Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Analysis of the ENSO Cycle in the NCEP Coupled Forecast Model

Qin Zhang RSIS/Climate Prediction Center, NCEP/NOAA, Camp Springs, Maryland

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Arun Kumar Climate Prediction Center, NCEP/NOAA, Camp Springs, Maryland

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Yan Xue Climate Prediction Center, NCEP/NOAA, Camp Springs, Maryland

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Wanqiu Wang Climate Prediction Center, NCEP/NOAA, Camp Springs, Maryland

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Fei-Fei Jin Meteorology Department, The Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida

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Print Publication:
01 Apr 2007
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI4062.1
Page(s):
1265–1284
Restricted access

Abstract

Simulations from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) coupled model are analyzed to document and understand the behavior of the evolution of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. The analysis is of importance for two reasons: 1) the coupled model used in this study is also used operationally to provide model-based forecast guidance on a seasonal time scale, and therefore, an understanding of the ENSO mechanism in this particular coupled system could also lead to an understanding of possible biases in SST predictions; and 2) multiple theories for ENSO evolution have been proposed, and coupled model simulations are a useful test bed for understanding the relative importance of different ENSO mechanisms.

The analyses of coupled model simulations show that during the ENSO evolution the net surface heat flux acts as a damping mechanism for the mixed-layer temperature anomalies, and positive contribution from the advection terms to the ENSO evolution is dominated by the linear advective processes. The subsurface temperature–SST feedback, referred to as thermocline feedback in some theoretical literature, is found to be the primary positive feedback, whereas the advective feedback by anomalous zonal currents and the thermocline feedback are the primary sources responsible for the ENSO phase transition in the model simulation. The basic mechanisms for the model-simulated ENSO cycle are thus, to a large extent, consistent with those highlighted in the recharge oscillator. The atmospheric anticyclone (cyclone) over the western equatorial northern Pacific accompanied by a warm (cold) phase of the ENSO, as well as the oceanic Rossby waves outside of 15°S–15°N and the equatorial higher-order baroclinic modes, all appear to play minor roles in the model ENSO cycles.

* Current affiliation: Department of Meteorology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii

Corresponding author address: Qin Zhang, RSIS/Climate Prediction Center, NCEP/NOAA, 5200 Auth Road, Rm. 800, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Email: qin.zhang@noaa.gov

Abstract

Simulations from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) coupled model are analyzed to document and understand the behavior of the evolution of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. The analysis is of importance for two reasons: 1) the coupled model used in this study is also used operationally to provide model-based forecast guidance on a seasonal time scale, and therefore, an understanding of the ENSO mechanism in this particular coupled system could also lead to an understanding of possible biases in SST predictions; and 2) multiple theories for ENSO evolution have been proposed, and coupled model simulations are a useful test bed for understanding the relative importance of different ENSO mechanisms.

The analyses of coupled model simulations show that during the ENSO evolution the net surface heat flux acts as a damping mechanism for the mixed-layer temperature anomalies, and positive contribution from the advection terms to the ENSO evolution is dominated by the linear advective processes. The subsurface temperature–SST feedback, referred to as thermocline feedback in some theoretical literature, is found to be the primary positive feedback, whereas the advective feedback by anomalous zonal currents and the thermocline feedback are the primary sources responsible for the ENSO phase transition in the model simulation. The basic mechanisms for the model-simulated ENSO cycle are thus, to a large extent, consistent with those highlighted in the recharge oscillator. The atmospheric anticyclone (cyclone) over the western equatorial northern Pacific accompanied by a warm (cold) phase of the ENSO, as well as the oceanic Rossby waves outside of 15°S–15°N and the equatorial higher-order baroclinic modes, all appear to play minor roles in the model ENSO cycles.

* Current affiliation: Department of Meteorology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii

Corresponding author address: Qin Zhang, RSIS/Climate Prediction Center, NCEP/NOAA, 5200 Auth Road, Rm. 800, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Email: qin.zhang@noaa.gov

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