Impact of Inter‐Basin Interactions on ENSO‐Associated Hadley Circulation Adjustments
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: El Niño events are usually accompanied by Hadley circulation (HC) adjustment extending beyond the Pacific to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. These remote HC adjustments arise through both pure atmospheric and ocean‐atmosphere coupling mechanisms, yet their relative importance remains unclear. In this study, we integrate observations with climate model experiments to assess the roles of pure atmospheric and coupled ocean‐atmosphere pathways linking ENSO to the global HC adjustments. Results show that El Niño intensifies deep convection over the Pacific but suppresses convection over the Atlantic and Indian Oceans via the tropospheric temperature mechanism. Meanwhile, El Niño‐induced Atlantic and Indian Oceans warming enhances convection and regional HC. These two pathways exert opposing influences, with pure atmospheric pathway as the dominant driver. These findings establish a novel inter‐basin dynamical perspective for ENSO‐related tropical circulation adjustments and clarify the relative importance of different pathways, offering important implications for understanding ENSO‐induced global climate impacts.
Source: Geophysical Research Letters
DOI: 10.1029/2025gl118492
Institutions: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Ministry of Natural Resources, Second Institute of Oceanography, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Peking University
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,190
OpenAlex ID: W7127150788