Editorial Type:
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Article Type:
Research Article

Why Was the Indian Ocean Dipole Weak in the Context of the Extreme El Niño in 2015?

Lin Liu Center for Ocean and Climate Research, First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, China
Laboratory for Regional Oceanography and Numerical Modeling, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China

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Guang Yang Center for Ocean and Climate Research, First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, China
Laboratory for Regional Oceanography and Numerical Modeling, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China

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Xia Zhao Key Laboratory of Ocean Circulation and Waves, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China

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Lin Feng Center for Ocean and Climate Research, First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, China
Laboratory for Regional Oceanography and Numerical Modeling, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China

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Guoqing Han Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

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Yue Wu Center for Ocean and Climate Research, First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, China

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Weidong Yu Center for Ocean and Climate Research, First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao, China
Laboratory for Regional Oceanography and Numerical Modeling, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China

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Print Publication:
15 Jun 2017
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0281.1
Page(s):
4755–4761
Restricted access

Abstract

The Indian Ocean witnessed a weak positive Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) event from the boreal summer to autumn in 2015, while an extreme El Niño occurred over the tropical Pacific. This was different from the case in 1997/98, when an extreme El Niño and the strongest IOD took place simultaneously. The analysis here suggests that the unique sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) pattern of El Niño in 2015 might have contributed to the weak IOD that year. El Niño in 2015 had a complex SSTA pattern, with positive warming over the central and eastern tropical Pacific. Such a combination of the classic El Niño (also known as cold-tongue El Niño) and the recently identified central Pacific El Niño (also known as El Niño Modoki II) had opposite remote influences on the tropical Indian Ocean. The classic El Niño reduced the strength of the Walker circulation over the tropical Indian Ocean, but this was offset by El Niño Modoki II. This study points out that the IOD can be strongly modulated by combined El Niño types in some circumstances, as in 2015.

Denotes content that is immediately available upon publication as open access.

© 2017 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).

Corresponding author e-mail: Lin Liu, liul@fio.org.cn

Abstract

The Indian Ocean witnessed a weak positive Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) event from the boreal summer to autumn in 2015, while an extreme El Niño occurred over the tropical Pacific. This was different from the case in 1997/98, when an extreme El Niño and the strongest IOD took place simultaneously. The analysis here suggests that the unique sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) pattern of El Niño in 2015 might have contributed to the weak IOD that year. El Niño in 2015 had a complex SSTA pattern, with positive warming over the central and eastern tropical Pacific. Such a combination of the classic El Niño (also known as cold-tongue El Niño) and the recently identified central Pacific El Niño (also known as El Niño Modoki II) had opposite remote influences on the tropical Indian Ocean. The classic El Niño reduced the strength of the Walker circulation over the tropical Indian Ocean, but this was offset by El Niño Modoki II. This study points out that the IOD can be strongly modulated by combined El Niño types in some circumstances, as in 2015.

Denotes content that is immediately available upon publication as open access.

© 2017 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).

Corresponding author e-mail: Lin Liu, liul@fio.org.cn
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