一种新的ENSO循环负反馈机制

本文利用包含海洋表面边界层和大气辐合反馈过程的热带太平洋海气耦合异常模式的30年模拟结果，通过对模式ENSO循环演变特征和正负反馈机制的细致分析揭示出了ENSO循环形成的一种新的负反馈过程。指出:ENSO循环的正反馈机制是不稳定海气相互作用过程，且这一不稳定过程的发展在暖态中明显强于冷态；ENSO循环的负反馈机制在冷暖态中表现不同，在冷态消亡过程中，这种负反馈过程主要表现为暖的西传Rossby波经西边界反射产生的暖的东传Kelvin波来抑制冷位相不稳定发展的，但在暖态消亡过程中，不存在类似的纬向波作用过程，其负反馈过程主要表现为在海气耦合不稳定充分发展时伴随的赤道两侧冷水上翻过程的加强以及非线性过程的衰减作用共同抑制了不稳定的发展，并最终使系统从暖态恢复至冷态。本文得出的ENSO循环暖位相中的负反馈机制和近年来国外提出的“时滞振子”理论明显不同。     

ENSO循环的数值模拟──Ⅰ:水平结构演变

利用发展的包含海洋表面边界展和大气辐合反馈过程的热带太平洋海气耦合距平模式，对ＥＮＳＯ循环进行了模拟。通过３０ａ积分，用合模式所展示的热带太平洋海气耦合系统的ＥＮＳＯ循环的水平结构演变特征和观测事实甚为一致，成功地模拟出了ＥＮＳＯ循环的冷暖态的发生发展、衰亡及相互转换等各个位相的动力和热力场的水平结构及其对季节循环的依赖性特征。本文数值模拟结果表明，ＥＮＳＯ循环的主要动力学过程可由热带海气相互作用系统自身所确定。ＥＮＳＯ循环的正确模拟是揭示其形成机制的前提。     

混合海气耦合模式中的ENSO循环及其形成机制

在无异常外强迫的情况下, 将混合海气耦合模式进行了45年的模拟积分.结果表明:模式能较好地再现类似ENSO循环的热带太平洋海洋、大气的年际振荡, 模式ENSO循环的主周期为4~5年; 探讨了ENSO循环的负反馈机制, 指出:暖态的消亡与El Niño发展过程中太平洋东部不断增强的东风异常所产生的冷水上翻的加强以及纬向向西的冷平流有关; 冷态的消亡主要由赤道波的时滞效应所致.     

1991～1994年El Niño的异常特征的诊断研究

1991～1994年热带中东太平洋海温持续4a多出现正距平。Niño3指数一直为正值。在此正距平背景下,产生了两次振荡和3次ElNiño暖期。在此期间赤道东太平洋海温在±5°纬度范围内发生了两次负距平的变化,形成了一个狭窄的温度梯度很大的“冷核”,而赤道外的中纬度海洋则持续维持两个正海温距平。这一时期海表温度资料EOF分析的结果进一步表明,第一特征向量的空间分布实际上反映了上述冷核特征。1991～1994年的ENSO事件主要是低频分量发生了较大异常,赤道低层纬向风和高层西风在前期减弱(1991-01-1992-05),后期加强(1992-06-1994-011).无论是海温还是风场的低频分量都表现出一次ENSO循环的特征。因此作者认为,虽然Niño3指数等在这4a多期间均为正值,但是大气和海洋耦合系统的低频变化部分只发生了一次完整的ENSO循环过程。1991年至1992年上半年对应于ElNiño暖位相,1992年下半年至1994年底对应于LaNina冷位相。但是这个冷位相没有能够得到充分发展,只出现两次极狭窄的冷核。冷位相的明显“夭折”,而代之以出现两次较弱的增暖,可能与季节内尺度的大气强迫与低频变化部分的相互作用有关。     

The influence of systematic errors in the Southeast Pacific on ENSO variability and prediction in a coupled GCM

The impact of the warm SST bias in the Southeast Pacific (SEP) on the quality of seasonal and interannual variability and ENSO prediction in a coupled GCM is investigated. The reduction of this bias is achieved by means of empirical heat flux correction that is constant in time. It leads to a wide range of changes in the tropical Pacific climate including enhanced southeast trades, well-defined dry zone in the SEP, better simulation of the South Pacific Convergence Zone and stronger cross-equatorial asymmetry of the mean state in the eastern Pacific. As a result of the mean climate correction, significant improvements in the simulation of the seasonal cycle of the oceanic and atmospheric states are also observed both at the equator and basin-wide. Due to more realistic simulation of the seasonal evolution of the cold tongue, tropical convection and surface winds in the corrected version of the model, phase-lock of ENSO to the annual cycle looses its strong semi-annual component and becomes quite similar to the observed, although the amplitude of ENSO is reduced. Zonal wind stress response to the SST anomalies in the central-eastern Pacific also becomes more realistic. ENSO retrospective forecast experiments conducted with the directly coupled and the flux-corrected versions of the model demonstrate that deficiencies in the seasonal evolution of the cold tongue/Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone complex (that were largely due to the SEP bias in this model) and the related errors in the ENSO phase-lock to the annual cycle can seriously degrade ENSO prediction. By reducing these errors, ENSO predictive skill in the coupled model was substantially enhanced.     

Seasonal Phase-Locking of Peak Events in the Eastern Indian Ocean

The sea surface temperature （SST） anomaly of the eastern Indian Ocean （EIO） exhibits cold anomalies in the boreal summer or fall during E1 Nino development years and warm anomalies in winter or spring following the E1 Nino events. There also tend to be warm anomalies in the boreal summer or fall during La Nina development years and cold anomalies in winter or spring following the La Nina events. The seasonal phase-locking of SST change in the EIO associated with E1 Nino/Southern Oscillation is linked to the variability of convection over the maritime continent, which induces an atmospheric Rossby wave over the EIO. Local air-sea interaction exerts different effects on SST anomalies, depending on the relationship between the Rossby wave and the mean flow related to the seasonal migration of the buffer zone, which shifts across the equator between summer and winter. The summer cold events start with cooling in the Timor Sea, together with increasing easterly flow along the equator. Negative SST anomalies develop near Sumatra, through the interaction between the atmospheric Rossby wave and the underneath sea surface. These SST anomalies are also contributed to by the increased upwelling of the mixed layer and the equatorward temperature advection in the boreal fall. As the buffer zone shifts across the equator towards boreal winter, the anomalous easterly flow tends to weaken the mean flow near the equator, and the EIO SST increases due to the reduction of latent heat flux from the sea surface. As a result, wintertime SST anomalies appear with a uniform and nearly basin-wide pattern beneath the easterly anomalies. These SST anomalies are also caused by the increase in solar radiation associated with the anticyclonic atmospheric Rossby wave over the EIO. Similarly, the physical processes of the summer warm events, which are followed by wintertime cold SST anomalies, can be explained by the changes in atmospheric and oceanic fields with opposite signs to those anomalies described above.     

Remotely forced variability in the tropical Atlantic Ocean

An ensemble of eight hindcasts has been conducted using an ocean-atmosphere general circulation model fully coupled only within the Atlantic basin, with prescribed observational sea surface temperature (SST) for 1950–1998 in the global ocean outside the Atlantic basin. The purpose of these experiments is to understand the influence of the external SST anomalies on the interannual variability in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Statistical methods, including empirical orthogonal function analysis with maximized signal-to-noise ratio, have been used to extract the remotely forced Atlantic signals from the ensemble of simulations. It is found that the leading external source on the interannual time scales is the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Pacific Ocean. The ENSO signal in the tropical Atlantic shows a distinct progression from season to season. During the boreal winter of a maturing El Niño event, the model shows a major warm center in the southern subtropical Atlantic together with warm anomalies in the northern subtropical Atlantic. The southern subtropical SST anomalies is caused by a weakening of the southeast trade winds, which are partly associated with the influence of an atmospheric wave train generated in the western Pacific Ocean and propagating into the Atlantic basin in the Southern Hemisphere during boreal fall. In the boreal spring, the northern tropical Atlantic Ocean is warmed up by a weakening of the northeast trade winds, which is also associated with a wave train generated in the central tropical Pacific during the winter season of an El Niño event. Apart from the atmospheric planetary waves, these SST anomalies are also related to the sea level pressure (SLP) increase in the eastern tropical Atlantic due to the global adjustment to the maturing El Niño in the tropical Pacific. The tropical SLP anomalies are further enhanced in boreal spring, which induce anomalous easterlies on and to the south of the equator and lead to a dynamical oceanic response that causes cold SST anomalies in the eastern and equatorial Atlantic from boreal spring to summer. Most of these SST anomalies persist into the boreal fall season.

---

Pacific interdecadal variability driven by tropical–extratropical interactions

Interactions between the tropical and subtropical northern Pacific at decadal time scales are examined using uncoupled oceanic and atmospheric simulations. An atmospheric model is forced with observed Pacific sea surface temperatures (SST) decadal anomalies, computed as the difference between the 2000–2009 and the 1990–1999 period. The resulting pattern has negative SST anomalies at the equator, with a global pattern reminiscent of the Pacific decadal oscillation. The tropical SST anomalies are responsible for driving a weakening of the Hadley cell and atmospheric meridional heat transport. The atmosphere is then shown to produce a significant response in the subtropics, with wind-stress-curl anomalies having the opposite sign from the climatological mean, consistent with a weakening of the oceanic subtropical gyre (STG). A global ocean model is then forced with the decadal anomalies from the atmospheric model. In the North Pacific, the shallow subtropical cell (STC) spins down and the meridional heat transport is reduced, resulting in positive tropical SST anomalies. The final tropical response is reached after the first 10 years of the experiment, consistent with the Rossby-wave adjustment time for both the STG and the STC. The STC provides the connection between subtropical wind stress anomalies and tropical SSTs. In fact, targeted simulations show the importance of off-equatorial wind stress anomalies in driving the oceanic response, whereas anomalous tropical winds have no role in the SST signal reversal. We further explore the connection between STG, STC and tropical SST with the help of an idealized model. We argue that, in our models, tropical SST decadal variability stems from the forcing of the Pacific subtropical gyre through the atmospheric response to ENSO. The resulting Ekman pumping anomaly alters the STC and oceanic heat transport, providing a negative feedback on the SST. We thus suggest that extratropical atmospheric responses to tropical forcing have feedbacks onto the ocean dynamics that lead to a time-delayed response of the tropical oceans, giving rise to a possible mechanism for multidecadal ocean-atmosphere coupled variability.     

东亚持续强冬季风影响赤道海表温度初始异常的数值试验研究

通过数值模拟和理论分析 ,文中指出在强东亚季风期间不仅在欧亚大陆和北印度洋出现强大的反气旋环流异常 ,而且通过海气相互作用在北太平洋西部和西北部形成异常气旋式流场 ;在其东南部产生异常反气旋式流场。在这种流场异常的驱动下赤道西太平洋西风加强 ,海面升高 ,海表温度上升 ,赤道中东印度洋和东太平洋东风加强 ,海面降低 ,海表温度下降。证明由于海表温度异常及海表温度变化趋势存在积分关系 ,因此持续的强东亚冬季风所强迫的沿赤道海表温度变化趋势的上述分布的强讯号可以在海洋中存在近一年之久 ,为尔后赤道太平洋 ENSO事件的可能发展提供初始条件 ,也为跨季度气候预测提供前期讯号     

关于ENSO本质的进一步研究

基于ENSO是热带太平洋海气相互作用产物的科学观点,一系列的分析研究表明:赤道太平洋次表层海温异常(SOTA)有明显的年际变化(循环),并且与ENSO发生密切相关;ENSO的真正源区在赤道西太平洋暖池,赤道西太平洋暖池正(负)SOTA沿赤道温跃层东传到东太平洋,导致El Nino(La Nina)的爆发;在暖池正(负)SOTA沿赤道温跃层东传的同时,将有负(正)SOTA沿10°N和10°S两个纬度带向西传播,从而构成SOTA的循环;热带太平洋SOTA年际循环的驱动者主要是由异常东亚季风所引起的赤道西太平洋纬向风的异常.进而,可以提出关于ENSO本质的一种新理论,即ENSO实质上主要是由异常东亚季风引起的赤道西太平洋异常纬向风所驱动的热带太平洋次表层海温距平的年际循环.       

1997／1998年El Nino事件发生、发展可能机制的进一步研究

基于美国哥伦比亚大学Lamont—Doherty地球观象台LDEO（Lamont—DohertyEarth Observatory）海表温度资料和NCEP／NCAR再分析风场资料,分析了1997／1998年El Nino3期间西太平洋暖池海表温度和西风距平的时间演变特征,同时也分析了东太平洋暖池海表温度和北风距平的时间演变特征。结果表明,1997／1998年El Nino3事件期间,西太平洋暖池海表温度变化及异常西风和东太平洋暖池海表温度变化及异常北风都与Nino3指数变化密切相关。将东、西太平洋暖池及异常北风、西风一并结合起来考虑,进一步研究了1997／1998年El Nino3事件发生、发展的可能机制：异常西风驱动西太平洋暖池东端暖水向东伸展直接有利于赤道东太平洋海表温度增加;异常西风激发东传的暖Kelvin波对东太平洋的冷上升流有抑制作用,从而有利于赤道东太平洋海表温度增加;东传的异常西风可以通过埃克曼漂流效应将赤道两侧的海表暖水向赤道辐合从而加强了赤道附近的下沉流,也有利于赤道东太平洋赤道附近海表温度增加。几乎与此同时,北风距平通过产生北风吹流将东太平洋暖池暖水由北向南输送至赤道附近直接导致Nino3区海表温度增加。上述增温因素的叠加作用共同导致了1997／1998年El Nino事件迅速发生、异常强大。     

东太平洋暖池及经向风异常在ENSO事件发生、发展过程中的作用

利用1982～1999期间LDEO海表温度资料和NCEP/NCAR再分析风场资料,分析东太平洋暖池及经向风异常与ENSO事件的可能关系。结果表明,东太平洋暖池气候平均海表温度存在明显的季节变化特征,且与El Niño事件春季发生、夏季发展、秋季达到成熟及冬季衰亡的成长过程非常相似。经向风异常及其散度与ENSO事件密切相关。综合考虑,提出了东太平洋暖池及经向风异常（北风距平及经向风距平散度辐合）对ENSO事件发生、发展作用的概念模型:北风距平爆发通过产生北风吹洋流的作用,将东太平洋暖池暖水由北向南输送至赤道附近,从而有利于Ni?o3区海表温度上升;几乎与此同时,东太平洋暖池赤道上经向风距平散度辐合不仅能导致暖水在赤道附近堆积,而且辐合的风场对赤道附近的冷上升流有抑制作用,从而有利于Niño3区海表温度的增加,上述增温因素的叠加作用有（不）利于El Niño（La Niña）事件的发生、发展。进一步分析表明,东太平洋暖池及经向风异常仅对El Niño（La Niña）事件发生、发展起促进（抑制）作用而不起决定作用。将东太平洋暖池、经向风异常与西太平洋暖池、西风距平结合起来一并考虑,完善了El Niño事件发生、发展机制。最后,初步分析1980、1990年代El Niño事件特性差异的可能原因。     

CMIP5模式对拉尼娜生命史模拟能力的评估

利用19个CMIP5模式输出资料,评估模式对于拉尼娜事件特殊生命史发展过程的模拟能力。评估结果显示,仅有少数模式可以很好地再现拉尼娜事件缓慢衰减并再次增强的生命史发展过程,而多数模式中拉尼娜事件持续衰减直至消亡。观测分析结果表明,一个可能导致拉尼娜再次增强的原因是风场强迫作用下的海洋赤道波动过程。模拟能力较好的模式可以建立起"SST—对流—风场"正反馈过程,使得拉尼娜事件再次发展。而模拟能力较弱的模式中正反馈过程无法建立,因此拉尼娜事件最终消亡。另一个可能导致拉尼娜事件再次增强的原因是海洋平均经圈环流的作用。模拟能力较好的模式可以很好地模拟出气候态海洋经圈环流强度,因此海洋平均经向冷平流会帮助赤道地区负海温距平再次增强。而模拟能力较弱的模式中海洋经圈环流强度较弱,因此赤道地区负海温距平持续衰减,最终回归到气候态。     

Interannual and interdecadal variabilities in the Pacific in an MRI coupled GCM

Interannual and interdecadal variabilities in the Pacific are investigated with a coupled atmosphere-ocean GCM developed at MRI, Japan. The model is run for 70 years with flux adjustments. The model shows interannual variability in the tropical Pacific which has several typical characteristics shared with the observed ENSO. A basin-scale feature of the principal SST variation for the ENSO time scale shows negative correlation in the central North Pacific with the tropical SST, similar to that of the observed one. Associated variation of the model atmosphere indicates an intensification of the Aleutian Low and a PNA-like teleconnection pattern as a response to the tropical warm SST anomaly. The ENSO time scale variability in the midlatitude ocean consists of the westward propagation of the subsurface temperature signal and the temperature variation within the shallow mixed layer forced by the anomalous atmospheric heat fluxes. For the interdecadal time scale, variation of the SST is simulated realistically with a geographical pattern similar to that for the ENSO time scale, but it has a larger relative amplitude in the northern Pacific. For the atmosphere, spatial structure of the variation in the interdecadal time scale is also similar to that in the ENSO time scale, but has smaller amplitude in the northern Pacific. Long oceanic spin-up time (>∼10 y) in the mid-high latitude, however, makes oceanic response in the interdecadal time scale larger than that in the ENSO time scale. The lagged-regression analysis for the ocean temperature variation relative to the wind stress variation indicates that interdecadal variation of the ocean subsurface at the mid-high latitudes is considered as enhanced ocean gyre spin-up process in response to the atmospheric circulation change at the mid-high latitudes, remotely forced by the interdecadal variation of the tropical SST. Received: 6 November 1995 / Accepted: 19 April 1996     

南印度洋偶极子的变化特征及其与ENSO事件的联系

利用Hadley Center逐月海温资料以及NCEP/NCAR逐月风场、海平面气压场等资料探讨了南印度洋偶极子(Southern Indian Ocean Dipole,SIOD)的变化特征及其与ENSO事件的联系。结果表明:1)发生在南半球副热带印度洋地区的海温异常西南—东北反相的南印度洋偶极子现象,具有明显的季节锁相特征:10—12月发生发展,次年1—3月发展成熟达到盛期,4—6月减弱消亡;SIOD的形成主要受大尺度大气环流的影响,马斯克林高压以及澳大利亚低(高)压位置和强度的变化引起的副热带印度洋海表面风场的异常,影响了海温的变化,进而形成SIOD。2)南半球副热带印度洋地区的海温变化与赤道中东太平洋地区海温异常密切联系,前冬ENSO事件与SIOD有显著的负相关关系,大多数正SIOD发生在La Ni?a事件之后,大多数负SIOD发生在El Ni?o事件之后;也存在部分SIOD事件的发生既不伴随La Ni?a现象,也不伴随El Ni?o现象。3)ENSO事件产生的异常垂直运动和赤道异常纬向风对南半球副热带印度洋地区的海平面气压以及海表面风场的强度和位置的变化有重要作用,可以分别影响SIOD东西极子的演变,进而对SIOD产生影响。4)SIOD事件也可单独发生,一般负事件比正事件早一个月发生,同时由于没有ENSO事件的作用,海温异常反相的现象不能持续,单独发生的SIOD事件生命期较短。     

Analysis of the Slab Ocean El Nino atmospheric feedbacks in observed and simulated ENSO dynamics

In a recent study it was illustrated that the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) mode can exist in the absence of any ocean dynamics. This oscillating mode exists just due to the interaction between atmospheric heat fluxes and ocean heat capacity. The primary purpose of this study is to further explore these atmospheric Slab Ocean ENSO dynamics and therefore the role of positive atmospheric feedbacks in model simulations and observations. The positive solar radiation feedback to sea surface temperature (SST), due to reduced cloud cover for anomalous warm SSTs, is the main positive feedback in the Slab Ocean El Nino dynamics. The strength of this positive cloud feedback is strongly related to the strength of the equatorial cold tongue. The combination of positive latent and sensible heat fluxes to the west and negative ones to the east of positive anomalies leads to the westward propagation of the SST anomalies, which allows for oscillating behavior with a preferred period of 6–7 years. Several indications are found that parts of these dynamics are indeed observed and simulated in other atmospheric or coupled general circulation models (AGCMs or CGCMs). The CMIP3 AGCM-slab ensemble of 13 different AGCM simulations shows unstable ocean–atmosphere interactions along the equatorial Pacific related to stronger cold tongues. In observations and in the CMIP3 and CMIP5 CGCM model ensemble the strength and sign of the cloud feedback is a function of the strength of the cold tongue. In summary, this indicates that the Slab Ocean El Nino dynamics are indeed a characteristic of the equatorial Pacific climate that is only dominant or significantly contributing to the ENSO dynamics if the SST cold tongue is sufficiently strong. In the observations this is only the case during strong La Nina conditions. The presence of the Slab Ocean ENSO atmospheric feedbacks in observations and CGCM model simulations implies that the family of physical ENSO modes does have another member, which is entirely driven by atmospheric processes and does not need to have the same spatial pattern nor the same time scales as the main ENSO dynamics.     

全球大气／热带太平洋耦合距平模式中由ENSO增暖引起的全球大气环流异常

本文利用全球大气／热带太平洋耦合距平模式模拟了一次类似于实际的ENSO增暖过程，并对由ENSO增暖引起的海洋和全球大气环流异常的主要特征进行了分析，指出:耦合模式中的ENSO增暖在热带地区主要伴随着赤道中西太平洋Walker环流的减弱、中东太平洋气压降低以及表层辐合上升运动的增强；夏季和冬季低纬环流异常具有明显的差异性，夏季主要表现为印度夏季风环流的显著减弱和东亚季风的增强，而冬季则主要表现为赤道所有纬向环流圈均减弱；温带大气环流异常冬夏季也具有明显不同特征，夏季温带大气异常主要限于东半球，且发源于亚洲季风区，和赤道中东太平洋海温异常似无直接联系，但冬季温带大气异常则主要是发源于海温异常区的波列响应，反映了海温异常直接热力强迫的结果。另外，本文对耦合模式中的温带大气环流异常产生的可能机制也进行了讨论。     

Influences of tropical–extratropical interaction on the multidecadal AMOC variability in the NCEP climate forecast system

We have examined the mechanisms of a multidecadal oscillation of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in a 335-year simulation of the Climate Forecast System (CFS), the climate prediction model developed at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). Both the mean and seasonal cycle of the AMOC in the CFS are generally consistent with observation-based estimates with a maximum northward volume transport of 16?Sv (10⁶?m³/s) near 35°N at 1.2?km. The annual mean AMOC shows an intermittent quasi 30-year oscillation. Its dominant structure includes a deep anomalous overturning cell (referred to as the anomalous AMOC) with amplitude of 0.6?Sv near 35°N and an anomalous subtropical cell (STC) of shallow overturning spanning across the equator. The mechanism for the oscillation includes a positive feedback between the anomalous AMOC and surface wind stress anomalies in mid-latitudes and a negative feedback between the anomalous STC and AMOC. A strong AMOC is associated with warm sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) centered near 45°N, which generates an anticyclonic easterly surface wind anomaly. This anticyclonic wind anomaly enhances the regional downwelling and reinforces the anomalous AMOC. In the mean time, a wind-evaporation-SST (WES) feedback extends the warm SSTA to the tropics and induces a cyclonic wind stress anomaly there, which drives a tropical upwelling and weakens the STC north of the equator. The STC anomaly, in turn, drives a cold upper ocean heat content anomaly (HCA) in the northern tropical Atlantic and weakens the meridional heat transport from the tropics to the mid-latitude through an anomalous southward western boundary current. The anomalous STC transports cold HCA from the subtropics to the mid-latitudes, weakening the mid-latitude deep overturning.     

Climatic background of cold and wet winter in southern China: part I observational analysis

This study explores the climate background of anomalous wet and cold winter in southern China, focusing on results in January when most of its disastrous snowstorms and freezing rainfall events were observed. Based on the ERA-40 reanalysis and Climate Research Unit (CRU) observed precipitation and surface temperature monthly data for the period of 1959?C2001, the difference between normalised monthly precipitation and temperature is used to define a simple index which reflects the intensity of the wet and cold condition in the region. It offers a good agreement with an index defined by daily weather station data observed in the region. Then, through simple correlation analyses we focus on exploring the dominant physical and dynamical processes leading to such climatic anomalies. While we acknowledge the contribution of the cold/dry air penetrated from the north, the importance of maintaining a warm and moist airflow from the south is highlighted, including an enhanced Middle East Jet Stream (MEJS) and southwesterly flow over Indochina Peninsula and South China Sea region. Strong vertical share of meridional wind, with enhanced northerly flow near the surface and southerly flow in the low to middle troposphere, leads to significant temperature and moisture inversions. These are consistent with results from synoptic analyses of the severe January 2008 event which was not included in the correlation calculations and thus suggest the 2008 event was not an unusual event although it was very intense. In the third part, we use a partial least-square statistical method to uncover dominant SST patterns corresponding to such climatic conditions. By comparing results for the periods of 1949?C1978 and 1978?C2007, we demonstrate the shift of dominant SST patterns responsible for the wet and cold anomalies. Shifting from ??conventional?? ENSO SST patterns to ENSO Modoki-like conditions in recent decades partially explains the unstable relationship between ENSO and Asian winter monsoon. Meanwhile, the importance of SST conditions in extra-tropic Pacific and Indian oceans is acknowledged. Finally, we developed a forecasting model which uses SST condition in October to predict the occurrence of the anomalous wet and cold January in the region and reasonable forecasting skill is obtained.     

The seasonal cycle of tropical Pacific sea surface temperature in a coupled GCM

 The mechanisms responsible for the seasonal cycle in the tropical central and eastern Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) are investigated using a coupled general circulation model. We find that the annual westward propagation of SST anomalies along the equator is explained by a two-stage process. The first stage sets the phase of the variation at the eastern boundary. The strengthening of the local Hadley Circulation in boreal summer leads to a strengthening of the northward winds that blow across the equator. These stronger winds drive enhanced evaporation and entrainment cooling of the oceanic mixed layer. The resulting change in SST is greatest in the east because the mixed layer is at its shallowest there. As the east Pacific SST cools the zonal SST gradient in the central Pacific becomes more negative. This development signals the onset of the second stage in the seasonal variation of equatorial SST. In response to the anomalous SST gradient the local westward wind stress increases. This increase drives cooling of the oceanic mixed layer in which no single mechanism dominates: enhanced evaporation, wind-driven entrainment, and westward advection all contribute. We discuss the role that equatorial upwelling plays in modulating mixed layer depth and hence the entrainment cooling, and we highlight the importance of seasonal variations in mixed layer depth. In sum these processes act to propagate the SST anomaly westward. Received: 22 February 1999 / Accepted: 20 March 2000