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ENSO at 6ka and 21ka from ocean–atmosphere coupled model simulations

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Abstract

We analyze how the characteristics of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are changed in coupled ocean–atmosphere simulations of the mid-Holocene (MH) and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) performed as part of the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project phase 2 (PMIP2). Comparison of the model results with present day observations show that most of the models reproduce the large scale features of the tropical Pacific like the SST gradient, the mean SST and the mean seasonal cycles. All models simulate the ENSO variability, although with different skill. Our analyses show that several relationships between El Niño amplitude and the mean state across the different control simulations are still valid for simulations of the MH and the LGM. Results for the MH show a consistent El Niño amplitude decrease. It can be related to the large scale atmospheric circulation changes. While the Northern Hemisphere receives more insolation during the summer time, the Asian summer monsoon system is strengthened which leads to the enhancement of the Walker circulation. Easterlies prevailing over the central eastern Pacific induce an equatorial upwelling that damps the El Niño development. Results are less conclusive for 21ka. Large scale dynamic competes with changes in local heat fluxes, so that model shows a wide range of responses, as it is the case in future climate projections.

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Acknowledgment

This study is jointly supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) grant (No. 40675049) and China basic research project “Ocean Carbon Cycle and Tropical Forcing of Climate Evolution” (No. 2007CB815900). Dr. Weipeng Zheng also benefits from a support by PRA to spent 4 months at LSCE to start this work. We acknowledge the international modeling groups for providing their data for analysis, the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (IPSL/LSCE) for collecting and archiving the model data. The PMIP2/MOTIF Data Archive is supported by CEA, CNRS, the EU projects MOTIF (EVK2-CT-2002–00153) and the Programme National d’Etude de la Dynamique du Climat (PNEDC). This work is also a contribution to the EU project DYNAMITE (GOCE #003903). The analyses were performed using version 10/01/2006 of the database. More information is available on http://www-lsce.cea.fr/pmip2/ and http://www-lsce.cea.fr/motif/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    W. Zheng & Y. Yu

  2. Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (IPSL/LSCE), Gif-sur-Yvette, 91191, Paris, France

    W. Zheng & P. Braconnot

  3. Laboratoire d’Océanographie et du Climat: Expérimentation et Approches Numériques (IPSL/LOCEAN), Jussieu, 75252, Paris, France

    E. Guilyardi

  4. Walker Institute, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6BB, UK

    E. Guilyardi

  5. FB5 Geosciences, Department of Geosystem Modeling, University of Bremen, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    U. Merkel

  6. Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China

    W. Zheng

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  1. W. Zheng
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  4. U. Merkel
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  5. Y. Yu
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Correspondence to W. Zheng.

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Zheng, W., Braconnot, P., Guilyardi, E. et al. ENSO at 6ka and 21ka from ocean–atmosphere coupled model simulations. Clim Dyn 30, 745–762 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-007-0320-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-007-0320-3

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