Connection between interannual variability of the western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans in the 1997～1998 El Niño event

In this paper,the sea surface height and the heat content of the upper ocean are analyzed to retrieve the relationship of interannual variabilities between the tropical western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans during the 1997～1998 El Ni(n)o event.In the prophase of this El Ni(n)o,the negative sea level anomalies (SLA) occurred in the tropical western Pacific (TWP) firstly,and then appeared in the tropical eastern Indian Ocean (TEI).The negative heat content anomalies (HCA) emerged in the TWP before this El Ni?o burst while the SLA signals developed over there.During the mature stage of this El Ni(n)o,two kinds of signals in the TWP and TEI turned to be the maximum negative sequently.Due to the connected interannual adjustment between the TEI and TWP,we adopted a method to estimate the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) transport by calculating the HCA budget in the TEI.The indirect estimation of the ITF was comparable to the observation values.Therefore,the anomalies in the TEI had been proved as advecting from the TWP through the ITF during the 1997～1998 El Ni(n)o.     

Signal propagations and linkages of subsurface temperature anomalies in the tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean

The propagation characteristics of signals along different zonal-time profiles are analyzed using surface and subsurface temperature anomalies over the tropical Pacific and Indian oceans. Analyses show that there are intrinsic relationships between El Nio events in the eastern equatorial Pacific and dipole events in the equatorial Indian Ocean. In the region of tropical North Pacific between the equator and 16°N, there is a circle of propagation of subsurface temperature anomalies. El Nio events only happen when the warm subsurface signals reach the eastern equatorial Pacific. Dipole events are characterized when a warm subsurface signal travels along off-equatorial Indian Ocean to the western boundary. From these analyses, we believe that subsurface temperature anomalies can be considered to be the oceanographic early signal to forecast El Nio events in Pacific Ocean and dipole events in Indian Ocean, respectively.     

Indonesian Throughflow in an eddy-permitting oceanic GCM

An eddy-permitting quasi-global oceanic GCM was driven by wind stresses from reanalysis data for the period of 1958-2001 to get the time series of the upper circulation in the Indonesian Sea. The model represents a reasonable pathway of Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) with Makassar Strait making the major passage transfer the North Pacific water southward. The simulated annual mean ITF transport is 14.5 Sv, with 13.2 Sv in the upper 700 m. Annual cycle is the dominant signal for the seasonal climatology of the upper layer transport. Both the annual mean and seasonal cycle agree well with the observation. The overall correlation between the interannual anomaly of the ITF transport and Nino 3.4 index reaches -0.65 in the simulation,which indicates that ENSO-related interannual variability in the Pacific is dominant in controlling the ITF transport. The relationship between the interannual anomalies of ITF and sea surface temperature in the Pacific, the Indian Ocean is not fixed in the simulation. In 1994, for instance, the intensive Indian Ocean sea surface temperature anomaly plays a dominant role in the formation of an impressive large transport of ITF.     

A weak El Nio event in 2002 detected by the astronomical observation

El Ni駉 is a kind of the disastrous events occurring in the central and eastern parts of tropical Pacific. It pre-sents itself as anomaly of sea surface temperature (SST) in these parts of the tropical Pacific. It is called an El Ni駉 (La Ni馻) event whenever the tropical Pacific SST anom-aly is warmer (cooler) than 0.5℃(- 0.5℃) and lasts for over 6 months[1]. Southern oscillation (SO) is a seesaw- like variation of sea level pressure (SLP) in eastern and western parts of the souther…     

Interannual variation of North China rainfall in rainy season and SSTs in the equatorial eastern Pacific

The rainfall in North China during rainy season （July and August （JA）） exhibits a strong interannual variability. In this study, the atmospheric circulation and SST anomalies associated with the interannual variation of JA North China rainfall are examined. It is found that on the interannual timescale, the JA North China rainfall is associated with significant SST anomalies in the equatorial eastern Pacific, and the North China rainfall and SST anomaly in the equatorial eastern Pacific correspond to the similar variation of the upper-level westerly jet stream over East Asia. A possible mechanism is proposed for the influence of the SST anomalies in the equatorial eastern Pacific on the North China rainfall.     

Tropospheric biennial oscillation of the western Pacific subtropical high and its relationships with the tropical SST and atmospheric circulation anomalies

There is the significant period of tropospheric biennial Oscillation(TBO)over East Asian monsoon region at the interannual timescales,which has the important influences on East China climate.Based on a set of reconstructed indices which describes the western Pacific subtropical high(WPSH)objectively,this paper focuses on the TBO component of WPSH,one of the key members of the East Asian Monsoon system,and its relationships with the tropical SST and atmospheric circulation anomalies.It is found that(1)As an important interannual component of WPSH,the time series of TBO has the obvious transition in the late1970s,and the variability of the WPSH’s TBO component is more significant after the late 1970s.(2)The time-lag correlations between the WPSH’s TBO and the tropical sea surface temperature(SST)anomalies in several key ocean regions are more significant and have longer correlation duration than the raw data.The response of the western boundary index to ENSO is earlier than the intensity index,and the time-lag correlations of them are up to maximum when lagging ENSO by 3–5 months and 5–6months,respectively.(3)In the course of the WPSH’s TBO cycle,the occurrence of the El Ni o-like anomaly in the tropical central-eastern Pacific in winter is always coupled with the weak East Asian winter monsoon,with the most significant enhancing phase of the WPSH’TBO.In contrast,the La Ni a-like anomaly in the central-eastern Pacific in winter is coupled with the strong East Asian winter monsoon,with the most weakening phase of the WPSH’s TBO.(4)The distribution of the tropical SST and atmospheric circulations anomalies are asymmetric in the TBO cycle.The WPSH’s TBO is more significant in the period of the developing El Ni o-like anomaly in central-eastern Pacific than in the period of the developing La Ni a-like anomaly.Therefore,during the period of developing El Ni o-like anomaly,more attention should be paid to the interannual component of TBO signal in the short-term climate prediction.     

Relationship between the tropical cyclone genesis over the Northwest Pacific and the sea surface temperature anomalies

Using the tropical cyclone (TC) data derived from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) and the sea surface temperature data derived from the Joint Environmental Data Analysis Center (JEDAC) at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography from January 1955 to December 2000, we analyzed the relationship between the TC genesis over the Northwest Pacific (NWP) and the sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) over the Pacific basin. A long-term trend indicated that the highest frequency of monthly TC genesis appeared earlier and the annual genesis sum increased gradually during the last half century with some oscillations. No significant synchronous correlation was found between the NWP TC events and the SSTA over the Pacific basin, while the annual sum of TC genesis was closely related with the SSTA averaged from the first three months (January, February and March) of the year in the equatorial western and eastern Pacific and over mid-high latitudes of the North Pacific. The results implied that there are an interannual El Nio SSTA mode in the equatorial western and eastern Pacific and an interdecadal SSTA mode in the northern Pacific, which affected the TC genesis. A regression analysis between the first three-month SSTA and the annual TC sum based on two time scales was conducted. The correlation coefficient between simulated and observed TC sums reached a high value of 0.77.     

Relationship between the Antarctic oscillation in the western North Pacific typhoon frequency

Relationship between the Antarctic oscillation (AAO) and the western North Pacific typhoon number (WNPTN) in the interannual variability is examined in this research. The WNPTN is correlated with the AAO in June-July-August-September (JJAS) in 1949-1998 at -0.48 for the detrended time series, statistically significant at 99% level. The tropical atmospheric circulation as well as the sea surface temperature variability over the western Pacific associated with AAO has been analyzed. It follows that a positive phase of JJAS AAO corresponds to the larger magnitude of the vertical zonal wind shear, the anomalous low-lever anticyclonic circulation and anomalous high-level cyclonic circulation, and lower sea surface temperature in the major typhoon genesis region in the western North Pacific, thus providing unfavorable environment for the typhoon genesis, and vice versa.     

Features of tropical cyclone landfalls over East Asia corresponding to three types of Pacific warming decaying phase

This study examines the tropical cyclone （TC） landfall activities over the East Asia in three types of decaying phase of warm sea surface temperature anomalies （SSTAs） over the equatorial central-eastern Pacific： eastern Pacific warming decaying to La Nifia, eastern Pacific warming decaying to a neutral E1 Nifio-Southern Oscilla- tion phase, and a central Pacific warming decaying year. Results show that, for the type of eastern Pacific wanning decaying to La Nifia, more TCs make landfall over Hainan Island and Beibu Gulf, whereas fewer TCs reach eastern China coast. In particular, the number of landfalling TCs remarkably decreases in the decaying phase of eastern Pacific E1 Nifio to a neutral year. During the decaying phase of central Pacific E1 Nifio events, more TCs tend to make landfall over southern China, Indochina Peninsula and the Philippines. The anomalies of atmospheric circu- lation and environmental conditions induced by the SSTAs over the tropical Pacific in the different decaying types are responsible for the evident variation in features of TC landfall.     

Variability of surface circulation in the South China Sea from satellite altimeter data

11-year satellite altimeter sea surface height （SSH） anomaly data from January 1993 to December 2003 are used to present the dominant spatial patterns and temporal variations of the South China Sea （SCS） surface circulation through Empirical Orthogonal Function （EOF） analysis. The first three EOF modes show the obvious seasonal variations of SSH in the SCS. EOF mode one is generally characterized by a basin-wide circulation. Mode two describes the double-cell basin scale circulation structure. The two cells were located off west of the Luzon Island and southeast of Vietnam, respectively. EOF mode three presents the mesoscale eddy structure in the western SCS, which develops into a strong cyclonic eddy rapidly from July to September. EOF mode one and mode three are also embedded with interannual signals, indicating that the SCS surface circulation variation is influenced by El Nino events prominently. The strong El Nino of 1997/98 obviously changed the SCS circulation structure. This study also shows that there existed a series of mesoscale eddies in the western SCS, and their temporal variation indicates intra-seasonal and interannual signals.     

A dipole mode in the tropical Indian Ocean

For the tropical Pacific and Atlantic oceans, internal modes of variability that lead to climatic oscillations have been recognized, but in the Indian Ocean region a similar ocean-atmosphere interaction causing interannual climate variability has not yet been found. Here we report an analysis of observational data over the past 40 years, showing a dipole mode in the Indian Ocean: a pattern of internal variability with anomalously low sea surface temperatures off Sumatra and high sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean, with accompanying wind and precipitation anomalies. The spatio-temporal links between sea surface temperatures and winds reveal a strong coupling through the precipitation field and ocean dynamics. This air-sea interaction process is unique and inherent in the Indian Ocean, and is shown to be independent of the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation. The discovery of this dipole mode that accounts for about 12% of the sea surface temperature variability in the Indian Ocean--and, in its active years, also causes severe rainfall in eastern Africa and droughts in Indonesia--brightens the prospects for a long-term forecast of rainfall anomalies in the affected countries.     

Interannual atmospheric variability forced by the deep equatorial Atlantic Ocean

Climate variability in the tropical Atlantic Ocean is determined by large-scale ocean-atmosphere interactions, which particularly affect deep atmospheric convection over the ocean and surrounding continents. Apart from influences from the Pacific El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation, the tropical Atlantic variability is thought to be dominated by two distinct ocean-atmosphere coupled modes of variability that are characterized by meridional and zonal sea-surface-temperature gradients and are mainly active on decadal and interannual timescales, respectively. Here we report evidence that the intrinsic ocean dynamics of the deep equatorial Atlantic can also affect sea surface temperature, wind and rainfall in the tropical Atlantic region and constitutes a 4.5-yr climate cycle. Specifically, vertically alternating deep zonal jets of short vertical wavelength with a period of about 4.5?yr and amplitudes of more than 10?cm?s(-1) are observed, in the deep Atlantic, to propagate their energy upwards, towards the surface. They are linked, at the sea surface, to equatorial zonal current anomalies and eastern Atlantic temperature anomalies that have amplitudes of about 6?cm?s(-1) and 0.4?°C, respectively, and are associated with distinct wind and rainfall patterns. Although deep jets are also observed in the Pacific and Indian oceans, only the Atlantic deep jets seem to oscillate on interannual timescales. Our knowledge of the persistence and regularity of these jets is limited by the availability of high-quality data. Despite this caveat, the oscillatory behaviour can still be used to improve predictions of sea surface temperature in the tropical Atlantic. Deep-jet generation and upward energy transmission through the Equatorial Undercurrent warrant further theoretical study.     

Decline of surface temperature and salinity in the western tropical Pacific Ocean in the Holocene epoch

In the present-day climate, surface water salinities are low in the western tropical Pacific Ocean and increase towards the eastern part of the basin. The salinity of surface waters in the tropical Pacific Ocean is thought to be controlled by a combination of atmospheric convection, precipitation, evaporation and ocean dynamics, and on interannual timescales significant variability is associated with the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation cycles. However, little is known about the variability of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system on timescales of centuries to millennia. Here we combine oxygen isotope and Mg/Ca data from foraminifers retrieved from three sediment cores in the western tropical Pacific Ocean to reconstruct Holocene sea surface temperatures and salinities in the region. We find a decrease in sea surface temperatures of approximately 0.5 degrees C over the past 10,000 yr, whereas sea surface salinities decreased by approximately 1.5 practical salinity units. Our data imply either that the Pacific basin as a whole has become progressively less salty or that the present salinity gradient along the Equator has developed relatively recently.     

Coupled ocean-atmosphere dynamics in the Indian Ocean during 1997-98

Climate variability in the Indian Ocean region seems to be, in some aspects, independent of forcing by external phenomena such as the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation. But the extent to which, and how, internal coupled ocean-atmosphere dynamics determine the state of the Indian Ocean system have not been resolved. Here we present a detailed analysis of the strong seasonal anomalies in sea surface temperatures, sea surface heights, precipitation and winds that occurred in the Indian Ocean region in 1997-98, and compare the results with the record of Indian Ocean climate variability over the past 40 years. We conclude that the 1997-98 anomalies--in spite of the coincidence with the strong El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation event--may primarily be an expression of internal dynamics, rather than a direct response to external influences. We propose a mechanism of ocean-atmosphere interaction governing the 1997-98 event that may represent a characteristic internal mode of the Indian Ocean climate system. In the Pacific Ocean, the identification of such a mode has led to successful predictions of El Ni?o; if the proposed Indian Ocean internal mode proves to be robust, there may be a similar potential for predictability of climate in the Indian Ocean region.     

Premonitory phenomenon of El Ni(n)o event reflected in the observations of LOD and sea level

Data sets of the changes of the length of day, the sea surface temperature in the eastern Pacific and of the sea level in Hong Long from tide gauge observations are used to analyze and reveal the reflections in the observations of the length of day and the sea level changes concerned with the premonitory phenomenon of next El Ni(n)o event. The results from this study indicate that a new El Ni(n)o event has been brewing with the ending of the strong La Nina event that started in early summer of 1998. The estimated formation period of the new El Ni(n)o event will begin before the end of 2000, and the peak period may be reached at around the end of 2001.     

Occurrence of two types of El Nin?o events and the subsurface ocean temperature anomalies in the equatorial Pacific

The relationships between the evolution of two types of El Ni?o events and the subsurface ocean temperature anomaly(SOTA) in the equatorial Pacific are compared in this study. The results show that both types of El Ni?o are negatively correlated to the SOTA in the equatorial western Pacific, but relationships are different in different phases of El Ni?o. Furthermore, the occurrence of different types of El Ni?o is related to different features of the equatorial thermocline, e.g. its zonal gradient, significant variation area, amplitude and duration of thermocline oscillation. The propagation of SOTA in the equator plays an important role during the evolution of both types of El Ni?o, but shows dramatic differences in intensity, duration and phase reverse of warm SOTA. Moreover, the pathways of SOTA signal are different between these two types of El Ni?o. The dominant pathway in the life cycle of Eastern Pacific(EP)-El Ni?o lies on the equator and to its north, but there is no loop to the south of the equator. In contrast, the dominant pathway in Central Pacific(CP)-El Ni?o is located on the equator and to its south, and the propagation signal of SOTA to the north of the equator is very weak.The relationships between the zonal wind anomalies and the two types of El Ni?o are also preliminarily discussed. It is shown that EP-El Ni?o is more likely to respond to the westerly anomalies over the equatorial central and western Pacific, while CP-El Ni?o is more likely to respond to the westerly anomalies over the equatorial western Pacific and need the cooperation of easterly anomalies over the equatorial eastern Pacific to certain extent.