A CGCM Study on the Interaction between IOD and ENSO

An atmosphere–ocean coupled general circulation model known as the Scale Interaction Experiment Frontier version 1 (SINTEX-F1) model is used to understand the intrinsic variability of the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD). In addition to a globally coupled control experiment, a Pacific decoupled noENSO experiment has been conducted. In the latter, the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability is suppressed by decoupling the tropical Pacific Ocean from the atmosphere. The ocean–atmosphere conditions related to the IOD are realistically simulated by both experiments including the characteristic east–west dipole in SST anomalies. This demonstrates that the dipole mode in the Indian Ocean is mainly determined by intrinsic processes within the basin. In the EOF analysis of SST anomalies from the noENSO experiment, the IOD takes the dominant seat instead of the basinwide monopole mode. Even the coupled feedback among anomalies of upper-ocean heat content, SST, wind, and Walker circulation over the Indian...