Intraseasonal SST Variability and Air–Sea Interaction over the Kuroshio Extension Region during Boreal Summer

Abstract

The structure and evolution characteristics of intraseasonal (20–100 day) variations of sea surface temperature (SST) and associated atmospheric and oceanic circulations over the Kuroshio Extension (KE) region during boreal summer are investigated, using satellite-based daily SST, observed precipitation data, and reanalysis data. The intraseasonal SST warming in the KE region is associated with an anomalous anticyclone in the overlying atmosphere, reduced precipitation, and northward and downward currents in the upper ocean. The corresponding atmospheric and oceanic fields during the SST cooling phase exhibit a mirror image with an opposite sign. A mixed layer heat budget analysis shows that the intraseasonal SST warming is primarily attributed to anomalous shortwave radiation and latent heat fluxes at the surface. The anomalous sensible heat flux and oceanic advection also have contributions, but with a much smaller magnitude. The SST warming caused by the atmospheric forcing further exerts a significant feedback to the atmosphere through triggering the atmospheric convective instability and precipitation anomalies. The so-induced heating leads to quick setup of a baroclinic response, followed by a baroclinic-to-barotropic transition. As a result, the atmospheric circulation changes from an anomalous anticyclone to an anomalous cyclone. This two-way interaction scenario suggests that the origin of the atmospheric intraseasonal oscillation over the KE region may partly arise from the local atmosphere–ocean interaction.