The Association of the Evolution of Intraseasonal Oscillations to ENSO Phase

Abstract

Abstract The Pacific Ocean intraseasonal Kelvin wave is a leading oceanic mode that links intraseasonal tropical atmospheric variations with interannual variations in the coupled ocean–atmosphere system. This study considers the premise that these waves may evolve differently with their associated weather patterns during different phases of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). If atmospheric and oceanic intraseasonal modes interact and evolve differently during various stages of ENSO, this result may provide useful information with regard to the role of these intraseasonal processes in ENSO evolution. This work utilizes signals of the oceanic Kelvin wave as a statistical basis for a simple composite averaging technique that is applied during different phases of ENSO to objectively analyze the evolution of oceanic and the associated portions of atmospheric intraseasonal oscillations. Results confirm the above premise and suggest that coupling between Kelvin waves and atmospheric convection evolves differently during different stages of ENSO. Further, intraseasonal zonal wind anomalies across the east Pacific timed with oceanic Kelvin waves are stronger during adjustment toward El Niño than during adjustment away from El Niño. These and other patterns in the composites suggest the possibility that systematic changes in the evolution of intraseasonal variations over the course of ENSO might feed back upon this interannual mode to influence the evolution of ENSO itself.