Evolution of South Tropical Indian Ocean Warming and the Climatic Impacts Following Strong El Niño Events

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (21) ◽  
pp. 7329-7347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zesheng Chen ◽  
Yan Du ◽  
Zhiping Wen ◽  
Renguang Wu ◽  
Shang-Ping Xie
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Kelvin Waves ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
The Mean

Abstract The south tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) warms following a strong El Niño, affecting Indo-Pacific climate in early boreal summer. While much attention has been given to the southwest TIO where the mean thermocline is shallow, this study focuses on the subsequent warming in the southeast TIO, where the mean sea surface temperature (SST) is high and deep convection is strong in early summer. The southeast TIO warming induces an anomalous meridional circulation with descending (ascending) motion over the northeast (southeast) TIO. It further anchors a “C-shaped” surface wind anomaly pattern with easterlies (westerlies) in the northeast (southeast) TIO, causing a persistent northeast TIO warming via wind–evaporation–SST feedback. The southeast TIO warming lags the southwest TIO warming by about one season. Ocean wave dynamics play a key role in linking the southwest and southeast TIO warming. South of the equator, the El Niño–forced oceanic Rossby waves, which contribute to the southwest TIO warming, are reflected as eastward-propagating oceanic Kelvin waves along the equator on the western boundary. The Kelvin waves subsequently depress the thermocline and develop the southeast TIO warming.

Strengthening of Tropical Indian Ocean Teleconnection to the Northwest Pacific since the Mid-1970s: An Atmospheric GCM Study*

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (19) ◽  
pp. 5294-5304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Huang ◽  
Kaiming Hu ◽  
Shang-Ping Xie
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Interdecadal Change ◽  
Northwest Pacific ◽  
Wind Pattern ◽  
Climate Anomalies

Abstract The correlation of northwest (NW) Pacific climate anomalies during summer with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the preceding winter strengthens in the mid-1970s and remains high. This study investigates the hypothesis that the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) response to ENSO is key to this interdecadal change, using a 21-member ensemble simulation with the Community Atmosphere Model, version 3 (CAM3) forced by the observed history of sea surface temperature (SST) for 1950–2000. In the model hindcast, the TIO influence on the summer NW Pacific strengthens in the mid-1970s, and the strengthened TIO teleconnection coincides with an intensification of summer SST variability over the TIO. This result is corroborated by the fact the model’s skills in simulating NW Pacific climate anomalies during summer increase after the 1970s shift. During late spring to early summer, El Niño–induced TIO warming decays rapidly for the epoch prior to the 1970s shift but grows and persists through summer for the epoch occurring after it. This difference in the evolution of the TIO warming determines the strength of the TIO teleconnection to the NW Pacific in the subsequent summer. An antisymmetric wind pattern develops in spring across the equator over the TIO, and the associated northeasterly anomalies aid the summer warming over the north Indian Ocean by opposing the prevailing southwest monsoon. In the model, this antisymmetric spring wind pattern is well developed after but absent before the 1970s shift.

Trans-basin influence of southwest tropical Indian Ocean warming during early boreal summer

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-46
Author(s):  
Zesheng Chen ◽  
Zhenning Li ◽  
Yan Du ◽  
Zhiping Wen ◽  
Renguang Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
The North ◽  
Sst Cooling ◽  
Wind Response ◽  
Sst Warming ◽  
Wes Feedback

AbstractThis study examines the climate response to a sea surface temperature (SST) warming imposed over the southwest Tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) in a coupled ocean-atmosphere model. The results indicate that the southwest TIO SST warming can remotely modulate the atmospheric circulation over the western North Pacific (WNP) via inter-basin air-sea interaction during early boreal summer. The southwest TIO SST warming induces a “C-shaped” wind response with northeasterly and northwesterly anomalies over the north and south TIO, respectively. The northeasterly wind anomalies contribute to the north TIO SST warming via a positive Wind-Evaporation-SST(WES) feedback after the Asian summer monsoon onset. In June, the easterly wind response extends into the WNP, inducing an SST cooling by WES feedback on the background trade winds. Both the north TIO SST warming and the WNP SST cooling contribute to an anomalous anticyclonic circulation (AAC) over the WNP. The north TIO SST warming, WNP SST cooling, and AAC constitute an inter-basin coupled mode called the Indo-western Pacific ocean capacitor (IPOC), and the southwest TIO SST warming could be a trigger for IPOC. While the summertime southwest TIO SST warming is often associated with antecedent El Niño, the warming in 2020 seems to be related to extreme Indian Ocean Dipole in 2019 fall. The strong southwest TIO SST warming seems to partly explain the strong summer AAC of 2020 over the WNP even without a strong antecedent El Niño.

scholarly journals Different Influences of Southeastern Indian Ocean and Western Indian Ocean SST Anomalies on Eastern China Rainfall during the Decaying Summer of the 2015/16 Extreme El Niño

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (13) ◽  
pp. 5427-5443
Author(s):  
Jiepeng Chen ◽  
Jin-Yi Yu ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Tao Lian
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Ocean Warming ◽  
Indian Ocean Warming ◽  
Extreme El Niño

ABSTRACTPrevious studies linked the increase of the middle and low reaches of the Yangtze River (MLRYR) rainfall to tropical Indian Ocean warming during extreme El Niños’ (e.g., 1982/83 and 1997/98 extreme El Niños) decaying summer. This study finds the linkage to be different for the recent 2015/16 extreme El Niño’s decaying summer, during which the above-normal rainfalls over MLRYR and northern China are respectively linked to southeastern Indian Ocean warming and western tropical Indian Ocean cooling in sea surface temperatures (SSTs). The southeastern Indian Ocean warming helps to maintain the El Niño–induced anomalous lower-level anticyclone over the western North Pacific Ocean and southern China, which enhances moisture transport to increase rainfall over MLRYR. The western tropical Indian Ocean cooling first enhances the rainfall over central-northern India through a regional atmospheric circulation, the latent heating of which further excites a midlatitude Asian teleconnection pattern (part of circumglobal teleconnection) that results in an above-normal rainfall over northern China. The western tropical Indian Ocean cooling during the 2015/16 extreme El Niño is contributed by the increased upward latent heat flux anomalies associated with enhanced surface wind speeds, opposite to the earlier two extreme El Niños.

scholarly journals Impact of the mean state on El Niño induced western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone during its decaying summer in AMIP models

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-49
Author(s):  
Xieyuan Wang ◽  
Tim Li ◽  
Chao He
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Cp El Niño ◽  
Anomalous Anticyclone ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mean State

AbstractThrough the diagnosis of 29 Atmospheric Model Inter-comparison Project (AMIP) experiments from the CMIP5 inter-comparison project, we investigate the impact of the mean state on simulated western North Pacific anomalous anticyclone (WNPAC) during El Niño decaying summer. The result indicates that the inter-model difference of the JJA mean precipitation in the Indo-western Pacific warm pool is responsible for the difference of the WNPAC. During the decaying summer of an Eastern Pacific (EP) type El Niño, a model that simulates excessive mean rainfall over the western North Pacific (WNP) reproduces a stronger WNPAC response, through an enhanced local convection-circulation-moisture feedback. The intensity of the simulated WNPAC during the decay summer of a Central Pacific (CP) type El Niño, on the other hand, depends on the mean precipitation over the tropical Indian Ocean. The distinctive WNPAC-mean precipitation relationships between the EP and CP El Niño result from different anomalous SST patterns in the WNP. While the local SST anomaly plays an active role in maintaining the WNPAC during the EP El Niño, it plays a passive role during the CP El Niño. As a result, only the mean-state precipitation/moisture field in the tropical Indian Ocean modulates the circulation anomaly in the WNP in the latter case.

Why Was the Indian Ocean Dipole Weak in the Context of the Extreme El Niño in 2015?

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 4755-4761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Liu ◽  
Guang Yang ◽  
Xia Zhao ◽  
Lin Feng ◽  
Guoqing Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
Indian Ocean Dipole ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
El Niño Modoki ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Extreme El Niño

The Indian Ocean witnessed a weak positive Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) event from the boreal summer to autumn in 2015, while an extreme El Niño occurred over the tropical Pacific. This was different from the case in 1997/98, when an extreme El Niño and the strongest IOD took place simultaneously. The analysis here suggests that the unique sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) pattern of El Niño in 2015 might have contributed to the weak IOD that year. El Niño in 2015 had a complex SSTA pattern, with positive warming over the central and eastern tropical Pacific. Such a combination of the classic El Niño (also known as cold-tongue El Niño) and the recently identified central Pacific El Niño (also known as El Niño Modoki II) had opposite remote influences on the tropical Indian Ocean. The classic El Niño reduced the strength of the Walker circulation over the tropical Indian Ocean, but this was offset by El Niño Modoki II. This study points out that the IOD can be strongly modulated by combined El Niño types in some circumstances, as in 2015.

scholarly journals Two Independent Triggers for the Indian Ocean Dipole/Zonal Mode in a Coupled GCM

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 3428-3449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert S. Fischer ◽  
Pascal Terray ◽  
Eric Guilyardi ◽  
Silvio Gualdi ◽  
Pascale Delecluse
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
Indian Ocean Dipole ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Dynamical Response ◽  
Thermocline Depth ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
The Indian Ocean

Abstract The question of whether and how tropical Indian Ocean dipole or zonal mode (IOZM) interannual variability is independent of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability in the Pacific is addressed in a comparison of twin 200-yr runs of a coupled climate model. The first is a reference simulation, and the second has ENSO-scale variability suppressed with a constraint on the tropical Pacific wind stress. The IOZM can exist in the model without ENSO, and the composite evolution of the main anomalies in the Indian Ocean in the two simulations is virtually identical. Its growth depends on a positive feedback between anomalous equatorial easterly winds, upwelling equatorial and coastal Kelvin waves reducing the thermocline depth and sea surface temperature off the coast of Sumatra, and the atmospheric dynamical response to the subsequently reduced convection. Two IOZM triggers in the boreal spring are found. The first is an anomalous Hadley circulation over the eastern tropical Indian Ocean and Maritime Continent, with an early northward penetration of the Southern Hemisphere southeasterly trades. This situation grows out of cooler sea surface temperatures in the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean left behind by a reinforcement of the late austral summer winds. The second trigger is a consequence of a zonal shift in the center of convection associated with a developing El Niño, a Walker cell anomaly. The first trigger is the only one present in the constrained simulation and is similar to the evolution of anomalies in 1994, when the IOZM occurred in the absence of a Pacific El Niño state. The presence of these two triggers—the first independent of ENSO and the second phase locking the IOZM to El Niño—allows an understanding of both the existence of IOZM events when Pacific conditions are neutral and the significant correlation between the IOZM and El Niño.

scholarly journals Weakened Anomalous Western North Pacific Anticyclone during an El Niño–Decaying Summer under a Warmer Climate: Dominant Role of the Weakened Impact of the Tropical Indian Ocean on the Atmosphere

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao He ◽  
Tianjun Zhou ◽  
Tim Li
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Tropospheric Temperature ◽  
Coupled Models ◽  
Subtropical Anticyclone ◽  
Mean State

Abstract The western North Pacific subtropical anticyclone (WNPAC) is the most prominent atmospheric circulation anomaly over the subtropical Northern Hemisphere during the decaying summer of an El Niño event. Based on a comparison between the RCP8.5 and the historical experiments of 30 coupled models from the CMIP5, we show evidence that the anomalous WNPAC during the El Niño–decaying summer is weaker in a warmer climate although the amplitude of the El Niño remains generally unchanged. The weakened impact of the sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) over the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) on the atmosphere is essential for the weakened anomalous WNPAC. In a warmer climate, the warm tropospheric temperature (TT) anomaly in the tropical free troposphere stimulated by the El Niño–related SSTA is enhanced through stronger moist adiabatic adjustment in a warmer mean state, even if the SSTA of El Niño is unchanged. But the amplitude of the warm SSTA over TIO remains generally unchanged in an El Niño–decaying summer, the static stability of the boundary layer over TIO is increased, and the positive rainfall anomaly over TIO is weakened. As a result, the warm Kelvin wave emanating from TIO is weakened because of a weaker latent heating anomaly over TIO, which is responsible for the weakened WNPAC anomaly. Numerical experiments support the weakened sensitivity of precipitation anomaly over TIO to local SSTA under an increase of mean-state SST and its essential role in the weakened anomalous WNPAC, independent of any change in the SSTA.

scholarly journals Isolated Effects of Indian Ocean Basin-Wide and El Niño–Southern Oscillation on Austral Winter Rainfall over South America

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1605
Author(s):  
Mary T. Kayano ◽  
Wilmar L. Cerón ◽  
Rita V. Andreoli ◽  
Rodrigo A. F. Souza ◽  
Itamara P. Souza
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
South America ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
El Niño Southern Oscillation ◽  
El Nino Southern Oscillation ◽  
Partial Correlations

Contrasting effects of the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans on the atmospheric circulation and rainfall interannual variations over South America during southern winter are assessed considering the effects of the warm Indian Ocean basin-wide (IOBW) and El Niño (EN) events, and of the cold IOBW and La Niña events, which are represented by sea surface temperature-based indices. Analyses are undertaken using total and partial correlations. When the effects of the two warm events are isolated from each other, the contrasts between the associated rainfall anomalies in most of South America become accentuated. In particular, EN relates to anomalous wet conditions, and the warm IOBW event to opposite conditions in extensive areas of the 5° S–25° S band. These effects in the 5° S–15° S sector are due to the anomalous regional Hadley cells, with rising motions in this band for the EN and sinking motions for the warm IOBW event. Meanwhile, in subtropical South America, the opposite effects of the EN and warm IOBW seem to be due to the presence of anomalous anticyclone and cyclone and associated moisture transport, respectively. These opposite effects of the warm IOBW and EN events on the rainfall in part of central South America might explain the weak rainfall relation in this region to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Our results emphasize the important role of the tropical Indian Ocean in the South American climate and environment during southern winter.

scholarly journals El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Indian Ocean Dipole Modes: Their Effects on South American Rainfall during Austral Spring

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1437
Author(s):  
Mary T. Kayano ◽  
Wilmar L. Cerón ◽  
Rita V. Andreoli ◽  
Rodrigo A. F. Souza ◽  
Itamara P. Souza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
Indian Ocean Dipole ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
El Niño Southern Oscillation ◽  
El Nino Southern Oscillation ◽  
Austral Spring ◽  
Precipitation Anomalies

This paper examines the effects of the tropical Pacific Ocean (TPO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) modes in the interannual variations of austral spring rainfall over South America (SA). The TPO mode refers to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The isolated effects between IOD and TPO were estimated, events were chosen from the residual TPO (R-TPO) or residual IOD (R-IOD), and the IOD (TPO) effects for the R-TPO (R-IOD) composites were removed from the variables. One relevant result was the nonlinear precipitation response to R-TPO and R-IOD. This feature was accentuated for the R-IOD composites. The positive R-IOD composite showed significant negative precipitation anomalies along equatorial SA east of 55° W and in subtropical western SA, and showed positive anomalies in northwestern SA and central Brazil. The negative R-IOD composite indicated significant positive precipitation anomalies in northwestern Amazon, central–eastern Brazil north of 20° S, and western subtropical SA, and negative anomalies were found in western SA south of 30° S. This nonlinearity was likely due to the distinct atmospheric circulation responses to the anomalous heating sources located in longitudinally distinct regions: the western tropical Indian Ocean and areas neighboring Indonesia. The results obtained in this study might be relevant for climate monitoring and modeling studies.

scholarly journals Seasonality in Prediction Skill and Predictable Pattern of Tropical Indian Ocean SST

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (20) ◽  
pp. 7962-7984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jieshun Zhu ◽  
Bohua Huang ◽  
Arun Kumar ◽  
James L. Kinter III
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
El Niño ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Prediction Skill ◽  
Lead Times ◽  
Predictable Pattern ◽  
Basin Mode ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Atmospheric Variations

Abstract Seasonality of sea surface temperature (SST) predictions in the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) was investigated using hindcasts (1982–2009) made with the NCEP Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2). CFSv2 produced useful predictions of the TIO SST with lead times up to several months. A substantial component of this skill was attributable to signals other than the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD). The prediction skill of the IOD index, defined as the difference between the SST anomaly (SSTA) averaged over 10°S–0°, 90°–110°E and 10°S–10°N, 50°–70°E, had strong seasonality, with high scores in the boreal autumn. In spite of skill in predicting its two poles with longer leads, CFSv2 did not have skill significantly better than persistence in predicting IOD. This was partly because the seasonal nature of IOD intrinsically limits its predictability. The seasonality of the predictable patterns of the TIO SST was further explored by applying the maximum signal-to-noise (MSN) empirical orthogonal function (EOF) method to the predicted SSTA in March and October, respectively. The most predictable pattern in spring was the TIO basin warming, which is closely associated with El Niño. The basin mode, including its associated atmospheric anomalies, can be predicted at least 9 months ahead, even though some biases were evident. On the other hand, the most predictable pattern in fall was characterized by the IOD mode. This mode and its associated atmospheric variations can be skillfully predicted only 1–2 seasons ahead. Statistically, the predictable IOD mode coexists with El Niño; however, the 1994 event in a non-ENSO year (at least not a canonical ENSO year) can also be predicted at least 3 months ahead by CFSv2.

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