Abstract
In this paper, interannual variations of the ocean dynamic height over the tropical Pacific are diagnosed using three-dimensional temperature and salinity fields from Argo profiles, with a focus on the effects of interannually varying salinity on the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) evolutions. The diagnostic analyses clearly demonstrate a significant and large role that the salinity field plays in modulating the sea surface dynamic height (SSDH) in the western tropical Pacific. In particular, the contribution of the interannually varying salinity to the interannual variations in SSDH approximately equals to that of the interannually varying temperature. Over the western equatorial Pacific, the salinity variability was responsible for a 30% to 40% reduction in SSDH anomaly in opposition to the thermal build up in SSDH anomaly, providing an important contribution to modulating the seasonal-to-interannual evolution of the tropical Pacific Ocean and affecting the developing of ENSO events.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bosc C, Delcroix T, Maes C. 2009. Barrier layer variability in the western Pacific warm pool from 2000 to 2007. J Geophys Res, 114(C6): C06023, doi: 10.1029/2008JC005187
Cravatte S, Delcroix T, Zhang Dongxiao, et al. 2009. Observed freshening and warming of the western Pacific warm pool. Clim Dyn, 33(4): 565–589
Delcroix T, Cravatte S, McPhaden M J. 2007. Decadal variations and trends in tropical Pacific sea surface salinity since 1970. J Geophys Res, 112(C3): C03012, doi: 10.1029/2006JC003801
Delcroix T, Hénin C. 1991. Seasonal and interannual variations of sea surface salinity in the tropical Pacific ocean. J Geophys Res, 96(C12): 22135–22150
Eldin G, Rodier M, Radenac M H. 1997. Physical and nutrient variability in the upper equatorial Pacific associated with westerly wind forcing and wave activity in October 1994. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 44(9–10): 1783–1800
Fedorov A V, Pacanowski R C, Philander S G H, et al. 2004. The effect of salinity on the wind-driven circulation and the thermal structure of the upper ocean. J Phys Oceanogr, 34(9): 1949–1966
Gill A E. 1982. Atmosphere-Ocean Dynamics. Cambridge: Academic Press, 662
Hackert E, Ballabrera-Poy J, Busalacchi A J, et al. 2011. Impact of sea surface salinity assimilation on coupled forecasts in the tropical Pacific. J Geophys Res, 116(C5): C05009, doi: 10.1029/2010JC006708
Hosoda S, Ohira T, Nakamura T. 2008. A monthly mean dataset of global oceanic temperature and salinity derived from Argo float observations. JAMSTEC Rep Res Dev, 8: 47–59
Huang Boyin, Mehta V M. 2005. Response of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans to interannual variations in net atmospheric freshwater. J Geophys Res, 110(C8): C08008, doi: 10.1029/2004JC002830
Kessler W S, Taft B A. 1987. Dynamic heights and zonal geostrophic transports in the central tropical Pacific during 1979–84. J Phys Oceanogr, 17: 97–122
Maes C. 2000. Salinity variability in the equatorial Pacific Ocean during the 1993–98 period. Geophys Res Lett, 27(11): 1659–1662
Maes C. 2008. On the ocean salinity stratification observed at the eastern edge of the equatorial Pacific warm pool. J Geophys Res, 113(C3): C03027, doi: 10.1029/2007JC004297
Maes C, McPhaden M J, Behringer D. 2002. Signatures of salinity variability in tropical Pacific Ocean dynamic height anomalies. J Geophys Res, 107(C12): SRF 13-1–SRF 13–13
Maes C, Picaut J, Belamari S. 2005. Importance of salinity barrier layer for the buildup of El Niño. J Climate, 18(1): 104–118
Murtugudde R, Busalacchi A J. 1998. Salinity effects in a tropical ocean model. J Geophys Res, 103(C2): 3283–3300
Picaut J, Ioualalen M, Menkes C, et al. 1996. Mechanism of the zonal displacements of the Pacific warm pool: Implications for ENSO. Science, 274(5292): 1486–1489
Press W H, Teukolsky S A, Vetterling W T, et al. 1992. Numerical Recipes in C: The Art of Scientific Computing. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 994
Sato K, Suga T, Hanawa K. 2004. Barrier layer in the North Pacific subtropical gyre. Geophys Res Lett, 31(5): L05301, doi: 10.1029/2003GL018590
Sato K, Suga T, Hanawa K. 2006. Barrier layers in the subtropical gyres of the world's oceans. Geophys Res Lett, 33(8): L08603, doi: 10.1029/2005GL025631
Xie Shangping, Deser C, Vecchi G A, et al. 2010. Global warming pattern formation: Sea surface temperature and rainfall. J Climate, 23(4): 966–986
Zhang Ronghua, Busalacchi A J. 2009. Freshwater flux (FWF)-induced oceanic feedback in a hybrid coupled model of the tropical Pacific. J Climate, 22(4): 853–879
Zhang Ronghua, Wang Guihua, Chen Dake, et al. 2010. Interannual biases induced by freshwater flux and coupled feedback in the tropical Pacific. Mon Wea Rev, 138(5): 1715–1737
Zhang Ronghua, Zheng Fei, Zhu Jieshun, et al. 2012. Modulation of El Niño-Southern Oscillation by freshwater flux and salinity variability in the Tropical Pacific. Adv Atmos Sci, 29(4): 647–660
Zheng Fei, Zhang Ronghua. 2012. Effects of interannual salinity variability and freshwater flux forcing on the development of the 2007/08 La Niña event diagnosed from Argo and satellite data. Dynam Atmos Oceans, 57: 45–57
Zheng Fei, Zhang Ronghua, Zhu Jiang. 2014. Effects of interannual salinity variability on the barrier layer in the western-central equatorial Pacific: A diagnostic analysis from Argo. Adv Atmos Sci, 31(3): 532–542
Zheng Fei, Zhu Jiang. 2008. Balanced multivariate model errors of an intermediate coupled model for ensemble Kalman filter data assimilation. J Geophys Res, 113(C7): C07002, doi: 10.1029/2007JC004621
Zheng Fei, Zhu Jiang. 2010. Coupled assimilation for an intermediated coupled ENSO prediction model. Ocean Dyn, 60(5): 1061–1073
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation item: The National Program for Support of Top-notch Young Professionals; the National Basic Research Program (973 Program) of China under contract No. 2012CB417404; the Chinese Academy Sciences' Project “Western Pacific Ocean System: Structure, Dynamics and Consequences” (WPOS) under contract No. XDA10010405; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 41176014.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zheng, F., Wang, H. & Wan, L. Effects of interannual salinity variability on the dynamic height in the western equatorial Pacific as diagnosed by Argo. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 34, 22–28 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-015-0663-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-015-0663-2