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Enhanced Decadal Warming of the Southeast Indian Ocean During the Recent Global Surface Warming Slowdown
Author(s) -
Li Yuanlong,
Han Weiqing,
Zhang Lei
Publication year - 2017
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 - 10.1002/2017gl075050
Subject(s) - climatology , global warming , environmental science , slowdown , forcing (mathematics) , sea surface temperature , effects of global warming on oceans , abrupt climate change , ocean heat content , climate change , climate model , oceanography , effects of global warming , atmospheric sciences , geology , political science , law
The rapid Indian Ocean warming during the early‐21th century was a major heat sink for the recent global surface warming slowdown. Analysis of observational data and ocean model experiments reveals that during 2003–2012 more than half of the increased upper Indian Ocean heat content was concentrated in the southeast Indian Ocean (SEIO), causing a warming “hot spot” of 0.8–1.2 K decade −1 near the west coast of Australia. This SEIO warming was primarily induced by the enhancements of the Pacific trade winds and Indonesian throughflow associated with the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation's (IPO) transition to its negative phase, and to a lesser degree by local atmospheric forcing within the Indian Ocean. Large‐ensemble climate model simulations suggest that this warming event was likely also exacerbated by anthropogenic forcing and thus unprecedentedly strong as compared to previous IPO transition periods. Climate model projections suggest an increasing possibility of such strong decadal warming in future.