The Teleconnection of the Tropical Atlantic to Indo-Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures on Inter-Annual to Centennial Time Scales: A Review of Recent Findings

Abstract

Abstract:In this paper, the teleconnections from the tropical Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific region from inter-annual to centennial time scales will be reviewed. Identified teleconnections and hypotheses on mechanisms at work are reviewed and further explored in a century-long pacemaker coupled ocean-atmosphere simulation ensemble. There is a substantial impact of the tropical Atlantic on the Pacific region at inter-annual time scales. An Atlantic Niño (Niña) event leads to rising (sinking) motion in the Atlantic region, which is compensated by sinking (rising) motion in the central-western Pacific. The sinking (rising) motion in the central-western Pacific induces easterly (westerly) surface wind anomalies just to the west, which alter the thermocline. These perturbations propagate eastward as upwelling (downwelling) Kelvin-waves, where they increase the probability for a La Niña (El Niño) event. Moreover, tropical North Atlantic sea surface temperature anomalies are also able to lead La Niña/El Niño development. At multidecadal time scales, a positive (negative) Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation leads to a cooling (warming) of the eastern Pacific and a warming (cooling) of the western Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. The physical mechanism for this impact is similar to that at inter-annual time scales. At centennial time scales, the Atlantic warming induces a substantial reduction of the eastern Pacific warming even under CO 2 increase and to a strong subsurface cooling.

Western tropical Pacific multidecadal variability forced by the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation

“…Anomalous ascending motion and surface low pressure is also seen over the tropical North Atlantic from the simulated upper-level divergence and SLP fields, in agreement with a recent observational based analysis43, and this is due to the heating effect of the AMO warm SST anomaly. Consistent with simulation results found here, there has also been some observational evidence in the literature that an anomalous low (high) and ascending (descending) motions tend to occur over western Pacific when the Atlantic is warmer (colder) than normal, as manifested by the SLP field354344 and the zonal overturning circulation37. The anomalies of SLP and vertical motion are closely related to the change in cloud cover over the WTP, and thus can lead to the occurrence of the SST–SLP–cloud–longwave radiation positive feedback.…”

Pacific and Atlantic multidecadal variability relations to the El Niño events and their effects on the South American rainfall

“…In general, the SST anomaly patterns of the mean states show a combination of the PDO and AMO‐related anomaly patterns in the Pacific Ocean, and the strongest AMO‐related anomaly signals in the Atlantic Ocean with almost antisymmetric SST anomaly patterns in the northern and southern extratropical sectors of this Ocean (Figure ). Our analysis provided further indications on the previously discussed negative multidecadal relation of the SST anomalies in the Pacific and the Atlantic (Kucharski et al ., , ). One of them is the shortness of the mean states when the AMO and PDO are both in positive or negative phases in relation to those when they are in opposite phases.…”

“…In fact, Kucharski et al . () showed that the WAMO leads to a cooling in the eastern Pacific and a warming of the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the CAMO, to opposite conditions in these oceanic areas. McGregor et al .…”

The Defining Characteristics of ENSO Extremes and the Strong 2015/2016 El Niño

“…Thus, much effort has gone into understanding the factors that cause variations in ENSO behavior. These include stochasticity or weather noise (e.g., Blanke et al, ; Eckert & Latif, ), chaos stemming from the deterministic nonlinear ocean‐atmosphere dynamical system and the annual cycle (e.g., Jin et al, ; Münnich et al, ; Neelin et al, ; Tziperman et al, ), as well as changes in the background climate state (e.g., Fedorov & Philander, ; Wang & An, ) and processes external to the tropical Pacific (e.g., Kajtar et al, ; Kucharski et al, ; Terray et al, ). Investigating these processes requires the use of climate models of a certain degree of complexity, such as a simple conceptual model (e.g., Jin, ; Suarez & Schopf, ), an intermediate complexity model (e.g., Zebiak & Cane, ), or a comprehensive general circulation model, depending on the extent to which particular processes need to be isolated and controlled.…”