On the formation of the South Pacific quadrupole mode

Abstract

The formation process of the South Pacific (SP) quadrupole (SPQ) mode was investigated in this study based on observations and reanalysis data. The SPQ is the dominant mode of the sea surface temperature (SST)–surface wind covariability in the SP after removing the ENSO-related signals. The positive phase of the SPQ is characterized by a warm SST anomaly (SSTA) west of the South American coast, a cool SSTA in its southwest, a positive SSTA southeast of New Zealand, and a negative SSTA off the southeast coast of Australia, overlain by cyclonic wind anomalies. The anomalous cyclonic winds weaken the mean southeast trade winds in the southeast SP and the westerlies in the high latitudes of the SP, increasing the SSTAs at the two positive poles through decreased evaporation and latent heat flux (LHF) loss. The southeast wind anomalies advect dry and cold air to the negative pole in the central SP, which reduces the SSTA there by increasing the LHF loss. Off the southeast coast of Australia, the southwest wind anomalies induce equatorward Ekman currents and advect cold water. The resulting oceanic horizontal advection is the main contributor to the negative SSTAs there. In addition to the above processes, cloud cover change can enhance the initial SSTAs in the southeast SP by affecting shortwave radiation. The decay of the SPQ is mainly due to LHF changes.