Revisiting Asymmetry for the Decaying Phases of El Ni?o and La Ni?a

This study investigated the relationship between the asymmetry in the duration of El Ni?o and La Ni?a and the length of their decaying phases. The results suggested that the duration asymmetry comes from the long decaying ENSO cases rather than the short decaying ones. The evolutions of short decaying El Ni?o and La Ni?a are approximately a mirror image with a rapid decline in the following summer for the warm and cold events. However, a robust asymmetry was found in long decaying cases, with a prolonged and re-intensified La Ni?a in the following winter. The asymmetry for long decaying cases starts from the westward extension of the zonal wind anomalies in a mature winter, and is further contributed to by the air-sea interaction over the tropical Pacific in the following seasons.     

Forecasting El Niño and La Niña events using decision tree classifier

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon affects the global climate by changing temperature and precipitation patterns mainly in tropical...     

Influence of Intraseasonal Oscillation on the Asymmetric Decays of El Ni?o and La Ni?a

Warm and cold phases of El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) exhibit a significant asymmetry in their decay speed. To explore the physical mechanism responsible for this asymmetric decay speed, the asymmetric features of anomalous sea surface temperature (SST) and atmospheric circulation over the tropical Western Pacific (WP) in El Nino and La Nina mature-to-decay phases are analyzed. It is found that the interannual standard deviations of outgoing longwave radiation and 850 hPa zonal wind anomalies over the equatorial WP during El Nino (La Nina) mature-to-decay phases are much stronger (weaker) than the intraseasonal standard deviations. It seems that the weakened (enhanced) intraseasonal oscillation during El Nino (La Nina) tends to favor a stronger (weaker) interannual variation of the atmospheric wind, resulting in asymmetric equatorial WP zonal wind anomalies in El Nino and La Nina decay phases. Numerical experiments demonstrate that such asymmetric zonal wind stress anomalies during El Nino and La Nina decay phases can lead to an asymmetric decay speed of SST anomalies in the central-eastern equatorial Pacific through stimulating di erent equatorial Kelvin waves. The largest negative anomaly over the Nino3 region caused by the zonal wind stress anomalies during El Nino can be threefold greater than the positive Nino3 SSTA anomalies during La Nina, indicating that the stronger zonal wind stress anomalies over the equatorial WP play an important role in the faster decay speed during El Nino.     

Asymmetry of Atmospheric Responses to Two-Type El Ni?o and La Ni?a over Northwest Pacific

The mechanism for asymmetric atmospheric responses to the central Pacific(CP) El Ni?o and La Ni?a over the western North Pacific(WNP) is studied in this paper. The negative anomalies of rainfall over the key region of WNP are explained by diagnosing the column-integrated equations of moisture and moist static energy(MSE). It is revealed that the nonlinear advection of moist enthalpy is critical to introduce negative rainfall anomalies over the region. The anomalous easterly(westerly) in La Ni?a(CP El Ni?o) causes negative advection of anomalous moist enthalpy, inducing negative heating anomaly and an anticyclone anomaly in the WNP, which weakens(strengthens) the cyclone(anticyclone) in La Ni?a(CP El Ni?o). The MSE budget analysis shows a larger nonlinear term in CP El Ni?o than in eastern Pacific(EP) El Ni?o, inconsistent with the amplitudes of sea surface temperature anomalies. The reason is that the nonlinear term transforms to positive above 700 h Pa in EP El Ni?o, offsetting the negative advection below 700 h Pa and thus making the nonlinear term smaller. The nonlinear term is negative at low levels in CP El Ni?o, resulting in a larger nonlinear term. The stronger precipitation anomalies in the WNP during EP El Ni?o can be attributed to the linear moist enthalpy advection. The mean easterly wind at mid levels causes a larger(smaller) positive moist enthalpy advection in CP(EP) El Ni?o, due to a larger(smaller) moist enthalpy gradient, resulting in a positive(negative) linear moist enthalpy advection, which weakens(strengthens) the negative precipitation anomalies in the key region.     

Simulations of two types of El Niño events by an optimal forcing vector approach

In this paper, an optimal forcing vector (OFV) approach is proposed. The OFV offsets tendency errors and optimizes the agreement of the model simulation with observation. We apply the OFV approach to the well-known Zebiak–Cane model and simulate several observed eastern Pacific (EP) El Niño and central Pacific (CP) El Niño events during 1980–2004. It is found that the Zebiak–Cane model with a proper initial condition often reproduces the EP-El Niño events; however, the Zebiak–Cane model fails to reproduce the CP-El Niño events. The model may be much more influenced by model errors when simulating the CP-El Nino events. As expected, when we use the OFV to correct the Zebiak–Cane model, the model reproduces the three CP-El Niño events well. Furthermore, the simulations of the corresponding winds and thermocline depths are also acceptable. In particular, the thermocline depth simulations for the three CP-El Niño events lead us to believe that the discharge process of the equatorial heat content associated with the CP-El Niño is not efficient and emphasizes the role of the zonal advection in the development of the CP-El Nino events. The OFVs associated with the three CP-El Niño events often exhibit a sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) tendency with positive anomalies in the equatorial eastern Pacific; therefore, the SST tendency errors occurring in the equatorial eastern Pacific may dominate the uncertainties of the Zebiak–Cane model while simulating CP-El Nino events. A further investigation demonstrates that one of the model errors offset by the OFVs is of a pattern similar to the SST cold-tongue cooling mode, which may then provide one of the climatological conditions for the frequent occurrence of CP-El Nino events. The OFV may therefore be a useful tool for correcting forecast models and then for helping improve the forecast skill of the models.     

Proposed scheme for modeling of ocean equatorial currents in the phase of El Niño and La Niña: Implementation of the mesoscale turbulence theory

El Niño is a phenomenon of the catastrophic increase of surface temperature in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean. It has a significant impact to weather of the American continent and western regions of the tropical Pacific, as well as on the weather and climate of entirely the Earth. Most important factors influencing El Niño are the wind, ocean currents and slope of the water surface (and temperature resulting from these factors) at the equator in the Pacific Ocean. The paper considers results of mathematical modeling of the equatorial Pacific Ocean currents in the El Niño and La Niña phases using the theory of mesoscale turbulence. This theory has been successfully tested in modeling of global circulation of atmosphere and ocean (Arsen’yev et al., 2010) and it has been able to calculate the ocean current changes at equator under changing external conditions. It is shown that the water currents at the equator have a four-tier vertical structure. The surface trade-wind current is located above the subsurface undercurrent, below which we observe the intermediate current, turning into the equatorial deep counter flow. When El Niño begins, the currents are rearranged, change signs and sometimes merge with each other. In the phase of maximum development of the phenomenon there is a two-tier structure: (1) surface current heading the American coast is underlain (below the depth of 440 m) by (2) deep equatorial current directed to the Indonesian coast. The theoretical calculations are compared with the physical observations of ocean currents in the El Niño and La Niña phases. The obtained results indicate that the proposed mathematical apparatus makes it possible to explain the set of physical observations in the Pacific Ocean.     

Statistical relationship between two types of El Niño events and climate variation over the Korean Peninsula

Recently, a new type of El Niño (Warm-Pool El Niño) is more often observed than the conventional El Niño (Cold-Tongue El Niño); each has a distinctive spatial pattern. The two types of El Niño have different teleconnections; therefore their impacts on a specific region can be considerably different. In this study, we focus on statistical relationship between climate variation in Korea and the two types of El Niño. When the two types of El Niño are not separately considered, the statistical relation between climate variables in Korea and the El Niño events is weak in general. When the two types of El Niño are separately considered, however, each type exhibits significant relationship with climate variation in Korea. Therefore, consideration of two types of El Niño separately can potentially improve climate prediction over the Korean Peninsula.     

Impact of Pacific Decadal Oscillation on Frequency Asymmetry of El Nio and La Nia Events

正El Nio–Southern Oscillation(ENSO)is an abnormal sea surface warming or cooling phenomenon over the tropical Pacific,which also has severe global impact.Interestingly,ENSO characteristics are changing with climate change(e.g.,Collins et al.,2010).Therefore,it is expected that ENSO can be modulated on the decadal time scale,particularly when the tropical climate background state is fluctuating strongly     

Indices of El Nio and El Nio Modoki:An Improved El Nio Modoki Index

In recent years, El Nio Modoki (a type of pseudo-El Nio) has been distinguished as a unique large-scale ocean warming phenomenon happening in the central tropical Pacific that is quite different from the traditional El Nio. In this study, EOF analysis was used to successfully separate El Nio and El Nio Modoki. The abilities of the NINO3 index, NINO3.4 index, NINO1+2 index and NINO4 index in characterizing El Nio were explored in detail. The resulting suggestion was that, comparatively, NINO3 is the op...     

Factor analysis for El Niño signals in sea surface temperature and precipitation

Maximum likelihood factor analysis (MLFA) is applied to investigate the variables of monthly Tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures (SST) from Niño 1+2, Niño 3, Niño 3.4, and Niño 4 and precipitation over New South Wales and Queensland of eastern Australia, Kalimantan Island of Indonesia, and California and Oregon of the west coast of the United States. The monthly data used were from 1950 to 1999. The November-February SST with time leads of 0, 1, 2, and 3 months to precipitation are considered for both El Niño warm phases and non El Niño seasons. Interpretations of the factor loadings are made to diagnose relationships between the SST and precipitation variables. For El Niño signals, the rotated FA loadings can efficiently group the SST and precipitation variables with interpretable physical meanings. When the time lag is 0 or 1 month, the November–February El Niño SST explains much of the drought signals over eastern Australia and Kalimantan. However, when the time lag is 2 or 3 months, the same SST cannot adequately explain the precipitation during January–May over the two regions. Communality results of five factors for precipitation indicate nearly 100% explanation of variances for Queensland and California, but the percentages are reduced to only about 30% for Oregon and Kalimantan. Factor scores clearly identify the strongest El Niño relevant to precipitation variations. Principal component factor analysis (PCFA) is also investigated, and its results are compared with MLFA. The comparison indicates that MLFA can better group SST data relevant to precipitation. The residuals of MLFA are always smaller than the PCFA. Thus, MLFA may become a useful tool for improving potential predictability of precipitation from SST predictors.     

Simulation of two types of El Niño from different convective parameters

Many recent studies have reported the presence of two types of El Niño events in observation: Cold Tongue (CT) El Niño and Warm Pool (WP) El Niño. We investigate the sensitivity of a model simulating two types of El Niño by changing a convective triggering parameter (Tokioka parameter). When deep convections are highly suppressed with a large Tokioka parameter, the model is capable of simulating distinct two-types of El Niño. However, the model has a problem in simulating two-types of El Niño distinctively when the Tokioka parameter is small, because the location of the maximum precipitation anomaly related to the CT El Niño is significantly shifted westward, leading to an atmospheric response pattern similar to that of the WP El Niño. Our results suggest that the mean precipitation over the eastern equatorial Pacific and the resultant zonal distribution in atmospheric feedback associated with ENSO can be one of the crucial factors for simulating two-types of El Niño.     

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.     

El Ni?o和La Ni?a事件对东亚冬、夏季风循环的影响

通过合成的El NiNo和La NiNa的分析发现,一般一个El Nino或La Nina事件大致可以分成爆发前的冬季、发展期的夏季、盛期时的冬季和衰亡期的夏季四个阶段.在此基础上利用NCEP再分析环流资料和中国降水资料分析了东亚冬、夏季风对E1 Nino和LaNina的响应,结果发现,E1 Nino和La Nina事件显著地影响了东亚冬、夏季风的循环.E1Nino爆发前的冬季在东亚地区往往有异常强的北风;El Nino发展期的夏季,西太平洋副热带高压偏弱,同时影响我国的西南气流偏弱,从而江淮地区和南方沿海地区多雨,长江中游和华北地区少雨;E1 Nino盛期的冬季东亚地区则出现异常的南风;而E1 Nino衰亡期的夏季,西太平洋副热带高压偏强,同时影响我国的西南气流偏强,从而江淮地区少雨,华北、东北以及洞庭湖、鄱阳湖地区多雨.La Nina对东亚冬、夏季风循环的影响则与El Nino大致相反,但它的影响不如El ino的影响显著.对强、弱东亚冬季风后的夏季中国降水异常的分析则表明,正是由于与El Nino或La Nina事件有关的海温异常对东亚冬、夏季风循环的影响才导致了东亚冬季风与随后的夏季风存在着紧密的联系;当冬季风异常不是由与ElNiNino或La Nina事件有关的海温异常所引起时,两者之间就缺少显著的联系.     

Hadley and Walker circulation anomalies associated with the two types of El Niño

The composite analysis of the structure of anomalies of vertical motions revealed disturbances in the Walker and Hadley circulations in the whole tropical zone associated with the two types of El Niño. The Eastern Pacific El Niño is characterized by the suppressed convection over the Maritime Continent and by the intensification of ascending motions in the central and eastern Pacific. The Central Pacific El Niño is characterized by the double Walker circulation cell with ascending motions in the central Pacific and descending motions in the western and eastern Pacific. Significant differences in the pattern of vertical circulation anomalies outside the Pacific region are also found in the north and west of the Indian Ocean and in the area of South America and the Caribbean.     

Distinguished Effects of Interannual Salinity Variability on the Development of the Central-Pacific El Ni o Events

El Nio events in the central equatorial Pacific (CP) are gaining increased attention,due to their increasing intensity within the global warming context.Various physical processes have been identified in the climate system that can be responsible for the modulation of El Nio,especially the effects of interannual salinity variability.In this work,a comprehensive data analysis is performed to illustrate the effects of interannual salinity variability using surface and subsurface salinity fields from the Met Office ENSEMBLES (EN3) quality controlled ocean dataset.It is demonstrated that during the developing phase of an El Nio event,a negative sea surface salinity (SSS) anomaly in the western-central basin acts to freshen the mixed layer (ML),decrease oceanic density in the upper ocean,and stabilize the upper layers.These related oceanic processes tend to reduce the vertical mixing and entrainment of subsurface water at the base of the ML,which further enhances the warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies associated with the El Nio event.However,the effects of interannually variable salinity are much more significant during the CP-El Nio than during the eastern Pacific (EP) El Nio,indicating that the salinity effect might be an important contributor to the development of CP-El Nio events.     

Decadal Anomalies of Winter Precipitation over Southern China in Association with El Nio and La Nia

Using multiple datasets, this paper analyzes the characteristics of winter precipitation over southern China and its association with warm and cold phases of E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation during 1948 2011. The study proves that E1 Nifio is an important external forcing factor resulting in above-normal winter precipitation in southern China. The study also reveals that the impact ofLa Nifia on the winter precipitation in southern China has a decadal variability. During the winter of La Nifia before 1980, the East Asian winter monsoon is stronger than normal with a deeper trough over East Asia, and the western Pacific subtropical high weakens with its high ridge retreating more eastward. Therefore, anomalous northerly winds dominate over southern China, leading to a cold and dry winter. During La Nifia winter after 1980, however, the East Asian trough is weaker than normal, unfavorable for the southward invasion of the winter monsoon. The India-Burma trough is intensified, and the anomalous low-level cyclone excited by La Nifia is located to the west of the Philippines. Therefore, anomalous easterly winds prevail over southern China, which increases moisture flux from the tropical oceans to southern China. Meanwhile, La Nifia after 1980 may lead to an enhanced and more northward subtropical westerly jet over East Asia in winter. Since southern China is rightly located on the right side of the jet entrance region, anomalous ascending motion dominates there through the secondary vertical circulation, favoring more winter precipitation in southern China. Therefore, a cold and wet winter, sometimes with snowy and icy weathers, would occur in southern China during La Nifia winter after 1980. Further analyses indicate that the change in the spatial distribution of sea surface temperature anomaly during the La Nifia mature phase, as well as the decadal variation of the Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation, would be the important reasons for the decadal variability of the La Nifia impact on the atmospheric circulation in East Asia and winter precipitation over southern China after 1980.     

Triggering of El Niño by westerly wind events in a coupled general circulation model

Two ten-members ensemble experiments using a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model are performed to study the dynamical response to a strong westerly wind event (WWE) when the tropical Pacific has initial conditions favourable to the development of a warm event. In the reference ensemble (CREF), no wind perturbation is introduced, whereas a strong westerly wind event anomaly is introduced in boreal winter over the western Pacific in the perturbed ensemble (CWWE). Our results demonstrate that an intense WWE is capable of establishing the conditions under which a strong El Niño event can occur. First, it generates a strong downwelling Kelvin wave that generates a positive sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the central-eastern Pacific amplified through a coupled ocean-atmosphere interaction. This anomaly can be as large as 2.5°C 60 days after the WWE. Secondly, this WWE also initiates an eastward displacement of the warm-pool that promotes the occurrence of subsequent WWEs in the following months. These events reinforce the initial warming through the generation of additional Kelvin waves and generate intense surface jets at the eastern edge of the warm-pool that act to further shift warm waters eastward. The use of a ten-members ensemble however reveals substantial differences in the coupled response to a WWE. Whereas four members of CWWE ensemble develop into intense El Niño warming as described above, four others display a moderate warming and two remains in neutral conditions. This diversity between the members appears to be due to the internal atmospheric variability during and following the inserted WWE. In the four moderate warm cases, the warm-pool is initially shifted eastward following the inserted WWE, but the subsequent weak WWE activity (when compared to the strong warming cases) prevents to further shift the warm-pool eastwards. The seasonal strengthening of trade winds in June–July can therefore act to shift warm waters back into the western Pacific, reducing the central-eastern Pacific warming. This strong sensitivity of the coupled response to WWEs may therefore limit the predictability of El Niño events, as the high frequency wind variability over the warm pool region remains largely unpredictable even at short time lead.