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Pacific meridional mode and El Niño—Southern Oscillation
Author(s) -
Chang Ping,
Zhang Li,
Saravanan R.,
Vimont Daniel J.,
Chiang John C. H.,
Ji Link,
Seidel Howard,
Tippett Michael K.
Publication year - 2007
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 - 10.1029/2007gl030302
Subject(s) - intertropical convergence zone , climatology , predictability , extratropical cyclone , atmosphere (unit) , madden–julian oscillation , anomaly (physics) , geology , sea surface temperature , zonal and meridional , el niño southern oscillation , environmental science , mode (computer interface) , climate model , atmospheric sciences , oscillation (cell signaling) , convection , oceanography , climate change , meteorology , precipitation , geography , physics , condensed matter physics , quantum mechanics , biology , computer science , genetics , operating system
We present intriguing evidence that the majority of El Niño events over the past four decades are preceded by a distinctive sea‐surface warming and southwesterly wind anomaly in the vicinity of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during the boreal spring. This phenomenon, known as the Meridional Mode (MM), is shown to be intrinsic to the thermodynamic coupling between the atmosphere and ocean. The MM effectively acts as a conduit through which the extratropical atmosphere influences ENSO. Modeling results further suggest that the MM plays a vital role in the seasonal phase‐locking behavior of ENSO. The findings provide a new perspective for understanding the important role of thermodynamic ocean‐atmosphere feedback in ENSO and may have profound implications for ENSO prediction, particularly the unresolved issue of the spring predictability barrier.