moisture transport along the southwestern boundary of the abnormal anticyclone over south Japan is related to anomalous south-easterlies modulated by the SST anomalies over Western Pacific Ocean; a positive (negative) SST anomaly will strengthen (weaken) warm and humid air transport, leading to abundant (reduced) precipitation in Southeast China. That is both AO and SST anomalies determine the nonlinear trend observed in winter precipitation over Southeast China.     

The dynamics of the Indian Ocean sea surface temperature forcing of Sahel drought

Given the pronounced warming in the Indian Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) during the second half of the twentieth century and the empirical relationship between the Indian Ocean SST and Sahel summer precipitation, we investigate the mechanisms underlying this relationship using the GFDL atmospheric model AM2.0 to simulate the equilibrium and transient response to the warming of the Indian Ocean. Equatorial wave dynamics, in particular the westward propagating equatorial Rossby waves, communicates the signal of tropospheric warming and stabilization from the Indian Ocean to the African continent. The stabilization associated with the Rossby wave front acts to suppress the convection. Feedbacks with local precipitation and depletion of moisture amplify the dynamically induced subsidence. While this stabilization mechanism is expected to operate in climate change response, the future prospects for the Sahelian climate under global warming are complicated by the intricate sensitivities to the SSTs from different ocean basins and to the direct radiative forcing of greenhouse gases.     

南印度洋热带气旋生成频数气候变率对海温异常模响应的研究

基于1980—2014年的哈德莱中心海冰及海温的月平均SST资料,美国联合台风警报中心(JTWC)的best-track资料以及NCEP/NCAR再分析月平均资料,利用广义平衡反馈方法(GEFA)研究南印度洋热带气旋(TC)生成频数对海表温度异常的响应特征。研究表明:(1)南印度TC生成频数对北太平洋第一模态(NP1)和热带大西洋第二模态(TA2)有显著响应,分别通过了置信度为99%和96%的Monte-Carlo检验,对应的响应振幅分别为0.67和0.49。(2)局地环境要素对关键SSTA模的GEFA响应结果显示:当NP1出现类似于太平洋年代际振荡(PDO)的正位相时,850 h Pa相对涡度在15°S附近的印度洋海域上都有一个自西向东的显著正响应带,垂直风切变在马达加斯加以东的大部分海域都表现为显著的负响应,600 h Pa相对湿度在马达加斯加以东的部分海域表现为显著的正响应;当TA2对应的时间系数为正异常时,850 h Pa相对涡度和600 h Pa相对湿度在澳大利亚的西北部印度洋海域表现为显著的正响应,垂直风切变在澳大利亚的西北部印度洋海域表现为显著的负响应。     

Interannual linkage between Arctic/North Atlantic Oscillation and tropical Indian Ocean precipitation during boreal winter

In the study authors analyzed the interannual relationship between the Arctic Oscillation (AO)/North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) precipitation in boreal winter for the period 1979–2009. A significant simultaneous teleconnection between them is found. After removing the El Niño/Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean dipole signals, the AO/NAO and the TIO precipitation (0°–10°S, 60°–80°E) yield a correlation of +0.56, which is also consistent with the AO/NAO-outgoing longwave radiation correlation of ?0.61. The atmospheric and oceanic features in association with the AO/NAO-precipitation links are investigated. During positive AO/NAO winter, the Rossby wave guided by westerlies tends to trigger persistent positive geopotential heights in upper troposphere over about 20°–30°N and 55°–70°E, which is accompanied by a stronger Middle East jet stream. Meanwhile, there are anomalous downward air motions, strengthening the air pressure in mid-lower troposphere. The enhanced Arabian High brings anomalous northern winds over the northern Indian Ocean. As a result the anomalous crossing-equator air-flow enhances the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). On the other hand, the anomalous Ekman transport convergence by the wind stress curl over the central TIO deepens the thermocline. Both the enhanced ITCZ and the anomalous upper ocean heat content favor in situ precipitation in the central TIO. The AO/NAO-TIO precipitation co-variations in the IPCC AR4 historical climate simulation (1850–1999) of Bergen Climate Model version 2 were investigated. The Indian Ocean precipitation anomalies (particularly the convective precipitation along the ITCZ), in conjunction with the corresponding surface winds and 200 hPa anticyclonic atmospheric circulation and upper ocean heat contents were well reproduced in simulation. The similarity between the observation and simulation support the physical robustness of the AO/NAO-TIO precipitation links.     

Interannual and Interdecadal Variability of Winter Precipitation over China in Relation to Global Sea Level Pressure Anomalies

Based on the method of rotated principal component (RPC) analysis and wavelet transforms, the win-ter precipitation from 36 stations over China for the period 1881-1993 is examined. The results show thatthe three leading space-time modes correspond, in sequence, to winter rainfall anomalies over the reaches ofthe Yangtze River, the bend of the Yellow River, and the northeastern region of China. The three modes ex-hibit interannual oscillations with quasi-biennial and 8-year periods as well as interdecadal oscillationswith 16- and 32-year periods. The interannual oscillation (＜ 10 years) occurs in phase over the differentareas, and its maximum amplitude migrates northward considerably with prominent interdecadal variations.However, the interdecadal oscillations (10-32 years) are out of phase over the different regions, and theamplitude variations have the characteristics of stationary waves.The rainfall anomalies appear to be closely re lated to the anti-phase changes of mean sea-level pres-sure (SLP) over the Asian mainland and the North Pacific. When the SLP rises over the North Pacific anddecreases over the Asian mainland, the precipitation over East China increases noticeably. The linkage be-tween the rainfall over China and the SLP anomalies apparently results from the strength of the East Asianwinter monsoon and its associated temperature and moisture advection.     

Distinct patterns of sea surface temperature anomaly in the South Indian Ocean during austral autumn

Climate Dynamics - A neural network-based cluster technique called self-organizing map (SOM) determines 12 distinguishable patterns derived from the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly fields in...     

The influence of tropical sea surface temperatures and precipitation on north Pacific atmospheric blocking

Blocking is a major component of the extratropical climate and any changes in it would be a very important aspect of climate change there. Previous studies have shown that mid-latitude variability such as blocking is sensitive to tropical sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and to variations in tropical precipitation. Climate models exhibit a wide range of skill in representing blocking, with all models having deficiencies in certain respects. In addition, coupled climate models often exhibit significant biases in both tropical precipitation and tropical and extratropical SSTs. This suggests that tropical systematic biases in coupled climate models may influence the representation of blocking and its sensitivity to climate change. We examine the relationship between winter north Pacific blocking and tropical precipitation and tropical SSTs through the use of idealised SST anomaly experiments. We find that interannual variations in convection over the Maritime Continent and eastern equatorial Pacific regions both influence the central and eastern Pacific winter blocking frequency. In addition, systematic underestimation of tropical rainfall over the Maritime Continent region in climate models can lead to underestimation of time-mean winter Pacific blocking. Finally, the sign, magnitude and variability of tropical SST biases in a coupled model, and their associated effects on tropical precipitation, could influence its representation of northern hemisphere blocking, and thus affect its ability to represent this mode of remotely-forced mid-latitude variability. These results have important implications for model development.