Sea surface temperature in the north tropical Atlantic as a trigger for El Nino/Southern Oscillation events
Sea surface temperature in the north tropical Atlantic as a trigger for El Nino/Southern Oscillation events
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DOI：
10.1038/ngeo1686
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发表时间：
2013-02-01
影响因子：
18.3
通讯作者：
Jin, Fei-Fei
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Ham, Yoo-Geun;Kug, Jong-Seong;Jin, Fei-Fei
厄尔尼诺事件是厄尔尼诺/南方涛动（ENSO）的暖相，已知会通过遥相关影响其他热带海洋盆地。相反，越来越多的证据表明，大西洋的温度变化也可能影响ENSO变化（1-5）。在这里，我们使用再分析数据和大气环流模式表明，在北大西洋热带北部的春季海表温度异常可以作为ENSO事件的触发器。我们确定了一个副热带遥相关，在北热带大西洋春季变暖，可以诱导低层气旋性大气流动在东太平洋，反过来又产生了低层反气旋流在西太平洋在接下来的几个月。这股气流在赤道西太平洋上空产生东风，使赤道太平洋降温，并可能在次年冬季引发拉尼娜现象。此外，由北热带大西洋的冷异常导致的厄尔尼诺事件往往是暖池厄尔尼诺事件，其活动中心位于太平洋中部（6，7），而不是典型的厄尔尼诺事件。我们认为，北热带大西洋温度异常的识别可以帮助预测不同类型的厄尔尼诺事件的发展。
El Nino events, the warm phase of the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), are known to affect other tropical ocean basins through teleconnections. Conversely, mounting evidence suggests that temperature variability in the Atlantic Ocean may also influence ENSO variability(1-5). Here we use reanalysis data and general circulation models to show that sea surface temperature anomalies in the north tropical Atlantic during the boreal spring can serve as a trigger for ENSO events. We identify a subtropical teleconnection in which spring warming in the north tropical Atlantic can induce a low-level cyclonic atmospheric flow over the eastern Pacific Ocean that in turn produces a low-level anticyclonic flow over the western Pacific during the following months. This flow generates easterly winds over the western equatorial Pacific that cool the equatorial Pacific and may trigger a La Nina event the following winter. In addition, El Nino events led by cold anomalies in the north tropical Atlantic tend to be warm-pool El Nino events, with a centre of action located in the central Pacific(6,7), rather than canonical El Nino events. We suggest that the identification of temperature anomalies in the north tropical Atlantic could help to forecast the development of different types of El Nino event.