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Title: Cloud Radiative Feedbacks and El Niño–Southern Oscillation

Journal Article · · Journal of Climate
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Miami, FL (United States)
  2. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
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Cloud radiative feedbacks are disabled via “cloud-locking” in the Community Earth System Model, version 1.2 (CESM1.2), to result in a shift in El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) periodicity from 2–7 years to decadal time scales. We hypothesize that cloud radiative feedbacks may impact the periodicity in three ways: by 1) modulating heat flux locally into the equatorial Pacific subsurface through negative shortwave cloud feedback on sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA), 2) damping the persistence of subtropical southeast Pacific SSTA such that the South Pacific meridional mode impacts the duration of ENSO events, or 3) controlling the meridional width of off-equatorial westerly winds, which impacts the periodicity of ENSO by initiating longer Rossby waves. The result of cloud-locking in CESM1.2 contrasts that of another study, which found that cloud-locking in a different global climate model led to decreased ENSO magnitude across all time scales due to a lack of positive longwave feedback on the anomalous Walker circulation. CESM1.2 contains this positive longwave feedback on the anomalous Walker circulation, but either its influence on the surface is decoupled from ocean dynamics or the feedback is only active on interannual time scales. The roles of cloud radiative feedbacks in ENSO in other global climate models are additionally considered. In particular, it is shown that one cannot predict the role of cloud radiative feedbacks in ENSO through a multimodel diagnostic analysis. Instead, they must be directly altered.

Research Organization:
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Science Foundation (NSF); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Grant/Contract Number:
FC02-97ER62402; NA14OAR4310275; OCE1419561; NA15OAR4320064
OSTI ID:
1609294
Journal Information:
Journal of Climate, Vol. 32, Issue 15; ISSN 0894-8755
Publisher:
American Meteorological SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 19 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (4)

Seasonal Cycle of Background in the Tropical Pacific as a Cause of ENSO Spring Persistence Barrier journal November 2019
Investigating the Influence of Cloud Radiative Effects on the Extratropical Storm Tracks journal July 2019
Indo-Pacific Climate Modes in Warming Climate: Consensus and Uncertainty Across Model Projections journal November 2019
Contributions of atmospheric and oceanic feedbacks to subtropical northeastern sea surface temperature variability journal September 2019

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Tropics
Convection
ENSO
Walker circulation
Cloud radiative effects