Subtropical Cells Research Articles

Asymmetric Impacts of ENSO on Boreal Winter Southern Subtropical Cell in the Indian Ocean

AbstractThe interannual relationships between the southern subtropical cell (SSTC) in the Indian Ocean (IO) and the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are examined. The results demonstrate that the impacts of ENSO on the boreal winter IO SSTC display a notable negative skewness, with the amplification of the SSTC during La Niña being far stronger than its reduction during El Niño. This difference is mainly attributed to an asymmetry in anomalous meridional geostrophic transport, characterized by more robust southward (weaker northward) geostrophic transport anomalies during La Niña (El Niño) events. Further analyses reveal that the differing longitudinal positions of the ENSO‐related sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) are the primary drivers of the asymmetry in anomalous meridional geostrophic transport via the oceanic and atmospheric teleconnections. Compared to the warm SSTA in El Niño events, the La Niña‐related cool SSTA in the central‐eastern equatorial Pacific displays a greater westward extension, which induces stronger surface easterlies over the western equatorial Pacific, and then initiates a more substantial sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) in the southeast Indian Ocean (SEIO) through oceanic waveguides. This leads to a heightened zonal SSHA gradient over the southern IO, resulting in a larger anomalous meridional geostrophic transport. On the other hand, the westward extension of negative SSTA during La Niña winters triggers anomalous cyclonic northerlies along the western coast of Australia by shifting the Walker circulation westward. These coastal northerlies amplify the positive SSHA signals in the SEIO and enhance the anomalous meridional geostrophic transport, ultimately contributing to a more robust IO SSTC response.

Impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation on the Decadal Variability of the Upper Subtropical‐Tropical Atlantic Ocean

AbstractIn the northeastern tropical Atlantic, a region of high potential vorticity (PV) determines the size of the exchange window for the interior thermocline flow of the subtropical cell via its variations in strength and extent. Variability of this PV barrier has the potential to impact the ventilation of the tropical Atlantic on decadal timescales. Here, the impact of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the PV barrier related to isopycnals within the thermocline of the subtropical‐tropical Atlantic Ocean is assessed from Argo observations for the time period of 2006–2022. Relative to the negative NAO phase (2009–2010), during the positive NAO phase (2014–2019), the North Atlantic subtropical high and the northeast trades are intensified. Satellite‐derived wind stress curl shows increased upwelling/downwelling on the equatorward/poleward side of the trade wind zone, respectively. In the subtropical‐tropical Atlantic, a symmetric pattern of isopycnal heave is observed: rising isopycnals within 20°N and 20°S and sinking poleward of that. With rising isopycnals, the PV barrier in the northeastern tropical Atlantic becomes stronger. Analyses of geostrophic velocities and the Sverdrup streamfunction show that during the positive NAO phase there are increased equatorward velocities at thermocline level along the western boundary and reduced velocities through the interior as a result of intensified northeast trades and therefore a strengthened PV barrier. Intensified trades lead to enhanced subduction of thermocline waters and, independent of that, to a strengthened Equatorial Undercurrent transport as observed at the mooring site at 0°, 23°W, likely via the pulling effect of the subtropical cells.

Contribution of anthropogenic aerosols to persistent La Niña-like conditions in the early 21st century

The discrepancy between the observed lack of surface warming in the eastern equatorial Pacific and climate model projections of an El Niño-like warming pattern confronts the climate research community. While anthropogenic aerosols have been suggested as a cause, the prolonged cooling trend over the equatorial Pacific appears in conflict with Northern Hemisphere aerosol emission reduction since the 1980s. Here, using CESM, we show that the superposition of fast and slow responses to aerosol emission change-an increase followed by a decrease-can sustain the La Niña-like condition for a longer time than expected. The rapid adjustment of Hadley Cell to aerosol reduction triggers joint feedback between low clouds, wind, evaporation, and sea surface temperature in the Southeast Pacific, leading to a wedge-shaped cooling that extends to the central equatorial Pacific. Meanwhile, the northern subtropical cell gradually intensifies, resulting in equatorial subsurface cooling that lasts for decades.

Variability of the Pacific subtropical cells under global warming in CMIP6 models

Variability of the Pacific subtropical cells under global warming in CMIP6 models

Fast and Slow Responses of the Tropical Pacific to Radiative Forcing in Northern High Latitudes

Abstract This study investigates the transient evolution of tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) responses to a constant northern high-latitude solar heating in fully coupled CESM 1.2. The study identifies two stages through multiple ensemble runs. 1) In the first 3 years, a hemispherically asymmetric pattern emerges, caused by air–sea interactions associated with the anomalous cross-equatorial Hadley cell. The northern tropics experience warming that is blocked north of the equator by the intertropical convergence zone. The southeast Pacific cooling reaches the equatorial region and is amplified by the equatorial Ekman divergence. 2) Within a decade, the equatorial cooling is replaced by warming in the eastern equatorial basin. The anomalous warming that appears faster than the time scales of the oceanic ventilation is attributed to anomalous meridional heat convergence and weakening of the northern subtropical cell. Our findings highlight the influence of ocean dynamics on the temporal and spatial evolution of tropical SST response to hemispherically asymmetric heating. The initial cooling caused by Ekman divergence delays the arrival of slow warming, while initial wind and temperature anomalies set the stage for the weakening of the subtropical cell. The results have important implications for understanding the evolution of tropical SST patterns in observational records and future climate change simulations, as they show strong interhemispheric temperature asymmetry in the extratropics.

Decadal Variability of the Pacific Shallow Overturning Circulation and the Role of Local Wind Forcing

Abstract The Pacific shallow meridional overturning circulations, known as subtropical cells (STCs), link subduction in the subtropical regions to equatorial upwelling, suggesting the possibility for subtropical winds to influence equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) by altering the STCs’ strength. Indeed, STC variability provides the basis for one of the mechanisms proposed to explain the origin of tropical Pacific decadal variability (TPDV). While the relationship between STC strength, as measured by their subsurface transport convergence, and equatorial SST variations is well documented, the location of the wind forcing most influential on STC variability is still being debated. In this study, we use the output of an ocean reanalysis to examine tropical Pacific Ocean surface and subsurface decadal changes during recent decades and relate them to STC variability and surface wind forcing. Our results indicate that the STC interior transport at each latitude is largely controlled by the wind forcing at that latitude rather than induced by remote subtropical wind variations. We also show that the establishment of the anomalous transport at each latitude is associated with the westward propagation of oceanic wind-forced Rossby waves, as part of the ocean adjustment process that also leads to a zonal redistribution of upper-ocean heat content at both interannual and decadal time scales. These results provide guidance for understanding the origin of TPDV by elucidating the underlying dynamics of STC variability and can have practical implications for monitoring STC variability in the tropical Pacific. Significance Statement Slow variations of the surface ocean temperature in the tropical Pacific Ocean have been shown to affect the global climate. Our study aims at better understanding the origin of these temperature anomalies by taking a closer look at the upper ocean circulation variability and its relationship with surface wind forcing. Unlike previous studies, which have related the upper ocean circulation changes to wind variations outside the tropical Pacific, we show here that the variations in upper-ocean circulation are primarily driven by local winds. This result not only clarifies which winds are most important, but also suggests a practical approach for monitoring circulation changes from surface observations.

Phase-Locked Impact of the 11-Year Solar Cycle on Tropical Pacific Decadal Variability

Abstract As an important external forcing, the effect of the 11-yr solar cycle on the tropical Pacific decadal variability is an interesting question. Here, we systematically investigate the phase-locking of the atmosphere and ocean covariations to the solar cycle in the tropical Pacific and propose a new mechanism to explain these decadal covariations. In both observation/reanalysis datasets and a solar cycle forced sensitivity experiment (named the SOL experiment), the ocean heat content anomalies (OHCa; 300 m) resemble a La Niña–like pattern in the solar cycle ascending phase, and the Walker circulation shifts westward. In the declining phase, the opposite is true. The accumulative solar irradiation directly contributes to this coherent decadal variability via changing the warm water volume and the solar-related heat is redistributed by the ocean dynamic processes. During the 11-yr solar cycle, the Pacific Walker circulation anomalies maintain the OHCa in the western equatorial Pacific and work as negative feedback for the eastern Pacific to help the OHCa phase transition. In addition, oceanic meridional heat transport via the subtropical cells and the propagation of off-equatorial Rossby waves also provide a lagged negative feedback to the OHCa phase transition according to the 11-yr solar cycle. The decadal coupled responses of the tropical Pacific climate system are 2 years more lag in the SOL experiment than in the observation/reanalysis. Significance Statement Here, we propose a new mechanism that the heating effect of the accumulative solar irradiation during the 11-yr solar cycle can be “integrated” into the tropical Pacific OHC and then provide a bottom-up effect on the atmosphere at decadal time scales. The strongly coupled processes in this region amplify the decadal phase-locking of the covariations to the 11-yr solar cycle. Our study demonstrates the role of the 11-yr solar cycle in the tropical Pacific decadal variability and provides a new explanation for the “bottom-up” mechanism of the solar cycle forcing. Our results update the understanding of the tropical Pacific decadal variability and may help to improve climate predictions at decadal time scales.

Impact of Tropical Cyclone Wind Forcing on the Global Climate in a Fully Coupled Climate Model

Abstract Tropical cyclones (TCs) alter upper-ocean temperature and influence ocean heat content via enhanced turbulent mixing. A better understanding of the role of TCs within the climate system requires a fully coupled modeling framework, where TC-induced ocean responses feed back to the atmosphere and subsequently to the climate mean state and variability. Here, we investigate the impacts of TC wind forcing on the global ocean and the associated feedbacks within the climate system using the fully coupled Community Earth System Model version 1.3 (CESM1.3). Using the low-resolution version of CESM1.3 (1° atmosphere and ocean grid spacing) with no intrinsic TCs, we conduct a suite of sensitivity experiments by inserting TC winds extracted from a high-resolution (0.25° atmosphere grid spacing) TC-permitting simulation into the low-resolution model. Results from the low-resolution TC experiment are compared to a low-resolution control simulation to diagnose TCs’ impact. We found that the added TC winds can increase ocean heat content by affecting ocean vertical mixing, air–sea enthalpy fluxes, and cloud amount. The added TCs can influence mean SST, precipitation, ocean subsurface temperature, and ocean mixed layer depth. We found a strengthening of the wind-driven subtropical cells and a weakening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation due to the changes of surface buoyancy fluxes. TCs in the model cause anomalous equatorward ocean heat convergence in the deep tropics and an increase of poleward ocean heat transport out of the subtropics. Our modeling results provide new insights into the multiscale interactions between TCs and the coupled climate system.

Buoyancy Forcing Dominates the Cross-Equatorial Ocean Heat Transport Response to Northern Hemisphere Extratropical Cooling

Abstract Cross-equatorial ocean heat transport (OHT) changes have been found to damp meridional shifts of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) induced by hemispheric asymmetries in radiative forcing. Zonal-mean energy transport theories and idealized model simulations have suggested that these OHT changes occur primarily due to wind-driven changes in the Indo-Pacific’s shallow subtropical cells (STCs) and buoyancy-driven changes in the deep Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). In this study we explore the partitioning between buoyancy and momentum forcing in the ocean’s response. We adjust the top-of-atmosphere solar forcing to cool the Northern Hemisphere (NH) extratropics in a novel set of comprehensive climate model simulations designed to isolate buoyancy-forced and momentum-forced changes. In this case of NH high-latitude forcing, we confirm that buoyancy-driven changes in the AMOC dominate in the Atlantic. However, in contrast with prior expectations, buoyancy-driven changes in the STCs are the primary driver of the heat transport changes in the Indo-Pacific. We find that buoyancy-forced Indo-Pacific STC changes transport nearly 4 times the amount of heat across the equator as the shallower wind-driven STC changes. This buoyancy-forced STC response arises from extratropical density perturbations that are amplified by the low cloud feedback and communicated to the tropics by the ventilated thermocline. While the ocean’s specific response is dependent on the forcing scheme, our results suggest that partitioning the ocean’s total response to energy perturbations into buoyancy and momentum forcing provides basin-specific insight into key aspects of how the ocean damps ITCZ migrations that previous zonal-mean frameworks omit.

Representation of the Mean Atlantic Subtropical Cells in CMIP6 Models

AbstractThe Atlantic Subtropical Cells (STCs) consist of poleward Ekman transport in the surface layer, subduction in the subtropics, and equatorward transport in the thermocline layer that largely compensates the surface Ekman divergence and closes the STCs via equatorial upwelling. As a result, the STCs play an important role in connecting the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean, in terms of heat, freshwater, oxygen, and nutrients exchange. However, their representation in state‐of‐the‐art coupled models has not been systematically evaluated. In this study, we investigate the performance of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 climate models in simulating the Atlantic STCs. Comparing model results with observations, we first present the simulated mean state with respect to ensembles of the key components participating in the STC loop, that is, the meridional Ekman and geostrophic flow across 10°N and 10°S, and the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) at 23°W. We find that the model ensemble reveals biases toward weak Southern Hemisphere Ekman transport and interior geostrophic transports, as well as a weak EUC. We then investigate the large inter‐model spread of these key components and find that models with strong Ekman divergence between 10°N and 10°S tend to have strong mixed layer and thermocline interior convergence and strong EUC. The inter‐model spread of the EUC strength is primarily associated with the intensity of the southeasterly trade winds in the models. Since the trade‐wind‐induced poleward Ekman transports are regarded as the drivers of the STCs, our results highlight the necessity to improve skills of coupled models to simulate the Southern Hemisphere atmospheric forcing.

Influence of Salinity and Temperature Gradients on the Variability of the North Brazil Undercurrent

The North Brazil Undercurrent (NBUC) is a narrow (<1°) northward western boundary current in the tropical South Atlantic Ocean. It carries a large volume of water (>16 Sv) and plays an important role in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the South Atlantic Subtropical Cell. Strong salinity and temperature fronts occur over the NBUC region. The role of temperature and salinity gradients on the genesis of NBUC variability has never been explored. This study uses three high-resolution (≤0.1°) and one low-resolution (=0.25°) model outputs to explore the linear trend of NBUC transport and its variability on annual and interannual time scales. We find that the linear trend and interannual variability of the geostrophic NBUC transport show large discrepancies among the datasets. Thus, the linear trend and variability of the geostrophic NBUC are associated with model configuration. We also find that the relative contributions of salinity and temperature gradients to the geostrophic shear of the NBUC are not model dependent. Salinity-based and temperature-based geostrophic NBUC transports tend to be opposite-signed on all time scales. Despite the limited salinity and temperature profiles, the model results are consistent with the in-situ observations on the annual cycle and interannual time scales. This study shows the relationship of salinity-based and temperature-based geostrophic NBUC variations in the annual and interannual variability and trend among different models and highlights the equal important roles of temperature and salinity in driving the variability of NBUC transport.

A stronger versus weaker Walker: understanding model differences in fast and slow tropical Pacific responses to global warming

The tropical Pacific response to radiative forcing remains uncertain as projected future changes to the Walker circulation and SST patterns vary substantially among climate models. Here, we study what sets the magnitude and timescales of the response and why they differ across models. Specifically, we compare the fast and slow responses of the tropical Pacific to abrupt CO2 increases (2, 4, 8, 16 × CO2) in two configurations of the same model family (CESM) that differ in horizontal resolution and mean biases. We find that the model with a higher resolution shows a transient ocean thermostat-like response to CO2-forcing, with a stronger Walker cell and lack of warming in the eastern Pacific trade wind belts. This fast response lasts for about 50 years and is followed by a slight Walker cell weakening and equatorial warming. The second model, with a coarser resolution, shows a weak and short-lasting ocean thermostat response, followed by pronounced Walker cell weakening and eastern equatorial Pacific warming, similar to the long-term pattern noted in previous studies. These fast and slow responses also manifest in experiments where CO2 is gradually increased. We relate the magnitude of the fast ocean-thermostat response to the structure of the equatorial thermocline, setting the strength of the Bjerknes feedback. The magnitude and timing of the delayed eastern equatorial Pacific warming are related to the competition of positive feedbacks amplifying the ocean thermostat against the effect of ocean subsurface warming eroding the thermostat. The latter effect is further amplified by the slowdown of oceanic subtropical cells and enhanced extra-tropical warming. Different balances between these effects could explain the large spread in the model future projections for the tropical Pacific.

A new presentation of the Indian Ocean shallow overturning circulation from a vertical perspective

The calculation of the meridional overturning streamfunction in the southern Indian Ocean is biased by the Indonesian Throughflow. Therefore, this study applies the vertical overturning streamfunction to diagnose the shallow overturning circulation in the Indian Ocean. Using the Ocean General Circulation Model for the Earth simulator output, improvements with the vertical overturning streamfunction compared with the meridional overturning streamfunction are explored. The results show that the vertical overturning streamfunction smoothly connects the shallow overturning circulations of the northern Indian Ocean and the southern Indian Ocean with the whole cycle of the subtropical cell and the cross-equatorial cell. The vertical overturning streamfunction shows a much cleaner shallow overturning circulation, which is underestimated by the meridional overturning streamfunction. It shows that the shallow overturning circulation has a magnitude of ~13 Sv (1 Sv 106 m3 s−1), of which the subtropical cell accounts for ~8 Sv. In addition, the vertical overturning streamfunction captures a clockwise overturning cell in the upper 600 m layer between 30°S and 34°S. This cell has a magnitude of about −5 Sv and probably corresponds to the wind-forced subtropical gyre. Therefore, the vertical overturning streamfunction provides a new approach for estimating the shallow overturning circulation in the Indian Ocean.摘要由于印尼贯穿流干扰了南印度洋经向翻转环流的计算, 本文应用垂向翻转流函数来诊断印度洋浅层经向翻转环流. 基于海洋环流模拟产品 (OFES), 本文探讨了垂向流函数相比经向翻转流函数的改进. 研究结果表明垂向翻转流函数能平滑连接南北印度洋的翻转环流, 包括完整的副热带翻转环流和跨赤道翻转环流. 经向翻转流函数低估了印度洋浅层翻转环流; 而垂向翻转流函数表示的印度洋浅层翻转环流受印尼贯穿流影响更小, 其评估的印度洋浅层翻转环流强度约13 Sv, 其中副热带翻转环流强度约8 Sv (1 Sv 106 m3 s−1). 此外, 垂向翻转流函数在印度洋南开边界 (30°S~34°S) 上600 m层表现为顺时针翻转结构, 其强度约−5 Sv, 可能对应风驱的副热带流系. 因此, 垂向翻转流函数提供了一种新方法来评估印度洋浅层翻转环流.

Interannual variability in the subduction of the South Atlantic subtropical underwater

The South Atlantic subtropical underwater (STUW) is a high-salinity water mass formed by subduction within the subtropical gyre. It is a major component of the subtropical cell and affects stratification in the downstream direction due to its high salinity characteristics. Understanding the interannual variability in STUW subduction is essential for quantifying the impact of subtropical variability on the tropical Atlantic. Using the output from the ocean state estimate of the Consortium for Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO), this study investigates the interannual variability in STUW subduction from 1992 to 2016. We find that heat fluxes, wind stress, and wind stress curl cause interannual variability in the subduction rate. Heat fluxes over the subduction area modulate the sea surface buoyancy and regulate the mixed layer depth (MLD) during its deepening and shoaling phases. Additionally, the wind stress curl and zonal wind stress can modulate the size of the subduction area by regulating the probability of particles entrained into the mixed layer within 1 year of tracing. This analysis evaluates the influence of subtropical wind patterns on the South Atlantic subsurface high-salinity water mass, highlighting the impact of heat and wind on the interannual changes in the oceanic component of the hydrological cycle.

Low-frequency variability of the Pacific Subtropical Cells as reproduced by coupled models and ocean reanalyses

Low-frequency variability of the Pacific Subtropical Cells (STCs) is investigated using outputs from several models included in the two latest phases of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP), CMIP5 and CMIP6, as well as ocean reanalysis products. Our analysis focuses on historical simulations and an idealised future scenario integration. Mass and heat transport diagnostics are employed to assess how coupled models and ocean reanalyses reproduce Pacific STCs total and interior transport convergence at the equator and their relationship with equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature (SST). Trends of mass and heat transport are also evaluated, in order to study how the STCs are expected to change in a warming climate. A large spread is obtained across models in simulated mass transports, confirming that coupled models do not agree on reproducing observed Pacific STCs dynamics, with very limited improvement by CMIP6 models. Compared to ocean reanalysis products, coupled models tend to underestimate the STCs interior transport convergence, and are less efficient on propagating the signal generated by the subtropical wind stress towards the equator. Also, mass transport obtained from ocean reanalyses exhibit larger variability, and these products also better reproduce the STCs-SST relationship. Future scenario simulations suggest a weakening (strengthening) of the heat transport by the North (South) Pacific cell under warmer conditions, with a general agreement across models. Equatorward mass transport trends do not confirm this for total and interior components, but they do for the western boundary component.

Observed Transport Variability of the Atlantic Subtropical Cells and Their Connection to Tropical Sea Surface Temperature Variability

AbstractThe shallow meridional overturning cells of the Atlantic Ocean, the subtropical cells (STCs), consist of poleward Ekman transport at the surface, subduction in the subtropics, equatorward flow at thermocline level and upwelling along the equator and at the eastern boundary. In this study, we provide the first observational estimate of transport variability associated with the horizontal branches of the Atlantic STCs in both hemispheres based on Argo float data and supplemented by reanalysis products. Thermocline layer transport convergence and surface layer transport divergence between 10°N and 10°S are dominated by seasonal variability. Meridional thermocline layer transport anomalies at the western boundary and in the interior basin are anti‐correlated and partially compensate each other at all resolved time scales. It is suggested that the seesaw‐like relation is forced by the large‐scale off‐equatorial wind stress changes through low‐baroclinic‐mode Rossby wave adjustment. We further show that anomalies of the thermocline layer interior transport convergence modulate sea surface temperature (SST) variability in the upwelling regions along the equator and at the eastern boundary at time scales longer than 5 years. Phases of weaker (stronger) interior transport are associated with phases of higher (lower) equatorial SST. At these time scales, STC transport variability is forced by off‐equatorial wind stress changes, especially by those in the southern hemisphere. At shorter time scales, equatorial SST anomalies are, instead, mainly forced by local changes of zonal wind stress.

Coupling of Surface Ocean Heat and Carbon Perturbations over the Subtropical Cells under Twenty-First Century Climate Change

AbstractIt is well established that the ocean plays an important role in absorbing anthropogenic carbon Cant from the atmosphere. Under global warming, Earth system model simulations and theoretical arguments indicate that the capacity of the ocean to absorb Cant will be reduced, with this constituting a positive carbon–climate feedback. Here we apply a suite of sensitivity simulations with a comprehensive Earth system model to demonstrate that the surface waters of the shallow overturning structures (spanning 45°S–45°N) sustain nearly half of the global ocean carbon–climate feedback. The main results reveal a feedback that is initially triggered by warming but that amplifies over time as Cant invasion enhances the sensitivity of surface pCO2 to further warming, particularly in the warmer season. Importantly, this “heat–carbon feedback” mechanism is distinct from (and significantly weaker than) what one would expect from temperature-controlled solubility perturbations to pCO2 alone. It finds independent confirmation in an additional perturbation experiment with the same Earth system model. There mechanism denial is applied by disallowing the secular trend in the physical state of the ocean under climate change, while simultaneously allowing the effects of heating to impact sea surface pCO2 and thereby CO2 uptake. Reemergence of Cant along the equator within the shallow overturning circulation plays an important role in the heat–carbon feedback, with the decadal renewal time scale for thermocline waters modulating the feedback response. The results here for 45°S–45°N stand in contrast to what is found in the high latitudes, where a clear signature of a broader range of driving mechanisms is present.

Production and Fate of the South Atlantic Subtropical Underwater

AbstractThe South Atlantic Subtropical Underwater (STUW) was identified from Argo floats between 2001 and 2019. Expressed as a vertical salinity maximum at the subsurface, the STUW spreads over the western subtropical and tropical South Atlantic. The mean salinity, conservative temperature, and potential density of the STUW are 36.66 ± 0.43 g/kg, 22.62 ± 2.27°C, and 25.14 ± 0.49 kg/m3, respectively. Based on the criteria derived from the STUW properties described above and the results from the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO) model, the production and fate of the STUW are calculated. The annual mean subduction rate is 3.26 Sv, and effective subduction occurs from September to November. Approximately 73% (2.38 Sv) of the subducted STUW is transported toward the tropical Atlantic, and 23% (0.75 Sv) of the subducted STUW is dissipated near the STUW formation region; 99% of the subducted STUW particles are dissipated within 2 years. Water particles can enter/exit the STUW along the advection route of the STUW. A total of 3.92 Sv of the STUW volume dissipates within the tropical region between 1.5°S and 1°N, implying that STUW contributes to 98% of the total transport of the subtropical cell. This analysis tracks the South Atlantic STUW from formation to dissipation and highlights the importance of the STUW in governing the subtropical cell.

Inconsistent Atmosphere‐Ocean Dynamics and Multidecadal Zonal SST Gradient Trends Across the Equatorial Pacific Ocean in Reanalysis Products

AbstractOcean reanalysis products are routinely employed as reality checks in model evaluations and for process studies. This is especially so for critical regions such as the equatorial cold tongue (ECT) in the eastern equatorial Pacific where models suffer a chronic cold bias. ECT is a major player in the Pacific equatorial zonal sea surface temperature (SST) gradient (ΔEWSST) that has a significant impact on oceanic heat uptake and thus global climate. Hence, we investigate the reliability of three ocean reanalysis products for surface flux and ocean dynamic controls on ΔEWSST and Niño3.4 SST trends. We infer that while Niño3.4 SST trends are positive in all products, the signs of ΔEWSST trends do not agree with each other because initial conditions likely play a big role in their evolution. However, for ΔEWSST trends, the effect of initial conditions gets canceled out to some extent. Mixed layer heat budget and trends in ocean dynamic features such as tropical and subtropical cells, equatorial undercurrent, and subsurface temperatures are also diagnosed. We show that two reanalysis products that show a strengthening of ΔEWSST have contradicting trends in their surface heat flux and ocean dynamic contributions. This suggests that without accurate surface heat and momentum fluxes, data assimilation techniques may produce an east–west trend that is inconsistent among each other. Reanalysis products must address these issues considering the importance of this gradient.

Interdecadal modulation of ENSO amplitude by the Atlantic multi-decadal oscillation (AMO)

The impact of the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) on the ENSO amplitude was investigated through observational analyses. During the past 90 years the interdecadal variability of ENSO intensity is significantly correlated with the AMO. ENSO variability was strengthened (weakened) during a negative (positive) AMO phase. An ocean mixed layer heat budget analysis reveals that the thermocline feedback is the main process regulating AMO negative phase dependent ENSO growth characteristic. A further examination indicates that a strengthened atmospheric response to unit SST anomaly, an enhanced thermocline response to unit wind stress forcing and a strengthened subsurface temperature response to unit thermocline variation all contribute to the enhanced thermocline feedback during the negative phase of AMO. Such changes are attributed to the increase of background moisture, the weakening of mean subtropical cell (STC) and increase of upper ocean vertical temperature gradient respectively.