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How does extratropical warming affect ENSO?
Author(s) -
Yang Haijun,
Zhang Qiong,
Zhong Yafang,
Vavrus Steve,
Liu Zhengyu
Publication year - 2005
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 - 10.1029/2004gl021624
Subject(s) - extratropical cyclone , thermocline , climatology , upwelling , hadley cell , environmental science , el niño southern oscillation , stratification (seeds) , atmospheric sciences , global warming , oceanography , climate change , geology , general circulation model , seed dormancy , botany , germination , dormancy , biology
Idealized experiments in a coupled climate model show that the remote impact of the extratropics on the tropics can modulate the behavior of El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. An extratropical warming can weaken the Hadley cells and slow down the shallow meridional overturning circulations in the upper Pacific, causing reductions in the equatorward cold water supply and the equatorial upwelling and thus a weakened stratification of the equatorial thermocline. Therefore, weaker and longer ENSO cycle would occur in the stabilized equatorial coupled system resulted from the extratropical warming.