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Extratropical forcing of El Niño–Southern Oscillation asymmetry

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50951· OSTI ID:1564933
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3]
  1. Boston Univ., MA (United States)
  2. Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Lexington, MA (United States)
  3. Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
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Boreal winter near-surface atmospheric circulations over the Hawaiian region are known to influence the state of the tropical Pacific and initiate the development of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Here we show that these same preceding near-surface circulations have an additional influence on the longitudinal position of the resultant ENSO-related sea surface temperatures (SSTs) as well, with warm (cold) events systematically shifted to the east (west) of the typical SST anomalies. In influencing this positioning, these atmospheric circulations in turn modify the near- and far-field climate responses to these SSTs such that during warm events, the typical ENSO-related responses east (west) of the dateline are generally enhanced (reduced); conversely, during cold events, the typical ENSO-related responses are generally reduced (enhanced). The fact that the extratropical atmospheric circulations in question influence the asymmetry of ENSO extremes with a 12 month lead time carries important implications for predicting the socioeconomic impacts of these events.
Research Organization:
Boston Univ., MA (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0004975
OSTI ID:
1564933
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 18 Vol. 40; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (5)

The Victoria mode in the North Pacific linking extratropical sea level pressure variations to ENSO: Link between the Victoria mode and ENSO journal January 2015
The role of South Pacific atmospheric variability in the development of different types of ENSO: SOUTH PACIFIC OSCILLATION AND ENSO journal July 2017
Asymmetric evolution of El Niño and La Niña: the recharge/discharge processes and role of the off-equatorial sea surface height anomaly journal December 2016
Evaluation of performance of CMIP5 models in simulating the North Pacific Oscillation and El Niño Modoki journal April 2018
Interdecadal Variability of the ENSO–North Pacific Atmospheric Circulation in Winter journal March 2017

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