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Estimating the nonlinear response of tropical ocean to extratropical forcing in a coupled climate model
Author(s) -
Yang Haijun,
Wang Lu
Publication year - 2008
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 - 10.1029/2008gl034256
Subject(s) - extratropical cyclone , climatology , forcing (mathematics) , environmental science , extrapolation , climate change , climate model , climate sensitivity , nonlinear system , ocean current , atmospheric sciences , geology , oceanography , mathematics , physics , mathematical analysis , quantum mechanics
The nonlinear response of the tropical ocean to the extratropical forcing is quantitatively estimated using a coupled climate model. Preliminary results based on sensitivity experiments show that the tropical response attributed to nonlinear processes is less than 10% of the linear response for annual mean climatology. This occurs mainly because the ocean circulations, especially the meridional overturning circulation, tend to change proportionally with external forcings. This work provides a practical estimate of oceanic nonlinear response to global climate change in a complex model system, which in turn may allow the assessment of future climate change from the linear extrapolation of current climate.