Eddy response to Southern Ocean climate modes

Abstract

Interannual variations in Southern Ocean eddy kinetic energy (EKE) are investigated using 16 years of altimetric data. Circumpolar averages show a peak in EKE from 2000 to 2002, 2–3 years after the peak in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index. Although the SAM forcing is in phase around the circumpolar band, we find the EKE response varies regionally. The strongest EKE is in the Pacific, with energy peaks occurring progressively later toward the east. We suggest that this is due to the presence of two climate modes: SAM and ENSO. When strong positive SAM events coincide with La Niña periods, as in 1999, anomalous meridional wind forcing is enhanced in the South Pacific Ocean, contributing to the observed increase in EKE 2–3 years later. When positive SAM events coincide with El Niño periods, as in 1993, the climate modes are in opposition in the South Pacific, leading to a weak EKE response during the mid‐1990s. Numerical modeling supports these observations. By applying different combinations of SAM and ENSO, we can reproduce both the elevated Pacific EKE response to SAM as well as an additional amplification/suppression of EKE during La Niña/El Niño. In general, we find that the EKE response depends on the interplay between wind forcing, topography, and mean flow and produces a strongly heterogeneous distribution in the Southern Ocean.