Influence of Intraseasonal Oscillation on the Asymmetric Decays of El Ni?o and La Ni?a

Warm and cold phases of El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) exhibit a significant asymmetry in their decay speed. To explore the physical mechanism responsible for this asymmetric decay speed, the asymmetric features of anomalous sea surface temperature (SST) and atmospheric circulation over the tropical Western Pacific (WP) in El Nino and La Nina mature-to-decay phases are analyzed. It is found that the interannual standard deviations of outgoing longwave radiation and 850 hPa zonal wind anomalies over the equatorial WP during El Nino (La Nina) mature-to-decay phases are much stronger (weaker) than the intraseasonal standard deviations. It seems that the weakened (enhanced) intraseasonal oscillation during El Nino (La Nina) tends to favor a stronger (weaker) interannual variation of the atmospheric wind, resulting in asymmetric equatorial WP zonal wind anomalies in El Nino and La Nina decay phases. Numerical experiments demonstrate that such asymmetric zonal wind stress anomalies during El Nino and La Nina decay phases can lead to an asymmetric decay speed of SST anomalies in the central-eastern equatorial Pacific through stimulating di erent equatorial Kelvin waves. The largest negative anomaly over the Nino3 region caused by the zonal wind stress anomalies during El Nino can be threefold greater than the positive Nino3 SSTA anomalies during La Nina, indicating that the stronger zonal wind stress anomalies over the equatorial WP play an important role in the faster decay speed during El Nino.     

The Optimal Precursors for ENSO Events Depicted Using the Gradientdefinition-based Method in an Intermediate Coupled Model

The predictability of El Ni?o?Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has been an important area of study for years. Searching for the optimal precursor (OPR) of ENSO occurrence is an effective way to understand its predictability. The CNOP (conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation), one of the most effective ways to depict the predictability of ENSO, is adopted to study the optimal sea surface temperature (SST) precursors (SST-OPRs) of ENSO in the IOCAS ICM (intermediate coupled model developed at the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences). To seek the SST-OPRs of ENSO in the ICM, non-ENSO events simulated by the ICM are chosen as the basic state. Then, the gradient-definition-based method (GD method) is employed to solve the CNOP for different initial months of the basic years to obtain the SST-OPRs. The experimental results show that the obtained SST-OPRs present a positive anomaly signal in the western-central equatorial Pacific, and obvious differences exist in the patterns between the different seasonal SST-OPRs along the equatorial western-central Pacific, showing seasonal dependence to some extent. Furthermore, the non-El Ni?o events can eventually evolve into El Ni?o events when the SST-OPRs are superimposed on the corresponding seasons; the peaks of the Ni?o3.4 index occur at the ends of the years, which is consistent with the evolution of the real El Ni?o. These results show that the GD method is an effective way to obtain SST-OPRs for ENSO events in the ICM. Moreover, the OPRs for ENSO depicted using the GD method provide useful information for finding the early signal of ENSO in the ICM.     

热带太平洋海表能量收支平衡特征及其与两类ENSO事件的联系

利用月平均的HadISST海表温度、NCEP再分析资料、OAFlux海表面热通量及相关物理量资料、NCAR/NOAA云量场资料,分析了热带太平洋海表热通量的年际特征,并且进一步分析了传统El Ni?o和El Ni?o Modoki事件中湍流热通量的异常演变特征以及影响因子。在热带太平洋上,净热通量的年际变化最大振幅出现在赤道太平洋上,且主要取决于潜热通量和短波辐射通量的变化。本文还利用两类ENSO事件旺盛期海温指数对不同时期海面热通量场的偏回归分析,考察了热带太平洋海表面热通量与两类ENSO事件中海温的联系。两类海温指数对各时期热带太平洋净热通量的回归均表现为赤道太平洋上存在显著的负异常,在Ni?o3指数偏回归下的负异常范围和强度都较El Ni?o Modoki指数回归的要大,且更偏于赤道东太平洋,而旺盛期海温对同期赤道东太平洋上湍流热通量的影响最大。     

Resonance Effect in Interaction Between South Asian Summer Monsoon and ENSO During 1958–2018

The study has shown that the shear component of the vertical integrated kinetic energy (Ks) over the box (40oE–100oE, 0o–20oN) can be used as a measure of the intensity of the South Asian summer monsoon (SASM). Based on its value averaged between June and August, the SASM can be divided into strong and weak monsoon episodes. Between 1958 and 2018, there existed 16 (16) strong (weak) monsoon episodes. Based on the calendar year, the relationship between the SASM and the ENSO episodes can be grouped into six patterns: weak monsoon - El Ni?o (WM-EN), normal monsoon - El Ni?o (NM-EN), weak monsoon - non ENSO (WM-NE), strong monsoon - La Ni?a (SM-LN), normal monsoon - La Ni?a (NM-LN) and strong monsoon - non ENSO (SM-NE). Previous studies have suggested that the WM-EN and SM-LN patterns reflect the correlated relationship between the SASM and El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Therefore, we name these two strongly coupled categories WM-EN and SM-LN as the resonance effect. Two important circulations, Walker circulation (WC) and zonal Asian monsoon circulation (MC), in the vertical plane are found to be not always correlated. MC is controlled by thermal gradients between the Asian landmass and the tropical Indian Ocean, while the WC associated with the ENSO event is primarily the east-west thermal gradient between the tropical South Pacific and the tropical Indian Ocean. Furthermore, the gradient directions caused by different surface thermal conditions are different. The main factor for the resonance effect is the phenomenon that the symbols of SSTA in the tropical Indian Ocean and the equatorial eastern Pacific are the same, but are opposite to that of the SSTA near the maritime continent.     

前冬印度洋海盆一致模对ENSO衰减期华南春季降水的影响

利用逐月台站观测降水、HadISST1.1海温和ERA5大气再分析资料,研究了前冬印度洋海盆一致模（Indian Ocean Basin,IOB）对华南春季降水（SCSR）与ENSO关系的影响,并分析了IOB通过调控ENSO环流异常进而影响SCSR的可能机制。结果表明:当前冬El Ni?o（La Ni?a）与IOB暖（冷）位相同时发生时,SCSR显著增多（减少）;而当El Ni?o或La Ni?a单独发生而IOB处于中性时,SCSR并无明显多寡倾向。其原因在于,当El Ni?o与IOB暖相位并存时,前冬热带印度洋和赤道中东太平洋均为正海温异常（Sea-Surface Temperature Anomaly,SSTA）,且印度洋SSTA强度可一直维持至春季。在对流层低层,春季赤道中东太平洋的正SSTA激发出异常西北太平洋反气旋（Western North Pacific Anticyclone,WNPAC）。而热带印度洋的正SSTA在副热带印度洋激发出赤道南北反对称环流,赤道以北的东风异常有利于异常WNPAC西伸;赤道以南的西风异常与来自赤道西太平洋的东风异常在东印度洋辐合上升,气流至西北太平洋下沉,形成经向垂直环流,有利于春季WNPAC维持。在对流层高层,印度洋的正SSTA在热带印度洋上空激发出位势高度正异常,随之形成的气压经向梯度加强了东亚高空副热带西风急流,进而在华南上空形成异常辐散环流。WNPAC的西伸和加强可为华南提供充足的水汽,同时高空辐散在华南引发水汽上升运动,共同导致SCSR正异常。而若El Ni?o发生时IOB处于中性状态,El Ni?o相关的SSTA衰减较快,春季WNPAC不显著,SCSR无明显多寡趋势。      

ENSO and seasonal sea-level variability – A diagnostic discussion for the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands

Summary The El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate cycle is the basis for this paper, aimed at providing a diagnostic outlook on seasonal sea-level variability (i.e. anomalies with respect to the Climatology) for the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI). Results revealed that the sea-level variations in the northwestern tropical Pacific islands (e.g. Guam and Marshall Islands) have been found to be sensitive to ENSO-cycle, with low sea-level during El Ni?o and high sea-level during La Ni?a events. The annual cycle (first harmonic) of sea-level variability in these north Pacific islands has also been found to be very strong. The composites of SST and circulation diagnostic show that strong El Ni?o years feature stronger surface westerly winds in the equatorial western/central Pacific, which causes north Pacific islands to experience lower sea-level from July to December, while the sea-level in south Pacific islands (e.g. American Samoa) remains unchanged. As the season advances, the band of westerly winds propagates towards the south central tropical Pacific and moves eastward, which causes American Samoa to experience a lower sea-level from January to June, but with six months time lag as compared to Guam and the Marshalls. U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands are among the most vulnerable communities to climate variability and change. This study has identified the year-to-year ENSO climate cycle to have significant impact on the sea-level variability of these islands. Therefore, regular monitoring of the ENSO climate cycle features that affect seasonal sea-level variability would provide substantial opportunities to develop advance planning and decision options regarding hazard management in these islands.     

ENSO与中国夏季降水的联系:冬季QBO的调制作用

使用NCEP/NCAR再分析资料、中国气象局台站降水资料和GPCC降水资料,系统研究了在冬季平流层准两年振荡(Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, QBO)调制下,厄尔尼诺-南方涛动(El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation, ENSO)不同阶段与中国夏季降水的可能联系。根据两者的位相和强度,可将它们的配置分为QBO西风/El Ni?o、QBO西风/La Ni?a、QBO东风/El Ni?o、QBO东风/La Ni?a。研究结果表明,在年际时间尺度上,ENSO和QBO无显著相关关系。冬季QBO西风位相时,El Ni?o发展年夏季,我国整体偏旱,而华南偏涝;衰减年夏季,华南、华东北部偏旱,东北、长江流域偏涝。La Ni?a发展年夏季,我国东部降水异常呈负-正-负的三极分布;衰减年夏季,东南沿海偏涝。冬季QBO东风位相时,El Ni?o发展年夏季,长江以北偏旱;衰减年夏季,我国东部降水异常呈负-正-负的三极分布。La Ni?a发展年夏季,江淮和华南南部偏旱;衰减年夏季,我国东部沿海偏涝。ENSO是影响我国夏季降水异常的重要因子,而QBO的调制作用在ENSO衰减年夏季更为显著。相比冬季QBO东(西)风位相,QBO西(东)风位相时El Ni?o (La Ni?a)期间赤道西太平洋负(正)海温异常更强,衰减年夏季位于西太平洋的异常下沉(上升)运动和印度洋的异常上升(下沉)运动更强更深厚,西太平洋副热带高压范围更大(小),南亚高压更偏东(西)。      

Linear trends in sea surface temperature of the tropical Pacific Ocean and implications for the El Niño-Southern Oscillation

A principal component decomposition of monthly sea surface temperature (SST) variability in the tropical Pacific Ocean demonstrates that nearly all of the linear trends during 1950–2010 are found in two leading patterns. The first SST pattern is strongly related to the canonical El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) pattern. The second pattern shares characteristics with the first pattern and its existence solely depends on the presence of linear trends across the tropical Pacific Ocean. The decomposition also uncovers a third pattern, often referred to as ENSO Modoki, but the linear trend is small and dataset dependent over the full 61-year record and is insignificant within each season. ENSO Modoki is also reflected in the equatorial zonal SST gradient between the Niño-4 region, located in the west-central Pacific, and the Niño-3 region in the eastern Pacific. It is only in this zonal SST gradient that a marginally significant trend arises early in the Northern Hemisphere spring (March–May) during El Niño and La Niña and also in the late summer (July–September) during El Niño. Yet these SST trends in the zonal gradient do not unequivocally represent an ENSO Modoki-like dipole because they are exclusively associated with significant positive SST trends in either the eastern or western Pacific, with no corresponding significant negative trends. Insignificant trends in the zonal SST gradient are evident during the boreal wintertime months when ENSO events typically mature. Given the presence of positive SST trends across much of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, using fixed SST anomaly thresholds to define ENSO events likely needs to be reconsidered.     

On the Second-Year Warming in Late 2019 over the Tropical Pacific and Its Attribution to an Indian Ocean Dipole Event※

After its maturity, El Ni?o usually decays rapidly in the following summer and evolves into a La Ni?a pattern. However, this was not the case for the 2018/19 El Ni?o event. Based on multiple reanalysis data sets, the space-time evolution and triggering mechanism for the unusual second-year warming in late 2019, after the 2018/19 El Ni?o event, are investigated in the tropical Pacific. After a short decaying period associated with the 2018/19 El Ni?o condition, positive sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) re-intensified in the eastern equatorial Pacific in late 2019. Compared with the composite pattern of El Ni?o in the following year, two key differences are evident in the evolution of SSTAs in 2019. First, is the persistence of the surface warming over the central equatorial Pacific in May, and second, is the re-intensification of the positive SSTAs over the eastern equatorial Pacific in September. Observational results suggest that the re-intensification of anomalous westerly winds over the western and central Pacific, induced remotely by an extreme Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) event, acted as a triggering mechanism for the second-year warming in late 2019. That is, the IOD-related cold SSTAs in the eastern Indian Ocean established and sustained anomalous surface westerly winds over the western equatorial Pacific, which induced downwelling Kelvin waves propagating eastward along the equator. At the same time, the subsurface ocean provided plenty of warm water in the western and central equatorial Pacific. Mixed-layer heat budget analyses further confirm that positive zonal advection, induced by the anomalous westerly winds, and thermocline feedback played important roles in leading to the second-year warming in late 2019. This study provides new insights into the processes responsible for the diversity of El Ni?o evolution, which is important for improving the physical understanding and seasonal prediction of El Ni?o events.     

Decadal Changes in Interannual Dependence of the Bay of Bengal Summer Monsoon Onset on ENSO Modulated by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation

Interannual variations of the Bay of Bengal summer monsoon (BOBSM) onset in association with El Ni?o?Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are reexamined using NCEP1, JRA-55 and ERA20C atmospheric and Hadley sea surface temperature (SST) reanalysis datasets over the period 1900?2017. Decadal changes exist in the dependence of the BOBSM onset on ENSO, varying with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). A higher correlation between the BOBSM onset and ENSO arises during the warm PDO epochs, with distinct late (early) onsets following El Ni?o (La Ni?a) events. In contrast, less significant correlations occur during the cold PDO epochs. The mechanism for the PDO modulating the ENSO?BOBSM onset relationship is through the variations in SST anomaly (SSTA) patterns. During the warm PDO epochs, the superimpositions of the PDO-related and ENSO-related SSTAs lead to the SSTA distribution of an El Ni?o (La Ni?a) event exhibiting significant positive (negative) SSTAs over the tropical central?eastern Pacific and Indian Ocean along with negative (positive) SSTAs, especially over the tropical western Pacific (TWP), forming a strong zonal interoceanic SSTA gradient between the TWP and tropical Indian Ocean. Significant anomalous lower tropospheric easterlies (westerlies) together with upper-tropospheric westerlies (easterlies) are thus induced over the BOB, favoring an abnormally late (early) BOBSM onset. During the cold PDO epochs, however, the superimpositions of PDO-related SSTAs with El Ni?o-related (La Ni?a-related) SSTAs lead to insignificant SSTAs over the TWP and a weak zonal SSTA gradient, without distinct circulation anomalies over the BOB favoring early or late BOBSM onsets.     

Southern Hemisphere extra-tropical forcing: a new paradigm for El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation

The main goal of this paper is to shed additional light on the reciprocal dynamical linkages between mid-latitude Southern Hemisphere climate and the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signal. While our analysis confirms that ENSO is a dominant source of interannual variability in the Southern Hemisphere, it is also suggested here that subtropical dipole variability in both the Southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans triggered by Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude variability may also provide a controlling influence on ENSO in the equatorial Pacific. This subtropical forcing operates through various coupled air?Csea feedbacks involving the propagation of subtropical sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies into the deep tropics of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans from boreal winter to boreal spring and a subsequent dynamical atmospheric response to these SST anomalies linking the three tropical basins at the beginning of the boreal spring. This atmospheric response is characterized by a significant weakening of the equatorial Atlantic and Indian Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). This weakened ITCZ forces an equatorial ??cold Kelvin wave?? response in the middle to upper troposphere that extends eastward from the heat sink regions into the western Pacific. By modulating the vertical temperature gradient and the stability of the atmosphere over the equatorial western Pacific Ocean, this Kelvin wave response promotes persistent zonal wind and convective anomalies over the western equatorial Pacific, which may trigger El Ni?o onset at the end of the boreal winter. These different processes explain why South Atlantic and Indian subtropical dipole time series indices are highly significant precursors of the Ni?o34 SST index several months in advance before the El Ni?o onset in the equatorial Pacific. This study illustrates that the atmospheric internal variability in the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere may significantly influence ENSO variability. However, this surprising relationship is observed only during recent decades, after the so-called 1976/1977 climate regime shift, suggesting a possible linkage with global warming or decadal fluctuations of the climate system.     

NUIST地球系统模式模拟ENSO对西北太平洋热带气旋活动的影响

地球系统模式已经逐步成为研究热带气旋(TC)活动气候变化的重要工具之一,之前的研究发现南京信息工程大学地球系统模式(NESM)高分辨率版本可以较好地模拟全球海温分布及TC活动的气候特征.本研究进一步分析了NESM地球系统模式模拟西北太平洋TC活动的年际变化,并与1967～2016年观测的TC活动进行对比.NESM模式高...     

Extra-tropical atmospheric response to ENSO in the CMIP5 models

The seasonal mean extra-tropical atmospheric response to El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is assessed in the historical and pre-industrial control CMIP5 simulations. This analysis considers two types of El Niño events, characterized by positive sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in either the central equatorial Pacific (CP) or eastern equatorial Pacific (EP), as well as EP and CP La Niña events, characterized by negative SST anomalies in the same two regions. Seasonal mean geopotential height anomalies in key regions typify the magnitude and structure of the disruption of the Walker circulation cell in the tropical Pacific, upper tropospheric ENSO teleconnections and the polar stratospheric response. In the CMIP5 ensembles, the magnitude of the Walker cell disruption is correlated with the strength of the mid-latitude responses in the upper troposphere i.e., the North Pacific and South Pacific lows strengthen during El Niño events. The simulated responses to El Niño and La Niña have opposite sign. The seasonal mean extra-tropical, upper tropospheric responses to EP and CP events are indistinguishable. The ENSO responses in the MERRA reanalysis lie within the model scatter of the historical simulations. Similar responses are simulated in the pre-industrial and historical CMIP5 simulations. Overall, there is a weak correlation between the strength of the tropical response to ENSO and the strength of the polar stratospheric response. ENSO-related polar stratospheric variability is best simulated in the “high-top” subset of models with a well-resolved stratosphere.     

冬季赤道太平洋不同类型海温异常表征指数的再构建

利用1963—2013年Hadley中心月平均海表温度资料,以及NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,根据两类厄尔尼诺事件发生时北半球冬季赤道太平洋地区海温异常的不同空间分布特征,即赤道中太平洋CP型和东太平洋EP型海温异常空间分布,从寻找与之相似的空间型角度出发,设计了一组新的海温异常指数I_(CP)和I_(EP)。与以往ENSO指数相比,新指数组I_(CP)和I_(EP)不仅表示了空间上相互独立的海温异常分布,而且在相同的研究时段内,因时间域上相互独立而能更好地表征和区分两类El Ni?o/La Ni?a事件。据此,采用该新指数组探讨了与中部型和东部型海温异常事件相关的热带太平洋的主要海气耦合特征。结果表明,与传统的东部型El Ni?o事件发生时最大暖海温中心位于赤道东太平洋地区不同,中部型El Ni?o事件,异常增暖中心位于赤道中太平洋。中部型时异常Walker环流的上升支向西偏移,异常降水集中于热带中太平洋,不似东部型时异常限定于赤道东太平洋地区。不论哪类事件,海洋性大陆均可受到影响,即CP或EP型El Ni?o发生时,海洋性大陆区域降水偏少。但比较而言,中部型ENSO对海洋性大陆区域的影响更大。     

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC CONDITIONS BEFORE THE OCCURRENCE OF TWO TYPES OF EL NIO EVENTS

The atmospheric and oceanic conditions before the onset of EP El Ni?o and CP El Ni?o in nearly 30 years are compared and analyzed by using 850 hPa wind, 20℃ isotherm depth, sea surface temperature and the Wheeler and Hendon index. The results are as follows: In the western equatorial Pacific, the occurrence of the anomalously strong westerly winds of the EP El Ni?o is earlier than that of the CP El Ni?o. Its intensity is far stronger than that of the CP El Ni?o. Two months before the El Ni?o, the anomaly westerly winds of the EP El Ni?o have extended to the eastern Pacific region, while the westerly wind anomaly of the CP El Ni?o can only extend to the west of the dateline three months before the El Ni?o and later stay there. Unlike the EP El Ni?o, the CP El Ni?o is always associated with easterly wind anomaly in the eastern equatorial Pacific before its onset. The thermocline depth anomaly of the EP El Ni?o can significantly move eastward and deepen. In addition, we also find that the evolution of thermocline is ahead of the development of the sea surface temperature for the EP El Ni?o. The strong MJO activity of the EP El Ni?o in the western and central Pacific is earlier than that of the CP El Ni?o. Measured by the standard deviation of the zonal wind square, the intensity of MJO activity of the EP El Ni?o is significantly greater than that of the CP El Ni?o before the onset of El Ni?o.     

Twentieth century ENSO characteristics in the IPCC database

In this paper, we assess and compare to observations the spatial characteristics of the twentieth Century ENSO SST variability simulated by 23 models of the IPCC-AR4/CMIP3 database. The analysis is confined to the SST anomalies along the equatorial Pacific and is based on the use of a non-linear neural classification algorithm, the Self-Organizing Maps. Systematic biases include a larger than observed proportion for modelled ENSO maximum variability occurring in the Western Pacific. No clear relationship is found between this bias and the characteristics of the modelled mean state bias in the equatorial Pacific. This bias is mainly related to a misrepresentation of both El Niño and La Niña termination phases for most of the models. In contrast, the onset phase is quite well simulated. Modelled El Niño and La Niña peak phases display an asymmetric bias. Whereas the main bias of the modelled El Niño peak is to exhibit a maximum in the western Pacific, the simulated La Niña bias mainly occurs in the central Pacific. In addition, some models are able to capture the observed El Niño peak characteristics while none of them realistically simulate La Niña peaks. It also arises that the models closest to the observations score unevenly in reproducing the different phases, preventing an accurate classification of the models quality to reproduce the overall ENSO-like variability.     

Phase‐locked and asymmetric correlations of the wintertime atmospheric patterns with the ENSO

Abstract

Teleconnections between sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies over the Pacific and the dominant patterns of wintertime Northern Hemisphere 500‐hPa height are examined by applying statistical techniques such as rotated principal component analysis and composite analysis. It is shown that the Pacific/North American (PNA) patterns in December through March are correlated most significantly with the ENSO‐related SST anomalies in the previous October, while the western Pacific (WP) patterns in December through February are most closely linked to the ENSO‐related SST anomalies in the same season. In addition, the PNA response to the ENSO signal during La Niña events is more significant than that during El Niño events, while the WP response is stronger during El Niño events than during La Niña events. A composite analysis shows that in the El Niño winters the North Pacific centre of the PNA pattern is located about 10 degrees east of its normal position, leading to a less significant correlation between the ENSO signal and the PNA pattern in these winters.

The ENSO‐related SST anomalies include a large centre of action over the tropical Pacific and an oppositely signed anomaly centre over the North Pacific. The North Pacific centre appears to the west of the dateline in September and October. This ENSO‐related seed of SST anomalies slowly moves eastward in the following months, gradually cutting off its connection with SST anomalies over the tropical Pacific and being coupled with the PNA pattern. It is pointed out that, although the wintertime SST anomaly over the North Pacific may appear as a mode linearly independent of the ENSO signal in the same season, it is partially related to the ENSO signal in the preceding autumn.

Possible dynamical explanations of the above results are discussed. It is suggested that the WP pattern can be linked to the tropical Pacific heat source via advection of vorticity by the upper‐tropospheric divergent/convergent flow, and the intensification of vorticity gradients associated with a stronger east Asian jet is likely to be responsible for a more significant WP pattern response to the ENSO signal in the El Niño winters. On the other hand, the ENSO‐related PNA pattern could be considered a manifestation of the eastward extension (El Niño) or westward withdrawal (La Niña) of the east Asian jet stream due to the local Hadley cell over the Pacific. In addition, the ENSO‐related seed of extratropical SST anomaly over the western Pacific in autumn may also play an important role in the development of the PNA pattern in the following winter.     

Subsurface ocean temperature indices for Central-Pacific and Eastern-Pacific types of El Ni?o and La Ni?a events

Subsurface ocean temperature indices are developed to identify two distinct types of tropical Pacific warming (El Ni?o) and cooling (La Ni?a) events: the Eastern-Pacific (EP) type and the Central-Pacific (CP) type. Ocean temperature anomalies in the upper 100?m are averaged over the eastern (80°W?C90°W, 5°S?C5°N) and central (160°E?C150°W, 5°S?C5°N) equatorial Pacific to construct the EP and CP subsurface indices, respectively. The analysis is performed for the period of 1958?C2001 using an ocean data assimilation product. It is found that the EP/CP subsurface indices are less correlated and show stronger skewness than the sea surface temperature (SST)-based indices. In addition, while both quasi-biennial (??2?years) and quasi-quadrennial (??4?years) periodicities appear in the SST-based indices for these two types, the subsurface indices are dominated only by the quasi-biennial periodicity for the CP type and by the quasi-quadrennial (??4?years) periodicity for the EP type. Low correlation, high skewness, and single leading periodicity are desirable properties for defining indices to separate the EP and CP types. Using the subsurface indices, major El Ni?o and La Ni?a events identified by the Ni?o-3.4 SST index are classified as the EP or CP types for the analysis period. It is found that most strong El Ni?o events are of the EP type while most strong La Ni?a events are of the CP type. It is also found that strong CP-type La Ni?a events tend to occur after strong EP-type El Ni?o events. The reversed subsequence (i.e., strong EP El Ni?o events follow strong CP La Ni?a events) does not appear to be typical. This study shows that subsurface ocean indices are an effective way to identify the EP and CP types of Pacific El Ni?o and La Ni?a events.     

Dependency of typhoon intensity and genesis locations on El Ni?o phase and SST shift over the western North Pacific

The effects of the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phase and the shifting of the ENSO sea surface temperature (SST) on the intensity of tropical cyclones (TC) have been extensively investigated in terms of TC genesis locations in the western North Pacific (WNP). To advance the hypothesis for a relation of genesis location–intensity that the TC formation location hints its intensity, two cases have been compared, which include the phase of the decaying El Ni?o turning over to La Ni?a (type I) and the phase that recovers to a neutral condition (type II). In addition, the shift of ENSO SST to the central Pacific warming (CPW) from the East Pacific warming (EPW) has been examined. The genesis potential index (GPI) and the accumulated cyclone energy have been applied to compare the differences between the ENSO phase and the TC formation location. It was apparent that ENSO influences the WNP typhoon formation location depending on the cycle of the ENSO phase. In addition, the typhoon activity was affected by the zonal shift of the El Ni?o SST. The CPW, which has maximum SST over the central Pacific, tends to have a persistently high GPI over the WNP in September–November and June–August, demonstrating that the formation locations of strong TCs significantly shift southeastward compared with the EPW having SST maximum over the eastern Pacific. CPW years revealed a distinguishable relationship between the TC formation location and the TC between the tropical depression (TD) + tropical storm (TS) and the intense typhoon of category 4?+?5.     

ENSO循环对西太平洋副高和福建汛期旱涝的影响

利用1951-2000年北太平洋海温和副高特征量资料，探讨了夏半年副高与前期海温的关系，发现影响副高活动的海温关键区赤道东太平洋前期信息最明显，从前期秋季持续至春季都保持与夏半年各月副高强度、西伸脊点位置的高相关；ENSO事件的形成超前于副高强度的转折约半年时间；El Nino年副高持续偏强偏西，La Nina年则相反，脊线位置也有所反映但不如强度与西伸变化显著。在此基础上进一步分析表明，福建雨季(5-6月)降水分布的异常直接受到副高活动的影响，夏季(7-9月)全省大部旱涝也直接受到副高南北位置差异的影响。而副高活动异常又明显受ENSO循环的制约，因而关注赤道东太平洋海温及ENSO信息对福建汛期旱涝与降水分布趋势的预测具有重要意义。