Roles of Multi-Scale Disturbances over the Tropical North Pacific in the Turnabout of 1997-98 El Ni■o

The space-time features of major vorticity disturbances over the western North Pacific during the 1997-98 E1 Ni(?)o ranked as one of the strongest events on record was investigated in this study.We distinguished the different roles that these disturbances had on different timescales in causing the reversal or turnabout of the E1 Ni(?)o event.Remarkable differences in the various disturbances of synoptic,intraseasonal,and interannual timescales were found in the time evolution,propagation,and in their contributions to the changes in near- equatorial zonal flow,which was crucial to the demise of the warm sea surface temperature anomalies in the central-eastern Pacific.It is hypothesized that the westward-traveling synoptic and intraseasonal oscillations in the western North Pacific might be considered as a self-provided negative feedback from the E1 Ni(?)o and played an additional role in its reversal in comparison with other interannual internal and external forcings. In this case,the off-equatorial synoptic and intraseaonal fluctuations served as a stochastic forcing for the tropical ocean and gave rise to the aperiodicity or irregularity of the E1 Ni(?)o-Southern Oscillation.     

Interannual Thermocline Signals and El Nio-La Nia Turnabout in the Tropical Pacific Ocean

One of the fundamental questions concerning the nature and prediction of the oceanic states in the equatorial eastern Pacific is how the turnabout from a cold water state (La Nina) to a warm water state (El Nino) takes place, and vice versa. Recent studies show that this turnabout is directly linked to the interannual thermocline variations in the tropical Pacific Ocean basin. An index, as an indicator and precursor to describe interannual thermocline variations and the turnabout of oceanic states in our previous paper (Qian and Hu, 2005), is also used in this study. The index, which shows the maximum subsurface temperature anomaly (MSTA), is derived from the monthly 21-year (1980-2000) expendable XBT dataset in the present study. Results show that the MSTA can be used as a precursor for the occurrences of El Nino (or La Nina) events. The subsequent analyses of the MSTA propagations in the tropical Pacific suggest a one-year potential predictability for El Nino and La Nina events by identifying ocean temperature anomalies in the thermocline of the western Pacific Ocean. It also suggests that a closed route cycle with the strongest signal propagation is identified only in the tropical North Pacific Ocean. A positive (or negative) MSTA signal may travel from the western equatorial Pacific to the eastern equatorial Pacific with the strongest signal along the equator. This signal turns northward along the tropical eastern boundary of the basin and then moves westward along the north side of off-equator around 16°N. Finally, the signal returns toward the equator along the western boundary of the basin. The turnabout time from an El Nino event to a La Nina event in the eastern equatorial Pacific depends critically on the speed of the signal traveling along the closed route, and it usually needs about 4 years. This finding may help to predict the occurrence of the El Nino or La Nina event at least one year in advance.     

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.     

Interannual Thermocline Signals and E1 Nino-La Nina Turnabout in the Tropical Pacific Ocean

One of the fundamental questions concerning the nature and prediction of the oceanic states in the equatorial eastern Pacific is how the turnabout from a cold water state (La Ni?na) to a warm water state (El Ni?no) takes place, and vice versa. Recent studies show that this turnabout is directly linked to the interannual thermocline variations in the tropical Pacific Ocean basin. An index, as an indicator and precursor to describe interannual thermocline variations and the turnabout of oceanic states in our previous paper (Qian and Hu, 2005), is also used in this study. The index, which shows the maximum subsurface temperature anomaly (MSTA), is derived from the monthly 21-year (1980–2000) expendable XBT dataset in the present study. Results show that the MSTA can be used as a precursor for the occurrences of El Ni?no (or La Ni?na) events. The subsequent analyses of the MSTA propagations in the tropical Pacific suggest a one-year potential predictability for El Ni?no and La Ni?na events by identifying ocean temperature anomalies in the thermocline of the western Pacific Ocean. It also suggests that a closed route cycle with the strongest signal propagation is identified only in the tropical North Pacific Ocean. A positive (or negative) MSTA signal may travel from the western equatorial Pacific to the eastern equatorial Pacific with the strongest signal along the equator. This signal turns northward along the tropical eastern boundary of the basin and then moves westward along the north side of off-equator around 16N. Finally, the signal returns toward the equator along the western boundary of the basin. The turnabout time from an El Ni?no event to a La Ni?na event in the eastern equatorial Pacific depends critically on the speed of the signal traveling along the closed route, and it usually needs about 4 years. This finding may help to predict the occurrence of the El Ni?no or La Ni?na event at least one year in advance.     

Distinctive MJO Activity during the Boreal Winter of the 2015/16 Super El Nino in Comparison with Other Super El Nino Events

Many previous studies have demonstrated that the boreal winters of super El Nino events are usually accompanied by severely suppressed Madden-Julian oscillation(MJO) activity over the western Pacific due to strong descending motion associated with a weakened Walker Circulation. However, the boreal winter of the 2015/16 super El Nino event is concurrent with enhanced MJO activity over the western Pacific despite its sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA)magnitude over the Nino 3.4 region being comparable to the SSTA magnitudes of the two former super El Nino events(i.e.,1982/83 and 1997/98). This study suggests that the MJO enhanced over western Pacific during the 2015/16 super El Nino event is mainly related to its distinctive SSTA structure and associated background thermodynamic conditions. In comparison with the previous super El Nino events, the warming SSTA center of the 2015/16 super El Nino is located further westward, and a strong cold SSTA is not detected in the western Pacific. Accordingly, the low-level moisture and air temperature(as well as the moist static energy, MSE) tend to increase in the central-western Pacific. In contrast, the low-level moisture and MSE show negative anomalies over the western Pacific during the previous super El Nino events.As the MJO-related horizontal wind anomalies contribute to the further westward warm SST-induced positive moisture and MSE anomalies over the western tropical Pacific in the boreal winter of 2015/16, stronger moisture convergence and MSE advection are generated over the western Pacific and lead to the enhancement of MJO convection.     

IMPACT OF ENSO ON THE PRECIPITATION OVER CHINA IN WINTER HALF-YEARS

In this paper, the impact of ENSO on the precipitation over China in the winter half-year is investigated diagnostically. The results show that positive precipitation anomalies with statistical significance appear over southern China in El Nio episodes, which are caused by the enhanced warm and humid southwesterlies along the East Asian coast in the lower troposphere. The enhanced southwesterlies transport more water vapor to southern China, and the convergence of water vapor over southern China increases the precipitable water and specific humidity. In La Nia episodes,although atmospheric elements change reversely, they are not statistically significant as those in El Nio periods. The possible physical mechanism of the different impact of ENSO cycle on the precipitation over southern China is investigated by analyzing the intraseasonal oscillations(ISOs) in El Nio and La Nia winter half-years, respectively. By comparing the characteristics of ISOs in El Nio and La Nia, a physical mechanism is proposed to explain the different responses of the precipitation over China to ENSO in the winter half-year. In El Nio episodes, over western North Pacific(WNP) and South China Sea(SCS) the ISOs are inactive and exert little effect on water vapor transport and convergence, inducing positive precipitation anomalies with statistical significance over southern China in El Nio episodes. In La Nia episodes, however, the ISOs are active, which weaken the interannual variation signals of ENSO over WNP and southern China and lead to the insignificance of the interannual signals related to ENSO. Therefore, the different responses of precipitation over China to ENSO in the winter half-year are possibly caused by the difference of intraseasonal oscillations over WNP and SCS between El Nio and La Nia.     

Optimal Precursor Perturbations of El Nino in the Zebiak-Cane Model for Different Cost Functions

Optimal precursor perturbations of El Nino in the Zebiak-Cane model were explored for three different cost functions. For the different characteristics of the eastern-Pacific （EP） El Nino and the central-Pacific （CP） El Nino, three cost functions were defined as the sea surface temperature anomaly （SSTA） evolutions at prediction time in the whole tropical Pacific, the Nino3 area, and the Nino4 area. For all three cost functions, there were two optimal precursors that developed into El Nino events, called Precursor Ⅰ and Precursor Ⅱ. For Precursor Ⅰ, the SSTA component consisted of an east-west （positive-negative） dipole spanning the entire tropical Pacific basin and the thermocline depth anomaly pattern exhibited a tendency of deepening for the whole of the equatorial Pacific. Precursor Ⅰ can develop into an EP-El Nino event, with the warmest SSTA occurring in the eastern tropical Pacific or into a mixed El Nino event that has features between EP-El Nino and CP-El Nino events. For Precursor Ⅱ, the thermocline deepened anomalously in the eastern equatorial Pacific and the amplitude of deepening was obviously larger than that of shoaling in the central and western equatorial Pacific. Precursor Ⅱ developed into a mixed El Nino event. Both the thermocline depth and wind anomaly played important roles in the development of Precursor Ⅰ and Precursor Ⅱ.     

Revisiting the intraseasonal,interannual and interdecadal variability of tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific

This paper reviews the recent progress and research on the variability of tropical cyclones(TCs) at different time scales. Specific focus is placed on how different types of external forcings or climatic oscillations contribute to TC variability in the western North Pacific(WNP). At the intraseasonal scale, recent advances on the distinctive impacts of the Madden–Julian Oscillation(MJO), the Quasi-biweekly Oscillation, and the asymmetric MJO modulation under different El Ni?o–Southern Oscillation(ENSO) states, as well as the influences of the Pacific–Japan teleconnection, are highlighted. Interannually, recent progress on the influences of the ENSO cycle, different flavors of ENSO, and impacts of Indian Ocean warming is presented. In addition, the uncertainty concerning interdecadal TC variations is discussed, along with the recently proposed modulation mechanisms related to the zonal sea surface temperature gradient, the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation, and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation(PDO). It is hoped that this study can deepen our understanding and provide information that the scientific community can use to improve the seasonal forecasting of TCs in the WNP.     

RESEARCH ON THE INTERANNUAL AND INTERDECADAL VARIABILITIES OF THE MONSOON TROUGH AND THEIR IMPACTS ON TROPICAL CYCLONE GENESIS OVER THE WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN

In this paper, we mainly summarize and review the progresses in recent climatological studies (by CMSR, IAP/CAS and some associated domestic and international institutions) on the interannual and interdecadal variabilities of monsoon troughs and their impacts on tropical cyclones and typhoons (TCs) geneses over the western North Pacific Ocean. The climatological characteristics of monsoon troughs and four types of circulation patterns favorable to TCs genesis over the western North Pacific Ocean in summer and autumn are given in this paper. It is also shown in this paper that the monsoon trough over the western North Pacific Ocean has obvious interannual and interdecadal variabilities. Especially, it is revealed in this paper that the interannual and interdecadal variabilities of the monsoon trough over the western North Pacific Ocean influence the TCs genesis not only through the impact on distributions of the vorticity in the lower troposphere and the divergence in the upper troposphere, the water vapor in the mid- and lower troposphere and the vertical shear of wind fields between the upper and lower troposphere over the western North Pacific Ocean, but also through the dynamical effects of the transition between convectively coupled tropical waves and providing disturbance energy. Besides, some climatological problems associated with TCs activity over the western North Pacific Ocean that need to be studied further are also pointed out in this paper.     

ACTIONS OF TYPHOONS OVER THE WESTERN PACIFIC (INCLUDING THE SOUTH CHINA SEA) AND EL NINO

According to me lime cross-section or SSI in me equatorial eastern racing and me historical data on typhoon actions over the western Pacific (including the South China Sea), a composite analysis of the actions of typhoon over the western Pacific in El Nino year (SST in the equatorial eastern Pacific are continuously higher than normal) and in the inverse El Nino year (there are continuative negative anomalies of SST in the equatorial eastern Pacific) is carried out. The results show that the actions of typhoon are in close relation with El Nino: The annual average number of typhoons over the western Pacific and South China Sea is less than normal in El Nino year and more in the inverse El Nino year; The annual average number of the landing typhoon on the continent of China bears the same relationship with El Nino; The anomalies of typhoon actions mainly occur during July-November and their starting are behind the anomaly of SST in the equatorial eastern Pacific.Based on the generation and development co     

热带对流季内振荡强度异常特征及其与海表温度的关系

利用外逸长波辐射 (outgoing longwave radiation, OLR) 资料分析了热带对流季内振荡 (ISO) 强度的季节变化及年际异常特征, 重点研究其与海表温度的关系。结果表明:最强的OLR季内振荡主要位于高海表温度 (SST) 区, 即热带印度洋和热带西太平洋区域, 终年存在, 冬、春季最强, 振荡中心偏于夏半球。OLR季内振荡强度年际异常显著区域是热带中东太平洋区域、西北太平洋区域和西南太平洋区域, 它与SST年际异常存在局地正相关关系, 伴随环流的辐合辐散, 并与ENSO事件关系密切。另外, El Ni?o事件发生之前, 热带印度洋和热带西太平区域OLR季内振荡增强, 其中心随事件的发展逐渐东移, 事件发生后这两个区域ISO减弱, 这与OLR季内振荡强度年际异常显著的区域具有内在连贯性。海表温度是决定OLR季内振荡强度季节变化、年际异常的一个关键因子。     

ENSO对中国冬半年降水影响的不对称性及机制分析

利用1979—2010年观测和再分析资料,诊断分析ENSO对中国华南冬半年降水的影响及其机制。结果表明,在El Ni?o冬半年期间,东亚沿岸上空对流层低层南风的增强导致了水汽输送明显偏多,水汽在华南辐合,使得大气可降水量和比湿增加,降水显著偏多。而在La Ni?a冬半年期间,这些大气要素并没有呈现显著的相反变化,负异常的量值很弱并在统计上不显著。通过进一步分析El Ni?o和La Ni?a冬半年期间季节内振荡的特点,给出一种华南冬半年降水对ENSO信号不对称响应的物理解释。El Ni?o期间,热带西太平洋到南海地区的季节内振荡不活跃,与El Ni?o相联系的西北太平洋反气旋性环流异常造成的水汽输送以及水汽辐合在华南能够稳定维持,致使华南降水明显偏多。但在La Ni?a冬半年期间,季节内振荡很活跃,与La Ni?a相联系的西北太平洋气旋性环流异常受到季节内时间尺度的扰动影响,ENSO的年际变化信号被季节内振荡破坏,使得西北太平洋和华南的年际异常信号不能得到稳定维持,导致与ENSO信号相联系的年际变化在统计上不显著。因此,热带西太平洋到南海地区的季节内振荡强度在El Ni?o和La Ni?a冬半年期间的差异,是华南冬半年降水对ENSO信号不对称响应的一个主要原因。      

Interannual variability of the South Pacific Convergence Zone and implications for tropical cyclone genesis

The interannual variability of the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) and its influence on tropical cyclone (TC) genesis in the South Pacific are investigated using observations and ERA40 reanalysis over the 1979?C2002 period. In austral summer, the SPCZ displays four typical structures at interannual timescales. The first three are characterized by a diagonal orientation of the SPCZ and account for 85% of the summer seasons. One is close to climatology and the other two exhibit a 3° northward or southward departure from the SPCZ climatological position. In contrast, the fourth one, that only encompasses three austral summer seasons (the extreme 1982/1983 and 1997/1998 El Ni?o events and the moderate 1991/1992 El Ni?o event), displays very peculiar behaviour where the SPCZ largely departs from its climatological position and is zonally oriented. Variability of the western/central Pacific equatorial sea surface temperature (SST) is shown to modulate moisture transport south of the equator, thereby strongly constraining the location of the SPCZ. The SPCZ location is also shown to strongly modulate the atmospheric circulation variability in the South Pacific with specific patterns for each class. However, independently of its wide year-to-year excursions, the SPCZ is always collocated with the zero relative vorticity at low levels while the maximum vorticity axis lies 6° to the south of the SPCZ position. This coherent atmospheric organisation in the SPCZ region is shown to constrain tropical cyclogenesis to occur preferentially within 10° south of the SPCZ location as this region combines all the large-scale atmospheric conditions that favour the breeding of TCs. This analysis also reveals that cyclogenesis in the central Pacific (in the vicinity of French Polynesia) only occurs when the SPCZ displays a zonal orientation while this observation was previously attributed to El Ni?o years in general. Different characteristics of El Ni?o Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-related Pacific equatorial warming are shown to impact differently on the SPCZ position, suggesting that for regional scales, such as the South Pacific, the SPCZ classification is more appropriate than a simple ENSO index to characterize TC interannual variability. These findings suggest that forecasting the strength of El Ni?o through SST variations in the eastern Pacific may not be sufficient to accurately predict cyclogenesis in the South Pacific, especially east of the dateline.     

El Nino事件对其衰减阶段夏季中国降水季节内演变的影响及其机理

利用1979—2007年NOAA重建海温逐月资料和中国160站夏季降水资料,使用扩展奇异值分解（extended singular value decomposition,ESVD）方法,研究了冬季热带太平洋海温异常与次年夏季中国降水异常季节内演变型之间的关系,指出前冬El Nino事件是与次年夏季中国降水季节内变化相联系的最重要的热带太平洋海温异常模态。相应的降水异常季节内变化情况为：6月在长江以南为正异常,江淮流域有负异常;7月在华南沿海有负降水异常,而正异常北进到长江流域,华北地区也出现正降水异常;8月在长江南北分别为少雨和多雨。进一步研究前冬El Nino事件与次年春夏印度洋、太平洋海温异常、对流层低层风场异常以及副热带高压等的联系,结果表明：El Nio事件发生的次年春夏,热带西太平洋周边存在东负西正的海温异常分布;西太平洋反气旋异常较强;副高在6月、7月偏西偏北,但在8月迅速南退。虽然与El Nino事件相联系的6月与7月、8月的降水型不同,但是西太平洋反气旋异常带来的充沛水汽造成7月长江流域雨季多雨,8月副高迅速南退带来的又一次长江流域降水,造成了El Nino事件发生次年夏季长江流域涝而华南沿海旱的夏季平均降水异常型。     

Decadal and interannual variability of the Indian Ocean SST

The variability of the Indian Ocean on interannual and decadal timescales is investigated in observations, coupled model simulation and model experiment. The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) mode was specifically analyzed using a data-adaptive method. This study reveals one decadal mode and two interannual modes in the sea surface temperature (SST) of the IOD. The decadal mode in the IOD is associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) of the North Pacific SST. The two interannual modes are related to the biennial and canonical components of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), consistent with previous studies. This study hypothesizes that the relation between the Indian Ocean and the North Pacific on decadal scale may be through the northerly winds from the western North Pacific. The long simulation of Community Climate System Model version 4 also indicates the presence of IOD modes associated with the decadal PDO and canonical ENSO modes. However, the model fails to simulate the biennial ENSO mode in the Indian Ocean. The relation between the Indian Ocean and North Pacific Ocean is further supported by the regionally de-coupled model experiment.     

Evaluation of ocean data assimilation in CAS-ESM-C: Constraining the SST field

A weakly coupled assimilation system, in which SST observations are assimilated into a coupled climate model(CASESM-C) through an ensemble optimal interpolation scheme, was established. This system is a useful tool for historical climate simulation, showing substantial advantages, including maintaining the atmospheric feedback, and keeping the oceanic fields from drifting far away from the observation, among others. During the coupled model integration, the bias of both surface and subsurface oceanic fields in the analysis can be reduced compared to unassimilated fields. Based on 30 model years of output from the system, the climatology and interannual variability of the climate system were evaluated. The results showed that the system can reasonably reproduce the climatological global precipitation and SLP, but it still suffers from the double ITCZ problem. Besides, the ENSO footprint, which is revealed by ENSO-related surface air temperature, geopotential height and precipitation during El Ni ?no evolution, is basically reproduced by the system. The system can also simulate the observed SST–rainfall relationships well on both interannual and intraseasonal timescales in the western North Pacific region, in which atmospheric feedback is crucial for climate simulation.     

The signature of ENSO in the Northern Hemisphere midlatitude seasonal mean flow and high-frequency intraseasonal variability

Summary The impact of pronounced positive and negative sea surface temperature (STT) anomalies in the tropical Pacific associated with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon on the atmospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere extratropics during the boreal winter season is investigated. This includes both the impact on the seasonal mean flow and on the intraseasonal variability on synoptic time scales. Moreover, the interaction between the transient fluctuations on these times scales and the mean circulation is examined. Both data from an ensemble of five simulations with the ECHAM3 atmospheric general circulation model at a horizontal resolution of T42 each covering the period from 1979 through 1992 and operational analyses from ECMWF for the corresponding period are examined. In each of the simulations observed SSTs for the period of investigation are given as lower boundary forcing, but different atmospheric initial conditions are prescribed.The simulations with ECHAM3 reveal a distinct impact of the pronounced SST-anomalies in the tropical Pacific on the atmospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere extratropics during El Niño as well as during La Niña events. These changes in the atmospheric circulation, which are found to be highly significant in the Pacific/North American as well as in the Atlantic/European region, are consistent with the essential results obtained from the analyses. The pronounced SST-anomalies in the tropical Pacific lead to changes in the mean circulation, which are characterized by typical circulation patterns. These changes in the mean circulation are accompanied by marked variations of the activity of the transient fluctuations on synoptic time scales, that are changes in both the kinetic energy on these time scales and the atmospheric transports of momentum and heat accomplished by the short baroclinic waves. The synoptic disturbances, on the other hand, play also an important role in controlling the changes in the mean circulation associated with the ENSO phenomenon. They maintain these typical circulation patterns via barotropic, but counteract them via baroclinic processes.The hypothesis of an impact of the ENSO phenomenon in the Atlantic/European region can be supported. As the determining factor the intensification (reduction) of the Aleutian low and the simultaneous reduction (intensification) of the Icelandic low during El Niño and during La Niña events respectively, is identified. The changes in the intensity of the Aleutian low during the ENSO-events are accompanied by an alteration of the transport of momentum caused by the short baroclinic waves over the North American continent in such a way that the changes in the intensity of the Icelandic low during El Niño as well as during La Niña events are maintained.With 16 Figures