Two distinct roles of Atlantic SSTs in ENSO variability: North Tropical Atlantic SST and Atlantic Niño

Abstract

Two distinct roles of the Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs), namely, the North Tropical Atlantic (NTA) SST and the Atlantic Niño, on the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability are investigated using the observational data from 1980 to 2010 and coupled model experiments. It appears that the NTA SST and the Atlantic Niño can be used as two independent predictors for predicting the development of ENSO events in the following season. Furthermore, they are likely to be linked to different types of El Niño events. Specifically, the NTA SST cooling during February, March, and April contributes to the central Pacific warming at the subsequent winter season, while the negative Atlantic Niño event during June, July, and August contributes to enhancing the eastern Pacific warming. The coupled model experiments support these results. With the aid of a lagged inverse relationship, the statistical forecast using two Atlantic indices can successfully predict various ENSO indices. Key Points: NTA SST cooling can lead to the central Pacific warming Atlantic Nino variability is related to the eastern Pacific SST variability Two different Atlantic SSTs can lead to two different types of El Nino events. © 2013. American Geophysical Union

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

“…Similar to [14,15] [14,15]. For ATL_VAR, the response is stronger compared to the response to the Atlantic Niño, and comparable in magnitude to the observed response.…”

“…For ATL_VAR, the response is stronger compared to the response to the Atlantic Niño, and comparable in magnitude to the observed response. However, there is no indication of the response to the NTA being more central Pacific ENSO events compared to the response to the ATL3 as suggested by [14,15], either in observations or the model results. It is possible that that results depend on the exact period analyzed.…”

“…It is possible that that results depend on the exact period analyzed. Overall, however, the studies of [14,15] are confirmed in the respect that a warming (cooling) in the tropical North Atlantic indeed leads to a La Niña (El Niño)-type response in the Pacific region.…”

“…In [14,15], the teleconnection of the North Tropical Atlantic (NTA) SSTs to the tropical Pacific has been analyzed, and it has been found that SST anomalies in the NTA also favor the development of central Pacific ENSO events. Similar to [14,15] [14,15].…”

Coherent Tropical Indo-Pacific Interannual Climate Variability

“…The influence of the Atlantic Ocean appears to be small, although it has been suggested that SST anomalies in the north tropical Atlantic during boreal spring can affect ENSO occurrence (Ham et al 2013). The Indian Ocean (IO) variability was long thought to be a passive response to ENSO (Latif and Barnett 1995), but later studies have suggested that the IO evolves to some degree independently of ENSO (Saji et al 1999;Webster et al 1999).…”