Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Seasonally Stratified Analysis of Simulated ENSO Thermodynamics

Tomoki Tozuka Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

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Jing-Jia Luo Frontier Research Center for Global Change/JAMSTEC, Kanagawa, Japan

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Sebastien Masson LOCEAN, Paris, France

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Toshio Yamagata Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, and Frontier Research Center for Global Change/JAMSTEC, Kanagawa, Japan

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Print Publication:
15 Sep 2007
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI4275.1
Page(s):
4615–4627
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Abstract

Using outputs from the SINTEX-F1 coupled GCM, the thermodynamics of ENSO events and its relation with the seasonal cycle are investigated. Simulated El Niño events are first classified into four groups depending on during which season the Niño-3.4 sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) index (5°S–5°N, 120°–170°W) reaches its peak. Although the heat content of the tropical Pacific decreases for all four types, the tropical Pacific loses about twice as much during an El Niño that peaks during winter compared with one that peaks during summer. The surface heat flux, the southward heat transport at 15°S, and the Indonesian Throughflow heat transport contribute constructively to this remarkable seasonal difference. It is shown that the Indonesian Throughflow supplies anomalous heat from the Indian Ocean, especially during the summer El Niño–like event. Changes in the basic state provided by the seasonal cycle cause differences in the atmospheric response to the SSTA, which in turn lead to the difference between the surface heat flux and the meridional heat transport anomaly.

Corresponding author address: Tomoki Tozuka, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. Email: tozuka@eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Abstract

Using outputs from the SINTEX-F1 coupled GCM, the thermodynamics of ENSO events and its relation with the seasonal cycle are investigated. Simulated El Niño events are first classified into four groups depending on during which season the Niño-3.4 sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) index (5°S–5°N, 120°–170°W) reaches its peak. Although the heat content of the tropical Pacific decreases for all four types, the tropical Pacific loses about twice as much during an El Niño that peaks during winter compared with one that peaks during summer. The surface heat flux, the southward heat transport at 15°S, and the Indonesian Throughflow heat transport contribute constructively to this remarkable seasonal difference. It is shown that the Indonesian Throughflow supplies anomalous heat from the Indian Ocean, especially during the summer El Niño–like event. Changes in the basic state provided by the seasonal cycle cause differences in the atmospheric response to the SSTA, which in turn lead to the difference between the surface heat flux and the meridional heat transport anomaly.

Corresponding author address: Tomoki Tozuka, Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. Email: tozuka@eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp

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