进入21世纪以来，随着中太平洋（CP）型El Niño的频繁发生，ENSO理论遭到了非常严峻的考验和挑战。ENSO热源中心位置的移动会对太平洋地区的海气耦合过程带来显著的影响，这不仅改变了ENSO对全球气候的影响方式，同时也造成ENSO预报技巧显著的下滑。所以自CP El Niño的概念被提出以来，了解两类ENSO在表现型态、发展过程、物理特征和全球影响等方面的差异就引起了科研人员的广泛关注。尽管如此，CP El Niño的物理机制仍然没有得到统一的认识，模式对其的模拟也存在严重的缺陷。本项目首先利用一个简单海气耦合模式对两类ENSO的主要动力过程进行研究，重点分析纬向平流反馈过程对CP型ENSO的重要性。其次，从理论角度出发，在当前ENSO研究进展的基础上，发展一个包含纬向平流反馈的三区域ENSO理论模型，对经典的双区域充放电理论进行补充，使其能够更好地对两类ENSO进行描述和区分。

With the more frequently occurred central Pacific (CP) type of El Niño since the 21st century, the existing ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) mechanisms faced severe challenges. The changing of the central warming center during ENSO events would significantly impact the air-sea interacting processes over the Pacific regions, which not only changes the way that ENSO influencing the global climate, but also leads a declination of the ENSO forecast skill. So, since the concept of the CP El Niño was put forward, it widely draws the attention of the scientific researchers for understanding the different types, developing processes, physical mechanisms and global influences between the CP and eastern Pacific (EP) types of El Niño. However, the physical mechanisms of the CP El Niño still do not achieve unified understanding, simulation for which also faces grave defects. In this work, a simple linear air–sea coupled model is used to investigate the major dynamical processes of the two types of ENSO, with the emphasis on the importance of the zonal advective feedback on the CP type of ENSO. Furthermore, based on the current progress on the ENSO issues, a three-region conceptual model including zonal advective feedback will be introduced for better describing and distinguishing the two types of ENSO than the classical two-region recharge paradigm.