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An idealized study of the impact of extratropical climate change on El Niño–Southern Oscillation

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Abstract

Extratropical impacts on the tropical El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are studied in a coupled climate model. Idealized experiments show that the remote impact of the extratropics on the equatorial thermocline through oceanic tunnel can substantially modulate the ENSO in both magnitude and frequency. First of all, an extratropical warming can be conveyed to the equator by the mean subduction current, resulting in a warming of the equatorial thermocline. Second, the extratropical warming can weaken the Hadley cells, which in turn slow down the mean shallow meridional overturning circulations in the upper Pacific, reducing the equatorward cold water supply and the equatorial upwelling. These oceanic dynamic processes would weaken the stratification of the equatorial thermocline and retard a buildup (purge) of excess heat content along the equator, and finally result in a weaker and longer ENSO cycle. This study highlights a nonlocal mechanism in which ENSO behavior is related to the extratropical climate conditions.

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Acknowledgements

This work is jointly supported by the CAS Project ZKCX2-SW-210, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the NSF of China (No.40306002), the Foundation for Open Projects of the Key Lab of Physical Oceanography of Ministry of Education (No. 200303), the project of SRF for ROCS, SEM, and the LED of South China Sea Institute of Oceanology. The authors thank Prof. Zhengyu Liu, Dr. Steve Vavrus, Erin Hokanson and Pat Behling at CCR at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for the constructive ideas and data processing helps. The invaluable suggestions and comments from two anonymous reviewers, particularly from Editor, Dr. J.C. Duplessy are greatly appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LASG, Institute of Atmospheric Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Qiong Zhang

  2. Department of Atmospheric Science and Laboratory for Severe Storm and Flood Disasters, School of Physics, Peking University, 209 Chengfu Road, 100871, Beijing, China

    Haijun Yang

  3. Center for Climatic Research and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Yafang Zhong

  4. Laboratory of Tropical Marine Environmental Dynamics, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China

    Dongxiao Wang

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  1. Qiong Zhang
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Correspondence to Haijun Yang.

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Zhang, Q., Yang, H., Zhong, Y. et al. An idealized study of the impact of extratropical climate change on El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Clim Dyn 25, 869–880 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-005-0062-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-005-0062-z

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