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ENSO amplitude changes due to greenhouse warming in CMIP5: Role of mean tropical precipitation in the twentieth century
Author(s) -
Ham YooGeun,
Kug JongSeong
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl066864
Subject(s) - climatology , coupled model intercomparison project , precipitation , equator , environmental science , climate model , forcing (mathematics) , intertropical convergence zone , el niño southern oscillation , atmospheric sciences , climate change , boreal , amplitude , global warming , geology , oceanography , geography , latitude , meteorology , physics , quantum mechanics , paleontology , geodesy
Abstract This study examines the relationship between the intermodel diversities of the present climate climatology and those of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) amplitude change under global warming in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models. The models with increased ENSO amplitude under greenhouse warming (i.e., “ENSO‐amplified models”) tend to simulate a twentieth century stronger climatological Intertropical Convergence Zone and South Pacific Convergence Zone over the central‐eastern Pacific that are located farther away from the equator during boreal spring. Moisture budget analysis indicates that those climatological differences lead to stronger positive climatological precipitation change over the off‐equatorial central‐eastern Pacific under greenhouse warming. The stronger positive climatological precipitation change enhances the air‐sea coupling strength over the central‐eastern Pacific, which leads to increase the ENSO amplitude.