Investigating the zonal wind response to SST warming using transient ensemble AGCM experiments

Journal Article · Wed Apr 13 04:00:00 EDT 2016 · Climate Dynamics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-016-3092-9· OSTI ID:1344040

Palipane, Erool; Lu, Jian; Staten, Paul; Chen, Gang; Schneider, Edwin K.

The response of the atmospheric circulation to greenhouse gas-induced SST warming is investigated using large ensemble experiments with two AGCMs, with a focus on the robust feature of the poleward shift of the eddy driven jet. In these experiments, large ensembles of simulations are conducted by abruptly switching the SST forcing on from January 1st to focus on the wintertime circulation adjustment. A hybrid, nite amplitude wave activity budget analysis is performed to elucidate the nonlinear and irreversible aspects of the eddy-mean ow interaction during the adjustment of the zonal wind towards a poleward shifted state. The results conrm the results from earlier more idealized studies, particularly the importance of reduced dissipation of wave activity and the dominant role of the decrease of elective diffusivity in the midlatitudes. Some quantitative discrences do exist between the wave activity budgets of our more realistic experiments and the earlier idealized ones, including larger wave activity tendency and diabatic wave source, and a somewhat greater role of the changing PV gradient in the total reduction of the wave activity dissipation. The relative importance of wave breaking-induced PV mixing versus diabatic PV source in the evolution of the Lagrangian PV gradient is also investigated. The former plays the dominant role in the PV gradient formation during the initial phase of the jet shift, while the latter even opposes the evolution of the Lagrangian PV gradient at times. The possible involvement of the wave reflection level at the poleward flank of the mean jet is also investigated.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1344040
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA--109246; KP1703010
• Journal Information: Climate Dynamics, Journal Name: Climate Dynamics Journal Issue: 1-2 Vol. 48; ISSN 0930-7575
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES