Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

Relative Contributions of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Coupled Processes to North Pacific and North Atlantic Variability

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL086321· OSTI ID:1618819
 [1];  [2]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
  2. Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Patterns of sea surface temperature (SST) variability over the northern oceans arise from a combination of atmospheric, oceanic, and coupled processes. In this work, we use a novel methodology and a suite of observations to quantify the processes contributing to the dominant patterns of interannual SST variability over these regions. We decompose the upper ocean heat content tendency associated with such dominant patterns into contributions from different heat fluxes: (a) atmospherically driven, (b) surface feedbacks, and (c) oceanic. We find that in the subtropics, cloud radiative flux, turbulent heat flux, and residual oceanic processes each contributes substantially to North Pacific SST variability, whereas turbulent heat flux primarily induces North Atlantic SST variability. Cloud radiative fluxes therefore provide a major source of interannual SST variability in the North Pacific but not in the North Atlantic. In midlatitudes, SST fluctuations over the northern oceans are driven by the combination of turbulent and oceanic heat fluxes.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1618819
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1602881
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL--797125; 999237
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 47; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (34)

An LES model study of the influence of the free tropospheric thermodynamic conditions on the stratocumulus response to a climate perturbation: Influence of free troposphere on SCu journal May 2015
Positive low cloud and dust feedbacks amplify tropical North Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation journal February 2016
The necessity of cloud feedback for a basin-scale Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation: CLOUD FEEDBACK CAUSES BASIN-SCALE AMO journal April 2016
New observational evidence for a positive cloud feedback that amplifies the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation: Positive Cloud Feedback Amplifies AMO journal September 2016
Model evidence for low-level cloud feedback driving persistent changes in atmospheric circulation and regional hydroclimate: Role of Low Clouds in PDV and U.S. Drought journal January 2017
Mechanisms of marine low cloud sensitivity to idealized climate perturbations: A single-LES exploration extending the CGILS cases: LES OF BOUNDARY-LAYER CLOUD FEEDBACK journal May 2013
The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system journal April 2011
The surface heat flux feedback. Part I: estimates from observations in the Atlantic and the North Pacific journal October 2002
Coupling between marine boundary layer clouds and summer-to-summer sea surface temperature variability over the North Atlantic and Pacific journal April 2017
Contributions of atmospheric and oceanic feedbacks to subtropical northeastern sea surface temperature variability journal September 2019
Evidence for atmospheric variability over the Pacific on decadal timescales journal January 2008
Performance metrics for climate models journal January 2008
Observations of Local Positive Low Cloud Feedback Patterns and Their Role in Internal Variability and Climate Sensitivity journal May 2018
Cloud Feedback Key to Marine Heatwave off Baja California journal May 2018
Calculation of surface and top of atmosphere radiative fluxes from physical quantities based on ISCCP data sets: 1. Method and sensitivity to input data uncertainties journal January 1995
Stochastic climate models, Part II Application to sea-surface temperature anomalies and thermocline variability journal August 1977
Observational and Model Evidence for Positive Low-Level Cloud Feedback journal July 2009
The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation without a role for ocean circulation journal October 2015
Sea Surface Temperature Variability: Patterns and Mechanisms journal January 2010
The Seasonal Cycle of Low Stratiform Clouds journal August 1993
A Modeling Study of the Interannual Variability in the Wintertime North Atlantic Ocean journal December 1995
Role of Low Clouds in Summertime Atmosphere–Ocean Interactions over the North Pacific journal October 1998
An Improved In Situ and Satellite SST Analysis for Climate journal July 2002
Pacific Interdecadal Climate Variability: Linkages between the Tropics and the North Pacific during Boreal Winter since 1900 journal August 2004
Latent and Sensible Heat Flux Anomalies over the Northern Oceans: Driving the Sea Surface Temperature journal August 1992
A Multimodel Analysis for the Coordinated Enhanced Observing Period (CEOP) journal August 2009
The NCEP Climate Forecast System Reanalysis journal August 2010
Marine Boundary Layer Cloud Feedbacks in a Constant Relative Humidity Atmosphere journal August 2012
Simulating the Role of Subtropical Stratocumulus Clouds in Driving Pacific Climate Variability journal July 2014
Estimates of Air–Sea Feedbacks on Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies in the Southern Ocean journal January 2016
The Pacific Decadal Oscillation, Revisited journal June 2016
The Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) journal July 2017
Surface Irradiances of Edition 4.0 Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) Data Product journal June 2018
Estimation of the Surface Heat Flux Response to Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies over the Global Oceans journal November 2005

Similar Records

A comparison of North Pacific and North Atlantic subtropical mode waters in a climatologically-forced model
Journal Article · Mon Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Deep-Sea Research. Part 2. Topical Studies in Oceanography · OSTI ID:1564963
Mechanisms of tropical Pacific decadal variability
Journal Article · Tue Oct 17 20:00:00 EDT 2023 · Nature Reviews Earth & Environment · OSTI ID:2203838
Influence of the North Atlantic SST Variability on the Atmospheric Circulation during the Twentieth Century
Journal Article · Tue Feb 10 19:00:00 EST 2015 · Journal of Climate · OSTI ID:1565387

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES