Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Tropical Clouds and Circulation Changes during the 2006/07 and 2009/10 El Niños

Hui Su Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California

Search for other papers by Hui Su in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
and
Jonathan H. Jiang Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California

Search for other papers by Jonathan H. Jiang in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed Close
Print Publication:
15 Jan 2013
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00152.1
Page(s):
399–413
Restricted access

Abstract

Changes in tropical cloud vertical structure, cloud radiative forcing (CRF), and circulation exhibit distinctly different characteristics during the 2006/07 and 2009/10 El Niños, revealed by CloudSat and Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite (CALIPSO) observations and reanalysis data. On the tropical average, the 2009/10 has a decrease of clouds from 2 to 14 km, an increase of clouds in the boundary layer, and an increase of cirrus clouds above 14 km. The tropical-mean cloud anomalies in the middle to upper troposphere (6–14 km) for the 2006/07 El Niño are nearly opposite to those in 2009/10 El Niño. The tropical averaged net CRF anomaly at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) is 0.6–0.7 W m−2 cooling (0.02–0.5 W m−2 warming) for the 2009/10 (2006/07) El Niño. The 2009/10 El Niño is associated with a strengthening of tropical circulation, increased high (low) clouds in extremely strong ascending (descending) regimes, and decreased clouds in the middle and high altitudes in a broad range of moderate circulation regimes. The strengthening of tropical circulation is primarily caused by the enhancement of the Hadley circulation. The 2006/07 El Niño is associated with a weakening of the tropical circulation, primarily caused by the reduction of the Walker circulation. The cloud anomalies in each circulation regime are approximately opposite for these two El Niños. The analysis herein suggests that both the magnitude and pattern of sea surface temperature anomalies in the two events contribute to the differences in clouds and circulation anomalies, with magnitude playing a dominant role. The contrasting behaviors of the two El Niños highlight the nonlinear response of tropical clouds and circulation to El Niño SST forcing.

Corresponding author address: Hui Su, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109. E-mail: hui.su@jpl.nasa.gov

Abstract

Changes in tropical cloud vertical structure, cloud radiative forcing (CRF), and circulation exhibit distinctly different characteristics during the 2006/07 and 2009/10 El Niños, revealed by CloudSat and Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite (CALIPSO) observations and reanalysis data. On the tropical average, the 2009/10 has a decrease of clouds from 2 to 14 km, an increase of clouds in the boundary layer, and an increase of cirrus clouds above 14 km. The tropical-mean cloud anomalies in the middle to upper troposphere (6–14 km) for the 2006/07 El Niño are nearly opposite to those in 2009/10 El Niño. The tropical averaged net CRF anomaly at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) is 0.6–0.7 W m−2 cooling (0.02–0.5 W m−2 warming) for the 2009/10 (2006/07) El Niño. The 2009/10 El Niño is associated with a strengthening of tropical circulation, increased high (low) clouds in extremely strong ascending (descending) regimes, and decreased clouds in the middle and high altitudes in a broad range of moderate circulation regimes. The strengthening of tropical circulation is primarily caused by the enhancement of the Hadley circulation. The 2006/07 El Niño is associated with a weakening of the tropical circulation, primarily caused by the reduction of the Walker circulation. The cloud anomalies in each circulation regime are approximately opposite for these two El Niños. The analysis herein suggests that both the magnitude and pattern of sea surface temperature anomalies in the two events contribute to the differences in clouds and circulation anomalies, with magnitude playing a dominant role. The contrasting behaviors of the two El Niños highlight the nonlinear response of tropical clouds and circulation to El Niño SST forcing.

Corresponding author address: Hui Su, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109. E-mail: hui.su@jpl.nasa.gov
Save
Cover Journal of Climate
Journal of Climate

  • Alexander, M. A., I. Bladé, M. Newman, J. R. Lanzante, N.-C. Lau, and J. D. Scott, 2002: The atmospheric bridge: The influence of ENSO teleconnections on air–sea interaction over the global oceans. J. Climate, 15, 2205–2231.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Allan, R. P., A. Slingo, and M. A. Ringer, 2002: Influence of dynamics on the changes in tropical cloud radiative forcing during the 1998 El Niño. J. Climate, 15, 1979–1986.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Ashok, K., S. K. Behera, S. A. Rao, H. Weng, and T. Yamagata, 2007: El Niño Modoki and its possible teleconnection. J. Geophys. Res., 112, C11007, doi:10.1029/2006JC003798.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Bony, S., J.-L. Dufresne, H. LeTreut, J.-J. Morcrette, and C. Senior, 2004: On dynamic and thermodynamic components of cloud changes. Climate Dyn., 22, 71–86.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Cess, R. D., M. Zhang, B. A. Wielicki, D. F. Young, X. Zhou, and Y. Nikitenko, 2001: The influence of the 1998 El Niño upon cloud-radiative forcing over the Pacific warm pool. J. Climate, 14, 2129–2137.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Clement, A. C., R. Burgman, and J. R. Norris, 2009: Observational and model evidence for positive low-level cloud feedback. Science, 325, 460–464, doi:10.1126/science.1171255.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Dessler, A., 2010: A determination of the cloud feedback from climate variations over the past decade. Science, 330, 1523–1527.

  • Gu, G., R. F. Adler, G. J. Huffman, and S. Curtis, 2007: Tropical rainfall variability on interannual-to-interdecadal and longer time scales derived from the GPCP monthly product. J. Climate, 20, 4033–4046.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Held, I. M., and B. J. Soden, 2006: Robust responses of the hydrological cycle to global warming. J. Climate, 19, 5686–5699.

  • Hoerling, M. P., A. Kumar, and M. Zhong, 1997: El Niño, La Niña, and the nonlinearity of their teleconnections. J. Climate, 10, 1769–1786.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Jiang, J. H., and Coauthors, 2012: Evaluation of cloud and water vapor simulations in CMIP5 climate models using NASA “A-Train” satellite observations. J. Geophys. Res., 117, D1410, doi:10.1029/2011JD017237.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kao, H.-Y., and J.-Y. Yu, 2009: Contrasting eastern-Pacific and central-Pacific types of ENSO. J. Climate, 22, 615–632.

  • Kim, H., P. J. Webster, and J. A. Curry, 2009: Impact of shifting patterns of Pacific Ocean warming on North Atlantic tropical cyclones. Science, 325, 77–80, doi:10.1126/science.1174062.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Kug, J.-S., F.-F. Jin, and S.-I. An, 2009: Two types of El Niño events: Cold tongue El Niño and warm pool El Niño. J. Climate, 22, 1499–1515.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Latif, M., R. Kleeman, and C. Eckert, 1997: Greenhouse warming, decadal variability, or El Niño? An attempt to understand the anomalous 1990s. J. Climate, 10, 2221–2239.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lee, T., and M. J. McPhaden, 2010: Increasing intensity of El Niño in the central-equatorial Pacific. Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L14603, doi:10.1029/2010GL044007.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Lindzen, R. S., and S. Nigam, 1987: On the role of sea surface temperature gradients in forcing low-level winds and convergence in the tropics. J. Atmos. Sci., 44, 2418–2436.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Loeb, N. G., and Coauthors, 2007: Angular distribution models for top-of-atmosphere radiative flux estimation from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System Instrument on the Terra satellite. Part II: Validation. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 24, 564–584.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Loeb, N. G., S. Kato, W. Su, T. Wong, F. G. Rose, D. R. Doelling, J. R. Norris, and X. Huang, 2012: Advances in understanding top-of-atmosphere radiation variability from satellite observations. Surv. Geophys., 33, 359–385, doi:10.1007/s10712-012-9175-1.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Merryfield, W. J., 2006: Changes to ENSO under CO2 doubling in a multimodel ensemble. J. Climate, 19, 4009–4027.

  • Mitas, C. M., and A. Clement, 2005: Has the Hadley cell been strengthening in recent decades? Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L03809, doi:10.1029/2004GL021765.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Oort, A. H., and J. J. Yienger, 1996: Observed interannual variability in the Hadley circulation and its connection to ENSO. J. Climate, 9, 2751–2767.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Quan, X. W., and Coauthors, 2004: Change of the tropical Hadley cell since 1950. The Hadley Circulation: Past, Present, and Future, H. F. Diaz and R. S. Bradley, Eds., Cambridge University Press, 85–120.

  • Ramanathan, V., and W. Collins, 1991: Thermodynamic regulation of ocean warming by cirrus clouds deduced from observations of the 1987 El Niño. Nature, 351, 27–32.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Soden, J. B., A. J. Broccoli, and R. S. Hemler, 2004: On the use of cloud forcing to estimate cloud feedback. J. Climate, 17, 3661–3665.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Su, H., and J. D. Neelin, 2003: The scatter in tropical average precipitation anomalies. J. Climate, 16, 3966–3977.

  • Su, H., J. D. Neelin, and C. Chou, 2001: Tropical teleconnection and local response to SST anomalies during the 1997–1998 El Niño. J. Geophys. Res., 106 (D17), 20 025–20 043.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Tanaka, H. L., and Coauthors, 2004: Trend and interannual variability of Walker, monsoon and Hadley circulations defined by velocity potential in the upper troposphere. Tellus, 56, 250–269.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Weng, H., K. Ashok, S. K. Behera, S. A. Rao, and T. Yamagata, 2007: Impacts of recent El Niño Modoki on dry/wet conditions in the Pacific rim during boreal summer. Climate Dyn., 29, 113–129.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Weng, H., S. K. Behera, and T. Yamagata, 2009: Anomalous winter climate conditions in the Pacific rim during recent El Niño Modoki and El Niño events. Climate Dyn., 32, 663–674.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Williams, K. D., M. A. Ringer, and C. A. Senior, 2003: Evaluating the cloud response to climate change and current climate variability. Climate Dyn., 20, 705–721.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Yeh, S.-W., J.-S. Kug, B. Dewitte, M.-H. Kwon, B. Kirtman, and F.-F. Jin, 2009: El Niño in a changing climate. Nature, 461, 511–514, doi:10.1038/nature08316.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Yu, J.-Y., and S. T. Kim, 2012: Identifying the types of major El Niño events since 1870. Int. J. Climatol., doi:10.1002/joc.3575, in press.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Yuan, J., D. L. Hartmann, and R. Wood, 2008: Dynamic effects on the tropical cloud radiative forcing and radiation budget. J. Climate, 21, 2337–2351.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Zelinka, M. D., and D. L. Hartmann, 2011: The observed sensitivity of high clouds to mean surface temperature anomalies in the tropics. J. Geophys. Res., 116, D23103, doi:10.1029/2011JD016459.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation

  • Zhang, M. H., R. D. Cess, and S. C. Xie, 1996: Relationship between cloud radiative forcing and sea surface temperatures over the entire tropical oceans. J. Climate, 9, 1374–1384.

    • Search Google Scholar
    • Export Citation
All Time Past Year Past 30 Days
Abstract Views 0 0 0
Full Text Views 370 124 10
PDF Downloads 211 82 6