Work

Coupling is key for the tropical Indian and Atlantic oceans to boost super El Niño

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The influences of the tropical Indian and Atlantic oceans on the development of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), especially regarding super El Niño events, have been a subject of debate. In particular, several studies argue that these cross-basin influences may be mere statistical artifacts resulting from the high auto-correlation of ENSO. To clarify this issue, we conduct a series of perfect model hindcast experiments to untangle the individual and synergistic effects of the tropical Indian and Atlantic oceans. Our results clearly demonstrate that without these cross-basin effects, the Pacific warming would rarely reach super El Niño level. Specifically, the individual effect of the Indian Ocean efficiently enhances the development of super El Niño events. In contrast, the Atlantic's effect is initially limited because it fails to establish the Bjerknes feedback in the Pacific. However, when coupled with the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic's effect becomes more pronounced as it is amplified by the Bjerknes feedback established by the Indian Ocean.

Source: Science Advances

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adp2281

Authors: Hanjie Fan, Chunzai Wang, Song Yang, Guangli Zhang

Institutions: Sun Yat-sen University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, South China Sea Institute Of Oceanology, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography

Language: English

Topic: Climate variability and models

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $4,500