Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

ENSO signals and their spatial-temporal variation characteristics recorded by the sea-level changes in the northwest Pacific margin during 1965–2005

  • Published:
Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sea-level is closely linked to the Earth’s climate and its change is important as a metric for global and regional climate change. Identifying, extracting, and revealing such information through detailed analysis is the prerequisite for understanding the mechanisms of sea-level change. The monthly- average tide-change records reported and examined in this paper are from 10 tide gauge stations distributed in the northwest margin of the Pacific Ocean, registered during the period 1965-2005. In particular, we have utilized the Second Order Blind Identification (SOBI) method to identify and the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) method to extract the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signals imprinted in those tide gauge records; and subsequently, we have investigated the spatial-temporal characteristics of the extracted ENSO signals using wavelet analysis methods. The following results are obtained: (1) the ENSO events recorded by each tide gauge series are of different types and intensity, which show considerable temporal-spatial variation characteristics, with sea-level responses to ENSO signals remarkably stronger in low latitude areas than in medium-high latitude areas; (2) due to the influences of ocean currents, topographical conditions, and other factors, there exist variations in the type of relationship between the sea-level changes and the recorded ENSO events at different latitudes; (3) sea-level changes can also denote scale-variation characteristics of ENSO events, and particularly, since 1980s, all the tide gauges located south of Kanmen show intense responses to ENSO and the timescale of ENSO events extended gradually from around 4 years to 2–8 years, reflecting variations in the intensity and frequency of ENSO events; and (4) reverse changes of certain scale were noted before and after strong ENSO events recorded by sea-level changes, supporting the research findings about the interaction (mutual coupling and superimposition) between the probability of occurrence of strong ENSO events and their time scale.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Cazenave A, Nerem R S. Present-day sea level change: Observations and causes. Rev Geophys, 2004, 42: RG3001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Munk W. Twentieth century sea level: An enigma. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2002, 99(10): 6550–6555

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Peltier W R, Tushingham A M. Global sea level rise and the greenhouse effect: Might they be connected? Science, 1989, 244(4906): 806–810

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Alley R B, Clark P U, Huybrechts P, et al. Ice-sheet and sea-level changes. Science, 2005, 310(5747): 456–460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Raper S C B, Braithwaite R J. Low sea level rise projections from mountain glaciers and icecaps under global warming. Nature, 2006, 439(7074): 311–313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Church J A, White N J, Arblaster J M. Significant decadal-scale impact of volcanic eruptions on sea level and ocean heat content. Nature, 2005, 438(7064): 74–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Miller L, Douglas B C. Mass and volume contributions to twentieth-century global sea level rise. Nature, 2004, 428(6981): 406–409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Solomon S D, Qin D H, Manning M, et al, eds. IPCC, Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007

    Google Scholar 

  9. Cabanes C, Cazenave A, Le Provost C. Sea level rise during past 40 years determined from satellite and in situ observations. Science, 2001, 294(5543): 840–842

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Nerem R S, Leuliette E, Cazenave A. Present-day sea-level change: A review. C R Geosci, 2006, 338, 1077–1083

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Li K P, Zhou T H, Chen Z Y. Preliminary analysis on characteristics and probable factors of monthly mean sea level change along Chinese coast (in Chinese). Acta Oceanol Sin, 1982, 4(5): 529–536

    Google Scholar 

  12. Pu Y X. Seasonal variation of monthly mean sea level change along Chinese coast (in Chinese). Acta Oceanol Sin, 1988, 10(3): 270–278

    Google Scholar 

  13. Zuo J C, Yu Y F, Chen Z Y. The analysis of sea level variation factor along china coast (in Chinese). Adv Earth Sci, 1994, 9(5): 48–53

    Google Scholar 

  14. Chambers D P, Mehlhaff C A, Urban T J, et al. Low-frequency variations in global mean sea level: 1950-2000. J Geophys Res, 2002, 107(C4): 3026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Nerem R S, Chambers D P, Leuliette E W, et al. Variations in Global Mean Sea Level Associated with the 1997-98 ENSO Event: Implications for Measuring Long Term Sea Level Change. Geophys Res Lett, 1999, 26(19): 3005–3008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Kang S K, Cherniawsky Y, Foreman M G, et al. Spatial variability in annual sea level variations around the Korean peninsula. Geophys Res Lett, 2008, 35: L03603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Rong Z, Liu Y, Zong H, et al. Interannual sea level variability in the South China Sea and its response to ENSO. Glob Planet Change, 2007, 55(4): 257–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Ji M, Reynolds R W, Behringer D W. Use of TOPEX/Poseidon sea level data for ocean analyses and ENSO prediction: Some Early Results. J Clim, 2000, 13(1): 216–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Wyrtki K. El Niño-the dynamic response of the equatorial Pacific Ocean to atmospheric forcing. J Phys Oceanogr, 1975, 5(4): 572–584

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Li L, Wimbush M. Sea level along the southeast coast of China during El Niño. Chin J Oceanol Limnol, 1988, 6(4): 330–333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Church J A, Whiter N J, Coleman R, et al. Estimates of the Regional Distribution of Sea Level Rise over the 1950-2000 Period. J Clim, 2004, 17(13): 2609–2625

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Kim K Y, Wu Q. A Comparison study of EOF techniques: analysis of nonstationary data with periodic statistics. J Clim, 1999, 12(1): 185–199

    Google Scholar 

  23. Wallace J M, Rasmusson E M, Mitchell T P, et al. On the structure and evolution of ENSO-related climate variability in the tropical Pacific: Lessons from TOGA. J Geophys Res, 1998, 103(C7): 14241–14259

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Proakis J G, Manolakis D G. Digital Signal Processing: Principles, Algorithms and Applications. 4th ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Press, 2007

    Google Scholar 

  25. Monahan A H. Nonlinear principal component analysis: Tropical Indo-Pacific Sea surface temperature and sea level pressure. J Clim, 2001, 14: 219–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Hsieh W W. Nonlinear canonical correlation analysis of the tropical pacific climate variability using a neural network approach. J Clim, 2001, 14: 2528–2539

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Pierre C. Independent component analysis: A new concept. Signal Process, 1994, 36(3): 287–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Hyvärinen A, Oja E. Independent component analysis: Algorithms and applications. Neural Netw, 2000, 13(4–5): 411–430

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Gröchenig K. Foundations of Time-Frequency Analysis. Boston: Birkhäuser, 2001

    Google Scholar 

  30. Huang N E, Shen Z, Long S R, et al. The empirical mode decomposition and the Hilbert spectrum for nonlinear and non-stationary series analysis. Philos Trans R Soc A-Math Phys Eng Sci, 1998, 454(1971): 903–995

    Google Scholar 

  31. Aires F A, Chédin, Nada J P. Independent component analysis of multivariate time series: Application to the tropical SST variability. J Geophys Res, 2000, 105(D13): 17437–17455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Huang N E, Wu Z H. A review on Hilbert-Huang transform: Method and its applications to geophysical studies. Rev Geophys, 2008, 46: RG2006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. An S I, Wang B. Interdecadal change of the structure of the ENSO mode and its impact on the ENSO frequency. J Clim, 2000, 13(12): 2044–2055

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Fedorov A V, Philander S G. Is El Niño changing? Science, 2000, 288: 1997–2002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Woodworth P L, Player R. The permanent service for mean sea level: An update to the 21st century. J Coastal Res, 2003, 19: 287–295

    Google Scholar 

  36. Gary K, Honaker J, Joseph A, et al. Analyzing incomplete political science data: An alternative algorithm for multiple imputation. Am Political Sci Rev, 2001, 95(1): 49–69

    Google Scholar 

  37. Wolter K, Timlin M S. Measuring the strength of ENSO events? How does 1997/98 rank? Weather, 1998, 53: 315–324

    Google Scholar 

  38. Wolter K, Timlin M S. Monitoring ENSO in COADS with a seasonally adjusted principle component index. Proceedings of the 7th Climate Diagnostics Workshop, Norman, OK, NOAA/N MC/CAC, NSSL, Oklahoma Clim. Survey, CIMMS and the School of Meteor, University of Oklahoma, 1993. 52–57

  39. Eduardo O, Ebeling W, Lanius K. MEI, SOI and mid-range correlations in the onset of El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Physica A, 2002, 310(3–4): 509–520

    Google Scholar 

  40. Choi S, Cichocki A, Belouchrani A. Second order nonstationary source separation. J VLSI Sig Proc Syst, 2002, 32: 93–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Wu Z, Huang N E, Long S R, et al. On the trend, detrending, and variability of nonlinear and nonstationary time series. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2007, 104(38): 14889–14894

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Torrence C, Compo G P. A practical guide to wavelet analysis. Bull Amer Meteorol Soc, 1998, 79: 61–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Landerer F W, Jungclaus J H, Marotzke J, et al. El Niño-Southern Oscillation signals in sea level, surface mass redistribution and degree-two geoid coefficients. J Geophys Res, 2008, 113: C08014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Mitchum G T, Lukas R. Westward propagation of annual sea level and wind signals in the Western Pacific Ocean. J Clim, 1990, 3: 1102–1110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Qiu B, Joyce T M. Interannual variability in the mid- and low-latitude Western North Pacific. J Phys Oceanogr, 1992, 22: 1062–1079

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. He Y, White W B. Interannual variability of the Kuroshio frontal structure along its western boundary in the North Pacific Ocean associated with the 1982 ENSO Event. J Phys Oceanogr, 1987, 17: 1494–1506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Chambers D P, Mehlhaff C A, Urban T J, et al. Analysis of interannual and low-frequency variability in global mean sea level from altimetry and tide gauges. Phys Chem Earth, 2002, 27: 1407–1411

    Google Scholar 

  48. Raicich F. A review of sea level observations and low frequency sea-level variability in South Atlantic. Phys Chem Earth, Parts A/B/C, 2008, 33(3–4): 239–249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. Dickey J O, Marcus S L, Hide R. Global propagation of interannual fluctuations in atmospheric angular momentum. Nature, 1992, 357(6): 484–488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Zheng D W, Ding X, Zhou Y H. Earth rotation and ENSO events: Combined excitation of interannual LOD variations by multiscale atmospheric oscillations. Glob Planet Change, 2003, 36: 89–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geographical Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210046, China

    LinWang Yuan, ZhaoYuan Yu, ZhiRen Xie, ZhiYao Song & GuoNian Lü

Authors
  1. LinWang Yuan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. ZhaoYuan Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. ZhiRen Xie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. ZhiYao Song
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. GuoNian Lü
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to LinWang Yuan.

Additional information

Supported by Special Program for National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2007CB416602), Special Program for National High Technology R & D Program of China (Grant No. 2009AA12Z205) and Major Program for the Fundamental Research of the Jiangsu Province in University (Grant No. 05KJA17001)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Yuan, L., Yu, Z., Xie, Z. et al. ENSO signals and their spatial-temporal variation characteristics recorded by the sea-level changes in the northwest Pacific margin during 1965–2005. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 52, 869–882 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-009-0072-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-009-0072-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation