ENSO variability and atmospheric response in a global coupled atmosphere-ocean GCM

The interannual variability associated with the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle is investigated using a relatively high-resolution (T42) coupled general circulation model (CGCM) of the atmosphere and ocean. Although the flux correction is restricted to annual means of heat and freshwater, the annual as well as the seasonal climate of the CGCM is in good agreement with that of the atmospheric model component forced with observed sea surface temperatures (SSTs). During a 100-year simulation of the present-day climate, the model is able to capture many features of the observed interannual SST variability in the tropical Pacific. This includes amplitude, lifetime and frequency of occurrence of El Ni?o events and also the phase locking of the SST anomalies to the annual cycle. Although the SST warming during the evolution of El Ni?os is too confined spatially, and the warming along the Peruvian coast is much too weak, the patterns and magnitudes of key atmospheric anomalies such as westerly wind stress and precipitation, and also their eastward migration from the western to the central equatorial Pacific is in accord with observations. There is also a qualitative agreement with the results obtained from the atmospheric model forced with observed SSTs from 1979 through 1994. The large-scale dynamic response during the mature phase of ENSO (December through February) is characterized by an eastward displacement and weakening of the Walker cell in the Pacific while the Hadley cell intensifies and moves equatorward. Similar to the observations, there is a positive correlation between tropical Pacific SST and the winter circulation in the North Pacific. The deepening of the Aleutian low during the ENSO winters is well captured by the model as well as the cooling in the central North Pacific and the warming over Canada and Alaska. However, there are indications that the anomalies of both SST and atmospheric circulation are overemphasized in the North Pacific. Finally, there is evidence of a coherent downstream effect over the North Atlantic as indicated by negative correlations between the PNA index and the NAO index, for example. The weakening of the westerlies across the North Atlantic in ENSO winters which is related to a weakening and southwestward displacement of the Icelandic low, is in broad agreement with the observations, as well as the weak tendency for colder than normal winters in Europe. Received: 31 October 1995 / Accepted: 29 May 1996     

CO2 climate sensitivity and snow-sea-ice albedo parameterization in an atmospheric GCM coupled to a mixed-layer ocean model

The snow-sea-ice albedo parameterization in an atmospheric general circulation model (GCM), coupled to a simple mixed-layer ocean and run with an annual cycle of solar forcing, is altered from a version of the same model described by Washington and Meehl (1984). The model with the revised formulation is run to equilibrium for 1 × CO₂ and 2 × CO₂ experiments. The 1 ×CO₂ (control) simulation produces a global mean climate about 1° warmer than the original version, and sea-ice extent is reduced. The model with the altered parameterization displays heightened sensitivity in the global means, but the geographical patterns of climate change due to increased carbon dioxide (CO₂) are qualitatively similar. The magnitude of the climate change is affected, not only in areas directly influenced by snow and ice changes but also in other regions of the globe, including the tropics where sea-surface temperature, evaporation, and precipitation over the oceans are greater. With the less-sensitive formulation, the global mean surface air temperature increase is 3.5 °C, and the increase of global mean precipitation is 7.12%. The revised formulation produces a globally averaged surface air temperature increase of 4.04 °C and a precipitation increase of 7.25%, as well as greater warming of the upper tropical troposphere. Sensitivity of surface hydrology is qualitatively similar between the two cases with the larger-magnitude changes in the revised snow and ice-albedo scheme experiment. Variability of surface air temperature in the model is comparable to observations in most areas except at high latitudes during winter. In those regions, temporal variation of the sea-ice margin and fluctuations of snow cover dependent on the snow-ice-albedo formulation contribute to larger-than-observed temperature variability. This study highlights an uncertainty associated with results from current climate GCMs that use highly parameterized snow-sea-ice albedo schemes with simple mixed-layer ocean models.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

Impact of global warming on the interannual and interdecadal climate modes in a coupled GCM

In this study, we investigated the impact of global warming on the variabilities of large-scale interannual and interdecadal climate modes and teleconnection patterns with two long-term integrations of the coupled general circulation model of ECHAM4/OPYC3 at the Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg. One is the control (CTRL) run with fixed present-day concentrations of greenhouse gases. The other experiment is a simulation of transient greenhouse warming, named GHG run. In the GHG run the averaged geopotential height at 500?hPa is increased significantly, and a negative phase of the Pacific/North American (PNA) teleconnection-like distribution pattern is intensified. The standard deviation over the tropics (high latitudes) is enhanced (reduced) on the interdecadal time scales and reduced (enhanced) on the interannual time scales in the GHG run. Except for an interdecadal mode related to the Southern Oscillation (SO) in the GHG run, the spatial variation patterns are similar for different (interannual?+?interdecadal, interannual, and interdecadal) time scales in the GHG and CTRL runs. Spatial distributions of the teleconnection patterns on the interannual and interdecadal time scales in the GHG run are also similar to those in the CTRL run. But some teleconnection patterns show linear trends and changes of variances and frequencies in the GHG run. Apart from the positive linear trend of the SO, the interdecadal modulation to the El Niño/SO cycle is enhanced during the GHG 2040?～?2099. This is the result of an enhancement of the Walker circulation during that period. La Niña events intensify and El Niño events relatively weaken during the GHG 2070?～?2090. It is interesting to note that with increasing greenhouse gas concentrations the relation between the SO and the PNA pattern is reversed significantly from a negative to a positive correlation on the interdecadal time scales and weakened on the interannual time scales. This suggests that the increase of the greenhouse gas concentrations will trigger the nonstationary correlation between the SO and the PNA pattern both on the interdecadal and interannual time scales.     

On the effect of ENSO precipitation anomalies in a global ocean GCM

An ocean general circulation model is used to study the influence of positive precipitation anomalies associated with El Nino and La Nina events. In this idealized model, the precipitation over the appropriate part of the equatorial Indo-Pacific region is doubled for one year. At the surface, salinity anomalies of up to –0.9 parts per thousand result from this anomalous precipitation. Perturbation surface currents ranging from 10–100% of the climatological values are induced in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. A return flow is found beneath the thermocline with upwelling (downwelling) in (outside) the region of enhanced precipitation. The net effect of the precipitation anomalies is to generate a zonal overturning cell which transports fresher surface water away from the forcing region and replaces it with cooler, more saline water from below.     

Arctic forcing of decadal variability in the tropical Pacific Ocean in a high-resolution global coupled GCM

The hypothesis that northern high-latitude atmospheric variability influences decadal variability in the tropical Pacific Ocean by modulating the wind jet blowing over the Gulf of Tehuantepec (GT) is examined using the high-resolution configuration of the MIROC 3.2 global coupled model. The model is shown to have acceptable skill in replicating the spatial pattern, strength, seasonality, and time scale of observed GT wind events. The decadal variability of the simulated GT winds in a 100-year control integration is driven by the Arctic Oscillation (AO). The regional impacts of the GT winds include strong sea surface cooling, increased salinity, and the generation of westward-propagating anticyclonic eddies, also consistent with observations. However, significant nonlocal effects also emerge in concert with the low-frequency variability of the GT winds, including anomalously low upper ocean heat content (OHC) in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. It is suggested that the mesoscale eddies generated by the wind stress curl signature of the GT winds, which propagate several thousand kilometers toward the central Pacific, contribute to this anomaly by strengthening the meridional overturning associated with the northern subtropical cell. A parallel mechanism for the decadal OHC variability is considered by examining the Ekman and Sverdrup transports inferred from the atmospheric circulation anomalies in the northern midlatitude Pacific directly associated with the AO.     

Potential decadal predictability and its sensitivity to sea ice albedo parameterization in a global coupled model

Decadal prediction is one focus of the upcoming 5th IPCC Assessment report. To be able to interpret the results and to further improve the decadal predictions it is important to investigate the potential predictability in the participating climate models. This study analyzes the upper limit of climate predictability on decadal time scales and its dependency on sea ice albedo parameterization by performing two perfect ensemble experiments with the global coupled climate model EC-Earth. In the first experiment, the standard albedo formulation of EC-Earth is used, in the second experiment sea ice albedo is reduced. The potential prognostic predictability is analyzed for a set of oceanic and atmospheric parameters. The decadal predictability of the atmospheric circulation is small. The highest potential predictability was found in air temperature at 2?m height over the northern North Atlantic and the southern South Atlantic. Over land, only a few areas are significantly predictable. The predictability for continental size averages of air temperature is relatively good in all northern hemisphere regions. Sea ice thickness is highly predictable along the ice edges in the North Atlantic Arctic Sector. The meridional overturning circulation is highly predictable in both experiments and governs most of the decadal climate predictability in the northern hemisphere. The experiments using reduced sea ice albedo show some important differences like a generally higher predictability of atmospheric variables in the Arctic or higher predictability of air temperature in Europe. Furthermore, decadal variations are substantially smaller in the simulations with reduced ice albedo, which can be explained by reduced sea ice thickness in these simulations.     

The DMS-cloud albedo feedback effect: Greatly underestimated?

There are a number of ways by which the biosphere may counter any impetus for global warming that might be produced by the rising CO₂ content of earth's atmosphere. Evidence for one of these phenomena, the DMS-cloud feedback effect, is discussed in light of recent claims that it is not of sufficient strength to be of much importance.     

Empirical Estimates of Global Climate Sensitivity： An Assessment of Strategies Using a Coupled GCM

A control integration with the normal solar constant and one with it increased by 2.5% in the National Center for Atmospheric Research （NCAR） coupled atmosphere-ocean Climate System Model were conducted to see how well the actual realized global warming could be predicted just by analysis of the control results. This is a test, within a model context, of proposals that have been advanced to use knowledge of the present day climate to make ＂empirical＂ estimates of global climate sensitivity. The scaling of the top-of-the-atmosphere infrared flux and the planetary albedo as functions of surface temperature was inferred by examining four different temporal and geographical variations of the control simulations. Each of these inferences greatly overestimates the climate sensitivity of the model, largely because of the behavior of the cloud albedo. In each inference the control results suggest that cloudiness and albedo decrease with increasing surface temperature. However, the experiment with the increased solar constant actually has higher albedo and more cloudiness at most latitudes. The increased albedo is a strong negative feedback, and this helps account for the rather weak sensitivity of the climate in the NCAR model. To the extent that these model results apply to the real world, they suggest empirical evaluation of the scaling of global-mean radiative properties with surface temperature in the present day climate provides little useful guidance for estimates of the actual climate sensitivity to global changes.     

North Atlantic decadal regimes in a coupled GCM simulation

 The non-stationarity of the North Atlantic atmosphere-ocean coupling is investigated utilizing a long time integration of a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (GCM) and a consistent atmospheric experiment forced by the climatological sea surface temperature (SST) of the coupled GCM. The temporal behavior of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is non-stationary with two different decadal regimes being identified: (a) phases with enhanced (active) low-frequency variability of the NAO index are characterized by regional modes with a baroclinic Pacific-North America (PNA) and a dominant barotropic North Atlantic pattern; (b) in phases with reduced (passive) low-frequency variability a global mode connects tropics and midlatitudes. The characteristic space scales are similar in the coupled and the consistent atmospheric experiment; the time scales of the atmospheric eigenmodes are modified by ocean dynamics. In the active (passive) phase the corresponding atmospheric mode is reinforced by the North Atlantic (tropical Pacific) SST. Received: 15 September 2000 / Accepted: 30 March 2001     

Tropical Pacific internal atmospheric dynamics and resolution in a coupled GCM

A noise reduction technique, namely the interactive ensemble (IE) approach is adopted to reduce noise at the air–sea interface due to internal atmospheric dynamics in a state-of-the-art coupled general circulation model (CGCM). The IE technique uses multiple realization of atmospheric general circulation models coupled to a single ocean general circulation model. The ensembles mean fluxes from the atmospheric simulations are communicated to the ocean component. Each atmospheric simulation receives the same SST coming from the ocean component. The only difference among the atmospheric simulations comes from perturbed initial conditions, thus the atmospheric states are, in principle synoptically independent. The IE technique can be used to better understand the importance of weather noise forcing of natural variability such as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). To study the impact of weather noise and resolution in the context of a CGCM, two IE experiments are performed at different resolutions. Atmospheric resolution is an important issue since the noise statistics will depend on the spatial scales resolved. A simple formulation to extract atmospheric internal variability is presented. The results are compared to their respective control cases where internal atmospheric variability is left unchanged. The noise reduction has a major impact on the coupled simulation and the magnitude of this effect strongly depends on the horizontal resolution of the atmospheric component model. Specifically, applying the noise reduction technique reduces the overall climate variability more effectively at higher resolution. This suggests that “weather noise” is more important in sustaining climate variability as resolution increases. ENSO statistics, dynamics, and phase asymmetry are all modified by the noise reduction, in particular ENSO becomes more regular with less phase asymmetry when noise is reduced. All these effects are more marked for the higher resolution case. In contrast, ENSO frequency is unchanged by the reduction in the weather noise, but its phase-locking to the annual cycle is strongly dependent on noise and resolution. At low resolution the noise structure is similar to the signal, whereas the spatial structure of the noise deviates from the spatial structure of the signal as resolution increases. It is also suggested that event-to-event differences are largely driven by atmospheric noise as opposed to chaotic dynamics within the context of the large-scale coupled system, suggesting that there is a well-defined “canonical” event.     

Surface currents and equatorial thermocline in a coupled upper ocean-atmosphere GCM

The Oregon State University coupled upper ocean-atmosphere GCM is evaluated in terms of the simulated winds, ocean currents and thermocline depth variations. Although the zonal wind velocities in the model are underestimated by a factor of about three and the zonal current velocities are underestimated by a factor of about five, the model is seen to qualitatively simulate the major features of the gyral scale currents, and the phases of the seasonal variation of the principal equatorial currents are in reasonable agreement with observations. The simulated tropical currents are dominated by Ekman transport and the eastern boundary currents do not penetrate far enough equatorward, while the western boundary currents do not penetrate far enough poleward. The subtropical trade wind belt and the mid-latitude westerlies are displaced equatorward of observations; hence, the mid-latitude eastward currents, principally the Kuroshio-North Pacific Drift and the Gulf Stream-North Atlantic Current are displaced equatorward. In spite of these shortcomings the surface current simulation of this two-layer upper ocean model is comparable with that of other ocean GCMs of coarse resolution. The coupled model successfully simulates the deepening of the thermocline westward across Pacific as a consequence of the prevailing Walker circulation. The region of most intense simulated surface forcing is located in the western Pacific due to a southwestward displacement of the northeast trade winds relative to observations; hence the equatorial Pacific is dominated by eastward propagation of thermocline depth variations. The excessively strong Ekman divergence and upwelling in the western Pacific cools the local warm pool, while incorrectly simulated westerlies in the eastern Pacific suppress upwelling and inhibit cooling from below. These features reduce the simulated trans-Pacific sea-surface temperature gradient, weakening the Walker circulation and the anomalies associated with the simulated Southern Oscillation. Offprint requests to: KR Sperber     

Role of stochastic forcing in ENSO in observations and a coupled GCM

A procedure is presented to estimate the role of atmospheric stochastic forcing (SF) in El Ni?o–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) simulated by a coupled ocean–atmosphere general circulation model (CGCM), in direct comparison to observations represented by a global reanalysis product. SF is extracted from the CGCM and reanalysis as surface wind anomalies linearly independent of the sea-surface temperature anomalies. Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) is isolated from SF to quantify its role in ENSO. A coupled ocean–atmosphere model of intermediate complexity is forced with SF, as well as its MJO and non-MJO components, from the reanalysis and CGCM. The role of SF is estimated by comparing the original ENSO in observations and the CGCM with that reproduced by the intermediate model. ENSO statistics in both reanalysis and CGCM are better reproduced when the intermediate model is tuned to be weakly stable than unstable. The intermediate model driven by SF from the reanalysis reproduces most characteristics of observed ENSO, such as its spectrum, seasonal phase-locking, fast decorrelation of ENSO SST during boreal spring, and its lag-correlation with SF. In contrast, not all characteristics of ENSO in the CGCM are reproduced by the intermediate model when SF from the CGCM is used. The seasonal phase-locking of ENSO in the CGCM is not reproduced at all. ENSO, therefore, appears to be driven by SF to a lesser degree in the CGCM than in observations. Characteristics of observed ENSO reproduced by the intermediate model (driven by SF) can be largely attributed to the MJO; which, for instance, is responsible for the fast decorrelation of ENSO SST during boreal spring in both reanalysis and CGCM. The non-MJO component seems to be more responsible than the MJO for erroneous features of ENSO in the CGCM.     

Polar amplification in a coupled climate model with locked albedo

In recent years, a substantial reduction of the sea ice in the Arctic has been observed. At the same time, the near-surface air in this region is warming at a rate almost twice as large as the global average—this phenomenon is known as the Arctic amplification. The role of the ice-albedo feedback for the Arctic amplification is still a matter of debate. Here the effect of the surface-albedo feedback (SAF) was studied using a coupled climate model CCSM3 from the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Experiments, where the SAF was suppressed by locking the surface albedo in the entire coupled model system, were conducted. The results reveal polar temperature amplification when this model, with suppressed albedo, is forced by a doubling of the atmospheric CO₂ content. Comparisons with variable albedo experiments show that SAF amplifies the surface-temperature response in the Arctic area by about 33%, whereas the corresponding value for the global-mean surface temperature is about 15%. Even though SAF is an important process underlying excessive warming at high latitudes, the Arctic amplification is only 15% larger in the variable than in the locked-albedo experiments. It is found that an increase of water vapour and total cloud cover lead to a greenhouse effect, which is larger in the Arctic than at lower latitudes. This is expected to explain a part of the Arctic surface–air-temperature amplification.     

The effect of Arabian Sea optical properties on SST biases and the South Asian summer monsoon in a coupled GCM

This study examines the effect of seasonally varying chlorophyll on the climate of the Arabian Sea and South Asian monsoon. The effect of such seasonality on the radiative properties of the upper ocean is often a missing process in coupled general circulation models and its large amplitude in the region makes it a pertinent choice for study to determine any impact on systematic biases in the mean and seasonality of the Arabian Sea. In this study we examine the effects of incorporating a seasonal cycle in chlorophyll due to phytoplankton blooms in the UK Met Office coupled atmosphere-ocean GCM HadCM3. This is achieved by performing experiments in which the optical properties of water in the Arabian Sea—a key signal of the semi-annual cycle of phytoplankton blooms in the region—are calculated from a chlorophyll climatology derived from Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) data. The SeaWiFS chlorophyll is prescribed in annual mean and seasonally-varying experiments. In response to the chlorophyll bloom in late spring, biases in mixed layer depth are reduced by up to 50% and the surface is warmed, leading to increases in monsoon rainfall during the onset period. However when the monsoons are fully established in boreal winter and summer and there are strong surface winds and a deep mixed layer, biases in the mixed layer depth are reduced but the surface undergoes cooling. The seasonality of the response of SST to chlorophyll is found to depend on the relative depth of the mixed layer to that of the anomalous penetration depth of solar fluxes. Thus the inclusion of the effects of chlorophyll on radiative properties of the upper ocean acts to reduce biases in mixed layer depth and increase seasonality in SST.     

Southern Oscillation simulation in the OSU coupled upper ocean-atmosphere GCM

The Southern Oscillation is a major component in the interannual variations of global climate. The Oregon State University global climate model, with a dynamically interactive upper ocean, reproduces in qualitatively correct fashion some of the major characteristics of the Southern Oscillation. This model simulates the observed anti-correlation of annually averaged sea-level pressure (SLP) between the eastern Pacific and the Indonesian region, the primary atmospheric signal of the Southern Oscillation. In the composite of the simulated warm events positive sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies expand eastward towards South America from the tropical western Pacific during the first half of the calendar year. The SST anomalies develop in conjunction with eastward mixed layer current anomalies in the tropical Pacific. In the late summer and early fall anomalously warm water near South America develops and moves westward to merge with the central Pacific anomalies. This lagged development in the eastern Pacific is analogous to the evolution of the 1982/83 and 1986/87 El Ninos. The temperature of the thermocline layer also increases, with the slope of the equatorial Pacific thermocline decreasing in response to the relaxation of the surface forcing. Enhanced precipitation occurs in the mid-Pacific while in the Indian and Australian monsoon regions a deficit occurs. The peak of the warm phase occurs in late northern fall/early winter, somewhat earlier than during observed El Ninos. The cold phase of the Southern Oscillation, enhancement of the zonal circulation, evolves in a fashion similar to the warm phase with the signs of the anomalies reversed, similar to observations. Occurrence of Southern Oscillation in this coarse resolution GCM indicates that high resolution ocean waves do not play a crucial role in the generation of this phenomenon as suggested by Pacific basin models. These results also show that ocean-atmosphere global climate models are useful tools for investigation of time dependent changes on the interannual timescale in addition to their hitherto accepted use for studying equilibrium properties of climate.     

Processes governing the predictability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in a coupled GCM

The processes that govern the predictability of decadal variations in the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) are investigated in a long control simulation of the ECHO-G coupled atmosphere?Cocean model. We elucidate the roles of local stochastic forcing by the atmosphere, and other potential ocean processes, and use our results to build a predictive regression model. The primary influence on MOC variability is found to come from air?Csea heat fluxes over the Eastern Labrador Sea. The maximum correlation between such anomalies and the variations in the MOC occurs at a lead time of 2?years, but we demonstrate that the MOC integrates the heat flux variations over a period of 10?years. The corresponding univariate regression model accounts for 74.5% of the interannual variability in the MOC (after the Ekman component has been removed). Dense anomalies to the south of the Greenland-Scotland ridge are also shown to precede the overturning variations by 4?C6?years, and provide a second predictor. With the inclusion of this second predictor the resulting regression model explains 82.8% of the total variance of the MOC. This final bivariate model is also tested during large rapid decadal overturning events. The sign of the rapid change is always well represented by the bivariate model, but the magnitude is usually underestimated, suggesting that other processes are also important for these large rapid decadal changes in the MOC.     

The albedo of temperate and boreal forest and the Northern Hemisphere climate: a sensitivity experiment using the LMD GCM

A deforestation experiment is performed using the Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique Atmospheric General Circulation Model (LMD GCM) to determine the climatic role of the largest vegetation formation in the Northern Hemisphere, localized mostly north of latitude 45°N, which is called the temperate and boreal forest. For this purpose, an iterative albedo scheme based on vegetation type, snow age, snowfall rate and area of snow cover, is developed for snow-covered surfaces. The results show a cooling of Northern Hemisphere soil and an increase in the snow cover when the forest is removed, as found by previous similar experiments.In our study this cooling is related to different causes, depending on the season. It is linked to modifications in the soil radiative properties, like surface albedo, due to the disappearance of forest, and consequently, to a greater exposure of the snow-covered soil underneath. It is also related to alterations in the hydrological cycle, observed mainly in summer and autumn at middle latitudes. The model shows a strong sensitivity to the coupled surface albedo — soil temperature — fractional snow cover response in the spring. A later and longer snowmelt season is also detected.This study adds to our understanding of climatic variation on longer time scales, since it is widely accepted that the formation and disappearance of different vegetation formations is closely related to climatic evolution patterns, in particular on the time scale of the glacial oscillations.     

Interannual and interdecadal variabilities in the Pacific in an MRI coupled GCM

Interannual and interdecadal variabilities in the Pacific are investigated with a coupled atmosphere-ocean GCM developed at MRI, Japan. The model is run for 70 years with flux adjustments. The model shows interannual variability in the tropical Pacific which has several typical characteristics shared with the observed ENSO. A basin-scale feature of the principal SST variation for the ENSO time scale shows negative correlation in the central North Pacific with the tropical SST, similar to that of the observed one. Associated variation of the model atmosphere indicates an intensification of the Aleutian Low and a PNA-like teleconnection pattern as a response to the tropical warm SST anomaly. The ENSO time scale variability in the midlatitude ocean consists of the westward propagation of the subsurface temperature signal and the temperature variation within the shallow mixed layer forced by the anomalous atmospheric heat fluxes. For the interdecadal time scale, variation of the SST is simulated realistically with a geographical pattern similar to that for the ENSO time scale, but it has a larger relative amplitude in the northern Pacific. For the atmosphere, spatial structure of the variation in the interdecadal time scale is also similar to that in the ENSO time scale, but has smaller amplitude in the northern Pacific. Long oceanic spin-up time (>∼10 y) in the mid-high latitude, however, makes oceanic response in the interdecadal time scale larger than that in the ENSO time scale. The lagged-regression analysis for the ocean temperature variation relative to the wind stress variation indicates that interdecadal variation of the ocean subsurface at the mid-high latitudes is considered as enhanced ocean gyre spin-up process in response to the atmospheric circulation change at the mid-high latitudes, remotely forced by the interdecadal variation of the tropical SST. Received: 6 November 1995 / Accepted: 19 April 1996     

The surface heat flux feedback. Part II: direct and indirect estimates in the ECHAM4/OPA8 coupled GCM

The surface heat flux feedback in the Atlantic Ocean is estimated in the ECHAM4/OPA8 coupled model. The net heat flux feedback is negative everywhere, mostly ranging between 15 and 35 W m^-2 K^-1, but reaching up to 50 W m^-2 K^-1 in the tropics, so that it damps existing sea surface temperature anomalies. The bulk of it is due to the turbulent flux, although in the tropics the radiation feedback also strongly contributes. The turbulent heat flux feedback is strongest in fall and winter at extra-tropical latitudes, and in spring and summer near the equator. At mid-latitudes, the radiation feedback remains small in each season, but it can be strongly negative in parts of the tropics. At extra-tropical latitudes the model feedback compares rather well with estimates derived in Part I from the COADS observations and the NCEP reanalysis, but in the tropical Atlantic the negative heat flux feedback is much too strong. An indirect estimation of the model heat flux feedback is also attempted in regions of small mean surface current, based on the difference in decay time of sea surface temperature and salinity anomalies. The inferred negative heat flux feedback is qualitatively correct, but the seasonal changes in the mixed-layer depth are too large for the method to be accurate at high latitudes.