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Changes of tropical interannual variability due to increased CO{sub 2} in a global coupled climate model

Book ·
OSTI ID:182809
 [1]
  1. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)

Changes of tropical interannual variability and, in particular, variability changes associated with the south Asian summer monsoon and El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are shown from a global coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation climate model with increased atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) With a doubling of atmospheric CO{sub 2} in this model, there is a general increase of interannual variability in the tropics. The warmer land and ocean surfaces caused by increased CO{sub 2} in the model are associated with an increase in interannual variability of area-averaged south Asian monsoon rainfall. The coupled model simulates some aspects of ENSO that involve periodic warm and cold sea-surface temperature anomalies in the tropical Pacific with associated global teleconnections. In the experiment with increased CO{sub 2}, the ENSO-like phenomena continue to occur, but with increased intensity of anomalously wet and dry areas in the tropics associated with ENSO events in the tropical eastern Pacific. For both the south Asian monsoon and ENSO in the model, an important process contributing to the enhanced interannual variability is the nonlinear relationship between evaporation and surface temperature

OSTI ID:
182809
Report Number(s):
CONF-940426--; ISBN 0-923204-11-3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English